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Cataclysm Preview: Azshara
Popular player opinion has been a mix of excitement and wistful nostalgia when it comes to the zone of Azshara, one of the least-utilized yet most gorgeous zones from vanilla WoW. Some players are ecstatic that the zone is receiving a quest overhaul; others fear that the goblin landscaping will ruin the beautiful scenery unique to the zone. In the latest of a string of Cataclysm previews, game designers Craig Amai and Dave Kosak discuss the zone's changes and design in the upcoming expansion. The lore of the region, the design of the quests and landscape, the whereabouts of Azuregos and the general concept and story behind the zone of Azshara are all addressed, as well as a peek into what went on behind the scenes to actually redesign the landscape into a functional, fun and still hauntingly beautiful place to level. Check out the official Cataclysm page for the full article -- and while we're on a nostalgia trip, take a look back at Azshara quests that you should finish before the new expansion hits, and check out the gallery of Azshara as it exists today. %Gallery-97278% World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
Cataclysm Press Event: Path of Titans scrapped, Inscription overhauled
At BlizzCon 2009, we learned of the Path of the Titans, a new alternate advancement system that would see PCs allying with various titan cults in order to gain various character bonuses apart from simply leveling up. At the recent Cataclysm press event, Blizzard announced that they'll be completely scrapping the system. To offset this, they've chosen instead to work on an overhaul of the glyph system, as they noted they didn't quite get it to where they wanted with Wrath. Here are the basics: There will be a new tier of glyphs, currently called "Medium" glyphs, that will provide "fun alterations" to abilities. Major and minor glyphs will act much as they currently do. You'll have 3 of each glyph type at level 85. You will no longer have to re-buy glyphs when you respec or rearrange them. Rather, you will will learn each glyph like a skill and be able to swap them at will from a list. This list will show all glyphs available to your class, but will only allow you to use the ones you've purchased.
Cataclysm Class Changes: Holy paladin analysis
Apparently Christmas comes early in Irvine. Blizzard decided to share their notes for the paladin class a full two days ahead of time, which I have to say is a nice switch in tradition from their normal habit of pushing content back until "it's ready." While prot paladins are wondering what exactly Blizzard's plans are for their spec, ret paladins are worrying about losing their defensive capabilities that have been their go-to cooldowns in PvP play. The developers did however shine a light onto their plans for holy paladins in Cataclysm, revealing a bit of their design strategy. Nethaera Healing Hands (level 83): Healing Hands is a new healing spell. The paladin radiates heals from him or herself, almost like a Healing Stream Totem. It has a short range, but a long enough duration that the paladin can cast other heals while Healing Hands remains active. 15-second cooldown. 6-second duration. source The big reveal came in the form of Healing Hands, the future addition to our healing toolbox. While it satisfies a few of my requirements, such as having an AoE effect and being on a relatively short cooldown, there are still a lot of questions about exactly how powerful HH will be and how tiny the radius actually is. Either way, we've finally got something we can cast when our group is taking AoE damage, and that has me hopeful that we may finally escape the bonds of full-time tank healers. The power of this ability remains to be seen, but I'm glad that Blizzard knows what we lack and they're working to fix that.
The Light and How to Swing It: We wait with bated breath
Every Sunday, Chase Christian of The Light and How to Swing It invites you to discuss the finer side of the paladin class: the holy specialization. This week, we discuss our upcoming pre-Cataclysm class preview. Today's date is Dec. 24, the night before Christmas. The children have been put to bed, with stories of fantastic Smoke Bombs and amazing Flame Orbs dancing in their heads. We're sitting quietly by the unlit fireplace, waiting for our friend St. Ghostcrawler to arrive during the night. His yacht is led by flying ponies, and he arrives each year to bring us presents. These gifts are morsels of information, crafted by the elven developers in their Irvine workshop. Blizzard has a tendency of saving the best for last. My friends, I am here to tell you, paladins are clearly the best class in World of Warcraft. I am eager to see what the developers have planned for us, but I am also worried about the level of change that we are going to see. Several of the other classes saw significant redesign, like warlocks, and if we're a week behind everyone else, I get the feeling the changes are going to go quite deep. I'm not saying that this type of invasive surgery isn't necessary, I just hope that I like what I see when I wake up on the other side of the knife.
New BlizzCon 2009 schedule available
Mere minutes after we posted the fact that Blizzard had retracted their previous schedule, they released a new one. The layout of the new schedule is less pleasing to the eyes and a bit harder to read, but there's certainly some interesting stuff there.For example, the first panel after the opening ceremonies is a "World of Warcraft Preview Panel." Previewing... what? Personally, I'm going to throw money down on Cataclysm. Also, it appears the PvP panel is gone. Folded into the two 1-hour long "class, item and profession" panels, perhaps? Then again, the PvP panel was really about the arena and battleground maps last year, wasn't it? If there's a Cataclysm preview, it very well might be a part of that. The Guild is also no longer competing with a WoW panel, and there's a new panel first thing on Saturday about breaking into the gaming industry. Plus, a 'live raid' panel probably similar to what they had at the last Worldwide Invitational: Watch one of the top guilds in the world tackle a high-end raid boss. Algalon, perhaps? Cool stuff. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
