Some of us are burnt out on Draenor, which was stellar at the start but once again fizzled at the end. Garrisons were an addiction that took us all unmercifully by the throat and

Ashran

an endless pit of back-and-forth chaotic fun, but Tanaan Jungle turned out to be a Timeless Isle 2.0, which brought us all back to the grind of dailies. Who truly likes that?! I’m ready for some fresh material, and Blizzard is here to deliver.

The Legion is coming, ya’ll…

Today at Gamescom, the Game Director for World of Warcraft, Tom Chilton, announced the next expansion, simply named Legion. And yes, it’s deliciously Burning Crusade looking, with plenty of green lava and demons galore. You have my (skeptical) attention… again.

If you are a lore whore, I can almost guarantee you’re going to need a change of pants, as they are laying in on thick for this expansion. The features trailer was no doubt drool-worthy (doth my eyes see Karazhan… and Illdan?!?! YES!) and you can geek out about it below:

Hopefully all you Alliance players will  be happier with this trailer, as it had next to no Horde references in it.

Courtesy of Blizzard

During the unveiling we found that there will be a new class, the Demon Hunter, which already reeks of being Death Knight-level OP (overpowered, for you non-gamers) but nonetheless looks 100% badass. The storyline is a shoutout back to Burning Crusade, when Illidan sent his best Demon Hunters on a suicide mission. This will more than likely be similar to how the Death Knight storyline begins, giving new players a refresher on the history. There are only two specs, tanking (Vengeance) and DPS (Havoc); they explain it just doesn’t make sense to have something demonic be able to heal you. The Demon Hunter will start out at a higher

level

,

like the Death Knight did, but as of right now we’re unsure what level that is. I personally think it’s going to be 85, giving you both the Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor areas to not only learn your entire talent 

tree,

but to ‘master’ it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cataclysm was included, but I highly doubt it.

Players are currently maxed out at level 100, and with Legion we will all get to grind up to level 110. One can hope that another 10 levels will be as easy as the last, as I found getting from 90 to 100 much, much easier than slogging through Dread Wastes for that last level in Pandaria.

Courtesy of Blizzard

We have a whole new continent to explore and get viciously ganked on, and it’ll be called the Broken Isles. It has a little bit of everything, slightly resembling both BC and Warlords Shadowmoon Valley, a bloody looking Spires of Arak, a tad bit of Azshara, as well as having our beloved Dalaran as the main city once again. Dalaran being the new, yet old, stomping grounds makes my heart leap with unbounded joy.

Courtesy of Blizzard

The entire continent is from a fallen night elf civilization, so it’s basically a giant graveyard. We’ll find the Tomb of Sargeras, which happens to be a gateway to endless legion worlds, thanks to Gul’Dan being the evil douchebag that he is. This will be the largest demonic invasion of Azeroth ever, which sounds beautifully crazy. There will be the Broken Shore experience, which will happen before the expansion launches, giving people that extra hype level; the people at Blizzard are even saying that this will both surprise and shock long-time fans. We’ll see about that.

Additionally, on Broken Isles will there be relics that are concerned with the Titans and The Gates of Creation… I like it!

Courtesy of Blizzard

The zones of the Broken Isles are Val’Sharah (filled with druid lore), Stormheim (Azshara-looking with a bit of a Vrykul feel), Azsuna (take everything pretty from the Night Elves and breed it with old Nagrand), Highmountain (Mulgore in the snowy mountains that will house Nesingwary quests), Suramar (just gorgeous, a little bit of everything Night Elf).

Khadgar is back, Jaina is MIA (and probably still a crazy pissed off psycho)… and we get to see the return Alleria and Turalyon.

Courtesy of Blizzard

Artifacts are by class and then by spec, giving each person an individual experience. You’re thrown  back in time to find pieces of legendary weapons (Ashbringer, anyone?) and as you level up your artifact, you unlock traits and can customize your weapon. It’s basically another talent tree that’s way more individualized. Visually you can be holding Ashbringer, stand next to another Paladin with the sword and they could look totally different; again, individuality is key. If you’re obsessed with transmogrification, this is bound to make you grin. I main a Mage and I’m practically drooling just thinking of all the amazing staves I could whip around. The design department is not letting us down!

Class Orders are being introduced, and lucky you – they have made you the leader of your order! Order Halls are where you and other members of your class can run around

,

like it’s some little Shaman or Hunter playground. Each hall is greatly themed

,

and are in different parts of the world; Warlocks are near in a different world are able to get there via a Legion portal, Paladin’s are in a templar-looking space beneath Light’s Hope Chapel, Shaman’s will be near the clashing of the elements in the Maelstrom and so on.

They’re taking the followers idea from Draenor and making it smaller; you don’t need an army this time around. Each follower is more meaningful and are called Champions. They’re not your bitches anymore

,

but can actually go out in the world to better benefit you, being more interactive. Sounds like an improvement to me!

Dungeons will not only be more numerous, but supposedly better (again… we’ll see), meaning more than they currently do. Now, you just run through a dungeon to gear up and then never enter again, but in Legion you’ll need and WANT to go in them more often. In the first dungeon, Halls of Valor, we’re learning about pre-Wrath Val’kyr, who aren’t just crazy angels of death who are more than happy to throw you off ledges. Black Rook Hold is a max-level dungeon with Elvish influence, reminding me of an angry looking Magister’s Terrace. Vault of the Wardens takes you inside a Demon Hunter prison which is very dark but very elegant. We’re also getting dungeons with the names Eye of Azshara (with Naga), Darkheart Thicket (this is the heart of the Nightmare corruption which happens to be in a tree), Naltharion’s Lair (in Highmountain – where Deathwing lived before his corruption), Helheim (if you like Grim Rail Depot, you’ll love this – you’re on a ghost ship sailing through stormy seas), Suramar City (Night Elf city with Legion ties) and last but NOT least Violet Hold (same prison, new awesome shit to kill).

Courtesy of Blizzard

Raids so far look good beginning with The Emerald Nightmare. As someone who came into WoW at the end of Wrath, I’ve heard many, many people complain that nothing came of the Emerald Dream. Well guys, it’s time… it’s coming. There will be 7 bosses (like Highmaul) and you ultimately face off against Xavius. Let’s go kill the corruption in the Emerald Dream!

Courtesy of Blizzard

The second raid is Suramar Palace (as seen in the artist’s rendering above); there are 10 bosses and the final baddie is Gul’dan, which is an interesting choice to kill off as the 2nd raid boss.

There is a new PvP Honor System, which they claim will last until the end of time. The currency system that is currently in place will be no more (which I’m thankful for), as it will evolve away from gear dependency. There is a PvP talent system, where you gain honor and go up through ranks to Honor Rank 50. You get bonuses as you go, gaining PvP talents that will only work in battlegrounds and arenas. This gives an even playing ground that’s based on ability and not so heavily on gear, which sounds brilliant. I can see people complaining endlessly about this, as people who are used to being super-geared won’t be able to steamroll non-geared people as easily. For bad PvP’ers such as myself, this makes me want to actually attempt that part of gameplay.

Courtesy of Blizzard

Along with the PvP overhaul, they’re introducing Prestige Ranks. You can max out your PvP level at 50 and choose to start over again for cosmetic awards. You can earn portrait badges, so everyone who clicks on you knows that you’re a PvP badass, as well as unique mounts and artifacts.

Take a moment and soak it all in. I’ll wait.

Blizzard will be back on Sunday for a live stream, answering as many questions as they can. Beta will hit later this year and you can bet your sassy ass that I’m signed up for that!

If you would like to watch the entire press conference, we have it available below. The first 30 minutes is just a screen saver with world debut times, so skip ahead to 30:20 and you’ll be good to go!