Keeping with its yearly release cadence, Blizzard has announced it's adding the <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/product/world-of-warcraft-wrath-of-the-lich-king" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wrath of the Lich King</a> expansion to World of Warcraft Classic this year. Easily one of the most revered expansions for Warcraft, Wrath will send players to the land of Northrend where Arthas Menethil, the titular Lich King, and his ever-growing undead scourge threaten the existence of all of Azeroth.
It is important to keep in mind what is going on within Activision Blizzard at this time regarding ongoing allegations about the work culture. The ongoing lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the company is over reported toxic workplace culture. The bulk of the suit focuses on “violations of the state’s civil rights and equal pay laws,” specifically regarding the treatment of women and other marginalized groups. To learn more about the proceedings thus far, including details listed in the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, please check out our previous coverage here.
One of the most significant inclusions to WoW with Wrath was allowing players to roll a character as the game’s first new Hero Class, the Death Knight. Death Knights will be implemented into Classic during the pre-patch for the expansion, and just like always, every available race can be turned into one of these undead powerhouses. They’ll be available for both factions, and new Death Knights will start out boosted to level 55.
Dungeon Finder, which allows players to team up with a group of random adventurers to take on 5-player dungeons, is considered contrary to World of Warcraft Classic’s ethos and will remain unavailable in the game.
Other features coming with Wrath of the Lich King include the Inscription crafting profession and a barbershop that will have more options than were available with the original iteration that debuted in this expansion the first time around. Also, using the barbershop won’t require a real-money transaction like it did initially, which is another break from reliving these expansions as they were at the time, but a welcome quality of life change nonetheless.
Wrath of the Lich King will be coming to WoW Classic this year, but all we know is a nebulous 2022 timeframe. We’ll relay any more information about its release as it becomes available.
Alongside the announcement of Wrath returning, Blizzard revealed the newest expansion to the ongoing live game called Dragonflight, which brings Azeroth’s heroes to the long-anticipated Dragon Isles. You can read about Dragonflight here, which will include a new race and class (which are one and the same), new zones, UI reworks, and a revamping of talent systems.
Source: Game Informer
