As Wrath of the Lich King Classic pit Horde and Alliance against Arthas Menethil once more, a survey sent out by Blizzard suggested that a World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic release date might be on the cards, given enough player interest. Later, during BlizzCon 2023, we got official confirmation that we will, indeed, get to revisit the divisive expansion.
WoW: Cataclysm Classic is the natural next step for Blizzard’s alternative version of the MMORPG. Even if a Cataclysm Classic release date does not share the same hype as those of the vanilla game and its following two expansions, Blizzard has enough faith that players are willing to face Deathwing again.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic Release Date
Depending on who you ask, Cataclysm is either the expansion that marked the transition towards modern WoW or the one that brought the start of the MMO’s decline.
It also greatly reshaped the leveling zones of Azeroth, which WoW Classic brought back in their initial form.
By contrast, the base game and its first two expansions are widely considered the game’s glory days by a portion of its player base.
Although Blizzard had sent out similar surveys for past expansions, this one, – focusing on a potential WoW: Cataclysm Classic release – could have more weight in determining if the expansion will be released and in what shape.
As spotted by Wowhead, the 2022 survey mainly focused on gathering information about the most and least liked features in Cataclysm, which will likely inform the shape of a potential Cataclysm Classic release.
Previously, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas did suggest that the team behind the game would be open to seeing the expansion’s content return with changes, likely to the less popular systems.
But when would a World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic release date happen, were it ever to materialize? Summer 2024 was the initial answer, as per the roadmap shared by the developer in late 2023, which later got narrowed down to May 20, 2024.
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic release date: May 20, 2024
The expansion’s pre-patch is expected to drop on April 30, reshaping a large number of zones across Azeroth for a fresh leveling experience. It also introduces the Worgen and Goblins as playable races for the Alliance and Horde, respectively, alongside class updates, transmog collections, the new Archaeology profession, and more.
Then, the expansion proper adds its dedicated campaign story –revolving around the devastating effects of Deathwing’s awakening while raising the level cap to 85 – alongside the following features.
- 7 New Zones: Mount Hyjal, Vash’jir, Twilight Highlands, Uldum, Deepholm, Kezan, and Gilneas.
- 9 New Dungeons: Blackrock Caverns, Throne of the Tides, Vortex Pinnacle, The Stonecore, The Lost City of Tol’vir, The Halls of Origination, Grim Batol, Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep
- Dungeon Journal Introduced
- 3 New Raid Dungeons: Throne of the Four Winds, Blackwing Descent, and Bastion of Twilight
- Boss Based Raid Lock system: Allowing players to do either the 10 or 25-player raid version of each boss in the same week. Lockouts are based on individual bosses.
- Tol Barad PvP Zone
- Darkmoon Island: Discover the mysteries Silas Darkmoon has in store for you.
- Flying in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor
Blizzard has also stated that Cataclysm Classic will benefit from a quicker content cadence than the original, so the wait time between updates will be shorter, provided everything goes according to plan.
For a clearer picture of what’s going away when the expansion launches as well as its dedicated Heroic and Epic editions, head on over to its dedicated article on the official website.
With WoW: Cataclysm Classic’s release date covered, learn what 2024 has in store for the MMORPG’s modern version.
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