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Nonlinear dungeons return in Wrath

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:51:00 +0200

"To me, one of the most exciting parts of this morning's Dungeons and Raids panel at the WWI is the fact that they're going to add more nonlinear elements to five man dungeons. Thank Uther! As far as time it takes to complete dungeons, The Burning Crusade was a massive improvement, but I couldn't help but feel something major was lost when they all amounted to pull-drink-pull with solid hallways guiding you straight forward. I really started to miss places like Blackrock Depths. The Caverns of Time was a gloriously refreshing change from that, and I'm glad they took something out of that poll they did awhile back. The previews of The Occulus and Caverns of Time: Stratholme were fantastic, and that nonlinearity is one of the best parts, easily. Even though you will probably have killed all of the same bosses in the end that you would have if the dungeon were linear, just in a different order, having choices available and environments that aren't simply enclosed hallways that go in one direction really brings a place to life. It's hard to believe that the Botanica is just one really long constant hallway, for example. Here's hoping that these elements extend beyond Old Stratholme and The Occulus, and Wrath will bring dungeons back to life. Death Knights and everyone else, professions easier Just in case you were hoping that due to Inscription or any other of the huge profession changes coming in Wrath of the Lich King, you'd get another expansion slot, Bornakk confirms that you will not ~~despite all the changes to professions, the way that characters choose them will not change. But Kevin G (who kindly sent us this tip~~ thanks!) brings up another interesting profession topic just how are Death Knights going to deal with leveling up their professions. <hr />Surely, since Blizzard doesn't want them running around level 1 areas like noobs, they wouldn't actually have to level up from the beginning, would they. As hilarious as the thought of a black armorclad bringer of devastation chasing wolves around Elwynn for their leather is, it's probably a good bet that Blizzard will avoid that scenario. But how. We have no idea yet. We do know that Blizzard wants to make things easier for people leveling professions all the way up (especially from the higher levels), so maybe there'll be a plan in place that Death Knights can get in on (maybe a quest to do, or a simple charge of a few hundred gold, since that's probably what it would cost to just buy the lower level stuff off the AH). Either way, hopefully we'll see a solution that's both easy on Death Knights and fair to characters who've leveled it up the hard way. " "For some of you, it may strike you as a little early to be thinking about your level 80 talent builds - especially given that Wrath is still in alpha and everything we think we know about it may change - but I say, it's never too early to theorycraft. That is why I'm pleased to report that Wowhead, having gotten a chance to play some Wrath at WWI, made talent calculators for the Wrath alpha talents, including Death Knights. Now we can play with our shiny new builds to our hearts' content. Paladins and Hunters have not had their talents implemented in the beta yet, so you won't find them there, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Inveterate priest fan that I am, the first thing I did when I got my hands on this was make a build for my holy priest, and this is what I came up with: 14/57/0. wow gold Yes, I'm finally excited enough about Holy to spec away from Improved Divine Spirit; Guardian Spirit just looks too good to pass up, at least in its current form. As far as my Rogue goes, it depends on how Murder Spree ends up working, but I'm thinking either 21/50/0 (Cold Blood combat, yay!) or 20/51/0. Death Knights I still can't quite get my head around, but it sure is fun to play with their talents Wrath of the Lich King box revealed Tipster Nigel sent in these curious-looking photos of what appears to be the packaging for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. wow gold We've already gotten wind of the possible packaging for a Collector's Edition, so why not the basic box. Apparently, the person who leaked the Collector's Edition photo is still working at the printing press and puts his cell phone camera back to work with these photos of the regular edition. Could it be the real thing. I'm not so sure myself, but if they're fake, they're pretty good ones. mp3 The box design includes clever elements that I didn't consider were I to make a mock-up myself... such as a small disclaimer stating that the game requires The Burning Crusade. The layout of the box closely resembles that of the previous expansion, too, with the exact same font used for the words 'expansion set' and identical placement of logos. wow gold One of the most telling signs that point to its authenticity, however, was a printer's mark usually found on print material before they're cut (and made into a box). Nigel smartly states that he didn't take the pictures himself. Check out the pic of the inside flap with the telling printer's mark after the jump. With all the buzz about the Beta opt-in, it seems like Blizzard is actually getting close to finishing the game. buy wow gold At the very least a playable version of it. Now we've seen possible box designs, as well, which if they are authentic -- means that the company is moving full tilt towards a definite, foreseeable release. Who knows. wow gold Perhaps we'll actually be trudging around in Northrend by the time Blizzcon rolls around. "

Magnataur

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:37:00 +0200

" Magnataur have the torso of a giant attached to the body of a mammoth. This peculiar appearance has sparked speculation that their race might be related to centaur or even keepers of the grove. Many wonder if these races share a common ancestor, and some have even suggested Cenarius himself. The notoriously long-lived magnataur are rumored to engage in cannibalism during times when food is scarce. Single males are known to control giant herds and produce sizable litters, but in the frigid, perilous wastes at the roof of the world, only the strongest and meanest survive. Despite their hostility to most races, the magnataur have become tolerant of the arctic kobolds, who follow the herds for safety and mutual benefit during long hunts. Although the redoubtable magnataur lead solitary lives, adventurers who cross paths with them quickly learn that it would have been wiser to stay at a safe distance. Jormungar The fiercely aggressive jormungar are a marvel of evolution, possessing rows of chisel-like teeth capable of boring through solid rock, as well as muscular, flattened bodies well adapted to rapid underground navigation. Legends tell of the nerubians' using the jormungar as creatures of labor, forcing them to carve massive tunnels through Northrend's subterranean ice and lay the groundwork for the nerubians' ancient civilization. With the fall of the nerubian empire, swarms of rogue jormungar ran amok, drilling through the region's permafrost, attacking surface dwellers, and devouring everything in their path. In the cold, harsh northlands… The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King's will and end his reign of terror for all time. <hr />Blizzard Entertainment's latest expansion to World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – adds a host of epic content to the existing game world. Players will achieve soaring levels of power, explore a vast new continent, and battle other high-level heroes to determine the fate of Azeroth. wow gold As you pit yourself against the dangers of the north, prepare to: FeaturesMaster the necromantic powers of the Death Knight - World of Warcraft's first Hero class. Quest to level 80, gaining potent new abilities and talents along the way. Learn the craft of spell augmentation with the new Inscription profession. wow gold Brave the harsh new continent of Northrend, the icy domain of the Lich King. Engage in epic siege warfare, deploying mighty siege engines to lay waste to destructible buildings in your path. Transform your hero's look with new character-customization options, including new hairstyles and dances. wow power leveling Explore perilous new dungeons filled with some of the deadliest creatures ~~and greatest treasures~~ on Azeroth. And much, much more... " "The powerful and ferocious shovel tusks are easily identified by the massive curved antler which protrudes from their heads and the twin sloping tusks that extend from their jaw. mp3 players The moose-like beasts use their tusks primarily to dig for food, whereas the antler makes for a fearsome ramming weapon in contests to establish dominance over other males. The shovel tusks are territorial and will protect their feeding grounds with deadly force. Adventurers traveling in Northrend would be wise to avoid these cantankerous and unpredictable beasts. wow gold Iron Dwarf The Explorers' League has scoured the far corners of the world, seeking to uncover the truth behind the origins of the dwarves. Now it seems they may be one step closer to unlocking the secrets of the past. <hr />The latest clues come from ancient dig sites within the Howling Fjord, where the iron dwarves were first encountered. wow gold Etched with runes of power - and with lightning pulsing beneath their thick, metallic skin - they may represent the missing link between the dwarves and the legendary titans of myth.

Flesh Giant

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:30:00 +0200

"The same dark sorcery used to command the Scourge's powerful abominations is utilized to even greater effect in the harsh and distant realm of Northrend. Here the Lich King has focused his malefic powers on flesh giants: nightmarish creatures that make abominations look tame by comparison. Scourge minions assemble flesh giants and abominations in a similar manner, piecing them together out of body parts from numerous corpses. Unlike abominations, though, the ""spare parts"" used to create flesh giants are harvested from multiple types of fearsome Northrend giants. These living battering rams employ tremendous brute strength in carrying out the inexorable will of their loathsome master. Those who oppose the flesh giants take their lives into their own hands... and risk a fate even worse than death. Nerubian Vizier The half-spider, half-humanoid viziers once served as advisors, sorcerers, and seers to the mighty nerubian spiderlords. But in the aftermath of the War of the Spider, the tables turned, and in the vacuum of their collapsed society, the cunning viziers rose to power. Utilizing their sorcery and high intelligence, the viziers have emerged as the rulers of the nerubians' underground kingdom. It is rumored that the viziers themselves may serve an unseen emperor, one who is destined to lead the ancient spider-people to a final victory over the Scourge. While many can only speculate as to the existence of this nerubian emperor, some continue to investigate the link believed to exist between the nerubians and the vicious insect race known as the qiraji. Plague Eruptor Plague eruptors are the latest experiment of the Lich King, designed to spread horror and chaos across the world of the living. These walking corpses have quickly earned a reputation as the most destructive of the Scourge army: hyper-violent, incredibly strong, and deceptively fast. The most terrifying weapons in the eruptors' arsenal are the myriad pulsing nodules that dominate their rotting skin. <hr />It is from these nodules that the undead plague festers and bursts, insuring that wherever the eruptors go, they quickly spread the Lich King's apocalyptic contagion" "In their latest issue PC Gamer UK quizzed Blizzard's J Allen Brack, senior producer of Wrath of the Lich King. Here's what they managed to extract... What was the biggest lesson you learned from launching The Burning Crusade. JAB: I think the biggest thing we took away was that Illidan (Burning Crusade's lead baddie) was meant to be an all-pervasive evil that you'd fight against and eventually defeat, but I don't think that came across to the average player. Most players just did their quests and never really thought about him. That's one of the big changes we want to make to Lich King. We're going to push Arthas right in front of players - so they understand why he's a big threat. In Lich King, Arthas will appear to players at level 71, level 75 and level 80. Advertisement: Do you think as a company you're getting better at making World of Warcraft. JAB: I think so. mp3 mp4 player I think if you look at the quests we're creating for Wrath of the Lich King, you're going to see another giant leap in quality. What do you think is the hardest part of making World of Warcraft. <hr />JAB: The rate at which players consume content far exceeds the rate at which we can create it. gold kaufen wowIt's the speed and quality that we demand of ourselves. The players, 11 million of them, are a very hungry bunch in terms of wanting new things to see and do. When we first announced the expansion back in August, all my friends who I don't work with were saying ""What are you guys doing. cheap world of warcraft gold I can't take another expansion right now, Burning Crusade only just came out!"" My reply was, ""That's only a problem if we release the expansion tomorrow, right. "" Six or eight months later, the same friends are saying ""Hey, we're really ready for that expansion. Any time now would be good, right. wow gold "" The Steam hardware survey shows that something like 30% of gamers have upgraded to a high-end 3D card. Are you going to do anything to cater to them. JAB: At the start of each expansion, we've said, ""do we want to do a graphical update. wow gold"" EverQuest and Ultima Online are the two games that tried that, but most players ended up preferring the original art.

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: How Much Is Your Goody Bag Worth?

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:21:00 +0200

"If last year’s BlizzCon is anything to go by, it won’t be too long before the goodies (and the bag itself) given to attendees at this year’s WWI start appearing in auction sites. Sad but true, some people will just put the swag straight on eBay in order to make a quick buck or two. But how much should all this swag set this back and is it worth the £55/€70 ticket or the even bigger sum you might end up paying via an auction site. Fortunately, as Blizzard have a shop selling many of these exclusive goodies, we can tell you. Blizzard’s concept of a shop, however, is not something you’d recognise instantly; with one per floor they only stand out thanks to the humongous sign and the enormous, never diminishing queue. Rather than go in an browse, attendees can drool over items for sale which are handily displayed in several glass cabinets, they then fill in an order form, wait in the queue for what must seem like for ever, hand over fistfuls of Monopoly money (sorry, Euros) and depart with their goodies. A glance at this form reveals very little by way of exclusive goodies, much of the goody bag can be purchased if you so inclined and, aside from a few event-specific items like posters and T shirts, many of the items – like the Trading Card Game – can be purchased from anywhere. Take the huge mouse mat depicting the official event artwork, that’s on sale for €20, the notebook is €13 for an Alliance or Horde version, rather than the actual exclusive Diablo version found in the bag. The signed Miniature is the only other proper exclusive as the game doesn’t launch until later this year; how much you’d pay depends on how much you like Orcs. The bag itself isn’t on sale and it’s one item which is genuinely worth buying, a sturdy satchel emblazoned with the WWI logo which would probably set you back around €45 if it were to be sold. <hr />The TCG starter pack retails in the WWI shop for €15 but the really important item – the one which sends the price skyrocketing – is the Beta key and in-game pet. A staple of such events the beta key is actively sought by many fans dying to get an early look at the next big game and expansion. Except Blizzard haven’t even announced when and what owners of the card will be able to play. The pet on the other hand is equally as mysterious. Believed to be a penguin by some, the unnamed pet won’t go live until later next week with the introduction of patch 2.4.2 and the lack of confirmation will either enhance the worth or send it plummeting. While the WWI is not about the freebies given to attendees, it’s clear from the interest in items as well as the number of people on the official forums obsessing over getting their hands on one that the goody bag is on a par with the announcements which come out of the event. Whether it is worth shelling out a small fortune for these ‘exclusive goodies’ remains to be seen. " "Now's your chance, World of Warcraft players! The Wrath of the Lich King beta opt-in button under account management on the World of Warcraft web page is now eagerly awaiting your forceful mouse button click. Yes, just one click is all it takes to throw your name into the very large hat Blizzard will pick from to determine beta participants. No word on when the beta itself will start, but I doubt they'd make the opt-in button live and get everyone excited if it wasn't happening anytime soon. wow gold What are you waiting for. Head over there and signup! Considering the number of WoW players located in the United States and Europe, you might want to stop by the gas station for some lottery tickets while your at it, just to experience more favorable odds.wow gold <hr />Blizzard Splashwatch Day Five - Death Knights, Protoss, And Purple Penguins Once again Blizzard completely screws with my sleep schedule! After a day of cursing under my breath at all of the people sending in photoshatted pictures of the damned Diablo II box art superimposed over yesterday's splash, the latest splash image gives me the satisfaction of knowing all of it was in vain.wow gold This, my friends, is not the Diablo II box art. Between the eyes and the small bit between them, it is one of two things. A Protoss from Starcraft, or the Death Knight from Wrath of the Lich King. Hit the jump for comparison pictures and decide for yourself, and get a look at the full secret pic revealed! The reason I am leaning Protoss mainly lies in the shape of the bit between the eyes, which in my opinion matches the Protoss much better than it does the Death Knight. Then again, look at the frost emanating from the eyes. cheap wow gold Seems to emulated the eyes of the Death Knight, and the glow even matches up. Does this mean no Diablo III. Well, not exactly. It could very well mean that the splash page image has nothing to do with the new game being announced, lining up instead with the release date for Wrath of the Lich King or StarCraft 2. wow gold The more we see the less we seem to know. Fun, eh. The secret images are indeed the Lost numbers, as I speculated yesterday. mp3 players Now 8 joins the previously revealed 4, 15, 16, and 23, and 42.jpg is in there as well, though not commented out in the CSS file. Finally, the secret picture revealed:

New Wrath Of The Lich King Details Galore

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:06:00 +0200

"A press event earlier these week has resulted in a veritable flood of new information regarding the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Most of the news floating about is regarding the Death Knight hero class, fleshing out the details of the eagerly awaited addition, as well as some information on the raids players will encounter in the frozen lands of Northrend. Every player with a character over level 55 will be able to create one Death Knight per realm. The new character will start at level 55 with a full compliment of abilities at their disposal, the reasoning here being that anyone who has leveled that far will be able to get the hang of the new abilities quickly. Anyone who has ever played with a recently eBayed character can tell you this is a complete falsehood, but it'll be amusing to watch at least. Speaking of amusing, Death Knights will also gain the ability to raise fallen enemies and comrades as ghouls to continue the fight. If you raise an ally in this fashion they will get a choice of whether or not to take control of their violated corpse. Good times! Death Knights will also be the first character class that harnesses the power of disease, so expect to see +disease items going for a premium in the auction house come the expansion's release. Other new information involves the raids present in WofLK, which instead of forcing players into 10-man or 25-man groups will come in two varieties each. That means that any raid dungeon in the expansion will have a 10-man and a 25-man option, with the drops for those gathering a bigger group being relatively more powerful. This feature alone is worth the price of admission for me (like I wouldn't have bought the expansion anyway). As a more casual player (my current guild has 2 people in it), I regret that I've never gotten a chance to see some of the bigger raid instances from past updates. <hr />Scaling the raids is an excellent way to let folks experience all the expansion has to offer while still rewarding the big raiding guilds for performing the enviable feat of keeping 25 people from tearing each other's throats out every five minutes. Incidentally, not one raid boss has been created yet. I'm sure they'll get around to that eventually. Another fun fact, Northrend will have it's own flying mounts, as well as allowing players to use their Burning Crusade flying mounts in the new zones, while the old world still remains sadly flying mount free due to design constrictions. Maybe they'll come up with some suitable lore reason for this. Whirring sky razors infesting the two main continents perhaps. The Blizzard writers are nothing if not resourceful. There really is a ton of information out there from several different source, including GameSpy and Curse.com, so I'm extremely grateful to the folks at MMO Champion for rounding up all the pertinent information in one place. Hit the link below and prepare to spend the rest of your Friday reading about Wrath of the Lich King. " "PARISWe've seen a beautiful taste of what's to come in Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to Blizzard's mammoth Massively Multiplayer Online World of Warcraft; we've slain foes in Northrend in a recent visit to Blizzard's Southern California offices, run through the Howling Fjord at last year's BlizzCon, and heard every most the changes to the raiding system. wow gold We'd also heard a lot most the game's new class, the Death Knight, but hadn't been healthy to actually play with oneuntil now. Before we get into the heart of the matter, let's recap. When you get into the expansion, you will be healthy to create a Death Knight if you have a feature of level 55 or higher, but you will only be healthy to have one per statement per server, according to the latest information from Blizzard. wow gold Unlike other classes, this feature can be some race you wishwhich is likely to irritate those who take their lore seriously. After creating a Death Knight you're dumped into in the middle of the Plaguelands, the scourge-ravaged ocean home of the ruined city of Stratholme, to the east of Tirisfal Glades, home of WOW's undead. Your Death Knight starts life at level 55that's five levels beneath the pre-Burning Crusade level capwith a selection of mostly uncommon gear (greens), with a rare (chromatic) weapon. buy wow gold The selection of spells is limited; you have one ""presence"" acquirable, murder, which boosts damage by 15 percent and heals you to the tune of 4 percent of the damage you do. The most obvious difference as you enter the world is your feature portrait; surrounding your portrait and health forbid is the steel of a vicious-looking sword, with six glowing, coloured runes embossed on the steel beneath your health forbid. The runes represent the three new types of spell castable by the Death Knight, as we'd previously been told. wow gold These are essentially global cooldowns for those classes of spell, with two bites at the cherryin the initial setup, at least. Some hybrid skills use runes from different schools, and ensuring you're using every your runes as much as possible looks likely to be the key to maximising damage with your Death Knight. Of the skills we got to try during our play session, Death Grip was probably the most novel and useful. mp3 players While it dealt no damage, it acts as a lassocast it on enemies within 30 yards and they are instantly teleported next to you and taunted into offensive you for the next three seconds. When you first enter the world with your Death Knight you have no talent points to spend and a very limited clothing of skills, but thankfully this is rather rapidly corrected as you reach Light's Hope Chapel and meet the Death Knight trainerthe capably named Siouxsie the Banshee--along with a few other related NPCs. You won't have to walk every the way, though; as a Death Knight you start life with a summonable epic mount. wow gold Tooled up with 45 talent points to spend you can take plus of the three skill trees, though there aren't many added skills acquirable until you clock up a few more levels.

Introducing the Death Knight

Alexander — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:51:00 +0200

"Death Knight Class Information The fearsome death knight, World of Warcraft’s first Hero class, is not your cipher individual seeking to prove his or her worth on Azeroth’s fields of war. No longer servants of the Lich King, they begin their new calling as experienced, formidable adversaries, heavily brachiate and bulletproof and possessing an armament of deadly and forbidden post office learned in the Lich King’s thrall. Here is an introduction, subject to change, of some of the death knight’s core gameplay mechanics and abilities: Unlocking and Creating the Death Knight Simply have a feature of at least level 55 on the World of Warcraft statement you play, and you will be healthy to create a new level-55 death knight of some race (if on a PvP realm, the death knight must be the same alliance as your existing feature). Upon entering the world, your neophyte death knight will undertake a series of quests designed to teach you your new abilities. You will be healthy to create one death knight per realm, per statement. Class Roles Tank: The plate-wearing death knight is a capable tank for small groups as well as raids. His or her damage output while tanking will be respectable. DPS: The death knight can also spec and gear for a melee DPS role, which draw upon many debilitating disease effects as well as direct damage and instant attacks. Talent Trees The talent trees for the death knight are Blood, Frost, and Unholy. Blood: Talents in this tree focus on weapons, fit, and strikes. Frost: Talents in this tree focus on control, counters, and combos. Unholy: Talents in this tree focus on spells, summons, and diseases. Example Abilities / Presences Death knight talent trees are complemented by Presences — self-only auras that goodness the death knight. Selecting the matching Presence for each tree augments the class abilities for that school of post office. Blood Presence increases damage output by a percentage and restores a percentage of damage dealt as health. <hr />Frost Presence increases threat and lowers damage taken by a percentage. Unholy Presence increases move speed and reduces the global cooldown on death knight abilities. wow gold The Rune System The resource mechanics for death knights are runes and runic power. A skilled death knight makes efficient, timely use of runes and runic power to maximize his or her damage-dealing or tanking abilities. Runes: Every death knight knowledge requires runes, which come in three varieties: murder, frost, and unholy. Depending on the knowledge, it may require runes of a single type or a combination of types. wow gold When a rune is used, it has a cooldown period before it can be used again. Death knights can customize which clothing of six runes to have acquirable at a given time, which can resource their knowledge to perform certain roles. For example, a tanking death knight may wish to load his or her rune clothing with more Frost runes. world of warcraft gold Runic Power: As rune abilities are used, the death knight also generates added resource called runic power. The death knight has certain abilities that consume every acquirable runic power, with varying levels of effectiveness supported on total runic power spent. Similar to a warrior’s rage, runic power decays over time if not spent. wow gold Summoned Creatures Creating minions from the ranks of the unliving is a core knowledge of the death knight. Raise Dead: The death knight can raise a ghoul companion from the corpses of fallen creatures, as well as those of both friendly and enemy players. If cast on a friendly player, that player will have the chance to actually play as the ghoul, controlling its movements and actions. Army of the Dead: This channeled spell raises a group of undead followers who will move the death knight’s enemies but only exist very briefly before disintegrating. mp3 player Summon Deathcharger: Every death knight can summon the level-40 version of a deathcharger land mount. At higher levels, they can complete a quest to learn the epic version. " " At least a few of the 10 million-plus World of Warcraft fans invariably shed a tear when it was revealed that Blizzard Entertainment's teaser campaign leading up to last weekend's Worldwide Invitational pertained to Diablo III, and not the Wrath of the Lich King. wow gold Said gamers can dry their eyes, given that Blizzard has officially initiated beta-testing sign-ups for the second expansion to its massively popular, massively multiplayer online role-playing game.