Immersion and lore in Cataclysm
by Matthew Rossi 
Sep 25th 2010 at 2:00PM
Spoilers of war for Cataclysm lurking ahead. You have been warned.
This is me and my buddy Goldrinn. You might also know him by his orcish name, Lo'gosh. Either way, he's an Ancient, one of the demigod-like animal spirits integral to the lore of Mount Hyjal in Cataclysm. And frankly, I nerd out like a fiend every time I've run through the zone. This is my fourth trip through; every time I see a major patch, I run through it on another 80. It never gets old for me.
One of the things that is really being done with excellence in this expansion is this attention to lore. I've leveled from 1 to 69, and then from 80 to 85, and all the revamped zones do an excellent job of setting the stage for the changes to the world following Deathwing's shattering of the World Pillar and his eruption into Azeroth. The worgen and goblin starting zones, the revamps to each and every zone you level through, the new zones all go to lengths to involve you in the story, to give you concrete experiences rather than just laying it all in the background. Whether it's trying to tip the balance of power in Ashenvale while fighting off fire elementals, dealing with a mad druid tainted by demons in the Blasted Lands, or helping return departed deities to the world on the slopes of Hyjal, you feel involved and very much an important part of unfolding events. Who would have thought that Winterspring would be engaging and lively?
This is me and my buddy Goldrinn. You might also know him by his orcish name, Lo'gosh. Either way, he's an Ancient, one of the demigod-like animal spirits integral to the lore of Mount Hyjal in Cataclysm. And frankly, I nerd out like a fiend every time I've run through the zone. This is my fourth trip through; every time I see a major patch, I run through it on another 80. It never gets old for me.
One of the things that is really being done with excellence in this expansion is this attention to lore. I've leveled from 1 to 69, and then from 80 to 85, and all the revamped zones do an excellent job of setting the stage for the changes to the world following Deathwing's shattering of the World Pillar and his eruption into Azeroth. The worgen and goblin starting zones, the revamps to each and every zone you level through, the new zones all go to lengths to involve you in the story, to give you concrete experiences rather than just laying it all in the background. Whether it's trying to tip the balance of power in Ashenvale while fighting off fire elementals, dealing with a mad druid tainted by demons in the Blasted Lands, or helping return departed deities to the world on the slopes of Hyjal, you feel involved and very much an important part of unfolding events. Who would have thought that Winterspring would be engaging and lively?
It's easy to lose sight of it in the continuous debate over talent balance and DPS passes and tanking difficulty and how healing will shake out, but it's impossible to ignore just how much work and craft have gone into the questing, cutscenes, art and zone design for this expansion. Cataclysm is as massive an expansion as The Burning Crusade and Wrath put together. Almost every original zone in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms has been redesigned to some extent. Some have been so heavily redesigned they resemble the old zones only in name, while others are still familiar but have definitely been given a new slant. There's absolutely no way around the changes. If you've been playing for years or if you just started in Wrath, I expect you'll find something new to explore very quickly the next time you roll an alt.
What's really amazing to me is how well it all hangs together and expands. Events you won't even see until level 80 inform and affect everything you do leveling up in Darkshore and Ashenvale. Figures like Malfurion Stormrage and Queen Azshara make their appearances; you stand against the Twilight's Hammer and the machinations of the Old Gods; you're far from a passive figure as other, older heroes do the work. Likewise, you Horde aren't left out. The Barrens (North and South now) and Azshara give you plenty of big names to encounter and epic deeds to fulfill (trust me, you'll love catching up with Azuregos). You get swept up in the conflict between factions, whether you're a Forsaken trying to push into Gilneas or a worgen trying to push them out, and each side does its level best to appeal to the player and get him or her deeply immersed in the story. Frankly, I think it works. My tauren started loathing the very sight of worgen after 10 minutes in Silverpine, not a day after my worgen had run through the starting area and wanting to scream bloody vengeance from atop a pile of undead.
The immersion is only aided by how events seem to spiral ever more tightly into near-total collapse. The dangers of Hyjal, as Ragnaros and his minions set the mountain ablaze, escalate into a full-fledged catastrophe. Every quest seems like staving off destruction, and you make deals along the way with forces inimical to your goals and have to accept those consequences. Vashj'ir combines sweeping underwater vistas and first person reveals of the history of the naga with nail-biting conflicts with little hope. Deepholm presents you with the higehest stakes imaginable, as you're forced to try and ally with Therazane to save both Azeroth and the elemental plane from total collapse while dealing with the legacy of mortals slaying Theradras for mere trinkets, a loss that has embittered the very elemental lord you need.
That doesn't even include Uldum's awesome cutscenes or the Twilight Highland's dramatic, three-way battle for survival.
It would be a disservice to let worries about class or spec balance keep you from experiencing this. This is a watershed moment for the game and its design. You will be actively experiencing huge, sweeping lore moments just questing; they're the most accessible they've ever been, and many of the best ones are just out in the world. The lesson of Illidan has been learned, while the lesson of Arthas has been taken to heart, too. You don't have to worry about them being locked up in raids, but no one figure appears so often as to become somewhat overplayed.
My hat is off to the men and women who have designed this. It's a masterwork.
That doesn't even include Uldum's awesome cutscenes or the Twilight Highland's dramatic, three-way battle for survival.
It would be a disservice to let worries about class or spec balance keep you from experiencing this. This is a watershed moment for the game and its design. You will be actively experiencing huge, sweeping lore moments just questing; they're the most accessible they've ever been, and many of the best ones are just out in the world. The lesson of Illidan has been learned, while the lesson of Arthas has been taken to heart, too. You don't have to worry about them being locked up in raids, but no one figure appears so often as to become somewhat overplayed.
My hat is off to the men and women who have designed this. It's a masterwork.
While you don't need to have played the previous Warcraft games to enjoy World of Warcraft, a little history goes a long way toward making the game a lot more fun. Dig into even more of the lore and history behind the World of Warcraft in WoW Insider's Guide to Warcraft Lore.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Greg Sep 25th 2010 2:11PM
Holy shit...Ragnaros...
brian Sep 25th 2010 4:07PM
When I first saw the Ragnaros picture, at first I thought he was wearing some sort of green amulet. Silly me.
Krem Sep 25th 2010 2:11PM
You just love rubbing it in our faces that we don't have beta access, don't you? :)
Camaris Sep 25th 2010 2:15PM
On the other hand, he's already done Hyjal 4 or 5 times now.
It'll all be brand spanking new to us!
Darias.Perenolde Sep 25th 2010 2:11PM
I still haven't gotten my reroll of my main up there, but yes, even the lowbie zones seem to have a new bit of sparkle. They seem much more streamlined than tedious (ugh...I'm rolling another alt!), and there's often this "oh sweet, look what they changed!"
Playing through Westfall was one example for me. When I've rolled my other Alliance toons, you always felt like you were just wandering from farm to farm. Now, you walk into the zone (poor Old Blanchy; damn shame), and are pointed to one farm, then the next in quick succession. I never felt like, "I *think* this is when I head to Sentinel Hill," because the storyline led you there very smoothly.
I've never been an altaholic, but with the care that's been done just on the human side of things, I'm excited to roll a couple once Cataclysm hits just to see the other starting areas. At the very least, I'll be glad to stop having an affair on my guildmates by living two lives in two versions of WoW. :)
Sakirsha Sep 25th 2010 2:15PM
Already foaming at the mouth for anything Cataclysm, and now you just have to dangle this tasty treat in front of us ;_; You TEASE. It's going to be so hard to keep focused on anything when the expansion hits. Leveling a 'main' to 85 to taste the new 'end game' (that won't be end game for long), or taking a couple new alts up through the new content both seem so exciting.
ithalaine Sep 25th 2010 2:17PM
me want cata now
this post is probably one of my least and most faviorite posts.
with wow broken on my laptop wow.com is my only way of finding out if anything big is happening and its rubbing cata lore in my face. ....
i guess i mean thanks for the post but damn it im envious
Ashstryke Sep 25th 2010 2:21PM
Rossi have you seen the latest spell changes on mmo-champion:
Build 13066 (Codename Bubbles)
If these changes go live fury warriors are going to be leaping and intervening EVERYWHERE!!!
Seems like very fun changes to me :D
Warrior (Forums / 3.3.5 Talent Calculator / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Beta
Skills/Talents)
Arms
Wrecking Crew is now a 2 Ranks talent, down from 3 Ranks. Wrecking Crew - Your Mortal Strike critical hits have a 50/100% chance to Enrage you, increasing all damage caused by 5/10% for 12 sec.
Fury
Heroic Leap now has a 1 min cooldown, down from 2 min.
Skirmisher now reduces the cooldown of Heroic Leap by 10/20 sec, down from 15/30 sec.
Protection
Intervene no longer has a 8 yards minimum range.
Natsumi Sep 25th 2010 8:56PM
Helpful post, wrong column. :)
Dreyja Sep 25th 2010 2:25PM
I can't wait to nerd-out hard-core when I see Aviana or Cenarius for the first time. Gilneas is the only other zone I'm as excited about. :)
Greg Sep 25th 2010 2:55PM
In Warcraft 3 didn't, Cenarius attack and you kick his but in the horde campaign and he died? Like third to last mission.
Skrotus Sep 25th 2010 4:03PM
Yes but he had a nap and now he's all better.
Boobah Sep 26th 2010 3:29AM
That's OK; Cenarius only took a short nap. Aviana and Agamaggan have been dead for some ten thousand years or so.
sherekhan88 Sep 25th 2010 2:31PM
In anticipation for Cata, I reserved the names for Goldrinn and Lo'gosh over on Ner'zhul, specifically to make Worgens with those names. Currently I have my nelf druid Goldrinn up and running, prepared to race-change to Worgen when the option becomes available. And I'm waiting for Cata to bust out Lo'gosh.
The thing is though, are they significantly enough NPCs that you think I would be made to change my toon's names :(?
Rolly Sep 25th 2010 2:33PM
Ole Raggy looks a lot better than when I last saw him, but then flinging frostbolts while backed up against a rock wall praying you won't get punted into the lava can have a little something to do with not noticing his sartorial splendor.
S.O. Sep 25th 2010 2:34PM
The sad part of this is probably 90-95% of the player base just won't care.....
Cure4Living Sep 25th 2010 3:06PM
I know and its kinda sad how much effort Blizzard put in the lore and most people don't even know why they're pew-pew-ing boss X of Raid Y.
MusedMoose Sep 25th 2010 3:13PM
Blizzard puts in the effort because Blizzard cares. And it doesn't matter if 90-95% (a ridiculously inflated number, in my opinion) of the people don't care. If downing a boss is a great lore or character moment for you, that's awesome; who cares if the rest of the group only sees it as a loot pinata?
S.O. Sep 25th 2010 5:12PM
While I did the typical things and exaggerated the stats but I wouldn't say riddiculously so.
As to why it matters, I guess it doesn't but I like to hang out with like minded people. I left a guild because I had to constantly explain Lore to members, officers and the like, even basic stuff. Thats there were quite a few annoying d-bags in there
I /GRAGEQUIT after someone asked who Illidan was
Argojax Sep 25th 2010 5:15PM
Actually I'll bet the PvP servers will care more than the PvE. All those cutscenes in Uldum are disorienting and prime targets for gankers.
That being said, maybe it's because the Beta's buggy but all the extensive phasing and cut scenes to support the lore are just a bit much for me.