***Official WoW Cataclysm Thread***

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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.

Level Cap Increased to 85

Guild Advancement

New Profession Archaeology

Flying Mounts in Azeroth



The New Zones

The Abyssal Maw

Azeroth's native elementals wreaked havoc across the world while they were under the influence of the Old Gods.

To keep Azeroth safe from these threats, the titans imprisoned the Old Gods underground and banished the savage elementals to the titan-constructed Elemental Plane, a secure dominion where the elementals could dwell without harming Azeroth.

Four domains were created within this primordial realm to serve as ideal environments for each type of elemental. For ages since, the elementals of air, water, earth, and fire have engaged in endless strife with each other, waging titanic battles in the confines of their realm. One of the Elemental Plane's domains, a vast ocean known as the Abyssal Maw, is home to the water elementals. Legend says that Neptulon the Tidehunter, the powerful being who rules over the aquatic realm, possesses a potent weapon that allows its owner to control the very seas of Azeroth. Thus far, the artifact has remained secure inside the water elementals' domain... but that will soon change.

Within Deepholm, the domain of the earth elementals, the malefic Dragon Aspect Deathwing is on the verge of executing a catastrophic act: to burst forth from the Elemental Plane into Azeroth. Doing so will ravage the surface of the world and breach the barrier that separates Azeroth from the elementals' realm. Whether Neptulon and his subjects have entered into an alliance with Deathwing remains unknown. Regardless, if Deathwing's actions create an opening into the Abyssal Maw, nefarious and honorable factions alike will seek out the fabled weapon carried by Neptulon. Whoever secures the artifact will have control over the world's seas, a power that perhaps no one, not even members of the Horde or the Alliance, should possess.

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Gilneas

Gilneas is located on the peninsula south of Silverpine Forest.

The human kingdom had supported the Alliance during the Second War, but King Greymane had no qualms about severing all ties to the outside world when it became clear that the Alliance needed Gilneas more than Gilneas needed the Alliance. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, darkness fell on Gilneas after the Greymane Wall's gates had been closed, and the worgen curse ravaged the nation. Before long, Gilneans were fighting against Gilneans in a bloody civil war that left the kingdom in tatters. Remarkably, the people of Gilneas have somehow managed to hold on to the last vestiges of their humanity... for now.

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Lost Isles

The preconception that any goblin would sell their best friend for a fistful of gold is not entirely unfounded: many of them probably would and some actually do.

The truth is that quite a few goblins combine a shrewd business sense with a certain level of... moral flexibility. For example, after the cataclysm reawakened a volcano on their home island one of the goblins' trade princes realized that there was good money to be made in offering panicked goblins a ticket to safety on his ship, taking their life savings - and then selling them into slavery. A clever plan, until it (and the ship) fell apart in a naval crossfire between an Alliance fleet and a lone Horde ship. The shipwreck's survivors washed ashore on the Lost Isles off the coast of Kalimdor, where they discover that the island's dense jungles harbor many mysteries and more than a few unpleasant surprises.




New Races

Worgen

The worgen are a race of feral wolf-beasts whose very name inspires fear. Theories regarding their history abound, yet the worgen's origins remain steeped in mystery.

Records indicate that the worgen existed for a time in Kalimdor. In fact, more recent evidence suggests that their true origin might have a connection to the night elves and a secretive druidic order from Kalimdor's distant past. Yet until new evidence comes to light, this information remains speculative.

The worgen's first verified appearance in the Eastern Kingdoms has been traced back to the Third War, when the archmage Arugal utilized the wolf-beasts as a weapon against the Scourge. Arugal's weapons soon turned against him, however, as the curse of the worgen rapidly spread among the human population, transforming ordinary men and women into ravenous, feral creatures.

Arugal adopted many of the worgen as his own and retreated to the former mansion of Baron Silverlaine, the estate now known as Shadowfang Keep. The curse, however, was not contained. It persisted in the lands of Silverpine and extended even into the fabled walled nation of Gilneas, where the curse rapidly reached pandemic levels.

The citizens of Gilneas found themselves trapped, with no hope of escape. They retreated deeper within the isolated domain, and there they survived, fearful of the savage presence that lurked just outside the barricades.

Tensions among the displaced citizens escalated over time, resulting in a civil war that now threatens to destabilize the embattled nation even more.

There are those among the Gilneans, however, who cling to hope. Many believe that a treatment for the worgen curse may exist, although others have nearly given up, fearful that if the barricades should fall, their humanity will be lost forever.




Racial Abilities


Worgen Racial Trait: Viciousness


+1% damage is given to Worgen’s

Worgen Racial: Dark Flight

Worgen get 70% run speed for 10 seconds. 3 minute cooldown

Worgen Racial passive ability: Abberation

Length of Curses and Diseases reduced by 15%.

Worgen Profession ability: Flayer

Skinning skill increased by 15 and allows you to skin faster. Skinning knife not required for skinning.

Two Forms

Switch to your currently inactive form. 1.5 sec cooldown.

This is a cosmetic switch that transforms you from Worgen to Human, or Human to Worgen in Cataclysm.

In combat you will always remain a Worgen, but when you’re out of combat you can play some mind tricks on people.


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Goblins

Originally the slaves of jungle trolls on the Isle of Kezan, the goblin race was forced to mine kaja'mite ore out of the volcanic bowels of Mount Kajaro.

The trolls used this potent mineral for their voodoo rituals, but it had an unexpected effect on the slaves who were in constant contact with it: kaja'mite generated a startling new cunning and intelligence in the goblins. Crafting their own powerful artifacts of engineering and alchemy in secret, the goblins soon overthrew their oppressors and claimed Kezan for their homeland. The mines that had been their prison, their slave camp, and the base of their rebellion now became the city of Undermine. Weaving through the heart of the island in a dizzying network of tunnels, vaults, and lava tubes, Undermine epitomizes the goblins' complex, unpredictable mindset.

The goblins' natural greed soon lifted them to prominence as masters of mercantilism. Trade princes arose during the First War as the cleverest goblins learned to take advantage of the strife. Great fortunes were amassed, and the Isle of Kezan became a hub for fleets of goblin trading ships. One of the trade princes agreed to lend his faction’s services to the Horde in the Second War. Following the Horde's defeat, the goblins learned from their colleague's failed example, and soon they realized that their profits could double if they weren't stuck in such a restrictive relationship. By the end of the Third War, goblins were providing weaponry, vehicles, and devious services to both the Horde and the Alliance. This wouldn't last forever...

Recently, the goblins of Kezan have found a new enemy in the Alliance – unexpected and unprofitable encounters with this faction have driven certain trade princes from their comfortable neutrality. Reforging old pacts with their one-time allies, the goblins have been welcomed into the Horde with open arms.



Racial Abilities


Best Deals Anywhere

You always receive the best discount regardless of faction.

Pack Hobgoblin

This racial in Cataclysm will call your personal servant allowing you bank access for a duration of 1 minute. 30 mins cooldown.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Goblin Alchemists will have their skills increased by 15.

Rocket Barrage

This Goblin racial ability launches your belt rockets an an enemy, dealing fire damage. 2 min cooldown.

Rocket Jump

This goblin racial trait will activate your rocket belt to jump forward. 2 Minute Cooldown

Time is Money

1% increased attack and casting speed.

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New Class Combinations

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Terrain Phasing

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New Water Graphics Engine

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New Guild System

Wrath of the Lich King made guilds slightly less useful, a decent PUG can complete a lot of the raid content and finding people to run an heroic dungeon has never been so easy. Cataclysm will change that and make guilds more interesting than ever!

Guild Levels and Talents

Your guild can now gain experience and levels, the maximum level being 20. Your guild will gain experience through different ways :

* Playing with your guildmates and killing a raid boss or winning an arena match where more than 75% of the group is from your guild.
* Playing alone also helps your guild, leveling your character, your professions, or even your reputations will increase the level of your guild as well!


You won't be able to level fast just by recruiting a hundred of members, guild leveling is restricted and only the top 20 earners each week will increase the experience of the guild.

Each level will reward you with a guild talent point, they can be spent to make your life easier in the game and will give you bonuses and abilities such as :

* Remove reagent costs from raid buffs.
* Reduce the cost of repairs.
* Increased gold drops from monsters or players that reward experience or honor.
* Summon your entire raid to a place.
* Resurrect your entire raid after a wipe. (30 min cooldown)
* Reduce the amount of rare reagents needed for professions. (Like reducing the amount of Frozen Orbs to craft a weapon)
* Automatically transfer a % of the gold dropped by monsters and bosses to the guild bank.

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This is only a small preview of the talents and it already looks like a good reason to stick with your guild, but wait there is more!


Guild Items and Guild Currency

Guild experience will also be converted in a guild "currency" used to buy special items. These items are bound to the guild and you will have to stay in the guild to keep them, if someone leaves with a guild item it will just be returned to the guild bank.

You can expect various item rewards from this system:

* Heirlooms
* Mounts and pets
* Professions Plans (Leaving the guild will unlearn them)
* Potions and Rare Reagents
* Guild Banners
* Guild Bank Tabs and Guild Talents Respecs

Guild Achievements

Cataclysm will also add achievements for your guild, the mechanics are the same as guild leveling you will need a minimum ratio of guild members in the group to complete them. They will be very similar to player achievements and you can expect things like :

* Completing a raid instance with your guild
* Crafting one (or more!) legendary items
* Become a Grand Master in every profession
* Become Exalted with all Northrend factions

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Looking for Guild

Cataclysm will also make the management of your guild much easier. A new "Looking for Guild" interface will be added, it will give players an easy way to find a guild and give leaders an easy way to find new members. This new feature will let you recruit people based on a few filters based on various requirements.

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Improved Guild Interface

Tracking what's going on in your guild will also be made easier with a new interface.

* The Guild News will let you check everything that happened in your guild: boss kills, members achievements, new item loot, profession leveling ... It will come with different filters to let you find specific information.
* A new Roster tab will give you more information on your guildmates, you can see the professions of everyone in the guild and even check the list of their recipes to see if they can craft an item.
* The calendar will also let you invite other guilds to your guild events.

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Path of the Titans

* Talent trees won't be extended, you will just get 5 more talent points.
* The Path of the Titans will let players follow a path (not restricted to classes), this is a new talent system with new skills and passive abilities.


Mastery System

* A mastery system is being added as well, a lot of talents will be reworked to be more fun. The point is to get rid of a lot of the talent skills and not make you spend all your points in a talent tree just because it gives you more damage or higher crit chance.

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Archeology

* Archaeology is the new secondary profession that will be joining the ranks of cooking, fishing, and first aid in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Archaeology allows the player to unlock new abilities and rewards by discovering ancient treasures throughout the world. Each archaeologist uses the profession to uncover clues hidden in the world around them, such as troll relics or map fragments, and decipher their meaning, enabling the clever archaeologist to manipulate pieces of the past, learning the location of a treasure cache or valuable artifact. Such artifacts are highly sought after by the Archaeology Society, and they pay in gold and items for their return. Those who have mastered archaeology can find Titan artifacts, earning special currency used to unlock character paths and allowing the player to further customize their character.

Archaeology provides the Ancient Glyphs used by the Path of the Titans and looks like a mix of tradeskills, gathering professions, and quests. Any character will be able to train it and people with an existing gathering profession will have the possibility to track both things at the same time.

The artifacts you find are placed in your Archaeology journal, allowing you to study it to unlock rewards. According to the screenshot of the interface you will have to complete mini-quest to eventually get a reward. (In this case, the Black Market value of the axe is 30G)

The most interesting aspect of the profession remains the Ancient Glyphs and it seems that all characters will have to train it if they want to access all the new skills.

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Reforging

Reforging is an interesting addition to the existing tradeskills: Blacksmith / Leatherworker / Tailor / Jewelcrafter / Engineer. Each profession will have the possibility to modify your items to slightly modify their stats and replace them with new ones. Each profession get to reforge a type of items: cloth armor for tailors, leather for Leatherworkers, etc ...

For example, a Blacksmith should be able to reforge your staff to reduce the Spirit bonus to add Intellect instead (= more spell power in Cataclysm, see the stats changes). Of course restrictions will apply and you can't create a +500 intellect breastplate just by removing all the other stats, the goal of this profession is to make items potentially interesting for more classes and reduce the amount of disenchanted items.




Deathwing

* Deathwing, the leader of the Black Dragonflight will be the main vilain of the expansion.
* Deathwing heard the whispers of the Old Gods after the arrival of the Burning Legion, he eventually grew very powerful and also became very very crazy.
* His plan was to catch the Alliance and Horde unaware with something so massive that it would bring up the Elemental Planes.
* The Elemental Planes were created by titans to contain the elementals, they weren't happy with this decision and some of them like Ragnaros got really angry.

Old World

* We all left a little part of ourselves in Northrend and the old world will be much darker than it was to make heroism and brotherhood more meaningful like Warcraft should be.
* Every zones will be revamped with new quests, items, and art. The old world will be a brand new experience and you won't have to deal with the annoying agility/spirit quest rewards anymore.
* Azeroth is now flyable. Pretty much all the zones will be changed to some extent, some of them like Elwynn Forest won't change too much but others like The Barrens will be sundered in two by Deathwing.
* The Wailing Caverns are now a lush and verdant Area.
* Desolace now has a lot more waters and a lot of plants can be seen in the screenshots.
* The Horde finally conquered Southshore.
* Auberdine was destroyed and the night elves have set up a new camp north of it. Garrosh wants to expand the horde and has built a fortified camp at the south of the zone.
* Stonetalon has been cleaned by the Goblins, Azshara will be the new Goblin zone, and are using quarries in the mountains of Azshara to build their town.
* Apparently Orgrimmar will be rebuilt and reinforced with steel, it now looks a lot like Garrosh strongholds...
* Undercity has been redesigned to be flyable, it now looks much more impressive from the outside.


New Zones

* 7 new zones will be added : Twilight Highlands, Mount Hyjal, Deepholm, Uldum, Gilneas, The Lost Isles, Sunken City of Vash'jir.


Starting Areas

* The Worgens and Goblins starting zone level goes from 1 to 15.


Vasj'ir

* Sunken City of Vashj'ir will be an underwater zone and was the home city of Lady Vashj before the original sundering, this is a gateway to the Abyssal Maw. Going through the Abyssal Maw will take you to the Elemental Plane of Water, even if the zone will be underwater you will be walking on the sea floor here, new underwater mounts will be available and should have the same speed as normal flying mounts.


Deepholm

* Deepholm will be the new hub of the expansion, you will have portals here to let you teleport to Hyjal, Uldum, etc ... The Twilight's Hammer now serves Deathwing and have brought him back to full health in the Temple of Earth at the center of the map.
* Deepholm isn't really connected to Azeroth, the connection is where Deathwing emerged from the ground.


Uldum

* Uldum will have at least two dungeons and is heavily inspired from Egypt. The sea at the west of Tanaris was just an illusion created by the Titan and Uldum is actually a brand new zone. It is rumored to hold a super weapon. Uldum is also the home of the Tolvir, a race of stone-like cats created by the titans.


Plane of Fire


* Ragnaros used the cataclysm to come back from the Plane of Fire where we sent him and is now sieging the World Tree in Mount Hyjal to burn it down. Malfurion is back from the Emerald Dream. The whole zone (Hyjal) will make extensive use of phasing.


Twilight Highlands

* The Twilight Highlands will feature Grim Batol, Deathwing literally broke open Grim Batol as he emerged from the ground. This is the new Twilight's Hammer base in Azeroth and both Horde and Alliance will have a new port town with boats here. The Red Dragonflight is still here but has been pushed back to the west of the zone near the Wetlands.


Dungeons & Raids

* The Firelands will be a new raid dungeon, it will let you go to the Elemental Plane of fire and visit Sulfuron's Keep, Ragnaros will be here and he's really ****ed.
* Uldum will feature two new dungeons, the Lost City of Tol'vir and the Halls of Origination (a titan city)
* Grim Batol will have a level-up dungeon and a raid instance.
* Skywall (Air Elemental Plane) will have a level-up dungeon and a raid instance.
* The Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep will be back in a brand new level 85 heroic version.
* Blackrock Caverns will be a new level-up dungeon located in Blackrock Spire. This is an entirely new dungeon, new art, new creatures, new everything.


Player vs. Player

* Battle of Gilneas will be a new battleground where the objective is to control the city by controlling as many districts as possible.
* Tol'barad will be a new PvP zone and will also be the most important daily quest hub. Just like Wintergrasp a battle will happen every few hours and the winning side will get access to the Tol'barad Prison and extra daily quests, the really profitable ones.
* Rated battlegrounds will be added to the game and should get you the same rewards as Arenas.
* New arena maps will be added.

Items Stats
In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, there are plans to streamline the statistics found on items. We want to remove all unnecessary stats, make all existing stats understandable, and make all "core" stats more appealing. Here are some examples of such plans.


  • MP5: This will be removed from items and replaced with Spirit. All healers will be given a meditation-like ability.
  • Spell Power: Spell Power is being removed from items as well. Don't panic, we'll be improving Intellect so that it provides mana and Spell Power.
  • Attack Power: We're removing Attack Power from items as well. Instead, we're allowing Agility to provide the necessary Attack Power for leather and mail wearers. Strength will provide the appropriate amount of Attack Power for plate wearers. This means leather and mail items will no longer be desirable for plate wearers.
  • Defense: The Defense statistic is also being removed from items so that players no longer have to worry about juggling around "the cap." Tanks will receive the necessary anti-crit from talents, like Survival of the Fittest.
  • Armor Penetration: This ability is too confusing and "mathy." It is being replaced with Mastery, a stat that makes you better at what you do. More on that later!
  • Haste: Will also increase the rate at which you gain energy, runes, and focus. Retribution paladins and Enhancement shaman will have a talent that allows them to take advantage of this benefit.
  • Block: Block Value is being removed. Blocking will now always mitigate a percentage of damage.
  • Stamina: Players will notice more Stamina on gear as Defense, Spell Power, Attack Power and Armor Penetration are removed.



Hunter


Also receiving a massive overall are hunters. The hunter’s need to rely upon mana is completely gone, and instead they will use focus. This means hunters will no longer care at all about Intellect, mana regen or Aspect of the Viper. Focus will regenerate continually, similar to how rogues or feral druids regenerate energy. For comparison, rogues regenerate approximately 10 energy per second, whereas hunters will regenerate 6 focus per second. However, Steady Shot can also be used to improve focus regen, and bring the rate at which hunters regenerate focus to 12 per second. The hunter will have a maximum of 100 focus, and shots might cost 30 or 60 focus, with fewer cooldowns on abilities. Another exciting and long-awaited change regards the ammunition system. Ammunition will become an equipable item, and will no longer be consumable. More details on that later!


Warlock

The soul shard system is receiving a massive revamp, and will now become a core feature of the warlock class. Soul shards will no longer act as an inventory item, but rather exist as a resource, and appear below the warlock's health and mana bar. A new spell, Soul Burn, will be the only warlock ability to cost a soul shard, and will empower most of your other spells to behave differently. For instance, when combined with Fear it causes the spell to become instant. Other examples include: guaranteeing your Searing Pain spell three critical hits, increased horror effect and additional healing from Death Coil, and instant summoning from your summon demon spell. Soul shards will regenerate quickly upon leaving combat, and you may also be able to use drain soul as a "soul shard evocation."
 
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Blizzard have said Arthas won't be the last boss in the expansion.

We have been discussing this in my guild, you still have 2 portals in wymworth temple. hopefulyl they realease something like SWP was. But i'd expect Cata either q4 / q1 2011


There is still portals in that temple and there is still the zuldrak raid instance that was meant to be coming as well, along the line of zulaman.

Will they be implemented, probably not, where they meant to, probably so.

There was a great thread a while ago on wow.com about unused content in wrath and there is loads, but no one knows why none of it was used.
 
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