The previous two World of Warcraft expansions sold millions of copies and dominated PC and Mac gaming sales charts for months. The game has more than 11 million monthly subscribers, making it the most popular subscription-based video game in the world. Expect Cataclysm to be a big event, too.
New playable fantasy races will be added to the game — Goblins and Worgen. The former will join the game's Horde faction and the latter will be part of the Alliance. Previous races will be able to adopt classes they couldn't before. For example, Night Elves can be Mages and the Undead can be Hunters.
The biggest changes will be radical alterations and graphical improvements to existing in-game regions. In the storyline, an ancient evil awakens in the sea and wreaks havoc on the two old continents, Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Therefore the emphasis will be on revisiting early game content with brand new characters, a departure from the previous two expansions' focus on high-level quests and raids.
Better Social Gaming
World of Warcraft players socialize within virtual organizations called guilds, which share dedicated chat channels and pool resources to accomplish difficult tasks that can't be done alone — for example, the defeat of an epic boss who can wipe out small groups of players easily.
Guilds will see some big improvements in Cataclysm. They'll be able to level up just like an individual player's character, and bonuses and customizations will be available as guilds increase their experience. The rewards for some tasks will be material, including heirlooms, pets, mounts and guild banners.
If you like Xbox Live-like Achievements, you'll appreciate the news that Cataclysm adds guild achievements. And World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has updated the tools players use to find new guilds to join in case you're currently on your own.
Cataclysm will launch on Windows and Mac computers, and it'll cost about $40. There's also an $80 collector's edition for the particularly dedicated players.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Trailer