Plot Design for the Expansion

Inside a magnificent palace, rows of desks and sofas were surrounded by dozens of people. These people were clearly divided into two groups: one group sat at the desks writing and drawing, seemingly conceiving something, while the other group sat on the sofas in the rest area, chatting with each other, or playing a book or a game console idly.

Above the palace hung a monitor displaying the message: "[27 days until expansion launch.]"

This is a floor in the virtual office building of a game company, and the people here are either bosses and heroes who will play very important roles in the expansion pack, or game writers responsible for writing the expansion pack scripts.

There are more than 20 people involved in writing the game's scripts. Many of them are famous online novelists, while others are dedicated employees who will be responsible for writing the entire expansion pack's storyline.

Xiao Yu was sitting on the sofa in the rest area, watching the copywriters work across from him. He felt rather bored. His job here mainly involved answering questions from the copywriters. Most of the time, he could only sit there idly, or chat with the other BOSS heroes.

But there's nothing I can do; I signed the contract myself, and if I want to make money, I have to obey the call.

"Hey, Captain, what kind of storyline do you think they'll come up with for us?" Leah Bloodmoon whispered beside her.

"Who knows? We'll just act however they arrange it."

As the two were talking, a man in his thirties wearing black-rimmed glasses walked over, carrying a notebook.

"Mr. Xiao, I have a few more questions to ask you. Is this a convenient time?" the man said as he sat down on the sofa opposite Xiao Yu.

"Of course, feel free to ask."

The man picked up the pen. "Who's in charge of your territory on the Lost Island now?"

"Water Elemental Lord Wotkud."

"Hmm, are there any Naga on the island?"

"There are some, but not many. I still have a Naga boss under my command."

"Hmm, what about the Throne of the Elements? Did you leave any troops to defend it?"

"I sent High Elementalist Leah Bloodmoon to lead the Dark Shaman to guard that place. Leah Bloodmoon is the one sitting over there."

"I understand," the man said, then walked away and picked up a notebook to write and draw.

This man is Xiao Yu's direct copywriter, named Zhang Xinghun, pen name Zang Xinghun, a famous online writer and the lead writer responsible for writing the expansion pack's storyline.

While in previous versions, players enjoyed absolute freedom, able to do whatever they wanted with heroes and bosses, their success or failure entirely dependent on individual skill, now that the final boss of the expansion is here, they can no longer act so freely.

First, you can't die easily; you have to survive until the end of the expansion before you can be defeated. Second, you can't do anything reckless. As the final boss, you have to do things that are befitting your status. Even if you do bad things, they have to be earth-shattering. If you just go around stealing pumpkins or destroying villages, that's not in line with your boss image at all.

Therefore, a certain level of plot planning is essential, and that's Zhang Xinghun's job.

"Alright, I've roughly finished designing the main storyline for the expansion." Zhang Xinghun suddenly tapped the table and said loudly to everyone.

This immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"My current storyline design is as follows: this expansion will be divided into four phases, and the storyline will unfold according to these four phases."

The first phase, Sky World 2.1, I call it the Elemental Tide, or you could call it the Eve of Doom.

During this phase, a major storyline event called the Elemental Tide will occur, serving as a prelude to the expansion. This event involves the Azathoth, Elemental King leading his elemental army in a massive invasion of the Sky World. A large-scale monster siege will take place, with the Elemental King, his bosses, and his monster army attacking the major cities of the Alliance and Horde. Through the Elemental King's immense power, he forcibly opened a portal from the Elemental Plane to the Prime Material Plane, sending his army there. Of course, this large-scale siege will ultimately fail. Although the Elemental Tide causes immense destruction to both the Alliance and the Horde, it is ultimately defeated by valiant adventurers.

In this event, adventurers will have the opportunity to face the Elemental King and his main generals for the first time and obtain a large amount of loot, stimulating players' enthusiasm for the game.

To further emphasize the ominous atmosphere of war, we plan to kill several Alliance and Horde heroes, though their identities are yet to be determined.

"Wait a minute," Xiao Yu suddenly raised his hand and said, "If we lose, won't we be eliminated? How will we continue with the expansion?"

"Haha, don't worry about that. Just use projection mode or descent mode when the time comes. If you die, you'll just return to the Elemental Plane."

As Zhang Xinghun spoke, he continued his introduction, "After this event ends, a large number of elemental creature armies will appear all over the Sky World. The four Elemental Prince will establish their own territories and dungeon groups in the Prime Material Plane. At the same time, the specific content of the new expansion will also be announced, including new races, new classes, and new maps."

This phase will last approximately three months, allowing players ample time to familiarize themselves with the expansion's content.

The second phase, Sky World 2.2, which I call Avenging Wrath, sees the Alliance and Horde unite to attack the Lost Island in an attempt to stop the Elemental King to destroy the world, hoping to find out what exactly happened in the Elemental Plane.

Two important story characters will appear, one from the Alliance and one from the Horde, leading Alliance Horde expeditionary forces and adventurers. These two characters have not yet been confirmed.

Of course, the true form of the Elemental King is no longer on the Lost Island. Only his elemental army, led by his subordinate Wotkud, and the Lost Island dungeon complex remain. The core dungeon of this complex is the Lost Temple, a large-scale raid dungeon that players will spend three months clearing to obtain certain equipment.

This dungeon has many bosses, with the final boss being the Water Elemental Lord, Wotkud. After Wotkud is defeated, a hidden boss will be summoned: a projection of the Azathoth, Elemental King. After defeating Azathoth's projection, the arrogant Elemental King reveals some information to the adventurers. According to this information, they learn that the Throne of the Elements is the truly important place. This phase ends with the defeat of the Elemental King's projection.

The third phase, Sky World 2.3, which I call "The Draenor's Expedition," sees the combined forces of the Alliance and the Horde enter Draenor to attack the Throne of the Elements. On their expedition, they will encounter many monster factions and powerful bosses, and will defeat several of them. The specific bosses that will appear or be defeated are currently undetermined.

Upon arriving at the Throne of the Elements, they will encounter a neutral faction led by a neutral hero, the identity of whom is currently unknown.

They also encountered their second large-scale raid instance – Throne of the Elements, whose final boss will be Leah Bloodmoon.

After defeating Leah Bloodmoon, in the final moments, Leah Bloodmoon summoned an avatar of the Azathoth, Elemental King —of course, the Elemental King in his final descent mode was still defeated by the players.

Azathoth finally exposed his conspiracy. He was performing a ritual on the Elemental Plane, attempting to alter the timeline of the Prime Material Plane and return it to the chaotic state it was in at the beginning of creation.

Finally, we enter the climax of the expansion, the fourth phase, Sky World 2.4, which I call "The Destruction of the Elements." Led by numerous heroes, the adventurers finally found the passage to the Elemental Plane. They entered the Elemental Plane, gathering the power of the Alliance, the Horde, and all the races of Sky World. First, they defeated the four Elemental Prince, and then together they attacked the final dungeon, the Immortal Throne, ultimately defeating the Elemental King and thwarting his conspiracy.