Blizzard Entertainment Begins Closed Beta Test for World of Warcraft®: Cataclysm™

***Cairenn*** · 06-30-10, 04:38 PM

IRVINE, Calif. – June 30, 2010 – Blizzard Entertainment announced today that the closed beta test for Cataclysm™, its highly anticipated new expansion for World of Warcraft®, has begun. The company has started issuing invitations to participate in the testing process to a wide range of players from around the world who signed up via their Battle.net® accounts. While enjoying an early look at the game, beta testers will provide valuable feedback to help Blizzard Entertainment find bugs, address balance issues, and polish the new content.

"Our focus with Cataclysm has been to build on the knowledge we've gained through the previous expansions to deliver the best, most compelling World of Warcraft content for our players to date," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Gathering focused feedback during the beta test will go a long way in helping us reach that goal when we launch Cataclysm later this year."

Cataclysm is the third expansion for World of Warcraft, the most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game in the world. The first two expansions, The Burning Crusade®and Wrath of the Lich King®, each shattered PC game sales records upon their release. In Cataclysm, the face of Azeroth will be forever altered by the return of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing. Players will explore once-familiar areas of the world that have now been reshaped by the devastation and filled with new adventures. In an effort to survive the planet-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races -- worgen and goblins -- will join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde. As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they'll discover newly revealed locations, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world.

For more information on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, please visit the official website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm. To set up a Battle.net account and sign up for a chance to participate in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta test, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net.

zariel · 06-30-10, 05:10 PM

Any word on keys for addon authors again?

***Cairenn*** · 06-30-10, 05:13 PM

Emailed them, again, asking. You guys will know almost as soon as I do.

Rumil_Dunemaul · 06-30-10, 05:48 PM

Oh my!

Nice to hear that you're enquiring about keys. It's been a nice deal in the past.

Ferous · 06-30-10, 07:49 PM

You should ask if theres going to be any contests soon to win them... Other than the guild thing :O

Sepioth · 06-30-10, 10:26 PM

Chances are if i get one it will get lost in the flood of WoW phishing spam I currently get from hotmail accounts.

I'll have to check those emails a little more carefully I suppose

Cralor · 06-30-10, 10:38 PM

I am VERY excited!!

Ferous · 06-30-10, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by Sepioth

Chances are if i get one it will get lost in the flood of WoW phishing spam I currently get from hotmail accounts.

I'll have to check those emails a little more carefully I suppose

The best way to check if you have the Beta is to check your battle.net account, not your email. It will be shown along with the other games.

d87 · 07-01-10, 01:31 AM

The best way to check if you have the Beta is to check your battle.net account, not your email. It will be shown along with the other games.

Aren't you suppose to enter beta key first for it to appear?
And that also means you don't need to click any links in your mail, just the key.

Ailae · 07-01-10, 04:06 AM

Originally Posted by d87

Aren't you suppose to enter beta key first for it to appear?
And that also means you don't need to click any links in your mail, just the key.

From http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...26285604&sid=1

Please note that players selected via the opt-in system do not receive beta keys. Rather, your account will be flagged automatically and an email will be sent to you.

I guess if you receive your key through any contest, it's a different story.

***Cairenn*** · 07-01-10, 04:42 AM

If we get keys to give away, I'm not sure which way it'll happen, I'll be sure to let everyone know, though.

Cralor · 07-01-10, 05:47 PM

OMG another reply to this thread! Sorry, it's not Cairenn with good news.... yet

I thought of something. StarCraft 2 was the first game that utilized the new Battle.net "Beta feature". If you were selected, it automatically showed in your Account Management and just sent you a notification email. This is exactly how the Cataclysm Beta works.

But... you could also receive a key from Pre-Ordering it. (Thanks again to Mr. Ackis the Fish for giving his to me! :P) This suggests to me that keys will still be something Blizzard can do, but I am not positive that is the route they will take... just pointing out that it may still be done in that fashion

EDIT: In other news... it seems that currently the Beta does not have AddOns enabled. This means that if we do get keys, it won't be for another build (or several more).

EDIT2: It took almost 1/2 of a month of Closed Beta action before we were given keys. (WotLK data. Start Jul 17th. I received my key on the 7th of August.) (Also remember some might have gotten their key before me.)

Ferous · 07-01-10, 06:35 PM

my Sons birthday is August 13th

Cralor · 07-01-10, 07:14 PM

THAT'S AWESOME! Was he born on a Friday too?!?!?!

Ferous · 07-01-10, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by Cralor

THAT'S AWESOME! Was he born on a Friday too?!?!?!

Thursday :O Sorry for offtopic! Don't kill me