LotRO-style achievements coming to Wrath?
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 8th 2008 at 1:00PM
Basically, an achievement is an unlockable something, unlocked by reaching a certain goal. That's a vague definition, so here are some example goals hinted at by what's leaked out:
- Reveal the whole map of Outland
- Do at least one daily quest a day for five days
- Get a character to level 80 on both factions
Achievements are clearly not yet implemented, even in the beta; many of the numbers in the screenshots are placeholder values, and the rewards for completing the achievements, whatever they may be, are completely unknown. It does look like there is a point system – the UI implies that each of the above achievements is rewarded with 50 points – but what might these points be used to purchase? Well, gear, most likely, but it's also possible that they may be a way to get prestige items, like special mounts or titles. Either way, I welcome yet another advancement path; more importantly, achievements are just plain fun!
Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King, Rumors, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ryan Jun 8th 2008 1:12PM
If I wanted to play TF2. I'd play TF2. Just stick to the basics.
Ruva Jun 8th 2008 1:16PM
Um, don't we already have this? It's called quest chains, reputation rewards, etc. That's just putting new laces in old shoes and calling them something else.
Rich Jun 8th 2008 1:22PM
While cool in other games, I think its a little too late for WoW. Looks like they are grasping now.
Kaljin Jun 8th 2008 1:33PM
This is great! Although I hope I can use achievements on my character name, but what I like about LotRO was its achievements had an effect on play, not like in XBox live where its an e-peen meter.
Introit Jun 8th 2008 1:46PM
Awesome, now I can brag about something else other than my epics.
thundercougarfalconbird Jun 8th 2008 1:52PM
One of the few things I missed about City of Heroes while playing WoW (besides the sidekicking system and teleporting teammates to you) is the badges.
I was a total badge whore throughout my entire run of the game and sometimes I miss doing stupid things to get a shiny bauble.
Retro Jun 8th 2008 1:57PM
Sounds suspiciously like a half-assed attempt at Warhammer: Age of Reckoning's "Tome of Knowledge" which basically records all of your deeds, achievements, and stats (like who you've killed the most, your highest crit, etc.) and, as it fills up, unlocks titles, rewards, and quests.
With Blizzard pushing for a Fall 2008 release, and Warhammer scheduled for release in October, I think we'll seriously see WotLK pushed out early, maybe even missing content, just to compete. With the Warcraft forums (especially shaman and paladin class forums) abuzz with phrases like "WoW: Waiting on Warhammer", I think Blizz is seriously feeling the heat and is trying to steal as much thunder as possible from the competition, even if it's by poor imitation.
Jamie Jun 8th 2008 2:02PM
I doubt they will be that important, it looks like it is tied to an account rather than a character. One of the achievements is to level two characters to level 80.
Lori Jun 8th 2008 2:14PM
I agree that it may not be anything important. Otherwise, Blizz would have told us about it alredy.
Could the points be for something along the lines of "collect 20,000 points and get a free T-Shirt"?
Orbit Jun 8th 2008 2:50PM
Blizzard never pushes games out early. They take their time, thats why they never set release dates.
PimpyMicPimp Jun 8th 2008 7:50PM
First off, I want to draw your attention to WHO is on the offical forums; a very vocal, very negative minority. Most of the Paladins and Shamans I know are happy with their class. It isn't perfect, nothing is, but they arn't going to give up the game and their friends in the game like the babies on the official forums as claiming too.
Second, I really don't think Blizzard is going to rush anything. Firstly, it goes against their entire design philosophy. Blizzard does not rush things to meet deadlines, hence the reason we don't see patch release dates or estimates on their games. Second, I really doubt that they feel any heat from WAR. WoW has ~10.7 million subscribers, and even if all of the whiney trolls on the forums left, they would still be the largest MMO around.
Lastly, I think it's a good thing that Blizzard is willing to adpot popular and well recieved aspects of other games into their own games; it makes for a better game. If they had tunnel vision and refused to acknowledge when other things work we would not have the award winning games company that we do today.
Suzaku Jun 10th 2008 6:57AM
I wouldn't say it's a half-assed attempt to copy anything specific.
In the current gaming generation, nearly *every* game has some sort of achievement or trophy system whereby you can show off your deeds online.
And just because Blizzard didn't invent the idea doesn't mean they shouldn't use it. Blizzard didn't come up with most of the core MMORPG elements in WoW. I'd rather them copy some minor features than be left behind.
Gurran Jun 8th 2008 2:10PM
This sounds very interesting.
Since one of the achivements includes to level two characters to level 80, maybe the points could be used to add a couple of levels to one of your alts?
Just a guess, it would rock my world if that was actually implemented.
I've always had a hard time with the first 30 levels as they seem to bore me to death, and i've deleted several characters just because I was so fed up by doing the same quests for the 20th time.
When you get to thirty you can at least choose between a selection of areas to level in...
Argent Jun 8th 2008 3:10PM
i dunno how sensible an achievement for leveling 2 toons to 80 on opposing factions is -- wouldn't anyone on a PVP server not be able to get it?
Eternalpayn Jun 8th 2008 3:22PM
That's why there's more than 1 realm. My highest level characters are on 2 PvP realms, different factions.
Cargoship Jun 8th 2008 4:19PM
This may work if we could get some cool items for our achievements. Maybe a mount, pet, tabard etc...
Preston Jun 8th 2008 2:20PM
This looks like Blizzard's response to Warhammer's beloved (by beta testers) Tome of Knowledge. It's a little annoying to see them being so unoriginal...
Charlie Jun 8th 2008 2:29PM
What did the OP just say? They don't do original, they perfect others originality.
And id rather have a perfect game, than a crappy original one.
Preston Jun 8th 2008 2:40PM
It's just that the Tome of Knowledge is one of Warhammer's big features and something the beta testers have been raving about. Seeing Blizzard put in some cheap-looking version that probably doesn't even have all the features is pretty lame (e.g., Warhammer's ToK unlocks titles, new quests, has encyclopedia entries on things in the world, etc.).
The other famed Warhammer feature has been public quests, so now I can't help wondering if we're going to see "world quests" in WotLK...sigh.
Eliah Hecht Jun 8th 2008 2:41PM
Honestly, I would love to see public quests in WoW, since it looks like a great idea and I don't want to play Warhammer (because it's Windows-only and because I'm not at all interested in PvP).