Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Warlords of Draenor Recap

Original Link: http://www.wowhead.com/wod

Warlords of Draenor Recap

We've summarized all of the Warlords of Draenor coverage announced at BlizzCon 2013, creating a guide to the upcoming expansion! If you'd like to see our complete BlizzCon coverage, including cosplay pictures and liveblogs of all the major panels, visit http://www.wowhead.com/blizzcon or click on the archival view at the top right!

Table of Contents

GENERAL


  • Warlords of Draenor is the new expansion--players visit Outland how it was 30 years ago when the orc clans and draenei inhabited Draenor.
  • The new level cap will be 100 and players will get a free level 90 to allow them to skip prior content upon purchasing the expansion.
  • Blizzard's answer to player housing will be Garrisons. Have you ever played Warcraft III? Imagine having your own base...in World of Warcraft! Garrisons will be a player's home base and they are completely customized.
  • There is no more 10s vs 25s player raiding. Normal and Heroic raiding will have flexible sizing between 10 and 25 players. The new progression raiding format will be 20-player Mythic raiding.
  • The eight original races, as well as Draenei and Blood Elves, are getting new character models.
  • The item squish is happening and items are getting massive changes--hit, parry, dodge, expertise, and reforging are gone.
  • Your armor will automatically change stats based on your spec--there is no more "intellect plate" vs "strength plate."
  • Bag space will get better--quest items no longer take up bag space, while heirlooms and vanity items get Collection tabs, similar to Mounts and Pets.
  • Legendaries are here to stay--Blizzard is happy with MoP's questline and would like to implement a similar questline in WoD, as well as adding more exclusive legendaries similar to those in past expansions.
  •  Enchanted Fey Dragon is an upcoming paid mount and the proceeds will go to the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation.
  • There will be seven new zones and each one is extremely atmospheric. While Draenor is Outland 30 years ago, all the zones are completely original.
  • More dungeons are planned for mid-expansion, unlike the dearth of dungeons in Mists of Pandaria.
  • Adventurer's Guide will suggest content for players to do in-game based on their gear, level, and professions.
  • As a cool side project, Blizzard is working on updating the old Warcraft games to work on current computers.

FREE LEVEL 90 CHARACTER


  • Everyone that has upgraded to Warlords of Draenor gets one free level 90 character, to encourage players to jump right into the content they love with friends, instead of a facing a high entry barrier.
  • For players in regions that do not purchase expansions, there will be an alternate method to obtain a free level 90 character.
  • You do not need to choose a character to boost immediately to 90.
  • You can make a level 1 character and then boost them to 90.
  • Boosted characters get suitable level 90 gear and some other benefits to make sure players are good to embark on the remaining 10 levels.
  • To acquaint unfamiliar players with their new 90, there will be a special introductory area where players fight off the invading Orc forces on Draenor. This is in the style of the Death Knight starting area.

LEVEL 100 TALENTS

We got the first WoD talent calculator in the world up Friday night. We've transcribed the new level 100 talents below as well, but also encourage you to visit the Talent Calculator pages, where you can leave feedback on the talents so far.
 Necrotic Plague
Passive
A powerful disease that deals 100 damage per stack every 3 sec for 30 sec. Each time it deals damage, it gains one stack and jumps to another nearby enemy if possible. Cannot be spread by  Pestilence.

Replaces  Blood Plague.

Defile
1 Unholy, 30 yd range, Instant
Defiless the ground targeted by the  Death Knight, causing 100 Shadow damage every 1 sec for 10 sec. Each time  Defile deals damage, it increases in area and damage by 5%. This growth can occur a maximum of three times per sec.

Replaces  Death and Decay.

Breath of Sindragosa
15 Runic Power, plus 15 per sec, Instant, 1 min cooldown
Continuously deals 2000 Shadowfrost damage every 1 sec to enemies in a cone in front of you. This effect lasts until canceled or Runic Power is exhausted.

GARRISONS AND FOLLOWERS

Garrisons are WoW's answer to player housing. As you complete missions and recruit Followers, your Garrison can upgrade with even more features.


Expanding Your Garrison

Players can create new buildings and upgrade their Garrison.
  • Players can construct a variety of buildings, which can be upgraded and expanded over time.
    • Small buildings: Alchemy Lab, Smithy, Enchanter's Study, Engineering Works, Scribe's Office, Salvage Yard, Storehouse, Tailoring Studio, Jewelcrafting, and the Tannery.
    • Medium buildings: pet stable, trading post, lumber mill, barn, and inn. Pet stable will let you breed epic pets and there is a special trainer to fight.
    • Large buildings: barracks, infirmary, armory, stable, academy, mage tower.
  • Garrisons have three tiers. They level up when you have filled up all of your building plots, which can be small, medium, and large in size. Each size has a different bonus. Tier 2 for example gives you 15% Follower Recovery Time, 5% Passive Melee Buff, 5% Passive Caster Buff, 10% Travel Speed, and 15% Garrison Supplies, 10% Ore Gathering, and 5% Herb Gathering.
  • Constructing more buildings improves your ability to recruit and manage followers, as well as your efficiency in completing missions.
  • You can upgrade your buildings three times, like Barracks to go on multiple missions, Inns to recruit followers, and an Infirmary to speed up injured Followers. When buildings are upgraded, they become more powerful and visually elaborate.
  • Players can also select a specialization for their max level various buildings, which can be changed once per day. Sample Armory Specialization is Striking Blade: Grants the player a Critical Strike buff that persists through death for 4 hours. Visit the Armory to gain this buff.
  • There are many ways to get blueprints to learn how to upgrade buildings, from quest rewards to world drops to faction rewards.

Customization and Social Interactions

Players can show off Garrisons to their friends and customize its appearance:
  • Garrisons can be decorated with monuments and trophies, which may be tied to achievement rewards.
  • Players of the same faction can visit your Garrison if they are in your party. You can also trade Garrison resources with friends.
  • Garrisons will not be phased like Tillers farms--if you have a huge tower, your friends can see it across the zone.
  • Players can place their Garrison in several zones and Alliance and Horde get unique artwork for their buildings.
  • A Garrison's appearance and furniture can be further customized by players selecting a certain design "spec." Layouts are also decided upon by the player.

Followers

You can meet and recruit NPC Followers in your Garrison, who can benefit your character and Garrison in various ways:
  • Followers can go on various missions--some can gather profession resource,s return treasure, or other useful items like epic gear. They also bring back materials to build your Garrison.
  • Followers have a character level, item level, and traits that affect tasks. Traits are affected by a follower's rarity--there are common, uncommon, rare, and epic followers. Higher rarity followers have more traits.
  • Followers gain character levels just like players from 90-100. You can give them Follower-specific gear to equip, which can increase their item level.
  • Followers can be acquired in several ways: naturally found in your Garrison, attracting more by building an Inn, completing quest objectives, and paying mercenaries.
  • There are plans for cool interactions between Followers and zones--for example, your Follower might be out on a mission in a dungeon, get captured, and you'd rescue the Follower the next time you ran it.
  • A sample follower shown at the panel was Hamfist Facewrecker, a warrior who had Dragonbane (Damage boost when fighting Dragons), Rambo (Bonus to all stats when fighting in the forest), Last Man Standing (Bonus to all stats for each dead party member if the last one alive), and Blacksmithing (Can participate in Blacksmith missions and can research new recipes for you at the Garrison.

Missions

Missions are completed by your Followers and are essential to build your Garrison further.
  • Missions can be completed while you are offline.
  • Missions provide resources for your Garrison as well as profession reagents, but also some useful loot for your character.
  • Missions can be completed by Followers in parties--if you are offline, your Followers can still pair up with other Followers.
  • As time goes on, missions can stretch out into several days or a week. Missions and Garrisons are not intended to be very time-intensive at high levels.
  • Some followers might be better at some missions than others, depending on their traits.
  • The sample UI showed a list of followers and a main panel of different missions. These missions take different amounts of time and followers.
  • Quest missions take 15-30 minutes and are used to level up Followers. Higher level quests reward player loot.
  • Scenario missions take 2-3 hours and has a high chance to reward player loot.
  • Dungeon missions take 1-3 days and are guaranteed to have player loot.
  • Raid missions take 4-7 days and unlock when you get 10 followers to 100. Raid missions also include transmog rewards from old raids.
  • The mission UI filters missions by type and shows the amount of time a mission will take as well as desirable traits for the mission. If your follower has those requested traits, you will get a bonus.

Blue Post: Take Charge of Your Garrison

Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

NEW CHARACTER MODELS

  • The older World of Warcraft races are getting new character models. The eight initial races and two subsequent Burning Crusade races are planned to have new models at the expansion's launch and/or in future content patches:
    • Alliance: Night Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Draenei
    • Horde: Orc, Troll, Undead, Tauren, Blood Elf
  • The art panel previewed several new races and their animations--male Dwarf, male Orc, male Gnome, female Gnome. They also showed screenshots of male Tauren and female Dwarf.
  • The updated character models are meant to be very close in spirit to the existing ones--Blizzard wants players to recognize their characters.
  • The polygon count has been significantly raised and characters now have many more facial expressions and smoother animations. New model tech also allows character models to have asymmetrical details, like scars.
  • Improving character hair and maintaining the spirit of the original animations were two challenges the character team faced. More hairstyles are planned for 6.0.

Screenshots

                              

ITEMIZATION


  • Many stats are being removed that no longer feel like bonuses: Hit, Expertise, Dodge, Parry. Avoidance should be cool mechanics, but not as a stat on items.
  • Reforging is also gone--there is too much modification required when you currently get an item. It sounded good on paper but drags down the excitement of getting a new item.
  • Armor itemization is greatly improved. Your gear changes primary stats and set bonuses based on your spec. There is no "strength plate" or "intellect plate"--simply plate that changes based on your role.
  • Secondary stats will remain unchanged when switching between specs, and accessories like amulets and rings may have more niche itemization, like armor for tanks or spirit for healers.
  • Fewer items can be enchanted, and the goal is to have enchants feel like a bonus instead of something mandatory.
  • Meta gems and socket bonuses are removed. Many fewer items will have sockets in Warlords of Draenor.
  • Tertiary stats are being added, such as Sturdiness (no durability loss), Movement Speed (will stack), Lifesteal (% of damage converted to health), Avoidance (Absorb % of AE damage), Cleave (Increased AE damage). We already saw some of this with Siege of Orgrimmar trinkets like  Juggernaut's Focusing Crystal for Lifesteal and  Frenzied Crystal of Rage for Cleave. These will not be on every piece of gear and will take a while to farm up a complete "set." These are also considered bonus stats and aren't part of an item's regular stat budget.
  • The item squish is coming, but this will not affect players' ability to solo old raids or make players feel weak. It will not reduce the current power of relative players--Siege of Orgrimmar will suddenly not feel impossible when the item squish goes in. The item squish is to simply the combat log so abilities don't have tons of zeros.
  • Throughout the last few PTRs, we've datamined some items that look like prototypes for the item squish like  Simple Harmonius Ring. We normally hide these from search results, but it's still interesting to note.

INVENTORY AND UI CHANGES

Bag Space Improvements

Players have been really hurting on bag space, and new inventory changes should cut down on this issue so you can actually finish  Going To Need A Bigger Bag.
  • Quest items no longer take up bag space.
  • Items will be automatically sorted into bags organized by item themes players choose--for example, Equipment, Consumable, Trade Goods, New Items, Junk.
Heirlooms and Vanity items are moving to a Collection system, similar to Mounts and Pets. These items will no longer take up bag space.
  • Heirlooms are now cross-realm and account-bound. Once a character obtains an heirloom, you can summon the heirloom from this collection pane.
  • Vanity items will be collected in the Toy Box--you won't have to feel conflicted about deleting cool vanity quest rewards anymore.
  • Like mounts and pets, these Collections will display items you have yet to collect and basic information on how they can be acquired.
  • Collections for Tabards and Transmog gear may be coming as well.
The quest log also has some improvements. It now splits up main and side quests, and turns transparent when you are moving.

Blue Post: UI Improvements

Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

DUNGEONS AND RAIDS

Blizzard was refreshingly honest and blunt when talking about raid changes. Splitting up 10s and 25s did not work and that format for progression raiding is going away--they were also more open about their distaste for LFR and random matchmaking.

Raid Changes

Blizzard is redoing their raid difficulty system and applying Flex tech to more difficulties:
  • There will be four tiers of raid difficulty, including the new 20-player Mythic difficulty. The progression will be LFR > Normal > Heroic > Mythic.
  • Normal and Heroic raids will no longer be 10 or 25-player mode, instead they will have Flex scaling so players can pick any size in between. Blizzard is very happy with how Flex scaling turned out and even LFR will have Flex scaling in case someone has left the group.
  • Mythic difficulty is for 20-player cutting-edge progression and will not have Flex scaling. Some 10-heroic guilds will be unhappy about this, but one size for progression going forward is better in the long term. There are a lot of mechanics Blizzard can't implement when they're scaling an encounter down to 10-player mode, and this offers more creativity.
  • Each difficulty is on a separate lockout, and you cannot switch difficulties during raids.
  • Lockouts are now loot-based. If you already have loot but want to help out a friend, you can kill the boss again.
  • The more players you have in a flex-style raid, the more loot you will see drop. The raid leader can decide if loot should be Master Looted or awarded personally.
  • You can raid Normal and Heroic with Real ID or Battle Tag cross-realm friends.
  • Blackrock Foundry is the main raid for Warlords of Draenor's launch. It will have 10 bosses with 3 wings and be non-linear like Ulduar.

Raid Finder and Matchmaking

Blizzard would like to encourage players to move away from Raid Finder--at this point, it's not considered a real raid format:
  • Raid Finder was referred to as "tourist mode"--something to be used as a last resort when your friends aren't around.
  • To entourage users to queue with friends, "Stacking the Deck" is a new buff that rewards bonus Valor for queueing with friends or requeueing with random groups.
  • Blizzard is creating a group finder that will be browser-based and let you find groups not only for raids, but for all sorts of content.

Dungeons and Scenarios

Many players wanted more dungeons in Mists of Pandaria and Blizzard is delivering more:
  • Six new heroic dungeons are planned for launch, along with a revamped version of Blackrock Spire. The new dungeons are Bloodmaul Slag Mines, Blackrock Depot, Auchindoun, Arakkoa Spires, Shadowmoon Burial Grounds, Iron Barracks.
  • Max-level heroic dungeons are planned beyond Warlord of Draenor's initial release. This is in contrast to Mists of Pandaria which had no additional dungeons.
  • Normal-mode max-level dungeons are back and heroic-mode dungeons will be harder than MoP heroic dungeons were.
  • Warlords of Draenor will have new challenge modes, and they will have additional vanity rewards like transmogrifiable weapons.
  • There is tech in place to scale a character's gear down to make old raids more challenging, but it's still being worked on.
  • Normal and Heroic scenarios are planned for launch, as well as World Bosses.

Blue Post: Dungeons and Raids

Click the Expand option to read the full blue post on this page.
Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

ZONES, QUESTS, AND LEVELING


Questing and Rewards

There are 10 new levels in Warlords of Draenor--if you've gotten your Garrosh heirloom, you're set on weapons!
  • Zones will be a mix of classic questing areas and more freeform exploration like Siege of Orgrimmar with dynamic rewards and treasure chests to encourage users to explore the world.
  • Blizzard wants the world to feel less linear, so they're including a lot of optional quests that branch off from the main storyline, and not adding breadcrumb quests to unlock hubs.
  • When completing quests, you'll have a small chance to get a rare or epic reward instead of the expected one--this adds an element of surprise.
  • From 91-100, players will get buffs to their existing key abilities, instead of new abilities that bloat up the spellbook.
  • There will be no flying in Draenor until Patch 6.1.
  • Several core abilities will become passive, like Slice and Dice for Assassination Rogues.
  • At level 100, players unlock an additional talent point.

New Zones

Draenor is a completely new continent built from scratch by Blizzard. Players may recognize some zone names from Outland, but Blizzard stressed that they are completely reworked.
  • Frostfire Ridge: Starting demo area for the Horde, who works with the Frostwolf Clan. Snow-covered plains and volcanoes.
  • Shadowmoon Valley: Starting demo area for the Alliance, who work with Prophet Velen to fight off the Iron Horde. This zone looks very different than the current version, with lush greenery and beautiful draenei architecture.
  • Gorgrond: The Blackrock clan is building a massive siege weapon here that poses a significant threat to Draenor.
  • Talador: The Auchenai Soupriests try to protect Auchindoun from demonic threats. Players may remember Auchindoun as a dungeon hub in Terokkar Forest.
  • Spires of Arak: The arrakoa fight against the Shattered Hand orcs. In Outland, the arrakoa are found in Sethekk Halls and Terokkar Forest; the Shattered Hand orcs can be seen in The Shattered Halls.
  • Nagrand: The Warsong clan occupies this zone which occupies an important place in Outland lore.
  • Tanaan Jungle: The Bleeding Hollow clan are building a Dark Portal and the Iron Horde makes its base here with plans to conquer Azeroth.
  • Ashran: New World PvP zone with many objectives, in the style of old Alterac Valley.

Blue Post: Adventuring from 90 to 100

Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

Screenshots

                                                      
                                   

LORE

Warlords of Draenor Lore

  • Draenor is an untamed primal world, we're looking at it in a crucial turning moment 30 years ago.
  • Time travel is always tricky. We're going back in time slightly before Rise of the Horde but once Warlords of Draenor starts, it's like an alternative universe that doesn't affect the present.
  • Blizzard wanted to do something with the concept of Warlords for a while--take the most badasss warriors and put them on "the same basketball team." At first they thought Garrosh would get exiled to Outland and then raise the fallen warlords, but that concept was scrapped.
  • Warlords of Draenor is a great opportunity to explore the pinnacle of Draenei culture, before it was destroyed in the Burning Crusade. Players get to see Shattrath as a coast city, Karabor as a Draenei city before the devastation of the Black Temple, and Auchindoun before it was ruined.
  • Y'rel is a new major lore figure for the Draenei--an ordinary character who stepped up to a heroic role, in the style of Joan of Arc. Blizzard wanted to experiment with major characters that weren't just the same old faction leaders.
  • Thrall has a lot of serious work to do in coming to terms with the past and evaluating his actions that negatively impacted the Horde. The panel agreed he needs to put some more armor on and go back to solving problems with a hammer.
  • Garrosh isn't going to be redeemed, but he'll get a satisfying ending and lots of character development.
  • Aggra will not be going back in time with Thrall--Warlords of Draenor was described as a "boys trip" which many players were unhappy with.

Blue Post: Journey into Draenor

Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

PVP


World PvP

A new World PvP zone, Ashran, will be level 100 with constant fighting--think the Timeless Isle, but PvP.
  • Ashran is a staging area near the Dark Portal that the Horde and Alliance want to control. It has a variety of hotspots to control and faction hubs.
  • Different than Wintergrasp in that there's no start or finish. It will not feel like an instanced battleground.
  • Objectives will rapidly change based on the zone's events--you could go from attacking a base to gathering defensive materials quickly. Ashran will feel like original Alterac Valley.
  • There is no limit to the amount of players allowed in the zone and this zone will be cross-realm.

Trial of the Gladiator Arena

Trial of the Gladiator is a new arena ladder.
  • Players in Trial of the Gladiator can enter and buy all of their gear, enchants, and gems from a vendor. The focus is on skill instead of gearing up.
  • Players can queue up anytime, but can only earn ratings on specific times and days. This will help with skill-based matchmaking.
  • Players can earn prestige rewards if they ladder climb during those specific times. The scheduling details are still TBA--they don't want to punish people too much for missing a designated rankings date.
  • Trial is designed to make it easier to find players of your skill level to queue up with.

Battleground Improvements

Battlegrounds are getting some improvements to be more appealing.
  • Battleground score is a new stat that tracks and rewards players for objective-based gameplay. With Honor Points, it might not feel rewarding to stay back and guard a base, but with Battleground Score, you'll feel more compensated and get a better sense of how well you're doing.
  • Objective timers will be viewable on the map, and they will have additional animations.
  • Battlegrounds are getting additional bonus rewards as incentives to win, such as PvP gear, bonus Honor, consumables, BoE items, and more. Honor point rewards are also staying in place.
  • New weekly quest to upgrade an item. Not sure how this will work, since item upgrades were disabled for PvP items in MoP.

Blue Post: A Look at PvP

Click the Expand option to read the full blue post on this page.
Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Post | Blue Tracker)Expand

VIDEOS

Announcement Trailer

Remaking a World

The Zones of Draenor

PRESS MATERIALS

Originally posted by Blizzard (View Original)Collapse
The heroes of Azeroth are on the verge of a war that will reforge the fate of two worlds. World of Warcraft®: Warlords of Draenor™, the fifth expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, sends players to the world of Draenor at a pivotal moment in history to fight against and alongside legends from Warcraft’s brutal past.

Across Draenor's savage jungles and battle-scarred plains, Azeroth's heroes will engage in a mythic conflict involving mystical draenei champions and mighty orc clans, and cross axes with the likes of Grommash Hellscream, Blackhand, and Ner'zhul at the height of their primal power. Players will need to scour this unwelcoming land in search of allies to help build a desperate defense against the Iron Horde’s formidable engine of conquest—or else watch their own world’s bloody, war-torn history repeat itself.

For more details about World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, visit the official announcement website.

Game Features

Explore a Savage World: Explore the hostile world of Draenor, home of the orc and draenei races, as it once existed, and adventure in all-new zones alongside characters central to Warcraft history.
Build Your Garrison: Construct, command, and expand your own customizable stronghold on Draenor, and gather NPC followers to collect resources and embark on missions on your orders.
Instantly Upgrade to Level 90: Boost one character of your choosing to be ready to adventure on Draenor, making it easier than ever to enjoy the latest content alongside your friends.
New Player Character Art: Character models and animations for many of World of Warcraft's existing playable races are being fully revamped in keeping with the game's iconically epic style.
Adventure to Level 100: Reach new heights of power and unlock bonuses to further enhance your abilities on your way to the new level cap of 100.
…And More: Take on a wide array of Dungeons, Raids, Scenarios, Battlegrounds, Challenge Modes, and more—no matter what kind of content you enjoy, new adventures await.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is World of Warcraft®: Warlords of Draenor™? 

World of Warcraft®: Warlords of Draenor™, the fifth expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, sends players to the world of Draenor at a pivotal moment in history to fight against and alongside legends from Warcraft’s brutal past.
Across Draenor's savage jungles and battle-scarred plains, Azeroth's heroes will engage in a mythic conflict involving mystical draenei champions and mighty orc clans, and cross axes with the likes of Grommash Hellscream, Blackhand, and Ner’zhul at the height of their primal power. Players will need to scour this unwelcoming land in search of allies to help build a desperate defense against the Iron Horde’s formidable engine of conquest—or else watch their own world’s bloody, war-torn history repeat itself.

Q: How does the Garrison work? What kinds of followers and upgrades are available?

To establish a foothold on Draenor and bolster your faction’s defenses against the formidable Iron Horde, each player will need to build and manage their own Garrison, a customizable fortress that serves as your personal base of operations throughout the course of the expansion. As you complete quests and win allies to your cause, your Garrison will expand and you’ll be able to choose which upgrades you’d like to construct from a variety of options. You’ll also meet and recruit NPC allies and followers who will join you at the Garrison, each providing different benefits.

For example, a miner rescued from a dungeon might take up residence and help gather Mining resources. A heroic warrior you quarter might embark upon quests at your command, with a chance to return with valuable treasures. Other characters might provide you with quests that expand upon their own stories or lead you to valuable assets in your campaign.

When it comes time to upgrade your Garrison, you might choose to build a Barracks to send more followers on missions simultaneously, an Inn to provide new recruits, or an Infirmary to speed up injured followers’ recovery time between assignments. You may instead decide to build a Smithy and recruit a Blacksmith to research new plans and craft valuable resources (such as those with daily cooldowns). You’ll also be able to invite friends to visit your Garrison to trade resources and see how your home base stacks up against their own.

Q: What new zones will I explore on Draenor?

The expansion sends players to Draenor as it existed before it shattered into the realm World of Warcraft players know as Outland—and while some of the names of these places might be familiar, we’re building them all from scratch for the expansion.

Here’s a breakdown of Draenor’s zones:

Frostfire Ridge: Across snow-covered wastes and beneath towering volcanoes, heroes of the Frostwolf clan and the Horde unite to repel invaders from their homeland.
Shadowmoon Valley: Amid rolling moonlit hills, the draenei at the holy temple of Karabor unite with the Alliance in a desperate fight for survival against the Iron Horde and Shadowmoon clan.
Gorgrond: Deep within the desert canyons of Gorgrond, an arsenal of massive siege weapons built by the Blackrock clan is about to be unleashed upon the whole of Draenor.
Talador: In the shadow of a besieged Shattrath City, the Auchenai Soulpriests actively seek to safeguard the countless draenei souls inside Auchindoun from a terrible demonic threat.
Spires of Arak: At the height of their power, the regal arrakoa plot atop their high peaks, well out of the reach of the brutal Shattered Hand orcs and the wingless outcasts below.
Nagrand: Among the fertile hills and outcroppings of Nagrand, the bloodied wolf-riders of the Warsong clan remain a threat not to be trifled with.
Tanaan Jungle: Within the overgrown jungle home of the Bleeding Hollow clan, a Dark Portal is under construction . . . and an Iron Horde army makes grim preparations to conquer Azeroth.

Q: Why are you giving everyone a level-90 character boost? 

World of Warcraft is constantly evolving, and these days players engage with the game in a wider variety of ways than ever. Some enjoy the process of exploring the world and leveling up. Others enjoy the challenge of raiding. Many simply enjoy playing with their friends, wherever they may be. One of our primary goals with Warlords of Draenor is to empower WoW players to quickly and easily be able to participate in the content they’re most interested in, and giving everyone a level-90 character upgrade right out of the gate helps make that possible.

One common piece of feedback we’ve received from new players and those who’ve taken an extended break from the game is that World of Warcraft requires a significant time investment before they’re able to “catch up” and play with high-level friends. Design changes such as speeding up the leveling curve and features like the popular Scroll of Resurrection and Recruit-a-Friend system have proven very popular, but the issues’s only getting more challenging with each patch and expansion we release. By giving players the option to boost a character to be ready for the latest expansion content, we hope to remove some of these entry barriers and make it so anyone can pick up and enjoy Warlords of Draenor right away, no matter how much World of Warcraft they’ve played in the past.

Q: It’s been a while since I’ve played WoW—will I know what to do with a level-90 character?

At the start of the new expansion, players will be thrust into an exciting introductory experience involving a desperate strike against the orc forces on Draenor. During this opening sequence, new and returning players will have an opportunity to get up to speed on the game before diving into their faction’s starting zone content—similar to the Death Knight starting experience in Wrath of the Lich King. We’ve also recently added features such as Proving Grounds, which help players learn how to tank, heal, and deal damage in dungeons in a solo “teaching” environment, to help ease the learning curve and prepare players for battle as quickly, efficiently, and enjoyably as possible.

Q: How will the included level-90 character upgrade work?

In regions where players purchase World of Warcraft expansions, each World of Warcraft account that you upgrade to the Warlords of Draenor expansion will receive one level-90 character boost (to be used once the expansion releases). You don’t need to decide which character to boost immediately. You can also create a level-1 character from scratch and then use the upgrade on that if you wish. The boosted character will also receive a level-appropriate set of gear (along with some other assistance) to make sure you’re set for adventuring. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.

For regions where players do not purchase expansions (including China, Korea, and Taiwan), we’ll have more information to share on our plans in the future. In the meantime, our goal for all regions remains the same—to give players a way to get straight to the action in Draenor.

Q: Why revisit the player races’ art now? Will I recognize myself in the mirror?

As we’ve released new World of Warcraft content and expansions, we’ve received feedback that some of the earlier player character models and animations are no longer measuring up to the quality of the newer races. Because Warlords of Draenor takes players back to the homeland of the Orcs—one of WoW’s original playable races—it felt like a great time to update not just the Orcs, but other playable races that could use a refresh.

We know that many of you already strongly identify with the look of your current character, so we’re dedicating a lot of time and resources to make sure these updates capture each race’s iconic identity and personality. We’re still in the process of determining which races will be available upon the expansion’s release, but our goal is to update all eight of the original World of Warcraft playable races, along with the Draenei and Blood Elves, over the course of the expansion launch and subsequent content updates.

Q: What kinds of bonuses will my character earn on the journey from level 90 to 100?

Warlords of Draenor introduces a new bonus system that rewards players with powerful perks as they level up to the new cap. At every level from 91 to 100, characters will earn a major permanent boost to one of their their key spells and abilities (e.g. a Fire Mage might earn a +50% damage boost to Pyroblast or +30% boost to Scorch). Players will also unlock a new talent tier once they’ve achieved level 100, rewarding each class with three potent new abilities to choose from.

Q: What are the plans for new Dungeons, Scenarios, and Raids?

We’re planning 6 new 5-player dungeons for the launch of Warlords of Draenor, along with a revamped version of the classic Blackrock Spire. One of our goals is to make sure we’re giving players a good mix of “level-up” Dungeons along with some new, unexplored Dungeons to delve into at max level. The expansion will also give players a chance to earn awesome transmogrifiable weapons and other unique rewards in Challenge Mode Dungeons. We’re also planning a wide variety of Scenarios for launch, along with Heroic Scenarios for those who enjoy the extra challenge.

On the Raiding front, we’re planning 2 new raid instances around launch, as well as new world bosses. We’ll also continue to provide players with a wide variety of raiding options. In addition to offering four tiers of difficulty as in Patch 5.4, we're also extending our Flexible Raid scaling technology to Normal difficulty raiding. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.

Q: What challenges await in the world of PvP?

Warlords of Draenor will feature a new world PvP zone that hurls Horde and Alliance players into an epic conflict in the center of Draenor, fighting for control of the strategic fortresses that line the planet’s territorial boundaries. This new area will be seamlessly instanced, with the goal of providing better performance and a more balanced PvP experience than was possible in WoW’s earlier world PvP zones. We’re also planning several major PvP-related UI improvements, including updates to help you track and communicate with your team about objectives in Battlegrounds, along with enhancements to Arena and Rated Battleground enemy unit frames designed to relay key information more clearly.

Q: What’s in store for professions?

One of our goals in Warlords of Draenor is to make each of the game’s existing Professions more engaging and integrated into the gameplay. To that end, the Garrison will play a major role in your character’s Professions in this expansion—similar to how your farm was key to the Cooking profession in Mists of Pandaria, only on a much more epic scale.

Q: What can players expect while questing in Draenor?

We received a lot of feedback over the course of Mists of Pandaria about what kinds of quests and world PvE content players enjoy most, and we’re continuing to evolve the questing experience in Warlords of Draenor with that in mind. Our goal is to give players a wide variety of fun and unexpected activities, ranging from the kinds of quests they’re familiar with to new experiences along the lines of the exploration- and event-driven Timeless Isle introduced in Patch 5.4: The Siege of Orgrimmar.

Q: Will you be making any changes to what Stats are available?

One of our goals for Warlords of Draenor is to make the act of finding and collecting loot even more exciting for players. With that in mind, we’re adding some fun new stats to gear, such as Movement Speed and Cleave, which gives you a chance to do extra damage or healing to additional nearby targets. In addition, we’ll be retiring a few stats that players don’t find very enjoyable to manage, such as Hit and Expertise. We’re also making improvements to armor itemization that will make it easier to share armor pieces across classes. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.

Q: Will there be any updates to the graphics and changes to the minimum system requirements?

Yes—we’re planning a number of tweaks and improvements to the graphics engine in this expansion, including some updates related to the upgraded player characters and the introduction of the Garrison. We’re also looking into updating other existing systems with an eye toward improving graphical quality and performance. We’ll announce the exact system requirements closer to the expansion’s release.

Read more at http://www.wowhead.com/wod#TSXlzByygGDJ8e7c.99
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