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Recently, Blizzard did another Q&A regarding an area that went heavily under the knife for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm; Ashenvale. Ashenvale is currently a quiet, relaxing zone for mid-20 to early level 30 players. However the relaxing part is about to change. The new Ashenvale is aimed for level 20 – 25 players and is currently suffering from an elemental catastrophe. During the events of the Cataclysm a Volcano opened up in the center of the area, devastating the once peaceful forest. Garrosh, being the brutal tactician he is, decides that now is the best time to strike against the Alliance.
Ashenvale in World of Warcraft was always a heavy Alliance area. Horde players had two small hubs aimed towards late level 20’s and was overall underwhelming. However the Horde have now expanded their grasp on Ashenvale, making the Night Elves struggle for dominance. What this means for Horde players is they’ll feel like they’ve made a difference. Unlike before with the below average quest chains and terribly spread hubs, how I hate you Zoram Strand. Though the shift in power isn’t the only thing for players to worry about. We’ve only just scratched the surface.
One of the bigger changes for this area is the questing flow. In the old Ashenvale questing was a mess and suffered from several bugs. Most areas were tricky to reach. Pulling several mobs and dying was nothing, but expected when venturing through. Now that’s all gone. All questing is made much easier for newer and older players. For Alliance you can expect a few of the older quests to be staying around. However Horde can expect a huge revamp to make this area much more interesting. Honestly that could have been fixed much earlier, but I digress.
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Naturally with the recurring theme of Cataclysm, expect to fight against tons of Elementals here. Between fighting the opposing faction and Elementals, it wouldn’t be surprising to have some World PvP elements thrown in here. Ashenvale will obviously become a war zone similar to that of the new Barrens. Who will be the victor in this war? That’s up in the air, specially now the Night Elves finally brought out the Glaive Throwers from Warcraft III. Though my money is still on the Horde.
And to finish off on a nature theme, the new Druid skins for Trolls and Worgen were released. Both are looking excellent, yet obviously more care went into the Trolls. Do I like the Mohawk bears? Why yes I do. Let’s hope Blizzard release the Moonkin forms for both Worgen and Trolls soon. Fat Chickens with Mohawks could be a nightmare in PuGs. However they still deserve a /hug.
For the official source on the Ashenvale Q&A click here. For Druid Forms click here.
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“What this means for Horde players is they’ll feel like they’ve made a difference.”
They’d be silly to feel that. It had nothing to do with their play.
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Alot of warcraft players seem to suffer a false sense of contribution.
Of course they’ve had nothing to do with it. The goal of Blizzard is to give the players self importance and Cataclysm will expand that. Do I agree with it? Nah. However sone people enjoy the feeling. Let em enjoy it before raiding crushes them in Cata.