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cataclysm (WoW)
"Cataclysm will change the face of Azeroth as you know it" - Chris Metzen
Cataclysm has indeed been announced as the new expansion, confirming various rumors. This page will be updated as new information becomes available.
Official site for Cataclysm Trailer here, on YouTube, as well as on the official site
See the table of contents for the major points of the expansion.
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Old World Revamp
All old world zones will be revamped in some way during Cataclysm. Chris Metzen was quoted as saying "No part of the world has been left untouched. Well, except maybe Westfall." Indeed, MANY of the old parts of our familiar world have been changed horribly by Deathwing's cataclysm. As a result, the entire leveling experience has been altered for 1-60. Zones will cover a smaller range of levels, and many zones are drastically altered.
However, part of the other driving purpose behind the revamp was to allow flying mounts in the old world. They will now be available. Additionally, no-fly zones are gone, including in cities.
More specific known changes include:
- Ashenvale: Garrosh is aggressively expanding the Horde into Ashenvale, new camps appear everywhere.
- Azshara: Will be the new Goblin 10-20 zone. They've moved an entire mountain and turned it into a quarry.
- The Barrens: Split in two zones, some of which are re-growing (thanks to the Wailing Caverns)
- Darkshore: Zone has been flooded, and Auberdine has been destroyed.
- Desolace: Restored to life
- Hillsbrad: "Looks like the Alliance FINALLY lost Southshore." "We were there today, nobody was defending it, so..." - Blizzcon presenters
- Undercity: The ruins of Lordaeron are now filled out, so you can fly over them and land in them. You can now fly in all cities.
New Zones
The level cap has been raised to 85. To accomodate players, there are at least seven new zones. Presented at Blizzcon were Mt. Hyjal (present-day), Uldum, The Lost Isles, Sunken City of Vashj'ir, Gilneas, Twilight Highlands, and Deepholm. Except for the newbie zones of Gilneas and The Lost Isles, these are for levels 78-85.
New dungeons include The Firelands, Uldum, Blackrock Caverns, Grim Batol, Skywall, Heroic Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep.[1]
Deepholm
Deepholm is the elemental plane of earth where Deathwing comes from. It is intended to be the hub zone of the expansion, where you can travel from Deepholm to any other new zone and back.
Sunken City and life underwater
Sunken City is an underwater zone. At Blizzcon, Tom Chilton promised to keep it from being "annoying".
Underwater combat will occur on the sea floor as though it were on land. Blizzard is planning on introducing Underwater Mounts.
Uldum
Uldum will have a new titan-created race called the "Tol'vir".
Hyjal
Hyjal will be about a conflict between the restored Ragnaros, and the returned Malfurion Stormrage.
New Races and Classes
Blizzard has opted to add two new races to the game, Goblins for the Horde and Worgen for the Alliance. Additionally, many new class combinations have been made available. However, there are no new classes or hero classes in Cataclysm.
Lots of Wrathgate-style cinematics will be incorporated for the new races. The zones will be similar to the Death Knight zone in style, using phasing to advance the internal storyline, however they will be playable for all characters. They will not start as Alliance or Horde races, and that will happen over the course of the start.[2]
Goblins (Horde)
Goblins have hand-built drag-racer style mounts. All Goblins get a "Rocket Belt" for their racials, which can propel them forward and fire rockets.
Goblins can be any class besides druid or paladin.
Worgen (Alliance)
Chris Metzen has called the Worgen the "Wolverine" of the Alliance. Tom Chilton fully expects people to be saying "World of Worgen-craft" before long.
Worgen have "Dark Flight", a sprint-like racial.
Worgen can be any class besides paladin or shaman.
New class combinations
New classes are available for existing races.
Horde: Troll druid, Undead hunter, Orc mage, Tauren paladin & priest, Blood Elf warrior
Alliance: Human hunter, Dwarf mage & shaman, Night Elf mage, Gnome priest
New leveling systems
Path of the Titans and Mastery System
Path of the Titans has been revealed to be a system similar to Everquest's alternate advancement system. There will be no additional tier of talents added to the game.
The Mastery system adds passive bonuses related to your primary talent tree.
Guild Leveling and Achievements
Guilds now have the ability to level up. They range from level 1 to 20, and advance via raids, dailies, bgs, etc. Guilds will get talent trees as they level up, with access to things like cheaper repairs, lower durability lost.
New Secondary Skill: Archaeology
Nothing is known about Archaeology yet, except that it leads into the new "Path of the Titans" progression. Important to note, this is a secondary skill, not a profession.
Heroic Classic Instances
With the 5th anniversary of WoW, Onyxia's Lair was revamped for the present level cap. With Cataclysm, old instances will have a new heroic mode for level 85, including Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep.
Lore
Deathwing has returned. He seems to be the pivotal character in the expansion. Indeed, he is the one that has caused the "cataclysm." Other significant players include Thrall, Garrosh Hellscream, Varian Wrynn, Genn Greymane (Gilneas ruler), and Azshara
New battlegrounds
3 battlegrounds will be added to the expansion, including the "Battle for Gilneas." Tol Barad is described as "A combination of Wintergrasp PvP and Isle of Quel'Danas style dailies."
New battlegrounds will include rated team play. Rated Battlegrounds will allow you access to the same level of gear as Arenas!
Notes
- ^ Uncertain why Uldum was listed as both a new zone and a new dungeon at Blizzcon.
- ^ I'm not certain what this meant. This is from one of WoWCM's twitter reports.
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