Index

Death Knights
Northrend
Other Azeroth
General
Dungeons
PVP
Outside Links

Alpha Patch Notes Leaked 5/17

Death Knights
- The Paladin is designed to be the best AoE tank, and the Warrior the best tank for sheer mitigation; the Death Knight is designed to be the anti-caster tank. These distinctions should be fairly irrelevant in 5-mans -- any tank class should be able to tank a regular or heroic dungeon -- but they will come into play in the more difficult raids.
- Death Knights will start in a floating citadel similar to Naxxramas at level 55, and go through a series of quests that will establish their story and background in the Eastern Plaguelands.
- All Indications are that Blizzard still plans to allow all races to be Death Knights, as Worldofwar.net's reporter saw Tauren, Dwarf, Gnome, and Orc Death Knights.
- You must have an existing character of level 55 or higher to create a Death Knight.
- You can create one Death Knight per realm per account.
- You will not need to do any unlocking quests or sacrifice a character before you can create a Death Knight.
- The Death Knight will start with a wide range of abilities, as it is assumed that someone with a level 55 character has the experience to handle them right off the bat.
- They will start with a 60% speed summoned Death Charger as a land mount, which be upgradable via quest much like Warlock and Paladin mounts.
- DKs will have a disease-based DoT, as well as the creature and ghoul summons we've posted about previously
- Blizzard hasn't determined exactly whether there will be faction differences in the epic class quests, but they won't be too different for races or factions, just because the stories, he says, should be the same
- Finally, Kaplan clarifies again that Death Knights will be available to all races, and that Arthas himself became not Undead, but Scourge

The Rune System:
- The Death Knights' Rune meter will appear below the Health Bar.
- You will be able to place up to 6 runes in any combination of Unholy, Blood, and Frost on the meter.
- The Runes will be consumed by use of abilities, but will refresh like a Rogue's energy Meter.
- There will be a secondary bar called Runic Power, which will be filled on the use of Runic abilities, but will decay over time much like Warrior rage.
- Runic Power will be used with moves that drain all Runic power and have powers and effects that are stronger depending on how much Runic Power was used. In this way it will be much like the Warrior's Execute ability or the Rogue's finishing moves.
- According to Gamespy, Blood runes will mostly cover the tank abilities (which clashes with previous information saying Blood runes were DPS, as well as with the function of the Blood Presence blow), while Frost will deal with Crowd Control.

Death Knight Abilities:
- Presences: Much like Paladin Auras or Warrior stances, Presences will be powerful one-at-a-time self-buffs that will probably determine whether the Death Knight is taking on a Tank or DPS role in the group. Worldofwar.net reported on 3 presences, as follows:
- Blood Presence will increase the Death Knight's DPS and provide a small healing effect when the Death Knight is hit.
- Frost Presence will increase the Armor and Threat of the Death Knight.
- Unholy Presence will provide increased attack speed and decreased global cooldown, and is being billed as the PvP presence.
- Death Coil: It will not fear like the Warlock version, but will act like the WC3 version also used by Death Knights in that game, damaging enemies or healing friendly undead targets.
- Army of the Dead: This ability will temporarily summon a small army of Undead that will fight for you. It will apparently be channeled, which makes me think it will be closer to an AE attack like a Druid's Hurricane than an actual pet ability.
- Raise Dead: This will raise an actual nearby corpse, including one of a fallen ally (even in Arenas) to fight for you as a Ghoul. An ally so resurrected will have the option to control their character as a Ghoul. Ghouls will get abilities to cause diseases, stun, and fear among other things, but it seems like they will be temporary pets all the same - at least, I assume PCs will eventually be allowed to resurrect rather than stay slaves of the Death Knight.
- Grip of Death: Pulls the enemy toward you and forces it to attack you (Probably a taunt effect, though It'd be great if the pulling effect works in PvP).
- Blade Strike: Attacks the target and applies a disease.
- Blood Strike: Deals Damage based on how many diseases are on the target.
- Chains of Ice: Roots a target, then applies a snare that lifts gradually until the target regains full mobility

Death Knight Role
As expected, Death Knights will be DPS/Tank Hybrids. As previously known, they will not use shields, but will rely on a high parry rating and the proper presence (likely the Frost one from worldofwar.net's report) to mitigate damage. As DPS, they will not do as much damage as a pure DPS class, but will bring extra flavor and utility to the table in the form of some minor crowd control, ghoul pets, and the use of diseases to deal extra damage and cause debuffs. Worldofwar.net also mentions that Tom Chilton, in his Death Knight presentation, told them that they are leaning toward letting all tank types do more DPS while tanking.

Northrend
- Arthas will not be in the game from the beginning, but will be patched in.
- They have recieved massive positive feedback so far about the return to Azeroth and the old traditional fantasy as opposed to the sci-fi feel of the Burning Crusade. In that same vein, they are bringing back many familiar sights and storylines from Old Azeroth. Sholozar Basin will be Un'goro 2.0, complete with crystals and pylons. No word on whether it will also contain more Land of the Lost and Nintendo references. It will also contain some of the flavors of Stranglethorn and the old Netherstorm biodomes, says J. Allen.
- In a similar vein, we can expect to see more of the ever-popular Scarlet Crusade, this time in the form of the Scarlet Onslaught. The Worgen are back in homage to the Sons of Arugal and Shadowfang Keep.
- Grizzly Hills has tons of fun stuff: the return of both Worgen and the Venture Company, as well as Furbolgs who have been corrupted by (spoiler) an Old God of some kind. There will also be "Iron Dwarves" (not "Dark Iron Dwarves"), and a continuation of the Titans storyline.
- Also in Grizzly Hills: Zul'Drak, an instance of Ice Trolls, where we'll fight a lich, lots of bats, and even a T-Rex. Scourge is also here big time as well -- there's a Necropolis fighting right over the place.
- Borean Tundra also has a new group called "DEHTA" (Druids for the Ethical and Human Treatment of Animals) going up against Hemet Nesingwary and his crew, as well as two new factions: Oracles (Murlocs!) and Wolvar ("Wolverine dudes," whatever that means). Not only do these two factions have an Aldor-Scryer relationship, but they also mean we're one step closer to what many players dream about: a playable race of Murlocs. Oh Lordy.
- Flying Mounts are gone until level 77, at which point you will either complete a quest or a visit a trainer to be able to use them again. You will still not be able to use the mounts in the old world, so even though Naxxramas is on Azeroth, your flying mount will not be able to cross back over the sea to visit the old stomping grounds. The Old World was designed using too many graphical shortcuts in places people were not meant to access to allow flying mounts.
- The Dragonblight, J. Allen Brack said, is probably his favorite new piece of content for the expansion. It is where the Dragons were born, where they recieved sentience from the Titans, and where they come to die, and where the Lich King has been twisting Dragon corpses to serve him as Frost Wyrms, so there's a lot of great lore and history there. It will include a raid instance called the Chamber of the Aspects, and while no bosses have been designed for it yet, it will probably have bosses representing each of the Dragonflights.
- In Dragonblight, the five dragonflights are represented by different Dragonshrines -- the red shrine, for example, is under attack by the Scourge. There's also Wyrmrest Temple in the middle -- a "UN" of dragons, where the Scarlet Onslaught will have a nice storyline
- Dragonblight also has the Wrathgate, the gateway to Icecrown Citadel. Here, players will actually interact with Arthas, starting around level 71.
- The Forsaken-designed starting town Vengeance Landing was shown off -- this was the same area we got to play back at Blizzcon, as well as Utgarde Keep
- They also got to see Valliance Keep (the other Alliance starting area), and Warsong Hold, a huge gothic iron structure run by Garosh Hellscream that Kaplan apparently called the "new look " of the Horde
- Horde players will be taking a Zepplin up to Northrend
- The Nexus, in the Coldarra part of the Borean Tundra, is the first instance on the western side of Northrend from Utgarde Keep, and it's a three wing instance with a raid dungeon where players will meet Malygos.
- The area is apparently much bigger than Outland
- There is an aerial gondola, a huge sea battle, and apparently an archeological expedition where you'll be able to fly planes

Other Azeroth
- While the city of Dalaran will be headed up to WoTLK, don't expect to see nothing but a hole in the ground where it used to be in Alterac. J. Allen reveals that they do have plans for the spot, and the concept drawings they have for it look very cool.

General
- Class balance as we know it is going to change drastically with the new talents for every class (at least in their current, secret, developmental state).
- WoW was always planned out with item inflation in mind, so don't worry about it too much.
- There will be a Northrend kick-off event.
- Kaplan would rather we did dailies for gold instead of farming primals, since it's less repetitive; on that note, he wants to make more of a varied experience, like the cooking daily or the daily dungeon with randomization built in.
- They're planning a new item type that will bind to your account, specifically for twinking. You might get it in a dungeon, and you can mail it to your alts, but you can't sell it on the AH or anything.
- They're experimenting with daily quests being used during the leveling process.
- There are "vehicle" quests, where players drive a vehicle (planes, trucks, or even dragons) around to accomplish tasks

Dungeons
- Karazhan showed Blizzard that 10-man raids could work, and were good for more casual players; on the other hand, more hardcore raiding guilds were upset about having to break into 10-man groups. Thus Wrath's split 10-man/25-man raid system.
- Naxx is going to have to be tuned way down, since it's now an entry-level raid instead of a top-level raid.
- 10-man and 25-man gear will be recolors of the same models, and you will be able to wear them together for set bonuses.
- The 10 and 25-man progressions will not depend on each other
- There will be no attunements or keys necessary for any raid
- The 25-man loot will be a tier higher than the 10-man loot
- The 10 and 25-man versions of the same raid will be on different timers so that each can be attempted on the same day by the same people
- The Badge of Justice system will continue in Northrend, but there will be new tokens to act as Badges and be returned for loot.
- All 5-man dungeons will have a Heroic mode
- Heroic dungeons will have a separate loot table than non-Heroics
- The 5-man instances are designed to not take more than an hour
- Apparently Kaplan says Blizzard has designed "zero" raid bosses for the next expansion yet, so he isn't sure where they'll fit among Pallies, Druids, and Warriors as tanks.

PVP
- There will be a new battleground, with siege weapons and destructible buildings.
- The Arena gear will come in two tiers, to mirror the quality of the 10-man and 25-man raids.
- Lake Wintergrasp has lots of varieties on the bombing runs, including vehicles and different tasks to do while riding in vehicles

Outside Links
1up: WotLK Preview 5/9
Blizzplanet: G4TV Previews WotLK 5/15
Cnet: WotLK 5/15
Curse: Interview with WoW Lead Designers 5/9
Curse visits Blizzard HQ to check out WotLK 5/9
Eurogamer: WotLK Hands On 5/9
Gamepro: WotLK Hands-on Update 5/9
Gamespot: WotLK Hands On - New Zones and Death Knights
Gamespy: WotLK: A Talk With J. Allen Brack 5/9
Gamespy: WotLK: The Death Knight Interview 5/9
Gamespy: Pile-on: GameSpy Invades Northrend 5/9
Gamespy: New WotLK video footage 5/9
IGN: WotLK Hands On 5/9
MMOGamer: Behind the Blue Curtain: Discussing WotLK With Tigole 5/9
Ten Ton Hammer: An In-Depth Look at the Death Knight 5/9
Ten Ton Hammer: Dungeons, Daily Quests, and Raiding in WotLK 5/9
World of War: Death Knight Report 5/9
World of War: WotLK Report May 2008 5/9

New information came out this week, mostly a rehashing of things we might've missed. I'll update this thread at least every Saturday.

WoW Insider: Closed Alpha Patch Notes Leaked

Welcome to the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Friends and Family Alpha. The list below contains information on the current available content available for testing and general information. This information is subject to change.

General
- The continent of Northrend is now available! To travel there, visit one of four transportation masters in either Orgrimmar, Undercity, Theramore,or Menethil Harbor.
- Transportation between Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra can be found at the Tuskarr villages in those zones.
- NPC Transportation Locations
Horde:
Undercity to Vengeance Landing (Howling Fjord)
Orgrimmar to Warsong Hold (Borean Tundra)
Alliance:
Menethil Harbor to Valgarde (Holwing Fjord)
Theramore Valiance Keep (Borean Tundra)

World Environment Zones
- The following zones are available for testing: Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Grizzly Hills

Dungeons
- The following dungeons are available for testing:
Howling Fjord: Utgarde Keep (70-72)
Howling Fjord: Utgarde Pinnacle (80)
Borean Tundra: The Nexus (70-72)
Grizzly Hills: Drak'Tharon Keep (74-76)

Classes
- All Classes are available for play. Spells and talents will be available for testing past 70 for the following classes: Druid, Mage, Priest, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior
- The Death Knight Hero class is now available for play.
Creating a new Death Knight will start you at level 55 in Eastern Plaguelands.
No starting quests are implemented though Death Knight abilities will be available for testing.
Several Death Knight talents, although they will appear on the talent pane, are not yet implemented.

Professions
- The following tradeskills are available to train up to 450: First Aid, Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning.

Leaks Wiki

-SPOILERS-

Unofficial wiki of leaked alpha test information, as it is a wiki not all of the information can be credited.

Corrected link <-Ulian

I know I've been pretty ass about updating this thread, but let's put all that behind us with the newest info: The Alpha NDA (Non disclosure agreement) have been lifted and Beta has begun! If you've signed up for the opt-in, now is the time to check your inbox.

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/07/17/wotlk-beta-patch-notes-and-other-news/

Anyone get an email yet?

I wonder if being in Canada is going to effect my chances...

Looks like no beta testing for me... /emo

{deleted post} Gian wrote:

Anyone get an email yet?

I wonder if being in Canada is going to effect my chances...

They said it would be completely random, but who really knows?

Also, if you guys have e-mail providers with some sort of spam filter, be sure to keep an eye on it. When I got the beta for TBC, I found the e-mail from Blizzard on the spam folder (almost going to be deleted) of my yahoo's account. >.>

On a side note, I'm excited about the hunter changes. And Boreth will be fully holy. But I'm really more excited about the Assassination tree of my Mutilate rogue.

I QQ because I can't see those links from work.

Also, did the emails already get sent? If so, no beta for moi. ;;

{deleted post} Yvanes wrote:

I QQ because I can't see those links from work.

Also, did the emails already get sent? If so, no beta for moi. ;;

Yes, they said the invitations just started to go out for beta, but they will probably be sending e-mail invites throughout all the beta phase.

I would love to get in there to paly around with the pally changes

DK openning cinematic

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/07/18/deathknight-starting-cinematic-unveiled/

... zomg. Boy does it loom over an old hang out of mine....

....

The format I started doing this in proved to be way too ungainly for me to handle.... I'm going to un-pin this thread, but link to it in a new 'more better' thread that will track all the information since the Beta for WotLK opened.