Caverns of Time: Stratholme. :Confirmed:

In a recent article by Buffed.de with Jeff Kaplan, several things were mentioned. Here is the interview as far as babelfish could make it out. ( I speak a little german, but not enough to translate an interview)

Buffed: We have also a rather extensive BlizzCon distance in the booklet.
Jeff: Yes, you have also a picture of Sammy (SAM Didier, senior Creative Director, Blizzard Entertainment) in the booklet. Did you already see Sammy? It is here somewhere. He is the front man the level 70 elite Tauren Chieftains.

Buffed: Ah, you mean the picture, on which he stands on the stage, with Mike Morhaime at the bass beside it. A cool motive. Jeff: Yes, a really good photo! buffed: But to the topic: On the BlizzCon we heard much over Wrath OF the Lich King. Are there since then pieces of news?
Jeff: It gives a few things, about which we spoke not on the BlizzCon. To emphasize the recent excavating time instance is Stratholme. We wanted to return to the HdZ concept, since it is one of the coolsten things, with which we lately for WoW rausgekommen are. And we wanted to follow to that, which the bronze kite swarm has so forwards. We want to show you some the coolsten Warcraft moments. And now we herausgepickt ourselves Stratholme. WoW players know Stratholme already and a quantity of Hardcore WoW players are large fans of the old Stratholme instance. Warcraft-3-Spieler against it know Stratholme from a single player mission, in which the player with Arthas this city bereist and which building ignites, which kills inhabitants and Mal'Ganis fought. In Wrath of the Lich King one fights to side at side with prince Arthas, by traveling by the caves of the time. We give to meet you at a time the possibility Arthas, in which it is not yet the lich king. You "clean" Stratholme and ignite the houses!

Buffed: Glaringly! For like many players is the instance?
Jeff: It becomes a 5-Mann-Instanz, but for level 80-characters. We believe that the people not during the level phase the caves of the time - Stratholme play, to return but with level 80 there.

Buffed: Here times a question to the new class, the death knight: The player meets during the level phase more frequently on Arthas, for example in the caves of the time. Where still?
Jeff: HdZ - Stratholme is not part of the death knight development. The death knight is a completely new player driving. We begin also with a by far higher level than normal characters, probably level 55 to 60. We did not commit ourselves exactly however yet. We will explain exactly, why your death knight can extract itself from the influence of the Lich king and therefore this development is completely differently than the development in the caves of the time. buffed: You you already decided, on which race of the player death knights will be based, whom one finally gets? Does one play a gnome, then the death knight also one will originally be? Jeff: Yes, we made a decision. But does not surprise you, if we decide nevertheless still times differently. Know you, play Design is a very flexible history. However each race the death knight, and gnomes become current. We considered some things since the BlizzCon. So player characters must be probably no more level 80, in order to free-pass on the death knight. Probably that can be done already in former times. As a mad on level 80 to play, only in order as fast as possible the death knight too gotten, makes no fun. It brings the people to rush by the play. We will probably make therefore something else. We have many ideas in addition. We did not commit ourselves yet to a thing, perhaps but the death knight is already de-energised between level 55 and 60. Then you provide your death knight and then go through it your acid test. If mastered you, you get your death knight.

buffed: But the again created Level-55-bis-60-Charakter does not become the death knight, or?
Jeff: No, the normal character remains. You get only one in addition. Know you, many plays its characters after their class designated. There are many Druiden specific names...

buffed: Thus names like "Ilove2spooch" like the WoW character in the South park consequence?
Jeff: (laughs), exactly. There are many of such names. And many names do not fit then and therefore give we to the people a new choice. If you tinker you thus your death knight, can select a more suitable name for it.

buffed: Can you call us a few details of the death knight abilities?
Jeff: Surely. The resources system is perfectly differently developed and be based on runes. With Blizzard we concentrate to arrange all characters as singular as possible. The best example are rogue and krieger. The rogue uses Kombopunkte and the krieger rage - which differs clearly from each other. When we developed then the death knight, we wanted that it feels clearly differently than the other classes. We gave it the runes, which are accommodated on its weapon. That can be a sword or an axe, on which one can engrave different runes. There are three different rune types: Blood, Unheilig and frost. And those flow then into different abilities. The combination options that maximally six runes are arbitrary. One can have two of each type, another player takes four unheilige runes and two times blood, because he also refuels as a death knight. For PvP fights it could change however its rune configuration. By the employment of its abilities it consumes however the runes. We have a Skill named "army of the dead ones", with which one swears to Ghule. Up-to-date one needs for it believes I mischief industrial union and blood runes. If one engraved however only frost runes, one cannot use this ability. We developed a rather cooles system, by which the runes on the weapon light up, if one changes the Kombo.

buffed: Last question: The death knight is only first of the new hero class. Which hero would you introduce personally gladly as next?
Jeff: My favorite? That is difficult to decide. I believe the Daemonenjaeger would be extremely cool, the Erzmagier would be also cool...

buffed: (whispers) blade masters!
Jeff: (laughs) there are many options, under it naturally also the fantastic blade master. We gebrainstormt much and to have thereby also about classes thought, which it did not give in Warcraft to 3. We go bringing however step for step before and with Wrath to OF the Lich King we only once the death knight. Then we see only once, how it continues to go.



New news: New CoT instance, and one death knight per server in which you unlock it. :D