Cataclysm beta confirms ICC gear obsolete

Since we're only raising the level cap to 85 in Cataclysm, one of the goals is to pack as much content and gameplay as possible into the new 78-85 zones and dungeons. We don't want the leveling experience from 80-85 to feel as if it's only half of the content we've provided in the last two expansions. So, with that comes more substantial scaling of items and character power with each level gained. A level-82 character should feel significantly more powerful than a level-80 character, for example. There are some epic and legendary items from Wrath of the Lich King raid content which may take a while to replace, but chances are most of your gear will be replaced by the time you start running level-85 normal 5-player dungeons.

The first rule of thumb, as usual, is that you'll probably be focused on the stats most important to your class. If you're, say, an Unholy death knight, you probably won't be replacing items until the strength on the new gear outweighs the strength on what is currently equipped, even with gems and enchants considered. By the time this occurs you'll also likely be incorporating the benefits of Mastery rating.

Q u o t e:


Is this an implication that it's going to take as long or longer to level to 85 as it would to level from 70 to 80?

I haven't seen any direct comparisons yet, and the rate of experience gains could change over the course of the testing process. I think it's perfectly safe to say though that the leveling curve from 80-85 should be much more substantial than from 75-80.

Q u o t e:
Is the content going to be scaled to characters in ICC gear or will my alts in their quest greens and blues be able to transition from Northrend to the new content with relative ease?

One thing I liked about WotLK was that I could take a character in quest rewards from the mid-zones of Outland straight to the starter Northrend zones and not feel like I was in way over my head which is how I felt when I took my first character from the old world to Outland.

Sure I have nice gear on my Shaman and decent gear for a couple of other alts but I have some who I just haven't had time to gear up or who haven't hit 80 yet. I just don't see the need to make a huge gear jump just to force people to have to regear to see the new starter content. Obviously the new starter raids should have better gear than my level 80 gear but I really don't need to change my whole outfit every two levels on the way to 85.

The concept is very much the same as the previous two expansions. We expect players leveling new characters in BoA gear, questing greens and maybe even some dungeon blues to be able to head into either of the first two Cataclysm zones at level 78 and do just fine. If you're wearing mostly quest-reward items, you can expect to replace them very quickly in Vashj'ir or Mount Hyjal.

Q u o t e:
Also might go a bit off track here, but i think its a pertinent question. What would happen with legendary type gear like shadowmourne? Wouldnt it make sense to scale its stats as you level? Much like hierlooms are currently working.

I myself do not have shadowmourne yet, but working towards it. I know for myself that it would be gut wrenching to replace shadowmourne once i hit 83 in 3 months time.

There are no current plans to do something like this. Legendary items serve a very different function than heirloom items. Of course, for the most part, obtaining them is far from a trivial feat. It's definitely a cool thing to get a legendary item, but we still do not feel like this should mean it's the best and only item you should ever need to wield.