Much has been said and done over at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational (WWI) last weekend. While Diablo 3 may have been on everybody's mind, don't think for a moment that World of Warcraft didn't have its own share of shining moments.

We'll give you guys a quick rundown of some of WoW's highlights during WWI, which has much to do with its upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

The developer's panel

World of Warcraft's Lead Designer Tom Chilton set up a dev Q&A panel to address up some concerns regarding the Death Knight and the other player classes. Chilton emphasized the DK's role as one for tanking and DPS. The DK does have the benefit of an Anti-magic shell ability however, giving the class a very distinct advantage over traditional tanks (warriors, druids, etc.) that normally grit out spell damage with sheer HP.

On a related note, Chilton finally confirmed that Death Knights will be accessible by all races. This should be about as official a confirmation as you can get, in case the assurances of the forum GMs wasn't enough. Unleash the gnomes!

Chilton also elaborated on some of the new tricks they've got lined up for WoW's other job classes. Warriors will be getting Titan's Grip, a Fury talent that enables them to dual-wield two-handed weapons. Warlocks will receive a demon form, enabling them to trade blows at the front line should they get bored of DoT'ing or sending their minions to do the dirty work.

Titan's Grip will require players to dig deep into the Fury tree however, ensuring that players will have to specialize to get it. Likewise, the Warlock's new form requires they commit a considerable amount of talents into the demonology tree.

Death Knights

 

It'd be a crime not to mention one of the biggest highlights of WWI - a chance to test-drive your very own DK. The invitational's demo for this new hero class had players starting at Tirion Fordring's house in the Eastern Plaguelands. The developer's panel explained that their spawn point will actually be at the new Ebon Hold area, also to be in Eastern Plaguelands.

The Death Knight's spells were derived their magic damage from attack power, which should greatly simplify the sort of gear you'll need to invest in with the arrival of WotLK. The demo's DK's in particular were specc'd for DPS, so you can imagine just what sort of hurt they were dishing out during their run.

Are you not entertained? Nihilim's Live Raid

Europe's Nihilum guild was on site to give the fans a tour of the Sunwell Plateau, all the way up to Kil'jaeden. So, how did their gamers do? Despite the valiant efforts of Nihilum's Kungen (Tauren Warrior), Hath (Undead mage) and Sniffy (Blood Elf Paladin), it appears that the Eredar Demon Lord was too much to handle.

The two 30-minute sessions resulted in a guild wipe right as they attempted to take the fight to Kil'jaeden's doorstep. On the lighter side, this did give the event goers a glimpse of how Nihilum struts their stuff during raids.

Who needs stairs? The Oculus unveiled

  

Imagine this: A floating column of giant earth-covered rings, focusing the earth's magical powers into the skies above. A grand scene indeed, and it also happens to be a wing of the the Nexus dungeon over in  Northrend. So, how do you get around a tower of floating rings with virtually no stairs? Easy - you fly.

Players will get to choose one of several drake mounts for this level 80 5-man instance, each with their own specific role to fulfill: DPS, Tank, and healer. What makes the Oculus all the more interesting is that it will be designed to be a non-linear encounter. While you still have to kill all the bosses to clear the dungeon, you can at least pick the order in which you'll cut them down.

They came, they saw, they conquered: the WWI Arena winners

What would an invitational be without a fracas? Korea's Council of Mages guild reigned supreme at the event's 3 vs 3 PvP event, besting North America's SK-US for a shot at the crown.

While their early loss against MoB gaming shattered their chances of getting first place, Europe's Improved Clicks' resolve saw them through the tournament's lower brackets. This perseverance paid off, with Improved Clicks snatching the 2nd place title away from SK-US in a close 2:3 battle.

The gift that keeps on giving: post-Invitational goodies

The festivities don't have to end with the conclusion of of the event. Among other goodies, WWI's visitors could buy Blizzard's official Authenticator. At US$ 6.50 per pop, these little gadgets add another degree of protection to your game account. Initially presented at the WWI, they are now available for a more public release at the Blizzard Store.

The other to-be-available trinket that'll be following us from the event is a new pet. Enter Tyrael - Diablo 2's archangel who will soon be made available as a limited edition WoW pet. Just the thing for the Paladins serious on looking holier-than-thou. As for the bad news: Tyrael isn't expected to arrive until patch 2.4.3, so you'll want to hang on to your redemption code until then.