Blizzard rocked World of Warcraft fans with the expansion announcement for Mists of Pandaria. Most exciting about the news is the arrival of the playable Monk class. MMORPG.com's Joe Iuliani had the opportunity to check out the Monk and has a hands on report for our readers. See what Joe thought about the Monk and then weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.

If Kung Fu Panda and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon had a child Mists of Pandaria would be the result. In the newly announced expansion from Blizzard, players will experience Pandaria, a long lost continent of Azeroth. As the title suggests, this is the home of the Pandaren: the new playable race in the expansion. By now most readers know that the Pandaren is the race of panda-like humanoids found thoughout the Warcraft mythos. In addition to the introduction to this new race Blizzard has added the new playable class... the Monk.

Read more of Joe Iuliani's World of Warcraft: Pandaren Monk Impressions.

One extra class...and a panda at that.  Thanks, but no thanks.

Heh, if I still played WoW, I'd be all over this.  I loved watching KungFu Panda with my kid! =)

Monk sounds versatile and fun.  Thanks for the first impressions.

About time they added a Monk class..

Looks kinda cute actually. It is like this big hulking thing trying to be agile and swift . Like a sumo wresler in a tutu.

Originally posted by SlyLoK

About time they added a Monk class..

That's what I was thinking...seems long overdue.

Big fan of the idea behind the monk class, being able to tank, heal, or mdps is great.

Worried they will become the new Paly/DK as in everyone will have one and most will be horrible.

The Pandaren race itself.. well, it all depends on the animations really.

From screen shots they are far too round for my liking.. too "comic" but if the animations and expressions etc. make the race take itself seriously and look more bad ass then cute, might be pretty cool.

The talent system changes just... so idiot proof I understand the logic behind it but I just can't get on board with it.

I was apprehensive enough of the Cataclysm talent changes, this just goes WAY too far IMO.

I would have prefered 100+ point talent trees by now and ample opportunity for failure in them, but I like theorycrafting and min/maxing.

MoP really, really makes me hope/pray that The Old Republic is as good as I think it is going to be, because yeah... between Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria I just don't think I can support WoW anymore.

The class combat system seems pretty interesting. I like the idea of making it active combat rather than auto. I'll definately be checking this expansion out and creating a pandaren monk to run through the leveling paces.

I have to admit, when I first saw news of this expansion I had to double check it wasn't an april fools day. Seriously? 

A focus on the tension between the Alliance and the Horde, coupled with the return of open-world bosses. Yeah, I'm going to play Mists of Pandaria. With the future return of Illidan as well, I know I will definitely blast my way through the game and end Illidan once more.

I've been playing WOW on and off since launch.  I always bought the expansion to see what was new, experience the new content, class, areas, etc.   This time however i dont see myself buying that expansion, the idea of a kungfu panda is just plain ridiculous.   What will they come up with next ?  Ninja Turtle ?  Power Rangers ?

I honestly thought the Panda race was a joke.

I'm just waiting for Blizzard to include them in the new McDonald's Happy Meals.

The Pandaren existed before Kung Fu Panda.  Why all this hate for that race?  If I had to guess I'd say a lot of the hate is bandwagon crap.

I have played and "quit" wow multiple times over the years, but I am actually thinking of going back because of this expac haha.

What is funny is everyone makes jokes about "kung fu pandas" hmmm if you have ever played a lot of WoW you know how many silly funny things exist in the game, that is Blizz. There are real life mockings of people and places, subtle references to real life things.... THAT is what grabs so many people. That is a HUGE reason why WoW has remained so huge over time.

It IS silly, it IS goofy, it IS ridiculous and obviously IT WORKS.

I used to think I didn't really like WoW and why I would take breaks from it was because it was too cartoony... but then I would try other games that tried to be more "realistic" and they wouldn't last.... I realized that "Cartoony" is unreastic and the unrealism is what keeps people playing for some reason. Because your expectation is not let down. I played Aion and Rift, but in the end at some point there is let down. WoW I have gone back to more times than I can count!

I remember monks from original Everquest, then there was Guild Wars monks also, I would love to try one in WoW. So looks like I am going back again...

I never bought Cata so buying it now will give me some new stuff to goof off with for a while.

I learnt a while back never to say never so I won't... but I dobt I will be rushing out to buy this expac... again it look like more of the same. Blizzard need to switch focus to its new MMO and leave WoW alone.

Originally posted by TookyG

The Pandaren existed before Kung Fu Panda.  Why all this hate for that race?  If I had to guess I'd say a lot of the hate is bandwagon crap.

 

That has nothing to do with it.

The fact of the matter is this: If I wanted to get my mom to play, I would show her the Panda race.

Monk class: +

Pandraren: -

Talent re-re-re-overhaul: --

Pokemon battle system: ---

Originally posted by precious328

Originally posted by TookyG

The Pandaren existed before Kung Fu Panda.  Why all this hate for that race?  If I had to guess I'd say a lot of the hate is bandwagon crap.

 

That has nothing to do with it.

The fact of the matter is this: If I wanted to get my mom to play, I would show her the Panda race.

Honey, I'm probably your mom's age and the pandas do NOT make me want to play again, so.....I'm just sayin'.  ;)