World of Warcraft Expansion: Cataclysm
“An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, 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 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.” – Official World Of Warcraft Cataclysm website.
At Blizzcon 2009, Blizzard announced their latest addition to the World of Warcraft universe… Cataclysm. Which features new zones, two new playable races and an increased level cap.
Deathwing
Blizzhard has pulled out all the stops with this new expansion. As the story goes, Deathwing, the leader of the Balck Dragonflight was presumed defeated. But it seems all this deadly dragon did was was lay low and build up his strength to make a return to Azeroth as the new antagonist and tear it apart.
In previous expansions all Blizzard did was add a few new continents, but with Cataclysm Blizzard are reworking Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom realms. The Barrens countryside has been cut deep with huge volcanic gullies, elsewher in Azeroth gigantic earthquakes have caused huge waterfalls to appear floods to occur.
As you have come to expect from previous expansions, your level cap has been increased and will allow you to gain experience again. Blizzard has only increased the level cap by 5 levels, which will take you to 85. But I’m sure this will most likely take the same amount of time as it took to level 10 levels in Wrath of the Lich King.
Although only 5 levels have been added to the level cap, there are also some other perks to look forward to. Thes include at least three major new abilities per class, a new secondary profession, archaeology (unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards), and a new “Path of the Titans” quest line linked to crafting high-end items for your current job descriptions. You will aslo be able to use your flying mount in all of Azeroth. But as you might have guessed, you need to be level 85 before you can do this. This is Blizzards’s way of rewarding you for reaching the level cap.
Worgen - These furry creatures will find themselves on the Alliance side as a new playable race.
Lets get into some detail about the two new races. First off… The Worgen, new playable Alliance race.
As a Worgen you can transform into a human whenever you want and back to a Worgen again. This is purely a cosmetic change, however when entering combat you will automatically transfom into a Worgen. Early Worgen racial abilities include a 1 percent damage buff, a resistance to enemy curses – reducing their duration by some 15 percent, a six second dash on a three minute cooldown, and a 15 point skinning bonus without the need for a skinning knife. This makes sense, because of the huge sharp claws you have.
Goblins - These little green dudes will be the new Horde playable race.
Early Goblin racial attributes include, remember how you get cash discounts with higher reputation levels? Well Goblins have a racial abilty called “Best Deals Anywhere”. This as the name suggests will give you the best gold discount you can get, regardless of your faction reputation level.”Better Living Through Chemistry” increases your alchemy skill by 15 points, and increases your attack and casting speed by 1 percent with the “Time Is Money” ability. Rockets are a Goblin’s best friend, and the “Rocket Jump” ability will propel you forward a good distance with a two minute cooldown (guessing the Blizzard developers played one too many quake games). The “Rocket Barrage” racial is also on a two-minute cooldown and deals fire damage to enemies. Need to access your bank remotely to stash some loot? The “Pack Hobgoblin” allows you to access your bank remotely for up to a minute once every half hour.
What else can you expect from the Cataclysm expansion? Well… Classic dungeons will be revamped, new unreleased zones and dungeons, new Characters and worl Events, and my personal favourate new character class combinations.
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