Blizzard revealed a lot of new information about a new addition to the World of Warcraft. Many gameplay elements will change. The release date of the expansion remains unknown. Beta will start soon.
A few days ago, Blizzard studio held a presentation in its California headquarters in Irvine on the progress of work on a new addition to the game World of Warcraft, which recently celebrated its 7th birthday. Today, the information given during a closed meeting with the press flooded the Internet. One thing can be said: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is an attempt to return to the roots of the series and reverse the negative trend of declining active subscriptions in the game. Below is a brief list of changes and innovations prepared in the supplement. At the same time, Blizzard's Tom Chilton announced that the add-on's beta will start soon ("very soon").
We begin with the plot, although some may say that there is no such thing as a "plot" in WoW. In addition, it's supposed to become more important.
First of all, according to people from Blizzard, the plot in Mists of Pandaria is to be two-track. On the one hand, it will focus on exploring more than 10 thousand years of history of the Pandaren continent and its current situation. The creators want it to enable a return to traditional WoW gameplay, based more on world exploration, meeting new cultures and factions.
On the other hand, it will develop the concept of conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. After the continent of Pandaren emerges from the magical mists, representatives of both factions set out to conquer it and the war between them erupts with a new force. The world of Pandaria becomes a great battlefield.
The development of the story contained in the supplement will take place through subsequent patches released after the premiere. The final story of Mists of Pandaria will be the great siege of Orgrimmar by the Alliance and the Horde to end the reign of Garrosh Hellscream.
Furthermore, Blizzard added that the expansion will not be "fluff" or "teddy bear". It is meant to represent a return to classic WoW. The studio also responded to criticism of the choice of Pandaren as the new race. The folks at Blizzard said that they considered the idea while working on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and the prima facie information about the introduction of a new race from a few years ago doesn't mean that the expansion will be a joke on the gaming community.
Pandaria will enrich the game with eight zones and new enemy races with Asian-sounding names. During the conference a female version of the Pandaren race was also revealed.
Monk class and talent system
New class will be available for all races except goblins and worgens. It will offer three specializations (DPS, tank or healer) and will have no auto attack function. The monk will use two sources of energy: the energy bar and the Chi power, which will increase with each hit and will allow you to perform powerful combos (something like the Rogue class or the Assassin skill from Diablo II). Blizzard has assured those who see the monk as a reworking of other classes already available that he will have distinctive abilities that will clearly distinguish him from a warrior or a priest, for example. Each of them will have its own unique animation. The complete list of skills has been posted on the MMO Champion forum.
Talent system will undergo changes focused on the possibility of creating more arbitrary and unique combinations. Talents will be divided into groups of three. In each group skills will be balanced so that none of them will offer an advantage over others of the same level. In addition, they will not translate into easy to calculate mathematical changes in statistics. At the same time, Blizzard announced the introduction of the Tome of Clear Mind, which will allow for the redistribution of talents and glyphs. The changes are meant to allow for more interesting gameplay.
PvP, scenarios, raids and dungeons
The expansion will introduce one new arena and two battlefields - one on the Pandaren continent and one in Stranglethorn Valley. In the first one the gameplay will consist of gaining a certain number of points, which will ensure possession of a special artifact. The longer the character holds it, the more points he will gain for his team. The item will also cause a gradual loss of health, forcing players to pass it on to others. The second will be to get minerals located in the lava-filled Goblin mine. The gameplay is reminiscent of Team Fortress 2's Payload mode, in which players must gain control of a mine cart and bring it to a team-controlled zone.
As you know, Mists of Pandaria will introduce scenarios, or tasks designed for more players. This is Blizzard's response to the difficulty of finding players to perform group quests in the world of World of Warcraft. Scenarios are to be more similar to traditional quests and will often take place in areas that resemble some of the locations from the normal game mode. A certain number of "Valor points" will be provided for their completion. The search will resemble the system of joining groups in dungeons and during raids. The expansion will introduce five scenarios at launch.
The add-on will modify previously known dungeons (especially Scarlet Monastery and Scholomance) and introduce a new one (Stormstout Brewery) on the continent of Pandaria. In addition, nine heroic dungeons for level 90 characters have been announced, as well as three raids (with three difficulty levels) with 14 new bosses.
The system of obtaining loot will undergo changes. It will become zone-based - opening a window with items thrown by one enemy will immediately display those that can be picked up from nearby killed enemies. In addition, team item acquisition will be modified - other players won't know which option was selected during a given shuffle. Only the results of the draw will be announced. If a player loses, they will gain a certain amount of gold in each case.
