Let's take a quick look at what this new patch is actually brought today. I'm not going to go through all the patch notes here, you can read those for yourself, but for the general FAQ's I thought I would highlight some specifics. First thing you will be greeted with upon logging in is the Cinematic from above and then a beautiful new login screen with new music and a very pissed off Deathwing.
Azeroth itself has been destroyed, ripped apart by Deathwing's awakening. Regions spanning all across the world have either had a full on face lift, or changes to Horde and Alliance base camps, adding a new leveling flow for new characters. It literally feels like you're playing a completely brand new game. This includes both continents of the Eastern Kingdom and Kalimdor as well as the Major Cities (Stormwind, Ogrimmar, Undercity). Even the farthest reaches of Northrend have slightly been affected with city portals being removed from Dalaran and Shattrath City in Outland. Looks like you will probably have to hoof it on foot back to the old world if you logged out in either of those places or bug one of your Warlock friends to summon you back.
"Good news everybody, the ooze is"...wait I mean, the experience required for levels 71 - 80 have been dropped by 20%! So now you have two weeks to level them up to 80 so you can experience the newest content upon its release. Also it looks like every class except the Draenei will have a new Race/Class combination available when servers go live today.
So besides all these changes everything else you need to know is in the Patch notes. But the really big question is what is *NOT* in this patch. Got to leave something for the new expansion on December 7th right?
- New zones for players 80+
- Goblin and Worgen races
- No flying in Azeroth (you're going to have to explore the new zones foot)
- The new profession Archeology
- and the new Guild advancement system
This is by far the biggest expansion Blizzard has ever launched in the Warcraft universe and I for one am excited. This is game changing. This is intense. This is the gnomes fault. Why you ask? Well with their newly reclaimed home and starting zone of Gnomeregan I would not be surprised if there gadgets and doodads had something to do with waking up Deathwing. That's beside the point. The point is, now is the time to get into the game. If you're a newcomer expect an awesome and immersible experience six years in the making, and if you're an old timer like me, roll a new toon and try out all the new content for a while. Also players that login to World of Warcraft between November 30th and December 14th will get a new feat of strength achievement to celebrate. So tonight after the maintenance has completed get in there. The new world waits.
