As you all know, during Q4 of 2008, Blizzard officially launched the second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. Till now, no final conclusion has been set upon him. However, during Blizzcon 2009, Blizzard has yet unvieled antoher new expansion... World of Warcraft: Cataclysm!


"World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the upcoming third expansion for World of Warcraft and was officially announced on August 21, 2009 at BlizzCon 2009. The majority of the expansion content takes place in drastically reforged Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.

It is to include the playable races of the worgen for the Alliance and the goblins for the Horde. Flying mounts will finally be usable in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. Deathwing has made his return into the 'real world' from Deepholm, causing a new Sundering. "


Now, there are many changes here that i would like to touch upon. This has been rather controversial as many people whom i have talked to had different opinions about this new expansion. Some said it will furthur destroy WoW (I'll elaborate more on this later), while others find it awesome and can't wait for official release. Now, I'm a rather optimistic person, so any changes brought about, I will never go against it. But I think no matter what, a neutral point of view has to be stated.

Lore wise, instead of exploring vast regions of the unknown, the very land of Azeroth is revisted and revamped. I believe that Blizzard wants to get back to their roots which what made World of Warcraft so epic. Many have said that the release of the Burning Crusade was the start of the dwindle of the World of Warcraft. We can all sit around and bounce back adn forth with arguemetns about this, but statistics hsa shown that number of players continue to grow. Then again, this does not mean that epicness of the original game is there, rather it just became mroe attractive to those with no WoW experience. Therefore, i really hope revisting all these old stuff will prove to be a right decision.

Game mechanic wise, 2 new races has been introduced. Worgens for Alliance and Goblins for orcs. On top of that, I heard their racial passive is pretty good too. New class combinations have also been added. Like, Night Elf Mage, Human Hunter, Tauran paladin and priest <---- HOT! aaaaaaaaaaand Troll Druid(shock!) Again, any has linked all these changes to a direct damage to the game's lore. I shall leave it for you to judge.



List of important changes-

* Level cap increased to 85.
* Zones are destroyed in lava in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. The Barrens has been split into two, and is full of canyons of lava. Wetlands is destroyed, Ashenvale hit as well. The Maelstrom churns.
* New race for the Alliance: Worgen
o Classes: death knight, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, druid, warlock and warrior.[1]
* New race for the Horde: Goblins
o Classes: death knight, shaman, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, warlock and warrior.[1]
* New Race / Class combinations. They will be explained in-game[2][3].
* New monsters, quests, and zones
* Several new dungeons and raids
* 3 new battlegrounds (including "Battle for Gilneas City"[4]) and a new Wintergrasp-like PvP zone, Tol Barad
* Classic zones forever changed by the Cataclysm. The changes will be made available to all players regardless of expansion purchase.
* Ability to fly anywhere due to the Azeroth revamp.
* Guild advancement system, which includes guild leveling, talents, achievements, and accessories.
* Revamped character progression via the Paths of the Titans, Archaeology, the new secondary profession, and Ancient glyphs.
* Rated battlegrounds, an alternative way to earn arena points
* Ragnaros was banished in the Molten Core, but has now returned to burn Nordrassil.
* Malfurion Stormrage has returned from the Emerald Dream to help defend Hyjal.
* Profession cap raised to 525 and will be named Illustrious.
* New ability for Jewelcrafters, Engineers, Blacksmiths, Leatherworkers and Tailors called "Reforging"
* Stats armor penetration, attack power, block value,defense, mp5, and spell power are being removed from the game.

Among the many figures confirmed to have major roles in the story of Cataclysm are:

* Deathwing, formerly Neltharion the Earth-Warder, confirmed as the principal villain of the expansion.
* Thrall, whose role will be changing, possibly to relinquish command of the Horde.
* Garrosh Hellscream, possibly the new leader of the Horde.
* Varian Wrynn, who leads the Alliance after the Cataclysm.
* Malfurion Stormrage, who returns to prevent Mount Hyjal from being destroyed.
* Brann Bronzebeard, up to his old tricks as leader of the expedition into the newly-uncovered Uldum region.
* Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, who helps administer a cure for the worgen curse to his now-transformed people.
* Nefarian, also known as Blackwing/Victor Nefarius, son of Deathwing, who survived and retreated further into Blackrock Spire.
* Ragnaros, who remains alive to challenge the world in Mount Hyjal, and later in his own elemental fire plane.
* The Twilight Hammer cult is a major player in the new expansion; its minions are revealed to be working for Deathwing.

For a full readup, visit wowwiki here.

Official trailer-

The trailer shows alot, so do watch it.