I don’t envy anyone making a strategy guide for an MMOPRG, but Bradygames have risen to the daunting challenge. With guides for WoW’s two previous incarnations tucked under their belt, they certainly know their subject matter, and therefore this Official Strategy Guide for Wrath of the Lich King is packed with great information, including useful tips, lists of new items, and zone-by-zone guides.
The first section in the book deals with all the changes to the game, which were brought in just before and at the launch of WotLK. Huge alterations to the User Interface, such as the new clock, pets and mounts system and calendar are all explained. Of course, WotLK has more than a few cosmetic changes. The guide goes over the new phasing system, barber shops, glyphs, achievements, new spell mechanics and the new racial abilities. There is also a list of the 5 man dungeons that come with WotLK, and a level guide for each one, along with a list of all rewards for the new PvE tokens, Emblems of Heroism, which replace Badges of Justice from TBC. Once you have absorbed all this, the next section is sure to grab your attention.
World of Warcraft’s first hero class, the Death Knight, is one of the expansion’s top selling points. Anyone who plays WoW is likely to roll one of these new characters at some point. The guide goes over all the slinky new DK abilities, all the starting quests and a map of the starting area. Every single DK skill and talent is listed too, although the one fault I would point out is that there’s no level requirements for the skills, which is something I would consider to be quite vital in a guide.
Following the listing of the DK’s skills & talents is a list of every other class’ abilities (including Hunters’ pets), reviewed in the same way; a general explanation of the skill, occasionally with an example of when it might be used. This makes the guide useful to new players as well as veterans.
Now you know all about your characters and their new abilities, what’s next? The majority of the expansion is based in the new continent, Northrend. Maps of each zone are presented, with every important landmark noted and an indication of the faction alignment, Horde, Alliance or Neutral. To give you a visual impression of the zone, several screen shots are included, along with Mining and Herbalism information, dungeons, reputation factions in that zone and important NPCs.
Now you know where to find them, the guide takes you through four of the five-man dungeons, giving you a background of each place, and a fight strategy with the resident bosses. It also tells you the rough time it takes to complete the dungeon, the type of monsters you’ll find in there, which quests can be done and the type of damage done (for example, shadow, nature, fire etc.).
The guide then goes on to explain several other aspects of the expansion, such as the Arena system, and the new PvP zone Wintergrasp. The Arena guide lists all the rewards available, as well as a list of the Arenas you will find yourselves in, and a general overview on Team Ratings and Arena Points. The Wintergrasp section shows you a full map of the area and gives you a look at the various siege vehicles available. They’ve also looked at the new battleground Strand of the Ancients, and provided a map and walk-through.
As with the previous expansion, Blizzard have introduced many new factions to WoW. They are all detailed in Bradygames’ guide, with information about the goods they sell to players. Also featured in the guide is a list of every quest in the expansion. It’s a useful reference, but unfortunately it doesn’t tell you where to go or what to do, or the amount of gold you receive at cap level. However, it does include the zone, faction, reputation, XP, prerequisites and other info.
Full lists of the new crafting recipes for every profession, along with trainers and their locations, can be found and it helpfully provides you with the skill rank needed to learn the recipe, the source of the recipe (trained or a drop from a monster) and the reagents needed to create the item.
Lastly, the book provides a list of every Achievement obtainable in the game. This new addition to WoW has been extremely popular, and you’ll probably find yourself flicking through that section more than any other.
An issue with guides such as these is often the relevance of the information after a short time. Games like WoW change constantly, and Bradygames must have held on right up until the last available moment before having this printed. I noticed an achievement, the Hallow’s End one to collect 20 masks, was still in there that has since been removed, but earlier changes such as the Warrior skill Heroic Leap, is nowhere to be seen, probably placing the publishing of the book at around 6 to 10 weeks ago.
Players who invest in this guide will no doubt be glad they did as it provides oodles of information along with very useful hints for players new and old. Despite its minor shortfalls, such as the lack of one or two pieces of information, it’s a guide that every WoW player can learn something from. Illidan told us we were not prepared for The Burning Crusade, but with one of these Tomes tucked under our arms, we certainly are prepared for Wrath of the Lich King.
How accurate and uptodate is the information? if you consider that it must have gone to print 2 months before release to be ready in shops in time, and the final editorial signing off must have occured before that their may potentially be areas in which the information is 3 months old.