As I checked my inbox one fateful night, I found a gold nugget that caused me to twitch with trepidation. “Congratulations, you have been selected to participate in the Wrath of the Lich King Beta!” I could barely believe it! It was time for my proud paladin Wrenne to trade in her plate boots for some fur lined garments to protect her against the harsh northern winds surging from the gaping maw of the continent known as Northrend.
World of Warcraft expansion
pack Wrath of the Lich King screen captures.
Before traveling to Northrend you are given a choice of two locations to travel to- either Howling Fjord or the Borean Tundra. I decided to head to Howling Fjord as it sounded much howlier over there.
When you first arrive on a boat teeming with your factions bravest warriors, you sail steadily through closed in cliffs, with crashed airships and scorched rocks welcoming you to a brutal battlefield.
The sights and sounds in Howling Fjord were haunting, the music echoes in your eardrums like a cry with no one to offer comfort. You arrive at the town of Valgarde, which is besieged by the villainous Vrykul, a Viking-like group of humanoids. You are immediately given quests directing you to direct conflict with them. After a few repeated run-ins against the Vrykul you are given a concoction that will allow you to travel to the spirit world, and through it glimpse into the past.
On your journey to your destination should you decide to wander to Utgarde Keep you will find yourself face to face with the Lich King himself, Arthas. Should you come too close to him he will utterly incapacitate you and taunt you mercilessly, mocking your current lack of preparation for what lies before you. He will then release you back to your own affairs, and should you be foolhardy enough to return to him he will slay you instantly, using an attack known as The Wrath of the Lich King.
Eventually, through the aforementioned spirit journey quests, you will find that the local Vrykul village was home to a baby Vrykul that the village had deemed unnatural, and despite valiant efforts by the parents it is implied that the fate of the baby is less than desirable. I found myself incensed by this, and I decided to delve deep into the heart of the Vrykul territory, into Utgarde keep.
Utgarde Keep is filled with ravenous Vrykul warriors, their marauding dragon pets, and their mindless undead workers. As you trek through the keep you will come upon the first boss, a vampire mage named Prince Keleseth, whom you will recognize if you’ve played through the Death Knight starting area already. Prince Keleseth tosses wave after wave of skeletal soldiers at you, periodically encasing you or one of your compatriots in an icy tomb. He eventually fell to my group’s mighty blades, and we pressed onwards through the mining area, where the Vrykul were utilizing the tireless hands of the undead to extract precious materials from the Earth. At the end of the mining area you meet the second boss, which is actually two bosses. Skarvald the Constructor, a powerful melee fighter, and Dalronn the Controller. After Skarvald fell, Dalronn brought him back from the twisting aether as a ghost, temporarily adding to the chaos of the fight.
After both beasts were felled, our group traveled out onto the ramparts. Vrykul after Vrykul flew down from high in the heavens, raining destruction on our group. We persevered and made our way to the final encounter of the dungeon- Ingvar the Plunderer. Ingvar uses a staggering roar ability, which deals area of effect damage and silences the party. He has a few other tricks up his sleeve but the deadliest of the tricks is an ability called Smash, which deals a huge chunk of damage in a cone in front of him. The trick to this ability, I suppose, is to make certain to interrupt the cast on this ability so that he can’t crush your party. Ingvar eventually crumbled under the weight of our powers, but alas, he had a final trick up his sleeve. Or rather, the trick resided in the metallic sleeves of the Lich King. A booming voice echoed in our heads, bringing forth a dire malediction that resurrected Ingvar as an undead monstrosity, a figment of his former self. This severance of his humanity brought in an additional portion of dark power as his attacks became exponentially deadlier. Staggering Roar became Dreadful Roar, Cleave became Woe Strike, and Smash became Dark Smash. All of these abilities were more dreadful and deadlier, sometimes dealing half again the damage of his previous form. In addition, he gains a flying runed weapon that chooses particular party members to hammer blows upon. However, after a concerted effort on our part this dark aberration disintegrated. We were triumphant, and took both his equipment and his head as a trophy.
Upon my victorious return to Valgarde, the townspeople directed me to a new group of people in need of my aid- the peaceful Tuskarr village.
