Changes for: 1/19: Addition of Cataclysm-related Developer Chat details, after sec. 12

Greeting, all! As I did with Wrath of the Lich King before, I thought I’d take a little time and gather together all the information flitting around out there about the next expansion: Cataclysm.

Blizzard’s official site can be found here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/

There will most likely be a closed beta but, as usual, scammers will attempt to lure you into revealing account information by creating fake sites. Always remember - Blizzard will be the first to announce the existence of such a beta and how players can participate!

Most of the information presented herein will be familiar to you savvy readers; others may find it helpful to have all the Blizzcon info available on the forums. As time goes on and the release of this newest expansion approaches, I’ll be continually updating this thread with new information. As with the old Wrath compilation, the newest information will be bolded within the category list below so you can avoid reading the entire thread with each update.

[Note on release date(s): game shops tend to have 'placeholder' dates. These shouldn't be construed as official dates from Blizzard.

*Every effort has been made to provide the source for included information. If a source is not explicitly mentioned, the information was gathered from transcripts of the various panels.

Categories:

1. General Information
a. Miscellaneous
b. Mounts

2. New Races
a. Worgen
b. Goblins

3. Zone Changes/Additions
a. Old World
b. New Zones

4. Professions
a. Archaeology
b. Reforging
c. Other

5. Path of the Titans

6. Class Changes
a. Death Knights
b. Druids
c. Hunters
d. Mages
e. Paladins
f. Priests
g. Rogues
h. Shaman
i. Warlocks
j. Warriors

7. Talent Trees
a. Mastery

8. Item Stat Changes

9. Battlegrounds/Arenas
a. Rated Battlegrounds
b. New Battleground: Battle for Gilneas
c. New PvP Zone: Tol Barad Island
d. Other

10. Dungeons/Raids
a. Old World updates
b. New Content

11. Guild Information
a. Guild Experience
b. Guild Professions
c. New Guild Features
d. Other

12. Miscellaneous Information

1. General Information
a. Miscellaneous
- Level Cap raised to 85
- New Race/Class combinations: Blood Elf (Warrior), Dwarf (Shaman, Mage), Gnome (Priest), Humans (Hunter), Night Elf (Mage), Orc (Mage), Tauren (Paladin, Priest), Troll (Druid), Undead (Hunter)
- Two new races - Goblins and Worgen (see below)
- Path of the Titans and Mastery (see below)
- No new talents (we will be able to spend our 5 new talent points in the existing trees, they just will not be extended)
- No new classes
- Deathwing is the main threat this time around (http://www.wowwiki.com/Deathwing)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml

b. Mounts
- Flying Mounts: now usable in the newly revamped Old World; Unknown at this time: if in all areas, if at all levels, if there will be an ‘unlocking’ requirement similar to Wrath
- Underwater Mounts are coming!
- Possibility of multi-passenger flying mounts!

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/

2. New Races
a. Worgen
- Worgen, the new Alliance race, will have their own district in Stormwind. They have a worgen form and a human (cosmetic) form; when in combat the worgen will always shift to the worgen form.
- Worgen will have access to all classes except paladin and shaman.
- Racials: Darkflight: allows the worgen to temporarily increase their movement speed by 70%, and can be used every three minutes; Aberration: reduced duration from the effects of curses and disease; Flayer: bonus to skinning, as well as the ability to skin faster and not use a skinning knife; Viciousness: 1% bonus to damage
- Mount: http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Worgen_mount.jpg (pig/bear looking thing)
- Starting Zone: Gilneas

b. Goblins
- Goblins, the new Horde race, will have a city (not confirmed to be a capital)in the revamped zone of Azshara.
- Goblins will have access to all classes except paladin and druid.
- Racials: rocket belt that allows players to activate one of two rocket abilities every two minutes - enables the player to jump up to 20 yards or shoots rockets at an enemy player within 30 yards; every 30 minutes the goblin can summon a pack hobgoblin, which will act as a personal servant granting bank access. Goblins also gain a bonus to their alchemy skill, and should a player decide to become an alchemist there will be an increased benefit from drinking health and mana potions. Additional passive goblin racials include a permanent 1% increase to attack and casting speed, and because of their knack for mercantile affairs, goblins will always receive the best possible gold discount regardless of reputation.
- Mount: Roadster
- Starting Zone: Lost Isles

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml

3. Zone Changes/Additions
a. Old World
Leave what you knew of Azeroth behind, ladies and gents, for Deathwing has blasted a path of destruction through everything we once held dear!

- Many classic “Old World” zones have been remade; others have had their quests vastly streamlined (“The terrain is not guaranteed to change in every zone, many zones are likely going to stay the same terrain-wise but the questing will get the clean up.”)

- Thousand Needles gets flooded!

- Southshore has been destroyed by tsunami!

- The Barrens has been split in two; one area for high-level and one area for low-level characters. Portions of the Barrens have grown lush thanks to the work of the druid Naralex. The passage into Mulgore has been reinforced by the tauren, with high walls and a gate.; Camp Taurajo has been burned down by the Alliance. The Alliance are also setting up a base in the Barrens.

- Stonetalon Mountains: Eruptions decimate the landscape, spreading the flames of the Charred Vale even further. The goblins have cut through the mountains, forming a valley that leads into Ashenvale. This valley runs where the tunnel between Ashenvale and Stonetalon was. A mountain has also collapsed in the Charred Vale, allowing access to the sea.

- Darkshore is flooded, Auberdine destroyed. A new Night Elf town will appear to the north. Shatterspear Village, previously a closed zone, becomes an accessible subzone. New quest hubs will be added both north and south.

- Ashenvale: Zoram'gar Outpost is reinforced with black iron, similar to the Horde outposts in Northrend. Zoram Strand, therefore, is now a full-fledged outpost. Astranaar becomes the victim of air assaults launched by the Horde.

- Azshara: now a low-level zone for Horde players, directly linked to Orgrimmar via a path carved through the rear to the Goblin city; from the air it will look like a giant Horde symbol, carved by the Goblins; the goblin city there will also sport a giant cannon emplacement; The zone will be intended for players level 15 and up; expect to see a Goblin version of Mount Rushmore!

- Desolace: Once a barren wasteland, the Cataclysm has caused a rift to form, allowing water to flood in from the coast and bring life back to the region. However, the region is now being invaded by demons, including shivarra. A Night Elven camp will be added. New flight paths and new quest hubs will be added.

- Azeroth will change for all players, regardless of whether the expansion is purchased

- Possible flight path to be included at the Eastvale Logging Camp (Elwynn)

- Plaguelands lowered to mid-level

- UC & SW redesigned to allow flying mounts; the Ruins of Lordaeron will now have a giant pit that reaches down into the Undercity

- Orgrimmar: As we know, the walls and structure are being reinforced with Northrend metals. Garrosh has taken over and kicked out all the races from the center of the capital with the exception of Orcs and Tauren

- Gnomer: Gnomes may be able to take it as a new capital city

b. New Zones
- The Sunken City of Vashj'ir (78-82): beneath the sea contains the entrance to the Abyssal Maw
- Mount Hyjal (78-82): has the new world tree, Nordrassil, and also contains the entrance to the Firelands; Expect to see Ragnaros here with his armies and a reawakened Malfurion
- Uldum (80-84): has two dungeons; to the far south of Tanaris
- Deepholm (82-84): Deathwing’s cavernous domain; also serves as a travel hub from one high level zone to another, a crossroads of sorts - it will not be a new neutral city, nor are there any planned
- Twilight Highlands (84-85): land of the Twilight Hammer near Grim Batol
- Gilneas (1-15; Worgen starter) (http://www.wowwiki.com/Gilneas)
- Isle of Kezan, Lost Isles (1-15; South Seas - Goblin starter zones)
- New staring zones: Gilneas (Worgen) and Isle of Kezan (Goblins) will be phased and similar to the Death Knight starting zone
- Tol Barad Island: New Wintergrasp-esque zone (see below)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19377974222&sid=1&pageNo=5#81
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/cataclysm-panel.xml
http://www.wowwiki.com/Malfurion_Stormrage
http://www.wowwiki.com/Ragnaros
http://www.wowwiki.com/World_of_Warcraft:_Cataclysm
http://www.wow.com/2009/09/27/cataclysm-starting-zone-lore-and-other-new-details-revealed/#continued
UK PC Gamer November 2009, Issue 206

4. Professions
a. Archaeology
- New Secondary Profession: Archaeology - lets you collect and use artifacts unearthed from the ancient races
- Each archaeologist uses the profession to uncover clues hidden in the world around them, such as troll relics or map fragments, and decipher their meaning, enabling the clever archaeologist to manipulate pieces of the past, learning the location of a treasure cache or valuable artifact. Such artifacts are highly sought after by the Archaeology Society, and they pay in gold and items for their return. Those who have mastered archaeology can find Titan artifacts, earning special currency used to unlock character paths and allowing the player to further customize their character. See Also: Path of the Titans
- Interacting with an artifact you find is similar to other gathering professions. It has been specifically stated that you will be able to track both Artifacts and your regular "tracking" for gathering professions.
- Recovered artifacts will be placed in a Journal, not in bags
- Rewards from Archaeology will be something "like": a skeletal T-Rex non-combat pet or the ability to teleport to a dungeon you've been to before

b. Reforging
- allows Tailor to modify cloth gear, Leatherworkers to modify leather, etc.; Specifically, they can reduce a single statistic on applicable items and convert the lost points into another stat not already on the item; this service can also be provided to other players if you see fit

c. Other
- New Recipes
- Skill Cap raised to 525 - “Illustrious”
- Skill Points: allow the gaining of multiple points for some tasks; while intended for Crafting profs, this has been mentioned for Gathering as well
- Profession Specialization may be tweaked so that players can level up all aspects of a profession, not just one

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml
http://www.wow.com/2009/08/23/blizzcon-2009-insider-trader-cataclysmic-professions/
http://www.wow.com/2009/08/22/blizzcon-2009-class-panel-2-the-good-parts-version/
http://www.wowwiki.com/Archaeology

5. Path of the Titans
- Rewards progression at max level
- Uses a third type of Glyph (an Ancient Glyph) not created by Inscription and not tied to any single class
- Progression down your chosen unlocked path will come about as you achieve certain objectives while adventuring via different game avenues (questing, raiding, PvP, trade skills, etc., with a possible weekly cap for maximum progress); special “glyph sockets” will become available
- Respeccing a path is possible at any time
- “Ancient Glyphs” are earned using the new Archaeology profession
- Each path will have 2-3 choices per rank
- Six paths revealed at this time:

Path of Aman’Thul, the High Father:
Path of Eonar, the Lifebinder:
Path of Norgannon, the Dreamweaver:
Path of Khaz’Goroth, the Shaper:
Path of Aggramar, the Avenger:
Path of Golganneth, the Thunderer: (Glyphs) Earth's Embrace (?); Battle Medic (?) - reduces the effect of bleed and stun effects; Medic - heal targets by an additional amount; Fortification - Allow nearby allies to take less damage for a set amount of time, 1 minute CD

- New paths may be introduced with new content patches

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/systems-panel.xml

6. Class Changes
a. Death Knights

b. Druids
- New Moonkin forms coming for Troll and Worgen
- May be an epic travel form on the horizon

http://www.wow.com/2009/08/22/blizzcon-2009-class-panel-2-the-good-parts-version/

c. Hunters
- No more mana! Focus will be used instead, similar in function to energy. Rate of regen will be approx. 6 per second, increased with abilities, etc.; Maximum of 100 Focus

GC's insights: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21035173927&sid=1

- Ammo will now be equipped. No longer consumable.

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml

- Taming mounts sounds interesting, but no word on whether this will actually happen

http://www.wow.com/2009/08/22/blizzcon-2009-class-panel-2-the-good-parts-version/

6. Class Changes (cont'd)
d. Mages

e. Paladins
- Tauren and Draenei will be getting new mounts. It looks like they'll be Sunwalker and Vindicator mounts, respectively, and will be kodos and elekks - paladin-style!.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19377464368&pageNo=2&sid=1#26
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19820638627&pageNo=2&sid=1#23

f. Priests

6. Class Changes (cont'd)
g. Rogues

h. Shaman
- Race-themed totems!

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19595171944&pageNo=1&sid=1#5

i. Warlocks
- Soul Shard system revamp! Will be a resource rather than an inventory item. The Shard Bar will appear below the character portrait with a max of 3 shards

GC's insights: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21043890177&sid=1

- A new spell, Soul Burn, will be the only warlock ability to cost a soul shard (so far), and will empower most of your other spells to behave differently.
- Soul shards will regenerate quickly upon leaving combat, and you may also be able to use drain soul as a "soul shard evocation."

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml

j. Warriors

7. Talent Trees
a. Mastery
- Mastery aims to simplify the ever-growing talent trees
- Passive bonuses gained by allotting a certain number of points in a tree, rather than having to spend points on those specific bonuses
- “An example of a passive bonus for Assassination rogues would be increased poison damage the more points they spend in Assassination. Likewise, a rogue specialized in Subtlety will receive an energy cost bonus, Beastmaster hunters would receive bonuses to their pet’s damage output, and Marksmanship hunters would receive focus regeneration bonuses, as well. These are just some examples of how passive bonuses bolster each spec of every class.”
- Talent tree window will be three-paned with no need to scroll down; Trees will now have three stats tied into each tree: 1) Damage'Healing/or Tanking improvement 2) Stat Buff 3) Mastery stat
- As points are spent in each tree, the first two stats will increase
- The Mastery stat will be tree-unique (see above examples)

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/systems-panel.xml

8. Item Stat Changes - i.e. Integration
- Want to be more streamlined:
- MP5: This will be removed from items and replaced with Spirit. All healers will be given a meditation-like ability.
- Spell Power: Spell Power is being removed from items as well. Intellect will be improved so it provides mana and Spell Power.
- Attack Power: removing Attack Power from items. Agility will provide the necessary Attack Power for leather and mail wearers. Strength will provide the appropriate amount of Attack Power for plate wearers.
- Defense: The Defense statistic is also being removed from items. Tanks will receive the necessary anti-crit from talents, like Survival of the Fittest.
- Armor Penetration: It is being replaced with Mastery (see Mastery Section)
- Haste: Will increase the rate at which you gain energy, runes, and focus. Retribution paladins and Enhancement shaman will have a talent that allows them to take advantage of this benefit.
- Stamina: Players will notice more Stamina on gear as Defense, Spell Power, Attack Power and Armor Penetration are removed.

http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/class_items_prof-panel.xml

9. Battlegrounds/Arenas
a. Rated Battlegrounds
- allows player to earn Arena points through Arena or BGs; no punishment for losing, but points via BGs may be capped at 6 or so per week; required to join as a group, but not one dedicated like Arenas
- may be awarded special epic ground mounts

b. New Battleground: Battle for Gilneas
- take control of the city by taking control of the most districts

c. New PvP Zone: Tol Barad Island
- will function like Wintergrasp; yet when combat is at a lull will also function as an Isle of Quel’danas type quest hub; winning faction will have access to a raid area; due to the popularity of Wintergrasp, Tol Barad may be an instanced area.

d. Other
- Old PvP ranks are back
- New Arena maps will be added

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/systems-panel.xml
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/cataclysm-panel.xml
http://www.wow.com/2009/08/22/blizzcon-2009-rated-battlegrounds-and-the-return-of-pvp-titles/
UK PC Gamer November 2009, Issue 206

10. Dungeons/Raids
a. Old World Updates
- New sections of Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair
- Heroic versions (85) of Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines

b. New Content
- The Firelands: Ragnaros; exterior raid
- Abyssal Maw: Two 5-man dungeons (80-83; 82-84); entered via a giant whirlpool; water elementals!!; raid
- Blackrock Caverns (85): 5-man within Blackrock Mountain, run by the Twilight’s Hammer; Raid - Blackrock Descent
- Grim Batol (85): 5-man, 4 bosses, home of Deathwing; dungeon and raid
- Skywall (80-82): dungeon and raid
- Uldum: Two 5-man dungeons-the Halls of Origination (contains 7 bosses; Egyptian themed; 83-84) and the Lost City of Tol’vir (open-air dungeon home to a race of stone cat people; 85)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/cataclysm-panel.xml
http://www.wow.com/2009/08/22/blizzcon-2009-cataclysm-dungeons/
http://www.wowwiki.com/World_of_Warcraft:_Cataclysm

11. Guild Information
a. Guild Experience
- Players can earn guild experience through leveling, reputation ranks, boss kills, Battleground and Arena wins, and profession ranks. The top twenty earners from the guild per day will contribute to the guild experience total.
- With every acquired level, guilds will receive talent points that they can then spend towards their guild talent tree, which affects all guild members in the guild.
- Additionally, guild experience is converted into guild currency that can be used to purchase a wide variety of rewards, such as guild profession plans and reagents, vanity items, and talent respecs.
- Some Talents in the works include: "Penny Pincher" - reduced repair costs; Mass Resurrection; "Everybody's Friend" - removes reagent cost for raid-wide buffs; "Cash Flow" - increases gold drop rate from creatures/players that give experience/honor; "Raid Summon" - summon the entire raid instantly

b. Guild Professions
- Guilds that use guild currency to purchase profession plans will be able to share any purchased plan with the rest of the guild via a vendor and skill trainer. Guilds are also able to create guild heirlooms; these items bind to the guild so that anyone in the guild will be able to acquire them. Just like the normal heirloom items, guild heirloom items will also scale with level and will support all armor and weapons.
- Guild members will also be able to take advantage of being able to create guild-specific versions of items that require fewer or different reagents. The new reagents are purchased from guild vendors via guild currency, and there will be support for all professions.
- Heirloom items for the guild are expected to encompass every slot.

c. New Guild Features
- Guilds will receive a special guild news-feed that will show them updates on happenings within the guild such as achievements, boss kills, etc. Guilds will also have access to profession info for their members and more. In addition to these features, guilds will also be able to acquire a percentage of gold looted on boss kills that will go directly to the guild bank. Additionally, guilds will be able to invite other guilds to events.
- Guild Tax System - will be available so that a certain portion of the gold looted by every member will go into the Guild Bank

d. Other
- New Guild Achievements
- New Looking for Guild interface similar in ease-of-use and utility to the Looking for Group interface

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/faq/
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/recaps/systems-panel.xml