World of Warcraft Cataclysm Revealed

The big news at BlizzCon 2009 for World of Warcraft fans was the announcement of Blizzard's latest expansion - Cataclysm. And listening to Blizzard developers and content creators, a cataclysm it will certainly be.

Deep within the bowls of Azeroth a terrible force is stirring. Driven mad by the whispering of the old gods, the black dragon aspect known as Deathwing has finally awakened.

And he is pissed!

This is the backdrop to Cataclysm. Deathwing's breaking through the elemental plan into Azeroth has caused a massive destructive force to be unleashed across land with tidal waves and earthquakes forever changing Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom.

And what a Cataclysm it is!

Blizzard have taken the opportunity to completely re-work the basic levels from 1-60 with much of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom landscape completely changed:

• The Barrens have been torn asunder and split in two
• The Thousand Needles has flooded
• The Darkshore has been changed forever
• Auberdine has been destroyed and the Elves decamped further North
• Desolace has been greened

And this is just for starters.

Zones like Azshara have changed to a low leveling zone and many zones have been reworked to make them much shorter and better connected.

What this means is that the basic gathering nodes (Mining and Herbalism) will have changed along with all quests for the zones. The method of leveling will remain the same but leveling strategies will now be very different.

Another big change is that flying mounts are now enabled for all zones in Azeroth. I can imagine the skies of Azeroth dark with miners stripping the land of ore! Think how fast you'll be able to gather basic ores and herbs.

There is also a number of new zones:

• DeepHolm - Located in the elemental plan; Deathwing's domain
  
• The Sunken City of Vashj'ir - underwater combat and new underwater mounts
  
• Uldum - modeled on an Egyptian them
• Mount Hyjal
• Twilight Highland - Grim Batol remade.
  

As with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, there are new Races:

• Goblins - Horde
• Worgen - Alliance

Each race will come with their own unique skills and talents.

This is just a flavor of the vast changes that will appear in Cataclysm. Probably Blizzard's biggest, most radical expansion to their World of Warcraft.

Marcus Ty

What's New In Patch 3.2

If you are regular World of Warcraft player you will have, by now, downloaded the later patch 3.2 - Call of the Crusade. For those with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the Crusader Coliseum has been completed giving rise to a new raid dungeon. There is also a brand new battleground - The Isle of Conquest - which is great fun for those who have yet to try it.

But in this post I'll talk about what I think have been some of the significant additions and changes when it comes to the wow economy and the making of easy wow gold.

The Economy Deflates
As new items are patched into the game, demand for these items rises rapidly as players learn how to gather or craft them. This in turn makes older items less desirable and their price falls. If you browse the Auction House on a regular basis you'll begin to notice the prices on many items begin to fall. If these items are crafted, then there will also be deflation on those materials needed to produce them.

Tip - keep your eyes open for items that suddenly start to appear cheaper. If you snap them up too early, thinking you'll make a killing on reselling them, you may end up holding 'lemons' and make a loss. Let the market settle down for a few weeks and prices will eventually find their new level.

Epic Gems
The items in big demand with patch 3,2 are the epic gems. These are obtained in the following way:

• Prospecting Titanium Ore
• Alchemy transmutations
• Purchased with honor
• Purchased with Emblems of Heroism

The prospecting of epic gems has caused a huge surge in the price of Titanium with players buying up as much as they can. Flying around Icecrown recently, I noticed the sky thick with miners, scouring the outcrops for elusive Titanium nodes.

Tip - You can also find Titanium nodes in and around the Sholazar Basin. It's a little less crowded.

Less Walking More Riding
But for me the most significant change has been lowering of riding levels. It's now possible to learn Apprentice Riding (skill 75) at level 20 for just 4 gold and by up an riding for a few silver more!

So what's the big deal?

Gaining access to a mount earlier in the game will greatly assist those players with the gathering professions (Mining, Herbalism and Skinning). Players will be able to scour zones more efficiently and quickly for materials than in earlier patches and thus more gold.

In addition, players should in theory level faster. No endless running between towns or zones to complete quests. Leveling should speed up greatly.

This is no bad thing - as Scot Mercer of Blizzard says: 'It's a long way from Auberdine to Astranaar!'

Tip - If you have already reached level 20, you'll received a Blizzard mail in-game telling you to go to a riding trainer. Make sure you learn Apprentice Riding as soon as you can. You will, of course need at least 4 gold!

Marcus Ty

Mysterious Egg - Part 2

In a previous post I describe grinding reputation with the Oracles to purchase one of their Mysterious Eggs. If you follow me on twitter or subscribe to my Gold Making Guide, you will know that the eggs can hatch into a number of different pets.

What you may not know is that on rare occasions you have a chance to obtain a proto-drake - which is what happened to me with my first egg.

I made a short video to show you how.

Enjoy Marcus