Blizzard has unveiled the full roadmap for its World of Warcraft: Classic Cataclysm expansion and revealed the official launch date for the sizable update.
The latest expansion to the MMORPG will be available on May 20, 2024, and World of Warcraft: Classic will officially heat up shortly before that on Apr. 30, 2024. This is when the pre-patch event will be held.
World of Warcraft: Classic's Cataclysm Expansion
(Photo : Blizzard / Screenshot taken from official website)
The Cataclysm expansion's pre-patch in the old days also brought a lot of changes to the game, introducing playable Worgen and Goblins, setting the dragon Deathwing loose on Azeroth, and transforming the entire landscape of Azeroth's main continents because of the dragon's rampage.
When the expansion releases in full on May 20, it will add seven zones that are new to World of Warcraft: Classic, nine new dungeons, three new raid dungeons, and the Archeology profession. It will also introduce VFlying to Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.
And because the main continent's landscapes have transformed, there will be several new quests added while some older ones will disappear forever. Various patches following the expansion's release will contain further updates, according to IGN.
In July, the Rise of the Zandalari will come and in October, the Rage of the Firelands will be added while the Hour of Twilight will release in January next year. However, the main Cataclysm expansion involves a major change to what is the current map of Azeroth.
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This includes the Barrens being split in half, Thousand Needles being submerged underwater, and a large portion of Darkshore's coastline being washed away. Furthermore, Deathwing can also be seen flying around and can randomly set entire zones on fire.
The pre-expansion patch will also feature leveling updates, allowing players to power through a changed landscape in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms from level 1 through 60. There will also be class updates that bring new talents, trees, spells, and many more.
Adding New Dungeons, Features, and Content
World of Warcraft: Classic will also get new race and class combinations, a new feature known as Transmog Collection, and updated character and gear stats.
After the full release of the expansion, a new Dungeon Journal will be added as well as a Flexible Raid Lock system that allows players to do both 10 and 25-player raids in the same week, said Blizzard News.
With the coming of a new expansion, there will be some items and achievements that will either be removed or become harder to obtain in the game. This is important for players to keep in mind particularly if they want to achieve everything and obtain all possible items.
Cataclysm Classic will not fully resemble the original expansion that it was based but Blizzard has repeatedly manipulated the timeline of updates to accommodate modern player expectations.
The community was, at one point, convinced that the dungeon finder matchmaking tool would not appear as it did in the original Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
The new expansion will also have a faster leveling system to match its condensed update roadmap and feature armor transmogs that players can collect. These will be available to any character on their account, which is something that was not added in the original until much later, according to PCGamer.
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