Blizzard Announces WoW Expansion, 1.9 Patch Details

Blood Elf announced as official race--will Pandarens follow?

Blizzard officially announced at Blizzcon the first expansion to critically-acclaimed MMORPG World of Warcraft called World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. While most of the information was already leaked prior to the convention, the company did offer hands-on time with the game, highlighting the new Blood Elf race and raid instances in Silithus. Highlights of the expansion also include the increased level cap to 70, deeper talent trees, and epic ridable mounts in the new Outlands continent.

Along with Starcraft tournaments, Starcraft: Ghost hands-on opportunities, Blizzard also unveiled snit bits of information on upcoming content, including Tier 2 epic armor info and the upcoming Paladin update. For Paladins, game designer Tom Chilton stated at a class panel that the company is considering 10 minute or 15 minute blessings, as well as group blessings that apply towards all party members of a specific class--greatly decreasing buffing time in end-game raids such as Blackwing Lair. In addition, the developers have clarified the role of the class, saying that it is "very defensive in nature" and "intended to be easy class to play" (humorously backing community sentiments of the Paladins being "EZ mode"). For patch 1.9, the talent trees and Seals are being reworked, with some Seals and Judgments combined to increase their overall utility.

Further fleshing out Silithus, Blizzard is opening up a new 40-man area in 1.9 called Ahn'Qiraj, a gigantic, mountable outdoor instance filled with the wasp-like insects. In addition, a (cross-factional?) world event debuts in 1.9 where Alliance and Horde players will bring supplies to the Cenarion Circle to open the gate to Ahn'Qiraj.

Although Blizzard didn't show all Tier 2 epic sets, community manager "Caydiem" has stated on the community forums that caster epics are getting upgraded art as well. " I've personally seen the concepts of every single Tier 2 set in the game. Casters included," said the community representative. While you impatiently wait for more info, here are some Tier 2 epic sets:

Rogue: Note the armor looks the same as what hackers uncovered.

Shaman, Druid, and Hunter Tier 2 epics. (From left to right)

Warrior: Rendered model of what the gear will look in-game.

Paladin: Sketch of the new Judgment armor.

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