Thursday, May 6, 2010

News Filter: The Cataclysm Leak Parade Starts Here

  • I'm usually not a huge fan of spoilers. I don't want to know how the movie is going to end before I've bought my ticket and I don't read the last page of a book before I reach it normally. There is something about World of Warcraft leaks, though, that makes me throw all of the self-righteousness out the window.
    I hope you like spoilers! Because here they come!

  • The inimitable (yes, I had to look that up) MMO-Champion has launched its initial fusillade (that one I knew) of Cataclysm spoilers. And I cannot look away.

  • When it comes to leaks, MMO-Champion is hitting all the usual buttons: new models, screenshots, crafting recipes, and (favorite of all) the new zone maps. There is something about map that hooks my imagination. I love searching over each of the zones, new and old, and wonder at what I'll discover there. Actually, I didn't spend too much time looking at Gilneas because I really want to discover what's going on there in person/character.

  • The screenshots are just incredible. I love how much effort Blizzard puts into their virtual worlds. For me, looking at spoiler screens doesn't take away the effect of seeing them in game. I still remember the first time I traveled through the Dark Portal, running through the mushrooms in Zangarmarsh, stepping off the zeppelin in Howling Fjord, and teleporting to Dalaran for the first time. It's a shame that feeling of discovery fades so quickly, so I'm looking forward to visiting new zones and revisiting new old zones. (I'm particularly taken by the Skywall images. Seeing the zone in a semi-finished state is so cool to me. Yes, I know. I'm a big nerd.)

  • Haven't got much to say about the other data-mining bits. Crafting recipes, titles, and updates are all interesting enough, but that's all the stuff I just do in the game. They're all nice enough to discover in game, so that's not much for me to care about here. Well, I do have one more thing to say: those anglerfish murlocs look scary. Damn murlocs!


© 2010 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

3 comments:

  1. The screenshots made me a bit nostalgic for WoW. It really is an amazingly pretty game when you take into account it's age and the fact that it can run on a toaster. I can actually run it at max settings on the backup PC I keep under my bed.

    I will be sad to see Thousand needles get filled with water, that's actually on of my favorite zones in terms of aesthetics. However, I think it's great that they are trying to freshen up the early game. Something along the lines of Cataclysm is about all that could get me back at this point.

    Did you notice how powerfull the high level buffs for mining and herbalism are? 120 STA seems pretty substantial to me.

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  2. Earlier today, I happened to venture over there as well. I didn't want to look either, but it's like a train wreck, you can't help it. Oh well, I'll make myself feel better by saying I'll only make this exception for pictures of zones and environments.

    And I had a feeling that Thousand Needles was going to be filled with water. That thought actually went through my mind years ago on my first time through that zone. I was like, how cool would it be if this place was flooded and turned into a bunch of tiny little islands?

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  3. @ Yeebo - Not sure if you've followed all the talk, but they are inflating Stamina and Health again like they did in TBC. They're balancing healing in Cataclysm (can't bring myself to shorten that) around larger hit points pools for all classes so that healers don't have to spam big heals all the time. Have to wait and see if it works.

    @ mmogamerchick - After the last Blizzcon, I was looking forward to seeing how they did it. I'm glad they didn't top the place off. That way there is still some elevation in the islands. If you didn't look too close, check out the Tanaris screens. I'm looking forward to visiting some of the flooded coastal areas. Looks like there will be an achievement for doing so, too.

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