Break Through WoW's Mists of Pandaria in Two Months

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Break Through WoW's Mists of Pandaria in Two Months



The newest expansion for World of Warcraft has a release date, and it's sooner than you think.

There's been a lot of talk about MMOs charging subscription fees, and how that model is dying. New MMOs continue to crop up and gather some momentum - the past year alone has seen The Secret World [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9347-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-Review] - but none of them get anywhere near the critical mass that World of Warcraft continues to enjoy. And Blizzard keeps updating the game world with enough fresh content to keep the masses happy, the latest of which will introduce a complete new class, a new race, and a whole new continent to explore. Today, Blizzard announced Mists of Pandaria will be available on September 25th, 2012

You have several ways to buy the expansion, and Blizzard is pushing the digital way of doing business. There's the standard digital copy available for $39.99, which you can pre-order now. Then there's the physical Collector's Edition [http://us.battle.net/wow/en/services/digital-deluxe/] is always an option too - the fancy box, art book, behind-the-scenes DVD, soundtrack and digital items will set you back $80.

Hmm, that reminds me. I should dig up that old in-the-plastic Burning Crusade Collector's Edition and see how much I can get for it on Ebay.

Even though I don't play as much WoW as I used to, the story behind Mists of Pandaria still quivers my long purple ears. The continent of Pandaria was hidden behind a shroud for eternity, but the warring Alliance and Horde warships have shipwrecked on its shores to find a wild landscape and the alien Pandaren beset by dark dangers.

You can play as a Pandaren - choosing to side with the Horde or Alliance - and train in the ways of martial arts. The monk is the first new full class introduced to WoW since it came out in 2004, the Death Knight from Wrath of the Lich King only playable from level 55. Add in the features of a Pokemon-like minipet battle mode, challenges to complete dungeons on the clock, and a revamped talent system, and Mists of Pandaria feels like an expansion packed with stuff to do.

After Blizzard introduced the expansion at last year's BlizzCon, we all knew it would be coming in 2012, but still the short window between announcement and release date leaves only a two months to mentally prepare to be a panda. Have you chosen your talents? Have you brushed your fur? Have you drunk enough Blackrock Lager?

Source: Blizzard [http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/6771526/Mists_of_Pandaria_Launches_September_25_2012_%E2%80%93_Pre-Sales_NOW_OPEN-7_25_2012]

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Eremiel

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Apr 24, 2008
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"And Blizzard keeps updating the game world with enough fresh content to keep the masses happy"

Considering people've been stuck doing dragon soul with zero updates for close to a year now, that statement hardly seems correct at the current point in time.
 

Xanthious

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Dec 25, 2008
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Meh! Cataclysm eventually lessened my interest in WoW to the point where I've stopped playing even though I still pay once a month due to the Annual Pass I agreed to. That being said Mists of Pandaria looks interesting and I may end up picking it up. However, it could very well be the first expansion I'm not totally and wholly psyched about.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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I want to pick up the boxed CE but it doesn't seem to be available for pre-order at Gamestop or Amazon. The vague bit of info on their site of "available at exclusive retail locations" makes me worried that it will only be purchasable at certain stores around the country, and I really don't want to buy a digital deluxe edition. I want my boxed CE to go with the others.
 

toomuchnothing

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Jul 5, 2010
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Eremiel said:
"And Blizzard keeps updating the game world with enough fresh content to keep the masses happy"

Considering people've been stuck doing dragon soul with zero updates for close to a year now, that statement hardly seems correct at the current point in time.
Pretty much this. It was the same way in the previous xpac with ICC which was out for one year minus a day before the next Xpac was released but in all fairness they did release a single boss raid instance during that time... and nothing else.

Also can you really call it a talent revamp when it goes from the original model of 1 talent point per level starting from 10 to its current iteration of 1 point per 2 levels to the new MoP model where you have literally 6 choices to choose from per class. Feels less like a revamp and more like the last step before they just remove them completely. I feel strange looking forward to Borderlands 2 as an RPG more so than either of Blizzards 2 RPG releases this year. The promise of Dailies and Pokemon isn't exactly all the enticing from my perspective.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
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Apr 1, 2009
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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Sounds like blizz is rushing to get this out since they are worried about gw2.
 

kortin

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Mar 18, 2011
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Eremiel said:
"And Blizzard keeps updating the game world with enough fresh content to keep the masses happy"

Considering people've been stuck doing dragon soul with zero updates for close to a year now, that statement hardly seems correct at the current point in time.
Are you honestly surprised?

ICC for a year and then some. I say this is improvement, even if it's just a small amount.
 

Mr Cwtchy

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Jan 13, 2009
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Meh, I'm much more excited for Lotro's Riders of Rohan expansion. Partly because I'm not very interested in WoW, but mostly because Rohan > Pandas by a wide margin.
 

Shinsei-J

Prunus Girl is best girl!
Apr 28, 2011
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First thought, I wonder if anyone will be able to get the name brewmaster as a Panda?
Second thought, o god no one is going to see my brother for weeks again...
Third thought, o god my sister's gone too.

I'm probably not going see my family for months thanks to this.
 

Nexxis

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Jan 16, 2012
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Mists of Pandaria looks interesting, but, so far, it hasn't been enough to bring me back to WoW. I only played for about 2 years before the negative community mindset that developed over the course of Cataclysm drove me away from it. Not to mention, I grew tired of the subscription fees. I didn't want to feel like I had to play a game I didn't enjoy because I was constantly paying for it. I'm looking to get my mmo fix with GW2 mostly because it lacks the subscription fee, so if I get tired of it, I can just set it aside and not feel like I'm wasting money.
 

Plinglebob

Team Stupid-Face
Nov 11, 2008
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shinsei-J said:
I'm probably not going see my family for months thanks to this.
Neither will I, but probably not in the same way. Really looking forward to this and not just because I'm sick to the back teeth with Dragon Soul. Sadly it means having to rejig my time off work as already have the previous week booked for my birthday.
 

Charli

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Nov 23, 2008
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I'm totally going to stand in random places and be a super powered pokemon gym-leader.

I'll have to make a team of all one type to be authentic.


~"Greetings TRAINER, you have ventured far up Blackrock Mountain to challenge the likes of me!"~
 

DugMachine

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Apr 5, 2010
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I was interested in this expansion but as time went on I decided to take another break from WoW. Now my breaks usually consisted of weeks but this went on for months and I thought I finally kicked it..

Well just last night I installed it and subscribed again SOOo guess i'm giving this another go. I really hope this expansion keeps my attention longer than two or three months.
 

Mamzelle_Kat

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Aug 23, 2010
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I personally am super psyched for this expac. The landscapes are amazing, the music is gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to the pet battles. Will give me something to do while we're waiting for that one person to come back from smoking break during raids.

There's something for everyone, and since I like pretty much everything except for PvP, I anticipate it'll take me a while to get my alts to lvl 90.
 

Lunar Templar

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Sep 20, 2009
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heh

calling it now, less then one month after this launches, people who aren't playing it now, t will, will ether

1)quit again
2)complain how blizz has 'ruined WoW forever' again (which is a bit of a contradiction, it's always sucked)
3)complain about there not being enough content
4)complain about the content that's there sucks

or some combination of the above
 

Lucyfer86

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Jun 30, 2011
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Damn, i was preparing it to come out in December or something, now it's so close to GW2's release, where can i buy enough time to play them both!

Granted, i did find Cataclysm to be quite a dissappointment comparing to previous ones, but i'm still excited for this. Even with panda's which i don't find that appealing, theres just something about the asian influenced content...