A
brand new World of Warcraft
expansion pack is on it’s way and Cataclysm, like Burning
Crusade and Wraith of the Lich King, will become but a memory. In
Cataclysm the game world we knew was changed forever and we were
introduced to a mega-boss whose sheer evil rivaled that even of the
Lich King. While the expansion may not have panned out as many of us
had wished, there are still at least a few things that we will regret
having to say goodbye along the way.

I’ve never been shy
about stating my lack of love for Cataclysm. Sure it wasn’t a
horrible expansion, but I just couldn’t fall in love with it
like I had expansions past. However, despite this, when I gave myself
the chance, even I was able to sit back and compile a list of the
things I would actually regret saying goodbye to from this particular
expansion. Check out the results of my contemplations below:

Top 5 Things We Will Regret
Saying Goodbye to from Cataclysm

5. Login Screen

I know this sounds really
corny, but the truth is I love Cataclysm’s log in screen.
There is just something thrilling about watching Deathwing come alive
on the walls of Stormwind while I type in my username and password.
While the Mists of Pandaria login screen is certainly easy on the eyes
with its majestic Pandaren statues and amber and golden trees standing
in the mists, it just cannot beat the sight of a half crazed dragon
bent on the utter destruction of the world. For me at least, the
Cataclysm login screen stirred a primal emotion in me, a lust for
adventure that made my heart leap every time I saw Deathwing clench his
claws and roar and I will be more than a little sorry to see it go.

4. A Real “Bad
Guy”
style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/232778" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/232778/preview"
width="245">There
is nothing quite like staring Deathwing in the face while logging in.

If don’t know it
already, Mists of Pandaria, unlike all the expansions before it, will
have no “mega boss”. That’s right, there
will be no Ragnaros, Kil’jaeden, Lich King, or Deathwing for
the Alliance and Horde to rally against. Instead the Horde and Alliance
will turn upon each other and wage a war that has been a long tiem
coming. While this prospect has great potential I cannot help feeling a
little remorse that there will be no big bad guy to really get my blood
flowing.

From the minute I was
introduced to the likes of the Lich King and others like him I knew
that eventually I would have his head on a pike. The moment I stood
before the boss in question ready to take him on was pure bliss. I am
positive that Mists of Pandaria will have more than a few things to
offer to get my bloodlust going, but I still regret having to say
goodbye to the big baddies that we are so used to. World of Warcraft
without a real focal end game boss just feels a
bit…empty…to me.

3. Fresh Leveling Zones

If you are like me and love to
level alts until you actually dream the leveling process in your sleep,
then Cataclysm was a refreshing change from the norm. Cataclysm rocked
the world and changed zones in ways we had never seen before. Thanks to
this upheaval, we got brand new quest lines in old zones making them
feel brand new and making us want to read the quest text instead of
just mindlessly clicking through it. Sure there were some zones that
turned out to be a little on the tedious side, however, overall it was
a nice change of pace to see some fresh faces and quests on our
leveling adventures.

While the new look and quests
aren’t going anyplace in Mists of Pandaria, the newness that
once was will certainly be gone. Sadly, Mists of Pandaria will offer no
major shake up of the preexisting story line (at least that we know of)
and we will find ourselves spending this expansion grinding through
what will have become the same old, same old. Pandaria will offer some
reprive from this, however, after level 10 new Pandaren will find
themselves thrust into one of the already preexisting zones to continue
their leveling experience. Fresh feeling zones and quests are something
that I will miss dearly indeed.

2. New
Talents Every Level
style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/232779" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/232779/preview"
width="245">With
a new talent
given only every 15 levels, things will feel a little less
exciting as we level up.

As we all know in Mists of
Pandaria we will be introduced to a
new talent system that has significantly fewer talents than we are used
to. Talents will be distributed at 6 different level brackets, once
every 15 levels, and the rest of the time players will find themselves
waiting eagerly for when they will again get to choose one measly
talent out of three. While this big change has all been done in the
name of fun and fair play (which I completely stand behind), I will
miss the days when each level brought one or more exciting new talents
that left me with a feeling of accomplishment.

I know it may sound like a
small change, but there was always a thrill in gaining new skills and
deciding which one you were going to place talent points into then
finding that this new talent has made a world of difference for your
character. In Mists of Pandaria all this will be gone, instead players
will have to grin and bear the monotony 15 levels at a time until they
are finally allowed to choose a cool new ability. While the point
system is more psychological than anything and I won‘t miss
being forced to place talent points just because it is the
“right“ way, I will still regret saying goodbye to
this Cataclysm feature.

1. Focus on End Game

Leveling up through World of
Warcraft we all have one thing on our minds, focusing on the end game.
This could either mean PvP or Raiding depending on your personal
preference, but thus far this is what the game has focused. Cataclysm
has followed this mold pretty well with only a few distractions (Plants
vs. Zombies anyone?) along the way. Each Cataclysm patch has reflected
this feel of being about the end game, however, things are set to
change in Mists of Pandaria.

With the introduction of battle
pets, unlimited dailies, lore hunting, fishing and farming factions,
and much more combined with all that WoW already has to offer I am
willing to bet that we will find many people who just can’t
be bothered with the end game anymore. Why deal with the stress of
raids or PvP when you can just chill back and play Pokemon or
Farmville? Hopefully despite the slew of new mini content, the patches
will still hold tons of new end game PvP and PvE content, however, even
that may not be safe. I will without a doubt miss the Cataclysm days
when World of Warcraft wasn’t just one big mini-game.

As the curtain slowly falls on
Cataclysm I wonder if anyone else also has anything they will miss
about Cataclysm. What are some of your favorite and least favorite
things about this expansion? What will you regret saying goodbye to the
most? Do you think a year from now you will find yourself yearning for
the “good ole days” of Cataclysm? Feel free to
share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!

As the curtain slowly falls on
Cataclysm I wonder if anyone else also has anything they will miss
about Cataclysm. What are some of your favorite and least favorite
things about this expansion? What will you regret saying goodbye to the
most? Do you think a year from now you will find yourself yearning for
the “good ole days” of Cataclysm? Feel free to
share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.

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