Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.
Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation. [1]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the third expansion pack to the award winning MMORPG, announced by Blizzard in August 2009. Over the next few weeks I will be looking at some of the different features of the new expansion, starting this week with the changing landscape of the World of Warcraft.
The main plot of the expansion is the return of Deathwing the Destroyer from an elemental plan called Deepholm. This return creates a tear in dimensions which is going to cause a lot of changes in the world of Azeroth.
Another big change is that Blizzard are going to introduce flying mounts to all regions. At the moment flying mounts are available at level 60, but only in Outland and Northrend. Some of the upcoming changes will be to allow the use of flying mounts in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalmidor, though the details are limited at the moment. So here’s a look at some of the big changes and what this may mean to current players of World of Warcraft.
Orgrimmar: The main changes in Orgrimmar are to allow for flying mounts. There will also be some aesthetic changes including the city having an iron facelift to replace some of the stone walls. A sign that the war has stepped up a gear. Blizzard have hinted at new NPC’s and some current NPC’s, such as Thrall, leaving.
Stormwind: Again most of the changes to the Alliance stronghold will be to allow for flying mounts. What this actually means is not clear yet, we can assume there needs to be some high points for flying mounts to land, but that is just speculation at the moment.
The Barrens: This represents one of the biggest changes to the World of Warcraft, with the region about to be split in two by a volcanic rift. This may mean that many current quest chains are lost forever.
Auberdine: Another big change, Auberdine is going to be destroyed completely. This may come to a shock to anyone with a Night Elf character as this was one of the first big towns for a starting Night Elf. Blizzard have said it will still be visitable, but presumably juts as ruins. Night Elves will get a new location in northern Darkshore.
Thousand Needles: This zone is due to be flooded by the return of Deathwing and so most of the area will be changed in some way. Again expect to lose many of the current NPC’s and quests from this area.
Azshara: The new home of the Bilgewater Cartel Goblins when Cataclysm is released, the zone will be made more low level, with a new city in the cliff side and a quarry where the Azshara Crater is now.
There are also some other minor changes coming to Azeroth, and probably others which will be announced later, but these mark some of the biggest changes to the landscape that we know about at the moment. So if you want to visit some of your favourite places, head over there now before the Cataclysm hits.
References:
1. www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/, visited on 19.06.10
Last Chance to see, World of Warcraft Official Magazine, Spring 2010 pp.35-45
www.wowwiki.com, visited on 19.06.10
