Project Lore

Gamasutra's Chris Remo recently sat down with Alex Afrasiabi to chat about some of the design philosophy behind the upcoming expansion. Though Afrasiabi might not be the household name that a Samwise Didier, Tom Chilton, or Mike Morhaime is, you might start to hear it more often. Why? Because he occupies a very important position on the development team: Lead World Designer for Cataclysm. And with the world about to undergo some significant changes, he's got his work cut out for him. Afrasiabi remains tight-lipped in the interview, typical for a Blizzard employee, but he does paint an exciting (if destructive) future for Azeroth and hints about what we might expect are dropped like bread crumbs for those who can read between the lines. For instance, he cites that "the cataclysm starts out with rumbles, and what those rumbles are are the stirrings of Deathwing beneath the world." Perhaps, then, we'll start to feel earthquakes as part of the events leading up to the release of the expansion. Zones like the Barrens are in need of a major overhaul, while those like Loch Modan still meet Blizzard's standards. He also spends some time talking about how they prioritized zone restructuring in Cataclysm. Though certainly some attention needs to be paid to those that are important to the progression of the story (meaning areas like Azshara were going to be turned upside-down regardless), others will be changed merely based on an internal ranking system. Essentially, those zones that Blizzard decided they were most unhappy with will undergo drastic modifications, while those that were deemed acceptable will be remodeled less. According to Afrasiabi, Loch Modan is one part of the world that will be transformed "lightly" (though he hesitates to say any given zone will be affected as little as that term might imply). Much of the article focuses on the use of phasing and its role in quest design from here on out. Apparently, Blizzard wants to focus more on "showing, instead of telling," which seems to mean less reliance on quest text to relay the story. Providing players with visual information, or scenes that are acted out in the course of completing a mission, seems to be the way of the future. One of the exercises that Blizzard's quest designers reportedly utilize is to see if someone can figure out what they're supposed to be doing with being given any textual information. They better they can manage without it, the better the quest's design is. One big surprise to come out of the interview is that the invention of phasing was sort of an "a-ha!" moment, a serendipitous accident like Newton watching the apple fall from the tree. Afrasiabi says that it the mechanics, now used to create a more progressive game world, was born out of a bug in the Blade's Edge Mountains. Phasing was implemented by a programmer as a quick fix for the problem, but ended up becoming key to the future of World of Warcraft. Of course, this is only a taste. I encourage everybody to head on over to Gamasutra and check out the rest of the interview. There's plenty more to read, and some really intriguing stuff in there worth speculating about!

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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. Welcome to day two of Blue Stew, everyone. A lot of you seemed interested in what this column has to offer, so I'm going to do my best to bring you its brothy goodness every day this week. Now, on with today's serving...

• Oh man, what is it with Druids? It seems that poor Blizzard just can't get a break from their polymorphic prejudice! Veere has set up an obstacle course made out of Winchesters so that he can get even better at jumping the gun. Wanting to test his progress, he decided to post this gem on the official forums: "NE Mages = The Death of Lore?" I don't know what it is that makes people think that lore exists in a vacuum. Moving forward with the timeline and shaking things up a little bit doesn't equal a retcon, people! So the arcane has been forbidden from Night Elf culture for thousands of years? OK, that's fine, but I'm sure you've all heard this phrase before: "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Look at it this way, when the world is as threatened as it is by a force like Deathwing, each and every race on Azeroth is going to take a good, long, hard look at themselves and figure out what they can or need to do to overcome that destruction, and sometimes that means breaking taboos and sharing resources with each other. If that means paths once closed need to be re-opened, well, I see no problems with that. But, of course, there will be ramifications for doing so. Blue poster Kisirani reminds us that Blizzard is not ignorant of such things: "I'd like to reinforce that we're perfectly aware of the way Night Elf society has viewed arcane magic over the years. We are similarly aware that Night Elf Mages have been in the game since patch 1.3. Not all Highborne became the High Elves and Blood Elves of today. As evidenced in the screenshot linked, patch 3.2.2 begins the explanation. We're not ignoring what came before, but we are moving the storyline forward, and at times, that means change and a shake up in the status quo." So, please, where Cataclysm lore is concerned, be aware that these things have been announced long before they actually occur within the game world.
• Lyresse spends most of her days inside a giant, plastic bubble. Not because she's sick, but because she's always wondered what it was like to be a hamster. She's also curious about WoW's shoulda-beens and coulda-beens, and asks if phasing technology could be used to breathe new life into old quest lines. Her given examples include finishing the bridge in Redridge Mountains and the remote nature of Marshall's Refuge in Un'Goro Crater (how the heck did they manage to get a flight path out there?). Wryxian responds with a tight-lipped answer, admitting that he knows little of what the development team plans to do with the technology, but that "the main issue will be deciding on when to stop using it." It doesn't seem like we'll be getting any real answers on this subject anytime soon, and while I have no doubt it will be used to make new quest lines more exciting, I'm not sure what can be done for old ones like those Lyresse is interested in. The fact of the matter is that we have to consider Cataclysm as a quantum leap forward in the WoW universe. Everything is moving forward, and many of those old quests might not even be available any longer. That is to say that we likely won't get another line dealing with the bridge in Redridge, because either it will be finished at the start of the expansion, or it will be utterly destroyed. So, I'm not entirely sure that we're going to see old areas of the world that could've benefitted from it in the past actually incorporate phasing now, but rather that they all will from here on out.
• Grand Apothecary Putress I think Lindra can read minds, because she's asked a question that I've been itching to ever since being clued into the massive changes of Cataclysm: "What's going to happen to the Plaguelands?" Wryxian answered the call once again, expressing his own interest in the possibilities: "It's really intriguing wondering what exactly will happen to places like the Plaguelands. Will they be kept much as they are, even despite the nailing we all expect Arthas will receive, or will they be liberated and thus potentially becoming hotly contested by all the various races that may be interested in re-claiming the area for their own?" With Arthas most likely gone, the Scourge will lose their power. Like a bee hive without its Queen, they'll become listless and without direction. With production of new Scourge at a halt, they become easy pickin's for the likes of the Argent Dawn and Scarlet Crusade, eventually allowed the Plaguelands to be reclaimed by those who seek to call it home. Will the Blood Elves want to rebuild Quel'Thalas? Do the Humans want to reclaim their former capital of Lordaeron? And what about the Forsaken? They still need a place to call home (and, in fact, they seem intent on expanding their influence with the sacking of Gilneas). It seems to me that, with the spirit of open contention between factions at hand, that the Plaguelands will once again become a battlefield. So, what of the Scourge? Just because Arthas is gone doesn't mean they've lost all of their masters. In fact, there are a couple traitorous Forsaken who might see the Lick King's death as an opportunity. Despite their disdain for the Scourge, who could resist controlling an instant army?

Well, that wraps it up for today, folks. Add your thoughts below and, as always, keep those suggestions flowing!

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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.

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One example of phased content: the Wrathgate event. The MMO is an odd beast. Like most games, or game series, it evolves and grows in expected ways over time. Players are provided with a bevy of new options or the graphics are given a shiny new coat of paint (especially if it's associated with a generational jump in hardware). But the online RPG is no moulting reptile. It can't simply shed its old skin. Expansions offer new content, but rarely do much for the old, so we're stuck with the less impressive aspects of the game, and the developers are consistently reminded by these ancient artifacts of their failings the first time around. I'm sure Blizzard would love to reshape the original continents as much as we players would like to see them do it, but the drain on resources would be absolutely massive. I know I've stated this in previous posts, but it entails so much more than a graphical overhaul. They'd have to reconsider how quests, dungeons, leveling, and other such balance-related aspects of the game are dealt with. What starts as one problem to deal with quickly spirals out of control. But let's be honest, who is it that wants to experience this content again? I'd wager it's largely people who are at the end game, and have been there for a very long time. Often, that means relegating yourself to a scant few zones worth of content, which, as we all know, can get boring very quickly. A first-time player should still have a lot of fun exploring the old world and those who are leveling alts likely want to progress through it as quickly as possible. Mainland Azeroth, specifically Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, is the bread and butter of the Warcraft universe, though! It seems necessary to revisit and reinvigorate those areas so absolutely central to the lore. So, how do we do that? What can Blizzard do to persuade us to go back? Well, by moving forward, actually. Through the idea of phasing. It's already in the game, if you're looking for it. The go-to event whenever anyone talks about this sort of thing is the Wrathgate, and as great of a showcase as it might be, it doesn't really deal with the complexities of the concept's implementation.  Simply put, phasing allows parts of the world to look/act/behave differently for players at different stages of the game. The problem with Wrathgate is that it's mostly cosmetic: a player who hasn't completed the line will see a standing army and one who has will see, well, the aftermath. A better example to look towards, and perhaps a test bed for what we can expect looking forward (should Blizz choose to go down this road) is actually Icecrown Glacier. There are several questlines involving the Argent Crusade and Ebon Blade that slowly change certain parts of the zone, even opening up new questlines along the way (which otherwise wouldn't be available to players who haven't progressed that far yet). For phasing to truly be game-changing, it needs to be able to make sweeping changes to the player experience. What this all boils down to is this: why not phase the whole of Azeroth? If some world-changing event is ahead, make it so that level 80-90 players see a different kind of world. What if the Crossroads were in ruins or you suddenly had high-level mobs in the newbie zones? Those are simple examples, but they could scale with the amount of work Blizzard feels they want to put into it. It's the Battle for the Undercity on a much greater level! Of course, that does present some problems to overcome. Specifically, how two such versions of Azeroth can exist concurrently. Blizzard isn't completely shy about fudging the timeline (which would explain how Kael'Thas could exist as an uber raid boss in Tempest Keep and in his weaker, defeated form in Magister's Terrace at the same time), and you could argue that's necessary in a persistent-world MMO like Warcraft, but there are more practical concerns. For instance, would it be possible for a level 80+ character to return to the old version of Azeroth and how would that even be justified in the lore? What if they want to play with or help our some of their low-level buds, who they wouldn't be able to see in the phased version of the world? Would things like auction houses be connected across the great 4th-dimensional abyss? The disconnect between gameplay and practicality does eventually reach the point of becoming undesirable if you stretch players' suspension of disbelief too far. Nonetheless, I can think of at least one solution, as cliche as it might be: portals. WoW lore does have a few built-in fail safes for things like this. We already know there are alternate versions of Azeroth, like that of the Emerald Dream. And then there's the possibility of the Infinite Dragonflight finally finding success in corrupting the timeline, resulting in a completely different chain of events. Areas, or possibilities like these, can be accessed through special gateways opened up by the dragonflights in their attempt to restore order. What sorts of ideas might you readers have for this sort of thing? Is phasing a viable option? Would you be willing to excuse the lore to explore an alternate version of Azeroth at any cost, or should it have to jive with the existing story line? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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Some of the content in this post may be considered spoilers to those who have not leveled to 80. A lot of players ask questions like "how was Gnomeregan taken over by a bunch of level 40 troggs and why can't level 80 players clean it out?" or "the Exodar crash has been a few months ago for a couple years now. Why doesn't this change?" One of the reasons the world doesn't change is that Blizzard wants a "static MMO world" to a large extent where they have developed content that they still want to be accessible to players as they spent a large amount of resources developing it. Players also largely don't want to see content disappear. The disappearance of the Onyxia key quest chain in order to progress the story was controversial. The second answer to questions like this is that as far as lore goes, "level" is not a direct measure of power. It is unclear if Kel'Thuzad could best Ragnaros mano-a-mano. Lore-wise, cleaning out Gnomeregan is not as simple as a level 80 mage walking in and spamming Arcane Explosion. Gnomeregan has some additional radiation issues, but generally you can't just use levels to compare say Edwin VanCleef to Jammal'an the Prophet. The 8 "well-developed" capital cities have lots to do and there seems to always be some corner to explore, yet Sen'jin and Gnomeregan are extremely static and boring. Orgrimmar and Stormwind were attacked by the Scourge prior to the Horde and Alliance's invasion of Northrend, and all the capital cities usually have something going on with the world events. Sen'jin and Gnomeregan are left out completely. I wonder why they can't phase the Sen'jin and Orgimmar areas after you do the starting quests and maybe some "construction" quests like with the Argent Crusade in Icecrown which progress you through a series of phases. Some of my favorite content in the game has to be the aftermath of the Wrathgate incident. The phasing of Orgrimmar and the Undercity were fantastic, shocking, and memorable. Somehow I can't imagine why they can't do something with Sen'jin and other undeveloped areas. I think it degrades some of the "troll identity" in the Horde to not have a home city and having to slaughter trolls all the time. I smiled to myself when I completed Exalted Champion of Silvermoon and was able to choose "Bladebourne of Silvermoon" as a title. This is one of the reasons I have problems playing as a troll. Trolls and Gnomes were not even included in the original WoW cinematic and their inclusion in recent content always feels like "token representation". Vol'jin didn't even go into the Undercity during the attack on Varimathras and I really wanted him to bust out some voodoo. I hope that perhaps in the next expansion they flesh out Sen'jin and Gnomeregan, maybe through phasing, and give people a reason to visit them when they are at max level. I don't often go to Silvermoon City or Thunder Bluff, but I never go to Sen'jin. Is it worth it to build these cities up, or do you think the excuse of trolls largely being absorbed to Orgrimmar and gnomes into Ironforge valid enough to leave them as is?

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When Patch v3.0.8 goes live, players everywhere will be graced with another ridiculous mount-race combination. The brave souls on the Player Test Realms can already witness the sight of a Raptor, one of the most vicious dinosaurs on our earth, crying as a hefty Tauren hops on his back. And yet, the sight pals in comparison to what I, and countless other gnomes, have pulled off in the last few weeks. Riding a giant.

A Gnome on a Kodo is hilarious in its own right, but imagine a Gnome guiding a giant through Zul'Drak. Actually, there is no need to imagine, just look at the screenshot. Not only is this Solidsamm's first ride on a leviathan (sorry Thrakki), but it is his first taste of the new phasing technology designed for Wrath. And what a taste.

It took me awhile to notice that as soon as I mounted the revenge-minded Storm Giant, most of the other players in the zone disappeared. After that fact crossed my synapses, a lightbulb went off telling me that I never saw the giants roaming the area while I was grinding. I emphasized most for a reason though. The fun begins when you mount Gymer and see the collection of other Gymer's roaming the land. You can even PvP with them - although a match would likely last forever, and not grant any honor – as evidenced by my Gymer punting the other one across the zone!

Although the quest is essentially another vehicle-oriented quest, it allows one to feel indestructible while you rampage the Scourge. An awesome feeling indeed. If you missed it while racing to level 80 or have yet to reach Zul'Drak, make sure you head over to Gymer in Thrym's End to begin his chain. The short chain allows you to quickly get to the point of topic.  You won't regret the time spent.

Sorry for always being a critic, but as cool as the chain is, it could have been a little better. There really isn't much lore behind Gymer, making the gameplay mechanics (and possibly the loot) the only reason to take up his reigns. Blizzard seems to have gone to great lengths to implement the Storm Giant, too bad the back story is left relatively bear.  How could a character of this magnitude, and sheer size, not have great stories about him?

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So we have all had Wrath in our hands for a little over a week now. That was enough time for a few dedicated people to “beat the game” but I suspect many of us are a little behind the curve in that regard. I, myself, am on the verge of hitting level 80… and will likely have done so by the end of the day today. So I feel like I have seen a fair bit of the new content. Originally I had intended to grind instances all the way to 80, but quickly learned that was not the way to go. The XP per hour is simply much larger if you are questing. So ultimately I ended up questing for the majority of the leveling process. And, man, I am glad I did! I have found questing in wrath to be absolutely awesome! The new phasing mechanics really add a while new element to the game. While I have always enjoyed questing, there was never much tangible result other than a quest reward and unlocking the next link in the chain. Now you get to see the world change as the result of your actions. You get to witness time move on and realize things will never be the same as they were. It is great. I am not going to give out any spoilers here, but the epic quests that take advantage of it in Dragonblight, Icecrown, and even the DK starting area had me cheering at my computer monitor. Beyond the phasing mechanic, it seems to me the quests are all together better. You don’t see nearly the amount of kill X mobs for Y drops. They are more creative, more exciting, and all together larger feeling. The new vehicle mechanics play a big part in this, making lots of things possible that you were not able to do before. From time to time you get to step out of your character and control something of absolutely epic proportions. For me, so far, Wrath has been all I wanted and more. Now with hopes of seeing some end game next week I am anxious to see what the rest of the game has in store! What do you guys think so far?

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Wrath of the Lich King has me far more excited than The Burning Crusade ever did. I don't know what it was about TBC that turned me off so much, because I was interested in what it had to offer. I was in TBC's beta, but I didn't burn myself out in it. In fact, that is where I realized that I wasn't as intrigued by The Burning Crusade as much as I was for World of Warcraft. I bought the first expansion regardless, hoping that Blizzard would manage to wow me in some way. I don't believe TBC struck me as much as vanilla WoW, but the expansion – and the community - managed to keep me entertained for the past 21 months and counting. Thankfully, WotLK seems like it will do more than just hold on to me.  With exciting features like these, how could it fail?

• Questing & Exploration – I love exploring these digital worlds that we spend so much of our time in and the new quests should make it that much more enjoyable.  To top it off, the lands are full of unseen monsters living in harsh conditions.
• Phasing – Phasing is the new black. The idea of phasing is to allow players to have their own unique world. Did you manage to do an escort quest and your buddy didn't? Well, to you, the person you escorted may appear in the nearby town, while for your buddy, he is still held captive by the forces of the scourge.  Same game, but appearing to each player in its own special way.
• Stormwind Harbor – Stormwind is getting a large addition that will gradually be introduced to the Human stronghold.  For the aesthetics alone, it is nice to see the major cities change over time.
• Naxxaramas – My hardore raiding days ended with Naxxaramas 40-man. No guild on my main server managed to clear it before TBC went live, although we were the closest. I can't wait to dance tackle it again, only this time at level 80.
• New talents & Level 80 – The idea of dual specs are interesting and so are all the new talents, for all classes.
• World PvP – World PvP and Battlegrounds are to make a comeback in Wrath. Arenas with environmental hazards are all well and good, but Lake Wintergrasp and Strand of The Ancients are where it is at for me.
• Enchanting Changes - Being able to sell and purchase Enchants on the Auction House = priceless.
• Death Knights – Forget about new races, that is old hat. Yea, we will have new racial abilities, but what could be more exciting than the first Hero class? I won't be leveling a Death Knight right away, but I will definitely take one for a spin due to the quest chains and lore associated with starting one.
• Lore – This is actually the number one thing I am waiting for. Wrath of the Lich King promises to have some killer lore.  With the introduction of the new Death Knight class, new quests, the lead up to Icecrown Glacier and the battle against the Lich King/Arthas, how could it not be awesome? I guarantee you that there will be one quest chain in the game that will blow you away. KooPA's are known for their truthiness...and walking off cliffs.

There is tons more to Wrath of the Lich King than what I have listed, another reason that I can't wait to jump in on November 13th. What has you all in a tither?

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