Zul'Aman sneak preview at E3
by Barb Dybwad 
Jul 11th 2007 at 6:50PM
We're here at E3 and, although not blown away by any major announcements from Blizzard, did get a chance to check out a preview of the new 10-man Zul'Aman outdoor instance in Ghostlands. It's going to be a more casual dungeon than Karazhan, ideally doable in a few hours' time investment, with six bosses and no attunement required. There will be quests included as part of the story line, with at least one rescue mission per avatar boss that will have a time-dependent element similar to the Baron Run mechanic in Stratholme, with better rewards offered for quicker completion. The six bosses include bear, dragonhawk and lynx avatars, a "god of evil," a witch doctor, and the final troll boss Zul'jin. Like Hakkar in Zul'Gurub, Zul'jin has a spiritual connection with the other boss avatars and is able to draw upon their ghostly spirits in order to change his shape and assume some of their powers and abilities. All the bosses and the trash mobs (which will be primarily forest trolls) will be social and able to call for help from additional mobs -- surely good for a few wipes whilst learning the encounters.
Blizzard offered a few other small bits of news: voice chat and guild banks will be coming in minor patches before the big Zul'Aman patch is released. Voice chat will include a feature that automagically lowers the game volume when players are talking, and onscreen interface indicators to help keep track of who is talking at any given time. Guild banks will be endowed with some sort of permission system enabling guild masters to give access to specific items to some guild members and not others.
Unfortunately, Starcraft 2 was not yet playable, but we'll be looking forward to that and far more megaton news to be forthcoming at Blizzcon -- it's clear this press conference was merely a teaser.
Filed under: Patches, Blizzard, Instances, Features, Raiding, Bosses, BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Devilmachine Jul 11th 2007 7:03PM
That's great news! Can't wait to get into Zul'Aman, it will be a good place for those guilds who are struggling in Karazhan too.
Chris M Jul 11th 2007 7:22PM
All good news. I'm more looking forward to the voice chat than the instances.
RogueJedi86 Jul 11th 2007 7:36PM
Did they give any sort of timeline? Will Voice Chat, Guild Banks, or Zul'Aman be seen in the next month or 2? The next 6 months? Later? I know Voice Chat was said to be coming in 2.2, but 2.2 sounds more like a Major Patch, and not a Minor Patch, which is what you said they'd be coming in.
Baluki Jul 11th 2007 7:39PM
Sounds like fun. But we have to fight Zul'jin? I sure hope we don't have to actually *kill* him, because that just wouldn't make sense. Maybe he's been possessed or something.
Anyway, having a lot of quests in there is definitely cool, and it's something they should've done with the other BC dungeons.
I've seen some of the other bosses in the game files, and they look pretty cool. There's also an Eagle god, though it may not be a boss.
overneathe Jul 11th 2007 7:45PM
It's ok to kill Illidan but not Zul'Jin?
Ugkul Jul 11th 2007 7:59PM
well since the last instance for TBC has been announced, it should be finally time to announce the next expansion.
Medros Jul 11th 2007 8:15PM
I have to agree with Ugkul, which saddens me, in that is seems that we may be seeing 1-3 more major patches before the next expansions release. I think that whenever voice chat and guild banking come in, it will be a huge patch if it's all in one patch, and then the Zul'Aman(I'll love seeing the Trolls deal with that, since I think they all still say stuff about Zul'Jin being their leader) and maybe one more instance, a few months before maybe a summer release of WoW 3.0.
I had hoped that we wouldn't see non expansion content choked off as expansion production geared up, but the multi month cycles between patches seems to have shown I was wrong. We are 5 days out from 6 months post TBC, and we have seen one major patch, and no hint of a preview of the next one, only knowing it won't be the one with Zul'Aman. Blizzard has confirmed they want annual expansions, but I doubt this will be the one, since they still don't have the cycle worked out, so I think it'll be a 1.5 year turn around this time, which would give maybe 3 more big patches.
I have to say, personally, that this next expansion, and what we get in the time between now and then, will be the deciding factor for a lot of people on whether WoW ends up in the same cycle that many other MMOs have, which is to say high subscription near expansions, with rapidly decreasing numbers 2-3 months out, and only hardcore fans staying on in between.
Chleo Jul 11th 2007 8:42PM
I thought Zul'jin was a good guy :(
RogueJedi86 Jul 11th 2007 9:17PM
@#6/TonyMotorola
"Disappointing to see this being setup as a pre-Karazhan 10 man rather than a Black Temple level 10 man."
Yeah sure, very disappointing, considering how most guilds have beaten Black Temple, and have Kara on farm status.
Oh wait.......
Oh yeah! only 7 or so guilds total have beaten Black Temple. That might be a clue as to why Zul'Aman isn't post-BT. Besides, I don't think some little Troll Priests would be stronger the Illidan Stormrage, legend of the lore.
icampgnomes Jul 11th 2007 10:15PM
@7 um, more instances to go, like the one in CoT behind the boat
Incendo Jul 11th 2007 11:44PM
Ugh. Not more casual then Kara. They've nerfed Kara so badly, and will certainly continue to do so, to where it's easier then doing heroics. Where this should be placed as a Tier 4 to 5 stop gap. Place it above Mag and below SSC and it gives the people who are rolling Kara, just about everyone Blizzard targets with their changes, something to do still if they're guilds aren't able to do the T5 raids.
My problem with more patches and not actual expansions is that for whatever reason they just don't captivate the way they used to. After major content patches, which were mini-expansions unto themselves, there was still plenty of excitement and the new content kept being played. Now it seems like there's a lot of buzz and then it's quickly dead and back to the same ole same ole.
Baluki Jul 12th 2007 1:02AM
Zul'jin is still considered to be the biggest hero that Trolls have. I can see the Alliance going in there and killing him, but why would the Horde (besides the blood elves), and more specifically, why would the trolls? It just doesn't make sense from a lore standpoint, unless he's been corrupted/possessed by some outside force. Maybe you have to fight him to drive it out of him.
Lythrdskynrd Jul 12th 2007 3:30AM
I think it would be *ideal* to place it after Kara in terms of difficulty...
Depherios Jul 12th 2007 2:24AM
Yay. So Blizz has just stopped developing lore so it makes any sense from the Horde side? First Kael, and now Zul'jin!?
overneathe Jul 12th 2007 3:49AM
Kael wasn't on the horde side for a long time. He first betrayed the alliance, then the blood elves, then betrayed Illidan and look at him now - dead. Well he deserves it ;]
And Zul'Jin isn't really in any faction, he joined the Horde a while back during the second war (he even refused to join the first time the Horde invited them), but after failing miserably in a battle he(all forest trolls two) quit the Horde and disappeared.
I say we kill 'em.
Ugkul Jul 12th 2007 5:16AM
@11: I think the ship would be an instance for the new expansion, or released in the time after they announce the new expansion.
@8: I think it's inevitable that'll be the result, and Blizzard should just get used to it. A large group of folks will just want to get to the next level cap, feel they've 'beaten the game', and cancel their subscriptions until the next time. After all, the epic gear that you own would probably be about as powerful as some of the green gear.
Medros Jul 12th 2007 8:05AM
@11 - The ship was supposed to be a CoT BG, but was decided against. I have heard of no plans to make use of that particular portal anytime soon.
@17 - To me, it is still a very sad thing, as this is my first MMO, and I have been a long time fan of Blizzard and their games. I don't think the next expansion will drive me away, but if I find I am completing the content I want to work on and there is nothing to do but farm and grind, I might reconsider at some point. I know it matters little to Blizz, I am simply stating that my loyalty does have limits.
Dvalin Jul 12th 2007 8:12AM
Shouldn't Zul'Aman have come out first if it is supposed to be a stepping stone to Kara? And if your guild is having problems in Kara you should probably just go back to heroics and practice how to play. I think this should be a stepping stone for guilds who do not yet have enough players to continue properly to Gruul/Mag/SSC.
Kaylek Jul 12th 2007 8:48AM
I think more low end content is good, for the most part, so the more casual guilds have something to do other than Kara and wipes in 25 mans.
It's unreasonable to ask for 10 man BT-esque instances, at least at this point. Everybody seems to expect equivalent epic gear for less effort (claiming it takes "more skill" to manage a smaller group). It's just not going to happen simply because it isn't fair to those who've worked hard on 25 man content.
Lizardking63 Jul 12th 2007 9:27AM
I think this is a great idea. I'm in a small guild that has problem putting together a 5-man, much less a 10 or 25. We aren't there yet, but I think we have a much better chance of putting together a 10-man group than a 25. So, having something smaller that we can actually do as a guild is great.