Is It Time For Another "Cataclysm"?

[Delaios]

A full revamp on the scale of Cataclysm isn't necessary. Some zones that focus way too much on Horde vs Alliance could use some rework, as do zones that are suffering from the Cataclysm. Having Alliance and Horde fighting non stop in some zones since Cataclysm is no different to Stormwind Park being on fire for as long as it did. If they decide to go for a full revamp I sincerely hope they go with more of an adventure-style rather than a hero-style. It's just retarded how many times you figuratively save the world as you level-up. The human starting area (talking about just the abbey) even has you thwarting the Blackrock orcs before you can even select a specialization.

What's more important to me than story cohesion is the overall questing experience. Currently that's very lackluster until you reach MoP/WoD. There are still zones where you spend more time traveling to/from a quest hub and between mobs you need for a quest. It's still way too easy to outlevel a zone. It's still way too punishing to switch your leveling route (say going from EK to Kalimdor). If you pick up a Call to Arms quest in a city, you should get a complimentary flightpath/portal. Flightpaths to the major hubs that start a zone's questline should auto unlock once you reach that zone's minimum level requirement. To combat the outleveling issue even more they should implement level scaling to some extent.

[Nuba]

On today's standard, the whole WoW Leveling experience from levels 1 to 80 is completely trash and outdated.
I think the game needs to add voiceover to quests, so we can actually get involved and immersed with what is going on.
Updated old models would be cool as well

[Rhlor]

Seems like there is almost an entire hidden side of Azeroth we've not yet seen. Some questlines are completely dated, particularly the starting zones, and others still being "destroyed" like Darkshore, Westfall, and Badlands. It might just be me, but it was 6 years before we saw our first real update, and another 6 years have passed. Perhaps this expac would be another look forward as Azeroth has had time to heal from Deathwing. Some examples might include:

- The Defias have made their return to the Eastern Kingdoms as part of this South Seas expansion, knocking out the Orc armies and reclaiming territories for themselves.
- Edwin Van Cleef's bastard Brother Zorren has returned to find his neice and avenge his brother
- Southshore is being reclaimed by the Alliance, and returned to its former glory as Stromgarde castle is now built anew and is no longer in ruins.
- Gilneas has been reclaimed by its rightful inhabitants and is now usable as a home city
- Orgrimmar has almost doubled in size as it moves into territories to the north
- Taurajo is rebuilt as the Tauren bury their dead and attempt to regain control of the territory
- World Shamans have come together to heal areas of Azeroth much the same way they healed Shenzin-Su in Pandaria
- Remove the tornadoes from zones
- Fix Booty Bay
- and so on...

** Please Note: For all of the Pedantics who assume I want Blizz to do it EXACTLY as I have written here... I DON'T. These are merely musings, whimsical ideas of healing Azeroth and updating Starting Zones for new "pertinent" content. Please feel free to express your ideas and opinions, but please be able to distinguish the difference between casual thread conversation and insisting Blizz does it my way. These are just some random thoughts on how to update Azeroth and bring new content to once again stale zones. Would also love to see Silithus and Deadwind Pass get some love.

I want them to update the blood elf and draenei start zones

[Niwes]

if cata wasnt a culture shock for them, maybe but they have not received that great applause for that, so i dont think they have the balls to do something like that again.

personally i would love when complete azeroth would always be a part of the xpacs and if it always evolves.every xpac should, imo, happen 70% in a new zone, and 30% in the existing gameworld to really make a "world" out of world of warcraft. and i love old azeroth.

in Legion the different classes had their campaigns in pandaria, wotlk or azeroth. i liked that and it is great when azeroth is actively a part of the game. world feels alive and more "worldish" instead my char is being captured in another sandbox zone every xpac.

so, i would like it. but i do not think blizzard will do that.

[AwkwardSquirtle]

No. Cataclysm's endgame suffered on release for it.

- - - Updated - - -

What I would like is some sort of Bronze Dragonflight indication that time travel is happening. Have capitals appear as they did in Cataclysm (i.e Garrosh on the Orgrimmar throne) until level 90, and a bronze dragonflight quest to go to BC.

[exo-razmus]

No i don't want another round of lore quests becoming empty meme/pun filled quest content that offers nothing of substance to the lore like cata did. However, Id let Blizz do it if they brought on Bellulars team to do the quest stories the way they were trying to with their addon.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

No i don't want another round of lore quests becoming empty meme/pun filled quest content that offers nothing of substance to the lore like cata did. However, Id let Blizz do it if they brought on Bellulars team to do the quest stories the way they were trying to with their addon.

There were zones that had non pun/silly stuff like Vash'ir and Twilight Highlands.

[Guppmeister]

People always use cataclysms end game to argue that nothing old should be updated. I just don't get that at all. Sure Cataclysms end game supposedly was pretty lame, I wouldn't know since I was pretty casual back then, but that doesn't mean that Blizzard hasn't learned from their mistakes. I feel like they get better at what they do every expansion, and I am super excited for the future.

I'm pretty sure that they would be able to pull something off where they update old content, provide new content, and include new end game content mixed in with old content.

I would love to see more max level quest chains take us to familiar territory and resolve unfinished quest lines. In my opinion places like Pandaria, Outland, or Draenor feel extremely disconnected from the main world of Azeroth, and I don't like that.

[exo-razmus]

There were zones that had non pun/silly stuff like Vash'ir and Twilight Highlands.

I don't disagree, those were new zones, but the OP was referring to updating/revamping existing zones and that was very much the case for zones that received some Cata "flair".

Don't get me wrong some silliness is ok, I just don't want it to be all encompassing. If future content requires yet another change to the landscape, something cataclysmic, at least carry forward the seriousness of those events to the lore and those effected.

[-Joker-]

I want them to update the blood elf and draenei start zones

Of course. Finish the art, add flight, remove the "instance" to move between them and Azeroth. Plus, SMC could finally fix the wall with the Broken Scar, and Exodar could be lifted from the ground and hover above Bloodmyst Isle and use a teleporter (for lower levels without flight).

[Supercool]

No. Cataclysm's endgame suffered on release for it.

Tier 11 was buggy, but that was mainly down to the 10/25 split (and 10 got the worst of it; 25 guilds like mine had a blast taking down heroic Nef). And the biggest problem with the non-raiding stuff came down to Heroic being too harsh on groupfinder.

However I don't think a second revamp would be anything like as costly as the first, which had to take the entire smoke and mirrors of the Vanilla continents and transform them into a coherent 3D landscape. THAT was a feat. New updates would not need to be anywhere near as ambitious in scope.

[Dug]

I would like it if Blizzard did another revamp but this time waaaay bigger. Like Azeroth, Outland, Northrend and maaaaaybe Pandaria to present day timeline. But that's a huge undertaking so I don't expect it to be done. If they ever do update them I expect Azeroth only.

But I'd also not like new content and story to suffer as a result.

[Stormspark]

No, for the same reason Cataclysm had problems as an expansion. Time spent redoing low level zones, is time that will not be spent developing endgame content. This came at the *direct* cost of having very little endgame content in Cataclysm. The same thing would happen again.

The only changes I personally want to see in the old world is 1) un-instancing the Quel'thalas zones and making them part of the main world, getting rid of the invisible wall over the Stratholme area, and 2) enabling flight in both the Quel'thalas zones and the Draenei zones. The Draenei zones are actually fully ready for flying now (despite existing on the Outland map). Having those islands be in a separate instance is fine, because they are self contained islands. Quel'thalas having an instance portal while actually existing on the Outland map needs to be fixed.

[Liarparadox]

I'd rather see them concentrate 100% on making a great expansion instead of revisiting old zones. And if someone claims they can do both, well... I'm yet to see Blizz making expansion without cut corners, blatant bugs or rushed imbalanced stuff. So no, I don't believe revisiting old zones wouldn't have a hefty opportunity cost.

Yeah I agree, I'd rather see another xpac. But I don't think that'll happen until WOW subs are much lower. They make a killing off of WOW as is. So I'd like to see them revamp the world. Rebuild it or something. New factions, alliances, and so on. Have Goblins go ally because they were bought off or something like that. So much potential.

But yea, I'd love WOW2 from the ground up, entirely new engines/graphics and all that fun stuff. Completely reset the entire thing. Any toon transfers, either don't do it or just give them a very small bonus for importing a toon. Some small token/boost or gold carried over, i mean something very small.

[tss]

The last time it was an immense waste of resources. I generally hate what they did with the zone stories and the general theme and feel in Cata, with all its over the top goofy and pop/self-referential shit, so in a perfect world I'd say yes, rebuild the whole thing from the ground up modern style. Make Teldrassil a real tree, etc. But realistically, if they did another revamp, it's still going to be the same ugly lumpy sine wave looking "mountains" and handful of textures with awful octagonal trees and so on. Rather see that effort put towards something new.

[crusadernero]

I would love if they updated the old world. I like going back to old zones and doing new quests, even if im higher lvl.

Will they do it though? doubt it. seem to remember Blizzard said they spendt ALOT of time redoing the zones in cata and that it was almost not worth it.

[elaina]

With all of the work they've put into developing scaling zones I think we might see something like that soon.

I think part of the responsibility of having a world of content is keeping it all up to date.

If they were smart they would've had a small team retooling the old world a zone or so at a time every patch or so starting in MoP, if nothing else to update the story lines and keep the world moving and evolving.

[Kellorion]

Not a full on for me, no.
But Aszhara be invaded by the Old Gods forces and Naga trying to get to Orgm.
Aszhara Crater PvP BG finally
Azuremyst/Bloodmyst Isle and Quel'thalas updated with flying
Silithus finally a full zone
updates to Storm Peaks, Un'goro, Sholazar
attacks on Tirisfal and UC

and of course the main questing zones around Kul'Tiras, Tel Abim, Nazjatar, Undermine, Zuldazar

[Grimnakh]

I wouodnt mind them updating the appearance of things to all be more up to date graphics wise, but Id actually like them to return the world to how it was before Cata for the most part. What they did to some of those zones is just a travesty.

[Zandalarian Paladin]

A few things to consider:

- We've spent more time in the new post-cataclysm revamped zones than the vanilla ones.
- The leveling experience is attrociously outdated.
- The resources are beyond anything that Blizzard can spare. It's too much work.
- Level scaling may help feeling more in-tune with the leveling experience.

And beyond that, even more things to consider:

- What do we do with the outdated version?
- To what extent should the revamp be extended?
- What pacing should we use?
- Should it be tuned for 1-110? Or a smaller margin?

I would support the idea, however dont get your hopes up with the current state of things.