Cataclysm Details Leaked
Posted by 
Amatera on Friday, August 14, 2009 - 105 Comments Tags: Hyjal, Lore, azeroth, azshara, barrens, cataclysm, deathwing, gilneas, goblin, kezan, level 85, ragnaros, revamp, spoilers, thrall, uldum, undermine, worgen
Amatera on Friday, August 14, 2009 - 105 Comments Tags: Hyjal, Lore, azeroth, azshara, barrens, cataclysm, deathwing, gilneas, goblin, kezan, level 85, ragnaros, revamp, spoilers, thrall, uldum, undermine, worgen
The info just keeps on rolling in today. A week out from the rockstar event that is Blizzcon and we might have our first major leaks. Heartbourne has already clued us in on potential new class combinations, but our friends over at MMO-Champion seem to have found a whole lot more. Boubouille absolutely insists that none of this is speculation, and while I remain skeptical about his sources, his track record is proven. This is as close to gospel as we're going to get until we hear something officially official. So keep on reading to find out what we know (or think we know) so far. Be warned, though, spoilers are abound if you want to keep your sense of surprise.
SPOILER WARNING
Herein is a rough list of major content changes that we can expect to see in the next expansion:
That's a lot to digest and I'm honestly eager to see how everything fits together. There are some controversial ideas in there, as well as changes that players have been clamoring for year after year. In fact, a lot of it sounds like the kind of stuff that Blizzard employees have wanted to implement themselves, but have repeatedly insisted they haven't been working on. Phasing, as I previously proposed, will play a large role in the recreation of mainland Azeroth (self high-five!).
By treading this path, however, I'm afraid there is also the chance of alienating a certain portion of the player base who see this as merely reusing old content. That may or may not be the case, and we may have to wait another week to find out. I think it really depends on how fresh the revamped content ends up feeling. Will the graphics of many areas be significantly improved or changed? Will the new quest lines make it worth adventuring through old zones? Is this the vanilla WoW that we always wanted? Or will the new Azeroth be a whole lot like the old Azeroth?
A yet-to-be-confirmed post on the Something Awful forums indicated huge, sweeping changes for the landscape, though. Thousand Needles flooded, many zones in absolute ruins, Orgrimmar sundered in two (with the introduction of a new Orc main city). The forums are private, but the summary has be re-posted on MMO-Champion.
I'm sure you all have a lot to say about these revelations, so feel free to strike up a conversation in our comments section. I know I'll be watching it closely!
SPOILER WARNING
Herein is a rough list of major content changes that we can expect to see in the next expansion:
- New Class Combinations - No new classes will be added to the game. Instead, existing races will be given access to classes that they never had before. It is currently unknown what classes will be available to the new races, however.
- New Level Cap - Surprisingly, it's only 85. This may fit in with a new philosophy of improving characters through gear instead of pure XP. Likewise, if the end-goal for WoW is 100, it leaves a little more space for successive expansions to grow.
-
Azshara, Queen of the Naga
The Cataclysm - This titular event, set in motion by Deathwing and Queen Azshara, will bring many changes to the existing content in the game, as well as open up several new ones. Their motivations for unleashing such destruction upon the world may be in part due to those pesky insanity-inducing Old Gods. - New Horde Race: Goblins - The Goblins have found their island home virtually destroyed by the events of the Cataclysm. Washing up on the shores of The Barrens, a quest line involving Thrall's capture (and subsequent rescue by the Goblin race) will explain how they ended up as the new consorts of the Horde. With their homeland gone, it's unclear whether or not we will get to visit Kezan, the island where the Goblin capital of Undermine exists.
- New Alliance Race: Worgen - The Greymane Wall, which separates Gilneas from Silverpine Forest, has been shattered by the Cataclysm. Bewildered from their self-imposed exile, the Worgen venture forth and find friends in the Alliance. It is unclear what the Goblin starting area may entail, but the Worgen will be receiving the Death Knight treatment. Gilneas will be a heavily-phased zone that will shuttle your character through the nation's history before unleashing them on the rest of Azeroth. Did I mention that Worgen do get to transform? That's right, you'll be able to shift from Human to Worgen at the click of a button, though we don't know if it will afford you any special abilities to do so.
- Azeroth Remade - Goblins and Worgen aren't the only ones who have felt the impact of this catastrophic event. Existing zones will be remade or phased in order to accommodate the current state of the world. The examples given include remaking Azshara into a 10-20 level area and splitting the Barrens into two distinct zones for players of different levels.
- New Areas - There will be no new continents introduced in the expansion, but instead, unreleased content in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms will finally be filled in. In addition to the aforementioned opening of Gilneas, you can also expect to see modern-day Hyjal and Uldum. These are only examples and do not represent the entire breadth of fresh content that will no doubt be introduced.
- Mainland Flight - Restructuring the two core continents has allowed Blizzard to add flight to those zones that never had it. Now you can ride all the way from the Plaguelands to Booty Bay on you very own flying mount. Presumably, you will still need to take a boat or zeppelin to go from one continent to the other.
- Dungeons Remade - Onyxia was only the beginning. This does not preclude the addition of new 5-man dungeons or raid content, but many of the old instances will be retrofitted for players progressing from Level 80-85. Reportedly, we'll also be seeing Ragnaros again. It is not known how extensive the changes will end up being (new bosses/new graphics or merely upgraded stats on mobs and items).
That's a lot to digest and I'm honestly eager to see how everything fits together. There are some controversial ideas in there, as well as changes that players have been clamoring for year after year. In fact, a lot of it sounds like the kind of stuff that Blizzard employees have wanted to implement themselves, but have repeatedly insisted they haven't been working on. Phasing, as I previously proposed, will play a large role in the recreation of mainland Azeroth (self high-five!).
By treading this path, however, I'm afraid there is also the chance of alienating a certain portion of the player base who see this as merely reusing old content. That may or may not be the case, and we may have to wait another week to find out. I think it really depends on how fresh the revamped content ends up feeling. Will the graphics of many areas be significantly improved or changed? Will the new quest lines make it worth adventuring through old zones? Is this the vanilla WoW that we always wanted? Or will the new Azeroth be a whole lot like the old Azeroth?
A yet-to-be-confirmed post on the Something Awful forums indicated huge, sweeping changes for the landscape, though. Thousand Needles flooded, many zones in absolute ruins, Orgrimmar sundered in two (with the introduction of a new Orc main city). The forums are private, but the summary has be re-posted on MMO-Champion.
I'm sure you all have a lot to say about these revelations, so feel free to strike up a conversation in our comments section. I know I'll be watching it closely!
Reader Comments (105)
OMG OMG OMG my brains have exploded on my computer screen!
Does this mean i wont get to see some panderen =(?
"New Areas - There will be no new continents introduced in the expansion, but instead, unreleased content in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms will finally be filled in [...]"
This really excites me. From when I started the game pre-BC and leveled, to when I went back for Loremaster at 80, I saw lore and areas that weren't delved into. One specific place I would like to see is that raid instance portal in Darkwhisper Gorge that is blocked. And I want to know more exactly about why Earthcaller Franzahl is there... ( http://thottbot.com/c14348 - screenshots of the portal aren't there anymore.) And Uldum! The quest line which leads you to it and ends abruptly is soooo tantalizing. Sadly, it busts my theory that Uldum is secretly Blizz's in-game HQ. (Please don't ask how I arrived at such a conclusion - all I recall is that it is based on quest text and the Keeper/Guardian/Librarian of Uldum speech.)
The possibility of Orgrimmar being sundered like Silvermoon City saddens me, though. As many Alliance raids may attest to, it's the heart of the Horde.
Although... with Blizzard revisiting the Old World, I can see some aesthetic improvements being made from purely a game programming viewpoint. Is anyone else tired of RFK and its cramped camera scope because the "ceiling" of the instance can fill your screen with blue?
I am curious about how Blizzard will essentially mate Cataclysm lore with Wrath lore. The Lich King as a character and NPC is one epic-evil bad guy. Still, is it possible it's getting stale. Wrath gave us so much more (non-combat, possibly excepting one quest in Icecrown) interaction with him, I don't really want to wait to the theorized final level cap of 100 to take that sucker on. Eheh...
Upgraded raid bosses may be a sticking point. Some of them are cool and should be seen by more players, however the older players (most specifically the "vanilla" WoW ones) may be turned off by it. As one guildmate said, she doesn't want MC to be touched. To run it in the old days, you had to have purple gear that was a serious pain in the derrière to get - and she still has the entire set. I am halfway of the same opinion. I don't mind old content that few could access way-back-when being freshened for the newer players. Naxxramas is a good example of this. More readily available content should remain as it is, if possible.
I am in love with the idea of flight in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms - and it's not because it would be faster. Blizzard takes a lot of time on designing environments, and details that are beautiful or simply there to make the player laugh. Flying on the flightmaster's mount means I only glimpse certain aspects of the environment and a detail or two for a moment. I want to soak up scenery!
I could go on longer, but this post is ridiculous enough in length as it stands right now. ^^u
Props to Vallestra.
I just hope they make the Worgen introduction as good or better as the death knights. I hope for a good story, with a less OPed class in the beginning, I also hope for the whole phasing attribute to be cool, what ever they do, I know it'll be good.
I couldn't see The Undermine being part of the expansion, but a patch or two after, I also think main land flight would be a great idea, saves people cash in the long run and you get to see Azeroth from a free flight perspective, praying for the announcement at Blizz Con to make it offical!
The alliance already has a midget and the horde already has a lanky sorta hunched over guy. Glad we don't have to have gnomes AND goblins, then the alliance would just be a massive joke.
then finaly we might see troll and gnome home city`s
P.S. i dont see this as blizzard running out of ideas or being lazy ,I see it as the fact that they used up most of the history and are now building the FUTURE (now doesnt that make it sound more exciting?)
p.p.s. maybe Winterspring is experiencing another brief spring like it did looooong ago and all the melted snow flooded the barrens thousand needles mulgore etc
(OMG its global warming)
ok so if worgen become up and have a druid class i'll be first to kill my ne and make a worgen i mean seriously. ur in human form then bam worgen bam bear every1 around would like "wtf" and askin u and shit that would be the best
oh and wait what about worgen mounts u have to turn into human form and right a... what? just somthin 2 spice this up
the ice stone has melted, and flooded azeroth
This all sounds FANTASTIC...but I'm still not sure I can believe rumors.
LOLOLOL.
The ice stone has melted.
Win.
This expansion is gonna be awesome, I cant whait =D
- Goblins and Worgen: They don't interest me too much. I think I'll roll one just to try it out but that's about it.
- The new class options:
* Human Hunter (Seems Ok)
* Orc Mage (I don't think the lore supports this)
* Night Elf Mage (I guess they could be reformed Highborne or something)
* Dwarf Mage (No Opinion Really)
* Blood Elf Warrior (Seems ok)
* Dwarf Shaman (Cant really see this working even for wildhammer dwarfs)
* Undead Hunter (No Opinion Really)
* Tauren Paladin (Nope. Doesn't Make sense at all)
* Tauren Priest (This could be the result of the lore bit added to elder rise)
* Gnome Priest (No Opinion Really)
* Troll Druid (This seems even worse than the Dwarf Shamans)
- Changes tho Azeroth: Since I already leveled one char through this content, I don't think I'll mind too much and it will make leveling alts a new experience.
- Guardian of Tirisfal: This one doesn't work at all. Even if Medivh's work to ensure no more Guardians are required wont it make sense for Med'an to be one rather than Thrall
- The New (New) Horde: If this is true then Blizz is taking Horde Lore into a direction that I do not approve at all. The reason I liked the Horde Orc were that they were a fallen warriors finding their way back to their honorable shamanistic ways. Garrosh taking the horde back to its 'ORC SMASH!!!' ways seems like a step back.
I am hoping that someone at Blizz released this as a red herring to keep everyone on their toes till Blizzcon
personally i love the idea of flying mounts in old world, lotsa places i have to see, hyjal is number one, seen part of it in gm power movies on youtube. on EK 5 new areas that do not glow when moused over, so what are they one is gilneas but the others? also i fucking new we (the horde) would get goblins thats sick i think, not as cool as ethereal i think but ok, specialy for engineers :)
personally i love the idea of flying mounts in the old world, lotsa places i have to see, hyjal is number one, seen part of it in gm power movies on youtube. on EK, 5 new areas that do not glow when moused over, so what are they one is gilneas but the others? also i fucking new we (the horde) would get goblins that's sick i think, not as cool as ethereal i think but OK, specially for engineers :)
I agree and disagree with re-upping on old dungeons and zones though. personally i say get rid of all the old dungeons like RFC - to uldaman, as cool as some of them were they just have no realistic way of fitting in the "old world" to low level, i say add new ones. and for thoughs new ppl that start, to bad if you missed it, shoulda started earlier IMHO. changing the zones as a whole can be good for the game, after all, given time all things change. i personally would like to see the trolls get their own city, especially if gnomes get their's back.
on the idea of new classes to old races, it could be cool. i want to see a BE druid :) but if it were done, i really think blizz will make it so all races can be all classes, at least thats what i think they should do. further more, blizz needs to take some time to equalize the classes.
for all the people that say this will be lame i agree with one thing, level cap. all ex-pacs so far have had +10 levels, i hate even the slightest idea of only 5 lvls. because i cant remember who said it but all the end game raiders will eventually give up on the game if there is to be a max lvl cap. i say go as far as you can blizz, go to lvl 3 fucking hundred if you have to. and for all you fucking retards that say "deleteaccount" i hope you get raped in front of you god damn family then snuffed the fuck out. because, it's because of YOU (prolly euro trash) that the game came out the way it did in the first place by fucking rushing through shit and bitching and complaining. just because your spoiled bitches does not mean blizz has to answer to you every whim. i hope you all get skinned with a fucking spoon, and roasted over a god damn fire, then left to rot.
anyway, i agree, this new POSSIBLE! ex-pac will be good if this is the way it comes out, but it wont be the best it will take allot to top LK.
super sorry for the long post, had allot to say
also sorry for double post :) lol
When they came out with TBC and WOTLK they added something to an already good game, but now, they are replacing a lot of the original game.
Personaly I think it will ruin the game ... Too many available and impossible combinations (tauren paly or dwarf shaman for example). Phasing will make it impossible to help leveling alts, non epic mounts will become obsolete, and mofifying the "old" continents will spoil the feel of the game.
It;s going to have a manga feel to it ... Cheap and chaotic ...
This will suck ...
To all the people who complained about dwarves getting the shammy class, read about the earthen please!
And undeads getting the hunter class is understandable *cough* sylvanas?
Im glad that they're making old raids like MC a high level raids, i never got to experience it until i was 80.
Imo they're destroying what defines the specific things in WoW.
Though it's still rumors (hopefully), it still scares me.
But at this rate...
Why not give all races all class options.
Why not give all classes all spells and abilities.
Why not make ALL original raids to endgame. (which they probably will later on...)
New races sure, i'm all that but i seriously don't wanna see a goblin in the Judgement set. ^^
(and i even overcome the horde-got-pallys and alliance-got-shaman issue)
re-doing azeroth and filling in new storyline and new zones and some new content, sure that works to but Nagas feel kinda déjà vu since tbc.
I'm not against new things happening but i think blizzard should make sure where they land their feets.
Ughh I knda dont like the new races but I like how TN might be flooded and org splitin half very smart
wow thats so bull the horde gets those stupid goblins and alliance get worgen? maybe ill reroll just to play them?
I can't think of what the barrens will look like after the expansion is released
i don't know about anyone else but i swam along the area where Gilneas is supposed to be (it doesn't exist at the moment)
some hnters have worgen as pets and worgen being a new aliance race is awkward
Well... first let me say that the thought of ANOTHER expansion fills me with dread. I've finally managed to level all my characters up from 60 to 70 to 80, and now i have to do it all over again... again?! Oh please no! >.< Leave us in peace for another 4 years at least please.
On the other hand, I am very glad that Blizz have rediscovered how lovely their old Kalimdor really is. I already expected and wanted Burning Crusade to update the old world, but I was sorely disappointed, and the same happened with WotLK. I love Azshara for its beautiful graphics, and I would really like to see it being promoted from a dead region to a playable one.
So to sum up - another expansion, OH GAWD NO!!! But I guess if we *have* to have one, then I am glad that Blizz will finally return back to it's lovely old continents and give them the facelift they need and deserve.