There has been really a lot of speculation online about the new expac. The most thriving versions were:
- Azshara and South Seas
- Zul'Again (which may be part of the previous one, as in Pandaria)
- Council of Glades - Medivh/Sylvanas storyline
- Undead v.2 (Bolvar could become insane)
- Burning Legion with a new planet.
- Emerald Dream
A rational idea would be to expand Azeroth - as we know, the southern zones of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms are desert and jungle. This means that we only explored up to the equator, not the whole planet. And there is still at least half a globe to explore: which could give us 2 new continents, plus one in the middle, plus the Antarctic Northrend :)
Blizzard claims they listened carefully to the players, and those are the chances, if indeed they did:
- Azshara seems the most likely expac as people have been thirsty and speculating about it for a long, long time.
- A Lich King reboot would require us to return to Northrend, and that means drastic phasing and spoiling the entire continent. People like going back to old Northrend, they like old Northrend, and playing the same campaign vs Undead Scourge in the same place again would be ridiculous.
- Some sort of Sylvanas storyline - would be as artificial as making Garrosh a villain. The undead already had their villain. Sylvanas can't be an arch villain, that would mean a complete separation of the Undead from the Horde, so Undead players won't be happy. Besides, she is rational and busy attacking dwarven lands. The highlands of Arathi, Thandol Span and the Hinterlands are her next target - the least she wants right now is to break ties with the Horde, not the prospect of clashing with steamships, gryphon aviation and the vicious machinery of the gnomes - the entire might of Ironforge and Aerie Peak, not counting Dark Iron's underground marines. Ironforge is flourishing with all its might and has never been as strong as it is now. However, Sylvanas deserves its own side plot with the Windrunner family.
- Burning Legion could have been an option, but repeating the demonic routine right after the demonic invasion and the foul ending of Warlords would have been the worst. Now we're fighting the Legion's most prominent generals, so... Besides, people want to go back to Azeroth, not some other planet they have no interest in.
- Emerald Dream - absolutely not. As a safe, unchanged version of Azeroth, it would be the same return to the past as Draenor. Besides, when you enter the Emerald Dream while questing, it's like a green mist. It's not something you want to see throughout the expansion.
- Medivh/Gul'dan storyline - it might make some sense, but only along the lines of the previous ones.
I'm betting on the sea expansion and new lands in Azeroth.
