Official expansion announced...

[Naewae]

The official site has it all here...

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/

For reference here is their FAQ:

Q: What does the title of the World of Warcraft expansion refer to?
A: "The Burning Crusade" refers to the Burning Legion's ongoing efforts to destroy life on Azeroth. To date, the Burning Legion's exploits have been documented in Warcraft III and in our War of the Ancients novel trilogy. As part of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, players will now be able to travel through the Dark Portal to confront the Legion on otherworldly battlefields.
Q: What are the new races? When will you reveal all of them?
A: The first new race that we have announced for the expansion set is the Blood Elf race. No longer trusted by the Alliance, these former High Elves have joined the Horde to hunt down the demons that destroyed their homeland of Quel'Thalas. We plan to unveil details about possible additional races at a later date.

Q: Will the level cap be raised?
A: Yes, the level cap will be raised to 70 from the current maximum level of 60. In addition to the level increase, every class will gain access to additional talents and abilities or spells as they level up from level 60 to level 70.

Q: Will there be new lands to explore in the expansion?
A: The Outlands will be opened with the expansion. Players last visited the Outlands in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, alongside Illidan as he conquered the Pit Lord Magtheridon's domain. Players will also gain access to Quel'Thalas, the region to the northeast of the Forsaken lands, where the Blood Elves reside. Other areas that players will be able to explore in the expansion set will be revealed in the months ahead.

Q: Will there be new dungeons and battlegrounds included in the expansion?
A: We do have plans to add dungeons and battlegrounds with the expansion, though the exact number has not yet been determined. One upcoming dungeon that we're excited about is Karazhan, which is located within Medivh's tower. Because Medivh has played such a central role in Warcraft lore, we think that a lot of longtime players will be especially interested in seeing what Karazhan contains. As an example of a battleground that will be included in the expansion, we plan on making some of the battles from the past accessible through the Caverns of Time. We'll provide more details as we get closer to implementing this content.

Q: What are some of the other features of the expansion?
A: In addition to the new races, zones, dungeons, and battlegrounds, we have a number of new features planned for the Burning Crusade expansion. Some of those new features include:


A complete new profession - Jewelcrafting
Socketed Items
Flying mounts
We'll reveal additional expansion features in the months ahead.

Q: Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
A: There will be many aspects of the expansion that are available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as the Outlands, or be able to play as one of the new races, players will have to purchase the expansion.

Q: Will there be a public beta test of the expansion?
A: We have not yet determined whether we will hold a public beta test for the expansion. If we decide to conduct a beta test, we will post details on the official World of Warcraft website.

Q: When will the expansion be released? How much will it cost?
A: We have not yet announced a release date for the expansion set. However, we expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead. Please stay tuned to www.WorldofWarcraft.com for more information.

Q: Can we download the expansion online, or must we purchase it in a store?
A: We're still looking into how the expansion will be distributed in each region and will provide more info on that at a later date.

Q: What are the system requirements?
A: The system requirements remain the same as for the original World of Warcraft game.


Windows® System 98/ME/2000/XP OS:
800 MHz or higher CPU
256 MB or more of RAM
32 MB 3D graphics card with hardware transform and lighting, such as GeForce 2 or better
4 GB or more of available hard drive space
DirectX® 9.0c or above
A 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection
4x CD-ROM drive
Mac® System OS X 10.3.5 OS or newer:

933 MHz or higher G4 or G5 processor
512 MB RAM or higher; DDR RAM recommended
ATI or NVIDIA video hardware with 32 MB VRAM or more
4 GB or more of available hard drive space
56k or higher modem with an Internet connection
4x CD-ROM drive
Q: Will the expansion be released globally at the same time?
A: We will make every effort to release the expansion simultaneously worldwide. More details on this will follow at a later date.

Q: What is the ESRB rating for the expansion?
A: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has not yet been rated by the ESRB. However, we expect that it will receive the same rating that the original World of Warcraft received - "Teen."

 

[FuzzyLogic]

Great that we've finally got some specifics on this, i'm still a little underwhelmed by it all though

Jewelcrafting looks like it could be handy though, with the socketed item mojo. So blatantly pinched from Diablo 2 though


Blood elves, bah, well, at least they aren't high elves, wonder which faction those are for though, if the leaked screenies are anything to go by, the horde have their 'pretty' race to roll now

 

[Krazeh]

Blood elves, bah, well, at least they aren't high elves, wonder which faction those are for though, if the leaked screenies are anything to go by, the horde have their 'pretty' race to roll now

"The first new race that we have announced for the expansion set is the Blood Elf race. No longer trusted by the Alliance, these former High Elves have joined the Horde to hunt down the demons that destroyed their homeland of Quel'Thalas."

May almost interest me enough to roll a horde character, got fed up with my tauren.

 

[FuzzyLogic]

Should probably read closer next time

I don't see them being a druidic race though, reckoning Mage, Warlock, Warrior and whatever new class they add, if any.

 

[Krazeh]

Should probably read closer next time

I don't see them being a druidic race though, reckoning Mage, Warlock, Warrior and whatever new class they add, if any.

Well hopefully they'll actually stick with the lore of blood elves which lends itself to all the classes being magical to a degree, can't see it working with them having non-magical classes tbh.

 

[LordjOX]

Poor people that get level 60 just before expansion hits

 

[FuzzyLogic]

Well hopefully they'll actually stick with the lore of blood elves which lends itself to all the classes being magical to a degree, can't see it working with them having non-magical classes tbh.

I only mention them being warriors because Blizzards apparent view is that anyone can pick up a stick and whack things, which is fair enough.

Do wish they'd put in hero classes with this xpak though, who knows, maybe they will, maybe the increased level cap is a very late (or early) April fools and that the extra 10 levels relate in some way to this here hero mojo

(Then again, I doubt they'll be implemented until all the classes have had talent re-evaluations, which won't be until mid next year at least )

 

[Evergrey]

YES YES a lvl cap to 70! Well Done Blizzard! (lol) Like lvling to 60 wasnt booring enough. why dont make it lvl 220? i bet people love to grind grind grind quest quest quest.

/quit

[QQ here]

 

[Aada]

Hopfuly Dark and Light will be out by then.. im in the beta and it just owns WoW in every aspect.

 

[Whisperess]

Should probably read closer next time

I don't see them being a druidic race though, reckoning Mage, Warlock, Warrior and whatever new class they add, if any.

If they can be anything other than Warrior and possibly Spellbreaker I'll feel slightly upset that my main and all the money spent on it, while still seeing the hideous undead bones sticking out all the time was practically wasted.

(Yes, I care to some extent about the look on the character. You (not referring to the quoted person) probably do too, or did you just press the Random button when you started the game?)

 

[Gray]

thats the only thing that pissed me off about undead, is the fact that theyre so "boney". You get some nice looking kit, only for it to be ruined by the tatty bits.

I loved DiabloII muchly... so them bringing out the Jewells will be good. Although, i recall with DiabloII, when they brought that out, it was a server... but then LOD come out and people who used LoD couldnt play with normal DII people.

It will probaby mean then, transferal of accounts if its the case... Which is the migration saga all over again, where people dont wanna leave friends etc...

 

[Ormorof]

I loved DiabloII muchly... so them bringing out the Jewells will be good. Although, i recall with DiabloII, when they brought that out, it was a server... but then LOD come out and people who used LoD couldnt play with normal DII people.

It will probaby mean then, transferal of accounts if its the case... Which is the migration saga all over again, where people dont wanna leave friends etc...

Q: Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
A: There will be many aspects of the expansion that are available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as the Outlands, or be able to play as one of the new races, players will have to purchase the expansion.

 

[Nugusta]

Don't like the idea of Jewelcrafting really. Reminds me too much of SC in DAoC, didn't like that when it came out.

If it's pretty much just enchants then I haven't anything against it as long as the enchants aren't too strong.

 

[Gat_Decor]

YES YES a lvl cap to 70! Well Done Blizzard! (lol) Like lvling to 60 wasnt booring enough. why dont make it lvl 220? i bet people love to grind grind grind quest quest quest.

/quit

[QQ here]

go back to DAoC

 

[Tasslehoff]

Poor people that get level 60 just before expansion hits

I'm 56

 

[Mey]

WTF is a socketed item?

/noob

 

[FuzzyLogic]

I suppose the simplest allegory would be a socketed item is one that can support multiple enchants at once.

Let's say you find a weapon that has three sockets in, it should allow you to place a jewel into each of those sockets, effectively acting like a separate enchant each, or stacking if you place three of the same jewel in.

I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard expanded this to allowing runes or somesuch named jewels to be plugged into the weapon, creating green/blue/purple/orange/red items, or if they'd be flagged as being crafted magical weapons.

Here's the linkto the Diablo 2 socketed items faq, I can't see the WoW implmentation being much different in all honesty: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/socketeditems.shtml

 

[Tasslehoff]

I suppose the simplest allegory would be a socketed item is one that can support multiple enchants at once.

Let's say you find a weapon that has three sockets in, it should allow you to place a jewel into each of those sockets, effectively acting like a separate enchant each, or stacking if you place three of the same jewel in.

I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard expanded this to allowing runes or somesuch named jewels to be plugged into the weapon, creating green/blue/purple/orange/red items, or if they'd be flagged as being crafted magical weapons.

Here's the linkto the Diablo 2 socketed items faq, I can't see the WoW implmentation being much different in all honesty: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/socketeditems.shtml

Has a red item ever dropped?

 

[Whisperess]

go back to DAoC

Why would we?

Is our opinion not valid?

Raising the level cap this early into the game means they'll probably continue to do so, making having alts for instance even more of a pain in the long run.

Not to mention wasted time, effort and money to get hold of the best gear for the character, unless they do something magic about those "last" 10 levels.

 

[Embattle]

Poor people that get level 60 just before expansion hits

I see some of what you're saying, however I will have one and a half bars of rested XP plus and with all the new quests it won't really be much of a problem to pile on more XP

 

[Eemma]

They should give us a new class
We should be able to dye our armor
I WANT /hood command!!!

 

[Fana]

Why would we?

Is our opinion not valid?

Raising the level cap this early into the game means they'll probably continue to do so, making having alts for instance even more of a pain in the long run.

Not to mention wasted time, effort and money to get hold of the best gear for the character, unless they do something magic about those "last" 10 levels.

Indeed, i read some report from blizzcon where someone has asked during a Q&A with the developers why we didnt get Northrend in the expansion, and they had responded that they would have to raise the level cap even more first because otherwise they couldnt make Arthas as powerful as they wanted him to be =.= So yes, there will be an even higher level cap in the expansion after Burning Crusade.

And yes, it sucks.

 

[Whisperess]

they couldnt make Arthas as powerful as they wanted him to be

That's a pretty bullshit reason too

So, I get these 10-20 levels by repeatedly molesting various forms or rabbits and then suddenly I'm fit for fight vs. the mighty Arthas?

Puh-lease.

Oh well, no point whining; either play it or leave I guess.

Btw, I've had a look at the human player housing and some Emerald Dream stuff (Giant), so atleast those things are on their way; or atleast being worked upon.