WoW: Wrath of the Lich King FAQ
August 1, 2007
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Game is announced, check our latest post, updating with specifics as they become available Wrath of the Lich King official!
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Features
What are the features of the new expansion?
Wrath of the Lich King builds on the rich foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, providing a wealth of new content for players to explore. The harsh, forbidding continent of Northrend, home of the Lich King and his undead minions, will be uncovered on the world map, and to contend with the new challenges found there, players will be able to advance to level 80, acquiring potent new abilities and talents along the way.
In addition, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce the death knight hero class to World of Warcraft. Once certain criteria are met, players will be able to create a new death knight character, which will start at a high level. Furthermore, player-vs.-player battles will reach a new level of intensity with the addition of siege weapons and destructible buildings, not to mention a new battleground. There will also be an abundance of new quests, dungeons, monsters, items, and recipes — as well as a new profession, inscription — for players to try out. The expansion will include some additional character-customization options for players as well. We’ll be going into more detail on all of these features in the months ahead.
How will the death knight class fit into the game?
The death knight combines martial prowess with dark, necromantic energies. Players might be familiar with the death knight from previously released Warcraft games — most recently, in the campaigns for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the Frozen Throne expansion, the former paladin Arthas became a death knight and wreaked havoc across Azeroth and Northrend before fusing with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King. The death knight is the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met, players will unlock the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level. We’re currently exploring various options for how the death knight will play and the types of abilities at its disposal, and we’ll be revealing more information about this new class as we get further along in development.
Will the death knight have any abilities from previously released Warcraft games?
The way we portrayed death knights in past Warcraft games is certainly a source of inspiration, but we are still determining how best to capture that feel within the mechanics of World of Warcraft, and haven’t made any final determinations on specific abilities.
What role will the death knight play in groups and raids?
In general terms, the death knight can be considered a type of class that combines damage dealing and tanking, but naturally it will have an array of unique abilities as well.
What races will be allowed to play death knights?
We haven’t yet made a final determination about which races can be death knights. However, the class will be available to both the Alliance and the Horde.
Will there be additional hero classes in the future?
Yes, we do intend to add more hero classes in the future, but right now our focus is on the current expansion.
What is the story background of the expansion?
Players last visited Northrend in the Warcraft III expansion, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful entities in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the greatest champions of the Alliance and the Horde will do battle with the Scourge amid Northrend’s howling winds and fields of jagged ice, and ultimately face the Lich King himself.
Will players actually get to encounter Arthas himself?
Players will be skirmishing with the minions of Arthas from the moment they set foot on Northrend. He will be a constant presence as players progress through the expansion content — which will culminate in a showdown with the dread Lich King himself.
Can you discuss some of the new talents and abilities that will be available from level 70 to level 80?
As with character advancement up to level 70, players will gain access to an array of potent and exciting new abilities and talents as they make their way from level 70 to level 80. However, it’s still too early to get into specifics on these.
How long will it take to advance from level 70 to level 80?
We were pleased with the pacing from level 60 to level 70 in The Burning Crusade, and we intend to take a similar approach to pacing character advancement in Wrath of the Lich King. However, the specific amount of time that it will take players to reach level 80 will vary widely based on play style.
What can you reveal about Northrend?
The first area of Northrend we’re showcasing is the Howling Fjord, a region of grasslands overlooking massive cliffs at the southeastern edge of the continent. This, along with the Borean Tundra, is the front line of the war against Arthas, and players will come face to face with his minions as soon as they set foot on Northrend. Eventually, as players progress further, they will explore the Grizzly Hills, Dragonblight, and more. We’ll be showing off some of these new areas in the months ahead.
What’s the level requirement to enter Northrend?
Players of any level who have purchased the expansion can visit Northrend. However, all of the content is designed for players level 68 and up.
How many new dungeons will be in the expansion?
The first dungeon players will enter is Utgarde Keep, which is intended for five players around level 70. Utgarde is inhabited by the Vrykul, a Viking-like race bent on proving their strength to the Lich King, who will raise the most worthy of their warriors to serve him beyond the grave. We intend to provide a variety of dungeons comparable to that in The Burning Crusade and will be revealing more details about some of these in the months ahead.
Do you plan to continue with the 25-player model for raids?
Yes. We’ve been pleased with the tactics, intensity, and variety of the 25-player raid model, and plan to continue with it.
Will the new dungeons have heroic versions?
Yes. We feel that the heroic versions of dungeons are a great way to add another level of challenge and reward for experienced players, and we intend to continue creating these variants.
In what ways will players be able to further customize their characters in the expansion?
In addition to the numerous new character-customization options that will be available with all of the new weapons and armor added by the expansion, we’ll be offering some fun ways to alter both existing and new characters with regard to dances and hairstyles, but we’re not ready to go into more detail just yet.
What can you reveal about the new profession coming with the expansion?
The Inscription profession will allow players to permanently enhance their own spells and abilities and those of other players. You can think of it as enchanting for your spells and abilities. We’ll provide more specific details on the mechanics of this new profession in the months ahead.
What can players expect with regard to player-vs.-player combat in the expansion?
Players will be able to take control of siege weapons and use them to destroy opposing buildings, adding a new layer of complexity to PvP battles. Naturally, we’ll be providing some fun places to put these new tools to good use, and we’ll be revealing more information about them in the months ahead, in addition to the new battleground content being added.
Can you give a sneak peek at the new recipes and items in the expansion?
There will be hundreds of new recipes and thousands of new items available, but we’re not ready to discuss specific examples just yet.
Will there be any graphical enhancements?
Yes. We’re currently working on some technical enhancements to the game’s graphics, and we’ll be discussing these further in the months ahead.
How many zones will be in the expansion?
Northrend will be roughly equivalent to Outland in terms of size and scope.
Will there be any new cinematic scenes?
Yes, our cinematics department is hard at work preparing a new intro movie for the expansion.
Release/Availability
Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
There will be many aspects of the expansion that will be available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as Northrend, or be able to play as a death knight, players must purchase the expansion.
Will there be an open beta test of the expansion?
We have not yet determined whether the expansion will require an open beta test. If we do decide to conduct a beta test, details will be posted on the official World of Warcraft website once we’ve gotten further along in the development process.
When will the expansion be released? How much will it cost?
We have not yet announced a release date for the expansion set. However, we expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead. Please stay tuned to www.WorldofWarcraft.com for more information.
Will there be a collector’s edition?
We have not yet made any determination about whether there will be a collector’s edition of Wrath of the Lich King. We’ll be announcing details such as this closer to release.
Will a Mac version be available simultaneously with the PC version?
Yes. As with all of our games, Wrath of the Lich King will be compatible with and optimized for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
What are the system requirements?
We’ll continue to ensure that the game is playable on a wide range of hardware. However, we have not made a final determination on the system requirements as yet.
Will the expansion be released globally at the same time?
We recognize that players throughout the world will be eager to experience all of the new content being added with Wrath of the Lich King, and we will make every effort to release the expansion simultaneously worldwide. However, there’s always the possibility that unforeseen circumstances could delay the launch in any given region. We’ll share the launch timing with players in each region as soon as the plans have been finalized.
What is the ESRB rating for the expansion?
The expansion has not yet been rated by the ESRB. However, we anticipate that it will receive the same rating that the original World of Warcraft received — “Teen.”
This is official on worldofwarcraft.com/wrath now
Posted in News, World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King
August 1st, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Sweet, thanks for the news! Can’t wait for Death Knights!
August 1st, 2007 at 1:49 pm
yea looks awesome, in that FAQ it said something about death knight being the first hero class, does that mean future expansion are each bringing another hero class?
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:22 am
[...] that they are uncertain at the moment about the collectors edition which was also stated in the FAQ leak yesterday. Now that it’s pretty much official, heres a map and list of the 10 zones you can expect [...]
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Heh.. hero class..
Like jedi from SWG right? This is going to go real nicely.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
This sounds pretty cool, I wasn’t expecting to see Northrend introduced so soon.
The first thing I thought of when I read about death knights- they’ll be EVIL, so anybody (alliance or horde) can kill them. They’d be a lot stronger, so you’d need a party or even raid to kill them, (in which case maybe they’ll party/raid you) Sounds like a very cool mechanic, I’d been hoping they’d somehow add another faction into the game.
Been anticipating seige vehicles and destructable buildings for ages now, if what I’m reading here is true, then PROPS BLIZZ
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:09 pm
oh boy death knights, sure there wont be 9 million of those and one prot warrior standout, lolz yay, death to allegra ghellar
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:41 am
That sounds awesome! I hope theres gonna be a beta test for it =]
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:25 am
This information has been bounced around the EU WoW forums for weeks.
Nobody can confirm it for sure so its possible that its all fake.
There was another article that was on IGN a few days back that said a similar thing about finding an FAQ that was then removed.
In this article it said that the expansion was called “World of Warcraft : into the maelstrom”
The list of features was nearly the same but there was no mention of death knights being a hero class. It did however say that each class would have its own hero class and that the mage and priest classes were finished and would be shown at blizzcon, whilst the warrior and warlock hero classes would be included inb the first patch after the expansion went live.
at the moment there are to many rumours about the next WoW expansion to get our hopes up about anything. but the title “World of Warcraft : Wrath of the liche king” was pretty much confirmed by the german classification board because they had a demo/movie submitted for rating ahead of the blizz event in liepsig(sp)
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:04 am
I’m looking forward to this latest expansion, but for me the most interesting thing will be the new profession.
Making your own scrolls.
~ow3n
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 am
IT’s totally like jedi from SWG all over again.
Welcome to the new WoW expansion… waht? you don’t have a Death Knight?
WTF n00b.
I’m not a fan of this… it creates a second class tier of players that aren’t hard core enough to unlock it… Or maybe it just opens a market for power levellers. I can see it now. “For only $1500 we can get you a Death Knight of your very own.” Geesh.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see how they implement this. I suppose there’s a slim chance they might not mess it up
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:24 am
I don’t get it … so you can be a MAGE and transgress into a DEATH KNIGHT?
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:57 am
Somehow I just see this as being fake.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
This is confirmed now via a Iphone picture taken early this morning from Blizz conn. Great job whoever posted this!
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:34 am
The Death Knight is most likely to be the hero class of the paladin. Each class will likely have its own largely solo quest, and I doubt it will be required to raid far, if any.
Purely Speculation, but use your head. Blizzard hasn’t barred solo players from being able to access high quality items in BC through Heroics and Arena Teams, so why do you think t hey would deny the same group of people access to the very reason many of us play this game? (To stand out and have fun with friends.)
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Wow, I’d sure like to start WoW as a level 1 character and realize I’ve only got 79 more levels to go before I can spend endless weeks raiding for gear that will become obsolete in a year when they release the next expansion…
The anticipation would be would be too great to bear!
August 4th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Wow another expansion to jerk off : S
but 1 think i want to know is “…death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level.” this sentence will it be brought from 60?!?!
and e-mail would be apreciated if any1 knows….
mctepsy@hotmail.com
August 4th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Great.. im only level 45… and my mom just wants me to reach level 70.. now there are 10 more!!!!
August 5th, 2007 at 3:43 am
I heard (this is just a rumor) that they are releasing the next expansion earlier just to keep in league with Warhammer online.
August 5th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Why do we have to get to lvl 80 to get a death knight? some of the players havent got all the time it takes to get there:P
August 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
So, will you be able to get haircuts or anything?
August 5th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I’m a casual player and am currently rushing my ass off to get to 70. If the whole “Unlocking the class” Thing is true, then this is gonna suck so hard. Also, if there’s only 1 hero class per expansion, i’m gonna kick blizzard in the teeth. Blizzard makes great games, but they made it horrible for the casual player with BC and making it unbearable with WotLK. If blizz makes this as bad as this “FAQ” makes it seem, then so help you blizzard, you are gonna fail in your quest to make a better game.
August 6th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Most of this sounds great, and im probably one of the players who can go through all the trouble to get Death Knight unlocked, but when it really comes down to it there is gonna be alot of flaming from noobs that they cant make one. Plus, people may not want to start a character from a high level… anyone ever think of those RP nerds who love the storyline? I tried getting gnomes to have a healing class but people told me “it wouldn’t fit into the storyline”….. but neither would starting from level 60. “This is tom, he’s been 60 times better than u from the start… well guys, have fun!”
August 7th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
WOW is the bst game woot!!!!
August 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
The question is, will the Alliance Human Paladin or Hordes Blood Elf Paladin are the only class that can have an access to a Death Knight Hero class??? im hoping its not limited to that, but if that will be the case, i would start building a new Pally character on top of my 70-Warrior and 70-Mage.
August 8th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
this looks great wish i was lvl 70
August 14th, 2007 at 3:21 am
Let me call the wahhhhmbulace…
I started playing WoW a while ago, but was then stationed overseas and was unable to raid and play with my original core group of friends because of time zone differences.
First, if you’re crying because you can’t get your character to level 70… you should stop playing the game. It’s easy to level characters to 60, and even easier to level them to 70. I have 3 level 70 toons without raiding for excellent gear or money. Heroics and regular 5 man instances are plenty to get me going. I have made enough money through my own hard work to get what I want.
Secondly, this game is NOT hard. It’s one of the easiest games I’ve ever played. Of course some of the raid encounters can be challenging, but solo play through quests and leveling is easy. If you are so bad that you need to cry about more expansions coming out, then you are pretty sad.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:28 am
The only thing i see is…..new looks, hairstyles and dances…Yippie!
August 15th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I like it.. changing hair styles.
anyone else realizes its time to shorten the hair of there characters too..
and for u gnomes maybe add alittle on top.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
its not so bad gettin 2 lvl 70 jst takes a few weekends and mayb sum sik days
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:44 pm
i wanna know if there will be new races!!
August 27th, 2007 at 8:54 am
if any1 still reading this here r some answers to a lot of recent questions that A LOT of websites agree about.
1. Firstly there will only be 1 hero class as of yet there may be more to come.
2. Whether Death knight is for all classes is undecided but it will definetely be on wrriors and paladins.(kind of obvious though)
And if any1 cant get to lvl 70 and is crying about it maybe you should stick to single player games and not cry to everyone about it. It’s very annoying
August 28th, 2007 at 11:16 am
ey level 70 in 5 days !!! powned
August 31st, 2007 at 2:03 pm
not everyone has the time to get to 70 quickly. I work full-time and study full-time, as well as normal social RL stuff, so its taking me a while to get to 70. Its hard when all ur friends who have different priorities and place WoW higher up the list all get 70 and leave you behind. So deal with the complaints; its a free country.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:52 am
dang i remember the good old 60’s
i personly thin they did a good job with the TBC it was good but now this….
i think they have taken it to far : \
September 12th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I’m not really level 70 yet.. not even level 60..but still I can’t wait!
I am currently a druid on silver hand. I just started back, got to level 19 in a week (After homework of course >
September 18th, 2007 at 2:47 am
ANYBODY CNA BE A DEATH NIGHT NOT JUST PALLYS CUZ PALLY SUCK IT DOSENT MATTER WHAT CALL U PLAY!!!! IT A QUEST TO EARN ANOTHER TOON IT DOSE NOT REPLACE UR MAIN
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
lets all have fun when we all buy the new pack its a major improvement. im fund of it we was always complaning there was little to do when we was level 60 now we r going all the way to the top and getting to 80 new races and classes ,and level 80 is nothing u guys can be sick of the game, or u can play the game and make wow more fun ,like they say the more the mereya
October 11th, 2007 at 4:43 am
lol, James Stevennson? damn our names are close - I think the new exp should be great, I realy got close to quitting untill I found out about WotLK, got a little bored of haveing one lvl 70 and not being screwed makeing another one
October 11th, 2007 at 10:09 am
I think that the new expansion is great. Maybe a little too soon, but it’s full of content and new stuff to look forward to. All you noobs who cry about the expansion need to realize that regardless of what you personally think about it, Blizzard isn’t gunna make money by ending at TBC. Though its pretty sad, the ratio of people who play this game addictivly to people who play it slowly is far favored to the people who play addictivly (and Im one of them…..). So suck it UP, and just play the game at your own pace!!!
:p
PS:………..yay DRUIDS!
October 25th, 2007 at 9:43 am
to the people who posted up top, u do not transform your character into a death knight u do the quest and get a chance to make a death knight, and to the people who thought death knights would be more powerful then all the other classes it is not true they are only a hero class because they start out at a higher lvl other then that thewy are equal with all the other classes, and to the guy that said pallys suck your an ass hole who has never fought one…
December 28th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I just hope they add some decent healing plate to the BS pro. i sick of trying to maxout my pro, but having no reward at the end. A warrior leveling BS can make a ton of tanking plate etc. whats a little holy pally to do..
January 8th, 2008 at 11:29 am
The Death Knight sounds fun, but should there be a Healing Hero Class before the next Hero Class… if anyone gets that, people are hoping the Demon Hunter will be next I think they should bring a Healer Hero Class out with the Demon Hunter in I’m guessing a next expansion after WotLK
and to dave when my hunter was lvl 54 I killed a 60 paly =].
April 1st, 2008 at 10:34 am
too all you ho bash on pallys they were not made for a one on one but to tank / off heal and pluss that level 60 pally prolly was really bad and dident know what he was doing i have killed warriors hunters and everything but locks with my pally so dont sit there and be a a** and think your cool by sayin this class or that class isent good and i bet in the next expantion youll be shocked
April 11th, 2008 at 7:26 am
ya i’m a level 70 warlock and i really cant w8 for the hole death night , northrend thing and all but i just cant stand all of these little noobs who cant play worth a sh1t always b1tching about how every time there almost to the top somthing new comes out and makes them work more and they never get any of the good stuff ever one els has, ie: lvl 80, epics, new instances etc. i think that they should just shut up and play or just go to an other game if you agree wityh me e-mail me at.
sk8ermack_26@hotmail.com
well ya as i said can’t w8 for wotlk to come out lvl 80 woot hope to kill you guys in pvp soon l8er
April 11th, 2008 at 7:30 am
ya know what would be funny, if we made a little world for all of the jewish little nooby players and left them there to play and suck for all of eternity and blocked them from all of the ew expansions…..i know this is a little off topic but still i think it would be a good laugh to see blizzard do it …. do you?
April 15th, 2008 at 6:04 am
thia game looks awsome cant wait forthe release date i am going to get it the first day it comes out ethen if i have to miss college lol XD cant wait toplay it
April 19th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
To Kyle, it’s not really the class that makes the player hard. Granted it can be quite difficult for one class or spec to beat a specific class but it’s all down to the skill of the players really and gear can have an adverse effect if one is geared well and one is geared poorly ^^;
Anyway, slightly off-topic ;p Seems you’ll be able to make as many as you want according to WoWWiki. That sounds very suspect, as apparently you will be able to do it on different servers too hmmm… instant high level on a new server = fair? If that were true, I suspect most people would just make a deathknight on another server to lol at the lowbies. Also, yeah the guy above who said y’don’t become a deathknight, you unlock one. He’s right, only one hero class, deathknight and all classes (presumably) will be able to unlock the ability to create one. Apparently, a starter suggestion for Deathknights was to break out of Stratholme, which sounds imba to me tbh
Anyways, just a bit of update for people who turn up after me. Dunno if it was useful or old news but there y’go.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:12 am
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