The new trailer for patch 4.1 is now live. Check it out above.

The trailer details how the Zandalari trolls, who originally asked for players help to prevent Hakkar the Soulflayer from being summoned into the world, are now rallying the troll nations under a single banner to rebuild their kingdoms and retake lands lost in recent years.

Vol’jin of the Darkspear refuses the offer, as the Darkspear are members of the Horde and do not want to see more war, especially with the threat of Deathwing and the Twilight’s Hammer evident. Players of both the Horde and Alliance will work with Vol’jin and the Darkspear to stop the Zandalari’s plans.

The Ruby Sanctum: Red Trees, Green Grass, And Phat Purple Lewts.

There are strong signs pointing towards Patch 3.3.5 going live today, slaking the thirst of parched raiders who have drained every last drop out of Icecrown Citadel and (quite likely) their guild in the process. The update, whose major features include the Ruby Sanctum raid and Real ID/Battle.net 2.0 integration, may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but it is something, right?

Also included in 3.3.5 should be the files for the upcoming pre-Cataclysm events which feature the Trolls and Gnomes retaking the Echo Isles and Gnomeregan, respectively. Both areas will be eventually be converted into new starting areas for those races once expansion time comes around.

Do remember the following (disappointing) fact:

In patch 3.3.5, we will be introducing our new Battle.net system, which opens up new communication options for World of Warcraft players and lays the groundwork for integration with future Blizzard games, such as StarCraft II. In order to ensure that the implementation of this major new system goes as smoothly as possible, we plan to release the patch to North American realms first, with Europe, Korea, and the region of Taiwan following approximately one week afterward…

…To help clarify and add to our original announcement, we want you to know that because we are delaying the release of patch 3.3.5 in Europe, Korea and Taiwan but not in the US, the Ruby Sanctum will not actually be open on our US realms when the patch is released over there.

We will keep you updated on when we plan to open the Ruby Sanctum and any other necessary information.

Yeah, sorry I got you all excited. You’ll have to wait on Halion and co. for at least another week.

Infinitely more interesting is the idea that the Cataclysm beta may be coming “very soon,” word that comes from right from a semi-official source. Discounting the fact that he may be far removed from the actual decision-makers, a blue poster working for Blizzard Taiwan had the following to say today:

感謝大家的熱情支持與耐心等候！Beta測試將在近期內展開。（多近期？板主不能透露確切日期，只能說……真的很快就要到了！）屆時使用的客戶端程式將可直接在Battle.net開通Beta資格的介面中直接下載，所以用不到現行的美國客戶端程式。

另外板主要提醒大家，還有許多玩家沒有將你的帳號資料寄到社群信箱來，請不要讓自己的權益睡著囉！請在6/23（三）之前將你的魔獸帳號、論壇暱稱、以及 Battle.net帳號等資訊寄來，否則你的名額我們就會釋出給其他的玩家機會囉！

Wow! Now that’s some incredible news! Wait, what? You can’t read the divine language of our new Taiwanese overlords?! Alright, here’s one translation (hint: not mine, but cleaned up a bit):

So far, no effort has been made to discount the statement, but it’s still a little early in the morning over here on the Pacific Coast, where most Blizzard employees live. One thing to note, though it’s unlikely to impact anyone reading this, is that Taiwanese players would, in fact, have to download the US client to participate. Still, 6/23, huh? The implication seems to be that’s some sort of cut-off date for beta eligibility, and I doubt it’s only for Taiwan.

The Beta Test will start very soon. (How soon? I can’t tell you the exact time but… it’s very soon!) You can download the Cataclysmclient from your Battle.net Beta interface at that time, so you don’t need to download the US client right now. Another reminder, we haven’t received the confirmation email from quite a number of players. If you do not send us the confirmation email by 6/23 (Wed), your qualification for Beta will be passed on to other players.

With updates to the alpha client coming more and more frequently, I’m inclined to accept this as truth. If you haven’t yet applied for beta testing or uploaded your current computer specs, I’d log on to your Battle.net account get on that, or else all your beta-having friends in the coming months will laugh at you.

A few weeks ago, Blizzard released a nice bit of RP behind Operation: Gnomeregan in which High Tinker Mekkatorque called for the retaking of the Gnomish capital city. Now the similarly displaced Troll leader Vol’jin has begun calling for an assault on the Echo Isles, homeland of the Horde’s Darkspear trolls. The events, both of which have been covered from the PTR here on Lore Hound, are part of the pre-Cataclysm launch festivities, and explain how each of the two races get its own starting area once the expansion comes out.

Both events have been previewed in Azeroth Bulletins released by Blizzard that add some flavorful RP to the announcements. Each event announcement has included a beautiful poster, suitable for hanging right above your shrine to all things WoW. Experiencing the events is sure to be a memorable part of gearing up for Cataclysm.

The only thing that might make them better is if the announcements were actually done through in-game means. Receiving in-game Azeroth Bulletins teasing the beginnings of the event would be great. Finding these posters around each faction’s cities (or even in Dalaran) and seeing the leaders actually begin planning the assaults would be spectacular. It’s one thing to have an RP-style announcement on the website. It would be even cooler to know that players could expect NPC behavior to actually coincide with those announcements.

In order to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake in the early going, Blizzard is giving two of the game’s existing races their own, special starting areas. While not as elaborate as those of the Goblin or Worgen, of course, it’s still nice to see that they’re paying attention.

In the coming months, players will have the opportunity to retake the Echo Isles from the evil witch doctor, Zalazane. Nascent Hordies of the Orc and Troll persuasion already pass this area as the first questing hub outside of the Valley of Trials, but from Cataclysm onwards, it will be the exclusive 1-5 introductory area for the latter.

As a beginning Troll, no longer will you be burdened with the menial tasks of slaying scorpions or picking apples (though, I will miss slapping lazy peons upside the hide). Instead, you’ll be charged with protecting the Darkspears’ newly reclaimed land from deadly predators and the encroaching Naga, who regularly threaten its safety.

But that’s not all, because this mini-zone has been completely re-jiggered! New Troll outposts and buildings have appeared on the islands, along with bridges that connect the archipelago with the mainland (I can’t be the only one that hated swimming across the inlet for every quest). And it looks even sexier with the new Cataclysm water effects.

Hit the break for full details and even more screenshots! Continue Reading