For those who are interested in taking part in the expansion’s upcoming alpha test have been invited to opt in via the beta profile settings on their Battle.net account. Apart from that, Blizzard intends to introduce a new proprietary file format that is known as CASC (Content Addressable Storage Container) throughout the entire Warlords of Draenor alpha and beta tests. Just what will CASC be able to offer? We are looking at better support for data streaming, an increased level of performance, faster and more reliable game updates, client hotfixing and hopefully the prevention of file corruption.
Blizzard has plans to convert all players to the new format in a pre-expansion patch, so do look out for this particular patch in due time. Just in case you were wondering, Warlords of Draenor can be pre-ordered as a Standard Edition for $49.99 a pop, or you can choose from the $69.99 Deluxe Digital Edition. [Press Release]