Wrath goes Gold
by Zach Yonzon 
Oct 10th 2008 at 6:00PM
According to MMO Champion, Blizzard confirmed today that Wrath of the Lich King has gone Golden master and is already in the process of being manufactured. The company is merely putting the final touches to the expansion. This is expected preparation for the launch date, which is only a little over a month away. This also means that all subsequent changes that happen in the current Wrath Beta will be applied in future patches, possibly even as the game is launched on November 13. I was curious as to what Beta build had enough features -- and stability -- to pass muster and make it to the Golden master. Is it the latest build of 9038 or would it be one of the earlier builds? But as Eliah astutely pointed out to me, there will be patches applied quickly as the game is launched, rendering whatever build is on the Wrath DVDs somewhat irrelevant, anyway. Even now, the Blizzard background downloader has over 1Gb worth of content ready to patch on Tuesday.
One thing is certain, however. There seems to be no stopping the Wrath of the Lich King now. When the Echoes of Doom start sounding in a few days, we're all just be counting down the days until the DVDs that are now being pressed, packaged, and sealed make their way into our greedy hands.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, BlizzCon, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Grimshock Oct 10th 2008 6:06PM
So freakin' awesome. Even though its going to be patched insanely, knowing it's a few weeks away makes me a happy nerd.
Phoenixblight Oct 10th 2008 6:07PM
That should make those that thought the November release date wasn't gonna happen a lot less quieter
Chris Oct 10th 2008 8:18PM
It'll make them louder? :P
Marc Oct 10th 2008 6:10PM
Time to prepare the Alliance Death Knight Welcoming Committee guild.
(I'm Horde. You can guess the rest.)
Zarzuur Oct 10th 2008 6:14PM
OMG..
the LK: "It's begun."
spif Oct 10th 2008 6:20PM
i know everyone thinks the 3.0.2 patch is coming this tuesday because season 4 ends then ... but has blizz actually confirmed and flat out said PATCH DAY IS OCT 14th?
oh hai, thats something that could/should be asked at blizzcon :P
Horizons Oct 10th 2008 6:24PM
They said Patch 3.0.2 is being released when season 4 ends. Season 4 ends October 14th, hence 3.0.2 => Oct 14
Jarhead Oct 10th 2008 6:23PM
You say "according to mmo champion", yet as of right now it's NOT posted on mmo champion.
link your source.
Zach Oct 10th 2008 6:25PM
"12:00 PM - Blizzard is already manufacturing discs and putting the final touches to WotLK"
http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=20436.0
vlad Oct 10th 2008 9:45PM
pwnt
Jarhead Oct 10th 2008 6:27PM
As to patch on Oct 14, there was no single post by Blizz saying patch will be on Oct 14.
There were 2 separate posts, by 2 separate blues on separate days: 1 said Season 4 ends when patch comes out, other said Season 4 ends Oct 14.
doug Oct 10th 2008 6:37PM
In before "zomgwtf wotlk isn't even finished!!11!shiftone!11!"
Jenny Creed Oct 10th 2008 6:43PM
I have a stupid question: What exactly is on those discs other than figures for spell damages and item stats and whatnot that's 'currently in the process of being balanced'?
I imagine most of the basic mechanic changes, graphics, sounds and such are already distributed in the pre-patch. So why are they printing these DVDs?
Charlie Taylor Oct 10th 2008 6:47PM
Graphics, sounds, new items, etc.. all are included on the DVD. My beta folder is currently sitting at 15 Gb, so that's about half patches half DVD.
Fobok Oct 10th 2008 6:48PM
Actually, most of the art is what takes up most of the space on the DVD. Item graphics and old-world changes are the only art included in the patch. World art, new mobs, new instances, etc. will all be on the DVD.
deviationer Oct 11th 2008 12:14AM
My beta folder is 14.5GB, without any of the extra leftover patch exe's in it.
Fluffywumpki of Dethecus Oct 10th 2008 6:42PM
1.17 GB WoW-2.4.3-to-3.0.2-TBC-enUS-OSX-Stage3 patch inbound on my lappy now...
rawrawrawr Oct 10th 2008 6:51PM
I'm interested, what does the disc even do? Almost everything is downloaded through patches.
rawrawrawr Oct 10th 2008 6:53PM
Nvm, the previous comment was the same question. I feel like an idiot.
Tobiathin Oct 10th 2008 7:01PM
Fantastic! I'm pretty happy they're getting this done!