What happens after WoD?

[pengupuff]

To preface what I'm about to say, let me begin by pointing out that I clearly love the game (or else I wouldn't be here) and I'm not naysaying or claiming "WoW is dead" or any of that trollbait.
That said, I seem to remember there being reliable sources that stated the following:
-That there were two expansions planned after MoP
-That the level cap would not exceed 100

Now, I'm having trouble digging those posts back up, so I could of course be completely wrong or perhaps things have changed since I last read that information. But for the sake of discussion, let's just assume those two things are at least possible.

In that case, would that mean that the expansion after WoD (or in this case, the final expansion) won't feature a level raise? Raising the cap to 105 or 110 would seem a little odd. So what content could they turn to in order to fill that void? A system to specialize your character perhaps, like what was initially planned with the "Path of the Titans?" Or maybe there will still be a major, lengthy quest line to get you up to speed with the story at that point that offers a different reward other than XP.

A less likely option is that WoD is the final expansion, which wouldn't make much sense seeing as it wasn't advertised as such. If it was going to be the final installment of a game as huge as WoW, I'm pretty sure they'd make a bigger deal about it, yeah?

Another argument is that, considering WoW's continued success, Blizzard will keep on churning out content as long as the money flow is consistent (after all, look at how long EQ has been around). Why wouldn't they? Sure, subscriptions have dropped since Wrath, but it is still the reigning MMO. I'm not so sure though... they've been awfully secretive about Titan, which is also supposed to be an MMO. Perhaps WoW does have a scheduled ending point if they choose to focus their efforts on this newcomer to online gaming. A lot of speculation suggests that once Titan finally does go live (predictions have it falling sometime in 2015), expansions for WoW will cease and it will likely become f2p.

Of course, this is all just hearsay and educated guesses. I'm curious to know where you guys think WoW is headed, or if any of you have reliable sources that give any clues as to what happens past WoD.
As a final note, please keep this discussion civil. Let's do some theorizing without the thread devolving into a flame war.

[Castile]

A less likely option is that WoD is the final expansion, which wouldn't make much sense seeing as it wasn't advertised as such. If it was going to be the final installment of a game as huge as WoW, I'm pretty sure they'd make a bigger deal about it, yeah?

Interesting post. I too remember reading that 100 would be the last lvl cap so perhaps this is the last expansion and tbh I wouldn't be surprised. The signs are kinda there with merging realms, CRZ and the amount of xp boost and casual content available now compared to previous years.

I don't think even if it was the last they wouldn't advertise it as such. They would release it and when the time came announce there would not be any further expansions in the future. Advertising it is like like saying "the game is winding down" when really ppl are often quite hyped for an expansion.

If wow went f2p I still think they would make a buttload off it with character transfers, the store (which is in game now), faction transfers etc. It might indicate why the RAF system got a major overhaul and why you can get pretty much any reward you want now as their may be less point to it later on.

Thats just my tin foil hat predictions anyway

[Vephriel]

The level 100 cap theory has often been repeated, but it's just a rumour as there's never been a source for it.

I have no idea what the game will do in the future, but I don't personally feel as though WoD is final expansion, especially after they're putting so much work into revamping the character models. It feels more like another start almost, going back to their roots again. I'm interested to see where they'll go after. I've never even been a huge fan of Outland but I'm excited about this nod to the past because I've been only mildly intrigued by lore after WotLK.

[Wain]

I think there are things being set up currently that we won't see come to fruition in WoD. For example, they already stated the Wrathion story won't be continued yet, and that seems to be leading to a final showdown with the Legion in the future. The game wouldn't be complete without that.

Unless they decide to suddenly cut funding to it for financial reasons. But I'd be surprised at that. Even if it had half the numbers it had at its peak, WoW is still far more lucrative than other MMOs.

[Snope]

I think there are things being set up currently that we won't see come to fruition in WoD. For example, they already stated the Wrathion story won't be continued yet, and that seems to be leading to a final showdown with the Legion in the future. The game wouldn't be complete without that.

Don't forget about Neptulon's capture and the ever-elusive N'zoth!

Besides, the mortal races have basically inherited guardianship over Azeroth from the Dragonflights following Cataclysm, so they're likely seting up something big involving the Burning Legion and/or the Old Gods. Maybe Azeroth is an Old God itself and we'll have to fight it?

[SylviaDragon]

I clearly remember the "we wont go past level 100" claim but to be fair, it was years agao and probably more of a "my friend said that this website said that blizzard said..." kind of thing. 105 & 110 sound like awkward numbers for a level cap but I also thought that 85 was a weird number to stop at as well. In the end no one really cared about it once they started raiding. The way I see it, Blizzard has a cash cow to milk and they won't let something as small as the numbers on your character sheet stop them from milking it before it runs dry.

that being said, I do think we are seeing wow enter its senior years and Blizzard is well aware of it. It would require a massive overall to bring this game up to speed with all the new advances that have come up since it was first made. You would almost need to....make an entirely new mmo.
I think its the games age that is slowly killing it. Its graphics and gameplay are becoming dated, which doesn't mean the game is getting worse but it dose mean new gamers will be more likely to choose the new games with the shiny new graphics. And the game itself is starting to feel a little bloated. Level a charater 1-90 without hierlooms and you will know what I mean. Blizzard is aware of this though so we are starting to see them address that problem with faster leveling.
All in all I Don't I think this means this exspantion will fail or that the next year or so will birth a true wow-killer, stop the expansions and wipe out Azeroth. I think we still have a few more story arcs to finish before Blizzard passes the torch to a new game. Who knows, maybe wow will get a second wind? I think Blizz will give us expansions for as long as they can but I also have the feeling that they are secretly preparing to unleash the next MMO game on us and that's really exciting because if wow has given them nothing else, it has given them experience.
/end mindless babble.

[cowmuflage]

I don't get why'd they would put all the money and time into making updated character models for the last expack. Seems like it would be a waste to just make them for one expack and one expack only.

[Kintsugi]

I don't get why'd they would put all the money and time into making updated character models for the last expack. Seems like it would be a waste to just make them for one expack and one expack only.

That's probably the best argument against it being the last expansion

I don't want it to be the last though, so maybe that makes a bias in my thinking, but I don't see why they'd shoot a cash cow. It doesn't take that much to keep us playing, honestly. Give us something shiny and we're like cats.

[SylviaDragon]

I don't get why'd they would put all the money and time into making updated character models for the last expack. Seems like it would be a waste to just make them for one expack and one expack only.

That's probably the best argument against it being the last expansion

I don't want it to be the last though, so maybe that makes a bias in my thinking, but I don't see why they'd shoot a cash cow. It doesn't take that much to keep us playing, honestly. Give us something shiny and we're like cats.

this is so true. my guess is we have at least two more xpacks after WoD before they put ol' Bessy down. But if one of those xpacks dose really well and bring in a lot of new players it could extend the life of the game past that.
what I am wary of is the self-killing cycle of any game that lives off of new content. People get bored without new content and want a new xpack> xpacks cost money> the amount of money/quality/content that can be poured into an xpack depends on the money generated by the game> xpack doesn't do well and people get bored> bored people want a new xpack> xpack cost money. If people get bored with their shines before Blizz can crank out new shinnies then that's less money to work with and over time it just isn't worth it anymore.
but who knows. This is a more pessimistic view here and I hope it doesn't happen any time soon.

[Danielfboone]

There is no way WoD will be the last expansion. There are still many story lines that are unresolved or unexplored. I'm thinking there will be at least 2 more expansions after WoD. One of them will have to involve the Burning Legion.

[Lisaara]

There's also the fact they said they already had lots of expansions in the making for WoW still at this years Blizzcon.

[Rhyela]

What killed WoW for me personally was the watering down of the talent trees over time. I understand what they did with the new ones, taking "mandatory" old talents and making them passives, and letting you choose something fun instead. But only getting to do it every 15 levels is what kinda killed it for me. Even if those old talents were mandatory or boring, it still gave me the feeling of choice and having something to look forward to every level (original tree) or two (WotLK talent tree? Cata? something like that). I grant that having 91(?) talent points to spend would be...tedious. But still, make it every two, four or even five levels...but 15? (Keep in mind I love RIFT's talent trees where they are very involved; that's just my thing and I know I don't speak for everyone.)

I also don't like how quickly I leveled there near the end of my time of playing. With no heirloom gear and no guild xp boost, I was still out-leveling zones before I could finish their overall quest line. Again, I understand why they did it. Having to level from 1 - 90 at the old rate would be so mind-numbingly boring that I'd probably gouge my eyes out. But I personally feel it's a little too fast now, and I haven't even played MoP. It's probably even worse now (worse in my eyes, I mean - not speaking for everyone).

Aaaall that being said, I am actually a little intrigued by the WoD expansion. Stuff I've seen so far actually appeals to me. MoP didn't interest me one bit. But this comment of "going back to their roots" and the new character models.....I dunno. Not that character models themselves are going to bring me back, but what they've told us so far is a step in the right direction for me.

As far as after WoD, I don't feel that this is their last expansion. Their sub numbers have dropped but they're still making plenty of money. If they play their cards right, they might even bring jaded players (my hubby and me) back with WoD. If that happens, I can easily see there being another expansion or two, regardless of level cap. I, for one, am hopeful that WoD will give me some of what I've been missing about "the good ol' days" of WoW. *shakes cane*

[cowmuflage]

I don't get why'd they would put all the money and time into making updated character models for the last expack. Seems like it would be a waste to just make them for one expack and one expack only.

That's probably the best argument against it being the last expansion

I don't want it to be the last though, so maybe that makes a bias in my thinking, but I don't see why they'd shoot a cash cow. It doesn't take that much to keep us playing, honestly. Give us something shiny and we're like cats.

this is so true. my guess is we have at least two more xpacks after WoD before they put ol' Bessy down. But if one of those xpacks dose really well and bring in a lot of new players it could extend the life of the game past that.
what I am wary of is the self-killing cycle of any game that lives off of new content. People get bored without new content and want a new xpack> xpacks cost money> the amount of money/quality/content that can be poured into an xpack depends on the money generated by the game> xpack doesn't do well and people get bored> bored people want a new xpack> xpack cost money. If people get bored with their shines before Blizz can crank out new shinnies then that's less money to work with and over time it just isn't worth it anymore.
but who knows. This is a more pessimistic view here and I hope it doesn't happen any time soon.

I mean they still are the biggest MMO out there after all these years. Even while they have been looseing people the last few years they still have more subs then the other MMOs out there so I don't see them going away anytime soon. I mean why kill a huge cash cow?