BlizzCon 2009: Archaeology and Path of the Titans
by Amanda Miller 
Aug 21st 2009 at 7:00PM
The upcoming expansion, Cataclysm, will be incorporating greater levels of character customization than ever before. From guild talent trees, a different talent tree system, new races and race/class combinations, to a new profession that will be all about customization. Enter the Path of the Titans, and the new secondary profession, Archaeology.
Pass through the break for all the details, but be warned, spoilers lay ahead!
As you may have already heard, much of Azeroth will be changing, and Blizzard will be making heavy use of phasing. In this new Azeroth, many things that you know now may end up in ruins. This is where Archaeology comes in. A new secondary profession, we will all be eligible to train and level it, without it interfering with our other professions.
As an Archaeologist, you will be able to visit these ruins and study them. In doing so, you will formulate Archaeology Notes, which allows you to research and make new discoveries. This leads to the new character progression, Path of the Titans.
We don't have all the details yet, but it seems that there will be multiple paths to choose from. These paths will not be limited by race or class. There's a possibility that we may be able to travel down more than one. By traveling down a Path, you will learn passive bonuses and new abilities, depending on which Path you choose.
This is a new dimension to character customization. Rather than being practically a clone of every other character out there of your class and race combination, you will be able to differentiate yourself in new and unexpected ways.
I mentioned before that our talent trees will be different too. While we will be gaining five levels, and thus five talent points in order to reach the new level cap, 85, there will be no new talents added.
Instead, we will be using the Paths of the Titans and a new Mastery system to customize our characters. The Mastery system is set to simplify the talent trees. Mastery passive talents will then be available based on the talent tree you choose, and offer some of the core talents like "+10 damage" or "+ Heal." Regular talents will offer a greater variety, and more interesting choices, but will lack some of the functionality of Mastery abilities. The more points you invest in a given talent tree, the more Mastery abilities you will be able to receive.
Stay tuned for an Insider Trader this weekend featuring all the details on the new Archaeology profession and what it means for us.
BlizzCon 2009 is here! WoW.com has continuing coverage, bringing you the latest in Cataclysm news, live blogs, galleries, and reports right from the convention floor. Check out WoW.com's Guide to BlizzCon for the latest!Filed under: Blizzard, Expansions, Features, Talents, BlizzCon, Cataclysm, Archaeology
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
davestar929 Aug 21st 2009 7:04PM
Interesting. Though i wonder how pvp-ers will feel about having to pve to get this skill up.
davie_90 Aug 21st 2009 11:38PM
Rage
Tirris Aug 21st 2009 11:38PM
Name any other profession that you level in PvP?
Bittercold Aug 22nd 2009 3:03AM
tirris, name any other profession relevant to your characters talents or stats that you level in pve.
comedown Aug 22nd 2009 3:33AM
I cant think of the number of arenas i had to do before I could cut epic gems. I hear once I hit 2200 I'll get to cut a "get over it" gem for when I only want to experience one small aspect of this game.
lethian May 1st 2010 4:24PM
Some pve wont hurt the pvp'ers, i doubt it will be that bad from what its sounding like so far, it will just be exploring more or less, which i actually think there should be less of a giant focus on pvp anyway, it seems at the moment everything is dependent on how it works in arena, which as much as i loved the few times Ive arena'd makes me angry
daemeonkin Aug 21st 2009 7:05PM
This Path of the Titans sounds exactly like how the Master Levels system worked in DAOC - Trials of Atlantis.
Nick_S4 Aug 21st 2009 7:06PM
This sounds awesome I just wonder how it works still confuses me.
Will this mean more than just the current talent trees or what?
DoctorOnline Aug 21st 2009 7:05PM
I just hope it will also work with my dual spec. It would suck to get all these +heal talents and then have them be useful when I'm DPS specced. : (
Cybeloras Aug 21st 2009 7:07PM
blizzard would never overlook something as huge as that
adam_johnson Aug 21st 2009 7:25PM
no they wont over look it but they may leave it in development for the next 3 years.
Land Aug 21st 2009 8:15PM
Despite the faith of Cybeloras says, Blizzard has a habit of overlooking obvious glitches for many many months and even years ~_~; And half the time when they fix it, it creates horrible inbalances.
Denon Aug 30th 2009 5:06PM
there will be no more +heal, or even +spellpower... the new system would add intellect instead, which raises all spell power
Jack Spicer Aug 21st 2009 7:06PM
Ugh! I want actual details.
It might be easier to think of the new revamp to talent trees as "tier bonuses" except instead of the number of pieces of a set its the number of points invested in a tree.
Bronwyn Aug 21st 2009 7:13PM
Yeah I want details too but I get the feeling they don't have it completely fleshed out.
Malfural Aug 21st 2009 9:12PM
I think they said they're waiting until tomorrow to tell us how it works.
Cliff Aug 22nd 2009 11:26AM
Watch for news from the WoW Game Systems panel today. They mentioned that there would be more details on the new Path of the Titans stuff there.
Avatar Aug 22nd 2009 2:00PM
It sounds like it might like how Titan Quest did it. You'd have you skill tree, but also mastery points which unlocked new skills (that's obviously not the part I'm comparing to), and every level you add to your mastery gives you a stat boost or + to a buff. Only difference is that in WoW you'll get to choose those passive benefits, and the more points you put in, say, assassination, the more points you have to put into these new passive mastery buffs.
Wyldecat2002 Aug 21st 2009 7:07PM
Well this truly interests me greatly!
lilcasper925 Aug 21st 2009 7:08PM
now we will see which guild is the best :) stick that to u Simple math or enclave lol