So I logged into the WoW:WotLK beta last night and started a Death Knight (horde side). I honestly have to say it’s probably the best 2 levels of any MMO I have played. It shows almost every trick that Blizzard has learned over the last few years and has an amazing epic feel. Everything from the location to the story line to the actual class\talent\spell introduction is so polished.
First thing they have done is given the expansion a graphical tweak. There is a little more detail in environment and the draw distance has been really extended. This makes the opening starting location for a DK look amazing. You are standing on a balcony in a Scourge floating city looking out over the lands (way) below. Amazing how much more Epic this makes things feel (it’s something LOTRO had from the start).
Second thing that hits you is the Death Knight storyline. It’s brilliant. It’s a super introduction to Arthus\ the Lich King. Giving loads of background on how you have come to be. It’s full of great set pieces from getting your scouting the local village to stealing your mount. It’s almost worth the price of entry alone in my view.
The DK itself seems to be a great class. A hybrid of magic and melee with a rather interesting Rune stone and Rune Power mechanic. It’s so good in fact I’m afraid you will be seeing a ton of DK running around for a some time to come. They are just too much fun! Although I have to say I’m not looking forward to dropping out into the old world after finishing in the DK starting area…
So far I’m pretty impressed but not sure how it will keep my interest in the longer term. I will say when you start WotLK it might be a good idea to check out the DK first give as great deal of background….
Anyway I’m gonna copy my toons across to the server (if the server ever lets me log in) so I can muck arounh with what other specs might be link since they are really cheap to change on the server!
11 Comments
September 9, 2008 at 7:19 am
Just noticed this on the drafts page so popped it on the main page so it’s not hidden.
How is it getting on? Are DKs feeling like viable tanks at the drop of a hat now?
September 9, 2008 at 11:16 am
So I have not been playing a whole lot the last week or so. But last night I Iogged in for a few hours. In that time I managed to finish the starting DK area. All I can say is it rocks. I would seriously advise you to play and finish this part of the expansion before you go into Northrend. It simple sets the story up so well and has a brilliant ending piece.
As for the DK as a tank I really can’t say. I was playing my DK as Unholy spec simply because of all the toys you get. Exploding corpses, dive bombing Gargoyle, a constant pet, Bone Shields and weird ground effects. It simply the most fun I’ve had with any class and makes every other Class look dull. The DK has more versatility than any other class out there. Ok they can’t heal others but they can heal themselves, they can pull any mob to them even annoying casters or ranged DPS (how will this go in PvP?!?!), they have more get out of trouble skills then any other class, they can tank (how good I aint sure) and can DPS at an amazing rate.
And this is part of the trouble….why would anyone want to level “another” toon from 1-56 again? 2 nights of play and you end up level 57-58 with a ton of really nice blues with one of the most fun classes versus 2 months of play with any other standard toon still having to pay for your mount and probably in greens at level 59! After playing the DK I simple have no interest in levelling another toon when I can jump to level 55 with ease (having played passed this level 3 times already and have 5 or 6 toons past 30).
As for my Shammy I’ve taken a peak in to the starting zones and they are looking rather good. I have done a few quests just to get some WotLK Elemental\Resto gear. I have just been specing and respecting checking out different levelling and instances specs. I really like the look of the Resto spec since it’s quite different to a standard Priest or Druid healing spec since it relies on crits and healing multiple times. Elemental also looks like it could be fun and is possibly what I am gonna level as sicne the spell power changes means I could heal if required. Enhancement is still probably the best level spec but since I did that all the way to 70 I think I need a change…
Gonna run the first instance in WotLK, Utgard Keep as a healer when ever I get ca chance just so I can get a feel for it.
September 9, 2008 at 1:05 pm
It all sounds pretty awesome, the DK sounds even more OP than I’d thought, and I was pretty sure it was going to be mad anyway. I have to agree, why would you level anything from scratch ever again, unless they make levelling from 1-55 a complete doddle?
If you already have a level 70 or 6, then you’ll want the new toys for sure, and the investment already made in those toons should mean that Northrend is at least partially full of non-DKs. Outland though will most likely be DK central for a long time…
I must try and get in and play something soon. I’m fairly missing it at the moment.
September 9, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Neil: “they can pull any mob to them even annoying casters or ranged DPS (how will this go in PvP?!?!)”
Ranged classes are getting new abilities to instantly get to range again — Hunter’s Disengage skill now jumps them back 15 yards, elemental shammies are getting an AOE knockback, etc etc.
September 9, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Problem you are going to have is that I foresee too many people in the longer term playing DK’s because they are so much fun. We have already seen most of the level dungeons completed with 4 DK’s and a priest so I expect to see a shortage of healers in the near future.
If Blizzard don’t allow the same for lesser toons at some stage this really will become an issue sooner rather than later…
September 9, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I think Blizz said DKs were a response to the tank shortage, so basically a DPSer with melee who can also tank, maybe more a druid than a warrior since there is less respeccing but if they make them TOO much fun, then they’ll have to nerf them in patch 3.2 or whatever the first post expansion patch will be.
Maybe the Beta is the best that a DK will be allowed to get then… almost wish I’d got a beta key now
September 9, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Actually one of the best things about being in the Beta…is a respec only costs 1copper. It’s a game in itself….plus you feel free to spec are required for instances…that would really free up people to run instances all the time and balance everything out….
September 9, 2008 at 7:31 pm
While there’ll almost certainly be a DK overload when Wrath launches (hell, I’ll be playing one, at least out of the starting area), I think it’ll balance out. The other classes are getting lots of new tricks and I’m more excited about Titans Grip than I am about levelling another toon through Outland.
I would suspect that level 55 kick offs for all toons is coming though.
September 9, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Yeah, unless they make the Barrens a level 75 zone or something, I can’t imagine anyone ever going there again. Surely there will be some form of level 55 kick off, or a huge change to the start game.
Also, I have to agree about Titan’s grip, if they also made respeccing just one copper I’d be doing it all the time too….
September 10, 2008 at 10:48 am
The beta seems to be laggy as hell so I aint had too much time in game to try out my few different specs (it is a beta so you cant complain). But I really wish they would just allow you to respect as often as you like. Forcing you to go to the trainers in the Azeroth is enough of an annoyance……
September 12, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Well I have been trough the first Instance. Utgard Keep. I only did the last part (a heal jumped ship on another group) but I got a good sense of the place. Pretty straight forward no biggy.
I did it as a Resto Shammy which I have to say was good fun. I even tried to level with that spec and it was workable. So I think I might of spec elemental\resto to make it easier to get a group healers in demand and all that)…
Will need to go and get some proper elemental healing gear before Wolk comes out though…what I have is all Enchantment…