WoW shows off the new Player Achievements for Lich King.

Vowing to stear clear of the rep-grind, World of Warcraft describes one of the new features for it's upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King:

"World of Warcraft’s achievements system will launch with more than 500 individual achievements covering every aspect of gameplay, including world exploration, PvE, PvP, professions, and character development; from the purely whimsical to the truly epic, there will be something for everyone. Some achievements come with in-game rewards such as tabards, vanity pets, and titles. All of these rewards are purely cosmetic and just for fun, but you’ll certainly stand out when you proudly display them."

Acquiring achievements does not appear to make people stray too far from their normal gameplay routine (i.e. win 10 ranked arena games, which for the record is something I do on a daily basis, yeah right!). These awards are designed tol enhance your character, while giving you some incentive to try out all of the other aspects of the game.

There will be achievements for world exploration, questing, raiding, PvP, etc. There should be a little something for everyone! The rewards themselves will include items to display on your characters which will let you pimp your player even more than just season5+ gear. All of the 500+ achievements are purely cosmetic which means all of you completionists out there should worry, but the gear-grinders and rest of us can dabble in only those achievements of interest.

I'm certain that comparisons between this achievement system and City Heroes Badges, Lord of the Rings Online Deeds, and WAR's Tome of Knowledge will be hotly debated at some future time. In the meantime, read the rest of the preview on the Wrath of the Lich King section of the World of Warcraft site.