Blizzard has yet to confirm the rumors, but some details of the next World of Warcraft expansion are floating around the internet. Known as “Cataclysm,” from a Blizzard trademark filing, some details of the expansion have been found from “trusted sources,” some confirmed based off the contents of the latest Test Realm patch.

Some highlights:

  • The new level cap will be 85, though it will be much harder to achieve those new five levels.
  • Two new playable races, Goblins (horde) and Worgen (Alliance). A quest line follows the Goblins’ move from neutrality to Horde alignment.
  • New character class combination such as Human Hunter, Night Elf Mage, Dwarf Mage, and Dwarf Shaman.
  • There won’t be a new continent, but Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor will be revamped. “A cataclysmic event caused by Deathwing and Azshara will change the face of Azeroth as we know it. Most of the new content for Cataclysm will take the form of a revamped Azeroth, taking advantage of newer additions to WoW such as phasing and daily quests.” This will involve some major changes, such as the flooding of the Thousand Needles, the splitting of The Barrens into two zones, the return of Gnomeregan, and the destruction of Durotar and Orgrimmar. (A new Orc city will be built over the course of the story.)
  • Flying mounts will work in Azeroth.
  • Previously unreachable dungeons and zones will be made available.
  • “Thrall will hand over the leadership of the Horde to Garrosh Hellscream […] Without Thrall to keep Garrosh in check, he declares open war on the Alliance.”

Edit: Blizzard confirmed the details in a speech at BlizzCon.