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Countdown to Cataclysm starts now!
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the game's third expansion (and biggest one yet), is releasing in just six days. To help you prepare, we've got articles to last you all the way through launch day and beyond, starting tomorrow. We'll be covering all aspects of the expansion for all types of players. Here are some of our helpful Cataclysm articles to get you started; be sure to keep an eye out for more in the days to come! New around here? Learn about Cataclysm and nab some tips and tricks for lowbies from WoW Rookie. Remember, you can play Cataclysm at midnight PST on Dec. 7 no matter how or where you buy it! Want to turn your character into a goblin or worgen? You're in luck -- race changes to the new races are available on launch night. Learn more about rated battlegrounds in this FAQ. Ghostcrawler and the design team have some notes about DPS spec design, and changes and notes for tanks, too. Coming back after an absence? Check the new system requirements for 4.0.3 and Cataclysm. If you're excited to get into heroic dungeons and raids, check this progression chart for the expansion's intended progression. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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.
J. Allen Brack on Cataclysm: "Each thing appeals to a different type of player"
The Guardian has a pretty intensive interview with J. Allen Brack, the chief project manager overseeing World of Warcraft, discussing the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. The interview covers a lot of ground from subscription rates to the revamp of the world to guild leveling and perks. One of my favorite parts (and one that resonates with me) is his discussion of going back and leveling in the Northern Barrens zone, trying to get all the quests. Also? Turns out that Barrens chat can never die. In addition, the discussion of the worgen and goblin inclusion was very welcome, and of course, the discussion on whether Outland and Northrend will get the Cataclysm treatment. J. Allen Brack - Guardian interview We have started to talk about what we need to do with Outland and Northrend because the story that we are telling in Cataclysm is kind of interesting once you get to Outland. Because there's no congruity between the two stories. It feels a little weird for you to have the whole Deathwing is back and has destroyed the world, and you walk into Outland and your like 'hey! There's this guy Illidan' That feels a little weird and we don't exactly know how we're going to tackle that yet, but that is definitely something that we do want to find a solution for. source Head on over to the Guardian and read for yourself.
Totem Talk: A restoration shaman's Cataclysm checklist
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and host of the BDTU: Lore edition podcast By the time you read this, Cataclysm will be exactly one week away from release. Are you excited? I know I am! The number of people who return to the game after long breaks, especially at expansion time, can be staggering. Last week, we talked about what restoration shaman who are returning to the game for Cataclysm should expect when they load in, and we talked about ways for them to ease their transition back into the game. This week, I would like to talk about getting ready for that big day when our level caps are raised to 85, new zones open up for us to explore, new profession recipes become available, and new dungeons and encounters are available for us to experience. So are you ready for the expansion? Are you truly prepared?
Low-level dungeon quest experience nerfed
A hotfix notice was posted to the forums not long ago warning of an impending change: level 1 to 60 dungeon quests will award significantly less XP. While few players will be fans of such a change, I do think it's a smart one. In the blue post below, Zarhym says that players were outpacing the questing progression because of these quests, and it is absolutely true. Using the dungeon finder and completing the quests in each dungeon threw off quest and zone progression completely. When my dwarf shaman finished all of the quests in the Wetlands, she already had Hero's Call quests from the board in Ironforge urging her to skip multiple zones ahead. Not what you would call a great leveling curve. Zarhym We are applying a hotfix today to all level 1-60 dungeon quests for Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms dungeons which will significantly reduce the amount of experience they award. While dungeons should remain integral to our evolving storylines, and great places to collect gear in cooperative environments, we need to make sure each player's questing progress remains relevant as dungeon quests are completed. In many cases we're seeing players enter dungeons to complete quests, only to come out ahead of the leveling curve for the zones they're in. This change should allow players the opportunity to reap the benefits of running dungeons, while not outpacing the leveling flow from levels 1-60. At this time there are no plans for making any adjustments to dungeon quest experience for Outland, Northrend, and level 80+ Cataclysm dungeons. You can find a list of all of the latest hotfixes here: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/1232869 source
Preorder Cataclysm at Gamestop and get special perks
If you haven't preordered Cataclysm yet, either digitally or via your local brick-and-mortar, then Gamestop has a deal for you -- as long as you like buying stuff, anyway. Folks who preorder the upcoming expansion from Gamestop receive an immediate smattering of 20 percent discounts, good on stuff like select EVGA GeForce video cards, SteelSeries headsets, Linksys routers, and even the Alienware M15X gaming laptop. If you don't need discounts on hardware, then you're probably better off just doing the whole shebang digitally, because you'll have access on launch night regardless of how or where you bought the game. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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 Collector's Editions available at Amazon with release date delivery
For those of you not able to snag a collector's edition of Cataclysm or who've put off the purchase, Amazon now has collector's editions in stock. In addition, the explicit option for release day delivery exists, if you pre-order now with the option selected. Your shipping cost may vary, but when I plugged in my information, delivery only cost $0.99. Jump on this now, before it all goes the way of Old Azeroth. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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.
The Queue: Back to the grind
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. We've recharged our batteries with a nice, long holiday weekend, but now it's time to get back into the swing of things. Jtrain asked: I noticed that Thunder Bluff and Undercity look almost completely untouched by the Shattering. Have the devs ever stated why Orgrimmar got all the love? Are they ever planning similar makeovers for the other cities?
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Six years of trends
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. OK, first up: I have been playing a warrior and writing this warrior column for quite some time now. So while this week's savage, astonishing ravaging of the warrior class wasn't something I haven't seen before, I feel pretty confident in saying that yes, it was really jarring. Not jarring like a friend braking a little too hard while driving because she was totally checking out that person's butt and missed the light change. Jarring like a friend driving into a concrete abutment at 95 miles an hour seems more apt. The whole epic saga of metagem changes didn't help anything, either. Still, we can't say we were surprised, can we? I wrote a post that mentioned it a while back, but it bears repeating in this calm after our collective jubblies have been kicked right in that we were kind of nuts for a while there. It was not uncommon for arms warriors to lead the DPS and fury warriors to do more DPS than everyone else combined on some 5-man fights. Frankly, even with these changes, fury is still capable of decent numbers. (Not great, not what I would say they should be, but good enough for now.) Arms was the more hard hit, of course, as it always seems to be. I'll also admit to disappointment that the whole rage redesign didn't remove from us the constant buff-nerf cycle we've been living with for six years now.
New battlegrounds added to the in-game calendar
The in-game calendar has been updated with battleground information in preparation for Cataclysm. The following events have been added: Rated battlegrounds The 10v10 rated battleground will be switching weeks with the 15v15 rated battleground on a Tuesday-to-Monday schedule. Call to Arms All Call to Arms weekends have been moved around to accommodate the two new battlegrounds. The Battle for Gilneas The first Call to Arms weekend for this 10v10 BG begins on Dec. 17. Twin Peaks The Call to Arms begins Dec. 24 for this capture the flag 10v10 BG. We've updated our calendar on the right sidebar to reflect the new schedule. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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.
WoW Rookie: Cataclysm troll starting area
Editor's Note: This walk-through was performed on a druid. There will be small differences if you play a different class. Additionally, there are spoilers contained herein. When you begin the new troll starting zones, the narrator warns you that Vol'jin knows that Garrosh could tear the Horde apart. It will come down to cunning trolls like you to keep things on the straight and narrow. As you begin the game, Jin'thala tells you that the Darkspear have always been outcasts. But this time, you're being led by the wisdom of Vol'jin, and it's time for the Rise of the Darkspear. Vol'kin sends you off to Zen'tabra to begin your training. Zen'Tabra likes to start things simply, so she'll help you cover The Basics: Hitting Things. All around the Darkspear training grounds are tiki-themed target dummies. Blow up six of them, using your favorite method for blowing up stuff. After this impressive display to skill, you're off to A Rough Start and have to go kill enough cats to bring Zen'Tabra six Wildmane Cat Pelts. Go kill some kitties. If the starting area is busy, it can take a while to find enough cats, so take your time.
Literal Cataclysm cinematic trailer
YouTube comedian Toby Turner (also known as Tobuscus) is the mind behind an ongoing series of literal game trailers. Tobuscus grabs the serious cinematic introductions developers use to pull us into their game and takes them down a path of lyrical hilarity. His most recent release is a literal World of Warcraft: Cataclysm trailer. Go on, watch it. You'll be glad you did. Well, you'll either be glad, or you'll spend the rest of the day cursing Toby's name for getting the trailer's new lyrics stuck in your head. Both of those are OK in my book.
Know Your Lore: The Dragonmaw clan
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Warning: there will be spoilers for Cataclysm in this post. They came to Azeroth with the Old Horde: orcs, much like any other tribe, loyal to Blackhand the Destroyer. Their fate under Blackhand was the same as any other orc tribe: defeat by the forces of Stormwind. Under the rise of the new warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer, the Dragonmaw would accompany the now victorious Horde north. There, they would move from a minor clan to a powerful force, supplying the Horde with an instrument they would use for victory thanks to the machinations of an ancient evil. They were the instrument that he used to defile his oldest foe, and the blood of the Aspect of Life and that of her offspring stained the Dragonmaw clan who used them so brutally. Eventually, it came to an end. The Dragonmaw, however, did not. Driven from their conquered territory, the vast fortress of Grim Batol, some found their way back home to Draenor only to find that world now a shattered ruin. Others clung to holdings in Azeroth, even going so far as to ally with Rend Blackhand and his Dark Horde. What future can there be for these, the furthest fallen, who tumbled from heights of power and influence to find themselves the servants to other, darker forces than even they themselves could comprehend? To discuss the future of the Dragonmaw, we must discuss their past.
The Queue: Shattering is over, time to go home
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Today is a very special edition of The Queue, ladies and gentlemen. I believe it's the first one ever written on an iPhone. The Shattering delayed my daily walk, so time for both had to be found. Enjoy! primal.geek asked: Why, after the Shattering, do Dalaran mobs near the crater still feel the need to attack me? Sure, I'm a member of the Horde, but I'm also exalted with their city. Can't they give me a break for once?
Patch 4.0.3a hotfixes for Nov. 23
Earlier in the evening, Blizzard posted a list of hotfixes for yesterday's patch on the official World of Warcraft blog. Here are a few notable fixes: Fishing daily quests in Stormwind and Orgrimmar have returned. Shield Slam's damage has been reduced by about 28 percent at level 15, with smaller but still noticeable reductions at higher levels. The title "Champion of [guildname]" can no longer be improperly awarded to players. The full list of hotfixes are behind the cut below.
The Shattering: A patch 4.0.3a roundup
The past 24 hours have been rather busy here at WoW Insider, what with the world being destroyed and all. If you still need to catch up on everything 4.0.3a, here's a rundown of what you may have missed: Anne Stickney clears up exactly what's in patch 4.0.3a, and perhaps more importantly, what's not. Check out the official patch notes for 4.0.3a, as posted here on WoW Insider by some spectacularly handsome writer. Want to remember Azeroth as it will never be again? Check out our pain-stakingly complete galleries of the old world. Adam Holisky took on the most frequently asked shattering-related questions in yesterday's The Queue. Jesse Cox created a great guided tour of the Cataclysmic changes wreaked by Deathwing. If you've yet to purchase vanilla World of Warcraft or any of the expansion packs, they're now available at drastically reduced prices in Blizzard's official store. If you need to buy some glyphs for the new alts you're planning to roll, Basil Berntsen has some bad news -- a change to a key inscription vendor means they're about to get a whole lot more expensive. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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.
World shattering complete; U.S. servers back up
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have some good news and we have some bad news. The good news: Servers are coming back up, at least for those in the United States! You can log on and enjoy World of Warcraft again, ahead of the previously announced 5 p.m. PST time. The bad news: Some dragon-ish rapscallion has totally shattered the world over the course of the last 12 hours or so. Whoops.
Insanely low prices for WoW, BC, and Wrath for a limited time
The Blizzard holiday sale for World of Warcraft in the US and EU regions has been announced, and the cost of giving WoW for the holidays is rock-bottom low. The original World of Warcraft, now with extra Shattering, is only $5. The Burning Crusade is now also only $5, and Wrath of the Lich King only sets you back $10. Upgrading WoW has never been cheaper, so if you'd like to give the gift of World of Warcraft to yourself or someone else, now is definitely the time. To quickly recap -- the Blizzard US and EU stores now have: World of Warcraft at $5 / €5 The Burning Crusade at $5 / €5 Wrath of the Lich King at $10 / €10 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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 annotated map adventure
Jesse Cox created this amazing guided tour of the changes Cataclysm has laid upon Azeroth. You can navigate the entire map by clicking the annotated box. Not only do you get to see the zones through this map, but Jesse has done some great commentary along the way. My hat is off to Mr. Cox for this work. He's really knocked the ball out of the park with this interactive guide, and I hope it gets lots of attention. He's provided not only some great views of the area, but he also does some narration of the critical stories that take place in the zones. Be sure to take your time when you start exploring Mr. Cox's work. He put a lot of detail and effort into this guided tour, and it can take a long, long time to get through it all. 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 (available Dec. 7, 2010), 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.
Azeroth In Pictures: Before The Shattering
The Shattering has torn Azeroth asunder, and the world has broken under Deathwing's mighty power. However, your intrepid WoW Insider team has saved the old world for you in gallery form! Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, the capital cities and more are all going to be preserved forever, thanks to our galleries. Take time to see your favorite places and reminisce, because when the servers are back up, there's no going back. Jump through for a list of galleries of the old world, pre-Shattering, and sigh wistfully.
Patch 4.0.3a, The Shattering: Patch notes
If you're trying to log into your World of Warcraft account right now, we're sorry -- the fictional world you intended to visit today is currently unavailable on account of still being in the process of being destroyed. Shatterings take time. We know you're all eager to survey the carnage, but before you do, you may want to familiarize yourself with all the not-so-Cataclysmic changes that are coming in patch 4.0.3a. We've made the official patch notes available for you after the break -- but first, a few quick highlights: The Barrens Totally shattered. Stranglethorn Vale Totally shattered. Warlocks Shattered, but only by about 12 percent. Fringe In the process of being shattered, following a move to a Friday time slot.
