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. It's coming down to the wire, folks. I've done the research, I've looked at the maps, I've made liberal use of WoWWiki. I've wrenched every bit of related lore out of my head that I possibly can without completely ruining Heartbourne's Proverb series! At this point, barring an eleventh-hour spillage of the beans, there just isn't a whole lot left to talk about. Speculation involving specifics of gear, skills, quest lines, professions, or anything else that can be easily slotted into a spreadsheet is completely off the table. There's just nowhere I can really go without more details. I call it... the Failstrom! Instead, I will shift my focus and give you some 100% pure, unbridled, Amatera-brand speculation about... your speculation. Or, rather, what people are buzzing about all over the WoWified regions of the internet. And just how completely wrong they are. Let's face it, when everything you "know" is simply what you've made up in your own head, then sometimes it's just better to keep your mouth shut. I think it was Peter Parker's Uncle Ben that said, "Add two cups of water and bring to a boil." Wise words, old man. Wise words, indeed. Regardless, below are several common things you need to be aware of as we enter the final countdown. Excuse me while I play this kickin' guitar solo... Item 1: "The List" -- You've probably seen it floating around the 'net over the past couple of years. It's a breakdown of zone "sets" reportedly used as a guideline for future expansions. According to the legend, it was first implemented by Blizzard internally, but only surfaced on the interwebs several years later (conveniently after Wrath had already been revealed). There is no legitimate record of this list anywhere before 2007, but since it's out in the wild now, its real test of validity will start with Cataclysm. Here's what it predicts for the next expansion: Gilneas - 77 to 80 Grim Batol - 78 to 81 Kul Tiras - 79 to 82 Kezan - 81 to 86 Tel Abim - 83 to 85 Zandalar - 84 to 87 Plunder Isle - 86 to 88 The Broken Isles - 87 to 90 The Maelstrom - 89 to 90 Rumors are rumors, but this doesn't totally jive with what we've been hearing lately, especially in terms of the level cap. Then again, if something like this was ever used within Blizzard in the beginning, I would expect it to diverge farther and farther from what is listed here as time goes on. But in all likelihood, the list is a farce. It's not terribly hard to put together. A good eye for details and a keen sense of prediction are all you truly need to do so. Lore nerds are pretty good about remembering which story threads have been left hanging, and by browsing through some of the extended-universe stuff found in the novels, as well as the books used to flesh out the table-top RPG, you can make a cursory list of interesting zones and places to visit in no time flat. Look closely at the set of zones above, and then cross-reference that with my speculative post about zones from two days ago. I'm not sure that Plunder Isle and Tel Abim are big enough to support players through two levels of experience. Now, there's a good chance we'll see several of these areas in the actual expansion, but really all this list represents is good guesswork. It's not from Blizzard, and never has been, so when somebody brings it up as a point of proof, don't take it as gospel. Item 2: Cataclysm's Release Date -- If anybody tells you that they know the expansion's release date, simply don't listen to them. I've heard everything from the end of this year to December 2012 (the appropriately apocalyptic end of the Mayan calendar). Addressing the former, I was honestly shocked there were people out there who expected Blizzard to pump out content faster than I did! In reality, there are several factors at play that make it impossible to pin down when Cataclysm might actually come out. First, how long will it take to wrap up Wrath of the Lich King? The Crusader's Coliseum is only halfway released. We can look forward to the revamped Onyxia fight in around a month (no, we won't have to wait 'til November; an encounter like that isn't going to sit on the PTR for over three months) or so. So unless Blizzard throws us a curve ball beforehand, we're likely to see Icecrown Citadel before the end of the year. Some people seem to think that won't be enough to hold players off until the expansion, though. My own prediction puts Cataclysm late next Spring or early next Summer, but it's become tradition to insert some sort of transitional event between expansions. Vanilla got the original version of Naxxramas and Burning Crusade got Sunwell. I'm having trouble wracking my brain for what we could see after Arthas, but perhaps the answer is simpler. Icecrown Citadel is rumored to be quite big, and I don't think it would be too far out there to assume that it may be released over two patches, with the Lich King sealing off his inner sanctum to delay players even further. Second, we have to consider Blizzard's own intentions. On one hand, they've expressed interest in releasing content, and expansions, at a faster pace. On the other, they're Blizzard. They've always taken the time necessary to polish their work until they're satisfied enough to put it out on the market. In that sense, I think it really depends on how far along they already are with Cataclysm. After pouring so much work into Wrath, it's hard to believe that they've already gotten the bulk of the next expansion done. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. With at least one major raid dungeon, and associated content, to go, don't expect to see it this year. And be wary of anyone who claims they know what the release date will be or throws a tantrum and says that the game is going to lose a significant portion of the playerbase if it doesn't come soon. Item 3: The New Azeroth Will Be Completely Phased -- I was naive. I admit it. Not too long ago, I proposed phasing the entirety of Azeroth to introduce new content to the old world. But unless the technology has significantly improved, that's no longer a possibility. You see, this was before we knew that the geography itself would change. Currently, phasing can only modify objects or widgets that are laid over the base terrain, which would rule out any tweaks to the shape of the land. Some people have wondered how they would be able to play with their low-level friends or what might happen to those few remaining chumps who only own the original game. Well, no worries. There will be phasing involved in certain quest lines or events, but the old world will be gone. Completely. You'll be able to interact with your lowbie buds in a brand-spankin'-new Azeroth. And for those unwilling to make the upgrade? Well, if they haven't been keeping up with the expansions, there's a good chance they haven't really been playing anyway. Item 4: The Globes of Ulduar -- These are interesting finds, indeed. If you go into Halls of Lightning or the Ulduar raid instance, you might stumble across some animated globes that show a distinctly different version of Azeroth. A big chunk of central Kalimdor is simply... gone. And several other areas have had their coastlines shorn. Some have speculated that these are visions of a future catastrophe, while others believe they merely show an ancient Azeroth under construction by the Ancients. The problem is that, until the Sundering, Azeroth was one giant landmass, Pangaea-style. These globes clearly show the continents separated, so whatever they depict, it happens after the collapsing of the Well of Eternity. But that's not why you should be wary, anyway. The fact of the matter is that these were likely Easter eggs put in by Blizzard during Wrath's development, and the level of destruction shown on the face of each globe is somewhat different. Despite the wonderful map overlays created by the community, they don't always match up with the details found in the text-based spoilers, either. These globes provide us with a hint of the future, but they are unlikely to be definitive representations of the Azeroth soon to be revealed. Item 5: It's Impossible To Do [Blank] -- There's been an awful lot of belly-aching in the community lately (and honestly, when isn't there?). People complaining about the new class combinations, or that Blizzard's seriously messing up the lore. It's hard to surf the official forums or comments section on any WoW-related blog without seeing people spreading the doom-and-gloom, warning Blizzard that they're about to alienate all their players by doing something they deem impossible. But the Warcraft universe is moving forward. Things must change, and Blizzard is well within their power to do so. All bets are off where Cataclysm is concerned. The world is reshaped, its people are forced into situations and alliances that they never have been before. Those who are friends will share their knowledge and skills, while those who are enemies will escalate their rage to new levels. Beyond that, some changes must be made to comply with new innovations in gameplay. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply kidding themselves. So, equipped with the knowledge I've given you, you should be going into the announcement tomorrow with a better understanding of what to expect. Writing these speculative columns has been more challenge than you might think. It entails more than just pulling stuff out of your ass. Research and taking the time out to really reconsider what you're typing isn't easy. And, no doubt, some of it is going to be completely wrong. But I do hope that, in the end, I've been steering this ship in the right direction. So stay tuned to Project Lore over the weekend for extensive coverage of BlizzCon and just about all the Cataclysm goodies you can handle! Have you enjoyed these articles over the past week? What can I do to improve them in the future? In addition to hearing the remainder of your thoughts on the upcoming expansion (or how horribly misguided I've been), please give me your opinions or suggestions, as well.

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Azeroth is quickly becoming the plastic surgery capital of the virtual universe! You can modify your character's name, face, hairstyle, even gender. And soon, you can even completely change which race you play, too! According to a post from Blue Nethaera, Blizzard has finally heeded the call of players who wish to carouse with friends of the opposite faction:

We wanted to give everyone a very early heads-up that, in response to player requests, we’re developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance. There’s still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and we’re pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it. As with all of the features and services we offer, we intend to incorporate the faction-change service in a way that won’t disrupt the gameplay experience on the realms, and there will be some rules involved with when and how the service can be used. The number of variables involved increases the complexity of implementing this service, but we plan to take the time needed to ensure that it lives up to expectations before officially rolling it out. We’ll go into much more detail on all of this here at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as development progresses. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that because this type of functionality requires extensive internal testing well in advance of release, you may be seeing bits and pieces of the service in the test builds we use for the public test realms moving forward.

This represents the company's boldest step yet in allowing character customization. Blizzard's not kidding when they say that there are a lot of variables to consider when switching one's race, and it goes beyond simple cosmetics. You have to take into account such things as potential shifts in server population. Alliance races, on the whole, are played far more than their Horde equivalents, and on my server it's more than 2-to-1 in their favor. There are already too few people worth playing with, without having to worry about more turning coat and joining the other side. FOR THE... Alliance? And then there are issues such as race-specific abilities and stat changes that will no doubt occur if you go through with the procedure. While the overall impact might be small (a several-point decrease in Stamina, for instance), it's still something worth thinking about before you make the jump. And what about quests, reputation, or faction-based achievements? Will you have to start from scratch, aside from the gear and items you've already accumulated? According to Nethaera's post, we may or may not see parts of the new service appear on the PTR, but it seems highly unlikely that it will be implemented in the forthcoming content patch. Nonetheless, if you've ever wanted to hide from people in-game, it won't be very long before someone could potentially erase their footprint from any given server, changing virtually every notable aspect of their character in the process. Interesting prospect for a fictional world, huh? What do you think, readers? Are you up for this change? Itching to level up with some of your cross-faction friends or simply looking for a different experience altogether? What lasting impact might this have on the underdog Horde? How much would you pay for the ability to wholly modify your race or faction?

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The moment of truth is about to arrive. As many of you noticed the second part of the patch has already began hitting our hard drives, and it's widely believed that Tuesday marks the release of 3.0.2. I am incredibly excited, but at the same time I am bracing myself for a bit of an awkward phase, and a somewhat rough transition. Things are about to change, and change a lot. I was not lucky enough to get a beta key, so in order to prepare I have been forced to spend my days reading blogs, websites, and patch notes to figure out what they are doing to my class. It seems like most classes have some pretty major changes coming, but some are bigger than others. Of course where I have been paying the most attention is my Paladin. To state things simply, they changed everything. From what I can tell, they changed the basic mechanics of the way the class operates. Our seal-judge-reseal way of life is gone. Now we have persistent seals and judgments that are not tied to the active seal. Not only that, but we have an entire new list of spells that seem to replace a big part of my tanking threat rotation. Seeing all this will be incredibly fun, but I can't help but feel I will be starting at square one. I will have to relearn how to play my class entirely. I admit that I get in a bit of a rut pulling with avengers shield, doing my standard judgments, and spamming holy shield. Now I have spells like Shield of Righteousness, Seal of the Martyr, and a whole mess of "hand" spells that will all find a good home on my hot bar. It is going to take some time to figure out my new seal and judgment rotation. We no longer have one Judgment, but three. While sealing and judging won't take up as much of my time, I feel it will still be important to manage seals and the debuffs we are placing on mobs very carefully. I imagine my rotation before and after the patch won't look anything alike. It's a bit of a frightening prospect. Luckily we have this 4 week window to romp through old content so we can focus on new abilities, and not have to worry about learning the instances. With any luck I will have all this mastered by the time Wrath drops. How about your class? Is this going to be an easy transition, or are you going back to the drawing board with me?

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I haven't been playing a whole lot of WoW lately. I'll hop on vent every once in a while to hear the latest haps, or maybe log an alt and spy on the Totally Rad Guild (or their lower level equivalent, The Knights of Radshire), but I haven't spend much time doing anything meaningful in game. The one thing that really made me want to play last week, Brewfest, is no more. Of course, there are some other fun holidays coming up, but the Darkmoon Faire just doesn't do much for me. I turned in the Blessings deck a while back for the Crusader card, but now I don't even use it in enhancement spce (I've got a couple of trinkets that are better). So in light of this lull that many players seem to be noticing, I decided to look forward. The 3.0 patch is coming soon, which means there are going to be a lot of changes for, well, everyone. For some, more than others. Some classes, like Shaman and Paladin, are having set pieces reworked to play nice with new class mechanics. This will probably cause me a few headaches. To avoid those headaches, I have been playing around with Wowhead's recently unveiled Item Compare feature. In short, it allows you to compare a bunch of items or groups of items with built in stat weighting so you can decide which item would be best for you. For example, say I have two helmets and I need to decide which one is better for me. I take a look at this page and it shows me. What does this have to do with the changes to certain set pieces? Well, change the www. in that link to wotlk. and you get this page. Now, currently the feature doesn't seem to allow socketing or enchanting, but since, for an enhancement shaman, strength will be worth one attack power after the patch hits, even a lowly Bright Blood Garnet will be better than an epic Bold Crimson Spinel. So, let's say red socket will be worth 16 AP, a Bright Living Ruby. That offsets the AP bonus. Enh shaman will also be gaining 1AP per agi and 1AP per Int (talented). This means that, while crit chance will go down by a little under 1%, with the Cyclone Helm, AP will be much higher. Take into account a Meta gem and we have a winner. So, all I'll need to do is change to a Bright Living Ruby and I will be set for 3.0, at least in the helmet department. This tool will give me a chance to really figure out what I will need to change before the market gets crazy. Well, crazier, I guess.

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