World of Warcraft is a great game. It offers an arena in which one can jump right in and enjoy an MMORPG experience as just that –  a multi-faceted game that really does offer something for all sorts of gamers. However, every dream house needs a robust foundation, and WoW provides that in a lore crafted through four games, multiple expansions, over a dozen novels and a series of comic books. Familiarizing oneself with that lore makes for a much richer gaming experience, not to mention it tells a pretty cool story.

A very rich cast of characters populates the WoW storyline. Villains like Arthas, the Lich King, Archimonde, the Eredar demon lord, and Kel’Thuzad, the founder of the Cult of the Damned are larger than life, each with a backstory as deep as any major antagonist in modern science-fiction/fantasy fiction. Lining up against these fiends are heroes like Jaina Proudmoore and Uther Lightbringer on the Alliance side, with Sylvanas or Varok Saurfang on the Horde side. These are legends of the World of Warcraft story; these are names that every player should at least be somewhat familiar with.

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Even though many of the hardcore will scoff at Hunters, throwing around disparaging terms like ‘huntard’, nearly everyone has played one. While Blizzard keeps this kind of information close to the vest, the census information on the website wowwiki.com tells us that the most-played World of Warcraft class is the Hunter. Hunters have a lot going for them, and with the radical new changes in Hunter mechanics since version 4.0 released, there’s more than one reason to whistle up a pet and make with the pew-pew.

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The introduction to every Fallout game wouldn’t be complete without the phrase, “War. War never changes.” Fallout is a great franchise, but those guys never locked and loaded in a World of Warcraft battleground. Last week we gave a quick overview of battleground dos and don’ts, along with a good look at the Warsong Gulch battleground. This week we’re going to take a hard look at the other battleground available to new gladiators in WoW Battlegrounds: Arathi Basin.

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As exciting as the player-versus-environment play offered in World of Warcraft is, there really is nothing quite like staring your enemies down across a battleground. With your allies at your side, you draw your sword, join your fellows in a rousing battle cry, and charge forth in the name of honor and victory. If the truly electric atmosphere of a player-versus-player competition wasn’t enough for you, there’s experience and honor points to be had. Battlegrounds have a lot to offer, and you don’t have to be a PvP virtuoso to enjoy them.

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Cash money. Much like in real life, your character in World of Warcraft is going to need it. While it isn’t as important for a starting character in WoW as it is for a higher-level toon, you’ll find that starting to amass a sizable stash of gold right out of the gate will make things a lot less stressful as you move on. Having enough cash to pay for training, flight masters, repairs, the occasional piece of gear, and ultimately your first mount (and the training required to begin riding around Azeroth) is important. It’s also not that difficult if you follow a few simple rules.

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It really wasn’t until the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark that most of us thought archaeology could be cool. Indiana Jones, with his whip, fedora, and confident smirk, had all of us reconsidering our future vocational choices. And while there are no Nazis, no rolling boulders and no daring escapes in archaeology as it exists in World of Warcraft, it’s still strangely mesmerizing and potentially very rewarding. It’s not without drawbacks, sure, but Cataclysm has made getting your hands dirty in search of Azerothian ancient history a lot of fun.

Joining First Aid, Cooking and Fishing, Archaeology is a secondary skill. It won’t interfere with the two professions a character currently practices. This means there is really no reason not to train the skill. You’ll find an archaeology trainer in every major Horde and Alliance city, and for a handful of copper that trainer will teach you to survey an area in search of artifacts ranging from vendor trash of very minor interest to relics of wondrous power.

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Welcome to Cataclysm and welcome to new beginnings! While there is plenty of content for characters pressing the level cap of 85, the new races introduced December 7 when Cataclysm was released changed the geography of World of Warcraft almost as much as Deathwing. Both the Goblin and the Worgen races race came with an extensive starting zone to guide them from level one through the mid-teens. Both starting zones paint a vivid, albeit brief, history of the race from the point-of-view of your new character. There’s plenty of lore and racial culture to be explored, and neither zone is to be missed.

WARNING: While I tried to keep this as spoiler free as possible, there will be a few vague references to starting zone events contained in the descriptions to follow. If you’re trying to stay completely spoiler free, you might be better off skipping the rest.

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I remember when Wrath of the Lich King broke so many moons ago. My level 70 Retribution Paladin chomped at the bit, eager to replace his hard-earned Karazhan gear with quest rewards from new lands with names like Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra. There was also the promise of a mysterious new class to play; the Death Knight waited with a starting zone that was unlike anything we’d seen before. It didn’t just breathe life into the game, it violently defibrillated it, injected it with steroids and strapped a jet engine to its back. It was a thrilling time in World of Warcraft.

And that’s a tea party with schoolmarms compared to the fare we’re about to be served.

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It is done. Tuesday, November 23, 2010 was the day everything changed. Patch 4.0.3a, appropriately named ‘The Shattering’, marks the biggest change ever to Azeroth’s landscape. Nearly every zone in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom reflects new construction and significant transformation borne of destruction of a truly cataclysmic nature. Not only did it radically change the geography and topography of Azeroth, it changed the face of questing all over the planet. Nearly every quest players will encounter from this point forward is a previous quest that has been tweaked or is one of the hundreds of new quests added. Numerous quests, many of which have been part of players’ journeys since the days of Vanilla WoW, are just plain gone.

Given the staggering changes to the world and its major players, and the rejuvenation of tensions between the Horde and Alliance, it’s obvious Blizzard went to great lengths to prepare for the third World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm. More and more, it’s clear that the theme of the forthcoming expansion is “new beginnings.” In addition to the starting areas being introduced for Worgen and Goblins when Cataclysm is released on December 7, many starting zones for existing races have been retooled or totally revamped. The Draenei and Blood Elf starting zones remain essentially the same, but the starting areas for Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, Orc, Tauren and Undead each have changes in either quests, scenery, lore, or all of the above.

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December 7, 2010 is the date everything changes across the world of Azeroth in Blizzard’s number one MMO, World of Warcraft, and there are no end of very good reasons why any self-respecting WoW player needs the Cataclysm expansion on Day One. Among the biggest draws of World of Warcraft’s third expansion is the inclusion of two new playable races: the savage Worgen joining the Alliance, and the mercenary Goblins siding with the Horde. While archeology, an increased level cap, new endgame content and a completely renovated Azeroth are intriguing, new playable races truly spice up this expansion.

Whether you’re for the Horde or Alliance for life, you need to know exactly what you’re getting into when you roll up that first goblin or worgen, and that starts with racial traits and class opportunities. While these abilities may not be quite etched in stone, racial abilities (commonly referred to as ‘racials’) will probably roll out like this:

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