Ice Crown Citadel Announced
Blizzard has released the first tidbits of information about the final patch of Wrath of the Lich King, 3.3 also known as Ice Crown Citadel.
Let me give you a sampling from the Under Developement site: Icecrown Citadel will feature a massive five-player dungeon sprawling across three wings of the citadel’s foundation. While the Lich King’s attention is focused on the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade ripping through the front gates, players will be tested as they assist Jaina Proudmoore (Alliance) and Sylvanas Windrunner (Horde) in infiltrating the citadel through an alternate entrance.
An epic quest line will present adventurers with the task of weakening Icecrown Citadel’s forces, requiring that players defeat the challenges in each dungeon wing before venturing into the next one. Normal and Heroic versions of the dungeon will be accessible to players, although each wing will be considered a separate instance; therefore, on Heroic difficulty, each wing will have its own separate lockout timer. All-new rewards — including item level 219 (normal) and level 232 (Heroic) loot — will be offered to those who destroy some of the Lich King’s most formidable allies.
The final boss of the final wing is none other than the star of the Wrath of the Lich King, the big man himself, Arthas!
First of all with the level of drops being Ulduar10 (219) on Normal Mode and ToC10 (232) on Heroic, it would stand to reason that the Heroic will drop Triumph badges. This might be a great way to finish off any Badge items that haven’t been purchasd yet. I wonder if it also portents a new Emblem type in the Ice Crown raid.
The irony here (at least for me) was that I was worried they would only give 25 man raiders a shot at Arthas and as a 10 man Raider, that kind of disappointed me. You can see the initial comments from the Designers here.
How many people do you need in a fight for it to feel epic? Most classic stories and movies end with a mono e mono with the hero and the villain. Even when you have a group (or a party if you will) it’s a very small number of people fighting the ‘big bad guy’.
Now that Arthas is in a 5 man, it’s the same thing, only in reverse. I have to say I’m very excited for the decision the Developers have made. Arthas has been taunting us since we got off the boat. Everyone deserves a shot at him, even if you can’t (or chose not) to raid.
I don’t think anyone expects we’ll actually KILL Arthas in the 5 man. We’ll defeat the encounter, but it will likely end with Arthas taunting us again and retreating further into Ice Crown Citadel, into the Raid portion.
I’m very excited.
And not to go all conspiracy theorist on you, but isn’t is might interesting that this new comes out the day after The Old Republic starts Beta signups? Kind of makes you go ‘Hmmmm.’
Leave your response!