BlizzCast Episode 10

**Azel** · 10/08/2009, 21:52

BlizzCast Episode 10 <div class="blizzquotewrap"><div class="blizzquoteinner"><div class="blizzquoteheader">Quote from: Blizzard (<a href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcast/archive/episode10.xml" target="_blank" style="color: white;">Source</a>)</div><div class="blizzquote">Zarhym: Hello everyone and welcome to BlizzCast 10. This is Zarhym with the World of Warcraft community team. Joining me today to discuss some of the highlights of World of Warcraft’s recent patch 3.2, Call of the Crusade, are Lead Encounter Designer Mr. Scott Mercer and Senior Game Designer Mr. Dave Maldonado. Welcome gentlemen. Scott Mercer: Hello! Dave Maldonado: Hey there! Zarhym: First up, can you just give us an overview of the story that is developing here? For instance, why are players taking part in the Argent Tournament? Dave Maldonado: The Argent Crusade’s tournament serves two purposes really. One is to unite the Alliance and the Horde in their efforts against Icecrown. It was never really kind of a unified thing from the very start and after the events at the Wrathgate it just completely fell apart. And so Tirion’s really just trying to get the two factions and their leaders – you know and sort of all the heroes that are working under them, for them – together at the tournament and sort of trying to change the way that they see one another, or communicate with one another and, you know, get them actually working together against this thing instead of wheeling around in the sky above Icecrown taking pot shots at one another. And really the second goal is Tirion’s just gathering heroes to assault Icecrown; and again, the events at the Wrathgate really showed that, you know, any conventional force that assaults the citadel are just going to get kind of wiped out en masse and then raised as undead, attack their own commanders and it’s all going to fall apart. So the idea is that this relatively small force of very skilled and very well-equipped attackers can maybe move on the citadel and see some degree of success. So not only does the tournament, with all its rewards, draw adventurers that might not normally show up just out of a sense of duty. It’ll get people that are looking for fame, people that are looking for money, you know, just really all the bad asses in Northrend together. It allows Tirion to sort of scout them all and kind of hand-pick the best candidates for this final attack. Zarhym: Okay, so to sort of play off of the evolving storyline at the Argent Tournament, what are some of the bigger updates in patch 3.2 to sort of support that storyline? Dave Maldonado: Well, I mean story-wise, it is kind of just a continuation. So nothing really starts there. Nothing really ends there. But, you know, the storyline certainly does continue. So players will see these important figures beginning to converge on the tournament as the actual games begin. The coliseum’s been built now. The training period is over… like the real, real deal is starting. So Thrall arrives, Garrosh, Jaina, King Wrynn. All of these people are coming there and meeting with Tirion. And this is stuff that happens in game on the grounds. Players will be able to see them all appearing and interacting with one another; and through their interactions you’ll get a real sense of kind of what’s going on, of the tensions that underlie this whole sort of tenuous thing that Tirion and the crusade are trying to manage. And there’s some cameos too, some sort of side stuff that relates. Trag Highmountain is there who’s a character who has kind of a big grudge against Arthas and he’s sort of showing up in this sort of final preparation stage as well. And then there’s the Cult of the Damned thing and the Black Knight. That story actually continues here as well. It wasn’t over. He’s… not… dead... yet, completely! Zarhym: [laughs] Dave Maldonado: So that’s still going on. Zarhym: Right. Dave Maldonado: He’s the Black Knight! He never dies. The guy just keeps going. Zarhym: So is he ever going to die? I mean, are we ever going to find out? Are we ever going to kill him and finally say "alright, he's just dead now"? Dave Maldonado: Uhh... Scott Mercer: You end up fighting him inside the 5-player dungeon. Zarhym: Okay, sort of going off of that. As far as the storyline is concerned, what’s the difference between Trial of the Champion, the 5-player dungeon, versus Trial of the Crusader, the 10- and 25-player dungeon? Scott Mercer: Sure, besides the obvious number of player difference. [laughs] Zarhym: Right, right. Scott Mercer: Story-wise there’s a pretty big difference. Like with the dungeon, what we really wanted to portray was all the training that you’ve been doing from the last patch sort of all pays off here. So when you first come in you’re actually doing some of the activities you were doing outside. Namely, like there’s a little bit of jousting at the beginning. But you’re not fighting these crazy monsters or anything. You’re actually fighting other champions. So if you’re an Alliance player that goes in, the first encounter you run into is actually you fighting three of the five racial champions. So as a Horde player you might fight the champion of Gnomeregan, the champion of Stormwind. Tirion’s really trying to find like the best people and that’s what this sort of entire story’s been leading up to. In the 5-player dungeon you sort of get crowned that, like you end up fighting a member of the Argent Crusade and then finally you end up… you fight the Black Knight again. Zarhym: [laughs] Scott Mercer: Because he shows up to ruin everything. Zarhym: Of course. Scott Mercer: Yeah... Zarhym: As he does. Scott Mercer: Yes, he’s one to do that. Zarhym: [laughs] Scott Mercer: Now the 10- and 25-player raid is a little bit different. There Tirion has been bringing in these crazy challenges for you to fight. When the patch goes live you’ll actually see the very first creatures you’ll end up fighting because Tirion has brought like, they’ve gone out and tried to find the biggest, baddest beasts that they could find all across Northrend, and you actually see them outside on the grounds. If you’re not raiding, normally a lot of times you don’t see these bosses, but here you actually see them outside. They’re chained up. So one of the beasts you fight is this huge yeti and he’s outside chained up, getting ready to be brought in for you as players to fight. So the raid is much more about these huge challenges that are being brought in. They’ve captured some undead for you to fight. You’re supposed to fight some Argent Crusade champions in there as well, although that turns out to be a little bit different because the Horde and Alliance hate each other. Zarhym: Right Scott Mercer: So, really big challenges which you’ll see in the raid. Zarhym: And will we get to see both jormungars outside as well? Dave Maldonado: ...Yeah. Zarhym: [laughs] Dave Maldonado: There’s a lot of these hunter NPCs that are gathering these beasts and bringing them and I think at some point that guy shows up. It’s either, I think there’s taunka hunters and tuskarr guys and yeah, they come in with those guys in tow. Most of them aren’t big enough though. I think they keep... Scott Mercer: Yeah. Dave Maldonado: There’s actually, well I suppose we can get into that later, but a lot of the new dailies have to do with these raid bosses and gathering them, and then keeping them fed once you have them. Because you'd be surprised how much two jormungars eat. Scott Mercer: Or even a sleeping yeti. [more laughs] Dave Maldonado: Yea, but I think the best way to look at the two things are that the dungeon is the literal continuation of the tournament – it’s what the valiants and the aspirants and the champions have been training for...    Scott Mercer: Right.    Dave Maldonado: And when it’s over you "win" the tournament – whereas the raid, the coliseum is really more kind of like a stand-alone, sort of just traditional arena challenge thing. Zarhym: Okay. So now that we’ve covered a lot of the story behind the Argent Tournament, how are the dailies progressing? You know, what can players expect in this patch that’s new as far as stuff to do on the Argent Tournament grounds or dailies to pick up there to explore the world, or whatever? Dave Maldonado: Yeah, there’s actually two new sets of dailies, two new sets of quartermasters. Between the dailies and the dungeon we’re actually doubling the amount of Champion’s Seals that players can earn so, you know, you can get that stuff a little more faster. There’s just a lot more stuff to earn as well. You know, new mounts, tabards, pets, there’s heirloom items. The old ones are available for Champion’s Seals and then the new ones; you can acquire them through Champion’s Seals as well. There’s the chest pieces that also give experience that stack with the shoulders. ...</div></div></div>

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