Do You Want a Second Cataclysm?

[Aeluron Lightsong]

They should redo Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms completely. HD the graphics and textures, populate all the unused space (entire zones worth of bumpy low-res hills in-between some zones) put fulfilling content in that makes you revisit it, and make the story not be time locked such as what Astranaar currently is.

Do the same for Northrend and Pandaria eventually too, and idc about Outland and Draenor tbh.

While I agree they should do that, I think that might be too much effort for them. I wouldn't mind randomly during a content patch they update a zone relative to the expansion's story arc.

[Maletalana]

My #1 vote would be to return it to how it was before, and after you hit 80 you are then instanced into the cata version, and now at 100 or 110 maybe a third version. I loathe the fact that I cant go back and enjoy the old zones. I miss 1000 needles and running for an hour across shimmering flats and the raceway, and finding cool stuff hidden in the farthest, randomest places. Cata brought about some interesting changes, some I am in favor of, some I hate. What I really loathe though is that I cant choose to go see my old favorite places.

Old tanaris gave me legit shivers of excitement when I would climb another dune and look off into the distance. Now its a goblin party. meh.


Further, 1-60 can be one instance, Outland is already the 60-70 instance, then Northrend is 70-80, so let 80-85 be its own instanced version of Azeroth, with the changes.

... wait no because then how would you level through all the new zones. I don't know, lets get creative juices flowing!

[Al Gorefiend]

While I agree they should do that, I think that might be too much effort for them. I wouldn't mind randomly during a content patch they update a zone relative to the expansion's story arc.

One continent per expansion would be cool. That would theoretically give them until 12.0 to decide if they want to create a brand new continent in Azeroth lore or send us into outer space.

- though in hindsight sending us back to Pandaria wouldn't be thrilling. Wouldn't mind Northrend again.

[Deleted]

If it allowed Blizzard to come up with an expansion taking place in any of the existing zones, why not. Azeroth is way too large. It was designed for a long-vanilla-levelling-grind. These days, you pick up three cactus apples and you are halfway through Durotar*. It's all going to waste.

>Silithus has never really been fixed;
>Un'Goro is so uninspiring compared to the more modern jungle zones;
>Uldum showed how to design a better desert than Tanaris;
>Mulgore could be so much more beautiful and lush with a 2016 upgrade- the same goes for Westfall, which is a lovely idea but it just looks so old.
>Go to Bradenbook and see what Westfall would be (without turning off the lights, of course).
>Dustwallow Marsh is another zone that is just an uninspiring swamp; go to Thunder Isle to see how to implement that properly/
>The Hinterlands was probably my favourite zone back in vanilla (from a visual perspective) but is badly let down by lack of any relevant content, really.
>Frostfire ridge got a lot of hate from players but I think it's a much more atmospheric snow wasteland than Dun Morogh is, for instance.
>Elwynn forest could be that place that just stuns you as a new human-player coming out of Northshire.
>Look at Teldrassil. Now look at Val'Sharah. Now look back at Teldrassil. Cry in a corner.

Blizzard has upped their game massively with Draenor, even better than the MoP maps, which were already stunning (Kun'Lai, oh my!). Draenor might a bad expansion for lots of reasons but boy did the art department get it right. They did the same to Legion. That's not to say I am not critical of it. For instance, Stormheim left me feeling too much like Howling Fjord, and Val'shara can be too claustophobic at times. I think visually, Highmountain is the absolute best. Yeah herb gathering sucks and mountains do in general, but it's so distinctive. The snowy mountains at the bottom, shipwreck cove at the top, a distinct witch wood, the Riverbend area with vegetation.

*okay, maybe not that fast

[Maletalana]

Wait Ive got it! Give back 1-60 to vanilla quests, for better or for worse. Then during 90-100, you just get to go back and do "Cata" Azeroth. Then at 100 you can do Legion!

Then you don't have to go to cancer land!

[-Joker-]

Every 6 years, it would be nice to shake up the 1-60 experience and make things more relevant, or even return things to normal. In Northshire alone, I miss the Defias and grow tired of Blackrock invaders. There is so much more that could happen with Goldshire. Brill got a HUGE upgrade, yet the small town south of Stormwind only got a new profession trainer. Or, perhaps they could offer a choice. "classic" or "catastrophic" when creating your character, allowing you to experience the original starting zone, or the revised Cata version. Anything would be nice, particularly for those still interested in making alts, and new players coming in for the first time at a friend's recommendation.

[Pachycrocuta]

No. What they should do is give us a portal in Caverns of Time for pre-Cataclysm Azeroth. Also put a Bronze dragon at the entrance of every dungeon to give us the option to have the old version(s) of that dungeon before any revamp. This includes ZA and ZG.

[Deleted]

I'd have the exact opposite reaction. Presented with the choice, I would've gone with a revamp over artifacts. Especially if they implemented scaling, it would mean a ton of new content as opposed to a single system that supposedly won't even be used beyond this expansion.

The revamp is meaningless to max level or even the theoretical 110-120 content. You could argue that this is a problem with the way the game is set up, but it is what it is, and you can't really change it that fundamentally.

I would rather see specific places revamped or at least reused for specific events. The Artifact weapon chains and Order Hall campaigns do a great job at making use of this huge world that is gathering dust right now, and they make it look as if it's not static for the duration of your scenario. They can do more of that, things that are meaningful to me while I level up my characters during the current expansion or that reward me with things for my max level character.

We can only speculate about what will happen to this system next expansion, but "won't even be used" is very unlikely. The Garrison was a thing in WoD, they didn't like the way some things worked, they revamped and tweaked it into something different. The same will probably happen with the artifact system.

In fact, I would argue that the longer the expansion goes on (remember the new supposed mantra is "more content, no more trying for yearly expansion") and the more attached people become to their weapons, the more likely it is they'll simply keep the system and just tweak it instead of making lots of people angry by taking their toys away.

[Lane]

The revamp is meaningless to max level or even the theoretical 110-120 content.

It wouldn't be if they implemented scaling in both level and reward. It'd also be something for those who enjoy questing and/or aren't into end game group content to do.

As it is, leveling is so rapid you miss most of the game. There are still zones from Cata I haven't done because I consistently outlevel them before I can. Dungeons and quests (baseline w/o heirlooms) give gratuitous amounts of EXP, as do gathering professions, to usher you to current content as quickly as possible. It basically undermines all content prior to max level. It would be nice for that to not be the case.

In fact, I would argue that the longer the expansion goes on (remember the new supposed mantra is "more content, no more trying for yearly expansion") and the more attached people become to their weapons, the more likely it is they'll simply keep the system and just tweak it instead of making lots of people angry by taking their toys away.

Eh. The concept of artifact weapons was good, the execution not to much. I'm quite unhappy with Doomhammer and cannot even transmog it to my preferred fist weapons. I do love my Blade of the Black Empire, but it's unique in that it speaks to you. I'm not into the talent-like system at all and the AP acquisition being weapon specific is a mess. They've got a ways to go before this is a system that doesn't feel restrictive.

[Deleted]

It wouldn't be if they implemented scaling in both level and reward. It'd also be something for those who enjoy questing and/or aren't into end game group content to do.

As it is, leveling is so rapid you miss most of the game. There are still zones from Cata I haven't done because I consistently outlevel them before I can. Dungeons and quests (baseline w/o heirlooms) give gratuitous amounts of EXP, as do gathering professions, to usher you to current content as quickly as possible. It basically undermines all content prior to max level. It would be nice for that to not be the case.



Eh. The concept of artifact weapons was good, the execution not to much. I'm quite unhappy with Doomhammer and cannot even transmog it to my preferred fist weapons. I do love my Blade of the Black Empire, but it's unique in that it speaks to you. I'm not into the talent-like system at all and the AP acquisition being weapon specific is a mess. They've got a ways to go before this is a system that doesn't feel restrictive.

They might implement scaling for the rest of the world, I just don't know how worthwhile it is. Would I go do all the quests in the old world I haven't done yet if they scaled to 110 and rewarded me AP ? Sure. But it depends if that scaling is easy to do or not, I have no clue.

The Arcane staff also talks to you btw, he's pretty funny. Per spec AP limitation is mostly ok. There was a spreadsheet awhile back showing it was pretty easy to keep up on 2 specs. I'm 22 points in Holy and 14 in Shadow now. Once I'm 24 in Holy (3rd gold) I'll start investing in Shadow again and will be up to 20+ in like 1/4th of the time with AK level 6.

Sure, they could have made it spec agnostic, but I understand why they haven't - they want people to play the game more. The way it's done now you can think about what you want most and set yourself goals, which keeps you subscribed to the game. Could say it's an artificial way of lengthening content, but it's probably why they did it.

[Wondercrab]

I would certainly like another world revamp, and I think seeing something like that in an upcoming expansion is very likely. The scaling technology they have now opens up immense potential for making the old world relevant again, and with a fresh coat of paint to go along with it some awesome stuff could be crafted.

I don't think such a revamp should "reflect the current story", however. One of the biggest problems with Cataclysm's old world revamp was that it took many timeless zones and locked them into a specific timeframe that makes no sense alongside the other expansions. Ideally the leveling zones should have relatively self contained little stories that won't become outdated and weird as soon as the next expansion comes out. That way you have a proper old world revamp that future proofs itself against needing yet another one five years down the line.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

I think it's happening for sure. The legion invasions were the precursor. But the game doesn't really need it unless they are redoing cata and wrath.

[Draeth]

I voted no. I would have voted yes, but the first one was such a disappointment that I don't believe the Warcraft dev team can execute the concept in an enjoyable way.

[Maester]

I want them to revert it back to Vanilla 1-60.

[Tharkkun]

It wouldn't be if they implemented scaling in both level and reward. It'd also be something for those who enjoy questing and/or aren't into end game group content to do.

As it is, leveling is so rapid you miss most of the game. There are still zones from Cata I haven't done because I consistently outlevel them before I can. Dungeons and quests (baseline w/o heirlooms) give gratuitous amounts of EXP, as do gathering professions, to usher you to current content as quickly as possible. It basically undermines all content prior to max level. It would be nice for that to not be the case.



Eh. The concept of artifact weapons was good, the execution not to much. I'm quite unhappy with Doomhammer and cannot even transmog it to my preferred fist weapons. I do love my Blade of the Black Empire, but it's unique in that it speaks to you. I'm not into the talent-like system at all and the AP acquisition being weapon specific is a mess. They've got a ways to go before this is a system that doesn't feel restrictive.

Pretty sure scaling is in the works. Maybe not until the next expansion but it will be here. The Legion pre-invasion was a dry run for scaling and the Broken Isles was a live showing of it all in action.

@OP : A second cataclysm would be an epic waste of time. People already level 1-90 or even 100 extremely fast. Just like putting up vanilla servers would give very little value overtime I think their art/quest resources would be better server designing new content instead of rehashing Azeroth yet again.

Now if there was a storyline taking them this direction that would make more sense to revamp a portion of it.

[vindicatorx]

Nope, didn't want a first one and obviously it was a waste of resources the first time I don't see why you would want them to do it again.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Not sure about a full revamp but a little reworking / rebuilding and some toning down of Deathwing being everywhere.

[Fal]

I would like to see a subset of this maybe. My idea is similar to what other have said:

Make vanilla questing experience and old dungeons available either through caverns of time or a bronze dragon at the entrance to the zone/dungeon similar to how blasted lands is right now.

Push off the cataclysm stuff to caverns of time too and then -

Make the whole next expansion take place in a scaled new updated version of Azeroth that is designed according to how they design zones now, fix most of the cataclysm stuff, MAYBE add only 1 or two end level zones and the rest is for story mode and leveling. Along with this, make all of the other expansion areas either tie in the same way or make them skippable by allowing new characters to level exclusively in the newly updated zones. I also wouldnt be opposed to them slowing leveling down again and getting rid of boosts if they were to do something like this, but I think that would piss too many people off and they should save that for whenever they decide to ditch wow and make a whole new MMO their main project instead (I think a WoW 2 would be preferable to them fixing this one anyways). The one thing I am always opposed to is removing old content, so IF they were to do any of this, they would have to instance off the old versions in a still accessible way, I freaking hate it every time I go to do one of the old dungeons or zones only to get there and remember "oh yea they changed this thing, I cant get that helmet or do that quest anymore".