How you can get ready for Cataclysm content

Last time, I gave my impressions on the lower level questing experience. This time, I wanted to give some feedback on how starting players can get ready for running the dungeons later on in Cataclysm. If you’ve been paying attention to the difficulties others are having running the new dungeons in Cataclysm, you know that crowd control and other utility abilities have become more important.

• Practice your CC. Learning to sheep (polymorph), banish, silence and otherwise slow down the mobs in dungeons will make your runs faster and better.
  
• DPS isn’t everything. Being tops on the DPS charts in earlier content is not as important as making sure you and your groups get through the dungeons with fewer wipes.
  
• Mob control is key. Being able to control mobs in the dungeons in the 1-60 range, as well as the Burning Crusade content will make you a better player when you get to the new Cataclysm normal and heroic dungeons.
  
• Do research. Check online at wowpedia.org (the new wowwiki location) for the instances you want to run, to see what and where your CC abilites can and should be used.
  

If you practice your control, research the dungeons and get ready for whatever you have to do in instances, whether it be CC or flat out DPS, you’ll become a better player.

Impressions of Cataclysm Leveling

Manick here, intrepid level 85 tauren warrior from the Ministry of Truth guild on Winterhoof. I just wanted to post my impressions of the new leveling in Cataclysm. I’ve been working on leveling my pally and I’ve got her up to level 51. I’ve also been leveling my bank alt, named Vaults, through Silverpine and Hillsbrad.

Here are my impressions:

• Variety of quests: The variety of types of quests to me is different. You have the usual “Get x number of y items”, but there’s also the “bombing run” type quests and other quest variations that make it interesting.
  
• Story: Since I am running through the Forsaken quests, I am finding the story and lore behind the quests very compelling. The whole Forsaken against Gilneas story is very cool. You actually get to walk side-by-side with Sylvanas as you become a valued member of the fight in Silverpine.
  
• Smaller quest hubs: The smaller quest hubs seem to make the questing quicker. You go from one hub to the next, doing smaller number of quests at a time. I seems to make the questing much quicker.
  
• Blue items: At the end of each group of quests, you get a cool epic quest to get through, usually against a boss, with help from NPCs or some sort of mechanic that allows you to weaken that boss. Result? A nice new shiny rare item with decent stats (blue=good).
  
  

The leveling process in Cataclysm has been revamped, and I think its for the better.