Blizzard announces Pre-Wrath content patch
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Aug 25th 2008 at 9:05PM
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen. In a sign that Wrath of the Lich King is quickly moving toward release, Eyonix officially announced today that we will see a new content patch "in the coming weeks."
This patch will introduce a good portion of the old world Wrath-related content and UI improvements, and will probably start the pre-Wrath opening event (If you don't mind spoilers, you can get some info on what that event may entail from us). Check out Eyonix's list of what is being implemented and what it may mean after the break.
- New class spells and talents
- Stormwind Harbor
- Barbershops in capital cities
- Zeppelin towers outside of Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades
- Two brand-new Arenas featuring challenging new layouts, terrain hazards, and moving obstacles
- Guild calendar
- Hunter pet skill revamp
- New profession: Inscription
It's actually rather interesting to me that inscription was included in this list. Jewelcrafting has been solidly restricted to owners of the Burning Crusade expansion, with the only trainers for the profession in expansion-only cities. It seems that Blizzard is not taking that same tack with inscription but instead allowing all subscribers to learn it. This may be simply because it provides some long needed support to enchanting, or it may be we'll see jewelcrafting trainers show up in Stormwind and Undercity as well.
Two things that haven't shown up: Death Knights and Dance Studios.
There were rumors a while back that Blizzard would add Death Knights before Wrath to give people a chance to get familiar with the character and to hit 70 so they could level with their friends through Northrend. If that's still in the cards, Blizzard's keeping that hand close to the chest.
Dance studios, which would allow you to change your character's /dance emote, have been a promised feature of Wrath for some time. However, we're deep into the Beta process and there's not a single mention of them, nor has Blizzard indicated that they are delaying or canceling the feature. My guess is that they're holding off for a BlizzCon unveiling. By guess, I mean hope, because Saturday Night Fever just doesn't seem very Death Knightish to me, you know?
Other than that, this seems to follow the pattern of the pre-BC content patch to a tee, and it should be nice to play around with all the new class talents (and use them to farm up that last bit of gold) before the expansion hits. Stay tuned to WoW Insider, as we'll be sure to tell you everything there is to know about this patch as soon as more news drops.
Hungry for Wrath of the Lich King news? WoW insider has you covered. Check out our constantly updated Wrath of the Lich King directory page, or browse all of our articles in the Wrath of the Lich King category. You might also be interested in our new Death Knight column, Lichborne, or our previews of the new class glyphs and other inscription goodies.Filed under: Patches, Wrath of the Lich King, Buffs, Talents, Classes, Expansions, PvP, News items, Blizzard, Events, Analysis / Opinion, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Michael Aug 25th 2008 9:17PM
A) first !
B) thankgod any notice if they may add the new talents aswelllike they did just prior to TBC?
Daniel Whitcomb Aug 25th 2008 9:27PM
New talents and spells are specifically mentioned in the list of features.
Matazuma Aug 25th 2008 9:18PM
"in the coming weeks."
"in the coming weeks."
"in the coming weeks."
I CANT WAIT WEEKS!!!
Hilus Aug 25th 2008 9:19PM
Well, I read today at Nihilum.mousesports this: "First we get an official statement from CEO Mike Morhaime claiming the expansion will be released for Christmas 2008, only to have that hope stolen by World of Warcraft's Production Director, Jay Allen Brack.
In a recent interview Brack refused to commit to a 2008 release date for Wrath of the Lich King, saying that it will not ship this year until it has attained a "Blizzard Experience."
What do u think? It´s a reliable source?
Link to the note: http://nihilum.mousesports.com/en/news/1046,wotlk_may_not_see_2008/
Badger Aug 25th 2008 11:14PM
Maybe if Nihilum - who already love to bitch for any available reason - had cited their reference, then I might pay attention. However, if you actually read their one-paragraph "article," all they have is "omg brack said this sometime and now we get screwed again qq."
darian Aug 26th 2008 2:13AM
A three paragraph article that doesn't cite a source doesn't really hold much weight.
Ktok Aug 26th 2008 10:39AM
Blizzard promised their investors that Wrath would be out in '08 in their earnings estimate. That's not a promise you make and then go back on.
Cap Aug 25th 2008 9:19PM
To clarify, all Burning Crusade players will be able to select Inscription as a profession and level to 375. Only players who purchase WotLK will be able to level beyond. I assume by their wording that people who still are only playing vanilla WoW won't be able to select Inscription. (Are there any vanilla WoW players left??)
Phohammar Aug 25th 2008 9:25PM
Wrong!
The only inscription trainers in the game are located in northrend. Therefor, only people who purchase the expansion will be able to pickup and level inscription.
The inclusion of inscription into that list is probably referencing the addition of the glyphs tab on the spellbook.
jonathan Aug 25th 2008 9:33PM
phohammer, you're mistaken. there's a blue post ( http://blue.mmo-champion.com/16/9236465192-content-patch-before-wrath-of-the-lich-king.html ) stating exactly what cap posted.
Nick Aug 25th 2008 9:53PM
PHAIL
Tristan Aug 26th 2008 10:41AM
I'm playing vanilla wow again. But it's because I bought a new account to level with my wife. I'll be getting BC in the next few days once I hit 58.
Cowlitz Aug 25th 2008 9:20PM
Pretty cool to know it's in the coming weeks. Maybe it'll even be around before WAR's release so I can play around with some Wrath stuff for a bit :)
Charlie Aug 26th 2008 1:28AM
I think they're pushing to launch it the same time as war.
Makes sense.
It's a balance between 'when its ready', and $$$.
And honestly, this is like an huge open beta. They can tweak the talents when wrath actually launches.
DrunkenIdiot Aug 25th 2008 9:20PM
I think there's a fairly understandable reason why they wouldn't add Death Knights, however I could be wrong, in that players without the WOTLK expansion registered to their name cannot create Death Knights.
However I guess they could do a kind of lockout policy if they implement Death Knights before the expansion, something along the lines of not having the login button available for the player's Death Knight until they have the account registered under their name.
Juneau Aug 25th 2008 9:48PM
I think it was speculated that if Death Knights are released early, only those who have pre-ordered the game will be able to make them. I hope they don't do this though, just so I can level up a bit on my Druid before Northrend gets swamped with Death Knights.
PeeWee Aug 26th 2008 10:26AM
Anyone believing Death Knights will be available has just been outsmarted by a hole in the ground.
And the comments system here sucks more than ever.
crsh Aug 25th 2008 9:21PM
"There were rumors a while back that Blizzard would add Death Knights before Wrath to give people a chance to get familiar with the character and to hit 70 so they could level with their friends through Northrend."
Rumors or wishful thinking? Come on, DKs are the main feature of the new expansion, why would Blizzard give you a reason to *not* buy it? Much the same way you can't roll a Dranei/Belf and level to lv60 without having to buy TBC.
Savant Aug 26th 2008 1:03AM
We didn't see them release paladins and shamans early to the (then) opposing factions so they could level up with their BC friends, I doubt it will be any different with Death Knights
Warbane Aug 25th 2008 9:21PM
Awesome!
If it is happening this soon, Wrath should be out in ~2 months!