"Worked for Blizzard, here is 9.0"
Why?
Took the pay cut and instantly started looking for another job. Now that I am set I'm telling everyone everything.
9.0
After the conclusion of the final patch of BFA, Horde and Alliance will join as one.
If you desire to play your old characters (BE, NE, Human, Dwarf, Orc, etc) you will log into the Chamber of Heart where you and magni where trapped in stasis for 15 years.
You will be level 30 if you were level 120 in BFA. There is a chart that basically showed what level you would be if you were in X level range.
Max level will be 60 with a full old world revamp with Northrend being planned for one of the major patches.
Cataclysm helped develop many tools that made the revamp much easier. The bigger team helped a great deal as well compared to what was had during Cata.
Every old race will be under one faction now with a majority of cities being destroyed or taken over by the new faction who follow under Xal'atath.
Xal'atath is not who you guys think it is. Its apparently far worse. Literally remember someone explaining that to us. "Soo much worse". Those who follow under her need to discover who they are in the world and what they value.
Alot of the names of characters and the three new races for each faction have been kept hush hush until we get closer to Blizzcon, especially with how low moral was around there.
I dont know which races of the old factions will be able to pick to be on the other side, but at least two will be allowed to switch from what I understand. Personally feel like this is so they dont have to make so many new races for the new faction. Your choices with Sylvanas for example and upcoming alliance 8.3 choices are supposed to hint at this possibility.
All of Northrend and a majority of Kalimdor is taken over by Xal'ataths forces with a little bit of Eastern Kindoms taken. Azeroths forces will have a small part of Kalimdor. Northrend will come later and I assume the Lich King will come into play as well.
Smolderon is not doing so good. Revival of Ragnaros is complete during the 15 years skip. Xal'atath is trying to escape the light and the void. There will be a heavy Elemental, Void, and Death theme in 1-60 leveling in each zone. Everything is like this, some zones will have simple adventures that lead into other zones that have these themes. Classic wow was really looked at and the adventures that people had back then is what inspired a majority of the development.
They are looking at giving a reason for players to play the new faction sooner so that there will be some sort of balance.
Free faction / guild faction changes at the start and a possibility of switching factions to the new one with a quest have been talked about. As far as I know nothing is set in stone yet.
Never seen the team pour more into an expansion as much as they have with this one. 10.0 was delayed more than any other expansion in recent times because so much work has been put into 9.0 that it delayed it. They expect it to last longer than any other expansion and Northrend is supposed to be a mini expansion as well.
