well I was hoping for something other than an elf for a new class...>_> but I suppose it will all be new to me seeing as I have yet to even play the game once yet... either I will get 360 to play it(if it comes out on 360) or upgrade my computer....scratch that.... I mean build a nice one

With the Blood Elves on the side of the horde, that pretty much destroys everything the alliance ever had going for it...

except the more polished end game areas, arguably more attractive zones, more fleshed out quests and quest chains....

Life is hard being Horde, but we still dominate you in PvP ; )

Well, the addition of the BEs destroys my desire to ever play WoW again.

yes, correst me if wrong, but don't the blood elves already have an alliance with the nagas and some other race? And don't the naga hate the horde, so basically this makes no sense...

Remember guys... the World of Warcraft is evolving so new lore has to be added. Old alliances can be broken and new alliances formed thats what happens in the real world doesnt it?

So Blizzard will just add a story arc where the Blood elves and Naga fall out and the Blood elves turn to the horde for assistance. Easy.

I like the idea of being able to travel back in time and become involved in historic battles and events. I'm not so chuffed about the flying mounts being limited to outland though.

Seems like I have plenty of time to get my lvl 53 Orc up to level 60 before the expansion pack arrives too! *yay*

Andyk, they cant change alliances like that, imagine half your guild of IRL friends dissappear to the other side after an expansion just because blizzard wanted them to change alliance.

Then if you want to play with your friend again you or they have to reroll and remove old char. o.o

It would be cool if everyone could change race and then a side, like in Lineage 2. ^_^

This sucks, but i guess we have to wait and see is this info is correct.. "No new classes"? LOL!? What kind of expansion is that? This just looks like another patch to me...

do we have to start at lvl 1 again :( ?

A lvl 70 cap will break all existing top instances.
Bosses in MC are lvl 63 and being 7 levels higher will allow you to resist their spells/curses etc even WO resist gear.
So a 20 ppl Ragnaros kill will happen eventually.
And Onyxia goes down even now with <30 ppl, imagine with lvl 70 cap then ?

And dont forget the 10 more talentpoints you get, every class will have to be completely rebuild from scratch so ensure pvp balance.

IMo with a lvl70 cap the whole wow-world will have to be rebuilt.

omg, they are ruining the game play!!!oneone... wtf is it up with flying mounts, ffs, dont realese and expantion plx

@ Volvo
Onyxia has been killed by 17 already. On Argent Dawn (EU) by the guild Insight.

The world will indeed change if there is another 10 levels to gain..

I for one welcome our new overlords.

Well.. calm down a bit :p remember.. Blizzard is one of the greatest game making companies in the world.. They would not create a exp. pack and throw it out before having it all thought through.. They have allways made excelent games, and I am sure this xp pack will be no different.. Indeed as we stand now a lvl 70 cap will change lots of things, but they dont just say lvl 70 and then release the game.. Of course there are lots of things they do change... And yes, u are right, there will be a lot of "rebuilding" but do we have to care of that? Thats blizzards job, and if they wanna do it that way, then i support em ;D

I actually spoke to my friend about the new level 70 cap quite a bit and he had a lot of interesting things to say. Currently the very highest level raids are extremely hard even with a 40-person raid of level 60s with uber equipment and perfect coordination. By raising the cap those instances will still be a challenge, but instead of having to kill Onyxia with 40 people working together perfectly you will be able take her on with a slightly smaller group (like 35) and you don't need to be perfectly coordinated to win. These instances will still be hard at level 70, but no longer nearly impossible.

One of the key goals is to make the game more fun, and that includes making instances faster and with larger level ranges (think similar to the Scarlett Monastery instance). Sitting around waiting for all 40 members to show up for an hour, and then spending hours trying to kill a single high-level boss (and failing if people need to drop out or the coordination isn't perfect) night after night isn't a ton of fun.

Also as the game approaches 1 1/2 years old (by the time the expansion will come out) they need to add more diversion and fun for the highest level players (almost 50% of currently active players are level 60). Hence, they need to add a larger range of content for level 60-70 players. By raising the cap, adding more instances, and giving people a range of difficulties playing the game at level 70 will be a lot more fun for everyone. Plus you need to give people "a reason" to get the expansion and, for better or for worse, raising the level cap will practically guarantee every active player will buy the expansion.

So at level 70 you will be able to do Onyxia with a slightly smaller group (and not everyone will have to have Uber equipment) or you will able to do the new level 70 instances with a crazy-strong party. By adding ten more levels they can add overall depth to the endgame (and it will make a ton of money for Blizzard, let's not forget that very important part).

yeah, lets grind some exp to be better in pve

Yeah, let's grind some exp to be better in the only part of WoW that is good; PvE. Go play counter-strike if you want PvP.

Gaming Steve:

I really like your friend's (blizzard's) thoughts and ideas, but it seems like they are forgetting one really important thing. Many hardcore gamers enjoy playing those "nearly impossible instances" like Molten Core (which isn't even hard anymore) and Blackwing Lair because they are just that - really hard and requires a lot of teamplay and coordination. Which in term results in that not every raid/guild can do them, and that is what separates the mediocre guilds/players from the really hardcore ones. And that, I believe, is a really important thing. I have the opinion that not every part of the game should be available to everyone. There should be instances so hard that only the very best guilds / experienced players could do them.

I can only hope that those new level 70-instances are as hard as Molten Core was when you entered it for the very first time, otherwise they have just managed to drop the skill-level required to play this game even further. I mean, sure the game has to be enjoyable by a large number of people, but there has to be some kind of benefit from being a good guild/player.

I agree with Callandor and I disagree. It's plain close-minded to think that instances need to be 40-man to be extremely hard. He said they were making them less than 40-20man, not easier like a 60mage in the Deadmines. I think, personally, coming from a great guild, but one that's not quite big enough to MC, that Blizz owes the 90% of it's WoW Population more 5-man, 10-man Instances before it owes the 10% of the 40-man capable guilds more than what they have and are getting soon (Ahn'Qiraj to name the next one). So basically, getting back on track... Callandor, I do not think having a raid be smaller-manned will necessarily make it easier, in fact, it could become harder and require a good deal more strategy if done right. Less resources generally equals more thinking.

I'm not saying that the instance have to require 40 people to be hard, I'm all for instances that require 5-10 people that are just as hard. Thats a really good idea since no one likes to look for a group (if no guild members are available at the time) for about 1-2 hours. And I was referring to the current instances being played with the post-expansion level 70 characters, not the ones being added with the expansion.

All I'm saying is that if blizzard still allows the same amount of people entering the current raid instances like Molten Core and Blackwing Lair after the expansion goes live, then I believe they have made a big mistake. I would not complain if they reduced the allowed raid size to a smaller figure to compensate for the extra 10 levels. That would make the instance just as hard and still available to the smaller guilds. And as a last note, I never said it was about the size of the raid/guild, I'm saying it should be all about the experience and skill of the players in it.

Ok see your point more clearly now. But I'm thinking it wouldn't be so bad for MC to be able to be done with 20-30 lvl 70s if not less. Because if that does happen, and The Caverns of Time really are as big as they may be, there will be plenty of stuff for 40-man raid guilds to do. I see no problem with Onyxia being able to be taken down by 20 70s, considering by then there will probably be even more 40 man raids and 20 man raids for the level 70s, or even the 60s that are far more difficult. Like Ahn'Qiraj for instance. But even by May of 06, Ahn'Qiraj may be just a blip on the radar for most big elite Raid Guilds. We never do truly know what's coming from Blizz.

On a side note... sad to hear the Pandarean won't be in the game as PCs... Really was wanting to play one, have since WC3... here's hoping it's not the hideous Draenai... unless of course they get that wicked invisibility Racial trait.

And also, to those lamenting no new classes... wouldn't you rather Blizz perfected the 9 it has out now before adding more? I know I would. I mean come on... 9 classes is not enough for now? I doubt there are many if any people out there who have leveled all 9 to 60 yet.

And if you have, there's likely to be plenty of new stuff in the Expansion and between now and its release to keep your 9 60s busy. The Outlands alone will be heaven for any 60 waiting for new places to explore... and to do it on flying mounts? Antici-payayashun.

Christ.. some of you guys here basically say that we should leave the lvl cap at 60? So what if it raises to 70, the game will EVOLVE, yes, ragnaros and onyxia will be lots and lots easier to kill, but we will probably have other bosses to fight.. I really can't see what everyone's moaning about.. the game must evolve for people to keep playing it. That's the way of an MMORPG.

I have a guildie that claims he'll quit WoW the day this comes out because this is all "bad" for the game... no reasons to support the claim... just that it's "bad"... I like the kid... but if that's the case... good riddance to him.

Bildo: You're speaking of doing MC and BWL and stuff with 30 lev 70s, and how it will ruin the world.
Lev 60 epics will still drop in those places, not the lev 70 epics. You're totally in the wrong zone for your level tbh.
When adding a new level cap they'll probably add level 70 dungeons as well, with lev 70 loot. Enough to have fun with. BWL/MC will no longer be the place for you to go though, something else will replace that.

ppl seem to automaticly thing new lvls will follow the rg scrips how about this the skil points u get at 60+ will be used for a totaly diffrent set of skills a heros menu or something then they could easily add stuff and not mess with the mechanics

Oooooooh! Surprise and terror!

Flying mounts and Hordish Blood Elves? Oh, how nice of them!
I play on a RP server, and this is BOUND to give us pretty shiny gems of stuff! So, what will the Allies' new race be? Not pandaren, and not goblins, since they're more horde-aligned, and not naga, since the blood elves love 'em, and... I don't know? Don't the draenei have a camp in the Swamp of Sorrows? They're fairly neutral, only having some involvement with the Naga and BE... I'm drained. What else can there be?

I'm not saying I care about it, was just saying there's no reason to be sad about, basically, longwindedly, I said exactly what you just told me :) I'm all for this expansion, May of 2006 can't come fast enough.

If they raise the cap to 70, they will probably add even harder bosses and instances that will require even more teamplay, coordination and luck.

Be sure to report any news here FAST, Steve! This is the only gaming site my gov't job hasn't blocked out yet!!!

Did you guys all forget about what happened to Diablo2 when Lord of Destruction was released? I remember I used to think that killing Diablo all of a sudden wasn't as hard as before LOD was released, but still I loved the whole expansion and I never thought they ruined anything because Diablo was easier killed!

And wtf is up with the ads on this site? Ridiculous

Oh shizzle, i wish i could play Blood elf shaman =(
that was a little disapointing

i hope the new alliance class is something like a tauren thing =D

This is how I see the expansion topic.

When we start a new char at lvl 0 we lvl quickly and before you know it you are in your first instance and geting your first blue drop. Now imagine that the lvl cap was say 40. So you get to lvl 40 and think that Uldaman (or whichever instance you can think of in that range) is reasonably hard but not impossible. Then WOW raise it to lvl 50 and BRD and LBRS opens up. You level again and think that the previous instances you were struggling through are now a piece of p*ss. Then they raise the lvl to 60 and you are laughing at BRD and LBRS and struggling in UBRS, DM, Strat etc. Then they raise the lvl to 70.....

Need I go on? Like someone said previously, its a natural progression of the game. Its only normal for people to think that raising the lvl to 70 is a strange thing to do, but thats only because many of us are so used to the cap being 60 and struggle with the concept that Ragnaros and Onyxia will be easy kills in the future. BUT these are the same people who go to SM and spend hours grinding mobs for cash at lvl 60.

The new level cap is ridiculous unless they will buff up the items gathered from MC/BWL etc. If that doesn't happen, I for one will raise a finger to Blizzard and dump the game into the trashbin

Lol whats the point with a new exp pack if there is no new Classes

I think people are missing the point here, in that if they raise the level cap to 70, they will also create new items for those level 70's to use....So complaining that all the items you currently have are under-powered are not valid, in that you will have the option to go out and get newer, lvl 61-70 items.
Buffing items you got in lvl 50 or 60 raids doesn't make sense, since you will be able to get newer, more powerful items anyway.

Sorry Bildo, a bit confused...Are you saying that Blizzard IS adding 2 more character slots then? Because if so, I won't need to delete any toons, as I only have eight now anyway:) If they add 2 more, then I am saved from deleting a toon I enjoy.

Has anyone given any thought to the fact that even as we speak, talents are going through an evolution. Each class' talents are being revamped, and reset, to add balance. That could mean balance now, and later, say at level 70. Again, I am not saying that talents won't change again, once the expansion comes out, only that it could be PART of the reason it is happening now....to allow people to try their talents again, respecced. And nothing stops Blizzard, when the expansion comes out, from giving all toons a free respec right as soon as the expansion comes out, so you can build your talents towards that lvl 70 goal.
In my humble opinion, Blizzard really hasn't made any mistakes with their games (except maybe Diablo online, which I blame on overzealous fans wanting the best characters), so before you start cancelling accounts and whatnot, give Blizzard a chance.
Their game has been the best MMORG experience I have had yet, and I will definitely give them my 20-30 bucks for the expansion.

No Yatsuo. They're probably not adding 2 more slots per server... they could, I suppose. But not sure why they would. I would just open a slot on your server.

What I was saying is that I play horde on one server, alliance on another, this way I have plenty of room for 10 characters per faction.

To Tsirp and Me :P --

Tsirp, so your saying, having all this epic gear, that you wouldn't want the chance to go venture into new dungeons and get new, better gear? Hmm... sounds like the "Hardcore" calling the Casuals wanting something for nothing is a bit hypocritical if you seem to want your epic gear to be upgraded automatically to the new level cap status. You worked hard to get what you have for the current level cap, congratulations. You'll have to do it again to get the new best stuff, live with it or do as you "threaten". I for one won't miss players that think Blizzard "owes" them anything.

And forgot Me :P ---

When they finally finish perfecting the balance and talents of all the current 9 classes, then you can expect new ones. I highly doubt you've leveled all 9 to 60, so stop complaining. There's plenty of variety as it stands now. I for one would rather have them work out the existing kinks before adding new ones.

Honestly, there is little-no logic to people's complaints sometimes... humans are rational beings my butt.

[quote]
I actually spoke to my friend about the new level 70 cap quite a bit and he had a lot of interesting things to say. Currently the very highest level raids are extremely hard even with a 40-person raid of level 60s with uber equipment and perfect coordination. By raising the cap those instances will still be a challenge, but instead of having to kill Onyxia with 40 people working together perfectly you will be able take her on with a slightly smaller group (like 35) and you don't need to be perfectly coordinated to win. These instances will still be hard at level 70, but no longer nearly impossible.

One of the key goals is to make the game more fun, and that includes making instances faster and with larger level ranges (think similar to the Scarlett Monastery instance). Sitting around waiting for all 40 members to show up for an hour, and then spending hours trying to kill a single high-level boss (and failing if people need to drop out or the coordination isn't perfect) night after night isn't a ton of fun.

Also as the game approaches 1 1/2 years old (by the time the expansion will come out) they need to add more diversion and fun for the highest level players (almost 50% of currently active players are level 60). Hence, they need to add a larger range of content for level 60-70 players. By raising the cap, adding more instances, and giving people a range of difficulties playing the game at level 70 will be a lot more fun for everyone. Plus you need to give people "a reason" to get the expansion and, for better or for worse, raising the level cap will practically guarantee every active player will buy the expansion.

So at level 70 you will be able to do Onyxia with a slightly smaller group (and not everyone will have to have Uber equipment) or you will able to do the new level 70 instances with a crazy-strong party. By adding ten more levels they can add overall depth to the endgame (and it will make a ton of money for Blizzard, let's not forget that very important part).
[/quote]

Sorry we already do Onyxia with 30 ppl, 5-10 level 70's could take her down i guess