In PC PowerPlay #132 we talked to three key players in the development of WoW: Burning Crusade — the game’s lead designer Jeff Kaplan, it's PvP main man Tom Chilton, and producer Shane Dabiri — about what we should expect from WoW’s biggest release since its launch. Right here we have more of the good stuff and get to go into a little more depth on the new arena system, the climb to level 70 and the smaller raid groups.


PCPP: Beyond adding some more levels, how does Burning Crusade change the experience of World of Warcraft?

SHANE DABIRI: The focus of The Burning Crusade is on adding lots of content that appeals to a wide variety of players. There are tons of quests scattered throughout Outland's seven huge outdoor zones, as well as a number of new instances for players to explore in Outland as well as in Azeroth. We've added the two new races, which include starting zones for the Blood Elves and Draenei, and an array of new spells and abilities for each of the game’s nine classes.
There will be a new profession -- jewelcrafting; tons of new items, including socketed armour and weapons; new crafting recipes; and much more. Also, as discussed previously, we've even added new features for the PvP fans, including an Arena System for competitive play, as well as various outdoor PvP objectives throughout the new zones.


PCPP: Why did you decide to limit the largest raids to 25? How will this affect the gameplay experience for individual players involved?

JEFF KAPLAN: Reducing the number of participants in a raid has a number of effects that we expect to be beneficial to gameplay. A smaller raid group is more manageable in terms of preparation time.
Smaller teams also allow for better communication and more opportunities for players to change the tide of a battle by individual action. In a 25-person group, there is less chance to ride someone's coattails or have your contribution be lost in the chaos of so many people taking action.


PCPP: Okay, tell us a little more about the honour system. We know that they are earned as before (fighting in PVP), but don’t decay under the new system. Why was honor changed and how does the arena points fit into the scheme of things?

TOM CHILTON: Tom Chilton: This [new honour system] basically allows the player to gain rewards at their own pace, as there is no longer a rank or gold cost associated with the reward system for honour points.
The Arena point system works a bit differently. After each week of participation, players will receive points based on their ranking and wins or losses. Arena points do increase over time, in that you never actually lose points, but you may see different quantities of points awarded, given a team's performance that week. The rewards from the arena system will be along the lines of armour sets that are geared more toward PvP in terms of stats and bonuses. This also provides a path for serious PvPers to acquire gear that is comparable to a raid armour set.
By separating the competitive system from the old Honour System, we can still provide rewards for a time-based investment for everyone, yet still offer rewards based on strong accomplishment in the Arena System. Most players will find rewards from the Honour System accessible; they can then can decide if they want to take the next step and try to start gaining Arena rewards. These systems will provide more players who PvP with rewards, while keeping top-end PvP rewards desirable and challenging to achieve.


PCPP: How long do you predict it will take players to climb from 60 – 70? (Let's say they do have a job or go to school, but they are pretty keen.) Will it be much slower for people who haven't spent a year grinding at level 60?

SHANE DABIRI: We're testing this out in our alpha currently and haven't settled on an exact progression rate just yet. However, our goal is to make it not feel like a grind for players, without making it go by too fast either. The amount of time you spent at level 60 shouldn't have an impact.


For more on Burning Crusade, check out the rest of the Blizzard trio's wisdom in PC PowerPlay #132.