Our Cataclysm panel came hot off the heels of the announcement of World of Warcraft’s third expansion. In this panel we laid out many of the features players can expect to see in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.

Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

Blizzard Entertainment's third expansion to World of Warcraft forever alters the face of Azeroth, as the destruction left in Deathwing's wake reshapes the land and reveals secrets long sealed away. Players will be able to re-experience familiar zones across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, areas rewrought by the cataclysm and filled with new opportunities for adventure.

In an effort to survive the world-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races--worgen and goblins--will join the struggle between Alliance and Horde. As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they'll explore newly revealed zones, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world. No matter what the outcome, Azeroth will never be the same.

Two New Playable Races: Goblins and Worgen

From the chaos arise new heroes. The mysteries which lie beyond the gates of Gilneas are finally revealed, as are its cursed worgen inhabitants, a new playable Alliance race. Meanwhile, escaping from a crumbling Isle of Kezan, the resourceful goblins find themselves under the protection and safety of the Horde as its new playable race.

Level to 85 in Azeroth’s Most Ancient Territories

Unlock new levels, earn new abilities, and tap into new talents by exploring five breathtaking, dangerous new zones. Perhaps you’ll want to venture into the ocean depths to the forever-sunken city of Vashj’ir, resting in ruin by the Abyssal Maw Vortex. More experienced heroes will ultimately find themselves far below the stretches of daylight, immersed within the Elemental Plane of Earth, Deepholm, before risking life and limb to explore the ancient mysteries long locked away in Uldum.

The Classic World Made New

Due to the cataclysm, the lands of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor as we have come to know and love them are forever changed -- from devastated Darkshore to the broken Barrens, sundered in two -- bringing a very new feel to the classic world. Zones are transformed, featuring all-new quests, art, items, major updates to existing quests, improved zone-to-zone questing flow, phased terrain, and much more during the level 1-60 experience.

New Starting Zones

The Lost Isles, a level 1-15 zone, will be the starting zone for the Horde goblins, while Gilneas, also a level 1-15 zone, will be the starting zone for the Alliance worgen. Venture through a starting quest experience like never before with our zone phasing technology, allowing you to affect the environment around you.

Guild Advancement Feature

Many new features are coming for guilds, including a guild leveling system where guild experience and talent points can be accumulated. This experience, which will grant passage to guild-wide talents, can be earned in a variety of ways -- including guild members leveling up, reputation ranks attained, bosses killed, rated Battleground or Arena victories, daily quests completed, achievements earned, and profession ranks obtained -- and will provide a new form of guild currency that allows access to profession plans and reagents, vanity items, guild heirloom items, and more.

New Race and Class Combinations

Honing skills like never before in Azeroth, existing Alliance and Horde races will have new access to existing classes, including gnome priests, dwarf mages, tauren paladins, troll and worgen druids, and much more.

New Secondary Profession: Archaeology

Unlock the powers behind World of Warcraft’s newest secondary profession, archaeology. Through this profession, all players will be able to find ancient and valuable artifacts sometimes providing them with unique rewards. Those who master the profession will be able to explore our new Path of the Titans system, which allows for greater character customization.

Mastery System

We plan to explore and re-examine the talent system for every class in order to provide players with more fun and flavorful choices without wasting points on all of the “must have” abilities. To do this we’re introducing the Mastery system, through which players will gain unique passive abilities and stat increases based on the talent choices made.

Azeroth: Flying the Unfriendly Skies

With the world of Azeroth undergoing so many changes, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will now allow players who have learned the ability to fly to explore the skies of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms on their own flying mounts. Go where you want when you want!

More Dungeon and Raid Content than Ever Before

Players will gain access to dungeons where new challenges await, including The Firelands, Blackwing Descent, Abyssal Maw, Blackrock Caverns, Grim Batol, and Skywall. What’s more, we’ll give you the chance to journey through familiar places in a re-imagined way, beginning with Heroic versions of the Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep. You’ll find yourself confronting old foes like Archmage Arugal and Edwin VanCleef in very new ways.

Rated Battlegrounds and New PvP Feats

Test your skills in new Arenas, a new Battleground (the Battle for Gilneas), and our latest PvP zone, Tol Barad. Also included in the next expansion is our highly-anticipated rated Battleground system. Only the most seasoned champions of the Horde and Alliance will have access to top-end items by claiming victory in our Battlegrounds, old and new.

We’ll be expanding upon this information in each of our World of Warcraft panel overviews as BlizzCon 2009 continues, so stay tuned to http://www.wow-europe.com for many more details to come!