World Of Warcraft - Mists Of Pandaria.

Blizzard have announced their fourth expansion to World of Warcraft to a sea of fans at BlizzCon; World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. The expansion sees a long-lost continent found again as a result of the events of the Cataclysm expansion. We also see the reintroduction of the elusive Pandaren, first seen inWarcraft III, as a playable race and brings us the new player class: the martial-arts-focused Monk.

The game also gives players an unseen land to explore with new quests, dungeons, group scenarios and challenge modes, pet battles, the challenge of a level cap of 90, and probably more, much more. Not to mention that Mists of Pandaria will finally see the game’s focus shift to the ever-brewing rivalry between the Alliance and the Horde.

In the upcoming expansion, players will be able to explore the long-lost continent of Pandaria, which has remained hidden from the world since the sundering of Azeroth over ten thousand years ago. In the aftermath of the Cataclysm that played out in World of Warcraft’s third expansion, Pandaria’s heroes are emerging from their land’s lush forests and cloud-ringed mountains to choose sides in the escalating war between the Alliance and the Horde and to share the extraordinary secrets of their ancient martial arts. As tensions between the factions near a breaking point following the discovery of this new world, players will be called upon to explore Pandaria’s exotic expanses, make contact with its strange indigenous creatures, and unlock the world-changing secrets that have been hiding in the mists for millennia.

The new features to hit expansion number 4 are:

• New Playable Race – Pandaren: Adventure through Azeroth as World of Warcraft‘s first neutral race and
  

  Our First Glimpse At The Pandaren Monk.

  decide whether to side with the Alliance or the Horde.

• New Playable Class – Monk: Unlock the secrets of pandaren martial arts and do battle as a damage dealer, healer, or tank.
• Level Cap Increased to 90: Learn potent new spells and abilities while exploring uncharted zones and taking on challenging new content.
• New Zones: Explore the lush Jade Forest, treacherous Kun-Lai Summit, and other exotic areas of Pandaria designed for high-level characters, and uncover the mystery of the Wandering Isle.

The Gorgeous Lands Of Pandaria.

• Scenarios: Join up with some friends to achieve a common goal, such as mounting a defense against invading monsters, in a flexible new type of PvE challenge.
• Dungeon “Challenge” Modes: Master the ultimate five-player time trial to earn prestige rewards in a new dungeon mode that will put your resolve and coordination to the test.
• Pet Battles: Challenge other players’ companion pets with your own collection in a new tactical mini-game, and find out who’s king or queen of the pint-sized battlefield.
• New Talent System: Customize your character to suit your play style with the newly overhauled and improved talent system.

“Players have been asking to see the Pandaren in World of Warcraft since the game’s launch, and we’re excited to finally be able to give them a proper re-introduction to Azeroth,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “In addition to the new playable race and class, Mists of Pandaria contains a huge amount of new content, and we’re looking forward to sharing more information about all of it at BlizzCon and beyond.”

We’ll be keeping our ear to the ground for more updates.

Deathwing Destroys Stormwind

The epic opening cinematic depicting the return of the corrupted dragon aspect Deathwing to the fantasy world of Azeroth has recently been released online. The three minute long computer generated short is set to be the first thing mmo gamers see after installing the new World Of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm early this December. The new expansion sees the entire gaming world reshaped by the earth shattering titular cataclysm in the wake of the dragon Deathwing’s escape from its elemental prison. With the wealth of coverage gaming blogs, podcasts and videos published by beta testers, such as the Cynical Brit on Youtube, the changes in the game are hardly new news but the video gives us a peek at the glorious destruction as it happens.
The expansion and it’s special edition version will be available for purchase globally December 7th.
Scroll down to watch the intro.

World of Warcraft Cataclysm. The third expansion is coming.

Having been rumored for weeks prior to blizzcon 09 the tension was broke and then some by the announcement of the third expansion to World of Warcraft, one of the world’s leading MMO’s.

Deathwing has returned

This new expansion focuses on the ‘old world’ of Azeroth with new territories being patched into the game soon following the cataclysmic upheaval experienced following the return of one of Warcraft’s oldest enemies; The dragon aspect Deathwing.

Deathwing the Destroyer is an insanely powerful force in the World of Warcraft who’s corruption by the maddening whispers of the old gods has driven him to seek the destruction of pretty much everything in the World of Warcraft.

As with the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, two new races are being brought into the World of Warcraft, the wily profit driven engineers of the Goblins joining the horde; and the cursed werewolf race of Worgen joining the alliance.

These two races enter the fray thanks to the return of this dragon and his destructive rampage through the world destroying barriers and reshaping the landscape for everyone in game.  The Goblins are driven from their secluded island hideaway and ancestral home of Kezan by sudden volcanic activity while the savage Worgen are released from their prison behind the Greymane wall  when its gates are shattered.

The wolf like Worgen in their home city of Gilneas

The destruction that effectively releases these races into the wider world will be experienced by new players thanks to the phased zone mechanic introduced in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion as seen by players of the hero class Death-Knight this past year. players of the Worgen race will be able to witness the transformation of their previously human character to their wolven form on demand with a shorter automatic transformation available when players enter combat.

The landscape of the original game will be redesigned almost entirely to facilitate some of the new features of the expansion, such as flying mounts in the old world and to illustrate the scope of destruction  Deathwing’s return causes. Entire zones more experienced players will be familiar with, such as the notorious barrens, are to be forever changed when they are torn asunder

A glimpse of a Goblin Priest, Mage, and Warlock

and flooded with magma or dropped into the ocean. Likewise, new life is coming to certain zones and previously dry zones such as Desolace become lush greenlands with water flowing inland. Under water combat is being renovated and a selection of aquatic mounts being introduced with the underwater city of Vashj’ir being introduced the game.

There is a wealth of information on the new game available on the official site including a very wordy trailer telling you pretty much everything you need to know to be prepared for the coming battle including a measly increase in the maximum level cap of 5 levels.

Deathwing has returned and any chance of peace in the World of Warcraft has ceased to exist.

The destruction is but thefirst step in some radical changes to one of the world’s most popular games.

The once plain Barrens shattered.