Cataclysm Guide

Here is an introductory guide to Cataclysm, the latest World of Warcraft expansion to be released. For a more in-dept look into Cataclysm and a guide that can help you throughout the expansion, check out this Cataclysm Guide.

With the unveiling of two new races in Cataclysm, handbooks for the new races would quickly appear, that is Goblin Guides and Worgen Guides. In addition, we get a new set of racial abilities, and whenever racial traits change there is controversy. It is rather strange and amusing that even though each WoW Cataclysm class has between forty and fifty different abilities, the ones that garner the most angst in the community are usually the one or two specific to their race. (I suppose there is a poignant commentary in that about how our real life selves are also obsessed with race. But alas, I am not a Gnome and don’t have the Expansive Mind trait.)

Among the most hardcore are some notable absurdities, like raiding guilds that required their tanks to be Tauren for the miniscule amount of extra health. Admittedly, the current Worgen and Goblin racials are much better than what the current races have. A straight up passive 1% damage boost is far better than a 1% chance of critting with a throwing weapon.

But before you pick out a flea collar or green wallet, keep in mind that Blizzard has said they will also be updating the other racials to make them all equal. Ideally the smaller bonuses like magical resists will be removed and replaced with something more substantial like the WoW Worgen curse and disease resists. Blizz has also hinted that crafting racials may also provide more than just a skill boost by gaining a secondary effect, like reducing the time it takes to gather something or gaining a boost from any items you have made.

The primary sticking point will be any activatable Cataclysm abilities. Some like Bloodfury and Escape Artist are already fairly useful. But others will need a significant buff to be on par with a Sprint on a three minute cooldown. Either way, I will be saving up BoA gear and reserving the name WorgenFreeman for my future druid in this Cataclysm expansion.

Cataclysm boasts MASSIVELY improved PVP. If your Guild can field 25 players, you’ll be able to have RANKED PVP Battlegrounds. Three NEW Battlegrounds are promised, including a city siege. And Wintergrasp, the most popular of the Battlegrouns, is getting a sequel, “Tol Barad”. Essentially a prison island battle—Alcatraz with Elves mixed with Team Fortress Classic. Because Wintergrasp has repeatedly crashed their Server from over-popularity, Tol Barad will be Instanced, both to limit players, and to improve framerates. Hopefully, it will also prevent overfilled Raid areas from crashing Servers!

In addition, they’ll have Quests in Tol Barad! Between battles, you’ll be able to earn cash and EXP, PLUS a “raffle”, of sorts, to join the Zone’s Prison Raid Quest. COMPETING to go on a Raid—Imagine that!

Guild Wars

Guilds have gotten a buff too—Pun intended! Guilds now can gain “Levels”, plus a Guild Talent Tree, including Guild Mass Resurrection!

At least 4 new Cataclysm Raid Dungeons will be added to the game, available from the start. The new Dungeons will be Elemental-themed, and appear to be based on the Elemental Planes in EverQuest, ROM/DIKU codesets, and NetHack before them: Frigid Air Elementals, squishy Water Elementals, tough Earth Elementals, and powerful Fire Elementals. (Although the latter have been arguably done to death in other games!)

Another major Raid is the return of the Dragon Ragnaros, this time setting fires at the Tree of Life. Extinguish the fires, and then try to slay the Dragon!

Blizzard is really PUSHING Guilds, this time around!

Self-Improvement

To further improve endgame content, and add a sense of “continued progress”, they’re adding in the new Tradeskill “Archaeology”, and the Path of the Titans. Basically, you dig up artifacts and trade them to various Cults in hopes of getting Glyphs, which add special abilities to YOUR character. Think of it as Socketing Runes into YOUR OWN BODY, or perhaps more aptly, the Tattoos in PlaneScape: Torment. One Glyph grants 5% damage reduction, another grants Stun Resistance, etc.

“You create a tool and double your capabilities, we improve ourselves and increase our capabilities a hundredfold!”—Quote, source unknown

That Quote is DEFINITELY true here!

Although it SOUNDS grind-heavy, they ASSURE us that they will “gate” the system to only allow progress down the Path of the Titans once per week, so that the casual players will be able to keep pace with the hardcore players.

Wow Catalym Worgen Screenshot

Credit: mmo-champion.com