Day one of BlizzCon 2009: Round-up
by Allison Robert 
Aug 22nd 2009 at 7:00AM
- WORLD OF WARCRAFT: OH SNAP: A little expansion by the name of Cataclysm was officially announced, with a world of pain now on its way to classic Azeroth and two new races. The official FAQ can be read here (and also on the official site) and we blogged through a look at the new starting zones and quests. All haters, disbelievers, skeptics, muggers, druggers, post-modernists, and trolls, we are graciously willing to accept your apologies. Line forms to the left, people. No pushing! And mister, I hope you brought enough gum for everybody.
- NEW FEATURES: These include the new races, Goblins and Worgen (Horde and Alliance respectively), the reordering and rezoning of much of Azeroth, an array of new race/class possibilities, a brand-new secondary skill, and some shake-ups in class mechanics and character/guild advancement.
- BATTLE.NET: Battle.net will gain new features in the expansion, including an XBox-Livesque ability to see what your friends are playing and which servers they're on, in addition to sending messages to them.
- PICTURES: Here's a map of the reordered post-Cataclysm Azeroth, a gallery of the art display at BlizzCon (containing some Cataclysm art, employee-decorated noobz, and Starcraft and Diablo universe pieces), a dedicated gallery for Cataclysm concept art, and a gallery of the costumes at BlizzCon.
- VIDEOS: We have video for you of the Cataclysm trailer, what Azeroth zones will look like post-Cataclysm, and the animation for Human-to-Worgen transformation.
- THE GUILD: The entire cast showed up and brought the funny at their live panel and at our reader meet-up. Gallery here!
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: Analysis / Opinion, BlizzCon, Factions, Lore, Features, Expansions, News items, Blizzard, WoW Social Conventions, Events, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jealouspirate Aug 22nd 2009 7:40AM
In all my years of playing WoW, I have never been more excited about it. Bravo Blizzard, I simply can't wait to play it.
zap522 Aug 22nd 2009 9:28AM
First!
Phiegethon Aug 22nd 2009 7:11AM
Can't wait.
NRD80Y Aug 22nd 2009 7:16AM
What happens with the Warcraft timeline? If a new character is leveling in this new Cataclysm Azeroth which occurs after WotLK how do they explain going to Outland then Northrend the back to the Catalysm?
jealouspirate Aug 22nd 2009 7:40AM
They probably wont.
Every DK goes through their starting down and then back in time to Outland for ten levels before going to Northrend. It'll probably remain the same next time around.
Clopert Aug 22nd 2009 7:36AM
With the revamping of old zones, I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to get to 70 without going through outland.
Elry Aug 22nd 2009 9:57AM
The example maps from Blizzcon that show the level ranges and levelling path through the zones suggests 1-60 in old Azeroth.
I'm wondering whether Northrend will entirely escape the cataclysm, because NR would be the perfect place to add in some new 60-70 quests (as well as its 70-80 ones) in some slightly altered zones, so the playing experience is more fluid... rather than having to leave Azeroth to go to Outland which no longer has a very strong connection (through current and future storylines it seems) to Azeroth. However, that would mean skipping almost an entire expansion's worth of material, which would be bad for the devs at Blizzard (all that hard work wasted for new players not going there) and bad for new players who will still have to buy TBC but not really play any of it other than rolling a Belf or Draenei.
Lethality Aug 22nd 2009 7:16AM
Can someone who is at Blizzcon today ask them what the hell they were thinking with this crap?
And what about player housing?
Deathzone Aug 22nd 2009 7:58AM
The question is what are you smoking? :P
Seriously man, Azeroth has needed a face lift for quite some time. FLYING IN THE OLD WORLD FTW!
lethality Aug 22nd 2009 8:03AM
Really? You'd rather go to a revamped version of content you've already played? They are catering to new players... or trying to. This is the end of WoW's lifecycle and they are milking it.
MusedMoose Aug 22nd 2009 8:25AM
Umm... It's not going to be "content you've already played." The areas will have changed to the point that the quests will be significantly different. At least, that's the impression that I got from what I've read here. The thrill of playing through it again will be in seeing what's changed.
Squirr3llywrath9 Aug 22nd 2009 8:29AM
Wait... So you'd rather play house than get an update to the same content that's been around for years? I think the sims is a better game for you.
Azradesh Aug 22nd 2009 9:06AM
Did you mis the part where they said Cat will have more *new* instances/raids then any other expansion AND 3 BGs. The Herioc Deadmine and Shadowfang are just a bonus. I addition the new zones are all slighty bigger then previous expansion and are packed with more stuff. Going from 80 to 85 each class still get 3 new spells/abilities and there is more mastery and the Path of the Titians to customise your character even more. Perhaps if you spent less time whining and read about the damn expansion then you wouldn't have to whine in the first place.
Thyen Aug 22nd 2009 7:22AM
You know, it's funny... I'm excited about this expansion. Problem is, with my mains maxed out... I don't really have any desire to play anymore UNTIL Cataclysm is released.
Why go through old and boring content when it's going to be revamped in a year or so?
Zarfay Aug 22nd 2009 7:28AM
I'll probably be downrated by fanboys/girls for this but I feel it needs to be said.
Why should disbelievers apologise? People have the right to believe what they want to, and you/mmo-champ come out and make huge claims and refuse to name sources. I was on the fence about it personally but just because you were right about some/most of the information posted doesn't mean people should have to apologise for not believing your claims that you refused to source.
Also, I noticed alot the people complaining about Goblins are people who play Blood Elves... Ironic that when TBC was announced Horde players complained about Blood Elves being too pretty, and now Blood Elves are complaining about Goblins being too ugly. I look forward to the Goblins being playable and the expansion :)
Zarfay Aug 22nd 2009 7:38AM
Ah and I get downrated within minutes for stating my perfectly reasonable opinion :)
Just a tip guys, the downrate is for trolls or uneducated fools who use leetspeak and QQ about WoW.
jealouspirate Aug 22nd 2009 7:41AM
I don't think that they really expect people to apologize, it's just a joke, a funny way of saying "Told you so!"
joerendous Aug 22nd 2009 7:46AM
i must not see what you're seeing. you're not greyed out or any less than two stars. unless you're just saying that preemptively. or clairvoyantly.
Vultrin Aug 22nd 2009 8:06AM
MMO-Champ and WOW.com posted this changes early enough... The only explanation that they knew was that their source was from the inside.. What is the meaning for you to tell you the source..? Do you think that they are stupid enough to post such "predictions" for the new expansion without have at least ONE reliable source? Why all you people whana know who is the source. In the article it says that next major features "MIGHT" be this and that. In the end they where right.So where is the whole deal here? Those two sites did great job you have to admit it.
(Sorry for my English, i am not native speaker)
Wither Aug 22nd 2009 7:59AM
A news leak is just that - one that was not supposed to happen. It doesn't come from an official source and naming sources only serves to destroy trust in the disseminator, not bolster it. I don't think blog or news site would take the decision to use them lightly.
However this leak was just part of the bigger discovery around the expansion and it's details, which was revealed through data-mining, patent applications and simple deductive insight.
Personally, I have several friends who remained skeptical until the official announcements and
they were all polite in their views. However the bulk of the vociferous posters online were not polite and clearly just wanted to reduce the credibility of the various websites. Credibility is the currency of these websites and so not only natural that they should reaffirm their accuracy after the fact.
As for a tongue in cheek comment asking for all haters and disbelievers to apologise, it seems obvious to all but those that it references, that it is a joke. Apparently the egos of the those referenced are still too sore for jokes just yet.