What to do First in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm: Check out New Races, New Starting Areas, and New Race/Class Combinations

What to do First in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm: Check out New Races, New Starting Areas, and New Race/Class Combinations
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With all the amazing and, dare I say, Cataclysmic changes coming with the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion, perhaps the most difficult choice of all is going to be simply “What do I do first?”

Fear not, noble adventurer, as we here at Bright Hub have spent some time in the brave new world of Cataclysm and have condensed all the amazing aspects of the expansion into five, must do right now, options for when you first log in after installing the expansion.

Some of these options may seem obvious, but with so much to see and do, just getting started may be the hardest task of all. Accordingly, this guide is our attempt to make a deceptively complicated choice as simple as possible.

Check Out the New Races

One of the most anticipated features of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion has to be the introduction of the new Goblin and Worgen playable races. Veteran WoW players, without new racial options since the release of The Burning Crusade, may want to jump immediately into creating a character from one of these new races.

Both races are well worth starting from scratch. While you’ll be able to do a race change on one of your existing characters and turn them into a Goblin or Worgen character, the starting areas are truly not to be missed.

As a baby Worgen, you’ll experience the flight from Gilneas and get caught up in and Undead invasion. The beginning Goblin experience is no less exciting, starting with an attempted corporate takeover and ending with a bank heist and flight in the face of impending disaster.

New Troll and Gnome Starting Areas

Speaking of can’t-miss starting experiences, the newly revamped Darkspear Isles and Gnomeragan starting areas are worth checking out, as well.

Even if you’ve previously leveled up a Troll or Gnome, you haven’t experienced their racial perspective until you go through the process from level one in the new zones.

New Race/Class Combinations

Have you always wanted to roll a Druid, but just couldn’t stand the thought of being stuck as a whiny Night Elf or an enormous Tauren? Rejoice, adventurer, as the new threat to Azeroth demands extreme measures, and all the races of Azeroth have expanded their horizons somewhat into new territory.

Several new race/class combinations make their debut with Cataclysm, and for those of you who may have put off creating a certain class because of racial restrictions, now is the time to finally get started. Check out the full list of new combinations:

  • Human Hunter

  • WoW Cataclysm Troll Druid Forms

    Orc Mage

  • Night Elf Mage

  • Blood Elf Warrior

  • Dwarf Shaman

  • Dwarf Mage

  • Undead Hunter

  • Tauren Paladin

  • Tauren Priest

  • Gnome Priest

  • Troll Druid

Head to Vashj’ir

World of Warcraft Vashj’ir Screenshot

Sure, all this “newb zone” crap is great for people who want to start from scratch, but what about those who want to get started on the path to level 85 as quickly as possible? For those of you who would rather devote your energies to checking out new high-level content, you’re going to want to start out by taking the quest that leads you to the level 80-82 zone of Vashj’ir.

For the Horde, this quest starts out a bulletin board in Orgrimmar. You’ll take a long boat trip that is interrupted by a sea monster and soon find yourself fighting for breath in the underwater realm.

The quest chain that follows is very cool, and the green drops out here will have you replacing even your high-level class gear very quickly. For those on the fast track to level 85, Vashj’ir is the place to start.

Just Explore

New Orgrimmar Rear Entrance

Sure, you could jump on the bandwagon and start furiously leveling a new character or begin the much shorter journey to get your level 80 to 85, but these approaches are not for everyone. If you’re more of a person who wants to get an idea of exactly what they’re getting into before deciding, now would be an excellent time to take a moment and just explore and take in all the changes to the once-familiar world of Azeroth.

The Barrens have been split in two, Thousand Needles is now an inland sea dotted with tiny islands, and the city of Orgrimmar has been completely redesigned. There is so much to take in and digest about the new world many will just want to take a moment to fly around and take it all in. There are a ton of new sights to see and things to experience, and what better time to do so when the level 80 areas and all the starting zones are chock full of players checking out number 1-4 on this list?

Azeroth is no longer the familiar place most of us remember from leveling up. The focus of World of Warcraft has moved back to the “old” world, with newly-revamped starting areas, devastating changes to familiar zones, and new high-level areas to explore. No matter which of these options you choose to do first, be sure to check out the others when time allows. There’s a lot to see, and you wouldn’t want to miss any of it.