Wrath of the Lich King expansion

[Venkman]

So these guys picked up something these guys found on the site of the German equivalent of ESRB.

According to this image, Blizzard has registered the name "Wrath of the Lich King" for a demo they are planning to show at the upcoming Leipzig games convention.

Either this is a demo of a content patch, harbringer of the next expansio, or nothin'.

Edit by Trippy: changed title

[Jeff Kelly]

harbringer of the next expansion

Yupp.

Expansion Number two. To be announced at Blizzcon this weekend and demoed at games convention in Leipzig at the End of August. The expansion will most probably feature Northrend. The fansites are all over this thing right now.

[Merusk]

Woo hoo, more content I'll only get 1/4 of the way through!

Really, BC has way too much at the high-end, hopefully the expansion won't be as insane. 

[Dren]

I can guess at the answer to this question before I aske it, but I just have to do it.  Has there really been a lot of uber guilds making it through The Black Temple already? 

Man, my guild is still choking on Karazhan and will be throughout the rest of the summer and well into Fall.  We are having fun, but I can't even list the  amount of content I haven't even begun to think about.

I agree.  Make one huge uber dungeon, but create more of the Karazhan types and lower.  Us casuals can feast on those for a very long time.

[Simond]

Zul'Aman (in 2.3?) is supposed to be Karazhan, pt. 2 (but tougher)from what I can remember i.e. 10-man, no keying required, etc, etc.

Oh, and rumour about the rumour: WotLK will introduce a new class - Death Knight.

[Ironwood]

You mean playable class ?

My Prediction  : That's Rubbish.

[Dren]

I'd be happy if they never intoduce new classes.  They can tweak them or allow specification into some sub-class system (Heroes anyone?,) but to have to move everything around for an entire new class would just be a waste in my opinion.

I'd rather they just keep putting out new races since that doesn't have as much of an impact on balance, etc.  For the most part, they are window dressing. (Ignoring racial abilities obviously.)

I would think it would be easy to just have you pick a direction in your current class and get new abilities/spells/etc. based on that decision.  I'd make the difference in those abilities very small and concetnrate on just making them look and sound different.

For a game as mature as this one, they should stick to content and window dressing more than adjusting the actual game balance, etc. 

[Simond]

You mean playable class ?

My Prediction  : That's Rubbish.

Aw, but I want my shadowknight back!  :-(

Edit:  http://www.wowszene.de/news.php?extend.1182

What are the features of the new expansion?

Wrath of the Lich King builds on the rich foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, providing a wealth of new content for players to explore. The harsh, forbidding continent of Northrend, home of the Lich King and his undead minions, will be uncovered on the world map, and to contend with the new challenges found there, players will be able to advance to level 80, acquiring potent new abilities and talents along the way.

In addition, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce the death knight hero class to World of Warcraft. Once certain criteria are met, players will be able to create a new death knight character, which will start at a high level. Furthermore, player-vs.-player battles will reach a new level of intensity with the addition of siege weapons and destructible buildings, not to mention a new battleground. There will also be an abundance of new quests, dungeons, monsters, items, and recipes -- as well as a new profession, inscription -- for players to try out. The expansion will include some additional character-customization options for players as well. We'll be going into more detail on all of these features in the months ahead.

How will the death knight class fit into the game?

The death knight combines martial prowess with dark, necromantic energies. Players might be familiar with the death knight from previously released Warcraft games -- most recently, in the campaigns for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the Frozen Throne expansion, the former paladin Arthas became a death knight and wreaked havoc across Azeroth and Northrend before fusing with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King. The death knight is the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met, players will unlock the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level. We're currently exploring various options for how the death knight will play and the types of abilities at its disposal, and we'll be revealing more information about this new class as we get further along in development.

Will the death knight have any abilities from previously released Warcraft games?

The way we portrayed death knights in past Warcraft games is certainly a source of inspiration, but we are still determining how best to capture that feel within the mechanics of World of Warcraft, and haven't made any final determinations on specific abilities.

What role will the death knight play in groups and raids?

In general terms, the death knight can be considered a type of class that combines damage dealing and tanking, but naturally it will have an array of unique abilities as well.

What races will be allowed to play death knights?

We haven't yet made a final determination about which races can be death knights. However, the class will be available to both the Alliance and the Horde.

Will there be additional hero classes in the future?

Yes, we do intend to add more hero classes in the future, but right now our focus is on the current expansion.

What is the story background of the expansion?

Players last visited Northrend in the Warcraft III expansion, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful entities in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne, deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the greatest champions of the Alliance and the Horde will do battle with the Scourge amid Northrend's howling winds and fields of jagged ice, and ultimately face the Lich King himself.

Will players actually get to encounter Arthas himself?

Players will be skirmishing with the minions of Arthas from the moment they set foot on Northrend. He will be a constant presence as players progress through the expansion content -- which will culminate in a showdown with the dread Lich King himself.

Can you discuss some of the new talents and abilities that will be available from level 70 to level 80?

As with character advancement up to level 70, players will gain access to an array of potent and exciting new abilities and talents as they make their way from level 70 to level 80. However, it's still too early to get into specifics on these.

How long will it take to advance from level 70 to level 80?

We were pleased with the pacing from level 60 to level 70 in The Burning Crusade, and we intend to take a similar approach to pacing character advancement in Wrath of the Lich King. However, the specific amount of time that it will take players to reach level 80 will vary widely based on play style.

What can you reveal about Northrend?

The first area of Northrend we're showcasing is the Howling Fjord, a region of grasslands overlooking massive cliffs at the southeastern edge of the continent. This, along with the Borean Tundra, is the front line of the war against Arthas, and players will come face to face with his minions as soon as they set foot on Northrend. Eventually, as players progress further, they will explore the Grizzly Hills, Dragonblight, and more. We'll be showing off some of these new areas in the months ahead.

What's the level requirement to enter Northrend?

Players of any level who have purchased the expansion can visit Northrend. However, all of the content is designed for players level 68 and up.

How many new dungeons will be in the expansion?

The first dungeon players will enter is Utgarde Keep, which is intended for five players around level 70. Utgarde is inhabited by the Vrykul, a Viking-like race bent on proving their strength to the Lich King, who will raise the most worthy of their warriors to serve him beyond the grave. We intend to provide a variety of dungeons comparable to that in The Burning Crusade and will be revealing more details about some of these in the months ahead.

Do you plan to continue with the 25-player model for raids?

Yes, we've been pleased with the tactics, intensity, and variety of the 25-player raid model, and plan to continue with it.

In what ways will players be able to further customize their characters in the expansion?

In addition to the numerous new character-customization options that will be available with all of the new weapons and armor added by the expansion, we'll be offering some fun ways to alter both existing and new characters with regard to dances and hairstyles, but we're not ready to go into more detail just yet.

What can you reveal about the new profession coming with the expansion?

Inscription allows the player to permanently enhance their spells and abilities and to create mysterious items of power to use, trade, and sell.

What can players expect with regard to player-vs.-player combat in the expansion?

Players will be able to take control of siege weapons and use them to destroy opposing buildings, adding a new layer of complexity to PvP battles. Naturally, we'll be providing some fun places to put these new tools to good use, and we'll be revealing more information about them in the months ahead, in addition to the new battleground content being added.

Can you give a sneak peek at the new recipes and items in the expansion?

There will be hundreds of new recipes and thousands of new items available, but we're not ready to discuss specific examples just yet.

Will there be any graphical enhancements

There will be hundreds of new recipes and thousands of new items available, but we're not ready to discuss specific examples just yet.

How many zones will be in the expansion?

Northrend will be roughly equivalent to Outland in terms of size and scope.

Will there be any new cinematic scenes?

Yes, our cinematics department is hard at work preparing a new intro movie for the expansion.

Release/Availability

Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?

There will be many aspects of the expansion that will be available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as Northrend, or be able to play as a death knight, players must purchase the expansion.

Will there be an open beta test of the expansion?

We have not yet determined whether the expansion will require an open beta test. If we do decide to conduct a beta test, details will be posted on the official World of Warcraft website once we've gotten further along in the development process.

When will the expansion be released? How much will it cost?

We have not yet announced a release date for the expansion set. However, we expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead. Please stay tuned to [link] for more information.

Will there be a collector's edition?

We have not yet made any determination about whether there will be a collector's edition of Wrath of the Lich King. We'll be announcing details such as this closer to release.

Will a Mac version be available simultaneously with the PC version?

Yes. As with all of our games, Wrath of the Lich King will be compatible with and optimized for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.

What are the system requirements?

We'll continue to ensure that the game is playable on a wide range of hardware. However, we have not made a final determination on the system requirements as yet.

Will the expansion be released globally at the same time?

We recognize that players throughout the world will be eager to experience all of the new content being added with Wrath of the Lich King, and we will make every effort to release the expansion simultaneously worldwide. However, there's always the possibility that unforeseen circumstances could delay the launch in any given region. We'll share the launch timing with players in each region as soon as the plans have been finalized.

What is the ESRB rating for the expansion?

The expansion has not yet been rated by the ESRB. However, we anticipate that it will receive the same rating that the original World of Warcraft received -- "Teen."

[Ironwood]

I don't understand.  Who's the guy answering the questions ?

[Simond]

It's supposed to be from a leaked FAQ, possibly from Blizzcon. You may wish to take it with a pinch of salt, however.

[Ironwood]

It's complete horseshit.

I almost puked reading it, the smell was so bad.

So we're going to introduce one hero class, just one, and it's gonna be a deathknight that THE ALLIANCE can play and we haven't figured out the racials and it's gonna have guns and lasers and it's gonna be awesome and andnanandnanndandnanda

Shut the fuck up.


(Not you Simond.  The Cock that decided that faking that was in any way a good idea.)

[Jeff Kelly]

new class - Death Knight.

Not a new class. Hero class. Each playable class will get one or more hero classes, death knight is one of them

[Jeff Kelly]

Yeah that is most obviously a fake

[Ironwood]

In addition to the numerous new character-customization options that will be available with all of the new weapons and armor added by the expansion, we'll be offering some fun ways to alter both existing and new characters with regard to dances and hairstyles, but we're not ready to go into more detail just yet.

Hahahahah.  It's this bit.  This is the corpse of the woodpigeon under two slices of bread.  This is where the stench gets strongest.


Fucking hell.

 

[Chenghiz]

Interestingly a few people in my guild who are going to Blizzcon got an email telling them they'd have the chance to copy level 68-70 characters to a special event realm for some new content demo at Blizzcon.

[Merusk]

I can guess at the answer to this question before I aske it, but I just have to do it.  Has there really been a lot of uber guilds making it through The Black Temple already? 

Man, my guild is still choking on Karazhan and will be throughout the rest of the summer and well into Fall.  We are having fun, but I can't even list the  amount of content I haven't even begun to think about.

I agree.  Make one huge uber dungeon, but create more of the Karazhan types and lower.  Us casuals can feast on those for a very long time.

I questioned that as well, but then I remembered the Wowjutu link and checked for myself.  There are in fact quite a number who are not only through BT but into Hyjal.   Risen, the #3 US guild is on my server, and I checked out their website.  They killed Archimonde on 6/24 for the first time, and Illidan on 7/14 for the first time.

  That's the #3 guild IN THE US.. only JUST got through all of it... and they're hardcore hardcore.  I think the last time I read their requirements they raid every night, no days off from 7est to 1 or 2am est and you're required to be there 5/7 days.  May have changed since I last read, but that's what I recall.

Yeah, sounds like time for an expansion. 

[Nonentity]

Interestingly a few people in my guild who are going to Blizzcon got an email telling them they'd have the chance to copy level 68-70 characters to a special event realm for some new content demo at Blizzcon.

Yeah, I'm going to Blizzcon, and I was able to copy two of my 70s to the 'Blizzcon Event Realm'.

Should be interesting stuff.

[Paelos]

Deathknights in the Alliance make absolutely no sense.

[Simond]

Deathknights in the Alliance make absolutely no sense.

Neither do warlocks. vv

[Dren]

Deathknights in the Alliance make absolutely no sense.

Neither do warlocks. vv

While this does look like a bunch of smelly droppings, I wouldn't be surprised if all new offerings, be it class or hero class, will be for both Alliance and Horde.  I doubt they want to go through the whole Paladin/Shaman thing again.

It really isn't about what make sense for the lore, but what makes sense from game design and balance.  They could make some distinctions with racial specific tweaks to skills/powers that might seem appropriate depending on which side you are on, but yeah, doesn't make much sense given the lore history.

[Dren]

Yeah, sounds like time for an expansion. 

Yes, it seems early to me, but given Blizzards "time-to-market" this is just a news release to string us along I think.  They really are smart in creating some buzz with games like Conan and WAR coming around the corner.  They need to put that doubt in the back of our minds about switching too early, because, "Thar's a new expansion coming around the mountain, don'tchaknow!"

As for me, that works.  For BC, I spent a lot of my time getting ready by driving all my higher level chars to 60 in anticipation.  It went a long way in helping me instantly enjoy the new content.  I was like a kid in a candy store at launch.

I'm sure I'll do the same thing again.       I only have so much time to give to these games, so if the shiny stays shiny it is very hard for me to go try AND stick to anything else.  I tried LoTR and DDO in Beta all  during my stint in WoW and I couldn't stay away for more than 2 weeks each time. 

I really do hope WAR or Conan have the shiny and polish that breaks this trend.  I really do.  Meanwhile though, I'm satisfied.

[Paelos]

They said they wanted 1 expansion a year. That's easily enough time for me to be bored with most if not all of the content that I would even want to bother with. I never got to the high end of Naxx, nor did I care. I won't get to the high end of the Black Temple, nor do I care. The attunement alone for that is gut-wrenching.

Just give me 1-2 solid 10 man, 4-5 good 5 mans, and 3 neat 25 man raids in an expansion, every year. I'll see what I want and then hit the reset button.

[Fordel]

That would be my position, Raiders haven't gone through all the raid dungeons? I care why? Average Joe has gone through all the TBC five mans a dozen times each by now, and is starting to attempt the heroics and possibly Karazhan. He's probably gotten his second 70 by now as well. By the time the new expansion comes out, Average Joe will be just sick enough of all the TBC content to be ready to move on.

"Oh No, I'll never see the Black Temple before the new expansion!" is not a concern for the overwhelming majority of WoW players. 

[Fabricated]

That would be my position, Raiders haven't gone through all the raid dungeons? I care why? Average Joe has gone through all the TBC five mans a dozen times each by now, and is starting to attempt the heroics and possibly Karazhan. He's probably gotten his second 70 by now as well. By the time the new expansion comes out, Average Joe will be just sick enough of all the TBC content to be ready to move on.

"Oh No, I'll never see the Black Temple before the new expansion!" is not a concern for the overwhelming majority of WoW players. 

So um...why make it?

Amazingly, I was hoping it'd be longer before another expansion myself. Shit, it took forever and a day for BC to show up and I still hadn't set foot in BWL more than once.

My guild is just now doing Karazhan semi-regularly and getting in on alliance Gruul/Mag (neither of which I've even seen in game). I'd like to actually see this content before moving on.

[Fordel]

So um...why make it?

Amazingly, I was hoping it'd be longer before another expansion myself. Shit, it took forever and a day for BC to show up and I still hadn't set foot in BWL more than once.

My guild is just now doing Karazhan semi-regularly and getting in on alliance Gruul/Mag (neither of which I've even seen in game). I'd like to actually see this content before moving on.

Why make the raid dungeons? I don't know, I've been in the camp of "stop focusing the majority of the content development into the minority of your player base" for a long time now. TBC mostly moved in the correct direction in line with that. Focus the cool stuff for group sizes and time requirements that most people might actually enjoy, or even just be able to experience.

/runs off on a rant

[jpark]

I just can't imagine an expansion that increases the level cap - like MC/ BWL with the advent of TBC, existing raid content would again become trivialized and ignored.  A real shame.

[angry.bob]

As a general note, if, and I really mean if, they make hero classes "unlockable" through doing stuff in game, they better make very, very sure that whatever you need to do can be done solo by a player in AH greens each and every step of the way. That's assuming they ever actually make the hero classes.

[Xanthippe]

I just can't imagine an expansion that increases the level cap - like MC/ BWL with the advent of TBC, existing raid content would again become trivialized and ignored.  A real shame.
[/quote

Frankly, I don't care, as a non-raider.  It's not like I ever will see the raid content anyway. 

Whereas, raising the level cap and putting in new instances is content everyone will see.


 
The whole raiding mechanic - gathering 25 people nightly to learn an instance, and 5 pieces of loot drops - is flawed, in my opinion, which is why I don't do it.

[Ironwood]

As a general note, if, and I really mean if, they make hero classes "unlockable" through doing stuff in game, they better make very, very sure that whatever you need to do can be done solo by a player in AH greens each and every step of the way. That's assuming they ever actually make the hero classes.

Here's the fucking deal :  If we actually get Hero Classes within the next TWO expansions, I'll Fly over there and buy you all drinks.

Hero Classes is the fucking carrot in front of the donkey.  Except the Donkey is a screamingly stupid fanboi who remembers WCIII with all his penis and the carrot is fucking IMAGINARY.

[Trouble]

A few things. Didn't Blizzard say sometime in the last year that they ultimately scrapped the idea of hero classes? That the talent system really ended up superseding it? There's a decent amount of things in that interview that make sense, but the hero class thing is just way beyond what my expectation would be. Whoever crafted that, assuming it's fake, did a pretty hood job with the specifics.

I am one of those people in a guild that's near to beating the expansion. We raid 5 nights a week for about 4 hours a night. It's been a long road from the release of TBC to where we are now, 3 bosses away from beating the expansion. I've had a lot of fun, though I've banged my head against a number of untuned encounters that were subsequently nerfed. Right now I'm beating my head against the "mother" of them all, Mother Shahraz, who is also due for a nerf next patch.

On the one hand, the vast majority of guilds are nowhere close to seeing BT or Hyjal and thus the expansion is nowhere near "done" for them (assuming they raid). On the other hand, a slightly smaller vast majority of guilds won't be able to even get to the point where they'd have access to BT or Hyjal, ever, unless Blizzard nerfed the ever loving shit out of every 25 man raid boss in the game, including Gruul.

My theory on why the raiding game exists as it does. The question given is "why spend time developing content that only a minority of your player base will ever see/beat?'. My answer is this. A basic, unwritten premise of the game is that you can't beat it. That there will always be something else to do. The reality is that it's actually hard to make this true. People are good at grinding whatever solo/small group content Blizzard throws at them in pretty short order. The answer is: raid content. If you look at the ratio of developer hours to player hours, IE how long it takes to develop something versus how much time it is worth in entertainment, raid zones would most likely come out as the "cheapest" form of content. The reason for this is the difficulty of the raid content causes it to be consumed at a glacially slow speed compared to solo or small group content.

It takes an army of quest writers, map designers, artists, etc to flesh out an entire zone with quest hubs and a fully populated map. It probably takes a much smaller team of artists and encounter designers to design a raid zone with trash mobs and a certain small number of bosses. Not only that, but the raid zone will last a lot longer in "entertainment hours" than the whole of the quest zone. A single player can spend a few days to "beat" a zone while leveling up or doing solo content, a guild can spend weeks or months trying to beat a raid zone.

In TBC Blizzard provided three levels of difficulty in raids: Tier 4 - Karazhan, Gruul, Magtheridon. Tier 5 - Serpenshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep. Tier 6 - Black Temple, Hyjal. I don't think they necessarily look at it as "what percentage of people/guilds/etc will experience this content" but in terms of providing a continuously increasing challenge such that only very few ever "beat" the game and subsequently get bored of it and quit. They keep the majority of people on that "leveling" treadmill in the form of ever increasing difficulty raid content.

Anyway, that's my theory. Maybe it's bullshit but there has to be a sound reason that Blizzard makes content that they know only at most 10% of players will experience.

[Simond]

Blizzard have said one expansion/year for a while now, it doesn't really matter where the raiders are. Plus it won't be out for six months (at best!) anyway - that's plenty of time for Blizz to tweak bosses, fix/remove keying, etc. to get more raiders through the TBC content.

As for hero classes - I totally agree that Blizzard's original plan for them has been flushed away and gone swirly. However...allowing people to unlock a new normal class at level 58, say, and then calling that process a 'hero class' (thereby killing two birds with one stone - the complaints beginning to arise about levelling up yet another alt from 20-58, and shutting up the "ZOMG Blizz were R her0 cla$$3$?" crowd)? That sounds a little more plausible.

We'll find out tomorrow anyway - or today, if the leaks from the previous Blizzcon are repeated. ;)

[MrHat]

We'll find out tomorrow anyway - or today, if the leaks from the previous Blizzcon are repeated. ;)

Huh? Blizzcon is this weekend?

[Trippy]

Friday and Saturday:

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon07/

[MrHat]

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon07/goodiebag.shtml

Shit, I want that SC2 magnet something fierce.

Someone hook me up!

[Simond]

I'm surpised that Blizzard managed to keep the expansion stuff secret until a couple of days before Blizzcon, to be honest.

Anyway, speaking of the "Blizzard have time enough to make raid bosses easier so more people get to see the content before WotLK hits" bit...Blizzard is making certain TBC raid bosses easier in either 2.2 or 2.3, so that more people get to see the content before WotLK hits. :) I don't have a direct link, but it's on the various bluetrackers.

Oh, and "Wrath of the Lich King"  is now a registered Blizzard trademark in the US.