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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsAchievements officially announced for Wrath
by Eliah Hecht 
Jul 17th 2008 at 1:40PM
As we suspected from some hints in the alpha, Wrath of the Lich King will indeed feature achievements. Blizzard just put up a page about them on the Wrath site, including lots of juicy information:
- The system will launch with over 500 achievements, from all corners of the game: exploration, PvE, PvP, professions, and "character development." They promise something for everyone.
- Some achievements will have rewards, but the rewards will be "purely cosmetic and just for fun" (examples are vanity pets, tabards, and titles).
- Additional achievements will come "with each new WoW content update" (which I take to mean "major patch or expansion").
Patch 3.0.2 "Echoes of Doom" has landed and WoW Insider has you covered. From patch notes to talent guides for every class to fixing your addons to 5 easy achievements you can snag right now. Make sure to check out the latest news.- Each achievement yields a certain number of achievement points.
- The achievements window includes a log of all achievements completed with the date on which you finished, as well as all the ones you're currently working on.
- Achievements will be able to be tracked like quests can be now.
- Right-clicking another player will let you compare your
e-peenachievements with theirs. - Unlocking a new achievement will play a distinctive animation and sound, and announce the achievement automatically to your guild and anyone in the area.
- Achievements will be visible on the Armory.
- There are three kinds of achievements:
- Simple achievements, where you just have to complete a goal (like "give 10 hugs")
- Progressive achievements: if you complete one to collect 10 vanity pets, you can now work on one to collect 25
- Meta achievements: completing a set of achievements may be, itself, an achievement
- There are also several categories of achievements (with an example for each):
- PvP ("Win 10 ranked arena matches in a row")
- Dungeon and Raid (each end boss in each raid and dungeon will be an achievement)
- Professions (each new tier of profession skill is an achievement)
- Quests (such as completing a certain number of quests)
- Events (seasonal events will have their own achievements)
- World exploration ("explore all of Kalimdor")
- Reputation ("get Exalted with every faction")
- General: these are said to "tend toward the whimsical" ("getting a shave and a haircut")
Finally, the page mentions "Feats of Strength," which "represent the past glories of Azeroth." These are worth no points and are not displayed in the normal Achievements interface; they mostly have to do with the old world (old PvP ranks, for instance, or rare mounts). As such, they will be applied retroactively.
Overall this promises to be a pretty cool system, and I am definitely looking forward to it (and hoping it doesn't trigger my obsessive impulses and make me try to collect them all). Still unknown is what the achievement points will be used for: just a fun score? Is this how we'll get access to the vanity rewards, or are they going to be tied to particular achievements? As always, if we find anything out, we'll keep you posted.
Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
darkra Jul 17th 2008 2:57PM
I don't know how easy it is for Blizzard to track retroactively what mobs you have killed, but I know for a fact it's pretty easy to check what >QUEST< you have done. That way people that have completed f.e. The Head of Onyxia quest, or the Kill Illidan quest can be easily rewarded even months after the actual completion of the quest.
Camaris Jul 17th 2008 3:04PM
And the last picture link on the Achievements page is, AFAIK, the very first time we've seen the Barber Shop in action, right? And judging from the screenshot, it will be located in the Trade District of Dalaran.... it looks like the GTA: San Andreas customizer ;)
JLBorghead Jul 17th 2008 4:42PM
I dunno about that... it looks like Stormwind to me.
I love the goblin hairstyle poster in the back!
RogueJedi86 Jul 17th 2008 5:13PM
Looked like Stormwind to me, since Dalaran ain't got canals. So I guess they're gonna add barbershops to towns other than Dalaran. Very nice, since it'd be annoying to have to get to level 68+ or get a mage port just because you want a haircut.
Elmo Jul 17th 2008 3:21PM
I love achievements.
They are a bit like the medals and ribbons you earn in certain FPS games.
"blow up 20 people with exposives in a round"
yeehaah
jurandr Jul 17th 2008 3:41PM
I could see achievements for killing opposing faction bosses, like Thrall and whatnot. Maybe it'll be a 'lil worthwhile to take you and a bunch of friends running through the other cities ;)
merchantmedia Jul 17th 2008 5:15PM
This is something I have been hoping to get for a VERY long time. This could bring life back to the old world too. I would love to go back and do stuff I skipped in the old world just for the sake of getting some sort of achievement notch added to my virtual accomplishment list. The next step will be to allow us to display our achievements in guild housing for all of our buddies to admire. I smell such fun times ahead.
doogan Jul 17th 2008 4:03PM
I hate the idea of them.
I will go out of my way to avoid them.
This could be the thing that makes me quit the game.
Less hamster wheel more fun please
Tuhljin Jul 17th 2008 4:56PM
"I will go out of my way to avoid them."
This surely means you'll be quitting the game, right? Because you'll be earning them whether you like them or not if you don't.
Procris Jul 17th 2008 4:04PM
Achievements area a great idea, they give you more to do and can give you reasons to revisit old content.
However:
Win 10 arena matches in a row. - What the kind of achievement is this? I think the most my group can manage is 5 before we get a setup our group can't handle or a group that vastly our gears us. Honestly, i hope achievements like this never make it live. I love a challenge but having to rely on luck sucks (luck like not getting in a arena game where the players vastly out gear you for example.)
The kill 50 players in your factions city also seems poorly thought of. Unless Wotlk gives a lot of reasons for enemy's to attack other factions city, it'll be another achievement where you need luck to get it, rather than skill.
Okay i'm sorry for nit-picking this, but really luck based achievements seem silly to me.
kunukia Jul 17th 2008 4:11PM
As a mostly solo, exploring player, I like it a lot. Stuff to keep me busy doing stuff that is not a lot of pressure.
eroch Jul 17th 2008 4:58PM
If you don't like achievements, I bet blizzard will put up and 'under-achiever' achievement. If you level to 80 or something without achieving any of the numerous (i'm sure) types of achievements, you get the under-achiever title lol. That in itself would be a tough achievement.
Robert M Jul 17th 2008 5:04PM
I know this may sound whiny, but I really wish the tabards meant more. Everywhere I look I see a huntard in an SSO tabard and we all know how little effort that took everyone willing to do dailies for 2 weeks. The only thing I wish blizz would do, and given the discussions about the impending barren like feel that nagrand is going to have come lich, is recognize old world and bc achievements. Of all the things i have done with my toons, my most "achieved" moment came the day my little gnome became exalted with Timbermaw Hold. I even had several people in Ironforge congratulate me when the king's approval was shouted throughout the city. If I had a tabard to recognize my service to them, it would never come off! Blizzard has stated some concerns that the old content gets forgotten about. Why not encourage people to spend some time in forgotten areas, or grinding forgotten factions for a tabard or a pet or a gem of some sort. I know the idea of putting epic exalted time gear in old world factions might seem excessive, but isnt the accomplishment enough to be recognized with something like an achievement and a tabard?
cowy Jul 17th 2008 5:28PM
Awh I've been playing since the game first released. I don't quite play like I used to (ie making sure new characters have ALL the map discovered, making sure each character has ALL the vanity pets they can get, trying to kill every silver mob possible etc).
I'm sure my characters would have all sorts of titles and achievements.... but I won't get credit for any of it and it will be like my old main characters are starting from scratch, even though they've done SOOO much more than most average players would.
Depressing...but cool. But depressing. Meh mixed feelings.
Solomonas Jul 18th 2008 5:53PM
Are these achievements based on your characters "new" actions or is it retroactive. For example, if you are a lvl 70 do you automatically gain achievements based on what u have already done in the passed or does this only work for new toons?
David Jul 17th 2008 7:38PM
As a reality check for everyone, all achievements in WoW have no "real" value. Downing Illidan will get you some sweet loot, but in the grand scheme of things, that's just as valuable as getting the "10 pets" achievement: something to say you've done.
I think this is a fun idea, and it will give me a reason to finally explore the rest of the map. But if you don't care about getting Achievements, ignore them and keep playing the way you were before.
Tim Grussing Jul 18th 2008 12:15AM
Im sorry, but this sounds like a terrible idea. Seems like the blizz devs sat down and realized that everyone was getting bored of the game and they needed a way to keep people addicted, like how drug dealers went from cocaine to crack.
So, in summation, WotLK will be the crack to TBC's cocaine.
neveranything Jul 17th 2008 6:28PM
Blizz could have put more time into a lot of other things than achievements. Better character customization perhaps? Customizable armor and weapons (choose a color or pattern) anyone? I've seen twins of so many people's toons that it's sad.
Achievements aren't a bad idea, especially if there's a reward for completing them. I like the idea of getting titles, pets, and other cosmetic items. It's just that there's some things that could stand a big improvement or overhaul which could be taken care of first.
Charlie Jul 17th 2008 6:33PM
Does anyone else REALLY want to know what the hell you have to do to get "Fo' Grizzle my Shizzle".
Is there gonna be some quest involving 'Shoop Dog'?
Charlie Jul 17th 2008 6:37PM
An interesting side affect, this could make people want to hit 450 in all professions, having a very interesting affect on the AH. No clue which way prices would go (up or down), but its sure interesting.
More people doing gathering professions, mat prices go down.
More people doing crafting professions, mats go up, craftables go down (possible enchanting mats go down as well, since more crats = more disenchants).
And finally, people will actually try to max out fishing and cooking! Maybe this will make it so Food costs aren't rediculously high. >.<
Though one thing is for sure, herbs and potion prices are going through the rough with Inscription's mats being herbs.