Your Fortune Awaits: 50% Unlock
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
The curious continue to flock to the Darkmoon Faire, hoping to catch a glimpse of their fate from the wise and (some say) frighteningly insightful Sayge. The combined efforts of the Horde and Alliance have brought them to the halfway point of the 'Your Fortune Awaits' campaign, unlocking a truly rare treasure. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this sneak peek of the Collector?s Edition DVD video, ?The Making of Cataclysm.?
We look forward to sharing even more treasures with you!
The Story So Far...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
Shattered Hopes
The Lich King's reign of terror was over. As if to affirm that a bright future would soon dawn on Azeroth, other joyful events occurred across the world. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage was at last freed from his imprisonment by the shadowy Emerald Nightmare through the efforts of his love, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, and her allies. Elsewhere, after years in exile, the highly intelligent gnomes and the fearless Darkspear trolls made gains toward reclaiming their respective homes in Gnomeregan and on the Echo Isles.
Yet just as hope was beginning to surge among Azeroth's races, tragedy struck. The world's elemental spirits grew increasingly erratic, setting off a series of deadly natural disasters. Agents of the nefarious Twilight's Hammer cult surfaced throughout Horde and Alliance cities, spreading word of the impending apocalypse. The world's leaders scrambled to find a solution to Azeroth's growing instability.
In the dwarven bastion of Ironforge, King Magni Bronzebeard undertook a mystic ritual to commune with the earth. The ceremony, however, had an unexpected effect: Magni was transformed into diamond and became fused to the depths of the mountain city itself. In the wake of his petrification, the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans agreed to rule over Ironforge via the Council of Three Hammers, but the city's future remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, Thrall journeyed to his ancestors' lands in Nagrand, hoping to glean insight from Outland's elemental spirits as well as other respected shaman. In his absence, Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary orc Grom, as acting Horde warchief. Garrosh's brash demeanor inflamed relations between the Horde and the Alliance. A gruesome slaughter of druids in Ashenvale, which the Twilight's Hammer had perpetrated to look like an act of the Horde, escalated tensions further and sowed mistrust among Garrosh's own comrades.
In particular, Garrosh infuriated Cairne Bloodhoof, the wise tauren high chieftain. Believing that the new warchief would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged Garrosh to a duel of honor. Although the mighty tauren fought valiantly, no amount of strength could have led him to victory. The matriarch of the Grimtotem tauren tribe, Magatha, had poisoned Garrosh's blade, unbeknownst to either of the duel's combatants. Cairne became immobilized after he received a flesh wound during the battle, allowing the new warchief to land a killing blow.
Following the duel, Magatha's agents seized the tauren capital of Thunder Bluff for the Grimtotem. The usurpers also intended to murder Cairne's son, Baine, but the young tauren eluded his assassins and staged a counterattack. Ultimately, Baine and his forces reclaimed Thunder Bluff, expelling Magatha and her traitorous followers from tauren lands forever.
Unaware of these critical events, Thrall received an ominous warning in Nagrand from the Fury of Earth: the fear and turmoil of Azeroth's elementals echoed the condition of Outland just before that world?then known as Draenor?had been ripped apart. Yet Thrall had little time to act on this unsettling revelation....
In a sudden upheaval eclipsing the world's recent elemental unrest, Azeroth shattered. Violent quakes tore through the earth. Mountains of fire and magma burst from the ground. Colossal tidal waves obliterated coastlines and caused widespread flooding.
The Cataclysm had begun.
To be continued in part two of "The Story So Far...".
New Realms for Cataclysm (Europe)
Originally Posted by Wryxian (Source)
We have no plans to open new realms while there exists realms that need greater population. Despite this, as I said, it is a possibility but again, we want more than anything to ensure our existing realms are healthily populated (and people on those realms do too -- it's made clear to us time and time again.)
We do not open new realms because people ask for them, irrespective of how many may ask. We open them when our existing realms cannot take on any more players and when we anticipate an influx of new players. Though we realise a fair group of new players and returning older players may come back to our realms in Cataclysm, they will find their homes on existing realms before we even consider the idea of any new EU English realms.
That's pretty much end of story, and though I'm sorry if this upsets people to hear, we are more concerned about those who play on realms that need a greater population, than those who just want a new realm. We've been telling people on low populated realms that we are wanting to help them out and we want to follow through with that, however we are able to.
If you want a new realm experience, roll on a realm like Magtheridon that's been converted to PVE -- the majority of the population on that realm are low level characters leveling up to endgame. Honestly, it really does feel like a new realm -- there's only a small amount of 80s there at the moment, the rest are leveling up and forming new guilds and behaving seemingly exactly as though the realm was new. By all means, go roll on there and check it out.
If you're wanting a PVP realm instead, roll on the New Player realm -- those realms also have a lot of space to take on lots of new players, and though they don't have that "new realm feel" that converted realms like Magtheridon have, they are as close as you can get to it on the PVP side.
More...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
The curious continue to flock to the Darkmoon Faire, hoping to catch a glimpse of their fate from the wise and (some say) frighteningly insightful Sayge. The combined efforts of the Horde and Alliance have brought them to the halfway point of the 'Your Fortune Awaits' campaign, unlocking a truly rare treasure. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this sneak peek of the Collector?s Edition DVD video, ?The Making of Cataclysm.?
We look forward to sharing even more treasures with you!
The Story So Far...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
Shattered Hopes
The Lich King's reign of terror was over. As if to affirm that a bright future would soon dawn on Azeroth, other joyful events occurred across the world. Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage was at last freed from his imprisonment by the shadowy Emerald Nightmare through the efforts of his love, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, and her allies. Elsewhere, after years in exile, the highly intelligent gnomes and the fearless Darkspear trolls made gains toward reclaiming their respective homes in Gnomeregan and on the Echo Isles.
Yet just as hope was beginning to surge among Azeroth's races, tragedy struck. The world's elemental spirits grew increasingly erratic, setting off a series of deadly natural disasters. Agents of the nefarious Twilight's Hammer cult surfaced throughout Horde and Alliance cities, spreading word of the impending apocalypse. The world's leaders scrambled to find a solution to Azeroth's growing instability.
In the dwarven bastion of Ironforge, King Magni Bronzebeard undertook a mystic ritual to commune with the earth. The ceremony, however, had an unexpected effect: Magni was transformed into diamond and became fused to the depths of the mountain city itself. In the wake of his petrification, the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans agreed to rule over Ironforge via the Council of Three Hammers, but the city's future remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, Thrall journeyed to his ancestors' lands in Nagrand, hoping to glean insight from Outland's elemental spirits as well as other respected shaman. In his absence, Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary orc Grom, as acting Horde warchief. Garrosh's brash demeanor inflamed relations between the Horde and the Alliance. A gruesome slaughter of druids in Ashenvale, which the Twilight's Hammer had perpetrated to look like an act of the Horde, escalated tensions further and sowed mistrust among Garrosh's own comrades.
In particular, Garrosh infuriated Cairne Bloodhoof, the wise tauren high chieftain. Believing that the new warchief would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged Garrosh to a duel of honor. Although the mighty tauren fought valiantly, no amount of strength could have led him to victory. The matriarch of the Grimtotem tauren tribe, Magatha, had poisoned Garrosh's blade, unbeknownst to either of the duel's combatants. Cairne became immobilized after he received a flesh wound during the battle, allowing the new warchief to land a killing blow.
Following the duel, Magatha's agents seized the tauren capital of Thunder Bluff for the Grimtotem. The usurpers also intended to murder Cairne's son, Baine, but the young tauren eluded his assassins and staged a counterattack. Ultimately, Baine and his forces reclaimed Thunder Bluff, expelling Magatha and her traitorous followers from tauren lands forever.
Unaware of these critical events, Thrall received an ominous warning in Nagrand from the Fury of Earth: the fear and turmoil of Azeroth's elementals echoed the condition of Outland just before that world?then known as Draenor?had been ripped apart. Yet Thrall had little time to act on this unsettling revelation....
In a sudden upheaval eclipsing the world's recent elemental unrest, Azeroth shattered. Violent quakes tore through the earth. Mountains of fire and magma burst from the ground. Colossal tidal waves obliterated coastlines and caused widespread flooding.
The Cataclysm had begun.
To be continued in part two of "The Story So Far...".
New Realms for Cataclysm (Europe)
Originally Posted by Wryxian (Source)
We have no plans to open new realms while there exists realms that need greater population. Despite this, as I said, it is a possibility but again, we want more than anything to ensure our existing realms are healthily populated (and people on those realms do too -- it's made clear to us time and time again.)
We do not open new realms because people ask for them, irrespective of how many may ask. We open them when our existing realms cannot take on any more players and when we anticipate an influx of new players. Though we realise a fair group of new players and returning older players may come back to our realms in Cataclysm, they will find their homes on existing realms before we even consider the idea of any new EU English realms.
That's pretty much end of story, and though I'm sorry if this upsets people to hear, we are more concerned about those who play on realms that need a greater population, than those who just want a new realm. We've been telling people on low populated realms that we are wanting to help them out and we want to follow through with that, however we are able to.
If you want a new realm experience, roll on a realm like Magtheridon that's been converted to PVE -- the majority of the population on that realm are low level characters leveling up to endgame. Honestly, it really does feel like a new realm -- there's only a small amount of 80s there at the moment, the rest are leveling up and forming new guilds and behaving seemingly exactly as though the realm was new. By all means, go roll on there and check it out.
If you're wanting a PVP realm instead, roll on the New Player realm -- those realms also have a lot of space to take on lots of new players, and though they don't have that "new realm feel" that converted realms like Magtheridon have, they are as close as you can get to it on the PVP side.
More...