BlizzCon 2007

[Sargeras]

BlizzCon 2007 was announced today, and it's the same weekend as the SOE FF~! I went to the BlizzCon in 2005 and had a blast. Damn, I was going to go to Vegas for the FF, but now I'm torn.

http://www.blizzcon.com

[masteen]

Are they giving a murloc pet again? I'm gonna fucking go just in hopes that they signed another porn star to dress up as a blood elf. Maybe they could get Hoofgirl to cosplay a draeni.

[archeiron]

BlizzCon 2007 was announced today, and it's the same weekend as the SOE FF~! I went to the BlizzCon in 2005 and had a blast. Damn, I was going to go to Vegas for the FF, but now I'm torn.

http://www.blizzcon.com

Sarge, are you the Blizzard town crier - moving from board to board announcing the FF?

[Sargeras]

BlizzCon 2007 was announced today, and it's the same weekend as the SOE FF~! I went to the BlizzCon in 2005 and had a blast. Damn, I was going to go to Vegas for the FF, but now I'm torn.

http://www.blizzcon.com

Sarge, are you the Blizzard town crier - moving from board to board announcing the FF?

Only in the hopes that you are going baby~

/wink

[Sargeras]

Just a small bump to see if anyone has any interest. They announced the goodies that you'll get by attending, and I'm still checking over my finances to see if I can even go.

Anyone else?

[Winnow]

Only if we Cosplay and dress up in EverQuest outfits.

WoW'ers don't know what real MMORPG'ing really is! They're spoon fed quests and levels!

[masteen]

Quests taste like peaches.

[Sargeras]

Well, I'm signed up as well as another Sovereign.

/small bump in case anyone else is going too.

[cadalano]

i have a ticket but i probably wont be going- all i'm really interested in is the beta key if its for the right game and you have to attend to get it, afaik. the events all sound completely boring

[masteen]

Can I have your in-game pet?

[Sargeras]

This year we don't get an in-game pet. We get a murloc costume.

Pics are on the website somewhere, I'm just too lazy to look for it.

[Canelek]

A Murlok costume??

[cadalano]

http://www.wowhead.com/?screenshot=view&1.2943#27223

zipper in the back

[Sargeras]

There's also a video out there somewhere showing the dance animation along with a few others. I'll post it later tonight.

[Dregor Thule]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDlTqbPilcg

That has the murloc dance about halfway through it, during the guitar solo.

[cadalano]

phat insider infoz btw:

northrend will "definitely" be playable at blizzcon
sc2 will "definitely" be playable
diablo 3 "should" be playable... and the beta keys are apparently for D3

also, a dev team for Starcraft MMO just formed like 3 months ago i guess. So that'll be out in like a decade

[Dregor Thule]

Hehaheheheae

[masteen]

phat insider infoz btw:

northrend will "definitely" be playable at blizzcon
sc2 will "definitely" be playable
diablo 3 "should" be playable... and the beta keys are apparently for D3

also, a dev team for Starcraft MMO just formed like 3 months ago i guess. So that'll be out in like a decade

You still know how to make my pants dance.

[Psyloche]

zomg Diablo 3.

My brother loved D1 and D2, he still forces me to play D2 with him once in a while. I can't wait for something else for him to move on to, at least I'll enjoy playing through it the first few times hopefully. Anything to get a change from Diablo 2 lol.

[cadalano]

oh.. and...



Level 80

and this ones for Dregor....

Death Knight.

[Dregor Thule]

SHUT YOUR LYING MOUTH DO NOT TEASE ME

[Psyloche]

I don't know why, but Dregor's avatar and his post look awesome together.

[Dregor Thule]

Haha, it's true.

[Dregor Thule]

You realize what you've done to me, right cad? Where as before I was just "looking forward" to the announcement from BlizzCon about the new expansion, I am now "anxiously anticipating" the announcement from BlizzCon about the new expansion.

YOU HAD BEST NOT BE LYING, BITCH!

[Sargeras]

phat insider infoz btw:

northrend will "definitely" be playable at blizzcon
sc2 will "definitely" be playable
diablo 3 "should" be playable... and the beta keys are apparently for D3

also, a dev team for Starcraft MMO just formed like 3 months ago i guess. So that'll be out in like a decade

Got a link?

They already said on the BlizzCon forums that sc2 will be playable.

D3 for beta keys? I really hop not.

[cadalano]

no i just hear it from a dude that works for bliz and gets to check out their up and coming shits

diablo 3 will be gay unless they change the classic gameplay entirely. clickfests for the lose. its almost certainly the beta though because if it was SC2 they wouldnt talk about the beta game like it was some mystery

[Dregor Thule]

Well, I'm putting my faith in you and assuming that you were serious about Death Knights. Any other info on them? Like possible races that can be them. I have to seriously consider if I'm going to re-roll once the expansion comes around.

[cadalano]

nope, thats it for now!

[masteen]

Spriest+whorelock+plate? Yes please!

[Toshira]

Are they giving a murloc pet again? I'm gonna fucking go just in hopes that they signed another porn star to dress up as a blood elf. Maybe they could get Hoofgirl to cosplay a draeni.

I though the same! Poor kate.

[Kwonryu DragonFist]

Would Diablo 3 in 3D with First person view be original?

[Psyloche]

why aren't there awesome pictures here!

[Dregor Thule]

There's only been about 3 pictures so far.. check http://www.worldofraids.com

[Psyloche]

Yeah I know, I just like seeing them from sources here than anywhere else. Even though most are up on good sources, I've always trusted most posters on VV rather than some other websites!

[Dregor Thule]

1up.com has a preview up.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3161725

It's official: The next World of WarCraft expansion is coming; it's called Wrath of the Lich King, and will open up the continent of Northrend to players of level 68 and above. This second expansion will focus on the return of Arthas Menethil, a.k.a. the Lich King, ruler of the Scourge, and one of the most powerful beings in all of Azeroth. This semi-sequel to the saga of Arthas (from WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne) is intended for experienced players with a couple level 70 characters in their pockets.

The September issue of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine (on sale soon) has tons of details, but for now here's a quick rundown of what's in store....

Level Cap: 80
Skill Cap: 450
Continent: Northrend
Number of Zones: 10 (tentatively), for levels 68 and above
Profession: Inscription
Class: Death Knight (first-ever Hero Class)
Features: Outdoor PVP zone with siege weapons and destructible buildings.
Release Date: You're kidding, right?

The biggest news for existing players is the introduction of the Death Knight, the first new class since WOW's launch -- and, coincidentally, its first Hero Class, too. Other big new features include the introduction of siege weapons and destroyable buildings in both a new Battleground and a brand-new outdoor PVP zone. What Wrath of the Lich King won't have is any content for new characters: no new races, no new level-1-to-20 zones back in the old world, and little change to the old world.

Here's what we know so far:

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.

There's lots more in the upcoming September issue of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, on sale in the next couple weeks, including candid insight from the developers, details on some of the new dungeons not shown at BlizzCon, and word that The Burning Crusade ain't over yet...there's more BC content coming beyond Zul'Aman.

The rune sword thing for DKs sounds interesting, will need more info to really understand how it works. I wasn't really going to care if I got in the beta for this one, but now I think I want to so I can try out the Death Knight before live version. We'll see tho.. was really nice experiencing TBC for the first time on the release day and not having it all be old hat from a beta.