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Is World Of Warcraft Getting A Death Themed Expansion?

Spoiler Warning: This post will contain information from the upcoming Patch 8.3.

Is World of Warcraft getting a death-themed expansion? Recent leaks for patch 8.3 seem to be pointing that way. World of Warcraft fans is super excited for BlizzCon in November. We’ve had several signs in-game which seem to point to another death-themed expansion. A few months ago, we had the famous Shadowlands leak. Now that patch 8.3 is on the public test realms (PTR) those rumors have more weight. Wowhead posted assets for Allied Race Death Knights. Fans have requested this for a long time. This may hint that the Lich King is raising new Death Knights.

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With the assets appearing in patch 8.3 this brings up the possibility of the Lich King having a larger role. Death is a major theme in this expansion. Sylvanas wants everyone to die and has made mention of it during the loyalist ending in patch 8.2.5. Horde players had a quest during BFA where we accompanied the spirit of Vol’jin as he sought answers. He wanted to know which spirit told him to make Sylvanas Warchief. All the death-related characters said they had no idea. Bwomsamdi mentioned he has a boss, but that’s as far as we know.

Death is probably going to be an actual character in the game at some point. There are rumors of a level squish happening in the next expansion. Fans have speculated about new rumors which have come from a credible Chinese forum. We may be getting a type of hero ‘Lich’ class. A Lich class would probably be like a Death Knight and Warlock mixed together. It’s an intriguing thought and could be a fun class to play.

Is World of Warcraft Getting A Death Themed Expansion?

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Wowhead also mentioned that Jaina and Anduin discussed Bolvar the Lich King. It’s safe to assume that Bolvar is going to have a role in the next expansion. There are encrypted voice files in patch 8.3 of the Lich King and Highlord Darion Mograine talking. Since Legion, the Lich King has been active. He had Death Knight players raise the new Four Horsemen. We were also introduced to Taelia in Battle for Azeroth. She happens to be Bolvar’s daughter. Taelia still doesn’t know the truth about her father’s fate. Anduin is hesitant to tell her because Bolvar swore that no one would know what became of him.

At first, it looked as if the next expansion would be World of Warcraft Shadowlands, but what if the next expansion is World of Warcraft Return of the Lich King? I’ve always wondered if Blizzard was going to have us pay homage to their most famous expansion. It’s something I could totally see by World of Warcraft’s 20th anniversary. Now that we have legacy serves with WoW Classic it’s not too much of a stretch to wonder if we’ll be visiting Northrend in either the past or present again.

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It wouldn’t even be surprising if Sylvanas is the next Lich Queen. What’s interesting to note is that the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King resides, is actually a portal to the Shadowlands. Shadowlands is the Realm of Death. When we die in the game the screen has a gray filter. Basically, we’re crossing through the Shadowlands as we search for our corpse. Of course, our in-game deaths aren’t considered canon, but what if N’Zoth is going to kill us in Nya’lotha?

Some fans have even wondered if the Old God will put us to sleep. Then we won’t wake until the end of the next expansion. Sleep is tied to death, and it’s not a completely crazy thought. Maybe this could tie into Elune and the Emerald Dream somehow. We’re certainly getting a lot of Elune mentions lately. We also know that Tyrande who recently became the Night Warrior will be getting more screen time. So sleep and death could tie together when we have all these loose plot threads. If we’re really having a level squish which would scale us down to level 50, then maybe being asleep could answer why.

Allied Races As Death Knights?

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Is World of Warcraft getting a death-themed expansion? Well, new assets found for Allied Races suggest we might. Allied races may become Death Knights. There are textures from Allied NPCs included in the patch 8.3 data. With them are four new Death Knight weapons. Death Knights only have three specs which include Frost, Unholy, and Blood. So why would Death Knights have a new fourth weapon associated with Fire? Maybe Blizzard is adding a Death Knight who looks fiery like Bolvar. Could Death Knights be receiving a new spec in 9.0?

New Death Knights aren’t exactly a stretch. The Lich King had us raise the Four Horsemen. If Bolvar is raising new Death Knights maybe he’s helping us fight the new threat. Bolvar’s motives are secretive but he’s not Arthas. What’d I’d love to see is a new Death Knight starter zone. In fact, what if we had two Death Knight starter zones? Blizzard can’t just erase the history from Wrath. It’d be cool if the new Death Knights had their own starter zone with new lore, while the old races kept the same storyline. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could choose between orange or blue eyes as Death Knights?

A potential fire spec for Death Knights makes me wonder if all races are getting a new spec. A new spec would certainly breathe life into the classes. Especially because players have complained about a lack of class identity in BFA. Legion made classes seem cool again with the Class Order Halls and Artifact weapons. Hopefully, Blizzard will do something epic and unexpected again with our classes. Imagine being able to tank as a Shaman, or for Demon Hunters to finally have a third spec. It’s a bit of a reach, but it’s fun to consider.

Are We Revisiting Northrend?

It’s been about eight years in the storyline since we defeated Arthas. If World of Warcraft is getting a death-themed expansion, it makes sense to go to Northrend again. Northrend could be interesting to revisit not only to see it’s changed but also due to the Old God story happening right now. I’ve been wanting to revisit Wrath on a legacy server, but we could be revisiting Northrend in the present day. The Old God Yogg-Saron was imprisoned in Northrend before we defeated him in Ulduar. Ulduar is a Titan complex and within it, we have the Halls of Stone and Lightning. We also have several Titan terraces in Sholazar Basin.

Dragonblight could also be important in moving forward. The Black Dragonflight was once corrupted by N’Zoth. Lately, Wrathion has been searching for a cure against corruption. Whatever potion he gave us in patch 8.2.5 cured Ebonhorn. The Dragon flights gave up their power in Cataclysm, but maybe Wyrmrest Temple could still be relevant if N’Zoth brings on the Hour of Twilight.

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The Titans are considered the Pantheon. They’re the celestial beings who created Azeroth and the universe. In Legion, we helped the Pantheon imprison Sargeras. He’s a fallen Titan who attempted to destroy the worlds by creating an army of demons called the Burning Legion. Old Gods and Titans don’t get along, as the Old Gods want to bring back the Black Empire and control Azeroth. Also, Azeroth is more than a planet, it’s believed that the planet is a Titan. She’s dying now that Sargeras has stabbed the planet with his sword.

All of this makes me believe we could be revisiting Northrend because of the Old God and Titan connections. For example, the Nerubians are a spider-type race that exists in Northrend. They could certainly become a threat again. Azjol-Nerub was once a Titan complex, and it’s the location of the Nerubian Empire.

Is World of Warcraft Getting A Death Themed Expansion?

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Do you think World of Warcraft is getting a death-themed expansion? If you’re reading this after BlizzCon, do you think all this speculation was incorrect? Please leave a comment below.

Also, feel free to check out Hallow’s End has arrived in World of Warcraft, should the best music in World of Warcraft have an orchestra tour, the most-exciting starter zones in World of Warcraft, the best ways to gain reputation in WoW, How to make gold in WoW Classic, and the World of Warcraft patch 8.3 Developer Notes. The holidays are coming up fast, so feel free to visit the 23 must-have gifts for World of Warcraft fans. Want a more general list? Then check out the 22 must-have gifts for Video Gamers. WoW Classic has been a hit, so don’t miss the best addons for WoW Classic. BlizzCon is next month and we’ve got many juicy things to discuss. Check out the World of Warcraft Story so far, and the possible World of Warcraft Expansion leaks.

Thank you for hanging out at my Hearth.

Happy Hunting,

Spyells


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