World of Warcraft Cataclysm Features




Here are the new features found in the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm

  • Level cap increased to 85
  • Flying mounts allowed in Azeroth
  • (Flying mounts only allowed after you purchase a Flight Master's Licence for 250 gold from a riding trainer.
  • Guild Advancement
  • Two new races, as well as race / class combinations
  • (New races include Worgen for Alliance players and Goblin for Horde players)
  • New raid content
  • New high-level zones
  • Classic zones remade
  • - Archaeology
  • Guild advancement
  • Some racial bonuses have been changed
  • Mana is once again important

Here is a quote about mana in Cataclysm from an official Blizzard poster:

"Mana will be a bigger consideration for all healers. We aren’t trying to make healing more painful; we’re trying to make it more fun. When the cost of a spell isn’t an issue, then casting the right spell for the job is less of an issue because you might as well just use your most powerful spell all of the time. We are, however, getting rid of the five-second rule, because we don’t want to encourage standing around doing nothing. We’re also going to cut back on the benefits of buffs such as Replenishment so priests (and all healers) don’t feel as penalized when those buffs aren’t available."

- Relics and idols can now be used by any class with the correct slot.

"Druid, shaman, paladin and death knight. It’s possible we will still keep some that are very specific to certain classes and specs. Overall though we’re not happy with the current design where an ability procs a buff on you. If it’s an ability you don’t use often, then the item is terrible, so they end up feeling really passive already. At the same time, the fact that we have to offer so many prevents us from ever giving you the choice of which one to use. So we make the Resto druid or Enhance shaman version every new tier. It would be a more interesting decision if there was a crit + Intellect relic and a haste + Intellect relic, and you can choose which one to use."

New Master Riding skill:
- Master Riding will allow players to increase the flying speed of all of their flying mounts to 310%
- Master Riding will also increase the speed of all ground mounts to 100%.
- Price of Master Riding: 5000 Gold, but can be lowered with a reputation discount (Orgrimarr / Stormwind)




Cataclysm Cinematic

Here is the official World of Warcraft: Cataclysm trailer which you see when you first log in.



Improved Graphics

World of Warcraft cataclysm features a few new graphical improvements.

Realistic Water

The water in Cataclysm has been drastically improved. The new water uses new shader effects and can be configured to display reflections. Also, ripples have been added. Below are some examples of the new water effect.

Here is a picture with the new water effects, click the picture to see the full size:


And here is a video of the new water effects:




Terrain Phasing


Cataclysm features a new technology which changes the terrain over time as you advance further in the game, whether through quests or other ways.