by David Piner on Sep 23, 2006
Welcome to Ten Ton Hammer’s Burning Crusade FAQ (Development Edition). This FAQ covers the most population questioned ask about Blizzard’s upcoming expansion, The Burning Crusade for its smash hit, World of Warcraft.
As a disclaimer, this FAQ covers information that could change between now and when the live game is released. All information is assumed to be correct, but be aware that things do change although the major points (such as major features) rarely ever do.
Do you have a question about TBC? Want to get it answered and have your name appear in this FAQ? Take a look at this forum post for details on how to submit your question today!
What exactly is “The Burning Crusade”?
The Burning Crusade is an expansion for Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft. It adds additional features and content to the original game. It is a retail product, meaning that you will need to purchase it to take benefit in many of the upcoming features introduced in The Burning Crusade. It will, of course, be worth it for new and seasoned players alike.
What’s the background on the expansion?
The Burning Crusade takes off where World of Warcraft ends. The dark portal is reopened allowing people to reenter the area known as Outlands (last seen in the Real Time Strategy game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne). This allows access to an entire new contient along with tons of new storyline based events.
Not only that, but there is apparently someone assaulting the Caverns of Time. Quel’Thalas is being rebuilt and the Blood Elves (formally known as High Elves) seek vengeance for the razing of their lands. The Draenei have landed in Kalimdor in part of the Tempest Keep (a location in the Outlands) and seek to establish themselves in Azeroth.
Will I need the expansion in order to play WoW? Will it affect my gameplay if I do not purchase it?
You will not need the expansion in order to play WoW. You can continue to play with all of the original content without a problem, but you won’t be able to enjoy WoW to it’s fullest without the expansion. Not having the expansion will affect gameplay in so much as limiting you in a lot of various features, locations, and items.
In other words, you can continue to play with the base version of WoW but upgrading to the expansion is an extremely good idea if you want to play WoW to its fullest.
If I choose not to get the expansion, what will happen? What can’t I do without the expansion?
The details are not fully known, but there are some things that we do know. Those without the expansion will not be able to access the Outlands nor can they reach level seventy. They will also not be able to play as the new races or access various other new content contained within The Burning Crusade.
There will be some content that will be available to those without the expansion, but it’s currently unknown what will be available. It will be a good idea to pick the expansion anyway, but remember that the content is mostly designed for higher level players. This means that you can try out WoW on the extremely cheap base version (the price continues to fall as the expansion gets closer to release) then upgrade if you like the game.
Update: Those without the expansion will be missing out on a lot of later content in TBC. The new zones, professions, and items are all locked away to those with the expansion. Those without the expansion will be able to enjoy a few things like the ability to socket jewels (but not take up Jewelrycrafting).
When will the expansion be released, what will it retail for, and what will be the ESRB rating?
It will be released in Q4 2006 (fancy way of saying sometime this winter). It’ll most then likely retail for $49.99 USD but there is nothing set in stone on the price yet. The ESRB rating will most then likely be Teen, although the rating is currently pending. Update: Currently the expansion is scheduled for Janurary 2007.
What new races are available in the expansion? Are there any new classes available?
With the expansion you can play as the Blood Elves (horde) or the Draenei (Alliance). These are the only new races contained within the expansion. There will be no new classes, although there are new skills, spells, and talents for existing classes.
So what’s the deal lore wise with Blood Elves, where have they been and why can we only play as them now?
The Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne explains this pretty well. Basically they are the “High Elves” that used to reside in Quel’Thalas. The Alliance no longer trusts them, so they joined up with the Horde (while some of their forces joined up with Illidian). All elves in the game that are not Night Elves or dragons are considered to be High Elves. There is a ton of lore and the “Blood Elves” have been in the game awhile now (for instance, Dire Maul). They will be bringing the Paladin class to the Horde.
So what’s the deal lore wise with the Draenei? Do they look like those creepy guys in the Swamp of Sorrows?
Draenei have a rich history of lore behind them as well, but it’s only recently come to light. Basically the Draenei we see in Warcraft III and World of Warcraft are deformed Draenei who have kind of de-evolved sort to speak. The Draenei joining the Alliance are more Humanoid (but still non-Human) then anything else. They will bringing the Shaman class to the Alliance.
Oh, and yes they did come from outer space. They escaped on part of the Tempest Keep which crash landed in Azeroth.
Wait, hold on a minute. Shaman for the Alliance and Paladins for the Horde?
Yep! Feel free to debate this on our forums. A brief summary is that it varies from person to person if this is a good thing or not, although some of the newer skills will work for certain races only keeping the pure righteousness of the Paladins to the Alliance while allowing the Horde to have some slightly wackier Paladins.
What kind of new features will be available in expansion?
Here is a pretty extensive list of available features:
Two new classes, one for each faction. An entire new continent full of new instances and content. Flying Mounts for use in the Outlands. New profession, Jewelcrafting, along with the ability to socket jewels into items making them even better. Level cap will be raised to seventy, along with new skills and talents. New loot to discover and collect. New battlegrounds along with the (iffy, not too much info is out on this other then in the trailers) ability to go back in time and participate in some of the major battles found in the RTS games and the lore.Wait a second captain, what’s this about socketed items? Will I need to start collecting SoJs? Say it ain’t so!
Well the Stone of Jordan will probably not become the main source of currency in World of Warcraft, but the system itself is very similar to what you’re probably thinking about. Jewelcrafters will be able to take various Commodities and create jewels that can be placed into certain items that have sockets. You can replace these jewels with other jewels but that’ll break the original. There are different colors of jewels as well and on some items if a certain combination is met then you’ll get even more bonuses.
Can we assume that there will be new metals, herbs, and leather in the new zones?
Yes. Of course there will be. Update: Yep! New materials can be found in the new zones.
Will there be new battlegrounds?
Yes and some may even take place in the past during the epic battles of the “olden days”.
Will I need the new expansion to be competitive in PvP?
The answer is probably yes. The new gear, abilities, and skills found in the expansion will be great assets in PvP. Only time can tell though.
What’s this about ladders and honor changes?
The expansion will bring about a PvP Honor System revamp along with a new player ladder system. No information is currently available on these upcoming features/changes. Update: The ladder system has been changed over to a PvP arena system while honor is no longer a ranking system. You gain honor and tokens which you can exchange for the new PvP items.
Will the expansion benefit my lower level characters?
The expansion is mostly geared toward higher level characters. It’s not known what lower level content is available, but there will be something available. Update: It will indeed help lower level characters! Jewelrycrafting can help beef up armor and give unique low level trinkets while the new starting zones provide a helpful 10-20 zone that fills in some of the rough spots through those levels.
What about my current level sixty character? I’ve put x effort into it and am at x point and will that matter? Where will my hard effort go?
If your character currently rolls around in a full set of Tier 3 armor wielding weapons that are only found on three players on your server then your gear will have an advantage in the upcoming zones. You’ll be able to kill things more efficiently and level up more quickly thanks to your efforts. Update: Tier 1 will be replaced by the first instance blues, Tier 2 will be replaced by 5-man purples, and Tier 3 will last up to about level 65.
How long will it take to get to level seventy?
It’s rumored that it will take as long to get to level seventy as it does to get to level sixty. There is no official information available, although that rumor is a pretty good guess of things. Update: After some investigation it seems that it might take about as long as it takes to get level sixty to get to level seventy. The first few levels are easy though with instances and quests and rested XP. After that it ramps up. They are still tweaking it and there has yet been a level seventy.
Will I need the expansion to be able to level to level seventy?
Yes, you'll need to purchase the expansion to raise the level cap. [Source] (Thanks Volamunn)
Can I enter the new starting zones without the expansion?
No, you can not. There is a portal leading into both Silvermoon and Azuremyst that can only be entered by those with the expansion. There is also portal masters to the main cities that will allow new players to make it safely past the high level zones between the new zones and the old ones. These portal masters will only teleport those with the expansion.
Do Blood Elves flip when they jump like Night Elves? What unique features do both the Blood Elves and the Draenei have?
Like the Night Elves the Blood Elves do a unique animation sometimes when they jump. Instead of a flip they do a graceful twirl. Draenei's do kind of a unique jump, but nothing special. Both races eyes give off a faint glow. The Draenei have tails that kind of sway as they walk around.
Is it true that the expansion will make all of my current armor completly useless?
No and yes. No in the fact that T1/T2/T3 armor really helps a ton when it comes to the new instances. Yes in the fact that as you progress through TBC you will be replacing a lot of your gear with newer gear no matter how powerful it is. Tier 2 and Tier 3 will last a very long time in TBC and help speed up the leveling process.
Does the new LFG system really help or is it like meeting stones all over again? Is it true you can teleport people with the meeting stones?
Huzzah! Yes the new LFG system works. You put yourself in the queue and groups can pick what members they need and if they need you then they can get you. I've seen entire 5-man instance groups easily fill up with the new system and work well together. You can also teleport group members to the instance entrance with the meeting stones. This may be a new feature in TBC or it may be just something for the beta, I don't know.
What are some of the crafting changes?
You can now go to 375 in a skill by seeting a grand master trainer in Outland. This means you'll need the expansion to obtain the new rank. To travel to Outland through the Dark Portal you must be level 55 so that means your alts will need to be level 55 in order to gain higher then 300. There are a few new things with crafting outside of the obvious. A vendor in Shattrath City sells Blacksmith only epic weapons on the cheap to grand master Blacksmiths.
What kind of gear is needed for the new instances? Can I go at it in greens and blues?
The new instances are "easy" for everyone in epic quality gear, meaning that they will easily blow through the instances. Everyone in blues and greens will find a more difficult time in these dungeons. However, with just a few quests and a couple of instance bosses you will find yourself in gear that's good enough to take on the first few instances with a breeze.
If you have any further questions and would like them answered in this FAQ then check out this forum post for details on submiting your own questions!