Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsWatch Cataclysm's ending cinematic
by Mathew McCurley 
Dec 1st 2011 at 1:00AM
Again: spoiler alert! The video after the jump contains spoilers for the ending of Cataclysm.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's go over the biggest developments after the fall of Deathwing. Aggra is pregnant, the dragon aspects have lost all of their powers, and Azeroth has entered a new age where the outcome of the world will be tied to the history of mortals. What better way to bring the war back into Warcraft than to remove the huge neutral roadblock that are the dragon aspects?
I love the ending to Cataclysm because it cements what this has all been about -- wrapping up the dragon story in Warcraft. The aspects are now mortal, Deathwing has been destroyed, and the elements are at peace again. What great beings will stand between the Horde and the Alliance now?
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 12)
LordMorrolon Dec 1st 2011 4:51AM
Agreed. Also, I hate myself for watching that now... shoulda waited.... oh well. I can at least look forward to doing the raids.
Hih Dec 1st 2011 5:50AM
Technically, they've always been mortal. If you're mortal, you can die. Guess what we've been doing to dragon aspects the last two expansions, ones that are supposedly "immortal"? We've been killing them. If we can kill them, they're mortal. Immortal doesn't mean you don't age. It means you don't *die*. There's very few real immortals in WoW.
Orrine Dec 1st 2011 5:56AM
@Hih
Actually thay became mundane dragons. But it doesn't sound as epic as mortal :P
Scooter Dec 1st 2011 10:03AM
@Hih
Actually the traditional telling of immortal being still present on the mortal plane is that it isn't susceptible to one or more traditional causes of death such as aging or disease. The dragon aspects were very much kill-able. They always were.
In this particular case, the only way to kill a dragon aspect is to leap directly into their chest cavities and pull the atoms off their heart one at a freaking time until their all gone.
Websters dictionary may agree with you but this is story time and Websters is a putz.
Drahken Dec 1st 2011 10:48AM
@ Hih
So in essence, "If it bleeds we can kill it"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qlicWUDf5MM#t=47s
Cataca Dec 1st 2011 11:06AM
Ugh, just imagine. Years down the road there will be quests for young and upcoming champions to take care of them at the nursing home.
Nozdormu is pacing around muttering things about his "collection".
Alexstrasza doesn't know who anyone else is anymore, yells for Korialstrasz over and over, and frequently can be found wandering the halls without any cloths on.
Ysera hasn't spoken in years, sits alone in the corner rocking back and forth, and thinks this is all a dream.
Kalecgos is the youngest and trys his best to keep everyone else from falling apart.
furrama Dec 1st 2011 3:52PM
They gave up their immortality, they didn't give up their aspect-y-ness. It's like the nightelves, once immortal now mortal. They didn't get weaker or stronger, they just started dying of old age and illness. They still have the same jobs to do.
HipsterAssassin Dec 1st 2011 1:20AM
I guess now we know how you can kill the Dragonflight without having to actually kill the Dragonflight. Makes sense to me.
LynMars Dec 1st 2011 1:20AM
Very standard "fantasy epic" ending to this. Not in a bad way, either. I don't think the rest of the storytelling always led up to this in the best manner, which may lead to the underwhelming feeling some folks are getting, but I like it well enough for what it is.
I think McCurley's assessment works for what Blizz's story is trying to accomplish with this patch and story in general. In MoP the focus is back on the Alliance and the Horde.
But there are still Old Gods lurking about...
kingoomieiii Dec 1st 2011 9:39AM
Sort of reminded me of the Elves setting sail at the end of LotR.
thawedtheorc Dec 2nd 2011 5:43AM
Again... the underwhelming is because you cheated by skipping the fight to see the very, very ending.
Lord I would quit my job if all my customers did was complain.
Blayze Dec 1st 2011 1:21AM
I like the idea of there no longer being these all-powerful neutrality enforcers (And I hope that as acting Earth-Warder, all of Thrall's powers have been likewise drained) and eagerly await seeing Nozdormu flip out and turn to whatever made him Murozond in the first place in an attempt to make a dragonflight full of aorist rods to siphon their magical drake powers from the past.
Sarducci Dec 1st 2011 10:39AM
"whatever made him Murozond in the first place"
Have you played the End Time? Cause its there. You do it. You murdering Noz before his own eyes with his help is what makes him crack in the End Time timeline.
Blayze Dec 1st 2011 3:10PM
Yeah, I have. He says "The loop is closed," not "The loop has been broken."
"Still, in time, I will... fall to madness. And you, heroes... will vanquish me. The cycle will repeat. So it goes."
Andrew Dec 1st 2011 6:49PM
Bu-but...he never WILL fall to madness, because he no longer has aspect-like powers, which means he could never grow into Murozond.
...or are we only able to kill him in a 5-man *because* he no longer has his full aspect-y powers? Hmmm...
Blayze Dec 1st 2011 9:04PM
Hey, the man himself said he will.
And he should know.
WaterRouge Dec 1st 2011 1:22AM
My main two thoughts were "Sucks to be Kalec, getting aspect privileges then losing them a patch later..." and "If Nozdormu can't control time anymore...is his death shown to him by that Titan still a reality?"
Hih Dec 1st 2011 5:44AM
Ya, Nozdoru losing his power is the biggest freaking plot hole ever. If he can't control time, how the fuck does he turn into Murozond WHO CONTROLS FREAKING TIME?! That's not a power you can just "take backsies".
kukichimonji Dec 1st 2011 8:49AM
Even if he's no longer the Timeless One, he's still a bronze dragon, and they'll probably retain the powers they've always had, like being present in all time. I don't think it makes him any less likely to become Murozond, sadly.
But on the plus side, it does better explain why we were able to kill an "Aspect" with only 5 people and Nozdormu's limited aid in the End Time.
GuyverIV Dec 1st 2011 9:42AM
Re: Nozdormu
Maybe this is the only way he can avoid the fate he was shown when first granted his mantle as Aspect over Time, without going mad and becoming Murozond. His power over time shackled him, and it's only as a "normal" dragon that he regains control of his own fate. So all the timelines that lead to either his foreseen death or Murozond are now reduced to What-could-have-been instead of What-may-be.
On the flip side... we ARE dealing with time travel, so even though Murozond was killed in End Time, we *don't* know how long he had existed. The Nozdormu that fell into Murozond may have been THOUSANDS or TENS of thousands of years old. Murozond may have been ducking throughout time for a near-infinity! He may have insured his own creation by popping into a point in *our* future, forcing some version of his own powers into the non-Aspect, likely-more-vulnerable Nozdormu, and *THIS* is what results in Nozdormu going mad and creating the Infinites!
That's the problem about fighting as time travelers, your opponents can find out what you're going to do and prevent it from happening, but at the same time, they would have have to ensure that they would take that action regardless of what would do, otherwise you may fall into Grandfather-paradox territory and the war would be stuck in an infinite loop...
God, I love temporal mechanics.