The World (of Warcraft) Ends This Week!

This week the World of Warcraft live servers will receive patch 4.0.3a and will bring the end of Azeroth! Perhaps we are being a little dramatic eluding to the notion that patch 4.0.3a is some kind of MMO cyanide. Whilst WoW will certainly not end this week, it will never be the same again and that is saying something.

When patch 4.0.3a hits this week the “vanilla” continents of Azeroth and Kalimdor will be ripped asunder in what has been aptly named  “The Shattering”. This is not your standard pre-expansion patch, The Shattering will revamp WoW’s level 1-60 content and in the process bin  everything that has gone before it. It is certainly a bold move from Blizzard, no other major MMO has ever taken such a dramatic step.

Once you have downloaded and installed the patch you can expect new 1-60 content, new class/race combos, Cataclysm login/loading screens and a whole lot more after the break.

So what is in this week’s patch and what is being held for the upcoming expansion?

What is not in:

• Creating worgen/goblin characters
• Worgen/Goblin start zones
• Archeology
• Professions past 450 (Illustrious Grand Master)
• Guild leveling
• Guild achievements
• Eastern Kingdoms/Kalimdor flight
• New Zones (80+)

What is in:

• Portals in Dalaran/Shattrath Removed
• Class trainers in Dalaran where portals once were
• New race-class combinations (excluding worgen/goblin)
• New Gnome/Troll starting areas
• Changes to existing zones
• New cata load screens
• New cata intro cinematic
• New cata login screen
• New music
• City Quartermasters, with rep tabards
• Bug fixes
• Class balancing
• Druids, paladins, priests, and shaman will have their talent trees reset
• Experience required to gain levels 71 through 80 is being reduced by 20%
• New tamable hunter pets (Monkey, fox, dog, and beetle, as well as new skins for existing pet classes.)