Over 3000 new quests in WOW: Cataclysm

By Oli Welsh Published 13 June, 2010

But Paths of the Titans has been binned.

Blizzard has shown third World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm to the press, revealing that it will ship with three times as many new quests as last effort Wrath of the Lich King. But much has been cut from the game too, including the planned new customisation system Paths of the Titans.

"Wrath of the Lich King shipped with about 1000 quests, a little over," lead world designer Alex Afrasiabi told Eurogamer. "Cataclysm will ship with - we're tracking to ship with over 3000 new quests."

Around 1000 of these quests will be in the zones taking players from level 80 up to the new level cap of 85, while the remaining 2000 will be in the redesigned "old world" from levels 1 to 60.

The Paths of the Titans - a high-level character customisation system - revealed when Cataclysm was announced at last year's BlizzCon has been scrapped, Blizzard believing that it would overcomplicate the game.

The new profession Archaeology, once planned to feed into Paths of the Titans, is now a more casual game of collection and completion rewarding players with lore, collectables and rare toys.

Archaeologists will be able to assemble a skeletal raptor mount, and grant raid buffs by deciphering runes in dungeons, lead system designer Greg Street told Eurogamer.

So players don't feel like they have to run both 10- and 25-player raids, in Cataclysm both will be rewarded with items of the same level, and they will share a lockout, forcing you to choose which to run that week.

However, a 25-player raid can be broken up into up to three 10-man raids if you lose players and can't proceed, and lockouts are now more flexible, allowing you to move between raids as long as you haven't made more progress.

The new guild advancement system has also changed since BlizzCon, with the talent trees scrapped in favour of guild-wide Perks awarded every guild level, like regular abilities. Players will earn reputation with their own guild by completing certain tasks, with reputation ranks unlocking new rewards for purchase at a vendor.

Character progression has been drastically changed and streamlined, with spells and abilities no longer possessing ranks and unlocking in a new order for every class. The UI has been overhauled too.

Blizzard showed two new Battlegrounds - Twin Peaks, a variation on Warsong Gulch's capture the flag, and Battle for Gilneas, a domination map on city streets - and the Skywall, a spectacular dungeon of fragmented architecture hanging in the sky which you'll need to use your own flying mounts to get around.

Amid the myriad changes to the old world, the faction capitals of Orgrimmar and Stormwind both have complete facelifts and get a new trade area with a second bank, auction house and inn.

You can read lots more in our interview with Street and Afrasiabi and hands-on preview of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, or check out the new screens.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • ObiChrisKenobi #1 2 years ago

    This expansion pack is bringing less and less everytime I read about it :(

  • reinhart_menken #2 2 years ago

    3000? Three thousand? Three-fucking-thousand? That's blowing my mind (as you can probably tell).

    This expansion pack is bringing less and less everytime I read about it :(

    3000 and you're not happy? Have I quit MMOs for too long that 3000 quests are still too little?
    Edited by 2 at 13/06/10 @ 08:49

  • Indy #3 2 years ago

    3000 is a nice marketing figure.

    Later in the article it is explained that there'll be "only" around 1000 quests in the new zones and that 2000 quests will be redesigned in the old zones. I wouldn't call redesigned quests new quests, really. While 1000 brand new quests isn't bad either, it's weird of Blizz to boast with the 3000 figure.

    Shame they cancelled Path of the Titans, was quite interested in that feature. Especially since Archaeology seems a rather hollow profession now...

  • XAleX360 #4 2 years ago

    Are you serious, reinhart? This is not what he was talking about.

    The most elaborate changes that Blizzard talked of are scrapped. Path of the titans "alternative advancement" that would have had to allow much more player customization, Archaeology which seemed really an interesting profession from a very gameplay/fun point of view that could actually impact players progression too, guild talent trees scrapped for basic guild abilities...

    What's left? A facelift makeover in the old continents and "3000 new quests"? Good. Even if I wanted to do them all, what's next? The same boring end-game, always the same with nothing really new. Luckily ArenaNet is going to innovate this genre and it has chances to finally steal some population off WoW for good.

  • Eraysor #5 2 years ago

    If they've cut that whole advancement system perhaps they can hurry up and actually release the game.

  • Genji #6 2 years ago

    Male NPC: I have lost my dog. Please find it.

    /PC looks to the left, spots dog peeking out from behind a tree

    /picks up dog, gives to NPC

    NPC: Thank you!

    *QUEST COMPLETED*

    /PC walks five meters to the north, spots a female NPC

    Female NPC: I have lost my cat. Please find it.
    .
    .
    .
    etc.

    Times 3000. Big numbers don't mean squat.

  • reinhart_menken #7 2 years ago

    @Indy: well it's 2000 will be in the redesigned "old world". So that seems to mean that 2000 new ones will just be set in the redesigned old world, instead of being redesigned quests.

    @XAleX360: I know that's not what he's talking about. I'm just saying there's still a lot of quests. I haven't read about what the customization is or Archaeology. The article just make them sound like really small parts, and did not go into what they originally would have been.

  • Indy #8 2 years ago

    Right, seems like I've interpreted that in a wrong way.

    Still bummed about scrapping the other features, though.

  • XAleX360 #9 2 years ago

    @reinhart: that's what Blizzard wants, of course. They were the only real new features in this expansion that apart that is just "revisited old continents&quests, new rules for new dungeons/raids/battlegrounds", basically.

    Oh well. Guild Wars 2, bring it on

  • Apaar #10 2 years ago

    This expansions should lift WoW to an even higher pedigree, if that is even possible. Sounds pretty much perfect! I'm already incredibly excited to return to Azeroth this autumn!

  • Orange #11 2 years ago

    It's streamlined more of the same. Can't argue with it, but as former player not really seeing anything to draw me back in, unless the competition continues to suck.

  • Tangled #12 2 years ago

    Paths of the Titans: scrapped
    Guild currency: scrapped
    Guild talents: scrapped and replaced with perks

    This just reminded me why not to read any previews/ first looks etc. Half of the things don't make it to the final game.
    Mind you, the changes could be for the better, I have no way of knowing that.

  • Spekingur #13 2 years ago

    Landscape is changing isn't? A complete overhaul? So it is quite easy to assume that many 'fetch' quests and 'go-kill-that-dude' quests will change and are probably in this figure.

    Also, why are these scrapped? I see that Path of the Titans were scrapped because Blizzard (or someone within Blizzard) believes that their customers are stupid.
    But what about the Guild stuff? Too complicated as well? So, they are basically saying 'we want WoW to be accessible for the lowest common denominator, i.e. stupid people'. Who really wants to play a game filled with stupid people?

    ;)

  • poopmonster #14 2 years ago

    yay can't wait to find 3000 acorns

    (I'm using cynicism to resist...)

  • mkreku #15 2 years ago

    Love that they throw around "3000 new quests" as if it was a huge achievement or something. Well, the last time I played WoW, I did 3000 quests of the type "Find X amounts of Y to bring to Z!" and then the grinding started. Only the amount of X and the name of Y and the geographical placement of Z changed from quest to quest, nothing else.

  • romelpotter #16 2 years ago

    Seems to me as though all of the more interesting reasons to buy/play Cataclysm has been axed. Trying to cater for a wider market; perhaps but once you get over the geographical/political changes, then people who have been playing the game for years are going to wish for more!

    Which by the way, was not rulled out at somepoint in the future so their implimentation of the axed changes must have been threataning to push the release of this expansion towards the praposed release date of SWTOR.

    Direct avoidence of the competition and the expansion suffers in my opinion.

    As for dumbing down argument, bah just fix the Emblem issue please. Just ditch Eov's and if your gonna make them swappable, allow them to be swapped upwards as well as downwards (with the exception of Triumphs to Frosties of course).

  • jumpdeveraux #17 2 years ago

    I quit when my guild fell apart during Ulduar hard modes and just couldn't be bothered finding another guild on my realm (all other hardcore guilds imploded around the same time).

    I thought with Cataclysm I might pop back just to level my hunter up to the cap and see what the new zones and changes to Azeroth were like - but after seeing it's more just a repeat of a load of quests with no major mechanic change I'm not sure I can face returning versus spending time with some other great games that are out (goes to show how important having a good guild is I guess).

  • djed #18 2 years ago

    Too few. Were it 4000, I might have considered buying it.

  • Koborover #19 2 years ago

    Quantity over quality?

  • Snidesworth #20 2 years ago

    Cataclysm seems to primarily be about bringing the old vanilla game up to modern standards and making those first 60 levels enjoyable rather than something you grind through to get to the good stuff. I see no problem with them dropping other features to focus on this objective. I do say this as an ex-player who isn't currently invested in the end game content however. I imagine those who are busy raiding don't appreciate the priorities Blizzard has set themselves.

  • Rack #21 2 years ago

    More of what WoW needs fewer of. Quests in WoW end up being lists of chores they need to come up with some different ways to let players advance. Guild Wars 2 has some interesting ideas on the subject, I'm sure Blizzard could too if they'd try.

  • Flipper79 #22 2 years ago

    All the innovation has been removed. Lots of people were complaining when the first details came out on cata because it was a redisign of the old zones. I (stupidly) passionately defended this as from all the new ideas (such as path of the titans) it felt like this was WoW 2. Selling mounts; remote AH subs; and now an expansion that just adds needless new quests. The cynical money-making and fear of updating the formula to be innovative is killing WoW. Like many I quit between expansions, but this time I won't be back.