There have been lots of little bits of news and information coming out about Wrath of the Lich King lately. With the World Wide Invitational 2008 just around the corner where WotLK will be playable again for us all, and the news that Wrath is in alpha, we can expect to see more and more come out about the game.
With this expectation of the beta and eventual release building, a lot of people are getting excited about different things. So I want to know, what are you most excited about?
For me, I'm most excited about seeing the new end game raid content. I'm with a very dedicated group of raiders right now who do about 20 hours a week of raiding, and it's a lot of fun. Hopefully we'll all still be around in WotLK and get to push into the new content quickly and with a lot of zeal.
Then there is the Death Knight. Who isn't thrilled at the chance to play a new class? We haven't ever seen a new class in WoW, and it's bound to throw a wrench in the way a lot of folks play the game. Seeing the Death Knight get integrated into raiding will be a very interesting thing to watch.
Death Knights will start at a level less than 70, but Blizzard wants them to be able to get into Northrend "a little faster".
Converting a preexisting character to a Death Knight has been ruled out.
This is interesting in that it has been previously thought that the starting level for Death Knights might be as low as 50 or 55. However with Bornakk saying that they want Death Knights to get into Northrend quickly, I would take this to mean that the Death Knight's starting level will be somewhere in the 60s instead. There's still something for Blizzard to clarify here, but this news is interesting nonetheless.
Bornakk also waxes philosophical about the decision to not have a character convert into a Death Knight. He says that "Leveling a character just to throw it away doesn't really fit [fun game play] very well." He also expects that Death Knights will "find their way" into raid groups just as the Paladins and Shamans did on the Horde and Alliance with the release of Burning Crusade.
While this news on the Death Knight is really just clarification of some previously released information, it does provide a good insight into what Blizzard is thinking about the class. WoW Insider will have all the latest on the Death Knight and Wrath of the Lich King, so stay tuned!
There have been a few records set recently. Some are people claiming to have leveled to 70 the fastest, some are groups of players downing a boss on the PTR before anyone else in the world, while others are PvP records yet to be made. Everyone likes to say "we broke a record." It makes them feel good, gives them a sense of purpose and measurable accomplishment, and generally will put a smile on their face. Even I've done that here at WoW Insider occasionally: "Hey, we had a record number of hits that day, cool!" (No, I'm not going to say when that was, I'll leave it up for you all to comment on and guess.)
With all these record breaking accomplishments, it begs the question: do they really mean anything? Does it matter if you've leveled up to 70 in the time that most people are still working on getting the Deadmines quests done? Let's take a look at what records do and do not provide.
One thing that they do provide is competition amongst a small group of players. To borrow a phrase from marketing, we'll call these players "alpha players." They are the ones that will always be the first to jump on new content, the first to let everyone know how to do it, the first to complain, and the first to get the benefits of completing the content. These alpha players are pretty hard core, and use world firsts and records to challenge each other. There is literally a whole 'nother side to the game that many of us don't ever see – hard core time based competition.
Read on for more and vote in our poll, after the jump!
theflamecrow on LJ had an interesting little occurrence: he was in Darkshore when he saw a flash in the World Defense channel that Darkshore was being attacked. The only problem? He's Horde.
Now, most people may think that Horde doesn't have a base in Darkshore that can do under attack, but in fact, they do-- it's the Dancing Troll Village. So apparently some enterprising Alliance had found it and started killing. But here's the bigger question I got from crow's story: does anyone really pay attention to World Defense?
I know I don't. But then again, I play on a PvE server, so odds are that anyone attacking a lowbie level like that is just a level 70 on a rampage. But even on PvP servers, do blaring Defense channels really mean that anyone cares? People will protect their guildies, and of course they'll join the fight if they smell blood (or at least someone they can beat in a fight). But do the Local and World Defense channels really point the way to a good PvP clash the way the developers surely intended? Or do they just mean chat spam, and that there'll be trouble if you try to speak to NPCs in that area?
This little informal survey by Ralloszek over on the WotLK forums raises a pretty good question: is anyone not planning on making a Death Knight when the next expansion hits? We're going to end up with a world full of pale people in black armor wielding gigantic frostblades-- maybe Blizzard should call it "World full of Lich Kings."
It's pretty easy to see that not everyone will switch their main (I don't ever foresee leaving my main, although I do plan to level a Death Knight as an alt), but even if people just roll them to check it out, it reminds me a lot of the Star Wars Galaxies "new game enhancements" where they made Jedi a playable class. If you can roll a Jedi as a class, why would you roll anything else?
Of course, we could give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt here-- they haven't revealed much at all about the game's first Hero Class, so maybe it'll be so hard to get one that they really will be very rare, or they'll only be allowed in certain areas (so you won't see a pack of Death Knights swarming around the mailbox in Stormwind). We already know that they'll start at a higher level, so the good news is that you won't see Elwynn Forest flooded with a bunch of level 1 Death Knights. But as for other ways to keep what is supposed to be a special class special, we'll have to see what Blizzard comes up with.
Mania's Arcania is at it again! She's leveling a new character, and -- surprise -- it's a hunter! Hunter characters are like those nifty potato chips: you can't just have one.
Anyway, she's made an interesting discovery this time about: The removal of the hunter deadzone has made the first 10 levels before a hunter can get his or her pet a much more tolerable, if not... dare I say it?... enjoyable experience! You no longer have to spend so much time meleeing, and you actually get to use a lot of your new abilities (such as Arcane Shot at level 6) more than once.
Previously those first 10 levels were so bad that I dreaded starting a new hunter character, and summoned up lots of patience just to get through them to the juicy fun part once the pet enters the scene. But now starting a new hunter should be a lot nicer.
We heard yesterday that lower level characters didn't need daily quests, because they don't have money problems. But while I agree that daily quests aren't necessary before 70 (considering that, you know, you can do as many quests as you want while leveling), I'm not so sure I agree about the money problems part. Have you had enough money as a lower level character?
I can't ever remember running out of money to train with (although with all of my alts, I usually send about a hundred gold back just to keep repairs and item purchases rolling), but I don't know that I've always had money for a mount at 40. I have a priest right now who's 45 and still running around, just because I've never actually focused on making money long enough to raise the cash. Then again, on my disenchanting rogue, I've always had tons of money to go around, and even sent some up the chain to my main.
Is there a problem with funds at low levels? Do you find you have too little cash from 20-60, just the right amount, or even too much? I think the money flows pretty freely throughout the game at this point-- there are enough ways to earn money at almost any level that if you put in extra time, you should have all you need. But how's the tuning if you don't put in the time? For a character just leveling up, does the game give out enough cash to do it all?
Basically, to gain a loyalty level, your pet needs to, no matter what, gain at least 5% of the XP you, the Hunter, needs for your next level. This is required even if your pet is your level (which means they aren't actually gaining the XP). But there's also a time component on every loyalty level past Unruly. For example, to get to level 4 from level 5, you not only need the experience gain, but an hour must pass. This, as Mania says, is why sometimes your pet will ding loyalty while you're standing around in town-- you've gained the experience, but the time has to pass as well.
She's not done yet-- she needs (or someone with some time on their hands could do it as well-- Mania's going through a move lately) to check out if the experience stays the same all the way to 70, or if it increases at the higher levels. She also didn't try this keeping the pet anything other than happy, so the numbers may change if the pet isn't at full happiness. And she didn't explore, at all, what happens when the pet loses loyalty-- if your pet has dropped a level of loyalty, it may be a completely different formula to regain it.
But great work so far, and this is more than enough to give any Hunter a clear idea of how loyalty works in most cases.
A new expansion is coming our way, and with it comes an additional ten levels of zones, quests, dungeons, and other content. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Well, maybe... While I'm looking forward to seeing new people and places added to my favorite game, I can't say I'm terribly excited about leveling all of my characters up to 80. In fact, it sounds like a task with the potential to be extremely tedious. But for those of us still wanting to play, there's no option other than leveling up to 80 -- and if you're an alt-a-holic like me, leveling up to 80 again, and again, and again... So today I ask you: with level 80 on the horizon, do you look forward to the leveling experience, or dread it?
Pretty amazing news yesterday that WoW has hit over nine million subscribers (that's current, active subscribers-- we're taking it for granted that Blizzard isn't fudging the numbers) worldwide. They put an official announcement up on their front page, and as Patrick on the WoW LJ noticed, Blizzard may be getting rich, but they've still got a good sense of humor. Mouse over the picture on the post and you'll see what's posted above.
So what's next? As Elizabeth said yesterday, there's no question that the Burning Crusade expansion kept players playing, and even brought lots of new players back to the game. There's also no question that this holiday season might be a tough one for keeping players hooked on a four-year-old game, as there are tons of new releases for all the platforms (Warhammer might be WoW's biggest challenger, but don't forget that Halo 3, the new Grand Theft Auto, and a ton of other games are going to vy for the same freetime that WoW takes up). But don't worry-- Drysc has a solution, and it's that they're going to start appealing to some of Earth's other populations. Cat subscribers for the win?
Recently Lizzie experienced the joyful tribulation facing many hunters as they work their way through from levels 10 to 20, puzzling out the question of which pet suits them best. This is one of my favorite choices in the game, partly because there are so many pets to choose from, partly because your choice really makes a difference, and partly because you're not locked into it if you want to try something different later.
For you hunters out there who are looking into what your first pet should be, there is a guide to choosing a pet available on the US forums, which for some reason has not been stickied. It gives you a good overview of the different issues involved in choosing a pet, and sets you in the right direction you'll need to make your choice well.
For those of you who have already reached level 70, but decided that you actually want a pet that is only available at low levels (such as that pretty red kitty from Eversong Woods), there is a guide on the EU forums on how to level that pet up in the quickest way possible. You'll need patience for this, of course, and many hunters just don't have enough, even for picking up the highest-level boar in the game from the Eastern Plaguelands. Still, if you have the resolve, this guide can help you take lots of the pain out of the process.
Every Saturday, Eliah or Elizabeth will bring you their thoughts on the Priest class with Spiritual Guidance. Whether it's keeping your fellow players alive or melting their faces, you can read about it here!
This post may not be terribly useful to old-school Priests -- it's for up and coming priests or people who have been through one too many attempted instance runs that were abandoned after an hour of "need healer for Ramparts, PST!" (That's the reason I decided to roll my first Priest -- we could never find healers for our groups!) And, while I'm certainly a fan of the class, I'll be the first to say that they aren't the easiest class to level. But there are some tricks and talents that can make the process easier for you -- and, since I'm in the middle of leveling up my third Priest, that's what we're going to talk about today.
Leveling up my draenei hunter, I used to keep looking for the next upgraded item I'd be able to use. My most exciting upgrading moment so far came when I reached level 40 and got to put on a full mail set I had bought and put away in the bank just for that moment.
Somehow, though, I wasn't able to find many upgrades in my forties, and now starting on my fifties, some of that armor I had saved in the bank is still the best I can find, on the auction or in quests. The surprising thing is that leveling still isn't that hard! Of course maybe it's just because I'm a hunter, and hunters can even level naked if they want to.
Still, it makes me wonder just how often we need to try and upgrade our armor leveling up. Is it totally different for the various classes? For example, can a hunter get by with sub-par gear for a long time, while a priest or warrior never could? If you're trying to level a very gear dependent class and just can't seem to find good upgrades, how do you manage?
The year is 2012. WoW fans are excitedly awaiting the game's 5th expansion, Revenge of the Gnomes, which brings two new races to the game (Sporeggar and Goblins, at last!), as well as a new class (the Tinker), and a slew of other features. As everyone knows, this is the expansion where the gnomes finally take back Gnomeregan from the troggs, pushing them back all the way into the "Undergloom," a vast and ancient network of caverns beneath Azeroth. Of course, the gnomes also accidentally stumble upon the long-buried prison of the Old Gods and unleash unbridled havoc on the World of Warcraft, but that's where the fun is, right?
I could go on and on about the new features included in Revenge of the Gnomes, but I'm sure you've heard about most of them already (like the subterranean hovercraft group-mounts and blue-pill, red-pill potions for alchemy). Suffice it to say that the feature everyone is most excited about is that the level cap is once again being raised another 10 levels, to a grand total of 110.
Like everyone else, you're probably wondering how in the world (of Warcraft) are you going to level your new Goblin Tinker character all the way through those tedious levels of 1 to 100? Everyone wants to try out the new content, but no one wants to slave away through Stranglethorn Vale for the 48th time. To complicate things further, Blizzard still doesn't want to add any more 1-60 quests in the lower-level zones (not to mention any of the Outland, Northrend, Emerald Dream, or Great Sea Expansion zones)!
Fortunately, though, Blizzard's got what you need! Are you prepared for the "/level" command?
I probably play World of Warcraft way too much. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right? My addiction stems from not being happy with one character, or two, or three... I have 7 characters leveling in the Outlands right now, two of which are raiding Karazhan. Why can't I stick with just one and work on it until it's the best of the best? Because I love my alts!
I created my first alt when my primary character, a Hunter, hit level 52. I'm not entirely sure why I did so, but it probably had something to do with having out-leveled my friends by about 20 levels and wanting to help them without hindering our playing experience. My first alt was a Warlock, who I took to 60 first, becoming my first instance grinding and raiding main character. The hunter stood on standby for a while, until my guild had Molten Core on farm-mode, upon which I took him to 60 and brought him in for our alt runs. He was one of the first to complete the Lok'delar/Rhok'delar/Lamina quest in our guild, which he still has (at least, until I dust him off and bring him out of retirement).
After a few months with them, I met other people who played on a different server, and they needed main tanks for their progression. So I was off and running with a Warrior, who was level 60 in a matter of a few weeks. I helped that guild progress through Blackwing Lair when I took my first burnout hiatus. It took a few months of enjoying other things, more real-life than virtual, when I was feeling the pangs of withdrawal and logged back in.
There have been lots of little bits of news and information coming out about Wrath of the Lich King lately. With the World Wide Invitational 2008 just around the corner where WotLK will be playable again for us all, and the news that Wrath is in alpha, we can expect to see more and more come out about the game.
There have been a few records set recently. Some are people 
theflamecrow on LJ
This little informal survey by Ralloszek
We heard yesterday that lower level characters 
Leveling up my draenei hunter, I used to keep looking for the next upgraded item I'd be able to use. My most exciting upgrading moment so far came when I reached level 40 and got to put on a full mail set I had bought and put away in the bank just for that moment. 
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