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I'm in the Cataclysm Beta: Ask me Anything
Toxilium
Member UncommonPosts: 905
Like thread says. It can be anything about the beta. I have an 85 DK I'm playing right now. The only questions I won't answer are trolling questions (ala "HOw much does it suck lololl")
EDIT: Going to bed soon. If I don't answer you, I will by tomorrow, so don't worry!
EDIT AGAIN: The NDA is off, so don't yell at me for that. Also if you want screens/videos it will take some time so be patient.
UPDATE: I will be attending New York ComiCon this weekend and won't be availale to answer many questions.
UPDATE 2: I'm back.
Comments
1. Have you played a goblin? Just curious on your thoughts on the starting area.
2. Have you flown a lot around azeroth? If so how is the experience? They give enough to see in the air that you couldn't already explore?
3. How well was the refacing of the beginner areas done?
Thanks in advance for answers.
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. - J.R.R. Tolkien
How satisfying is playing a Death Knight at level 80-85? Around the same as at level 80, worse, better, boring, more interesting..?
Objectivity is delivered with a lack of personality made for the mainstream but never used for the mainstream.
In relation to a previous poster's flying around Azeroth question:
Do the capital cities have some kind of anti-air defense for opposing faction players, and if so is it effective? As soon as I heard about being able to use flying mounts anywhere in Azeroth, I figured we'd see a heck of a lot more raiding of enemy cities since being able to fly in would make raiding enemy cities much easier.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Do you think Cataclysm will bring former players like myself, back to the game? How much does Cataclysm change WoW?
1. The Goblin area is fantastic. I didn't play too much of it, not wanting to spoil the adventure for me when Cataclysm actually comes out. There are tons of quests involving driviing around in vehicles, launching things, blowing stuff up, etc. Think as the Goblin area as the FunZone, while the Worgen area is the LoreZone. +1 for getting a Goblin car early and being able to drive around your city of Kezan before it gets blown to smithereens.
2. Flying around Azeroth is just like it sounds. You fly around Azeroth. When you're close to the ground or under the dense tree lines in some zones, you can see some pretty big or minor changes depending on the zone. Some highlights are Thousand Needles and Orgrimmar (I play Horde, sorry Allies). Flying up to Hyjal is a treat. Just seeing this enormous mountain rise out of the already elevated Winterspring is breathtaking, especially when you fly to the very top of the World Tree (ala, the top of Azeroth essentially). Also: flying in Azeroth is much, much, less laggy than was flying in Northend. Engine optimizations and smaller cliffs and such than Northend are to thank for that.
3. The new areas, like I said, are completely new a streamlined. They're more of a singleplayer RPG until level 10 or so with interesting vehicle quests and such than anything. The gnome and troll areas feel slightly less spectacular, but they're still pretty to look at. Draenei and Belf are the same. The vanilla races (except gnome and troll) are largely the same with a few subtly improvements, such as better quest tracking, and being told where to go properly. The human area has had a revamp with the previously infested Bandit area now under control of renegade Orcs, but the quests play out much the same.
Essentially, all the starter zones are better. The goblin and worgen are the best, clearly, but the gnome and troll areas are a welcome addition, even if slightly recycled, and the other races have recieved a much needed face lift, whether or not the quest layout is different.
I am not entirely sure. I flew over/close to Stormwind in Elywnn as a Blood Elf and didn't encounter any resistence other than some pesky Alliance players trying to knock me off. They've made guards more powerful, but I didn't encounter any air guards, like you'd see in Northend. When flying in Orgrimmar I didn't see any fellow air guards either.
Absolutely. The massive facelift to vanilla zones (which are GORGEOUS now) and an extremely fun quest/leveling overhaul will bring back old players and new players alike. I encounted more open PvP on my travels, but nothing to the scale of vanilla unfortunately. I'm glad I still encountered some though. The new dungeons and raids are pretty, but some of the mechanics are recycled and a bit boring, so that's a downside (almost all the bosses were tank and spank with only one or two mechanics thrown in). If you liked battlegrounds, and enjoy experiencing new adventures, you'll like Cataclysm. Like I said, the new quest pathing for leveling is very improved, making nearly all 1-60 levels equal to that of Northend leveling content quality.
What are the dungeons like. I know you said tank and spank but can you give some detail. Are they long or short like wrath?
any new BGs? any new WG like areas?
I can tell you this. Crowd control is important again and healers really have to pat attention to mana management - this is not WotLK WoW any longer.
AOE's are not as powerful as they use to be, in fact as a Hunter your AOE is weak until you have lots of MOB's 5+. You're better off single targeting MOB's if there is less than 5. Same goes for many AOE spells from casters and AOE's from like DK's. Unless there are lot's of MOB's AOE's just are not worth the cost of mana and do not do as much damage unless there is lots of MOB's.
Aesthetically, they are gorgeous to look at and play in. The Skywall is definitely the most gorgeous dungeon/raid to exist in WoW yet. Crowd control is definitely important again, as healers have to stay on their toes. The dungeons are harder than WotLK's but about the same length with a competent group. Bosses have the same general mechanics you've seen before though, nothing much new in that department.
Thanks for the help by the way Teala.
What's the meaning of life, the universe and everything?
They have a new Wintergrasp-esque area called Tol Barad. It's on an island this time, and is also the source of your daily quests. It's about the same size and the objectives are generally the same as well. I find it funner, just for the change of scenery and warmer setting. The new vehicles are also really fun to use. For BGs, I know they've added new ones like Gilneas and stuff, but PvP isn't really my forte and haven't delved into it much.
42
1 internet cookie to you, my friend, well done.
Seriously, is Cata going to be enough to reignite interest for those of us who burned out or is it more of the same with a big revamp?
1. It's like leveling in vanilla WoW. You'll see them occasionnaly if they pass through your zone, or want to gank you, but not really. I leveled a human warlock to 15 to just try out some new things, and only noticed high level players in Stormwind and occasionally running towards STV.
2. No. Questing and leveling 80-85 took me about two weeks casually. Most will plow through that in a week, easily. Play on multiple characters per say, and create a Worgen/Goblin, you have about 1-2 months of questing content for 80-85 only. That's not to say the rest of 1-60 isn't revamped. It is, so definitely make a new toon. Most of the content is in the dungeons - there is a TON of new dungeons.
3. The starting zones feel like a story. As a Worgen, you're phased to a particular area almost the entire time, whether you're defending a church from a worgen invasion, or battling Scourge, it's very instance. The goblin isn't as instance in the start, but it quickly becomes that way when your city, well, explodes. Questing after that feels like a world though. Actually, it feels more like a world now than it did in vanilla, simply because you have total freedom with the flying mounts and opened up cities.
Unfortunately, this means a greater dependence on mods, which are not part of the Blizzard GUI, and reaction time, which is dependent on lag.
Like the question answered above, there is as much phasing in normal questing as there was in WotLK. You have the occasional quest line (which are really cool, see: punch that dragon in the face) which uses instancing, but overall you'll be in with other players most of your time. Of course everyone levels via dungeon finder on the live servers now anyways (I've calculated it takes longer to level currently via dungeons than quest on live servers)
Vanilla players will not enjoy:
continued use of the emblem system
heavy instancing in some areas (namely worgen and goblins)
still no 40 man raids other than PvP
Vanilla players will like:
return to Azeroth
though not in full force like back n' the day, there is more open PvP now
open cities/more freedom via flying mounts
crowd control is back
Ragnaros is back
Hyjal is back
Questing, overall, is a lot funner. Drop rates are drastically improved. Rewards have been revamped and upgraded. More interesting quests have been added (I loved the "Defend the castle via a turret" quests in LK)
Just as a matter of interest, what happens if you choose not to buy Cataclysm? How will your charactern interact with the new world?
Basically, everyone will experience the old world changes. Old Azeroth is gone, dead, and buried. People who do not purchase Cataclysm will not have access of course to 80-85 content, nor the two races. You will also not have access to archaeology or any new zones added (ala Deepholm). You will recieve the same talent changes and new UI upgrades as everyone else.
Blizzard is being very generous with what non-purchasers have access to. Think of Cataclysm as a gigantic patch/overhaul of vanilla 1-60 zones, and the option to purchase the expansion to hit 85 and new races.
Unfortunately you have to to do Northend up to 78, like BC is 58-68. Some Cataclysm dungeons can be done at 78 via the dungeon finder as well (though you need to physically find the entrance to unlock them now).
http://cata.wowhead.com/guide=cataclysm&world#leveling-flow-changes
Do we have to have Sanctified Set to get the next set that will be release in Final Product?
Check out this! Such a great Strategy! http://techone.weebly.com/blog.html
Blizzard is being generous? you've already bought the game... and burning crusade... and lich king... and given them 15 bucks a month... and will continue to give them 15 bucks a month... that's hardly generous