World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Like The Burning Crusade before it, Wrath of the Lich King will be an expansion in the truest sense of the word. Not happy with just adding a landmass bigger than Outland, new dungeons with fresh loot, and an army of new monsters, the design team is also introducing brand-new gameplay mechanics to make the game world more accessible, more alive, and even more fun. Read on to find out more about some of the many gameplay changes going into World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

Paradigm Shift: Dungeons and Raids in Wrath of the Lich King

Heroic dungeons were one of the most popular innovations of the previous expansion, so it’s no surprise Heroic mode will return in Wrath of the Lich King. Just as in The Burning Crusade, every five-person dungeon will have a Heroic variant that will present players with an added challenge and improved rewards.

One exciting new feature in Wrath of the Lich King is that all raid content will be available as either a 10- or 25-person dungeon with completely independent progression paths. Both the 10- and 25-person versions will be the same dungeon; the look, layout, and design of the dungeon will remain the same. However, each will be adjusted, tuned, and balanced for its respective player size.

Dances with Wolvar

The Aldor and Scryer factions are an integral part of the high-level experience of The Burning Crusade, requiring players to make meaningful choices between opposing factions. But even though the Aldor and the Scryers oppose each other, the hostility between them stops short of all-out warfare. Wrath of the Lich King will introduce more opposing factions, but this time, faction rivalries might intensify a bit....

For example, players traveling in Northrend will find themselves embroiled in a violent, ongoing struggle between a group of wolverine-like creatures known as the wolvar and a faction of highly-evolved murlocs. By allying themselves with one of these factions, players will inevitably be drawn further into the conflict, and each side offers its supporters a different experience.

In Wrath of the Lich King, players can expect both 10- and 25-person raid progression paths to get increasingly difficult as they adventure to their final battle with Arthas. This new gameplay mechanic will allow more players to enjoy the raid content of Wrath of the Lich King in their preferred play style. Because it takes more effort to get 25 people together than it does for 10, players who participate in the 25-person raid progression path will receive higher quality and more loot than those who play the 10-person versions.

In addition, players will never be required to attune in a 10-person raid to progress to a 25-person raid in the progression path. Raid lockouts are same-size as well, so joining a 25-person raid for a dungeon will not lock a player out from the 10-person version of the same dungeon. This freedom of choice between raid-progression paths will let personal preference play a much bigger role in how players experience the raid content of Wrath of the Lich King.

New Quest Mechanics

The quest designers are hard at work to make sure that the road to level 80 will be paved with quests unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. The Burning Crusade innovated with bombing runs and daily quests, and Wrath of the Lich King will continue this trend with still more unique and varied adventures to undertake.

Just one example of the new mechanics you can expect from the expansion is the new vehicle-based content, which puts an interesting spin on some of the concepts originally developed for PvP siege gameplay. Certain types of vehicles and mounts can now carry passengers, making it possible for players to, for example, break a prisoner out of a tightly guarded compound by attempting a daring escape on horseback. While the NPC steers the horse, the player lobs explosives at a pack of pursuing worgen. In another quest, the roles are reversed as the player takes to the skies in a flying machine to track down and rescue survivors of a catastrophic event. Even beyond the ability for vehicles to hold passengers, Wrath of the Lich King introduces an aerial combat system that will add a new dimension to gameplay.