Are You Ready For Cataclysm?

By Author: Chris Coker
Total Articles: 18
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The Cataclysm expansion will bring a whole lot of changes to World of Warcraft - changes that will affect your characters and the world of Azeroth as we know it. With that in mind, many WoW players are doing things to ensure that their toons are ready to take on the new challenges that they'll face once the expansion is out. Have you been doing anything to prepare for Cataclysm? If you haven't, this list of tasks should cover the basics:

Optimize your gear
With the new level 85 cap comes new above-80 mobs and dungeons, so having the best level 80 gear there is out there is definitely a must. Make sure to do your daily Random Dungeon and raid Icecrown Citadel (ICC) to farm those Frost Emblems, ICC trinkets, and weapons!
Farm and save up
This step barely needs explanation. New expansions often mean new BoE epics, items, mounts, and non-combat pets - in short, more things that you'll want to spend your WoW gold on. There are no specific details about these new additions for Cataclysm, but it's better for you to stock-up on WoW gold now than QQ about not having enough later.
Grab some Heirlooms for ...
... your future characters
Two new races will be added in Cataclysm: Worgen for the Alliance and Goblins for the Horde. In addition, new race/class combos will be implemented. If you're looking to try out these new races or leveling a new toon with one of the new race/class combos, you should make sure that you have Heirloom items for them to use. Heirloom items increase XP earned through quests and mob kills, and will make your level-grinding go much faster.
Familiarize yourself with your class
New stats, new abilities, new gear... adjusting your playing style to the many changes and improvements for the currently playable classes will definitely be a challenge, especially if you have no idea what's going on. Read up on those class changes so that you won't be caught with your pants down.
Complete old-world achievements
Cataclysm will change the geography of Azeroth, and some of the old-world content will be tweaked, replaced, or removed completely. If you're an achievement completionist, you should work on finishing your old-world achievements before the expansion is released, or else you might have to start over or miss out on them completely.

Apart from the tasks listed here, there are many other things you can do depending on your priorities and personal goals. There are rated Battlegrounds to practice for, professions to master, recipes to learn, guilds to reorganize... whatever your plans are, make sure to add those other tasks to your to-do list so that you don't forget to do them before Deathwing rips the world asunder.

Chris Coker is a freelance writer and avid gamer. He has written on all aspects of the MMO industry, focusing on his latest favorite, Star Trek Online. Check out some of his posts where he dishes out everything from ship interiors to energy credits to good old-fashioned grinding.