Breakfast Topic: Has Cataclysm let you down?
by Josh Rose 
Jan 11th 2011 at 8:00AM
After all the anticipation, all the build-up, all the hype ... Cataclysm is here. For all intents and purposes, Cataclysm has delivered on much of what was promised. However, as with all change, there is good as well as bad and things that left us without the enjoyment we thought we would have. Some still complain that offering only 5 levels isn't a full expansion; whether level cap really effects all that much other than being an arbitrary number at which max-level content is at remains to be seen. Others complain about having to find the instance portals to queue for those instances, but it does make sense that you should have to know where you are going to go there.
There are numerous moments I found epic. The Uldum quest chain with Harrison Jones was great, but at the same time, the fact I had to go back and find those couple of random quests that begin by killing animals to finish my Uldum quest achievement kind of annoyed me. Another disappointment was the length of the Vashj'ir boat phasing scene, at least for Alliance -- and after this nearly 10-minute snorefest, it bugged, did not give me credit, and I had to hearth to Stormwind and repeat the awful process. As an herbalist, the fact Azshara's Veil is only in Vashj'ir was also disappointing. These small, annoying little issues are trivial, however, and only show small flaws in an otherwise great expansion.
So what things in Cataclysm have disappointed or annoyed you -- or have you been completely pleased? Or are you in the small fraction of players yet to get Cataclysm?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Cataclysm, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 17)
Ominous Jan 11th 2011 8:13AM
I'm still finding the focus resource, as a hunter, an "interesting" thing to use.
I love the numerous cut-scenes and the extensive use of phasing, to provide customisation of game experiences.
I'd also have liked 10 levels of advancement, but that's a minor issue.
The game seems sharper and crisper - presumably as a result of the change to rendering - so that's a definite plus. It looks better on my old system now, as well as my new one.
I'm a fan of the expansion, albeit not everything that's happened to the hunter.
I keep wanting to add more things I like... going "ooh, ohh", as I remember things. The Worgen, for instance, are fantastic. That's a good sign.
While old zones are not what they were, and things are not always in the same places - which is often not as comfortable as it was - that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was a Cataclysm after all.
We must be bold.
I look forward to what's coming!
jorSbalZla Jan 11th 2011 9:08AM
I quite enjoy the feel of hunters now. While things like pvp can be difficult, the pve aspect of is fun imo.
I personally play the game for the gameplay. I don't enjoy sitting around for the numerous cut scenes that blizz has put in and skip through the ones I can.
Orrdeath Jan 11th 2011 9:12AM
Once you get to the raids you will be pleasantly surprised. They are similar in mechanic difficulty to sinndy or LK. My guild is on our third week of raiding ten man content. We are making progress and downing bosses, we are hoping to down Cho'Gall next raid lock out. SO much fun!
What I have really enjoyed so far is the progression, the heroics are challenging enough so people must learn there characters completely. As well, the team work of a good guild is now incredibly important. All these things have brought me a better WoW experience. I have a great relationship with my guildies, and we are only getting better as we move through the raids. The people I play with make the game for me, and I don't know if I would have ever found this out without Cata, You could solo your way through wrath, but thats not how the game was ment to be played.
Thundrcrackr Jan 11th 2011 12:07PM
LIKE:
I love the style and feel of each of the new zones. They are each very unique. They did seem to drag on a bit, but I guess that is understandable since they were so large.
I love most of the class changes and the restructuring of the talent trees. While i'm sad about a few specific class changes, classes overall feel more balanced to me then they ever have before.
I ABSOLUTELY love flying in Azeroth. This alone almost made Cata worth it to me.
I love that 10 and 25 man raids drop the same ilevel gear now so we can choose which one we prefer to run rather than feeling we have to do both.
DISLIKE:
Phasing and cut scenes. While neat at first, they quickly became annoying and felt overused. (Phasing has a whole slew of issues i find annoying)
Long queue times. Why Blizz decided to make tanking and healing more difficult when those are the 2 roles we need MORE of, not less of, is beyond me.
Lack of mail boxes.
Archaeology. I was pretty disappointed with this. Blizz kept saying they wanted to make boring fishing more fun, but then they go and make a profession that's even MORE boring than fishing. At least with fishing you can sit in one spot and watch TV while you do it without having to fly all over the world.
LIKE and DISLIKE:
The way quests work now. I don't like feeling pigeon holed into a specific linear quest progression. The old way gave me more freedom which made it feel more real. I was able to explore and figure things out on my own.
I do appreciate not getting so many quests at once, and not having to trek across the world for certain quests anymore, but i hate that we no longer have the freedom to choose which hub to start at in a zone. We HAVE to do the previous quests before we can even get quests at the later hubs. I understand some quests are parts of chains, but some hubs don't even EXIST until you do certain quests that make them phase in. This makes finding inns/flight paths/mail boxes/etc in a zone extremely annoying.
Guild leveling. While the perks are nice, once again I am feeling pigeon holed into something. Far too much power is in the hands of guild leaders now. People will feel forced to stay in guilds they don't like because they don't want to lose the perks. And recruiting members for new guilds will be nearly impossible. I like the idea, i just think it could be done differently. And having to level your rep with a guild in addition to the guild leveling itself seems silly to me. A little bit of a rep grind with the guild makes sense to prevent people from guild hopping, but i'm going to be exalted with every single faction in Cata before i'm exalted with my own guild! That just doesn't make sense to me.
Ronin Jan 11th 2011 3:34PM
Dislike: Lack of mailboxes, Inns that don't give you rested Exp.
Greg Jan 11th 2011 7:19PM
Yes, Cataclysm has absolutely let me down. But the letdown started before Cata. The loss of full time tree form on my druid was a blow. DK frost tanking's removal was another. After the things I liked kept getting cut, I took a break till the expansion dropped.
Finally, Cata arrived and I rolled a Goblin rogue. I leveled to 30 in BGs only. Though, I found myself unable to get excited about my 80 toons (I have 8). I I disliked both Hyjal and Vashj'Ir. With no real desire to play the new content, I decided it was time for a break. I'll be coming back to WoW in a year, on 05 Jan 12. Till then, wishing you all the best!
Shinhan Jan 12th 2011 2:49AM
I like Archaeology precisely because I has to move around, unlike Fishing which is extremely boring to me.
Of course, having to grind Archy for the trinket was a pain in the butt, but I love archy as a profession.
Tim Jan 11th 2011 8:07AM
Vashj was too damn long. I liked the water but....jeez. It seemed like it took forever. So far, I just don't seem to be as all fire excited like I was with Wrath. I made a Worgen and a Goblin and enjoyed the Worgen starting area. I think I would've enjoyed the Goblin area if the lil turds were a smidge less smug and nasty. I mean, c'mon, the Neutral Gobs aren't that snarky. I wanted to punch someone after every questhub.
Other than that, and the fact that when I go to load one of my new toons, the load screen gets to 100% and just sits there and I have to exit out and completely log back in again (sometimes 3 times before I see a toon in the inn) everything is great.
Helston Jan 11th 2011 8:20AM
If you're using Zonealarm, that might be the problem. I've had to get rid of it, otherwise it's impossible for me to login.
Fubar Jan 11th 2011 8:37AM
If you're on TimeWarner internet, there's a known issue with load screens hanging at 100% complete. Makes random dungeons sort of challenging if you wipe...
Rob Jan 11th 2011 8:46AM
Please elaborate on this Time Warner issue.
bjp2592 Jan 11th 2011 9:01AM
Here's the sticky thread about the TWC issue:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1577520457
Tim Jan 11th 2011 9:05AM
@ Helston, I do, in fact, use ZoneAlarm. And I have Time Warner out of Chicago. I am doubly screwed.
Arednel Jan 11th 2011 8:07AM
What I have been able to play I've enjoyed, when my exams are over on Friday I'll be able to play much more, I did find that with trying Archaeology a bit and questing through Hyjal, Vash and half of Deepholm I'm already half a bar away from 85 which I just find crazy! Especially as when the next expansion comes around people will call for an XP nerf on the content as they have with both Outland and Northrend.
evan.c.gazdecki Jan 11th 2011 8:08AM
Azshara's Veil can also be found in Tol Barad...
Cata just delivers on what it promised, an update to a six year old game that we all love. Minor bugs or small balance issues aside, no one does it like Blizzard
MW Jan 11th 2011 8:33AM
Agreed. No one spins a tale of epic proportions like Blizzard, and Chris Metzen keeps it true to the lore. The phasing is great, the quests remain interesting, and the cinematics make it all more interesting.
I love watching Redridge blow up every time I go through there. I may even make lower toons on other servers just to do the John J Keeshan quest chain over and over again.
theabsion Jan 11th 2011 8:38AM
And Hyjal. I've only been farming enough herbs for my daily 15 volatile transmute in Hyjal, and most days I get around 35-60 cinderbloom, 2-6 stormvines and 0-8 azshara's veil.
Is it only in bodies of water? possibly, I don't remember. Is it farmable in Hyjal? Well yeah, but you probably don't want to.
Prances in Underpantss Jan 11th 2011 9:46AM
Yeah I get bunch of Azshara's Veil fishing in the shipwreck pools in Tol Barad. On a good day I can get up to 20, depending on how many of the pools I come across. While it's not as optimal as herbing it in Vashj'ir, it's still a decent amount while doing dailies there.
divamom1996 Jan 11th 2011 9:50AM
Yep, Azshara's Veil is in Tol Barad and in abundance. Cata has not disappointed! The leveling has been much more satisfying than Northrend was and going back to the old areas to find new content is wonderful.
Keep it coming, Blizz!
monk Jan 11th 2011 12:24PM
I agree with you - I really did think of it as a major update to the game, rather than a full-on expansion. And so I am pleased. I like the new talents, abilities, leveling quest gear, leveling in general, quest mechanics, nerd references and plenty more.
I do wish the Goblins didn't look like flailing idiots when they ran though.