User:Strongside/World of Warcraft: Shadows of the Sea

NOTE!!!! This is not complete at this time!!!

Hello all. My name is Strongside, and this is my idea for World of Warcraft: Shadows of the Sea, a Great Sea based expansion. This would be the absolute BIGGEST expansion to World of Warcraft possible, and I could see it being second to last (last being the confrontation with the Burning Leigon to destroy their army permanently, which would leave a possibility for a Warcraft IV to continue the story of the war between the Alliance and Horde)

Feel free to use this material as you wish.

Lore
Deep into the war and waters of Azeroth, a new threat has been brewing. One of the remaining Old Gods has been building up strength in the Maelstrom, and if he rises again, all of Azeroth will be destroyed. Both factions have taken to the seas to stop the threat, with new allies, enemies, and monsters about to be discovered.

In this expansion, we will find a new level cap, a new type of mount, three new playable races, two new Hero Classes, a new profession, and a new battleground.

Level Cap Raised to 100
The current level cap will be raised to 100 (assuming this is after an Emerald Dream based expansion), which will offer a variety of new spells and talents, which will offer further character customization.

Non Playable Races
Both the Alliance and the Horde have allies within their numbers that do not have enough members to be playable. However, until now, they have not been well represented, only having one or two members here and there. This is no more, as these new non playable races will have larger roles in the society of both the Alliance and the Horde, having their own reputations and rewards to offer. All of these new races' reputations would appear under a new category known as "(Faction)'s Allies".

The Alliance

 * The Half-Elves, who, until now, have had little to no representation in game, at all. Now, they will begin to show up in Stormwind, Theramore, and Ironforge along with other NPCs. Their appearance is simmilar to a human's, accept they are thinner, and have short, pointed ears. All players, accept the Worgen, will start out friendly with them. They will offer a variety of endgame weapons, trinkets, and recipes.


 * The surviving High Elves with also have a larger influence in the Alliance's society. They will begin to show up in Stormwind and Ironforge. The Humans will start out friendly with them, everyone else being neutral. They will offer expert enchanting and inscription trainers, new weapons (mostly mage weapons), and will offer their carefully bred Elven Horses up as mounts. These horses will look simmilar to the Human bred horses, but will have elven armor, and are all solid colors.

The Horde

 * The Goblin cartel known as the Warweedle. They will begin to appear in all major Horde cities. Their expertise will offer new Engineering recipes, many new gadgets, and a Basalisk mount. They will start out friendly to all Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren, but neutral to the Naga, Forsaken, and Blood Elves, along with any Worgen who choose the Horde.


 * The Ogre Clan known as the Bone Breakers. They will begin to appear in all major horde cities. They will lend their expert skills in weapon crafting for the horde, and will also offer new trinkets and recipes. They would start off friendly with all Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren, but neutral to the Naga, Forsaken, and Blood Elves, along with any Worgen who choose the Horde.

New Hero Classes
For my idea for Shadows of the Sea, I thought that two Hero Classes would be kinda fun to have. These two are ideas that I really enjoyed, and would REALLY enjoy playing.

New Boat Mounts
A new type of mount will also be featured in Shadows of the Sea. These would basically be giant boats that your character would captain.

Basic Features
First off, there are many different types that you can buy, including...


 * Human Warship; 2-4 Decks; 2-6 sails
 * Night Elves Warships; 1-2 Decks; 1-5 sails
 * Dwarvish Battleship; 1-4 Decks; 3-5 sails
 * Forsaken Ghost Ship; 2-4 Decks; 2-6 sails
 * Orcish Warships; 1-3 Decks
 * Ogre Battleship; 1-4 Decks

Those are only some examples. Pick your ship type wisely, however. Each different type of ship will have pros and cons about it. For example, say you want a Human Warship. If it has 2 decks, it will be faster than one with 4 decks, even if both have 6 sails. Also, say you want a Forsaken Ghost Ship. This particular ship is probably the weakest of them all due to its years of wear and tear.

Now, each boat would be custom made for you, so you can customize many different cosmetic features about it, including how many decks it has, etc. All of this can be changed afterward for additional costs. You will also be able to name your ship, and change it later for a price.

Professions will also play a big feature in boat mounts. Professions will be given new items that will enhance your ship. Tailors will be able to make and sell sails (which can vary in color and quality). Blacksmiths will be able to forge new cannons to use and sell for their ships. Engineers will be able to make more exotic weapons (think a harpoon cannon). All professions will play a role in this. This could be used for coolness and intimidation - if you see an enemy player with 6 black sails, 3 decks of cannons, 1 deck of exotic weapons, and a cool name (ALL things I would do >:) ), you will probably steer clear.

New Battleground - The Wartorn Stretch
A new battleground, The Wartorn Stretch, will be featured in Shadows of the Sea. This battleground will mostly be based on siege warfare from boats. The entrance for both factions would be two very large ports in the middle of the sea (almost like Oil Rigs), who would be connected with a large fence-like barrier. These ports (Newland Port for the Alliance, and Oragrak's Station for the Horde) would offer vendors for supplies before entering the battleground.

Each team would have ten boats (not boat mounts) that the players would randomly start out on. These boats are commanded by NPCs, and are on set courses, but it is your job to use the siege weapons to take out the enemy's ships. You can also destroy an enemy ship by infiltrating it. You can swing over from the mast and crow's nest of your ships when boats are close enough, or simply swim over and climb on (though this is not advisable.) Your boats will also (slowly) regain health when players are on board.

The battleground itself would be composed of a large stretch of water with a few islands in between. The objective is to claim these islands for your faction (using the "The longer you hold, the more points you get" system from Arathi Basin) and eliminate the enemies boats. To do this, you must capture 2 of 3 flags on each island, and, as stated above, use siege weapons to destroy other boats. When an island is captured, a base is spawned on it, and there are cannons in these as well.

Players can also use their boat mounts in this battleground, offering new ways to fight each round. Though ALL the players could just use their boats the entire match, this is inadvisable. You will want to switch between the islands, the NPC boats (which will be distinguishable from Player Boats due to large icons above them), and their mounts. This is because that if your boats are destroyed, it will take longer to gain points to win the match, you will need players to take the flags on the islands to get the points in the first place, and you will need many boats out in the field combating   the enemies in the water.

If you die, you may choose where to respawn; either at any other your remaining ships, or the large, ever neutral island in the center of the map. You can have up to 50 people per faction in this battleground.