MoP release date 25th of September!

[Peelyon 416]

EDIT: The news is now official but you probably already know it by now :P

Just heard from a guildy and checked my account.

You can now upgrade your Battle.net accounts to either the normal version of MoP or the deluxe edition.

When you continue to payment it says:

(playable on September 25th).

I think this could change but it gives a clear indication now of the expected timeline!

Edited July 26, 2012 by Peelyon

[MadMonk 154]

That's pretty good news, I can't play until the 19th so this release date is perfect for me. The only bad thing is that it's my first week of school, so it'll be interesting to see how that works out (have to get to 90 in 2 days because we want to start raiding on the 26th, 27th at the latest.)

EDIT: There has also been an official press release, so I guess that confirms it.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: MISTS OF PANDARIA™ ARRIVES SEPTEMBER 25

Fourth expansion brings tides of war to the shores of a long-lost continent

Digital Deluxe and Retail Collector’s Editions revealed

Presales NOW LIVE

PARIS, France. – July 25, 2012 – Land, ho! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft^®: Mists of Pandaria™, the fourth expansion set for the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be available in stores and online starting from September 25, 2012. Upon the expansion’s release, intrepid explorers of the Alliance and the Horde will be able to set foot upon the shores of the long-lost continent of Pandaria and embark on a perilous journey to uncover its ancient mysteries.

Mists of Pandaria will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows^® XP/Windows Vista^®/Windows^® 7 and Macintosh^® at a suggested retail price of 34.99 € / £29.99. The expansion will also be available digitally directly from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website (www.WorldofWarcraft.com), also priced at 34.99 € / £29.99.

A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of 69.99 € / £59.99. In addition, for the first time, World of Warcraft players have the option to purchase a special Digital Deluxe version of the expansion containing the in-game bonus items from the Collector’s Edition. The Digital Deluxe version is available to download directly from Blizzard via www.WorldofWarcraft.com for 49.99 € / £39.99. Players who purchase the standard edition digitally or at retail will have the option to upgrade to the Digital Deluxe version at any time (for as long as the standalone Digital Deluxe version remains available) for an additional 15 € / £10.

Presales for the standard digital and Digital Deluxe versions of Mists of Pandaria are now live. Players who would like to purchase either version and be ready to play the moment the expansion launches can do so now by visiting www.WorldofWarcraft.com. The expansion content will automatically be digitally delivered to pre-purchasers via World of Warcraft’s streaming launcher prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria. Players who would like to preorder the standard box or the retail-exclusive Collector’s Edition can do so by visiting their local retailer.

“Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we’ve ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve received a lot of great feedback from players during our most extensive beta test yet, and we hope they enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer when the expansion comes out in September.”

The Digital Deluxe version of Mists of Pandaria includes a full digital copy of the expansion along with the following exclusive in-game bonus items:

• World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.
• World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.
• StarCraft^® II Battle.net^® Portraits: Bring the Horde and Alliance rivalry to the far reaches of the Koprulu sector with exclusive Infested Orc and Night Elf Templar Battle.net portraits.
• Diablo^® III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft’s newest playable race, the pandaren.

The Collector’s Edition of Mists of Pandaria includes the full version of the game on DVD-ROM and contains the following exclusive bonus items, in addition to the in-game content from the Digital Deluxe version:

• Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.
• Collector’s Edition Soundtrack CD: Experience 20 orchestral pieces from Mists of Pandaria.
• The Art of Mists of Pandaria Book: Explore this 208-page hardcover tome featuring never-before-seen pieces from the expansion, from early concepts to final 3D renderings.
• Chen Stormstout Mouse Pad: Equip your desk with this special-edition mouse pad featuring the legendary pandaren brewmaster.

In World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, warships of the Alliance and Horde clash off the coast of a long-lost continent, signaling the start of a new era of discovery and conquest in the history of Azeroth. As players storm the shores of this exotic new frontier and begin to explore its mysteries, they’ll encounter brave new allies, unearth ancient secrets, and play their part in reigniting the long-brewing conflict between the Horde and Alliance on a strange battlefield far from home.

Mists of Pandaria offers a wide variety of content for new and returning World of Warcraft players. Features include a new playable race (the pandaren) with its own starting zone and quests, a new character class (the monk), and an expansive new continent for players to explore as they adventure to the new level cap of 90. The expansion also includes a host of new gameplay elements designed to give players even more ways to enjoy the game, including scenarios -- a flexible new kind of cooperative PvE trial; challenge modes, which offer high-prestige rewards for mastering Mists of Pandaria’s 5-player dungeons; and an all-new pet battle system.

In addition to the English version, Mists of Pandaria will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Russian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and for the first time with a World of Warcraft expansion launch, Italian. Availability of Mists of Pandaria in mainland China will be announced at a later date.

To learn more about World of Warcraft and Mists of Pandaria, please visit the official website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com. To set up a Battle.net account and to opt-in to Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available -- visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft^® and the Warcraft^®, StarCraft^®, and Diablo^® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions, or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of Diablo III in certain regions, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond their control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

(Source)

[Peelyon 416]

First weeks of school are over rated anyway

Cheers for the official link. I'm assuming they know the cats out of the bag (seemed a bit of an odd way to find out via digital purchase anyway).

Edited July 25, 2012 by Peelyon

[Zagam 1,982]

You mean I only have to run Dragon Soul 8 more times in my life?!?! I think I'll have a beer on my lunch break to celebrate!

[Peelyon 416]

Having the pre expansion patch a few weeks before will break it up as well. Not long to go now.

[Alierya 94]

First weeks of school are over rated anyway

*ahem* SOME of us will be enforcing word from the first week and setting homework projects. First week of school is importiant...

For me it is bang in the middle of term... At least it is mid week though... can get planning done on the Sunday & not do any marking until the weekend... shiny!

Exactly 2 months fyi.

[Damien 1,514]

Et voilà, I got myself MoP :P

[Peelyon 416]

Et voilà, I got myself MoP

Going to have to wait a while until the money rolls in! Unless Icy Veins do a monster giveaway ;)

Heres to a few busy weeks for you and Vlad!!! Great prediction by the way haha

[Crixalis 14]

Kind of expected it to be out on December, so that way I can actually play - my school is starting in 2 weeks (August-May), and it's going to be disappointing and taking a while as I go to 90 during weekends.

Still great news though!

[Peelyon 416]

Kind of expected it to be out on December, so that way I can actually play - my school is starting in 2 weeks (August-May), and it's going to be disappointing and taking a while as I go to 90 during weekends.

Still great news though!

Study like crazy and agree that you can play a little mid week? Nothing like a deal with parents etc. One of our Danish players used WoW as an excuse to improve his english and that worked a treat :P

[MadMonk 154]

Et voilà, I got myself MoP

Felicitations, I just have to decide wether I'll take the normal or the deluxe version, 15 euros (35 to 50) doesn't seem so bad compared to the usual 30 euros increase if you get the brick and mortar collectors edition(wrath was 30 to 60, I don't remeber cata because I have a normal edition).

[Damien 1,514]

In all honesty, I'm wondering how they are going to have the expansion ready for the end of September. I mean, it feels so unfinished on the beta. Jade Forest is still not available, the Klaxxi dailies have not been tested, there are many quests that are still bugged, there are many issues with Pet Battles (especially PvP battles), the Tillers dailies are not available yet, raid testing has been very limited (LFR is not yet available).

[Redcross 60]

8 weeks to finish Loremaster .. oh no! better get a move on.

[Damian 26]

Arggg I've only started stocking bags, ore and dust this week. I'm going to remain poor for ever. Boo hoo.

[Vladamyr 169]

Arggg I've only started stocking bags, ore and dust this week. I'm going to remain poor for ever. Boo hoo.

I've only got 30 bags made but hopefully people start dumping mats! It's time for me to stop making enchants, gems and cloth pvp gear and that's a wonderful break :)

[Damien 1,514]

Before the release, don't forget to have a quest log full of completed daily quests that you can just turn in as soon as the expansion goes live ;)

[Damian 26]

I've only got 30 bags made but hopefully people start dumping mats! It's time for me to stop making enchants, gems and cloth pvp gear and that's a wonderful break

I've made 100 Netherweave bags, 50 embersilk bag and 10 Otherworldy bags. I want to make more of the latter two bag types. I have a few thousand hypnotic dust (might be a gamble) and a few pets. Wish I had more money to buy some of the more unique pets but their prices have already started to rise. I wonder if it worth stocking up on fish too. Started on Leather and Ore today while "working from home" *cough*

[Alierya 94]

Technically you were working, just not for your employer =D

[Peelyon 416]

Before the release, don't forget to have a quest log full of completed daily quests that you can just turn in as soon as the expansion goes live

Oh god that means I need to go back to the Molten Front doesnt it :P

[lmendonca 16]

this will be my first time moving from in the cap. I started to play in the end of wotlk. Can't wait any longer...

Just waiting to see how much collectors edition will cost in Brazil. (star craft 2 was 500 reais this is about 250 USD)

Edited July 25, 2012 by lmendonca

[Peelyon 416]

this will be my first time moving from in the cap. I started to play in the end of wotlk. Can't wait any longer...

Just waiting to see how much collectors edition will cost in Brazil. (star craft 2 was 500 reais this is about 250 USD)

Ouch, is there no way you can import it in for cheaper? Seems soooo expensive! This is only my second real push at a new expansion, hoping to learn from the mistakes of last time! Just hope the servers will let everyone login on time this expac!

[lmendonca 16]

Ouch, is there no way you can import it in for cheaper? Seems soooo expensive! This is only my second real push at a new expansion, hoping to learn from the mistakes of last time! Just hope the servers will let everyone login on time this expac!

Yes this is very expensive.... the problem is the fee import that in my case is 60% of the product price + shipping. in amazon for instance is 79.99 + 36.98 = 116.97. The import fees deposit is only 111.26 so the order total is 228.23.

But the digital edition is the same price, and this will be my choice.

[Damien 1,514]

But the digital edition is the same price, and this will be my choice.

Do you have to pay import fees as well for digital purchases?

[ThrIronMustache 8]

I'm doing the Collectors Edition Digital Copy as well. I do not need all the other phroo phroo dvds and cds, but the mount and pet are definatley worth it.

[Panzer 13]

I'm planning on downloading it instead of buying the box... but is there just the digital deluxe version or can i buy a "normal" digital version?