World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 – by Justin Puik, Staff Writer

The long awaited expansion pack for the hit MMORPG World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, is in it’s Beta testing phase. However, what can fans of the game expect when the expansion is finally released? I was given a chance to join the Beta and I can assure players that this next expansion will not disappoint. The level cap is being raised to 80 with a whole new continent to explore, a new hero class, as well as tons of other features for players to enjoy. The changes that Wrath of the Lich brings to WoW are immense and keep the game world thriving and friendly to gamers of all play styles.

Level 80 presents a new goal for players and with it comes new dungeons and new raids, as well as a neutral city in the same fashion as Shattrath. This city is Dalaran, which fans may remember was destroyed in Warcraft 3 and has been under a large purple dome since the game was released. The city is now rebuilt and has been teleported above Northrend where it is led by the mage Rhonin, from the Warcraft novel series. This city has all the same amenities as Shattrath, and shares the limitation of not having an Auction House or class trainers. However it has portals to all major cities and to Shattrath, making it easy for anyone to access what is missing.

Players just coming from the Outlands will find ports and zeppelins willing to take them over to Northrend from Darnassus, Stormwind, Undercity and Orgrimmar. It is here that players face a choice as there are two starting areas on each side: Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra. Each has an ample amount of quests for Alliance and Horde and it is really up to the player to decide. This makes leveling multiple characters from 70 to 80 less boring, as there are more choices on where to go. However the first dungeon is in Howling Fjord, called Utgarde Keep and is for levels 70-72.

There are currently ten dungeons available, including a 10-man version Naxxramas. This instance has moved from its usual place in the Plaguelands to Northrend, making the old level 60 version unreachable. With this change comes the Tier 7 sets that drop in Naxxramas, which share similar models to the Tier 3 sets that were dropped in the original Naxxramas. In what has been a controversial change to its playerbase, all raids in WOTLK will have 10-man and 25-man versions, with the loot being significantly better in the 25-man versions. This change has angered the hardcore raiding playerbase, but pleased the casual players who may never see endgame raid bosses such as Illidan from Burning Crusade.

The other raids are currently unreleased, however the nine other dungeons are available and proudly show off the expansion’s new graphics, storyline and loot. There is an instance in almost every area of Northrend ranging from level 70 to 80 and including some heroics. One of the most interesting instances for fans of Warcraft 3 is the new Caverns of Time instance that takes place in Stratholme. This 5-man instance has you assisting Arthas in the Warcraft 3 mission “The Culling of Stratholme”. It can be assumed that this instance will play a major role in the storyline leading up to the battle with the Lich King himself, which has been promised to be the final raid boss of this expansion.

Returning to the Old World and the new content added, Naxxramas has been replaced with another floating necropolis that is the base of the new hero class, Death Knight. Requiring a level 55 character to unlock, these champions of the Scourge are to be a plate wearing DPS/Tanking class that focuses on 2-handed weapons and dual wielding. This means no shields for the tanks; however they have a multitude of abilities that will more than compensate. The storyline behind the tutorial area will reveal a lot of background on the changes WOTLK brings as well as the reasoning behind the Death Knights joining the Alliance and Horde. There are plenty of familiar faces for those who have read up on lore including the Lich King himself who gives your first quest. So far, the Death Knight is a satisfying addition to World of Warcraft and does not unbalance the game as some have worried. Death Knights bring World of Warcraft into its next chapter in terms of story and gameplay.

These improvements have extended to PvP as a new battleground is being tested called Strand of the Ancients. Alliance and Horde are split into attacking and defending teams where the attacking team must use siege units to break down a city’s walls and capture it point by point. This battleground is a D-Day scenario and there are varied siege units including bombers, catapults, siege engines and Goblin shredders. This battleground is a new and exciting addition to the current lineup of battlegrounds available.

Wrath of the Lich King offers many other smaller changes as well. The additions of a calendar to keep track of events as well as a barbershop to change hairstyles are just a few of these, not to mention a complete overhaul of the current talent trees for every class. Despite still being in Beta the gameplay improvements that are being developed are solid and will offer plenty to any WoW player. Fans will not be disappointed with what WOTLK will bring to the table this fall.