After much speculation, it turns out that the trademark was legit and that the next World of Warcraft expansion is indeed called, Warlords of Draenor. For gamers who might not have played the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, there might be some aspects of the game that might be lost on you, but for faithful followers of the Warcraft franchise, there will be some fond memories right there. The expansion will introduce two factions warring against each other: the Draenei (who made their appearance in the Burning Crusade expansion), and the iron orcs who have inhabited the world of Draenor alongside the Draenei.
As expected, the level cap will be increased, but interestingly enough instead of merely raising the cap by 5 levels, Blizzard has decided to make it 10 levels, maxing it out at level 100. The good news for new players who are now groaning at the idea of grinding it out from level 1-100, you’re in luck because Blizzard has also announced that they will allow you to boost one character of your choice up to level 90, allowing you to experience the new leveling zone alongside your friends.
Unfortunately there is no new character class or races introduced (playable, at least), but there will be a Garrison feature that basically allows players to build up a fort and operate it. If you’re a bit sick of questing and grinding, perhaps this might be a feature that could entertain you.
Players will also be able to journey to the new world of Draenor and there will be new dungeons, raids, scenarios, battlegrounds, and more. Now for gamers who might have been complaining about World of Warcraft’s outdated graphics, the character models of the game have been given an update.
While they probably don’t look anything near “next-gen”, they do look slightly more realistic, with the models’ sharp edges being smoothed out to look a bit more natural, which we guess is a welcome improvement. In any case if you’re interested in finding out more, you can check out the announcement trailer above or hit up the Warlords of Draenor FAQ for more info!
What do you guys make of it? Will this be enough to help attract back some subscribers to World of Warcraft’s slowly declining active playerbase?