World of Warcraft Cataclysm Expansion - New Zones

As most World of Warcraft players know by now, yesterday August 21st at BlizzCon 2009 the next WoW expansion pack was revealed. In the months prior to BlizzCon there was a lot of buzz on the internet, most of it speculation and some of it substantiated, about what we could expect in the new expansion. We knew that Blizzard had trademarked "Cataclysm", and from that it was concluded that there could be a WoW expansion centered around the Maelstrom. Others speculated that this expansion would also included aspects of the Emerald Dream, as they felt the lore of the Sundering and the Dream tied together.

As one of these speculators myself, I can say that I was completely taken aback when the announcement was made. The ambitious scope of the expansion massively exceeds my own expectations, and those of all I've spoken to about it since. So, without further ado, let's get to the details.

The basic premise of the Cataclysm expansion is this: After the final conflict with Arthas in Northrend the heroes of the Horde and Alliance return to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, only to find that the world they knew has been ripped apart.

The corrupted Black Dragon aspect Deathwing (originally Neltharion the Earth-Warder), long hidden beneath Azeroth in the elemental plane of earth has broken through the ceiling of the elemental plane into Azeroth. His immense power and malice has caused massive turmoil amongst the elements, with the earth breaking apart, massive tidal waves, tornadoes, and more. The entire face of Azeroth as we currently know it is changed.

There are several new zones being introduced in the Cataclysm expansion that are deeply rooted in Warcraft lore in addition to the massive overhaul of existing zones. Let's take a look at these new zones.

The Goblins are driven from their home island of Kazan by the effects of the cataclysm, and find themselves shipwrecked upon the Lost Isles. This is the starting zone for newly created Goblin characters and spans levels 1-15. The proximity of these islands to the Horde controlled lands are essentially the whole reason the Goblins align with the Horde faction (besides the fact that the Horde needs a kneecapper race, too).