World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Preview and Information
Curious about the newest World of Warcraft expansion pack, Cataclysm, and what it will hold for you? Here is some of the latest information, previews into the content, and more:
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 playable races of the worgen for the Alliance and the goblins for the Horde. Flying mounts will finally be usable in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. Deathwing has made his return into the ‘real world’ from Deepholm, causing a new Sundering.
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
The following is a list of highlights from BlizzCon 2009.
Level cap increased to 85.
Zones are destroyed by 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.
New race for the Alliance: Worgen
* Classes: death knight, druid, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, warlock and warrior.
New race for the Horde: Goblins
* Classes: death knight, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, shaman, warlock and warrior.
New Race / Class combinations. See the chart below.
New monsters, quests, and zones
Several new dungeons and raids
3 new battlegrounds (including “Battle for Gilneas City” [1]) and a new Wintergrasp-like PvP zone, Tol Barad
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. The blood elf and draenei starting zones will still be instanced.
Guild advancement system, which includes guild leveling, talents, achievements, and accessories.
Revamped character progression via the Paths of the Titans, Archaeology, the new secondary profession, and Ancient glyphs.
Rated battlegrounds, an alternative way to earn arena points
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.
Profession level cap raised to 525 and will be named Illustrious
.
New ability for Jewelcrafters, Engineers, Blacksmiths, Leatherworkers and Tailors called “Reforging”
Stat changes:
* Armor penetration rating is being removed from the game. Some physical DPS specs will be able to gain armor penetration through talent trees and mastery bonuses.
* Attack power is being removed from gear. Death knights, paladins and warriors will still gain 2 attack power per point of strength, and all druids, hunters, shamans and rogues will get 2 attack power per point of agility and no attack power from strength.
* Block value is being removed from the game, blocking will provide percentile damage reduction, which can be increased through talent trees and mastery bonuses.
* Defense is being removed from the game. All tanking specs will get anti-critical hit talents similar to Survival of the Fittest.
* Haste will affect the rate at which energy, rage, focus and runes are gained. Enhancement shamans and retribution paladins will gain talents which allow them to gain similar benefits from haste.
* Mastery is being added. Mastery will provide a bonus based on the talent tree which has the most points in it, such as armor penetration or cooldown reduction.
* MP5 is being removed, all healing specs will rely on spirit for mana regeneration. Holy paladins and restoration shamans may get mana regenerations like Intensity and Meditation, or the 5 second rule may be removed. Spell DPS classes will no longer rely on spirit for mana regeneration, and spirit will no longer be on spell DPS gear.
* Spell power is being removed from items. Characters will gain spell power from intellect much like how they currently gain attack power from agility and strength.
Many passive talents with generic bonuses, such as increased critical strike chance, damage reduction or increased healing are being removed, and each talent tree will provide passive bonuses based on the number of points invested in it.
(*this information was taken with permission from WoWWiki.)
Tags: cataclysm, new races, raids, World Of Warcraft, world of warcraft updates, wotlk, WoW
Some more articles you might be interested in:
Leave a Reply
Advertisement
Advertisement
Ad
