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Legion World Content : Demon Hunter Intro
Eric: Hi, BlizzCon! Who wants to play a demon hunter? I am Eric Maloof (quest designer of World of Warcraft) and I am here to talk to you about the brand new demon hunter intro.
Demon hunter is our new hero class. It starts at level 98. When you play through the intro, you are going to learn what it truly means to be a demon hunter. These elves have sacrificed everything. They have given up their friends and family. They have taken in immense amounts of fel energy, corrupting their bodies. They even have gauged out their own eyes to gain spectral sight to see their enemies that much better; and they have done this all for one overriding reason: the utter annihilation of the Burning Legion.
Now the demon hunter intro also serves as our story bridge from the Burning Crusade expansion to the present. We are going to answer the question: What was it that Illidan Stormrage was up to all these years ago at the Black Temple when we were raiding him.
So here you have a set of storyboards. Our amazing cinematics team is hard at work on a movie that will play at the beginning of the intro.
In it you see Illidan Stormrage atop the Black Temple terrace. He is surveying the scene below. The combined might of the Shattrath army, and the champions of Azeroth (yea, all of you) have arrived to raid the temple; but they have arrived too soon. Sooner than he expected. You might say: “Illidan was not prepared.”
And so this was up the time table for your mission. You are going to invade a demon world, and there is a very specific purpose for it. So Illidan uses his immense fel energies, and he rips open a portal to this teeming world known as Mardum; and you and your elite forces of demon hunters jump through and begin your assault.
Now what is Mardum? Well, it used to be a prison world for demons. Eons ago, when the Titan Sargeras was still good, he threw all the demons he came across onto this planet, imprisoning them there with an item he crafted: the Sargerite Keystone.
Now when Sargeras turned evil, he shattered Mardum into thousands of pieces, it is in one of these fragments that he entrusted the Sargerite Keystone to his most loyal demons. The keystone is the objective of your mission.
Who wants to take a look at Mardum? Let’s roll it.
As you saw in that video, the Burning Legion isn’t fooling around this time. They brought out their heavy-hitters. More powerful versions than we have seen before, but all-new terrifying demons who have been joined to the roster.
Let’s take a look at the brand-new Burning Legion line-up.
So it’s not just as if that wasn’t enough, it’s not just demons that the Burning Legion has in its arsenal now. They have added these immense constructs. Now these huge soul-infused buildings, each serve its special purpose in the new Legion world machine. This is a side of the Burning Legion we hadn’t seen before today.
So against all that, how are we going to be triumphed? Well, we are demon hunters. So we are going to kill a lot of demons. Let’s talk a little bit about some of the gameplay that you are going to experience in Mardum. For example, you are going to turn the Legion’s devices against them. You are going to use their immense gateways, power them up and bring in your own Illidari armies to aid in your assault on Mardum.
You also do things like tap into their communication devices, listen in in what their leadership is doing, and turn that against them. For added fun, we have sprinked Legion crystals around Mardum. You interact with these devices for a short period of time.
The cooldown on some of your demon hunter abilities will be reduced to zero. Now it is not just the gameplay that is really important in Mardum. You are also (like the Death Knight, hero class before you) going to gradually gain your abilities over time during the intro.
However, unlike the death knight, the demon hunter is going to rip the abilities from the smoking corpses of the most powerful demons that you slay.
I want to show you a short clip. It is an ability named Eye Beam. In it, you will see a demon hunter do a backflip, change in to demon-form and unleash a torrent of fel-energy on the enemies in front of him. Let’s take a look.
That is literally my favorite demon hunter ability, so far. Now, no hero class would be complete without its very own epic mount. Illidan Stormrage himself is going to create for you the Fel Saber, and I will give you a short clip of what that looks like in-game.
I don’t want to spoil everything that happens in Mardum, but suffice to say we know how this turns out at the Black Temple. When you return to the Black Temple at the end of your mission, you and your demon hunters are taken prisoner by Maiev Shadowsong and the champions of Azeroth; and you are imprisoned within the vaults of the wardens seemingly for all eternity.
We will get to the second half in a moment. Everything that I have talked to you so far is playable today this weekend at BlizzCon. So over at the World of Warcraft booth in Hall B; but Mardum is just the first half of the demon hunter intro. Let’s talk about the second half, briefly.
Many years past, while you were imprisoned (fast-forward to the present) — as Alex told us earlier, the Burning Legion has invaded and they have come in force. We are losing.
The second half of the demon hunter intro takes place within the Vault of the Wardens, and when you break out, it’s going to be up to you to save the world.
Now this part of the demon hunter intro will become available for play soon when we launch the beta.
What Comes After?
So what comes after the demon hunter intro? First thing you are going to do is join up your faction. You are going to remain Illidari, but when you go to Stormwind or Orgrimmar, you are going to find their leadership in desperate need of your help.
Who better to lead the vanguard and take the fight to the Burning Legion than a demon hunter. After that, you are going to return to Mardum, and there you are going to establish your Class Order Hall. Now the Order Hall is a place where all demon hunters can congregate with you in charge, and last but not least, you are going to quest for your very own artifact level warglaives.
I want to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today about the demon hunter intro, and without further ado, here Gary and Julian. They are going to take you through the amazing new lands of the Broken Isles. Thank you.
| Browse these pages: | Backstory Overview | Cinematic and Storytelling | Demon Hunter Intro | The Broken Isles |
| Val'sharah | Stormheim | Azsuna | Highmountain | |
| Suramar | End-Game Systems | Dungeons & Raids |
