World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Preview

Only a game that's sustained itself through a monthly fee and has accrued millions (recently tallied at 11) of subscribers worldwide can have a huge launch for an EXPANSION pack. The Wrath of the Lich King is not just one of the many PC expansions that simply fade away soon after launch. For many, it's a lifestyle and genuine gaming experience so rich that most players have no time to play anything else. It released November 13 to fan praise and midnight launches worldwide. We let you you know how big the World of Warcraft launch events were and some of the changes being made to the core game.

Launch and Rabid Fans...

Level 70 players have been waiting for, what might seem like, ages to get their next WoW fix and be able to "progress." One player, actually, has already maxed out his player! MMO-Champion caught up with "Nymh," the first person to reach Lich King's level cap of 80, and interviewed the France native about his accomplishment. He did it in 27 hours and goes into a bit of detail on how to do it. Check it out if you want to learn where and how to level up quickly -- tip: he took a few days off of work to do it.

The Wrath of the Lich King's mania got millions of fans away from their respective desktops to show up at "Lunar Fests" put on by the developer/publisher, Blizzard, in San Francisco, Austin, New York, and Anaheim to celebrate the launch. Some sites like Kotaku chronicled some of the events with full pictures of people dressing up as their favorite characters.

Updating the MMO Template

Plenty of players were disappointed with The Burning Crusade's (the previous expansion) story and Blizzard has chosen to stay away from swamps and mushroom-men this time around to deliver a story that delves into lore about Ner'zhul, the forgotten Nerubian empire, as well as other back stories.

The newest and, arguably, the most exciting addition to WoW is the Death Knight character class which has specific skills like "runeforging" that replaces weapon enchants. Initially, players who opt for the new class start out with a few moves: Death Grip, Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike and Death Coil; essentially, making it a great class to go soloing without too many hangups.

Why Should You Care?

Have no idea what Warcraft is and why it's such a big deal? We suggest watching the great retrospectives GameTrailers has done on the series. A perfect primer for those still on the fence about entering Azeroth's addicting expanses. It should also help you decide whether it's worth adding another monthly expense to your "entertainment bill."

What's next for World of Warcraft? Nothing has been announced, but gamers will have their hands full with the new expansion for months to come. If the release scheduling between The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King is any indication...it'll be another couple of years until there's another expansion. The Wrath of the Lich King is out for PC now. Enjoy.

Carlos Macias is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of his work here .