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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm launch smooth so far

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the Game On blog at PCWorld.com.

Well we made it, we're still here, the servers are still operational, the random disconnects were few, the lag wasn't intolerable, and the World of Warcraft will never be the same.

Cataclysm, the new expansion pack for World of Warcraft, launched worldwide this morning while most of us slept. It was, you have to admit, a trifle anticlimactic. After all, some of the biggest game world changes occurred weeks ago.

That's when Blizzard rebooted Azeroth, wrecking the place and blaming it on a dragon no one's seen yet. Storylines were revamped, new quests added, races and classes overhauled, the earth and heavens rearranged, and the interface refined enough to make several add-ons superfluous.

Last night the final pieces unlocked: Two new playable races, Worgen for Alliance and Goblin for Horde, new high-level zones for characters level 80 to 85, guild achievements and leveling for group advancement, and the option to fly your mounts around Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Yes, that last means the world just got a lot more dangerous for new players working mainland PvP zones.

It's a minor miracle the turnover went this smoothly. I was sure it wouldn't. After all, Blizzard's Battle.net web servers bugged out yesterday for four hours, preventing latecomers from logging in to purchase the game. Heck, my guild mates spent much of last night on Ventrillo sharing tales of Lich King launch glitches.

But no, everything ticked over last night without incident on my high-population PvP server. Players flocked to mainland flight trainers to spend hundreds in gold and snap up flying licenses. I'm hovering over Stormwind City as I type this. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that I can go anywhere I like now. It's kind of surreal.

Somewhere, level 80s are racing through the new content to be first to 85. It took a European playing a warlock just 27 hours to level from 70 to 80 first back in November 2008 when Lich King came out. It may be a grinding, joyless way to play the game, but then so is getting every achievement in most console games. Gamers love bragging rights.

If you're in it for the PvE experience, don't expect Deathwing, the new uber-boss, to make an appearance for at least a year or so. The now penultimate Arthas instance in Icecrown Citadel wasn't unlocked until over a year after Wrath of the Lich King launched. Blizzard staggers content to keep players interested (and, of course, subscribed).

Incidentally, the official strategy guide's a nearly 500-page beast. I dropped by my local game store at midnight to pick it up. Don't drop it on your $250 headset, as I did last night. It will break stuff.