Cataclysm starting zone lore and other new details revealed
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Sep 27th 2009 at 7:00PM
If you don't want to be spoiled, do not follow the break, I'm warning you now. There's a couple major story spoilers, especially regarding the origins of the goblins and worgen.
The worgen starting zone actually begins in a flashback. Gilneas is besieged by the Forsaken and gripped with rumors of plague. You meet a dissenter, Crowley, who believes that Gilneas' isolationism is a mistake and that they should rejoin the Alliance. When the worgen curse comes, you and Crowley lead the defensive, but are pushed back to the city cathedral, where you realize that the worgen you are fighting are your own friends and neighbors driven feral. As you realize this, the curse takes you.
Flash forward to some months later, when you're captured in the countryside by your old friend Crowley. From here, the portion we saw at BlizzCon begins.
As for the goblins, you start on Kezan as a pretty high level (society-wise, not game mechanics) executive, successful and rich, with a hot secretary. When Kezan begins to fall apart, you give your life savings to a Trade Prince who promises you safe passage to the mainland. Instead, he captures you and tries to sell into slavery. That's when the shipwreck happens, and again, the story picks up with the BlizzCon portion.
Apparently, the original goblin city, despite only appearing from levels 1-5, is sort of a Grand Theft Auto: Goblin City parody type of setup, full of sleaze and pollution and robot-powered American-style football. But that's not all. Apparently the goblins' brush with slavery and death hasn't wiped out their unique sensibilities and philosophies, as they'll actually reshape Azshara to look like the Horde symbol.
The goblins and worgen aren't the only ones to get story tidbits, though. We also learn a bit more about what the Horde's been up to. Garrosh is confirmed to be the new leader of the Horde. He's redesigned Orgrimmar, and has actually evicted all but the orcs and tauren from the center of the city, saying that only those two races are strong enough to defend it.
The ruins of Lordaeron are being expanded, with a pit opening into the Undercity. Zoram'gar Outpost will be a Warsong Hold style base. In zone modification news, Stranglethorn will be one of the most extensively altered zones. In addition, Southshore will have succumbed to tidal waves (which is notably different from what we heard at BlizzCon, which was that the Horde had conquered it).
The four new raids, the article says, will be more like Naxxramas than Sartharion. We assume that means more in scope and number of bosses than difficulty. Of course, much like Arthas, Deathwing won't be in one of the launch raids. Tol Barad, the new Wintergrasp-style zone, gets a mention, as does the fact that there will be at least one additional new Battleground in addition to Gilneas.
This information all appears in the latest edition of PC Gamer UK (which you can buy right now), or this recent PC Gamer Podcast. More Cataclysm information was definitely what the doctor ordered this weekend. Hopefully, it means the information floodgate is opening. We'll keep you posted on anything else that comes out here at WoW.com.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.Filed under: Horde, Worgen, Cataclysm, Battlegrounds, NPCs, Bosses, Lore, Raiding, Expansions, Instances, News items, Blizzard, Events, Goblin
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 16)
JoeShmoe64 Sep 27th 2009 7:05PM
So now we get to wonder what happens to Thrall...
ROB13 Sep 27th 2009 7:56PM
It's clearly obvious. He and Jaina finally hooked up, and got a nice little beach house who knows where. I mean, who cares about the end of the world when you can look out into the sunset and hold the hand of your lover...right?
kabshiel Sep 27th 2009 8:08PM
Seeing as how Thrall's kind of a big shot in the shaman community, he's probably running around trying to keep the elements in order.
chris thornton Sep 27th 2009 9:25PM
according to the same pc gamer hes held captive on a ship and freed by the goblins in there starter qs. my guess garrosh being an evil SOB.
Neceseatie Sep 27th 2009 11:07PM
Ghostcrawler is quitting?
Heilig Sep 27th 2009 11:38PM
Readers have such short memories. Thrall handed the horde to Garrosh because he is asked to become the new Guardian of Tirisfal. Thrall is part of the shipwreck in the Goblin starting sequence.
Random Sep 28th 2009 2:15AM
Hey, if Thrall's the new Guardian, I can re-roll Alliance with no hesitation whatsoever. Much as I dislike Varian Wrynn, I actively hate Garrosh, and at least I can make like Wrynn's the leader of an allied country, not my boss. Here I come, Worgen Druid!
Knob Sep 28th 2009 7:23AM
Yeah, Saurfang will probably die in Icecrown Citadel, I'd say at the hand of his own son to make it more wrenching. Would be a sad end to the brother of Broxigar, but hey the story's gotta move forward.
And wtf is up with Garrosh? Evicting non-orcs and Tauren from the center of Orgimmar? Is he really that dense? I can't wait for Alliance to raid Orgrimmar in Cataclysm. I bet you not one Horde player will come to defend Garrosh; hell we'll probably cheer the Alliance along.
Dart Sep 28th 2009 8:33AM
@ Neceseatie Sep 27th 2009 11:07PM
Ghostcrawler is quitting?
No, that was taken out of context, he is no longer posting on the forums.
Salty Sep 28th 2009 1:07PM
Interesting you should mention the beach house. At the beginning of WC3 theres a cinematic of Medivh talking to thrall in his sleep. Well if you ever eagle eye, far sight or just swim to the sw corner of Kalimdor (behind aq) there is thralls hut. how he got from there to the lordaeron internment camps idk
Nick Sep 27th 2009 7:06PM
...You guys make me so excited for the next expansion that I'm enjoying the current one less. XD
ToyChristopher Sep 27th 2009 9:48PM
me too! =D
Sintobehot Sep 28th 2009 11:57AM
Agreed!
IvanP91 Sep 27th 2009 7:09PM
So Garrosh is confirmed to be the new leader. Sucks. I was really hoping for Basic Campfire.
But in all seriousness, Garrosh sucks.
hiiro Sep 27th 2009 7:15PM
Basic campfire has nothing on Mankrik's wife.
Angus Sep 27th 2009 7:17PM
The campfire never insulted me after I got it out of a melodramatic funk and taught it that it could be a somewhat useful leader instead of a pile of wood.
devilsei Sep 27th 2009 7:21PM
I have to agree, I mean god, being dumber than the brick my dog lays out in the back yard is one thing, but evicting everyone but the tauren? That's really gonna tick off Vol'jin and others. He'll probably even kick out the one tauren we love to kill who lives in the orc inn!
All of a sudden... Variann Wrynn seems like quite the sensible guy...
Moosephat Sep 27th 2009 8:11PM
Garrosh is the Jar Jar Binks of Warcraft.
raspybunk Sep 27th 2009 8:30PM
Wonder how this works in with the early reports of the loss of the tauren leader and that change and what was going to happen afterward, who was stepping up, etc.
If it's new garrosh and the tauren are the only race he trusts in the root of his capital, the cxhange of power on the tauren side might be more interesting than it had sounded. Perhaps garrosh takes both, or the leader change is more of a joint assasination between garrosh and the new leader.
Could actually be interesting.
Derec Sep 27th 2009 8:53PM
Garrosh makes Wrynn look like flippin' Shaft.