Wrath of the Lich King

Posted by Stropp on August 4, 2007

It appears a lot of the pundits were very close to correct. Blizzards announcement at Blizzcon of Wrath of the Lich King, their second expansion for World of Warcraft wasn’t a surprise, nor did it hold any surprises.

In the cold, harsh northlands…
The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King’s will and end his reign of terror for all time.

Blizzard Entertainment’s latest expansion to World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – adds a host of epic content to the existing game world. Players will achieve soaring levels of power, explore a vast new continent, and battle other high-level heroes to determine the fate of Azeroth. As you pit yourself against the dangers of the north, prepare to:
Features

• • Master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight - World of Warcraft’s first Hero class.
  • Quest to level 80, gaining potent new abilities and talents along the way.
  • Learn the craft of spell augmentation with the new Inscription profession.
  • Brave the harsh new continent of Northrend, the icy domain of the Lich King.
  • Engage in epic siege warfare, deploying mighty siege engines to lay waste to destructible buildings in your path.
  • Transform your hero’s look with new character-customization options, including new hairstyles and dances.
  • Explore perilous new dungeons filled with some of the deadliest creatures — and greatest treasures — on Azeroth.
  • And much, much more…

Most of the recent rumours talked about 80 as the new level cap, the setting of Northrend, and even the inclusion of the Death Knight hero class. I have a feeling there has been a little judicious leaking of advanced info, or maybe the Blizzard Devs read Tobolds blog. His recent thoughts on a fictional expansion called The Frozen Jihad have some striking similarities to the Wrath of The Lich King. Well, the cold frosty bits at least. Maybe they should offer him a consultants fee.

I’m definitely of mixed feelings regarding this new expansion. I think it’s good to have regular expansions, and open up new areas. But, to a large extent this appears on the surface to be more of the same. I’m sure we’ll hear more in the coming months about the much, much more… feature, and what Blizzard haven’t told us could be as important as what they have just announced. But at this point, I find myself less excited than with the The Burning Crusade.

I like that Siege warfare is being introduced. It’s always been a big part of the RTS games, and it’s logical to see it introduced into WoW. I expect it will play a part in the Battlegrounds and not so much in the PvE game, but you never know. I also like the inclusion of character customisation. I’ve always felt that this is one area where World of Warcraft could (should) have improved. I played City of Heroes a few years ago, and haven’t been truely happy with any games character creation system since.

A new profession doesn’t really do it for me. Not at all. I’ve become especially jaded about WoW professions. With the exception of Alchemy, the manufacturing professions are just big money sinks. None of the gear that can be made is anywhere near as good as the drops of mobs and quest rewards. Hopefully, Inscription can add something new to the whole profession thing.

As for the release date. No announcement was made about when the Frozen Jihad err… Wrath of the Lich King is to be released. Blizzard said just prior to the release of The Burning Crusade that they were planning on releasing one expansion a year. Based on this, I’d expect WotLK to be released either just prior to Christmas, or toward the end of January.

What do you think; Are you going to rush out on release day for this one? Or, if you are considering quitting World of Warcraft, is this new expansion enough to keep you playing?

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