The Queue: I wouldn’t call Dogtown quaint as such

It’s surprising to me how little I’ve talked about Phantom Liberty on the site considering the sheer amount of discussion of Cyberpunk 2077 I’ve engaged in since late 2020.

Nowadays, I think it’s safe to say that CDProjektRed have more or less redeemed the game in the eyes of the majority of players. I know I’ve been sold on the game all along, but even so, I can admit that Phantom Liberty did a lot to improve the game and that the more recent patch 2.1 brought in a lot of fun stuff, like getting to hang out in your apartment with your romantic interest (if you have one) or listen to music over your cyberwear, not just via the radio in your car or on your bike.

For me, though, I think one of the best things about the expansion is Dogtown. It’s a fascinating little disaster area, a fiefdom that’s relatively small compared to how massive Night City and its environs are, but packs a lot of gigs, quests and story into that small space. Dogtown is the place people in Night City — itself a cesspit of gang violence and corporate corruption — are grateful they don’t live in.

Someday I’ll sit down and write a more in depth discussion of it, but for now, let’s do that Queue.

Sadly, my answer is a resounding maybe? and a sheepish look. I mean, the Incarnates aren’t elementals as such, they’re proto-dragons with a tie to the elemental planes. Based on Fyrakk enlisting Smolderon’s aid in attacking the Emerald Dream only for the Dragon to deliberately set up the Firelord to die so that he could absorb the power the elemental held into his axe, and Smolderon’s declaring Fyrakk a traitor, it seems unlikely to me that Fyrakk has much of a chance of reforming in the Firelands even if he somehow can.

Raszageth, if she can recreate herself in Skywall, would have to contend with Thunderaan before she could become the new Windlord.

So in the end, I don’t think it’s likely we’ll see them return as the Elemental Lords, but I’m willing to be proved wrong.

My headcanon retcon is that Med’an just wasn’t there, because he didn’t exist. If you look up Med’an in Chronicle volume 3, he’s listed as appearing on page 404, which is Blizzard’s way of saying that if the Warcraft setting was a webpage Med’an would be a file not found error. The dude isn’t gone, he’s not missing, he never was.

There was never a new Guardian of Tirisfal, because nobody trusts anyone to be responsible with that kind of power. Cho’gall was still beaten by Garona and the others from the comic, including Meryl Felstorm who we saw in Legion, but Med’an wasn’t there because he was never conceived or born. Blame shifting timeways.

I don’t, but man, I’d love it if we got them alongside the Eredar skin. It’s crazy to me that we get to look like actual Demons but not the poor Draenei who got mutated through no fault of their own.

Honestly I thought there was a lot of good stuff in Shadowlands, but even so, I expect we won’t go back there any time soon. Blizzard is as aware of the people who want to see WoW stay focused on Azeroth, and the fact that the next three expansions all seem to be focused on events on that world means that I don’t expect any jaunts back to places like the Shadowlands or alt-Draenor or what have you.

That being said, I suppose it could be possible for the Nathrezim to invade Azeroth to sow chaos and serve their master Denathrius — we haven’t seen the Unseen Guests for a while now and they do love to infiltrate groups, plus there’s always the question of Lothraxion the Nathrezim who joined the Army of the Light and may well be shamming his piety in order to spy on them.  Considering Light and Shadow/Void seem to be major players in these next three expansions, who knows?

Man, I’m listening to a cover of the Batman Beyond theme song that’s played in the style of Doom Eternal and it slaps hard, y’all. Also, I just typed the words it slaps hard and I’m feeling like that Steve Buscemi gif.

Take care y’all.