I think a lot of old school WoW players will agree with me that the Scourge Invasion event that kicked off the Naxxramas patch (and coincided with that year's Midsummer Fire Festival) was a whole lot of fun. There was something incredibly epic about fighting a massive hulking abomination on the steps of the Stormwind Cathedral that not even most boss fights have been able to capture for me. it was also nice to have all those extra bosses in the dungeons for a bit of variety, especially since some of them dropped some very nice loot. Beyond all that, it finally gave us a chance at getting the much coveted tabard of the greatest faction in the game.

Still, despite Blizzard's hints that we'd get a chance to experience the Scourge Invasion again, it's been over a year and a half since the citadels ceased to hang over our capital cities with no sign of a return -- I've even saved a space in my bank for my spare Necrotic Runes, just in case!

Of course, if the Scourge Invasion is ever to return, it's getting closer and closer to the most opportune moment for such a thing. WotLK is coming, in which we will invade Northrend ourselves to try to put a stop to the Scourge once and for all. Preparations are already underway in Stormwind for the journey, and rumor has it that Arthas himself is in eager to lure us to Northrend and trap us there. What better way to do that than with a preliminary invasion as bait?

Apparently, Kisirani agrees.

In a (recently necroed) forum thread, the question was asked as to whether the Scourge Invasion would be returning. When some people answered that it seemed unlikely, Kisirani replied, "You keep right on thinking that. It's exactly what Arthas would want."

So it's admittedly a classic Blizzard answer in that it doesn't come right out and say, "Yes, you can expect a new scourge invasion event for WoTLK," but I think I'm optimistic anyway. It at least confirms that Kisirani is seriously considering it, if nothing else. It's likely that, just as before with Burning Crusade, we'll get a pre-patch that will implement a few new features and new talents. This patch would certainly be the perfect time to implement a new Scourge Invasion to kick off the storyline of the expansion. I'll have to get my Blood Elf Paladin ready to farm up a Tabard of the Argent Dawn, just in case they aren't available in Northrend.

But it should be noted that you can't expect things to get real hectic. Some people in the thread started advocating for a more "epic" invasion with large armies of Scourge overrunning and razing various towns, which Kisirani vetoed. What you may find epic, she said, others will find off-putting and frustrating. It's another old Blizzard chestnut to be sure -- what you like isn't what most people like -- but in this case, I'd say she may have a point.

Yeah, seeing a town razed might be fun for some people, especially level 70s who can just leave it all behind and teleport up to Shattrath to bank, but lowbies who need to quest and level would suddenly have to completely change their questing areas and habits in order to avoid towns that are held by the Scourge. It would both block them out from content they might not have seen and cause them to spend more time traveling and running to avoid certain death than questing and leveling.

For me, if we just keep the mob density at the same level as it was last event, pump up their level to 70, and give out some new level 70-specific rewards besides, I'd say we'll be doing pretty well. It was a fun event last time, and I know I'd have a great time revisiting it. Here's hoping Kisirani wasn't teasing -- at least not too much -- when she hinted at a return.