Official news related to Cataclysm

[chaos5061]

From WowInsider:
If you're sitting there at your keyboard right now violently coveting your upcoming Cataclysm experience and daydreaming of all the places you'll go, we here at WoW Insider would like nothing better than to aid and abet you in your wacky escapades. And since Cataclysm is launching on International Matthew Rossi's Birthday, who better to help you figure out where you intend to stream like an unstoppable torrent of locusts? Well, there may be lots of better options, but I'm doing it anyway.

Cataclysm has several new zones to experience and quite a few new dungeons to crawl through. Let's take a look, shall we?


Mount Hyjal and Vashj'ir are your two entry-level zones, both starting at level 80, and should take you to level 82 by the time you finish them. Hyjal is a very straightforward leveling experience, with quest tracks that lead you to wind your way down the peak confronting minions of the Firelord Ragnaros, while Vashj'ir is divided into three sub-zones named the Kelp'thar Forest, the Shimmering Expanse, and the Abyssal Depths. The main villains of these zones are the naga serving under Queen Azshara.

Around this point, you will also be able to run two new dungeons, the Throne of the Tides (a sanctum of the water elemental lord Neptulon, located near Vashj'ir) and the Blackrock Caverns, inside Blackrock Mountain in the Eastern Kingdoms. The Blackrock Caverns has an extensive write-up by Allison Robert. These are both level 80 to 82 dungeons.

After you've run one or both of these zones and the dungeons mentioned above, you should be geared up and ready for Deepholm, the plane of the earth elementals and their mistress Therazane the Stonemother. Intended for level 82 and up, here you will encounter the machinations of Deathwing's servants in the Twilight's Hammer, as well as consequences from the devastation and destablization they've wreaked.

They're totally wreaking, too. Inside Deepholm, the cavern where Deathwing brooded and plotted against the world of Azeroth, is the Stonecore, and it waits for level 82 and up adventurers to come plumb its depths and loot its treasures. That's kind of what we do.

The Vortex Pinnacle is another dungeon at roughly the same level (82 to 84) as the Stonecore. The Vortex Pinnacle is where the armies of Al'Akir, lord of air elementals and father to Princes Thunderaan and Sarsarun, plot their assault upon nearby Uldum at the behest of Deathwing.

Uldum itself is your next stop. The mysterious Tol'vir are under siege from Deathwing's air elemental servants, and archaeologists dig in its ancient ruins for Titan-created treasures. Two dungeons, the Halls of Origination and Lost City of the Tol'vir, lie in this newly rediscovered zone of ancient mystery and time-lost secrets.You should be at least 83 to start exploring this zone, and I recommend 84 for the dungeons.

At levels 84 and up, the Twilight Highlands await you, where the Twilight's Hammer plots while the Dragonmaw and Wildhammer lead the charge for their respective Horde and Alliance allies. In the former sanctum of the Wildhammers, the fortress city of Grim Batol, the Twilight cult and the Black Dragonflight menace. Grim Batol is dungeon for level 84 and up.

In addition to heroic modes of all of the previous dungeons, there are two other dungeons you will be able to run as heroics, Shadowfang Keep in Silverpine and the Deadmines in Westfall. Both have been heavily revised by the changes wrought by the shattering of Azeroth, and their heroic challenge will test even experienced heroes. You should be level 85 and have geared up in non-heroic dungeons before you attempt these or any other Cataclysm heroic.

And there's your lot. Have a happy my birthday killing internet dragons, everyone!

[chaos5061]

What to do first in Cataclysm

From WowInsider:
Cataclysm has already gone live in Europe, and it's only hours away now for those of us in North America. Are you prepared for it? Do you know what you need to know to hit the ground running when Cataclysm content becomes active on live realms? If you don't, we're here to help. Below are answers to some of the most common questions that have been asked about starting the Cataclysm experience.

How do I learn to fly in old Azeroth?

You can get your Flight Master's License in Outland or Northrend, but the much better options are Stormwind for the Alliance and Orgrimmar for the Horde. Horde players want to talk to Maztha and Alliance players want to talk to Bralla Cloudwing. Wowhead has excellent maps for finding both of them.

Which zones do I go to first to level in Cataclysm? How do I get there?

You have the option of going to either Hyjal or Vashj'ir. Which you go to is purely personal preference. Stormwind and Orgrimmar have breadcrumb quests for both. Either the quest will be offered to you immediately upon logging in with a pop-up style quest prompt, or you will need to go to your city's Hero's Board/Warchief's Command Board.

Deciding to go to Hyjal will route you through Moonglade to gain entrance to the zone -- don't worry, going through Moonglade won't take as long as you think. You won't need to hoof it the whole way.

Deciding to go to Vashj'ir will send you to your respective faction's nearest harbor. In the case of Stormwind, you go to the Stormwind Harbor. In the case of Orgrimmar, you will be sent to the new dock in Durotar.

I'd like to pick up archaeology before I head out and level. Where do I do that?

There are archaeology trainers all over the world, but we'll focus on Stormwind and Orgrimmar, since those are going to be your central hubs in Cataclysm. Alliance players need to head into the Stormwind Keep to talk to Harrison Jones. Horde players need to speak with Harrison's nemesis, Belloc Brightblade. If you're having difficulty finding them, the simplest tip is to ask a guard. They will put a convenient little flag on your map.

I want to run the new dungeons, but I can't seem to queue for anything. What's the deal?

As of Cataclysm, it's required that you discover a dungeon in person before you can queue for them. Right at level 80, your only real instance option is Blackrock Caverns, tucked away in Blackrock Mountain. If you plan on running instances while you level through Hyjal and Vashj'ir, you may want to swing by Blackrock Mountain before you depart.

WoW Insider's YouTube account has a few videos on how to find some of the Cataclysm dungeons. All of these videos are linked below. Do note that in the videos where the guide is a ghost, it is not required that you be dead to discover the instance. Graveyards are just convenient landmarks ... and let's be honest, you're going to die in these dungeons. Knowing how to get to them from the graveyard is a good thing.

* Blackrock Caverns
* The Stonecore
* Vortex Pinnacle
* Lost City of the Tol'vir

[chaos5061]

Guild Leveling

From WowInsider:

One of the coolest new features of Cataclysm is the ability for guilds to level up, unlocking all sorts of cool items, mounts, heirlooms and much more. Also new to Cataclysm are guild achievements that groups of players can work for that open up even more rewards. Blizzard has crafted a really awesome guild reputation system, so get your buddies together to hit the ground running when Cataclysm launches.

Guild advancement requires players to earn experience for their guild by doing various activities. Completing quests, earning achievements, learning new professions, completing boss kills, winning in battlegrounds and arenas and much more contribute to your guild's advancement.

Guild groups

To qualify for guild experience in groups, a certain number of group or team members must be guild members. Here is a quick guide:

* Arena teams All members of arena teams must be guild members.
* Rated battlegrounds Eight of 10 members must be guild members in 10-man rated battlegrounds. Twelve of 15 members must be guild members in 15-man rated battlegrounds.
* Old raids Previous tier 25-man and 40-man raids from WoW, The Burning Crusade and Wrath require that at least 8 of 25 raid members must be guild members.
* Dungeons Four of five members of the dungeon or heroic dungeon group must be guild members.
* 10-man raids Eight of 10 members of the 10-man raid group must be guild members.
* 25-man raids Twenty of 25 members of the 25-man raid group must be guild members.


Guild reputation

Players in a guild will notice a new reputation bar in their reputations window showing their current reputation level with their guild. Players earn reputation with their guild by completing or engaging in various activities. This reputation bar acts much like any other faction's, allowing new abilities and items to be purchased as your guild unlocks them and you achieve the necessary reputation level.

Gaining guild reputation is easy -- completing quests, earning guild achievements, participating in rated battlegrounds with a guild group and participating in a guild group raid boss kills will all earn you guild reputation. So play as normal, and you should be unlocking stuff left and right!

Guild perks and rewards

Those stalwart databasers over at Wowhead have created an amazing guide for guild perks and rewards that I would be a fool to try to replicate, so I shall point you over to their guide for the whole package. Check out Wowhead's guide to guild advancement here.

Our very own Scott Andrews has crafted some great guides and tip sheets for getting guild perks and rewards faster, as well as a review of the various guild perks part 1 and part 2. I highly recommend giving them a read for some more in-depth analysis.

Here's a quick rundown for you of some of the cooler things guild advancement and levels will bring your guild.

Heirlooms Two new heirloom slots are available to guilds that advance far enough in levels, allowing guild members to purchase these new head and cloak heirloom items. To unlock new heirloom cloaks, your guild must be level 10 and your personal reputation with the guild must be honored or higher. Each cloak costs 1,200g. To unlock the new head slot heirlooms, your guild must be guild level 20 and, again, your personal reputation with the guild must be honored or higher. Each head slot heirloom costs 1,500g.

Pets and mounts Guild advancement is also opening up new mounts and pets for players in high-ranking guilds. The Armadillo Pup companion pet is unlocked for all guild members honored or higher to purchase once the guild completes the achievement Critter Kill Squad, requiring the guild as a whole to kill 50,000 critters. The guild achievement United Nations, requiring the guild to raise 55 reputations in the game to exalted, will reward honored or higher members the ability to purchase the Dark Phoenix Hatchling.

Guild pages and heralds are available to members who are friendly and honored, respectively, after completing certain achievements. Horde Slayer/Alliance Slayer unlock the Guild Page, a non-combat pet on an 8-hour cooldown timer that allows you to purchase guild rewards from anywhere and access your guild vault for 5 minutes. The Guild Herald is the same as the Page but has a 4-hour cooldown and is gained by completing the achievement Profit Sharing.

Let's talk mounts. Upon reaching guild level 25, exalted guild members unlock the Kor'Kron Annihilator or the Reins of the Golden King, based on faction. These ground mounts are going to be especially awesome in PvP, as flying mounts are still verboten in rated play.

Guild Glory of the Cataclysm Raider, upon completion, will award guild members the ability to purchase the Reins of the Dark Pheonix, an awesome mount in the style of the famed Ashes of Al'ar. This elite reward will be most prized by guilds on the cutting edge of Cataclysm content.

The Seafood Magnifique feast As I discussed the other day, the Seafood Magnifique Feast is poised to become the most delicious feast you have ever sank your teeth in to. And you better get used to it, because you'll be eating a lot of these for the next year or so. The recipe to cook the feast is unlocked by completing the guild achivement That's A Lot of Bait, requiring your guild as a whole to catch 10,000 fish from fishing pools.

Guild perks At each level of advancement, from guild level 2 to 25, a new perk is gained that grant an ability, passive ability or bonus to guild members. You can find the full list at Wowhead, but here are some notable perks that I found to be particularly useful.

* Level 2: Fast Track Experience gained from killing monster and completing quests increased by 5 percent. That's like an extra heirloom, so invite those alts into the guild for questing guild experience and extra abilities.
* Level 5: Cash Flow Each time you loot money from an enemy, an extra 5 percent money is generated and deposited into your guild bank. Great for repair costs and paying out for expensive items to get your guildies ready for harder content. It's free money to use on your guild.
* Level 9: Reinforce (Rank 2) Items take 20 percent less durability loss when you die. Great for nights of constant wipes.
* Level 21: Have Group, Will Travel Summons all raid or party members to the caster's current location. No more pressing 1 for summon in chat anymore!
* Level 23: Bountiful Bags Increases the quantity of materials gained from mining, skinning, herbalism and disenchanting. Need I say more? More materials equals more guild resources. Good show.


There are a bunch more abilities, so check them out in the Wowhead guide.

Guilds have received one of the best overhauls of any system in Cataclysm. So much new content is added for guilds, and you'll be working hard to get it. So group up, band together and wave your standards high. Guilds are the place to be in Cataclysm.

[chaos5061]

Legendary Cataclysm Party:
http://www.justin.tv/gamebreakertv#/w/624016800/4

[chaos5061]

Also some 83's already on EU servers.

[chaos5061]

Here comes the last post soon.

[wowvern]

That's nice Chaos, but as it is 5 minutes to midnight EST:

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the immortal words of Bruce Buffer (UFC announcer):

IT'S TIME!

Although the servers will not be turned on for another 3+ hours, the last post of this thread is upon us. And since I started the thread, here goes:

Some of you (the EU players) have already started your leveling experience in the sundered world of Azeroth. This is intended for those of us here is North America/Oceania. In three hours time (OK, max 4 hours for the installation), Deathwing officially takes flight. Although the Shattering took place two weeks ago, he will start to wreak enormous havoc on all of us North American players very shortly. The question is:

Are we prepared?

I hope we are, because at the end of the expansion Deathwing won't care what race or class you are. He will take his faithful minions with him and proclaim with fire breathing down your neck:

AZEROTH IS NO MORE! BOW TO MY AWESOME FLAMES AND DIE WITH NOTHING BUT BRITTLE BONES!

OK, so maybe he won't say that, but that leaves us with one question:

Are we all ready to come to grips with the destruction Deathwing has wrought?

If you are, then follow me into the Cataclysm!

Chaos:

All new info must be put into a new thread, as the Cataclysm is upon us.