Okay, how did we miss this?
We’ve been wondering about the level of change in each old-world zone for Cataclysm for months now, and the answer has actually been under our noses since BlizzCon. During the Art Panel, the above planning map was shown, along with some information to either side of it. We can’t make out everything in it, but there’s a lot of information if you know what you’re looking at.
The zone colors, from what we can infer, indicate the level of overhaul each zone is receiving. Red is a heavy overhaul, yellow is moderate, green is light, and blue means a brand-new zone. The yellow stars indicate a dungeon, and the red stars indicate a raid. The white tabs each have a letter on them, indicating what in the zone was being changed at that particular point — L for level, Q for quests, etc.
Astute readers will see some things jump out at them immediately, like Thousand Needles having two stars on it.
The full list of visible zone changes after the break, along with other pertinent info.
Disclaimer: While this image was captured during the BlizzCon 2009 Art Panel, the capture displays a photo taken by Blizzard staff, which is undated. We don’t know if it was a day before BlizzCon 2009 or six months before. Things could have changed between when this picture was taken and when this article was published.
Kalimdor – Major overhaul:
- Darkshore
- Azshara
- Darkwhisper Gorge (Current in Winterspring, becoming its own zone?)
- The Barrens (South)
- Stonetalon Mountains
- Thousand Needles (getting its own instances?)
Eastern Kingdoms – Major overhaul:
- Stranglethorn Vale (thank heaven)
- Blasted Lands (a surprise)
Kalimdor – Moderate overhaul:
- Felwood
- Ashenvale
- Durotar
- The Barrens (North)
- Desolace
- Feralas
Eastern Kingdoms – Moderate overhaul:
- Eastern Plaguelands
- Wetlands (likely due to the emergence of the Twilight Highlands)
- Westfall (a surprise)
- Swamp of Sorrows
Kalimdor – Light overhaul:
- Moonglade
- Winterspring
- Mulgore
- Dustwallow Marsh
- Tanaris
- Silithus
- Un’goro Crater
Well, not really. The Arthas book, which focuses on the Lich King, was released long after Wrath broke out. In short, the novels follow a completely different schedule from the game even though they all share the same lore. So I made you fret over absolutely nothing! You didn’t fall for it? Ok, so I made myself fret over absolutely nothing. The book is available for pre-order at $26 on Amazon and should be chock-full of lore and hopefully explain a lot of what will change during the expansion.
Blizzard is actually trying to move away from quests that emphasize text over cool visuals, and it makes me a little sad just because Until Death Do Us Part was, from a writing standpoint, a masterpiece of effective writing and quick exposition. I’m hoping that, out of all the quests that stand to get axed in Cataclysm, this little gem survives.