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Cataclysm Preview: The Battle for Gilneas

Do you like dog men? Do you like zombie men? Do you like dog men who fight valiantly to defend their homeland against zombie men? Do you like zombie men who are very hungry and want to eat the dog men? And then build luxury condominiums on their land? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there's good news!

Blizzard just announced new information about the the new-for-Cataclysm 10v10 battleground, The Battle for Gilneas. Similar to Arathi Basin, winning the battleground requires you to capture and hold a majority of the area's resource-rich locations -- the waterworks, the lighthouse and the mine -- long enough for your Horde or Alliance worker friends to collect resources from them. A total of 2,000 resource points wins the match.

Just like in the real world, once all the resources are gone, no one cares about the area anymore, the fight ends and everyone goes back home to Stormwind and Orgrimmar, only to requeue and fight over it again ten minutes later. Good times!

All you gank-hungry fools can check out the details by following me after the jump. It contains information about Cataclysm, so if you're totally religious about not spoiling anything, don't click.



When King Greymane severed ties with the Alliance after the Second War, the kingdom of Gilneas became independent from all other nations and opposing forces. Although the massive Greymane Wall protected Gilneas from outside threats, a virulent worgen curse and civil war crippled the kingdom from within. As the Cataclysm strikes and the Greymane Wall's gates are destroyed, the people of Gilneas must come to terms with their dark curse and learn to persevere through catastrophic earthquakes and an unrelenting Forsaken invasion. The Horde recognizes this land as a strategic location with key resources to fuel the faction's war effort against the Alliance, and Horde forces will not stop their siege until the city and its surrounding territories are under their control. To protect its lands from the Horde, the once-isolated nation of Gilneas must now work with the Alliance.

Controlling Resources

The Battle for Gilneas is a new 10 vs. 10 Battleground for level-85 players. Much like they do in Arathi Basin, teams must control strategic capture points on the map to accumulate resources. The first team to gather 2000 resources wins.

The Battle

Teams will start at opposite ends of the map with default graveyards nearby. Once the match begins, teams will race toward each other to vie for control of three strategic points; each point will allow your team to gain resources and additional graveyards. Adding to the intensity of the battle are many obstacles that block line of sight, as well as chokepoints for fending off enemy advances.

The Overlook

In the center of the map is an area known as the Overlook. Hills on either side of the map create chokepoints, while narrow paths through the hills provide teams with alternate routes. A river dividing the map will also lead opponents toward a single bridge. In some cases, dominating the Overlook might be the key to controlling the capture points.

Capture Points

In The Battle for Gilneas, three distinct resource points are available for the taking by either the Horde or the Alliance: the Mines, the Lighthouse, and the Waterworks. Once any of these points is held by a team, access to nearby graveyards will be granted. In addition, workers from the controlling faction will show up to collect the resources necessary to win the battle.

Chaos will be unleashed upon Azeroth when Deathwing returns, but many steadfast leaders will see the Cataclysm as an opportunity to further the cause of their people... or simply attain more power. The situation in Gilneas is no different. Will the embattled Gilneans be able to defend their land after realigning with the Alliance? Or will the Forsaken, reinforced by Garrosh's Horde, seize this near-forgotten territory as a new stronghold in the Eastern Kingdoms?



World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider'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.