World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Q&A and Zone Preview

Ten Ton Hammer is offering up two new pieces of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm content this week, starting with a two-page Q&A with designers Luis Barriga and Craig Amai about the challenges of redesigning Darkshore:

Q. What was the most challenging aspect about implementing these changes?

A. At first we thought that we would be able to work with the majority of the original quests in Darkshore, but most of them just didn’t make sense when viewed in the context of the zone’s new storyline and direction. For example, chasing after corrupted wildlife and investigating washed-up threshers would seem out of place when everything around you is being ravaged by natural disasters, elementals, naga… and worse. Reaching the realization that we would basically have to scrap all of the old content and start from scratch — and then actually bringing that plan to fruition — was probably the hardest part of the process.

Q. What should players do or go see first?

A. Players should start in the town of Lor’danel and then play through the quest series naturally, slowly heading south. Higher-level players (levels 15 and up) may want to skip ahead and meet up with Malfurion Stormrage at the center of the zone, but Darkshore feels best if you experience the entire storyline from the beginning, as intended.

They also bring us a preview of Undercity as it looks in the expansion pack:

The side walls and stairs of the courtyard have also changed although what change has specifically been made is hard to put your finger on. While there are new towers rising beyond the walls, the sides themselves seem brighter somehow, pushed forward and less easily ignored. However, looking just a bit closer players will discover to their glee that both, not just one, of doorways on either side of the courtyard are now thrown wide open.

The doorway on the right side of the courtyard leads to, as it always has, an Orb of Translocation, which leads to Silvermoon City. Nothing else appears to have changed in this area.