Icecrown Citadel confirmed in post-release content patch

by Mike Schramm Sep 8th 2008 at 3:00PM

As if we didn't really see this coming -- just like the Black Temple with Burning Crusade, Tigole confirmed for sure that the last instance of Wrath of the Lich King will be pushed off past release to a content patch (likely 3.1 or 3.2, if we had to guess), which means we won't face Arthas for a final showdown when the expansion releases. Of course, there'll be plenty to do anyway -- besides all of the other 5man instances, there'll be Lake Wintergrasp to mess around with, and of course Naxx and Zul'Drak will be in and ready to go. But those looking for a Lich King resolution will likely have to wait -- while we'll see plenty of Arthas, we won't actually face him until the Icecrown content patch.

Disappointing? Not from our perspective -- just like Black Temple, leaving the last instance out of the expansion will not only let Blizzard make sure it's released only when done, but it'll give us something to look forward to after Wrath. No one really expected to see this content in the Wrath box anyway, and not even Blizzard has left us guessing -- they've been pretty clear that Icecrown would get its own content patch from the beginning. Leaves us more time to enjoy the content that does come with the expansion.

Tags: arthas, content, content-patch, expansion-release, final-showdown, icecrown-citadel, patch-3.1, raid, raiding, tigole, wrath-of-the-lich-king

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Expansions, Raiding, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Dopervius Sep 8th 2008 3:11PM

From what i have heard, the patch with Icecrown citadel is to be the last one for wotlk overall, so i doubt it will be in 3.1 or 3.2 Dont have any source atm, but im sure it was stated before.

Ryan Sep 8th 2008 3:51PM

Yea, we'll likely see the Azjol-Nerub raid instance before Icecrown.

deviationer Sep 8th 2008 4:01PM

yeah they did say this. I'm pretty sure it was Tigole. The actual 10/25 man raid for Icecrown Citadel will be the final instanced patched in toward to the end of life of Wrath.

Havitech Sep 8th 2008 5:28PM

I remember this being said, too. It's going to be the "Sunwell" of Wrath.

AndiM Sep 8th 2008 3:17PM

3.1 or 3.2? Seems to be a bit early, imo. Black Temple was never the same kind of final instance Icecrown will be so I assume there'll be more new raids between release and the icecrown patch than between BC release and BT patch. We don't know yet for sure what they will include in terms of raids with release, but the list besides Naxx2 and the Malygos raid (Eye of Eternity) is a quite long one:
- Ulduar
- Chamber of Aspects
- Azjol-Nerub (possibly?)
- When they talked the first time about Wrath they even mentioned an Utgarde raid, which has never been mentioned afterwards though, afaik.
Assuming that Ulduar and Chamber won't be in the release version (?) that would make two major content patches before Icecrown. And we don't know yet what else they might have up their sleeve.

Duffy Sep 8th 2008 3:34PM

I recall them/someone saying that the Arthas instance would be the last major content patch before the next x-pac. Essentially making the fight more important lore/game wise. Which honestly I can't complain about too much.

elprogramer Sep 8th 2008 3:24PM

Black Temple wasn't the end raid for TBC, nor was it the first to be opened in a patch.

WoW - AQ 20/40, Naxx
TBC - BT, Sunwell
WotLK - (something), Icecrown?

emoser Sep 8th 2008 3:50PM

BWL and ZG were also patched into the original WoW as well (in addition to the AQ instances and Naxx as you note above). There were also the additional 5-man instances, but that covers the "raid" content...

ninjasuperspy Sep 8th 2008 3:26PM

If the gear curve is as gradual as they say then I bet a t6+ guild, one currently beating KJ, could probably start raiding Icecrown immediately. If not the 25 man version then definitely the 10. Pushing the endgame off for a few months, or even for the entire "life cycle" of the expansion is probably the best thing they could do. I was honestly expecting a more metered experience with the entirety of Northrend unlocking like Quel'Danas. It would cut down on the Nihilum "We ate all our cake, now we don't have any more" whining from the time between Black Temple and Quel'Danas.

Clasifyd Sep 8th 2008 3:36PM

"It would cut down on the Nihilum "We ate all our cake, now we don't have any more" whining ..."

Seriously the funniest thing I've heard all day.

Bootsanator Sep 8th 2008 5:00PM

From what I've seen, looking at gear on http://wotlk.wowhead.com , people in Sunwell gear will be getting upgrades from Naxx 10, if not lvl 80 dungeons.

The current gear will be amazing for leveling (I plan on skipping ahead to higher-level dungeons with my guildies and pwning), but it's not THAT gradual.

Shanic Sep 8th 2008 3:28PM

My guess would be that Chamber of Aspects, Malygos, and Naxxramas release with Wrath. My assumption would be Ulduar in the patch after (or even with the release as well, Naxx seems relatively simple to even abide the 2-3 months for Ulduar). Follow this up with 3-4 (depending on Ulduar) content patch, each having a raid: Uldum (?), Gundrak (the fortress body, which is vastly untouched) (?), Azjol-Nerub, and Icecrown Citadel. If Ulduar raid isn't included, remove Uldum or Gundrak.

Fletch Sep 8th 2008 3:31PM

It's no real surprise. There's not much point wasting time developing and testing something that most people will not be ready to experience for quite some time.

Vektorix Sep 8th 2008 3:36PM

I really do think that Wrath is going to be a HUGE disappointment for dedicated raiders. Burning Crusade went live with 4 25-man raids, while I suspect that Wrath will be released with just 2 (yes those two will have 10-man versions, so they can claim there are 4 raids available on release, but still).

So far we have seen just Naxx10 go up for testing, and supposedly we're marching quickly towards the expansion's release. Time is running short to implement more raids beyond Naxx and whatever the second will be.

It's pretty clear to me that Blizzard has done the math and decided that casual content and arena are much more important to its future than hardcore raiding (plus the expense of designing and balancing a new season of arena gear is vastly less than designing and testing a new set of raids). As someone who has spent the last year and a half raiding (and yet can't break a 1700 arena rating to save my life), I am not looking forward to Wrath as much as I would like to be.

Bootsanator Sep 8th 2008 5:01PM

If there are less raids on release day, I'm sure they'll put out more content patches to keep everybody happy

simon Sep 9th 2008 10:27AM

remember how bugged SSC was though...

And how impossible Maggie was.

Really we had Kara and Gruul for an age...

cowy Sep 8th 2008 3:52PM

In a weird way, I sort of enjoy it when Blizz holds back wow content.

Knowing big things are on the horizon gives me something to prepare for, and look forward to. Instead of rushing forth and madly gobbling down everything in sight, the experience lingers and is savored just a tad longer. I like it.

(However, when they take FOREVER to bring something out... thats a different story. :P So long as theres at least some new content, I'm happy. )

Motokid Sep 8th 2008 4:08PM

Icecrown should NOT have a 10-man version. for the love of hardcore raiding. Icecrown should turn out to be a MASSIVE raid. so big that it has a two week reset timer. hell i wouldnt mind if certain parts of Icecrown had 10 man instances, but there should be seperate 25-man epic instance to wrap up the end game.