Stay right here for the very latest Cataclysm news, plenty of eye candy from our Cataclysm screenshot gallery, and a whole host of meaty details and in-depth analysis on every angle of the game.
Latest Cataclysm news
- Patch 4.2 is here! Read all about the assault on the Firelands, dailies and more in our Guide to Patch 4.2
- For a full list of all patch 4.2 hotfix changes, check out the Patch 4.2 hotfix roundup
- The Ask the Devs series may be over, but we've collected all of the Q&A for you
- The latest lore and other news from the San Diego Comic-Con
Table of contents
What is World of Warcraft: Cataclysm?- Strategy Guides: 5-man dungeons
- Strategy Guides: Cataclysm raids
- Class and spec update
- Class 101 Our famous 101 series on endgame play for every class and spec
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm An overview of the expansion
- Professions
- Lore
- New races
- Zones and maps
What is World of Warcraft: Cataclysm?
- What is Cataclysm?
Release date Dec. 7, 2010- Level cap Raised to 85
- New races Worgen (Alliance), Goblin (Horde)
- New zones Hyjal, Vashj'ir, Deepholm, Uldum, Twilight Highlands
- Revamped zones Nearly everything in Azeroth
- New secondary profession Archaeology
- New mastery stat added
- Talent tree overhaul
- Raid progression refined
- New guild perks and achievements
- Inscription overhauled
- Rated battlegrounds added
- Reforging added
For information on game changes from patch 4.0.6 (February 2011), please visit WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 4.0.6.
Strategy Guides: 5-man dungeons
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Blackrock Caverns
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: The Vortex Pinnacle
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: The Stonecore
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Halls of Origination
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Grim Batol
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Zul'Gurub
- Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Zul'Aman
Strategy Guides: Cataclysm raids
- WoW Insider's Guide to Throne of the Four Winds
- Bastion of Twilight
- Druids: Balance druid tips for early BoT, balance druid tips for Cho'gall
- Druids: Feral cat tips for Halfus Wyrmbreaker and Valiona and Theralion
- Priests: Healing strategies for early Bastion of Twilight
- Priests: Healing strategies for the Ascendant Council
- Priests: Healing strategies for Cho'gall
- Hunters: Halfus Wyrmbreaker, Valiona and Theralion
- Paladins: Holy paladin guide to BoT
- Warlocks: Early BoT, and the Twilight Ascendant Council
- Case Study: Heroic Halfus Wyrmbreaker healing
- WoW Insider's Guide to Blackwing Descent
- Firelands
Class and spec update
- Talent trees are completely redesigned. New 31-point talent trees replace the old 51-point trees. Now, you'll choose a talent specialization at level 10 and work your way up through a single tree for many levels.
- Spell ranks are gone. You only have to learn a spell once (maybe at a different level than pre-Cataclysm), and they'll automatically "level up" along with you.
- Mastery has been implemented.
- Existing item stats and their values have been overhauled. Reforging helps you change unwanted stats on your gear into something more desirable.
WoW Insider's Cataclysm 101 guides
Play your best as a new max-level player of any class and spec with our ongoing series of 101 basics for level 85.- Death knights
- Druids
- Healers: Leveling from 80-85
- Hunter
- Mages
- Paladins
- Priests
- Rogues
- Shaman
- Warriors
- Arms and Fury Warrior 101
- Protection Warrior 101
- Protection Warrior 101 -- talents
- Tanking skills part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4
Endgame gear guides
- Death knights: Pre-heroic gear for DPS DKs
- Death knights: Pre-raid gear for DPS DKs
- Death knights: Pre-heroic gear for tanking DKs
- Death knights: Pre-raid gear for tanking DKs
- Death knights: Tier 11 raid and valor point gear
- Druids: Pre-raid gear for balance druids
- Druids: Balance druid raiding glyphs, gems and enchants
- Druids: Gearing a restoration druid Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
- Druids: Gearing your feral cat for raiding and feral cat gearing part 2
- Druids: Gear your bear
- Druids: Bear weapons, trinkets and relics
- Hunters: Pre-raid gear for hunters
- Hunters: Best-in-slot gear for hunters
- Hunters: Cataclysm hunter trinkets
- Mages: Pre-heroic gear for mages
- Mage: Mage pre-raid trinket compendium
- Paladins: Pre-raid gear for holy paladins
- Paladins: Gear your tankadin for heroics
- Paladins: Gear your tankadin for raiding
- Priests: Pre-raid gear for discipline and holy priests
- Priests: Valor and raid gear for healing priests
- Rogues: Pre-raid gear for rogues
- Rogues: Rogue guide to gear customization
- Shaman: Pre-raid gear for elemental shaman
- Shaman: Heroic gear for enhancement shaman
- Shaman: DPS trinkets for elemental shaman
- Shaman: Reputation gear for enhancement shaman
- Shaman: Epicly gearing your enhancement shaman
- Shaman: Pre-raid gear for resto shaman
- Warlocks: Gearing up your warlock
- Warriors: Dungeon gear for warriors
- Warriors: Reputation gear for warriors
Weekly analysis for every class and spec
Death knights Blood / Frost / Unholy
Druids Balance / Feral DPS / Feral tanking / Restoration
Hunters Beast mastery / Marksmanship / Survival
Mages Arcane / Fire / Frost
Paladins Holy / Protection / Retribution
Priests Discipline / Holy / Shadow
Rogues Assassination / Combat / Subtlety
Shaman Elemental / Enhancement / Restoration
Warlocks Affliction / Demonology / Destruction
Warriors Arms / Fury / Protection
All about Cataclysm
- Cataclysm 101: What to do first in Cataclysm
- Cataclysm 101: Zone and instance progression
- You're level 85 -- now what?
- Blizzard's Tom Chilton discusses Cataclysm design, talent and zone revamps
- Do your dailies! Read our Cataclysm daily quest guide series.
- Updated game mechanics
- Customize your gear with help from Reforging 101
- Check the new Cataclysm race-class combination matrix.
- XP will go slower for players leveling in an area under their appropriate level range.
- Combat resurrection has changed.
- New players enjoy simplified tooltips for beginners.
- Players can now use a Return to Graveyard button.
- Mana regeneration is notably different.
- Players can modify their gear with the new Reforging feature.
- Patches move more swiftly with the new streaming launcher.
- Gamon has become even more powerful.
- Guards in starting zones have been buffed to level 90.
- Understanding DPS spec design from Ghostcrawler.
- Understanding the philosophy behind tank changes.
- Read our Cataclysm 101 guide to reputation rewards.
- Study our primer on Cataclysm reputations.
- Battle it out with all-new PvP content and features
- Cataclysm 101: A guide to PvP changes and challenges
- All rated BGs become 10v10s
- Eye of the Storm rated battleground strategy (with video!)
- Winning Tol Barad -- the challenges, the issues.
- The Battle of Gilneas video and strategy tips.
- Enthusiasts cheer for new rated battlegrounds and the return of PvP titles.
- Preparing for rated battlegrounds.
- The shape of Cataclysm battlegrounds PvP
- Building your battlegrounds kill crew
- Region-wide battlegrounds implemented
- Dive into a whole new tier of raiding
- Flexible raid locks are live.
- The gear currency system has undergone significant revision.
- Raid progression refinements
- A first look at Cataclysm raids
- Work with your guildmates toward guild perks and achievements
- Achieve something big with our guide to Glory of the Cataclysm Hero.
- Big changes already: the great guild achievement controversy.
- Cataclysm guild overview and roundup
- Guilds are limited to 1,000 members.
- Guild officers will enjoy many other new guild features to work with.
- Guild perks
- New guild UI features
- Guild leveling and progression details
- The sights and sounds of Cataclysm
- Feast your eyes on
Cataclysm concept art. - Watch the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm trailer.
- See the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm cinematic.
- Read WoW Insider's exclusive interview with Cataclysm soundtrack composer David Arkenstone.
- Feast your eyes on
Profession changes
- Archaeology 101 and archaeology achievements
- Don't forget to update your auction house addons.
- Inscriptions and glyphs got a major overhaul in Cataclysm; we have plenty of details.
- Get an early look at new Cataclysm enchants.
- Explore new archaeology and inscription items galore.
- Get ready for archaeology achievements!
- There'll be plenty of new blacksmithing items.
- What's happening with alchemy in Cataclysm?
- It's true -- you'll get experience from mining and herbalism!
- See what guildmates can make with the new Guild UI that shows guild member professions.
- See what's new for tailoring.
- Keep fishing fun in Cataclysm.
- Keep up with jewelcrafting in the first week of Cataclysm.
- Watch our livestream of Archaeology 101!
- Archaeology grants group-wide 5-man instance buffs.
- And profession and trade skill basics for the Cataclysm era
- How to do the jewelcrafting shuffle
- Enchanting scrolls in Cataclysm
- Alchemy in Cataclysm
- Making a profit from Cataclysm blacksmithing
- Profitable tailoring
Lore
- New classes for WoW's races? Dig into the lore behind the
new race/class combinations. - Explore the roleplaying possibilities for goblins and worgen in Cataclysm.
- Know Your Lore: Deathwing
- Know Your Lore: A history of Gilneas
- Know Your Lore: Curse of the Worgen, part one and part two
- New hints of the Old Gods in Vashj'ir
- Know Your Lore: Goblins and the Bilgewater Cartel
- Blackwing Descent and the Prestor legacy
- Cataclysm Zone Revamps
- Know Your Lore: Tol Barad
- Know Your Lore: Tirisfal Glades
- Know Your Lore: Azshara
- Know Your Lore: Stonetalon Mountains
- Know Your Lore: Uldum
- Know Your Lore: Feralas
- Know Your Lore: Zul'gurub and Zul'Aman
- Know Your Lore: Westfall
- Know Your Lore: Southern Barrens for the Alliance and Horde
New races
- Meet the goblins!
- Cataclysm race-class combination matrix
- Goblin backstory and zone info
- Know Your Lore: Goblin
- Goblin Cinematic: Escape from Kezan
- WoW Moviewatch: Goblins -- How You Like Me Now?
- Goblin /flirt and /silly sounds
- Meet the worgen!
Zones and maps
- High-quality Cataclysm map
- Annotated Cataclysm map adventure
- Walkthrough: Entering Deepholm (Maelstrom)
- Deepholm
- Twilight Highlands
- Uldum
- Gnome newbie zone
- Worgen newbie zones
- Tol Barad
- Throne of the Tides
- Bastion of Twilight
- Blackwing Descent
- Vanilla WoW zone updates (compare these against our Before the Shattering pictures!)
- Azshara
- Blasted Lands
- Darkshore
- Dun Morogh
- Dwarf newbie zone
- Lands End Beach, Tanaris
- Northshire Abbey and human newbie zones
- Orc newbie zone
- Redridge Mountains
- Scholomance
- Shadowglen and night elf newbie zones
- Stranglethorn Vale
- Stratholme
- Thousand Needles
- Western Plaguelands
- Westfall
- Wetlands
