Last Update: 8/6/09
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
In the cold, harsh northlands...
The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King's will and end his reign of terror for all time.
Blizzard Entertainment's latest expansion to World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – adds a host of epic content to the existing game world. Players will achieve soaring levels of power, explore a vast new continent, and battle other high-level heroes to determine the fate of Azeroth. As you pit yourself against the dangers of the north, prepare to:
Features
Master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight - World of Warcraft's first Hero class.
Quest to level 80, gaining potent new abilities and talents along the way.
Learn the craft of spell augmentation with the new Inscription profession.
Brave the harsh new continent of Northrend, the icy domain of the Lich King.
Engage in epic siege warfare, deploying mighty siege engines to lay waste to destructible buildings in your path.
Transform your hero's look with new character-customization options, including new hairstyles and dances.
Explore perilous new dungeons filled with some of the deadliest creatures -- and greatest treasures -- on Azeroth.
And much, much more...
The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King's will and end his reign of terror for all time.
Blizzard Entertainment's latest expansion to World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – adds a host of epic content to the existing game world. Players will achieve soaring levels of power, explore a vast new continent, and battle other high-level heroes to determine the fate of Azeroth. As you pit yourself against the dangers of the north, prepare to:
Features
Publisher: Blizzard
Wrath of the Lich King Trailer
Additional Information
The Story
Having cleaned up Outland (or at least having set things in decent enough order for now), the Alliance and Horde turn their heads northward to the continent of Northrend, where a terrible threat has gone unchecked for far too long: that of Lich King and his undead army, the Scourge. On the day Wrath of the Lich King launches, players will be able to set sail from various points in old Azeroth and join the fight against Arthas Menethil.
New Continent: Northrend
Having learned a valuable lesson about funneling 8.5 million players into once single starting zone with The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King lets players pick a zone on either side of the continent to start from: Borean Tundra in the west or Howling Fjord in the east. Each zone has level-equivalent quests (appropriate for approximately level 68 through 72) and one Hellfire Peninsula-style instance hub with multiple dungeon wings for level 70 characters, level 80 characters, and raiders. While Northrend immediately calls to mind ice and snow, Blizzard doesn't want to make those themes dominate Northrend completely-expect as much variety as ever, only not quite as weird and wild as Outland.
Northrend's indigenous inhabitants include a Viking-like race called the Vrykul: 15-foot-tall humanoids with a strong Norse influence. Most Vrykul you encounter will be your enemies, as they've been in Northrend so long that the Lich King holds a lot of sway over them. Another friendly race -- the walrus-like Tuskarr -- will serve as a cute little counterpoint to the lumbering undead-loving oafs.
New Zone Type: Outdoor PVP
One of Northrend's 10 new zones (final count still tentative) is an outdoor PVP zone that introduces the concept of siege weapons (Meat Wagons, Steam Tanks, etc.) and destructible buildings. Blizzard describes the outdoor zone as basically a "non-instanced Battleground" where completing objectives earns world-wide bonuses for your side (Think Spirit Shard buff in Auchindoun instances). The PVP zone is entirely avoidable (if you're the carebear type), and seige weapons won't be useable outside their designated PVP area.
New Hero Class: Death Knight
World of WarCraft's first Hero Class is a plate-wearing tank/DPS hybrid that works a little something like this: When players hit level 80, they'll be able to embark on a quest (similar in difficulty to the Warlock's epic mount quest, back before the level cap was raised to 70) that unlocks the ability to create a Death Knight character. The Death Knight starts at a high level (somewhere around 60 or 70, though Blizzard isn't certain yet), so you won't have to grind your way back up all over again. It's intended as an alternative, advanced class for end-game use only.
Rather than using rage, energy, or mana, Death Knights have a special "rune sword" displayed beneath their health bar, onto which the player can etch six different runes (choose between Frost, Blood, and Unholy). Different abilities require different mixes of runes, and using abilities consumes the requisite runes until a cooldown timer causes them to be available again. Stuff like talents, spells, and other specifics are still being finalized. So are key questions like what races can be a Death Knight (start a Gnome petition now) and whether unlocking the Hero Class on one server means you can create a Death Knight on any server.
New Profession: Inscription
Wrath of the Lich King will introduce a new profession called Inscription that will let players customize individual spells and abilities in their spell book -- to change the cooldown timer on a Fireball, for example, or alter the crit rate of a healing spell.
Having cleaned up Outland (or at least having set things in decent enough order for now), the Alliance and Horde turn their heads northward to the continent of Northrend, where a terrible threat has gone unchecked for far too long: that of Lich King and his undead army, the Scourge. On the day Wrath of the Lich King launches, players will be able to set sail from various points in old Azeroth and join the fight against Arthas Menethil.
New Continent: Northrend
Having learned a valuable lesson about funneling 8.5 million players into once single starting zone with The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King lets players pick a zone on either side of the continent to start from: Borean Tundra in the west or Howling Fjord in the east. Each zone has level-equivalent quests (appropriate for approximately level 68 through 72) and one Hellfire Peninsula-style instance hub with multiple dungeon wings for level 70 characters, level 80 characters, and raiders. While Northrend immediately calls to mind ice and snow, Blizzard doesn't want to make those themes dominate Northrend completely-expect as much variety as ever, only not quite as weird and wild as Outland.
Northrend's indigenous inhabitants include a Viking-like race called the Vrykul: 15-foot-tall humanoids with a strong Norse influence. Most Vrykul you encounter will be your enemies, as they've been in Northrend so long that the Lich King holds a lot of sway over them. Another friendly race -- the walrus-like Tuskarr -- will serve as a cute little counterpoint to the lumbering undead-loving oafs.
New Zone Type: Outdoor PVP
One of Northrend's 10 new zones (final count still tentative) is an outdoor PVP zone that introduces the concept of siege weapons (Meat Wagons, Steam Tanks, etc.) and destructible buildings. Blizzard describes the outdoor zone as basically a "non-instanced Battleground" where completing objectives earns world-wide bonuses for your side (Think Spirit Shard buff in Auchindoun instances). The PVP zone is entirely avoidable (if you're the carebear type), and seige weapons won't be useable outside their designated PVP area.
New Hero Class: Death Knight
World of WarCraft's first Hero Class is a plate-wearing tank/DPS hybrid that works a little something like this: When players hit level 80, they'll be able to embark on a quest (similar in difficulty to the Warlock's epic mount quest, back before the level cap was raised to 70) that unlocks the ability to create a Death Knight character. The Death Knight starts at a high level (somewhere around 60 or 70, though Blizzard isn't certain yet), so you won't have to grind your way back up all over again. It's intended as an alternative, advanced class for end-game use only.
Rather than using rage, energy, or mana, Death Knights have a special "rune sword" displayed beneath their health bar, onto which the player can etch six different runes (choose between Frost, Blood, and Unholy). Different abilities require different mixes of runes, and using abilities consumes the requisite runes until a cooldown timer causes them to be available again. Stuff like talents, spells, and other specifics are still being finalized. So are key questions like what races can be a Death Knight (start a Gnome petition now) and whether unlocking the Hero Class on one server means you can create a Death Knight on any server.
New Profession: Inscription
Wrath of the Lich King will introduce a new profession called Inscription that will let players customize individual spells and abilities in their spell book -- to change the cooldown timer on a Fireball, for example, or alter the crit rate of a healing spell.
