World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Developer(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Activision Blizzard
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, Apple OSX
Genre(s)	MMORPG

Cataclysm redirects here. For the warlock talent, see Cataclysm (talent)

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the upcoming third expansion for World of Warcraft and was officially announced on August 21, 2009 at BlizzCon 2009. The majority of the expansion content takes place in drastically reforged Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.

It is to include the races of the worgen for the Alliance and the goblins for the Horde. Flying mounts will be finally available in Azeroth. Deathwing has made his return into the 'real world' from Deepholm, causing a new Sundering.

Some of the other features Cataclysm adds to the game will be:

• "Hundreds of new quests" and a new secondary profession, archaeology.
• There will also be new race/class combinations, such as tauren paladin.
• There will be heroic Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep.
• Level cap increased to 85.

Lore

From the official site:

An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane.

Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.

Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

Information Revealed at Blizzcon 2009

• Level cap increased to 85.
• Zones are destroyed in lava in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. The Barrens has been split into two, and is full of canyons of lava. Wetlands is destroyed, Ashenvale hit as well. The Maelstrom churns.
• The goblins are driven from their homes on Kezan. The Bilgewater Cartel has shipwrecked upon the Lost Isles, and have now accepted an alliance with the Horde. Possible classes at this moment: death knight, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, shaman, warlock and warrior.
• The Greymane Wall has been shattered and the gate to Gilneas opened. Those within have undergone the transformation into Worgen. Under siege by the Forsaken, the worgen have joined the Alliance. Possible classes at this moment: death knight, druid, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, warlock and warrior.
• New Race/class combinations. For the Alliance: gnome priests, night elf mages, human hunters, dwarf mages, dwarf shamans. For the Horde: blood elf warriors, troll druids, tauren priests, tauren paladins, orc mages and undead hunters.
• New monsters.
• Unearthed "Bastions of Antiquity". More dungeons than ever before.
• Classic zones forever changed by the Cataclysm. The changes will be made available to all players regardless of expansion purchase.
• Ability to fly anywhere due to the Azeroth revamp.
• Guild advancement system.
• Paths of the Titans character progression.
• Rated battlegrounds
• Ragnaros was banished in the Molten Core, but has now returned to burn Nordrassil.
• Malfurion Stormrage has returned from the Emerald Dream to help defend Hyjal.
• New Secondary Profession: Archaeology
• Profession cap raised to 525 and will be named Illustrious.

Prominent figures

Among the many figures confirmed to have major roles in the story of Cataclysm are:

• Deathwing, formerly Neltharion the Earth-Warder, confirmed as the principal villain of the expansion
• Thrall, whose role will be changing, possibly to relinquish command of the Horde
• Garrosh Hellscream, noted to be the new leader of the Horde
• Varian Wrynn, who leads the Alliance after the new Sundering
• Malfurion Stormrage, who returns to aid the Alliance in its new campaign on Mount Hyjal
• Brann Bronzebeard, up to his old tricks as leader of the expedition into the newly-uncovered Uldum region
• Nefarian, also known as Blackwing/Victor Nefarius, son of Deathwing, who survived and retreated further into Blackrock Spire
• Ragnaros, who remains alive to challenge the world in Mount Hyjal, and later in his own elemental fire plane
• The Twilight Hammer cult is a major player in the new expansion; its minions are revealed to be working for Deathwing

The status of Genn Greymane, ruler of the kingdom of Gilneas, is currently unknown, but it is expected that he may play a role as the zone is opened in the expansion (as the home of the new playable race, the Worgen).

It was originally expected that Queen Azshara would be a significant player in the expansion, but game designer Tom Chilton confirmed at the 2009 Blizzcon convention (in the Q&A session of the "Raids and Dungeons" panel) that Azshara and the city of Nazjatar would not be featured in this expansion; potentially this leaves her as a major focus of a future expansion.

New zones

Map of the locations of the new zones, except for Tol Barad. Note: not to scale!

Kalimdor

• Mount Hyjal (78-82)
• Uldum (80-84)

Eastern Kingdoms

• Gilneas (1-15)
• Twilight Highlands (84-85)
• Tol Barad (84-85) (Outdoor PvP)

The Great Sea

• The Lost Isles (1-15)
• Sunken City of Vashj'ir (78-82)

Elemental Plane

• Deepholm (82-84)

Azeroth zones affected by the Cataclysm

Kalimdor

• Darkshore: Auberdine destroyed, and the very land torn asunder. New Alliance and Horde camps.
• Ashenvale: Heavier deforestation near the Warsong Lumber Camp. Zoram'gar Outpost reinforced, similarly to Horde outposts in Northrend.
• Azshara: Azshara has been claimed by the goblins (likely as their second zone after the Lost Isles), where they have established a quarry, where they cut stone to build their towns.
• Orgrimmar: The trailer showed evidence of the front gates being reinforced with metal (like Warsong Hold).
• The Barrens: Split in two by great cracks in the land, spouting fiery rivers of lava. Northern Barrens is 10-20, whereas the southern part is for higher level players.
• Stonetalon Mountains: Evidence of eruptions decimating the landscape.
• Desolace: Once a barren wasteland, now a lush, green area (possibly an expansion of the life that has taken root in Inner Maraudon).

Eastern Kingdoms

• Undercity: Undercity has been redesigned to be flyable, it now looks much more impressive from the outside.
• Hillsbrad Foothills: The Horde have finally conquered Southshore.
• Wetlands: Destroyed; possibly replaced by the Twilight Highlands surrounding Grim Batol.

Dungeons and End-game Content

List of the Dungeons in Cataclysm that will ship with the game

• The Abyssal Maw (Two 5 players (80-83 & 82-84) and a raid)
• The Skywall (5 players (80-82) and a raid)
• The Firelands (Raid against Ragnaros)
• Deepholm (5 players (80-83))
• Uldum (Two 5 players)
  • Lost City of Tol'vir (5 players (84-85))
  • Halls of Origination (5 players (85 - 7 bosses))
• Blackrock Mountain
  • Blackrock Caverns (5 players (85) located in Blackrock Spire)
  • Blackwing Descent (Raid inspired by Blackwing Lair with Nefarian as a boss)
• Grim Batol (5 players (85) and a raid)
• Heroic versions of Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep (Both 85)

PvP additions

Battlegrounds

Battle of Gilneas will be a new battleground in which you take control of the city by taking control of the most districts in the battleground.

Battlegrounds starting with Cataclysm will be rated, like arenas, and will provide the same rewards as arenas.

Arenas

New arenas are planned to be added with the expansion.

World PvP

Tol Barad will be an outdoor PvP zone much like Wintergrasp. Unlike Wintergrasp however, Tol Barad will also be the main daily quest hub in Cataclysm. By taking control of the Tol Barad Prison, players will gain access to additional, very profitable daily quests.

Featured races

• Goblins (Horde playable)
• Worgen (Alliance playable)
• Tol'vir

Press materials

• Fact sheet
• FAQ
• Press release

Gallery

• 
• 
• Lost Isles.PNG
• 
• Ss18.jpg
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Videos

World of Warcraft Cataclysm Official trailer

Before/After World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Lost Isles

Scams

Thousands of players have received e-mails inviting them to join an "alpha test", are scammers who are looking to capitalize on unsuspecting victims.

External Links

• Cataclysm Official site
• Azzor - Cataclysm
• Cataclysm videos
• Schwick's Info About Expansion

ru:World of Warcraft: Cataclysm