The Cataclysm is Coming!

The third expansion to Blizzard Entertainment's highly successful MMO - World of Warcraft.

Blizzard Entertainment's third expansion, Cataclysm, has received its release date (December 7, 2010) and to prepare the masses for such a game changing overhaul the developers have released patch 4.0.1 to the live realms. This patch has a plethora of new features and major changes that will affect the game forever. I am incredibly, incredibly, incredibly excited for where World of Warcraft is headed! The developers have definitely learned from their previous two expansions (Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King) to produce a stellar expansion that is sure to satisfy everyone!


It also appears that Blizzard has taken some successful features from other games like Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and implemented them as well, in their own Blizzard-like way of course. With these major changes, Cataclysm is set to accomplish what it has only partially done for the past six years - provide its players with the BEST massive multiplayer online experience possible. I am definitely coming back for another tour come December and the only problem that I see for the future is: do I play Worgen or Goblin? (Look for this debate in a later post)

Here are just a few of the notable changes that I am excited for in the pre-Cataclysm patch 4.0.1, despite the fact that I will not be playing until December:

Ammo has been removed from the game.
What a great concept that only took six years to accomplish! It might be only a minor convenience tailored for heavy ammo users but I think this is a fantastic new idea to implement.


Spells and abilities no longer have multiple ranks and now scale with character level.
This is huge, in my opinion at least! And the funny thing is you know you have seen this somewhere else...come on you remember...that's right, Warhammer Online had this one figured out. Why have a skill that diminished in potency after every character level only to jump in effectiveness with the new spell rank generally received ten character levels later? Warhammer  had this one right, with the spell effectively "leveling up" with you. I am excited for this decluttering of the spellbook. Not to mention, that this will most likely save you money from having to purchase new spell ranks from the class trainer.

Spell ranks are gone. You only have to learn a spell once, though it may be at a different level as before. Your spells will now automatically "level up" in damage along with you.

Five pets can now be stored with the hunter at all times. Any one of these five pets can be summoned via the Call Pet ability.
Now I am not much of a Hunter player but I do enjoy the occasional Hunter alt. So, being able to carry around five pets - one for each leveling need - is something to definitely cheer about! "Oh snap! A stone golem twice my level! Tank pet I choose you!"


Hunters now start with a pet at level 1.
This has got to be the most exciting for lowbie levelers and alt creators like myself! Not that the first ten levels were tough without a pet, they just seemed always to be a hassle that was unnecessary to the Hunter leveling experience. Now my Hunter alts get to grow up together with their pet from inception! (This was also a concept likely adopted from Warhammer Online's White Lion leveling experience).


Soul Shards have been removed from the game as items. Instead, they now exist as a resource system necessary for using, or altering the mechanics of certain spells.
Not that I really ever cared much for Warlocks but getting rid of useless items from one's backpack is always a great idea in my book! "Dang I can't pick up that flower I just picked without destroying one of my fifty soul shards in my bag."


New Raid frames are now available. They can also be used in place of the standard 5-player party interface via the User Interface options.
This one brings me back to the days of Molten Core and Onyxia! This has definitely been a long time coming. New dedicated raid party interface features have always been lacking in Blizzard's package. Most people were forced to rely on third-party modifications to successfully conquer a dungeon. This just streamlines the raiding experience and eliminates the need to look elsewhere besides for cosmetic preferences.


Lastly, 

There's a total overhaul to our talent trees. The current 51-point trees are gone; the new 31-point trees will be implemented, complete with new abilities. As part of this, you're required to choose a specialization at level 10. You will get 5 more talent points when Cataclysm launches and you are able to gain 5 more levels.

Click here for the full official patch notes.