Slashdot Mirror
New WoW Patch Brings Cross-Server Instances
ajs writes "World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion was staggered into 4 phases. The fourth and final phase, patch 3.3, was released on Tuesday. This patch is significant in that it will be the first introduction of one of the most anticipated new features in the game since PvP arenas: the cross-realm random dungeon, as well as the release of new end-game dungeons for 5, 10 and 25-player groups. The patch notes have been posted, and so has a trailer. The ultimate fight against the expansion's antagonist, the Lich King a.k.a. Arthas, will be gated as each of the four wings of the final dungeon are opened in turn — a process that may take several months. The next major patch after 3.3 (presumably 4.0) will be the release of Cataclysm, the next expansion."
Chuck a zero on the end of that first number, and change the 3 to at least a 6, then you have WOW. (And that's underestimating their current subscribers.)
Eve would burn to the ground if even half that number tried to use it.
Months, huh? I call bullshit. Some guild with no life will beat Arthas into paste before the end of the year.
The only possible things that could put it off until the new year is (1) Blizzard hard coded it so each wing is opened on a set schedule, regardless of how fast the bosses in that wing are beaten and (2) Christmas break.
Which is exactly what Blizzard did.
The first wing opened now, the next wing will open 28 days from now. There are a total of 4 wings, and you need to complete ICC on normal mode before you can do hard modes.