WoW Reviews & Guides

Deep beneath the earth and seas of the Elemental Plane lurks the Firelands, a place of heat and ash. Although it is a harsh land, visitors can survive, for in one of those cruel paradoxes that define the universe, fire needs air to live and fuel to feed upon. Within the Firelands, these things exist in a constant cyclical state, with the very ash itself gradually transforming into fuel for future burnings.

In the center of a vast lake of fire stands Sulfuron Keep, the home of Ragnaros the Firelord. Until comparatively recently, he ruled his underground land with an iron fist. Three hundred years ago, he was summoned to fight in the dwarven civil war known as the War of the Three Hammers. This reckless act sundered the Redridge Mountains and created Blackrock Spire. Now, in a greatly weakened state, he lies at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth, striving to find a way home. Meanwhile, in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands, his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance.

The Firelands occupy the theoretical bottom of the “sphere” of the Elemental Plane. Just as the Skywall sits atop the plane, in a sort of bowl shape, the Firelands sit in the bottom of a similar curve. The “ground” underneath the surface is a sticky, bubbling mess of tar, ooze and rock fallen from Deepholm, which of course serves as the “sky.” In some places, lakes of flammable oil and combustibles form, burning constantly and filling the air with superheated smoke. Organic and semi-organic material from Deepholm, and even the waters of the Abyssal Maw higher above, constantly filters down to provide new fuel for the endless flames. In places where the Fire Princes do battle with Therazane, huge volcanoes rise, spewing lava into the Firelands and upwards as well, sometimes reaching the floor of the Abyssal Maw or even the upper surface of Deepholm, where they blow noxious fumes into Al’Akir’s realm.

The Firelands will be a new outdoor raid instance in the upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

The Crucible of Flame, Firelands Forgeworks and Firelands Hatchery are part of the Firelands, which are only accessible through Flamegates located within Mount Hyjal.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (or Cata for short) is the upcoming third expansion for World of Warcraft and was officially announced on August 21, 2009 at BlizzCon 2009. The majority of the expansion content takes place in drastically reforged Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.

It is to include the playable races of the worgen for the Alliance and the goblins for the Horde. Flying mounts will finally be usable in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. Deathwing will make his return into Azeroth from Deepholm, causing a new Sundering.

Lore

From the official site:

An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane.

Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.

Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

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Worgen are large, lupine humanoids reminiscent of a werewolf that walks upright, but lopes on all fours to run. According to sources held by the Forsaken, the Worgen come from another dimension, and exist only to terrorize and destroy. These creatures are thoroughly evil, delighting in torturing and devouring intelligent creatures. They enjoy hearing the screams of their victims as they tear them apart piece by piece. Worgen never show mercy or remorse. They may seem savage, but they are fairly intelligent and possess a cruel bestial cunning that can come as a surprise to the unprepared.

Most Worgen keep their wolf-like forms at all times, but experiments by the mage Arugal have resulted in human/worgen hybrids who only appear as Worgen under the light of the moon. They carry with them a dark, corrupting malaise that grows wherever they infest, making the surrounding area dark and gloomy.

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As a part of our ongoing coverage of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we now bring you a first look at what’s in store for players levels 78-82 in Vashj’ir, an all-new underwater zone in the Great Sea of Azeroth. The remaining cursed Highborne night elves, now known as the monstrous naga, lurk through the ocean abyss seeking the power contained within the Elemental Plane of water, a place vulnerable to attack in the wake of Deathwing’s cataclysmic return. Read on to find out where fate may lead you should you venture to the sunken city, Vashj’ir.

Once a great Highborne city housing some of the most revered night elves of Kalimdor, Vashj’ir was swallowed by the Great Sea during the Sundering and thought to be lost forever. Queen Azshara, formerly a beloved leader of the night elves, escaped death in the depths of the sea when the Well of Eternity imploded. Such salvation came at a great cost, as the queen and many of her fellow Highborne were forever transformed into the monstrous naga, doomed to wander the seas for thousands of years. Their existence mostly remains a mystery to the peoples of modern Azeroth, though the Earthen Ring has learned of Azshara’s naga seizing Vashj’ir for an unknown purpose as the cries of the elements echo across Azeroth from the abyss.

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The Twilight Highlands have a perilous history. This region is home to the vicious black dragonflight, the cursed fortress of Grim Batol, and dangerous elemental disturbances.

Now, the land will play host to a new danger. The Twilight’s Hammer cult has claimed the highlands as its new seat of power — and all of Azeroth will be shaken by the change.

Visit this page to learn more about the history, rivalries, and factions of the Twilight Highlands, a new high-level zone to explore in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Azeroth’s inhabitants endure a lifetime of struggle and conflict. They’re subject to violence from neighboring enemies and rampaging beasts at an early age, and must learn to take up arms to defend themselves against predators. Regularly forced to cope with the deaths of friends, family, and members of their tribes, clans, cities, and guilds, these scarred survivors become stronger by reinforcing their walls, banding together with new allies, and raising sharp, careful, resilient children. They adapt. They change.

Few places on Azeroth exemplify this ever-changing dynamic more than the Twilight Highlands of the Eastern Kingdoms.

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Welcome to the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta test! Patch notes listed here are not comprehensive and will be changed throughout the testing process.

General

• The Alliance starting experience for worgen is available. Venture through the cursed lands of Gilneas to discover your true path! Currently the female worgen character is not available for testing.
• The Horde starting experience for goblins is available. Beginning on the Isle of Kezan in a goblin paradise, players will face a treacherous road ahead!
• The level cap for all characters is 83.
• Players may use our Character Copy feature for copying existing characters to beta realms, or may choose from high-level pre-made template characters.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta will bring with it several changes to class talents and abilities. In this preview, you’ll get a glimpse at some of the new abilities, spells, and talents in store for the death knight class, along with an early look at some improvements we plan to make to the rune resource system.

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In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta, we’ll be making lots of changes and additions to class talents and abilities across the board. In this preview, you’ll get an early look at some of the changes in store for the priest class, including a rundown of some of the new spells, abilities, and talents, as well as an overview of how the new Mastery system will work with the different talent specs.

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In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta, we’ll be making lots of changes and additions to class talents and abilities across the board. In this preview, you’ll get an early look at what’s in store for the mage class, including a rundown of some of the new spells, abilities, and talents, and an overview of how the new Mastery system will work with the different talent specs.

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In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta we’ll be making several changes to class talents and abilities. Here you will get a glimpse into some of the changes we have in store for the druid. The information you’re about to read is certainly not complete, and is only meant to act as a preview of some of the exciting new things to come. Let’s kick things off by checking out some of the new druid spells and abilities!

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