WoW: Cataclysm has a mixed reputation but returning to the expansion in Classic makes total sense

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is one of the most divisive expansions in the game’s history. Despite that reputation, it did not deserve to be treated as harshly as it was back in 2010, and it makes abundant sense to bring it back now in a Classic format.

Though the WoW community can be incredibly divided on individual game features, they are usually reasonably united in their opinions on expansions. Most agree that Shadowlands and Warlords of Draenor were immensely disappointing, while at the same time, praise for releases like Wrath of the Lich King and Legion was near-universal.

This is not the case with Cataclysm. For every person who was delighted with the addition of Transmogs, there was another anguished at the removal of certain stats. There’s no doubt that the expansion changed a lot, and resistance to rapid change is inevitable, but there’s so much to enjoy for those willing to give it a chance.

With just days to go before the expansion’s release on May 20, here’s why it’s ripe for the Classic treatment and well worth returning to in 2024.

Cataclysm’s narrative is filled with jeopardy

Blizzard Entertainment

The arrival of Deathwing signaled a crossing of the Rubicon for the beloved MMO, as it left some elements of the original game behind in an attempt to propel itself forward. Though it had mixed successes in later expansions, Cataclysm’s story was a big part of this.

Deathwing is the antagonist at the expansion’s center, and he remains one of the most compelling characters in WoW’s history. Alongside characters like the Lich King, few central figures have felt like such an imminent threat to the world of Azeroth. The scale and destructive power of the great dragon had never been seen before, and it felt like a character designed to match the overall scope of the game six years after its inception.

World of Warcraft is, at its core, about enormous crises that threaten the very existence of the races, factions, and nations that players have grown to love. None, before or after, have represented that threat in as pure a form as Deathwing, and the story of everyone coming together to stop him remains a highlight among WoW’s various narratives.

Within the lore, more powerful threats have emerged in the years since. The Jailer is technically a mightier villain, but it was difficult to care about the Shadowlands or the more amorphous threat the big bad of that expansion posed because of how it was woven into the wider tapestry of the game.

Cataclysm struck that perfect balance by creating a devastating new central character that felt firmly rooted in the world the first few expansions had worked so hard to build. Along the way, the story made use of beloved characters in a meaningful way, creating an overall narrative that they have struggled to match since.

The old world needed an update

Now I’m as enthralled with the original Azeroth as the next long-term WoW player. Equally, skepticism was the immediate and overriding emotion when discovering how Cataclysm was to change the world.

With a cooler head on my shoulders and the benefit of hindsight, changing the Old World as they did was a fairly logical choice. Some individual design choices were less successful, but, as a principle decision, it was the right time to go big on the alterations.

There are two main reasons for this. We’ve seen in later expansions that adding new planets/realms/zones that were not there before can feel like an awkward and clunky way of advancing the game. Players do not feel an attachment to entirely new creations, and the content has to be exceptional to get the community on board.

The most notable example of this is Shadowlands, an expansion filled with locations and characters that players only had a passing familiarity with, at best. This meant that it had an uphill battle to get everyone on its side, which it almost entirely failed to do.

The other is that Azeroth, in particular the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, is supposed to be a living, breathing world. In a land filled with creatures as varied and powerful as those in World of Warcraft, it seems an inevitability that someone or something of Deathwing’s ilk would turn up and change things significantly.

In a Classic setting, the above is not an argument to leave the old behind entirely. Classic Era servers will remain, and it would make sense for Blizzard to preserve WotLK on separate shards. The loss of Burning Crusade came as a tough blow to many, and the developer should allow players to enjoy that time again, for the relatively low outlay of maintaining a server or two.

The activities are remarkably consistent (with some exceptions)

Let’s get the various elephants in the room out of the way first. There were some spectacular mishandlings during Cataclysm’s lifespan that continue to mar its reputation today. Dragon Soul is the most notable example of this.

What was meant to be the culmination of the community’s efforts to stop Deathwing quickly spiraled into a farce of bad mechanics and silly encounters throughout the raid. In particular, both Spine of Deathwing and Madness of Deathwing are remembered as some of the worst raid fights of all time, and with good reason.

Leaving those to one side and looking at the expansion with a longer lens, the general offering of dungeons, raids, and PvP activities was remarkably consistent. There aren’t many truly all-time efforts, but very few stand out as genuinely unimpressive.

Blackwing Descent, Bastion of Twilight, and Throne of the Four Winds are, most importantly, fun to play through, even if they don’t serve up staging and danger as impressively as the raids did in expansions like Legion.

4.2 is arguably one of the best raid tiers of all time, even if the misstep of 4.3 left a bad taste for many. Firelands also brought us some of the most iconic armor items and transmogs in the entire game, even if it has since become a bit of a meme.

Additionally, the dungeons added to WoW at that time were solid, and the rejuvenated versions of some of the more iconic Classic dungeons were executed well.

The immense difficulty of Heroic dungeons is a divisive issue, but if kept the same, it would likely be less so in Classic WoW. Players’ skills have improved, mechanical information is more readily available, and extensive add-ons make life a lot easier. 

Though there are no guarantees, it looks likely that the original difficulty could serve as the perfect staging post for dungeons that are meant to feel like a heroic effort.

The original expansion had one huge issue that can be fixed in Cataclysm Classic

Anyone who played Cataclysm the first time around will be aware of its most glaring issue. The final months of the expansion were heavily marred by a content drought that left a lot of players with little reason to continue playing.

Poor responses to Dragon Soul further marred the feeling around the game, and as Cataclysm began to draw to a close, the expansion’s reputation began to suffer. This time around, Blizzard has the advantage of hindsight.

With the benefit of their existing knowledge, Cataclysm’s overriding flaw is relatively easy to overcome. Bearing in mind the accelerated content cadence across many of WoW’s properties, it would be hugely surprising if the developer allowed the game to enter a lull in the same way.

We already know that the lifespan of this expansion is scheduled to be shorter than in previous Classic efforts. With that new sense of direction and a clear endpoint in sight, it’s a relatively simple job to keep new releases consistent, even if they do have to resort to time-limited events or new pursuits for players to latch on to.

So, is Cataclysm the best WoW expansion ever? No. But it doesn’t deserve the negativity thrust towards it. It’s highly unlikely that this latest effort will reach the heady heights of the early days of Classic content, but it makes a hell of a lot of sense to try.