Project Lore

Chilton promises Deathwing will be one of the most captivating villains yet.Twitter buddy and gaming journalist extraordinaire Phil Kollar posted a new interview with Tom Chilton on Game Informer's website yesterday. The piece, as part of the site's "Afterwords" column, is primarily a retrospective on the past expansion (and what a better time to do it than at the tail end of Wrath content?).

The three-page chat covers plenty of content and Chilton talks at length about several subjects including:

• Death Knights and what other options were in the running for the expansion's hero class
• Satisfaction with the Lich King storyline and progression of Icecrown Citadel
• Graphical improvements and system requirements going forward
• Pure DPS class versus hybrid class performance
• Successes and failures with the design of Lake Wintergrasp
• How world PvP will be handled differently in Cataclysm with Tol'Barad
• Ulduar's position in the storyline (and how it could've been explained better)
• How awesome Deathwing is going to be as a character and villain

Perhaps one of the interview's most interesting points comes towards the end, when Kollar asks if there are any more immediate plans for adding content to the game. We've already received some hints about what will change in terms of PvP, but Chilton mentions the possibility of opening up a boss in the Ruby Sanctum underneath Wyrmrest Temple.

It's comforting to know that they're working on something, but at the same time disappointing to realize that it likely won't be anything extensive. Either way, Chilton emphasizes that content coming before Cataclysm is more an extension of 3.3 than a true 3.4, so it's best to expect nothing but minor patches until the expansion.

So go read the interview, then come back here, and tell us what you think. Do your feelings on Wrath of the Lich King jive with those of the WoW's Lead Game Designer?

Almost 48 hours since the release of Patch 3.1 and there are still many, many issues to be ironed out.  Players across the greater Internet are reporting numerous snags that are consistent with all of Blizzard's content patches.  Dead or laggy servers, extended extended maintenance, busted spells, broken talents, castrated add-ons, un-updated add-ons interfering with general WoW play, disconnected instance servers, the works.  As Ivnication stated in the Secrets of Ulduar post, even if Blizzard had a perfect patch, it'd be unlikely that we would have been able to raid efficiently on Wednesday, let alone Tuesday, due to the massive amount of changes.

As it stands now, I have let the issue go by the wayside.  Better to shrug it off than pull my hair out while screaming about my paying customer status.  During the intermittent server problems I spent most of my time leveling my priest's professions and, preparing her for her incoming second spec.  Since I wasn't doing anything of consequence, I allowed my eyes and mind to roam and came across a collection of unexpected things.  First and foremost, Magtheridon was playable by late Tuesday evening.  Being an original server, I expected it to be utterly destroyed by its high population, so I was taken aback by its playability.

I did my best to keep up on the patch notes and all the upcoming stuff in Wrath's first content patch, but a lot of small tweaks managed to slip by me.  It takes enough time to digest the class changes, let alone all of the other stuff listed in the patch notes.  It wasn't until I was a few hours into the patch that I began noticing just how many things I missed.

• There are a ton of new icons for various spells and talents including Devouring Plague, Cleanse Spirit, Riptide and many others.  Even the Essence of Wintergrasp icon has been overhauled with new art.

• Along with the addition of maps for the dungeons, Blizzard overhauled the minimap.  Our personal guide is far more detailed and allow us to zoom out further than before.  A fantastic surprise addition for me.

• You no longer need to be near a Lexicon of Power to apply a Glyph.  Does that change make the Lexicons completely useless, or do Inscriptors need them for something specific?  I haven't rolled one yet so I am not certain.  Speaking of Glyphs, how did the old Supply and Demand scale work on your servers?  Prices on Magtheridon are up over 200%.

• New music courtesy of Ulduar and the Argent Tournament!

• "Flint and Tinder is no longer necessary for creating a campfire. You're just that resourceful!" (emphasis added).  That bit from the patch notes just made me laugh, even though I see the bold as a possible slight against the hardcore RPers.  Apparently we are all Survivorman.  Now I can make my first campfire.

Since most of these dents have been pounded out, it's about time to get working on my new spec, gem and enchants for my pair of toons.  Ahh, decisions.  What changes have caught you unawares, if any?  How bad our your servers acting up?  Anyone have a chance to head into Ulduar yet?  Bosses have already been downed, some before the first round of hotfixes.  As Tom Chilton expected, each and every one of Yogg-Saron's maws have been thoroughly beaten.  Nearly all the hardmodes remain undefeated by the best of the best raiding guilds, which means Algalon is still alive and well.  Grats on being the first to clear 10-man Ulduar Ensidia.

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