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Posts with tag utgarde-keep

New WotLK screenshots leaked [Updated]

Posted Apr 20th 2008 11:25PM by Adam Holisky
Filed under: News items, Screenshots, Wrath of the Lich King


A poster on the mmo-champion forums has found several leaked screenshots from the alpha of Wrath of the Lich King. While not all screenshots the original poster produced are real, WoW Insider has learned from an inside source that a number of them are very similar to what the actual alpha looks like and appear to be legitimate. While this isn't an official confirmation from Blizzard, it is about as good as we'll get for any leaked screenshot for the time being.

The images are of various places around what looks to be Utgarde Keep. Additionally, there is a very real looking screenshot of the alpha installation package. Sources tell me this is very close to what is on the docket at Blizzard, again lending credibility to these leaks.

Stay tuned to WoW Insider for all the latest Wrath of the Lich King information. Click the gallery below to see the full leaked sets.

Updated 12:53 a.m. EDT: Login screen was a fake. Removed. However, other screenshots still stand up with our sources. Thanks to Aichon, Kyraa, and our sources for helping clear up which images are real and which are fake.

Updated 11:00 p.m. EDT April 21st: Most of these images came from Two Hammers over at Gamebunny from his Blizzcon 2007 trip. However, still good screenies for people to enjoy.

Gallery: WotLK Leaks


Check out more information on WoW's upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, including Blizzard's recent interview about Northrend and the new creatures that infest of Northrend. Plus, a visual guide to what we know about Death Knights so far.

Dungeon depth in the past, present and future

Posted Apr 19th 2008 11:00AM by Alex Ziebart
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Forums

The other day, Kromzul of Burning Blade posted a thread in the official Wrath of the Lich King forum about dungeon design. He asks if instances will be deeper than those in the Burning Crusade, and I agree with most of what he says. Essentially, the epic, sprawling dungeon crawls of old have gone extinct with BC.

Bornakk chimes in to say that The Burning Crusade dungeon design was heavily influenced by player feedback, wishing for more Scarlet Monastery-esque dungeons. I can see that, and to an extent, I agree with that, too. Scarlet Monastery, while shorter and more linear, was also pretty cool.

Personally, I don't think that it really comes down to one or the other. Take Dire Maul, for instance. Each wing could be tackled in a straightforward, linear fashion. However, each of them also had alternative routes, and some of them even had alternative ways of defeating them. For example, Tribute Runs in Dire Maul: North. Plus, they were even connected via the library. If you really want to, you could go from one wing to the other without any loading screen.

Continue reading Dungeon depth in the past, present and future

Hidden Wrath site discovered in Blizzard newsletter

Posted Nov 1st 2007 11:27AM by Dan O'Halloran
Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Instances, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King


World of Raids found a hidden link in Blizzard's latest newsletter. That link has led them to a special page on the official Wrath of the Lich King site that you can't find on the expansion's main page.

On this special page is an extensive exploration of how the Warcraft team designed the Northrend 5-man instance, Utgarde Keep in the Howling Fjord zone. First they delve into the story elements that ramp up to your introduction to the "impenetrable fortress in the side of a mountain." Upon arriving by boat to Daggercap Bay, you will see the damage wrought by the enormous, native Viking race and their proto-dragon mounts.

Overland quests from there will tell the story of how these Vrykul have used Utgarde Keep as a staging area to wage a battle against what they see as an invading force of Alliance and Horde.

The page goes on to explain other design decisions that will play out in Utgarde: as a "starter" dungeon, it's designed to be finished quickly; it will be more mission based due to the popularity of Old Hillsbrad and Black Morass in Burning Crusade; and you will get glimpses of the end boss before finally encountering him.

Continue reading Hidden Wrath site discovered in Blizzard newsletter

Map of Utgarde Keep, and what we know about it

Posted Sep 14th 2007 2:05PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Quests, Expansions, BlizzCon


Well this is exciting. MMO Champion points us to WoW Wiki, where some enterprising person has assembled a map of Utgarde Keep, the first instance in Wrath of the Lich King. The map is apparently based on one published in Games for Windows, but as it appears on WoW Wiki, it's a little empty. Let's see if we can't clear some things up-- I've added letters to the map above, and below, I've described what is probably there, based on my own impressions and what we've heard elsewhere.

A. This is the main entrance, and as I said before, it consists of Vrykul metalworkers and forgemasters. The big firey graphic is the Forge, which has three "walls" that only open up after the mobs are defeated there. After you clear all three walls, you head around to the left, and find...

B. Dragonhandlers and "Trained Proto-drakes," which appeared to be Blue Dragons. Draw your own conclusions there. This area is a stable type of place, which explains the stalls.

Continue reading Map of Utgarde Keep, and what we know about it

Utgarde Keep video

Posted Aug 9th 2007 3:06PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Blizzard, Expansions, Raiding, BlizzCon, Wrath of the Lich King


Blizzard strictly forbade any video or pictures of live gameplay during BlizzCon, so for fear of not being able to cover the whole thing for you guys, I stayed away from breaking that rule. But apparently Gameriot was not so rule-abiding, and they grabbed some shaky footage of the first dungeon we'll see in Northrend, Utgarde Keep.

They played the same parts I did on my walkthrough, including the gigantic furnace walls, new Vrykul race, a few "proto-drakes," and the first boss, the Warlock who summons some big Vrykul skellys throughout the fight. There's not a lot new to hear about if you've been reading everything so far, but if you weren't able to make it to BlizzCon, it'll be your first chance to see everything from Northrend's first 5man on video.

[ via Curse ]

Details on the zones of Northrend

Posted Aug 9th 2007 9:38AM by Elizabeth Harper
Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King


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.


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