Last week, like many devoted World of Warcraft players, I was at a local electronics store Wednesday shortly before midnight to pick up my copy of Wrath of the Lich King (I was lucky enough to secure a Collector's Edition), and installed it that night. I wanted to share some comments, observations, and the like from this first week of gameplay.

Players have been waiting for this release for months, and the excitement was evident all of last week. In the game chat areas, everyone was talking about the expansion, their plans, and what they had been reading from beta testers and websites with information. Many stores were open at midnight, as has become the custom with many game releases recently. Here in Kentucky, crowds at area stores ranged from 75 to 200 or more people standing in lines starting early Wednesday afternoon, and some were even in costume. I know that in some larger cities, stores had costume contests and other fun events to pass the time until midnight. Most stores took advance orders, but many still had copies of the regular edition even if you didn't pre-order. However, the Collector's Edition was a bit harder to get. Some stores and online retailers started taking pre-orders for it several weeks ago, and were sold out in a matter of hours. Others did not do pre-orders for it, and it was sold in stores on a first come, first serve basis. One local store got 12 copies and they were gone within the first 5 minutes. Even with the long lines, I have not seen reports of problems anywhere, and it would appear that the initial sales went smoothly.

It was after people got home that the troubles began. After installing the game, many players rushed to their servers to experience the new areas and other features. That first night, things were not too bad, as many people still would not have their copies until Thursday. However, as more people started getting their copies and logging on to play, servers began having problems, and many were down much of Thursday afternoon and evening, much to the dismay of everyone. Once the servers were up, some experienced long queue times, often an hour or more. All of this made for quite cranky players, and I can't blame them.

Once we were able to log in, many of us flocked to the new starting areas, making them very crowded in those first days. Personally, I visited the both the Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra on my horde toons, and people were tripping over each other. Some were polite, but it was hard not to take kills from other players in the large crowds. My alliance toon only visited the Fjord, but the crowds were similar. I talked to players from my guilds, other friends, and simply observed the comments from players in the general game chat areas, and the general feeling was that it all looked nice, but too crowded to actually play in those early hours. I definitely agreed, only doing three quests in each of the two starting areas, just to get a feel for things. I have asked many folks which of the two Northrend starting areas they prefer, and it's definitely a mixed opinion, with some liking each, and some liking both. However, the edge seems to be going to the Fjord, with most people being drawn to the visual look of that area, and several have said they feel the quests are a bit more logically laid out and seem simpler so you can get more finished and earn more experience in a shorter amount of time. That area also has the first of the new dungeons, Utgarde Keep (levels 68-72 recommended), which may be drawing more players. As was expected, areas that had been largely populated just last week are now almost deserted. At a peak time, Shattrath City had only 12 players in it, and a guildmate commented earlier this week that there were only three people on the Isle of Quel'Danas. Interesting how a few days can change things so much.

I also started a Death Knight. Lucky for me, I did it shortly after the midnight release, so the crowds were not quite so bad, but there was still a large number of people doing this as well. The Death Knight class is one of the features that most people were looking forward to, and huge numbers of players have started toons in this class. Just as an example...my alliance toons are on the Thorium Brotherhood server, which is a medium population server. At a fairly busy time for the server in the evening, there were approximately 1480 players online, and 270 of those were Death Knights. The next largest class at that time was Hunters, with around 200. That is really a huge difference, when you consider that the numbers of other classes at that time ranged from 70 (Shaman) to 190 (Paladin). (These numbers are approximations, as there were constantly people logging in and out as I was calculating, and I was getting the numbers from the /who command in the game, so they are not “official” numbers from Blizzard.) What will be interesting for the future is how many of those Death Knights still exist in a few weeks, and how many that exist are actually active being played. Most of the people I have talked to who have started a Death Knight are enjoying it thus far, liking the fact that you start at level 55, and feeling that the Death Knight is very powerful, being able to take multiple mobs and higher mobs easier than other classes. They also like that you start with certain weapon skills at 270, first aid at 270, and that you get your epic mount early, with one of the starting quests. Some players have commented however that they feel the Death Knight is overpowered, and that certain aspects are a mistake. Again, only time will tell if the Death Knight is significantly changed by Blizzard in the coming weeks and months, and other classes have been changed in the past.

While I don't want to ruin the experience for folks who have not done it yet, I wanted to talk about the Death Knight story and starting quests, just some general information and thoughts. Shortly before writing this I completed the starting quest line, and truly enjoyed it. While I chose to spread it over two playing sessions, it can be completed relatively quickly by most players. It all takes place in the new, Death Knight-only starting area, Acherus: The Ebon Hold, which is located in Eastern Plaguelands. Unlike most other starting quests, these are class-specific, and help to tell the story of the Death Knight, and can also help you learn how to play the class. While I've seen some comments from players that this quest line is a bit long, I think it's just right, and I recommend that you completely read the quests. While this is always good, to know how to do the quest, it is also important for learning the lore and background. Also, as you go, read the comments from the NPCs as some are interesting and also fit the story. As you go, you will pick up little letters and notes from mobs that while are not necessary, will also add to the story, and I recommend reading them before you trash them. Of all the quests, the one I have seen most comments on is one where you mount a special flier and bomb mobs and catapults. Some like the quest and some do not, but all agree that it is one that takes some skill to complete. Personally, I liked one of the final quests where you go to the battle of Light's Hope Chapel.

I also wanted to touch on some of the features that came out last month with the major patch that was released, Echoes of Doom. While not technically part of the Lich King expansion, many consider them to go hand in hand. There were many changes and adjustments, including a complete restructuring of the talent trees for all classes to get ready for the additional talent points and new end talents for higher level toons. This development changed how we all play the game, each and every class. All of us had new abilities, changed abilities, and lost abilities. Initially many of us griped, but as we have gotten used to things, we are finding the positive aspects of these changes. I certainly appreciate that this was introduced before the expansion, as that would have been too much change all at once. Of the other changes, I think three are most notable: inscription, achievements, and calendar. Inscription is the new profession, and it had a profound impact on the game. Much like many players ran to make Death Knights, people rushed to take up this new profession, with many toons maxing out their skill very quickly. With herbs being the primary ingredient, many people were farming weeks before the patch was released, and auction house prices were sky high. The other major impact was the ability through inscription for enchanters to be able to mail and auction enchants to other players. This is widely considered a major game improvement. Achievements have become very popular, and they range from serious achievements for completing quest lines, instances, and area discovery, to fun achievements such as “Shave and a Haircut” and “To all the Squirrels I've Loved Before”. There are also achievements for world events (holidays), and many people earned the first title for completing tasks for Hallow's End. While many people like achievements, not everyone cares about them. I happen to have a guildmate who is trying to get as few achievements as possible, as there is nothing actually to be earned from them. The new in-game calendar is quite useful for guilds, although personally I see there are some problems, such as only people who have been invited to an event being able to see the event, thus making it possible for guilds to accidentally have multiple events scheduled at the same time that would involve the same players. But, it is a great start for this item and I hope that as with many things in the game, Blizzard will improve it in the future.

Next week, I'm going to pick up here, with a bit more information on the Lich King, including a look at the new battleground, Strand of the Ancients, and a review of the extra items that came with the Collector's Edition. While some of the opinions and comments I have gotten from others have come from general chat in the game, I want to thank members of my alliance guild, Guardians of Forever, and our sister guild, ShadowGuard (Thorium Brotherhood), and also members of my horde guilds, Highland Cattle and Cuddles (Duskwood) for their comments and assistance.

Photos:  wikipedia.org, worldofwarcraft.com, wowwiki.com