BlizzCon 2009: Archaeology and Path of the Titans

[Jazrael]

The upcoming expansion, Cataclysm, will be incorporating greater levels of character customization than ever before. From guild talent trees, a different talent tree system, new races and race/class combinations, to a new profession that will be all about customization. Enter the Path of the Titans, and the new secondary profession, Archaeology.

Pass through the break for all the details, but be warned, spoilers lay ahead!

As you may have already heard, much of Azeroth will be changing, and Blizzard will be making heavy use of phasing. In this new Azeroth, many things that you know now may end up in ruins. This is where Archaeology comes in. A new secondary profession, we will all be eligible to train and level it, without it interfering with our other professions.

As an Archaeologist, you will be able to visit these ruins and study them. In doing so, you will formulate Archaeology Notes, which allows you to research and make new discoveries. This leads to the new character progression, Path of the Titans.

We don't have all the details yet, but it seems that there will be multiple paths to choose from. These paths will not be limited by race or class. There's a possibility that we may be able to travel down more than one. By traveling down a Path, you will learn passive bonuses and new abilities, depending on which Path you choose.

This is a new dimension to character customization. Rather than being practically a clone of every other character out there of your class and race combination, you will be able to differentiate yourself in new and unexpected ways.

I mentioned before that our talent trees will be different too. While we will be gaining five levels, and thus five talent points in order to reach the new level cap, 85, there will be no new talents added.

Instead, we will be using the Paths of the Titans and a new Mastery system to customize our characters. The Mastery system is set to simplify the talent trees. Mastery passive talents will then be available based on the talent tree you choose, and offer some of the core talents like "+10 damage" or "+ Heal." Regular talents will offer a greater variety, and more interesting choices, but will lack some of the functionality of Mastery abilities. The more points you invest in a given talent tree, the more Mastery abilities you will be able to receive.