They got LAZERS?!? OMFG I gotta preorder NOW!

 

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I bet they don't introduce them as a playable race, but may introduce a monk class since the Pandaren came out of hiding, etc.

Agreed. Let's look at the expansions.

TBC - 2 new races
LK - Hero Class - Deathknight
Cata - 2 new races
Pand - Hero Class - Monk

Now the question is... how is the monk going to function?

People have been clamoring for a heroic healing class, and I'll bet this is it. A melee fighter with a healing spec as one of the trees, kind of like Runemasters but using healing power instead of arcane. Then there'd obviously be a dps spec, unarmed specialist to finally make full use of all those Fist weapons in the game that nobody ever uses. I'm also thinking there might be some kind of tanking spec as well, just like paladins having all 3. Drunken Master maybe? Lots and lots of wine to dull the pain?

Who knows. But that's what I'm betting on.

 

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I would say that this stems from the fact that basically it is somewhat safe to say that Cataclysm has been a disappointment for a good bit of WoW players. Probably due to this disappointment, both by fans as well as probably Blizzard themselves due to fan reaction and decrease in subs. Just look at this boards activity now compared to when Wrath was at its height. So I'm sure that plans have most likely changed as far as timeline.

This could entail possibly shortening or cutting out possible planned Patches for Cata, to wrap up that expansion sooner than what we saw with Wrath. While pushing up the release of the next expansion, whether or not this is the expansion. Blizzard is well aware also of both TOR and GW2 releasing this year and sometime next year respectively for the two games. Unlike most previous games, these two games have a higher chance than others at succeeding in taking and keeping subs away from WoW Blizzard due to the nature of the games themselves, one being Star Wars and the other finally bringing a truly fresh change to the MMO itself.

To drag out Cata longer than it needs to be when by all appearances and through community reaction of the expansion, it's least popular of the expansions released by them, would be folly, especially with threats of newer games already mentioned. So basically in order to try to keep people excited about WoW and to try to keep players, they need to begin showing the next expansion sooner than later.

 

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I still think it's going to be at least a year until the next expansion. Again, this is going by past evidence of Blizzard's releases, in this case dates. They always tend to release expansions in Q4, or early Q1 of the next year.

Make no mistake, they are going to milk Cata for all it's worth, as little as that may be compared to BC and LK. The development time needed to create the expansion is going to need to make a certain amount of money before they write it off, and I don't think that point has been reached yet. If and/or when Cata fails terribly, and subs drop below a significant amount (4 or 5 million subs is most likely within acceptable losses) they might, and probably will, push to release the next expansion quickly.

Regardless, this isn't likely to be the last expansion. They still make too much money. Too many drones willing to submit pocket change for a poorly conceived expansion to a game beyond it's prime.

IMO it's not an expansion that will revive this game. It's a combination of improved storyline combined with a total graphics engine overhaul. WoW has been outdated for a couple of years now graphically. The real problem Blizzard faces is getting their art team (who recycles textures every chance they get) to produce something new and exciting. After all, eye candy tends to draw more people than story. Witness the Transformer movies...

 

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Aye.

But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard's marketing experts would be doing whatsoever to transfer the fanbase to a new marketing model (provided this is not an expansion but a next-gen mmo).

Considering the "Panda/Pandaren" thing, I know how cool they were for the WC3 fanbase but I wouldn't take that as a reason to come back to wow. New playable races are always cool but if Bliizard's dev staff stays on this weird course like with Catacylsm -- I'd give a damn about pandaren if I were you ^^.

To be honest, the "Pandaren" in Dofus/Wakfu aren't that bad either ^^.

edit:
*rubs chin, conspiracy-shizophrenia-mode go*
Let's not forget this could all be a TARP! They are using this to cover something else!

 

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http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaria

Should clear everything up. The next expansion of WoW is "Mists of Pandaria".

 

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So...we will now be playing Kung Fu Panda in WoW?


Ill admit, the movies were great and my kids loved em, but why would an adult want to play a Panda?

 

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They are skipping a year on WoW as to not directly compete with D3. The pandarian expansion will ship Q2 2012. The leaked product slate already confirms this.

I really don't think they will be a playable race at all, more like the predominant NPCs in the next storyline.