WoW’s third expansion pack, Cataclysm, was just revealed at Blizzcon and that means there is a slew of new information being tossed around the Internet right now as millions of people strive to figure out exactly what this new content change is going to mean for your current characters and account.

The New Races in Cataclysm

The biggest news in Cataclysm is probably the addition of the two new races to the game. A familiar face will be joining up with the Horde in the form of the Goblins while the Alliance will be getting the Worgen race, a group of wolfmen. The game has been teasing at these new races for years now – they’ve finally arrived and will probably be an interesting diversion. But, will they be worth setting up new characters for?

After what we saw with the addition of the Death Knight class in Wrath of the Lich King, I think we can safely say that yes, these two new races will be something else when they start out. The starting areas will likely be progression based instances for a period of time (as much of Azeroth will become as the Cataclysm affects the continent).

As a result, there is going to be quite a bit of new lore, interesting game dynamics, and new NPCs to encounter. Goblins may not be Werewolves, but the Horde will likely gain a nice little discount on some trade goods as a result, and besides, who wouldn’t want a goblin mage running around?

The New Class Combos in Cataclysm

This is a big hot button topic that a lot of players have been arguing about. The truth is that there is no way to know how these new combinations will actually affect anyone. Technically, they have no impact on the gameplay. It’s not a new class after all. However, there are dozens of people out there who are going to want to try this stuff out, whether because they are huge fans of one particular race and could never be a Priest or because they’re still reeling from the fact that their Human can be a Hunter now.

The New Levels

Only 5 new levels of content this time around means that everyone is going to be a lot less focused on power leveling to the next mark and more focused on enjoying the content that’s in those levels. It also probably means that those levels are going to take a long time to complete. What remains to be seen is exactly how Azeroth is going to provide enough new leveling content to move up 5 levels without destroying old starting areas. This will be interesting as we all know how big Azeroth zones already are.

In the end, Cataclysm is a huge event in the game and is going to change a lot about how we understand and play World of Warcraft. But, is it as major an upheaval as everyone seems to think? I suppose we’re going to have to wait and find out when the expansion finally arrives.

Check out Zygors New Leveling Guide. These guys have put a lot of work into 2.0 and I’m sure you’ll find it useful.