World of Warcraft - Cataclysm

[TyphonTook]

Well, it depends what happens. I can honestly only see the next expansion after this being the Emerald Dream. After that, well, I can't really see where they'd go (unless it's to the "back" of the planet!). I'd guess the world would stay as it is if these ideas/rumours are true, as it may be somewhat permanent damage.

After the Emerald Dream/Nightmare, if there aren't any other decent major plot points to follow, significant enemies to face, then the only thing left is the flat out most powerful evil being in all of Warcraft lore.

Hogger's Father.

Or Sargeras. I hear he's pretty strong, too.

[In Ogres We Trust]

Sadly, I felt the need to respond to this thread after reading several of the comments. First, this website is, and has always been, fairly accurate with the upcoming content changes for the World of Warcraft, e.g. patches and expansions. Second, everyone will know whether these changes are, in fact, occuring in the upcoming expansion, The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, after Blizzcon. Third, I've been an avid player of this game since late 2004 and Blizzard has always exceeded my expectations for this game with only a few hiccups along the way. Fourth, at the moment, I'm fairly bored and have decided to add my own opinion to the various changes proposed in the upcoming expansion, as well as, attempting to possibly answer several people's posts on this matter:

1. The Cataclysm: Yes, this event will occur within the game. In fact, about a month prior to the release of the upcoming expansion, Blizzard will release the 4.0 patch into the game. This patch will contain the majority of the new content, e.g. zones, classes, talent trees, and a revamped Azeroth.

2. How will the Cataclysm work? Upon the release of the 4.0 patch, people will download the majority of the new content and log into the game with the new content installed. In fact, this has always been the case with every prior expansion. Upon entering the game world, players will be taken to a cinematic event in which we will experience a video showing Deathwing and Azshara initiating the Cataclysm event and the subsequent destruction of Azeroth. Players will then be phased into the new Azeroth to begin their adventures.

3. Why is Thrall the new Guardian of Tirisfal? Thrall will become the new Guardian of Tirisfal to help coordinate the two factions in their struggle to overcome Deathwing and Azshara. Thrall is chosen because of his personal nature and close ties with Jaina. He can control the Horde and work with the reasonable Alliance leaders in combating this threat. In short, he will become the reasonable advisor able to gently push both factions into a combined goal.

4. Why is Garrosh the new Warchief? Garrosh is the chieftain of the Maghar in the Outlands, as well as, the chieftain of the Warsong Clan, the most powerful clan remaining in the New Horde, and the Commander of the Horde Forces in Northrend. He is being groomed for this position by Thrall and Saurfang, and he is the logical choice to become the new warchief. To pick another would divide the current Horde since Garrosh commands such a large base.

5. Why is Cairne assassinated? Cairne is assassinated to develop discord within the ranks of the Horde and to force them into an open war with the Alliance. He is in fact killed by Deathwing and Azshara to force the only two factions capable of destroying their plans to fight amongst themselves. After all, a combined Alliance/Horde war machine just took down the Lich King. After Cairne's death, Garrosh is led to believe that the Alliance had him assassinated while members of the Horde believe that Garrosh was the real force behind the act. Or, Garrosh actually had Cairne killed so that he would have a precursor to declare war on the Alliance by laying the blame at their feet. Another option could center around Deathwing transforming into an orc form of Garrosh and killing Cairne. Either way war is declared between the two factions. Remember, the best way to win a fight is to divide and conquer your enemy.

6. The new Orgrimmar: Orgrimmar will be rebuilt in Ashenvale at the current location of the eastern Warsong Camp. In fact, the city will be built over time in the game through the use of dailies, much like the retaking of the Isle of Quel'danis. The city will be phased in as the server completes a certain percentage of dailies.

7. What about the trolls and gnomes? The gnomes will finally retake their capital city and the previos instance will be abolished. On the other side, Durotar is destroyed and all that remains is a series of islands. The trolls relocate to these islands and build their new capital on what remains of Durotar. The remaining portion of Durotar will become the new starting area for the troll faction and the orcs will be moved to the Northern Barrens. The Southern Barrens will be the second leveling location for the Orcs, Tauren, and Trolls. Perfect.

8. Why is Azeroth revamped? The original content is out of date, plain and simple. There has to be an overhaul of the zones to go along with technology and the current plot of the game. Zones that are barely used will simply be destroyed and revamped. Questing will become easier and streamlined. Phasing will occur to allow a sense of progression and development in game. The Scourge will be defeated. Plaguelands gone? Redisigned zones and towns. We get to fly. If the Sunwell is actually restored then why isn't it restored in game? Why do we still have the Burning Legion on Quel'danis? They're revamping the zones to deal with stagnation and lack of development and in-game use. In short, times are good.

9. Why redo the old instances and raids? The old raids are merely there collecting dust. In fact, they're a great place to farm gold. You can clear Molten Core with three to five people and make a ton of money along the way. In short, the revamp is there to allow players a better selection of raids to attend, reduce gold inflation on the servers by preventing farming, and allowing new players to experience the raid like it was originally designed to do. Also, I'd rather have a non-stagnant Azeroth with the raid portals there only for the hell of it.

10. There will be new content and zones. Its not just a revamp of the old content. For example, Hyjal, Gilneas, Kul Tiras, Grim Batol, Kezan, Tel'Abim, The Broken Islands, and The Maelstrom will all be added to the game.

11. Goblins: The Goblins are under the control of Deathwing. A faction/cartel escapes and decides to ally with the Horde after Thrall invites them to the Horde for saving his life. They join to retake their home, free the other Goblins, and kill Deathwing. Think the Forsaken redux. In fact, at some point the Horde/Alliance will assault Kezan and slowly retake The Undermine. Think dailies and phasing. Perhaps, The Undermine becomes the new sanctuary for the Alliance and the Horde after they retake the city? However, the current faction/cartel decides to remain with the Horde while the freed goblins return to a neutral faction. Good plot? I think so. Presto! A new sanctuary for the battle against the remaining forces of Deathwing and Azshara. The Horde Goblins slowly build a new capital through the use of dailies and phasing. Damn!

12. Worgen: The Greymane Wall is broken and access to Gilneas is finally available. The Alliance find their cousins have all been turned to Worgen and enlist the aid of the Kirin Tor. The Kirin Tor develop an elixir to give to the population that slightly cures their curse enabling them to think like humans and a seperate faction. Think the Forsaken and their break from the Lich King. They naturally ally with the Alliance. Damn! That was hard to understand. Gilneas is the new racial capital and their surrounding area will be the starting zone. They'll use phasing to show them slowly retaking their humanity and their home. Damn!

13. Why are we getting new race/class combinations? Because we can. They're already tied into the game lore, and, if they're not, then Blizzard can just change the lore and retcon it to fit into the game. Please shut the fuck up about it. They're already doing this. Look at Blood Elf Paladins in The Burning Crusade. It's a nice change to the game. More class options for the races and factions.

14. Will there be a hero class? No. Who gives a shit? No one. Death Knights are so fucked up at the moment that blizzard doesn't need to add another class until they fix this one. Also, the lore doesn't exist for a new hero class in this particular expansion. Wait till the next one.

15. Why is the level cap at 85? Because leveling sucks ass and Blizzard doesn't want to go above the level 100. In short, they're slowly down the level numbers per expansion and will only be doing five levels. At some point this game will die. Think level 100. We kill Sargeras. Damn! The experience required to even level to 81 will still be so damn high that going from level 80 to level 85 will be like going from level 70 to level 80. Please shut the fuck up about it.

16. Blizzard will lose so many players over this expansion: Actually, no they won't. You can bitch and moan all you want. In fact, Blizzard doesn't give a shit what you want or do. It's their game. They can do whatever the hell they to with it. If you don't like it then stop playing. They may listen to what people say and take it into consideration, but at the end of the day they decide what happens. In fact, this game won't die out until Blizzard decides to kill the game. Think level 100.

Finally, in conclusion, please shut the fuck up. Blizzard doesn't give a damn what you think about their game. In fact, they've already decided what this expansion will be like, and at this point they've invested so much capital into the expansion that it won't change. So, in short, you're going to take it up the ass whether you like it or not. If you don't like the changes then quit. If you do then continue to play. Sorry about the wall of text.

P.S. How about some damn Guild Housing? Simple solution. Put an instance in each capital that leads to the guild house and design some decent items to go in it that the guild buys. Why? Gold inflation.

[Koshun]

People... the post on the expansion was not even close to complete. Stop thinking that's the only thing Blizzard is adding; there will probably be dozens of new or revamped zones and hundreds of new quests. Quit making a molehill out of a mountain.

[TyphonTook]

It's been done several times, but since I'm a nerd who likes to delve into this stuff, I'm going to give my wall-o-text as to the lore-legitimacy and gameplay mechanic understanding behind some of the stuff listed in this "confirmed" information (looking forward to Blizzcon updates).

Increasing the level cap to 85 is completely viable if the leveling itself from 80 on is revamped as much as the rest of the old world looks to be. Either leveling will take longer, it will be more gradual (maybe gain new abilities in between levels or some such), or be fairly quick, but each level granting a lot more to the characters (extra talent points, or something more?). Blizzard has almost complete control over how things run, the only exception being stubborn programming and unforeseen complications.

Onto the classes, most have been fully explored and explained, but here's a compiled list of the best explanations I've come across:

Human Hunter- This is an easy one. Human riflemen litter the first camp at Northrend, and Nathanos Marris (see: http://www.wowwiki.com/Nathanos_Blightcaller) has proven that humans are capable of mastering the art of being a hunter. They also have night elves, dwarves and draenei that can help them ease into it.

Orc Mage- There isn't a lot of lore backing this one up, but frankly (look out, it's my opinion, not solid fact!) it doesn't really need any. To tap into the arcane is, based on everything so far in the lore, merely a question of patience and intellect (and considering non-Ogri'la ogres manage to be mages, not a lot of the latter is necessarily required). Honestly, the only class lacking a mage in this list so far, the tauren, could just as easily tap into it, but they are a spiritual race, and choose not to. Also, the threat of being turned into sheep and fed to orc hunter pets might get those lazy peons off their rears.

Night Elf Mage- As many have said, the night elves, or Kaldorei, were originally arcane users who tapped directly into the Well of Eternity before the old Sundering of Kalimdor. There are still Highborne (members of the Kaldorei once considered as upper-class) that exist who are basically night elves that use arcane magic. In desperate times such as those in WoW, the Darnassians could turn to their exiled kin for assistance. There's even a new quest chain that hints at this. Frostfire bolt never looked this sexy.

Dwarf Mage- During the original WoW beta, this was already a playable class/race combo, and like orcs, not a lot of lore has to directly support this. If the stubbon dwarves decided to look into the arcane, by Muradin's beard they'll master it! Now pass me another pint! I'm gonna try this polymorph thing on a gnome and see if it makes a wee sheep out of 'em!

Blood Elf Warrior- These already existed in previous Warcraft lore, and there is no reason that anyone from any race can't be a warrior. It was only taken away from them for balance purposes in the first place, from what I understand. Players better keep show helm turned on, though. Need to protect that pretty face and hair while being bludgeoned to death.

Dwarf Shaman- Another race/class combo that has been fairly covered; an entire society of Dwarves known as Wildhammer already ARE shamans. Does anyone really think it's a stretch that some mountain dwarves wouldn't learn from them, especially considering their growing interest in their own history? Stone form and stone totems seem like a perfect fit to me.

Undead Hunter- As mentioned in my human hunter explanation, and considering that the undead used to be human, becoming hunters is a cinch. Their faction leader is a ranger (a "dark ranger", but I doubt there is too much of a difference) and one of her most trusted allies is a straight-up undead hunter with two canines. Pets running off with limbs aside, it seems just as viable as any other class they have available.

Tauren Paladin- There's a quest chain that shows tauren that are doubting the religious ways of their people, and looking to a new light besides moon light. Sounds like a perfect reason for them to jump on the pally wagon. It's not like their digging into fel or arcane, naysayers. Becoming a disciple of the Light is a very spiritual path, and the tauren have always been a very spiritual people. Like the Blood Knights before them, tauren paladins will likely just find a different path to the same end. I'm going to get tired of the Holy Cow jokes reeeeaally quick, though.

Tauren Priest- This one is a no brainer, and that the race has lacked priests this long can only really be attributed to old class balances. The tauren faith has always been exceptionally strong, and the power of a priest is based on belief and faith. Considering they don't currently have a clothy race, though... do they make dresses in an XXXXL? I don't even think a Draenei robe would fit.

Gnome Priest- A lot of people cast doubt on this one, and for good reason. The gnomes have always been mentally attuned to logic, reason, and science. Tinkering with mechanical gizmo-whatsits is their claim to fame, more so than the economic-minded Goblins (though they are equal in their ability to blow themselves up with their own gadgets). However, their faith has probably grown exponentially after having seen their triumphant allies pull through in some of the most impossible situations, and managing to get their home back would only make their faith in themselves stronger. I wonder if their patron god will be Mecha Zod?

Troll Druid- Just like blood elf and tauren paladins, the potential for a troll druid makes a lot of sense. They don't necessarily have to specifically work with the Earth Mother, Cenarius, or any prior druids to be labeled as such. Delving into their personal worship of animal gods could easily lead them to nearly identical abilities (such that have been displayed by trolls numerous times in the past), even if the source of the power is different. Certainly we might see some very different forms from them (Amani war bears, tigers, and the like), but that doesn't discount that they could work exactly like a druid, and possibly teach their tauren brethren a thing or two.


With the new races, I thought the original post gave a solid reasoning for both. The worgen NPCs that players have hunted all this time are certainly completely feral, but if the isolated kingdom of Gilneas has found a cure for the bestial insanity, it wouldn't be surprising that they'd be scrambling for allies once reunited with the outside world. Who better than their old "buddies" in Stormwind? Certainly, there will be a grudge considering Gilneas' original reasons for ditching, but with the world going through yet another massive catastrophe, such old issues might be water under the bridge.

Goblins joining the horde seems like a no-brainer for people who have been playing Warcraft games since 2. Besides that, the Goblins have always favored the horde. They will gladly sell something to a human, but do you see them providing free zepplin rides to major alliance cities? They are a natural counter to the gnomes; both races are very shewd, interested in technology, and act rather silly and peculiar at times. Also, if several of their neutral towns are laid waste to by the new cataclysm itself, they're probably going to be looking for a few couches to crash on.


The choice to revamp the two huge continents of Azeroth is a huge plus for me, and I think the next logical step. In order to complete these worlds, hundreds of design choices will have to be changed, both to make the world graphically fit with the newer content and to avoid clashing with flying mounts. All of the zones are likely going to be overhauled to match up with the cataclysm from zones being gone completely, to others being shattered and unrecognizable. Finally, several places that previously were locked out from people on foot will finally be accessible, including major instances people have been pining for since early vanilla WoW. Besides all of this, the Maelstrom will probably not be neglected, considering that the source of the world-shattering event is somewhere in their, where Queen Azshara and potentially Deathwing awaits (unless Deathwing just heads back to Dire Maul, where he's apparently been this whole time).

There's a lot here, and just because it's in the same space as old content doesn't mean it won't be new. These zones look to be getting full-on geographical changes the likes of tsunamis and earthquakes over the entire world. Sounds pretty fresh and new to me.

[Riltia]

Actually, for the classes, there's a nice article on WoW.com, where they're explained (or at least possible reasons are given).

Orc Mages make perfect sense as they have Warlocks, which are effectively Mages who've gone too far.

[Andixas]

The simple fact is that a lot of people are going to complain no matter what. Either because they are the type of people who will never be happy with what Blizzard does because they think they could have done it -so- much better, or they are uninformed of the reasons things are happening.

The second of these problems can be solved simply by reading the constructive posts in this thread. The first however, can never be solved and you guys will continue to threaten quitting wow with -all- those that believe like you.

In regards to the people complaining about the Ony revamp: They are not trying to make a brand new "zomg amazing" tier of content in the middle of a patch cycle. Ony is being revamped and introduced with -only- upgraded stats on the same old items because it is something they are doing for the WoW 5th anniversery. It is for nastalgia purposes. It is a gift to you to go have fun with something. Stop trying to make it into a "Omg blizzard is so uncreative and lame" kind of ordeal like you always do. If they really wanted to make it new they wouldnt be introducing it in the middle of 3.2.

In regards to everyone who still cant understand why Thrall is going to be the new Guardian: Who else has really shown themself to be the ideal person to fit this job other than Jaina. Thrall is an excellent choice. And Garrosh will be the new leader for obvious reasons explained many times already in this thread.

Worgens and Goblins: Go read up on your lore. They make perfect fits for joining the alliance or horde respectively mostly for the same reasons Boub shown in his main post and also the ones explained many times in this thread.

Azeroth revamped: Yes this is amazing. We might not get to travel to a brand new area unknown before, but there will be new life breathed into all those areas we have. Its an amazing idea, and if you are upset because you feel that content is just being reused and recycled, than you are one of those people I described in the first paragraph that likely will not be happy no matter what.

All in all, wait until this weekend and see what happens.

[Applejuice]

i also hope it is true.
but i don't think that the worgen are suitable to the alliance.
because they are a agressive and primitive race.
i think that the centauren are better for the alliance.
and it is unfair if you can only fly in azeroth and not kalimdor.
to be honest it would be nice to get on the top of the exodar for exemple
and what about the maelstrome?
are we gonna finaly see it?
because it sounds realy cool to see that giant whirlpool.
for the rest i can't wait for this expansion.

Ehm, Azeroth = the planet, Kalimdor = the western continent, Eastern Kingdoms = eastern continent (and Nothrend = north, bla). So flying in Azeroth (if they made this possible) = flying in Kalimdor as well as Eastern Kingdoms.

[Deleted]

Ehm, Azeroth = the planet, Kalimdor = the western continent, Eastern Kingdoms = eastern continent (and Nothrend = north, bla). So flying in Azeroth (if they made this possible) = flying in Kalimdor as well as Eastern Kingdoms.

I have read somewhere that Stormwind or the Human Kingdoms in general used to be referred to as Azeroth so there might be some confusion ^^

[sabredragon]

I have read somewhere that Stormwind or the Human Kingdoms in general used to be referred to as Azeroth so there might be some confusion ^^

This is correct.

"Azeroth" is interchangeable with "Eastern Kingdoms" in some sources.

[Riltia]

This is correct.

"Azeroth" is interchangeable with "Eastern Kingdoms" in some sources.

Throughout the Warcraft Universe sources the term Azeroth is used to describe several things:

* The world of Azeroth[1] - The name of the world in which the World of Warcraft takes place (save Outland).

* The Kingdom of Azeroth[3] - One of the Seven Kingdoms of humans, it is also called the Stormwind.

* The continent of Azeroth[5] - One of the three continents that comprise the Eastern Kingdoms.

* Eastern Kingdoms - In some sources the term "Azeroth" is used interchangeable with Eastern Kingdoms

^^ From WoW Wiki

[Monkeysarecool123]

Just going to say preview of the new comic on the world of warcraft website gives a lot of information.

[McGnarlz]

i also hope it is true.
but i don't think that the worgen are suitable to the alliance.
because they are a agressive and primitive race.
i think that the centauren are better for the alliance.
and it is unfair if you can only fly in azeroth and not kalimdor.
to be honest it would be nice to get on the top of the exodar for exemple
and what about the maelstrome?
are we gonna finaly see it?
because it sounds realy cool to see that giant whirlpool.
for the rest i can't wait for this expansion.

Lol.
Worgen have been cured of their madness in the xpac (the ones we play) and can now turn into humans and communicate.
Azeroth is the planet Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms (the continents) are on
The Whirlpool is basically so big you can't see across it.
Centaur don't really have anything to do with alliance, plus it wouldn't be fair if they could run fast (like a mount) and wouldn't make sense if they couldn't.
Maelstrom.
L2knowwtfyourtalkingabout.

[McGnarlz]

So 4 new area's 2 of which are starting zones and two of the lamest races in game become playable?

did i miss anything?

Dude just leave the fucking website if everything is so wrong. Plus, Worgen and Goblins are dope. So gtfo hater.

[Deleted]

Just going to say preview of the new comic on the world of warcraft website gives a lot of information.

SPOILER:

it is so funny when I consider all the people who said... "no way the Guardian has to be a Mage"
if those people only would have waited until they could read the comic preview they wouldnt have made such fools out of theirselves

after reading the preview I'm sure everything Boub has posted is right

and we will see Shamans, Druids, Priests and Paladins in the Council as well as Thrall as the new Guardian, even if it is only temporarily and until Med'an is ready

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/misc/...sneakpeek.html

last page last panel... you can see for yourself ^^

[Parnoid]

It was a setup!
http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=96228.0[ftp][/ftp]

[Oxyclean]

Sadly, I felt the need to respond to this thread after reading several of the comments. First, this website is, and has always been, fairly accurate with the upcoming content changes for the World of Warcraft, e.g. patches and expansions. Second, everyone will know whether these changes are, in fact, occuring in the upcoming expansion, The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, after Blizzcon. Third, I've been an avid player of this game since late 2004 and Blizzard has always exceeded my expectations for this game with only a few hiccups along the way. Fourth, at the moment, I'm fairly bored and have decided to add my own opinion to the various changes proposed in the upcoming expansion, as well as, attempting to possibly answer several people's posts on this matter:

1. The Cataclysm: Yes, this event will occur within the game. In fact, about a month prior to the release of the upcoming expansion, Blizzard will release the 4.0 patch into the game. This patch will contain the majority of the new content, e.g. zones, classes, talent trees, and a revamped Azeroth.

2. How will the Cataclysm work? Upon the release of the 4.0 patch, people will download the majority of the new content and log into the game with the new content installed. In fact, this has always been the case with every prior expansion. Upon entering the game world, players will be taken to a cinematic event in which we will experience a video showing Deathwing and Azshara initiating the Cataclysm event and the subsequent destruction of Azeroth. Players will then be phased into the new Azeroth to begin their adventures.

3. Why is Thrall the new Guardian of Tirisfal? Thrall will become the new Guardian of Tirisfal to help coordinate the two factions in their struggle to overcome Deathwing and Azshara. Thrall is chosen because of his personal nature and close ties with Jaina. He can control the Horde and work with the reasonable Alliance leaders in combating this threat. In short, he will become the reasonable advisor able to gently push both factions into a combined goal.

4. Why is Garrosh the new Warchief? Garrosh is the chieftain of the Maghar in the Outlands, as well as, the chieftain of the Warsong Clan, the most powerful clan remaining in the New Horde, and the Commander of the Horde Forces in Northrend. He is being groomed for this position by Thrall and Saurfang, and he is the logical choice to become the new warchief. To pick another would divide the current Horde since Garrosh commands such a large base.

5. Why is Cairne assassinated? Cairne is assassinated to develop discord within the ranks of the Horde and to force them into an open war with the Alliance. He is in fact killed by Deathwing and Azshara to force the only two factions capable of destroying their plans to fight amongst themselves. After all, a combined Alliance/Horde war machine just took down the Lich King. After Cairne's death, Garrosh is led to believe that the Alliance had him assassinated while members of the Horde believe that Garrosh was the real force behind the act. Or, Garrosh actually had Cairne killed so that he would have a precursor to declare war on the Alliance by laying the blame at their feet. Another option could center around Deathwing transforming into an orc form of Garrosh and killing Cairne. Either way war is declared between the two factions. Remember, the best way to win a fight is to divide and conquer your enemy.

6. The new Orgrimmar: Orgrimmar will be rebuilt in Ashenvale at the current location of the eastern Warsong Camp. In fact, the city will be built over time in the game through the use of dailies, much like the retaking of the Isle of Quel'danis. The city will be phased in as the server completes a certain percentage of dailies.

7. What about the trolls and gnomes? The gnomes will finally retake their capital city and the previos instance will be abolished. On the other side, Durotar is destroyed and all that remains is a series of islands. The trolls relocate to these islands and build their new capital on what remains of Durotar. The remaining portion of Durotar will become the new starting area for the troll faction and the orcs will be moved to the Northern Barrens. The Southern Barrens will be the second leveling location for the Orcs, Tauren, and Trolls. Perfect.

8. Why is Azeroth revamped? The original content is out of date, plain and simple. There has to be an overhaul of the zones to go along with technology and the current plot of the game. Zones that are barely used will simply be destroyed and revamped. Questing will become easier and streamlined. Phasing will occur to allow a sense of progression and development in game. The Scourge will be defeated. Plaguelands gone? Redisigned zones and towns. We get to fly. If the Sunwell is actually restored then why isn't it restored in game? Why do we still have the Burning Legion on Quel'danis? They're revamping the zones to deal with stagnation and lack of development and in-game use. In short, times are good.

9. Why redo the old instances and raids? The old raids are merely there collecting dust. In fact, they're a great place to farm gold. You can clear Molten Core with three to five people and make a ton of money along the way. In short, the revamp is there to allow players a better selection of raids to attend, reduce gold inflation on the servers by preventing farming, and allowing new players to experience the raid like it was originally designed to do. Also, I'd rather have a non-stagnant Azeroth with the raid portals there only for the hell of it.

10. There will be new content and zones. Its not just a revamp of the old content. For example, Hyjal, Gilneas, Kul Tiras, Grim Batol, Kezan, Tel'Abim, The Broken Islands, and The Maelstrom will all be added to the game.

11. Goblins: The Goblins are under the control of Deathwing. A faction/cartel escapes and decides to ally with the Horde after Thrall invites them to the Horde for saving his life. They join to retake their home, free the other Goblins, and kill Deathwing. Think the Forsaken redux. In fact, at some point the Horde/Alliance will assault Kezan and slowly retake The Undermine. Think dailies and phasing. Perhaps, The Undermine becomes the new sanctuary for the Alliance and the Horde after they retake the city? However, the current faction/cartel decides to remain with the Horde while the freed goblins return to a neutral faction. Good plot? I think so. Presto! A new sanctuary for the battle against the remaining forces of Deathwing and Azshara. The Horde Goblins slowly build a new capital through the use of dailies and phasing. Damn!

12. Worgen: The Greymane Wall is broken and access to Gilneas is finally available. The Alliance find their cousins have all been turned to Worgen and enlist the aid of the Kirin Tor. The Kirin Tor develop an elixir to give to the population that slightly cures their curse enabling them to think like humans and a seperate faction. Think the Forsaken and their break from the Lich King. They naturally ally with the Alliance. Damn! That was hard to understand. Gilneas is the new racial capital and their surrounding area will be the starting zone. They'll use phasing to show them slowly retaking their humanity and their home. Damn!

13. Why are we getting new race/class combinations? Because we can. They're already tied into the game lore, and, if they're not, then Blizzard can just change the lore and retcon it to fit into the game. Please shut the fuck up about it. They're already doing this. Look at Blood Elf Paladins in The Burning Crusade. It's a nice change to the game. More class options for the races and factions.

14. Will there be a hero class? No. Who gives a shit? No one. Death Knights are so fucked up at the moment that blizzard doesn't need to add another class until they fix this one. Also, the lore doesn't exist for a new hero class in this particular expansion. Wait till the next one.

15. Why is the level cap at 85? Because leveling sucks ass and Blizzard doesn't want to go above the level 100. In short, they're slowly down the level numbers per expansion and will only be doing five levels. At some point this game will die. Think level 100. We kill Sargeras. Damn! The experience required to even level to 81 will still be so damn high that going from level 80 to level 85 will be like going from level 70 to level 80. Please shut the fuck up about it.

16. Blizzard will lose so many players over this expansion: Actually, no they won't. You can bitch and moan all you want. In fact, Blizzard doesn't give a shit what you want or do. It's their game. They can do whatever the hell they to with it. If you don't like it then stop playing. They may listen to what people say and take it into consideration, but at the end of the day they decide what happens. In fact, this game won't die out until Blizzard decides to kill the game. Think level 100.

Finally, in conclusion, please shut the fuck up. Blizzard doesn't give a damn what you think about their game. In fact, they've already decided what this expansion will be like, and at this point they've invested so much capital into the expansion that it won't change. So, in short, you're going to take it up the ass whether you like it or not. If you don't like the changes then quit. If you do then continue to play. Sorry about the wall of text.

P.S. How about some damn Guild Housing? Simple solution. Put an instance in each capital that leads to the guild house and design some decent items to go in it that the guild buys. Why? Gold inflation.

/clap

[highelfmage]

It's been done several times, but since I'm a nerd who likes to delve into this stuff, I'm going to give my wall-o-text as to the lore-legitimacy and gameplay mechanic understanding behind some of the stuff listed in this "confirmed" information (looking forward to Blizzcon updates).

Increasing the level cap to 85 is completely viable if the leveling itself from 80 on is revamped as much as the rest of the old world looks to be. Either leveling will take longer, it will be more gradual (maybe gain new abilities in between levels or some such), or be fairly quick, but each level granting a lot more to the characters (extra talent points, or something more?). Blizzard has almost complete control over how things run, the only exception being stubborn programming and unforeseen complications.

Onto the classes, most have been fully explored and explained, but here's a compiled list of the best explanations I've come across:

Human Hunter- This is an easy one. Human riflemen litter the first camp at Northrend, and Nathanos Marris (see: http://www.wowwiki.com/Nathanos_Blightcaller) has proven that humans are capable of mastering the art of being a hunter. They also have night elves, dwarves and draenei that can help them ease into it.

Orc Mage- There isn't a lot of lore backing this one up, but frankly (look out, it's my opinion, not solid fact!) it doesn't really need any. To tap into the arcane is, based on everything so far in the lore, merely a question of patience and intellect (and considering non-Ogri'la ogres manage to be mages, not a lot of the latter is necessarily required). Honestly, the only class lacking a mage in this list so far, the tauren, could just as easily tap into it, but they are a spiritual race, and choose not to. Also, the threat of being turned into sheep and fed to orc hunter pets might get those lazy peons off their rears.

Night Elf Mage- As many have said, the night elves, or Kaldorei, were originally arcane users who tapped directly into the Well of Eternity before the old Sundering of Kalimdor. There are still Highborne (members of the Kaldorei once considered as upper-class) that exist who are basically night elves that use arcane magic. In desperate times such as those in WoW, the Darnassians could turn to their exiled kin for assistance. There's even a new quest chain that hints at this. Frostfire bolt never looked this sexy.

Dwarf Mage- During the original WoW beta, this was already a playable class/race combo, and like orcs, not a lot of lore has to directly support this. If the stubbon dwarves decided to look into the arcane, by Muradin's beard they'll master it! Now pass me another pint! I'm gonna try this polymorph thing on a gnome and see if it makes a wee sheep out of 'em!

Blood Elf Warrior- These already existed in previous Warcraft lore, and there is no reason that anyone from any race can't be a warrior. It was only taken away from them for balance purposes in the first place, from what I understand. Players better keep show helm turned on, though. Need to protect that pretty face and hair while being bludgeoned to death.

Dwarf Shaman- Another race/class combo that has been fairly covered; an entire society of Dwarves known as Wildhammer already ARE shamans. Does anyone really think it's a stretch that some mountain dwarves wouldn't learn from them, especially considering their growing interest in their own history? Stone form and stone totems seem like a perfect fit to me.

Undead Hunter- As mentioned in my human hunter explanation, and considering that the undead used to be human, becoming hunters is a cinch. Their faction leader is a ranger (a "dark ranger", but I doubt there is too much of a difference) and one of her most trusted allies is a straight-up undead hunter with two canines. Pets running off with limbs aside, it seems just as viable as any other class they have available.

Tauren Paladin- There's a quest chain that shows tauren that are doubting the religious ways of their people, and looking to a new light besides moon light. Sounds like a perfect reason for them to jump on the pally wagon. It's not like their digging into fel or arcane, naysayers. Becoming a disciple of the Light is a very spiritual path, and the tauren have always been a very spiritual people. Like the Blood Knights before them, tauren paladins will likely just find a different path to the same end. I'm going to get tired of the Holy Cow jokes reeeeaally quick, though.

Tauren Priest- This one is a no brainer, and that the race has lacked priests this long can only really be attributed to old class balances. The tauren faith has always been exceptionally strong, and the power of a priest is based on belief and faith. Considering they don't currently have a clothy race, though... do they make dresses in an XXXXL? I don't even think a Draenei robe would fit.

Gnome Priest- A lot of people cast doubt on this one, and for good reason. The gnomes have always been mentally attuned to logic, reason, and science. Tinkering with mechanical gizmo-whatsits is their claim to fame, more so than the economic-minded Goblins (though they are equal in their ability to blow themselves up with their own gadgets). However, their faith has probably grown exponentially after having seen their triumphant allies pull through in some of the most impossible situations, and managing to get their home back would only make their faith in themselves stronger. I wonder if their patron god will be Mecha Zod?

Troll Druid- Just like blood elf and tauren paladins, the potential for a troll druid makes a lot of sense. They don't necessarily have to specifically work with the Earth Mother, Cenarius, or any prior druids to be labeled as such. Delving into their personal worship of animal gods could easily lead them to nearly identical abilities (such that have been displayed by trolls numerous times in the past), even if the source of the power is different. Certainly we might see some very different forms from them (Amani war bears, tigers, and the like), but that doesn't discount that they could work exactly like a druid, and possibly teach their tauren brethren a thing or two.


With the new races, I thought the original post gave a solid reasoning for both. The worgen NPCs that players have hunted all this time are certainly completely feral, but if the isolated kingdom of Gilneas has found a cure for the bestial insanity, it wouldn't be surprising that they'd be scrambling for allies once reunited with the outside world. Who better than their old "buddies" in Stormwind? Certainly, there will be a grudge considering Gilneas' original reasons for ditching, but with the world going through yet another massive catastrophe, such old issues might be water under the bridge.

Goblins joining the horde seems like a no-brainer for people who have been playing Warcraft games since 2. Besides that, the Goblins have always favored the horde. They will gladly sell something to a human, but do you see them providing free zepplin rides to major alliance cities? They are a natural counter to the gnomes; both races are very shewd, interested in technology, and act rather silly and peculiar at times. Also, if several of their neutral towns are laid waste to by the new cataclysm itself, they're probably going to be looking for a few couches to crash on.


The choice to revamp the two huge continents of Azeroth is a huge plus for me, and I think the next logical step. In order to complete these worlds, hundreds of design choices will have to be changed, both to make the world graphically fit with the newer content and to avoid clashing with flying mounts. All of the zones are likely going to be overhauled to match up with the cataclysm from zones being gone completely, to others being shattered and unrecognizable. Finally, several places that previously were locked out from people on foot will finally be accessible, including major instances people have been pining for since early vanilla WoW. Besides all of this, the Maelstrom will probably not be neglected, considering that the source of the world-shattering event is somewhere in their, where Queen Azshara and potentially Deathwing awaits (unless Deathwing just heads back to Dire Maul, where he's apparently been this whole time).

There's a lot here, and just because it's in the same space as old content doesn't mean it won't be new. These zones look to be getting full-on geographical changes the likes of tsunamis and earthquakes over the entire world. Sounds pretty fresh and new to me.

All EPIC fail

[sabredragon]

All EPIC fail

Actually, all of that is more correct and intelligent than most of the crap posted on this thread . . .

But you're one of the ones sitting here saying none of this is in the realm of possibility, so.

[Deleted]

All EPIC fail

explain why!

[sabredragon]

explain why!

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy's really all giddy and squeaky inside for these changes ... And is just causing grief to be a pain in the ass. ;D