As we announced earlier this week, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will be hitting store shelves on December 7, which means the countdown is on. We here at Game Rant want to help you prepare for the coming destruction of Azeroth, so from now on, to make your patch/maintenance days brighter, you can come here on Tuesdays and get you're weekly dose of Cataclysm goodness in our weekly 'Countdown to Cataclysm' extravaganza!

This week, we are going to take a look at the Loremaster achievement, and how you can take the remaining 9 weeks to push your way through this feat of strength and become one of the few with the prestigious title. Loremaster is a meta-achievement that rewards the you with a title and tabard after you do a large number of quests in each continent of the game. The title obtained from this achievement precedes the character's name, and has become one of the most coveted tittles in all of Azeroth. Due to the high level of difficulty in obtaining this achievement, there are very few Loremasters, and come Cataclysm the achievement will be changing and the old title will become an unobtainable feat of strength. If you want to complete this you only have 9 weeks left to do it; it's best to get started as soon as possible and we are here to help.

The number of quests you need to complete are as follows: The Alliance requires a staggering 2,843 quests completed; 700 in Eastern Kingdoms; 700 in Kalimdor; 568 in Outland, and 875 in Northrend. The Horde requires 2,705 quests; 550 in Eastern Kingdoms, 685 in Kalimdor, 595 in Outland, and 875 in Northrend. Now, these numbers may seem daunting, but to get to 80, you will have already completed a large number of these quests and it is just a matter of clean up. You can also try and get the Seeker title at the same time (3000 quests completed), but with just 9 weeks left, I would start with Loremaster and get that first and foremost.

World of Warcraft

There is a lot of discussions all over the web about what is the best way to complete Loremaster, and what you as a World of Warcraft player can do to make it easier. The bottom line is that it is not easy, or everyone would do it. However, it is uniquely rewarding, and there are some simple tips you can use to help you on your way.

Firstly, turn on your Low Quest Tracking in your map UI, this will help you see quest givers who have quests you have yet to complete. Then pick a starting zone you did not begin the game in and find the very first quest for that zone. Make sure you follow the chains, all the chains in fact, to their completion, even if it takes you to a zone you don’t need, because you will get credit for the original zone and that adds one more completed quest to your Loremaster list. Do all the dungeons, and get every one of the quests for it you can before hand, so you can just burn through the dungeon and all the quests in one go. Daily quests don’t count 99 times out of 100, so don’t bother doing them, because you will spend more time and effort trying to figure out if they do count than you would if you just moved on to something else. Use the EveryQuest add-on in conjunction with the Loremaster and EveryQuest-Questgivers add-ons, since these help you track what quests you have not completed and show you where they are. Also make sure you check out many of the big sites like Wowhead.com for up to date information and changes for each quest.

With a little patience, and a lot of hard work, you too can be a Loremaster.

Remember to check out our full report on what to do before Cataclysm, as well as checking back here every Tuesday morning to see this weeks 'Countdown to Cataclysm' feature. Share your tips and tricks with us too, we want to hear from you: your successes, your ideas, and what you're anticipating most from the Cataclysm.

Cataclysm will be hitting Azeroth, like it or not, December 7, 2010.