Hi everyone! This week has been very busy, but I still managed to play some of the beta. Continue below the fold to read about what I did. Warning: There will be spoilers!

This week, there was a patch for the beta which was great news! My Troll Druid “Tikigirl” had been stuck in a hole in Orgrimmar, and was unplayable until she became unstuck. Even logging into that toon, automatically disconnected me from the server. Weird.

Anyway, she’s out and I levelled her from 7-12, and I’m having a blast! Trolls have never before been able to be Druids, so this will be a fun first for Cataclysm. The biggest change in Druids so far are the levels in which they gain abilities / spells. Trolls as Druids also have a different appearance than Tauren Druids in the past. I think they convey the colorfulness of the Trolls, but can see why some people might be turned off by the colors.

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As for the spells / abilities, having played Druids before, I was taken aback at the revamping of the Druid spells. First off you DO NOT Get MOTW (Mark of the Wild) at low levels. According to my trainer, I won’t see that until level 30. When Tikigirl made level 8, she was given Cat form (previously trained at level 20). I found it kind of nice since I like Cat form and how quickly I can kill things. Before venturing out, I checked in with the Trainer to see what other forms were learned at what levels:

Bear Form: Level 15 (previously level 10)
Aquatic Form: Still at Level 16
Travel Form: Still at Level 16
Didn’t see: “Dire Bear Form”

The talent trees for all the classes have been completely redone and the Druid talents are no different. The trees have really been simplified, you will only have 41 talent points total at level 85 and you will have to spend 31 points in one tree before you can spend points in another. The three druid trees look like this –

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and the 31 point talents for the three trees –

As for other news, I’m currently downloading another patch with some interesting new mechanics:

• The Level Cap for the beta is now 83
• Ammo has been taken out of the game (Not sure if it’s coming back either)
• The Glyph system is being completely revamped and current and existing Glyphs may not work
• Death Knights will be getting a dedicated Tanking tree (woo!)
• Hunters will be able to have five pets available to them at any time and will be able to use the Call Pet ability to change pets.
• Stables will now hold 20 pets, though their talents will be wiped when stabled. ( I think I’ll like this)
• Soul Shards have been COMPLETELY wiped from the game. Instead they now exist as a resource system necessary for using or altering the mechanics of certain spells. ( I wonder what will happen to us Warlocks who have Soul Shard bags?)

We are planning on having a restful weekend which means more Beta playing for me! Stay tuned next week for my Worgen Mage “Doggybreath” and new Dwarf Warlock “Rhetta’s” adventures! Don’t worry Alliance fans!