Cataclysm Beta - my experience as a lowbie goblin!

Last Friday I awoke from my nap to a pleasant surprise in my inbox - a Beta invite to WoW: Cataclysm!

I was on my phone though so I couldn't hover the links in the email to see if it was legit, and since hubby was on the computer, I asked him to login to my email and check for me. He did, saying it appeared fully legit, and then logged into my Battle.net account just to make sure, and there it was - an invite to take part in the Beta for the upcoming expansion!

Needless to say, this was the cherry on top to a pretty good day, as I had spend the first half of the day visiting with an old friend who lives out of town and then visiting with another friend.

After it took a few hours downloading, installing and then patching several times I was finally able to login.

I copied over my Boomkin, my hunter and my Paladin, and then hubby had me copy over 3 premades for him to play on - a pally (as mine's Ret/Holy and he likes to play as Prot/Holy), a shaman, and a warrior.

I also made a Goblin warlock, which is the new character race for the Horde. While I think there could be a bit better customization and they haven't come up with the race specific one yet (ie: humans and gnomes get piercings or facial hair, elves get markings, etc), I made one that I felt okay with. I tried to make a Worgen character - the new character race for the Alliance - but right now they don't have the female body type up, so you can only create a male and there's ZERO customization for the Worgen yet, aside from getting to choose what class you want to play... so I decided to hold off on play a Worgen until they at least give the option to make a female.

I spent most of last weekend during my free time playing in the first 2 Goblin zones and O.M.G! I really feel strongly that EVERYONE needs to make a Goblin toon this expansion and at least level it through the first 2 zones (I haven't gone to new Azshara yet, which is where I'm headed next on my goblin) - they put SO MUCH into creating these areas, making them fun and awesome and hilarious all at the same time. I really have to experience otherwise you're really missing out on some great new content!

Anyways, I took lots of fun screenshots to show you some of the fun stuff I enjoyed in the first 2 goblin zones. I decided that for the next few weeks or so for Warcraft Wednesdays I'll be sharing with you guys some of the stuff I come across in the upcoming expansion!

When you start, you are in the KTC Headquarters and immediately get to speak with Sassy Hardwrench - your Executive Assistant, as you seem to have an important role - Sassy pretty much aids and gets you direction while you quest in Goblin lands. Standing next to Sassy are 2 goblins dec'd out in Christmas clothes - a female named Candy Cane and a male (with no shirt) named Chip Endale! They give you quests too and eventually they become part of the storyline - apparently Chip (if you're female) is your ex boyfriend.

Just outside the KTC Headquarters there are the class trainers...

In all the Goblin zones where there are class trainers, the mage and warlock trainers are standing opposite of each other, shooting firebolts and shadowbolts back and forth at each other! It's pretty amusing watching them for a moment!

Check out the Goblin shaman totems! They're mechanical!

Next to the KTC Headquarters I noticed this random hotel-esque pool area with pony floaters and lounge chairs!

In one of the early quests, at level 2, you get an awesome hot rod car, which you can drive all over the zone and get to keep as transportation while you quest in this particular area. Check out the license plate on the back of the car - clock = money... time is money, friend! Another amusing thing I noticed on the car is that it comes with a radio (which currently doesn't seem to work as I couldn't get it to make any noise) - if you can read the little hover-over box, it states "there's only volume setting, eleven!" Spinal Tap reference, anyone? hehe

Here's a view from the top of the island you're on - see the streets and the city? I was questing at night, so I'm not sure if looks different during the daytime, but the place is quite extravagent! It's like an amusement park with roller coaster looking roads that wind and curve like crazy! They really put A LOT of thought into designing this area!

The first quest you get that requires your hot rod is that you need to pick up 3 goblins from various places on the island - the first stop you come to is at a gas station... where there are 4 "Ridiculously Good-Looking" Goblin Supermodels, dancing and jumping in sync as green spray shoots out from their hands! Zoolander reference, anyone? This was by far one of my favorite references I have found so far - I literally laughed so hard when I came across this and just spent a moment watching!

There's also a football field on the island, with spectators - you eventually do several quests here.

You can also literally drive into the bank, which has Kezan Goblin Citizens lined up like dominos from the entrance to the bankers - as you hit citizens anywhere on the island with your hot rod, they scream as they go flying, sometimes yelling things like "learn how to drive!" or "I'll sue you!" In this case, with the bank, it's pretty amusing to go flying through it, sending as many of these little guys flying as you can!

Also, just outside the entrance to the bank is Vinny Slapchop - Entrepreneur, yelling about Cataclysm hot volcano rocks he has for sale! I thought it was pretty amusing!

Remember the hotel-esque pool area from before? Well, later on, it's filled with goblins which you have to entertain by refilling their drinks, dancing with them, serving them food and more! Later pirates crash the pool party and you have to chase them out.

Anyways, near the end of questing on this starting island, you learn The Trade Prince - a goblin who gets around in a mechanical spider like machine and apparently owns the island or is in charge or something - has decided to blow up the island and if you and the KTC crew want to a hitch a ride off on his private yacht with him you have to give him a lot of moolah! This is eventually achieved by Sassy's idea of blowing up the KTC Headquarters and cashing in on the insurance policy. You board the yacht and you and the rest of the KTC crew set sail for new Azshara...

Only while sailing the Great Sea, you come in the middle of a high seas battle that is going on between the Horde and Alliance! The Alliance somehow mistake your ship for being a Horde one and destroy it, leaving you and the rest of your goblin crew shipwrecked just off the coast of the nearby Lost Isles, where Horde and Alliance continue their battle. Eventually, as you quest in this jungle zone which looks a lot more colorful than old STV, you run into the Horde again and they offer to help you get back at the Alliance for shipwrecking you... your aid in fighting back and helping them retrieve Thrall from capture initiates the Goblins into the Horde.

This island has some pretty neat quests and genius stuff on it though!

As you move from the smaller sub-island in the Lost Isles to the bigger one, you are given an item called "Town in a Box" and told to place it in a certain area on the larger island. As you set it down, an explosion occurs, you go flying up in the air and when you land, there's an entire town where you had set the box! How funny!

One quest you get, has you face off against a giant Mechano Chicken with rockets on its back - there's another quest where you have to strap rockets onto smaller scrawny chickens.

You also have to fight a giant elite hammerhead shark named The Hammer by using a mechanical shark that has fireblasters on as well as a "Freakin' Laser Beam" attached to its head! Austin Powers reference, anyone?

The Goblin flag - completely mechanical and their symbol are wrenches!

  

You also get a quest where you can ride the Irresistable Pool Pony in order to lure some baby nagas... who quarrel and fight with each other as they follow you back to base!

 

You also get to wear this giant helmet for a quest - several people were saying they saw a character named Dark Helmet, who commented that your Scwartz appeared to be bigger than his, but I never ran into that npc...

 

One really neat part that you get to experience is when the volcano on the island blows up and erupts, changing the island - be sure when this happens to move your camera angle around and take it all in - the graphics during this event are REALLY NEAT as things blow up and catch fire while you're flying to safety!

 

I also found the humor in this quest title - if you haven't the latest SNL song/video for the group The Lonely Island, it's called "I Threw It On the Ground!" and is really pretty funny! I'm pretty sure the title of this quest is a reference to that song... apparently no one who was in General Chat with me at the time had heard it before and didn't get it...

 

You also get to ride in a mine cart with a few of Sassy's friends, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom style! It's quite a trip!

When you're done on this island, Thrall lends you a ship to ride to Durotar with a note from him in tow stating you are now the Hob Goblins of the Horde. You then meet an orc associate of Thrall's, who after seeing your note from him has you ride a wolf into new Ogrimmar and speak to the new Warchief. Apparently some of your goblin friends had beat you to him though, and not having the note from Thrall that you have, he sent them off to work in Azshara. Upon seeing your note and noticing that one of the goblins seems to know you, he tells you you're welcome to go get your friends and help out up in new Azshara.

Here's a look at new Ogrimmar - it got a complete facelift!

 

The front entrance looks a bit under construction, as does the hallway into it.

 

The whole main area is completely different - where the bank and tower up to the windriders were has been replaced by the Warchief's headquarters - which if you remember, used to be near the West, back entrance of Ogrimmar. 

 

Behind the new Warchief's headquarters is an elevator that leads to a new upper level of the city which now houses the windrunners, the flying mount trainers and the mount stables, as well as the zepplins!

I must say - I LOVE the goblins and their zones in this expansion! They're so much fun and there's so much that they put into them! Considering that the goblins and the gnomes use the same type of technology, the goblins just seem to have so much more of everything! Someone in General Chat commented while in the 2nd zone that on this character, he's already blown up 2 islands... I pointed out that the goblins seem to have a bit of a Michael Bay complex, as everyone kept saying and you notice as you quest that the goblin solution to EVERYTHING is pretty much blow it up and make explosions! Someone even stated that they were starting to believe that the goblins were the real cause for the Cataclysm in Azeroth, citing that they got too carried away with blowing things up! lol... 

Like I said, I haven't checked out the Worgen zones yet, but I kept hearing from those that did that compared to the goblin zones, the Worgen ones are just dark and depressing and it really feels like Blizzard spent more time and work into putting together the goblin zones and storylines - I'd believe it, as I've really really enjoyed everything about the goblins so far!

Stay tuned for next week, as I hope to explore new Azeroth with one of my 80s!