Deathwing has arrived on WoW Classic progression realms, and Azeroth will never be the same. The Cataclysm Classic Pre-Patch brings with it a total revamp of the original Vanilla zones as well as an overhaul of class talents and many new features.
Here’s a look at everything that’s included in the Pre-Patch, with more to come on May 20th when the full expansion launches. You can read the Patch Notes in their entirety beneath this post.
New Races and Combinations
Goblins have joined the Horde and Worgen have joined the Alliance. You’ll be able to level characters of these races now and experience the new starting zones for both. There are also many new Race Class Combination options available, from Dwarf Shaman to Tauren Paladin.
1-60 Zone Changes
Every zone in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor has been significantly altered by the Cataclysm. Thousand Needles is now flooded and The Barrens has been split into two separate zones. Quests have also been overhauled and the entire process of leveling from 1 to 60 should be more streamlined.
Class Ability and Talent Changes
Every class has seen significant changes to their abilities as well as some new abilities added. The Talent Tree Overhaul is also live, and you’ll need to commit to one tree going forward before you can dip into another one. With that commitment comes several specialization-specific abilities, including spec-based effects for the new Mastery stat. There has also been a Glyph System Overhaul, adding three new Prime Glyph slots for a total of nine glyphs on each character. Glyphs can now be learned permanently and easily swapped on the fly as long as you have the reagents to do so.
Archaeology Profession
Cataclysm adds a new secondary profession, Archaeology, which you can now level in the Pre-Patch. Some rewards won’t be accessible until level 80-85 content is added in the full Cataclysm launch.
Collections and Transmogrification
Cataclysm added the ability to customize the look of your gear with the Transmogrification system. With Cataclysm Classic, we’re also getting the full version of the Collections interface as it exists in modern WoW, so you can see all of your pets, mounts, toys, Heirlooms, and item appearances in one convenient location.
Reforging
In the same place you find Transmogrifiers you’ll also find Arcane Reforgers, NPCs who will help you Reforge the stats on your gear. This new system will allow you to swap out half of one secondary stat for another stat on every piece of equipment, giving you a new way to fine-tune your stats.
Guild Perks and Features
Cataclysm added a slew of new guild features to the game, and we’re getting a heavily modified version of those features. There won’t be any guild leveling system like there was in the original expansion. All of the Guild Perks that were previously earned through guild leveling will now be available to all characters by default, so everyone will have access to useful abilities like Mass Resurrection. Guild Achievements and reputation rewards are in the game, however, and you can start earning those now. You’ll also notice a new Guild & Communities interface similar to the one you’d see in modern WoW.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic Patch 4.4.0 Notes
New Player Races: Goblin and Worgen
The cursed worgen and the cunning goblins join the Alliance and Horde, each bringing their own unique edge to Azeroth. Create all-new charactersfor these races.Available classes for these two races are:
- Worgen: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Death Knight, Mage, Warlock, Druid
- Goblins: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Death Knight, Shaman, Mage, Warlock
New Race and Class Combinations
Players may now create characters with the following classes that were previously unavailable in Classic:
- Dwarf: Mage, Shaman, Warlock
- Gnome: Priest
- Human: Hunter
- Night Elf: Mage
- Blood Elf: Warrior
- Orc: Mage
- Tauren: Paladin, Priest
- Troll: Druid, Warlock
- Undead: Hunter
Class Updates: New Talents, Trees, and Spells
For all classes, talent trees have been changed, and many class talents, spells, and abilities have been overhauled, added, or removed. The character levels at which classes gain new spells and abilities have changed, and spells and abilities no longer have multiple ranks. They now scale with character level. Notably:
- Ammo has been removed.
- Hunters now use Focus instead of Mana.
- Pet Happiness is removed. In original Cataclysm, it was removed in 4.1.0.
- The Pet Bar is available to Hunters and Warlocks automatically, and they do not need to reach Level 10 and purchase Control Pet/Control Demon, as they did in original
- Warlock Soul Shards are no longer an item. Soul Shards are now a resource mechanic.
- Paladins have a new second resource, Holy Power.
- Death Knight runes now regenerate one rune per type at a time.
- Balance Druids have a new Eclipse power bar.
- Many item and class stats have been changed or removed.
- Mastery Rating has been added as a new stat which provides unique benefits for characters based on class and talent specialization. Mastery is trainable at your class trainer and is available at Level 80.
- Armor Penetration rating has been removed, and existing Armor Penetration Rating has been converted to Critical Strike Rating.
- Armor Specializations are now available at Level 50. These provide a bonus to a character’s primary stat for wearing the preferred armor for its class.
Reforging
This itemization customization feature allows you to partially change the stats on an item. Visit Reforging NPCs in capital cities to get started.
Leveling Updates
The Shattering has reshapedKalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, and players will experience new questlines and stories as they level through these continents.Leveling speeds from levels 60-80 have beengreatly increased.
Transmogrification
With the Transmogrification system, customize the appearance of weapons and armor while still retaining the stats. Now anaccount-wide system, all characters on one account will sharea Transmogcollection as part of the Collections menu.
New Profession: Archaeology
Investigate and assemble the ruins of the past for powerful rewards.
World Markers
World Markers are accessible via slash command, script, and macros. The User Interface for World Markers will be come in a future update.
Mounts and Master Riding
Characters who have unlocked a 310 flying mount in Burning Crusade or Wrath Classic, are level 80, and have Artisan Riding skill, will be awarded Master Riding skill.
Rated Battlegrounds (RBGs) and Conquest Points
After the first post-launch season starts, players will be able to engage in season-long 10v10 Rated Battlegrounds to earn Conquest Points, and other rewards at each season’s end. Arena Points have changed to Conquest Points, which will be earnable from both Arenas and RBGs.
Account-Wide Achievements
With this new quality-of-life feature, account-wide achievements are displayed in blue and are earned only once per account. All other achievements will be earned at a character level but will be displayed for all characters on a given account.
- Total achievement points are now the total for the WoW account and not the character’s total.
- To ensure you activate the full collection of account-wide achievements, we recommend you log into each character on your account at least once.
Guild System Updates
Guilds now offer perks to guild members. This system differs from the Guild system found in original Cataclysm.
- Players gain reputation with their guild to get access to items such as gear and pets.
- Guilds do not gain levels.
- Guild achievements can be earned.
Guild perks will be split into 2 categories: guild perks and default player traits. Guild perkswill require players to join a guild, but do not have a guild level requirement.Default player traits will be automatically given to all players and will appear in the General section of your spellbook as passive spells.
Immediately upon joining a guild, you will earn the following perks:
- Mount Up – Faster mounted movement.
- Hasty Hearth – More frequent Hearthstone availability.
- The Quick and the Dead – Faster recovery after dying.
- Guild Mail – Instantaneous mail within the guild.
- Mobile Banking – Summon remote access to the guild bank.
- Mass Resurrection – Classes with healing specializations get a class-themed mass resurrection spell when they hit level 80.
- Chug-A-Lug – Increased the duration of guild cauldron and feast buffs.
- Happy Hour – Increased the number of flasks received when using a guild flask cauldron.
These player traits will be granted to everyone:
- Fast Track – Increases the amount of experience gained during leveling from killing monsters and completing quests by 10%.
- Popularity – Passively increases reputation gains from mobs and quests by 10%.
- Reinforce – Decreases the durability loss of your gear upon death by 20%.
- Honorable Mention – Increases the amount of Honor Points gained by 10%.
- For Great Justice – Increases the amount of Justice Points gained by 10%.
- Bartering – Decreases the cost of vendor-sold items by 10%.
- Working Overtime – Increases the chance to gain a skill increase on tradeskills by 10%.
- Bountiful Bags – Increases the amount of materials gained from gathering professions.
These perks from original Cataclysm have been removed:
- Have Group, Will Travel
- Cash Flow
Guild and Communities User Interface
The Guild and Communities menu can be accessed from the main menu or by pressing J. Blizzard Communities can now be accessed from the Guild and Communities menu. Guild or Community chat channels can be created and accessed directly in the Guild and Communities menu from the Chat tab.
- All player and guild status columns are viewable on one page in the Roster tab.
- Guild perks and rewards are now available and viewable in the Perks tab.
- Guild challenges, message of the day, info, and news can all be viewed on the Info tab.
- Improved control over guild bank tab permissions.
Additional Character Customization Options
To allow for additional character customization at the outset, we have implemented new character creation customization options that were previously only available in Barbershops or for NPCs only.
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