Cataclysm Beta: Updated user interface elements

- character panel
- leveling up
- spells and professions book
- trainers
- quests
Just be warned that there are going to be a few possible quest spoilers in here, so you may wish to skip over this if you want to remain unspoiled.
Your character

Check out the new character pane! All of your stats are now in a collapsible area and have been moved over to the right side.
When it comes to leveling, here is what it looks like whenever you gain a new level. It'll be big and bright. Not only that, it will also tell you what new abilities will be available to you. This will save you a few trips back to the class trainer. Personally, during some of the earlier levels, I like to learn new spells every second or third level. Anyway, not only will you learn when new abilities and talent points will be available to you, but if you're eligible for different battlegrounds, the dungeon finder, riding types or glyphs, it will alert you here and in your chat window.
And you can click the "You've Reached Level X" to see the entire list of what will be available to you.
Professions
Here you can see the addition of the new professions tab in the spellbook. Buttons to access the various recipe panels can also be found here. And yes, those same buttons can be used for hotkey purposes. Information about the two main professions will be at the top (like blacksmithing and mining in this example), and all secondary professions are listed below. If your character hasn't learned them yet, there will be a message telling you to go see a trainer. Otherwise, it displays the amount of points your character has along with access to the different recipes.
For recipes, the recipe list looks a little something like this. You'll notice it hasn't really changed a whole lot. The search box and filter gets a bit of a minor face lift. What really got changed is that white arrow with the "3" next to it for the Fire-Etched Dagger. Crafting professions like tailoring and blacksmithing can now give multiple skillups when you're creating certain items. The recipe panel now tells you how many skillups you can get if it exceeds one skillup point. In this case, creating the dagger here will provide three skillups.

And you can click the "You've Reached Level X" to see the entire list of what will be available to you.
Professions

Here you can see the addition of the new professions tab in the spellbook. Buttons to access the various recipe panels can also be found here. And yes, those same buttons can be used for hotkey purposes. Information about the two main professions will be at the top (like blacksmithing and mining in this example), and all secondary professions are listed below. If your character hasn't learned them yet, there will be a message telling you to go see a trainer. Otherwise, it displays the amount of points your character has along with access to the different recipes.For recipes, the recipe list looks a little something like this. You'll notice it hasn't really changed a whole lot. The search box and filter gets a bit of a minor face lift. What really got changed is that white arrow with the "3" next to it for the Fire-Etched Dagger. Crafting professions like tailoring and blacksmithing can now give multiple skillups when you're creating certain items. The recipe panel now tells you how many skillups you can get if it exceeds one skillup point. In this case, creating the dagger here will provide three skillups.
Spellbook
Any abilities that your character can use or have not learned yet will also appear in the spellbook. In the spellbook below, you can see a new ability is ready to be trained, and the player is informed to go visit a trainer to gain access to it. Any lower-rank iterations of an ability have been removed. The spellbook only shows the maximum rank.

Diggin' the new trainer UI? The left one is for your skills and the right one is for professions. The entire interface just looks cleaner over all. The visual icon, the name, level requirements and costs to learn are listed in an easily scannable format. Anything your character can't learn is greyed out.

Not quite sure who your targets are? If there's a specific, named NPC you need to go after and kill, you'll find that the quest UI has been updated to display a model of who you need to go find. In the shot above, I think it works the same way when you're looking for friendly NPCs.
Not only that, a new remote quest system is now in the game. In other words, you can receive and complete quests without having to hustle back to the quest giver. When you're ready to turn in a quest, you'll see an alert that notifies you of it.
Your minimap also provides an arrow directing you to the first quest in your quest tracker. Try to start with the quests that are closest to you, to make the process easier.

And lastly, you can see the new PvP panes. The left tab allows you to queue for standard battlegrounds. The conquest tab lets you try your hand at rated battlegrounds and arenas. The last tab enables you to create your own arena team without having to visit an arena master.

There are a few more UI elements that are new, but these are the big ones that caught my attention. If you want to see more, go ahead and check out Kody's excellent wrap up over at World of Raids. Stuff like the guild perks pane have not been implemented yet. Hopefully we'll see those sometime in the near future.
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.
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Tsuun Jul 2nd 2010 1:18PM
Hogger!
Cyanea Jul 2nd 2010 1:18PM
"The conquest tab lets you try your hand at rated battlegrounds and arenas. The last tab enables you to create your own arena team without having to visit an arena master."
ITS LIKE CHRISTMAS
Tim Jul 2nd 2010 1:19PM
They really got their shit together for this one. Excited!!!
Tim {the other Tim} Jul 2nd 2010 2:13PM
I agree!
Matt Jul 2nd 2010 1:25PM
The new stats pane looks a lot like the addon called "All Stats".
I like it. :)
Yojîmbo Jul 2nd 2010 1:26PM
I would be really excited if they revised the human model. For a second there, I thought... that doesnt look like the hare-lipped dork who runs like he's been in the county jail for a few too many days. But nope, still terrible looking, to the point of being unplayable.
Just sayin
chris Jul 2nd 2010 1:28PM
seriously? remote quest system? how lazy is that.
the quest giver can somehow complete and give me new quests without even talking to me?
Cyanea Jul 2nd 2010 1:29PM
As opposed to killing six boars and running back to town on the otherside of the map to turn in the quest and be given the followup to go back to the same spot and kill six slightly different boars?
Falcon6 Jul 2nd 2010 1:57PM
I'd say that the use of radios seem to become quite standard now, if the questlog above can be taken into account.
So maybe they could have some fun with that.
Noyou Jul 2nd 2010 2:01PM
Clearly you have never quested in Duskwood.
Sithril Jul 2nd 2010 2:04PM
And Hillsbrad (and Alterac), Horde side.
Hillsbrad fields, anyone? Back and forth, back and forth until you can do the track blindfolded without running into a mob!
Cataca Jul 2nd 2010 2:09PM
"the quest giver can somehow complete and give me new quests without even talking to me?"
It probably wont be used for quests that require you to do x and come back to turn in.
It will probably be used in complicated chain quests that do not require you to return to the quest giver.
For example,
The quest giver tells you to investigate an enemy area. Upon arriving you find them all slaughtered with evidence of a dragon raid. Instead of going back to the quest giver and telling him that they are all dead and asking what you should do next, you can now make the decision yourself to follow the dragon raid.
It offers a more immersive questing experience. We now have the feeling that we are out in the world following our own path rather than doing whatever is asked of us from the towns people.
Suzaku Jul 2nd 2010 2:26PM
The remote quest system is use for questlines where you travel out to specific areas to kill one thing, and have another step that involves doing stuff in the same area.
Purely as an example, you might head off to kill six Scarlet Crusaders, and then after killing them, you'll get the remote quest thing to complete it and a follow up that says "You see what appears to be a ranking official carrying a report out of the encapment. Perhaps the information can help your cause... Kill the captain and recover the documents, then return it to Carl D. Aver."
N-train Jul 2nd 2010 2:29PM
Know what the really cool thing is? I bet if you still wanna spend 15 minutes walking (getting dazed by mobs) back to Crossroads, then I bet you can still turn in your quest manually.
Valt Jul 2nd 2010 5:22PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaOUnP_Jr0
The zones are that big. Would you want to fly 10 minutes around finding the quest giver? Ok sure theres track feature but you cant desing quests excepting everyone wants/will to use it or so. Specially IF some zones are that huge AND theres no flying possible.
Its just more fun
Kar On E Jul 2nd 2010 1:29PM
Nice! I and I am loving the look of the new interfaces, especially within the Professions and Spellbook pictures. And the new look of the character screen...awesome!
Not to sound like too much of an idiot, but I think I missed something on the remote questing system. As it will only be used for certain quests, will it really be all that different of a turn-in method from such quest lines as Drakuru in Grizzly Hills (mostly in flaming pyres) or quests where you call an NPC to you (i.e. Stefan Vadu in Zul'Drak)?
Sithril Jul 2nd 2010 2:11PM
As you sayed, it will be only an occasional thing.
And I'd also presume it would be somehow simillar, with the difference that ,say, you would 'hear' Drakuru's voice instead of seeing his image. It will mostlikely serve as another extension to variaty of quests and a tool for aditional story-telling.
Also, I expect some automatic quest progression on your own characters logic presumption. Like, instead of an item being a drop from something you already are killing (and that item starts another Q), you would auto-complete that sayed killing quest and say to your self "Hey! Maybe I should check out that thing/place!" starting another quest, after which the original quest-giver thanks you doubly for additional effort/brightness.
Khanmora Jul 2nd 2010 1:32PM
Ooo, nice quest spoiler too! I'm excited for the UI changes, they are long overdue.
Dane Bramage Jul 2nd 2010 1:45PM
just keeps getting better and better
GrumblyStuff Jul 2nd 2010 2:09PM
....
Radios? THAT'S their solution for remote / auto-completing quests? What is this, World of Modern Warcraft? MAKE IT STEAMPUNK AT LEAST!
I mean, we have WIZARDS. How hard is it to have a magical form of communication? At least then we could say, "It's just magic and that wizard did it. Now stop asking!"