With over seventeen years of history,World of Warcraftis no stranger to expansion leaks. A week beforeCataclysmwas officially announced, theWorld of Warcraftcommunity was already aware of goblins, worgen, and the forever-altered face of Azeroth.Mists of Pandarialeaked when Blizzard filed for a trademark, though not many were willing to believe it was for aWorld of Warcraftexpansion at the time. Screenshots fromWarlords of Draenor’scinematic leaked a few days ahead of schedule.
Taking this into account, it’s not at all surprising thatWorld of Warcraftfans have a very clear idea of what the next expansion might entail, even if it hasn’t yet been announced by Blizzard Entertainment. According to the vast assortment of leaks and rumors that came out in the past few months, it is a common belief that the nextWorld of Warcraftexpansion is going to be set on the Dragon Isles, and a recent update to Dragonblight’s mini-map only further strengthens this idea.
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To cut straight to the point: while the mini-map for Dragonblight has indeed been recently updated, there have been no tangible changes to the location compared to a work-in-progress version uploaded to the game’s database as far back as 8.2 duringBattle for Azeroth. That being said, given that the mini-map for this version of Galakrond’s Rest has been regenerated, and comparing it with the previous leaks pertaining to a potential Dragon-themed expansion, there are a lot of coincidences at play.
The main differences this version of Dragonblight has over its predecessor (shown on the right) is that any Titan architecture has been scrubbed out, including the iconic Wyrmrest Temple overlooking the zone. Furthermore, the bones of Galakrond are missing, as well as the Ruby, Bronze, and Obsidian Dragonshrines.
The implications of these omissions point towards a fascinating possibility – a new Caverns of Time instance featuring the defeat of Galakrond by the primordial, early versions of the original Dragon Aspects: Ysera, Nozdormu, Malygos, Alextrasza, and Neltharion. For an expansion allegedly themed around dragons and their future, going back to the past to observe one of the most pivotal moments in their history would be agreat concept forWorld of Warcraftto tackle.
Given thepoor reception the ending ofShadowlandsreceived, as well as the fatigue the players have had overWorld of Warcraft’sfocus on its cosmic lore, scaling it all back for a simple expansion built around thwarting a resurrected Galakrond could be the breath of fresh airWorld of Warcraft’sstory sorely needs.
