World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the next expansion for World of
Warcraft. Dark and forgotten threats that have long stayed out of sight
have finally arrived on our shores, unleashing a cataclysmic event upon
Azeroth and now preparing more nefarius plans to take it back.
Level CapThe level cap in the next expansion will be slightly lower than expected this time around;
85.
This
suggests Blizzard wants more room for expansions before hitting the
level 100 cap. With less leveling to do (along with the revamped
leveling listed below likely to increase the speed and ease of
leveling), leveling a new race remains appealing for new and existing
players alike.
Leveling from 80-85 should be a much bigger deal,
the idea is to make sure that gaining a level really means something
and doesn't make you feel like you just have 4 more levels to go.
New ClassesCataclysm
doesn't introduce any new classes to the game. Instead, Blizzard have
offered more race and classes combinations to players. The Some of
these have alreadly been datamined from the 3.2.2 Test Realms. The
An Injured Colleaguequest and it's new Night Elf counter-part help to introduce the lore
for these new race and class combinations, so we can probably expect to
see more of these for some of the less traditional ones.
New RacesThe
events of the cataclysm has caused two new races to seek new allies.
The Goblins for the Horde and the Worgen for the Alliance.
GoblinsDeathwing
once again sought the services of the goblins, as slaves. Unable to
refuse such an offer, the goblins were enslaved by him. A large group
have resisted however. With their previous homes devastated by the
cataclysm, they escaping to an island off the coast of The Barrens. As
they strive to recover, they come across an Orc captured on an Alliance
ship and rescue him. The Orc turns out to be none other than Thrall
himself, and in return offers the Goblins a place within the Horde.
These events are carried out in a quest line, allowing players to
experience first-hand the reasons behind the Goblins' shift from
neutrality.
WorgenThe
cataclysm has cracked open the Greymane Wall, finally revealing what
has happened to the kingdom of Gilneas and its citizens. With the
Worgen curse taken hold, they have found a partial cure, allowing thme
to retain their Human minds even when transformed. Venturing forth from
Gilneas and seeking help from the Alliance, they have decided to join
them, to combat the new threats of Cataclysm.
Gilneas will make
extensive use of the phasing system (much like the Death Knight
starting area), to show what happened while the kingdom was cut off
from the rest of the world and lead up to present day.
Worgens will have two forms, a Worgen form and a Human form. Players will be able to customise the look of both forms.
New ContentCataclysm will be the first expansion
not to introduce a new continent, instead making use of previously unreleased zones and revamping existing ones.
Classic Azeroth RevampA
cataclysmic event caused by Deathwing and Azshara will change the face
of Azeroth as we know it. Most of the new content for Cataclysm will
take the form of a revamped Azeroth, taking advantage of newer
additions to WoW such as phasing and daily quests. Most of the quests
and mobs in the classic zones will also be redesigned to make leveling
less painful. With the revamp, a greater narritive and sense
progression will be offered to players. Some zones and dungeons will
change drastically to fit this, e.g.,
- The Barrens will be split into two separate zones of two different level bands.
- Azshara will become a low level (~10-20) zone.
- Some of the zones like the Thousand Needles will be flooded.
- Durotar is wrecked and apparently Orgrimmar could be destroyed. A new Orc city is rebuilt over the course of the expansion.
- Gnomeregan
will be part of the expansion as well and gnomes might be able to
reclaim their capital. (The last part is still unconfirmed)
- Wailing Caverns will be become a lush tropical area as a result of the druid's magic.
- The Blackrock Spire will erupt and a new version of Blackrock Mountains will be available, apparently Ragnaros will be back too.
In
the aftermath of the cataclysm, and the new conflicts on the horizon
relief efforts can be found in many zones and new open PvP areas
similar to Lake Wintergrasp.
Flying in AzerothPart
of the redesign of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor is the
introduction of flying to the two continents, allowing access to many
new areas and quicker travelling across the large continents.
Classic Dungeon RevampRedesigning
Onyxia's Lair in Patch 3.2.2 was just the first step. As most of the
leveling will take place in revamped areas of Azeroth, so too will the
dungeons, allowing players to use them to level from 80 to 85.
Unreleased Zones & DungeonsWith
the addition of flying mounts to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms and
the redesign of many zones, most of the previously unreachable or
incomplete zones will now be made available to players. This is where
most of the new content from 80 to 85 will take place. Some of these
are,
- Hyjal (present)
- Gilneas - The Worgen starting Zone.
- Uldum
It
is unclear if the old Goblin locations such as Kezan and Undermine will
be included in Cataclyms with the revelation of the goblins' plight,
but several new islands have also been risen from the seas by the
events of Cataclysm, some on the backs of giant sea turtles and whales,
with the addition of several underwater zones.
Characters and EventsDeathwingDeathwing the Destroyer / Neltharion the Earth-Warderwill play a major role in Cataclysm. Having been driven mad by Old God
whisperings and turning against his own kind only to be fail in his
attempts, Deathwing has sunk into the shadows. While the Horde and the
Alliance were busy fighting back the Burning Legion only to then be
beset with the Scourge, he has been lurking and moving things into
place. After Lady Sinestra's failed attempts to create a
Twilight Dragonflight,
he again retreated to Grim Batol and succeeded where she failed. With
his results seen in the Obsidian Sanctum, he has finally created the
supreme Dragonflight he sought and plans to unleash it upon the world.
But what of the Old Gods' sway over him?
AzsharaQueen Azsharawill also play a major part in Cataclysm. Unknown to many mortal races,
long forgotten by others, and believe to be dead by her own kind, she
has not been dormant in depths of the Maelstrom. Having those around
her transformed by the Old Gods into Naga after her failure in the War
of the Ancients, she has become far more powerful and a greater threat
than she once was. Not content with just Nazjatar and the depths of the
sea, Azshara seeks to reclaim power and reign once again. With the true
plan behind Lady Vashj's support of Illidan remaining a mystery we do
not know what hand Azshara has yet played. The big question remains, is
she now serving her "saviors", the Old Gods?
The CataclysmI'm
still not sure who is the true end boss of Cataclysm is, but the
cataclysm appears to have been caused by attempts to incantation to
summon extremely powerful beings using an ancient incantation by
Deathwing and Azshara. They're both very powerful, but the cataclysm
itself suggests something more powerful is behind it, perhaps their
shared past of Old God influence?
The Guardian of TirisfalMalfurion Stormrage will be returning to Azeroth to aid in the creation of the new Guardian of Tirisfal - Thrall!
Med'an's role in these events is currently unknown.
The New (New) HordeThrall
will hand over the leadership of the Horde to Garrosh Hellscream, while
he serves as a coordinator for both the Horde and Alliance forces in
and effort to combat the new threat of the Naga and Black Dragonflight.
Without Thrall to keep Garrosh in check, he declares open war on the
Alliance. In the political upheaval Cairne Bloodhoof is implicated as a
traitor to the Horde and murdered by Garrosh. Cairne's son Baine takes
over as the new Tauren chieftan. This could explain why Baine was
removed from the game in Patch 3.2.2, you can find more information
about this in
Ahmo Thunderhorn - replacement for Baine Bloodhoof?
Portal 
