World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

The re-making of World of Warcraft.

"Was it a tough decision?" echoes Blizzard's chief operating officer Paul Sams. "I can tell you that me, the business guy, the operations guy... We were going through the whole process before we knew all the reasons why, and I was sitting there going, oh my God, really? Can we do that? Should we do that?"

Sams is a smooth operator and a die-hard Blizzard loyalist. He trusts his developers to know what's best for their games and supports their decisions unquestioningly, and he's not an easy man to ruffle. But even he was shocked at what the World of Warcraft team proposed to do with the game's third expansion. Namely: take the planet's most popular online world, tear it up, and start again.

As well as raising the level cap to 85, adding two new races, seven new zones, a new profession, a new character advancement track, three player-versus-player Battlegrounds and a new way to play them, a radical overhaul of the game's stats system and a major social initiative to revitalise guilds with customisation and advancement - as well as all that, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will revamp every single zone in the original, pre-expansion game. The experience of levelling from 1 to 60 will be changed forever, flowing through remodelled zones in a different order, offering new quests and storylines, better rewards, and retuned dungeons.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 1

The Barrens: broken.

It's a mammoth undertaking, and a brave one. But as much as it seems unthinkable the first minute, it seems like a no-brainer the next. Five years on, the epic slog through the continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms stands as a barrier to adventures in Outland and Northrend that have far outstripped them in variety and quality. They had to go back to the drawing board. Blizzard's vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, shows no sign of his colleague's qualms. "I think we could have done it a long time ago," he shrugs. "Well, if we're waving our magic production wand, then a long time ago."

A happy catastrophe

Blizzard needed an agent for all this change, and it comes in the form of Cataclysm's star villain: Deathwing. A dragon lord who has lived too long in the bowels of the earth and been driven mad by the whispers of the Old Gods, he's so deranged that he's been welded together with iron plates to stop his own uncontrolled power ripping himself apart. In Cataclysm, unable to contain his desire to subjugate all life, he tears through the matter of Azeroth and erupts into the world, causing a global disaster of volcanoes, tsunamis and giant molten rifts.

The disaster leaves its mark on the geography and narrative of familiar areas: the huge Barrens plains are split in two by a yawning crevice, the arid wasteland of Desolace is flooded and life returns to it, the Night Elf town of Auberdine in Darkshore is destroyed, and the faces of capital cities like Orgrimmar and Undercity are changed forever. You'll be able to use flying mounts everywhere across the old world for the first time, including these cities, although we don't know from what level.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 2

Desolace: reborn.

Some zones will be disrupted more than others, probably depending on how much Blizzard felt they needed work - the relatively polished human lands of Elwynn and Westfall, for example, will largely be left to their rural idyll. But all will see revamped questing, employing the dramatic techniques, varied gameplay and phasing technology used to such famous effect in Wrath of the Lich King's introduction to the Death Knight class. "After doing the Death Knight starting experience, we really felt like, wow, this should be the template for what we try to do with all our content in the future," says lead designer Tom Chilton. "We want to apply those lessons to 1-60 and make it feel cohesive. As people go through our 1-60 content now I think it does feel like a bunch of random stuff that all got put in the same place."

The zones will also be re-ordered and their level bands changed. Mid-level Azshara becomes a low-level zone for the Goblin race, the high-level Plaguelands are demoted to the mid-levels and so on, as Blizzard seeks a new flow for adventuring that, currently, gets frustratingly fractured from level 30 or so onwards. The classic dungeons will also get some attention: "Certainly some of those will change or be improved, as it comes to spawning or scripting, boss encounters, that kind of stuff," says Chilton. "I don't expect them to physically change very much."

For a few levels more

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 3

The Horde has an aggressive new presence in Ashenvale.

Deathwing's rude intrusion into Azeroth won't just change what you know. His passing has opened up five new zones that will take players from 80 to 85 (the shorter five-level step will allow Blizzard to concentrate not just on the old-world revamp, says Chilton, but also more endgame content at launch - a deliberate skew away from levelling and towards having more to do at maximum level). The ruptures he creates open pathways to the elemental planes created by the Titans to contain the primordial Elementals, who now emerge to war with each other and life on Azeroth.

Mount Hyjal is now a staging post for an invasion of fire Elementals led by the fire god Ragnaros, a returning raid boss who featured in the classic Molten Core raid. The Maelstrom whirlpool in the centre of Azeroth's ocean sucks players down into the Sunken City, a ruined Atlantis of the Naga civilisation, now overrun by bright corals and rifts opening onto the elemental plane of water, the Abyssal Maw. This submerged zone will feature special underwater mounts for transport, and will allow combat on the sea floor just as on land, although you'll be able to swim up from it at any point.

These two level 78-82 areas lead to the "Dragonblight of this expansion", Deepholm. A vast subterranean cavern located in the elemental plane of Earth, this is Deathwing's domain, overrun with his Twilight's Hammer cultists and delivering much of his story. After Deepholm, you've two options to take you to level 85. Uldum, an Egyptian-style delta that had been hidden from view by the Titans until the cataclysm destroyed one of their cloaking machines, is rumoured to hold a super-weapon and is home to a new race of stone cat-people, the Tol'vir. The Twilight Highlands, east of the Wetlands, is a mountainous area that features port links for both Horde and Alliance, and Grim Batol, the great city which Deathwing has seized for his own.

Grim Batol will house one each of the four raids and eight dungeons planned for Cataclysm. Alongside new locations like Uldum, the Abyssal Maw and the mysterious Skywall, there's a nostalgic theme: Blackrock Caverns, a new five-man dungeon, is located in the old instance hub Blackrock Spire, and the Firelands, a raid on the elemental plane of fire, sees players take their second pop at Ragnaros. Nostalgia will reach overload, though, in the new level 85 Heroic versions of two much-loved low-level instances; the spooky ghost-train of Shadowfang Keep and uproarious romp through the Deadmines will return, with all-new fights and creatures.

There's no change to the philosophy of how Blizzard makes instances though, Chilton declaring himself happy with the status quo of normal and Heroic five-player runs, and raids for groups of 10 or 25. "We also have our Hard Mode philosophy better developed now, and we plan to have that right out of the gates with the Cataclysm content so that... we don't have the problem we had with Lich King where a lot of people just found Naxxramas too easy," he says.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 4

Darkshore is getting one of the more extensive remakes.

On the player-versus-player side, Cataclysm promises three new Battlegrounds at launch, as well as Tol Barad, an open PvP zone much like Lich King's Wintergrasp, with timed control-point battles for access to a prison containing a raid boss. When the battle's not up, Tol Barad will serve as a major daily quest hub for both factions. More important than any of this new content, though, is a new system: rated Battlegrounds, which will bring Arena-style ranked competition, old-school Honor titles and top-tier rewards to what is currently the more casual end of WOW's PvP.

Race relations

A reboot of the entire old world of Azeroth is probably reason enough to consider trying WOW if you haven't before, or re-rolling a new character, but Blizzard's seen fit to sweeten the pot further with Cataclysm. You get new combinations of race and class to try out that weren't possible previously: Troll Druid, Human and Undead Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Blood Elf Warrior, Gnome Priest, the ridiculous Tauren Paladin (or "holy cow" as Chilton puts it) and more. And you get two new races - Goblins for the Horde, and Worgen for the Alliance.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 5

Blackrock's back.

New races are a chance for Blizzard to stir new flavours into the melting pot for each side. The idea is that the Goblins, diminutive tinkerers like the Gnomes, will bring some comic relief to the warlike Horde, while the Worgen werewolves will give the whitebread Alliance something edgy and monstrous and conflicted, with a Wolverine vibe. They're also a chance to tell new stories with the newfound narrative muscle of post-Lich King WOW, and necessarily so, because Blizzard has some explaining to do in both cases. Most Goblins NPCs are faction-neutral (and will remain so), preferring profit to war, so the reasons for the specific cartel of the player Goblins joining the Horde need to be laid out - while the Worgen are traditionally evil.

The level six-to-eight sections of the starting areas we get to play at BlizzCon provide some answers, but not all. After the Cataclysm, the Bilgewater Goblins find themselves shipwrecked alongside an unhappy crew of Orcs on the Lost Isle - a land that time forgot, with dinosaurs, pygmies, mischievous monkeys and man-eating plants all presented in the rich, saturated colours of a Mario Sunshine. Helping the Orcs out - riding panthers one minute, scything through forests of plants with a whirling chain of death the next - you discover Alliance spies on the island, and in a shock twist find that they've taken the Orc chief Thrall captive, and liberate him.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 6

A glimpse in the Abyssal Maw.

A level-six Worgen wakes up in stocks and on the point of execution. The human land of Gilneas has succumbed to the Worgen curse, but for some reason the transformed creatures remain humane, and you end up helping your captors and former neighbours repel an invasion of Forsaken Undead. Once again, there are plenty of set-pieces and varied, comical quests as you blow up Abominations by planting barrels of explosives on their heads and do chores for an old lady, while the Cataclysm hits midway through, changing the coastline of the zone. WOW's cheerful relationship with anachronism has allowed Blizzard to go full-on Victorian Gothic with Gilneas - it's all stove-pipe hats, cutlasses and gaslight. Both episodes follow the Death Knight experience formula to a tee, albeit with a lighter touch; they're jolly, fast-paced and the quests are studded with variety and surprisingly light on straight combat.

Goblins will be familiar to any WOW player, and they've got plenty of charisma, but it's their eye-popping racial abilities that will attract - a rocket belt that jumps you forward and shoots missiles, the ability to access the bank remotely every 30 minutes, and always getting the best cash discount from vendors. Oh, and a mount that's basically a hot rod. The Worgen have a dash skill, can change into human form at will (but only out of combat), and have a bonus to skinning. They're loping creatures with exaggerated animation, and look fantastically menacing in high-level armour.

Less is more

One aspect of Cataclysm that Blizzard didn't mention at the first unveiling ended up causing the greatest uproar at BlizzCon. There's going to be a sweeping change to the way stats on items work, aimed at eradicating many lesser stats - mana regeneration, spell power, attack power, armour penetration and even defence will all be binned - and reassigning their benefits to core stats like spirit, intellect and agility, or to the talent trees. "We want to be able to add more depth and add more stuff to World of Warcraft, but it's really difficult to do that without at the same time removing some of the needless complexity," Chilton explains.

"So what we've done is we've taken a look at the game and decided what's working and what's not really working, like we're doing all the time, but we're doing it very aggressively. And we've come away with things like - do we really need the two-hand sword skill, for example? The actual skilling-up process of just hitting a mob over and over, it doesn't seem very interesting. If it's not adding much to the game then it's just making the game needlessly complex. Or we have Spirit and mana [regeneration], and they're both kind of doing the same thing, but you sort of have to be a mathematician to know which one you should have for your character."

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 7

Goblins have all three cloth-wearing classes.

So it's not just in questing and zone design the Blizzard is taking out the trash. World of Warcraft is getting a truly deep overhaul in Cataclysm. Talent trees are getting pruned too; despite the five new levels they're not extending, and talents are being simplified, with many of their benefits ploughed into a new Mastery rating for each tree. Two classes also get big redesigns: Hunters lose mana and gain focus, a fast-recharging resource similar to Rogue energy, while Warlocks' soul shards are now spell-amplifying charges that regenerate out of combat.

All this simplification makes room for more depth elsewhere, and this will be delivered in the new character progression track, the Paths of the Titans. These Paths are completely independent of character class, and they're intended to provide satisfying advancement at maximum level away from the slow percentage gains of gear progression, with new talent-like skills being created by crafting and questing for Titan cults. The new Archaeology gathering profession - which all players can learn, like cooking or first aid - will feed into this, after allowing players to get utility and vanity items at lower levels.

These changes are the muddiest, most contentious, and hardest to read of what Blizzard is proposing for Cataclysm. But the company's willingness to remake its basic systems and even redesign a class, the Hunter, at the most fundamental level this late in WOW's life is thrilling, and the Paths - if they offer a genuine alternative to loot as a way to develop a max-level character - could change the endgame for good. But there's one final addition in Cataclysm that might have an even bigger impact on Warcraft life.

All for one and one for all

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 8

The Worgen starting zone, Gilneas.

Beyond the critical adjustments to raid sizes, Blizzard has mostly refrained from social engineering in World of Warcraft, choosing to let its community be shaped by its content. Cataclysm changes that with the introduction of guild levelling and customisation, a system that doesn't reward individuals but societies - and that rewards them for being societies, and for sticking together.

Guilds will advance through 20 levels, gaining XP from the actions of their players: level-ups, boss kills, Battleground and Arena wins, improvements in profession or reputation ranks. Each level awards a guild talent point, which might be spent on a mass resurrection or summoning skill, or an increase to gold drops - something that will be useful to everyone in the guild without making individuals more powerful. Guild XP also converts to guild currency, which can be used to buy rewards: vanity items like mounts with guild flags, profession plans to make Heirloom items (which can't be taken with you if you leave the guild), cheaper potions. There will be guild achievements, too.

'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' Screenshot 9

Sit up and beg for mercy.

The system will tie into a new Looking for Guild interface where players can browse recruiting guilds' talents and achievements, see how they've defined themselves and whether they'd be a good fit. It's a huge step towards making it easier to find and join a guild, and more meaningful to do so, and a more lasting relationship when you do, because of the personal investment you'll have in its progress. Guilds make WOW more fun, and Cataclysm will make guilds more fun. It's a vital move for the future of the game.

But what, in this extraordinary expansion, isn't? Wrath of the Lich King stunned with its quality, but it was very conventional - 10 new levels, one new class - and by aiming at the maximum levels, it preached to the converted. Cataclysm shows that Blizzard's appetite for improving its game and expanding its audience even further isn't just undimmed by five years at the top, it's absolutely voracious. Any expectation that WOW might settle into a well-honed production line now looks ridiculous. This is nothing less than an attempt to remake an ageing MMO into a new game.

Can you do it, Mr. Sams? It's a very, very tall order, but we wouldn't ever bet against Blizzard. Should you, Mr. Sams? Without a shadow of a doubt.

Comments (47) Latest comment 6 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Jeepers #1 3 years ago

    Must... resist... resubscribing...
  • VicViper #2 3 years ago

    You cannot resist all must join or rejoin or wait for Guild Wars 2 since there is no subscription and looks awesome so you can have both
  • ZuluHero #3 3 years ago

    sounding pretty good actually. Nice to see all the old zones in a new way.
  • Nephirion #4 3 years ago

    The problem WoW has always faced is that players work through new content so quickly it soon turns stale and uninteresting, dare I say that WoW has become far to " easy " It would be nice to see some real PVE challenge that isn't based soley on the raid mechanic.
  • Sharzam #5 3 years ago

    I left a few months ago and been plucking away at LOTRO (love it), i might try this out dont know yet. I ended up leaving as getting sick of the attuitudes of the people playing, but when they brought in dual talent specs i resubbed as that always annoyed me in the past being able to quest or heal. However after a month or 2 of being back on my shaman i left again not because of anything blizzard have done wrong but because the community it really is the most immature childish group i cant think of any other game where people shout and argue over a item that does not actually exsist or insult people because they dont agree with 1 talent point. Before anyone mentions xbox live, its different when you can not only mute them but also dont even need to meet them in game, with a MMO there are always people around.

    So basically i think that blizzard will as ever make a great game do everything that is needed to get people to pay them money , however it will be the players that ruin it as its so easy that even people with no skill play it.
  • curtlikesmeat #6 3 years ago

    I'd generally agree with Sharzam on the community, it really is poor (stuff like "we won't take you in x raid / dungeon unless you've got the achievement saying you've done it once already".... just makes me sigh). However this, I have to say does sound great and no doubt I'll be resubscribing at some point.
  • Tyranix #7 3 years ago

    With the awesomeness that is Aion, I can't really get too excited about this.
  • ciril #8 3 years ago

    Looks fascinating, I haven't played WoW since Burning Crusade but this might get me to resub for a couple of months to get through new content.

    Will it allow access to WOTLK content for people that didn't buy it?
  • Hantheman #9 3 years ago

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #10 3 years ago

    Agreeing with the 'community' bit - the problem is that the 'trade' channel is full of leetest gits and power guilds, PUGs have ALWAYS been a stress to find 'good' ones in any mmo anyway - the only solution is finding the right guild (or do what i've ended up doing runing your own) theres a ton of mature thinking players in WoW just under all that 'link achv' rubbish it's just tapping into it
  • shamblemonkee #11 3 years ago

    need time machine plox!
  • Kami #12 3 years ago

    Agreed with the community, but there have always been good people in the game and will continue to be.

    My problem is that WotLK just went through the motions again. It was basically a stage-by-stage repeat of TBC, the same mistakes, the same errors, and more glaring bugs cropping up to ruin it for everyone. To me, Blizzard didn't learn.

    Or maybe they did, because Cataclysm does sound rather nifty and I'm intrigued. The question is, with so many of us arsing off to Aion, what could possibly bring us back?

    Oh right, Worgen Rogue, fuck yeah, woo.
  • hailstorm #13 3 years ago

    So the graphics still suck then?
  • LetsGo #14 3 years ago

  • MaxiSleep #15 3 years ago

    So the graphics still suck then?

    WoW graphics when moving are still better then any other MMO i have played in terms of animation and fluidity. And go to say the forests in Dragonblight and they are as good i think as LOTR online. Hopefully Aion will not miss the importance of animation.
  • actionfitz #16 3 years ago

    hehe. worgen rogue yeah...
    kind of makes me sad i already have a level 80 rogue...
    oh wait! they are bringing in Race changing arent they!?
    whoop whoop!
    now... what class to level through the old world as a worgen?
    (have level 70 warrior and shamman too :/ - oh and an 80 DK ^^ )
  • joe90 #17 3 years ago

    I want a Wargon called FurBalls
  • The_Bloody_Kettle #18 3 years ago

    I'll come back for this, but only as has been said, if I can find a realm that is slightly adult.

    I really quite like the worgen!
  • jim1975 #19 3 years ago

    i shall call my worgan, terry
  • Pirotic #20 3 years ago

    Very impressed, so rather than let this die-out they are just going to keep revamping it every few years. Can't say I'm surprised considering the amount of money it brings in, but it shows forsight and that they are not just happy to take it easy now they've seeminly reached a position unreachable by any of it's competition.

    While I can't wait to try out all the new low level areas again. It's sad I'll never see the Azeroth my characters level up in again.
  • poopmonster #21 3 years ago

  • TheJuriel #22 3 years ago

    I find it commendable for Blizzard to change so much in an effort to 'do it better this time', rather than just being content with leaving their millions-making machine as it is. All this has actually made me interested in the game now.

    However... werewolves with swords? REALLY now? That just looks silly. And there is no unarmed class for them to go for, so, eh - seem to lose much of the feral nature they should have.
  • Fwing #23 3 years ago

    For the people complaining about the WoW community:
    - The first thing you should do when starting playing a new MMO is immediately leave all public chat channels forever.

    Works every time.
  • poopmonster #24 3 years ago

    "So the graphics still suck then?"

    How on earth can anyone claim that of WOW?

    The graphics are beautifully designed - maybe not to everyone's taste, but here's some news: Taste != quality.

    WOW has more variety, clarity and imagination to everything from clothing to environments and user interface.

    And about that user interface... Well designed icons, supports all monitor resolutions, perfect mouse control and responsiveness, and virtually limitless customisation options.

    The competition? Well I revisited LoTR the other day during their "come back and play for free" week, and it was absolutely dreadful. The whole experience was like swimming through mud, and their idea of supporting 1980x1200 is "scaled" interface with dreadful blurring... the character turns when you press A or D and the camera follows a second or two later... poor, so poor, made me feel travel sick.

    Blizzard aren't the best by accident. They're the grand masters of design. Personally I'd prefer some serious fantasy, but when Age of Conan even fails to delivery, what you gonna do? Take something that's at least made with a touch of love, that's my advice. And that's WOW.



  • swisstony #25 3 years ago

    lotro in ultra res looks fantastic, some vistas are jawdropping. There are loding issues in Lothlorien which is frustrating but I have a folder full of screenshots, at least a 80 odd, which were just 'wow, that looks great, must take a screenshot', quite apart from the obligatory 'shot of us downing raid boss'.
  • poopmonster #26 3 years ago

    'shot of us downing raid boss'

    That would be the only raid in the game then? Or did they add another one? :)

    Edit: I should point out that I have nothing against LoTR, I have very fond memories of the game, especially the community which is a whole lot more mature than the WoW prattage. Oh wait I do have something against it.... Turbine, and their "MMO in a box" approach to game design.
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/09 @ 13:54
  • thelatestmodel #27 3 years ago

    "Must... resist... resubscribing..."

    +1. I haven't touched WOTLK but this is bringing a lot of happy memories flooding back.
  • Dizzy #28 3 years ago

    "The competition? Well I revisited LoTR the other day during their "come back and play for free" week, and it was absolutely dreadful"

    Lol... next time don't lie.
  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #29 3 years ago

    Crof - the 'hardcore' guild thing with the guild leveling/acheve system is going to be softcapped per day/week plus only the top 5 gainers of the day actally count towards the exp - so it doesn't matter how many players you have or the amount of grinding you'll do the 'hardcore guilds will go at the same pace (might bit a tad fater) as anyother guild type

    As of Cati - same goes with BG ranks - you can't 24/7 bot your way to cap - this time Blizzard aren't making the same mistakes as with the orginal houner system
  • poopmonster #30 3 years ago

    I say "The competition? Well I revisited LoTR the other day during their "come back and play for free" week, and it was absolutely dreadful"

    Dizzy says "Lol... next time don't lie."

    Hey and I thought the LoTR players were mature, I must have missed one. Tiny little icons, muddy controls, poor chat window and text options, getting on/off horse STILL requires that ridiculous toggle bar and takes forever? And - even better, if you think WoW is too easy - "XP distribution has changed" message, and all three of my characters bumped up between 1-4 levels when I killed something (yeah that's right, so all the quests and items i was on/wearing were suddendly out of date 1-4 levels).

    Now sunshine, one other thing; opinions aren't lies regardless of your own.
  • sneetch #31 3 years ago

    @actionfitz
    hehe. worgen rogue yeah...
    kind of makes me sad i already have a level 80 rogue...


    Yeah. :(

    oh wait! they are bringing in Race changing arent they!?

    Wait, what? They are?!? I don't know who I love more right now, Blizzard or you. ;)

    I want my gnome priestess. :)
  • Kami #32 3 years ago

    I believe they have confirmed faction change - with limitations, of course (you can only select a race on the other faction with your job type - so, if you have currently a Human paladin, the only horde race you can change to right now is a Blood Elf). Simple race change i.e. human > dwarf is yet to be confirmed, though Blizzard have yet to write it off.

    It's possible that it'll all be ready for Cataclysm, so people can switch around as they see fit.
  • swisstony #33 3 years ago

    Poop you can customise layout and size of your icons and all HUD elements in LOTRO. Also, there was a balancing of the xp curve so if you logged on and killed something it would 'set you right' which might mean jumping levels but that was a one off.

    If your only other gripes are a control system that I don't find muddy and the odd toggle and chat window then the game must be doing a lot else right....
  • poopmonster #34 3 years ago

    "If your only other gripes are a control system that I don't find muddy and the odd toggle and chat window then the game must be doing a lot else right...."

    Oh it does - I love the journal and book approach to quests, the titles and monster play mode (can't recall the latest anocrym...meeps?), the feeling of camaraderie in the community as opposed to being spammed to duel every two minutes outside Goldshire, the fact they have (rudimentary) housing, and so on. But I can't be nice while being evil, horde complex doesn't allow.

    I like the game, I just think it's limited...nice that they support add-ons too, but you shouldn't need an add-on for something as rudimentary as resolution support.

    To get back to what I started on, WOW is an great looking game - anyone who's flown into Icecrown wouldn't dream of arguing against that. Fair do's to LoTR for what it does well, but style is apples and pears.

    Anyway let's digress; I like the terry worgen post best. :p
  • Sunyavadin #35 3 years ago

    What's with this whole "Dragons did it" plot device for reshaping the entire game world that MMOs seem to be hooked on lately?

    First Guild Wars announced it in 2007, then WoW now, I eagerly await them showing up in Conan by 2011.....
  • Lord_Roke #36 3 years ago

    Looks cool - the more i read about this the more I'm looking forward to it. I think the remodelling of the old world is a great idea. Another content like Northrend would make the new content only accessible to top level players. This way everyone gets to see the new content whether you're level 80, a new player or just levelling an alt. Also excited about the guild levelling system. I will definitely try a Wargen as well.
  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #37 3 years ago

    Anyone else hoping that Worgen 'cat form' for druids will just be their normal werewolf form? ala POPER D2 DRUID!
  • otto #38 3 years ago

    Mixed feelings about the changes to be made to the old zones. On the one hand, I love their willingness to change the world with world events and give the player a sense of being involved in an evolving story, and who can possibly argue with tarting up Desolace? On the other hand, I'm really going to miss Auberdine. :( Also, not sure I like the sound of wrecking some of my favourite zones with lava.

    Now I wonder if they'll let me cash in my real life degree for some instant skill-ups in archaeology?
  • psychokitten #39 3 years ago

    So tempted to resub when this is out, purely to roll a Worgen :/
  • moshegy #40 3 years ago

    All of it sounds good to me. I don't really like the idea of Troll druids, since they wouldn't be from a lore perspective. But I have the same sort of relationship to troll priests, and I've gone on fine pretending for them to be witchdoctors so why not? ^^

    @Nephirion as a healer I've sure had to face some challenges in the "new" five man heroic trial of the champion dungeon that came with 3.2. But I agree with you that it's one of the few places outside of raiding that pve ever really offer a challenge. Which is sad really because it was somewhat similar in TBC where they only really added a "hard" 5 man with late patches.

    Easy content is fine with me, it allows more people to see more of the game. But I think it'd be more fun if the hardmode gameplay worked it's way into 5man dungeons aswell.
    Edited by 1 at 25/08/09 @ 15:13
  • Gurgeh #41 3 years ago

    "Some zones will be disrupted more than others, probably depending on how much Blizzard felt they needed work "

    ... or how much work would be involved for Blizzard to update the zone to allow players to fly over them. Lots of work to fix this zone? Bury it in lava! Job done, minimum cost. Looking at the map, you can see that many of the areas in the game which are "unfinished" (i.e. texture facades like old Hollywood film sets) are submerged in Cataclysm.

    "the shorter five-level step will allow Blizzard to concentrate not just on the old-world revamp, says Chilton, but also more endgame content at launch - a deliberate skew away from levelling and towards having more to do at maximum level"

    ... which would be good as long as they aren't rehashing old content like Naxx and Onyxia...

    "there's a nostalgic theme: Blackrock Caverns, a new five-man dungeon, is located in the old instance hub Blackrock Spire, and the Firelands, a raid on the elemental plane of fire, sees players take their second pop at Ragnaros. Nostalgia will reach overload, though, in the new level 85 Heroic versions of two much-loved low-level instances; the spooky ghost-train of Shadowfang Keep and uproarious romp through the Deadmines will return"

    ... oh dear.
  • wittynic #42 3 years ago

    I resubbed for WoTLK, but found the high level content became too serious - people checking my entire gear/build/achievement set before i was allowed to raid, everything becoming about equipment - it felt more like an equipment/achievement conveyor belt than a game where the aim was to have fun.

    Having said that, the idea of being able to roll a Goblin Rogue or a Troll Druid and running them through re-designed zones, does have some appeal.

    But Guild Wars 2 is still where it's at for me.
  • taloros #43 2 years ago

    I will say WoW in its day did have some decent graphics if you enjoyed the style of graphics they went with. That was however a few years ago. If your stating it has the best graphics of all MMO now . Then you are either playing on an outdated system, jaded and bias towards WoW and or have not been in any other MMO lately. I played the latest release of WoW ie Lich King and then proceeded to play the latest build of games like Vanguard, LOTRO, EQ2, AOC, WAR just to name a few. If you go for overall eye candy I can name 2 games in that list that will own WoW especially in 1920x1080 or higher also known as 1080p. Of course those games would also look like Mud next to WoW in highest settings if your system cannot handle it because the distortion would be insane. WoW is designed to run on lower end systems while those others mentioned have stop points and warning messages when you attempt to gp into max settings even now with todays equipment. So while WoW has many things in its arsenal graphics is not one of them.

    It is refreshing to see though that this expansion they seem to be almost 90% original concepts for a change. I guess borrowing ideas from other MMO's is running out when everyone is cloning your game. Only borrowed concepts I can see are the guild leveling system and maybe the alternate skill master system but that will have to be seen. I hope they do a graphic revamp also like others have done because in no way now are they even close to top of the eye candy heap. If they do a revamp of graphics maybe even put in support for dx11. I can see people buying it and others reopening accounts I probably will also but I still think the days are numbered on this with games like Star Wars The Old Republic looming.
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 22:40
  • butler` #44 2 years ago

    i'm not going to argue with you talaros, i'm just going to say i haven't a clue how people like you come to care so much for high fidelity graphics -- irrelevent of graphical style and direction and, well... the game

    ;/
  • Kittymonk4 #45 2 years ago

    I think Blizzard is either going to hit a home run with Cataclysm or hit a strike. The revamping of the old zones will be refreshing as well as the new races etc. But I'm afraid Blizzard might be going a little bit to far with the expansion. Regardless of what happens, I'll keep playing WoW, but its going to be interesting seeing how this will turn out.

    "I still think the days are numbered on this with games like Star Wars The Old Republic looming."

    I can't believe anyone would compare that MMO to WoW. It is going to be completely different and will draw players from a completely different group of people. If they are going to want to even get close to affecting WoW they better make The Old Republic really, really, good.
    Edited by 2 at 29/08/09 @ 18:58
  • gmjapan #46 2 years ago

    part 2 of the expansion leads players to holms deep... er, deepholm. They never did care about subtle.
  • berkowitzjonathan05 #47 6 months ago

    Not really addicted on warcarft but this one with the wargens perk my interest. Jonathan Berkowitz