Cataclysm Leak Legitimacy FAQ

[Scoops]

Note: I did not write this, the original post is here.


Frequently Asked Questions
And other crybaby QQ...

Q: Is this list of expansion changes real or fake?
This list is not officially acknowledged by Blizzard. Therefore if you so desire you can pretend none of these changes are going to happen. With that said, however, Boubouille has often in the past posted leaked information to other Blizzard IPs, including WoW expansions. He has done so with (until proven otherwise) 100% accuracy. It could be believed that he has an inside source feeding him information. In fact, it would be smart to assume he does.

Q: If Boubouille does have a source, then why does he not cite it?
Citing an inside source would be a bad move on his part. Even citing an anonymous source would be a bad move because he is then acknowledging that he has one. This spells bad news for the source, and for the rest of us.

Q: How do we know Boubouille isn't making all this information up then? No citations = no truth.
You can believe this if you want. Boubouille doesn't really have incentive to make up elaborate stories such as this. While it could be argued he is doing it to spike his traffic, it would be just that: a spike. A spike that would inevitably cause a fallout with his regular viewers should it turn out to be a hoax. In the long term this would hurt him much more than it would help him, so it is a safe assumption this is not the case.

Q: Could it be that Blizzard is in on this and deliberately leaking information to boost hype?
Did you know the moon landing was staged? And the US planned 9/11? Conspiracy theories are fun!

But I'm just joshin' with you. In all honesty it doesn't sound that far fetched that Blizzard would leak info a mere week before their convention. Businesses in the past have done it and it isn't an uncommon practice. In actuality though it doesn't really matter. We still get our goodies before the official announcements!

QQ: I heard some of this information came from the Something Awful forums. The Goon Squad is just trolling us all!
Originally this information came from multiple sources. Some of it is actually available on the PTR right now (more on that later), whereas yes, some of it did come from SA. When Boubouille first posted up this information it was divided into two parts: the unconfirmed SA information and Boubouille's own confirmed information.

Note, I said "confirmed". Those are words Boubouille himself used.

It wasn't until later that much of the SA information was added to the rest of Boubouille's notes. At that point Boubouille said the SA information was confirmed, as well. Again, this all points to Boubouille having a source somewhere along the line.

QQ: Blizzard is just getting lazy! They are reusing old content and instances! This sucks!
Not entirely true. While they are reusing some of the zones you are already familiar with, they are recreating them almost entirely (in some cases). The term 'revamp' has been thrown around but that is giving people the wrong impression. As far as anybody knows they are not simply updating the levels of enemies to 80 and calling it good. Expect entire zones (Thousand Needles is now underwater anyone?) to be altered and new quests to be created.

The new zones and the old zones will likely be changed enough that they feel entirely new. Some would argue this is actually better than new zones. It means that what we once knew is changing on what feels like a timeline, and the game has changed from when we once played it to now.

If you do not think this change is for the better then you are entitled to that opinion. Just do not have the misconception about what 'revamping' zones really means.

Q: The list of new class and race combinations seems like it doesn't make much sense. I mean, Troll Druids? Tauren Paladins? This proves the list is fake.
This information was actually datamined out of the current PTR. IE it's already in the game. Blizzard has already taken steps to rationalize some of the more outlandish sounding combinations. For instance, Taurens are beginning to realize that their religion and the religion of the Night Elves are eerily similar, suggesting a shift perhaps in their future beliefs. Also the Highborne are back, leading to the possibility of Night Elves tampering with magic again.

QQ: There is no hero class! If there is no hero class then this list is obviously not real! Blizzard said they would add more!
First off this list of information isn't 100% complete. With that said though there is not likely to be a new hero class in this expansion. Blizzard said they would like to add more, but also have made it very clear that we should not expect a new one each expansion.

Q: Didn't the information on the new races come from Halloween masks of all things? That doesn't seem very convincing...
You'd be a fool to think Boubouille would claim with 100% certainty that the new races are Worgen and Goblin simply based on Halloween models. My opinion? Boubouille has known this information for some time prior to the Halloween masks but needed to wait until he could pin the information on something released in the server. Had he announced earlier the new races it would have created a problem for his source.

QQ: This expansion information does not work correctly with the all powerful list of upcoming expansions! WRONG!
The list is fake. There is no evidence of the list existing prior to something like June of 2007 (pulling that date out of thin air but it is in that general ballpark). People will be more than happy to provide a screenshot of somebody posting the list earlier than 2007, but it is just that: a picture. An easily edited picture.

QQ: This does not follow lore! The Goblins are neutral! The Worgen can't control themselves! Thrall can not be the Guardian of Tirisfal! Orcs can't be mages! <insert another 'this can't happen' claim>!
Do not forget that WoW is still a Warcraft game. And as such it has just as much right to create lore as any past game had, too. WoW (as far as I know) is the present of the Warcraft Universe and there is no official lore that takes place after it. Just because Thrall seems unlikely to be the new Guardian or Orcs in the past haven't been mages it does not mean that it can not be so. Lore, in this case, does not conflict.

QQ: This expansion will be the death of WoW.
Even if Blizzard lost 3/4th's of it's subscribers it would be a better profiting game than its competitors. So no, it won't be.

A couple links to Blizzard actions pointing toward the truth of these claims:

Quote from: Kathranis on August 18, 2009, 03:40:07 am
Blizzard trademarked the title Cataclysm:
TESS -- Error

Tom Chilton suggests no new hero classes in the next expansion due to the difficulty of implementation and balancing:
Blizzard's Tom Chilton on the future of WoW - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King for PC News - VideoGamer.com

Chris Metzen hints that players shouldn't just think in terms of continents, and that the next expansion will be "unbelievably bold":
BlizzCon 2008: WoW Q&A Panel Liveblog

New quest and NPC dialogue in Patch 3.2 suggests that tauren will develop a relationship with the Sun:
An Injured Colleague - Quest - World of Warcraft

New quest and NPC dialogue on the Patch 3.2.2 PTR involving a Highborne Archmage suggests that the Highborne will emerge from Dire Maul and attempt to rejoin night elf society:
BlizzPlanet.com - Everything Blizzard Entertainment!

New goblin and worgen halloween masks, with new goblin and worgen graphics, were leaked on the 3.2 PTR. In the next build, they were joined by new masks for several other races, which didn't use new graphics:
New Halloween masks point to a new playable race?

Various NPCs were datamined on the 3.2.2 PTR which hint at new class/race combinations (Troll Druid, Dwarf Shaman, and more):
http://db.************.com/latest

What do you guys think about all this? I'm still not sure I'm convinced... Either way though we will find out tomorrow.

[The-Eradicator]

I actually just bought an internet stream soes I can find out tomorrow.

[Hunterplay]

Nice Post +2 rep

[pwncakes55]

i'm looking forward to seeing what blizz will show at blizzcon. because i'm really not looking forward to most of cataclysm has to offer.

[Castroph]

At the moment, I can't friggin WAIT for the new expansion.. Goodnight now. Waking up early for THE BLIZZCON 09!

[I Hypnotoad I]

Thanks for sharing this, even though you didnt make it (Could of misread)

+3 Rep.. (OoOoOOoohHhhhhhHh, WHAT NOW HUNTER!?!?! 1 more then you could've done. nah jk. lol)