Project Lore

Cataclysm Countdown is a series of informed speculative articles concerning things we might see in the next expansion that I will be posting every day this week, leading right up to Blizzcon. In the interest of thought purity, I will do my best to steer clear of recent "leaked" material, relying upon it only where it logically connects with the existing lore. Nothing hereafter is official or has been confirmed/denied by Blizzard at the time of its writing.

Weekends are like life's natural cliffhangers. Once Friday evening rolls around, the entire news-media industry just sort of shuts down as we writers and journalists go off to frolic with our friends and loved ones (or level up a Paladin, in my case) for a couple of days. That is, unless you're an unfortunate weekend editor or something really, really big happens.

Well, something really, really big did happen this past Friday, but as it turns out, there was just nothing else to report after the big leak. We would've continued to keep you informed if there was anything to inform you about. Instead, people began to speculate and everything that entails (including the doubters, and some misguided young fellows who were looking for their 15 minutes of internet fame by claiming to have "hoaxed" the whole thing).

I must admit, I couldn't keep my mind off of Cataclysm, either. And, in the following few days, I'd like to share some of my own thoughts with the rest of you. So many things have gone through my head, but I keep coming back to the one thing that is near and dear to my heart: raiding. As much as a pure pain in the ass it can be at times, raid content represents the nexus of high lore and the most complex gameplay elements. It is the intersection between the legacy of WoW's biggest baddies and the narrative you've carved for yourself as a character, or as part of a guild.

That seems like a fine place to start, as we can use the existing lore as a touchstone to examine what villains we may be facing in the near future.



The Maelstrom, a giant storm raging in the center of Azeroth, conceals much of Azshara's empire.

Nazjatar - If there's one thing we can almost certainly count on seeing in the expansion, it's Azshara, former Highborne and Queen of the Naga for the past 10,000 years or so. Nazjatar is the seat of her power, currently built into a wall of The Rift, a deep ocean trench that runs under the Maelstrom. Some people have speculated that the catastrophic event associated with the expansion will cause Nazjatar to rise to the surface. Whether it erupts from the waves or remains at the bottom of the sea, I'm willing to bet that players are going to have to go there at some point.

And as acting home base for one of the chief expansion villains, they're probably going to have to raid it, as well. I personally imagine Nazjatar to be Icecrown-like in structure. It is unlikely that we'll have access to the stronghold from the get-go, but we will be able to explore and quest in the surrounding area. Nazjatar, and the area of The Rift would be sufficient enough, but it may also end up including nearby locales like the homeland of the Makrura and a huge ship graveyard called the Drowned Reaches (assuming they survive the destruction).

The Rift - The Rift, itself, is a scar cut deep into the ocean floor by the collapsing of the Well of Eternity thousands of years ago. Little is known about what is down there, but lava flows in the deepest of its reaches. It may also be home to an Old God (these guys really do love hiding within the planet's core, don't they?) who needs some slaying. This could end up being a single-boss raid, Malygos style, depending on whether or not an Old God ends up being the primary villain.

Zandalar - It wouldn't be an expansion without some new Troll content, now would it? Sure, they haven't gotten a raid in Wrath, but they did get a whole zone, and two 5-man dungeons, to themselves. The most underplayed race in the game is also, without coincidence, the coolest. It would be a shame if we didn't see any associated areas! Zandalar itself could play a pivotal role in the coming events. It was once attached to Kalimdor before being torn from the coast by the original Sundering (a.k.a. the collapsing of the Well of Eternity), and now exists just to the southeast of the Maelstrom. It's close to the action and mixes deliciously into the lore, which makes it prime territory for a raid.

But where and why? I say Zuldazar, the worldwide Troll capital, with King Rastakhan as the endboss. While we don't know a whole lot about the nature of the island, Zuldazar is reported to look like a mountain built out of smaller Ziggurats (think the tiered structure of Zul'Drak, but bigger, much taller, and all squished together). This towering structure makes for an imposing, and impressive raid zone. Non-Troll races face danger the moment they step on the island, but some new found threat (perhaps a Naga invasion) could force Rastakhan to seek outside help.

If rumors of the Goblin's home being destroyed by the cataclysm are true, it stands to reason that Zandalar would suffer a similar fate. So, whether outsiders are called to resolve a communal threat, or Rastakhan and company have been driven mad, I'm secretly hoping that Blizzard finds reason to stick some cool raid content here.

The gate to Grim Batol -- it could use a facelift.

Grim Batol - Grim Batol has been called home by several different factions over the years. First, it was the Wildhammer Dwarves, and then the Dragonmaw Clan of Orcs. Currently, members of the Red Dragonflight (kin to Alexstrasza, who has played a key role in the events of Wrath) guard the entrance, but there is no way in. The Warcraft novel Night of the Dragon indicates that Deathwing, the Black Dragon Aspect, currently resides within. As another potential primary villain in Cataclysm (as well as another major power driven nuts by the Old Gods), a raid on Grim Batol is an almost certain possibility. His attempts to perfect the destructive twilight dragons ensure that we'll be seeing plenty of them inside the dungeon (and the world at large).

CoT: War of the Ancients - Azshara and Deathwing were both key players in the War of the Ancients. Just like they did to remind us of Arthas' past in Wrath of the Lich King, I fully expect Blizzard to give us some insight into where these villains are coming from. In order to do that, we may have access to a new, Hyjal-style Caverns of Time raid that puts us right into the heart of this weathered conflict. At what point? I don't know. But in a "history repeating itself" moment, I bet we get to witness the original Sundering.

Blackrock Mountain - But there's already a raid here, right? The venerable Molten Core! One rumor pointed out that Blackrock Mountain would explode to reveal a new caldera. There isn't much to back this up just yet, but it stands to reason that a cataclysm would involve shifting around the tectonic plates and screwing with the chewy, magma-filled core of the planet. If so, it stands to reason that a gigantic volcano like Blackrock would blow its top. It's unclear what this may or may not do to the existing dungeons/raid content, but I'm sort of hoping for the return of Ragnaros.

Blackrock Mountain -- at least as it looks right now.

Allow me to go into fanboy mode for a moment. I'd love to see this massive version of Ragnaros erupting from the center of the destroyed Blackrock Mountain, hurling fireballs into the countryside and causing massive destruction. Imagine entering the instance, in this case, an outside one placed around the edge of the caldera, facing mini-bosses while trying to avoid the wrath of the Elemental Lord by ducking into small caves and alcoves. I can just see him taunting the raid with threats and insults as you travel around the spiral, eventually arriving at his "feet." I'm imagining an experience much like Coldarra in Borean Tundra, only replace the magic spire and rings with the towering inferno that is Ragnaros.

None of us truly knows what to expect from Cataclysm at this point, but understanding the lore likely to be associated with it provides us with the framework for basic raid content as shown above. Every location, every character, relates back to the core event of the War of the Ancients and the Sundering. As things seem about to repeat themselves, it only stands to reason that they will come to the forefront once again. But that doesn't preclude Blizzard from inventing entirely new villains or raids to supplement the existing lore.

So, trusty readers, what do you think of my predictions? Knowing what we know, are there any other major zones or characters that you think will show up in the expansion's raid content? What about Uldum (I suspect it to be a 5-man instance) or modern-day Hyjal (what might be a standard, but nonetheless important, area)? There might even be repurposed content from old raids.

Tell us what you're looking forward to raiding beyond Wrath!