WoW: Echoes of Doom Patch Impressions

I'm fairly confident that Blizzard has made more than a few fans happy, as this achievement system will add a tangible track record of everything you have done through the game. In fact, several co-workers downloaded the patch, while another reactivated his account just to see what their achievement score was. Players will now be able to gain points for their various accomplishments through the game, adding something to strive for in the game. Naturally, you'll be rewarded for doing some of the more difficult things the game has to offer, getting achievements for things such as dinging level 70, completing 1000 quests in the game, or getting 10,000 honorable kills, but if you're new to the game, you won't be left in a lurch. You'll also be able to get achievements for things like getting your first mount, or learning a profession, or even getting a new hairstyle through the barbershop.

Yeah, that's right, barbershops are now in the game too. Here, you'll be able to change your hair style, hair color or facial features, similar to what you'd find when you're first creating your character, but it's not exactly cheap. It cost us over seven gold just to get a quick haircut, and though in the grand scheme of things, the cost really isn't that much, to lower level players or those short on funds, it's a hefty price to pay for something that's merely aesthetic change. Another change to note is the new calendar feature, doing away with the need for an extra add-on. This calendar allows you to see upcoming events around Azeroth, such as the Feast of Winter Veil or the Hallow's End celebration. On top of that, you'll be able to create your own events, such as raids or PvP schedules, with the ability to invite whoever you'd like to the calendar listing.

For the PvP crowd, two new arenas have been introduced: The Ring of Valor and the Dalaran Sewers. The former is set in Orgrimmar, with the map being a giant ring, but the trick here lies in the staging areas. The combatants will be set on platforms, eventually rising to the surface just in time for the battle to begin. As the match commences, the two teams are placed mere yards away from each other, forcing both teams to immediately jump straight into the fray. The latter, set oddly enough in the bowels of Dalaran, seems like the less interesting of the two. There's a slightly raised platform with a waterfall that spouts water down in a pillar in varying intervals, acting as line-of-sight trial, forcing each player to constantly vie for a decent position for an attack.

As I said earlier, it's been a few months since I've played World of Warcraft, and with the changes found in the new patch, the game feels like something totally different. Considering the sheer amount of new content included in the 3.0.2 update, it can easily seem overwhelming, but at the same time, incredibly exciting. Even though there's a lot to grasp, this is just a warm up to the expansion, helping to give us a taste of what to expect when Arthas unleashes his scourge on Azaroth, and it seems like we have a lot to look forward to on the way to this epic fight.

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