User:Jormungand01/Return of the Queen

The Lich King has once again been defeated and what remains of the Scourge has beem scattered across Northrend and Lordaeron ready to be picked off. However a new threat has risen to take its place. The cursed Naga led by their ancient queen Azshara have risen from beneath the waves and launched a massive invasion of the surface lands.

Basic Information

 * New continent: The Great Sea


 * Level range: 78-90


 * New professions: Woodcutting, Carpentry and Sailing


 * Enemies: Naga, trolls, pirates

New Neutral Race - Naga
Not all the naga were once Highborne. A fair number of them were ordinary Night Elves, whether palace guards or citizens who managed to hide from the Burning Legion. After the Sundering sent them to the bottom of the sea they became caught up in the spell that transformed kaldorei into naga. When they encountered the Highborne survivors, they fought back fiercely being bent on revenge now that the Well had gone, but they were defeated and enslaved. For ten thousand years they stuggled through a life of slavery, their morale destroyed by their overseers sport of hunting their children. And it would have remained so if it were not for the timely arrival of Malfurion Stormrage in the dreams of Foreman Venomscale.

Venomscale was one of the slaves who had demonstrated an uncommon skill for his work and so had been promoted to watch over groups of his comrades. When Malfurion, who also happened to be a distant cousin, contacted him, he began to make plans for his people's escape from Nazjatar. With the aid of a Highborne sympathiser he managed to distract the guards for long enough to open the cell doors and get most of the slaves out. Settling in the reefs around one of the Broken Isles, they evaded detection for long enough to build up an army and defend themselves.

By that time Malfurion had contacted Venomscale again and several emissaries had been exchanged between the Bloodtorn Naga and the Kaldorei. Under their influence Venomscale and most of his friends and family turned to druidism, and they tried to persuade the others to follow. However many of the elders had known nothing but the arcane for over ten thousand years and so were unwilling to change their ways. They managed to travel to Quel'thalas and speak with the Blood Elves, resulting in two factions threatening to tear the fragile nation apart.

To make matters worse, their oppressors have now caught up with them and desire nothing more than to kill every last Bloodtorn. Then there are the native jungle trolls, who fight to defend their villages. And advancing from the other side are the armies of Mak'aru, who have seized the initiative of trying to destroy the naga while they are divided.

Information
Home City: Azjani

Starting Zone: Lagoon of Renunciation

1-10 Zone: Nal'duna Isle

10-20 Zone: Bulwark Reef

Naga are neutral. That means that they can choose early on which faction to join. Prior to the decision, they are unfriendly with both Alliance and Horde, meaning that while they are not restricted to their home islands they cannot interact with either players or NPC's of the two factions. Once they choose they receive a big rep boost sending them to neutral with one and hated with the other. They also learn the main language of their chosen faction.

There is a boat to Auberdine and a zeppelin to Undercity. These are located on the beach, just outside the cavern that houses Azjani. The NPC's here are faction aligned, discouraging Alliance players from hopping on the zeppelin to raid Undercity, and vice versa.

Classes: Mage, Druid, Priest, Hunter, Warrior, Rogue

New Neutral Race - Goblins
Goblins do not care about petty skirmishes between the Alliance and the Horde. If anything, they encourage them, since war is one of the most profitable things that can happen to a merchant. During the Second War the Steamwheedle Cartel worked exclusively with the Horde, but after it was defeated they decided they could make more money by playing both factions against each other.

The one problem with this sort of work is that any goblin who works as a mercenary for one will very often find themselves rejected by the other on the grounds that they are untrustworthy. This means that increasing numbers of goblins are being forced to side with one or the other, causing Undermine to become increasingly polarised.

Information
Home City: Undermine

Starting: Mount Kajaro

1-10 Zone: South Kezan

10-20 Zone: North Kezan

As with the naga, goblins are neutral. They can get a zeppelin to Orgrimmar or a boat to Menethil from Bilgewater Port on the north coast of Kezan. They also have goblin-only boat routes to Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris and Booty Bay in Stranglethorn.

New Hero Class - Privateer
Officially the Alliance and Horde have both taken a tough stance against piracy. Unofficially however, they have seen the benefits of employing certain trustworthy pirates to strike against the enemy without starting open warfare. These privateers often form small bands which roam the lands striking against the enemy and pillaging the towns - but always knowing that if they are caught their employer will deny all knowledge of their existance.

Class Abilities
Privateers not only have supreme skill with handling all manner of boats and ships, but they are also deadly when it comes to melee combat.

Players can unlock a Privateer when they reach level 70.

New Continent - The Great Sea
The Great Sea is a vast expanse of water stretching all the way from Kalimdor to the Eastern Kingdoms. It is dotted with numerous islands such as Kezan, the Darkspears and the Broken Isles, as well as the monstrous Maelstrom which marks the spot of the ancient Well of Eternity.

Zuldazar
After the goblin and naga cities of Undermine and Azjani, Zuldazar on the island of Zandalar is the third neutral city to be introduced in the expansion. But unlike the other two, which serve merely as racial capitals, Zuldazar is the major quest hub and sanctuary for the Great Sea, similar to Shattrath and Dalaran. Although it is traditionally a troll-only city with very few outsiders allowed in, the ruling Zandalar tribe, after witnessing the successes of adventurers against the Gurubashi, Amani and Drakkari empires has agreed to make a select few of the other races honourary tribe members. If they can pass one final trial...

Zuldazar is similar to other sanctuary cities. There are several factions that can be allied with, in this case the three troll empires. However since you have likely already slaughtered many of them during your journeys across Azeroth you will start at and must work to improve relations before they will accept you. There is also the Zandalar tribe, which is the faction in charge like the Kirin Tor or Sha'tar. The city has several banks and inns, but no auction house. It has portals to all the other cities.

Player Owned Boats
Thanks to the massive distances involved when navigating the Great Sea, the only way to travel between island clusters will be by boat or zeppelin. The practical issues in adding all those extra docks will be enormous, so instead the Player Owned Boat will be introduced. At selected ports and zeppelin towers an extra dock will be added, which has an instance portal at the end. Once on the boat the owner can steer it anywhere they like that is on a sea or major body of water, and leave the boat when they like (although they must visit a dock to reboard). By getting cannons from Engineers they can also engage in combat with the enemy. If the owner is in a party with players who do not own a boat those others can board it as well.

At level 78 players can start a quest which will give them the Sailing skill, required to use a boat. The boat itself can be either crafted by Carpenters or bought for 1000 gold, and once acquired its "key" must be in the inventory when entering the portal.

Going through the portal will send the player into the Great Sea "instance". Once there they can either control the boat themselves or assign a crew member NPC to steer it to a particular location. They can go anywhere and leave the ship anywhere within the Great Sea, but can only reboard at a port town. They can even sail the ship all the way across the sea to another continent, and there go through another portal back onto solid ground.

Mounts
Flying mounts will be allowed, but since a lot of the expansion is water-based they will not often be used. Instead the Aquatic Mount will be introduced. This gives a 150% swim speed increase, underwater breathing and slows the effects of fatigue.

Tol Barad
Razed to the ground by the Horde during the Second War, Tol Barad is now the site of a prison holding many of the most dangerous magicians in Azeroth. The Dalaran mages who run the place have recently discovered that a number of prisioners have escaped through a tunnel, and are employing adventurers to bring the criminals to justice.

Sargeras's Tomb
Once holding the body of the Dark Titan Sargeras the ancient Kaldorei city of Suramar is now home to a swarm of angry demons. Rumour has it that they are guarding something...

Nazjatar
Built upon the remains of Zin'Azshari, the Naga capital of Nazjatar is one of the most inaccesable places in the world of Azeroth. Not only is it situated far down on the abyssal plain, the entrance from the surface happens to be within the heart of the Maelstrom. Any ship which ventures too close is smashed apart by the terrible winds and the survivors are swiftly killed by Naga sentinels.

However there is nothing to stop access from underwater. From a nearby island the Night Elves are launching a submarine to try and put an end to this menace once and for all. The city itself is inside a great bubble mantained by Naga magic, and is divided into four wings - the Barracks, the Mur'gul Pens, the Mages Academy and the Royal Quarters.

Halls of the Tidehunter
This is where Neptulon bases his operations from, on the east side of the Eye. He and Azshara currently tolerate one anothers presence so long as they have the same goal in mind, but Neptulon makes clear that there is no alliance between them. The halls are guarded by three massive kraken who swim constantly around them and several armies of water elementals fill the cavernous insides, all of which must be defeated before the Tidehunter himself will come forth.

Caverns of Time - Betrayal of the Earth-warder
As the name suggests, this raid is set ten thousand years ago in the War of the Ancients, during that catastrophic battle in which Neltharion, Aspect of the Earth, gave in to the corruption in his mind and turned against the other dragonflights. After decimating the blues and sending the others fleeing from the battlefield, he turned the power of the Dragon Soul against demon and night elf alike, slaughtering thousands. On that day the fires within him broke out and as he transformed he took a new name: Deathwing.

This major event has become the next target of the Infinite Dragonflight. One of their agents has been dispatched to steal the Dragon Soul from Neltharion shortly prior to the battle. Without its power even if he reveals his madness he will have no way to stop the other dragons from subduing him before he can cause any harm. Without it Deathwing will fall on the very day that he was unleashed, and a great and terrible evil will be removed from history forever.

As much as the Bronze Dragonflight would like to allow this to pass, they can see the alterations in the timeline that this would cause and have concluded that an alternative history would likely be even worse. To attain the relative peace in the world of Azeroth today the mortal races have overcome tremendous odds: odds that are very unlikely to crop up again. Being almost certain that an alternative Azeroth would be worse than the existing one, even without Deathwing, the bronze's have been forced to keep history as it should have been and send yet more adventurers to the distant past.

Phase 1
Players start off in the night elven camp near the battlefield. The night elven army is preparing to march to the front line. You must go with them and fight the Burning Legion to give the elves enough time. At this stage it is mostly non-elite trash mobs, although the sheer numbers of them can make the encounter very difficult. They mostly consist of Felguard, Felhounds and Doomguard.There is also the occasional eredar warlock, who must be taken down quickly due to the tremendous DPS he can do, and some necromantic Dreadlords who will raise the dead, both night elf and demon, and send them attacking you. After killing 100 demons the first boss appears, in the form of a mighty Pit Lord.

Phase 2
Once he is down you leave the defenders and ride on the back of a bronze wyrm to Neltharion's Lair. After landing you come under attack by a number of black dragons who are trying to stop you from discovering the Earthwarders dark secret. They must be fought off, but a few manage to escape and raise the alarm. You have no choice but to hide in the caverns. The dragon who took you there is unable to come in, as his draconic magic would surely be detected, but he promises to wait outside for the journey back and keep watch.

Phase 3
After fighting your way through more black dragonspawn, you come upon the black Aspect himself. However the Infinites have managed to freeze him in time and are attempting to steal the Dragon Soul out of his grasp. You attack them to stop them from accomplishing their task, but ultimately one succeeds. Before leaving he uses the power of the Soul to stop you from escaping the cavern, then unfreezes Neltharion so that he will finish you off. Neltharion immediately suspects you of stealing his precious Dragon Soul, and unleashes a flood of lava to kill you painfully so that he might retrieve it. However, thanks to an artifact given to you by Rhonin back at the night elf army, you manage to survive by creating a bubble around the raid, and then create a portal to get out.

Phase 4
You reunite with the bronze wyrm, who gives chase to the fleeing infinite dragon. Eventually you manage to catch up with him, and while the two dragons do battle you must find a way to retrieve the Soul before the infinite becomes desperate enough to use it. He will use it once reaching 30% health, completely obliterating the raid and dragon, which gives you about 2 minutes to find it. The Soul is gripped in his claws, so the only way to get it is to jump, spam right click on it and hope for the best. If someone manages to get it the bronze dragon will swoop down and catch you. If not you fall to your deaths. Once it is retrieved you can use it against the infinite dragon to defeat it.

Phase 5
Fly back to Neltharion, who becomes friendly once he realises that you have destroyed the thief and returned the Dragon Soul to its rightful owner (himself). He quickly leaves to meet the other Aspects, bringing with him all his dragons. Now you just have to deal with the black dragonspawn, seeking revenge for those of their kin whom you slew when you first came. Without their master to restrain them, they attack you. After fighting your way out of the caverns you return to the bronze dragon once again, who returns you to the night elven camp.

Phase 6
Back to the front lines again, in an encounter similar to the first one. But this time the demons are on the offensive and the night elves are struggling to hold them back. You must aid the defenders, making sure that Rhonin, Broxigar, Krasus, Malfurion, Illidan, Tyrande, Jarod and Lord Ravencrest all survive. This will likely require the raid to split up, with a few protecting each of these key members of the resistance. The line must hold for five minutes, and after this the dragons turn up. All fighting stops as demons and night elves alike watch the five dragonflights prepare the Dragon Soul. Neltharion turns it against the demons, then the other dragons, and finally the night elves, causing massive casualties among all three groups. But as a small reward for you returning his Soul to him he lets you live... for now.

Then he departs, leaving you to sift through the ruins of the army in search of any valuable loot.

After this, congratulations! You have managed to bring a great evil to Azeroth, but in the process stopped an even greater one. So in the end that has got to be a good thing. You return to the Caverns of Time, where the Bronze Dragonflight praises you for your efforts and showers you with rewards.

Bloodsail Hold
Here on the island of Hiji is where Duke Falrevre holds his court. The Bloodsail Buccaneers have long been interested in capturing Booty Bay from the Blackwater Raiders, so it is only natural that Baron Revilgaz wants to strike back...

Woodcutting
Similar to other Gathering professions, woodcutting allows the player to harvest wood from special trees. They can be found all over Azeroth, from softwoods like pine in starting zones to hardwoods such as oak or mahogany in the higher level ones, and eventually the very rare types which are not found IRL at maximum skill. As expected, these trees are more commonly found in forested areas, with few if any in deserts and plains. The logs gathered can be used for lighting fires. The trees also have a small chance to yield herbs as well, and can be tracked by the ability "Track Herbs". Woodcutting requires a lumber axe to use.

Carpentry
Carpenters take the wood gathered from woodcutting and assemble it into finished products. These can range from staves and bows to full-sized ships, as used in sailing. Using a saw they can divide logs into several separate planks, and it is these which are used as raw materials for the majority of products. Alternatively the logs can be carved into figurines, which offer various buffs. Some higher level recipes require "crafted woods", which can only be made by a carpenter by joining several planks of different kinds together.

Super Battleground - Ruins of Kul Tiras
The seafaring nation of Kul Tiras has finally fallen to invaders. Not long ago a small Scourge contingent landed on the northern coast, and though they were quickly vanquished they managed to spread their plague. Before long that whole region of the isle had been contaminated, and the only reason it didn't spread to the rest was a quarantine imposed by the Kul Tiras army and navy.

Now that the undead there have regained free will they have joined the Forsaken and tried the best they can to settle down and make the most of their new unlife. Unfortunately the few remaining living humans want to reclaim the land and cleanse it of the undead taint, and so have started attacking the new settlements. The Forsaken have called for reinforcements from the Horde, while Stormwind has proved a valuable ally for the living, resulting in a stalemate broken occasionally by the odd skirmish.

Starting out from either Boralus or New Andorhal, you must fight to destroy the opposition and take over their land. As this battleground is particularly large there are a number of stages involved, ranging from blasting away at fortifications with your siege weapons to assassinating a commanding officer and capturing vital resources. Taking at least as long as a major raid instance to complete, Kul Tiras is only really for the true masters of PvP, but the rewards are great for those who prevail.

World PvP - Naval Combat
Naval combat is introduced in this expansion. Think siege weapons on water. Then add in factors like wind speed, currents, the constant movement caused by waves, and the fact that if you sink you're stuck in the middle of open ocean with fatigue slowly counting down. Fortunately you're not limited to blasting away at one another with cannons - by getting some grappling hooks you can draw alongside the enemy and attempt to board them, engaging in traditional melee fighting. You can even pick up survivors from sunken ships and use the timber from them to repair damage.

A small patch of sea in between the Broken Isles are one of the main focuses of naval combat, since all the towns in them are capturable, so if you want to quest there or do instances it's best to try and capture them first. And one of the best ways of doing that is by using ships to blockade them, stopping anyone going in or out until the enemy get fed up and surrender. The nearest graveyard is about a thousand yards away on a lump of rock in the middle of ocean, meaning the only way dead players can get back is by ship, and that means getting past the blockade. So by holding your own against an opposition fleet you've made a good start towards capturing the Broken Isles.

More Ideas
Great Sea expansion ideas