WoW Insider for August: On PVP, TCGs, and 1.12
In the latest issue of WoW Insider, the Insider tells us what’s been going on this past month for the game, including a recap of the planned additions in 1.12, the upcoming trading card game, as well as a contest and an important interview.
Let’s get started, shall we?
First, 1.12 is coming out with new additions to the PvP experience. While the time sink we know as PvP still remains, they’re adding cross-realm battleground action, as well as world PvP objectives. They haven’t expressly mentioned anything about how these new outdoor PvP objectives will play out on non-PvP servers, but if there’s honor involved, you can be sure people will be flocking to these new game additions to see just how far these new features go in long-term honor farming.
1.12 will also play host to the rogue talent review, which will improve existing talents, as well as shift some talents earlier into their trees to offer more versatility and utility in build combinations. While we do wonder what you’re going to do with improved garrote, there’s probably going to be a lot of people praising the re-spec as much as there will be people getting annoyed by the changes.
This month also sees new avenues for people to enjoy Blizzard‘s franchises. First is a new Blizzard Art Contest for aspiring 2D and 3D artists. With categories including Best Cinematic Art, Best Diablo Art, Best StarCraft Art, and Best Warcraft Art and a $10,000 purse, it sounds like there will be tough competition, especially if being especially outstanding can lead an artist into working for their favorite company. Also, they’re bringing out the buzz on the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, which allows you to set up your own hero through his fighting deck to take on different enemies, with everything from newbie nightmare Hogger to Lady Katrina Prestor, aka Onyxia.
Leeroy Jenkins will also be making an appearance, featuring art from Penny Arcade artist Gabe. There better be an in-game buff for shouting his name in battle, or the game will lose its charm immediately!
Lastly, one of the more important developments for this new installment of the Insider is an interview with Tom Chilton, Lead Game Designer for WoW. In the audio interview, he discusses the intended direction of PvP in the future, which will try to bring the fun back into the system to replace the honor grinding that occurs today. Besides the introduction of new outdoor PvP objectives and cross-realm battles in 1.12, additions planned for the expansion want to focus on the quality of the PvP being played, rather than the quantity. Of these future additions, Arena Combat looks to be very promising:
Yes, one of our major features for the expansion that we’re just now talking about is the Arena System. It’s essentially a system of gladiatorial combat where players are going to be able to go into arenas in teams of two on two or three on three or five on five (at least that’s what we’re planning to start with) and duke it out on a ladder-based system to get some pretty cool rewards.
We’ve added the audio interview for you to listen to, and our source link also provides a text transcript of the interview. All in all, we hope that it brings some new blood into WoW that we haven’t seen in a while.
Download: [WoW Insider: Interview with Tom Chilton]
In the latest issue of WoW Insider, the Insider tells us what’s been going on this past month for the game, including a recap of the planned additions in 1.12, the upcoming trading card game, as well as a contest and an important interview.
Let’s get started, shall we?
First, 1.12 is coming out with new additions to the PvP experience. While the time sink we know as PvP still remains, they’re adding cross-realm battleground action, as well as world PvP objectives. They haven’t expressly mentioned anything about how these new outdoor PvP objectives will play out on non-PvP servers, but if there’s honor involved, you can be sure people will be flocking to these new game additions to see just how far these new features go in long-term honor farming.
1.12 will also play host to the rogue talent review, which will improve existing talents, as well as shift some talents earlier into their trees to offer more versatility and utility in build combinations. While we do wonder what you’re going to do with improved garrote, there’s probably going to be a lot of people praising the re-spec as much as there will be people getting annoyed by the changes.
This month also sees new avenues for people to enjoy Blizzard‘s franchises. First is a new Blizzard Art Contest for aspiring 2D and 3D artists. With categories including Best Cinematic Art, Best Diablo Art, Best StarCraft Art, and Best Warcraft Art and a $10,000 purse, it sounds like there will be tough competition, especially if being especially outstanding can lead an artist into working for their favorite company. Also, they’re bringing out the buzz on the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, which allows you to set up your own hero through his fighting deck to take on different enemies, with everything from newbie nightmare Hogger to Lady Katrina Prestor, aka Onyxia.
Leeroy Jenkins will also be making an appearance, featuring art from Penny Arcade artist Gabe. There better be an in-game buff for shouting his name in battle, or the game will lose its charm immediately!
Lastly, one of the more important developments for this new installment of the Insider is an interview with Tom Chilton, Lead Game Designer for WoW. In the audio interview, he discusses the intended direction of PvP in the future, which will try to bring the fun back into the system to replace the honor grinding that occurs today. Besides the introduction of new outdoor PvP objectives and cross-realm battles in 1.12, additions planned for the expansion want to focus on the quality of the PvP being played, rather than the quantity. Of these future additions, Arena Combat looks to be very promising:
Yes, one of our major features for the expansion that we’re just now talking about is the Arena System. It’s essentially a system of gladiatorial combat where players are going to be able to go into arenas in teams of two on two or three on three or five on five (at least that’s what we’re planning to start with) and duke it out on a ladder-based system to get some pretty cool rewards.
We’ve added the audio interview for you to listen to, and our source link also provides a text transcript of the interview. All in all, we hope that it brings some new blood into WoW that we haven’t seen in a while.
Download: [WoW Insider: Interview with Tom Chilton]
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