World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Cata or CC for short) 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.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will be released in 2010.[1]
LoreFrom 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 from BlizzCon 2009 onwardThe 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. (These will be available only to those who have purchased the expansion[2])
New monsters, quests, and zones
Several new dungeons and raids
3 new battlegrounds (including "Battle for Gilneas City" [3]) 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 is being removed from gear[4]. However, some physical damage specs may still be able to gain armor penetration through talents and / or 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, with the exception of druids in bear form / dire bear form, who may get attack power from strength in order to allow them to share tanking cloaks, necklaces and rings with death knights, paladins and warriors.[5]
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, including both defense rating and the defense skill. All tanking specs will get anti-critical hit talents similar to Survival of the Fittest.[6]
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[citation needed]. 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 regeneration talents 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.
New water rendering engine.
[7][8][9]
Race and class combination chart
Mount Kajaro erupted on Kezan due to the CataclysmCataclysm class chart [10]
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 figuresAmong 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 MapKalimdor Lost Isles (6?-15)
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)
Unnamed neutral port between Hinterlands and Eastern Plaguelands
The Great Sea Sunken City of Vashj'ir (78-82)
South Seas Kezan (1-5?)
Elemental Plane Deepholm (82-84)
Zones affected by the CataclysmThese changes are not phased. They will be seen by everyone, from level 1 to 85, whether or not they buy the expansion.[11]
Kalimdor
The new level flow for the Kalimdor zonesAshenvale: 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.
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. [12]
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.
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.
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... it's from somewhere" [13], 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.
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.
Thousand Needles: Will be flooded [14] and will be retuned as level 40-45 zone[15] and will host a dungeon.[16]
Eastern Kingdoms
The new level flow for the Eastern Kingdom zonesHillsbrad Foothills: Southshore is destroyed by tidal waves.[17]
Silverpine Forest: The Greymane Wall has been destroyed by the Cataclysm, opening up the passage to Gilneas.
Stranglethorn Vale: Will be one of the most heavily revamped zones.[17]
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.
Undercity: The terrain in and around the Ruins of Lordaeron has been remodeled to accommodate flying mounts.
Wetlands: Heavily affected by Deathwing's destructive exit from Deepholm, with the Twilight Highlands now opened to the East.
Dungeons and raids
List of the Dungeons in Cataclysm that will ship with the gameThe 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
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 with Nefarian as end boss
Grim Batol
Unnamed level 85 dungeon
Grim Batol raid
The Firelands
Raid against Ragnaros
New old-world dungeons gaining 5-player Heroic mode
Deadmines
Shadowfang Keep
PvPBattlegroundsBattle for Gilneas City[3] 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.
ArenasNew arenas are planned to be added with the expansion.
World PvPTol 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 FirelandsEttin
Gilgoblins
Hobgoblins
Jungle plants
Monkeys
Pygmies
Tol'vir
Volcanoths |
