Cataclysm Overview Pt. 1

I had originally started this post the other night, when I hadn't slept for almost 48 hours and was running on lots and lots of energy drinks. Mostly mixtures and concoctions in large 52 oz QuikTrip cups. After my computer restarted, I lost that original beginning and then put it off for another week before finally coming back to this and deciding that maybe today would be a good day to finally type up and finish this blog post.


Cataclysm has been out for almost two months, so I think I have enough of game-time experience to write up a blog about the things I feel about this particular expansion. The only information that I will be lacking on informing you of will be the raiding portion. My guild <Radiant Crusade> has enough folks ready to raid, but our schedules are jumbled and sporadic to where we don't have the people we need on at the correct times. We're working toward a solution and still recruiting. Though I know the few people that read this blog don't actually play, maybe you have friends who play. Give. Them. To. Me. >:O Moving on..


I'm going to use the multiple resources available on the internet to create a list of things to talk about for Cataclysm instead of trying to just spout everything off, off the top of my head, because I am almost positive I would forget something and then someone would yell at me. And then I would cry. (Not really.)

• New Level Cap of 85: Pretty small level gap. Blizzard said it was so more people could experience end-game at a quicker pace, but it just seems to be making more people bored of playing quicker than both previous expansions.
• Profession Skill Cap Increased to 525: Standard 75 point increase. Nothing new. The new skill system where certain crafts will give an increase of 3/5 points is very nice and extremely helpful. I've been power-leveling my alt's professions because of this particular profession change.
• Flying Capabilities in Azeroth: People have been complaining about this one since Burning Crusade was released. Blizzard kept telling the playerbase that they would need to do an entire re-haul of the original continents to make them fly accessible. Ala Cataclysm. Definitely a useful tool, but not entirely necessary due to the increased amount of flight paths added in to the game.
• Updated Eastern Kingdoms/Kalimdor: The "big" change of this expansion. While I enjoy some of the changed zones, others just bother me. For instance, the orcs pushing back the night elves in Ashenvale. Why would the orcs win, apparently the draenei, night elves, and the ancient protectors aren't enough to keep them at the region's boundaries? The flooding of the scars in Eastern Plaguelands. There's no nearby water source to overflow to complete that change, did it just rain for 40 days? At least the Thousand Needles flooding makes sense geologically.
• New Towns: With the destruction of the old, the new must begin. Though there are a LOT of new towns, while only a few of the original towns were destroyed.
• 3500+ New Quests: They HAD to add in more quests, because they got rid of all of the old, cool quests that made leveling fun. I've been looking through my inventories/banks and comparing them to the item databases on WoWHead just to see which items I'm carrying are now considered "unattainable." And I will never get rid of them, not even in the face of a pretty Cataclysm raid epic.
• Seven New Dungeons: I will make a later blog post going over the intricacies of these dungeons, because I feel like I owe you guys something more for being so freaking lazy.
• Blackrock Caverns: Located inside of Blackrock Mountain, this instance is one of the first instances all new Cataclysm players will encounter (both before and after the next patch's removal of the "discover dungeon entrance" requirement). It's very straightforward, none of the bosses are too hard. Finkle Einhorn returns from his debut in the stomach of the Beast in UBRS. He's the dungeon questline giver for this instance and will keep you company to the very end. You also come across the Beast's long lost love, Beauty. Get it?
• Throne of the Tides: If you don't quest in Vashj'ir, you won't find this dungeon's entrance. Luckily, as slightly mentioned above, they are removing the necessity to discover the entrances to dungeons before you can queue for them in the Dungeon Finder. This instance is probably the main reason for this change. The dungeon isn't linear, requiring much backtracking to the teleport, using an elevator, taking both paths at a junction. It also has some very annoying trash pulls. You assist Neptulon, the Elemental Lord of Water, here.
• The Stonecore: Located inside the very tower you are teleported into when you first enter Deepholm. This instance is probably one of the more difficult of the lot of seven, due to one of the boss' mechanics. If you've run this instance, you know exactly which boss I'm talking about. Ozruk.
• Vortex Pinnacle: This instance is floating in the air above Uldum's south-eastern coast. You traverse this particular instance by running along platforms and then leaping into vortexes that fling you from place to place. There are also mobs that act like Boo's from Mario, where if you stare at them, they go into hiding. Very fun, very simple.
• Lost City of Tol'Vir: Lost in the sense that it no longer belongs to the Ramkahen, the main faction of the Uldum area, and instead is under control by the Deathwing-aligned Neferset tol'vir. This instance is wrought with horrible pulls, odd boss mechanics, and a significant difficultly level.
• Halls of Origination: The "longest instance ever." You meet up with our good friend Brann Bronzebeard inside this one. You do a bit of exploring and carrying on. I'd recommend making sure you're playing with the sound on at least one time through here, just so you can hear what Brann has to say. Also, much like Lost City, this instance has horrible pulls and odd boss mechanics.
• Grim Batol: The finale. The lore behind this instance is enough to make me have a loregasm like the little loregeek that I am. Alas, none of that lore matters anymore. Twilight's Hammer controls Grim Batol now, for it's evil experiments. Also, troggs. Utilizing drakes to strafe through the majority of the dungeon to wreak havoc on later pulls is awesome. The first two bosses are easy, mostly just "Move away from this" fights. The last boss requires coordination and people that understand how to use their slows.
• "Four" New Raids: Like the dungeons section, I will make more blog posts on these. Like I also said earlier, I have little to no experience with these, so I lack the knowledge to inform you of anything other than the bosses.
• Baradin Hold: The new Vault of Archavon. Linked to Tol Barad, which is the new Wintergrasp, it's open to whichever faction currently owns Tol Barad island. There are three pulls before the boss. And I will explain Argaloth the way I comically explained it to my wife the other day. "Boss is in the middle. Tank with Group 1 on left. Tank with Group 2 on right. Taunt, taunt, taunt, taunt, taunt. FIRE! Run around like chickens' with your heads cut off. Back to spots. Taunt, taunt, taunt, taunt, taunt. FIRE! Run around like chickens' with your heads cut off. Back to spots. Taunt, taunt, taunt, taunt, dead." Free loot.
• Bastion of Twilight: You bring the fight directly to Cho'gall's sanctuary. The Upper Bastion, where you begin, holds the bosses Halfus Wyrmbreaker and the "twins" Valiona and Theralion. (On an aside, Theralion had a very fabulous voice during the Beta, but they took it away from him and gave him a generic voice. Sad days for all.) The Lower Bastion holds the Ascendant Council, a four boss encounter, and the nasty Cho'gall himself. If you're running on Heroic, after defeating Cho'gall, you gain access to the once mighty consort of Deathwing, Lady Sinestra, in her very own lair..
• Blackwing Descent: The portal for Blackwing Descent is where you fought Nefarian in Blackwing Lair, which seems only fitting, since you're going to be fighting him yet again. Heading in, you have a choice. Take on the fiery lava wyrm, Magmaw, or go after the quad-threat, Omnotron Defense System. After those are taken care, you leave the Broken Hall to gain entrance to the Vault of the Shadowflame. Down here we have Maloriak, the mad scientist dragonman who has a horrible success rate with experiments, Atramedes, the blind elementium dragon with an awesome fight mechanic (aka "the sound meter"), and Chimaeron, a nasty looking hydra. Once those three are dead, you impede upon Nefarian himself, who has a surprise. Not only did Deathwing bring his son back, but good old Onyxia as well. And you have to contend with both at the same time.
• Throne of the Four Winds: You head straight into the Elemental Plane of Air to bring the business end of your weapons against Al'Akir, the Elemental Lord of Air and his djinni. There are two fights here. One is against three of Al'Akir's djinni warlocks called the Conclave of Wind. These three bosses have to be killed within one minute of each other, as they will revive themselves within a minute of their death. After the Conclave is destroyed, you move on to Al'Akir himself. Al'Akir was actually the very last boss of the Heroic Tier 1 content to be downed, so it must be a testament to how difficult this fight is on Heroic.

And because we're beginning to get a little TOO lengthy here, I'm going to go ahead and cut this blog off. I will continue and finish out the rest of the Cataclysm information with my next blog. Which, since I already started and completed this one, I'm going to go ahead and quickly speed through the next one. Though it'll be tomorrow, after I get home from work.

I'll also have two more blogs up within the next few weeks, one containing information on the Lunar Festival that is currently going on in-game and the other over Love is in the Air, which begins right as the Lunar Festival ends. Here's hoping I get the Love Rocket this year.