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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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!

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