Blizzard interviews itself on Sunwell, Wrath
by Eliah Hecht 
Apr 16th 2008 at 9:45PM
Here are the parts I found the most interesting:
- Sunwell Plateau is the evolution of what Naxxramas was for the original game. They learned some lessons from Naxx; for instance, Naxx was just too big for many guilds to be able to get through it before The Burning Crusade hit.
- Northrend will have "a very Nordic, gothic fantasy feel" -- sounds cool! To set the scene, players will be rewarded with "Northrendy" items early in Wrath: "for example, say, a two-handed axe that's made of a dragon jaw, covered with spikes, leather, and other traditional materials. We want players to see the new gear and think, 'Yeah, that guy's been to Northrend.'" I want my dragon jaw axe now please. Er...you can make that with +heal, right? And give priests axe skill?
- As the player treks through the zones of Northrend, the landscape gets bleaker and players get more spread out, escaping the hyper-population of the starting zones. Blizzard wants to invoke a "growing sense of isolation and dread" as players get closer to Arthas.
- The two starting zones are at opposite tips of crescent-shaped Northrend. They wanted to give us an easy way to travel between them, so we get boats. But not just any boats -- turtle boats! Brack talks about "a giant turtle with a deck mounted on top of its shell." Best form of transportation since Captain Placeholder, if you ask me.
Filed under: Patches, Interviews, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kiyokko Apr 16th 2008 9:50PM
Turtle. Freaking. Boats.
Win!
Chris Apr 16th 2008 11:05PM
Hmm, Giant turtles, swimming around with a large disc on it's back? All that's missing is the 4 elephants Terry Pratchett
Xeren Apr 16th 2008 11:48PM
Aren't there skeletonized turtle boats washed up on the shore of Darkshore or Ashenvale? Is that what they're referring to?
Psychosis Apr 17th 2008 7:35AM
/agree
Junzim Apr 17th 2008 5:40AM
Weren't turtle boats a staple unit in WCII?
Good times!
crsh Apr 16th 2008 10:04PM
It'd be nice if they'd stop yapping about how cool WotLK is going to be, and actually release some updated footage (at something more than just concept sketches), game/area/class/ability details, or (God forbid) a launch date; or are they aiming for vaporware of the year?
Slayblaze Apr 16th 2008 10:24PM
Who is this "Insider" in the interview..? Heh heh
And the turtle boat, what's next - a giant pink sea snail?
Charlie Apr 16th 2008 10:32PM
Turtle Boats! W00t.
Awsome.
Charlie Apr 16th 2008 10:37PM
Also, I've never seen those screenies they got on there. They are absolutley brilliant. They make me really excited to go running around Northrend. I remember thinking "Oh, thats cool" when i saw the Outland screens for the first time, but these definatley give me a "Wow, thats amazing" reaction.
Awsome.
Zarzuur Apr 17th 2008 7:11AM
Yeah the forest of Grizzly Hills looks good.
Also, the GIANT giants .. !
Robin Torres Apr 16th 2008 10:50PM
Awww, I miss Captain Placeholder.
Dready Apr 16th 2008 10:56PM
Turtle boats need a community on top of them. Discworld style.
glorft Apr 16th 2008 10:59PM
I highly doubt players will feel 'isolated' as they progress. With so many players buying the xpac, there won't be any shortage of people.
Havitech Apr 16th 2008 11:22PM
Maybe points of interest will be farther spread out, the higher level the zone. Especially the end zones, when people will likely be able to use their epic flying mounts.
Bastinator Apr 16th 2008 11:02PM
Turtle submarines, imo.
Just like Wc2.
Verit Apr 16th 2008 11:30PM
I should quit my job so I can see this instance.
Riktopher Apr 17th 2008 1:21AM
I wondered when the turtle transports from the old rts games would show. Nice.
Matt Apr 17th 2008 5:22AM
That article was great. A nice teaser with a good amount information on implemented content and things yet to come. I hope these articles are regular and frequent now!
MiChAeL Apr 17th 2008 9:25AM
They should have water mounts so we can go deep sea fishing in Wrath. Be pretty awesome.
Simon Apr 17th 2008 3:36PM
"# As the player treks through the zones of Northrend, the landscape bleaker and players get more spread out, escaping the hyper-population of the starting zones. Blizzard wants to invoke a "growing sense of isolation and dread" as players get closer to Arthas."
I'm glad at this. Granted, this game is an MMO, but there are times where I just want to be on my own - say while I'm farming, or I'm just generally pissed off.
Plus, if Blizzard carry on with their fantastic zone designing, these new zones are going to have a load of character and atmosphere.