World of Warcraft Classic, the old-school nostalgic version of Blizzard's long-running MMORPG, will move into the next era of the story next month, and World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic has been confirmed to launch on May 20.
“You have overthrown the Lich King's undead armies and ended the reign of Arthas,” Blizzard enthuses in its announcement post. “Now, Deathwing, the Worldbreaker, springs from the heart of Maelstrom, unleashing his wrath. All will burn under the shadow of his wings.”
Cataclysm Classic, which arrives about a year and a half after the release of Wrath of the Lich King Classic, will be preceded by a pre-release patch on April 30. This introduces a variety of changes and additions to the system, including the Goblin and Wargen player races, as well as new race and class combinations, and the Archeology profession, ahead of the substantially more seismic world changes of Cataclysm Classic in May.
Here, according to Blizzard advertisementThese are the main changes that Cataclysm Classic will bring:
- Seven new zones: Mount Hyjal, Vash'jir, Twilight Highlands, Uldum, Deepholm, Kezan, and Gilneas.
- Nine new dungeons: Blackrock Caverns, Throne of Tides, Vortex Pinnacle, The Stone Core, The Lost City of Tol'vir, The Halls of Origins, Grim Batol, Mines of Death and Darkfang Fortress.
- Dungeon Journal Introduced
- Three new raid dungeons: Throne of the Four Winds, Blackwing Descent, and Twilight Hold.
- Flexible Raid Locking System: Allows players to run 10- and 25-player raids in the same week.
- Tol Barad PvP Zone
- Darkmoon Island: Discover the mysteries that Silas Darkmoon has in store for you
- Flying in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor
Of course, World of Warcraft purists who aren't quite ready to move on to the Cataclysm era also have the option of staying with an older version of the game through Blizzard's Classic Era servers.
News of Cataclysm Classic's imminent arrival follows last year's announcement that the modern version of WoW will embark on its own new era later this year, with the upcoming The War Within expansion kicking off a new trilogy of expansions. called Worldsoul Saga. with two more unnamed chapters to follow in the coming years. Blizzard shared its World of Warcraft 2024 roadmap last December.
