RipTen Videogame Blog » World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

There Will Be a 4th World of Warcraft Expansion

Bryce Wilson — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 02:47:49 +0000

With Cataclysm only a month away from launch, it’s a huge surprise to hear that Blizzard is in fact planning a fourth expansion for the worlds biggest MMO. Lead Producer J. Allen Brack revealed at BlizzCon that yes there would be an expansion pack launched after Cataclysm, although no-one on the team has any idea what it will incorporate.

Brack explained that when Wrath of the Lich King launched, the team was already brainstorming ideas for what would eventually become Cataclysm, and now they’re doing the same for the next expansion.

Source: [GamePron]

Zombie Invasion Eats Away at WoW Subscribers, Unplayable Content Plagues Azeroth

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:22:30 +0000

You know how you always say that you want developers to try new things? Be creative. Live on the edge. Show you stuff you’ve never seen before. Yea? Well, you’re full a shit.

You don’t want that — you want to feel at home, comfortable, and in command — and you’re not the only one. Many residents of the Azeroth, in the popular MMO World of Warcraft, are not the least bit amused by Blizzard’s attempt to transition into the Lich King expansion.

A simple sign on was all it took for me to feel like I’d been transported to a war torn section of Beirut. Seared flesh, battered bones, and suicidal exploding mad men running in my direction. What the hell’s going on you ask? Well, in the process of preparing gamers for Northrend, Arathas, and his massive scourge army, Blizzard designers decided to unleash a plague of undead zombies on their achievement happy community.

Crates, placed throughout the world, containing contaminated insects were opened by curious gamers. In a matter of moments, the infected individuals transformed into zombies capable of zombifiying others at will. Brain biters lurking around every corner may sound like the perfect compliment for Halloween at first, but listening to the complaints of several frustrated players may change your mind.

I hate this event. I hate this event so desperately that I’m having to talk myself out of canceling my account until it’s over. The game is becoming unplayable. Important NPCs like auctioneers, bankers, innkeepers and questgivers are almost always dead before I can use them … can’t go to major cities because I’ll get attacked by other players (and I’m on a PvE server for a reason). I can’t do dailies because most of the NPCs are permanently dead. - Saboruto

I’m frustrated beyond belief. I cannot understand why Blizz didn’t make this a voluntary event on PvE servers. Wherever I go into a city, I can count on being infected, becoming a zombie, and dying… just so that I can respawn, come back, and pay to have my gear repaired. - Nefetyra

The entire event should be optional…if you’re not flagged pvp then you should not be able to be zombied. Furthermore, if you do get infected, it should be a player removable debuff. - Balduun

I have never ever before considered canceling my subscription.. have loved everything about it.. but now.. well.. I am seriously considering [canceling] my pre-order for the expansion and going to other worlds for my fun.- Bridee

The root of the problem is not necessarily the content itself, rather the mindset of the individuals abusing it. However, it’s common knowledge at this point (thanks to games like GTA) that if you give gamers the ability to do something evil, they most likely will. In that regard, Blizzard must shoulder some of the blame.

One moderator on the game’s official forum shared the following with irate members:

We do appreciate the feedback; if threads are being deleted, it’s because the moderators are trying to keep things consolidated and constructive, not because they seek to stifle dissenters.

As I have stated, if this was planned to last any longer than it is, we would have been a great deal more leery of the wide-reaching effects of the plague. This has been anticipated; I respect the concept that some people dislike it and we’ll certainly take that into account, but this was an event meant to impact players in all walks of life and routines. I am in no way stating it was perfect, and should we do something like this again the feedback both for and against will be taken into account when changes are made, particularly pertaining to lower level players. This event absolutely was meant to shake up the status quo of the average WoW day, and in that it’s been successful.

It will still continue as planned, but for those of you less than fond of the plague, you don’t have much longer to wait.

Afterthought: What do you think? Are you a fan of events that mix PVP with PVE or do you think Blizzard made a mistake by making this content unavoidable?

Source: forums.worldofwarcraft.com

Wotlk 51 Point Fury Warrior Talent: Titan’s Whiff

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:35:01 +0000

So, I have been playing the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King beta for for some time now. I took a break for a few weeks, after they moved around the arms tree for warriors, and decided to come back when I saw that they had removed the speed nerf from the highly anticipated fury warrior 51 point talent, Titan’s Grip.

For those who don’t know, Titan’s Grip would allow a warrior to duel wield two hand weapons. When originally announced, TG came with a speed penalty, but warriors had the option to spec additional points into it to reduce the speed debuff. Blizzard then changed their mind, moving TG down one level, making it a 51 point talent with no penalty — but the fun didn’t stop there.

I saw this and decided to log in and give it a whirl. Unfortunately, as I tried to log in, the game notified me that I needed to download another patch. The new patch contained a new nerf to TG, and this time, we had no option to spec additional points to reduce it. No longer was Blizzard going to decrease our speed, instead, they opted to increase our miss rate by 15%.

Considering that the amount of hit rating you need scales as you level, one can only imagine that warriors will need an insane amount of hit rating at level 80 to not miss on yellow (critical) attacks. The biggest problem is that most fury warriors strive to not only not miss on yellow attacks, but they also want to make sure they are reducing their chance to miss on white (normal) melee damage.

If you rolled a warrior, and you raid as DPS, you are likely not happy with the new changes to the warrior tree. In addition to the new “Titan’s Wiff”, Blizzard has reduced Blood Frenzy, which previously gave a 4% damage increase to a target, down to 2%, and your Battle Shout no longer stacks with a Paladin’s Blessing of Might. In other words, your 2-3 minute buff has been nixed by a 30 minute buff.

Blizzard has both indirectly and directly stated on their forums that they do not want one talent point to be more powerful then others across different character types, but many WoW gamers hold PVP at fault for the warrior debuff as they believe the company feels it would be too powerful for player versus player action.

Of course, this is still the beta, and things may change multiple times before release, however the introduction and emphasis on a mix of PVE and PVP seem to have watered down the traditional 3 headed talent tree approach. Might it be time to try something new?

Afterthought: What do you think of the talent tree approach? Do you think talent trees make sense in general, or is it time for something different?

Blizzard Unveils Wrath of the Lich King Opening Cinematic – Father’s Love Not Enough

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:45:57 +0000

This well done cinematic is a prime example of what sets Blizzard apart from all others in the highly lucrative MMO space.

Yes, the three minute plus clip features stunning CGI visuals, but the most impactful aspect of the presentation is the narrative. The voice you hear throughout the piece is that of the former King Terenas Menethil II, slain by his own son Arthas — better known now as The Lich King.

The father speaks as if he is reciting a loving letter written to his son prior to his death, and you get the feeling that his words have been ringing over and over in his son’s head as he sat frozen on his throne.

“My son, I watched with pride as you grew into a weapon – of righteousness.”

The camera pans in close to his face, and his eyes light up as if to say “enough”, as he awakens from his frozen slumber. As the trailer unfolds, The Lich King contradicts each positive said about him by his father leading to a very clever ending.

Have at the trailer below, and feel free to share your thoughts.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Beta Sign-Ups Go Live, Europeans Rejoice

Beau Rosser — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:26:47 +0000

Two things: Do you play World of Warcraft? Do you live in Europe? If you answered yes to both of those things, then I have some good news for you after the jump.

Starting now, European subscribers to WoW have the ability to register for their chance to play the Wrath of the Lich King beta.

While currently only an option for European WoW users, North American registration can’t be too far behind. However, for all our readers across the pond, head on over to the European accounts page and sign up fast. There is no telling how long this open registration will last.

Even though the registration process does not guarantee access to the beta, it does give players a nice feeling of comfort knowing the cards are in their favor.

Source: Shacknews