Project Lore

Incoming! The short answer is that Boubouille scored.  The data mining machine, who used some other resources for his recent discoveries, received almost a perfect score during yesterday's opening ceremony.  Nearly every World of Warcraft detail that had been disclosed by MMO-Champion.com came true.  Nearly ever one. There's absolutely no way I can take away from the sleuthing that went on to find out Cataclysm's particulars.  Sure, I didn't believe them all at first, but Blizzard confirmed that the company is simply crazy.  Crazy enough to reinvent what MMO gamers, not just World of Warcraft players, will expect in future expansions. Here's what MMO-Champion had spot on:

• Worgen & Goblins - WoW.com independently "confirmed" this before the event ever happened, but it was Boubouille and his mask discovery that sparked the rumors.  The new races' racials definitely sound OP as announced.  However it was later confirmed that all the other races will have their racials revamped.
• Level cap raised to 85 - Seems an arbitrary choice, but Blizzard wants players to focus a bit more on the content leading up to level 85.  Not just the idea of getting there.  Of course that won't stop many people from being level capped week 1.
• Azeroth revamp - The lands as we know them will indeed change drastically.  Barrens is split in two (double the Barrens Chat?!), Grim Batol is now Twilight Highlands and various other lands, coastlines and jungles will radically change.
• Flying everywhere - Yes folks, we will be able to fly everywhere in Cataclysm.  This even includes Wintergrasp.
• Class combinations - Data mining discovered the new possibilities and they've all come true, even Night Elf Mages.  Solving the 2:1 Horde to Alliance druid question is the Worgen's ability to offer a self-standing holy trinity.
• Unfinished original content done - Uldum and Mount Hyjal will both be arriving as part of Cataclysm.  Blizzard stated that Hyjal was never completed because it was impossible to do what they wanted previously.

There's really only one thing I can say Boubouille missed the mark on, and that's the main protagonist of the third expansion.  Deathwing is, without a shadow of a doubt, the bad guy in Cataclysm.  He's the force that lays waste to the lands as we know them.  Not an erupting Maelstrom as so many speculated.  QueenAzshara and her Naga buddies are definitely around, they have a new island to themselves just south of the Maelstrom, but they'll be a distraction compared to The Earth Warderer. "That is their (Goblin) mount" We've also got some additional details that no one guessed.

• New Secondary Profession - Archaeology (a word that will be often misspelled) will be added to WoW.  It'll be the first secondary profession that plays like a gathering profession.  No, fishing doesn't count.  After collecting from nodes of ruins and such, players will be able to discover rewards.  The mechanic to discovery hasn't been disclosed, but the possibility of a mini-game (Bejewled?!) was mentioned.  We will be able to track ruin nodes, and other gathering nodes at the same time.
• Mastery system - A new mode of progression.  The Mastery system is going to work alongside Talents to offer additional character customization, and it won't be class restricted.  This means a Priest can pick up the same Mastery skills (or whatever they are to be called) as a Rogue.  We are going to find out more details during the WoW Game Systems panel at 10:30 PST.  I'll be covering it via Twitter, and I expect it to be live blogged here as well.
• Heroic Deadmines & Shadowfang Keep - We heard dungeon revamps were coming, and now it's official.  These particular dungeons will use the same art and models.  To spice things up these assets will be mixed with new encounters and fights.  We'll hear more at today's Raids & Dungeons panel, which I'll be covering as well.
• Ragnaros - He's indeed back, "bigger and more pissed."  How much bigger can the developers possibly make the Lord of the Fire Elementals?
• So much more - Changes to fishing, Blackrock Spire is back, new PvP zone, rated BGs and the Alliance loses Southshore!

Consider me excited.  What do you think?  Good, bad, lore buster?  Anything that truly shocked you? For the StarCraft II players out there; I'll be sitting down for a StarCraft II interview later today. @iTZKooPA with your questions.  I'll select the best ones and work them into my own queries.

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Run Ma, It's A Hurricane! The Next Expansion is an ever growing series of articles that focuses on WoW's upcoming third expansion.  The column covers news, speculation and even gameplay mechanics that PL's writers would like to see implemented. The little quip about Southshore vs. Tarren Mill in yesterday's post was no accident.  We've discussed the topic at length in the past and it continues to instill a sense of nostalgia whenever it is brought up.  Unless you were trying to level during those days it was pure fun.  Even most of the lowbies didn't mind, as they got to be a part of the battle (even if it was a small part) and a glimpse of the future.  Occasionally the skirmishes became so large, and the resurrection timers so long, that one of the towns (often Tarren Mill due to level differences of the hubs) would be decimated.  Crushed, destroyed, void of anything but the corpses of the fallen and the invaders who laid them to rest. I've been waiting for a Blizzard sanctioned event since.  No, I don't count Wintergrasp.  What I want is the mix of PvP and PvE that the battles gone bye brought us.  If one side dominated the other than it had an adverse affect on one's ability to continue questing in the area.  Sure, the NPCs respawned quickly, but when the town was completely sacked they'd fall to another blade in a moment's notice.  Not to mention that it was damn near impossible to be questing between the two towns without being ganked. By binding a PvP/PvE area to the Honor system (sacking a town would give bonus honor to everyone involved) the system could be arbitrarily policed.  Upon the battle's completion the town would take time to recuperate.  With nothing to kill, and no honor to be gained the opposing faction would be forced to travel to some other land, giving the losers an opportunity to finish and turn in quests.  Or they could always prepare a counter-attack. Unfortunately some people would deem this as too hardcore, since your leveling could come to a crawl.  So I'll present another scenario along the same lines that wouldn't be PvP oriented, but pure PvE.  One that is a perfect application of Tabula Rasa's invading forces mechanic mixed into the speculated world event for WoW Cataclysm. With the Naga invading local shorelines the citizens of the areas beg for help, anybody's help.  Upon accepting your dispatch you are sent to various shores to clean up the invading forces, driving them back by the dozens.  Despite our best efforts the sea beasts overrun the shorelines, pushing further and further in.  As time progresses the bustling ports of Menethil Harbor, Southshore, Booty Bay and more are taken by the Naga.  With our shipping and supply lines in peril the capital cities have no choice but to attack the Naga's home.  It isn't until we breach their final defenses that the Naga swarm retreats back into the ocean to defend their Queen. Think of it as a reverse Isle of Quel'Danas event.  Instead of us opening up content by reclaiming the island, the invasion's progress (which would be an unstoppable force) would reveal new objectives.  We'd start off with simple quests to collect information and slaughter the early cannon fodder.  Then we would work our way up to Naga Officers (outdoor bosses), staging grounds (5-man dungeons somewhere on the shores) and naval combat (ship to ship battles against the Naga).  The aquatic tyranny would not end until we have breached the Maelstrom and located the Naga hideout.  The bosses and invading force would then return, leaving the land mostly intact. What do you think?  Would you rather the mix scenario or straight up PvE?  Any other ideas out there for a return of TM vs SS style combat?  At least these scenarios would finally make the Local Defense channel actually mean something.

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You young ones are spoiled these days, what with your multiple Battlegrounds and Arena matches. Heck, one of the most exciting features coming with Wrath of the Lich King is Lake Wintergrasp. An entire zone dedicated to uninstanced PvP, complete with siege weapons. Back in my day we had to travel across the ocean, uphill, through the snow while dodging bear and lion pies to get our PvP fix. Yea, I am talking about the good old days of Southshore versus Tarren Mill. All of those who leveled up before the invention of Alterac Valley and Wasrong Gulch know exactly what I speak of. The Horde and Alliance quest hubs in Hillsbrad Foothills are meant for mid-20 level players, but players of all levels used to pass by to get to the higher level zones like Eastern and Western Plaguelands. This was also the time before you could chain together flightpaths, forcing players to jump from node to node, rather than one continuous flight (node to node somehow makes it cheaper...). Tarren Mill and Southshore happened to only be a stones throw from each other, allowing for short trips from the graveyard to the battlefield. The conditions caused a perfect storm of PvP, the likes which have never been seen in World of Warcraft again. My first trip into crux of mayhem and death was early in my WoW career. Before Onyxia was released, my guild already had its fair share of players that were level 40+. I remained on my level 20ish Rogue, still too low to head to Southshore for quests, but always wanted to help my guild. My guildmates one night decided it was time to raid Thrall (we were under the impression that killing him would allow you to loot Thrall's Ear, Diablo-style, obviously we were mistaken), so the Guildmaster grabbed as many members as possible, along with anyone who was interested, and stormed off to Ogrimmar. After the Horde handed our ass to us, we turned back, dejected and depressed at our failure. We sought revenge, and what better target than the hotspot of Tarren Mill (on the way to Tyr's Hand, which was were most people were headed). Now about 30 strong, and mostly composed of Ventrilo-equipped guildmates, we laid waste to Tarren Mill and any Horde that dared enter the Hillsbrad Foothills. For almost two hours, we commandeered the zone for no better reason than that we could. The Horde had won the battle at the capital city of Ogrimmar, but the Alliance sent out a message. No town is safe. Tarren Mill versus Southshore battle royals are long gone, and unfortunately, will likely stay that way. If you wish to re-live or even experience the mess for the first time, there is a new website called YouTube. You may have heard about it? I have tried a few times to recreate those memories, but it never happens. Battlegrounds truly ended World PvP for WoW. Blizzard tried to bring World PvP back with The Burning Crusade's PvP objectives, but it wasn't the same. Thankfully, Blizzard is trying again, and what we have heard about Lake Wintergrasp keeps me hoping.

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