Wrath of the Lich King
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Some Death Knight details from the EU forums
This isn't groundbreaking new information, but over on the European forums, CM Vaneras has provided a summery of information on the new Death Knight hero class. However, while not groundbreaking, it does clarify a few things and drop tiny fragments of new information. First up, the Death Knight's 6-rune resource system:Imagine it [the runes] being three different energy pools which you can change the size of before you get into combat. These runes, we know, will be etched on to the Death Knight's weapons and can be changed at any time out of combat. But it sounds like the details on weapons etching are still up in the air:There's no final decision or announcement on how multiple weapons would be etched, or how weapon switching may affect the etched runes. What has been discussed to some degree is that the main-hand weapon would be etched and that's it, but it's too early to say what would be allowed in the final game. What level the Death Knight will start at is still unknown but what races may play them is up in the air. Though during our liveblog of the WotLK demo, we were told that Blizzard's plan was to have the class available for all races (to cheers of "Gnome Death Knights ftw!" from the crowd), Vaneras expresses less certainty... more quotes and info after the jump!
The races of Northrend
As we look toward the release of Wrath of the Lich King, there is so much we don't know, largely because the developers themselves aren't yet sure of things themselves. We do have a few tidbits of information, however, that can give us an idea of what it will be like to venture into Northrend. At Saturday's lore panel BlizzCon attendees got some information about the races we will be encountering in the frozen north. I took some notes as I listened intently, and this is what I came away with:
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:
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]
GameStop starts WoW: Wrath of Lich King pre-orders
There may not be an official Blizzard date for Wrath of the Lich King, or even technically a price, but there is a name ... and where there's a name, there's a pre-order! GameStop has opened up pre-orders for the next expansion in the World or Warcraft that'll bring it back to the old skool Warcraft III plot line and have adventurers heading to Northrend to kill (or maybe bring redemption to) Prince Arthas. The price for the expansion is currently listed at $39.99, which is a safe bet considering that was the cost of The Burning Crusade. Although who are we to fight if Blizzard decided to drop that price by a measly $10. It's not like they need the money.
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).
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:
