It has been previously internally announced that the alpha testing of the said expansion had already commenced. But too bad only a few have the privilege like Blizzard’s test gamers and anyone whom they would tap from the inside. Too bad for the rest, for they can only assume to get a slot in the beta testing phase.

Good thing Blizzard is currently sending out beta invitations for the WoW Cataclysm. If you happen to be one avid gamer perhaps you can now get a hold of the said expansion. The beta invitation is usually given to chosen players in a form of a product key or a serial number that you need to enter in the Cataclysm beta client. After which, you can now be able to log into their beta server and begin playing.

However, the test server invitations are still somehow exclusive. For one you need to be an internal tester to be able to access the game. This means you need to be a hired specialist by Blizzard or a part of their company. Second, the test can be done by trusted people. And when we say trusted in Blizzard’s terminology, these are the individuals who were given the privilege to do alpha and beta testing in the previous WoW updates. Other individuals who would be given such are the ones from high end guilds. These are the groups who conquered respective servers and majority of the game. They even give out such a prize for Blizzard’s mini competition winners. Randomly, they would also be picking registered people under their official sites.

If you are desperate to be one of the key players during the beta stage, you can opt to buy the game itself in leading retailers. Before, the game has free beta invitations upon purchasing the full expansion. I bet they will also do the same this time. Another alternative is to look in Ebay for the key but some are overpriced and not worth the purchase.

Thus, if you are aching for the beta test, these are probable options that you can seek out. But if you think these are quite hard to achieve, then you have no choice but to wait for the expansion to go live. Until then, level up as much as you can in WoW so you will be ready come WoW Cataclysm.

Blizzard tries to update their Catacylysm page with related facts and screenshots on what to expect and what one might see. These eventually are mouth watering for gamers because the screenshots alone are well made and inviting. Along with its recent WoW updates, they had announced that there are new dungeons and locations. All in all there would be eight five-man dungeons and two heroic versions of the old-world.

• Abyssal Maw: Two 5-man dungeons. This is the entrance to the Water’s Elemental Plane and the abode of the water elementals as well like coral, lesser deep and befouled water. Its entrance is a massive whirlpool outside the Sunken City of Vashj’ir that gamers must jump into. The makers had used a new water tech expansion that players would want to look out the windows and see the ocean floor outside. It has a neat water-filled elevator in the middle and its elementals can do frost damages like frost nova.

• Uldum: The 5-man dungeons. This is the secret desert Titan outpost residing somewhere in the southwest of Tanaris. This is where two 5-man dungeons are housed namely the Halls of Origination and the Lost City of Tol’vir. The former area is similar to Ulduar in Egypy containing pyramids, wall hieroglyphics, Egyptian motif and impressive architecture. It was believed that a super-weapon is hidden in the Halls which everyone is eyeing on. The said hall confirmed that there are seven bosses inside. The Lost City on the other hand is a huge open air area and home to the Tol’vir which is considered the “stone cat people”.

• Blackrock Caverns: One 5-man dungeon. The aesthetics are similar to Blackrock Spire with new arts and assets. This is a new area of Blackrock Mountain taken by Twilight’s Hammer Cult. Deathwing has drilled a hole into its mountain going to Grim Batol. You might want to check this one out and maybe a beast with knock back ability would be back.

• Grim Batol. One 5-man dungeon. This is the new home of Deathwing the Destroyer. This area is the old dwarven monopoly where the Dragonflights used to shelter their eggs. With Deathwing now on it, it would be replaced with a whole new era of powerful dragonflight. It contains four different bosses in its grim environment and hostile atmosphere.

These are just a few snippets on the initial dungeons in the newest expansion of World of Warcraft. Expect more on the upcoming days and weeks as Blizzard would little by little inject and announce what is there to see and have by 2010. So stay glued and stay updated on Catacylysm thus revolutionizing the World of Warcraft.