Blizzard is set to release a new expansion for its world renowned MMO and questions need to be answered. How big do you make it? What type of player do you cater to? Are there more raids, more mobs, more loot! However the real question should be, "What have you learned from The Burning Crusade?"
What didn't work
Location location location!
It's clear that moving away from Azeroth, away from the lands of Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Orcs and the like, was possibly a wrong move. It was a brave adventure that almost paid off. Moving away from traditional character backgrounds and giving a detached feeling from the mainland really was its failing. Wrath of the Lich King (WOTLK) has a big bonus; it's ripped straight from Warcraft 3 and contains proven lore and strong character backgrounds. Die hard Warcraft fans will instantly feel comfortable on the new continent of Northrend...
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What did work?
Blizzard has been quoted saying that they are happy with how Auchindoun Spirit Towers and Halaa in Nagrand worked. Having PvP areas within a zone that benefit everybody for that particular faction worked really well. Realising the positive effect of such areas prompted adding an entire non instanced PvP zone, Lake Wintersgrasp in WOTLK. The new zone features siege warfare and destructible buildings, meaning players can enjoy a much more engrossing PvP atmosphere. That's quite a step up from controlling a couple of towers. Hopefully further down the line, we will start to see more risk in PvP rather than simply a ghost or a lost objective.
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