Quel’Delar, the Sister Blade is a prismatic blade forged by the night elves and the five dragonflights along with its sibling, Quel’Serrar. Quel’Delar serves as an idol of opposition against the Scourge, and the elven factions of Dalaran would therefore like to see the blade play a pivotal role in the assault on Icecrown Citadel.

Coming Patch 3.3, players are able to embark on a mission to assemble the sword and either wield it themselves or trade it with their respective Dalaran faction for a weapon they can use. Doing so will reward the achievement  The Sword in the Skull.

After its creation, the sword was given to the quel’dorei and passed down from father to son until it was wielded by Thalorien Dawnseeker against the trolls and the Scourge. Thalorien eventually fell at the hands of Arthas’ lieutenants and the blade was susequently brought to Icecrown by Lana’thel, one of the followers of Kael’thas. Lana’thel originally intended Quel’Delar to be an instrument of vengeance, but after her own demise began to harbor hatred for the sword.

Now that the Ashen Verdict, alongside the Horde and the Alliance, are ready to march upon Icecrown Citadel, interest in the sword has been renewed. When Lana’thel defiles the sword at Quel’Delar’s Rest, the Silver Covenant and the Sunreavers immediately vow to return the blade to its former glory, so players are asked to reforge and cleanse the sword. The whole process takes players to distant places like the Halls of Reflection, the Sunwell and Dalaran.

The Quel’Delar Quest is part of the WOW 3.3 update that involves completing a 5 man instance, which from all reports will take you back into Sunwell, although it is not clear exactly how much work will be involved in Sunwell.  The Quel’Gelar Quest is set up as a chain quest which has at least 11 sub quests which include; The Battered Hilt, What The Dragons Know, The Sunreaver Plan, and several others.

This chain quest will feature separate versions and loot for both Alliance and Horde respectively.  Although, the loot rewards will be similar in stats, just have different names.  The overall point of this chain quest is to aquire the Quel’Delar blade by first finding its hilt and you retrieve the hilt from the Forge of Souls inside Icecrown Citadel.  Once you have the hilt you will head to Krasus’ Wyrmrest Temple and get your instructions that tell you the the blade you are searching for is infact is Quel’Delar.

This 3.3 quest chain will take you to Silver Enclave in Dalaran to to do some covert spying and steal Ancient Dragonforged Blades tome for Magister Hathorel.

You will eventually make your way to Quel’Delar’s Rest located outside the Coliseum to in order to find Myralion Sunblaze (Horde) or Caladis Brightspear (Alliance), that give you the quests to head to the Pit of Saron to reforge the sword.  One the sword is reforged, you will learn that it is possessed by the Lich King, and sends you to the Halls of Reflection.

Eventually you will need to travel to Sunwell to cleans the blade and return it to your appropriate faction Sunreavers, the Alliance version will most likely have you give it to the Argent Crusade.  This is a prime example of Blizzard taking a pro-active role with not only adding new content to the game but also encouraging players to revisit previous areas of the game that have in many cases become stale.

Tags: Achievement, Alliance, Ancient, Argent, Argent Crusade, Arthas, Ashen Verdict, Blizzard, Cleanse, crusade, Dalaran, dragon, Dragonflight, dragonflights, dragons, first, Forge of Souls, fro, From, Halls, Halls of Reflection, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, instance, King, Lana'thel, Lich, Lich King, Lieutenant, loot, patch, patch 3.3, pit, Pit of Saron, Quel'Delar, Quel'Delar Quest, Quel'Serrar, Quel’Gelar Quest, Quest, rewards, Saron, Scourge, Souls, Sunwell, Sword, Thalorien Dawnseeker, The Ashen Verdict, The Battered Hilt, the Forge of Souls, The Halls of Reflection, The Sunreaver Plan, The Sword in the Skull, Troll, trolls, Vengeance, Weapon, What The Dragons Know, wow, wow 3.3, Wyrmrest, Wyrmrest Temple

The Ashen Verdict is the name of the alliance struck between the Argent Crusade, led by Highlord Tirion Fordring, and the Knights of the Ebon Blade, led by Highlord Darion Mograine. Much like the Shattered Sun Offensive against Kael’thas Sunstrider, the Ashen Verdict is a combination of opposing orders for a common purpose: the final assault against the Scourge in Icecrown Citadel and the eventual fall of the Lich King.

The strongest combatants of this coalition, along with the champions of the Alliance and Horde, will lead the charge against the citadel.

As explained by Highlord Darion Mograine:

“The Ashen Verdict is a select group of the most talented craftsmen in the Ebon Blade and the Argent Crusade. Its creation symbolizes the unity of our forces as we mount this final assault on the Lich King and his minions. It is through the Ashen Verdict’s efforts that we have discovered how to bend saronite to our will.”

Tags: Alliance, Argent, Argent Crusade, Ashen Verdict, citadel, crusade, Darion, Darion Mograine, Ebon Blade, Fall of the Lich King, Highlord Darion Mograine, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Kael'thas, Kael'thas Sunstrider, King, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Lich, Lich King, mount, Orc, Saron, saronite, Scourge, The Ashen Verdict, The Lich King, Tirion Fordring, world of warcraft

Grand Entrance of the Citadel

After breaching the fortress, players will face a legion of undead guards directed to repel any invaders. Commanding the defenders is Lord Marrowgar, a monstrosity fused together from the bones of the undead. Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned, Lady Deathwhisper is the next opponent. She bolsters the faith of her followers by promising them the opportunity to give eternal service in undeath.

As they continue their ascent, the Alliance and Horde heroes ultimately end up outside of the citadel where their hatred for one another erupts into a battle for dominance over the Rampart of Skulls. Players will join in battle alongside High Overlord Saurfang on the Orgrim’s Hammer gunship or Muradin Bronzebeard on The Skybreaker in a unique encounter. Each faction will protect its gunship and try to destroy the other one in a back-and-forth battle to see who is truly worthy of facing the Lich King.

The Lich King’s most powerful death knight then stands as the final obstacle for the heroes to enter the upper reaches of the citadel.

The Wings of Icecrown Citadel

After the heroes of the Alliance or Horde defeat the other faction on the gunships and wipe out the creatures near the entrance, players will venture into an area with three separate wings. Here they will face a multitude of terrors that must be vanquished in order to confront the Lich King.

In the Frostwing Halls players will battle alongside the Ashen Verdict and push into the lair of the deadly frost wyrm Sindragosa, who continues to strengthen her brood with the help of Ymirheim’s vrykul. Along the way, the heroes will stumble upon Valithria Dreamwalker, a captured green dragon whom the Scourge is using as a test subject for their own ends….

The Plagueworks contains the most twisted experiments ever produced by the Scourge. In this wing players will face two new forms of abomination in Festergut and Rotface, who currently protect their devious creator, Professor Putricide.

The Crimson Hall contains the leaders of the San’layn, undead blood elves who oversee the Scourge’s operations throughout Azeroth. The blood-princes Valanar, Keleseth, and Taldaram were raised into undeath by the Lich King to avenge themselves while protecting their blood-queen, Lana’thel.

The Frozen Throne

After clearing all three wings, players will ascend to the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King and his runeblade, Frostmourne, await to deliver them to their deaths….

Tags: Abomination, Alliance, Ashen Verdict, Azeroth, blood elves, citadel, Crimson Hall, Deadly, Death, death knight, dragon, Fall of the Lich King, Festergut, fro, From, Frost, Frost Wyrm, Frostmourne, Frostwing, Frostwing Halls, Frozen, Frozen Throne, gunship, Halls, High Overlord Saurfang, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Keleseth, King, Lana'thel, Lich, Lich King, Lich King's, Lord Marrowgar, Muradin Bronzebeard, Orgrim's Hammer, patch 3.3, Plagueworks, Professor Putricide, Putricide, Rotface, runeblade, San'layn, Saurfang, Scourge, Sindragosa, Skybreaker, Taldaram, The Ashen Verdict, The Frozen Throne, The Lich King, The Plagueworks, Undead, Undeath, Valanar, Valithria, Valithria Dreamwalker, vrykul, Wings, world of warcraft, wow 3.3, wyrm

Fall of the Lich King, the latest World of Warcraft content update, is coming! The heroes of the Horde and the Alliance have faced unimaginable horrors and suffered terrible losses in their desperate struggle against the Scourge. Now the time has come to break through the fortified gates of Icecrown Citadel and confront the Lich King in the frozen heart of his domain. Follow Jaina Proudmoore or Sylvanas Windrunner through the Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection in an attempt to subvert the Lich King’s army in a new multi-wing 5-player dungeon. Join the Ashen Verdict as they charge through the citadel’s main gate to take on the Scourge’s most powerful leaders and fearsome monstrosities in a new 10- and 25-player raid. Fall of the Lich King also introduces the cross-realm Dungeon Finder interface, new quest-tracking features designed to make it easier to find objectives, and much more.

The latest test realm patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Halls

Looming over the stark wastes of Northrend, Icecrown Citadel awaits those who would see the Lich King and his Scourge brought low and the threat they pose wiped from the face of Azeroth. The heroes who venture within will face some of the greatest horrors yet seen. But before you burst into the front gate of the citadel, an alternate means of entry beckons. Journey through three separate wings of the new five-player dungeon, Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Halls, and follow Jaina Proudmoore or Sylvanas Windrunner into the Lich King’s domain.

Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Throne

All across Northrend, many battles have been fought against the vile Scourge. Countless lives have been lost since the Alliance and the Horde first reached these frozen wastes, but the champions of Azeroth continue to march forward — and Icecrown Citadel, the cornerstone of the Scourge’s power and the home base of the Lich King, is their final target. Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade have forged an accord with Darion Mograine and the Knights of the Ebon Blade to form the Ashen Verdict. This coalition’s strongest combatants, along with the champions of the Alliance and the Horde, will lead the charge against the citadel. In the new Icecrown Citadel raid dungeon, Azeroth’s mightiest will face terrifying challenges before ascending to the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King and his runeblade, Frostmourne, await to deliver the heroes to their deaths….

Cross-Realm Dungeon Finder

The Dungeon Finder is now available, providing players with quick and easy access to five-player parties. This feature connects all realms within a battlegroup using an advanced matchmaking system, making it easier for players of all levels to find a dungeon group. In addition, players can reap additional rewards through the Dungeon Finder by choosing the Random option, which is available to both pick-up and pre-formed groups. Check out the User Interface section for more details.

Getting Started and Quest Tracking

A number of changes have been made to World of Warcraft’s introductory experience, including updated character and class information at the character-selection screen, more robust tooltips with images, improved health and mana regeneration at lower levels, and adjustments to various classes designed to make it easier for players to get started. In addition, all-new quest-tracking features have been added to assist players in finding objectives, including new interface functionality in the quest log, the map (“M” key), and the Objectives pane.

Tags: 3.3.0, Alliance, Argent, Argent Crusade, Ashen Verdict, Assist, Azeroth, check, citadel, Client Patch, crusade, Darion, Darion Mograine, dungeon, Dungeon Finder, Ebon Blade, Eck, Fall of the Lich King, first, Forge of Souls, fro, From, Frostmourne, Frozen, Frozen Halls, Frozen Throne, Halls, Halls of Reflection, Health, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Jaina, Jaina Proudmoore, King, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Lich, Lich King, Lich King's, mana, map, Northrend, patch, patch 3.3, Patch 3.3.0, Patch Notes, pit, Pit of Saron, Quest, Quest Tracking, raid, raid dungeon, Regen, rewards, runeblade, Saron, Scourge, Souls, Sylvanas, Sylvanas Windrunner, Target, The Ashen Verdict, the Forge of Souls, The Frozen Halls, The Frozen Throne, The Lich King, Threat, Time, Tirion Fordring, tooltip, warcraft, windrunner, Wings, World, world of warcraft

Before being the Lich King, Prince Arthas Menethil was a servant ruled by a sword he believed was the key to saving his people – the runeblade Frostmourne. Finding and claiming the blade among the frozen wastes of Northrend was an odyssey unto itself, and the search cost the prince his mentor, his relationship with his subjects, and his humanity. It cost the living of Azeroth far more.

With a tight grip on the blade that he traded his life for, Arthas ravaged the kingdom of Lordaeron and broke free from the control of the Burning Legion. By the time the former prince ascended as the leader of the Scourge, Frostmourne was already glutted with the souls of the numberless dead who dared to oppose him.

Now, Arthas has become so inseparable from his weapon that the sword’s likeness has even found its way into the architecture of his fortress, Icecrown Citadel. Its hilt is never far from his hands; its ghostly whispers constantly ring in his ears. Frostmourne, as much as the Lich King, is the ruler of Northrend.

In a relentless quest to arm the forces of the living against the Scourge, Highlord Darion Mograine has formed the Ashen Verdict, a union between the most skilled craftsmen of the Argent Crusade and the Ebon Blade. Though the peerless paladins of the Crusade wield the power of the Light, and their leader clutches Ashbringer, a few of Mograine’s dark warriors have begun to question their hopes for victory.

These death knights insist that the Ashbringer and the skills of the Argent Crusaders, will not be enough to best Frostmourne alone. They swear that Darion Mograine has long been quietly aware of another legendary blade – one that could be the key to defeating the Lich King and cleansing Northrend… But it doesn’t exist yet, for the moment, the weapon is only a formless idea. It is spoken of quietly, and the Highlord has a habit of silencing those who discuss it in public. Just its name inspires the furnaces to burn late into the night, the bellows to pump air, and the darker half of the Verdict’s smiths to swing their hammers until their fingers fail. While other craftsmen lean over whetstones and gather pitted blades by the hundreds, these few dream of a single weapon to end the war for Northrend.

Shadowmourne… A great two-handed axe fit for a giant, born of sacred and corrupt powers, host of a thousand dead souls and able to be wielded only by the most stalwart armsmasters of Azeroth. Its creation seems nearly impossible; and yet, the rumors do not cease.

Darion Mograine believes that only the hammer of Arthas himself will provide a worthy model – but such absurd ambition is just the beginning of Shadowmourne’s creation. To contain the energies that dance across its cold edges, Shadowmourne would be hewn from piles of impure Saronite: the hardened blood of the Old God, Yogg-Saron. To fuel its power to kill, it should be drenched in the souls of the most potent servants of the Scourge as they are slain, one by one, with the unfinished blade. To help break through the Lich King’s armor, it is to be adorned with fragments of the Frozen Throne, originally crafted by Kil’Jaeden out of ice from the Twisting Nether.

Only with these mighty components, it is said, can Shadowmourne be finished. And, yet, even if the axe could be completed, questions and fears remain. Is forging the souls of the deceased into a weapon treated with blood and the essence of the Twisting Nether truly any different from the crafting of the Scourge’s runeblades? And who will be bold enough to try to wield such a weapon? Might Shadowmourne bring the same doom and misery to the living as its sister blade did?

Tags: Argent, Argent Crusade, Argent Crusaders, Armor, Arthas, Arthas Menethil, Ashbringer, Ashen Verdict, Azeroth, Burning Legion, crusade, crusader, Darion, Darion Mograine, Death, death knight, death knights, Ebon Blade, Elf, fro, From, Frostmourne, Frozen, Frozen Throne, giant, Highlord Darion Mograine, Human, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, Kil'Jaeden, King, Legendary Weapon, Lich, Lich King, Lich King's, Lordaeron, Lore, Menethil, Northrend, omen, Orc, paladin, paladins, pit, prince arthas, Prince Arthas Menethil, Quest, runeblade, Saron, saronite, Scourge, servant, shadow, Shadowmourne, shadowmourne axe, Shadowmourne lore, shadowmourne weapon, Souls, Spire, Sword, The Ashen Verdict, The Frozen Throne, The Lich King, Time, Twisting Nether, warrior, warriors, Weapon, Yogg-Saron

All across the lands of Northrend, many battles have been fought against the vile Scourge. Countless lives have been lost since the Alliance and Horde first reached the frozen wastes, but the champions of Azeroth continue to march forward. Now Icecrown Citadel, the cornerstone of the Scourge’s power and the home base of the Lich King, is their final target. Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade have forged an alliance with Darion Mograine and the Knights of the Ebon Blade to form the Ashen Verdict. The strongest combatants of this coalition, along with the champions of the Alliance and Horde, will lead the charge against the citadel.

This dungeon reveals the culminating story events and battles of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack. Join the legendary heroes Highlord Tirion Fordring, High Overlord Saurfang, Muradin Bronzebeard, Highlord Darion Mograine, and King Varian Wrynn in an epic battle against the Scourge and their master.

Icecrown Citadel features 10- and 25-player versions of the raid dungeon, and each version has 12 encounters. Each encounter can be fought in either normal or Heroic mode, and players can use a new user interface feature to toggle easily between difficulties. The rewards in the raid dungeon start at item level 251 in the normal mode with 10-player encounters, increase to item level 264 in the Heroic mode with 10 players and the normal mode with 25-player encounters, and then finally reach item level 277 in the Heroic mode with 25 players.

Tags: Alliance, Argent, Argent Crusade, Ashen Verdict, Azeroth, cataclysm, citadel, crusade, Darion, Darion Mograine, dungeon, Ebon Blade, Epic, Fall of the Lich King, first, fro, Frozen, Frozen Throne, Heroic, heroic mode, High Overlord Saurfang, Highlord Darion Mograine, horde, Icecrown, Icecrown Citadel, King, King Varian Wrynn, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Lich, Lich King, Muradin Bronzebeard, Northrend, online games, raid, raid dungeon, rewards, Saurfang, Scourge, Target, The Ashen Verdict, The Frozen Throne, The Lich King, Tirion Fordring, Varian Wrynn, warcraft cataclysm, world of warcraft: cataclysm, wotlk, wow 3.3, wrath, wrath of the lich, Wrath of the Lich King

With the final battle against the Lich King just on the horizon, Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton and Lead Systems Designer Greg Street discuss what awaits players inside Icecrown Citadel and offer a glimpse at the design process behind Wrath of the Lich King’s ultimate raid and dungeon encounters.

What were you looking forward to most about developing Icecrown Citadel?

Cory: I think the most exciting thing about developing Icecrown Citadel was just knowing that we were working on the final chapter of the Northrend expansion, and that we’d really be able to give players that ultimate sense of completion of the storyline. Arthas is a huge character in Warcraft lore, so we took a lot of pride in making this the best experience we possibly could.

Icecrown and the Frozen Throne are important parts of the world of Azeroth and have quite a bit of history, especially for longtime Warcraft players. How do you convey the significance of these places and the events that took place there in design?

Cory: History was a large factor in the design of Icecrown Citadel from the very beginning. When we first sat down to discuss the layout of the raid itself, we immediately went back to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne to think about how the spire from the ending cinematic could be translated into World of Warcraft. We decided to actually build Icecrown Citadel around the original spire to pull players even more into the storyline. This kind of thinking carried on throughout the entire design process.

Greg: We want Icecrown to be an epic experience from top to bottom, and that includes the loot you get. We’re not going to shower players in items — well, more than we already do — but we do want to make sure the items are sufficiently powerful so that they’re upgrades for all of our players.

Is there an existing model in World of Warcraft for Icecrown Citadel’s itemization or style of play? What lessons that you’d learned from earlier projects wound up being applied to Icecrown Citadel?

Greg: The nice thing about Icecrown Citadel from an itemization perspective is that we have lots of bosses. That’s something of a relief coming from the Crusaders’ Coliseum, where we had only five bosses. For Icecrown, we can afford to have multiple options for a particular slot — say a healing leather bracer or a melee trinket — and even itemize some of the more unusual pieces. We have a pretty effective system for figuring out who is going to drop what to make sure that an individual boss will be interesting to a variety of players in terms of loot. Most of our lessons learned are in the realm of what differences there should be between 10- and 25-player itemization, the role of tradeskill recipes, and what kinds of items to place with badge vendors.

Cory: I think we learn lessons from every raid that we do. We didn’t model Icecrown specifically after any of our previous raids, but you can definitely see influences. For example, we have a winged structure in Icecrown that players will remember from Naxxramas. Another example of an influence would be the teleporters from Ulduar. We know that players really loved that concept, so we brought it back in Icecrown.

Can you talk a little about how artists and designers on the team collaborated on the creation of Icecrown Citadel?

Cory: The design and art teams worked extremely closely throughout the entire development process. The biggest single influence on the look and the layout of the dungeon comes from our concept art, and there was no shortage of that for Icecrown Citadel. Once we locked down the layout, we were able to get to work on the final art extremely quickly thanks to the existing style we’d developed for the Icecrown zone. We really wanted the players to feel connected to the environment, but we wanted to make sure it still had an amazing look. Often times, these two things are hard to mix, but in this case, I think we’ve been able to pull off an amazing dungeon from both the art and design standpoint.

What sorts of new loot and item abilities will we see in Icecrown?

Greg: There are three main sources of loot for Icecrown: the bosses themselves, the Emblem of Frost badge vendors, and a new faction, the Ashen Verdict, that will provide suitable rewards as well, particularly at the Exalted level.

As far as the items themselves go, we want them to feel epic. In addition to having favorable optimization, we also want to try a lot of experiments to make the items feel cool and unique. We are going to try to do a lot of weapon procs, for instance, which is something we haven’t done much since the original World of Warcraft.

When you set out to itemize “sister” areas — like the Icecrown Citadel dungeon and raid, or Halls of Stone, Halls of Lightning, and Ulduar — do you take any steps to make loot from these places feel similar?

Greg: Absolutely. We approach that on two fronts: the art and the names. When we did the Halls of Stone and Lightning, we hadn’t completed the Ulduar raid yet, so the items there didn’t necessarily have Titan-influenced art models for us to use. We are doing the Icecrown dungeon at the same time as the raid, and it’s a style we already know pretty well, from Naxxramas and even the Warcraft RTS games.

Naming is something we’ve had a lot of fun with. There’s a ton of lore to draw from for Icecrown loot and it has a very strong “kit.” World of Warcraft players know to associate the Scourge with spiders, bats, and cultists along with more traditional forms of undead, like skeletons and liches.

Do you itemize Icecrown’s “trash” — the enemies between bosses — differently from elites elsewhere in the world?

Greg: We make sure there is epic trash loot — specific items that only drop from trash. It helps keep players interested between bosses. However, we aren’t doing Heroic trash, just Heroic bosses, so there won’t be unique trash loot for Heroic versions of the 10- and 25-player versions of the raid. We try to construct the trash in such a way that it isn’t trivial to go farm the first pull or whatever in hopes that an epic drops. We make our raids more accessible now in general, so I’m not sure the motivation is there to try stunts like that the way it once was. We want players who have raided so far in Wrath of the Lich King to be able to actually fight the Lich King, so chances are a lot of raiders will have plenty of opportunities to gear up. Now, the Heroics are another story — those will be as challenging as they were in Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader, and the items will likewise be even better.

What have you done to make the tier-10 sets feel like a meaningful advancement from tier 8 and tier 9? How do they visually represent Icecrown’s lore and history?

Greg: Not only do we want them to be a meaningful advancement, but we want them to feel really awesome. This is Arthas loot you’re talking about. We started by spending a lot of time on the concept art to make sure it tied into the type of creatures you’ll encounter and the whole Icecrown art “kit” in general. For example, the rogue tier-10 set has a strong geist look to it, while the hunter set has strong Nerubian elements, and the mage set looks a lot like the Blood Princes. You can see the Icecrown look and feel in a lot of pieces, which itself drew strongly from the Lich King’s original helmet. Look for lots of blue, ice, skulls, and spikes.

We have also spent a lot longer on the set bonuses than we usually do. It’s important that they feel awesome for every class and spec. Going back to the Crusaders’ Coliseum, part of the challenge we made for ourselves was to create an instance that didn’t require as much time or resources as Ulduar to develop, yet was still cool. We had set bonuses for the tier-9 gear, but they were often simple — more crit on a common ability was a typical one. For tier 10, we’re really going for set bonuses that change your game up a little. At the very least, you should want to change your rotation a little, though this is easier with some classes than others.

If you had something like a mission statement or a slogan for itemizing Icecrown, what would it be?

Greg: Epic. Cool things. Proc’y stuff.

Seriously, that’s our mission statement. One of the risks of itemization is making things feel too formulaic. We know that when we step outside the bounds too much, players can have a bad reaction to it, like, “Why does my gear for this tier suck?” It’s easy to fall into the trap of making the new gear feel just like the last gear with 20 more stat points. That is the exact design approach we use for the PvP gear, and left unchecked, it would be easy to go the same direction with the PvE gear as well. We’re trying not to do that. We think we owe it to Icecrown for the gear to be memorable, but that means we’re going to take a few chances.

Can you talk about any of the new mechanics we’ll see in the raid?

Cory: One of the coolest new things we’re doing in Icecrown is the gunship air battle. Players will be able to board their respective faction’s gunship and then take to the air for a battle to the top of the citadel. They’ll be fighting on the decks as well as using vehicles’ cannon emplacements. If you’re really daring, you can put on a goblin rocket pack and propel yourself back and forth between the two battling gunships. Needless to say, this will be a type of encounter that our players have never experienced before.

Icecrown Citadel’s structure is extremely vertical — what challenges does that present from a layout perspective?

Cory: Well, we knew from the start that the layout was going to be vertical, just due to the nature of the original spire. There are a number of things that we’re doing to help players get around and not get lost. We’re using elevators, teleporters, and even gunships to get players where they need to go in the dungeon. We are also going to have an in-game map with full support for all floors — that should help too.

Icecrown is the last major raid and dungeon before the release of Cataclysm — how has that affected the design?

Greg: The major challenge from an itemization perspective is that the items have to last basically until Cataclysm. That means we can’t afford to give them away too quickly, but they also need to feel powerful enough that players are motivated to keep trying for them. On the other hand, the really fun thing about doing a final raid tier is how it unties your hands. We can afford to make these items great because nothing needs to follow on their heels. It’s cool to be able to optimize the items very well, because it’s okay if players don’t want to replace these items for a long time.

Cory: We are really pushing as hard as we can to deliver the most epic experience possible. We know that our players have been waiting for this for a long time, and we plan to deliver. Everyone should expect to see this sort of storytelling and attention to detail in Cataclysm as well. I think we are always striving to pull the people who play our game into the storyline and really give them an explanation for why they’re there. It won’t be too long before they’ll get a chance to bring the pain to Deathwing!

Thanks, both of you – we’re looking forward to playing through Icecrown Citadel after patch 3.3 is released!

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The spells listed below are datamined effects related to Shadowmourne. Since it’s the PTR, all of this is subject to change.

• Item – Shadowmourne Legendary: Your weapon swings have a chance to drain a Soul Fragment from their victims. When you have acquired 10 Soul Fragments you wil unleash the Souls of the Damned, dealing 6840 to 7560 shadow damage split between all enemies within 8 yards.

Depending on how quickly you accumulate Soul Fragments through Shadowmourne’s proc, this has the potential to be a pretty strong effect.

History

Before beginning his reign as the Lich King, Prince Arthas Menethil was first a servant, ruled by a sword he believed was the key to saving his people – the runeblade Frostmourne. Finding and claiming the blade among the frozen wastes of Northrend was an odyssey unto itself, and the search cost the prince his mentor, his relationship with his subjects, and his humanity. It cost the living of Azeroth far more.

With a tight grip on the blade that he traded his life for, Arthas ravaged the kingdom of Lordaeron and broke free from the control of the Burning Legion. By the time the former prince ascended as the leader of the Scourge, Frostmourne was already glutted with the souls of the numberless dead who dared to oppose him.

Now, Arthas has become so inseparable from his weapon that the sword’s likeness has even found its way into the architecture of his fortress, Icecrown Citadel. Its hilt is never far from his hands; its ghostly whispers constantly ring in his ears. Frostmourne, as much as the Lich King, is the ruler of Northrend.
To challenge that rule, mighty heroes will need to follow more closely in Arthas’s path than ever before.

In a relentless quest to arm the forces of the living against the Scourge, Darion Mograine has formed the Ashen Verdict, a union between the most skilled craftsmen of the Argent Crusade and the Ebon Blade. Though the peerless paladins of the Crusade wield the power of the Light, and their leader clutches Ashbringer, a few of Mograine’s dark warriors have begun to question their hopes for victory.

These death knights insist that the Ashbringer and the skills of the Argent Crusaders, though potent, aren’t enough to best Frostmourne alone. They swear that Darion Mograine has long been quietly aware of another legendary blade – one that could be the key to defeating the Lich King and cleansing Northrend… But it doesn’t exist yet.

For the moment, the weapon is a formless idea, with no more killing power than an angry thought. When it is spoken of, it is spoken of quietly, and the Highlord has a habit of silencing those who discuss it in public.

But the hope of an artifact to rival Frostmourne is strong within the minds of the Ebon Blade. Just its name inspires the furnaces to burn late into the night, the bellows to pump air, and the darker half of the Verdict’s smiths to swing their hammers until their fingers fail. While other craftsmen crafters lean over whetstones and gather pitted blades by the hundreds, these few dream of a single weapon to end the war for Northrend.
Shadowmourne… A great two-handed axe fit for a giant, born of sacred and corrupt powers, host of a thousand dead souls and able to be wielded only by the most stalwart armsmasters of Azeroth. Its creation seems nearly impossible; and yet, the rumors do not cease.

Some smiths claim that Shadowmourne must be nothing more than an ordinary axe, honed to unparalleled perfection, while others would shape it from a weapon of immense import in the world. Mograine, when he can be convinced to speak of it at all, is said to believe that only the hammer of Arthas himself will provide a worthy model – but such absurd ambition is just the beginning of Shadowmourne’s creation.

• To contain the energies that dance across its cold edges, Shadowmourne must be hewn from piles of impure Saronite: the hardened blood of the Old God, Yogg-Saron, treated only by master metal-shapers.
• To fuel its power to kill, it is vital that Shadowmourne be drenched in the souls of the most potent servants of the Scourge as they are slain, one by one, with the unfinished blade.
• To help break through the Lich King’s armor, Shadowmourne is to be adorned with fragments of the Frozen Throne, originally crafted by Kil’Jaeden out of ice from the Twisting Nether.

Only with these mighty components, it’s said, can Shadowmourne be finished. And, yet, even if the axe could be completed, questions and fears remain. Is forging the souls of the deceased into a weapon treated withblood and the essence of the Twisting Nether truly any different from the crafting of the Scourge’s runeblades?

Who is to say that the Lich King wouldn’t simply annihilate – or control – the maker for their impudence in mimicking his most treasured possession? If Arthas, one of the most dedicated knights of his age, lost his humanity to the whispers of Frostmourne, might Shadowmourne bring the same doom and misery tothe living as its sister blade?

Without knowing the answers to these questions, who would be bold enough to try and wield it?

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