WotLK Alpha Leaks Part 1

This weekend, a version of the Alpha client for Wrath of the Lich King was accidently released, and boy is Blizzard pissed. Doing a Google search for the information, after hearing about it on The Instance, left me with a bunch of dead links and "Blizzard said, 'Stop That!'" posts I was frustrated. Then I came across WotLK Information Wiki.

NOTE: I don't expect to get a C&D from Blizzard, but the links in this post may not work much farther past the time this post was made. Be warned.

NOTE 2: SPOILER WARNING! This post will be full of WotLK spoilers. If you don't want to know whats coming up in the new expansion, outside of what Blizzard spoon feeds you, then I ask that you move on to the next thread. SPOILER WARNING!

First up, is a great video of some awesome shots of the towns and scenery from WotLK. I like the light effects from the lighthouses. Here is another great video from Caverns of Time: Stratholm. This place looks really cool, and I am all for adding new content to old dungeon hubs like CoT. I plan on doing a whole Deathknight column soon, so I will save my comments about the talents and spells, but I did want to dive into the juicy bits.

Warrior Spells and Talents: I have only leveled a warrior to 36, so I am not the best judge of what is good or bad here. I do like Trauma though, as I do like bleed effects. Titan's Grip is awesome, and I am curious if that means you can carry two 2-h weapons in a dual wield sort of way. Stalwart Protector is nice for tanks, but I don't think endgame tanks have many rage problems. Perhaps someone can fill me in on that.

Mage Spells and Talents: My Mage, Obret (70 Dranaei Mage [Frost]) is going to love Shatter Sheild. Any way to AOE mobs around me is going to be great. Frostfire Bolt is an excellent way to have another tool against mobs that are resistant to your normal spec.

Tommorow in Part 2, I'll look at Druids, Warlocks and the Enchanting skill through 450.

News: New WotLK Information, 2 Sources confirm!

I learned today, through MMO-Champion, and others, about two news stories out in the WoW world today. Eurogamer has a story about WotLK, as does Gamespy.

Some interesting tidbits:

• All dungeons will have both 10-man, and 25-man components. In other words, everyone will get to experience the content. Better rewards are given for 25-man raids. Heroic 5-mans will return.
  
• Vehicles in WotLK will have realistic physics, and can hold up to 6 players at a time.
• A new winged dungeon called the Nexus, which will include 70 and 80 5-mans, as well as raid content.
• Arthas will have multiple forms, starting out in Dragonblight, but moving into a dungeon of his own during the final patch of WotLK, similar to Sunwell Plateau.
• Dinosaurs. Need I say more?
• Blast from the past: Kolbolds, an "insane" Scarlet Crusade, Argent Dawn, the Scourge, Venture Company, and more make a return.
  
• Inscription will use Herbalism, and create Glyphs that modify your spells. Each player will have 4 major, and 2 minor Glyphs.
  
• Death Knights will start at level 55, and are plate wearing tanks or dps. Any player who has a toon 55 or higher can create one Death Knight per server.
  

There is a lot more info in the two articles. Feel free to comment about what you like, and don't like about the preview. Would love to hear your comments.