[WoW]Wotlk:Raid instances to have 10 and 25 man versions, Death Knight starts at 55

[Avellon]

So some editors from the 1up Network recently went to Blizzard and played some of Wrath of the Lich King Alpha and also interviewed Jeff Kaplan and J. Allen Brack about the expansion.

They got some really interesing new info about the expansion like:

-All raid instances will have 10 and 25 man versions. (25 man will have better loot)

-Death Knights will start at level 55. All races currently able to be a death knight.

-Mounted combat is in the expansion. What was show so far were mostly quest type things (free flying in a gnomish flying machine and shooting down gargoyles, mounting on a wooly mammoth to do battle with an evil tauren on his own wooly mammoth, etc.)

Some more info about the inscription profession as well.

Info here

The Death Knight info garnered so far:

World of WarCraft's first hero class has gone through a couple of changes since we last spoke to Blizzard. The latest: The designers have shelved the idea of unlocking the Death Knight through a quest chain. Instead, any player who has a level 55 character can automatically create a Death Knight (who starts at level 55), limited to one per realm per account. After creating the character, you'll then be taken through a special chain of quests that explain the lore and get you up to speed on the Death Knight's skills, talents, and abilities, of which you'll have -- well, 55 levels worth. Right now, every race in the game can be a Death Knight -- producer J. Allen Brack swears there's a good lore explanation.
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The blood/frost/unholy-rune mechanic still operates as advertised (see our previous coverage for details), and the class still fills a DPS/tanking hybrid role (Death Knights are being designed as the best tanks against magic users), but Blizzard revealed a few new twists. First, Death Knights have three "presences," similar to a Warrior's stances, that grant the player a buff. Here's an oversimplified breakdown: Frost presence for tanking, Blood for soloing, and Unholy for PVPing. Death Knights also have a separate Runic Power meter that fills up as players use rune abilities; some abilities require the expense of Runic Power, too. One Death Knight ability allows players to create Ghouls from the corpses of NPCs and other players, each with a pet bar. Dead friendly players hit with the spell can control the Ghoul themselves -- a battle rez of sorts.

And interesting interviews and their experiences playing the alpha on the Legendary Thread Podcast

edit:video of some of Wotlk with air to air combat at the end.

[Valos]

Sounds like good improvements with the raid front. The casuals get to down the baddies with their lower numbers, but the hardcore get the better loot.

Too bad it takes them years to release expansions. Still no date on this? Not even in beta *said they were playing alpha* yet, so I assume 8+ months?

[Pyros]

Originally Posted by Valos

Sounds like good improvements with the raid front. The casuals get to down the baddies with their lower numbers, but the hardcore get the better loot.

Too bad it takes them years to release expansions. Still no date on this? Not even in beta *said they were playing alpha* yet, so I assume 8+ months?

I'd say 5-6, they're probably decently close to beta release if they're doing alpha promotions and stuff.

[Avellon]

Yea, still seems like the "when its done" date is still being thrown around.

[Avellon]

The air to air combat looks kind of like bombing run quests taken to the next level. I wonder if there will be pvp air duels?

[Furism]

I like that idea of "battle rez". That's pretty cool and unique.

[Valos]

Originally Posted by Avellon

The air to air combat looks kind of like bombing run quests taken to the next level. I wonder if there will be pvp air duels?

You might want to amend the OP to reflect the mention of mounted combat. Admittedly, I have not been following the news very closely, but I do not think that was mentioned in the past. The small part in the article about hopping on a mammoth and fighting some tauren npc on another mammoth.

[Grave]

I dig the 10/25 man raid instances. Great way to let everyone see the content they've worked so hard designing, and it will hopefully give casual players something a little more fun to do than farming badges endlessly.

[Rezz]

Goddamn, that 10/25 man thing is the best idea to come from blizzard regarding WoW.. since release.

I hope they are instancing the starter quest areas for death knights, because a thousand DKs opening day might get a little scary. And that's being conservative to the extreme.

[kudos]

They should just make them all 10 man raids. Less farming and less retards needed.

[Awake]

More information at Curse:

Curse visits Blizzard HQ to check out Lich King | Curse
10 New Lich King Screenshots | Curse
An Interview With WoW's Lead Designers | Curse

[Velk]

One Death Knight ability allows players to create Ghouls from the corpses of NPCs and other players, each with a pet bar. Dead friendly players hit with the spell can control the Ghoul themselves -- a battle rez of sorts.

That's a fantastic idea 8)

[BurnemWizfyre]

Anyone else notice the raid zone they mentioned that tigole deemed the "united nations of the dragons"?

I dont know about you but it seems like tigole might be going back to his roots with a NToV EQ'ish raid instance with a wow spin to it. If thats the case, that place alone is worth the 30$ to me.

[BCP]

Originally Posted by BurnemWizfyre

Anyone else notice the raid zone they mentioned that tigole deemed the "united nations of the dragons"?

I dont know about you but it seems like tigole might be going back to his roots with a NToV EQ'ish raid instance with a wow spin to it. If thats the case, that place alone is worth the 30$ to me.

It would be even more awesome if they had the faction triangle like in Velious.

[Kodylan]

Originally Posted by BurnemWizfyre

Anyone else notice the raid zone they mentioned that tigole deemed the "united nations of the dragons"?

I dont know about you but it seems like tigole might be going back to his roots with a NToV EQ'ish raid instance with a wow spin to it. If thats the case, that place alone is worth the 30$ to me.

Guessing you're talking about Wyrmrest Temple? If so, that's a quest hub with reputation everyone can work on. Inside it is also a short raid instance called "Chamber of the Aspects" which will initially contain an encounter from one of the flights, but as with Caverns of Time, due to its nature, is open for future expansion.