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Do You Really Need a Guide for Cataclysm? |  MMO guide

 Right now, there are already a number of MMO guides on the market for Cataclysm. So, I had to ask myself, do we really need guides just yet? What could you possibly learn from a MMO guide that you couldn’t just figure out on your own when the game hits the live servers?

It turns out, quite a lot. Cataclysm is an expansion that will change pretty much everything we know about WoW, including the old world content we all grew up on. So, if you’re like me and think you can “wing it”, you’ll login on day one, look at your character and ask, “wait, what’s first?”

There are new races to level, new combos to check out, new gear to get, new PvP to participate in, and new levels to grind through. The questing is overhauled, the achievements are upgraded, and the professions are extended.

And if you sit there scratching your head too long, everyone else is going to rush past you and leave you sitting there wondering what just happened.

So, you need to act fast, moving your way up the ranks rapidly so you can reach level 85, make some gold and start building up your guild’s level as fast as possible.

I know this sounds silly, but that’s exactly where a guide like Cataclysm Secrets comes in. the guide shows you what has changed and how it will affect your gameplay. You can speed through your professions, knowing exactly how much gold you’ll need and where to find materials. You can peg the perfect levelling specs for all your rerolls to hit Level 85 as fast as possible.

Even with the game just now coming out of beta, this guide has managed to pack a lot of information in that will be very useful to you by the time the servers go live on December 7th. So, if you’re worried that you’ll get left behind or simply not know what to do, I recommend you give Cataclysm Secrets a shot; if nothing else take a look and see what it has to offer.

It’s Time to Get a Worgen or Goblin in Play | MMO guide
When a new expansion hits, people want to be the first ones out of the gate to play the new content, even if it means skipping their Level 85 grind. For those of you with sights set on the newest races in the game, there are quite a few options here. Goblins and Worgen alike both start in phased instances where you will play through the Cataclysm and work your way back to the graces of your faction.

Goblins

Goblins actually start on the island of Kezan, their home before the volcano sends them packing to the Lost Isles off the cost of Azshara. The mechanics here are incredibly entertaining. Without spoiling any of the fun new stuff that Blizzard has planned, get ready to laugh because the jokes, the quests, and the way you move around are all designed to show off the goofy side of Goblins.

In terms of actual gameplay, the Goblins have a lot of bonuses in their racials that will make them useful in a pinch. The Pack Hobgoblin is huge for maintaining your monetary efforts in the banks or auction house. You’ll also have some fun stuff to play with like Rocket Jump which should put a kink in a lot of PvP matches.

Worgens

On the other side of the spectrum are the Worgens. These newcomers to the Alliance are the survivors of the twin threat of Curse and Invasion into the nation of Gilneas. Players transform into Worgen creatures when they fight, but only after a protracted battle in the city of Gilneas during their phased early levels.

The first few levels of the Worgen race are a battle for survival as you learn how to use your new form and combat the feral Worgens and Forsaken alike – all intent on destroying your home. While Genn Greymane, the leader of the Gilneans has long been a fan of seclusion, he now  has no choice but to join the Alliance.

Which to Choose

For most players, the answer is simple. If you’re horde, you play a Goblin and if you’re Alliance you play a Worgen. However, if you play the game across factions, you will want to try both of these new races as Blizzard has really outdone themselves in terms of how they operate and the questing chains to get you started in each zone.

It’s entertaining, it’s harrowing, and most of all, it’s not monotonous or grinding – something we can all agree is not a fun way with which to start a new game. 
 

 Getting to Level 85 Fast in Cataclysm |MMO guide
One of the first things anyone wants to do when they play an expansion for an MMO is hit the new level cap. This time around, World of Warcraft is only adding five levels, so it seems like an easy enough process. But, as we’ve seen in the past, Blizzard is big on extending those levels so much that they take a LOT longer than the regular levels.

So, when you start levelling, it may seem like a straight shot to the Twilight Highland and level 85, but in reality, it’s going to take a few days at the least.

How to Get Started

When you start levelling, there will be two low level zones with a variety of quests to get you started – Vashj’ir and Mount Hyjal. In Cataclysm, each zone has been separated into its own narrative. There are a lot of overlapping stories, but for the most part, you’ll be combatting one particular force in each zone, with a definite culmination of that storyline in the dungeons there.

That makes levelling a lot easier. Combined with the dungeon finder and the simplified questing platform that Blizzard created during the last wave of content, players can now skip from quest to quest and dungeon to dungeon relatively easily, without having to look at resources like WoWHead all the time.

Of course, knowing where those NPCs are is still very important. They don’t just announce themselves to you on the World Map (unless they’re in a dungeon), so it’s a good idea to track them down as best you can all at once and then complete quests with them repeatedly.

Daily Quests

Like in Wrath, there are some dailies before Level 85, but not enough to help with levelling. The two largest daily hubs are both at level 85 and are relegated to a PvP zone and a faction grind. If you really want to reach level 85 fast, you will want to focus more intently on completing the regular progression quests, then work on dungeons whenever you have a spare moment.

Leveling speed is a tricky thing. With an expansion, it can be severely hampered by high queue lines and a limited number of quest mobs to kill. With Cataclysm, a lot of that has been dealt with but you’ll still need to get on early, play for a long period of time and try to beat the vast majority of players who are rushing to reach level 85 right alongside you. Do that and Cataclysm will be a lot more fun.

Five Tips for Enough Gold in Cataclysm |MMO guide
With any new expansion, you need gold – lots of it. So, Cataclysm brings with it some ridiculous new expectations. We’re not talking about WotLK or BC inflation though – we’re talking about “the gold cap just 1 million” inflation. Things are going to cost a LOT of gold and you’d better be ready to pay for it, even before you step foot in Hyjal or Vashj’ir for the first time.

1.    Auction House it Up

Get in the auction house and find the items that will sell best. During an expansion, that includes anything needed for levelling professions (including old stuff from pre-expansion). So, build a good stockpile and know when to sell it all back.

2.    Gather the Mats

Materials for high end crafts are now in big demand. Players need a lot of Obsidium, Volatiles, Embersilk Cloth and the new herbs like Cinderbloom and Azshara’s Tears – this stuff is going to sell for HUGE chunks of gold going forward to whoever is out there farming it.

3.    Daily Quests

Dailies are always a good way to build your gold stash. With rewards upwards of 30 gold per completion and lots of potential rewards, you’ll find places like Tol Barad and Uldum loaded with opportunities to make you a LOT of gold each and every day if you’re not a fan of mindless grinding.

4.    Farming

Farming in the past has always been a tricky option. Blizzard is a fan of making things easy to get for everyone so it seems like they are always trying to remove farmable mobs and items, but they never quite get there. Look for elementals in places like Deepholm or in the Skywall instances and build you stash of Volatiles.

5.    Professions

The best way to make huge chunks of gold early in an expansion is to offer the highest crafted gear before anyone else. In Cataclysm, all three gear crafters will be able to create PvP gear for each season. That goes along with players who can create all the necessary stuff to get started in entry level heroics.

Gold making can be a lot of fun if you let it. Mix things up with a little variety, learn what the other players on your server really need and get out there to provide the necessary boon to the economy that will pad your wallet at every step of the way. Do those things and you’ll have enough gold to last you for the rest of your days in this expansion.

Revamping Your PvP Strategy for Cataclysm Battlegrounds | MMO guide
 A few months before Cataclysm, long time WoW PvP fans were given good news – the ratings and titles that we all missed so much would be coming back to battlegrounds. Information was released over time and now it seems that the content going into the Cataclysm PvP is more different than ever before.

Ratings and Ranks

For a long time, the battlegrounds were almost an afterthought to the arenas – the secondary PvP option that Blizzard has been pushing since TBC. But, a lot of people don’t like the raw, unstoried aspects of the arenas. You win or you lose and then you do it again.

In battlegrounds, there are objectives, strategies, and tactics. Lots of players face off and no two battles are the same. It’s fun…but not when you’re grinding away for meaningless points. So, now there are emblems that will reward you for all your PvP activities and you’ll be rated in the battlegrounds, something previously relegated to just the arenas.

That means, if you play through battlegrounds, you’ll receive just as much of a reward (if not more so) as you would for playing in the arenas – a balancing aspect that a lot of players have been waiting for a very long time.

New Content

And of course, this being a new expansion, Blizzard has also thrown some new battlegrounds our way – two to be exact along with a new outdoor PvP zone on Tol Barad.

Originally, we were hoping to see at least one new style of battleground in the “The Battle for Gilneas City”. But, apparently the mechanics just didn’t cut it and the battleground was revamped as an Arathi Basin style fight called “The Battle for Gilneas”. It’s still fun, though, and should be very familiar for all long time PvPers.

The second new battleground is Twin Peaks, a new capture the flag style fight that is reminiscent of the Warsong Hold battleground that we all know and love so well. It will feature twin holds on hills above a contested valley where players must try to sneak through with their opponents’ flag. For the most part, you’ll use the same strategies here, but accounting for the variation to the terrain.

PvP in World of Warcraft has always been a point of contention, but the guys at Blizzard are trying to make it more interesting and diverse. Cataclysm shows their biggest effort yet and if you’re a fan of battlegrounds and PvP in general, it’s a good time to be excited.