Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King Officially Announced

Posted by Zonk on from the you-gotta-love-the-death-knight dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Wrath of the Lich King is official! BlizzCon is in full swing, and celebrants there are already enjoying the Northrend-themed imagery. For a look at what's going on, Joystiq has a liveblog of the opening ceremony up. Games For Windows magazine, meanwhile, will feature WLK its next cover. The post on the 1up site has a number of details on the next expansion, including the introduction of the Death Knight, the first new class since WOW's launch 'World of WarCraft's first Hero Class is a plate-wearing tank/DPS hybrid that works a little something like this: When players hit level 80, they'll be able to embark on a quest (similar in difficulty to the Warlock's epic mount quest, back before the level cap was raised to 70) that unlocks the ability to create a Death Knight character. The Death Knight starts at a high level (somewhere around 60 or 70, though Blizzard isn't certain yet), so you won't have to grind your way back up all over again. It's intended as an alternative, advanced class for end-game use only.'."

8 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. So more grind... by Number13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The old EQ Skinner Box model strikes again. Every year or so, release an expansion that completely invalids any progress made in the last expansion. Problem is, it works as a money making venture, so other games follow the same suit rather than attempting to create games where content is for fun rather than for grind.

    1. Re:So more grind... by Metasquares · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In the long run, however, it tends to kill the game.

    2. Re:So more grind... by shakingbrave · · Score: 4, Insightful

      /sigh You do realize that the best geared guilds progress the fastest in the next expansion because they're the best geared for it. Granted they're going to upgrade their gear as they go, but they start with a significant advantage. So how is that "invalidating any progress" they made? If anything WoW is better than any other MMO I've played (EQ blaaah) for the sheer fact that they update content/balance/etc the game so much. And they do a bunch of it for "free" as well (read: you don't have to buy another expansion), they've released some monster patches. And also, creating a class that starts at lvl 60 or 70 is taking away the grind and adding to the fun, so I don't get that remark either???

  2. Re:Casual gamers? by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't think it means that really. I think what it's actually for is for people like you (and me) who get to 80 and go, "Well great! Now what the fuck do I do?" Now there is an answer: "Switch to death knight (or whatever the frilly alliance equivalent will end up being), and then level back up to 80!" Leveling is always rife with solo content, so you'd have the fun of switching your class, and doing some more solo play, rather than the eternal instance/raid grind.

    Of course, if you're a quest-a-holic this could be an issue because if you've done all the quests, you might have to grind your way back to 80 and that would suck.

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  3. Mid Level Content by Idylwyld · · Score: 4, Insightful

    WTF? So we got new early game and end game content in BC which was great. But where's the love for the mid levellers?

    And what's up with an "unlockable" end game class? Too lazy to balance the new class all the way through?

    --
    "Secrecy is the Beginning of Tyranny" "No intelligent man has any respect for an unjust law" -Robert Heinlein
  4. Blizzard don't learn... by abigsmurf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Again with the focus on End game and a 10 level rise. Not only will it now take months for the average gamer to reach endgame, they'll have to deal with the broken level 70 content as well as the broken level 60 content. I'm sure lots of people who started from scratch will remember the 'fun' of spending 500g leveling craft from 290-300 so you can then craft BC stuff, have class quests which require trying to find people willing to spend 4 hours in an instance with obsolete goods. With people leveling 60-70 post 2nd expansion they'll probably have all the fun of rep grinding as well as the empty instances they need to complete. Blizzard focus on endgame and ignore everything else. WoW is crying out for an anti-DPS class that can take out rogues and mages and have a strong focus on debuffs (spell breakers perhaps) but the devs are too lazy to balance level 1-70 content for a new class. Instead they're going the easy route and making endgame only classes

    1. Re:Blizzard don't learn... by Kjella · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, players don't learn. Hint: You're never ever going to be that überhero with all maxed skills and equipment unless you grind like crazy. And a little while after that, we'll release a new expansion with new levels, new equipment which you'll have to continue to grind if you want to stay on top. It's the pot of gold that keeps moving away as you approach it, like the frigging rainbow. And the players say "Thank you, may I have another please?" because Blizzard recently announced they were up to NINE million subscribers, which either means they have a) high turnover and tens of millions have tried it or b) they keep coming back for more, and I believe in b).

      I have two friends that are pretty much the archetypes of WoW. One is a father of one (soon two), very relaxed about it all and playing it because he's having a good time. He'll do just fine. The other... well, he seems to want to "win" Wow, grinding away like crazy. You should almost think having a mega-character in WoW was some sort of investment, when you talk to him. Perhaps if you sold your account you'd get a pittance, but more likely he'll just keep it until it's no longer worth much - an expansion later and it won't be. I know hobbies don't need to be "productive", but something is wrong when you talk about it as if it were and it isn't. I mean, one thing is if you're a craftsman and make items - real, permanent and durable. Another is whatever you crafted in WoW which is a collection of pixels that'll be obsolete and worthless in a while, and meaningless if you quit WoW.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  5. Re:Casual gamers? by Archimonde · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Uh, yeah, I guess some people complain about the leveling "grind", but really WoW has one of the nicest leveling phases, replete with quests and things to do to fit a variety of playstyles.

    What are you talking about? Are we playing the same game*? Leveling is the most boring part of the game period. Sure, leveling your first character can be fun, but with every other character you end up doing the same boring quests, killing the same monsters etc. And what play styles? There is only one play style when leveling. Grinding by killing monsters. Endless fun.
    Not.

    "The grind" that everyone complains about is the one you do after reaching the level cap.

    Yes and no. The grind is omnipresent before and after level 70. No one can deny that.

    Or remember when you got to go farm for cloth so that other people could get to run a raid instance? That's what people complain about.

    They kinda complain about that but not as much 1-70 grind. It is horrible. But well, people complain about everything in WoW (many of those complaints do have merit though), but saying that leveling is great (as in fun) part of the game is like saying that working on the assembly line is the most interesting job in the world.

    The leveling "grind" is great for casuals.

    Yes it is a grind, and yes it the worst part of WoW.

    * I did quit, before I ruined my life.

    --
    Trolls are like broken clocks. They show the truth two times a day. The rest of the day they talk nonsense.