World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

JackBurton · 2010-12-06T06:25:16.000Z

Matthew Bramblet:

It’s a serious step forward in making the game a more immersive experience at lower levels, and quality of life improvements for all levels.

If you don’t have characters at level 80, you get almost all of the new improvements for “free” already without buying the expansion, with the recent patches. Now is a great time to start a new character, with the revamped old zones providing a massive amount of content to go through.

At the high end, the level 80-85 zones are detailed and lovely in their own way; Blizzard’s quest guys just keep getting better at what they do. The dungeon and raid design is a bit more thoughtful than Cataclysm; certainly the first tier of dungeon/raid content at level 85 is better than what was available for new level 80s in Lich King. But it’s very much more of the same overall.

In short, if you had a subscription before and are curious about how things look, it’s a great time to resubscribe and check out the revamped world and polished gameplay/UI. For people who don’t already have a level 80 character, there’s little reason to buy the expansion yet; nearly all the changes for lower level characters are available without having the expansion. If you get a character up near 80, at that point it would be worth buying the expansion, to continue. (One big caveat is if you want to play a Goblin or Worgen character, of course; those require buying the expansion.)

TY. Exactly was what I was looking for.

I had played for a few levels back in the day but never really got too in deep. I think I’ll pick it up again with Cataclysm. Any suggestions on servers?

sinnick · 2010-12-06T06:35:31.000Z

Moonrunner is where the “Drop Bears” guild is. That’s the server I would pick if I were just starting out (and if I weren’t already on another server with a bunch of RL friends).

aganazer · 2010-12-06T06:36:00.000Z

Matthew Bramblet:

In short, if you had a subscription before and are curious about how things look, it’s a great time to resubscribe and check out the revamped world and polished gameplay/UI. For people who don’t already have a level 80 character, there’s little reason to buy the expansion yet; nearly all the changes for lower level characters are available without having the expansion. If you get a character up near 80, at that point it would be worth buying the expansion, to continue. (One big caveat is if you want to play a Goblin or Worgen character, of course; those require buying the expansion.)

One big barrier to entry is that if you want to buy Cataclysm you must have The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. As someone that hasn’t played since TBC I am now making the decision of whether or not a Goblin Shaman is worth $70 more than a Troll Shaman.

Mouzone · 2010-12-06T06:48:26.000Z

aganazer:

One big barrier to entry is that if you want to buy Cataclysm you must have The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. As someone that hasn’t played since TBC I am now making the decision of whether or not a Goblin Shaman is worth $70 more than a Troll Shaman.

blizzard had a sale last weekend for wow $5, bc $5 wolk $10. They will probably introduce something similar later on. For now if you don’t have any high level characters you want to play just use your original account and wait for a price drop.

JackBurton · 2010-12-06T06:56:30.000Z

sinnick:

Moonrunner is where the “Drop Bears” guild is. That’s the server I would pick if I were just starting out (and if I weren’t already on another server with a bunch of RL friends).

I’m assuming that is the QT3 guild?

MarchHare · 2010-12-06T07:25:21.000Z

JackBurton:

I’m assuming that is the QT3 guild?

Drop Bears is the unofficial Qt3 Alliance guild. There was also a Horde guild at one point on the Arathor server, but I’m not sure if they’re still around.

Assuming you want to play an Alliance character, Drop Bears are great people and SUPER helpful to new players. They should hook you up with bags and a bit of gold (5g is nothing to a level 80 player but can make a huge difference to a lowbie) and plenty of starter tips and advice. When you create a new character on Moonrunner, type “/join Drop Bears” (without the quotation marks) to join the guild’s chat channel and ask if there is an officer on who can invite you.

Charlatan · 2010-12-06T07:26:27.000Z

Actually type /join dropbears - if you put the space between drop and bears, you will join the channel named “drop” and nobody is in there…

don’t ask how I know.

mystery · 2010-12-06T07:33:54.000Z

Mouzone:

blizzard had a sale last weekend for wow $5, bc $5 wolk $10. They will probably introduce something similar later on. For now if you don’t have any high level characters you want to play just use your original account and wait for a price drop.

That sale is still going on, plus only 39.95 for a digital copy of Cataclysm. So, basically 60.00 will get you into Cataclysm.

Nathan_Phoenix · 2010-12-06T07:57:01.000Z

Razgon:

I love the UC throne room - In case you didnt know, if you stand still, you can hear the voices of the old king, and Arthas, and the clatter as the crown falls to the ground after Arthas beheads his father.

And if when you walk through the passage leading in, in the room that had the overhead shot of the bell ringing above Arthas’s head, you can hear the bell faintly ringing as well. That whole area was just masterfully done.

Saxman_72 · 2010-12-06T08:01:07.000Z

Some wonderful person sent me 5g to my hunter, “Fleche” yesterday, but their name came up unknown. I’d have returned it but I just mindlessly clicked it since I was expecting money in the mail from my DK that I created for that purpose. So whoever that wonderful person is out there, thank you. =)

(Seriously, human hunters seem to be getting screwed when it comes to purchasing their abilities at level 10. There’s just way more stuff to buy than you can afford.)

Athryn · 2010-12-06T08:11:47.000Z

Saxman_72:

Some wonderful person sent me 5g to my hunter, “Fleche” yesterday, but their name came up unknown. I’d have returned it but I just mindlessly clicked it since I was expecting money in the mail from my DK that I created for that purpose. So whoever that wonderful person is out there, thank you. =)

(Seriously, human hunters seem to be getting screwed when it comes to purchasing their abilities at level 10. There’s just way more stuff to buy than you can afford.)

We actually have a thread for that on the DB boards (just mentioning it because it may not have been a QT3 person that sent it to you, so they’ll never see this thank you.)

SlyFrog · 2010-12-06T08:22:08.000Z

mystery:

That sale is still going on, plus only 39.95 for a digital copy of Cataclysm. So, basically 60.00 will get you into Cataclysm.

I’m pretty sure the sale ended November 29. At least it says that on the sale page, and when I tried to buy the stuff last night, it wouldn’t let me (when I clicked on the new customer link (for my wife), it just wouldn’t move to a different sale page).

Someone let me know if I’m wrong (and please post a link), as I would dearly love to be able to get the first 3 for $20.

mystery · 2010-12-06T08:27:47.000Z

SlyFrog:

Someone let me know if I’m wrong (and please post a link), as I would dearly love to be able to get the first 3 for $20.

I actually purchased my 2nd account on Saturday the 4th for 60.00 all told. Perhaps it was because I did it from my Battle.net account page.

inactive_user · 2010-12-06T09:35:10.000Z

Incidentally, whatever issue was happening in account management is apparently resolved. I just applied my Collector’s Edition key to my bnet account with no delays whatsoever.

Athryn · 2010-12-06T10:03:29.000Z

Adam B:

Incidentally, whatever issue was happening in account management is apparently resolved. I just applied my Collector’s Edition key to my bnet account with no delays whatsoever.

I hate you :( I have to wait until tomorrow for my CE!

JZigish · 2010-12-06T10:22:31.000Z

I finished the Cape of Stranglethorn quest line on my troll druid, and it ended on a really fun phased encounter. After completing most of the old bloodsail quests a new line opens up where you infiltrate their ranks and do various semi-nefarious deeds as an undercover cop. Then at the end the bloodsail pirates and their allies attack booty bay proper and you have to fend them off. It’s a pretty impressive invasion actually, and I recommend people try it out. You can skip the northern quests in cape of stranglethorn, they’re all kinda the same as before.

razarok · 2010-12-06T10:28:12.000Z

I have 5 80s and all other classes except for warlock at 50+.

Guess I will have to roll a warlock on another realm to give that new 1-whatever experience another try!

JackBurton · 2010-12-06T10:52:21.000Z

I’m assuming that if I want to play a worgen I have to wait until tomorrow and buy cataclysm?

TheTrunkDr · 2010-12-06T10:56:17.000Z

JackBurton:

I’m assuming that if I want to play a worgen I have to wait until tomorrow and buy cataclysm?

Yes.5

Saxman_72 · 2010-12-06T11:56:00.000Z

Athryn:

We actually have a thread for that on the DB boards (just mentioning it because it may not have been a QT3 person that sent it to you, so they’ll never see this thank you.)

Thanks for bringing that up, Athryn. I posted a thanks there as well.