Category Archives: wow-cataclysm-changes

Updates and clarifications on the mastery system

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We posted yesterday about some of the aspects of the mastery system, a new feature in Cataclysm that will allow players to obtain bonuses to whatever talent tree they choose to follow. Today Eyonix answered a few questions to clarify the system and how it will work with regards to specific classes and abilities:
  • 1. 28/28/20 spec. Does mastery on gear affect both highest trees or give no benefit at all?
  • 2. How are ferals and Dks as tanks working with mastery system in place? Are they to care about it for threat or do they have separate bonuses.
  • 3. How are the non-pure classes going to be balanced against those with a full 76 point passive benefit? Balance, enhancement(not so much), shadow, feral, ele, resto, holy and Ret all have this issue.
  • 4. Hybrids who use spells not improved by their spec on occasion such as heals or the extra lava burst are feeling that their non-specced spells are going to be extremely weak as compared to now.
Check out the answers after the break!

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Updates and clarifications on the mastery system originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm: The exhaustive list of old-world changes (so far)

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is coming. Sometime. We're at that point now where BlizzCon has been over for a few months and Blizzard is being pretty stingy with new information in the meantime. It's a definite dry spell, but the same thing happened with Wrath -- and then the Friends and Family Alpha began, and all bets were off.

And while the F&F Alpha for Cataclysm hasn't started yet (believe me, we'd know), that doesn't mean you can't stay informed. There've been bits and pieces of new info released, in PC Gamer magazine, on Twitter, and elsewhere on the internet. And we like to keep track of that! What's come out is mostly new information on what's going to happen to Azeroth. And we just recently decoded this planning map of Cataclysm zones, which is where some information comes from.

So what this article is meant to be is a compendium of all known changes to old-world zones that'll occur in Cataclysm, sorted by continent and zone. We'll update whenever new information is released.

Hit the jump to get caught up!

Disclaimer: Some information may be outdated or incorrect by this stage in Cataclysm's development!

Continue reading Cataclysm: The exhaustive list of old-world changes (so far)

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Cataclysm: The exhaustive list of old-world changes (so far) originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roadmap to Cataclysm zone overhauls

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Okay, how did we miss this?

We've been wondering about the level of change in each old-world zone for Cataclysm for months now, and the answer has actually been under our noses since BlizzCon. During the Art Panel, the above planning map was shown, along with some information to either side of it. We can't make out everything in it, but there's a lot of information if you know what you're looking at.

The zone colors, from what we can infer, indicate the level of overhaul each zone is receiving. Red is a heavy overhaul, yellow is moderate, green is light, and blue means a brand-new zone. The yellow stars indicate a dungeon, and the red stars indicate a raid. The white tabs each have a letter on them, indicating what in the zone was being changed at that particular point -- L for level, Q for quests, etc.

Astute readers will see some things jump out at them immediately, like Thousand Needles having two stars on it.

The full list of visible zone changes after the break, along with other pertinent info.

Disclaimer: While this image was captured during the BlizzCon 2009 Art Panel, the capture displays a photo taken by Blizzard staff, which is undated. We don't know if it was a day before BlizzCon 2009 or six months before. Things could have changed between when this picture was taken and when this article was published.

Continue reading Roadmap to Cataclysm zone overhauls

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Roadmap to Cataclysm zone overhauls originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 3.3 PTR: Dwarf, orc, and troll shaman totem gallery

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While we have covered the fact that new totems are coming out for orcs and trolls in patch 3.3 so that the taurens don't have to keep sharing with everyone. We've also mentioned the fact that dwarf totems have been added into the PTR files for when Cataclysm hits. At the time, we only had the front view images from MMO-Champion. This caused a bit of an issue with the Dwarf totems as it's hard to distinguish what exactly they're supposed to look like without a side view. So, after some datamining and image editing of our own, we've put together a little gallery of the new totems for you all to enjoy.

Gallery: Patch 3.3 PTR: Dwarf, Orc, and Troll Totems

Cataclysm: Dwarf TotemsPatch 3.3 PTR: Orc TotemsPatch 3.3 PTR: Troll Air TotemPatch 3.3 PTR: Troll Earth TotemPatch 3.3 PTR: Troll Fire Totem


Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to the Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.

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Patch 3.3 PTR: Dwarf, orc, and troll shaman totem gallery originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm: For Gnomeregan!

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Our very own Michael Sacco actually got his hands on a copy of that PC Gamer full of Cataclysm details, and there was apparently one that we missed: Gnomes may be coming back to Gnomeregan. The little tidbit above is frustratingly vague, but it appears that as long rumored (and long hoped by the shorter denizens of Azeroth), Deathwing's return may break the whole war for the Gnomish capital wide open, and they might finally reclaim their mechanical homeland.

We say "might," because, according to this blurb, it could be anything at this point -- a questline that begins a takeover, a questline that represents a failed takeover, a new phased experience that leads to a takeover, or some kind of questline that brings Gnomeregan up to Heroic status (we know Shadowfang and Deadmines are already getting that treatment, so it wouldn't be too far off to expect other old instances to come around in future content patches).

Then again, let's not kill hope: maybe the Gnomes are finally heading back to Gnomeregan to have a capital city of their own, in all of its Gnomish engineering glory. We can dream, right?

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Cataclysm: For Gnomeregan! originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 3.3 PTR: New Tauren skins found

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Handclaw of the Scrolls of Lore Forums has uncovered something very intriguing in the Patch 3.3 PTR data files: New Tauren skins. Specifically, it looks like tribal war paint covering the face, arms, and chest, taking the form of bleeding wings on the chest. There's red, white, and blue color versions for both males and females.

There's quite a few Tauren fans on the WoW.com staff, and we've been having quite a few conversations about the new Tauren lore and their place in Cataclysm, so you can bet this new discovery has us all atwitter. What could it mean though? There's a few possibilities.

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Patch 3.3 PTR: New Tauren skins found originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breakfast Topic: Worgen and Goblin dances

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Reader Andy sent us a good topic to talk about this morning: dances for the new Cataclysm races. Every time we've sat down to play the new expansion, we've punched in the /dance and /silly emotes, and we haven't seen a single thing implemented for Worgen or Goblin males or females, so as far as we know, it's completely up in the air on what dances they'll choose for each one. You have to think that Blizzard has some idea already (or maybe they'll just be included in those long awaited dance studios), but we haven't seen it, so what do you think?

Andy says Goblin males should go for a West Side Story-style classic number, while Worgen should definitely do Thriller. For some reason, I see Goblins breakdancing, but I have no idea what the Worgen might be doing. If it's something befitting their starting area, I have to think something boring like ballroom. But they may actually have different dances for their human and wolf forms (at least you'd hope so -- surely they'd be able to do more in Worgen form than in normal human form, right?). What do you think?
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.

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Breakfast Topic: Worgen and Goblin dances originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm starting zone lore and other new details revealed

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PC Gamer UK was lucky enough to get the chance to grill Blizzard about the upcoming Cataclsym expansion, and they came away with quite a bit of new information, which is available in their latest issue, as well as as in the PC Gamer Podcast.

If you don't want to be spoiled, do not follow the break, I'm warning you now. There's a couple major story spoilers, especially regarding the origins of the goblins and worgen.

Continue reading Cataclysm starting zone lore and other new details revealed

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Cataclysm starting zone lore and other new details revealed originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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