Oops, they did it again! BlizzConline's Opening Ceremony is just a few hours away but the name of the new expansion, alongside some other details, got leaked via the Play Store. Thanks to /u/puskasm on reddit for the initial tip.
Thanks to the leak we now know that the new expansion will be called Forged in the Barrens. The Mega Bundle coming along the expansion will include a new Druid hero portrait, and as teased a week ago by Iksar, we will be getting the first Tauren Hearthstone hero with Hamuul Runetotem!
Based on the leaked image, the Mega Bundle is likely to include:
- 80 Forged in the Barrens packs
- 5 Golden Forged in the Barrens packs
- Battlegrounds perks
- Hamuul Runetotem Druid Hero Portrait
- 2 random Golden Legendaries
- An exclusive cardback
Tidbits of Lore
For those who are not familiar with WoW lore, Hamuul Runetotem is the Archdruid of the Tauren capital city of Thunder Bluff as well as the highest-ranked Tauren in the Cenarion Circle.
Hamuul had a strong bond with High Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof, and after the latter got murdered by Magatha Grimtotem, Hamuul continued his role as an advisor to Cairne's son Baine Bloodhoof, the new High Chieftain, as well as continuing to teach young druids.
This is definitely good material for our loremaster Goliath, so expect a complete guide very soon!
Other Leaked Info
Alongside the pre-order details, the leak also contained an image of a special a commemorative card back for the 30th anniversary of Blizzard. We're still missing the details on how to obtain it, but it would appear to be free for everyone! The Lunar New Year card back will also be returning to the in-game shop for a limited time.
Comments
Yes! A hero portrait I don't care about, now I can avoid the bundle with all the ore I have.
Hahaha same! I FEEL FREE!
I am a bit disappointed. I kind of hoped for a water-themed expansion which is overdue in my opinion. But ok lets give it a chance.
"Forged in the Barrens"-- so, a reference to the fact that so many Horde lowbies spend a lot of leveling time in the Barrens.
Parallelism would seem to demand that the expansion to follow would center on an Alliance lowbie zone. The rough equivalents of the Barrens would be Westfall, or Loch Modan, or Darkshore. None of those can really match the Barrens, for several reasons.
-The Barrens has content for a huge level range. You get quests there as early as level 10 and there are still some in the low to mid 20s. The Alliance equivalents burn out by the high teens.
-The Barrens concentrates players; the Alliance zones divide them. Of the four Alliance starting races, two go to Loch Modan, one to Darkshore, one to Westfall. For the Horde, three get sent to the Barrens.
-Because of the first two points, population in the Barrens is far higher than in any equivalent zone, increasing the amount of chatter and so the phenomenon of shared experience.
I'm not saying the expansion after this won't be "Tour through an Alliance lowbie zone"... just that it seems less likely because of how singular the Barrens are.
The Alliance equivalent to the Barrens is Goldshire. For very different reasons, although they're about equal on the meme scale.
Preorder cardback and blizzard aiversary one are really nice.
Dont really care about hamuul though perosnaly, but hey cool is fnnaly a tauren hero. Still waiting for rogue though.
Still hoping for a Tauren Rogue hero, but, of course, nobody’s ever seen one. They’re just that good
That card back is absolutely gorgeous. I hope it's not added to one of the Blizzcon bundles retroactively (although maybe that gives me an excuse to pick up the Tracer mount for HotS).
That 30th Anniversary card back is badas
So, that anniversary card back.... Year of the Lion? Year of the Cat?
..hmmm.....
Lion is sick. As long as we don't get Year of the Quillboar I'm fine though
I figured it was a Barrens themed expansion. Quillboars/RFK alone wouldn't be enough content.
The real question is, will there be a card that references Barrens Chat, Mankirk's Wife, and Chuck Norris jokes? :)
"Chatty Adventurer" with a ton of voicelines would be amazing.
It could be something akin to Transfer Student. That would be cool.