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All things Wrath of the Lich King

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
  1. 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.
  2. Did you know that all expansion raids will have a 10-man setting, as well as a 25-man?
  3. Read through some of our initial impressions on the 10-man raiding set-up.
  4. We also wrote up a concise overview of the ins and outs of dungeons post-expansion, including a new token system, similar to [Badge of Justice].
  5. The Nexus has been announced on the official site as one of the new dungeons.
Zones, factions, and relevant lore
  1. 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!
  2. If news of the Dragonblight has intrigued you, you'll be pleased to know that more information has been made available.
  3. 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.
  4. Alex asks us about lore figures we'd like to see 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.

Gallery: What we know about Death Knights

Hero classA separate characterStarting levelClass roleRuneblades

Continue reading All things Wrath of the Lich King

An interview with J. Allen Brack

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.

Gamespy's hands on with Wrath of the Lich King

Gamespy has lifted their press embargo, and there's lots of new Wrath of the Lich King info up. They apparently did a long hands-on with the expansion, and lots of new zone and gameplay info has come out.
  • The area is apparently much bigger than Outland
  • There is an aerial gondola, a huge sea battle, and apparently an archeological expedition where you'll be able to fly planes
  • All five Dragonflights appear in Dragonblight, a huge graveyard for dragons
  • There's "a sister area to Un'goro," which means tropical rainforests. There are also lots of different areas within larger zones.
  • Worgen and the sons of Arugal are back, and the Scarlet Crusade is now called the Scarlet Onslaught. And one quest is based on a mission from Warcraft III.
  • Death Knight can turn dead teammates into ghouls -- "plenty of fun in the Arenas"
  • There are "vehicle" quests, where players drive a vehicle (planes, trucks, or even dragons) around to accomplish tasks
Unfortunately, the Gamespy folks aren't raiders, so there's not much information about the new instances and raids in Northrend (in this piece anyway -- we've got more dungeons and raids info coming out). But just the mentions of some of this stuff -- the different vehicle quests (maybe Grand Theft Azeroth is realer than we thought) -- is enough to get us excited.

Dragonblight thoughts from a lore nerd


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.

Continue reading Dragonblight thoughts from a lore nerd


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