A Week in the Wrath of the Lich King

By Neramaar

If you’re reading this, then you probably already know that today marks the one-week anniversary for the latest World of Warcraft expansion – Wrath of the Lich King. You also probably know that with its release, a plethora of new content and features were added to game, the level cap was raised to 80, and an entire new continent – Northrend – was added for players to quest and explore. What you might not know however, is how it all turned out. Read on to find out.

Viva le France!
Undoubtedly the question on the mind of most gamers at the minute is who was the first player to reach level 80? Well, wait no more – this achievement was completed by the French player Nymh, who made it from level 70 to 80 in only 27 hours. By using extensive knowledge gained in the WotLK Beta Test, and with the help of an out-of-party Priest to assist with weakening enemies Nymh achieved a gaming world record, and has my fullest congratulations. The following days saw many players reaching the elusive level 80 cap, and with any luck it shouldn’t be more than a few days before I too join their ranks, and face the many challenges that follow.

TwentyFifthNovember?
Whilst we’re on the topic of achievements, I thought I should mention that in a staggering time of 60 Hours and 30 Minutes raiding guild TwentyFifthNovember have managed to complete all of the new 25-man raiding content added in the expansion. TwentyFifthNovember was created when popular raiding guilds Nihilum and SK Gaming merged – with an official new name for the guild to be announced on November 25th. Upon defeating the final raid boss, TFN said “This is both a moment of triumph and a cause for concern” believing that this great achievement was completed far too quickly. All the same, congratulations to all members of TFN! Here’s hoping Blizzard have something more challenging up their sleeve for you in the next content update.

Onward to Northrend!
With world breaking records out of the way, I suppose you’re wondering if WotLK lived up to the high expectations of the millions of players that purchased it. Happily – the general consensus says that it did, and I couldn’t agree more. Mere seconds after landing in the new zone Borean Tundra I was overwhelmed with new and exciting things to do and see. Profession Trainers holding long awaited secrets lined the Orcish Style barracks, as thousands of players rushed in to see what new armours could be created and potions mixed. Much missed yellow !’s littered the mini-map begging to be sought out and the quests that ensued completed. It took several hours for the nostalgia to wear off, but before long my fingers had remembered their old places, and the grind to level 80 had begun.
 
Like The Burning Crusade expansion before it, the quests in WotLK have a fresh new feeling riddled through them. The standard ‘Fed-ex’ style quests, requiring you to collect the required number of item and return still remain strong, but have been better spaced apart, with newer and more exciting quests added to break the monotony. Many of the improvements to the quest system are simple and effective, the likes of escorting a prisoner to their execution or dressing up like a Murloc and pretending to surrender – soon after bursting free from the suit on an unwary opponent. Some though, border on the truly epic, and range from manning tanks to fight off an onslaught of undead, to riding atop giant trolls to wreck havoc on the world below.  It’s not all rainbows and lollypop's though, as a fairly large amount of the new quests seem to be either glitched or bugged, and in many cases both. Many simply required me to start over, but a few disappeared entirely – never to be seen again, and the achievements for completing them too.

The bitter reaches of the world...
Clearly my favourite addition included with the release of WotLK is the complete overhaul in the content, style and design of the new instanced dungeons. As expected, they all look visually stunning, but are impressive more so in their layout and content. The boss encounters all feel somewhat more epic than in previous dungeons, and seem to rely less on precision tactics and more on an enjoyable experience. Although I've yet to try one of the new raid instances, they sound ever more promising now with a 10 and 25 man version for each. This provides players like myself with less tolerance for high-end raiding politics to experience and enjoy every instance to it's fullest with a group as small as 10 – and also players that enjoy the 25 man style to fully enjoy them too. All raid instances now come loaded with a Heroic option for the truly hardcore also – which should help to keep this expansion challenging over the many months to come.

Make love, not Warcraft.
For many players, questing and dungeons are simply a means to an end in the World of Warcraft, as their enjoyment is derived solely from PvP content, and with it the complete annihilation of the opposing faction. Simply put, PvP in WoW has never been better than it is right now. The addition of the new battleground, Strand of the Ancients has more than achieved the goals it set out to achieve, and has done so mostly with the new inclusion of siege warfare. Players are now able to man tanks and turrets to obliterate the many doors and foes that block their path. In Strand of the Ancients, players begin playing as either the attacking or defending team. The attacking team arrives on the shores of the island by boat and is given 10 minutes to destroy the many doors in their path and reach the top of hill – with the defending team doing everything in their power to stop the assault. If completed, the opposing team must then beat the time set by the first team in order to win the battleground and claim the spoils.

In addition to the new battleground an all new World PvP Zone – Wintergrasp has been added for those that prefer a less structured battle routine. Siege warfare has also been enabled here, with several towers requiring capturing and a fortress atop the hill that must be also assaulted and captured before a faction can claim victory over the terrain. I've yet to personally experience this content myself – but I must say that it's beginning to look very exciting indeed!

Arise, and serve your new master.
For many players, the new content in Northrend will have to wait, as WotLK also marked the release of the first ever Hero Class – the Death Knight. To play as a Death Knight, players must first attain a character on that realm that has reached level 55 or higher – as that is the level that you will begin playing as when you create your first Death Knight. Bound to the service of the Lich King players begin by completing tasks that would have them consume the land under the rule of their new master, but before long are released of their bounds and cast out into the world – epic mount and all-new weapons and equipment intact. I won;t say much more about this new class, as the surprises along the way could possibly be the best part – but take my word if nothing else, that Death Knight's are every bit as bad-arse as you'd hoped they would be, and more.

Be immersed.
The final important addition included with the WotLK is undoubtedly the update to both the graphics and sound elements of the game. Visually, it is unlikely that you will notice a great change, as it is noticeable mostly in small details and the creative use of model animations. It does look breathtaking in many places, but for the majority of players it always has, and always will. The sound however, in particular the music, is remarkable. Everything from the music played while you install the game, to the soundtrack present in the background while you quest is pure bliss the the ears of any fantasy gamer – and is worthy of the special mention.

All in all, WotLK is an utterly brilliant expansion to an already remarkable gaming experience, and should be on the wish-lists of all MMO inspired gamers across the globe. If you've played WoW before and enjoyed it, then you're going to enjoy WotLK more. If you've played WoW before and didn't enjoy it – you very well may have a change of heart this time around. And if you've never played WoW before – then there's no time like the present – get in there, this is a gaming experience like no other before it, and one that many are saying will never be topped. 10/10.