Unofficial Teir 4 sets spotted.

Beyond the crusade, part 3 - Northrend

Deep within Northrend sets the Ice Fortress of Arthas Menethil the Lich King, and by his side Frostmourne. This will undoubtedly be THE toughest encounter in the game. Or so many believe.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Arthas Menethil, Play through Warcraft 3 and it's expansion. You'll learn more then you could possibly imagine about the events that lead up to the current day Azeroth

I personally hold the opinion that the future expansion of Northrend will not be the last and that one day in the hollowed planets besieged by the Burning Crusade adventures will encounter Sargeras, Destroyer of worlds. The one who is responsible for the corruption of countless civilizations.

Here's some information about Northrend as seen on WoWwiki.com, the greatest place on earth.

Often called "the roof of the world", Northrend is a frozen wasteland that lies far to the north of the world. As with the other continents, it was once part of the original Kalimdor landmass that was broken apart during the War of the Ancients.The land that became Northrend drifted far from Azeroth's temperate zone, which killed off a large portion of the remaining wildlife.

A particularly hardy breed of insectoid-humanoids, the Aqir, had survived the destruction. After thousands of years of evolution, the Aqir became the Nerubians: a sinister, shadowy race of spider-men. While a few humans and trolls eked out survival in small encampments, their presence was no match for the Nerubian

Empire.

Northrend also contains The Dragonblight: an enormous ice plain covered with the bones of thousands of Dragons. As they near death, the great beasts fly to Northrend so that they may die with their ancestors. The Blue Dragonflight, led by the enigmatic Malygos. Malygos watches over the Dragonblight to ensure that the remains are undisturbed. The blue dragons were successful in their task for many thousands of years, until the coming of the Lich King...

Northrend - WoWWiki

Beyond the crusade, part 2 - The Emerald Dream

Another possible expansion could be the Emerald Dream. Blizzard has been working on this area for some time now and an unfinished version is currently in game. Though the means to see the area is known only by the most skilled of explorers. This leads me to believe that the Emerald Dream would be the expansion pack that will come directly after the Burning Crusade. Think Q4 2007.

Of course part of me is pulling toward the fact that the Emerald Dream could just be an instance much like the Caverns of Time. If that is the case it would be massive. the land mass according to lore is the size of Kalimdor before the great implosion of the well of eternity.

The waking Dream of Creation and verdant realm of the Dragon Aspect Ysera. The Emerald Dream, as the realm of the wild, appears to those who travel within it as Azeroth would have appeared without the development of the sentient races. It is what Azeroth would have been if not for humans, elves and other intelligent creatures. This plane shows travelers what their world would be if intelligent races had not cut forests, farmed prairies,diverted rivers and built cities. It is a vision of the world as averdant natural paradise. Verdant forests stretch away in every direction, and rolling hills and majestic mountains mimic Azeroth’s landscape.

Indeed, Azeroth and the Emerald Dream are quasi-duplicates of each other. The Emerald Dream is Azeroth as seen through a magic lens, untouched by the hands of mortals. Indeed, the Emerald Dream is the Azeroth that would not have been split by magic into the two land masses of today - within it is the original greater landmass of Kalimdor,covered in the hazy emerald green forests of aeons past.

Nature is in a perfect balance in the Emerald Dream. Animals of all types inhabit the world, including some that are extinct on Azeroth and subspecies that never got the chance to evolve. Many fey creatures, such as sprites and faerie dragons, also roam the forests. However, it is not only the inhabitant creatures that roam the Dream. Creatures from Azeroth constantly visit, though they may or may not know it. Dreaming creatures arrive in the Emerald Dream and often have prophetic and helpful visions.

Druids enter the plane through their connection with nature. While within the dream, the traveler can, through exercise of will,view the waking world and to a limited extent interact with it (aspresumably all aspects of the world have some connection to the EmeraldDream). Accessing the Emerald Dream via more conventional magic is possible, but the plane’s natives do not look kindly on intruders.

The entire plane is the dominion of Ysera, the mighty green dragon Aspect, and she and her brood ensure that none despoil this paradise. For all its wonder, the Emerald Dream is not without its dangers. Those who visit via their dreams are welcomed and enfolded within the natural balance, but those who bring their physical selves face suspicion and hostility.

The Druid Malfurion Stormrage made use of the Emerald Dream to enter into the palace of Queen Azshara and thwart the plans of Lord Xavius.Ysera herself and a great number of the green dragonflight reside inthe dream either permanently or occassionally, as do the vast majorityof the Night Elf Druids. As part of an ancient pact made between Ysera and Malfurion Stormrage,the druids are required to spend long periods of time sleeping in the Emerald Dream in exchange for their powers over the forces of nature, presumably so that they will better appreciate that which they have pledged themselves to preserve. Recently, strange events have been transpiring within the Emerald Dream and it appears that Malfurion himself may be trapped within its confines.

A darker force has found its way into the Emerald Dream as well. Called The Nightmare,this mobile area of corruption stems from the twisted thoughts and fears of sleeping beings’ subconscious minds. The Nightmare travels slowly through the Emerald Dream, leaving corrupted, vicious animals and Unwaking travelers in its path. None, not even Ysera, knows why the Nightmare exists — nor why its boundaries grow.

Emerald Dream - WoWWiki

Currently in the game is 4 gateways, each of which lead to the Emerald Dream. They are located in Twilight Grove - Duskwood, Seranade - Hinterlands, Dream Bough - Feralas, and Bough Shadow - Ashenvale. View map.

These gateways are guarded by massive green dragons that take a 40 man raid group to defeat. So if it is an instance behind those gates you can expect it to be tuff, If it's another land mass you can bet you'll have to be 60 or above.

The biggest clue that it will be a later expansion is a quote by the Blizzard community manager Nethaera.

Nethaera: "As for the Emerald Dream, there are no plans for anything as of yet but it is a consideration for the future. The Emerald Dream opens up a lot of different opportunities and the Burning Crusade is definitely not going to be the last of the expansion packs. There are many different places and storylines that can be pursued. The story is going to keep growing and as it does so, people will get to experience it." 2006-09-06 08:19:20

Beyond the crusade, part 1 - The Great Sea

The Burning Crusades' release is emanate, soon adventures will take their first steps into the Outlands and conquer the dark new world, collect rare and priceless artifacts and dominate the battle field in the new PvP system. But on the horizon is the release of yet another expansion!

According to blizzard this won't be the last expansion for the game. Actually they have boldly stated that there will be an expansion every year from now until the World of Warcraft story line plays out in 2009. Best part is that the Warcraft story line is so deep that the possibilities for expansions are almost unlimited.

So what is going to be in the next expansion? No one knows for sure, not even the developers at blizzard. I remember reading the forums that in an during a pod cast interview some Blizzard bigwigs released some information on a proposed expansion, The Great Sea. This expansion would take place mostly underwater and supposedly have Naga and another unknown race as playable characters. It would revolve around Queen Azshara and her mighty kingdom and the Kul Tiras Islands.

This is where some lore and imagination come into play.

Ten thousand years before the orcs and humans clashed in their First War, the world of Azeroth cradled only one massive continent, surrounded by the sea. That landmass, known as Kalimdor, was home to a number of disparate races and creatures, all vying for survival amongst the savage elements of the waking world. At the dark continent's center was a mysterious lake of incandescent energies. The lake, which would later be called the Well of Eternity, was the true heart of the world's magic and natural power. Drawing its energies from the infinite Great Dark beyond the world, the Well acted as a mystical fount, sending its potent energies out across the world to nourish life in all its wondrous forms.

Later, Sargeras convinced Queen Azshara and the Highborne to create a portal in the well and leading to the first invasion of the Burning Legion.

Following the War of the Ancients, the Well of Eternity was destroyed, and most of Kalimdor with it, leaving only the Maelstrom. However, Illidan had filled several magical vials with water from the Well of Eternity, and he poured some of the magical water into the lake at the top of Mount Hyjal, creating a new Well. For this insane act, his brother Malfurion and the demigod Cenarius imprisoned him deep beneath Mount Hyjal.

The new Well was completely absorbed by the growth of Nordrassil, its malevolent magics lost with the enchantments of the Aspects.

However, Illidan had not emptied all of his vials in creating the second Well of Eternity (which is why the Aspects were able to enchant the World Tree with no interference). Somehow, the Highborne under the leadership of Dath'Remar had acquired one of the remaining vials and, after founding their new homeland of Quel'Thalas, used it to create the Sunwell.

Well of Eternity - WoWWiki

When the Well of Eternity imploded more then 80% of the land mass went with it. As the ocean swallowed the land many of the privative settlements and towns sunk to the cold dark depths. This gives the developers a lot to play with, and seeing how it is a HUGE part of the story I'm definite that they will. Only time will tell when and if they make The Great Sea expansion. The answer to this could be known as early as the middle of next year.

Items from the Bruning Crusade.

The Noggaholics are up to it again.. Releasing even more screen shots and the like. Today I stumbled upon some Burning Crusade weapon models on their forum. I think you may find these to your liking.

You can find more on my Flickr.com sites Thanitos and Executus