Wrath release date announced [confirmed, CE]
by Eliah Hecht 
Sep 15th 2008 at 12:25AM
Update: Confirmed on the official site.
Update 2: Collector's Edition!
To celebrate being able to break this exclusive news, Wowhead is holding contests for the next week. From Monday through Friday, two LK beta keys are being raffled off each day, and the rest of the competition will be announced next weekend. Maybe you can win a beta key and help get the game a little more ready for shipping; a lot of testing and changes are still required. I'm quite surprised they're committing to a firm release date this far out, actually, but it's nice to be able to mark my calendar. And this should take some of the buzz away from Warhammer Online's release this week. Who's up for a midnight release pilgrimage?
To recap, the expansion will feature the following major features:
- The continent of Northrend
- The Death Knight class
- Inscription, a new profession (actually will be available in the 3.0.2 patch, which is now on the PTR)
- New raids and dungeons. All raids will be available in 10- and 25-player versions, and the first one will be a retooled Naxxramas.
- Wintergrasp, a non-instanced outdoor PvP zone with siege vehicles and destructible buildings (and a raid boss)
- Level cap raised to 80, with new spells and talents for all classes
All of the latest news can be found on our Wrath page. Also, Ask a Beta Tester answers all your burning questions, Lichborne will walk you through the Death Knight class, and in Skill Mastery we've been explaining each class's new spells and abilities one by one. Prepare yourself; this is going to be fun. Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Brian Sep 15th 2008 12:31AM
FINALLY!!
Something to look forward to! :D
Kevin Gass Sep 15th 2008 1:13AM
Have they announced the CE yet so i can go pre-order the damn thing?
Preston Sep 15th 2008 2:16AM
Once upon a time, I would have been excited about this announcement.
However, today I got to play the Warhammer Early Start. I now know I never want to return to this game again. I had more fun today than I ever had in the two years I've played WoW. On top of that, you have no idea how wonderful it is to actually play a battleground and remain in control of your character the entire time. No constant stress over whether a rogue is about to cheap shot you or a druid is going to root you and cyclone you.
WotLK is 10 more levels to grind, more faction reputations to grind, more profession recipes to grind, and more honor points to grind in the same old battlegrounds. And, of course, the game still has rogues. That's enough for me to leave (I say that having a 70 rogue and knowing how friggin' easy he is to play).
Farewell, Warcraft addicts. I'm off to have fun! I don't have fun in this game anymore. :(
my2cents Sep 15th 2008 3:29AM
Preston, I was starting to feel a little like you do (not completely, but partially) after playing the Warhammer beta. I wouldn't say I had more fun there than I ever did in WoW, but it is an excellent game and a fresh of breath air. I was all ready to hop on the WAR-wagon and put WoW on the backburner.
But then I got a key for the Wrath beta. Let me just say Wrath is absolutely freakin' amazing! The devs have really outdone themselves this time. I am in love with WoW all over again. That said, I still recognize WAR as a great game and I'll probably play that as well. But after playing Wrath it's quite clear that WoW is still my #1.
Naix Sep 15th 2008 9:41AM
For real!
I called this date many moons ago and some less informed were thinking that it was too soon. Blizzard has the money and resources to pump out new expansions every year.
Preston Sep 15th 2008 12:15PM
@my2cents:
I, too, have played the Wrath beta. I wasn't as impressed as you are, especially given recent class nerfs. The raid buff changes will make some lesser played classes even harder to find, like shamans, because stacking is gone.
And, like I said, rogues still exist. :) Their stealth and stun capabilities are completely bogus, and I'll always feel that way. Giving them the ability to remove bleeds was the last straw for me.
I didn't see anything in Wrath that wasn't 10 more levels of what we got in BC--kill X of Y quests, reputation to grind, professions to grind, gear sets to grind, Arena points to grind...it's such a grindy game.
Wintergrasp was fun for the first 10 minutes. Meanwhile, last night on an Open RvR server in Warhammer, I came across a Destruction public quest that's set right next to a dwarf area, so Order players kept coming down and trying to kill us while we were occupied with the mobs. Someone yelled "dwarf!" and it started a mini-war.
WoW doesn't have these moments. I thought Wrath was going to be the big revival of world PvP and battlegrounds that WoW needed, but it's not. Even worse, the Arena still exists, which has been one of the most atrocious aspects of the previous expansion. People complain about it constantly for various reasons, yet Blizzard pushes it more and more just so they can get into gaming tournaments. Dear Blizzard--WoW is not StarCraft! It's an MMO!
I hope everyone has fun with Wrath, and I'll check out the final version. But Warhammer makes the EverQuest formula feel veeeery outdated. I'm not surprised Blizzard announced this date the very week of Warhammer's release, at the same time they're re-running those Shatner/Mister-T commercials. They know Mythic has a hit on their hands.
pnm326 Sep 15th 2008 12:32AM
EFFIN WOOT. That is all.
Tasty Sep 15th 2008 12:32AM
Oh dear... my exams are exactly 2 weeks after the launch...
Looks like I'm hiding my PC in november
Kakistocracy Sep 15th 2008 12:42AM
Yeah, I wish they had waited till Christmas break, it's one thing for someone to take time off work, but I can't really put off finals.
Warbane Sep 15th 2008 1:13AM
Yeah, why couldn't the release have been a Saturday, so the night before would be a Friday? I don't know if I'll be able to do a midnight release, depends on what I have going at school, this is too close to finals. :(
Chryso Sep 15th 2008 1:52AM
That's probably the whole point; they're trying to avoid the standard opening day crashfest by dropping it at what can diplomatically be called "off-peak" time.
Fine from a technical standpoint, just sucks that they're basically rewarding all the basement dwellers for not letting things like an education get in the way of playing more WoW.
slimj091 Sep 15th 2008 4:41AM
"Yeah, why couldn't the release have been a Saturday, so the night before would be a Friday? I don't know if I'll be able to do a midnight release, depends on what I have going at school, this is too close to finals. :("
so... uh wait until the very next day perhaps? any store in the country will still have hundreds of boxes left for you.
unless your hoping that blizzard puts in an "EPIC loser" achievement for standing in a line to get it at midnight when you can't even play it until the next day.
jatheak Sep 15th 2008 4:20AM
That's unlucky, my exams finish the day before Wrath. Good Luck to you for your exams though.
-70TW
Jason Sep 15th 2008 12:33AM
Ooooooo...
Know Sep 15th 2008 5:21AM
I'll see you Oooooooo and raise you an Ahhhhhhhhh lol
Bring it, will have to take time off work :)
Bloodletter Sep 15th 2008 12:35AM
O____________________________________o
rdmxxx Sep 15th 2008 12:35AM
Any word on the CE? Or will that be a Blizzcon special announcement?
G Sep 15th 2008 1:23AM
Thirded. I'm ready to pre-order the CE but haven't heard a whisper about it lately.
PimpyMicPimp Sep 15th 2008 12:40AM
WHAT!?
Totally did not see this coming before Blizzcon.
Matazuma Sep 15th 2008 12:40AM
AHH MAH GAWD!!!!!!!