Next WoW Expansion (70-80) - Wrath of the Lich King

News leaking from all over the place about the next WoW expansion. Two decent links here giving information about it :


Northrend




WoW : Wrath of the Lich King





WoWszene.de came up with a massive amount of leaked infos on the next WoW Addon: Wrath of the Lich King

We asked to WoWszene.de the permission to post the translation (thanks MyM|Leniya) of the german part of their article ; there it is:

WoW-Szene.de presents you the most important contents about the new addon by Blizzard- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Last night you could see those informations shortly on an underpage of the officially EU-WoW Website and got confirmed to WoW-Szene.de by other sources, among others the official FAQ to WotLK.


What to expect from the Expansion :


*It is going to Northrend! With level 80 and new abilities! If some Objects are achieved, you can create a new Character. The Death Knight. He starts straight in High Level Area.
*In PVP there will be finally be the long-ago announced siege weapons available and there will be destroyable buildings, plus a new battleground
*The Deathknight will be a kind of Damage Dealer and at the same time a Tank with so far non existant new abilities. He will be playable by Alliance and Horde, but it will be just certain Races who will have the possibility to create a Death Knight. He is the first Hero class and other will probably come in the following Expansions.



More summaries of the of the FAQs:


* New possibilities of designing your Character.
* You will fight against the Lich King Arthas!
* Leveling from 70 to 80 will take as much time as leveling from 60 to 70.
* Howling Fjord will be the first area you will arrive to. Afterwards there will be areas following like Grizzly Hills and Dragonblight.
* The first Dungeon will be Utgarde Keep. You will be able to enter it at level 70 and it will be a 5-man Instance. 25er Dungeons will still be existant, just as well as Heroic Instances.
* New Profession: Inscription – Enduring amplification of spells and abilities.
* There will be a Cinematic Intro.
* Northrend will be about as big as Outlands.


Other contents like screenshots could sadly not be saved since the page went offline straight.

The complete FAQ with other Informations in English can be read at wowszene.de.

Also from that site :


New instance or city - Gilneas?


Edit: The new worgen animation were added because of the book " Torment of the worgen" in Karazhan.

Siva of Magtheridon came up with something new and interesting about the Worgen race.

He just noticed that the Worgen have a bunch of new animations. They can now kneel, talk, drown, hold guns and bows, and even ride mounts. With the talk of new expansions and new instances, the Greymane Wall could be opened to access an instance or city, revealing a crumbled and isolated kingdom with a worgen plague so bad even the citizens and the king himself are affected.

http://www.worldofraids.com/news/exp...theworgenm.jpg


Before the new Alliance race for the Burning Crusade was announced there was rumors that the inhabitants of Gilneas have turned into Worgen and that Worgen would be the new race and Gilneas their homeland.

The Greymane Wall could be the entrance to Gilneas, but it is not currently a part of the physical geography of the gameworld. On the other side of the Greymane Wall there is only a small, flat area, bordered by the ocean.

http://www.worldofraids.com/news/exp...mane-wallm.jpg http://www.worldofraids.com/news/exp...othersidem.jpg



From WoWWiki about Gilneas:

"The Kingdom of Gilneas is a human nation located in the peninsula directly south of Silverpine Forest on the continent of Lordaeron. The kingdom was founded following the breaking of Arathor and is ruled by the Greymane dynasty. Besides the peninsula, the kingdom also included the island of Zul'Dare.

By the start of the Second War Gilneas was one of the most powerful human nations, and because of this the kingdom's ruler, Genn Greymane, was not a strong supporter of the Alliance, believing that his own armies would be more than enough to deal with any threat. Despite this, Gilneas was not neutral towards the Horde. Gilneas did join the Alliance late in the Second War, but very shortly after the Horde was defeated, Greymane pulled his nation's support from the Alliance, refusing to spend his nation's resources on keeping the orcs alive in internment camps or in rebuilding other nations devastated by the war. Greymane's isolationism may have been influenced by Daval Prestor, secretly black dragon Deathwing in human disguise, who Greymane had supported to the throne of Alterac.

Sometime after the Second War, Greymane, attempting to forever remove his nation from what he considered "other people's troubles", barricaded Gilneas behind the Greymane Wall. No one, not even other humans are allowed to enter Gilneas. Even during the Scourge's invasion of Lordaeron, while human refugees came begging to be allowed in, the Greymane Wall remained closed. Because of this, Gilneas was not affected by the Scourge. Although the land connection to Gilneas is closed, ships from Gilneas have been spotted throughout the world, such as the pirate ship Heedless of captain Baron Longshore. Apparently thanks to the latter, Jaina Proudmoore managed to convince a number of people from Gilneas to join her during exodus to Kalimdor during the Third War. These people formed the Gilneas Brigade.

Gilneas' current state is partly under speculation. It is not known if Genn Greymane is still alive and ruling Gilneas. If he still lives, he must be in his 70s. The dwarven explorer, Brann Bronzebeard, speculates that the Naga may have taken Gilneas, though there is no proof to support this.

Gilneas Sparkling Water can be purchased in the Old Hillsbrad Foothills section of the Caverns of Time instance. This water replaces Purified Draenic Water, which wouldn't have been found on Azeroth at the time the instance takes place."

From the German site (not authorised or proven to be legit ) :


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."
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I am so MMORPG'ed out I went to the pub last night, it said 'Pull' on the toilet door so I nutted the bouncer and ran back to my mates ready for a fight.

No wai.. death knight.. holy crap.. They should add boat mounts :O. We can fly, we can go fast on land, all we need now is to stay a float in the water.

Level 80?? QQ

Damn it. Let me get 70 first :)

Seems quasi legit.

Wonder what they will do about flying mounts?

Just umm.... use em?

Also - Deathknight starting at what.... level 60? 70? Seems like there will be A LOT of Deathknights if thats the case.

Seems to me that Death Knight will be as hard to get as it was to activate your "force sensitive" slot on Star Wars Galaxies...

The worgen thing is nothing special, nearly all models have movement for shooting, running, looting and so on in them.

Sounds great, should supply a sufficient player-base for WAR if this goes through.

I mean, another 10 lvls expected to b announced just before the launch of a PvP game? An entire class, only available by grinding of PvE? Should prolly go pre-order WAR now..

If they introduced Worgen for Horde and Pandaren for alliance i'd stick with WoW ;)

Don't hold your breath. Given the past track record of Blizzard, expect this expansion sometime in 2010.

I have StarCraft CD cases with "Diablo 2: coming in 1997" and "Diablo 2: coming in 1998", when it was actually released in the middle of 2000.

Even Burning Crusade was a year late. And I can only cry when I think about StarCraft 2.

At least they don't release another Shadowbane :)

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Originally Posted by Xzin

At least they don't release another Shadowbane :)

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Or another Vanguard ;)

WoW now stands for Waiting On WAR.

I Doubt I'll ever play this new expansion, if it exists. :)

Not sure I will play WAR if there is no support for boxing.

It would have to be so much more badass than WoW is now......... which is possible.

But I for one will not hold my breath.

The big change from V1 to TBC was itemization, not the level cap.

At the moment of TBC prime characters were at ~80 itemization at level 60. Meaning if you had your bloodfang set and equivalent gear. When TBC hit we quickly saw mundane level 70 characters with ~100 itemization (quest gear). And now level 70 characters with ~150 itemization (deathmantle).

The impact of WLK is a problem only if there is a level 80 with ~240 itemization around the corner. Which I highly highly doubt, I would assume that it would hang just below 200 or so at the very top end. The TBC was a structural change on many levels in addition to itemization. Especially the tuned looting.

Oh how the itemization was so broken for many classes, we hardly ever got the full value of our gear. Hand picking Oracle and Trance pieces for to get the uber-regen and the '% of my heals heal me, as a queer +resist mitigation method' and what not were aweful. While now we have gear that we can actually use to its fullest extent.

Yes I know that enchants and gems also bump the itemization levels, but I wasn't about to bust out a calculator just now. Needless to say that a character in prime gear in v1.0 and a prime one in TBC is wearing twice the gear though only ten levels different. I fully believe that its a function of the TBC ideology changes, not the ramping of the game.

If the game ramps that way its soon to be destroyed.

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Originally Posted by hpavc

The big change from V1 to TBC was itemization, not the level cap.

At the moment of TBC prime characters were at ~80 itemization at level 60. Meaning if you had your bloodfang set and equivalent gear. When TBC hit we quickly saw mundane level 70 characters with ~100 itemization (quest gear). And now level 70 characters with ~150 itemization (deathmantle).

The impact of WLK is a problem only if there is a level 80 with ~240 itemization around the corner. Which I highly highly doubt, I would assume that it would hang just below 200 or so at the very top end. The TBC was a structural change on many levels in addition to itemization. Especially the tuned looting.

Oh how the itemization was so broken for many classes, we hardly ever got the full value of our gear. Hand picking Oracle and Trance pieces for to get the uber-regen and the '% of my heals heal me, as a queer +resist mitigation method' and what not were aweful. While now we have gear that we can actually use to its fullest extent.

Yes I know that enchants and gems also bump the itemization levels, but I wasn't about to bust out a calculator just now. Needless to say that a character in prime gear in v1.0 and a prime one in TBC is wearing twice the gear though only ten levels different. I fully believe that its a function of the TBC ideology changes, not the ramping of the game.

If the game ramps that way its soon to be destroyed.

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This is how I feel. I really wish they would take the time and redo 1-60s loot table would make rerolling not so bad. I have the most fun playing any class in TBC b/c you get the gear to play what ever spec you want to its fullest. Like my war I have a nice tank set and will tank instances for a few days then respec and go as DD.

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Originally Posted by Boss

This is how I feel. I really wish they would take the time and redo 1-60s loot table would make rerolling not so bad. I have the most fun playing any class in TBC b/c you get the gear to play what ever spec you want to its fullest. Like my war I have a nice tank set and will tank instances for a few days then respec and go as DD.

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I agree, its not just nostalgia or re-rolling. But on virgin un-AQ40 opened gates the re-rolling is painful (though I love having the whole zone to myself -- crafting was never so good). Painful in that people that depend on the AH and need to farm for gold to get a 40mount find it impossible, they need some sort of support structure it seems.

I have thought quite a bit on this, the non-outlands 1-60 loot table isn't so bad, the problem I see is that its stuck in 40-man raids and the 40man raids (except for AQ40 and Naxx) are near completely locked away from everything else.

They could easily make another NPC to cook up a quest chain like the 0.5 tier quest, but have it somewhat ride ontop of the existing quest log for your 10-20,30-40,40-50,50-60 quest chains. So basically your doing your existing quests, but doing these side quests as well. Similar to the Princess quest that goes relatively nowhere, this should be that but go much further.

I would also like to see a Dragon's chain where somewhat like the Onyxia chain, but this would end where that one begins level wise and take you all over the place. Adding a lonely wandering spawn on the far east of Redridge, altering the rare spawn in Alterac, maybe salt and peppering some of the world dragon locations to have near by. If you drink a potion and are able to maneuver into duskwood and touch some item and avoid the dragon, seems plausible.

I wouldn't mind seeing another level 30-40,55 instance like SM. Perhaps with the Gnolls in Feralas. Using a token system like naxx/outlands has would be nice. Nothing monstrous like ZG, but if they had a mini 'unlock' system that would be great. Since we could pretty much hit the hell out of that place on and off with a single level 70.

While its seems off target of your 1-60 leveling issue. I think they should have a unlock method for heroic old-school 40mans. I think that if they enhance the waters quest chain more for MC to unlock 25man, buff onyxia and add more lore to her after facing her such as entering her cave from another portal in a different cave and fighting her 25man, both AQ40, BWL, and Naxx are likely beyond miniaturization, they are largely 'parking lot' battles. LBRS/UBRS are so full of exploit holes that altering them might cause huge issues in development.

Likely they cannot fix leveling from 1-60, but they can make more synergies and overlapping long term quests that suit the power leveler.

Blizzcon keynote starting soon. Deathknights confirmed to be prot spec warriors with dps worth writing home about.

The big Diablo in all these pictures, logotypes and goodybag items has me curious. Are we going to see a Diablo 3 in an updated WoW engine?

Whatever is coming, I want to dualbox it.

(edit) Okay not much information released in that relatively short keynote address, nothing worth bringing up.

http://www.n4g.com/pc/News-56666.aspx

Riault

http://www.wow-europe.com/wrath/

http://worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/

I hope Death Knight will be able to do ranged dps so I will have 4 Death Knights and blood elf paladin :)

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Originally Posted by unit187

I hope Death Knight will be able to do ranged dps so I will have 4 Death Knights and blood elf paladin :)

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Right now they have at lease one very odd ability. I am not seeing where this would come into play.

http://boards.worldofraids.com/topic-6195-1.html

ive said this on the WOWEU forums and ill say it here, i really hope Blizzard arent as stupid as SoE were with Star Wars galaxies, because the way Jedi were handled fucked the game hard(Not Jedi themselves, the way it was handled). I seriously hope WoW doesnt go that way.

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Originally Posted by hpavc

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Originally Posted by unit187

I hope Death Knight will be able to do ranged dps so I will have 4 Death Knights and blood elf paladin :)

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Right now they have at lease one very odd ability. I am not seeing where this would come into play.

http://boards.worldofraids.com/topic-6195-1.html

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this is insane pvp skill

imagine some epix geared warrior with 2 healers chushing ppl at BG here and there, then gets this curse and his own healers kill him :)

If the death knight has heals, imagine well-coordinated multiboxing of them? I'm skeptical to that supposed blurry photo of a blurry screen of a blurry spell, because the death knights were not available on the show floor, they were not demoed in realtime, and they don't use mana. I'm calling a fake on it, and that it instead is a new spell for an existing class.

As I heard, death knights are plate-wearing tank/dps so I dont think they will heal

I think at most DKs will only get some sort of vampiric damage-heals, considering they can TANK without a shield (one of the class panel points). But knowing Blizzard, nothing is finalized.

The unveiling of WotLK also seems rushed. If you look at the expansion website, they say that the introductory cinematics are not yet complete and will be ready at a future date.

Personally, I feel Blizzard is pushing to get SCII out and rollout their other unannounced title as to smother Warhammer's buzz pending this Fall or Winter. Knowing EA's marketing, they will likely release before the end of the year regardless of market conditions.

If Blizzard can keep a series of exciting announcements and releases rolling, WAR will be in serious trouble to live up to its promises of a WoW-crushing debut.

Dont think they will use any kind of heals/vampiric heals. I think DKs will have huge parry/dodge chance which will increase some stats. For example DK parries and his armor increases by 10000 for X mins.