My family spent the entire weekend field-testing the new World of Warcraft expansion. It was a really fun geek weekend of pushing ourselves to stay up until dawn, crash for a couple hours, and then get back at it. All our computers are in one room, which is littered by fast food containers and empty soda cans. It was an awesome lan-party weekend.

WARNING: WOW NERD TALK TO FOLLOW. DON’T READ IF YOU’RE NOT A NERD.

I saw very little of Northrend, the new continent of content in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Very little. Because I was too damn busy leveling my Death Knight.

Now, based on previous Ding! comic strips, you might get the impression I thought Death Knights were stupid. You’re correct in that assumption. I really did. But Blizzard really surprised me with how fun and versatile the class really is.

The opening quest line is brilliant and really hooks you. As much as I made fun of it, you really get the sense you’re going through a traditional RPG style game with your character. The small outcropping of the Eastern Plaguelands that serves as your character’s first campaign area physically changes as you accomplish your missions and the will of the Lich King unfolds. I found myself actually INTERESTED in everything the quest givers and NPCs actually had to say to me.

It’s hard to say how the Death Knight balances in the game yet. For PvP, it feels like everything you ever truly wanted an enhancement-specced Shaman to be. Still moderately great at DPS but able to tank a 5 man when the need arises. In raiding I think the unholy Death Knight’s anti-magic field will be insanely helpful on certain bosses/obstacles.

Plus leveling one is actually FUN. That’s where Blizzard truly surprised me the most. I didn’t understand why Blizz didn’t just let Death Knights start at level 70 and dreaded replaying all the Outland content from the previous expansion. However, that time leveling really helped me get a feel for the class and they obviously reduced the amount of XP needed to level from 60-70. I mean, even playing non-stop you I never have been able to level from 58-68 in one weekend before.

So yeah, I won’t be hitting the new areas probably until tomorrow. I won’t play again until I’m home from the office tonight and I have one more level to go before my Death Knight can survive the Howling Fjord. But fear not, we’re playing and will post more reviews of the game as we go.

I call it research of course.