Monday, May 12, 2008

News Filter: New Details about WoW:WotLK

  • In what Tobold believes is a strategic strike against the Age of Conan launch, Blizzard has released a massive amount of information about it's new expansion, Wrath of the Lich King (or WotLK as its friend like to call it.) We got a lot of info about the new Death Knight class as well as the Inscription profession and glimpses of how the new zones will work.

  • The most shocking and exciting announcement was that all raid dungeons will be available in both 10 player and 25 player versions. For a game that launched with old-school 40 man raids, this concession to smaller guilds is momentous. If the popularity of Karazhan has proven anything it's that small guilds, when given the chance, will throw themselves into raiding. The 10 player size is perfect for a more casual play style.

  • While I agree with others that this may draw people away from the 25 player raids, I think Blizzard is handling the problem in the right way. By offering better gear for 25 player instances and (potentially) locking out 10 player until the 25 player version has been cleared will help maintain the 25 player raids as the domain of the hardcore. Hopefully the 10 player raids will be time unlocked if 25 player progression stalls for some reason. Of course, maybe that would just encourage more people to try and unlock things themselves.

  • Out of everything I've read about the new expansion, the ability to see all the raids available in Northrend, and maybe even face down Arthas, is the most exciting to me as a player. Kudos to Blizzard for opening their content to a wider audience. (Any chance to retrofit some of the current dungeons? Hint, hint.)

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