Warlords of Draenor Reveal
The crowd at the opening ceremonies went silent as, after much hinting from VP Chris Metzen, World of Warcraft's fifth expansion was finally announced. In case you missed it, here's everything we know so far about Warlords of Draenor.
Warlords of Draenor Demo Stations
Warlords of Draenor was playable on the show floor. The two zones showcased were the Horde hub of Frostfire Ridge and the Alliance equivalent, Shadowmoon Valley. Those familiar with Shadowmoon from Outland will find a surprisingly more serene version of the zone in this expansion.
Illidan Statue
Illidan Stormrage, the original Warlord of Draenor, presided over the Warcraft area of the convention floor. Though he may have been slain way back in Burning Crusade, his immortal words will ring in the ears of long-time WoW fans for all eternity. You are not prepared!
Mega Bloks Thrall
The Mega Bloks booth featured a brick-by-brick reconstruction of the Farseer himself, back in his heavily-armored days as Warchief of the Horde.
Face Painting
Attendees could treat themselves to face painting and temporary tattoos featuring iconography from many Blizzard titles. While the Horde and Alliance insignia were represented, yours truly stormed off upon discovering that there's seemingly no love for the Argent Crusade in the world of free body art.
Costume Contest
The festivities on the first night, hosted by Jay Mohr, included a costume contest and a talent show. Here you can see several of the finalists from this year's legion of cosplay warriors, including a crowd favorite dressed as a Tuskarr.
Songhammer
Songhammer, the winners of this year's (and 2011's) talent contest, brought the metal with "We Are the Horde" and an encore, "Cataclysm."
Tyrael Statue
The Archangel of Justice greeted returning con-goers at the beginning of day 2, keeping watch over the Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls playtest area. The upcoming expansion, including the new Crusader class, was playable on PC and consoles.
Graffiti Wall
Attendees were encouraged to grab a sharpie and leave a brief message on this giant wall in the middle of the show floor. They were not encouraged to grab a marker with no cap, tip first, and get ink and crap all over their hands. But I managed to anyway.
Movie Panel
Director Duncan Jones helms a panel on the Warcraft movie. Though still over two years from release, it was revealed that the main characters will include Alliance legend Anduin Lothar and Durotan, father of Thrall. Locations will include Stormwind, Ironforge, and Dalaran.
Loot Elemental
The Loot Elemental gave a lucky few the chance to battle air currents and tiny pieces of paper for a chance at Blizzard-related prizes.
StarCraft Risk
A tabletop gaming area allowed fans to get their hands on a number of Blizzard board games. Here, you can see a small group of Korprulu conquerors going head-to-head in the new StarCraft Risk.
Raynor Statue
This is Jimmy! Who better than Marshal Raynor to keep vigil over the StarCraft area? While we didn't hear anything new about the future of the franchise this Blizzcon, Heart of the Swarm was playable on a number of machines, and the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals were a highlight of the show.
Jaedong
South Korean SC2 pro and fan favorite Jaedong is interviewed after winning a tough semifinal against Dear. The crowd lent encouragement with such chants as "We love the Dong!"
WCS Finals
The casting trio of Tasteless, Artosis, and Apollo discusses the upcoming Global Finals match between Jaedong and sOs. By now, it was standing room only at both the eSports stage, and the nearby main stage to which the matches were being broadcast.
WCS Crowd
The crowd goes wild as Jaedong takes game three, inching back from a 2-0 deficit.
sOs Trophy
sOs, the WCS 2013 Global champion, hoists his well-earned trophy after defeating Jaedong in a 4-1 upset. Many began to file out of the convention center. Only one did so $100,000 richer.
