WoW achievements coming with Wrath of the Lich King

by Ross Miller { Jul 17th 2008 at 3:12PM }

Blizzard has unveiled an achievement system -- much like Steam, Xbox Live, Trophies, etc. -- for World of Warcraft. The categories of achievements include PvP, PvE, world exploration, professions, and character development. Some are simple (give 10 hugs), some are very difficult (completing high-level raids). Additionally, there are "Feats of Strength," very difficult or now-impossible achievements that don't show up if unearned. The Feats are worth no points. No word on if the achievement points are worth anything.

[Via WoW Insider]

Tags: achievements, blizzard, world-of-warcraft, wow

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

phobic99 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:16PM

Sounds like achievements are all the rage these days.

dark_inchworm @ Jul 17th 2008 3:22PM

Hell, I love achievements. They give you an additional push to squeeze a little more out of your purchase. The only incentive may be a pat on the back, but that's good enough for me.

Ghen @ Jul 17th 2008 3:31PM

Yep, I like 'em.. and from a development standpoint there's no reason not to include them.

As long as they aren't boring ;)

Anticrawl @ Jul 17th 2008 4:24PM

I agree, something so simple keeps me playing just a few more levels of that single-player game I didn't like so much, allowing me to find out I enjoyed it more than I thought or atleast get my money's worth.

BigD145 @ Jul 17th 2008 4:54PM

I'll bet it's classified as an "expansion."

Huey2k2 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:17PM

Cool I guess?...

theturtle363 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:17PM

Blizzards getting scared of the KOTOR mmo!

theturtle363 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:18PM

nah i just wanted to say that

Creciente @ Jul 17th 2008 3:18PM

Expect even higher ramp up in addiction.

unrelated @ Jul 17th 2008 4:04PM

Is that even possible?

Arkanaloth @ Jul 17th 2008 3:20PM

I'd like to think these achievements will bring some measure of solo content but odds are like everything in WoW the really neat achievements will likely require raiding to get...

makishima @ Jul 17th 2008 3:25PM

There is everything from an achivment for giving 10 people hugs, to exploring the land, to killing bosses, etc. Something for everyone with these.

JonFitt @ Jul 17th 2008 4:03PM

But is there any point to them? There's already collectible stuff to show what you've accomplished.

Surely achievements are just artificial collectibles that games tack on to add some sense of persistent accomplishment. WoW already has that in spades.

I guess it might be fun for a day or so until everyone has poop-socked them all.

Seems like an on-the-cheap way to expand the game to me.

Arkanaloth @ Jul 17th 2008 4:11PM

you make a good point.. GuildWars has a lot of fluff titles as I refer to them but it has a titles that directly impact the power level of skills. Some would call this broken but the grind for them leads to more than simply letters under your feet... So are these WoW achievements merely fluff, or are some more useful? Time will tell I suppose.

Pedobear @ Jul 17th 2008 3:21PM

Hopefully there is a /spit achievement.

Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 17th 2008 3:22PM

Mythos has achievements of sorts, but they actually have true value to the game as they provide bonuses to your character... but you can only activate a couple (of the ones you have earned) at a time.

ApolloIV @ Jul 17th 2008 3:22PM

All the rewards are purely cosmetic and won't have any affect on the game. Like you can get titles and non combat pets ect. It's a nice little touch to the game imo.

Aaron @ Jul 17th 2008 3:23PM

Hmm.. adding more grinding to a game where the main criticism seems to be that there is too much grind?

This seems very similar to the LOTRO Deeds system, however the Deeds system provides some kind of bonus for completing a Deed. Wonder if WoW Achievements will offer something similar.

I can only imagine the chaos that will ensue in game after the achievement system goes live. Especially when everyone is trying to earn their "Gank 30 players in the starting zone for Night Elves".

BIZKeT @ Jul 17th 2008 3:25PM

Not like City of Heroes hasn't been doing this for years.

theturtle363 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:34PM

Star Wars Galaxies did it before CoH

BIZKeT @ Jul 17th 2008 3:38PM

I thought we were talking about relevant games.

ZING!

P.S. I was tempted to go with a 'your mom' joke instead but we haven't been formally introduced.

theturtle363 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:43PM

Well, I'm batman

komamura @ Jul 17th 2008 3:25PM

Nerd Points have finally made there was home

Microswirl (MKWii:1676- 4270-3674) @ Jul 17th 2008 3:27PM

.... what?

Microswirl (MKWii:1676- 4270-3674) @ Jul 17th 2008 3:26PM

Just buy the achievements on eBay.

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 17th 2008 3:27PM

Achievement Unlocked;

Grind your bones to make my bread: spend 100 hours doing nothing but PVPing

Man, I don't need another reason to return to Azeroth. I've been clean for almost 11 months now

Vaitork @ Jul 17th 2008 7:18PM

I've been clean for about a year as well, and the idea of achievements is something to be feared, at least by me.

Blizz, seriously... guys? I thought we were over this already. I'm doing fairly well with my WoW-free life so... please? Stop trying to draw me back to the void!

Saria the Cat @ Jul 17th 2008 3:38PM

Man, liches are a bitch in Baldur's Gate.

Mr.ESC @ Jul 17th 2008 7:59PM

They are quite easy in Never Winter nights.

dark_inchworm @ Jul 17th 2008 8:43PM

I swear I posted a witty (read: crappy) response to your post a few hours ago, but no amount of refreshing the page will verify its existence.

This comments system is more and more wonky all the time :-/

aristokrat @ Jul 17th 2008 8:56PM

Ame

aristokrat @ Jul 17th 2008 8:57PM

n to t

aristokrat @ Jul 17th 2008 8:57PM

hat!

Saria the Cat @ Jul 17th 2008 8:58PM

+1(x2) aristokrat

@dark_inchworm: :( I'm sure laughs would have been had by all.

arrrgh @ Jul 17th 2008 3:42PM

please please please can this game just die already?

phobic99 @ Jul 17th 2008 3:47PM

What would you gain if the game didn't exist any more? I don't play the game but I don't think you'd gain much other than the fact that you wouldn't see it on Joystiq or in stores. We both know you can just easily walk by or skim over it though, right?

B @ Jul 17th 2008 3:48PM

Something with 12-13million subscribers isn't going to die anytime soon.

Mike M. @ Jul 17th 2008 5:57PM

Actually, I'm glad the game is around. This game existing means that Blizzard can pour basically all the resources it wants into developing Star Craft II and Diablo III without worrying too much about going over budget.

dark_inchworm @ Jul 18th 2008 9:16AM

Mike M. wins this round. Say what you will about WoW - I enjoy it, myself - but it's putting money into things that will almost certainly kick our asses. And if you can't appreciate Starcraft II or Diablo III, well, you and I will have to agree to disagree.

HappyFunBall @ Jul 17th 2008 3:43PM

Ha! The Seinfeld reference...

Are they going to have the "Airing of Grievances" too?

Monkeys Suck @ Jul 17th 2008 4:31PM

Well, it is going to be wrath of the lich king, in the cold...winter setting, seems to fit the holidays.

A festivus for the rest of us!

By the way, I heard from my son that your company stinks.

vectorelement @ Jul 17th 2008 3:45PM

Dat's hizzle, mah nizzle.

creid @ Jul 17th 2008 3:58PM

An achievement should be awarded for quitting WoW.

Snowblind @ Jul 17th 2008 3:58PM

WoW needs more actual story and lore, and less pop culture references.

Einherjan @ Jul 17th 2008 4:08PM

... it already does...

alan @ Jul 17th 2008 7:08PM

There's not story or lore in WoW. It's all numbers and talents.

Huey2k2 @ Jul 17th 2008 11:55PM

WoW does have a story and lore.

Just because you don't read quests and NPC dialog doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Kevin @ Jul 17th 2008 4:04PM

Finally! Now there is something to grind for in WoW...

oh wait...

thenino85 @ Jul 17th 2008 4:07PM

Outdoor persistent siege zone? WAR.
In-game achievement system? WAR.
2 Talent Specs? WAR.

Seriously, all of WoW's "big" announcements for WotLK were things that WAR was already intent on implementing. Individually, none of these are that bad of plagiarism. 2 specs is something that WoW badly needs to get people playing both PvP and PvE (rather than pigeonholing themselves into one or the other). LotRO had an in-game achievement system. And the outdoor persistent siege zone is something that was around in DAoC. However, the timing of all of these events are suspicious. The fact that these are all major selling points of WAR, and Blizzard just so happens to be implementing them shortly around WAR's release...

Ralod @ Jul 17th 2008 4:42PM

Cutting 4 cities, and 4 classes: WAR

An almost total combat redesign because it was unfun: WAR

Being delayed well over a year: WAR

If you have played Warhammer you would know the things they have stolen from wow are far greater than a few things that may, or may have not been influenced by Warhammer.

Warhammer Online has issues, and there are ones that are not simple fixes. And with EA breathing down their necks, cutting content in a nearly arbitrary fashion at this point means when this game does at last launch at the end of this year, it is not going to be in a state where anyone in their right mind would consider fun.

War had a chance to catch some people tired of wow, but with wotlk looking like it will beat it to market, and the state the game is currently in I have a feeling it will do even worse than AoC and it's rapidly declining numbers. Read an E3 preview of warhammer anywhere? notice how none of them are overly positive about the game? And this is the gaming press that will praise a turd if it means getting a one on one interview or exclusive.

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