Wrath of the Lich King
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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.
Putting the War back in World of Warcraft
Lagerosi asked on the general forums if The Frozen Throne was in fact the end of the war between the Alliance and the Horde. Jheric clarified our current faction status well: What exists now is essentially a cold war, with the two factions fighting in proxy areas such as Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin, much like the way the U.S. and U.S.S.R. would send weapons and 'advisers' to small countries in Africa and Asia. With the transition from active warfare has come shifting allegiances, such as the Blood Elves joining the Horde after falling out with the Alliance (pretty much all the fault of one Alliance general), and Dalaran electing for neutrality.
Blue Notes: WotLK mounts and reduction of epic mount costs
Blizzard Blues have been active on the official forums. With rampant speculation about the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion, they've mostly had to give the standard variation of the "no comment" reply. But on two expansion mount issues they were able to give a small bit on insight. Player Serpentis requested a windserpent mount in WotLK. New Blizzard poster Bornakk reported that new flying mounts are being considered, but nothing will be revealed until they are closer to releasing the new expansion. Player Knightxl wanted to know if the cost to train for epic flying mounts will get a reduction with the expansion the way epic land mount training costs were lowered. This rumor has been floating around for the last month or so. Drysc gave us a little more clarification than last time. He responded that the epic land mount training costs only got a reduction because the mount training skill was getting extended with the Burning Crusade expansion. No new mount skill increase is planned in WotLK, so no reduction in price is planned for the epic flight mount training cost. If Blizzard were to incorporate new flying mounts in Northrend, what would you like to see?
Breakfast Topic: What do you want your character to look like?
You're likely already aware that one of the great new features to be unveiled in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is the ability to change your character's hairstyle. A number of players (including myself) have actually stopped playing certain characters just because our original appearance choices didn't turn out as good in play as they seemed in the character creation screen. Some (including myself) have spent a long time thinking about what a new character should look like and trying out many variations, playing for a bit, deleting them and trying again until you get something you know you can live with for the rest of your character's life.Soon, however, our characers' hairspray will no longer be stone-stiff, and a new era of creative exploration will open up to Azerothians. Existing characters with ugly hair may get a second chance at coolness -- but as many already satisfied players know, your characters' good looks often come from a desire to make them fit, as closely as possible, some image we already have in our mind.So tell us of your dream for your character, how you envision him or her when you close your eyes. Do you want your Death Knight to look like Darth Vader, or -- heaven forbid -- Chuck Norris? If you like, you could link to a picture you like, or even draw your creative vision for us!My own most vivid character visualization was for a night elf rogue I had in mind. I wanted her to have the look of an angel who used to live among the stars in the sky, but had somehow gotten lost on earth and forgotten her way home. In hindsight, I was probably very inspired by my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, Stardust, in which a star actually does fall to the earth... and breaks her leg.
New WotLK Screenshots from Leipzig
In conjunction with the opening of the Leipzig Game Conference in Germany, Blizzard has released new screenshots from their upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Of the ten new screens, some are new shots of areas we've seen before such as the outdoor Howling Fjord zone and the 5-man dungeon Utgarde Keep. Others are of areas we have yet to see: a ramshackle collection of buildings called Skorn, an Alliance looking town named Westguard Keep and a not so hospitable hamlet dubbed Wyrmskull Village.Check out the new shots in the gallery below. They have been added to the screenshots we posted for Blizzcon 2007.%Gallery-5525%
Gamers on the Street: Some thoughts on the Expansion
In Gamers on the Street, Krystalle Voecks will be creating characters and joining different US servers in an attempt to find out what the everyday Gamer thinks about different things going on in and around the World of Warcraft. With research in hand, she'll report back here, to share the word from the front lines.After a week off to plan the Stampede on Stormwind event and deal with that Real Life thing that likes to sneak up on me between raiding and writing, Gamers on the Street has returned for another weekly chat with the denizens of Azeroth! Poised and ready to ask the nowhere nearly hard questions that many other people spend all their time on the forums thinking up. This week's run took me to the Bronzebeard server where I actually was able to find people on both sides of the fence who were willing to share their opinions about the news from Blizzcon about the upcoming expansion, and some of the buzz that has been going on ever since. For this week's interviews with a couple of very cool WoW players, join me after the jump for the word from the Gamers on the Street.
Of collector's editions and unique pets
While we haven't received any confirmation that there will be a Wrath of the Lich King collector's edition, but since there was a collector's edition for both the original game and the first expansion, it's a reasonable guess to think Wrath of the Lich King will have one as well. And when it comes to collector's editions, over at WoW Insider, we ask the important questions: what will the unique, collector's edition pet be? Purchasers of the original collector's edition received their choice of a mini-Diablo, a Panda cub, or a Zergling, while purchasers of the Burning Crusade collectors edition received a Netherwhelp. So what companion will we have to keep us company as we venture through Northrend? If it's a Penguin I feel that alone would be worth the extra cost of a collector's edition box.But what about you? Do you care about collector's editions or the novelties they include -- like unique pets?
WotLK talent speculation: Is it ever too early?
Snuffles of Whisperwind server has used a web-based talent tree generator to speculate on WotLK druid talents. He proposes all sorts of class balance breaking goodness. A druid using these talents could probably solo Illidan. While AFK.Digging more into this talent tree generator, I found people have built all sorts of ideal talent trees. But the most interesting ones are what people would like to see for the Wrath of Lich King Hero Class, Death Knights. Fantasy talent trees range from the overpacked to the well thought out to the one in Korean I wish I could translate.What kind of talents would you like to see in the expansion for your class or the new Death Knight hero class?
Will we ever see more hero classes?
I'm pretty sure we've all heard about the Death Knight by now and know that it is going to be the game's first "hero" class -- unlocked by a level 80 quest and starting at a higher level than a non-hero character. But I'm not really wondering about Death Knights right now, but instead about other hero classes that might be in our future. It struck me as an odd move to release an expansion with a single hero class purely for practical reasons -- as soon as people start hitting level 80 with their mains, we're going to see a swarm of new baby Death Knight alts. (That Death Knight Spree isn't just a joke!) The best counter to this, in my opinion, would be more than one hero class in the expansion. Of course we'd still wind up with a lot of new hero class players, but at least there would be a variety of them. And on the forums Nethaera gives a bit of hope for future hero classes, though not in this expansion:We are thinking at current that any future hero class additions will be made in expansions further along the line so that we can control just how many classes the game has and continue to work on attaining balance as we add them.I'm still hoping they'll come around to the idea of more hero classes sooner, rather than later.
Officers' Quarters: My personal errata
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.What is "errata'? It's a fancy word, taken from Latin, that basically means "errors" or "mistakes." As much as I'd like it to, running a guild doesn't pay enough to make it my full-time job. So I work in publishing. Whenever we publish a book, before the pages even begin churning off the press, we're already hard at work looking for any mistakes that we need to correct in the next printing. Like most media companies, we call these mistakes "errata," probably because by giving them a fancy name it doesn't sound quite so horrible that we printed a book with a picture of Cookie Monster above the caption "Vladimir Putin." (Just a hypothetical example . . .)With 15 columns under my belt, I thought it would be a fine time to look back and, in the tradition of publishing, point out some of my errata for our readers' benefit and amusement.
WoW Moviewatch: Death Knight Spree
If you've enjoyed Nyhm's previous music videos ("Just So OP" and "Can't PuG KZ"), then you'll enjoy his latest effort in which he addresses the impending flood of Death Knights upon the World of Warcraft. And if you haven't heard of Nyhm before, you should give this one a try -- trust me, he's gotten much better at the machinima-making game since posting his first movie in July!Previously on Moviewatch...
Breakfast Topic: Future Death Knights in the audience?
So we've heard all about the new hero class, the Death Knight. They're going to be plate-wearing tanks (but without shields) wielding heavy weaponry to dish out the melee DPS while throwing around shadow & frost damage and summoning their own army of the dead. What's not to love about this class?! While we still don't have specifics on how the Death Knight will function in the game, today I'm asking how many of you are already planning on rolling one. (By which, of course, I mean rolling one as soon as the expansion is released, you level to 80, and complete an epic quest line.) Planning on being the first Death Knight on your realm? The first Death Knight in the world? Let us know!
Everything about BlizzCon from WoW Insider
In the flurry of excitement about BlizzCon that's taken place, I couldn't blame you if you missed a post or two somewhere. But we're here to help! Hopefully, this convenient round-up of our BlizzCon coverage will let you feel like you made the trek out to the convention yourself!Galleries: WoW Insider's Thursday night Meet & Greet A first look inside BlizzCon WotLK screenshots WotLK concept art More pictures from the convention floor Costumes gallery from WoW Insider Costumes gallery from Joystiq Video: Character sound-alike contest Dance contest (partial) from WoW Insider Dance contest (partial) from Joystiq L70ETC live from WoW Insider L70ETC live (with audio of Jay Mohr and Video Games Live) from Joystiq WoW Radio got some excellent video coverage of the event Liveblogs: Opening ceremonyWrath of the Lich King live demo Friday class panel Dungeons & raids panel Professions & items panel The Legendary Pictures movie panel Not-quite-liveblogged, but some detailed notes from Saturday's press conference World of Warcraft PvP panel Saturday class panel Lore & quests panel Hands on: Elizabeth's WotLK demo Barb's Zul'Aman impressions Mike's WotLK demo Amanda's Zul'Aman demo Elizabeth plays the TCG Kevin's WotLK demo Interviews: Amanda interviews Myndflame Xfire did some great chats with players and Blizzard employees during BlizzCon Kevin interviews Cory Doctorow Kevin interviews Alice Taylor Final thoughts: What we learned at BlizzCon Mike's final impressions Elizabeth's final impressions Thanks for BlizzCon! BlizzCon then and now
Is the Beta Key for Starcraft II or WotLK?
BlizzCon 2007 attendees received a card when they got their goody bags. This card was separate from the bag and we were all told not to lose it because we weren't getting another one. The card contains the code for the Murloc Suit and a Beta Key for "Future Blizzard Title".No indication was given during the con as to what the Beta Key was for. And now Morgal has asked for an answer on the forums. Nethaera responds:Undetermined as of yet.Assumptions were made before the leaks about the expansion that the key would definitely be for Starcraft II, but now with parts of Wrath of the Lich King already playable, perhaps the Beta Key is for the expansion?There's a small hope in my heart for the unannounced Diablo 3, but that's just silly. Do you think that Blizzard has actually not decided which game the key is for? Which game would you like to beta test?
BlizzCon then and now
If you were one of the lucky few who happened to attend both this BlizzCon and the one in 2005, you would have noticed, as I did, the subtle changes that separated the two. Some of the changes were physical and others were harder to catch. In 2005 when we arrived at the arena, the sense of excitement was not only palpable, it was visible. For the first time since it's release, WoW fans were able to stand IRL and expound upon their favorite aspects of the game. I know personally, as someone who was at the time fairly new to the game, it was an amazing sight to see so many people who loved the game as I did. When I stood in line to get my tickets this year, however, it felt as if I were surrounded by a different crowd of gamers, a quieter one.
BlizzCon Profession recap featuring Inscription
At BlizzCon, we learned of what Blizzard has planned for professions in patches as well as the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. We are not getting a knitting profession any time soon, regardless of what Penny Arcade says, but we are getting Inscription and a lot of love for our current professions.What kind of love? How, what, when? Your questions are answered after the jump:
Utgarde Keep video
Blizzard strictly forbade any video or pictures of live gameplay during BlizzCon, so for fear of not being able to cover the whole thing for you guys, I stayed away from breaking that rule. But apparently Gameriot was not so rule-abiding, and they grabbed some shaky footage of the first dungeon we'll see in Northrend, Utgarde Keep.They played the same parts I did on my walkthrough, including the gigantic furnace walls, new Vrykul race, a few "proto-drakes," and the first boss, the Warlock who summons some big Vrykul skellys throughout the fight. There's not a lot new to hear about if you've been reading everything so far, but if you weren't able to make it to BlizzCon, it'll be your first chance to see everything from Northrend's first 5man on video.[ via Curse ]
Know Your Lore: Death Knights
With all the hubbub about the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, Know Your Lore is going to cover some of the lore behind our frozen neighbor to the north. (No, not Canada. They have no history. Also, I fully expect to get gkicked for that statement.) We already took care of Arthas and Sylvanas, but we still have Ner'zhul, Anub'arak, and others to cover. But for starters, let's check out the lore behind one of the new additions to World of Warcraft: the Death Knight class! There's already been quite a stir about them on the forums, with people complaining that they should only be humans and undead, should only come out of sacrificing your previous character, and shouldn't be in the Alliance because it would conflict with the wonderful art of roleplaying a talking paladin cat. But I've always believed that people should know what they're complaining about, so here's a guide to the current basis of the Death Knight hero class, as we know it. Name: Death Knights. Race: Undead orcs, humans, other things. History: The Death Knights actually have two separate histories: one from the Second War, and one from the Third. We'll start with the former, because doing things in chronological order is awesome. Once upon a time, a very bad demon named Kil'jaeden corrupted the native orcs of Draenor and convinced them to forsake their shamanistic culture for the power of black magic. The orcs invaded the world of Azeroth, led by Gul'dan and the warlocks of the demon-influenced Shadow Council. But when Gul'dan overstepped his power and fell into a coma, the orc Orgrim Doomhammer took advantage of the situation, launching a palace coup and killing as many warlocks as he could find. Doomhammer hated warlocks and intended to kill Gul'dan as well. When Gul'dan awoke, he begged for Doomhammer to spare his life, and promised him that he could use shadow magic to create a caste of powerful warriors loyal to the Horde. Doomhammer was suspicious, but agreed to hear Gul'dan out.
Details on the zones of Northrend
Over on the EU forums, Blizzard poster Salthem gives us a few details on the new zones we'll be visiting in Northrend. Of course, all of this is subject to change per developer whim but this is what Northrend is shaping up to be, so far. Salthem lists six zones (with notes that there will be more, though the exact number hasn't been finalized yet) that will be comparable in size to Outland zones.Howling Fjord: Your first chance to go up against the ancient Vrykul in their instance Utgarde Keep. Borean Tundra: The home to the Tuskarr. Parts of Borean Tundra are being melted down for water by the Naga. Garrosh Hellscream has established a base of operations at Warsong Hold. Grizzly Hills: The home of Furbolgs and their city of Grizzlemaw. Also home to the ancient Dwarven City of Thor Modan. The land is largely covered in forests - an example of our desire to make sure that not all zones are just snow and ice. Dragonblight: The home of Wyrmrest Temple, the ancient meeting place where dragons go to die.Lake Wintergrasp: A new non-instanced PvP zone with Siege Weapons, destructible buildings and multiple objectives with lasting effects. Players on Normal realms will automatically be flagged for PvP when entering this zone. The Storm Peaks: Containing Ulduar, the ancient Titan city in the Far North. The capitol city of Northrend (the Shattrath of the north) will be Dalaran. Yes, you read me right, the same Dalaran that presently hides under a sparkly dome near Hillsbrad. The Kirin Tor have invoked powerful magic to relocate their city, and hopefully safeguard themselves from the dragon Malygos, who is concerned over magic running amok in Azeroth.
Changeable hairstyles at last! Long live new dances!
I was talking with some friends of mine the other night about the new expansion and we were giggling to ourselves about how the expansion video presents us with the amazing new features to be revealed in Wrath of the Lich King. "New Continent: Northrend!" it announces, "Destructible Buildings! Siege Weapons! New Profession: Inscription! ....Changeable Hairstyles! New Dances!"It does seem rather incongruous that in a game called about warcraft, changeable hairstyles and new dances would be a big deal, but it's true! This is something we've been wanting for a long time, but I never for the life of me imagined it would be an expansion feature. I always thought it would be like voice chat and guild banks, added in with some patch or another just like so many other things.It begs some frightening questions: Are we going to have special hairstyles and dances only available to those who have bought the expansion? Will we have to quest for that really epic hairdo, or spend hours and hours grinding for the reputation to access that one faction haircut we want? After all, we do it for special mounts whose only claim to fame is looking cool, why not for hairdos too?I suspect there won't be such thing as an epic hairdo quest, nor rep-grind barber shops, but really any which way Blizzard manages it will be fine with me. I do hope there will be new skin colors, faces and other characteristics be available too, though one could argue that should those be set in stone. Also, one would wonder if it's just new hair and dances which they have in store for us, or are there going to be a whole slew of new social features? Dare we hope for a proper /hug animation?
