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. The cataclysm has really changed things for those of us in the speculation game. Just from paying attention to the lore, figuring out which plot threads still need to be unraveled, and making a few educated guesses along the way, we knew for a long time that we'd be revisiting the Maelstrom. We knew that Gilneas would eventually open up. We knew we'd go back to Hyjal. These are things that have been on the world map since the dawn of WoW. To tease the playerbase with such things would be infinitely cruel. We also knew that if the Maelstrom were involved, we were likely to see another catastrophic event befall Azeroth, though not to the extent that has been recently revealed. As it stands, it seems as though the focus of the expansion has shifted somewhat, from one concerned with unreleased zones and the Southsea islands to one that incorporates the rest of the old world in a much more integral way. But that doesn't mean all hope is lost for all you seadogs out there. What lies in the briny depths is far too important to completely ignore. As Jacques Cousteau might say, "A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it." Alright, maybe that's not the best Cousteau quote I could pull off the internet. "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." Ahh yes, that's much better. Well, I suppose what I'm trying to get at is the idea that while the Great Sea is mostly open water, it is also home to several potentially interesting areas and it would be a damn shame if we don't get to visit any of it. Below is a list of new ocean-going zones that I would like to see. I brought attention to several of them in my article yesterday. The Eye -- As ferocious and destructive as the Maelstrom might be, a rich ecosystem nonetheless survives beneath its stormy spirals. The lynch-pin of this area is the Naga stronghold of Nazjatar, lodged deep within The Rift, but there are several sub-zones just itching to be explored by wandering adventurers. The Boiling Terrace lives up to its name, fraught with volcanic activity and scalding pools of water. Only those creatures with thick skin can survive here, such as the reported giant crabs that are native to the area. The Scintal Reef spans the southwest corner of the The Eye, and is home to to the Makrura capital, Mak'aru. The city is supposedly built out of the surrounding coral formations. Constantly at war with the Naga, the Makrura are one of the few factions keeping the vile serpents in check. The Gishan Caverns are a series of deep-ocean volcanic caverns on the north side of The Rift. The Naga avoid it for fear of the gigantic beasts that may sleep within (sounds like prime 5-man dungeon material to me). Pillar Deep is a rather unique area. Though it continues with the theme of geothermal heat, it's also home to towering tubeworms that look a lot like gigantic, stone pillars. And, of course, it wouldn't be the ocean without a ship graveyard somewhere. On the southeastern lip of the Eye are the Drowned Reaches. The remains of great sea-going vessels that got too close to the Maelstrom come here to rest, and their former inhabitants are none-too-pleased. Kept animated by the storm's violent and mysterious energies, undead sailors still patrol the decks of their ruined ships. Clearly The Eye is no Bikini Bottom. A place fraught with extreme conditions and powerful creatures, I anticipate this being a high-level questing zone. Tel Abim -- Hey, those bananas have to come from somewhere. Very little is known about the island of Tel Abim, though the diaries you get from fishing up Messages in a Bottle tell the tale of a man likely shipwrecked on the island (and menaced by its famous fruit). Nonetheless, while other isles have come and gone from the map (such as Gillijim's Isle and the Island of Dr. Lapidis, both of which were supposed to exist off the coast of Stranglethorn during Alpha), Tel Abim remains. Will we have cause to go there? Who knows. Maybe the great Banana civilization can lend its hand in help during these tough times. Zandalar -- Another area I discussed in yesterday's article, it is the common motherland for all Trolls on Azeroth. In addition to the massive city of Zuldazar. This lush, tropical island is home to vast amounts of wildlife (why hello there, Hemet Nesingwary!) and also features the towering crag of Mt. Mugamba. While Zuldazar is obviously the main attraction, there is potential for plenty of leveling areas on Zandalar, one of the largest land masses in the Great Sea. Plunder Isle -- Plunder Isle is home to two key locales. Though neither plays a huge role in the events to come, I think it's about time to figure out what the pirating world has been up to (besides, what lends itself to piracy more than a world in chaos?). The first is Den of the Cold Eye, a cave home to the local basilisks, and the other is Bloodsail Hold, headquarters of the infamous Bloodsail Pirates. The island is small and of little significance, but if sea travel is common in Cataclysm, I could see this being a wonderful hub for a few piracy-themed dailies. Kezan -- as plotted out on a whiteboard at Blizzard HQ. Kezan -- Home of the Goblins, reportedly in ruins from the events of the expansion. It's unclear whether or not we'll get to go back (though a rather detailed map drawn on a whiteboard can be seen on the World of Warcraft Behind the Scenes DVD), but the island does hold a few key points of interest. There are at least two port areas, Bilgewater Port (think a bigger version of Booty Bay) and Edj (home to the slightly-less-evil pirates, the Blackwater Raiders). Mount Kajaro, an active volcano, dominates the southern reaches of the island, and the Goblin capitol, Undermine, exists somewhere beneath it. Many had hoped Undermine would serve as the great "neutral" city in the next expansion. While that may no longer be the case, Kezan itself could still be a major hub of activity for sea-going adventurers due to its location (and assuming it's not completely under the water). The Broken Isles -- If there's one place in the Great Sea that holds as much history and importance as the Maelstrom, it's the Broken Isles. Home to the great and ancient Kaldorei city of Suramar (now ruined), the remains of the Stormreaver clan's destroyed fleet, and the Tomb of Sargeras, it's like a graveyard of ancient folly. The island chain is currently dominated by Naga and those who serve them, but being so central to the lore, I have little doubt Blizzard will find reason to drag players back to the cursed locale. Kul Tiras -- Though its people were once a sizable part of the Alliance forces, the island of Kul Tiras isn't even on the official map anymore. Nothing has been said here nor there about its inclusion in future content, but being host to a naval society, it only seems logical to implement it with an expansion where the primary threat comes from the sea. Kul Tiras could, once again, be a major asset to the Alliance. The inclusion of any one of these zones ultimately depends on two things: how Blizzard wants to handle travel on the high seas and whether or not they've been destroyed/sunk by the cataclysm, itself. Several of these locations also exist under the water, which may require the introduction of submersible vehicles or other means of diving deep beneath the waves. With the reconstruction of much of mainland Azeroth, and the introduction of new inland zones, I don't expect every one of these islands (or island chains) to make an appearance in the expansion, especially those that have little to do with the characters and events in play. However, if we do get the chance to sail around the Great Sea at our leisure, it has to be filled with something. In that case, several of these zones could simply become small quest hubs. We might also expect to see small, random islands scattered throughout the ocean, that hold no particular importance, but are places to explore for treasure and secrets, Zelda: Wind Waker-style. What do you guys and gals think? Would you like to be able to sail around Azeroth as you please, or do you think that makes the game too complicated? Or do you believe that this is the direction the expansion should have actually gone in as opposed to futzing with the mainland? Do you think we'll end up getting both, or is that just asking way too much of Blizzard? Please let us know by posting your thoughts!

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Could These Be The Faces Of The Future? Ever since MMO-Champion.com dug up those stupid masks the corner of the Internet that is home to WoW has been a storm of investigation.  Shortly after discovering the pair of Worgen and Goblins masks another four pairs, Naga, Ogre, Murloc, Vrykul were found.  The discovery dosed the fire surrounding Horde Goblins and Alliance Worgen, while at the same time fueling the idea of a third faction being introduced to World of Warcraft. In my opinion two factions suck.  Few games have implemented just a pair of competitors successfully.  This is in large part due to the grass is always greener effect.  If you are beaten badly by the opposing team, then the developer likes them more, they are overpowered or there are population problems.  Some of the complaints are certainly real, but one way developers, including Blizzard itself, has skirted the issue is by having more than two factions (see Starcraft's three factions and Warcraft III's four).  As such, I would love to see a third faction, but I don't expect it to play out as many would have us believe. Most of what I have seen points to the neutral faction being one in name only.  That somewhere down the line you would chose who to fight for, Alliance (obviously) or Horde (fail).  It sounds absolutely awesome, and I would love to see it happen, but I doubt it.  To implement this Blizzard would have to drastically change the stance on factions, again.  Specifically, the company would have to allow players to have characters of different factions on the same server (already allowed on non-PvP servers).  Otherwise my Goblin (duh) could never be truly neutral if Solidexplosion was forced to select Alliance down the road because of Solidsamm's and Solidsagart's affiliations. But that doesn't mean I don't see a neutral faction happening.  In fact I wrote the unique classes hoping this could come to fruition.  Blizzard could easily implement a third faction (based on the masks no less), one that stays out of the Alliance-Horde affairs.  One that watches from the sidelines offering refugee for any that may require it.  One that I will label as the "Swiss" faction.  These non-aggressors will act as diplomats between the warring sides, while still contributing to the often combined goals of said sides, such as killing the Lich King.  In the long run there'd be more work needed to create a separate entity, but the new content should be far more appreciated than tacking on a choice down the road. Certainly if a neutral faction was to happen, the cash flush Goblins would be the race in charge, with the battle hardened Worgen, brutal Ogres, and the swarm happy Murlocs lending a helping hand.  The multi-talented Vrykul are new to Warcraft, so their addition as a playable class would annoy this purist.  After how many times I creeped them, or grinded them for reputation, I believe the fifth slot should go to the furry Furbolgs. And yes, I know I ignored the Naga masks.  While there could be some sort of Forsaken-type branch or tribe, I write off their addition to the line-up of Hallow's End fun to the fact that they are the incoming bad guys. Again, I'd love it if Blizzard makes me eat this post with a side of 'in your face,' but I just don't see Blizzard revamping the PvP servers to allow them to go cross faction.  It'd be a bit of work, just for a choice down the line.  But they have done crazier things.  Speaking of the choice, let's hope it'll be a cool, lengthy quest line to prove your allegiance. What would some of the racial benefits be?  Goblins get extra gold from kills, Murloc has higher level fishing, and Ogres get, umm, kaleidoscope vision?  What is more likely, the labor intensive relative to reward faction choosing, or an entirely new faction?  What about blending the two, letting you chose a side, or remaining in the new faction?  That'd be interesting.

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Just days after the hooplah surrounding the addition of Worgen and Goblin masks into the game as possible signs of new races in the theoretical expansion "Cataclysm", more masks have been discovered by MMO-Champion, seriously hindering the chances that any of these are going to be new races in the new expansion. The masks that have models in the game now includes all ten playable races, goblins, worgen, ogres, murlocs (!), naga, and vrykul. While two of these races could be playable in the next expansion, I doubt all of them will be. When Blood Elves and Draeni were announced as playable races in The Burning Crusade, everyone was very excited. New races and the introductions of paladins into the Horde and shamans into the Alliance was a huge change. Wrath introducing Death Knights was equally important; there had not been a new class added to the game since early beta. With the new expansion on the (distant) horizon, players are expecting a new playable race, and probably two (for each faction) at that. Blizzard has said that new playable races in the future will be familiar to us (contrary to the retconed Draeni in Burning Crusade), so expect lots of speculation. Pandareans are as good as retconed out at this point, so don't expect the to jump from obscurity to playable so soon. That leaves a lot of possibilities, and these masks may be some sign. As for the masks' actual role, I hope this is some sign of a revamped Hallow's End event. Blizzard added achievements for world events so that players would have incentives to experience the content they spent time and money developing, but players who already got all the achievements from last year would have little reason to participate in the festivities this year. With new masks, this may be a sign of new Hallow's End content and maybe even achievements! Or at least making A Mask for All Occasions doable. Would you re-roll one of these races? What if they started at, say, level 80 in their own starting areas in the new expansion?

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