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World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade |
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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 |
The Burning Crusade is more of a resurrection than an expansion, a vast and munificent span of content that both refines and totally invalidates what came before it. Similarities abound-BCs certainly `more of the same" with extra nicotine, less tar, and a bonus pinch of crack cocaine-and the differences are all functions of Blizzard's own experience curve: BCs "XP grind" undergoes such scientific refinement that you can practically see the equations and spreadsheets in your quest log. The leveling pace fits tightly to the content, and quests yield far greater XP rewards than simple blind slaughtering (even more so than before—Hunters complain of out-leveling their favorite pets too quickly), so reaching level 70 means never having to mindlessly kill monsters simply for the purple numbers that pop up over their heads. Quests are bountiful (each of the new Outland continent's seven giant zones features upward of 40), and the new areas' size rivals some other MMOs' base games. You can niggle about a bug here or a glitch there...but on the whole. BC is phenomenally polished.
"Kill 20" and "collect 10" quests still make up the norm, but they're more frequently accompanied with a twist and some flair-use those 20 skulls to summon an enormous undead drake, who swoops in from the other side of the zone (folks on flying mounts might even pass him in the sky) after a dazzling display of violet fireworks. Slaughter an enormous herd animal, and an even more enormous sandworm explodes from underground. Dune style (complete with Dib'Muad's Crysknife as a quest reward), to consume it.
That's not to say BC's some sort of grind-free MMO miracle-not at all. Blizzard simply removed the grind from the leveling process and dropped it into the end-game Reputation farming, as evidenced by the multitude of faction-specific quartermasters (vendors carrying high-end gear. only available to characters who earn adequate Reputation with that faction-by turning in 1,000 jackalope nostrils, for example) populating the land. While the original WOW only dabbled in the notion of Reputation as an endgame advancement path. BC practically revels in it. Faction isn't just used for raid gear, either—it's also necessary to access the heroic (i.e., 'harder') versions of BC's instanced dungeons.
The new instances wisely follow the "winged" model of old favorites such as Dire Maul and Scarlet Monastery, split into subsections that take about two hours apiece to clear; shed no tears for the death of the five-hour Blackrock Depths crawl. Early instances such as Hellfire Ramparts and the Underbog are pretty much a breeze for anyone used to WOWs endgame non-raid instances, but a clear turning point comes at around level 65, when you enter Auchindoun's wicked and unforgiving Mana-Tombs. Populated by the 'ethereals" (a new race of profiteering energy mummies who day-trade souls instead of shares), the Tombs require the kind of class coordination and party cooperation typically reserved for raids. Its bosses—and those that come after—present brilliant, collaborative fantasy math puzzles that require lightning wit.
Version: Retail v2.0.6
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