Some of them look real great

Today at BlizzCon, Blizzard confirmed just what will be coming next for World of Warcraft: Legion after the Kara??zhan update, and it's none other than the Tomb of Sargeras (with Kil'jaeden at the end of it), which wil?l be implemented in patch 7.2 alongside of a new dungeon.

As a note, Blizzard had a record drop in players for the last expansion Warlords of Draenor, which started off great, but resulted in a plummeting subscriber base after they failed to really deliver any substantial updates. During the opening keynote and their "What's next for WoW" panel, th??ey reiterated that they won't be?? making that same mistake again.

Blizzard also explained that in 7.2, flying will be implemented -- a feature typically missing at the start of expansions so that players will explore everything before simply skipping over it. There will be no raid content required -- just? outdoor questing throughout the Broken Shore questline. Once you unlock flying on one character, it'll be enabled for everyone. On top of that, there will be class mounts, which reflect the playstyle of each class.

Ian Hazzikostas, Legion's game director, spoke to Destructoid about some of the finer points of flying in the latest expansion. "It will basically be the same as Draenor. The idea is that you're mastering all of the outdoor content before you earn the right to fly in it." It won't be super hard either if you finished the first part -- "You'll complete the first part of the achievement from 7??.0, then move into the new Broken Shore questline??, and finish a few ancillary things, then unlock flying."

Once everyone's done with Karazhan and the Emerald Nightmare Raid this will be the next big thing. As I mentioned in my review, this is the best WoW has been in a long while, so I'm planning on playing through all of?? this.

The post Flying, ?custom class mounts confirmed for World of Warcraft: Legion appeared first on Destructoid.

I am prepared, actually

It always feels str?ange loo?king back to screenshots of a journey through an MMO.

I keep a catalog during the leveling process of every World of Warcraft expansion, from the opening moments to the second I ding at the ca?p. It's strange watching this digita??l avatar morph into something more personal over time, something that you've painstakingly created as an extension of yourself.

I've finally reached the top for Legion working my way through Mythic dungeons, so I ??fe?el like I can make a complete assessment.

World of Warcraft: Legion (PC)
Developer: Blizzard
Publisher: Blizzard
Released: August 30, 2016
MSRP: $49.99

To make this a more rounded review I took the brand new hero class of Demon Hunter to the new level 110 cap, and it's slowly become one of my favorites. I can hold hate in dungeons as a tank and deal a respectable amount of damage, my kit is diverse with a number of CC (crowd control), AOE (area-of-effect), and single-target abilities, and the skill tree offers?? an array of alterations.

But really, it's the gliding effect I love. Not only can Demon Hunters double jump, but they can opt to spread their wings as well, protecting them from harmful falls more effectively than any other prior method like a Mage's "levitate." It mak??es for some incredible moments, leaping off gigantic mountaintops and slowly cruising through terrain with a giant wingspan in tow, especially since Blizzard has packed-in so many little Easter eggs and hidden alcoves in the new Broken Isles zone -- more-so than any expansion before it.

The leveling process is just fantastic. Players can opt to choose where they want to go first, and even though they'll eventually?? see all four starting regions, the chance to go to place you might find more enticing without being forced into a typical ho-hum "starter zone" forced the team to put effort into every area. The shared mountains of Highmountain and Stormheim allow for the map to feel like a cohesive, organic setting, and the lore-heavy ??Val'Sharah and Azsuna have something for returning players.

But in typical MMO fashion, the game isn't over at the cap. I was pretty blown away with the effort that was put into the fifth "endgame" zone, Suramar. The narrative centers around a faction called the Nightfallen, which, as a result of many years of isolation, have become dependent on an en??ergy source they fashioned into a drink called Arcwine -- if they don't get their fix, they morph into mindless creatures called "Withered" and go on a rampage.

Although there's still your typical rendition of "good and evil" in Suramar, you get to see more nuanced storylines of how their people have survived all this time, and the stakes that are involved feel real, bringing me closer to the world of Legion as a whole. It also sp??orts some of the most fun quests in the game (one has you springing out a giant T-Rex from a pen, culminating in a driv??e-by buffet chomping session) and several minigames that are repeatable for Nightfallen reputation.

That whole "minigame" philosophy applies to the entire World of Warcraft experience now too, if you haven't been playing the last several expansions. In Legion, I darted around temple traps and laser beams, Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible style, climbed mountains with a grappling gun like a 3D Zelda game, played a DDR-like session for a quest, shot a bunny-launcher weapon, and got to chill with big charac??ters like Malfuri?on and Tyrande.

And that idea is taken up full-hog in Legion with "World Quests," a post-level-110 extension of the campaign. The gist is that roughly 50 quests are active on the map at any time, with cycling timelines of several hours or several days. Much like Guild Wars 2, they can be completed by anyone regardless of party settings, and reward you with actual good gear that can be on par with pre-raid, or even raid-level properties. That's because Blizzard made it possible to obtain Legendary items through regular questing, in addition to "Warforged" or "Titanforged" modifiers that can boost up? the item level of a piece of gear randomly.

As much as I loathe the idea of adding more RNG to the game, I support the concept of making world questing viable -- as it's not only more fun than grinding out dailies for rep to buy a mount, but it's also a way for people who are intimidated by dungeons to accomplish something. Plus, I'm seeing a lot more partying for world questing -- more than I've ever witnessed before. I realized something after doing world quests for about 20 hou??rs, in that they were funneling me into key leveling areas I had just done, creating a more active world throughout the entire expansion, and not just clutters of people huddled around town spamming chat for a high gearscore tank.

Order Halls make the endgame loop a little more enticing as well -- at least more than Garrisons did in the last expansion. Sending out your NPCs on quests is fun, and having a little Shade of Akama following me around at all times with the companion mechanic is ace. You can opt to use the app too instead of babysitting your PC throughout the day, and your crew's abilities remind me a bit of the crew system from Skies of Arcadia how they slot into different t??asks like puzzle pieces.

But the slog isn't entirely removed. If you want the best gear and there aren't any good World Quests up, you will need to play tons of Heroic or Mythic dungeons until your gear drops. Yes it's an MMO and Blizzard wants you to keep playing, so the tap isn't completely turned on at full blast, even if there's multiple bathrooms to choose from now. Plus, Mythic dungeons currently don't have a matchmaking system like Heroics, so once you outgrow the latter, you still need to get involved and throw your weight around a bit instead of relying on matchm??aking.

In that way WoW hasn't really progressed as a fully casual-friendly game beyond the initial campaign string. Blizzard has the leveling thing down at this point (you could argue it did at Lich King), but many elements of the post-cap experience are just as daunting as ever. Again, having played it for over a decade, I'm okay with this hardcore tint. But Blizz?ard could really stand to prepare players for endgame scenarios with more tutorials or specialized solo trials that really help them understand a lot of advanced tactics so t?hey don't get yelled at in a public group and quit forever.

There are flashes of brillianc??e, like the opening Demon Hunter quest that takes you through the iconic Vault of the Wardens to battle several locked-up bosses in hamstrung form, only to lead you back into the vault on Heroic difficulty to seal them up once and for all with a greater challenge. It not only fits from a lore perspective but an educational?? one, yet that experience is only applicable to Demon Hunters and rarely replicated elsewhere.

For you PVP fiends (I was only really active in Vanilla and Burning Crusade myself), the entire system has been overhauled for the better. Now there's another way to level up past 110 as PVP has its own honor ranks with player-versus-player-specific abilities, which creates a whole new meta-game for people who are into that scene (on top of a Prestige system). Don't worry, there's still old-school arenas and battlegrounds (BGs) afoot, it all just goes towards a common go??al now.

In a more polarizing sequence of events, equipment is marginalized and normalized, so you don't have to grind for hundreds of hours for "PVP gear," you just get good gear -- yet, you also won't be granted major bonuses, so depending on your point of view gearing up might be pointless. As someone who hasn't liked PVP in ages though, I a??ppreciate the shakeup and I've actually been dabbling more as of late, so mission accomplished.

World of Warcraft: Legion does the greatest job so far of really connecting players to its world. Unlike the past several expansions, I really want to be a part of this universe and see this story through until its end. This is the best WoW has been since Wrath.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. The reviewer reached level 110 for the purposes of this assessment.]}

The post Review: World of Warcraft: Legion appeared first on Destructoid.

I don't miss Garrisons

One of World of Warcraft's most divisive features was introduced in its last expansion -- Garrisons. Essentially amounting to a base managemen?t minigame, players could track down NPCs, get them to perform an essential function for their instanced camp, and lead them to victory through daily mi?ssions with timers. It was fun at first, but got old over time, especially since players were required to log in constantly to babysit it.

The Class Hall system in Legion is likely going to have longer legs. It's more akin to a questing system from a JRPG, and it has a more direct impact on the story. It also has a great, easy to use co??mpanion app that lets you manage your base while you're on the go.

Although I pretty much have a handle on the Broken Isles by now (the new zone), I love that the world map shows up on the app itself, and that you can actually see where your troops are going. It adds a little story to the automated endeavors, a "I've been there" sort of camaraderie-type feeling that helps you connect with your NPCs a bit. I won't sp??oil it, but seeing some major lore characters appear as heroes for some class halls is a nice touch too.

The app also ends the issue of a guildmate falling behind on resources or rewards (especially leveling up your new artifact weapon) merely because they went on vacation. It does pretty much everything it advertises, and you ??can see a detailed view of each mission, which lets you judge who to send accord?ingly.

The only downside I can see at the moment is that it logs you out of World of Warcraft when you sign into the app. That would be fine on its ?own if it was related to technic??al limitations, but then the app notifies you that someone is already logged in, and parses a bit before it lets you try again. It shouldn't do both, though it is ultimately a minor inconvenience, as I've mostly used the app before bed or while I'm out -- far removed from being logged in.

I hit level 110 this week?? with my Demon Hunter, and I'm forging ahead with gearing up for Mythic Dungeons (available now) and the raid (out on September 20). Expect my review after I've played more endgame!

You can find the app here on Android and here on iOS.

The post The World of Warcraft: Legion companion app couldn’t have come soon enough appeared first on Destructoid.

Super smooth

I've been playing World of Warcraft since the beta, and I had yet to see an incredibly smooth launch for an expansion -- until Legion, that is.

Players were able to log in basically at mi??dnight at launch (a little earlier, actually), with little to no issues, lengthy queues, DDoS attacks, or crashes. I waltzed right in, started the intro quest, and was on my way.

Legion doesn't spend any time messing around.

Right after logging in you're given a quest to head to Dalaran in the Eastern Continent, at which point it'll teleport to the Broken? Isles (the new zone). Within five minutes or less, you're in. There's no lengthy cutscene intro, no super long busywork questline, you're just there in record ??time.

And much like the Demon Hunter intro quest, it's much more story-based this time around. Major players from the narrative are front and center, making use of the phasing mechanic to give each person their own custom story, void of the shackles of hundreds of other avatars mucking it up. The best part? You get your own personal story too very early on, tying directly into the "artifact weapon" mechanic introduced in Legion. In short, you're basically picking a specialization to commit to in exchan??ge for access to a lore-based weapon, which ??you'll get in roughly an hour. Plus, you guessed it -- it has its own epic questline.

I really took to this idea more than I thought I would. There's a real connection to the weapon that's forged right away, most notably because you're actually going to get it yourself. There's also less junk to sort through in terms of loot throughout the adven??ture, and the upgrade tree is a much more engaging way to bond with equipment than grinding out the same dungeon 20 times to unlock something. Adding bonus weapon e??xperience to random dungeon roulettes is a nice touch too.

Building on the concept of choice, Legion lets you decide your first starting zone, with a level scaling system that takes care of the details. I chose the inviting Stormheim, and since everyone else was offered that same choice, it wasn't heavily populated to the point of feeling packed. It really is a natural evolution of some of the principles put forth in Wrath, and it's extended to scaled dungeons. So if you hated that stringent, linear way of inching from level to level and dungeon t?o dungeon in past games, this mostly fixes all that.

The quests and dungeons, even in the early game, are more varied too. There are more esoteric lore-based activities to do, hidden or otherwise limited named elite mobs to fight on the w?orld map, and more interesting boss fights, some of which have light puzzles sprinkled in. Seeing that a lot of other games are churning out tank and spank encounters by a different name, it's a refreshing change of pace for a company that basically patented the idea so many years ago.

Blizzard vows that it'll be supporting Legion more than Warlords, which saw a dismal level of major content patches after its strong launch. Right now that's just a promise, but I don't see it repeating the same mistakes again given how drastically the userbase dropped. Expect a full review once I've touched all that Legion has to offer.

_{[These impressio??ns are based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post World of Warcraft: Legion had a killer launch and packs a grea??t early game flow appeared first on Destructoid.

I am prepared, actually

I've been playing World of Warcraft for over 10 years. Sure my raiding days ended in earnest in Cataclysm, but I've kept up with every expansion since its beta phase in 2004, and have played every class in the game -- and on occasion, serving as a class lead in s??everal guilds. During that period of time, I saw most of my friends quit, and now, I wander the wasteland of Azeroth alone.

But that's perfectly fine with me as WoW is still one of the best MMOs to date, even if many of its archaic element?s have been surpassed by recent projects. Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in again.

Similar to Nintendo's strategy of appealing to nostalgia with the "Alola Forms" of classic Red & Blue Pokémon, so too is Blizzard aiming for your love for Warcraft. At the core of the conflict stands Gul'dan and Illidan, two mainstays that are now locked in combat with the looming threat of the Burning Legion in the background. And like the Death Knight hero class tied heavily into the story of Wrath of the Lich King and the subsequent wrapping up of Arthas' tale, the addition of the Demon ??Hunter hero class (only the second hero class in over 10 years) is a perfect fit.

There's a small catch if you're keen to make one -- you need a level 70 character on that server -- and you need to own the Legion expansion itself, and you're in. Demon Hunters start at level 98, and by the end of the roughly three-hour-long questline, you'll hit 100 (primed to start your climb to the new 110 level cap once Legion proper is out). On top of that, you can get a promotional level boost to 100 for a new or existing character, so it's a damn great jump-start if you opt for the pair (especially so if you boost a healer, as you'll have access to all three primary roles of the trinity).

And oh, how I missed hero classes. Double-jumping and gliding with demonic wings down a giant chasm is a rush, and after the new story was all said and done, I went back to old areas to explore and screw around. Demon Hunters are fast, and probably the most fun I've ever had with a melee class in WoW. Damage spec DHs have access to a dash (which can be used in the a?ir), which doubles as an in-combat (key) escape or dodge, and tank specs have a giant leaping smash. Sometimes I wouldn't even m??ount, I'd just dash or leap around.

They also have a bunch of wacky powers like Spectral Sight, which can reveal cloaked enemies and see through walls, as well as shoot laser beams from their eyes. It's silly, but so is the idea of a being who consumes the heart of a demon to gain its power (a process expanded upon in the new Illidan novel). The eye lasers also remind me of Devil Jin from Tekken so it wins on multiple levels.

The focus on only two specs (tanking and damage, or, DPS) is streamlined, but as one of many classes at this point, it's merely an option. I will say that while DPS is really fun, the tank focus isn't quite as interesting as the Death Knight was at the launch of Wrath. Though you can't really say the DH doesn't have the right tools for the job, wit?h plenty of AOE (area of effect) and single-target hate generation even before all of their (up to level 110) talents are acquired.

Another hero class bonus is the extra storyline. The quest takes place before the current timeline, in Mardum, the Shattered Abyss. It's even more thrilling than the Death Knight tale, filled with little raid bosses and set to an all-out war between multiple factions. It's amazing how Blizzard can create something of that scale even if it's in an instanced, controlled zone separated from the main ??game world.

I also feel more connected here than I did with Warlords. Major players like Illidan (of course), as well as Maiev Shadowsong and Sylvanas are in, and there's more voice acting than ever before. The engine is still incredibly dated (going back to WoW is hard sometimes after playing Final Fantasy XIV on a high-end machine with the new DirectX upgrades), but the animations are still really detailed, specifically in regards to the demonic transformation abilities. The first-person cutscenes also do a great job of making your character feel important despite the fact that everyone is getting the same story. MMOs have come a long way with advancements like phasing, that's for sure.

As someone who was part of a server-first Illidan kill in Burning Crusade, it's great seeing my favorite expansion revisited (I know a lot of you out there favor Wrath, and that's cool). Both in terms of the revisiting of the past and seeing iconic locations like the Vault of the Wardens (on the Broken Isles, the new Legion zone that's housed between Kalimdor and the Easter Kingdoms) in the present. There's also some massive developments with the lead-in that have me excited to see where it goes, without the "alternate universe" shtick that Warlords had. It feels like there are m??ore stakes involved, an?d several big characters have already bit the dust.

Right now only the new Demon Hunter class (and storyline) is available, and a bunch of events will spring up in the next several weeks. World of Warcraft: Legion arrives later this month, at? which point I'll be able to test out the new 100-110 leveling process, as well as the new dungeons, raids, and PVP elements. Stay tuned!

_{[These impressions are based on a retail build of the game provided by the pub?lisher.]}

The post Review in Progress: World of Warcraft: Legion appeared first on Destructoid.

It's an Early Access bonus

One of the things I'm most jazzed about when it comes to the World of Warcraft: Legion expansion is the Demon Hunter class. Modeled after Illidan and the hero from Warcraft III, this active playstyle was pretty fun in the alpha/beta pr?ogram, and will only get better with age.

Previously Blizzard has teased that it will enter WoW sooner than the expansion in early access?? form, but over the weekend they announced the exact date -- August 9. If you've already pre-ordered the game you're good to go.

I haven't seen a lot of player buzz so I don't know how much the playerbase will surge after Legion is out, but it looks fun to me.

World of Warcraft [Twitter]

The post World of Warcraft’s Demon Hunter class is coming on August 9 appeared first on Destructoid.

Neat fanservice

Gul'dan, a name pretty much everyone knows by now because of his appearance in the recent Warcraft film as well as Heroes of the Storm, now has his own animated short.

Blizzard is crafting a new series called "Harbingers," which sort of sets up the story for its upcoming World of Warcraft: Legion expansion. For newco??mers it's a great way to get caught up on all of the curr??ent lore happenings, and for hardcore fans, it's an amazing fanservicey refresher. Maybe you'll feel bad for Gul'dan after watching it?

Say what you will about "lore," and fandom, I love how detailed Blizzard is with its projects. It ??leaves almost no stone untu?rned, even if it takes the company decades to do it.

The post Blizzard kicks off Warcraft animated short series with Gul’dan appeared first on Destructoid.

The sixth expansion is nearly here

World of Warcraft: Legion, the MMO's?? sixth expansion, will launch August 30,?? Blizzard just announced.

Taking place on the heels of Warlords of Draenor, this $50? add-on raises the game's level cap from 100 to 110, introduces a new demon hunter class, and sports new dungeons, raids, and artifact weapons.

In addition to the standard edition, Blizzard is offering a $70 "digital deluxe" set, which comes with in-game bonuses of the studio's games. Those include a mount and pet for World of Warcraft, a Heroes of the  Storm mount, a helm transmog and wings for Diablo III, and a pair of StarCraft II portraits.

A $90 physical collector'?s edition will also be available in limited quantity, which, along with all the digital bonuses, features a hardcover art book, behind-the-scen??es footage, music, and a mouse pad.

As an incentive to snap the expansion up ahead of release, Blizzard is giving players who pre-order an instant boost to level 100 for one character and early access to the demon hunt??er class.

 The Legion invades Wo??rld of Warcraft Augus?t 30 [Blizzard]

The post World of Warcraft: Legion launches August 30 appeared first on Destructoid.

Honor levels and Prestige!

Blizzard is changing things up for World of Warcraft's PVP mode once the Legion expansion hits, and it sounds like the ??system is going to get closer to the Vanilla era.

For starters, currencies for buying gear will be eradicated. Players will instead level up with a mechanic closer to most online shooters, unlocking rewards and "Honor Talents" (loadouts). When entering PVP your Honor Talents will unlock, and gear won't matter "all that much." Stats will be nullified after entering PVP (only providing a ??nominal bonus), normalizing the playing field for all players. Hell, it even has a Prestige system, where you can reset your Honor Level to 1 for rewards. It's a tried and true system that's worked for years as a carrot for players, so why not try it, I guess.

All of this sounds pretty good (or at least, better than the current system) as PVP needed some shaking up, but is it too little too late? Legion isn't even set to launch until mid to late next y?ear.

Legion PvP Preview [Battle.net]

The post World of Warcraft is get?ting a more Call of Duty-like PVP system appeared first on Destructoid.

For the Legion expansion

The World of Warcraft: Legion expansion isn't set to debut until mid-2016 (!), but Blizzard has provided alpha access to some individuals far ahead of its release. As of this week I had a chance to try out the Demon Hunter class, which only Night Elves?? and Blood Elves have access to.

Since I've always had an affinity for the Horde (though my server-first raiding guild during Burning Crusade made me switch to Alliance), I created a Blood Elf, and j?umped into it. Like the Death Knight before it there's a little exposition with a limited amount of skills before you jump into the core game, and it sheds a litt??le light on some more of Illidan's story.

What's really cool about the class is that it has a double-jump, glide, and dash attack at its disposal, the latter of which can be used to air-dash. Souls also drop from some fallen foes, which can replenish your HP when touched, adding a bit more flair as well. It's a tad more action oriented than a lot of other play styles, but at the end of the day it's still WoW.

I wasn't really floored by what's on offer so far, but I'm still looking forward to the new expa??nsion.

The post Here’s a quick look at World of Warcraft’s new Demon Hunter class appeared first on Destructoid.

New Demon Hunter class!

Blizzard kicked things off today at gamescom with a new expansion announcement for World of Warcraft -- Legion. It will of course continue upon the story so far in Warlords of Draenor, and Illidan is back, baby!

It will feature a new class (Demon Hunters for Night Elves and Blood Elves only), a level cap of 110, new raids and dungeons, a new honor system, class order halls, a new continent, and a customizable artifact weapon system. Lore-wise this is great news, as Burning Crusade remains my favorite WoW expansion.

Blizzard notes that we'll see "through Illidan's eyes," the story of the Demon Hunters and their past. The narrative will heavily involved the Black Temple, and direct references and comparisons to Burning Crusade were made. Titans and Val'kyr are als??o heavily involved in the story, as is Dalaran, which lore-nuts will dig.

Different specs and classes will embark upon specific quests for their own artifact weapon, all coupled with lore-heavy stories in major areas like Icecrown Citadel -- it sounds exactly like the relic storyline in Final Fantasy XIV, but a bit more detailed (you can change your stats and abilities, an example given is that a Death Knight can resurrect himself) and with s?ockets. It's also important to note that Demon Hunter, like Death Knight, is a Hero Class.

This is probably the most interesting expansion on paper since BC. Vault of the Wardens as a dungeon? Yes please.

World of Warcraft [YouTube]

The post Blizzard reveals new World of W??arcr?aft: Legion expansion appeared first on Destructoid.