Keep in mind, a lot of this is work in progress, specific details can change. Blizzard is currently planning to announce this at a roleplaying convention in Germany later this month. Playable versions will be available for Gamescom and Blizzcon later this year.
- New level cap 120
- Necromancer Hero Class (Every race)
- Starts at level 108
- Range class
- Wears cloth
- 3 specs
- Torment, DPS, very similar to Warlock, usual spellcaster, using a lot of Shadow Magic, summoning skeleton armies
- Soulstealer, healer, that heals by „stealing the souls“ of the enemies, siphoning life from them to heal party members
- Boneweaver, tank, summons a huge skeleton that serves as a tank
- New Alliance race: Vrykul
- Warrior, Paladin, Death Knight, Druid, Monk, Priest, Necromancer, Hunter, Shaman
– Everything except Mage, Rogue, Warlock and Demon Hunter
- New Horde race: Ogre
- Warrior, Death Knight, Priest, Necromancer, Mage, Warlock, Hunter, Shaman
– Everything except Druid, Rogue, Paladin, Monk and Demon Hunter
- New class race combinations
- Pandaren Death Knights, Night Elf Paladins, Draenei Warlocks, Draenei Rogues
- Main villain is the Scourge, but also Naga and Old Gods
- Death Knight and Demon Hunter starter level raised to 108
- New starting zone for Necromancers, Death Knights share it
- Starting zone is a phased Icecrown Citadel
- Continent is a revamped Northrend
- All old zones are revamped and 5 new zones added, plus 2 starter areas for new races
- Azjol-Nerub, underground zone that spans from Dragonblight to Icecrown
- Ny'alotha, island raised from the sea floor, old god influence
- Nazjatar, capital of the Naga, underwater zone
- Frostmaw, snowy area with heavy Scourge influence
- Asgard, titan-influenced zone
- Vyllenheim, Vrykul starting area
- Mag'rall, Ogre starting area
- Old Northrend zones scale from level 70-120
- New Northrend zones scale from level 110-120
- Dalaran capital again, will move with us
- Order halls carry over, portals are in Dalaran
- Artifact weapons carry over, every spec gets a questline for a new artifact skin
- Aside from that no new class Quests, as that took up too many resources that could've been spent in a better way
- Revamped Ulduar as a 5 man dungeon in a patch planned, Yogg-Saron is back
- World Quests in Northrend, old and new zones
- Flying available in all old zones, but has to be unlocked in the new ones
- Old revamped zones redesigned with flying in mind
- Switch between old and new Northrend zones
Story details
There is a questline planned to be in the Argus patch, that involves a hooded figure, largely hinted at to be Kel'thuzad, who wants you to recover an artifact called the Soulblade of Sargeras, a pillar of creation. This artifact has control over souls and undeath, it is what Sargeras uses to resurrect his demons and it is what Kil'jaeden used to create the Lich King.
Another questline is taking place on Azeroth, where the player (Alliance only) is finding a grave in Stormwind empty. The grave has a Lordaeron symbol on it and is largely hinted to have been Arthas' grave,
Similar to the cutscene with Gul'dan discovering Illidan, there will be a short cutscene that ties the expansions together. The cutscene is still in development, but I have seen the art for it, currently it is planned that you see Kel'thuzad and undead forces, Death Knights etc., approaching the top of Icecrown Citadel, standing in front of Bolvar, Kel'thuzad uses the Soulblade of Sargeras to tear Bolvar's spirit from his body, his body turns to ash and crumbles, the crown falling to the floor. Immediately the Death Knights carry in something, that's covered up in sheets. They lay it on the floor and remove the sheets to reveal Arthas' body. Kel'thuzad puts the crown on Arthas head and uses the Soulblade of Sargeras to summon the soul of Arthas, putting it back into his body. The camera focusses on Arthas face, you can see it twitching and then his eyes spring open, glowing blue, like back when he first became the Lich King. That's where the cinematic ends.
- Old zones completely changed
- Borean Tundra: flooded by the Naga, barely any undead there
- Dragonblight: Dragonflights struggling, losing to the Scourge, undead dragons roam the area
- Howling Fjord: old Vrykul and Alliance and Horde bases overtaken by Scourge
- Grizzly Hills: wolf cult joined the Scourge, led by Arugal
- Sholazar Basin: Titan-forged that slumbered beneath the land have awakened
- Zul'Drak: undead Drakkari trolls try to resurrect their Loa, fighting against the Scourge
- Storm Peaks: Odyn has moved in to the Terrace of the Makers, Twilight's Hammer wants to resurrect Yogg-Saron
- Icecrown: the Scourge has fortified their strongholds, more Scourge presence here than ever
- Wintergrasp: new world PvP zone, two Ethereal cartels are battling over resources here
- Crystalsong Forest: very minor changes, zone remains mainly the same, not a lot of quests will lead here
- Currently 10 new dungeons planned
- Azjol-Nerub and Ahn'Kahet revamped
- Abyssal Maw, Naga dungeon, underwater
- Gun'drak Palace, not a revamp, completely new wing
- Utgarde Catacombs, not a revamp, completely new wing
- The Lower Kingdom, Caverns of Time dungeon, guide Arthas through Azjol-Nerub
- Frosthold, Scourge dungeon in Frostmaw
- The Underblight, Scourge dungeon in Frostmaw
- Halls of Ascension, dungeon in Asgard, titan-influenced
- Shubrathyyl, dungeon in Ny'alotha, old god influence
- First raid is The Black Forest, endboss N'zoth
- Second raid is a flying necropolis called Xalramas, endboss Death Knight Leonas Menethil
- Leonas is the son of Calia Menethil
- Similar in style to Naxxramas, but completely new designed, new bosses and everything
- Caverns of Time battleground: Battle at Icecrown Citadel, help Arthas or help Illidan claim all the obelisks
- Azshara planned to be the boss of the second raid tier
- Azshara threw in her lot with the old gods
- Naga have been on their side for millenia, haven't been loyal to Illidan or the Legion
- Azshara wanted N'zoth to be her mate, so she will be avenging his death
- Third raid tier planned to be a Scourge raid in Frostmaw, endboss not the Lich King, but Kel'thuzad
- Illidan, Calia Menethil, Sylvanas and Anduin will be the main characters in RotLK
- Calia wants to save her son Leonas, who was turned into a Death Knight by Arthas, and put an end to her brother
- Illidan wants to challenge Arthas and prove that he can defeat him
- Sylvanas is infuriated that Arthas is back and wants to put him down again and take his power for herself
- Anduin torn between peace and revenge for Genn, who was killed by Sylvanas
- A big theme in the expansion will be Anduin, as a new Paladin, trying not to go down the same path as Arthas
- New Reputation Factions: Drakkari Trolls, The Nerub'ar, The Frozen Vanguard, Sireth'ka and The Eternals.
- The Frozen Vanguard are an ancient sect of Death Knights not serving the Lich King
- Sireth'ka are a group of Naga
- The Eternals are a group of Titan-forged from beneath Sholazar
The name Return of the Lich King was already trademarked a while ago. Basically Blizzard is trying to focus on lore that people like, that's why they brought Illidan back and since Illidan's return had positive responses, they decided to bring Arthas back, as he is about as popular, if not more than Illidan. The team wanted to revamp Northrend for a long time, it's the teams most favourite content and that of many players as well. The announcement of this will happen soon, so whether you believe me or not, this will soon be made public. Enjoy our trip back to the icy north.
