Behold the Final Fall of Warcraft's Lich King

[John Funk]

Behold the Final Fall of Warcraft's Lich King

Patch 3.3.2 hits World of Warcraft today, revealing the ultimate fate of the fallen Prince Arthas Menethil - also known as the Lich King.

[WARNING: SPOILERS]


I covered the saga of Arthas Menethil pretty extensively back in December [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96623-WoW-Patch-3-3-Fall-of-the-Lich-King-Goes-Live] when WoW Patch 3.3 added Icecrown Citadel to the game as the final raid dungeon in Wrath of the Lich King. Since the end of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Arthas (or rather, the Arthas/Ner'zhul fusion that is the Lich King) has been the ultimate baddie of the world of Warcraft... and today, in patch 3.3.2, Azeroth's top raiders will get to fight him face-to-face.

Well, that is, of course, assuming that they get to him first. 3.2.2 may unlock the Frostwing Halls, the final chapter of Icecrown Citadel, but raiders will have to fight (er, aide, rather) the green dragon Valithria Dreamwalker and take on the frost wyrm Sindragosa (you know, the one Arthas raised in the WotLK opening cinematic [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcRg_O9TNjU]) before they get to take on the King himself. And judging by what enterprising dataminers have uncovered about the Lich King's skills, that fight is going to be one hell of a doozy - as it ought to be.

Naturally, those same dataminers have already leaked the above video that plays when Arthas is killed - the first real cinematic death a WoW boss has ever been granted. It's a cutscene that uses the WoW in-game engine, which is clearly showing its age by now, but Blizzard's technicians clearly do the best they're able with six-year-old technology.

It's spoiler-tastic, so only watch it if you're not worried about ruining the experience for yourself. (Horde players may not recognize the red man, but long-time Alliance diehards may know him from his place in Stormwind Keep for the first 70 levels of the game).

3.2.2 brings various nerfs, buffs, and changes - but let's be honest, here: The only thing anyone cares about is the ultimate fate of the Lich King.

(MMO Champion [http://www.mmo-champion.com/news-2/patch-3-3-2-the-fall-of-the-lich-king/])

Permalink

 

[John Funk]

Great, will this become my generations equivalent of the Normandy landings then?

Ah well, I'm sure WoW players are over the moon, and good for them. Now can we have another MMORPG? PLEASE?

Nope, sorry. Cataclysm, bro.

 

[Monshroud]

Hmmm, I might have to start playing WoW again so I can kill that bastard. Granted I probably need to re-gear, I only have Ulduar Epics.... Hmmmm....

 

[Simalacrum]

Great, will this become my generations equivalent of the Normandy landings then?

Ah well, I'm sure WoW players are over the moon, and good for them. Now can we have another MMORPG? PLEASE?

Nope, sorry. Cataclysm, bro.

...we'll never be free of WoW, will we?

 

[Armored Prayer]

So thats how Arthas dies huh.

Oh well, he was fun to play as in Warcraft 3. He will be missed.

 

[Earthmonger]

Woohoo, Rugrats 3D gets a new plot twist.

 

[The Sorrow]

Kungen's gonna tear him a new one.

 

[Lenny Magic]

I might not know anything about the lore in Warcraft, but I can see giving a crown to a guy with flaming eyes as being a very problematic solution...

 

[John Funk]

Great, will this become my generations equivalent of the Normandy landings then?

Ah well, I'm sure WoW players are over the moon, and good for them. Now can we have another MMORPG? PLEASE?

Nope, sorry. Cataclysm, bro.

...we'll never be free of WoW, will we?

Eventually.

Its presence isn't a bad thing, though. It's just a popular game.

 

[Danpascooch]

WoW will never be the same.

I hope they make real expansions again, not this half assed "five level increase" cataclysm mini-expansion bullshit. It better not mean there will be no 10 level expansions again

EDIT:

This was like the biggest moment in WoW history, couldn't they have made a beautiful video like the WotLK trailer? They were fine with putting that file in our directories, so it shouldn't be a memory size thing.

 

[Amnestic]

Video no longer available due to copyright of Blizzard Sad for me.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Blizzard Entertainment, Inc..

EDIT:

Ah, it's been replaced.

Well, can't say I know who any of the characters are apart from Arthas and his daddy (I wanted to comment on how lame ghost-dad was but I don't know how WoW handled that so I won't), so I can't say I care a great deal. It seems to me like the status quo has been more or less maintained, with pretty much every option still open (especially knowing how much Blizzard loves 'corrputing' characters, one way or another) and nothing really accomplished apart from getting a new guy to play the same part.

I'm not impressed, but then again I admit I'm one of those people who will probably never be impressed by anything Warcraft-related until Blizzard decides to turn its back on this MMO tomfoolery, which is about as likely as me winning the lottery and being struck by lightning at the same time.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

I can't watch the video...

Says copyright from Blizzard

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Mmm, dramatic. I don't even PLAY WoW and I can appreciate the drama. Arthas' actual death was bit quick, though.

 

[cieply]

Dammit I wanted to see this.

Edit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYTTOI35VU

Here ya go, once something goes on the internets, it stays there

 

[ma55ter_fett]

Whatever, seriously I stopped careing long ago when I found out that to get into the high end raids your soul had to be given up as payment...

 

[Go Fighting In The War Room]

Great, will this become my generations equivalent of the Normandy landings then?

Ah well, I'm sure WoW players are over the moon, and good for them. Now can we have another MMORPG? PLEASE?

Nope, sorry. Cataclysm, bro.

...we'll never be free of WoW, will we?

Well Everquest has 16 expansions so.....

I see you when we're both 60. We'll start making bets then.

I say it ends in the year 2095.

 

[John Funk]

Reuploaded with mirror, not quite as good audio quality.

WoW will never be the same.

I hope they make real expansions again, not this half assed "five level increase" cataclysm mini-expansion bullshit. It better not mean there will be no 10 level expansions again

EDIT:

This was like the biggest moment in WoW history, couldn't they have made a beautiful video like the WotLK trailer? They were fine with putting that file in our directories, so it shouldn't be a memory size thing.

From the Cinematic Art of WotLK book... it takes a very, very, long time to make the full CGI movies. I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure that Blizzard's CGI department is busy working on Cataclysm.

Whatever, seriously I stopped careing long ago when I found out that to get into the high end raids your soul had to be given up as payment...

I play like... 5, 6, hours a week tops, and I have no problem progressing through Icecrown with my guild. The game's endgame is way more accessible now than it's ever been.