Project Lore

Trial of the Crusader has been something of a test-bed for Blizzard's raid experimentation. There's no trash, there are four different versions to complete, (almost) all of the fights take place in the same room, and you can choose from three different levels of tiered gear (not to mention the split between Alliance/Horde-themed equipment, and the resulting similarities of said pieces between classes of the same faction). The devs have made it clear that this dungeon doesn't represent a fundamental change in their raiding philosophy. That's to say that while we may see similar instances at some point in the far future, there are no plans to use ToC as a template for everything they create from here on out. Now that Anub'Arak has been released (and conquered), and we've all had a chance to see the instance from beginning to end, I think it's safe to raise the question: has it been a success? Is the model for Trial of the Crusader a good one to build upon in the future? There's no way for us to tell how Blizzard feels, except for the random bits of information that we can occasionally glean from posts on the forums or the rare developer interview, but that shouldn't stop the rest of us from discussing it amongst ourselves. We hate to love it, and we love to hate it. To me, Trial is a risky proposition. In many ways, it's the idealized form of what a raid should be: several interesting boss fights that drop desirable loot, with as little bullshit as possible. This is, essentially, what many players say that they desire. On Normal mode, with a decent group, you've got a really good chance of clearing it in an hour or so and walking away with some top-of-the-line gear (and even if you don't, those Triumph badges build up real quick). So, why is that a potential problem? My personal philosophy is that, whether we like them or not, we all have to play by the rules of the MMORPG. That means that we're all slaves to the good ol' "carrot-and-stick." It's an odd relationship, for sure. Blizzard's got to figure out how big to make that carrot and how hard to whack us with the stick, while we players have to decide whether or not the carrot's big and tasty enough to make getting whacked by the stick worth it in the first place. What makes it even more complicated is that each and every player has a different level of tolerance. But here's the rub: at the end of the day, I think most of us secretly like getting hit by the stick, because that makes the carrot oh-so-much-yummier by the time we actually get to eat it. Does that mean we're masochists? Well, quite simply, yes. Trash, wipes, and other hardships draw out the experience. If you think of each raid as its own narrative, all of these things help build the story slowly towards its climax. Trial of the Crusader, on the other hand, gives us all the details up front. Which is great, for the short time we get to enjoy it, but the excitement dulls all that much quicker. It didn't help that even the most casual of guilds have been clearing bosses within their first few attempts (my guild one-shot Jaraxxus, Val'kyr Twins, and Anub'Arak the day they were unlocked). I can tell you that, even after banging our heads against the wall last night on Heroic 10-man, I'm secretly happy that we weren't simply able to bowl over the Northrend Beasts encounter as we always have before. Sure, some top-tier guilds have already blown through these more difficult encounters, but I think the margin of success will be much slimmer than it was at first perceived to be. As I mull over these thoughts in my head, I think I've come to the conclusion that while Trial of the Crusader may seem like a misstep right now (aside from the excitement provided by its near-instant reward structure), that's only because it currently represents the highest level of raiding content. When placed in the context of a greater spectrum (for instance, after Icecrown Citadel is released), Trial of the Crusader is going to be vindicated as a great place to blow off some steam for those guilds still intent on exploring everything Wrath of the Lich King has to offer. After long hauls through Naxxramas and Ulduar, ToC is going to feel like a breath of fresh air, and a respite from the arduous nature of your typical raiding regimen. I think that's quite enough rambling from me today, but I'm still interested in what you readers think. This is a subject more central to our gameplay experience than we might initially believe!

Click to read more ...

Blue Stew is a new daily column bringing you a delicious concoction of developer news, thoughts, and opinions straight from the boiling pot that is the official World of Warcraft forums. The highlights of each day include additional commentary by Project Lore staff. It's the beginning of September, and you know what that means! New content for all! OK, so that has less to do with the beginning of the month, and more to do with it being a Tuesday. But that doesn't mean we can't get excited about it, right? You can bet the forums are abuzz with people discussing Arena Season 7, Koralon: The Flame Watcher, and the release of the final boss in Trial of the Crusader, Anub'Arak (which brings with it the unlocking of Heroic mode).

• Oddly enough, the big issue of the day is none of these things. Instead, people are concerned with something Bornakk said yesterday in regards to heirloom items in Cataclysm: "Heirloom items specifically state that they go from levels 1 to 80 so we don't currently plan to make the currently available items auto-update to go to level 85 in the next expansion. As for the experience gain, nothing is set in stone yet, but I think it makes sense that we won't want players to get a 20% exp bonus when leveling to 85." Seems like some people will do just about anything to get ahead! Isn't a boost from 1-80 good enough for ya? After all, they were meant to lend you a hand through the painful process of leveling an alt for the umpteenth time. Bigger and broader changes are being made to the 1-60 game in Cataclysm, not to mention all of the new items and equipment that Blizzard would probably rather you use (considering they've spent so much time developing them already). Really, heirloom items should be less of a concern until the whole process becomes boring once again. Why not concentrate on enjoying the streamlined leveling experience and new zones instead of being the first on your server to hit the cap? Wryxian doesn't rule out the potential for "Tome of Cold Weather Flying" style upgrades when your first character hits 85.
• RAWK! The complaining doesn't end there. You'd think Carstalker would be happy after beating out his little sister for first place in the Domino Rally, but he's only interested in figuring out what he's going to do with all those badges he spent on heirloom gear (you know, the ones that Blizzard practically hands out for free these days?): "Sooooooo i just spent alot of badges for my shadowcraft parts giving me a total of 20% bonus to experience gained for my rogue which has been lvl 80 since a week after wotlk was released... can i have these badges back please? i feel kinda tricked, the chest heirloom got handed too us pretty recently ingame which made me think that heirlooms is going to be a + when cataclysm arrives..." Listen up, Carstalker, I'm not sure you're entitled to anything. Blizzard's not out to get you, mon frere! Outside of the experience bonus, do you really think it's worth running around in those old hand-me-downs like Azeroth's own Bag Lady? Surely, you'll be able to find better (and better looking) gear from quest rewards and leveling dungeons. Maybe it's just me, but I get really cheesed when it seems the only thing anybody ever worries about is the race to the finish. What do you think, readers, should the man get all those badges back or is he simply a victim of planning a little too far ahead for his own good?
• Kanye West impersonator, er... Kanye, insists that he doesn't like fish sticks. But he does enjoy things when they're hard. Case in point: raiding in World of Warcraft. Echoing a popular philosophy amongst the player base, he asks if Blizzard can make Icecrown Citadel just as challenging as Sunwell: "The concept of a hard version of every instance sounds okay at first, but then you realize how easy they make the regular version and it just seems pointless. This expansion needs more fights like Brut/Muru that are extreme cockblocks and make you feel awesome when they die. Hopefully some of the ToC hardmodes are like this, as well as plenty of Icecrown encounters. I will be beyond disappointed if 3 or 4 months into Icecrown these same 31 guilds have killed Arthas too. This may come off as me being an elitist #%%###* but who can honestly say they hope the final encounter of the game will be puggable eventually? There were only like 10 guilds to kill Illidan and even less to kill KJ at level 70 on my server." The reponse from Valnoth was as curt as his rant was verbose: "Heroic Modes are for progression. Please make use of them." I'm a rather big fan of difficult raids myself. To most people, they may feel like running a sheet of sandpaper over your genitals until they bleed, but oh man does the payoff make all the pain worth it. At the end of the day, though, I'm not going to let it bother me. While my guild's easily bested all comers in Trial of the Crusader so far, we still haven't made it past General Vezax in Ulduar. I'd say raid difficulty, overall, is more lop-sided than it used to be, but challenges remain for those who seek them.

Anyway, that's enough from me. All of the servers should certainly be up by now, so go forth, and enjoy the new offerings Blizzard has so beautifully laid out before us today. Whether you're a fan of PvE or PvP, there's something for everyone!

Click to read more ...

As Amatera detailed for us live during BlizzCon, and Heartbourne has expanded upon a bit, too, it looks like we'll be getting a ton of new dungeon and raiding content in the third expansion. Continuing along the same topic, I recorded a bit of the panel at the convention so you all can hear exactly what developers had to say about the new content. And best of all, right here is where you can see a ton of artwork on the new content and several quick sneak peek videos that Blizzard unveiled live Saturday. Cut into three YouTube-sized video portions. Take a look: The video pretty much speaks for itself if you want to watch all the way through the three parts. But here are some of my thoughts on what we saw at this panel:

• Abyssal Maw - Beautiful updated water graphics, lots of pretty underwater colors for this dungeon on the sea floor. I wish the teaser would have shown a bit more! Dueling Naga should be fun. And, it's "something we've never done before."
• Halls of Origination - Looking forward to another 5-player dungeon, and one built by the Titans at that. I'm digging the Egyptian-like concept art and glowing blue-green ceilings. And what about that "secret weapon...?" Sounds interesting.
• Blackrock Caverns - It "reinvents" the fan favorite of Blackrock Spire, which I'm sure a lot of players will really dig. The graphics look promising, with lots of glowing reds and flowing lava.
• IceCrown Citadel and Dungeons - Sounds huge and epic, and I was happy to hear in the Q and A session after the panel that Blizzard is planning to do something special when Arthas goes down... they didn't elaborate, but hinted that we'll see some cinematics. Also, the whole rocket ship scenario with Alliance and Horde battling it out sounds like a lot of fun, and something we haven't seen a lot of in the past. And, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing what Sindragosa brings and how Blizz wraps up all the loose story ends.
• The Firelands - Fighting Ragnaros at his "full strength" (So, what, he'll be the size of a skyscraper?)? Could be intense. Beautiful concept art and the keep has some neat architecture.
• Onyxia - That new Onyxia-inspired mount looks amazing, and the whelpling almost (but not quite) as cute as a baby murloc :). I like the updated loot tables that are based on the original drops. Nostalgic. Watch out for the "little bit" more Deep Breath randomization.

And last but not least, the cross-server LFG sounds like it will be incredibly handy for PUGing. Plus, I'm really looking forward to the prospect of playing with some of my friends on other realms! And we don't even have to wait for Cataclysm; it's hopefully set to come out in patch 3.3. So what does everyone think of all this new content? Sounds like we'll have a lot to keep us busy. This is the last of my video posts covering BlizzCon - I hope you've enjoyed them! There's still a ton of information to comb through, so look for more in the coming weeks.

Click to read more ...

Ah, yes. All of your favorite Blues are back from their trip to BlizzCon, ready to tackle the never-ending Q&A session that is the official World of Warcraft forums. And those of you that didn't attend the convention certainly aren't scared to toss a few inquiries their way! Ghostcrawler was bemused that his sarcasm didn't come off very well over the internet when he unwittingly convinced people that Icecrown Citadel would be home to a whopping 31 different bosses (we now know it to be 12). Well, it seems that it doesn't work any better in real life, either. Ghostcrawler when he doesn't have to deal with the official forums. Referring to the top drop from the very same dungeon (the Legendary 2-handed axe, Shadowmourne) as a "Hunter weapon" didn't fly with the WoW community, apparently. Constantly fretting over nerfs and the unfair advantages of rival classes tends to keep the obsessive players on their toes. While I think most people got the joke, it seems as though GC still had to come right out and say it:

Anyone capable of using a two-handed axe can use Shadowmourne. The stat allocation may not benefit hunters or shamans as much as warriors, DKs or paladins.

So there you go. No need to whine (unless you like to run around in tights with a large wooden stick strapped to your back and make your pet do all the work). It might not even work for Hunters. But even if it does, it's certainly not an exclusive prize. Also, Nethaera is doing her best to keep eager players safe:

As always, when there is a beta, we will announce it. Please be wary of any and all claims of a beta or alpha for the new expansion being held.

Boubouille over at MMO-Champion says he's already received his first beta-invite spam, so let that be a warning to all of ya. If you see anything in your inbox claiming to give you exclusive access to the alpha, beta, or Cataclysm in any form, you might as well just go ahead and drag it to your trash can (or better yet, report the spam). With those caveats out of the way, we can see what Blizzard's saying about all of the interesting new systems they introduced over the past weekend. Here are the paraphrased highlights:

• On the simplification of stats: They were actually worried about oversimplification of items, citing that while some people enjoy doing the complex math associated with min-maxing their gear, most people took this information and just plugged it in on best-in-slot sites (like MaxDPS). In other words, they could probably get away with just giving equipment a name and some art if the trend continued. Folding extraneous stats back into the basic ones allows most players to eyeball which drops they want on the spot. (Amatera's conjecture: This doesn't preclude them from adding new stats again in the future, but this time they'll have a better understanding of how to do so without confusing players.)
• On the guild leveling system: Advancement is based on the Top 20 producers of the guild each day. If your guild is smaller than that, then everyone's contributions will count. Even if you think you've done a lot for the guild on a certain day and still don't appear in the Top 20, it shouldn't affect guild progression much anyway, and since you're doing the sorts of things you'd normally be doing to earn those points, it won't feel like wasted time, either.
• On the lack of new Draenei classes: They didn't think that any of the classes Draenei currently didn't have access to would fit them if they did. Ghostcrawler acknowledges that they have implemented some interesting new choices that some people would find hard to justify in the pre-Cataclysm lore, but maintained that the Draenei already have a well-rounded class structure.
• On changes to old zones: Bornakk says that while the terrain will not change for every zone (aside from those needed to be made to accommodate flying, of course), quest lines within them will be modified to allow for a more natural flow of leveling. Essentially, all those "bread crumb" quests that lead you halfway around the world will now send you, logically, to the hub in an  adjacent leveling area.
• On the new system of Reforging: Blizzard is reinforcing the idea of restrictions. This system is designed to make undesirable drops somewhat more desirable by giving players the ability to restructure its existing stats (the operative term here is "consolation prize"). This should not make said undesirable gear better than those designed to advance your class. Likewise, the best gear you can obtain benefits from Reforging the least, so that it cannot be extensively manipulated by min-maxers to break equipment progression.

So what do you guys think of this clarifications? Do they make you more excited? Have they eased some of your fears or have they made some of these new feature less interesting?

Click to read more ...

The dungeons and raids panel made a lot of big revelations. On top of the huge amount of Cataclysm information, we also got a glimpse of what to expect from patch 3.3 and Icecrown Citadel. Icecrown Citadel will include the main raid instance, which will come in 10 and 25 man versions, and a series of 3 5-man dungeons. There will be an epic questline to unlock the dungeons; players who have not progressed through the story will be unable to enter the second and third dungeons. Once you complete the dungeon, you will be able to go back and farm purples until your heart is content. There will be about 8 bosses distributed across the dungeons Click on the map on the left to see a general layout of the dungeons. The main raid enters on a first floor and progresses up the citadel. There about 12 bosses in this epic raid, and it certainly sounds epic. The first floor has a few bosses, and you see the base of the spire of the Frozen Throne. The second floor has you taking an airships up the spire. Varian mans the Alliance one and Saurfang mans the Horde one. Each faction races to reach the top to defeat Arthas. Players will battle the other airship directly with cannons. Enemy NPCs will use jetpacks to land on your airship and try to sabotage it. Some of your players will have to do the same to the enemy's airship. The third floor has three different wings, which seem to be accessed from different points on the second floor. It seems that Sindragosa will be somewhere in here. The fourth and final floor is the epic battle with Arthas. Parts of the floor will break off and if you fall, "its bad". There will be waypoints, like in Ulduar, to teleport throughout the dungeon and not have long runs after wipes. Major characters will make an appearance in the raid, including Jaina and Sylvanas. In addition, Frostmourne will have a "unique fate" and will not be a weapon that players can loot. There will be a new, legendary 2-handed axe called Shadowmourne which players can get from Arthas instead. Check out the maps for a more visual idea of whats going on. Click them for a full view:

First floor Second floor Third floor Fourth Floor

Click to read more ...

Cataclysm Countdown is a series of informed speculative articles concerning things we might see in the next expansion that I will be posting every day this week, leading right up to Blizzcon. In the interest of thought purity, I will do my best to steer clear of recent “leaked” material, relying upon it only where it logically connects with the existing lore. Nothing hereafter is official or has been confirmed/denied by Blizzard at the time of its writing. It's coming down to the wire, folks. I've done the research, I've looked at the maps, I've made liberal use of WoWWiki. I've wrenched every bit of related lore out of my head that I possibly can without completely ruining Heartbourne's Proverb series! At this point, barring an eleventh-hour spillage of the beans, there just isn't a whole lot left to talk about. Speculation involving specifics of gear, skills, quest lines, professions, or anything else that can be easily slotted into a spreadsheet is completely off the table. There's just nowhere I can really go without more details. I call it... the Failstrom! Instead, I will shift my focus and give you some 100% pure, unbridled, Amatera-brand speculation about... your speculation. Or, rather, what people are buzzing about all over the WoWified regions of the internet. And just how completely wrong they are. Let's face it, when everything you "know" is simply what you've made up in your own head, then sometimes it's just better to keep your mouth shut. I think it was Peter Parker's Uncle Ben that said, "Add two cups of water and bring to a boil." Wise words, old man. Wise words, indeed. Regardless, below are several common things you need to be aware of as we enter the final countdown. Excuse me while I play this kickin' guitar solo... Item 1: "The List" -- You've probably seen it floating around the 'net over the past couple of years. It's a breakdown of zone "sets" reportedly used as a guideline for future expansions. According to the legend, it was first implemented by Blizzard internally, but only surfaced on the interwebs several years later (conveniently after Wrath had already been revealed). There is no legitimate record of this list anywhere before 2007, but since it's out in the wild now, its real test of validity will start with Cataclysm. Here's what it predicts for the next expansion: Gilneas - 77 to 80 Grim Batol - 78 to 81 Kul Tiras - 79 to 82 Kezan - 81 to 86 Tel Abim - 83 to 85 Zandalar - 84 to 87 Plunder Isle - 86 to 88 The Broken Isles - 87 to 90 The Maelstrom - 89 to 90 Rumors are rumors, but this doesn't totally jive with what we've been hearing lately, especially in terms of the level cap. Then again, if something like this was ever used within Blizzard in the beginning, I would expect it to diverge farther and farther from what is listed here as time goes on. But in all likelihood, the list is a farce. It's not terribly hard to put together. A good eye for details and a keen sense of prediction are all you truly need to do so. Lore nerds are pretty good about remembering which story threads have been left hanging, and by browsing through some of the extended-universe stuff found in the novels, as well as the books used to flesh out the table-top RPG, you can make a cursory list of interesting zones and places to visit in no time flat. Look closely at the set of zones above, and then cross-reference that with my speculative post about zones from two days ago. I'm not sure that Plunder Isle and Tel Abim are big enough to support players through two levels of experience. Now, there's a good chance we'll see several of these areas in the actual expansion, but really all this list represents is good guesswork. It's not from Blizzard, and never has been, so when somebody brings it up as a point of proof, don't take it as gospel. Item 2: Cataclysm's Release Date -- If anybody tells you that they know the expansion's release date, simply don't listen to them. I've heard everything from the end of this year to December 2012 (the appropriately apocalyptic end of the Mayan calendar). Addressing the former, I was honestly shocked there were people out there who expected Blizzard to pump out content faster than I did! In reality, there are several factors at play that make it impossible to pin down when Cataclysm might actually come out. First, how long will it take to wrap up Wrath of the Lich King? The Crusader's Coliseum is only halfway released. We can look forward to the revamped Onyxia fight in around a month (no, we won't have to wait 'til November; an encounter like that isn't going to sit on the PTR for over three months) or so. So unless Blizzard throws us a curve ball beforehand, we're likely to see Icecrown Citadel before the end of the year. Some people seem to think that won't be enough to hold players off until the expansion, though. My own prediction puts Cataclysm late next Spring or early next Summer, but it's become tradition to insert some sort of transitional event between expansions. Vanilla got the original version of Naxxramas and Burning Crusade got Sunwell. I'm having trouble wracking my brain for what we could see after Arthas, but perhaps the answer is simpler. Icecrown Citadel is rumored to be quite big, and I don't think it would be too far out there to assume that it may be released over two patches, with the Lich King sealing off his inner sanctum to delay players even further. Second, we have to consider Blizzard's own intentions. On one hand, they've expressed interest in releasing content, and expansions, at a faster pace. On the other, they're Blizzard. They've always taken the time necessary to polish their work until they're satisfied enough to put it out on the market. In that sense, I think it really depends on how far along they already are with Cataclysm. After pouring so much work into Wrath, it's hard to believe that they've already gotten the bulk of the next expansion done. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. With at least one major raid dungeon, and associated content, to go, don't expect to see it this year. And be wary of anyone who claims they know what the release date will be or throws a tantrum and says that the game is going to lose a significant portion of the playerbase if it doesn't come soon. Item 3: The New Azeroth Will Be Completely Phased -- I was naive. I admit it. Not too long ago, I proposed phasing the entirety of Azeroth to introduce new content to the old world. But unless the technology has significantly improved, that's no longer a possibility. You see, this was before we knew that the geography itself would change. Currently, phasing can only modify objects or widgets that are laid over the base terrain, which would rule out any tweaks to the shape of the land. Some people have wondered how they would be able to play with their low-level friends or what might happen to those few remaining chumps who only own the original game. Well, no worries. There will be phasing involved in certain quest lines or events, but the old world will be gone. Completely. You'll be able to interact with your lowbie buds in a brand-spankin'-new Azeroth. And for those unwilling to make the upgrade? Well, if they haven't been keeping up with the expansions, there's a good chance they haven't really been playing anyway. Item 4: The Globes of Ulduar -- These are interesting finds, indeed. If you go into Halls of Lightning or the Ulduar raid instance, you might stumble across some animated globes that show a distinctly different version of Azeroth. A big chunk of central Kalimdor is simply... gone. And several other areas have had their coastlines shorn. Some have speculated that these are visions of a future catastrophe, while others believe they merely show an ancient Azeroth under construction by the Ancients. The problem is that, until the Sundering, Azeroth was one giant landmass, Pangaea-style. These globes clearly show the continents separated, so whatever they depict, it happens after the collapsing of the Well of Eternity. But that's not why you should be wary, anyway. The fact of the matter is that these were likely Easter eggs put in by Blizzard during Wrath's development, and the level of destruction shown on the face of each globe is somewhat different. Despite the wonderful map overlays created by the community, they don't always match up with the details found in the text-based spoilers, either. These globes provide us with a hint of the future, but they are unlikely to be definitive representations of the Azeroth soon to be revealed. Item 5: It's Impossible To Do [Blank] -- There's been an awful lot of belly-aching in the community lately (and honestly, when isn't there?). People complaining about the new class combinations, or that Blizzard's seriously messing up the lore. It's hard to surf the official forums or comments section on any WoW-related blog without seeing people spreading the doom-and-gloom, warning Blizzard that they're about to alienate all their players by doing something they deem impossible. But the Warcraft universe is moving forward. Things must change, and Blizzard is well within their power to do so. All bets are off where Cataclysm is concerned. The world is reshaped, its people are forced into situations and alliances that they never have been before. Those who are friends will share their knowledge and skills, while those who are enemies will escalate their rage to new levels. Beyond that, some changes must be made to comply with new innovations in gameplay. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply kidding themselves. So, equipped with the knowledge I've given you, you should be going into the announcement tomorrow with a better understanding of what to expect. Writing these speculative columns has been more challenge than you might think. It entails more than just pulling stuff out of your ass. Research and taking the time out to really reconsider what you're typing isn't easy. And, no doubt, some of it is going to be completely wrong. But I do hope that, in the end, I've been steering this ship in the right direction. So stay tuned to Project Lore over the weekend for extensive coverage of BlizzCon and just about all the Cataclysm goodies you can handle! Have you enjoyed these articles over the past week? What can I do to improve them in the future? In addition to hearing the remainder of your thoughts on the upcoming expansion (or how horribly misguided I've been), please give me your opinions or suggestions, as well.

Click to read more ...

With the great shadow of Blizzcon looming on the horizon, how can we not get worked up about it? How can we not begin to wonder what goodies they're just waiting to unleash on us die-hard fans like front-liners at a GWAR concert? We expect to walk away from this thing tired, satisfied, and maybe just a little sticky! But laying restless in bed this morning, I began to think: Blizzard's got this huge expansion coming up, but they've still got at least one major piece of content to release for Lich King. Likewise, they stated they'd like to get a new expansion out every year -- an unrealistic goal for a company like this, but perhaps a year-and-a-half is within the realm of possibility. And then I remembered that they just pushed StarCraft 2 back into 2010. Having two major releases coming out back-to-back like that is virtually unheard of! That might push Cataclysm (as we assume the expansion to be named) to next Fall for a release date similar to Lich King two years previous. And that means that they've got until next Blizzcon to give us all of the real juicy details. I believe that most people, at this point, assume that there's going to be a deluge of information about Cataclysm this year, but that may be jumping the gun. No doubt we'll get something, perhaps a reveal of new races and some very early look at the content, a trailer even, but let's not forget that there is still the matter of the Lich King to resolve. If the rumors of Icecrown Citadel being enormous are true (not 31-boss big, of course, but I believe the intention of size was expressed), I expect we may hear a log more about how this expansion is going to wrap up before even going into the next one. Once again, I'm going mostly on conjecture here, but I do remember one of the Blues mentioning (when asked about how far off the Argent Coliseum would be) that their timetable was not as lengthy as we players might expect. And, indeed, we saw the release of 3.2 just three months or so after Ulduar. Now that opens the possibility of seeing the Citadel released by the end of the year or early next. If Cataclysm releases in the Summer, no biggie. But Fall 2010? That would leave a huge 9-10 month gap between content releases. That would mean that there may be some post-ICC release, a 3.4 if you will, that would function much like Sunwell at the end of Burning Crusade. If that's the case, we may begin to hear something about that content, as well. And really, when it boils right down to it, the end of the Lich King is potentially such a big deal, are they going to want us knowing a whole lot about the aftermath just yet (which learning about Cataclysm would probably entail)? My head's spinning just trying to consider all this and I hope you're all still with me at this point. But I'm currently of the opinion that we're going to get a real introductory look at the next expansion, with the remainder of Wrath content getting the bulk of attention at the show. Do I hope I'm wrong? Most certainly. I'd love nothing more than to experience the largest fangasm ever from the impending surge of information that could be coming our way. I'd die for Mike Morhaime to ascend to the stage and tell us that they're finished with Icecrown Citadel, the expansion's coming within six months, and that, Oprah-style, we all get a beta invite. But I also expect Blizzard to take as much time as they feel they need to complete their products, and considering their track record, that's what supersedes everything else. They're tackling more releases at this point in time than they ever have at once before. We're going to hear tons about StarCraft 2 and the revamped Battle.net. We'll get the dish about Diablo, too. Let's not forget there's also that "next-gen MMO" hanging on the horizon, as well. If they wanted to release all of these games on the same day, they could probably get away with it. So maybe it's not so far-fetched to consider the sequel to StarCraft and the new expansion to hit shelves so close to each other. After all, one shouldn't really cannibalize sales of the other... much. Don't worry for a second. Blizzcon will be packed to the brim with details, but with so many things to cover, I just keep coming back to the idea that Cataclysm's dynamite reveal may quickly be overtaken by the rest of the show's content. What do you guys and gals think? I know I presented a lot of possibilities above, a lot of variables to consider. This kind of idle thinking leads to a whole lot of brain spew (something else you'll see at a GWAR concert, by the way). Do you agree? Disagree? The way content is being handled, just what will we end up hearing about at Blizzcon? Maybe the reveal of new races and a quick overview? A teaser trailer for Cataclysm? Is Blizzard ready to show us that much of the game's future?

Click to read more ...