World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Confirmed

The official site for the first World of Warcraft expansion: The Burning Crusade has been launched as BlizzCon kicks off. There you'll find screens, movies, and information about the upcoming expansion to one of the most popular MMOGs on the market. The site confirms several of the rumours currently on the internet about the game, including the fact that the Horde will be gaining the Blood Elves as a playable race. The new Alliance race is still up in the air. From the FAQ: "Q: What does the title of the World of Warcraft expansion refer to? A: "The Burning Crusade" refers to the Burning Legion's ongoing efforts to destroy life on Azeroth. To date, the Burning Legion's exploits have been documented in Warcraft III and in our War of the Ancients novel trilogy. As part of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, players will now be able to travel through the Dark Portal to confront the Legion on otherworldly battlefields." ScuttleMonkey is on the ground at Blizzcon, and should have some firsthand info for us this weekend about the happenings in California. Update: 10/28 20:44 GMT by Z : IGN has a rundown on the features and screens. Good stuff.

Comments

Let the B*tching Begin

[dividedsky319]

People are already complaining.

Mostly about the level cap being raised to 70.

Personally, I'm excited about that... I wasn't a fan of the endgame, and leveling was my source of fun. Once I reached the cap, I didn't care about getting uber gear or anything like that. Sure, I'll reach 70 eventually as well, but 10 more levels of content is exciting to me...

People will complain about anything, won't they? (Especially when it comes to MMORPG gamers)

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[dividedsky319]

I won't complain about being able to gain another 10 levels either.

It seems like the majority of people on the forums are complaining because they've "worked so hard" to get epic items for their level 60 character, and that a green lvl 70 item will be better than their epic item.

But, I mean, come on... gaming is about fun, not about accomplishment. This "I'm l33ter than you becuase I have a purple weapon" has gotten out of control. (Besides, the epic items out now have an "item level" that's >60 anyway... so don't wet yourself, your epic item is still "better")

To the complainer, I say this... you worked so hard to get your items... What, did you think you had to do that once, then you were the coolest person in the game... forever? The game is going to expand, to change, and you're going to have to continue to play... isn't that a good thing?

Really, the source of the complaining is that it kicks their "l33tness" down a notch. Suddenly someone is level 61 and they're only 60, oh noes! The world is over!

A word of advice: Stop taking it so seriously and just have fun

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[Thorkytel Ant-Head]

Okay, so you get your fun from challenging instances, PvP, and quests. So how does raising the level cap change this at all? Just keeping doing those instances, quests, and PvPing. I assume you've been ignoring the XP bar since level 60; just keep ignoring it. Why does the availability of more experience mean that you have to start grinding? Just have fun. As for the skill trees, it is mentioned that there will be new skills available for those above level 60. I am assuming that the new skills will be over and above the current skill trees, not just an extension to the current ones. Have a little faith in Blizzard.

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[dividedsky319]

Leveling is something you do to get to the fun, it should be as short as possible (non-existant is preferable).

See, different strokes for different folks. Once I hit the level cap of 60, I didn't really care about playing anymore. What's the point of doing instances, PvP, quests, etc? To have a small percentage chance that you could get a new weapon? That's BORING to me. Leveling gave me a sense of progression. I hit 60, I got bored, I quit. (This was back in March that I quit... played from November to March. However, I joined again last week and started a new character)

Its also going to totally FUBAR the skill trees. 10 more talent points.

I highly doubt they'll just give out 10 more talent points and leave the trees as they are now. Blizzard isn't that stupid, they know how much this would imbalance things. They'll either add more talents, or give no talent points >60.

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[Thorkytel Ant-Head]

No, you don't have to get them. It's a game. Have fun. Plenty of people enjoy the game even before level 60. Maybe getting "totally owned at PvP" shouldn't be your only concern in the game. Your main concern should be having fun.

But it seems to me that you're so concerned about the game, that you're not enjoying it anymore. Sounds like a self-repairing problem, if you ask me: Either quit playing the game out of frustration, or get over the "need" to level up without enjoying it.

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[Thorkytel Ant-Head]

Great, so you enjoy the PvP. So do I. You may find this hard to believe, but I actually have fun in PvP, even when I'm >gasp
And again, I am puzzled by your repeated claims that this is a casual, low-grind game. It is a casual, low-grind game. It's low-grind because you can do quests and play the game and still make progress in levels and abilities, not because you can hurry up and get to level 60 and then forget about experience altogether. That's not low-grind; that's front-loaded grind. That's you saying, "I hate grinding, and I hate games that force you to grind. Therefore, I am going to grind as much as I can, so I can level up quickly and get to a point where I don't have to worry about grinding anymore." It seems like your logic is hopelessly flawed in that respect.

And your attitude about bait-and-switch tactics is priceless. "Hey Blizzard! I expected the game to stay as it is, with only minor content changes, and preferably none at all! But instead, here you are creating new content, new skills, new talents and abilities, new characters, new realms to explore, new quests, new enemies, and new avenues of enjoyment that will satisfy me for years to come! Of course I'm upset!"

If you want a game that will stay the same forever, go buy a standard RPG. Blizzard always advertised World of Warcraft as a world that would be constantly changing and improving and expanding. People have been complaining for ages that Blizzard isn't introducing enough new content quickly enough...and here you are complaining that they are changing it too much? Like I said...priceless.

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[Thorkytel Ant-Head]

Your average blue drop from a level 70 5 man dungeon will be an item level 75 superior item.

Could you provide an example of this? Just name the level 70 dungeon, and one of the level 75 superior drops.

...

What? You can't name one? Oh, you mean there actually aren't any level 70 dungeons yet? So basically, you're making complete speculation, and then using that as the basis for criticism. Hey, maybe a level 70 dungeon will drop level 95 Legendary items. Maybe they'll only drop greens. Maybe each creature will drop 50 runecloth. It's a little too early to be guessing, and then passing judgment based on that guess.

Let me address a few more points while I'm here...

Yes, Blizzard wanted World of Warcraft to be different from your typical level-grind treadmill. However, contrary to popular belief, they did not do this by making everyone grind to level 60, and then declaring that the end of the grind. They did it by making it possible to have fun and progress in the game without being forced to grind. There is a marked difference between "grinding" and "gaining levels." Grinding is repeating the same tedious actions over and over again, for the sole purpose of gaining experience (typically through killing monsters). World of Warcraft alleviates this by providing numerous quests which, although they may have killing monsters as one element, provide the sense of actually working towards the completion of a quest line and the associated rewards. They make it fun to get to level 60, and they have plenty of content so it's fun once you get to level 60.

So what will change when the level cap is raised? Nothing. It will still be fun at level 60, it will be fun working up to level 70, and it will be fun at level 70. I really don't see what the problem is. If you think that when Blizzard said "no grinding,"they meant "no grinding once you reach level 60,"then you are mistaken.

As for the talent points, am I the only one who read the press release? "...every new level will offer meaningful spell, ability, and talent upgrades for each character class." Did it say, "...every new level will offer another talent point to be added to the previous talent tree"? No. Given Blizzard's love for talent trees, and the work they have done to balance them, it seems reasonable to assume that they aren't going to piss that away by allowing 31/0/30 builds. I would presume a completely new talent tree from 60-70. But then again, I don't know. However, I am reserving judgment until we get all the facts.

As for the people who completed quests as level 60 without getting a nudge in their XP bar...so? The level cap was 60 at that point. If I run headfirst into a brick wall, I'm not going to complain if someone puts a doorway there six months later. And besides, isn't having no XP bar part of your vaunted "getting rid of the grind"?

From where I'm standing, your complaints about Blizzard come from a mistaken interpretation of their previous intentions.

Re:Let the B*tching Begin

[snuf23]

Seeing as the release date hasn't even been announced... don't you think you might be a bit bored of running BWL, ZG and MC by then? Maybe looking for some fresh new dungeons? New content? High end 60+ quests in the new zone? Not to mention that it will get easier to get everyone in your guild their 60 level epic gear with a team of 61+ in the high end raids.
I don't know about you but I'm kind of getting bored of running the same dungeons over and over again. I mean yeah it's great to make progression through them at the high end, but sometimes it just seems pointless and repetitive.

Re:How are MMORPG expansions handled?

[Surye]

Q: Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
A: There will be many aspects of the expansion that are available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as the Outlands, or be able to play as one of the new races, players will have to purchase the expansion.

RTFA?

Re:Memoirs of an ex-WOW-addict

[Thorkytel Ant-Head]

You know, I used to be like you. I went through a period of time when I was just grinding away, staying up late to complete one more quest, then running back to turn it in, then heading to the capital city to buy more spells and abilities...and yeah, I eventually got burnt out. But then, you know what I realized?

I realized that I can stop playing for a while, then come back later, and the quests and the world will still be there.

Personally, I've had much more fun logging on less frequently, feeling like I've accomplished something, and then logging off. I have no desire to get burned out on the game, and I realized that reaching level 60 isn't the goal. Ultimately, the goal is to have fun playing the game. If your only goal is to get to 60, then you're sure to be disappointed when you get there, because it feels a lot like 59. But if you take your time and have fun playing, then level 60 will just be another opportunity to find some new dungeons, new quests, and new items. Moderation in all things. The journey is its own reward.

Re:Memoirs of an ex-WOW-addict

[Gulthek]

Why was level 60 the goal? Was the fun of the game not merit enough?

Is the point of a piece of music to reach the finale?

When you dance is it to arrive at a particular spot on the floor at the end?