Project Lore

And when I say "Project Lore," I really mean "myself." I don't want to speak for the rest of my fellow bloggers, but I made a great number of predictions in my series of Cataclysm Countdown articles, leading up to the events this weekend. While I still maintain that most of them were logical considering what we knew at the time, Blizzard threw a major curveball that negated many of my initial preconceptions. Lore Malfurion Stormrage, Lord of the Druids A lot of people predicted that Queen Azshara would be the big baddie, the number one villain, of Cataclysm. But she was rarely referenced in any of the panels, and was all but missing from the expansion's reveal. At first, I believed that she might be brought into the story as Cataclysm rolls along. Maybe you'd defeat Deathwing after the first patch or something, and then Azshara would rise from the depths, ready to challenge players in the wake of the Black Dragon Aspect's demise. But through all of the live feed interviews and panel Q&As, it's been brought to light that they have no plans at all for Azshara or the Maelstrom to be included in this expansion. The best we can hope for, it seems, are a few related story elements revealed in the Vashj'ir zone. Other lore elements, such as Thrall becoming the next Guardian of Tirisfal or Cairne Bloodhoof being framed for betrayal, were completely side-stepped. I'm not sure anybody even bothered to ask during the Q&A sessions. However, a few revealed plot details do cooberate these ideas. Malfurion, who is supposed to be key in turning Thrall into the next Guardian, has indeed returned from the Emerald Dream to defend the World Tree from Ragnaros, and it was also mentioned that Garrosh is the one behind the changes to Orgrimmar (Dark Iron reinforcements) and the creation of a new Horde base near Darkshore. They stopped short of calling him the new Warchief , but clearly, he is privy to some power and influence that he didn't have before. Azeroth Remade Oh yes, the old Azeroth is gone, but not quite in the way we expected it to be. Once again, the supposed inclusion of Azshara implied something happening with the Maelstrom, and a water-related apocalypse. We've yet to see how Deathwing's explosion into the world has affected every zone (my guess is that Blizzard has shown those that are farther along like The Barrens and Darkshore), but we do know that lava, fire, and large gutters literally burned into the earth feature far more prominently than any sort of flooding. And in places where water has affected the environment (Desolace), it seems more like a positive change. Likewise, if the world map used to display the new zones is any indication, we will not be seeing any large, sweeping changes to the coastline. In some places, there may be light flooding, or new estuaries formed as the ocean fills in ancient rivers, but we have not seen anything on the scale of Swamp of Sorrows being completely washed away or Durotar being destroyed. Then again, there is still plenty of time for things to change, and as development progresses, we may still see several classic zones undergo similarly drastic transformations. New Zones I sincerely thought that we'd see a lot of the South Seas and the Maelstrom open up with the expansion, but with Azshara being nixed, that no longer seems to be the case. The two zones which represent the area, The Lost Isles and Vashj'ir, are both completely new, previously unrevealed in the lore. It is reported that Kezan will make a brief appearance (I'm guessing in the 1-5 level Goblin content, before they are forced to flee), but that's about it. Instead, we received a rather large surprise. To supplement the opening of previously closed mainland zones like Uldum and the area near Grim Batol (now the Twlight Highlands), we're also getting access to the Elemental Planes. These were long supposed to comprise an expansion all their own, and while it's slightly disappointing that we'll only be able to see small parts of them (aside from Deepholm, which we'll get to see all of), they are an exciting and interesting addition. My biggest disappointment? Probably the distinct lack of anything related to Trolls! I suppose there's always a chance that Zandalar could show up in a content patch somewhere down the road. Kul Tiras was missing, too. Mention of the Alliance nation was nowhere to be seen, but the prison in the new PvP/daily zone Tol Barad was reportedly built by then. That's something, I guess. Raids The first article in my Cataclysm Countdown series dealt with potential raid content. I proposed six different raid zones: Nazjatar, The Rift, Zandalar, Grim Batol, CoT: War of the Ancients, and Blackrock Mountain. Without the Maelstrom, those first two are completely out. Zandalar, as I've already said, I lament the exclusion of. And the War of the Ancients is no longer as integral to the expansion's story as it would've been (though Deathwing still played his part). That leaves Grim Batol and Blackrock Mountain (specifically, Blackwing Descent). I suppose one-third of my predictions isn't too bad in the grand scheme of thing, and I nailed two of the four raids. Right? Right? Blackwing Descent 2D Concept I'm also glad that we got to hear some details about Icecrown Citadel, something I was afraid might get completely overshadowed by the expansion announcement. PvP Now I was way, way off here. I anticipated all sorts of new PvP options to be implemented with the expansion, but it seems that Blizzard is largely content to stick to their roots. We get a new Wintergrasp-style area (Tol Barad, complete with Vault of Archavon-style raid instance) and the promise of three new Battlegrounds. The first of which will be the Battle for Gilneas, a fight for control of the capital city's various districts. Though I cited Hillsbrad as the primary area of contention, it's nice to know that I wasn't completely off when I said that the Forsaken would be causing havoc in the area. The only other revelations we saw at the convention were the promise of new arena maps and ranked Battlegrounds. I suppose this is something we'll be hearing a lot more about down the road. The Right of Wrong My final article laid out several rumors to be wary of going into BlizzCon, and I think I scored on every one of those. The oft-cited list of expansion zone sets was completely disproved. Just like my own predictions, it's easy to assume what zones might be included when you think you know what the next expansion is about. Both "The List" and I considered the whole of the South Seas fair game, but that was when we all thought Cataclysm was simply code for the Maelstrom. Then there was Cataclysm's release date. As expected, no specific date was given, but it was made clear that StarCraft 2 was their first priority for 2010. Nonetheless, while Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime tried his best to side-step saying anything definitive, he couldn't deny that they were, indeed, targeting two releases for next year. Finally, we got confirmation on the status of the old Azeroth. It's gone. For good. Finito. You'll never be able to go back and, no, the new version of the world won't simply be phased over it. There is one, single Azeroth. But phasing will still be used extensively. Perhaps even more exciting is that Blizz has figured out how to phase terrain, something previously said to be a limitation. This means that phasing can make the play experience even more dynamic. I questioned the Globes of Ulduar and came away with a win. The artwork included in both the Ulduar raid instance and Halls of Lightning displayed a freshly sundered Azeroth, in several stages. Many of the zones have changed, but we have seen no evidence of any of them completely disappearing or being underwater. There was an awful lot of denial going around before the reveal. A lot of people read the spoilers and said that most of it couldn't be done. That Azeroth wouldn't change so drastically. That the new race/combinations were impossible because they didn't jive with the lore. Well, most of it ended up being true, proving that the developers are the true masters of their lore. But that doesn't make them appreciate their watchdog fans any less. Chris Metzen stated, in one of the live feed interviews, that there is so much lore to consider, that during heavy and rapid development, it is quite possible for them to miss inconsistencies, and that the fans do a lot to keep them in check. So that's it for BlizzCon 2009. We (I) got a few things right, and a lot of things wrong. I'm willing to admit it! In the end, I'm glad we couldn't predict everything, as that would've taken the punch out of many of the surprises they had in store. But I still hope that we end up seeing all the things I touched on somewhere down the line. For now, it seems like Blizzard has their hands full implementing all of the content they revealed over the past few days! As usual, keep your eyes on Project Lore. After all, the more you know, the more questions you have. And the more questions you have, the more they consume your mind. We are in for another good year of speculation!

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We're back for the Preview Panel! Amatera will be hosting. 12:32: The panelists are being introduced. A huge portrait of Deathwing was on the screen. 12:34: Talk of how they approached Lich King, with Arthas confronting you throughout the expansion. 12:35: Deathwing was originally supposed to be the protector of the earth. Metzen is mostly talking about his background right now, much of which can be perused by going to Deathwing's WoWWiki entry. 12:38: "[Deathwing's] a nutcase." The corrupting power of the Old Gods has gotten worse, so he's essentially more insane than before. Deathwing has awoken from the earthen elemental plane, Deephome, and his "explosion" into the world is what causes the cataclysm. All manner of destructive forces have reshaped Azeroth. No corner has been left untouched (except, Metzen jokes, Westfall). 12:40: Deathwing's emergence has also "brought up" the other elemental planes. We will be visiting them. 12:41: Concept art is being shown on the screen. Now onto Worgen. 12:42: They wanted to have a more "monstrous" race for the Alliance (much like they wanted the Horde to have a "prettier" race with the Blood Elves). 12:43: The "Worgen Curse" afflicted Gilneas much like the Scourge did the rest of the world. 12:44: The question: "Are the Worgen from somewhere else or somewhen else?" They're kind of like the "Wolverine of the Alliance" in terms of personality and fighting strength. 12:45: On the show floor, you'll start at Level 6 for the Worgen and Goblins, so that they can preserve the surprises found in the Level 1-5 content of the starting zones. 12:46: On to Goblins. The ones you play as (the ones that are part of the Horde), are only a certain faction of the race. Their starting area is the Lost Isles, off the coast of Kalimdor, between Azshara and Durotar. There will be Wrathgate-style cinematics for both the Goblins and Worgen. 12:47: The specific faction of Goblins: Bilgewater Cartel. 12:49: Dark days ahead. Horde likely impacted more than Alliance, will need "comic relief" (aka little green guys). The Goblin mount is a sweet-looking race car. 12:50: Portrait of Thrall and Cairne rescuing Horde babies after the upheaval. Metzen says there are tsunamis, tidal waves, volcanic trenches, neverending storms, etc. 12:51: Arthas' will "get what's coming to him," but it leaves both the Alliance and Horde drained, which causes extra stress during the events of the Cataclysm. 12:52: After allowing the Alliance and Horde to work together during Burning Crusade, they decided they wanted to bring the element of war back into the universe. Wrath was all about ramping that up. Orgrimmar NOT shown as destroyed, but as being reinforced by dark iron. Onto the new features. 12:54: Level 85 is the confirmed cap. A lot of effort went into redoing 1-60 zones, but they also wanted to bring in more end-game content than ever before. 12:54: Worgen will have "Dark Flight," sort of like a Sprint ability. They show a Worgen dressed in battle armor (in-game), looks badass. Worgens won't be Paladins or Priests. All other classes open currently. 12:55: Goblins will have "Rocket Belts." These can be offensive, but also defensive. You can "disengage" from battle by rocketing forward, sort of like Blink. Most of these things will be detailed in the Class Panel. 12:58: 7 NEW zones, in addition to reworked content. Hyjal. Uldum. Lost Isles. Gilneas. Vashj'ir (new underwater sunken city). Twilight Highlands (around Grim Batol). Deepholm, the Elemental Plane of Earth. Updated quests, art, and items for classic world. 1:00: Guild Advancement System - level up your guild for new perks. Will be more detailed in the Game System Panel. There will be 20 Guild levels. Advanced by doing all the usual stuff (battlegrounds, raids, dailies, etc.). There will be a guild talent tree, which will give access to things like mass resurrection, less durability loss after raids, and reduced or free repairs. 1:01: New class/race combos. Just to spite everyone, they show Tauren Paladins first (Holy Cow!). Gnome Priest. Dwarf Shaman (shown in some magma-looking armor). Now phased terrain. 1:03: The world will be able to change as you play through quest lines. Shows a coastline flooded in three distinct phases. 1:05: Archaeology. You can scout ruins for artifacts and study them. Then you take them to different factions that can help you advance along the "Path of the Titans." 1:06: You'll get 5 new talent points, but the trees will not expand (this does not mean we won't get new talents, they just won't go past the current range). Path of the Titans makes up for that. There are multiple paths, but they are not restricted to class. There will be new abilities and passive bonuses in each path. 1:06: The Mastery System will streamline the existing talent tree. They will preserve more "fun" talents, while taking basic power boosts out. Many new dungeons, creatures, quests, items, and so on. Now more detail on those parts of the game. 1:07: Each and every zone in classic Azeroth will be affected, though some clearly more than others. Five of the new zones will help you level from 78-85. The two starting zones will actually go from 1-15. Also, flight everywhere. No silly restrictions this time around. 1:10: Multiple scales of change (i.e. Elwynn might get new quests and whatnot, but Barrens will be sundered in two). New leveling paths. Examples are shown. Hillsbrad 20-25, Arathi 25-30, Hinterlands 30-35, Western Plagueland 35-40, etc. These changes are two sweeping to note right now, but Southshore is gone from Hillsbrad! 1:12: We are now looking at The Barrens. There is a gigantic, lava-filled scar down the middle. Parts of The Barrens are now regrown via the Wailing Caverns. Desolace has cracked open, bringing in water flows, which actually revitalizes nature in that area, as well. 1:14: Auberdeen in Darkshore is destroyed, the people move north to a new camp. There is a new Horde encampment on the strand near Blackfathom Deep. Stonetalon looks crazy. The Charred Vale now has lava floes running all over it. Azshara is the new Goblin 10-20 zone. The Goblins have turned the mountains into a quarry. 1:15: Undercity features new art above ground, and Stormwind as well, so they you can fly over them. Now onto the new zones. 1:15: Vashj'ir and Hyjal will be the first leveling zones and they will both flow into Deepholm. Then to Uldum, and finally Twilight Highlands. 1:17: Vashj'ir, as the name might imply, is the homeland of Lady Vashj. There will be a gateway to the Water Elemental Plane of Abyssal Maw here. 2 dungons within it. There will combat underwater, but it will feel just like doing it on land. 1:18: There will be underwater mounts, many will be normal flying mount speed. Concept art of Vashj'ir. The zone will be colorful, featuring coral reefs, kelp, Naha architecture, the usual underwater stuff. 1:20: The entrance to Deepholm will be where Deathwing exploded back into the world. The Temple of Earth will be a key area in Deepholm. You'll see the Twilight Hammer faction everywhere, since they're servants to Deathwing. Deepholm will be the biggest zone in Cataclysm. It's an interior zone, but the cave is huge, and you will be able to fly around inside of it. Deepholm will be the central hub area, and it will have portals to most of the other new zones. Deepholm looks, well... underground. There is a large crack in the ceiling, which is presumably the entrance. 1:23: Uldum will have two dungeon areas. There's a huge river running through it, with temples created by the Titans. A Titan machine has kept an illusion over the area, but the Cataclysm destroyed it, revealing the existence of the new zone. Brann Bronzebeard will, undoubtedly, be found here. Rumor is there is a super-weapon here that will figure into the quest lines. Everyone is after it. New creature race, the Tol'vir (stone, cat-like people). They were also created by the Titans. 1:24: Of course, Uldum will be part of the larger Titan storyline. Uldum looks like an ancient version of Egypt. Very desert-like, but with lush oasis-like areas. The temples looks somewhat like pyramids. 1:26: Hey, how about Hyjal? Ragnaros (!) has opened a portal from the plane of fire here and is actively assaulting the land. Cenarius and Malfurion (!) come back from the Emerald Dream to defend Hyjal and the World Tree from Ragnaros. The conflict will be key to the storyline here. Concept art shows Hyjal on fire in areas, and it is up to the players to stop it. Darkwhisper Gorge will be useful for more than just mining now. 1:28: Grim Batol is torn in half by Deathwing's power. This is currently where he resides and it is also the HQ for the Twilight's Hammer. There will be new port towns for both the Horde and Alliance in the Twilight Highlands. The Red Dragonflight will be here, but they need your help. A new Dragonflight, the Twilight Dragonflight will be introduced. This zone still needs the most work. Let's not forget about the dungeons in the Abyssal Maw, either. 1:32: The Firelands - new raid, focused on Ragnaros. Two level-up dungeons in Uldum, The Lost City of the Tol'Vir and The Halls of Origination. Blackrock Caverns, new level-up dungeon in Blackrock Spire. It is completely new, it is NOT a revamp of one of the existing dungeons in the area. Grim Batol will have a level-up dungeon and a raid. Skywall will also be a raid and a dungeon (the air elemental plane). Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep will be Level 85 Heroic dungeons. The dungeons will looks similar, but there will be new fights, new items, and so on. 1:34: They are finishing up with a PvP details now. Tol Barad is a new PvP zone, it is off the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms. There used to be a prison on the island and both the Horde and Alliance want control of it. It will be similar to Wintergrasp, but when there is no fight, it will be more similar to the Isle of Quel'Danas. Control will open up new rewards and dailies for the side that wins. There will be three new Battlegrounds throughout the expansion. The Battle of Gilneas is the first, and seems to take place in the main Gilnean city. There will be new arena maps. People who like to PvP, but hate Arena, will now be able to be rated by playing in Battlegrounds instead. 1:36 And like that, the panel is over. No time for Q&A. Open Q&A tomorrow, as well as PvP details during the Game Systems panel. Thanks for tuning in!

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It's only an hour away! Stay tuned to this space for all the details! 10:48: Heartbourne: The live stream was up for a few minutes talking about the Warcraft III coverage, then they cut to a "behind the scenes" something or another. That camera crashed, and they cut back to the WC3 people, who didn't know they were on and muttered something about "is this the reveal for the new game" before getting cut off. Hmm... 10:59: Heartbourne: Live stream is up! Stay tuned! 11:06: Heartbourne: About 25 minutes to the opening ceremonies. Lots of commentary on speculation and the recent WoW leaks. 11:10: Heartbourne: Lots of behind the scenes stuff. Awesome displays of some of their setups that monitor their servers. Hilarious story of the WoW launch and how a tornado hit one of their data centers and they went down there to dry them with hairdryers. One of the devs said he had to get back because he has a "Wrath of the Lich King expansion to ship", so either this is very old or there really is a new expansion. 11:13: Heartbourne: More commentary on the WoW 3v3 tournament. I'm calling SKgaming as the champions. I'm most excited about the WC3 tournament; lots of big names here. I'm cheering for Grubby. No Undead players in the WC3 tournament, only 1 human player. Lyn is the returning champion. 11:21: Heartbourne: Wow.com says that there are two WoW signs draped in a black cloth. Ceremony in about 15 minutes. 11:31: Amatera: Alright, I'm taking over for now. We're on the main stage, awaiting the ceremony to begin. 11:32: Amatera: Gary Platner is detailing the top Blizzcon pet peeves, including people wanting to fight you in real life for not being Horde. 11:34: Amatera: Platner's leaving. CEO Mike Morhaime is taking the stage, ready to wow us with some awesome! 11:35: Amatera: Morhaime: "Everyone's waiting for something 'cataclysmic' to happen!" 11:38: Amatera: On speed of BlizzCon ticket sales: "That's faster than a Ret Paladin can post on the forums after a nerf." Ouch! 11:40: Amatera: Morhaime muses about the launch of Wrath. Now we're being taken back to some of those moments last year, as well as some from the midnight launch of the expansion, itself. 11:44 : Amatera: A mention of phasing technology, equip manager, dual specs.... expansion announcement certainly incoming. 11:45: Amatera: "Looking forward..." "The first encounter with [Onyxia] was merely a setback." Next year, SC2 will ship with the new Battle.net interface. Details on that at the Battle.net panel. 11:46: Amatera: "Does the name Sam Raimi mean anything to you?" WoW Movie talk now. They met Raimi at last year's BlizzCon and learned of his love for the game. Bruce Campbell will not be playing Leeroy Jenkins (but according to Morhaime "it's not a bad idea"). 11:48: Amatera: Even Warcraft 2 will be playable on the show floor! E-sports talk now. We'll likely get an expansion trailer at the end of the ceremony that will segue right into the Preview Panel. 11:50: Amatera: Noob figures in the goody bags are 100% exclusive, never to be reproduced. "Could be sold on eBay for the amount of a small car." Oh, Morhaime. You're a funny guy! 11:51: Amatera: Level 80 ETC will once again be playing the show. And, of course, they couldn't get away without a mention of Ozzy Osbourne. 11:52: Amatera: Showing some fan appreciation. "Give yourselves a /cheer, like you mean it!" Chris Metzen taking the stage. Announcement certainly incoming! 11:55: Amatera: "Where's the Alliance?" "Where's the Horde?" Horde totally got the bigger pop! 11:58: Amatera: Hold your horses! If you haven't heard it yet, the Monk is the new Diablo 3 class. Trailer for that playing now. 11:59: Amatera: The Monk looks like a sweet class. He fights with a staff. Looks to be modeled roughly on Shaolin monks. 12:01: Amatera: That was a cinematic. Now a gameplay trailer for the Monk. He has a reflective shield it looks like, and he can make enemies explode from the inside. Specifics coming later. 12:05: Amatera: Gameplay trailer for WoW coming up! "It's a doozy!" Preview Panel at 12:30, which Project Lore will be covering that, too. 12:05: Amatera: WoW: Cataclysm is official. Metzen's words claim all to be true. 12:07: Amatera: HUGE scars down multiple zones, filled with magma. Zone terrain upturned. Life returns to The Barrens. Ashenvale has had many of its resources taken. Goblins are shown, and they are indeed joining the Horde. 12:10: Amatera: Gilneas now. The Forsaken apparently are attacking Gilneas. The Night Elves bring them into the Alliance. New classes confirmed. Sketches of new monsters shown. Some dungeon/raid areas are shown, but they aren't named. 85 Level Cap. New Profession: Archaeology. New Heroic instances: Deadmines and SFK. Guild leveling and achievement system. Flying mounts in Azeroth. New character progression: Path of the Titans. Deathwing returns. Oddly enough... no mention of Azshara or flooding. 12:13: Looks like most of the leaked information is true, though a few things were curiously missing. The Maelstrom was touched on briefly, but magma, not water, seemed to be the focus of the trailer. And though Deathwing was mentioned, little was said of Azshara. Rest assured, the changes made to the existing zones look extensive. That's it for the Opening Ceremony, though. Check the Project Lore main page for WoW Preview Panel coverage. Thanks for tuning in!

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Even Hoover (And His Library) Is Worried Saying there has been a bit of speculation surrounding the next World of Warcraft expansion would be an understatement.  For months now players have been looking ahead even though we aren't even on the second content patch (of four).  Blizzard added fuel to the speculation fire when it was noticed that the company is trying to trademark the term "Cataclysm" for use in games and products.  The early July news sealed the deal for many players; BlizzCon 2009 will usher in the MMORPG's third expansion. What if that doesn't happen?  What if Blizzard jut sits on the company's figurative hands in 2009 instead of following up the Diablo III announcement?  Why bust in on Arthas' reign?  After all, he is the most popular villain in all of Warcraft.  What if the announcement turns out to be the in-the-works, hush-hush, this-isn't-the-MMORPG-you're-looking-for title we know they are working on?  What if, heaven forbid, no game is announced?  After all, they are already working on four games (and the expansion), two of which should be out "soon," Diablo III & StarCraft II.  Shouldn't they focus the marketing on those titles that are first in the schedule? Let's assume that Cataclysm isn't announced, or that it doesn't pertain to WoW.  What would that mean for our favorite MMORPG? Should things go down that way, I believe it could upset the disenfranchised players.  Judging by conversations with friends, guildmates and the comments here at PL, there appears to be many players at different stages of quitting.  Many are just enjoying the Summer, others are taking a break between patches, and some see Call of the Crusade as a lore-less filler patch with nothing for them.  If BlizzCon disappoints then these members may be "taking a break" a bit longer than the developers would like.  Should things go down that way we may see the subscription numbers drop for the first time.  Perhaps even below 5 million (China's 6 million are barred from WoW still)!  Unlikely, but scary. That's just one possible scenario.  To all the speculators out there I pose you this, what if...?

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