This is it boys, the moment you have all been waiting for draws ever nearer. Gamescom is less then one day away, and it is now time for coming to terms with final predictions, looking towards what can potentially be the most exciting or devastating day of the year for us. It will all happen live for our enjoyment, and at the very least, it will come with what already appears to be an amazing cinematic.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can catch up here. The event is taking place live at Gamescom in the heart of Europe, but for those interested, you can watch and attend blizzard’s official screening at an actual theater.
Its known as the Theatre at Ace Hotel and that is a real picture of it! How nuts is that!
Might be a little over dramatic for an event like this, but regardless I know if I was there I would be fully enthused when the lights dimmed and the trailer began playing.
This is all set to start happening at the following already translated times:
6PM CEST – Cologne, France time.
5 PM GMT – United Kingdoms
12 Noon EST – East Coast USA
9 am PST – West Coast USA
So set your alarms! Unless you live on the West Coast, then you better just stay up all night. No way anyone is waking up for 9 am rofl…
Predictions:
So here we go. Since the Fourth of July, I have been making casual predictions based on events that were transpiring, and for once in my life I have been right the whole time. I only hope I can land the grand finale and accurately call these two final predictions. Before I officially make my statement, let’s recap what has gone into it, and discuss why it leads me to believe the answer is plain as day.
As of today (and this week in general) the initial raid testing will be complete. That is a VERY good sign, and after seeing every boss once, its likely the remainder of the testing will fly by, perhaps within 2-3 weeks total for everything else that remains, including Mythic. For those weary of my saying this, I can’t offer concrete proof, but am nearly 100 percent sure that this is the norm. If you remember the ToT PTR, we had the notorious FOUR heroic bosses tested in one day! This is just how it goes.
As of today we also receive our final “artcraft,” this time showing both troll female and male. This isn’t an article about that, but you can take a look more closely at the featured image to see just how they look. Regardless, this proves we are done with the most time extensive feature, and the remainder will be spent on the customization and fine tuning.
And finally, as of today sounds have begun entering the game in a big way. This latest build, albeit small, has added the WoD theme music for every zone and likely for raids as well. They are quite spectacular if you are interested in that sort of thing, but the point is that this too is a HUGE sign pointing my way. The voice acting should come towards the end, but usually when you know the music is finished, the game is not far behind. Many people neglect this, but its easy to tell when a game spends a lot of time on music, and Blizzard clearly does, making this a staple feature to arrive as late as possible in every beta test.
So, the time has come to set on paper final predictions. Let’s do this!
Cinematic Prediction:
When they reveal the trailer at gamescom, we will learn that the mountain featured above is the Throne of Kil’jaeden. This is the ancestral home to the corruption of the Orcs, and as alluded to in the recent webcomic, Garrosh plans to unite the tribes there. Grom will have the action here, and it will be epic. Expect to see Teron Gore and Gul’dan imprisoned and maybe shots of the nearby Portal. This takes place in Tanaan, and may likely be a major spot come 6.1’s Tanaan release.
As a final point, I’m going to say this one will finally be the trump of the LK cinematic for me. Wrath’s opener was breathtaking because its audio. It was so emotionally charged hearing Arthas’s own father, whom he had betrayed with his own hands, talk to him about ruling and success in doing so. Top this off with some amazing elvish singing and music, and you have an instant classic. This time, however, it won’t take petty tricks and double-meaning speeches. The Warlords of Draenor cinematic will be absolutely brutal, and in grand fashion. It will win me over with it’s visual prowess and likely rhythmic drums pounding. In the end, everyone will remember why this expansion is glorious and the release date to follow will be that much sweeter.
Release Date Prediction:
I am firmly sticking with October 14th. There have been many reasons this is so concrete to me, but the most important one is that its a trend for them. Blizzard does things nearly identically each time. Sure, this beta and “alpha” system was much different, but in the end, we were able to accurately predict them crushing Wildstar with it’s release, and we will be even more accurate in saying they wouldn’t be flying all the way to France to announce something thats happening 4 months from now. For the record, October 14th makes September 14th a very valid 6.0 release date, maybe even sooner. This leaves 4 full weeks for 6.0 PTR, and even that seems way too much. I think, with this announcement, we will also find out that 6.0 ptr starts the same day, and expect it to be less then 2-3 full weeks testable. The official claim was that the game will be live 4-6 weeks after 6.0 deploys, so we may be less then 3 weeks from Mythic!
Either way, I couldn’t be more excited. I’ll be writing an article tomorrow as well discussing the exact information, and likely crossover between Hearthstone and Heroes of the storm, so stay tuned. Even if we get a disapointing release date, I have this unshakable feeling that the cinematic is going to change my life for the better. After looking at that image you can already see hundreds of orcs, and these are household names. Imagine seeing Saurfang and Eetrig standing next to Grom and Kargath. How absolutely LEGENDARY is it to not only relive these stories, but see them in stunning cinematography.
Tomorrow is the day. Enjoy this last night of peace and quiet in MoP. Because once WoD and 6.0 are announced at gamescom, everything will change.
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