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The
release of Cataclysm may still be months off but players can get
their first taste of things to come live on the public test realms.
Pre-expansion events have kicked off on the PTR which are affecting all
corners of Azeroth. Panic, fear, and uncertainty is in the air and the
only thing that is certain is that Azeroth will never be the same.

Here’s a peak at the world events currently taking place:

• If you get queasy easily
  pre-Cataclysm Azeroth is no place you want to be. The earthquakes
  rocking the land have increased in size and frequency and can no longer
  be ignored.

• Deathwing has sent his first
  calling card as hordes of elementals attack cities of
  both the Horde
  and the Alliance. These elementals are roughly around level 79 (low level
  players beware) and seem to appear in periodic waves.

• Very angry elementals, of a
  far more manageable level depending on the zone, are also
  appearing out
  of thin air in other random areas of the world as well, wrecking havoc
  on players and mobs alike.

• It appears that the end of
  the world is nigh and as can be expected those loveable
  yet insane
  
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  width="245">Twilight
  Infiltrator.

  purveyors of doom, aptly named doomsayers, have made their appearance
  preaching about the eminent destruction from soapboxes in both
  Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
  Really though, what would the end of the world
  be without these crazy characters?

• Twilight’s Hammer
  cult members have stealthily infiltrated the cities of Stormwind and
  Orgrimmar. With Deathwing as their apparent guide they are doing an
  excellent job of leaving chaos in their wake.

• The Twilight’s
  Hammer cultist quest line has been unlocked. Players who choose to do
  this quest line will participate firsthand in defending their city of
  choice (Orgrimmar or Stormwind) from the threat posed by this dastardly
  cult.

• Villager and Merchant NPCS
  hover outside the gates of Stormwind City and Orgrimmar demanding
  entrance. However a direct order from both Horde and Alliance leaders
  has forbidden them entrance to the cities. Guards stand
  style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/89863" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89863/preview"
  width="245">Villagers
  denied entrance to Stormwind.

  at the ready in order to keep the peace and enforce the edict. This of
  course has made for some very unhappy citizens.

• Several new bosses have
  appeared in old world instances including: Crown Prince Theradras in
  Maraudon, Prince Sarasun in the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, Grand
  Ambassador Flamelash in Blackrock Depths and Kai’ju
  Gahz’rilla in Zul’Farrak. Players queuing up to
  defeat these bosses will be able to fight alongside one of their
  faction leaders in a special version of one of the above instances.
• Orgrimmar is on fire and not
  in a good way. With each wave of elementals the buildings and walls of
  Orgrimmar are set ablaze. For those pyromaniacs out there that venture
  to Orgrimmar just to see it burn, please note that between the waves of
  
  style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/89862" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89862/preview"
  width="245">Orgrimmar
  ablaze.

  elementals the guards have expertly managed to put out the flames,
  simply wait around a bit and your hunger will be sated.

While these events may seem lackluster compared to say the zombie
invasion leading up to Wraith of the Lich King, players should keep in
mind that the end result, Cataclysm, has the potential to far surpass
anything we have seen in-game before. So with that in mind these early
events have set the stage and whet the appetite for the coming expansion
and if most players are like me, have left us on the edge of our seat
waiting to see what happens next. Join us on our forums and share your
thoughts and experiences on these events.