[WoRBot]

UPDATE 11:30 CET: Added initial info on playing as a zombie and a zombie "raid" video.
00:15 CET - We have information on how to become infected.

More Images

It appears the pre-launch World Event for Wrath of the Lich King is now active on all US and EU servers! (Unknown if active on Korean and Chinese servers)

What is known right now is that it seems to be phase 1, which is a zombie invasion.  Zombies are randomly spawning throughout the world, and the Argent Dawn has dispatched agents across Azeroth and Outland to help combat the threat.  You can find them stationed at Argent Dawn banners.

When the zombies spawn, they infect players with a Disease that lasts 10 minutes.  If the disease isn't cured by either a player or an Argent Healer, you're transformed into a zombie and can attack other players -- infecting them in the process. While transformed, you gain access to special abilities only available while zombiefied, and you're also friendly to other zombies.

We're working on getting screenshots now, and will continue to provide updates as we learn more about the event and the phases that unfold.

How to become infected

• Travel to Booty Bay and right-click a Conspicuous Crate.  This will infect you and open up a window with some flavor text.  After 10 minutes you will transform into a Plague Zombie -- which uses the new vehicle system -- and unlocks special zombie skills.  Dying to an NPC or player while infected will instantly transform you.
  
• Caution, NPCs can become infected too, and they will transform into a ghoul of the same level.  This is especially dangerous for areas with elite guards in the cities.
  
  
• While infected, even going near an Argent Healer will cause them to cure you.  If you want to play around as a zombie, use caution and don't approach them.
  
• From all accounts thus far, you become a zombie of your level, so low level players will have lower health and overall stats as a zombie than level 70 players.
  
• While as a ghoul, there is a constant DoT effect killing you; you must attack other players or NPCs to proc the "Bite" spell, which will heal you.  If you die to an NPC while a ghoul, you will lose durability.

Playing as a Zombie

• While a zombie you unlock special abilities only available in this form.
  
• Your zombie transformation has no set duration, but you are under the effect of a constant DoT that will kill you if you do not feed.
  
• You must attack other players or NPCs to feed; doing this will proc "Bite" which heals you.
  
• Your zombie stats are not dependant on your items at all, so you can unequip them to avoid durability loss.
  
• Dying to other players does not cause you to lose durability, but dying to NPCs will cause durability loss.
  
• It appears that you can only infect humanoids, and possibly only humanoids who are KoS to you while a zombie.
  
• You are only able to attack players of your faction.  (Maybe a bug?)

[pocketwar]

if you need a SS

http://img511.images...08214035tk4.jpg

[koenigsegg]

Uhm, is this doable now already you mean?

[Eulo]

koenigsegg said:

Uhm, is this doable now already you mean?

Yep. Head out and enjoy it =)

[koenigsegg]

Eulo said:

Yep. Head out and enjoy it =)

AWSOME! Can I go IF and have a joy? rofl

Ah, IF are guarded with those argent healers...so it's a no go

[pocketwar]

another one http://img404.images...08220012ki6.jpg

[Shasa]

Few things I've found out, immunities (divine shield) makes you turn instantly, stats are not dependent on gear (aka you can be naked so you don't get any repair cost) and they have healers at the fp in ironforge and at the king so hs to shattrath and take the portal if you wanna get there

[Hallizh]

Taking off your gear and putting it back on brings you to full health.
U cant do that i combat, not even weps while infected. But you can remove librams etc...
(hope this is readable, practicly asleep)

[Tyuni]

Here is a very nice trick to kill argent healers. Get on a mount and by doing so you dismiss your pet. Get transformed while on your mount and you get to keep your pet and you can use it to easily kill the healers. I used a hunter, not sure if it works with warlocks. And no your AD rep won't suffer.

Trying to infect Magni atm, Have fun till they hotfix it.

[PhilOfDoom]

Had a play around with another lvl 70 friend and it would appear that most lvl 70's will kill you just to be annoyin and any thing more than 2-3 lvl 45 guards is enough to kill the zombie. If they made the zombies better or if i was in a big grp it might have been fun but this got mildly boring after about 30 mins unfortunatly.

[Shivern]

Quite a fun event, we teamed up with about 7 people in goldshire and we didnt have much problem taking the lvl 75 guards there who then turn in zombies aswell and let them follow and assit now. If you get about 20 people i guess u can create nice chaos in major cities. Great way to spend ur time if u have nothing to do.

What you do is simply train assist 1 person and get them in zombie 1 by 1 asap while spamming the skill which heals zombies, having enough of that green stuff on the grounds heals u for redicilous amount of hp.

[stba]

the healing is so strong time to time, its those green clouds and when enough zombies are doing it same time... level 70 warrior did bladestorm in our zombie group and it was ridicilously easily overhealed (note that lvl 70 ghoul has only 11k hp..).. even retpaladins dont stand a change when theres enough ghouls

[Solome]

here is a video of a zombie "raid" on sentinel hill.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1bG_2RqvWk"]YouTube - Zombies destroy Sentinel Hill in WoW[/ame]
Shows the basics of what can happen, along with the flight master being destroyed at the end.

[koenigsegg]

We tried to raid Stormwind but there was just to many guards against us ~30 zombies (more "behind" the picture"). Will be alot more fun when ALL knows about this and really DON'T kill the zombies...but join them instead.

And killing guards in SW do NOT lower your reputation with SW if you're alliance, hehe.

[thenoid]

we just raided orgrimmar, got all the way through to the PvP room and infected the whole room but pretty much died, did this with about 25 zombies + NPC zombies gathered on the way!

nearly wiped due to one frost mage blizzarding us with pet freeze - lol, but we managed to kill him

TO RAID PROPERLY: YOU NEED TO STICK TOGETHER AND ALL PUT THE GREEN GOO DOWN TO HEAL OKKK

screenshots!:

http://img530.images...image=z2tf9.jpg

http://img525.images...image=z1ua9.jpg

[Zrespect]

are there any feats of strengh acheivments to go with this event? infect 100 ppl ect

[PhilOfDoom]

its kool that you can talk to horde zombies, shame you cant grp with them tho

[garan]

I'll transform saurfang into a zombie... RAWR!!

Awesome idea, I hope necropolis will be back in other phase ^^

[Tom Phoenix]

Anyone know how long this phase is planned to take? I currently cannot play, but I would like to join as soon as possible.

[Renjah]

The lamest part is that you only white hit for like 10.

Its possible to be "killed" and turn into a ghoul without dying. Whenever we swarmed guards or players, if we stacked up the armor debuff to the maximum (20), it seemed like it added a chance on hit to become a ghoul instantly, without their HP reaching zero. Also, if you ghoul-ify any guards and the guards leave combat, they will wander away unless you call them with another of the ghoul's abilities, in which case they become your pets for a time.

3 hunters killed our whole ghoul army, even though we had lurch rotations and mass AOE heal spam =/

EDIT: Rogues can stealth while ghoul-ified. And any procs you have still occur, but you cant use most of your class skills (at least I couldn't, I'm a warrior.)
DOUBLE EDIT: When you are a ghoul, you speak a language called "ZOMBIE" I think. Any text you type out can be understood by other zombies, but to non-zombies its just a ton of ".......BRAINS........ BRAINS...." lol.