Earlier in the week, we were invited to attend a Wrath of the Lich King presentation at Blizzard’s offices in Irvine, California. Once there, we were shown an hour-long presentation on the expansion and its progress so far. The presentation also included a demonstration of a Death Knight in action, and we got to see the inside of many new instances.
Speaking at the presentation were Jeff Kaplan, who showed us through the new content on Northrend, and Tom Chilton, who showed us the Death Knight. Both of these guys are lead designers of WoW.
Kaplan kicked off the show with an overview of Azeroth, and Northrend’s position on it. Northrend is bigger than Outland by a couple of zones, and a some of the zones themselves will be larger than Outland’s largest zones.
Players will have a choice of starting area, regardless of faction. You can choose to start over on the East side of Northrend in the zone called Howling Fjord [0:01], which is the zone Blizzard featured at BlizzCon back in August last year, or you can enter Northrend on the west side in the zone called Borean Tundra [2:10]. Both of these zones are the exact same level range, they both have dungeons which players can go straight into from Outland if you wish, and they are both equally accessible for players of either faction. For example, if you play a Horde character, and you wanted to go to Howling Fjord, you would get there via the Undercity, and if you wanted to go to Borean Tundra, you would leave from Orgrimmar. It is also very easy to switch between zones if you change your mind once you get there.
Kaplan showed us a town called Vengeance Landing [0:08] in Howling Fjord, which is unique, because it is the first town that is purely Forsaken architecture. All Forsaken buildings up to this point have been converted from Scourge or Human styles. This town is advancing the Forsaken’s storyline, as they have a vested interest in going up against Arthas to maintain their free will.
We took a trip up the mountain to another area in Howling Fjord, as Kaplan explained that as cool as it would have been to simply make a whole continent out of snow and ice, it wouldn’t have been very rewarding for the players, so they have mixed it up and provided lots of different environments for players to explore.
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The next area showed the Vrykul [0:35], a new enemy race that are tall, strong and barbarian-like, and they borrow a lot of their looks and design from Norse mythology, this is seen in their buildings too [0:25]. The Vrykul are want-to-be Scourge bad guys, and are completing evil tasks to get in with Arthas.
Utgarde Keep in this area [1:22], which was fully playable at BlizzCon, is a 2-wing dungeon. Players can enter the lower level dungeon as soon as they start adventuring in Northrend. The high level wing is for level 80 players, and both instances will feature Heroic modes.
All 5-man instances in Northrend will feature Heroic modes, and the loot tables for the 2 modes will be totally separate. Heroic dungeons will have their own “Tier” of armor completely unique to that level dungeon.
Another feature on Howling Fjord is a Vrykul structure, which is a gondola [1:48] that is lowered down to the Isle of Spears [1:57] (Kaplan joked that Britney is not present, but that the island was named after her). Down here is the new race called the Tuskarr [2:24]. They are a group that players can ally themselves to and gain reputation with to obtain new items. This is also the landing/pick up site for a boat that takes players over to Borean Tundra, should they wish to travel to the other starting area. Kaplan explained that because the size of this new continent was immense, they didn’t want players to feel stranded, and so they have provided plenty of means to travel around.
If you take the boat from the Tuskarr village, the first sight that greets you when you arrive at Borean Tundra is another Tuskarr village, but you quickly see the landscape is different, and many different storylines are being played out here. The starting areas here are just as appealing as their equivalents back in Howling Fjord, and Kaplan explained that Blizzard wanted to make player’s first experience in Northrend an epic one, whichever zone they decided to start in.
We were shown Valliance Keep [2:34], the Alliance starting area. The storyline playing out there is that reserves are being called out to help in the battle against Arthas. The Horde starting area is the impressive Warsong Hold [2:49], ruled over by Garosh Hellscream, son of Grom Hellscream from Warcraft III. The building uses dark iron and is more aggressive than Orgrimmar, and Kaplan referred to the “New Look” of the Horde. Horde players will get to interact with Garosh right away from the moment they disembark from the zeppelin.
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Next, we were shown a sub-zone in Borean Tundra, which is Caldarra , the home of the Blue Dragonflight. Caldarra is around the size of the Bone Wastes in Terokkar Forest, and contains the Nexus [3:12], the dungeon in the western starting zone that players will immediately have access to. The denizens of this instance are the Blue Dragonflight, who have turned bad and are making war against all magic users, so that they can capture all magic and use it for their own purposes.
There are 3 wings in the Nexus, a level 71-73 wing which is Wrath’s equivalent to the Blood Furnace in Hellfire peninsula, a level 80 wing, and also a raid encounter where players will engage Malygos, head of the Blue Dragonflight. This wing will be similar to the Onyxia encounter, as it will be a short dungeon, and players will only have to fight one or possibly two bosses. The level 80 instance features floating rings that players can fly around once they have freed a group of drakes being held by the first boss. This is the first instance in which players will be able to engage in free-flight. The drakes also have abilities, so players can actually use then as weapons while flying.
The level 71-73 wing is situated in the ice cavern below the other instances. It has a completely different look and feel to the other starting dungeon, Utgarde Keep, with Blue glowing runes and magic around every corner. As to be expected, it is inhabited by the Blue Dragonflight. Because of all the toiling with magic that goes on in the dungeon, there are parts of it that are in disarray, and you can see where the Nexus itself is breaking apart. There are four bosses in this instance. Kaplan commented that this area is still in play testing, and to make it more rewarding they are experimenting with either removing some of the mobs so that players can get through it quicker, or by making the rewards inside the instance better. This dungeon, as with all 5 man instances in Northrend, will be available on Heroic mode as well as normal mode.
The instances here looks pretty massive, but Kaplan explained that Blizzard are now aiming to design the 5 man instances so that they only take around 1 hour to complete, no more. They feel that any longer than that isn’t ideal as a digestible playing session, however, they are happy with the current raid instance length, which can take days if you’re new to it, or be completed in a few hours if you know what you’re doing.
The Badge of Justice system that is currently in place in the Burning Crusade will continue in Northrend, but with different tokens replacing the Badge of Justice.
Elsewhere in Borean Tundra, players can see members of the Kirin Tor, wielders of magic, who are concerned about the activities of the Blue Dragonflight. Players will be able to complete quests for this faction, who are based at Dalaran, the new Neutral hub city in Northrend. Also, the Gnome area, Fizzcrank Airstrip can be seen here [3:48], which is overshadowed by a crashed Necropolis [3:52], similar to Naxxramas. Players can venture inside this crashed building to complete single-player quests. This is close to a huge Scourge base called the Temple of En’kilah.
Borean Tundra shares a border with Dragonblight, another zone on Northrend. As we get closer to the centre of Northrend, players can see more and more evidence of the Scourge, and Dragonblight is infested with the evil race.
At this point in the presentation, Tom Chilton showed us a little bit about the Death Knight. I’ve written up an article dedicated to this section, which can be seen here, so be sure to check it out. It includes many spells and abilities used by the new Hero class, as well as lots of brand new information.
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The next zone on show was Dragonblight [4:11], which is one of the largest zones in the game currently. Kaplan pointed out that if a zone is large, Blizzard take care to make sure there is plenty for the player to see and do, rather than have large expanses of land with no features (Tanaris springs to mind!). The first place of interest we come to is Icemist Village, which used to be a Winter Tauren village, but has come under siege from the Nerubians, the spider race from beneath Northrend. Next we see the horde base here in Dragonblight called Agmar’s Hammer, which again demonstrates the new, more aggressive Horde look.
Also in Dragonblight, are the Dragonshrines. There is one for each flight of dragon, five in total, and these are the places that dragons come to when their life is at an end. These shrines are very different from one another and each has its own storyline. The red Dragonshrine [4:58] is under attack from the Scourge, and players can quest there to help the flight. Kaplan also pointed out the Bronze Dragonflight shrine [4:52], and reminded us that these were the guys who were at the Caverns of Time, and the leader of this Dragonflight, Nozdormu, can shift time and send players back and forth. A hint that something along those lines might take place at the Bronze shine perhaps? In addition to the problems facing the individual shrines, the dragons have to contend with Arthas, who is taking the bones of dead dragons and using them to create Frost Wyrms.
In the centre of Dragonblight is Wyrmrest Temple, which Kaplan describes as the “United Nations” of the five Dragonflights. There will be quests to complete there, as well as a raid, where players can fight in the Chamber of Aspects, against various Dragonflights. Also present in this zone are the Argent Dawn, and another faction from the original game - the Scarlet Crusade [5:02], though they are now known as the Scarlet Onslaught in Dragonblight. The Scarlet Onslaught has a huge storyline in this zone which players will become heavily involved with.
Over on the Eastern side of Dragonblight, there is a vast Alliance base which is under attack by the Scourge [5:10]. The lower part of the base has been taken over by the Scourge, and Alliance players will have the chance to hold the lines at the base in quests given from there. Naxxramas is hovering nearby in its new location [5:16], and contains the resurrected Kel’Thuzad. This will be the entry level raid instance for players in Northrend.
At this point, Kaplan revealed the massive news that Blizzard are changing the way raids are done in Northrend, and making them similar to the 5 man instances, whereby they can be played on two levels of difficulty. All 25 man raids will also be available as 10 man raids. The loot tables will be completely different, the 25 man raids will have better and/or more loot, but this means that most players will get to see the end game content in the 10 man version, if not the 25 man one. He went on to explain the reasons behind this; Karazhan, the 10 man instance in the Burning Crusade, was the most popular instance in the game by far. The 10 man dungeons are obviously popular due to the fewer amount of players needed, and the easier difficulty level. Secondly, a lot of 25 man raiding guilds did not like to have to go through the 10 man raids to get access to the 25 man raids. This new system should please everybody (but I’m certain there will be the usual QQers!). Another interesting fact is that the 10 man raids and the 25 man raids will be on totally separate cool downs. This means that once a guild has completed the 25 man Naxxramas for example, they could go back and complete the 10 man version of it on the same day if they wish.
Blizzard will be closely monitoring feedback from the community following this announcement, due to its huge implications. It means that much smaller guilds will be able to participate in content that, until now, only the biggest and most organised guilds could manage, but Kaplan was very keen to stress that the 25 man setup would still be the most elite, rewarding experience out there.
Kaplan then moved back on to exploring Dragonblight.
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This zone also features the Wrathgate, which is the front door to Icecrown Glacier and Icecrown Citadel. Here, there is a moment where players will interact with Arthas at a relatively low level, around 71-74. Blizzard have learned from the Burning Crusade that players wanted to see more of the big characters from the Lore, and have made sure that Arthas will be a big part of the game while levelling in Northrend.
The next zone to feature in the presentation was Grizzly Hills [5:19]. This is a low to mid level zone, and it demonstrates the difference in appearance of the zones. Grizzly Hills has a “Redwood Forest” vibe going on [5:22], and there’s a lot of story lines from the original game that Blizzard have picked up here.
Both Horde and Alliance have bases here due to the huge resources available, and one of the old story lines to make an appearance here is the Venture Co. [5:35]. The goblins from this organisation are making the most of the forests and are going about their business, quickly chopping down trees to make a quick buck. The Furlbogs are also present, and once again, our bear friends have been corrupted by the an extremely evil presence living underneath them, which turns out to be a chained-up Old God. These Furlbog live in what Kaplan describes as a “Fallen attempt at a World Tree” - a gigantic felled tree, which has been hollowed-out and now houses this corrupted community [5:55].
Another old storyline which has been brought back is that of Arugal and his Worgen from Silverpine Forest and Shadowfang Keep. Arthas discovered Arugal’s activities and brought him back from the dead to work for him, so now there are a lot of Worgen in Northrend and in particular, Grizzly Hills.
However, it’s not all old races that inhabit this zone. A new group of Dwarves known as the Iron Dwarfs live here too [6:02]. These aren’t the Dark Iron Dwarfs of the original game but a new form of Dwarf. They are very tied to storms and lightning, and Kaplan goes on to say that we explore a lot more of the titan story, and get into the creation of a lot of the races in WoW, such at the Dwarves, Humans and Vrykul. We may find out exactly where these races came from, for example, we find out that these new Dwarves are actually the construct of the Titans, but they are a little bit evil. Players will discover their city of Thor Modan [6:15], which is a replica of Ironforge, but it has mostly been destroyed by the Earth Giants, who are opposed to the Iron Dwarves.
Kaplan then moved onto talk about some new technology Blizzard has been developing for the siege weapons in Lake Wintergrasp. He explained that the bombing runs in the Burning Crusade were very popular, and that they explored ways to expand on that, but make it better. They discovered that by using the new siege weapon technology, new quest possibilities popped up that they hadn’t previously thought of. We were then taken through a quest, where a player can release an NPC from a cage. The NPC then leads the player out of the building he was being kept in and around to some horses standing nearby. The NPC then jumps on the back of the horse and asks the player’s character to get on too. When mousing over the mounted NPC, a new icon appears to indicate that it is possible to join the NPC as a passenger. Click the horse, and the player’s character hops on the back of the mount. Once mounted, the NPC controls the horse, while the player is given new abilities to keep the foes at bay while trying to escape. These abilities included being able to stun the mobs which are chasing the fleeing player, and also throw burning oil back at them. Incidentally, this quest is where the player learns that the villagers turn into Worgen and are bad guys.
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Kaplan explained that this was a small example of what the siege vehicle technology can do, and that it is now possible to have multiple players on mounts. Other quests similar to this one will let you fly around in planes, and give you abilities while flying [8:28], take on passengers and drop passengers off, as seen in the movie Blizzard provided us with (towards the end of the movie). Kaplan then went on to tell us about another quest where you are given a flying mount, and you must fly over a stricken village to search for NPCs that need rescuing. Once you spot one, you can lower a rope to them from your mount whilst in the air, and they will climb up to join you.
Next, we were shown another instance called Drak Theron Keep [6:43], which is on the border of Grizzly Hills and a huge area called Zul Drak [6:35], home of the Ice Trolls. This instance introduces us to the evil new race, and is in stark contrast to the other instances we had seen up to that point. These new Trolls are hostile to both factions, but are also fighting the Scourge, against whom they have had some success. This means that both the Horde and Alliance have an interest in finding out what’s going on in Drak Theron Keep, so they can discover what the Trolls are doing to beat the Scourge. One of the bosses inside this instance is a Lich located in a burial chamber [6:55], who during the fight, raises several Ice Trolls from the dead to fight for him. This particular fight is a large scripted event that Blizzard have learned players love to complete. There’s also a bat aviary, and a T-Rex boss, that Kaplan joked was there purely for the fun of fighting a big dinosaur. There’s also a necropolis hovering right over the instance, to show the scourge are close-by.
The area beyond this instance, Zul Drak, also has an instance named Gun Drak [7:39], which contains the final boss for the Ice Trolls. This instance will show the Ice Trolls in all their glory, and teach us why they have been so successful against the scourge. The story that emerges in the completely constructed zone, Zul Drak, and the instance at the end of that zone, Gun Drak, is that the Trolls worship various animal Gods, like the rest of the Troll races. They have begun sacrificing these gods to give them the power to fight the Scourge. The whole zone is recognisable as Troll, but with a twist to it that is true to the Ice Troll culture [7:16].
Back in Borean Tundra, we’re introduced to another new organisation, D.E.H.T.A - Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals. This group are direly opposed to Hemet Nesingwary , and give players quests to combat the game hunter’s butchery, and even go up against Hemet’s hunters. This leads to another new zone, called Sholazar Basin [7:42]. This zone is very similar in design and appearance to Un’goro Crater. Indeed, it was made by the creators as a testing area for new life, as was Un’goro. It is unique in Northrend, as it is the only tropical area there. The zone’s climate and safety from the Scourge is maintained by pylons, erected by the Titans. Players have to complete quests to aid NPCs in the area, as one of the pylons has fallen and the Scourge are threatening to enter the zone. Hemet Nesingwary and his friends have also crashed there [7:54].
This zone features two new opposing factions that players have to chose between; the Oracles (Murloc-type creatures) and the Wolvar (Wolverine dudes). Players can complete quests for one faction while becoming hated by the other, but in a new twist, players can then easily change faction and complete the quests for the others too, and become hated by their original faction.
J.Allen Brack then told us a little about the new Russian client, and the ability to calculate alternate Russian names based on the input by a player.
That concluded the presentation. Don’t forget to check out all the other information we have about the trip to Blizzard’s offices, including interviews with the developers, the low-down on the Death Knight and much much more:
- Watch the new official WotLK Zones movie!
- Death Knight - New Info, (including spells and abilities)
- New screenshots
- Tom Chilton Video Interview
- Jeff Kaplan Video Interview
- J.Allen Brack Video Interview
- Blizzard Museum Tour Video
And the latest addition:
Note: To see video of the place or NPCs referred to, check out the time stamp next to it like this [6:15], you will be taken to the official movie, just zoom forward to the time indicated on the stamp!
