UPDATE: The trailer has been added after the jump.
Today, during BlizzCon’s opening ceremony, Blizzard announced a new World of Warcraft expansion called “Cataclysm.”
According to the trailer, “As the terrible war against the Lich King continues, the proud defenders of Azeroth fight to secure a lasting peace. But there can be no peace when the world itself is devoured by rage.”
While not much is known, we do know that Goblins will be a new race for the Horde, and that the Alliance are getting the werewolf like Worgen. Blizzard also promised there would be new race and class combinations, as well as heroic versions of older dungeons.
As of right now, the trailer isn’t available online, but as soon as it is you can be sure I’ll post is here on The Wire. Read more »
Today NCSoft released the first trailer for ArenaNet’s long anticipated MMORPG Guild Wars 2.
While the trailer doesn’t show much in terms of gameplay, it does a good job showcasing the story line and the gorgeous environments, which gamers will soon be able to explore thanks to the added ability to jump and swim.
Set 250 years after the original Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 features five playable races. The humans, the shape-shifting Norn, the high-tech Asura, the industrial Charr, and the botanical Sylvari all must unite to fight terrible dragons and their legions of undead.
Today developer Mythic announced that the eighth expansion for EA’s long running MMORPG Ultima Online will arrive Sept. 8 as a downloadable title.
Dubbed the Stygian Abyss expansion, the add-on brings Gargoyles as a playable race, new enemies, new areas, and the “largest dungeon area ever.”
Gamers have the option of buying the expansion individually for $29.99 or bundled with a 30 days subscription for $39.99. If you want a little sneak peek before dropping the cash, the Retribution server is running an open beta from Aug. 14 through Aug. 23.
In hopes of enticing more gamers to pick up this expansion, Mythic stated that players who buy the Stygian Abyss between Sept. 8 and Sept. 29 will receive “multiple Alteration Tokens to transform current characters into Gargoyles, an exclusive gargoyle craftable pet, and decorative Stygian Abyss mob boss statues.”
Yesterday at E3, Square Enix announced that it is developing a new Final Fantasy MMORPG for the PC and the PS3.
Dubbed Final Fantasy XIV Online, the title seems to follow the footsteps of Final Fantasy XI. Gamers will get the chance to explore the new world of Eorzea. Base on the trailer, I’m impressed. The new world of Erozea seems like it will offer gamers plenty of adventures and scenery to explore. Let’s just hope that because it’s on both PS3 and PC, it can thrive in this WoW dominated market. Read: Final Fantasy 14 Trailer, Screenshots: Here’s Eorzea.
Blizzard and Mountain dew will partner to bring gamers World of Warcraft-themed Game Fuel, in Alliance and Horde flavors.
Since MMO addiction and caffeine addiction go hand in hand, it was really just a matter of time. The pristine and beatiful Alliance get the Wild Fruit flavor, while the Horde gets Citrus Cherry (the same flavor of the Halo 3 Game Fuel).
There’s no release date on the special sodas yet, but if I were to speculate, I’d guess “summer.”
Blizzard has previewed the latest World of Warcraft raid content, Ulduar, which will see players fight 14 bosses in various types of encounters.
To gain entry to Ulduar, players have to mount vehicles and charge across a battlefield against the Iron Army, as well as defeat a massive siege engine called the Flame Leviathan.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg; 11 of the 14 bosses will have a hard mode that will give better loot, and many of the bosses appear to be corrupted Watchers of Northrend. Confirmed bosses include:
Freya
Thorim
Hodir
The Iron Council
The Old God Yogg-Saron has taken control of the Watchers and serves as the final boss of the raid.
Blizzard poster Nethaera intereviewed…Blizzard poster Ghostcrawler today on the upcoming dual spec feature in World of Warcraft, which will allow players to switch talents and roles in game far more easily than before.
Ghostcrawler answered perhaps the most important question on gamers’ minds here:
Nethaera: How do you switch between specs?
Ghostcrawler: Players will be able to switch between their talent specs by visiting any Lexicon of Power provided they’ve paid for the ability to have a secondary spec. Lexicons of Power will be available in major cities, and inscribers will also be able to create a new item that summons one. Anyone can purchase this item, but it requires a ritual of several players to summon it for use by the party. It’s similar to a repair bot in that it will exist in the world for a short duration. It’s important to keep in mind that you will not be able to switch specs while in combat or Arenas. While you won’t be able to switch your spec without the Lexicon, you will still be able to look at your secondary spec whenever you want to.
Ultimately it will be more convenient to switch specs, but probably not as convenient as some players would like (at will when entering a dungeon or arena). Any portable item created by inscribers is going to cost someone money, too. GC also let loose this info about gear management, potentially obsoleting several gear management addons for the game:
Nethaera: Will you be able to switch gear easily to match your spec?
Ghostcrawler: At the same time we implement dual specs, we will also be setting up a gear system. The feature is called “Gear Manager.” It can also be used to just swap weapons or trinkets or put on that tuxedo to strut around town. It will not automatically switch your gear when you change your talent spec, but it will allow for an easy gear change between them. The feature may not be fully functional immediately in the PTR, but we’ll have more information to share about it before too much longer.
Today’s Activision-Blizzard earnings call was a whopper. Blizzard COO Paul Sams revealed that the StarCraft II beta and updated Battle.net will be released “in the next few months.”
Unfortunately, no release date was given for the game, but you can be sure it’ll see release “when it’s done.”
Additionally, a 4th quarter release date has been confirmed for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Blizzard’s unannounced MMO title is in the “no comment” stages.
Lastly, ATVI “won’t be distracted by any layoffs” according to CEO Bobby Kotick as it outperformed industry predictions, returning 31 cents per share instead of 29 cents.
Blizzard’s blue posters are at it again, and today they’ve let loose the details on the next season of arena gear for World of Warcraft.
We’re headed toward the sixth season of play, and rating requirements for the new Furious Gladiator gear are being dropped compared to S5’s Deadly. Deadly items will have their rating requirements lowered. But there’s a catch, too: You won’t be starting at 1500 rating in Season 6; you’ll be lower than that.
Here’s the list from Blizzard’s Kalgan:
No rating requirement
Medium requirement
High requirement
Hateful Gloves
Hateful Legs
Hateful Chest
Hateful Helm
Hateful Shoulders
Hateful Ring
Hateful Trinket
Deadly Bracer
Deadly Belt
Deadly Boots
Deadly Neck
Deadly Ring
Deadly Cape
Deadly Trinket
The long-awaited 3.08 patch to World of Warcraft is live as of today, introducing new items, class changes, bug fixes and more.
A high-level overview from the patch notes:
Players may now create death knights on any realm once they reach level 55.
Bonus Armor: The mechanics for items with bonus armor on them has changed (any cloth, leather, mail, or plate items with extra armor, or any other items with any armor). Bonus armor beyond the base armor of an item will no longer be multiplied by any talents or by the bonuses of Bear Form, Dire Bear Form, or Frost Presence.
Racial restrictions on mounts have now been lifted. Night Elves on mechanostriders? Tauren on raptors? You’re not seeing things. Read more »
First came $10 for a name change. Now, for $15, you can have a sex change and a name change.
Paid character customization is now live in World of Warcraft, andfor those of you tired of your virtual character reflecting your real life gender, you can change sexes and other cosmetic features.
This includes minor changes like Night Elf facial markings and Tauren horn configuration, which cannot be changed through the in-game haircut feature.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to reach the holy grail of re-customization–changing class or race–as all options are purely cosmetic. Maybe it’ll happen in a few years’ time. Until then, keep leveling that Mage.
While rank nooblets like myself struggle to reach level 73, a superguild formed by a merger between Nihilum and SK-Gaming has already beat all the raid content in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion to World of Warcraft.
We don’t know what the true name of the guild is, so right now they’re going by the name “TwentyFifthNovember.” That day is supposedly when they’ll release their new name.
The total time elapsed from release to the defeat of all raid content: 68 hours, 30 minutes. Just under three days’ time.
A statement on the Twentyfifthnovember site reads:
We are proud to declare that all WOTLK PVE raid content has now been cleared. This is both a moment of triumph and a cause for concern. The question in all our minds right now is if we could do this, how soon until the rest of the top guilds in the world clear all the raid content that WOTLK has to offer? Did Blizzard miscalculate in the tuning of these encounters? Or is this Blizzard folding under the weight of a large casual player base that demands to be on equal footing with end-game raiders?
Though highly impressive, it’s likely that the players had ample time to practice raid strategies in the beta. This is really just a testament to dedication more than anything. Keep in mind that Naxxramas is a level 80 dungeon, which means these guys already dinged 80…pretty sick.
Today developer Mythic announced that the eighth expansion for EA’s long running MMORPG Ultima Online will arrive Sept. 8 as a downloadable title.
First came $10 for a name change. Now, for $15, you can have a sex change and a name change.
While rank nooblets like myself struggle to reach level 73, a superguild formed by a merger between Nihilum and SK-Gaming has already beat all the raid content in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion to World of Warcraft.