WoTLK Bestiary unveiled
by Matthew Rossi 
Jan 26th 2008 at 9:30AM
Tipster Medros emails in pointing out that Blizzard has finally put the Wrath of the Lich King Bestiary online. In his email, he mentions that the TBC bestiary started showing us the long leggedy beasties of the first expansion roughly nine months before it launched, arguing for a summer release for WoTLK.What with all the recent talk of what else might be in the expansion, I am starting to think it may launch sooner than that. It depends, in my opinion, on when Sunwell Plateau launches and if we can expect them to have learned from the original launch of Naxxramas so close to Burning Crusade. In my opinion, I'd hope there would be enough time between the Sunwell launch and the expansion for more guilds to get to see the place in full, especially with the way we're told content will unlock there as people complete quests. So I wouldn't be surprised to see it in late spring/early summer, nor would i be surprised if it didn't launch before Christmas of this year.
Meanwhile, take a look at the two new monsters being unveiled for us today and get your speculation on.
Filed under: Blizzard, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Saiforune Jan 26th 2008 9:56AM
Erm, "being unveiled for us today " It came out like yesterday morning (Friday , January 25, 2008). Thought I'd let you know. =)
Uboss Jan 26th 2008 9:57AM
New? the bug one doesn't really look new. At least it resembles monsters we already have. The other one reminds me of those elementals in Un goro.
meh.
Vince Jan 26th 2008 10:18AM
@2 There are some similarities with these new mobs compared to old ones. The vizier thing reminds me of a bug lich. And the Plague Popper or w/e looks like an abomination. But they also have differences, can you imagine fighting something where its main attack is to pop its pimples on you? Can't wait to see what else is coming up.
Dave Jan 26th 2008 10:15AM
What exactly do they need to learn from naxx?
The hardcore guilds that were going to finish it, did.
The rest of the "if we try really hard we maaaaaaaaaaybe will have a chance, but we're not really dedicated oh screw it lets go PVP" guilds didn't. You could have given them 2-3 more months, but ultimately the majority wouldn't have finished some of the fights and would have been stalled at roughly the same spots.
Plus the raid population is very very small compared to the rest of the game. No need for the highly vocal and whiny minority dictating the way the rest of us deserve to play.
Thander Jan 26th 2008 12:40PM
This vizier description hints at another Qiraji emperor. Perhaps there will be a new War Effort at some point in the expansion.
Matthew Rossi Jan 26th 2008 12:43PM
It's likely they're going to tie in the Forgotten Ones (http://www.wowwiki.com/Forgotten_One) from The Frozen Throne with C'thun and the other Old Gods.
Baluki Jan 26th 2008 12:42PM
The Vizier definitely looks like a Qiraji Prophet (http://www.wowwiki.com/Qiraji) but I'm sure that's intentional. After all, the Qiraji and Nerubians are both offshoots of the same race, more or less (which they hint at in the description).
I'm also excited to see that the Magnataur are on that list. I was afraid that they would be forgotten, like Snap Dragons, Mur'gul, and Couatl were in BC (though it's possible we'll see them in the inevitable Seas expansion).
Suzaku Jan 26th 2008 7:01PM
Snap Dragons would make a perfect mount for a two-legged Naga offshoot race, should we ever get to play as them. And the Couatl are sorta represented in the various flying serpents, though the ones in WC3 looked pretty different. Maybe a flying mount some day?
The Nerubian Vizier looks pretty cool, I hope we get to see some other types of Nerubians, in addition to the standard worker caste, the Crypt Lord types, and the Viziers. With Azjol'Nerub being an entire underground zone, I'm hoping we get some cool stuff there.
The Plague Erupter is pretty disgusting in concept (I mean, a shambling undead corpse covered in pustuals that erupt and release the plague of undeath?), but the art itself is a bit less intimidating.
Jack Spicer Jan 26th 2008 1:49PM
@2 I agree with you completely. The first thing that crossed my mind when I looked at these, especially the Plague Eruptor. was that Blizzard's art team is totally designing these creatures to fit existing models and animations. The Plague Eruptors look to be just reskinned life elementals. And the Nerubian Vizor might just be a Blood Elf with extra appendages.
my2cents Jan 26th 2008 2:08PM
Wow, we've only seen two new mobs from the expansion and already people are complaining...The sense of entitlement is incredible.
Sean Jan 26th 2008 2:38PM
Um, it's practically February. Wouldn't 9 months mean end of October/early Nov?
Sunwell probably won't be on the PTR until sometime in mid-Feb (barring another 2.3.x patch), then I would guess about 2 months of testing before it goes live, which is close to when Black Temple dropped last year. It might take hardcore guilds 1-2 months to get Sunwell beaten, meaning 3-4 for everyone else. If anything, WoTLK will probably be out end of summer/early fall, but that's dependent on how long the Beta test lasts.
Medros Jan 26th 2008 9:40PM
According to posts on WoW Insider from back in the day, the TBC beta lasted a little over 2 months. That means for a mid July release we would need to see a beta by mid April. There are less items on this bestiary, and there is no saying this one will take 9 months from intro to release of the expansion. Blizzard wants to get closer to 1 year releases, and as TBC took 18 months, I don't think it is too incredible to think a 14-15 month dev cycle for WLK would be about right. Jan 07-July 08=??
Also, I think Sunwell Plateau will learn a lot from Naxx, be less difficult and have a great deal less push back to those trying to get there. I had hoped for a 2.4 PTR by now, but even early to mid Feb with a 1.5-2 month PTR cycle would not put it much beyond the theoretical launch of the WLK beta. Remember folks, they used a PTR cycle to do the TBC beta contests, and therefore the late 2.4 PTR cycle would be a perfect time for some good old fashioned contests! If we hit March without a 2.4 beta, which would be insane on behalf of blizz, then maybe my math goes off a bit but not yet folks, I still have hope.
Course, if you had listened to my podcast, you would know my thinking on this already.
-Medros
http://www.allthingsazeroth.com/
Medros Jan 26th 2008 9:40PM
According to posts on WoW Insider from back in the day, the TBC beta lasted a little over 2 months. That means for a mid July release we would need to see a beta by mid April. There are less items on this bestiary, and there is no saying this one will take 9 months from intro to release of the expansion. Blizzard wants to get closer to 1 year releases, and as TBC took 18 months, I don't think it is too incredible to think a 14-15 month dev cycle for WLK would be about right. Jan 07-July 08=??
Also, I think Sunwell Plateau will learn a lot from Naxx, be less difficult and have a great deal less push back to those trying to get there. I had hoped for a 2.4 PTR by now, but even early to mid Feb with a 1.5-2 month PTR cycle would not put it much beyond the theoretical launch of the WLK beta. Remember folks, they used a PTR cycle to do the TBC beta contests, and therefore the late 2.4 PTR cycle would be a perfect time for some good old fashioned contests! If we hit March without a 2.4 beta, which would be insane on behalf of blizz, then maybe my math goes off a bit but not yet folks, I still have hope.
Course, if you had listened to my podcast, you would know my thinking on this already.
-Medros
http://www.allthingsazeroth.com/
Charlie Jan 26th 2008 4:10PM
So soon? They launched Naxx 7 months before the expansion (6 before 2.0).
I see a summer release as well. I'm hoping for may. Sunwell only has 6 bossses, while Naxx had 18. I think they were orginally shooting for a March/April launch date because thats when everyone releases games (that and the holiday period, nov/dec). June has always seemed like the most reasonable option. I see a sunwell launch in late February (hopefully), which gives 3 months for a sunwell, before a 3.0 patch in june, and a july/august launch. If there arent any unreasonable delays (like them having to add a 2.5 patch) I don't see them launching the game later than august.
Tisen Jan 26th 2008 4:32PM
Ugh, i hope the expansion comes out later rather than sooner. I enjoy having my soul back.
Retro Jan 26th 2008 4:51PM
Blizzard HAS learned not to launch a new high-level instance right before an expansion pack.
So perhaps the Sunwell IS part of WotLK; both the Horde and Alliance can reach it and it's the furthest north you can actually go in Azeroth. The city expands as players use the instances, making entry into WotLK a world event similar to AQ. With Magister's Terrace being comparable in difficulty to Shadow Labs or Shattered Halls, the difficulty is not so high that all players can't complete it, and it creates a 'test' before entry into Northrend is allowed.
The Sunwell itself is heavily tied into the lore of both the Burning Crusade and the Frozen Throne. Kael'thas is apparently using energies from the Netherstorm to refuel the sunwell, which will inadvertantly (or intentionally?) allow Kil'jaeden into the world. Both are known bosses. Meanwhile, the sunwell plays an important part in the story of Arthas as well, as this is where he restored Kel'Thuzad (the single event leading to the formation of the Blood Elves, who's actions brought the Draenei to Azeroth). With the Blue Dragonflight being a large part of Northrend, the apperance of Kalecgos (the blue dragon aspect) in Sunwell Plataeu is probably no accident.
If you ask me, the Sunwell actually ties The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King together nicely, and as Jeff Kaplan has said, the instance(s) is designed to close off the story of TBC.
Skarlette Jan 26th 2008 4:56PM
Kalecgos isn't the Blue Aspect. Malygos is. Kalec is just a lower-ranking blue dragon who happened to feature in the Sunwell trilogy manga.
Suzaku Jan 26th 2008 7:01PM
Actually, while you're correct that Kalecgos ISN'T the blue dragon aspect, you're wrong in saying he's just a random low-ranking member of the Dragonflight.
Kalec is the intended mate of Tyri, who is described as the princess of the Blue Dragonflight, meaning that Kalec and Tyri are probably both fairly high-ranked members of the flight, if not Malygos' direct heirs.
There's little doubt that Kalec's enslavement and the misuse of the Sunwell (which the blue dragonflight have been actively trying to restore and protect) by Kael and his magic using followers is going to play into Malygos' campaign against the magic users of Azeroth.
Rasnarok Jan 26th 2008 4:59PM
Nice to see Blizzard throwing us a bone with two new beasts...
Here's an idea Blizzard: next time throw us a bigger bone!
haust Jan 26th 2008 6:10PM
Well I don't think that seeing two news pics from WotLK can tell us the expansion is nearing :)
I agree with #9 (my2cents) : stop complaining about these pics. I'm not saying that we should keep everything Bliz' show should be see as the Holy Grail but hey that's only two pics :D
If I remember the BC bestiary is quite cool so we can give them some credits.
But don't ask for uber-original beast. As long as I can remember WotLK is about nerubian and scourge at least, seeing spider-like and undead-like foes will be common place....