Blizzard has decided to make some adjustments again in the next expansion of their popular game World of Warcraft. At BlizzCon 2007 they introduced a new line of Hero classes, Hero classes consist of classes from Warcraft III that were unbalanced from level 1 or could not fit one of the primary class roles. The new expansion will include one Hero class: the Death Knight.  Speaking with one of the Blizzard developers there will be more introduced in future expansions.  New professions include inscription; a trade skill that will allow players to permanently enhance their items or weapons in addition to existing stats.

Death Knights

The Death Knight is the first Hero class for World of Warcraft. Death Knights will be able to fulfill the tank and DPS roles. Death Knights can use plate armor and the new rune weapons (Runeswords and Runeaxes) but cannot use shields. They will have summon abilities which resemble, a Warlock with slight differences. A Death Knight’s summoned pets will be similar to a Mage’s Water Elemental.  These pets will have a set duration. 

This class will need to be unlocked through completion of a series of difficult quests. Participating in raids will not be required and the quests begin at level 80. When a player has completed the quests, they will unlock the Death Knight class. Unlike the character of Arthas, a paladin who became a Death Knight, the character will not become a Death Knight when their quests are completed. Players will have to create a new character slot to create the Death Knight. The new character will start at a high level, equipped with powerful and deadly gear and access to three unique talent trees. Both the Alliance and Horde factions will have access to the class, but Blizzard is still working on the lore as to how Death Knights were accepted into the Alliance.  The developers are still unsure as to what races will be able to become Death Knights.

Death Knights will not rely on energy, mana or rage.  They will depend on a new resource system: runes.  Death Knights will control what abilities they are able to use by inserting runes into their weapon.  This is a process which can only be done outside of combat. Runestones that will be available are blood, frost, and unholy. Each runestone has its own design and unique abilities. A Death Knight can use up to six runes together in combinations of different numbers and types.  The runes have a cool down period upon use, but there are plans for spells to restore runes in combat.

Inscription 

The new profession Inscription is similar to the profession of Enchanting. Inscription permanently enhances the stats of players’ spells and abilities. Inscriber’s could take a simple spell and give it a new ability, add incremental damage or have a positive or negative bonus. Along with this new profession’s release, the maximum level any player can achieve in any profession will be raised from 375 to 450.  There will be with additional recipes for each profession and of course the expansion items will be better than the last.

By Angie Quidim

At Blizzcon 2007 the developers of the popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) World of Warcraft revealed a new expansion. Wrath of the Lich King opened up a new portal to areas in Azeroth that span from stunning redwoods to the cold tundra. Northrend will be roughly equivalent to Outland in terms of size and scope.

The area is open to any players who have purchased the Burning Crusade expansion but the content is designed for levels 68 and up. The first area revealed (depending on which faction you played) was the Howling Fjord (Alliance) or the Borean Tundra (Horde).

The Howling Fjord is home to evil vampire like half-giants called the Vrykul. The undead and Lady Sylvanas have also made a new settlement called New Agamand in the area. The area was a region of grasslands overlooking massive cliffs at the southeastern edge of the continent. The Borean Tundra appeared as an ice laden wasteland where the Naga roam and the scourge minions of Arthas await new adversaries. Grizzly Hills one of the new areas is home to the Furlbogs. Dragonblight features graveyards of dragons that came to die. These zones are located in the south central part of the continent Lake Wintergrasp will be the first completely PVP zone in World of Warcraft, even on PVP servers The magi of Dalaran have also relocated to Northrend to deal with the rising threat of the Dragonflight and Arthas. The city of Dalaran will function as the neutral sanctuary city for the continent, similar to Shattrath City in Outland. Dalaran is levitating at great heights but can be accessed by either foot or flying mount. More areas will be revealed in news to come.

 

Blizzard intends to provide a variety of dungeons comparable to that in The Burning Crusade and will be revealing more details about some of these in the months ahead. The first dungeon players will enter is Utgarde Keep, which is intended for five players around level 70. Utgarde is inhabited by the Vrykul. Other instances named were:

• Grizzlemaw – Located in Grizzly Hills.
• Azjol-Nerub – The ruined fortress of the Nerubian race of spider-people.
• Icecrown – Home of Arthas; the Lich King and ruler of the Scourge

As I walked up the street to the Aneheim convention center I wasn’t sure what to expect until I saw the huge sign for Blizzcon ‘07. As I got my badge I was welcomed by a huge banner accompanied by several other Illustrated banners. I’m sure people wonder if the $100 pricetag is worth the admission. Well, the Goody bag is definitely one of the worthwhile reasons. Attendees , just for coming to the event, receive, A program, T-shirt, a WoW TCG starter deck and booster pack, two fridge magnets, button set, Blizzcon sticker, set of tattoos, and Blizzcon drink coasters. Along with the goody bag attendees received an extra rare in-game item, the Murlock suit, which is only available to those attending and only for the days of the event. These suits will never be available again making them a coveted item. along the item was a Beta-key for an upcoming Blizzard title

As I made I way into the convention hall I found myself looking down a dark convention hall illuminated by two rows of screens suspended from the ceiling leading to a center stage. This is where all panels and announcements were made. The other hall was filled with rows and rows of demo stations devoted to Star Craft 2 and the new expansion to World of WarCraft entitled: Wrath of the Lich King. to either side of the halls was the Blizzcon store where exclusive merchandise was sold. Between the halls were the convention sponsors. There were Blizzard tournaments held throughout the convention where fans could see the top gamers perform against others for respect and a little pocket money. display cases showed off some the the developmental tools and sketches that went into the various projects.

As a recent fan of Blizzard I believe this convention was more than a success. I had a great time and would like to return next year.

by Anuitcobeis

Blizzcon provided many entertaining opportunities for its loyal fans. While waiting for a chance to play the new expansion or checking out the goodies at the Blizzard store, fans were entertained by skits put together by fans and the Blizzard crew. Here is a small sample of what was showing on the screens overhead.

by Norman Canseco

New high quality games carry hardware requirements that can be pretty steep on the wallet of the average gamer. Not everyone can afford a high end gaming system, much less a graphics card that will work well. There is a new alternative from a company that has received support from companies like Dell and Alienware. The Killer network interface card will bring a vast improvement on low to medium end gaming systems and not put a huge dent in the wallet. The card will improve performance by taking over the operations that normally the CPU processor would need to prioritize using system resources. The Killer card contains a processor that will take care of networking operations so latency (lag) would be improved. The main CPU can concentrate on more important things like graphics! They are previewing the card at the Blizzcon show floor with the new expansion. In a normal group situation, there would be slow movement due to the amount of environmental detail and effects. This is not the case with this product. Movement and effects are smooth without any delay. Group questing and raiding are more than bearable with little to no latency. To purchase or obtain more information about this product visit http://www.killernic.com/.

Evo Factor: High

OK, the real price is about $250 for the high end. I have seen this product at some places as low as $119. If you can cut down the cost of hardware and improve performance without sacrificing quality then that purchase is worth it.

By Norman Canseco (Calamity)

Blizzard announced today at their opening ceremonies that there will be another expansion released: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The newest expansion promises more character customization, including a new heroic class. There of course will be more content for solo quests as well as group quests and raids. The new area Northrend, will be opened up to Horde and Alliance classes as well as their flying mounts. The terrain will consist of frozen lands and redwoods.

Here is the trailer shown at the show

By Norman Canseco (Calamity)

I just got done going through the guide with some of the special events that Blizzcon is going through with their retail partners. Here is the list

Upper Deck
Come by the Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) booth to get a free demo of the wildly popular World of Warcraft Trading Card Game and receive an exclusive UDeck World of Warcraft TCG sleeve featuring a Murloc. You can also witness premier artists Erik Gist and Lucas Graciano paint new artwork for upcoming World of Warcraft TCG products live at the booth, or take part in UDE’s ‘On a Quest” hunt for exclusive BlizzCon prizes.

Bring the starter deck from your goody bag to the TCG area to sign up for a free seat in the beginner’s tournament. All players will have a chance to win booster packs, playmats, deck boxes, and t-shirts, and highly sought-after Loot cards will be awarded to top finishers.

In addition, UDE will host a Gadgetzan Challenge tournament using the sealed pack format each day of the convention. Winners will choose their favorite gadget, such as an iPod, Nintendo Wii, or flat screen monitor as their grand prize. Blizzard and UDE employees will also be ‘gunslinging” with their constructed decks – challenge them if you dare. Molten Core Raid Deck tournaments, eight-person booster drafts, and constructed deck tournaments will also be hosted throughout the weekend. All tournament entry fees will be donated to the Child’s Play charity.

Ideazon
Learn more about the Relic of the Demon Heart at BlizzCon. You’ll find it at booth L307. Guess what’s inside the chest and you just might win it.

Brady Games
Complete a quest for a chance to have an illustration of your World of Warcraft character created. As with any quest, you’ll have to discover the requirements for yourself.

Fantasy Flight
Be among the first gamers in the world to play demos of the not-yet-released StarCraft: The Board Game and the Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft: The Board Game. Meet the designers of these games, as well as that of the upcoming World of Warcraft Adventure Game at the Fantasy Flight Games booth at BlizzCon 2007.

By Norman Canseco (AKA Calamity)

In a couple of days the Anaheim Convention Center will be filled with the likes of fans from WOW (World of Warcraft) to Starcraft for the 2nd annual Blizzcon. The event is sold out and many people from all over the world are attending to see what Blizzard will offer.

Each person who was lucky enough to get a ticket to this prestigious event got a beta key to Starcraft II and a Murlock suit for their character in WoW. Each attendee will also receive a swag bag with the contents TBA!

There will be an abundance of tournaments and playable demos so please stay tuned for all the mayhem….