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Ashbringer Wednesday
If you love comic books, play World of Warcraft, and are interested in the lore of the Ashbringer -- all of which I actually apply to myself -- then you might want to set aside $3.99 and check out DC Comics' limited series about the legendary sword coming out this Wednesday, September 10. The first issue of a four-part limited series, the comic deals with the story of Alexandros Mograine, the Ashbringer himself. Produced by Wildstorm Studios, the guys behind the World of Warcraft comic featuring the badass Varian Wrynn, the comic will be written by Blizzard Creative Director Micky Neilson and drawn by original WoW comic artist Ludo Lullabi with help from Tony Washington. The covers will be drawn by Blizzard Art Director Chris Robinson (not to be confused with the singer of The Black Crowes...), with variant covers from Lullabi and Washington.
New DC Comic series to reveal Ashbringer's backstory
One of the most endearing new stories to be introduced into the Warcraft mythos by WoW is that of the Ashbringer, the blade of the Scarlet Highlord Mograine, which slew the Scourge by the hundreds and might have singlehandedly redeemed Azeroth, were it not for the treachery of his son, Renault. Unfortunately, beyond that and a little scene in Old Hillsbrad where we see the first steps of its creation, we don't really know much else of the story behind the fabled blade. In September 2008, we'll learn a little bit more of it. On September 10th, DC Comics' Wildstorm division will release the first of a 4 issue miniseries that covers the history of the Ashbringer, both the sword and the wielder, Alexandros Mograine. The series is being written by Blizzard Creative Director Mickey Nielson, with art by Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington. The first book will feature cover art by Chris Robinson, with a variant cover by Lullabi and Washington. I know I'm excited. In fact, I think I'll call my local comics store now and make sure they'll carry it. Then again, I'm also a bit concerned. If this comic book gives us Ashbringer backstory that's important to WoTLK, does that mean they aren't releasing it until the series is done? I don't want to wait til 2009 to play a Death Knight, that's for sure!
Behind the scenes with the men who brought you Sunwell
The Blizzard team has learned a lot from their experience with The Burning Crusade, and in a recent interview posted on their official page, producer J. Allen Brack and art director Chris Robinson lay out exactly which of these lessons they're following through on for the new Sunwell Plateau instances and Wrath of the Lich King further down the road. They talk about how Sunwell is really the pinnacle of the Blood Elf design style and how players will see many design parallels with their starting zone.As for WotLK, one of the cooler design changes they mentioned is more closely integrating the main story-arc into the leveling experience. Brack mentions how with WotLK, Arthas will play a more visible role in the lives of players, even well before they ever reach the level 80 cap. Similarly, he also discusses how the element of snow in the expansion is being used as much as a story-telling device as an aesthetic one, trying to get players to feel the isolation and despair inherent in the Northrend zone. It's pretty fascinating, as both Brack and Robinson are more forthcoming than usual, perhaps because it's an in-house interview.
More WotLK and future content info from Leipzig
Monde Persistants, a French Warcraft site, has released their full interview with Lead Designer Jeff Kaplan and Art Director Chris Robinson from last week's Leipzig Games Convention. Some of this information we already know, but there's quite a bit that was new to us. You can read the entire interview (in English!) and see the video at MP. Here's the summary of the new items: Part of the lore behind the Wrath of the Lich King expansion has Arthas trying to seduce players to the dark side, both Alliance and Horde. Part of the Death Knight lore will have them "break away" from the Lich King influence to be free agents, the way the Forsaken have broken away from being mindless undead. Death Knights will "probably" be able to inscribe any weapon with their Runes that give them power. Ulduar is going to be a new raid instance. It's controlled by storm giants and is a fortress of the Titans like Uldaman and Maruadon according to WoW lore. The Nerubians (spider guys) will host a few instances at the underground Azjol'Nerub. The Nexus will have a L70 5-man instance. The main boss in the CoT: Stratholme instance will be Mal'ganis. Possibly new daily quests introduced with the Sunwell Plateau patch (2.4?) Previous information gathered from Leipzig can be found here.Via World of Raids
New pre-WotLK zone announced: Sunwell Plateau
ActionTrip cornered WoW Lead Designer Jeff Kaplan and Art Director Chris Robinson today at the Leipzig Game Convention in Germany (E3 for Europe.) And boy, did they get a lot out of those two about Blizzard's plans for the future. Here are the highlights: The art for the expansion will look more like classic Warcraft (gothic fantasy), and less like Outlands art (high fantasy) Sunwell Plateau will be coming in a patch before the WotLK launch. It will include both a 25-main raid and a 5-main instance with both normal and heroic mode. WotLK will have "just as much" 5-man instances as TBC and more 10-main instances due to the popularity of Karazhan A new PvP area called Lake Wintergrass will combine world PvP (non-instanced) with the new siege weapons and destructible buildings. The faction that controls this zone may receive an effect that not only applies to the zone, but to the whole continent When asked about class balance, they said they had no plans for any major changes to classes The Death Knight unlocking quest will start at level 55-60 If I'm not mistaken, the Sunwell Plateau is north east of Silvermoon city, the Blood Elf capital. I hope Blizzard is planning some kind of Alliance friendly transportation into the area with the introduction of the Zul'Aman raid zone in Patch 2.3. If not, they are definitely going to need it for these new zones.Full interview can be read here. Via WorldOfWar.NetEDIT: In regards to #14's comment: Stratholme is the new CoT instance according to this interview with Lead Designer Jeff Kaplan aka "Tigole." It is a 5-man, Level 80 instance. You will travel to the past before Arthas was corrupted and help him rid the city of demons and burn it down. As far as we can tell, the Sunwell Plateau will only be accessible by traveling there physically.That same article also mentioned that future Hero Classes could be Demon Hunter, Archmage or Blademaster.He also talked about the Death Knight rune system. What runes the Death Knight carves into his blade will determine what role he plays in the group (i.e tank, dps, a mix of the two, etc.)In this separate interview, Kaplan revealed another new WotLK instance, Nexus, located in the Borean Tundra zone. It will be split into several wings, one of them for a 25-man raid that must defeat Malygyos, the blue dragon.
