Blizzard shows three launch dungeons in a video
Blizzard has published a video about the launch dungeons of World of Warcraft: Forever. In just over four minutes it walks through three of the nine new dungeons: the Hall of Thanes, the Ruins of Lordaeron and the Excavation Site in the Wetlands.
The video appeared on 14 October at 19.00 Belgian time on the official World of Warcraft channel. Every new dungeon follows the design of the original game, says the narrator:
Clear pulls, real stakes, valuable quests, and necessary teamwork.
The Hall of Thanes
The Hall of Thanes lies directly below the throne room of Ironforge and is the first dungeon for Alliance characters. Like Ragefire Chasm for the Horde, it is built to teach group play to new players and to shake the rust off returning ones.
Dark Iron Dwarves have tunnelled in to loot the tombs of the kings of Ironforge. That woke the dead, and restless spirits now haunt the vault next to the thieves. Patrols walk through the halls, so careful pulls matter, and healers learn to manage their mana over a whole run. Killing Faldrim Anvilmar, the first boss, opens the way deeper into the hall.
Every boss, quest and reward is in the Hall of Thanes guide.
The Ruins of Lordaeron
The Ruins of Lordaeron plays out across the castle and its ruins, crawling with undead. Almost the whole dungeon lies outdoors, so it shows off the new lighting system of Forever: moving light, deep shadows and rolling fog from the first pull to the last.
In an exterior with moving shadows and fog, sightlines become a real threat.
The video advises pulling enemies to open, lit ground, where every enemy stays visible. The story sends players in to clear the Scourge and free the spirits bound to the ruins, and ends with the necromancer at the heart of the dungeon. The six bosses and every quest are in the Ruins of Lordaeron guide.
The Excavation Site in the Wetlands
A Dwarf expedition went to dig in the Wetlands and things went wrong. Players go in to find out what happened. The dungeon leans on its zone: crossings over open water and plenty of dangerous reptiles.
Then there is the tall grass. Several kinds of raptors nest in it, some of them stealthed. Move slowly, pull carefully and keep the healer out of the grass, advises the narrator. How that works out in practice is in the Excavation Site guide.
Dalaran and the rest
The video also looks briefly at the City of Dalaran. The Kirin Tor do not trust outsiders yet, so players enter through the toxic sewers, fight their way up to the streets and unlock the quests of the city from the inside. More is in the City of Dalaran guide.
Beyond the new dungeons, Forever refreshes nearly every dungeon of the original game, with new rewards and more quest experience, says Blizzard. On the beta, the bonus on top of normal quest experience was cut by half on 1 October, but dungeon quests still give more than normal quests. Every dungeon found so far is in the dungeon guides.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment