This last week on the WoW Insider Show, which is now available for listening on WoW Radio, we celebrated Mother's Day by inviting on both Amanda Dean, and her mother Linda Emrys, who is herself a WoW player. We also had Robin Torres on, who not only writes for us here at WoW Insider, but also is the mother of a two-and-a-half year old. Turpster and I were both on, but we didn't do much more than ask questions this time around -- the ladies got in some good discussion about what it's like to play WoW as a mother, how this game might actually help you raise children, and what it's like coming to WoW as someone who doesn't have a lot of gaming experience. If you're a casual gamer (or just know someone who is), the show should be really interesting to you.
And even if not, we were able to squeeze some great Wrath of the Lich King discussion in there after all of Friday's revelations, including what's up with the Death Knights, how 10/25 man raiding will change, and all of the other zone information we heard on Friday, from Dragonblight to Grizzly Hills to how what we see in the Borean Tundra gives us clues about what the next expansion might be.
I thought it was a pretty good show, but if you have other opinions (or any opinions, really), feel free to share them by emailing us at theshow@wowinsider.com. And don't forget that while you can listen to the show either in WoW Radio's archives or on iTunes, you can also hear us live every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm EST/8:30pm GMT.
Hope your Mother's Day was excellent, and enjoy the podcast!
Over the past week, particularly in the last few days, the crisp Internet air has been abuzz with news from the upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Fear you're out of the loop? Here's a quick round-up of all the information being released, along with analysis and opinion.
Don't forget to keep checking back, as this page will be updated as information becomes available:
Dungeons and raids
An analysis on Arthas as a ten-manned event, including its impact on the 25-man raiding structure, as well an exploration of its consistency with the lore.
Did you know that all expansion raids will have a 10-man setting, as well as a 25-man?
The Nexus has been announced on the official site as one of the new dungeons.
Zones, factions, and relevant lore
Alex has written an excellent overview of the Grizzly Hills, a soon-to-be zone for low to mid-seventies. With old factions reappearing, along with other surprises, it's definitely something to look forward to!
If news of the Dragonblight has intrigued you, you'll be pleased to know that more information has been made available.
While we're brushing up on our lore and learning about new areas and factions, Alex thought it fitting to illuminate the lore behind Azjol-Nerub, as the Nerubians will have their own role in the expansion.
Continue through the break for new information on Death Knights, as well as video and interviews, analysis, release date information, and our full-range of Wrath galleries.
I've examined the Dragonblight before when Blizzard first gave us the preview of the zone, but some other news about the region has come into the spotlight in the last few days. I'm sure you've noticed, the Wrath news is everywhere, especially here on WoW Insider. Below I have a little breakdown of what we know so far.
The Dragonblight is both the beginning and the end of the dragon life cycle. The Titans granted the Dragonflights their powers here, and this is also where dragons go to die.
This zone contains a shrine for each of the Flights which surround Wyrmrest Temple. These shrines are under siege by the Scourge.
Alexstrasza herself is lending a hand in recruiting for the war effort in the Dragonblight.
The Scourge has been twisting the remains of fallen dragons into Frost Wyrms and potentially other monstrosities.
The Scarlet Crusade returns in this zone, renamed the Scarlet Onslaught.
Here's one more tidbit of WoTLK information for you, courtesy of Gamespy. They sat down for an interview with co-lead design J. Allen Brack. Most of the information is stuff we've heard in the past or have already posted on in this morning's massive flurry, but it's always nice to get a peek into the brain of the folks who bring us this amazing game.
Among some of the things discussed by J. Allen Brack and Gamespy:
Flying Mounts are gone until level 77, at which point you will either complete a quest or a visit a trainer to be able to use them again. You will still not be able to use the mounts in the old world, so even though Naxxramas is on Azeroth, your flying mount will not be able to cross back over the sea to visit the old stomping grounds. The Old World was designed using too many graphical shortcuts in places people were not meant to access to allow flying mounts.
They have recieved massive positive feedback so far about the return to Azeroth and the old traditional fantasy as opposed to the sci-fi feel of the Burning Crusade. In that same vein, they are bringing back many familiar sights and storylines from Old Azeroth. Sholozar Basin will be Un'goro 2.0, complete with crystals and pylons. No word on whether it will also contain more Land of the Lost and Nintendo references. It will also contain some of the flavors of Stranglethorn and the old Netherstorm biodomes, says J. Allen.
In a similar vein, we can expect to see more of the ever-popular Scarlet Crusade, this time in the form of the Scarlet Onslaught. The Worgen are back in homage to the Sons of Arugal and Shadowfang Keep.
While the city of Dalaran will be headed up to WoTLK, don't expect to see nothing but a hole in the ground where it used to be in Alterac. J. Allen reveals that they do have plans for the spot, and the concept drawings they have for it look very cool.
The Dragonblight, J. Allen Brack said, is probably his favorite new piece of content for the expansion. It is where the Dragons were born, where they recieved sentience from the Titans, and where they come to die, and where the Lich King has been twisting Dragon corpses to serve him as Frost Wyrms, so there's a lot of great lore and history there. It will include a raid instance called the Chamber of the Aspects, and while no bosses have been designed for it yet, it will probably have bosses representing each of the Dragonflights.
It sounds like the developers are nearly as excited about WoTLK as we are, which is usually a good sign of things to come. We hope you've enjoyed all this awesome new information we've found for you tonight. There may be more to come, so stay tuned as we scour all the latest news.
There are several first looks at the new cities, zones, and architecture of Wrath of the Lich King that we haven't seen from Blizzcon. This also includes several mobs that have not been seen before. Zul'Drak is reminiscent of Zul'Gurub, and looks quite new and refreshing. Sholazar Basin is a cross between Stranglethorn Vale and Ungoro Crater, heavily influenced by Troll architecture.
We are also presented with vehicle combat in the Sholazar Basin video. This is simply amazing. The video shows a gnome flying machine contraption shooting missiles at other flying mounts, and then a gnome ejecting and floating down to safety in a parachute. Grand Theft Azeroth.
In the Borean Tundra video we see a beautiful look at the new cities for both Horde and Alliance players. There are also images of Dragon kind, similar to what players experience during the last leg of the Onyxia quest chain from pre-BC. Also included is a gnome city, much like Area-52.
Check it out now, and watch for more detailed analysis of the video and all the other news as the day goes on.
With Wrath of the Lich King and the return of the Scourge to the spotlight, an old friend comes back along with them. The Nerubians! We haven't seen much of them in the World of Warcraft yet beyond being undead lackies, they have a long, quite interesting backstory. We saw a little more in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, but their story goes even deeper. In the big picture of Warcraft, their ancestors predate all but the Trolls, and maybe even them.
In the beginning there were the Silithid. Insectoid horrors that crawled forth from the Well of Eternity just happened to grab the interest of the Old Gods. The most notable of them so far being C'Thun. C'Thun crafted avatars of war from the Silithid, twisting them into humanoid soldiers. These avatars became known as the Aqir. The Aqir are best described as 'evil' though that is always in the eye of the beholder.
The Aqir were one of three super powers in the world at the time, roughly 16,000 years prior to the Orcish invasion of Azeroth. The other two came in the form of the Troll Empires of the Gurubashi and the Amani. The three clashed repeatedly, and the Trolls only managed survival by forging a loose alliance between their empires. The Aqir civilization of Azj'Aqir held up quite well, their war lasting thousands of years, and no ultimate outcome ever came to fruition.
As I posted yesterday, the Dragonblight has been revealed. As a lore nerd and someone fascinated with Northrend, I am stoked. What kind of person uses the word stoked? I have no idea, but it sounded good.
If you've read the official page, you'll know a little bit about the zone and what's going on there. It's a Dragon Graveyard, and rumored to be the place that the Dragon Aspects were originally granted their powers by the Titans. Specifically, that place would be Wyrmrest Keep. Apparently the Scourge are after Wyrmrest Keep and the five accompanying shrines, which are tied to each of the Dragonflights. Why would they be after these shrines? To create their own dragons, of course.
Over on the EU forums, Blizzard poster Salthem gives us a few details on the new zones we'll be visiting in Northrend. Of course, all of this is subject to change per developer whim but this is what Northrend is shaping up to be, so far. Salthem lists six zones (with notes that there will be more, though the exact number hasn't been finalized yet) that will be comparable in size to Outland zones. Howling Fjord: Your first chance to go up against the ancient Vrykul in their instance Utgarde Keep. Borean Tundra: The home to the Tuskarr. Parts of Borean Tundra are being melted down for water by the Naga. Garrosh Hellscream has established a base of operations at Warsong Hold. Grizzly Hills: The home of Furbolgs and their city of Grizzlemaw. Also home to the ancient Dwarven City of Thor Modan. The land is largely covered in forests - an example of our desire to make sure that not all zones are just snow and ice. Dragonblight: The home of Wyrmrest Temple, the ancient meeting place where dragons go to die. Lake Wintergrasp: A new non-instanced PvP zone with Siege Weapons, destructible buildings and multiple objectives with lasting effects. Players on Normal realms will automatically be flagged for PvP when entering this zone. The Storm Peaks: Containing Ulduar, the ancient Titan city in the Far North.
The capitol city of Northrend (the Shattrath of the north) will be Dalaran. Yes, you read me right, the same Dalaran that presently hides under a sparkly dome near Hillsbrad. The Kirin Tor have invoked powerful magic to relocate their city, and hopefully safeguard themselves from the dragon Malygos, who is concerned over magic running amok in Azeroth.
This last week on the WoW Insider Show, which is now available for listening on WoW Radio, we celebrated Mother's Day by inviting on both Amanda Dean, and her mother Linda Emrys, who is herself a WoW player. We also had Robin Torres on, who not only writes for us here at WoW Insider, but also is the mother of a two-and-a-half year old. Turpster and I were both on, but we didn't do much more than ask questions this time around -- the ladies got in some good discussion about what it's like to play WoW as a mother, how this game might actually help you raise children, and what it's like coming to WoW as someone who doesn't have a lot of gaming experience. If you're a casual gamer (or just know someone who is), the show should be really interesting to you.
Over the past week, particularly in the last few days, the crisp Internet air has been abuzz with news from the upcoming expansion, 
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