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World of Warcraft fans have a lot to be excited about, as Wrath of the Lich King will be released on November 13th. This is the third expansion of the extremely popular MMORPG. It’s good news for Mac gamers, since it’s a game we can actually play on our Macs without using Boot Camp or Parallels.

Wrath of the Lich King is set in the icy continent of Northrend, the northernmost continent in the world of Azeroth. With this addition, World of Warcraft (WoW) gamers will be able to explore a whole new continent, tackle tons of news quests, be able to destroy some buildings, get some new hairstyles, and learn some new dances (which I could care less about). The leveling-up cap has been raised to 80 (currently 70), and you have the option of playing a brand-new class: Death Knight, hero class. Currently, there are nine classes in WoW: Druids, Priest, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. With each class, there are three different talent trees that give WOW gamers more variety in how they want to play their particular class. I play WoW, have my own guild (created it about six months ago) along with a few toons: holy priest, fire mage, feral druid, beast mastery hunter, and a destruction warlock. I play for both factions: Alliance and Horde.

With all the goodies in store for gamers who purchase Wrath of the Lich King, you would imagine that everyone is excited about the upcoming release, right? Not so. Checking out the WoW forums, you’ll find many gamers concerned about the “nerfs” that are affecting their class. WoW game developers took out the nerf bat and started swinging. Many of the classes have been affected, and naturally, that has left many WoW gamers wondering if their classes will be fixed in time.

Although I didn’t receive a beta key for WOTLK, I’ve had a chance to check out the WOTLK beta forums, so I was able to follow the news related to the upcoming expansion. When logging on there, or to the regular WoW forums you’ll find many classes (druids, mages, shamans, priests, etc.) complaining that their class has been nerfed. I tend to optimistically think things aren’t as bad as they first appear, and the initial nerfs aren’t as bad as I initially thought, especially when other classes are getting a similar treatment, and I continue to enjoy the game. Wrath of the Lich King won’t be perfect when it’s launched, but, if you think about it, what game is? I do think many WoW gamers will still enjoy playing the game. The beauty of it is that Blizzard is always tweaking the game, so, even if there are errors that sneak through, patches are regularly released that will, hopefully, address the obvious flaws.

I’m looking forward to exploring the new continent of Northrend on my 17” MacBook Pro, and although I might encounter minor class annoyances along the way, it won’t stop me from playing the game.

For Mac users needing technical support, I highly recommend you check out the WoW Mac technical support forum. Blizzard builds their code in house, and their Mac support staff is fabulous. The few questions I had were answered simply by searching WoW’s Mac support forum.

Product [World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King]