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2h Axes and Maces might be free for Shamans
While we were at BlizzCon, Eliah did a great job of catching something even I missed (and I played-- and respecced-- my Shaman on the event server, although I don't have any points in Enhancement, so that's probably why I missed it). Shaman are very likely picking up some serious buffs in an upcoming patch. And now, Drysc has confirmed that if one of those buffs, Shamanistic Focus, goes through, then Shaman will get 2h Axes and Maces as a baseline ability, no talent points needed.Pretty darn sweet-- now, I can use my healing mace to heal, my spell damage dagger to DPS, and my 2h mace (haven't found one yet, but I will) to melee. And think of the itemization in the future-- a 2h mace with uber spell damage and Windfury on it? Hawt!The original thread that brought about Drysc's comment was asking for Shaman swords, and I do agree that even if 2h talent doesn't get made free, Shaman should be able to pick up 1h swords-- we're already at enough of a disadvantage with our low mana efficiency to have to pass on those swords to Mages and Warlocks (sure, the lore doesn't really fit, but this is Shamans we're talking about!). But I'm more than willing to trade those away for free 2h Axes and Maces (and the promise of itemization for us in WotLK). Because what I really want to wield as a Shaman is one of those gigantic 2h totems, and Maces are just a step away from that.
The Light and How to Swing it: The BlizzCon 2007 edition
The first bit of good news from BlizzCon is that Paladins are currently not the most hated class. Warlocks definitely got more boos at every mention. Pallies are second, however, and some of the questions asked in the Q&A sessions of the panels didn't help matters. Though most of us realize this isn't a good idea, someone complained about his Pally Bubble in PvP situations -- and got soundly booed and laughed at by the general population. We obviously need to work on our public relations. On to the info after the jump:
Tigole: Naxx in Northrend
The MMO Gamer sat down for an interview with WoW lead developer Jeff "Tigole" Kaplan recently. You can hear the audio or read the transcript at their site, but for my money, here's the most interesting bit. In the middle of a rehashing of the debate over whether Blizzard should spend a lot of time developing raids that few people will see, he drops this great idea:So what I want to do in Northrend is to take Naxxramas in all of its glory, scale it down to the 25 man raid size, and then take the difficulty and retune it-obviously we'd tune for level 80, it would no longer be tuned for level 60, since that would be a little silly and it wouldn't be a lot of fun for people at that point-but I want to put rewards in there that are very exciting to level 80 players, but make it the entry-level raid, very accessible, tune the encounters so that there's something for everybody to do, and let the majority get a chance to see that content that they hadn't seen before.Naxx as the Karazhan of Northrend. I like it. I am one of the many who never got a chance to try Naxx the first time around, and I hear it's a well-designed raid. I also like that the entry-level raid is planned to be 25-man, not 10-man; the transition from KZ to Gruul and SSC has caused problems for a lot of guilds. Apparently it's also a bit of a misconception that raiding is unpopular; Tigole says out of all the instances in the live game right now, Karazhan is the one that gets done by the most people each week.The interview goes on to discuss the links between WoW raiding and EverQuest raiding (Tigole was a raid guild leader in EQ for some time before working on WoW), and what Tigole would have done differently if he could go back in time to when WoW was first being made. It's a good read, like most developer interviews, so go check it out. But Naxx in Northrend? Awesome!
WotLK official release date... maybe.
Over on the European forums, we seem to have a confirmation of an official WotLK release date. Forum poster Evlinn links to a pre-order page slating the game for a May 30th, 2008 release and CM Aeus replies: It's the 29th actually, they must be lagging..However, over on the US forums, CM Nethaera gives us the usual Blizzard line:It will be released (everyone say it with me now, you know how this one goes) when it's ready. ;)What does this conflicting information mean? It means you should get ready for a May release date... maybe![Thanks, David!]
GameStop offering WotLK pre-orders
No, Blizzard hasn't announced a release date or price yet, but Gamestop is already happy to take your money in exchange for a future copy of Wrath of the Lich King. And looking at the pre-order page text, I'm thinking there just might be some World of Warcraft fans with a sense of humor working on Gamestop's web page:Official price and release date have NOT been announced by Blizzard. In this case, the price and release date were determined by the GameStop e-commerce staff, (comprised of overpowered warlocks), using a combination of 6 and 20-sided die. Important: If the price decreases between the time you place your order and the release date, you will receive the lower price. Woot! If the price increases you will be given the option to either pay the higher price or cancel your order. However, if the price increases by more than $1,000, many of us here at the corporate office plan to retire and purchase a small Caribbean island. You are welcome to visit us at any time. Please bring pizza, chocolate and cold beverages. Note: We vehemently oppose "ninja looting" therefore your credit card will NOT be charged until your order is processed for shipping. Pre-order now. Power to the players.They're estimating a cost of $39.99 at a release date of 11/3/08. The price seems likely, since that's what The Burning Crusade sold for, but the release date is anyone's guess. And I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for news on a collector's edition before I do any pre-ordering![via Joystiq]
Questions answered at BlizzCon
There were so many questions I as I stood in line on Thursday to pick up my BlizzCon badge, and now looking back, I am surprised at how many of them were answered. There were just as many questions that popped up because of BlizzCon, I'm not exactly sure if I'm better off. I know, for instance, that my three favorite lost concepts will finally get treatment, namely the creation myth surround the dwarves in Uldaman, Dalaran the bubble city, and the mysterious Grim Batol. I also know that one of my favorite characters from the War of the Ancients trilogy will finally get into the game, the red haired mage Rhonin. But what happens to his twin children, and his wife, the sister of Sylvanas? What will happen to the area where Dalaran is currently? Will they update the quest in Uldaman to reflect the additional info about the creation myth? You see what I mean? The more questions are answered, the more arise. It's a vicious, tantalizing cycle, and one I am definitely enjoying being caught up in.
Paladins and Death Knights
Now that Wrath of the Lich King and its first hero class is in the works, I've been thinking on the shifts the paladin has made in Warcraft of late. I'm not so much talking about how the class plays, but more what the class is about, its roots and changing story. Originally paladins are the holy warriors of Azeroth, wielding the power of the light of some divine entity, able to heal and to harm with its touch. When The Burning Crusade was released, the paladin class was added to the Horde faction, and we learned that this type of Paladin was a very different breed. The Blood Elf pally was a warrior who drew on the light as well, but funneled from a holy being. This parasitic nature of the paladin was definitely a dark twist on what was considered a decidedly good-goody class. Now the paladin was sucking the power they used from a captive Naaru.
Why the expansion isn't revolutionary (and why it shouldn't be)
Big announcements (at events like BlizzCon) about expansions (like Wrath of the Lich King) always bring up the question of whether the planned updates to the game are any good or not. If it were just a regular patch people might complain about a particular buff or nerf, or lament that they have no chance or desire to see a particular new dungeon, but no one would expect a mere patch to totally revolutionize the MMO genre. Expansions though, for some people, are supposed to be the thing that doesn't just expand the game, but changes the face of the entire gaming world. "More of the same" is just not good enough for them. But as much as I, too, would love to see more innovation in MMO gaming, and even World of Warcraft in particular, I have to tell you, folks, Blizzard is made of mere mortals and some of you may be setting your expectations a bit too high. No WoW expansion can ever totally revolutionize the MMO genre, because at this point the genre is mostly WoW. While there are, of course, other games out there, WoW is the current MMO superpower, with a population larger than some countries of the world -- it defines the standard upon which to improve. To "revolutionize" the genre, you'd need a different, better game, because for WoW to change too drastically would mean turning the game into something other than what it is: replacing the current game with entirely different mechanics, ways of playing, even reasons for playing altogether. Expecting WoW to become something other than what it is unfair, even if that were to be an improvement, because then it wouldn't be WoW anymore. It could also be a financial disaster to keep the name but change the game, as the fiasco with Star Wars Galaxies proved (read up here to find out how their "revolutionary" New Game Enhancements turned out).
Getting complaints in early
I love this post on the EU forums: Ahjua complains that as a casual player, it would take him months to grind the items, find the groups, and get the gear necessary to unlock the new Death Knight hero class. With a social life that only lets him play a few hours a night, he'll never get it all done!Whoops, except that the quest itself hasn't even been invented by Blizzard yet. They haven't said that it requires rep, or gear, or running instances, or really anything at all. We know absolutely nothing about it, and yet this guy feels the need to complain that it's already too hard.Hopefully, he's just joking (if not, maybe he's just misinformed). But just as I've asked for patience on the PTRs, it's important to realize that everything we heard about this weekend is a long, long way off. In fact, I almost wonder why Blizzard released it so early-- if they've got Zul'Aman, voice chat and guild banks, another raid instance (probably the Sunwell), and maybe even another 5 man coming out before the expansion, why are they trying to get us all excited about Wrath of the Lich King? It's OK to be excited about the new expansion (I am), but it's not OK to pass final judgement on something that hasn't even been created yet. Let Blizzard do their thing, and then when we know details about the quest and what it actually entails-- then it'll be completely fine to complain that it's too hard for casuals.
What should happen to Arthas?
Now that we know the Lich King will be waiting for us in the next expansion, lore junkies and raiders have begun to speculate exactly how his story will end -- or even if it will. Blizzard has shown no qualms about letting raid groups kill lore figures like Vashj and Kargath Bladefist, but they've also let some escape or resurrect (Kael'thas, Kel'thuzad) and arranged for Illidan's death to come at the hands of two lore characters as well as the raid. And Arthas is nearly a god right now. How can twenty-five adventurers hope to take him down? Lysergide of Ravenholdt asks the European WoW Forums how they think the Arthas fight should go -- assuming we actually fight him head-on. He got some interesting answers:
