World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Developer(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Activision Blizzard
Series	Warcraft
Platform(s)	Mac OS X, Windows
Release	TBA
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Online

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the third expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Wrath of the Lich King. It was announced at BlizzCon 2009 on August 21, 2009, though details leaked earlier. It adds a substantial amount of content to the game world, including two new races (Goblins for the Horde, Worgen for the Alliance), new race/class combinations, entirely redesigned zones, heroic modes for classic dungeons, flying mounts in Azeroth and guild leveling and achievements. It also raises the level cap to 85.

Story

Taken directly from the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm FAQ on the official website, the story is as follows:

"While the attention of the Horde and Alliance remained fixed upon Northrend, an ancient evil has been lying dormant within Deepholme, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth, nursing his hatred for the inferior creatures that infest the surface realm...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.

The face of Azeroth is altered forever as the destruction left in Deathwing's wake reshapes the land and reveals secrets long sealed away. Players will be able to re-experience familiar zones across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, rewrought by the cataclysm and filled with new opportunities for adventure."

New races

Like The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft's first expansion, Cataclysm will introduce two new races.

Worgen

The worgen are a species of werewolf-like humanoids. In the case of the playable Worgen, these are the people of the Kingdom of Gilneas, a small but powerful human nation located on a peninsula on the southern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms' northern continent. Some time after the Second War against the Horde (as played out in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness), Gilneas' king, Genn Greymane, withdrew his nation from the Alliance and sealed it off from the rest of the world with a massive fortification known as the Greymane Wall, which protected Gilneas from the onslaught of the Scourge that destroyed their northern neighbor of Lordaeron. However, another scourge made its way into Gilneas. Archmage Arugal's summoning of the worgen to combat the Scourge resulted in a "worgen curse" taking hold in southern Silverpine Forest, transforming the denizens of Pyrewood Village, and finding its way into Gilneas itself. The curse began to transform the populace into mindless beasts that began attacking one another, until King Greymane and his royal chemist administers a treatment that allows them control over their minds again.

Around the events of the Cataclysm, Gilneas comes under siege from the undead Forsaken, allies of the Horde. At around the same time - as shown in the Cataclysm trailer - a group of night elves arrives in Gilneas to aid its transformed people, resulting in the Gilneans rejoining the Alliance. The classes available to them are Death Knights, Druids, Hunters, Mages, Priests, Rogues, Warlocks and Warriors. They can shift between human and worgen forms at will while out of combat, but in combat will always be in their worgen form. They also have increased damage, resistance to curses and diseases, and improved skill in skinning - which, due to their bestial nature, they can do without a skinning knife.

Goblins

The goblins have remained mostly neutral throughout the events of World of Warcraft, aiding both Alliance and Horde without any qualm. The homeland of the goblin race is the island of Kezan in the South Seas. But during the Cataclysm, a massive volcanic eruption threatens Kezan, forcing the majority of the goblin race to evacuate to a ship that will take them across the sea. The goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel (the playable faction) shipwreck on the Lost Isles, where they find themselves under attack by the Alliance, and ally with the Horde for protection. This is not the first time goblins have served in the Horde; during the events of Warcraft II, the orcs relied on goblin-built zeppelins and sappers to bolster their war effort against the Alliance, and there are some (particularly the crews of the zeppelins that serve as the Horde's primary means of intercontinental transport) who continue to provide their services to the Horde.

The classes available to goblins are Death Knights, Hunters, Mages, Priests, Rogues, Shamans, Warlocks and Warriors. As their entire race are masters of engineering and explosive devices, they have the ability to rocket-jump into the air, or launch bombs at their foes. They also possess a keen eye for alchemy, granting them a bonus in this profession. They are also consummate merchants, and can always get the best prices for purchased goods regardless of their reputation. Goblins also have their own servants, hobgoblins, who can provide access to the goblin's bank vaults.

New class combinations

In addition to the new races, the current races are being granted new class combinations. For the Alliance, they are:

• Dwarf Mage
• Dwarf Shaman
• Gnome Priest
• Human Hunter
• Night elf Mage

And for the Horde:

• Blood elf Warrior
• Orc Mage
• Tauren Paladin
• Tauren Priest
• Troll Druid
• Undead Hunter

External links

• Official US Cataclysm site
• Official EU Cataclysm site
• Template:Wowwiki