World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Art from the official Cataclysm site (with logo edited on)
Developer(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release	TBA
Genre(s)	MMORPG

"Cataclysm" redirects here. For the warlock talent, see [Cataclysm].

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" ) 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 <Profession>.
• New ability for Jewelcrafters, Engineers, Blacksmiths, Leatherworkers and Tailors called "Reforging"
• Stat changes:
  • Armor penetration rating is being removed from gear and talents. However, armor penetration will still be gained by melee specs passively through the mastery system 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 for melee and physical ranged DPS classes 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. It will no longer provide weapon speed increase as it once did for these classes. Haste for casters is unchanged.
  • 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, and specifically those that provide bonuses to buffs and perhaps debuffs, are being removed, and each talent tree will provide passive bonuses based on the number of points invested in it.

Race and class combination chart

Cataclysm class chart
Draenei	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes
Dwarf	Yes		Yes	New	Yes	Yes	Yes	New		Yes
Gnome	Yes			Yes		New	Yes		Yes	Yes
Human	Yes		New	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes
Night elf	Yes	Yes	Yes	New		Yes	Yes			Yes
Worgen	New	New	New	New		New	New		New	New
Blood elf	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	New
Forsaken	Yes		New	Yes		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes
Goblin	New		New	New		New	New	New	New	New
Orc	Yes		Yes	New			Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tauren	Yes	Yes	Yes		New	New		Yes		Yes
Troll	Yes	New	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes

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, who, being the leader of the Horde and the world's strongest shaman, has plenty of work to do after the Cataclysm.
• Garrosh Hellscream, who continues to cause internal tensions in the Horde.
• Varian Wrynn, who leads the Alliance after the Cataclysm.
• Malfurion Stormrage, who returns to prevent Mount Hyjal from being destroyed.
• Brann Bronzebeard, up to his old tricks as leader of the expedition into the newly-uncovered Uldum region.
• Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, who helps administer a cure for the worgen curse to his now-transformed people.
• Nefarian, also known as 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 Sulfuron Keep in his own realm, the Firelands.
• The Twilight Hammer cult is a major player in the new expansion; its minions are revealed to be working for Deathwing.

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. Blizzard does, however, list her amongst the featured players in Cataclysm, so it is possible we will feel her presence throughout the expansion, even if she does not herself make an appearance.

New zones

Map of the new zones in Cataclysm. Not to scale

Maps of the new zones in Cataclysm. (Enlarged)

See also: Gilneas Map, Lost Isles Map

Kalimdor

• Mount Hyjal (78-82)
• Uldum (83-84)

Eastern Kingdoms

• Gilneas (1-15)
• Twilight Highlands (84-85)
• Tol Barad (84-85) (Outdoor PvP)
• Deathwing Scar (Entrance to Deepholm)

The Great Sea

• Lost Isles (6?-15)
• Sunken City of Vashj'ir (78-82)

South Seas

• Kezan (1-5?)

Elemental Plane

• Deepholm (82-84)

Zones affected by the Cataclysm

Mount Kajaro erupted on Kezan due to the Cataclysm

Kalimdor

• Darkshore: Auberdine is destroyed, and the very land torn asunder. The Alliance relocates to a new camp in the Northern end of the zone, while the Horde sets up camp to the South. Shatterspear Village, previously a closed zone, becomes an accessible subzone.
• Ashenvale: Heavier deforestation around the Warsong Lumber Camp causes the orcs to encroach on Silverwind Refuge. Zoram'gar Outpost is reinforced with black iron, similar to the Horde outposts in Northrend. Astranaar becomes the victim of air assaults launched by the Horde.
• Azshara: Azshara has been claimed by the goblins (likely as their second zone after the Lost Isles), where they have established a quarry to cut stone for the construction of their towns. The zone is also now directly linked with Orgrimmar.
• Orgrimmar: The trailer showed evidence of the front gates being reinforced with metal (like Warsong Hold). What metal is used is unknown, but at BlizzCon 2009 Tom Chilton said specifically "if you recognize the black iron... its from somewhere" , hinting that the metal has a specific origin or just reinforcing that we saw this type of architecture used by Garrosh in Northrend. Possibilities include dark iron, saronite or just normal iron.
• The Barrens: The Barrens is split in two by great fissures in the land, spouting fiery rivers of lava. The Northern Barrens is a level 10-20 zone, while the Southern Barrens is intended for higher level players. Portions of the Barrens have grown lush thanks to the work of the druid Naralex. The passage into Mulgore has been reinforced by the tauren, with high walls and a gate. The Alliance will be moving into the southern Barrens, constructing several towers and burning down Camp Taurajo.
• Stonetalon Mountains: Eruptions decimate the landscape, spreading the flames of the Charred Vale even further. The goblins have cut through the mountains, forming a valley that leads into Ashenvale.
• Desolace: Once a barren wasteland, the Cataclysm has caused a rift to form, allowing water to flood in from the coast and bring life back to the region. However, the region is now being invaded by demons, including shivarra.

Eastern Kingdoms

• Undercity: The terrain in and around the Ruins of Lordaeron has been remodeled to accommodate flying mounts.
• Hillsbrad Foothills: Southshore is now possibly "lost".
• Wetlands: Heavily affected by Deathwing's destructive exit from Grim Batol, with the Twilight Highlands now opened to the East.
• Silverpine Forest: The Greymane Wall has been destroyed by the Cataclysm, opening up the passage to Gilneas.
• Stormwind City: The castles and terrain surrounding Stormwind City have been remodeled to accommodate flying mounts. The Gilnean worgen have been assigned their own district.

Dungeons and raids

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

The developers announced at BlizzCon 2009 that they intend for Cataclysm to ship with the most end-game content yet seen in an expansion.

• The Skywall
  • Unnamed level 80-82 dungeon
  • Unnamed raid
• Deepholm
  • Unnamed level 81-83 dungeon
• Sunken City of Vashj'ir
  • Abyssal Maw, level 81-83 dungeon
  • Unnamed level 82-84 dungeon
  • Unnamed raid
• Uldum
  • Halls of Origination, level 83 dungeon
  • Lost City of Tol'vir, level 84-85 dungeon
• Blackrock Mountain
  • Blackrock Caverns, level 85 dungeon
  • Blackwing Descent, raid inspired by Blackwing Lair
• Grim Batol
  • Unnamed level 85 dungeon
  • Unnamed raid against Deathwing
• The Firelands
  • Raid against Ragnaros
• New old-world dungeons gaining 5-player Heroic mode
  • Deadmines
  • Shadowfang Keep

PvP

Battlegrounds

Battle for Gilneas City 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.

Bestiary

A volcanoth, a monstrous volcano-turtle presumably found in the Firelands

• Tol'vir
• Volcanoths

Info compilations

• Fact sheet
• FAQ
• Press release

Gallery

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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". These are scammers who are looking to capitalize on unsuspecting victims.

A few points to remember if you receive an invitation to help test Cataclysm or any Blizzard product:

• Blizzard does not invite the general player base to alpha tests. It has an army of game developers and testers for that. As with the previous two expansions, beta testing will be announced by Blizzard on the official World of Warcraft website. Beware of clicking official-looking links to that site in e-mails, as scammers often build official-looking copycat sites - instead bookmark the official site or use the link on the game login screen.
• It cannot be stressed enough to players that Blizzard will never ask you for your credit card, password, user name, e-mail address or any other information it already has. This will not happen ingame, nor in e-mail. If you are asked for this info, you are very likely being scammed.
• Though specific details about Cataclysm's beta procedures have not been implemented yet, there is a thread in the official forums by Frejya about what to expect from Blizzard.

External links

• Cataclysm Official site
• Schwick's Info About Expansion
• Frejya's Cataclysm Compilation

ru:World of Warcraft: Cataclysm