World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is out, the world of Azeroth has been violently remodeled by a rather large dragon named Deathwing and, like it or not, this is going to make a World of Warcraft fan out of you or suck you back in style if it’s been a while since you played the game. After four months of beta and review play, here’s are some tips and tricks we're imparting on you, Azeroth journeyman (or woman!).
If you’re returning to the game after a break, there's new content, two new playable races, revised storylines and a pretty-much-redefined continent of Azeroth. Beyond the new cinematics and storylines for the Worgen and Goblin starting quests, Blizzard’s gone out of its way to include new starting zones and quests for familiar races. Yes, you’ll have to run out and slaughter ten nearby boars wandering around the village for your first mission at level one, or run 500 feet to talk to a person marked on the map, but Blizzard has changed this up and is working to tell a more involved story in the process, even during the tutorial missions.
Also remember that the Cataclysm expansion pack allows for characters to be created in professions that were previously unavailable to them; Tauren can now be Paladins, Gnomes can now be Priests, and the Undead can now be Hunters. Take the time to look into this, see what you like, and play with it, as this can be combined with a race’s natural advantages and used in interesting ways. You never know when a Gnome priest could make all the difference, so take a crack at it during character creation and see how things go.
As much fun as quests were in previous years of World of Warcraft, there was sometimes the feeling that you’d bitten off more than you could chew with a given quest. Yes, you could go back to the quest log and see where you were supposed to go or what you were supposed to do, but this could fall into the background as other quests came up, or if you weren’t sure which area to head to in order to fulfill a quest’s requirements. Thankfully, this has changed in Cataclysm, which allows for much-improved quest tracking as well as the ability to cash in quests from the road as opposed to having to run back to their origin point to complete them. Players can take advantage of this and check the clearly marked waypoints on the map as to where they’re supposed to go during a quests as well as what the goals are.
No, this isn’t the most exciting in the world, but it makes quests easier to track, easier to finish and keeps the game interesting, even if you’re just grinding your way to the next level…
Let’s face it, there’s only so much fun solo play will ever be in World of Warcraft, and even if you’re on a fairly interesting quest, you’re still grinding alone. Beyond level ten, it’s time to use the Dungeon Feature, which was added via a software update after the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack to point locate a dungeon you wanted to take on, assign yourself a role for the group (such as tank, healer, magic user, etc.) and let the Dungeon Finder engine assign you a place in the queue and take care of what in past years would have been 45 minutes of asking people if they wanted to group up.
Put your faith in the Dungeon Finder, give it some time to run you through the queue and you might even like the outcome once your party teams up.
Strangely enough, one side effect of a thrashing dragon that shattered half the continent of Azeroth as it tore through the crust of the earth and went on a fiery winged joyride, was it helped the real estate market for some reason. In short, there are more towns to explore, the flight paths are within a closer proximity and it’s less of a chore to find an inn to settle into if you don’t want to warp to your home town with your hearthstone. Use this to your advantage, explore a bit, and enjoy the fact that there are more flight paths to pick up along your travels and that it’s easier to get around in the long run.
No one ever lamented that a subway system had too many convenient stops around a city, so enjoy what’s there and enjoy the additional quests, as the variety of choices comes in handy if you’re leveling up and you’d like to take on a more enjoyable quest as you work your way up.
This one caught me off guard, but it's actually a really good thing. The Cataclysm expansion pack removes the need for ammunition, meaning that the old ammo sack your character is always carrying around now had to have its ammo destroyed and the sack sold. But now, your character has unlimited ammo for their guns or bows.
Get used to it, enjoy it and remember that you can use the extra slot for anything else you want to carry.
It takes a fair amount of work, but it’s worth it if you can pull it off. Cataclysm allows for dual specializations wherein a character can build up one skill tree, then work on an additional skill tree and use these abilities as well. While this takes time, the end result is pretty impressive. Your character will be able to switch specializations at the drop of a hat. For example, you could be a healing priest that transforms into a walking death machine in the middle of a dungeon or raid. If you’ve saved up for dual specializations, purchased the ability and worked on the skill tree, this is possible and can prove invaluable to a group in a pinch.
You can now get a pet at level one and a mount at level 20, though this caused a bit of a fuss with the old-guard World of Warcraft player community that remembers having to grind up to level 40 to get their first mount...and they also had to walk through six feet of snow to get to school...and it was uphill in both directions.
Still, it’s now cheap and easy to get a mount or a pet via the Cataclysm expansion pack, so look into this, take advantage of it and make the most of the much faster speed and reduced frustration this affords you.
Finally, the Cataclysm expansion allows for the use of flying mounts on the Azeroth continent, which is beyond cool and that much faster. Save up, snag one and yes, it WILL allow you to be among the coolest kids on the block…
For the first time in a long time, World of Warcraft feels almost completely new again, the Cataclysm expansion pack having both breathed some life back into something very familiar as well as given it an incredible shot in the arm via new races, new possibilities and new content. Blizzard has learned a lot in six years of World of Warcraft and it shows through the game’s implementations as well as its increased approachability. Take a look around, see what’s there and have fun.
And whatever side you choose for PVP (Alliance or Horde), may the best faction win.
