The third massive announcement of BlizzCon 2013 has finally been revealed: the Warlords of Draenor expansion for World of Warcraft. Putting the homeworld of the Orcs and the bastion of big blue warriors the Draenei firmly in the spotlight, Warlords of Draenor promises to tear apart Azeroth and reshape it once more.
Blizzard Senior Vice President Chris Metzen was on hand to explain what is changing in World of Warcraft. “What makes Warcraft tick? What makes it distinct? What keeps it fresh for us?” he asked. “We’ve been thinking a lot about the early days. How many of you were around and with us during the events of orcs and humans. These original games, this original trilogy is where the DNA originally came from. They’re the origin points for your factions.”
Enter Warlords of Draenor. Players will be time-travelling back to the very beginning of the modern Warcraft story, 30 years before current events. We’ll be seeing “some of the baddest dudes ever in the Warcraft franchise” according to Metzen. We’ll also be travelling to Draenor, which offers up a whole new world to quest in. Excitingly, this new world will feature garrisons that can be upgraded and defended. As usual the level cap increases, now set at 100.
Warcraft is also experiencing a graphical overhaul, with new character models for all races. The new models look surprisingly lovely for a game build on an ageing engine.
That rumoured trademark and domain name registration was no hoax then. Talking of which, the Warlords of Draenor website should be online any time now…