So here's what the demo didn't have:
- Any signs of the new Death Knight hero class. We didn't get to try them out and we still have no word on how you'll become a Death Knight.
- Any evidence of a new profession. The new Inscription profession sounds very interesting, and I'm eager to see some specifics on how it works. But this wasn't in the demo content.
- Any new talents. While the official Wrath of the Lich King page tells us that the journey to level 80 will include new abilities and talents, they're not in this demo.
- A working map. Pressing the default map key, "m," would only take you to the world map without allowing you to zoom in and see how Northrend is subdivided.
- Will this Northrend place have quests, perhaps? Outland was great in that as soon as you got there you were directed to a to an outpost that gave you tons of interesting quest content. But I didn't see a single yellow exclamation point in Northrend in the demo, or an indication of which way to go from the dock.
I felt like we had about five minutes of useful gameplay time. And in that five minutes, we got to wander around the Howling Fjord in Northrend, which was an interesting environment, though it doesn't have the same visual punch Outland has. (Outland has a very different look than Azeroth does, which makes the place really stand out -- Northrend just doesn't pop in the same way.) But I didn't see any new quests (not implemented in the demo yet?) and fighting generic wolves, cats, and humanoid creatures (Blizzard says these are Vykrul) didn't really get me excited about the game.
Overall? I'm disappointed that I waited for three hours in a line in order to spend five minutes playing an existing class, with existing talents, at existing levels in a new zone that didn't have much of a different feel from the old zones. Obviously this is an early, early, early demo -- none of the really interesting stuff is there for us to see yet. I have a great deal of faith in Blizzard to come through and release an outstanding product (as always!), but this demo was a real letdown that didn't feature any of things that interest me about the expansion.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-03-2007 @ 4:47PM
matagin said...
So does this mean we should stop playing and just wait for the expansion because everything we work for now will be useless once the new expansion comes out?
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8-03-2007 @ 4:51PM
Rex said...
@1
Why even start playing at the next expansion? Any gear you get then will be obsolete when the one after that is out. This is how the game works, love it or leave it.
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8-03-2007 @ 4:53PM
brett said...
Play the game for the content not the gear.
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8-03-2007 @ 4:54PM
Bloodshadow said...
@1 Do you have "fun" while playing the game? Because I do. I play pvp a lot mainly because it is the type of fun I get out of WoW. Yes all the gear I get from Arena's and BG's will be useless once the expansion hits but thats not why I play the game. Gear isn't my ultimate objective, the experiences are. If you don't like expansions for MMORPG's, then stop playing them.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:02PM
nagash_wow said...
If blizzard balances the gear right. You will still want to get your T6 gear. And your T6 gear will be good all the way to 80. I doubt the 1st drop in Northrend will be better than tier 6.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:05PM
RogueJedi86 said...
Which dock did the boat leave from? Menethil? Darkshore? From one Northrend port to another Northrend port?
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8-03-2007 @ 5:06PM
Brinar said...
Just a question. Since Northrend is not really in Outland,will the flying mounts still work?
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8-03-2007 @ 5:11PM
Later said...
@7
They should, since Northrend has been designed from the ground up in a post-flying mount timeline. In other words, Blizzard knows people have flying mounts, so they can design Northrend accordingly. Azeroth and Kalimdor, not so much.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:14PM
RogueJedi86 said...
WotLK won't be out until next year easily, we can assume, so you'll have plenty of time to hit 70.
And Brinar, this was said in
http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/08/03/liveblogging-the-blizzcon-expansion-demo-panel/
"1:28pm: Kirin Tor are setting up the final fight against the Dragonflight-- they're moving Dalaran to take a stand. It'll be the home city, and floating above the air, access it from the ground... or flying mounts. Very centrally located in Northrend-- we learned a lot from Shattrath, but build in a ton of lore and make it a really cool place."
So it sounds like Dalaran will be moving into the air over Northrend, and we'll be able to use our flying mounts to get to it. Makes sense, since we'll have to be level 68-70 to play in Northrend, so most/all of us will be flying.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:16PM
saphia said...
I'm wondering if the reason they wanted you to waste time on the boat as well as waste time putting your talents on was because they didn't want you to find out just how little there was to do there. Maybe 5 minutes actual playing time is all they have available right now.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:21PM
z007gg2 said...
So, since the reason for not having flying mounts in Azeroth is because it's not geared right for it, what about Northrend? Since it's made, or in the process, couldn't they gear it for flight and let us use them there? Have they mentioned this at all?
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8-03-2007 @ 5:26PM
Pudwhack said...
What good wow player can't spec in a minute and cast from their spell book? Dude I would have just went right to the new content and not worried about my bars.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:27PM
Argio said...
yes they have. you can use your flying mount or buy new ones. it has been said, and written on multiple sites, eg. mmo-champion.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:33PM
bill gates said...
the whole hero class thing could be game changing/breaking imo i wish blizz would spit out what the hell it in-tales
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8-03-2007 @ 5:34PM
Piddleton said...
Set up your talents on the boat ride.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:35PM
Ty said...
@7 yes the flying mount will be used, as i've been watching live feed and the Capitol City of Northrend is Dalaran, which floats above the dragon zone, and they said to reach it you must need a flying mount.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:38PM
honkhonk said...
play for the content? Havent seen Cthun, Naxx, SSC, Hyjal, TK or Illidan. The content they advertise the game with is only accessible by a minority anyway.
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8-03-2007 @ 5:41PM
vlad said...
QQ, this is all about nerds having the opportunity to say they were the first ever people to be in northrend. so what if nothing was available. your still one up on about 7,998,261 other wow players. is that not enough?
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8-03-2007 @ 5:56PM
Runstadrey said...
So, I'm really new to the game, just started playing a month ago and my main is only lvl 28 (I have a real life & a REAL mortgage). I'm not playing BC now, just plain-Jane WoW. So, if I max out the WoW and move to BC then on to WotLK how many expansions will there be by the time I become a DK?
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8-03-2007 @ 6:47PM
niko said...
I have a real life, too (my main's only up to 48 after nearly 7 months in the game), and yet, despite all the new content and whatnot, I'm still quite tempted by it... makes you WANT to get to 70... just like I can't wait to finally get to 58 or so in order to handle Outland in BC... Either way, it's a game, and I have a family and everything (a mortgage, too), so it can't be priority... but it sure is fun nonetheless!
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