Shadowlands Predictions Pt 1: The Great Vault, patch 9.1, our 2nd Legendary, and the Real Villains of SL.

This post is a content gamble. Either I provide the world a new means of bashing my stupid ideas or am proven a reliable source of speculation for future content. As the title says, in this post we’ll talk about some likely problems with the upcoming great vault (unrelated to my previous complaints about it), when I think 9.1 will release, when we’ll get a end legendary to equip and who the real villains of the expansion are.

I Got 99 Problems and They’re All the Great Vault:

People are expecting the great vault to fix (or at least significantly improve) the bad RNG feels of the previous disappointment box. While, overall, it seems to me that best case scenario it’ll end up mostly the same as it was previously, I do expect some of these likely issues:

• Giving duplicate loot options (particularly if you have more than one item level of option)
• Not awarding the correct amount of options – likely less, but maybe more as well.
• Loot pools being somehow amiss – Now that there’s 3 difference sources of content to get loot chances with 3 different loot pools, I expect shenanigans.

After a week or two or five this should ease up, but give Blizzard systems with more than one interaction and strange things happen.

9.1 Release Date Speculation:

Legion’s 7.1 was only 4 months after launch. BFA’s 8.1 was around 5 months after launch. Also, this years online Blizzcon thing will be February 19th and will likely serve as the announcement date for 9.1. 4 and 5 months after SL launch would be March and April, respectively. I’m guessing an early April launch for 9.1, because I don’t think the new patch will come out only a couple of weeks after Blizzcon.

2nd Leggo? When and Why?:

So, this is pure speculation. I don’t think Blizzard has said anything about this… however… this seems like a 9.2 trick. A way to generate more hype late in the expansion. I’m calling a 2nd legendary that we can equip in 9.2. Get ready for extra broken powers that we will lose in 10.0.

The Baddies in Blue:

There could be spoilers here if you haven’t played Shadowlands at all yet.

To get straight to it, the Kyrians are definitely bad guys. Now, each individual one bad? Probably not, but there is certainly some extra dark bad stuff going on. The faction cinematic showed them ignoring weapons of the maw/Jailer being out in the mortal world… a lack of concern or intentionally letting it happen.

To me though, the really big thing that triggered this idea is the Runecarver, the maker of our legendary gear. A big part of the legendary loop is recovering his memories. Now… who is big on the removal of memories? Kyrians. It seems likely that the covenant obsessed with eliminating memories is responsible for the major lore character who doesn’t have any left… BUT… he’s in the maw, in Torghast. So… a victim of Kyrian mind magic in the maw. Suspect.