By: Staff, GameSpot - Posted on December 03, 2010
World of Warcraft has undergone one of its most dramatic changes with a patch aptly named The Shattering. As a precursor to the release of the game's latest expansion (Cataclysm, which is scheduled for release on December 7), parts of Azeroth have been devastated, displaced, flooded, or outright destroyed due to the conspicuous homecoming of a very large and very angry dragon named Deathwing. Upon leaving his roost of hate and resentment inside Deepholm, Deathwing took to the skies over Azeroth and began his assault on its lands, setting fire to population centers and delivering an assortment of natural disasters to its shores. Since the initial attack, the inhabitants of Azeroth have had time to rebuild and regroup, and the result is reworked areas (some more so than others) that feature new characters and quests. We took a look at a few of these locations to highlight just how much Azeroth has changed.
Stormwind (Map)
The city of Stormwind is no stranger to change; its sizable harbor was added so that Alliance players could catch boats to the Northrend continent introduced in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. That pales in comparison to the face-lift that Stormwind has received for Cataclysm, though. Not only has the dragon Deathwing completely destroyed the park and damaged the towers overlooking the entrance to the city, but the entire city has benefited from a makeover that, presumably, wasn't Deathwing's doing. The streets have been repaved, small alleyways have been carved out to make getting around easier, and Stormwind Keep now has a grand entrance complete with a statue atop a fountain. Behind the city, where there used to be nothing whatsoever, there's now a cemetery and a small rural area that boasts both a pumpkin patch and a fishing lake.
Stormwind
Despite sustaining some significant damage during Deathwing's flyover, the city of Stormwind has never looked better. Pick a spot anywhere in the city, and you can't fail to notice that practically everything you're looking at has been lovingly redesigned or remodeled. Stand outside the city's stockades, for example, and you can see that streetlights, building exteriors, and even paving stones now look significantly better. In the distance you can see the ruins of what used to be the entrance to Stormwind's park and--even though World of Warcraft's draw distance has been improved--a distinct lack of trees.
Westfall (Elemental Break)
Westfall's Cataclysm transformation isn't as dramatic as that of many other zones, at least where its appearance is concerned. There is, however, a big chasm populated by translucent green oozes just east of the Gold Coast Quarry now, complete with some kind of vortex that's perpetually spinning trees and chunks of ground through the air. Elsewhere in the zone, wind elementals have been replaced with cyclones that will throw any animals or players that get too close into the air. The area around Sentinel Hill has been walled in to form a sizable settlement of sorts and can now change quite dramatically as a result of your questing in the area, courtesy of the same phasing technology that was introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. Several great new quests make Westfall well worth a visit even if you've no business being there at your character level, and two new flight points make moving around the zone much easier if you don't have your mount yet.
Menethil Harbor/Wetlands
Menethil is approximately half the town it used to be as entire buildings are now underwater on the west side. The inn and many of the town's vendors are still functional, but you have to wade through shallow water to reach them. Elsewhere in the Wetlands zone, night elves have established a small outpost with its own flight point at Green Warden's Grove, and a new dwarf quest hub--also with its own flight point--has appeared next to the large lake that was created when the dam keeping Loch Modan out of the Wetlands was destroyed.
Loch Modan
Stonewrought Dam--which held the pristine waters of Loch Modan--was severely damaged, forcing its contents to the land below. As a result, Loch Modan is completely drained, and the land underneath the dam has become a large wetlands area with various elementals and other creatures patrolling what's left of the once-mighty lake.
