Neth hints at getting ready for Wrath
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 28th 2008 at 6:00PM
Mookou asks for a "51-point talent preview" before the expansion, and while we probably won't actually get that, what we'll get is likely the same we got with the Burning Crusade release -- about a month before the expansion, there'll be a huge downloadable content patch for everyone (we've heard before that it will be patch 3.0) that will contain all of the updates everyone is getting: all of the talent updates, game mechanic changes, model updates, and so on that we're going to see in the expansion. Blizzard will make all the changes and fixes around that patch, and then when Wrath is actually released, you'll just be installing Northrend content, and the game itself will be (supposedly) ready for all of it to work together. And Neth confirms that this is probably the plan -- it should work much like last time around, though the patch will probably be closer to release day.Now, Blizzard is much better at this than they used to be, so we'd imagine that (hopefully) things will go a little smoother this time around, and we won't have nearly as many problems or hotfixes as we saw last expansion. But then again, we do know they are planning things a little differently this time around -- they've divided the entry and exit zones up, so we won't see a big mess like we saw in Burning Steppes or Hellfire Peninsula. And there are rumors that we'll see a World Event go down before we actually go to Northrend, and as of right now, we don't know if there is going to be a testing phase for that or how long it might take. Last time around, too, you'll note, everyone got a free respec (and some even got two), and we haven't heard anything about that this time yet.
Of course, as always with Blizzard, time will tell. Given that we're expecting a November release, that would put a big 3.0 patch in October, and we already know Brewfest is going to have some changes then, so 3.0 could come in conjunction with those changes or around them. We'll have to wait and see.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Expansions, Talents, Wrath of the Lich King, Inscription
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lenny Jul 28th 2008 6:07PM
Burning Steppes => Blasted Lands?
Zakk Jul 28th 2008 6:09PM
Sure hope that patch comes quickly enough. Can't wait for the new Pally judgment system!
Jim Jul 29th 2008 10:16AM
Weren't the brewfest changes on the last PTR? Meaning they went live with the last patch already?
Jordrah Jul 28th 2008 7:04PM
yes, i cant wait to actually want to play my paladin
stephen Jul 28th 2008 6:23PM
Speaking of patches, there is a build on the beta coming out tonight. Just an FYI 3pm-9pm/11pm PST. I hope they implement barbershops that work ;)
stephen Jul 28th 2008 6:25PM
or is it PDT? owell you get what im sayin
Ewiges Jul 28th 2008 6:29PM
Glad this is confirmed now. I really enjoyed testing out the new talents before the expansion pack went live. Also having raid groups under Karazhan and selling greens for a few thousand gold was nice.
Borst Jul 28th 2008 6:34PM
Can we expect playable DK's pre-Northrend? or will those still be limited to the "official release"?
Jordrah Jul 28th 2008 7:06PM
considering that they will be part of the expansion and you'll need the expansion to make one (like you need TBC to make a BE or drainei) we'll probably have to wait for the expansion. patch 3.0 will be something everyone gets even if you still dont have TBC
sarbian Jul 28th 2008 6:35PM
I don't think we will get a patch weeks before the release. Last time they were late on their schedule ad they delayed BC ( remember ? http://www.wowinsider.com/2006/10/24/its-official-burning-crusade-delayed-until-january-2007/ )
Then they gave us the patch to give something to play with until january.
This time, if they are on time, the patch will most likely come the day the extension is out, or a few days before at most
Charlie Jul 28th 2008 10:11PM
Meh, i see it coming beforehand.
If nothing, we will have a patch 2.5 (or 2.4.4) for the world event. Also, was brewfest/hallow's end updated in the last patch or not? If not, those will need to be in the 3.0/2.5/2.4.4 patch.
Eitherway, we will be getting another patch before the expansion. The # and content may differ.
brittwilson Jul 28th 2008 6:42PM
I would be very surprised if they did not give us a free respec. Multiple trees have gone under quite the transformation, with some even losing talents altogether. I really don't see them saying "suck it up and pay for it".
If they do, eh, but I sure hope not, it would be a nice gesture.
kabshiel Jul 28th 2008 7:37PM
I promise there will be free respecs for everyone.
Linkage Jul 28th 2008 8:00PM
Considering that they're switching talents around between trees and between tiers, adding talents and removing talents they pretty much have to give players a free respec.
Thorn Jul 28th 2008 6:44PM
Neth saying "I have said that it is a possibility much like Burning Crusade, but I can't confirm this for you at this time" is not her confirming that it's "probably the plan". Way to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Ragnuis Jul 28th 2008 6:51PM
As far as BC's release day that was one of the smoothest expansion releases of any game i've played, back in EQ or DAOC when ever a expansion was released you could expect not to be able to really play for at lease a day and in EQ's case sometimes several.
Hellfire was very crowded and the server did crash for crushridge but it was up fairly quickly and I remember the game running smoothly for the most part with little hiccups through out the day.
If wrath is even smoother then BC then big credit to blizz and their dev team.
regnide Jul 28th 2008 6:59PM
Garosh Hellscream's gossip dialog talks about how mad he is that the Lich King would dare to attack Orgrimmar (going off memory since the beta servers are down right now). To me this points pretty strongly to a world event, similiar to the scourge invasion when Naxx came out.
kr3wman Jul 28th 2008 11:17PM
If I remember well, he was mad about the 'razing' of Orgrimmar, and then went on about it not only being an attack against the orcs, but the Horde itself.
vlad Jul 28th 2008 7:47PM
2.0 was pretty painless.
most of you folks dont know how nice you have it.
hardware updates
if you dont get frightened at that combination of words you have been playing less that 2 years :)
jay Jul 28th 2008 9:00PM
Yeah the Retrofitting of all the servers before TBC came out was much, much worse than the release day of TBC (which was pretty smooth tbh), come to think of it, the last patch has had more ongoing problems in the last week than TBC had when released lol.