Patch 5.2 interview with Dave Kosak
Inside an old alt's vault
The latest patch 5.2 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsSurprises may loom in Wrath
by Amanda Miller 
Jan 25th 2008 at 9:00AM
In the near future, World of Warcraft will be facing some hefty competition from the MMO world, from games such as Warhammer Online. Relmstein has asserted that "Lake Wintergrasp, one hero class, and ten more levels...can't hold up the expansion". Compared to what the competition will have to offer, if Blizzard doesn't up their ante, the launch of Wrath of the Lich King could get lost in the mix.
Of course, the expansion will also be including a new profession called inscription, as well as siege weapons, new NPC races, changeable hairstyles, new dances, and other interesting details.
Askander, a commenter, pointed out that pre-BC, Blizzard withheld the announcement about the "Shaman/Paladin faction swap" until late in the game, surprising many players. While some players may remain cautiously skeptical, Tigole has been on the forums hinting of bigger things to come.
What do you think? Does Blizzard have some dynamic plans in the works that they're not sharing for the upcoming expansion, or will they launch with only the announced features? Do you think they have underestimated their competition, or have grown distracted with development of their upcoming MMO and Starcraft 2?
Wrath did make Yahoo!'s list of the most anticipated games of 2008, and was the only expansion listed. Can Wrath live up to our expectations without added features?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Expansions, Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Richie Jan 25th 2008 9:44AM
Yeah. A new continent, 1 new class, 1 new profession and Siege weapons (slightly different PvP) Is no where near enough.
I believe that they will add more than one class. I really hope they dont do too much generalising as well, I didnt really like the cross faction Shamans and Paladins, some more individuality between Horde and Alliance would be nice.
Some Love for the older instances too all that 60 content seems to be going to waste.
KateJaneway Jan 25th 2008 9:49AM
I agree, I want to see those old 40-mans fitted up right for players in their 70s-80s. Maybe reduced down to 10-25mans as well. (or even made into more managable 5-mans so leveling characters at 60 or 70 can PUG them at least...)
And I hope that once we get to level 80 raids, we won't forgot all of our 70 raids like we did with the 60 ones.
Zardon Jan 25th 2008 9:51AM
Why can't I queue up for an instance?
Richie Jan 25th 2008 10:03AM
Oh yeah and lvl 60-70 "Epics" maybe reduced to blues. Alot of them are unjustifiably called Epics.
KateJaneway Jan 25th 2008 9:54AM
One thing I don't want to see: All the work we've put into outlands becoming null and void. If we start to level a new toon, will we bother with CE/Sha'tar/Netherwing/HH/etc rep in Outlands? Or will we quickly breeze through it and not bother trying to go for exalted anymore, like the Argent Dawn is these days.
Also, as we still going to be able to get flying/epic flying mounts at 70? And what about money making, are we going to make as much money at level 70 as we once did?
And are they going to give us more bank space, so we can keep all the gear we worked so hard for and can't bear to vendor, after it's become outdated?
Lastly, will Northrend go down as much as Azeroth does these days? (You have no idea how many times this past week, on Bronzebeard, where I was so happy to be in Outlands!)
Dave Jan 25th 2008 12:34PM
Sorry, all your work in Outland (and Azeroth) is going to be null and void yet again. They've stated multiple times that it's %100 intentional to not re-use factions in order to give new people an even footing compared to the people with 3 year old characters that are exalted with everything already. Same as the expansion's gear reset.
When leveling to 80 from a fresh character, you'll definitely have no need for any of the rep from any of the factions. (yet another reason they dumped the heroic instance requirement to honored, since it's hard to NOT be honored just through questing in outland). None of the rep-based items will be worth a crap (just like the rep-based stuff in Azeroth right now) and you'll basically just want to hit 68 as soon as possible and start working on your useful things.
infection Jan 25th 2008 1:26PM
Also, you can go ahead and count out the flying mount. Why would they give us access to fly RIGHT to the guy we need to kill for X quest.
Flying mounts made questing a breeze once I hit 70. They would have to have some solution like "unlocking" your flying mount once you are 80 in the new realm.
I've seen post where they said they didn't want people skipping content, and I'd have to admit, I'd skip the hell out of it if we got flying mounts straight off the bat in the new world.
PeeWee Jan 25th 2008 9:54AM
People are just spoiled. 1 class, a new continent and a new profession is enough.
BC gave us 2 new races, a new continent and a new profession. That's it, really. A bit generalized, I know, but in essence that is what BC brought. Yet, there is so much new yet to be discovered for most people.
And if one of the other MMO's snatches away some players from WOW, so be it. With some luck they'll snatch away some of the obnoxious brats you meet every day.
Richard Jan 25th 2008 11:05AM
So you're leaving then?
BlankBlix Jan 25th 2008 1:32PM
Zing!
portia Jan 25th 2008 10:03AM
One of the biggest things on my wish list will almost certainly not happen: a graphic engine update. Nothing extreme, no psudeo-realism attempts, no palette of muddled greens/browns. I'd like the see an engine split of the current (for backward compatibility) and a new DX10 option with enhanced lightning, spell FX, and employing the geometry shader.
As far as gameplay goes, maybe I'm weird, but I don't think we at all need "radical change". Sure a few tweaks here and there, but besides a few annoyances I'm rather pleased with the state of the game. My biggest hope is that there is more careful consideration of lore (still having problems with space shaman goat creatures and holy windchimes) and that non-raiders can get more interaction with the storyline outside of raids.
mark Jan 25th 2008 2:46PM
Vista's adoption in the PC marketplace is pretty low. Its hard to justify building a DX10 version when most of the player base won't see it.
Nuronv Jan 25th 2008 10:21AM
I would like to think that they are holding back Key information however doubt there are many more key features.
One thing that may happen is another shift in class boundaries. Before TBC there was a hybrid role in groups, where as now all the hybrids fill their chosen role at the same level as everyone else choosing that role eg All tanks are equally good at tanking.
There was also a shift in gameplay style, some for the better and some for the worse. Gone were the long instances and in came the winged instance hubs. As much as i like the long sprawling instances like BRD for the atmosphere they create its nice that you can get runs like Mech done in an hour.
I think these things that effect the day to day playing of the game effect you far more than a new battleground and are far more exciting.
cybershamus Jan 25th 2008 10:24AM
They've already confirmed more new stuff than TBC delivered, and TBC was a massive shot in the arm for WoW. Anything more than that will be a nice addition, but not necessary by any means.
Warhammer is a rip-off, and imo a poor one at best. Not a factor.
imparush Jan 25th 2008 10:33AM
warhammer is not a rip-of what came first warhammer or warcraft? Warhammer. I hope they ad 1 more new hero class, for it is not good if all goes DK
Khanmora Jan 25th 2008 10:40AM
It is highly unlikely that everyone will play DK. The rune system alone will rule out a fair number of people from doing much more than rolling one just to see.
So far we know that play mechanics like the pally seal/judge system and the shaman totem system keep those classes much less popular than the more straightforward classes. I think we're going to see a lot of that with the DK's too.
cybershamus Jan 25th 2008 11:05AM
imparush said...
warhammer is not a rip-of what came first warhammer or warcraft? Warhammer.
You're almost right. The original Warhammer has been around for decades. It's the newest online version that's the blatant ripoff.
SaintStryfe Jan 25th 2008 5:57PM
Games Workshop hired blizzard to create a game based on warhammer, GW pulled out, Blizz reworked the story and images and created Warcraft.
If GW has any complaints, they can only blame themselves.
turkeyspit Jan 25th 2008 10:34AM
I think you have to acknowledge the fact that Blizzard is constantly releasing "expansions".
Patch 2.3 brought a whole new Instance to the game, as will 2.4. These aren't "major" changes I grant you, but they still add content.
I for one would like to see things scaled a bit differently, to acknowledge the new XP/Leveling system, as well as Outland loot. Scholomance and Stratholme are kick butt instances, but does anyone who isn't a Paladin or Warlock even run them anymore? I rolled a toon right before 2.3, and before I knew it, I was in Outland, having completely skipped over everything in the Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes.
So much Azerothian content is being skipped over or is useless, because everyone is in such a hurry to get to Outland. Who cares about Elemental Fire or Water anymore, when it's all about Primal Fire and Primal Water. Arcanite only matters to a very select few, as does Enchanted Thorium, because now it's about Felsteel and Primal Mights. Argent Dawn? I want Cenarion Rep!
The biggest mistake that Blizzard made was putting a defining line between Outland and Azeroth. BS recipes in Outland don't need Thorium, Mithril or Truesilver anymore, hence no such veins in OL, and hence, no need for any of those metals once you hit 58. Leatherworkers no longer need Rugged Leather since Knothide is where it's at. Once you hit a certain level, you only ever return to Azeroth to train, hit the AH, or farm low level mats for gold or to craft stuff for other toons.
I'm just hoping they don't make the same mistake with WoTLK, thereby giving people no reason to return to Outland once they hit LV 71.
AgroBear Jan 25th 2008 10:37AM
I think everyone forgets the instance additions we got with BC, it wasn't simply a new continent and a couple new faces to play with.
They increased the level cap, they increased the prof cap, they added what - 18 instances? and made heroics possible. They did a lot for BC and I expect no less from Northrend. People need to settle down. Blizz is king of this market for a reason, and while no king remains so forever, I don't think 10 million people are just going to up and bail overnight.