50 Reasons to play WoW: Cataclysm

36) You’ll fight underwater

One leveling zone is entirely underwater – with players adventuring on the surface of the seabed. Another dungeon, the Abyssal Maw, features astonishing views of Azeroth’s sea life, showing off Cataclysm’s new water and lighting effects. Somewhere within lies the ancient sea-god Neptulon, who holds a weapon that can control the entire seas. That might be useful when fighting a giant angry dragon.

37) We’re going underground

There’s a theme to the new zones and raids in Cataclysm: the elements. Each is a level on the Elemental Planes that Deathwing has shattered on his journey. Representing Earth is Deepholm; vile caverns filled with worms and stone giants. There’ll be at least one five man instance in Deepholm.

38) Ragnaros is back

Ragnaros, a vicious and much loved fire elemental, is back. He used to live inside Blackrock Mountain, until a steady stream of level 60 adventurers banished him/spanked him all the way home. To add insult to injury, we’ll now fight him in his resting place on the Fireplane – a level 85 raid. Pwned. Again.

39) We’re getting an underground train

A zone called Deepholm will serve as a central hub for the level 80+ zones. “The new areas we’re creating are scattered around the world,” says Tom Chilton, “so it would be very inconvenient for players to have to fly backwards and forwards across the continents all the time. Deepholm, because it’s the Elemental Plane of Earth and is not necessarily directly attached to Azeroth in a physical sense, acts as a gateway. You might want to invest in a gnomish/goblin mining hat.

40) We can fly underground?

There’s talk of Alliance and Horde airships inside Deepholm. We think you should expect air and gunships similar to Icecrown’s mobile HQs, but given the geography of Deepholm – all narrow rock pathways and long drops, it could mean an entirely new form of transport.

41) You’ll fight the wind

Earth, Fire, Water... the Air plane is represented by Skywall, home to a mid-80s leveling area, one five man dungeon and a single boss raid. Since Warcraft lore says Skywall is home to Al’Akir the Windlord, it’s safe to assume that he’s the big boss.

42) You’ll be going to Egypt. Ish.

Situated far south of Un’goro Crater, Uldum is a desert zone with two instances themed around ancient Egypt. It’s home to a lost Titan city and a race of giant stone cats, the Tol’vir. We think the final Uldum dungeon, currently just a giant facade at the very south of the zone, will be patched in as a raid later on.

43) You’ll be back at Blackrock...

In vanilla WoW, play culminated in Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair. They were epic instances, taking hours to play through. Now, they’re back. In Cataclysm, Deathwing’s return as head of the Black Dragonflight stirs up more trouble under the mountain. A raid dungeon, Blackwing Descent, will see you face off against Deathwing’s son Nefarian, alongside a five-man, Blackrock Caverns.

44) ...and back to the battleground

Arena fights are widely regarded as the pinnacle of World of Warcraft’s PvP. That’s going to change. Do well in battlegrounds, now, and you’ll have the same access to rated arena gear as gladiators. Hot loots for all!

45) New alts are coming

Ever thought that the cruel pigeonholing of Dwarves into axe-wielding warriors and paladins was a bit prejudiced? Then rejoice in the new class combos Cataclysm allows, like Tauren priests, Human hunters and Blood Elf warriors.

46) Wintergrasp’s getting a sequel

The new world PvP zone in Cataclysm is the Isle of Tol’Barad. It’s an off-shore prison policed by mages from Dalaran and Stormwind, but its main purpose is to host faction-level battles between Alliance and Horde.

Don’t fear for lag, though: these battles aren’t going to be concentrated around the prison fortress. “In Wintergrasp, explains Chilton, “players are so concentrated that it becomes difficult for the server to handle. We’ll be trying to spread players out among different objectives more effectively.” Chilton didn’t confirm it, but spread out objectives and vehicle combat suggest that boat-to-boat fighting might well be a mainstay of Tol’Barad battles. When the battle for control of Tol’Barad is over, it will become a daily quest hub, which the designers are hoping will encourage yet more fighting.

“We thought that when the battle wasn’t going on in Wintergrasp, it would be a good environment for spontaneous world PvP,” explains Tom. “But the way the Lich King economy developed, players didn’t stay after the battles to farm for primals. What we’re trying to do is meld the idea of Wintergrasp with the Isle of Quel’Danas (the daily quest hub from the Burning Crusade). That felt like players were naturally there and had activities they wanted to do, and PvP spontaneously happened without us needing to force it.”

47) Your guild will level-up

Guilds in World of Warcraft are about to be overhauled, with the intention of making it much harder to bounce from group to group. Guilds will be able to gain levels and achievements and invest points in meta-talent trees. These abilities will range from reducing costs for new gear, to increasing gold drops, removing reagents for buffs and mass resurrection. It’s just another reason to play with friends.

48) You’ll be recruited

Guild leaders largely find new members by either spamming advertisements into the trade channels, or via word of mouth. A new Looking for Guild interface should make recruitment less of a trial. Group calenders should also make guild alliances and informal PUGs easier to arrange.

49) You can ditch the spreadsheet

World of Warcraft’s statistical mechanics are largely incomprehensible to the average player. That’s changing – with arcane numbers like armour penetration and mana-per-five being removed from the game entirely. Say goodbye to your spreadsheet.

50) Tier upgrades are staying

In Wrath, Blizzard finally nailed how to keep players interested in the very best loot in the game: upgradable tier items. Bought over a period of months, each armour set can be upgraded twice, by combining it with tokens earned in raids. That’s how top-end loot is likely to function in Cataclysm, too. “We really like the idea of having each tier set broken into three stages like that which players can progress through,” says Chilton, “A lot of players have access to the tier set, but the upgrades still give players a way to express their awesomeness.” Your tier 11 set is going to rock.

Mar 25, 2010