World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
| World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade | |
|---|---|
| File:World of Warcraft The Burning Crusade logo.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal |
| Designer(s) | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X |
| Release | TBA |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the first game expansion for World of Warcraft. Blizzard has yet to give any form of release date, stating "We expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead".
General information
The first information about the expansion was announced on the first day of BlizzCon 2005. Some points of interests include:
- The Blood Elves will be the new Horde race. Their starting zone, Quel'Thalas, is north of Eastern Plaguelands.
- There will be a new Alliance race, whose identity has yet to be revealed.
- The expansion pack will feature a new profession, jewelcrafting, which will allow players to create rings, necklaces and trinkets. Other professions will be augmented with recipes that include sockets for special jewels that will enhance items.
- The level cap will be raised from 60 to 70 with new abilities, spells, and talents added in.
- A new area will be available via the Dark Portal, the orcs' ruined home planet of Draenor, now called Outland.
- You can get a flying mount at level 70, after completing repeatable quests, which can be used only in Outland. The flying mount will be used in order to reach areas of Outland that are only accessible through the use of this mount.
- New dungeons include the Caverns of Time and Karazhan Tower, former home of Medivh.
- A new battleground that will be set in Azeroth's past, during the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, and will be accessed via the Caverns of Time. One of these new battlegrounds has been confirmed as Hellfire Peninsula, for players levels 55-70.
- Some content will be available to all players without the expansion. However, to play as the new races or to play in Outland, you will need the expansion. Other features that require the expansion will be forthcoming.
Background story
- "Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?" [1]
In the first expansion pack for World of Warcraft, the Dark Portal leading to the ravaged homeworld of the Orcs will be opened. Many new things await the adventurers of Azeroth as they will meet new enemies and forge new alliances and fight epic battles to save their homeland from the Burning Legion.
New races
Blood Elves
- Main article: Blood elf
The Blood Elves are the remnants of the High Elves who survived the destruction of Quel'Thalas by the Undead Scourge. They style themselves as Blood Elves in remembrance of their slaughtered brethren. At first they remained loyal to the human forces in Lordaeron and their racist human commander, Grand Marshal Garithos, but it became increasingly clear that they were no longer welcome in the Alliance.
Blood Elves are highly adept with magic, but their skills have led them to become addicted to magic. They can not live long without it and will do anything to wield it. After the Scourge destroyed the Sunwell, their source of magical power, they began to experiment with demonic energies. One group, led by Prince Kael'thas, joined with Illidan and the Naga in exchange for magical power. The Blood Elves remaining in Azeroth now seek the Horde's help in reaching Outland, so they can be reunited with Kael'thas and achieve the destiny which he has promised them.
- Classes available to Blood Elves are: Priest, Mage, Warlock, and Warrior. Blizzard has stated that Blood Elves will also be given either Hunters or Rogues, but they have yet to decide which one will be made available.
- They join the Horde alongside the Orcs, Trolls, Forsaken and Tauren.
- Their racial traits are centered around their addiction to magic, which include Mana Tap and Arcane Torrent.
- Their starting zone is Sunstrider Isle, located in Quel'Thalas.
- It is believed by some that the Blood Elves are being added to offer potential Horde players a "pretty" race to play.
Unknown Alliance race
It is unknown what new race the Alliance will receive. There have been recent rumors that the Draenei will become a playable race, but this remains uncomfirmed. The Draenei are considered by many to be the most probable candidate.
Other races deemed the most likely include:
However, there are apparent "flaws" in most of these races:
It is unlikely the Dryads would be chosen as the new alliance race, as their racial ability, immunity to magic, would unbalance the game greatly. Furthermore, the male counterparts of the Dryads are the Keepers of the Grove, and both the Dryads and Keepers of the Grove are said to be the offsprings of the demi-god Cenarius, which would mean that this race would be far greater then most races in the Warcraft universe. They would also be unable to equip conventional leg or foot armour like other players, and be unable to use steeds, making them unfeesable as player characters.
Furbolgs would prove difficult to implement due to their present lack of armour or weaponry (at present Furbolgs wear little other than loincloths and decorations, and attack using their bodies and tribal magic.) However, it is possible that they could start wearing armour if they were included as a race.
Ogres are highly unlikely to be chosen, as they have always shown great allegiance to the horde (most notably in the Second War, but also after the Third War they helped the Horde defeat Admiral Proudmoore), and at present have absolutely no reason to join with the alliance. They have also exhibitted limited cognative abillities which would probably restrict their inclusion as a playable race of either faction.
Pandarens are traditionally mercenaries, and as such have no particular reason to ally themselves with the Alliance (similar in that sense to the Goblins) at present.
It is not impossible for Blizzard to introduce a completely new race, either, and some players speculate that Alliance heroes lost in the destruction of Draenor may return from distant worlds with new unheard of allies. This is not widely believed, though, and most players continue to 'place bets' on one of the above.
New instances
Auchindoun
Auchindoun will be located in Outland's Bone Wastes. This dungeon is unique in that it will be both a dungeon and a player city. The response of this dungeon's NPCs will vary depending upon a player's reputation standing with given NPC factions. This dungeon is being designed for players in the level range of 65 to 70.
Black Temple
The exact details of this dungeon are currently unknown other than the fact that this will be the final destination of the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion pack. This instance will be the home of Illidan and will undoubtedly require a force of 40 max-level players to beat and will certainly be the game's most difficult instance at the time of its release.
Caverns of Time
The Caverns of Time, located in the desert of Tanaris in southern Kalimdor, is not a single instance but a sort of portal to a number of different instances. The Caverns of Time, guarded by the bronze dragon flight, allows players to travel through the history of WarCraft and relive some of its most exciting moments. This provides a tremendous opportunity for Blizzard to implement a near infinite amount of new content, should they choose, allowing players to fight the epic battles seen in their previous strategy games. Currently Thrall's escape from Durnhold Keep, the opening of the Dark Portal, the Battle of Mount Hyjal and the battle on Hellfire Peninsula are all events slated to be included in the Caverns of Time upon its release. The Caverns of Time is being designed for players between level 60 and 70.
Hellfire Citadel
Hellfire Citadel, located in Outland's starting zone, Hellfire Peninsula, will be the expansion's easiest dungeon. The dungeon is similar to Onyxia's Lair in that it will require players to fight only a few "trash" mobs before encountering the instance's main boss: Magtheridon. This dungeon is for players between level 57 and 63.
Lady Vashj
This encounter will be located in Outland. Lady Vashj, former highborne elf, is now the leader of the Naga and a lieutenant of Illidan. This dungeon is for players between level 62 and 65.
Karazhan
Located in the southern Eastern Kingdoms, in Deadwind Pass, Karazhan, the former home of Medivh now lies in ruin. This instance will likely be linked to the opening of the Dark Portal, which will grant players access to Outland, as it was Medivh who originally opened this portal. Blizzard has stated that this dungeon will be larger than in Upper Blackrock Spire and Lower Blackrock Spire combined making it one of the game's largest dungeons. Within the dungeon players will fight many spectral mobs and experience scripted boss encounters. One such encounter occurs in an Opera House within the tower where player's will fight on stage with a boss. Karazhan is slated to be a 10-man raid instance for max-level players. It is also said that there will be a point on the top of the tower where you can get flightpaths, so you don't have to scale the whole tower again.
Tempest Keep
Tempest Keep will be located at the northern tip of the Netherstorm in Outland. This dungeon consists of four wings, three of which are five-man instances, the fourth, which is the keep itself, is a raid instance. Here, players will encounter Kael'Thas, one of Illidan's lieutenants. The raid portion of this dungeon will be approximately the size of Molten Core. This instance will be for max-level players.
Zul'Aman
This dungeon is located in Quel'Thalas. It is a 20-40 man raid and is home to the region's Forest Trolls.
System requirements
The following requirements are as stated on the official World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade website, but generally players believe that these specifications are too low for the game to be played enjoyably.
- General requirements:
- An installed copy of World of Warcraft with an active subscription.
- 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection.
- Windows 98/ME/2000/XP:
- 800 MHz or higher CPU.
- 256 MB RAM or more.
- 32 MB 3D graphics card with hardware transform and lighting, such as GeForce 2 or better.
- DirectX 9.0c.