They're not upgrading Azeroth to current standards. They're completely changing the face of Azeroth of how it looks, and how it's going to play. Imagine it being a completely fresh experience from 1-58.
Also, the current expansions, Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, are 1/2 the size of vanilla WoW in terms of land mass, and much much smaller in terms of content.
If you think redesigning vanilla WoW is a paltry task, you'd be grossly mistaken. It is a pretty large undertaking for a single expansion.
Also the class openings coming to different races is pretty controversial. There's a lot standing in the way, Lore-wise. So far they are just rumors, and people are already flying off the handle about it. I would say, that is also bold.
When Blizzcon hits a few days we will see what is what. I'm sure there will be some surprises that haven't yet been leaked, if the leaked info is to be believed.
The rumors also state that they plan to completely streamline the 1-58 levels in vanilla WoW.
What you can translate this into is that it will be much quicker to level, and as such, you won't need to visit as many zones / do as many quests as previously. This gives Blizzard room for revamping a few old zones for 80+ content, plus including the previously unreleased zones for 80+ content. That should be enough to get us to level 85, the supposed new level cap.
Secondly, they plan to rework and design the old zones due to the Cataclysm. This gives a fresh experience to anyone rerolling, or coming back to the game from a long absence.
They could also implement phasing, as they did in WotLK. For those who don't know what phasing is: the zone appears differently to different players, depending upon where you are in the quests / story. Phasing happens in real time - it is not instanced and there are no loading times.
In a previous interview this year, Metzen (creative VP at Blizzard) was asked what their plans were for the next expansion: "Unbelievable boldness" was his reply.
This seems pretty bold to me.
Plus flying mounts in Azeroth, about freakin time.
Couldn't care less about the classes being opened up to different races as I'm pretty happy with my Human DK, but it's still a neat feature. I had always wanted a Blood Elf Warrior, but now it's a little late.
If you look at the expansions so far:
Burning Crusade: Two New Races, No New Classes
Wrath of the Lich King: No New Races, One New Class
Cataclysm: Two New Races, No New Classes
It's for sure, following a pattern. A new class (or two maybe) the next NEXT expansion.
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Also, the current expansions, Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, are 1/2 the size of vanilla WoW in terms of land mass, and much much smaller in terms of content.
If you think redesigning vanilla WoW is a paltry task, you'd be grossly mistaken. It is a pretty large undertaking for a single expansion.
Also the class openings coming to different races is pretty controversial. There's a lot standing in the way, Lore-wise. So far they are just rumors, and people are already flying off the handle about it. I would say, that is also bold.
When Blizzcon hits a few days we will see what is what. I'm sure there will be some surprises that haven't yet been leaked, if the leaked info is to be believed.
What you can translate this into is that it will be much quicker to level, and as such, you won't need to visit as many zones / do as many quests as previously. This gives Blizzard room for revamping a few old zones for 80+ content, plus including the previously unreleased zones for 80+ content. That should be enough to get us to level 85, the supposed new level cap.
Secondly, they plan to rework and design the old zones due to the Cataclysm. This gives a fresh experience to anyone rerolling, or coming back to the game from a long absence.
They could also implement phasing, as they did in WotLK. For those who don't know what phasing is: the zone appears differently to different players, depending upon where you are in the quests / story. Phasing happens in real time - it is not instanced and there are no loading times.
In a previous interview this year, Metzen (creative VP at Blizzard) was asked what their plans were for the next expansion: "Unbelievable boldness" was his reply.
This seems pretty bold to me.
Plus flying mounts in Azeroth, about freakin time.
Couldn't care less about the classes being opened up to different races as I'm pretty happy with my Human DK, but it's still a neat feature. I had always wanted a Blood Elf Warrior, but now it's a little late.
If you look at the expansions so far:
Burning Crusade: Two New Races, No New Classes
Wrath of the Lich King: No New Races, One New Class
Cataclysm: Two New Races, No New Classes
It's for sure, following a pattern. A new class (or two maybe) the next NEXT expansion.