We have to ask, Is there any release date set for WotLK?
You know the answer to that (laugh).
What is the role of the DeathKinght? Tanking? DPS? Both of them?
Yes, it’s both a tanking and DPS class. So you’ll have gear and abilities that are DPS. The idea behind the DK is that it will be a great tank across the board but will specialise in tanking various spell caster mobs. So if you’ve got a heavy spell user the DK will be your first tank of choice.
So the DK can resurrect people in the Arena?
We haven’t talked about how that’s going to work. That may be a spell we don’t allow to work in the Arena. It’s not a res like a Priest or Paladin res. It allows them to create a resurrected ghoul and create a ghoul out of a corpse. So if you are ressurected you come back as a ghoul with a certain set of abilities you can use for a certain amount of time. More like a DK companion type thing.
What more can you tell us about inscription?
Not a whole lot more we can say but it’s one of my favourite features of the expansion. There will be spells you can inscribe, you can make scrolls to sell, inscribers will also have inscriptions only they can get and exclusive items they can use.
Will there be new instances in the old world?
We haven’t talked about what instances will exist in the old world other than Caverns of Time. We’re interested in players coming back to the old world. One of the things we are not changing in the expansion is training and auction houses and we’d like to figure out some instance that players will go back to the old world for.
What standard Equipment do you get as a DK. Will you keep your old equipment?
To be clear, when you create a DK you are creating a new character, it;s something we changed and there are a lot of reasons for that. One reason is we didn’t;t like the idea that if you have a level 70 warrior, you don’t want to give up that warrior to become a DK. Or if you do, we didn’t like the idea that certain players would level say a hunter to a certain level in order for that character to become a DK as the character would then become throw-away. You’ll have a set of base equipment we’ll give you at level 55 for your DK. A combo of greens and blues.
We want to you to be very effective at level 55 but at the same time we also want you to be able to get through the quests.
You just have to have a character that is level 55, you don’t have to complete any quests to become a DK. The original plan was you had to level a character to 80 but that is no longer the case.
Is there one DK limit per server?
Right now we haven’t nailed that down. The idea is that you can create a DK on any server you currently play on.
What is happening with Dalaran?
Dalaran is going to be located at the northern middle of Northrend. The idea being that it’s centrally located to the final zones. The idea is that the Mages will have used some sort of magical energy to lift Dalaran into Northrend. There will be some residual energies left at the old location.
Will Dalaran be the Shattrath of Northrend?
Absolutely. It’s a sanctuary where no PvP can exist.
Will a portal be added at Shattrath to Dalaran?
We haven’t decided that. I think you can make the argument there should be a portal there but I don’t know if there will be a lot of reasons to go back to Outland once you make the transition.
About resilience gear, is there a plan to add anti-resilient stats to your character?
Currently no, We may balance the effectiveness of resilience as we move forward. For each arena season we’re always trying to make it better than the previous one, not only more powerful but also more balanced and give each class the ability to be successful.
We do have plans to make the arena a more balanced part of the game. Season 3 is what we feel is the best season we’ve had so far. Every season we look at what worked and what didn’t in the previous season.
What changes will there be to the Badge of Justice in WotLK?
Well it won’t be Badges of Justice, it will be something new. We haven’t discussed a name but we joke about it being the Badges of Icy Justice. It will be anew type of badge because it has worked fairly well and we will see it more extensively in WotLK in terms of how often they get dropped.
Further Reading/Viewing
- Watch the new official WotLK Zones movie!
- Wrath of the Lich King Presentation Summary
- Death Knight - New Info, (including spells and abilities)
- Wrath Presentation - All the Facts, None of the Fluff
- New screenshots
- Tom Chilton Video Interview
- Jeff Kaplan Video Interview (Read Transcript)
- J.Allen Brack Video Interview (Read Transcript)
- Blizzard Museum Tour Video
