World of Warcraft Review
First off I would like to say that this Review includes ALL of the expansions. From Vanilla, Burning Crusade, Wrath of The Lich King, and Cataclysm.
Basic Information:
Release Date: February 11, 2005
Genre: MMORPG (Which means: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)
Rating: UST EU12+
Developer AND Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment.
Synopsis:
The story of vanilla WoW is about the consequences of the reconstruction of Azeroth from the third war. Approximately 4 years have gone by since Arthas and his scourage forever changed the face of the planet. We've seen old allies fall into strained relationships, and have seen new friends spring up from the most conflicting of groups. These varying relationships have led to nation-state interaction that propels the heroes (the players) into epic battles between factions like the Horde and the Alliance, and between the Dark Iron Dwarves and Bronzebeard's forces.
And while the aftermath of the third war and the subsequent reconstruction provides a great bed upon which to weave epic tales, the actual reconstruction and the eternal human spirit play a central role as well. Azeroth was devastated after Arthas. Land which was once green and fertile became gray and dead; creatures of the world found themselves corrupted by the evil force of the Lich King, and entire civilizations found themselves turned upside down with an attack directly on their capital (Lordaeron and Silvermoon)
Gameplay:
The first WoW has a set of eight Races to choose from. You can either be an alliance race (good guys) Or a Horde Race (Bad Guys). The Alliance Races are as follows: Dwarf, Gnome, Human, and Night Elf. The Horde Races are: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead. Each race has their own set of special abilities called Racial Abilities. Choosing a Race will not effect how well you play. In my opinion, choose the race you think looks the best. After you have spent way to much time picking a race and a name, you will need to pick a class. There are a variety of classes but no race can be every class. the classes are as follows: Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rouge, Shaman, Warlock, and Druid. The classes are very different in their own way. Some focus on Damage, Healing, Tanking, Or a hybrid. There is also a Death Knight Class but that is only available in the Wrath of The Lich King expansion. Here is a chart for the class & race combinations.
If there is a certain class you want to play, you have a limited race option. For beginners I recommend the Hunter or Warrior class. Once you have your character created you are thrown into the world of Azeroth. To level up you must complete quests. You earn XP, to rank up, by completing these quests and also killing mobs that are around your level. At the start the quests are very simple and will help you understand the gameplay mechanics. Once you enter the higher level the quests become more difficult and you may need other players to even complete the quest. But the rewards are much greater. There are endless ways to play this game, which makes it very exciting.
Gameplay Rating: 9/10
Graphics:
The graphics in this game can be mediocre or absolutely stunning. It depends on your computer. If you have a computer that can run the game with the graphics on full settings, you will be very happy. But if you can't, it will not ruin the game. My computer can barely run the game on low graphics but, I still enjoy the game. In my opinion, I don't base how good the game is over graphics, but they do have to be decent and WoW certainly meets this standard.
Graphics Rating: 7.5/10
Overall Vanilla Rating: 9/10
The Burning Crusade
Synopsis:
Once upon a time ... at the end of Warcraft III, Illidan Stormrage, Lady Vashj, and Kael'thas Sunstrider escaped certain death on Azeroth for the continent of Draenor. Once there, Illidan set himself up as Lord of Outland and appointed Vashj and Kael'thas as his top lieutenants. Illidan invited a group of the blood elves to come to Outland and serve him, and gave them new and improved techniques to siphon magic from the local demons.
This did not sit well with another group in Outland, the draenei. The draenei had been largely mutated or driven into hiding by their earlier war with the orcs, but the remaining draenei were still faithful to the Light and its champions, the too-cool-for-school Naaru. When the Illidari came and started enslaving the mutated draenei (or Broken), the remaining draenei decided it was time to take action. They stole the Exodar, part of a Naaru ship that had been taken over by the blood elves, and set out in search of salvation. One month ago, they crash-landed into some islands west of Kalimdor.
The arrival of the Draenei shook things up on Azeroth. Natural enemies of the orcs, they quickly took up with the Alliance (after some brief "OMG are you demons?" confusion) and swore a vendetta against the blood elves. The blood elves, ostracized from the Alliance because of their comrades' activities on Draenor, decided it might be a good idea to join the Horde before the blue-skinned weirdos and their hippie cousins staged an armed intervention. The blood elves were viewed with suspicion by the trolls, orcs and tauren, but were rapidly embraced by the Forsaken and their formerly high elf queen. Working hard to rejoin their prince in Outland, the blood elves were unaware of the depths to which Kael'thas had sunk ...
While everyone was distracted by these new and exciting developments, the Burning Legion was making its own play for power. The demon lord Kazzak, realizing that his loot was horribly outdated, went in search of a way to open the Dark Portal and go into Outland to meet up with his friends. He found an "artifact of incredible power" that let him do so. Hmmm ... looking at Kazzak's new loot table, I see nothing of incredible power. He should drop something that lets you teleport between Outland and Azeroth.
In typical Burning Legion fashion, instead of, y'know, quietly slipping through and amassing a huge army on the other side of the portal and invading in the middle of the night, Kazzak sent a messenger to pretty much go from city to city and yell "HA HA, WE OPENED THE DARK PORTAL! COME AND STOP US! WONDERFUL GEAR AND REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST! ONLY $50 AT BEST BUY!" Demons also poured out of the portal for ... a week or so, after which they apparently got bored and stopped invading Azeroth.
Millions of adventurers took up the challenge and headed for the Blasted Lands, where they were met by a mighty force of millions of adventurers from the opposite faction trying to complete the entering quests. But eventually, the armies of the Horde and Alliance stepped through the Portal and onto the Stair of Destiny, where they were able to pick up a quest and maybe buy some water before getting disconnected five times in a row.
Three days later, when the servers were stable, the adventurers began to explore this new world. A few things quickly became clear:
The Burning Legion had a stronghold and some teleporters around the area, but they weren't really doing a great job of invading Outland.
The discovery of a lost tribe of orcs and the remainder of the Broken draenei meant that both the Horde and Alliance had vital interests in the area, and were planning on exploring it for all it was worth.
The refugee city of Shattrath, built by the Naaru and forbidding any fighting, guaranteed that we were going to end up running errands for a billion different warring races that no one would otherwise care about (i.e. arakkoa.)
While exploring the new areas, it became obvious that most of the problems in Outland were being caused by the terrible trio of Illidan, Vashj and Kael'thas. Vashj was draining all the lakes in Zangarmarsh into a giant reservoir in order to control the area politically (and maybe make a new Well of Eternity.) She was easily taken down by twenty-five adventurers, and Zangarmarsh was restored back to its ... lovely ... natural state. I'm sure the Marshfang Rippers appreciated it.
Illidan was creating an army of demon hunters, fel orcs, Nether dragons and enslaved Broken to stave off what he saw as the inevitable return of Kil'jaeden, which was remarkably prescient. He also attacked the Naaru in Shattrath City, which was less intelligent and eventually led to his downfall. With the Naaru's help, the Broken Akama freed Illidan's longtime stalker, Maiev Shadowsong, and they began an operation to take him down from the inside. Akama, Maiev, and yet another group of adventurers finally defeated the misunderstood quasi-demon.
And Kael'thas ... well, props to Blizzard for pulling a bait and switch on this one. At first, it looked like Kael'thas was draining mana from the area of Netherstorm to power Tempest Keep, aid Illidan's plans, and maybe build a new homeland for the blood elves. Then, after some quests, the renegade blood elves known as the Scryers discovered that he had jumped ship on Illidan and started working for the Burning Legion, possibly to get the elves a better magic source. Yay for shortsightedness! Anyway, adventurers yet again stormed Tempest Keep and took out Kael'thas, only to have him announce (once you'd already returned to Shattrath and couldn't go back to finish him off) that he'd survived and would return to be a bigger pain in the **** than ever.
Indeed he did. From what we can see on the test realms, patch 2.4 begins with a bang, as Kael'thas and his groupies sneak into Silvermoon City and steal the captive Naaru that was being used to "power" the blood elf paladins. As such, the blood knights renounce their allegiance to their prince and join up with the Naaru in Shattrath City. Kael'thas and his remaining loyal elves decamp to the isle of Quel'Danas, where they reactivate the powerful Sunwell and attempt to use its energies to summon Kil'jaeden. One presumes that they do not succeed, although it would be totally awesome if they did. "Sorry for all your hard efforts, adventurers, but you were two minutes too late. If only your priest didn't go AFK to get high, you would have stopped the destruction of the world ... but no."
And that's the story of the Burning Crusade.
Also, there was something with trolls.
New Content:
In the Burning Crusade, Blizzard added two new playable races. The Draenei, a Davy Jones looking race. And the Blood elves, who look like elves with Dragon Ball Z hair. With the addition of the new races it also adds some new mounts and flying mounts. The level cap was increased to 70 and some new spells were added. If you intend to play WoW this is a much needed expansion. Level 60 seems to short and 70 is just about right. Burning Crusade will also add some new quests. It is basically a direct sequel to the original. THi biggest addition is the Outlands, which is an entirely new world/continent. The Outlands is a place to level you character from 60-70. And in my opinion this is the best leveling area. Since there is a new area, that means new Dungeons! Here is a list of the dungeons in Outland:
Overall Burning Crusade Rating: 8.5/10
Wrath of the Lich King
Synopsis:
Birth of the Lich King
When Ner'zhul attempted to escape Draenor, he was immediately apprehended by the demon lord Kil'jaeden, who enacted the blood pact that Ner'zhul had sworn many years earlier. Kil'jaeden ravaged and destroyed his body, but kept his spirit alive and encased it in a block of ice from the Twisting Nether. Kil'jaeden granted him increased power, including that over death itself. Ner'zhul ceased to exist, and the Lich King was created.
Formation of the Scourge
The Lich King was sent to Azeroth through the Great Dark Beyond, landing in Northrend where the ice that encased him formed into the shape of a throne. Here, he would begin the formation of the Undead Scourge and in the process weaken the world in preparation for the Burning Legion. This new army would not fall victim to the petty infighting that had caused the orcs to fail in conquering Azeroth earlier. Sent to watch over him were the dreadlords, led by Tichondrius himself. Within the Frozen Throne, the Lich King experimented with his psychic powers and enslaved the local indigenous life forms. The plague of undeath that came from the Frozen Throne transformed each of them into his undead servants. Thus, using his psychic and necromantic powers, he was able to conquer much of Northrend. As he devoured more and more souls, he only grew in power as the individual undead under his control gave him "much needed nourishment". Thus, his powers began growing at an exponential rate; a fact that the dreadlords were well aware of.
The Lich King entered a war with the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, whose ancient inhabitants were immune to his plague of undeath. The 10-year conflict known as the War of the Spider ultimately ended with the Lich King's first major triumph (while the Nerubians were immune to the plague, their corpses could still be reanimated). The Lich King was impressed by his enemy, however, and adopted Nerubian architecture for his own, as a testament to the Spider Lords' tenacity and age.
Having by now established control over most of Northrend, the dreadlords urged Ner'zhul to proceed with the agreed-upon plan to prepare the world for the invasion of the Burning Legion.
The Lich King then used his telepathy to reach out into Azeroth and summon any dark soul that would hear his call. Kel'Thuzad, a mage and a prominent member of Dalaran's Kirin Tor, answered his call. Kel'Thuzad was soon ensnared by the Lich King, faithfully serving him as the first of a "Cult of the Damned"; a cult that would worship the Lich King as a god and be taught necromancy to better aid their undead armies. (For the full story, please see Road to Damnation)
Kel'Thuzad and the dreadlord Mal'Ganis were instructed to begin paving the way, but Ner'zhul, ever mindful of Kil'jaeden's schemes, secretly sought a way out of his prison...
After preparing for many long months, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned finally struck the first blow by releasing the plague upon Lordaeron. Prince Arthas Menethil and Lady Jaina Proudmoore along with captain Falric began Lordaeron's search for answers on the new threat. Lordaeron's northern most settlements were consumed utterly.
As the ranks of the undead swept across Lordaeron, King Terenas' only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, took up the fight against the undead. As was the Lich King's intention all along, Arthas succeeded in killing Kel'Thuzad, but even so, the undead ranks swelled with every soldier that fell defending the land. Frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to drive them out - he eventually ordered the slaughter of everyone in Stratholme that had been infected by the plague. This most likely included innocent slaughter to prevent Mal'Ganis from adding the citizens to the army of the dead, and strike at Mal'Ganis himself. Arthas failed to trap Mal'Ganis, who escaped to Northrend. Finally Arthas's comrades warned him that he was losing his hold on his humanity.
Arthas' fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to Northrend, intending to end its threat forever by killing its supposed leader Mal'Ganis. He stumbled across his long-time friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, brother to the dwarven King Magni, and the dwarf led him to a legendary weapon they hoped would help them combat the Scourge. Instead, Prince Arthas himself fell prey to the Lich King's tremendous power. Believing that it would help him save his people, Arthas took up the cursed runeblade, Frostmourne. Though the sword did grant him great power, the cost was high: Muradin (or so Arthas believed) lay dead, and Arthas began to lose his soul, transformed into the first and greatest of the Lich King's Death Knights. Arthas finally exacted revenge upon Mal'Ganis, removing one of the Lich King's more dangerous jailers and completing the unholy transformation. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own kingdom Lordaeron. Arthas started with murder of his own father, King Terenas, and crushed Lordaeron with his newfound unholy strength.
Path of the Damned
With Arthas as his champion, Ner'zhul spread the Plague throughout Lordaeron. What remained of the Order of the Silver Hand struck back, but even mighty Uther fell to the Death Knight's power. On orders from Tichondrius, Arthas took the Scourge north, to the high elven kingdom of Quel'Thalas, to resurrect the Summoner of Archimonde Kel'Thuzad. The high elves never stood a chance, and their capital, Silvermoon, was ravaged their millennia-aged Sunwell was warped and used to resurrect Kel'Thuzad as a lich. Thus, both masters were appeased: the Lich King's most loyal worshiper was returned, and the Summoner was unleashed.
Having progressed too far into the Legion's plan (and guarded too closely by Tichondrius) to back out now, Ner'zhul's minions laid siege to Dalaran, reclaiming a spellbook of Medivh, which contained the incantations needed for Kel'Thuzad to summon Archimonde.
Finally, Archimonde was summoned outside Dalaran, and he immediately gave control of the Scourge to Tichondrius and the Dreadlords. But the Lich King was not done yet. Archimonde may have removed Ner'zhul's control over the undead, but in his eagerness for vengeance against the night elves, he forgot to return the Frozen Throne to Kil'jaeden. Thus, the Lich King remained at large.
During the Legion's invasion of Ashenvale, Illidan Stormrage was released from his barrow prison after ten thousand years of captivity. Realizing Illidan's addiction to magic, and having utilized the Skull of Gul'dan himself years earlier, the Lich King dispatched Arthas to Kalimdor. There, Arthas covertly told Illidan about the powers of the Skull of Gul'dan. Unable to resist such power, Illidan took up the skull and harnessed its vast energies. By doing so, Illidan developed demonic features and vastly magnified power. Illidan, exactly as the Lich King had planned, then proceeded to kill Tichondrius and liberate Felwood.
Without Tichondrius's support team, Archimonde's overconfident ascent of Mount Hyjal led to the unexpected: his annihilation.
Legacy of the Damned
Bristling with power and free to roam the world once more, Illidan set out to find his own place in the great scheme of things. However, Kil'jaeden confronted Illidan and made him an offer he could not refuse. Kil'jaeden was angered by Archimonde's defeat at Mount Hyjal, but he had greater concerns than vengeance. Sensing that his creation, the Lich King, was out of his control, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan to destroy Ner'zhul and put an end to the undead Scourge once and for all. In exchange, Illidan would receive untold power and a true place amongst the remaining lords of the Burning Legion.
Illidan agreed and immediately set out to destroy the Frozen Throne, the icy crystal cask in which the Lich King's spirit resided. Illidan knew that he would need a mighty artifact to destroy the Frozen Throne. Using the knowledge he had gained from Gul'dan's memories, Illidan decided to seek out the Tomb of Sargeras and claim the Dark Titan's remains. Using his vast, demonic powers, he lured the serpentine naga from their dark undersea lairs. Led by the cunning witch Lady Vashj the naga helped Illidan reach the Broken Isles, where Sargeras' Tomb was rumored to be located.
With the powerful Eye of Sargeras in his possession, Illidan traveled to the former wizard-city of Dalaran. Strengthened by the city's ley energy lines, Illidan used the Eye to cast a destructive spell against the Lich King's citadel of Icecrown in distant Northrend. Illidan's attack shattered the Lich King's defenses and ruptured the very roof of the world. The Lich King had no defense against this spell, and he would have been forever vanquished that day. But at the final moment, Illidan's destructive spell was stopped when his brother Malfurion intervened, sensing that the spell was causing great damage to the world.
Civil War in the Plaguelands
Now that Ner'zhul had openly defied the will of the Legion, he knew that the wrath of Kil'jaeden and his demonic lackeys would be fierce - and at the worst possible time, Ner'zhul was losing his magical power. When he had pushed Frostmourne from the throne, he had caused a crack within the icy cask. Illidan's spell had caused this crack to worsen and now the Lich King's powers were rapidly seeping out like blood from an open wound. Half-way across Azeroth, residing over the unholy remains of his father's kingdom, Arthas was losing power as well his powers came directly from the Frozen Throne, through his blade Frostmourne, and his hold over the undead was also slipping.
Ner'zhul knew that his time was short. Imprisoned within the Frozen Throne, he suspected (correctly) that Kil'jaeden would send his agents to destroy him. Desperate to save himself, he called his greatest mortal servant to his side: the death knight King Arthas.
Though his powers were drained by the Lich King's weakness, Arthas had been involved in a civil war in Lordaeron. Half of the standing undead forces, led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, had been freed by the Lich King's sudden loss of influence and resented what they had become. Also, another group of undead was still under the control of the Legion's remaining commanders: the three dreadlords Varimathras, Detheroc and Balnazzar. Arthas, called by the Lich King, was forced to leave the Scourge in the hands of his lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, as the war escalated throughout the Plaguelands.
Ultimately, Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) claimed the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Consuming the old sewers beneath the wrecked Capital City, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land. The Lich King was powerless to stop them.
Weakened, but determined to save his master, Arthas reached Northrend only to find Illidan's naga and blood elves waiting for him. He and his nerubian allies (in the form of Crypt Fiends led by the fallen Spider Lord Anub'arak) raced against Illidan's forces to reach the Icecrown Glacier and defend the Frozen Throne.
The Lich King Triumphant
Arthas, with Anub'arak's help, battled his way through their forces until faced with Prince Kael'thas, who challenged him. Kael'thas used the fact that Jaina now hated Arthas to make him hesitate, and fought with his father's reforged runeblade, Felo'melorn (Flamestrike). Flamestrike clashed against Frostmourne but in the end Arthas forced Kael'thas to flee, leaving the path open. He then proceeded to magically activate the four Icecrown obelisks around the glacier, opening the doors to the Frozen Throne.
However, Illidan was waiting for him. An intense battle commenced in which Illidan displayed his newfound demonic powers and nearly defeated Arthas. Until, coming in for the finishing blow, he inadvertently left himself open and Arthas quickly took advantage of it, slicing open the demon hunter's chest. Illidan collapsed, grievously wounded. Arthas then turned towards the open doors of Icecrown, leaving Illidan on the ground instead of finishing him. Rather, before he walked away, Arthas warned Illidan to leave Azeroth and never return.
Arthas entered the hollow glacier and beheld a winding pinnacle chained to the ice. As he strode up the stairs towards his destiny, the voices of those he had forsaken flooded through his mind. First he heard again Uther warning him "If we allow our passions to turn to bloodlust, then we will become as vile as the orcs." Then he heard again more angry remarks from Uther and Muradin, as well as his own responses to them, yet he ignored them, continuing his ascent. Finally, he reached the pinnacle and before him he saw an icy cask, within which was a suit of armour, arranged as if seated on a massive throne. Now only two voices spoke to him: Medivh's previous warning to Jaina and the rasping whisper of Nerzhul:
"Your young prince will find only death in the cold north."
"Return the blade... complete the circle... release me from this prison!"
With a great cry of strength, Arthas brought the might of Frostmourne to bear against the Lich King's icy prison and with a haunting scream, the Frozen Throne exploded, and shards of the crystal scattered on the ground. With Ner'zhul's thorny helm at his feet, Arthas leaned forward, picked it up and then placed the unimaginably powerful artifact on his head.
"Now," Ner'zhul's voice echoed within his mind and throughout the chamber, "we are one!"
In that moment, Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits fused into a single mighty being, just as the Lich King had always planned. And thus one of the most powerful entities on Azeroth was born.
New Content:
Ok. The WoTLK expansion is my favorite. First things first, the new are in this one is Northrend. It is under the control of the Lich King. This is where you level up from 70-80. Most of the area is frozen and snowy but there are a few places that are not. It also contains a dense jungle. One of the most nifty additions are the two-seater flying mounts. This makes leveling with a buddy easy. Although there are no new races, there is a new class; Death Knight. This class is not limited to an certain races. And the best thing about this class; you start at level 55! That is 55 levels lees to the new level 80 cap. But to make this class you do need at least a level 55 on any realm. Honestly this class is my favorite. The starting zone is probably the most exciting. Right at the beginning you start with decent armor, a decent weapon, talent points, and a free mount. What is not good about that?! The expansion also includes many new dungeons. The WoTLK dungeons are probably the most fun. You will have endless of hours of fun playing them. By far the best expansion for WoW.
WoTLK Rating: 10/10 Two thumbs up
Cataclysm
Synopsis
The Lich King's reign of terror was over. As if to affirm that a bright future would soon dawn on Azeroth, other joyful events occurred across the world. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage was at last freed from his imprisonment by the shadowy Emerald Nightmare through the efforts of his love, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, and her allies. Elsewhere, after years in exile, the highly intelligent gnomes and the fearless Darkspear trolls made gains toward reclaiming their respective homes in Gnomeregan and on the Echo Isles.
Yet just as hope was beginning to surge among Azeroth's races, tragedy struck. The world's elemental spirits grew increasingly erratic, setting off a series of deadly natural disasters. Agents of the nefarious Twilight's Hammer cult surfaced throughout Horde and Alliance cities, spreading word of the impending apocalypse. The world's leaders scrambled to find a solution to Azeroth's growing instability.
In the dwarven bastion of Ironforge, King Magni Bronzebeard undertook a mystic ritual to commune with the earth. The ceremony, however, had an unexpected effect: Magni was transformed into diamond and became fused to the depths of the mountain city itself. In the wake of his petrification, the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans agreed to rule over Ironforge via the Council of Three Hammers, but the city's future remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, Thrall journeyed to his ancestors' lands in Nagrand, hoping to glean insight from Outland's elemental spirits as well as other respected shaman. In his absence, Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary orc Grom, as acting Horde warchief. Garrosh's brash demeanor inflamed relations between the Horde and the Alliance. A gruesome slaughter of druids in Ashenvale, which the Twilight's Hammer had perpetrated to look like an act of the Horde, escalated tensions further and sowed mistrust among Garrosh's own comrades.
In particular, Garrosh infuriated Cairne Bloodhoof, the wise tauren high chieftain. Believing that the new warchief would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged Garrosh to a duel of honor. Although the mighty tauren fought valiantly, no amount of strength could have led him to victory. The matriarch of the Grimtotem tauren tribe, Magatha, had poisoned Garrosh's blade, unbeknownst to either of the duel's combatants. Cairne became immobilized after he received a flesh wound during the battle, allowing the new warchief to land a killing blow.
Following the duel, Magatha's agents seized the tauren capital of Thunder Bluff for the Grimtotem. The usurpers also intended to murder Cairne's son, Baine, but the young tauren eluded his assassins and staged a counterattack. Ultimately, Baine and his forces reclaimed Thunder Bluff, expelling Magatha and her traitorous followers from tauren lands forever.
Unaware of these critical events, Thrall received an ominous warning in Nagrand from the Fury of Earth: the fear and turmoil of Azeroth's elementals echoed the condition of Outland just before that worldthen known as Draenorhad been ripped apart. Yet Thrall had little time to act on this unsettling revelation....
In a sudden upheaval eclipsing the world's recent elemental unrest, Azeroth shattered. Violent quakes tore through the earth. Mountains of fire and magma burst from the ground. Colossal tidal waves obliterated coastlines and caused widespread flooding. The Cataclysm had begun.
New Content
The Cataclysm is the newest expansion. The level cap was raided to 85 and two new races were added. The goblin and my favorite the Worgen. A big change was the new talent tree. It was completely re-done and changed how people play the game. Honestly I prefer the old talent tree but it will have to do. Also added were some new zones, which means, well you know, MORE DUNGEONS! Wink In my opinion this expansion is completely and I really do not enjoy it. I prefer the old WoTLK. Although the new races are nice, Cataclysm is just not my thing. But, don't let this keep you from trying it. Who knows you might like it. Most people really don't care and just plays whatever WoW Blizzard decides to put out. If you play Cata you can tell a ton of work was put into it and you will probably enjoy it. I still play it and find it very addicting. There are so many changes I could not go throug them all. And it is more fun to notice them in game Smile
Cataclysm Rating: 8/10
Overall Comments:
WoW is a great game and if you love RPG's this is a must buy. It will always keep you playing and it seems like the fun never ends. Please not that you do not need every expansion to play, just the areas, races, and class will be blocked. Your level cap will also be different. I hope you enjoyed this Review.
First off I would like to say that this Review includes ALL of the expansions. From Vanilla, Burning Crusade, Wrath of The Lich King, and Cataclysm.
Basic Information:
Release Date: February 11, 2005
Genre: MMORPG (Which means: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)
Rating: UST EU12+
Developer AND Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment.
Synopsis:
The story of vanilla WoW is about the consequences of the reconstruction of Azeroth from the third war. Approximately 4 years have gone by since Arthas and his scourage forever changed the face of the planet. We've seen old allies fall into strained relationships, and have seen new friends spring up from the most conflicting of groups. These varying relationships have led to nation-state interaction that propels the heroes (the players) into epic battles between factions like the Horde and the Alliance, and between the Dark Iron Dwarves and Bronzebeard's forces.
And while the aftermath of the third war and the subsequent reconstruction provides a great bed upon which to weave epic tales, the actual reconstruction and the eternal human spirit play a central role as well. Azeroth was devastated after Arthas. Land which was once green and fertile became gray and dead; creatures of the world found themselves corrupted by the evil force of the Lich King, and entire civilizations found themselves turned upside down with an attack directly on their capital (Lordaeron and Silvermoon)
Gameplay:
The first WoW has a set of eight Races to choose from. You can either be an alliance race (good guys) Or a Horde Race (Bad Guys). The Alliance Races are as follows: Dwarf, Gnome, Human, and Night Elf. The Horde Races are: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead. Each race has their own set of special abilities called Racial Abilities. Choosing a Race will not effect how well you play. In my opinion, choose the race you think looks the best. After you have spent way to much time picking a race and a name, you will need to pick a class. There are a variety of classes but no race can be every class. the classes are as follows: Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rouge, Shaman, Warlock, and Druid. The classes are very different in their own way. Some focus on Damage, Healing, Tanking, Or a hybrid. There is also a Death Knight Class but that is only available in the Wrath of The Lich King expansion. Here is a chart for the class & race combinations.
If there is a certain class you want to play, you have a limited race option. For beginners I recommend the Hunter or Warrior class. Once you have your character created you are thrown into the world of Azeroth. To level up you must complete quests. You earn XP, to rank up, by completing these quests and also killing mobs that are around your level. At the start the quests are very simple and will help you understand the gameplay mechanics. Once you enter the higher level the quests become more difficult and you may need other players to even complete the quest. But the rewards are much greater. There are endless ways to play this game, which makes it very exciting.
Gameplay Rating: 9/10
Graphics:
The graphics in this game can be mediocre or absolutely stunning. It depends on your computer. If you have a computer that can run the game with the graphics on full settings, you will be very happy. But if you can't, it will not ruin the game. My computer can barely run the game on low graphics but, I still enjoy the game. In my opinion, I don't base how good the game is over graphics, but they do have to be decent and WoW certainly meets this standard.
Graphics Rating: 7.5/10
Overall Vanilla Rating: 9/10
The Burning Crusade
Synopsis:
Once upon a time ... at the end of Warcraft III, Illidan Stormrage, Lady Vashj, and Kael'thas Sunstrider escaped certain death on Azeroth for the continent of Draenor. Once there, Illidan set himself up as Lord of Outland and appointed Vashj and Kael'thas as his top lieutenants. Illidan invited a group of the blood elves to come to Outland and serve him, and gave them new and improved techniques to siphon magic from the local demons.
This did not sit well with another group in Outland, the draenei. The draenei had been largely mutated or driven into hiding by their earlier war with the orcs, but the remaining draenei were still faithful to the Light and its champions, the too-cool-for-school Naaru. When the Illidari came and started enslaving the mutated draenei (or Broken), the remaining draenei decided it was time to take action. They stole the Exodar, part of a Naaru ship that had been taken over by the blood elves, and set out in search of salvation. One month ago, they crash-landed into some islands west of Kalimdor.
The arrival of the Draenei shook things up on Azeroth. Natural enemies of the orcs, they quickly took up with the Alliance (after some brief "OMG are you demons?" confusion) and swore a vendetta against the blood elves. The blood elves, ostracized from the Alliance because of their comrades' activities on Draenor, decided it might be a good idea to join the Horde before the blue-skinned weirdos and their hippie cousins staged an armed intervention. The blood elves were viewed with suspicion by the trolls, orcs and tauren, but were rapidly embraced by the Forsaken and their formerly high elf queen. Working hard to rejoin their prince in Outland, the blood elves were unaware of the depths to which Kael'thas had sunk ...
While everyone was distracted by these new and exciting developments, the Burning Legion was making its own play for power. The demon lord Kazzak, realizing that his loot was horribly outdated, went in search of a way to open the Dark Portal and go into Outland to meet up with his friends. He found an "artifact of incredible power" that let him do so. Hmmm ... looking at Kazzak's new loot table, I see nothing of incredible power. He should drop something that lets you teleport between Outland and Azeroth.
In typical Burning Legion fashion, instead of, y'know, quietly slipping through and amassing a huge army on the other side of the portal and invading in the middle of the night, Kazzak sent a messenger to pretty much go from city to city and yell "HA HA, WE OPENED THE DARK PORTAL! COME AND STOP US! WONDERFUL GEAR AND REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST! ONLY $50 AT BEST BUY!" Demons also poured out of the portal for ... a week or so, after which they apparently got bored and stopped invading Azeroth.
Millions of adventurers took up the challenge and headed for the Blasted Lands, where they were met by a mighty force of millions of adventurers from the opposite faction trying to complete the entering quests. But eventually, the armies of the Horde and Alliance stepped through the Portal and onto the Stair of Destiny, where they were able to pick up a quest and maybe buy some water before getting disconnected five times in a row.
Three days later, when the servers were stable, the adventurers began to explore this new world. A few things quickly became clear:
The Burning Legion had a stronghold and some teleporters around the area, but they weren't really doing a great job of invading Outland.
The discovery of a lost tribe of orcs and the remainder of the Broken draenei meant that both the Horde and Alliance had vital interests in the area, and were planning on exploring it for all it was worth.
The refugee city of Shattrath, built by the Naaru and forbidding any fighting, guaranteed that we were going to end up running errands for a billion different warring races that no one would otherwise care about (i.e. arakkoa.)
While exploring the new areas, it became obvious that most of the problems in Outland were being caused by the terrible trio of Illidan, Vashj and Kael'thas. Vashj was draining all the lakes in Zangarmarsh into a giant reservoir in order to control the area politically (and maybe make a new Well of Eternity.) She was easily taken down by twenty-five adventurers, and Zangarmarsh was restored back to its ... lovely ... natural state. I'm sure the Marshfang Rippers appreciated it.
Illidan was creating an army of demon hunters, fel orcs, Nether dragons and enslaved Broken to stave off what he saw as the inevitable return of Kil'jaeden, which was remarkably prescient. He also attacked the Naaru in Shattrath City, which was less intelligent and eventually led to his downfall. With the Naaru's help, the Broken Akama freed Illidan's longtime stalker, Maiev Shadowsong, and they began an operation to take him down from the inside. Akama, Maiev, and yet another group of adventurers finally defeated the misunderstood quasi-demon.
And Kael'thas ... well, props to Blizzard for pulling a bait and switch on this one. At first, it looked like Kael'thas was draining mana from the area of Netherstorm to power Tempest Keep, aid Illidan's plans, and maybe build a new homeland for the blood elves. Then, after some quests, the renegade blood elves known as the Scryers discovered that he had jumped ship on Illidan and started working for the Burning Legion, possibly to get the elves a better magic source. Yay for shortsightedness! Anyway, adventurers yet again stormed Tempest Keep and took out Kael'thas, only to have him announce (once you'd already returned to Shattrath and couldn't go back to finish him off) that he'd survived and would return to be a bigger pain in the **** than ever.
Indeed he did. From what we can see on the test realms, patch 2.4 begins with a bang, as Kael'thas and his groupies sneak into Silvermoon City and steal the captive Naaru that was being used to "power" the blood elf paladins. As such, the blood knights renounce their allegiance to their prince and join up with the Naaru in Shattrath City. Kael'thas and his remaining loyal elves decamp to the isle of Quel'Danas, where they reactivate the powerful Sunwell and attempt to use its energies to summon Kil'jaeden. One presumes that they do not succeed, although it would be totally awesome if they did. "Sorry for all your hard efforts, adventurers, but you were two minutes too late. If only your priest didn't go AFK to get high, you would have stopped the destruction of the world ... but no."
And that's the story of the Burning Crusade.
Also, there was something with trolls.
New Content:
In the Burning Crusade, Blizzard added two new playable races. The Draenei, a Davy Jones looking race. And the Blood elves, who look like elves with Dragon Ball Z hair. With the addition of the new races it also adds some new mounts and flying mounts. The level cap was increased to 70 and some new spells were added. If you intend to play WoW this is a much needed expansion. Level 60 seems to short and 70 is just about right. Burning Crusade will also add some new quests. It is basically a direct sequel to the original. THi biggest addition is the Outlands, which is an entirely new world/continent. The Outlands is a place to level you character from 60-70. And in my opinion this is the best leveling area. Since there is a new area, that means new Dungeons! Here is a list of the dungeons in Outland:
Overall Burning Crusade Rating: 8.5/10
Wrath of the Lich King
Synopsis:
Birth of the Lich King
When Ner'zhul attempted to escape Draenor, he was immediately apprehended by the demon lord Kil'jaeden, who enacted the blood pact that Ner'zhul had sworn many years earlier. Kil'jaeden ravaged and destroyed his body, but kept his spirit alive and encased it in a block of ice from the Twisting Nether. Kil'jaeden granted him increased power, including that over death itself. Ner'zhul ceased to exist, and the Lich King was created.
Formation of the Scourge
The Lich King was sent to Azeroth through the Great Dark Beyond, landing in Northrend where the ice that encased him formed into the shape of a throne. Here, he would begin the formation of the Undead Scourge and in the process weaken the world in preparation for the Burning Legion. This new army would not fall victim to the petty infighting that had caused the orcs to fail in conquering Azeroth earlier. Sent to watch over him were the dreadlords, led by Tichondrius himself. Within the Frozen Throne, the Lich King experimented with his psychic powers and enslaved the local indigenous life forms. The plague of undeath that came from the Frozen Throne transformed each of them into his undead servants. Thus, using his psychic and necromantic powers, he was able to conquer much of Northrend. As he devoured more and more souls, he only grew in power as the individual undead under his control gave him "much needed nourishment". Thus, his powers began growing at an exponential rate; a fact that the dreadlords were well aware of.
The Lich King entered a war with the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, whose ancient inhabitants were immune to his plague of undeath. The 10-year conflict known as the War of the Spider ultimately ended with the Lich King's first major triumph (while the Nerubians were immune to the plague, their corpses could still be reanimated). The Lich King was impressed by his enemy, however, and adopted Nerubian architecture for his own, as a testament to the Spider Lords' tenacity and age.
Having by now established control over most of Northrend, the dreadlords urged Ner'zhul to proceed with the agreed-upon plan to prepare the world for the invasion of the Burning Legion.
The Lich King then used his telepathy to reach out into Azeroth and summon any dark soul that would hear his call. Kel'Thuzad, a mage and a prominent member of Dalaran's Kirin Tor, answered his call. Kel'Thuzad was soon ensnared by the Lich King, faithfully serving him as the first of a "Cult of the Damned"; a cult that would worship the Lich King as a god and be taught necromancy to better aid their undead armies. (For the full story, please see Road to Damnation)
Kel'Thuzad and the dreadlord Mal'Ganis were instructed to begin paving the way, but Ner'zhul, ever mindful of Kil'jaeden's schemes, secretly sought a way out of his prison...
After preparing for many long months, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned finally struck the first blow by releasing the plague upon Lordaeron. Prince Arthas Menethil and Lady Jaina Proudmoore along with captain Falric began Lordaeron's search for answers on the new threat. Lordaeron's northern most settlements were consumed utterly.
As the ranks of the undead swept across Lordaeron, King Terenas' only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, took up the fight against the undead. As was the Lich King's intention all along, Arthas succeeded in killing Kel'Thuzad, but even so, the undead ranks swelled with every soldier that fell defending the land. Frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to drive them out - he eventually ordered the slaughter of everyone in Stratholme that had been infected by the plague. This most likely included innocent slaughter to prevent Mal'Ganis from adding the citizens to the army of the dead, and strike at Mal'Ganis himself. Arthas failed to trap Mal'Ganis, who escaped to Northrend. Finally Arthas's comrades warned him that he was losing his hold on his humanity.
Arthas' fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to Northrend, intending to end its threat forever by killing its supposed leader Mal'Ganis. He stumbled across his long-time friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, brother to the dwarven King Magni, and the dwarf led him to a legendary weapon they hoped would help them combat the Scourge. Instead, Prince Arthas himself fell prey to the Lich King's tremendous power. Believing that it would help him save his people, Arthas took up the cursed runeblade, Frostmourne. Though the sword did grant him great power, the cost was high: Muradin (or so Arthas believed) lay dead, and Arthas began to lose his soul, transformed into the first and greatest of the Lich King's Death Knights. Arthas finally exacted revenge upon Mal'Ganis, removing one of the Lich King's more dangerous jailers and completing the unholy transformation. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own kingdom Lordaeron. Arthas started with murder of his own father, King Terenas, and crushed Lordaeron with his newfound unholy strength.
Path of the Damned
With Arthas as his champion, Ner'zhul spread the Plague throughout Lordaeron. What remained of the Order of the Silver Hand struck back, but even mighty Uther fell to the Death Knight's power. On orders from Tichondrius, Arthas took the Scourge north, to the high elven kingdom of Quel'Thalas, to resurrect the Summoner of Archimonde Kel'Thuzad. The high elves never stood a chance, and their capital, Silvermoon, was ravaged their millennia-aged Sunwell was warped and used to resurrect Kel'Thuzad as a lich. Thus, both masters were appeased: the Lich King's most loyal worshiper was returned, and the Summoner was unleashed.
Having progressed too far into the Legion's plan (and guarded too closely by Tichondrius) to back out now, Ner'zhul's minions laid siege to Dalaran, reclaiming a spellbook of Medivh, which contained the incantations needed for Kel'Thuzad to summon Archimonde.
Finally, Archimonde was summoned outside Dalaran, and he immediately gave control of the Scourge to Tichondrius and the Dreadlords. But the Lich King was not done yet. Archimonde may have removed Ner'zhul's control over the undead, but in his eagerness for vengeance against the night elves, he forgot to return the Frozen Throne to Kil'jaeden. Thus, the Lich King remained at large.
During the Legion's invasion of Ashenvale, Illidan Stormrage was released from his barrow prison after ten thousand years of captivity. Realizing Illidan's addiction to magic, and having utilized the Skull of Gul'dan himself years earlier, the Lich King dispatched Arthas to Kalimdor. There, Arthas covertly told Illidan about the powers of the Skull of Gul'dan. Unable to resist such power, Illidan took up the skull and harnessed its vast energies. By doing so, Illidan developed demonic features and vastly magnified power. Illidan, exactly as the Lich King had planned, then proceeded to kill Tichondrius and liberate Felwood.
Without Tichondrius's support team, Archimonde's overconfident ascent of Mount Hyjal led to the unexpected: his annihilation.
Legacy of the Damned
Bristling with power and free to roam the world once more, Illidan set out to find his own place in the great scheme of things. However, Kil'jaeden confronted Illidan and made him an offer he could not refuse. Kil'jaeden was angered by Archimonde's defeat at Mount Hyjal, but he had greater concerns than vengeance. Sensing that his creation, the Lich King, was out of his control, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan to destroy Ner'zhul and put an end to the undead Scourge once and for all. In exchange, Illidan would receive untold power and a true place amongst the remaining lords of the Burning Legion.
Illidan agreed and immediately set out to destroy the Frozen Throne, the icy crystal cask in which the Lich King's spirit resided. Illidan knew that he would need a mighty artifact to destroy the Frozen Throne. Using the knowledge he had gained from Gul'dan's memories, Illidan decided to seek out the Tomb of Sargeras and claim the Dark Titan's remains. Using his vast, demonic powers, he lured the serpentine naga from their dark undersea lairs. Led by the cunning witch Lady Vashj the naga helped Illidan reach the Broken Isles, where Sargeras' Tomb was rumored to be located.
With the powerful Eye of Sargeras in his possession, Illidan traveled to the former wizard-city of Dalaran. Strengthened by the city's ley energy lines, Illidan used the Eye to cast a destructive spell against the Lich King's citadel of Icecrown in distant Northrend. Illidan's attack shattered the Lich King's defenses and ruptured the very roof of the world. The Lich King had no defense against this spell, and he would have been forever vanquished that day. But at the final moment, Illidan's destructive spell was stopped when his brother Malfurion intervened, sensing that the spell was causing great damage to the world.
Civil War in the Plaguelands
Now that Ner'zhul had openly defied the will of the Legion, he knew that the wrath of Kil'jaeden and his demonic lackeys would be fierce - and at the worst possible time, Ner'zhul was losing his magical power. When he had pushed Frostmourne from the throne, he had caused a crack within the icy cask. Illidan's spell had caused this crack to worsen and now the Lich King's powers were rapidly seeping out like blood from an open wound. Half-way across Azeroth, residing over the unholy remains of his father's kingdom, Arthas was losing power as well his powers came directly from the Frozen Throne, through his blade Frostmourne, and his hold over the undead was also slipping.
Ner'zhul knew that his time was short. Imprisoned within the Frozen Throne, he suspected (correctly) that Kil'jaeden would send his agents to destroy him. Desperate to save himself, he called his greatest mortal servant to his side: the death knight King Arthas.
Though his powers were drained by the Lich King's weakness, Arthas had been involved in a civil war in Lordaeron. Half of the standing undead forces, led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, had been freed by the Lich King's sudden loss of influence and resented what they had become. Also, another group of undead was still under the control of the Legion's remaining commanders: the three dreadlords Varimathras, Detheroc and Balnazzar. Arthas, called by the Lich King, was forced to leave the Scourge in the hands of his lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, as the war escalated throughout the Plaguelands.
Ultimately, Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) claimed the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Consuming the old sewers beneath the wrecked Capital City, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land. The Lich King was powerless to stop them.
Weakened, but determined to save his master, Arthas reached Northrend only to find Illidan's naga and blood elves waiting for him. He and his nerubian allies (in the form of Crypt Fiends led by the fallen Spider Lord Anub'arak) raced against Illidan's forces to reach the Icecrown Glacier and defend the Frozen Throne.
The Lich King Triumphant
Arthas, with Anub'arak's help, battled his way through their forces until faced with Prince Kael'thas, who challenged him. Kael'thas used the fact that Jaina now hated Arthas to make him hesitate, and fought with his father's reforged runeblade, Felo'melorn (Flamestrike). Flamestrike clashed against Frostmourne but in the end Arthas forced Kael'thas to flee, leaving the path open. He then proceeded to magically activate the four Icecrown obelisks around the glacier, opening the doors to the Frozen Throne.
However, Illidan was waiting for him. An intense battle commenced in which Illidan displayed his newfound demonic powers and nearly defeated Arthas. Until, coming in for the finishing blow, he inadvertently left himself open and Arthas quickly took advantage of it, slicing open the demon hunter's chest. Illidan collapsed, grievously wounded. Arthas then turned towards the open doors of Icecrown, leaving Illidan on the ground instead of finishing him. Rather, before he walked away, Arthas warned Illidan to leave Azeroth and never return.
Arthas entered the hollow glacier and beheld a winding pinnacle chained to the ice. As he strode up the stairs towards his destiny, the voices of those he had forsaken flooded through his mind. First he heard again Uther warning him "If we allow our passions to turn to bloodlust, then we will become as vile as the orcs." Then he heard again more angry remarks from Uther and Muradin, as well as his own responses to them, yet he ignored them, continuing his ascent. Finally, he reached the pinnacle and before him he saw an icy cask, within which was a suit of armour, arranged as if seated on a massive throne. Now only two voices spoke to him: Medivh's previous warning to Jaina and the rasping whisper of Nerzhul:
"Your young prince will find only death in the cold north."
"Return the blade... complete the circle... release me from this prison!"
With a great cry of strength, Arthas brought the might of Frostmourne to bear against the Lich King's icy prison and with a haunting scream, the Frozen Throne exploded, and shards of the crystal scattered on the ground. With Ner'zhul's thorny helm at his feet, Arthas leaned forward, picked it up and then placed the unimaginably powerful artifact on his head.
"Now," Ner'zhul's voice echoed within his mind and throughout the chamber, "we are one!"
In that moment, Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits fused into a single mighty being, just as the Lich King had always planned. And thus one of the most powerful entities on Azeroth was born.
New Content:
Ok. The WoTLK expansion is my favorite. First things first, the new are in this one is Northrend. It is under the control of the Lich King. This is where you level up from 70-80. Most of the area is frozen and snowy but there are a few places that are not. It also contains a dense jungle. One of the most nifty additions are the two-seater flying mounts. This makes leveling with a buddy easy. Although there are no new races, there is a new class; Death Knight. This class is not limited to an certain races. And the best thing about this class; you start at level 55! That is 55 levels lees to the new level 80 cap. But to make this class you do need at least a level 55 on any realm. Honestly this class is my favorite. The starting zone is probably the most exciting. Right at the beginning you start with decent armor, a decent weapon, talent points, and a free mount. What is not good about that?! The expansion also includes many new dungeons. The WoTLK dungeons are probably the most fun. You will have endless of hours of fun playing them. By far the best expansion for WoW.
WoTLK Rating: 10/10 Two thumbs up
Cataclysm
Synopsis
The Lich King's reign of terror was over. As if to affirm that a bright future would soon dawn on Azeroth, other joyful events occurred across the world. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage was at last freed from his imprisonment by the shadowy Emerald Nightmare through the efforts of his love, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, and her allies. Elsewhere, after years in exile, the highly intelligent gnomes and the fearless Darkspear trolls made gains toward reclaiming their respective homes in Gnomeregan and on the Echo Isles.
Yet just as hope was beginning to surge among Azeroth's races, tragedy struck. The world's elemental spirits grew increasingly erratic, setting off a series of deadly natural disasters. Agents of the nefarious Twilight's Hammer cult surfaced throughout Horde and Alliance cities, spreading word of the impending apocalypse. The world's leaders scrambled to find a solution to Azeroth's growing instability.
In the dwarven bastion of Ironforge, King Magni Bronzebeard undertook a mystic ritual to commune with the earth. The ceremony, however, had an unexpected effect: Magni was transformed into diamond and became fused to the depths of the mountain city itself. In the wake of his petrification, the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans agreed to rule over Ironforge via the Council of Three Hammers, but the city's future remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, Thrall journeyed to his ancestors' lands in Nagrand, hoping to glean insight from Outland's elemental spirits as well as other respected shaman. In his absence, Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary orc Grom, as acting Horde warchief. Garrosh's brash demeanor inflamed relations between the Horde and the Alliance. A gruesome slaughter of druids in Ashenvale, which the Twilight's Hammer had perpetrated to look like an act of the Horde, escalated tensions further and sowed mistrust among Garrosh's own comrades.
In particular, Garrosh infuriated Cairne Bloodhoof, the wise tauren high chieftain. Believing that the new warchief would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged Garrosh to a duel of honor. Although the mighty tauren fought valiantly, no amount of strength could have led him to victory. The matriarch of the Grimtotem tauren tribe, Magatha, had poisoned Garrosh's blade, unbeknownst to either of the duel's combatants. Cairne became immobilized after he received a flesh wound during the battle, allowing the new warchief to land a killing blow.
Following the duel, Magatha's agents seized the tauren capital of Thunder Bluff for the Grimtotem. The usurpers also intended to murder Cairne's son, Baine, but the young tauren eluded his assassins and staged a counterattack. Ultimately, Baine and his forces reclaimed Thunder Bluff, expelling Magatha and her traitorous followers from tauren lands forever.
Unaware of these critical events, Thrall received an ominous warning in Nagrand from the Fury of Earth: the fear and turmoil of Azeroth's elementals echoed the condition of Outland just before that worldthen known as Draenorhad been ripped apart. Yet Thrall had little time to act on this unsettling revelation....
In a sudden upheaval eclipsing the world's recent elemental unrest, Azeroth shattered. Violent quakes tore through the earth. Mountains of fire and magma burst from the ground. Colossal tidal waves obliterated coastlines and caused widespread flooding. The Cataclysm had begun.
New Content
The Cataclysm is the newest expansion. The level cap was raided to 85 and two new races were added. The goblin and my favorite the Worgen. A big change was the new talent tree. It was completely re-done and changed how people play the game. Honestly I prefer the old talent tree but it will have to do. Also added were some new zones, which means, well you know, MORE DUNGEONS! Wink In my opinion this expansion is completely and I really do not enjoy it. I prefer the old WoTLK. Although the new races are nice, Cataclysm is just not my thing. But, don't let this keep you from trying it. Who knows you might like it. Most people really don't care and just plays whatever WoW Blizzard decides to put out. If you play Cata you can tell a ton of work was put into it and you will probably enjoy it. I still play it and find it very addicting. There are so many changes I could not go throug them all. And it is more fun to notice them in game Smile
Cataclysm Rating: 8/10
Overall Comments:
WoW is a great game and if you love RPG's this is a must buy. It will always keep you playing and it seems like the fun never ends. Please not that you do not need every expansion to play, just the areas, races, and class will be blocked. Your level cap will also be different. I hope you enjoyed this Review.
