<P> In preparation for the final offensive against the Lich King, the Argent Crusade (a union of holy warriors from the Order of the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn) assembled a base near Icecrown Citadel to gather resources and identify the champions who would serve at the vanguard of their army . Highlord Tirion Fordring organized a tournament to test potential heroes of the Horde and the Alliance, but agents of the Scourge quickly emerged to sabotage the event . The undead attack culminated with the appearance of the monstrous crypt lord Anub'arak, who attempted to exterminate Tirion's elite force before it could be assembled . Fortunately, the gathered heroes prove to be too much for Anub'arak to handle and he is defeated . </P> <P> As the final battle against the Lich King approached, the human sorceress Jaina Proudmoore and the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner journeyed to the icy heart of Northrend . Both had come for different reasons: Jaina hoped to discover whether a part of her former friend and lover, Arthas Menethil, still lived; Sylvanas longed to take revenge on her old enemy . With the aid of these two heroes, Azeroth's champions stormed Icecrown Citadel and vanquished the Lich King's minions . Their confrontation with the Lich King involved thousands of souls consumed by Arthas's blade, Frostmourne . Ultimately, Arthas was slain with the aid of Tirion Fordring, and the heroes who triumphed over him learned a chilling truth about the existence of the undead Scourge . Without a Lich King, the leaderless undead would go on an unstoppable rampage across Azeroth . Bolvar (revealed to have been altered by the red dragons' flame), steps forward and voluntarily becomes the new Lich King, promising to keep the Scourge contained in Northrend as its eternal jailer . </P> <P> World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King was announced on August 3, 2007, on the first day of BlizzCon 2007 . Several enhancements to World of Warcraft's graphics engine were added with the release of Wrath of the Lich King . These include the use of a new shader in areas containing ice, new fire effects, more realistic shadows, and the option to turn down character texture resolution to improve performance . </P> <P> On October 15, 2008, Patch 3.0. 2, titled' Wrath of the Lich King', was released to pave the way for the upcoming expansion, bringing many of the expansion's updated systems to the game pre-release . Several new features were added including an all new class called the Death Knight . Classes received new spells and abilities . A harbor was added to Stormwind and new Zeppelin towers outside Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades . Wrath of the Lich King was released on November 13, 2008 . </P>

When was wrath of the lich king announced