World of Warcraft's Third Expansion - The Cataclysm

[Pedregon]

Blizzard Entertainment have registered the trademark Cataclysm, its related to World of Warcraft (WoW) third Expansion: The Great Sundering better known as the Cataclysm. (A Water Based WoW Expansion in the Maelstrom ) Which was a world event which reshaped Azeroth approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the War of the Ancients..

Relation to World of Warcraft: The Great Sundering
The Great Sundering, also known as simply the Sundering or the Cataclysm,WRPG 185, 211 was a world event which reshaped Azeroth approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the War of the Ancients. This event was triggered due to the Well of Eternity being destroyed.
Prior to the Sundering, there was only one continent on Azeroth, referred to as Kalimdor. In the catastrophic explosion, eighty percent of the land mass was destroyed, leaving behind the major continents and scattered islands that are known today: Northrend, Kezan, the Eastern Kingdoms, and the remnant still referred to as Kalimdor.
The site of the Well of Eternity became a swirling vortex of power known as the Maelstrom.

Fanart of the Sundering
The concept of a sundering, or a world being reshaped, is a common theme found in fantasy. Tolkien described a reshaping of Arda, and lands lost to the seas in his writings, and the Dragonlance Dungeons and Dragons gameworld underwent the Cataclysm, where seas receded to the point that a coastal port town became landlocked. In David Eddings’ Belgariad, the dark God Kal Torak attempted to use a magic orb that had been used to shape the world in anger and split the world in two and mutilated himself, an event similar to the Sundering.
Rumors and discussions are leading to a conclusion that this is likely the name for World of Warcraft’s third expansion.
UPDATE:
The whole area could be related to Maelstrom and a water based expansion: via Isle of Kezan (Undermine) to Nazjatar which is described in the book World of Warcraft: Lands of Mystery.
Interview with Tom Chilton (WoW Game Director) from videogamer.com
On where the next expansion will be set: “I don’t think it has to be anywhere completely foreign yet. There are parts of the map that we have left ambiguous and unexplored. There are parts of Eastern Kingdoms and Azeroth that haven’t been filled out yet. Out there in the South Seas there are islands, there’s out where the Maelstrom is. There’s still quite a bit of land mass. We keep referring to the Emerald Dream, which is maybe not exactly in Azeroth but is sort of tied to it in some way or another. But there are definitely places in Azeroth itself that are close to home that haven’t been filled out yet so there’s more room for that sort of thing.”
The Interview also confirms the new water based expansion.
Read the full story about World of Warcraft: The Cataclysm Water Based Expansion
Blizzard’s Wryxian follow up a few days ago, at World of Warcraft Forums:

As you can imagine, a crocolisk like me is also rather keen on the idea of a water based expansion. But maybe I could be somewhat subdued by some particularly large and opulent fountains. Mmm waterrrr.. glug, glug, glug. *swims away with a blissful tail wiggle*

According to wikipedia Cataclysm means the following:
The cataclysm is the Greek expression for the Deluge, from the Greek kataklysmos, to ‘wash down’ (kluzein “wash” + kata “down”).[citation needed] and it has also been used to describe events such as the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the tenth plague of Egypt. The modern usage of cataclysm is mostly confined to geological phenomena of high significance, such as the destruction of Pompeii, the Tunguska event, or the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Trademark registration of Cataclysm:
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77769023
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77769006
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77769019
UPDATE: Blizzard has possibly acquired the domain name wowcataclysm.com.
Discuss the following at our Forums here

I will post more updates as they come ..

Discuss!

Some interesting Pics -

[Link34543]

If this expansion really is about the Maelstrom, Shamans may become OP once again! Of course, that's just speculation. Since Shamans had an armor set named Cataclysm.

[Zayfox]

There was a lot of conspiracy about the new expansion after WoTLK relating to the Emerald Dream. I really hope they add it in, as the closest we've seen so far is the Emerald Nightmare...

[Casperx]

If it's water based, or all on islands, won't it be all the same? :/

[yrref]

Casperx I don't think so. For example: One part broke off from the barrens or something, sucked near to the Maelstrom, and corrupted. I'm just giving a guess here, nothing certain. But that's what could happen.

[Eyesofhatred]

There are a few theories going about, and if the 'expansion document' is to be believed then the next expansion is to be the maelstrom, also please bear in mind this has never been proven to be an official blizzard document, yet has been nearly 100% accurate (only 1 zone wrong out of the 21 mentioned, 2 if you don't believe Quel'thalas to be The Ghostlands (which it technically is))

Maelstrom Set

Gilneas - 77 to 80
Grim Batol - 78 to 81
Kul Tiras - 79 to 82
Kezan - 81 to 86
Tel Abim - 83 to 85
Zandalar - 84 to 87
Plunder Isle - 86 to 88
The Broken Isles - 87 to 90
The Maelstrom - 89 to 90

[tottelol]

There are a few theories going about, and if the 'expansion document' is to be believed then the next expansion is to be the maelstrom, also please bear in mind this has never been proven to be an official blizzard document, yet has been nearly 100% accurate (only 1 zone wrong out of the 21 mentioned, 2 if you don't believe Quel'thalas to be The Ghostlands (which it technically is))

Deadlands was the one that was wrong, right? They probably merged that with Terokkar Forest as The Bone Wastes.

Hopefully they will make it official at the next blizzcon event

[Pale]

Really sounds like an awesome expansion.

Blizzard loves nagas too much though.

[Slikker]

Tel Abim - 83 to 85 mmmmm i guess that will be like a planet of the apes zone with lots and lots of free Tel Abim Bannanas

[NegativeBeef]

Any speculation on release date?

[Reimei]

Just a thought, but wont this also mean a new mount/training, after all we will need our new swimming mounts to get around.

[Mike3667]

Maybe everything will be an underwater kingdom, kinda like Bioshock.

[Reimei]

Thats what I was thinking, I remember a few zones like that from back when I used to play everquest.

Underwater breathing could become something very important, although I doubt it would be heavily implemented as it would be awkward for alot of classes maybe we might get and instance or raid encounter or two which it is something that needs to be watched.

Could be very intresting.

[Netherdrake]

Casperx I don't think so. For example: One part broke off from the barrens or something, sucked near to the Maelstrom, and corrupted. I'm just giving a guess here, nothing certain. But that's what could happen.

Yeah, that's what I've heard. "The time is close! Maelstrom is sucking the islands inside it!" - A terrible quote that might be true, lol.

Well, the thing is this: Maelstorm, is a swirl, and there are few isles there too, that didn't get sucked inside, but barrens will be sucked inside Maelstrom so, Kalimdor will be spilt'd into half, and there will come a terrible World of Warcraft event, tellin' about the very, "End", and it must be stopped by the players, by defeating one of the Old Gods in Maelstrom, the one who controls the Maelstorm, and has corrupted the isles.

The players are headin' towards Maelstrom in the new expansion, and they'll defeat the Old God, and everyone will Hurray!, The same what happened in Algalon, lol.

- That's what I think. :P