Ausgamers.com had the opportunity to chat with Blizzard's Helen Cheng and Marco Koegler during BlizzCon. Summary !
Character overhaul
- the redesign of the models was decided following the creation of the Pandaren which corresponded to what they wanted and which created too big a gap between the races.
- they don't just add details or bones, they create brand new models with the added bonus of respecting the current appearance.
- the redesign also includes animations. When jumping with an orc, the character does "Argh", making the whole thing more alive.
- NPCs of modified races will also be affected as they are based on the same models as the player characters.
- this is not yet safe for Draenei and Blood Elves at launch, as they still look good and are not as old.
- humans and dwarves were created 4 years before launch (ie 2001).
History
- by crossing the portal, we will go back 30 years.
- we're trying to stop the Iron Horde from creating the new Dark Portal.
- if prevented, everything that happened in Draenor afterwards will be changed in this timeline.
- this expansion is an opportunity to meet the leaders of the clans and their cultures who are in the original WarCraft and WarCraft II games.
- time travel is a trick to explore this part of the story, but it is not the main point of the expansion.
- Draenor is a special area that offers a lot of freedom.
Strongholds
- it's more than just a house.
- the farm has had great success in Mists of Pandaria.
- it's a nod to the roots of WarCraft which are already present in the story.
- this feature derives its rules from the RTS.
- the stronghold has 3 levels.
- you can decide on the placement and appearance of the buildings.
- you can recruit and appoint your subjects.
- 15 to 25 subjects can be engaged (the exact number remains to be defined).
- the fief will be accessible without loading, directly in the world.
- if you are in a group, you can enter the group leader phase.
- one can settle in several places in Draenor.
- subjects can be sent on missions and bring back things (resources, items).
- fighters can train in a barracks to improve.
- the fighters have specialties and it will be necessary to intelligently combine the composition of the group missions.
- you specialize your hostel to recruit the right person. Each day, we will have a chance to recruit a new subject corresponding to the specialty of the moment.
Objects
- upgrading objects is transparent. Everything works exactly as before, the numbers are just lower.
- it is still possible to go to the old areas without running any danger.
- you can again perform the quests where you have to descend an enemy to a certain percentage of his life.
- statistics are deleted, others are added.
- weapons or armor will still have the base stats but will have a chance to get an additional bonus stat.
- the Reforge is suppressed.
Other
- there will be new mascots
So much for this summary! Some interesting details on many features that we will discover very soon in Warlords of Draenor.
