Some new expansion infos

Adalys · 07/28/06, 6:29 PM

http://www.curse-gaming.com/en/news-...expansion.html

New instance Coilfang

This instance is the home of the nagas and Lady Vashj. It'll be located underground and the main theme will be the water. There will be platforms surrounded by water that announce epic battles which involve movement!

It will be composed of 5 wings, each one should be doable in one hour, two at a maximum. The monsters will evolve with the player levels. If the group is composed of level 62 players, the monsters will most likely be around 62. But if the group is 65 then the monsters will be stronger!

New instance - Arcane Doom

This instance, located in Terokhar Forest, is made of 4 Wings like Naxxramas. One will be filled with Demons, another with Draeneis, the other one with Corrupted Orcs, and we don't know about the last one. The instance will cover the level 60 to 70, one wing will be dedicated to the level 70 players. The main goal of this instance is to help the leveling, it will be like the Scarlet Monastery from the level 30 to 40.

Side note

With the expansion, each class will be rewarded with two more talents tiers (2 rows) per specialization.
The Burning Crusade will bring some new Battlegrounds and a Gladiator Arena. More to come on this later.
Blizzard hasn't begun development on any type of player housing.
Blizzard is working on a better character customization, which may be released with the expansion.
Blizzard said that the Burning Crusade will have shorter instances to keep groups entertained without having 40 players.

The press had to sign a NDA which expires today at 18:00 CET.
Among sites which will publish a news at 18:01, there's the french site JudgeHype: http://worldofwarcraft.judgehype.com/

Skimming the french article:
Drenai can be: Paladin, Chaman (Shaman), Guerrier (Warrior), Chasseur (hunter), PrÃªtre (preist) ou Mage (figure this one out yourself).

Blablabla - Expansion Instances scale. If the average level of the group is 62, monsters will be around that level. If the average level is 70, monsters will be around 70. Drops scale by groups level... Only in expansion instances tho. Van Cleef aint getting stronger.

Flying mounts: Each race has it's own model... "Blizzard doesn't know what thier role will yet be in PvP..."

Hero Classes: "Frank didn't bring the subject up, but still some info managed to pass before our eyes... bla bla bla (conjecture on the author's part)"

PvP: "Galdiator pits added [wtf? doesn't say what they ARE tho] - also PvP 'Ranking' and rewards will be reviewed."

"Patches etc will still arrive for those who haven't purchased the expansion, but they can't use all items as they will not be able to pass level 60."

"Refused to comment even under threat of torture about changing factions"

"Conceptual stuff: Barber shop"

and that's about all that was interesting in the french article.

Starks · 07/28/06, 6:40 PM

Wow, so we can expect raid instances to scale by level?

I wonder how that will work out...

Emarius · 07/28/06, 6:43 PM

Originally Posted by Starks

Wow, so we can expect raid instances to scale by level?

I wonder how that will work out...

I'd imagine they'll start small. It sounds like the scale by level instance described will be a five-man not a raid. At least that was the way I read it.

Starks · 07/28/06, 6:48 PM

Originally Posted by Emarius

Originally Posted by Starks

Wow, so we can expect raid instances to scale by level?

I wonder how that will work out...

I'd imagine they'll start small. It sounds like the scale by level instance described will be a five-man not a raid. At least that was the way I read it.

Yeah, I was thinking that as well after rereading the post, but I seem to be unable to edit.

Either way, I guess this means that people will be able to level from 60-70 by going to the same five man instance. I'd like to hear more information on the matter, but it seems a little strange to me that Blizzard would do that, and here's hoping they're not trying to reduce the amount of content they have to design by doing so.

Lord BEEF · 07/28/06, 7:00 PM

Should be interesting to see how the items scale by level as well. Will they just have 'Vashj's Coif' generated at an itemlevel appropriate for you, so two people could have the same item but one would have superior stats?

aarkh · 07/28/06, 7:04 PM

Considering how fast old sub-60 zones became obsolete I'd say it's a good move and makes sense. It's a bit of a waste to create a lot of zones which only last a day or two of /played when the vast majority of most active players' playtime will be spent on maximum level.

I doubt it means they won't have a lot of l70 zones designed, rather than just the fact that they want to lengthen the lifespan of leveling instances.

thejdawg · 07/28/06, 7:10 PM

Can we get a Tauren-based instance please?

Starks · 07/28/06, 7:13 PM

Originally Posted by aarkh

Considering how fast old sub-60 zones became obsolete I'd say it's a good move and makes sense. It's a bit of a waste to create a lot of zones which only last a day or two of /played when the vast majority of most active players' playtime will be spent on maximum level.

I doubt it means they won't have a lot of l70 zones designed, rather than just the fact that they want to lengthen the lifespan of leveling instances.

Right, I'm being pretty pessimistic here. I'm seeing kind of the same effect as Big Game Hunters in Starcraft. Let's say there are 3 expansion 5 mans. Sooner or later, people realize that instance x is the best loot/xp/difficulty and no one goes anywhere but there. I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying that this kind of system can turn out pretty bad if not done right, and who here has faith Blizzard will do it right? :P Seems to me like they're just fixing something that's not broken. I like experiencing new instances/zones every few levels based on a static level of difficulty, rather than having them scale to my level and keeping me in the same place.

aarkh · 07/28/06, 7:28 PM

Originally Posted by Starks

Right, I'm being pretty pessimistic here. I'm seeing kind of the same effect as Big Game Hunters in Starcraft. Let's say there are 3 expansion 5 mans. Sooner or later, people realize that instance x is the best loot/xp/difficulty and no one goes anywhere but there. I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying that this kind of system can turn out pretty bad if not done right, and who here has faith Blizzard will do it right? :P Seems to me like they're just fixing something that's not broken. I like experiencing new instances/zones every few levels based on a static level of difficulty, rather than having them scale to my level and keeping me in the same place.

Obviously they have to have planned what the role of each instance is at the level cap, but it shouldn't be impossible to have some unique value for each instance or interdependency between them. Go to one instance for X type of gear, another for Y type of gear, a third one for X type of gems for sockets, fourth one for some unique enchants etc. etc. But that's all speculation at this point.

Adalys · 07/28/06, 7:37 PM

Originally Posted by Starks

Right, I'm being pretty pessimistic here. I'm seeing kind of the same effect as Big Game Hunters in Starcraft. Let's say there are 3 expansion 5 mans. Sooner or later, people realize that instance x is the best loot/xp/difficulty and no one goes anywhere but there. I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying that this kind of system can turn out pretty bad if not done right, and who here has faith Blizzard will do it right? :P Seems to me like they're just fixing something that's not broken. I like experiencing new instances/zones every few levels based on a static level of difficulty, rather than having them scale to my level and keeping me in the same place.

I'm just hoping they're enjoyable. Deadmines I'd do again, but nothing could drag me into Gnomer ever again. Insert vague point about Shadowfang Keep and the Deadmines being my favorite instances. It'd be kinda fun to face off against a level 60 Van Cleef...

On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to finding 9 level 64s to group with.

Kasi · 07/28/06, 9:57 PM

I wonder if that level mechanic will be abusable. Say you have 37 lvl 62s but the 3 tanks are lvl 65/66. If the average level came out to 62-63 it would give the tanks a great help on tanking encounters, due to how level differences work for crushing/glancing blows. Would be very weird if you fought a boss 3-4 levels lower than you and it was hitting you for glancing blows (i think that is how it works now).

hellsoap · 07/28/06, 10:53 PM

oh god please barber shop i need to change my shitty hair
i picked the worst face/hair combo ever

Grayson Carlyle · 07/28/06, 11:10 PM

I think the instances and wings will be done more along the lines of Scholo/Strath/UBRS are done now; each has good gear, but no one place could fully equip any single class.

Crossbones · 07/28/06, 11:10 PM

Scaling instances is an excellent idea and I hope it works out well.

I'm very interested in what Gladiator arena turns out to be. The game really needs a 5v5 or 10v10 or even 1v1 straight up kill the other team BG.

Tylert · 07/29/06, 12:33 AM

Hellsoap I'm in the exact same position. Any time I turn off helm graphic's I get a barage of tells demanding I put it back on :(