World of Warcraft 4th Expansion? What’s Next After Cataclysm?

Azeroth has been shattered and World of Warcraft is now under the mercy of Deathwing. But for alot of players and diehard fans out there, Deathwing's message of the end is just a build up for a bigger, much epic expansion.

As much as we want to focus on playing WOW: Cataclysm, grind through quests in Mount Hyjal or Uldum, get achievements and rare mounts, continuously queue for Heroic Dungeons, and ultimately defeat Deathwing’s pawns and the Aspect of Death himself, alot of us are already wondering who or what the champions will be facing 2 years from now.

It’s a pretty funny thing thinking about what’s next way before finishing what you’ve just started. But here are some pretty great and valid ideas from fans like you who have participated and trolled around various forums.

See the could-be expansions after the break!

World of Warcraft: Emerald Dream

Eversince Vanilla WOW, the Emerald Dream has always been a viable and plausible storyline to follow thanks to the hints Blizzard has been planting in WoW:Classic, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and even here in Cataclysm. Even though Malfurion has ultimately defeated Xavius and ‘restored’ the Emerald Dream to its pure state, corruption still looms as the nightmare rages on.

Is it a viable choice? Most likely. By the way things are going, the great dragon aspects are falling slowly into corruption one by one. First there was Malygos who blindly waged war against all mortal magic casters in the planet and threatened to keep all the magic to himself, his dragonflight, and a number of his loyal followers. And now we have Deathwing, another dragon aspect, who fell to the whisperings of the Old Gods and succumbed to the lust of power. He’s now flying around Azeroth burning everything in sight.

With Malygos and (soon) Deathwing gone, it won’t be a far-off prediction that another dragon aspect may get corrupted soon. Ysera fell to corruption as we’ve seen in Wrath of the Lich King. Maybe the Old Gods will go all the way with her and make her corrupt all life in Azeroth.

World of Warcraft: The Infinites

We’ve heard them before in Wrath of the Lich King, particularly while we’re following Nozdormu and Chromie in Dragonblight and The Culling of Stratholme. Will it be possible that we get a whole expansion instead of another side story? Like what we’ve mentioned above, the dragon aspects are vulnerable against the whisperings of the Old Gods except for Alexstrasza (God if she ever gets corrupted, we’re so doomed).

We’ve learned from the past that the Old Gods are capable of intervening Nozdormu’s reign over time itself. And with speculations that the great Bronze Dragon Aspect himself is the leader of the rogue Infinite Dragonflight, could this mean that Aman’thul’s champion has fallen to the old masters of the planet in an attempt to live forever? Either way, time and ultimately Azeroth will be in much discord beyond mortal comprehension should this happen.

World of Warcraft: The Old Gods

We’ve heard of them since the original World of Warcraft. We’ve seen C’thun, Yogg-Saron, and N’zoth. With only one, two or even more left in Azeroth (that is to assume all of the previous Old Gods die), and with the Twilight Cult taking the stage as they wreck havoc over the mortal races of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms And Cataclysm seems to have a very vivid connection with the Old Gods, will it be a matter of time until the Old Gods themselves reveal their horrific faces and made known to the denizens of the planet who’s the real ruler of Azeroth?

World of Warcraft: The Burning Legion

It’s been a while since we’ve last heard of Sargeras and his relentless army of demons. Burning Crusade only touched the surface of the mighty Burning Legion as the expansion focused more on the denizens of Outland and how they were corrupted by the Legion plus the crazy misadventures of Illidan and his posse. Perhaps it’s high time for the fallen titan and his creatures from the Twisting Nether to finally finish what they’ve started in Azeroth.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Hogger

He’s terrorized Elwynn Forest, and he returned in Cataclysm as Heroic: Stockades’ last boss. Will it be a matter of time before Hogger and his infinite number of Gnoll minions plot to take over Azeroth and defeat any champion who dares to stop them?!

What do YOU think will next expansion’s main storyline revolve on? Are we going to see a direct intervention from the Titans and see them in all of their glory? Will we finally witness a Titans vs Old Gods brawlfest that we’ve waited since forever? Or are we gonna see Varian Wrynn duel Garrosh to the death in an expansion that will utterly destroy either the Alliance or the Horde?