And of course having hit level 40 (The Power!), I've been away in the US again without access to a machine I can play on. It's a hard life, being an international jet-setting minor addict of WoW.
Tennant, of course, continues to level further ahead of me with every passing day.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
On Being Mounted (Ooh-Er!)
So I hit level 40, courtesy of the mad rash of Dustwallow Marsh quests, and ran off to get Dire Bear form (Rarrrr!) and a Kodo mount. First time I've had one of these, obviously, and there seems to be an odd trick of the animation (or maybe it's that they're so bulky) that makes them look/feel slower than the other land mounts I've had. I know it is just a weird quirk of perception, as I keep pace with other mounted types just fine, but nevertheless it seems odd to be on a mount that feels like it's travelling slower than I do when I'm in Travel Form.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Breaking Out
I have finally, FINALLY left The Crossroads behind. Having eventually done a pretty extensive set of quests in the Eastern Kingdoms (primarily in Hillsbrad, Arathi and Alterac), I managed to grind my way to level 35 by doing a grand clear out of my quest log and actually hit this magical ding in Desolace.
The reason 35 is magical is because last year, in patch 2.3, Blizzard significantly enhanced the quest content in Dustwallow Marsh to help with the generally long grind up to 40. And 35 is where it all kicks off. So off I went to Brackenwall Village, there to be sent out after all manner of weird stuff, and along the way opened up the flightpath at Mudsprocket and made contact with the third mini-hub in the region, Tabetha's Farm. The Other Half is around six levels ahead of me, and when he travelled this path flew through 35 to 40 (oh look, Shadow form and a mount) in no time at all. And based on the fact that about three hours play the other evening saw me ding two levels, I suspect I'm going to follow a similar trajectory.
Dustwallow is an odd region. Because its road is so circuitous it's always felt like somewhere it took forever to get through, a feeling made worse by the echoing emptiness that it used to offer before all of these extra features were added. And it's crawling with pretty tough mobs that frequently lurk in water or the undergrowth, so taking shortcuts always used to be a bit of a pain.
And it's got a lot of Alliance activity, due to the large transport hub in Theramore, so the ever-alert eyes, honed to new heights of paranoia in Hillsbrad, are constsntly in action looking for red names in the distance. I got particularly pissed off the other evening when I deliberately didn't attack a Human Mage who had just finished the last 'What's Haunting Witch Hill?" questline fight and was therefore somewhat depleted in health and mana. Honour suggested I leave him alone, but five minutes later, just as I was coming out of a similar scrap, WHAM - Fireball out of nowhere and before you know it I was dead and he was jumping up and down on my body.
So it's just me who tries to act with a little nobility then?
The reason 35 is magical is because last year, in patch 2.3, Blizzard significantly enhanced the quest content in Dustwallow Marsh to help with the generally long grind up to 40. And 35 is where it all kicks off. So off I went to Brackenwall Village, there to be sent out after all manner of weird stuff, and along the way opened up the flightpath at Mudsprocket and made contact with the third mini-hub in the region, Tabetha's Farm. The Other Half is around six levels ahead of me, and when he travelled this path flew through 35 to 40 (oh look, Shadow form and a mount) in no time at all. And based on the fact that about three hours play the other evening saw me ding two levels, I suspect I'm going to follow a similar trajectory.
Dustwallow is an odd region. Because its road is so circuitous it's always felt like somewhere it took forever to get through, a feeling made worse by the echoing emptiness that it used to offer before all of these extra features were added. And it's crawling with pretty tough mobs that frequently lurk in water or the undergrowth, so taking shortcuts always used to be a bit of a pain.
And it's got a lot of Alliance activity, due to the large transport hub in Theramore, so the ever-alert eyes, honed to new heights of paranoia in Hillsbrad, are constsntly in action looking for red names in the distance. I got particularly pissed off the other evening when I deliberately didn't attack a Human Mage who had just finished the last 'What's Haunting Witch Hill?" questline fight and was therefore somewhat depleted in health and mana. Honour suggested I leave him alone, but five minutes later, just as I was coming out of a similar scrap, WHAM - Fireball out of nowhere and before you know it I was dead and he was jumping up and down on my body.
So it's just me who tries to act with a little nobility then?
Friday, March 21, 2008
Trouble At T'Mill
Tarren Mill that is.
I had a stunningly frustrating time the other night (and by night I'm talking about my evening, but around 2.30am in Europe), having picked up a few Hillsbrad quests I thought I'd stick around long enough to do them as a break from The Barrens.
Happily having slaughtered some Hillsbrad Peasants and collected alchemical components from some Naga and Murlocs with no sign of any Alliance players at all, I ran back to Tarren Mill and was just clicking on one of the quest givers when BAM! I'm hit by Fireball, Corruption and I think Smite, at sufficiently powerful levels that I'm just dead. Instantly.
Before releasing my spirit I look around to spot the culprits, but there's no one to be seen, and the Guards aren't leaping on any intruders, so I have no idea what just happened. So I click 'release', move to the graveyard, which is only metres away, come back to my body and resurrect.
BAM! The exact same thing happens. And once again, there's no one in sight and the Guards aren't reacting. WTF????
So thinking some bizarre glitch is happening I decide to head back to The Crossroads anyway and then take a flight which will take up the duration of Resurrection Sickness I'll get, I rez at the Spirit Healer instead.
BAM! It happens again!
This time, from a slightly different angle, as I look around I can work out what's happening. Three Level ?? Alliance types have somehow made it onto the roof of the inn, which I can't fathom the achievement of at all, and are basically able to cover all of the Mill's grounds, including the graveyard, from an almost unassailable and essentially invisible vantage point.
As I watch, the next trick they try is on some poor Rogue who runs up all unsuspecting and is suddenly pounced on by a Mind Controlled DeathGuard.
The only way I can work out to get around them is to resurrect inside the inn they're on top of (and therefore be shielded from them) and then Hearthstone back to The Crossroads. I wasn't able to turn in the quests, and I ended up coming back (carefully) an hour later in hopes they'd have gone, which they had.
When I mentioned it to the Other Half, he noted that if they were attacking Guards and other Guards weren't reacting then there must not be a recognised route to get up to the roof, which means they're using some kind of exploit and I should have reported them.
Next time....
I had a stunningly frustrating time the other night (and by night I'm talking about my evening, but around 2.30am in Europe), having picked up a few Hillsbrad quests I thought I'd stick around long enough to do them as a break from The Barrens.
Happily having slaughtered some Hillsbrad Peasants and collected alchemical components from some Naga and Murlocs with no sign of any Alliance players at all, I ran back to Tarren Mill and was just clicking on one of the quest givers when BAM! I'm hit by Fireball, Corruption and I think Smite, at sufficiently powerful levels that I'm just dead. Instantly.
Before releasing my spirit I look around to spot the culprits, but there's no one to be seen, and the Guards aren't leaping on any intruders, so I have no idea what just happened. So I click 'release', move to the graveyard, which is only metres away, come back to my body and resurrect.
BAM! The exact same thing happens. And once again, there's no one in sight and the Guards aren't reacting. WTF????
So thinking some bizarre glitch is happening I decide to head back to The Crossroads anyway and then take a flight which will take up the duration of Resurrection Sickness I'll get, I rez at the Spirit Healer instead.
BAM! It happens again!
This time, from a slightly different angle, as I look around I can work out what's happening. Three Level ?? Alliance types have somehow made it onto the roof of the inn, which I can't fathom the achievement of at all, and are basically able to cover all of the Mill's grounds, including the graveyard, from an almost unassailable and essentially invisible vantage point.
As I watch, the next trick they try is on some poor Rogue who runs up all unsuspecting and is suddenly pounced on by a Mind Controlled DeathGuard.
The only way I can work out to get around them is to resurrect inside the inn they're on top of (and therefore be shielded from them) and then Hearthstone back to The Crossroads. I wasn't able to turn in the quests, and I ended up coming back (carefully) an hour later in hopes they'd have gone, which they had.
When I mentioned it to the Other Half, he noted that if they were attacking Guards and other Guards weren't reacting then there must not be a recognised route to get up to the roof, which means they're using some kind of exploit and I should have reported them.
Next time....
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Life At the Crossroads
I've been hearthstoned to the inn at The Crossroads for what feels like forever. I think I reached there around level 12 (maybe a bit higher) and I'm now 25. And still, as I turn quests in, more are offered. And still, there are quest-givers with grey question marks (for the uninitiated/unaddicted, a grey question mark means you're not yet of a high enough level to be given the quest).
Which means in theory I could be hanging around here for a while yet.
I have absolutely no recollection of the equivalent zones for previous Alliance-side characters being so packed with opportunities. I do still tend to think in terms of the kind of progress I'm used to on The Other Side, so for example The Barrens, the region containing The Crossroads, is the Tauren equivalent of Darkshore, if you're a Night Elf, or Loch Modan if you're a Dwarf or Gnome.
Don't get me wrong - I have ventured out into the contested regions of Ashenvale (previously mentioned) and Thousand Needles, as quests required. And I've even started spending time in ultra scary Hillsbrad, which used to be quite a jolly place I went to to level skinning, or to pass through en route to The Scarlet Monastery. Now it's a place of arse-clenching terror, full of menace as high level Allies run through to yes, that's right, The Scarlet Monastery. I crank up all the display options to the point where the animations get jerky just to make sure I've got the greatest visbility of everything around me. One sight of a red character name in the distance and I run for the hills (or for the formerly daunting Tarren Mill). It wouldn't be my luck to run across some lost little lowbie Gnome - I'm going to get the high level buggers every single time.
But the bottom line is that even though my quest log is steadily filling with quests that will take me further afield, The Crossroads remains the hub I stick to, and it's still got stuff to offer me.
Which means in theory I could be hanging around here for a while yet.
I have absolutely no recollection of the equivalent zones for previous Alliance-side characters being so packed with opportunities. I do still tend to think in terms of the kind of progress I'm used to on The Other Side, so for example The Barrens, the region containing The Crossroads, is the Tauren equivalent of Darkshore, if you're a Night Elf, or Loch Modan if you're a Dwarf or Gnome.
Don't get me wrong - I have ventured out into the contested regions of Ashenvale (previously mentioned) and Thousand Needles, as quests required. And I've even started spending time in ultra scary Hillsbrad, which used to be quite a jolly place I went to to level skinning, or to pass through en route to The Scarlet Monastery. Now it's a place of arse-clenching terror, full of menace as high level Allies run through to yes, that's right, The Scarlet Monastery. I crank up all the display options to the point where the animations get jerky just to make sure I've got the greatest visbility of everything around me. One sight of a red character name in the distance and I run for the hills (or for the formerly daunting Tarren Mill). It wouldn't be my luck to run across some lost little lowbie Gnome - I'm going to get the high level buggers every single time.
But the bottom line is that even though my quest log is steadily filling with quests that will take me further afield, The Crossroads remains the hub I stick to, and it's still got stuff to offer me.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Time Difference
It's a slightly odd experience, playing on an EU server while on US West Coast time. Apart from at the weekends, the world I play in is very empty, which can have its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that roaming contested territory I'm far less likely to run into Alliance types. The disadvantage is that you don't often run into people doing the same quests with whom you can team up if the quest is proving too challenging for each of you alone.
The 'social' aspects of WoW can be a bit of a mixed blessing - I've occasionally had my high level characters latched on to by lower levels looking to sponge cash or gear, which is a sad fact of multiplayer gaming, but when you find a good guild it definitely opens up new ways of playing, even in the casual way that I approach things.
But considering the server we're on is officially full, it's slightly eerie to run around so much of it and almost never see another soul.
The 'social' aspects of WoW can be a bit of a mixed blessing - I've occasionally had my high level characters latched on to by lower levels looking to sponge cash or gear, which is a sad fact of multiplayer gaming, but when you find a good guild it definitely opens up new ways of playing, even in the casual way that I approach things.
But considering the server we're on is officially full, it's slightly eerie to run around so much of it and almost never see another soul.
Friday, March 7, 2008
The Learning Curve
The Other Half talked about having to switch off his Alliance-honed 'autopilot' now he's playing Horde, and I know what he means. Even when I'm being The Bloody Great Bull(tm), running up to the entrance of a settlement and seeing Orc guards at the gates (like The Crossroads in The Barrens, even after I've pretty much been living there for the last two weeks) makes me instinctively stop running and move to go into reverse.
Likewise, certain humanoid mobs which I've encountered loads of times before and have locked in 'friend' or 'foe' reflexes for are suddenly betraying my expectations. Seeing (and hearing) an Ashenvale Outrunner unstealth as I run by? No worries. Until s/he stabs me in the back! And I'm level 18. Those buggers are 23/24.
And I have to unlearn my reactions and behaviour towards entire regions. I mentioned The Barrens - officially Horde territory, but if you're Alliance on a PvE server as long as you don't attack anyone, you won't be flagged for PvP, and can run right through the region with impunity. On a PvP server, not so much. The second you enter even Contested Territory, never mind enemy space, you're flagged and might as well have a neon target floating over your head. So Ashenvale - one of the regions I know best in the entire game and therefore feel most comfortable in, is suddenly an alien world with potential threats around every corner. I'm in my teens - one mid level Alliance type anywhere in the area and I'm flattened. So I end up skulking through the undergrowth, more tense and nervous than I can ever remember being in three years of playing the game.
And then the full horrible injustice of the region hits you: If you're a Night Elf, Ashenvale is the logical third region you explore - you enter to find mobs slightly higher level than those you've just left in Darkshore, but managable, and the challenges get tougher as you explore eastwards.
When you're one of a couple of Horde races, it's also your logical third region. But the way in from The Barrens is in the east. So you're immediately trying to skulk past mid-20s level bears, wolves and spiders.
And then you die.
Likewise, certain humanoid mobs which I've encountered loads of times before and have locked in 'friend' or 'foe' reflexes for are suddenly betraying my expectations. Seeing (and hearing) an Ashenvale Outrunner unstealth as I run by? No worries. Until s/he stabs me in the back! And I'm level 18. Those buggers are 23/24.
And I have to unlearn my reactions and behaviour towards entire regions. I mentioned The Barrens - officially Horde territory, but if you're Alliance on a PvE server as long as you don't attack anyone, you won't be flagged for PvP, and can run right through the region with impunity. On a PvP server, not so much. The second you enter even Contested Territory, never mind enemy space, you're flagged and might as well have a neon target floating over your head. So Ashenvale - one of the regions I know best in the entire game and therefore feel most comfortable in, is suddenly an alien world with potential threats around every corner. I'm in my teens - one mid level Alliance type anywhere in the area and I'm flattened. So I end up skulking through the undergrowth, more tense and nervous than I can ever remember being in three years of playing the game.
And then the full horrible injustice of the region hits you: If you're a Night Elf, Ashenvale is the logical third region you explore - you enter to find mobs slightly higher level than those you've just left in Darkshore, but managable, and the challenges get tougher as you explore eastwards.
When you're one of a couple of Horde races, it's also your logical third region. But the way in from The Barrens is in the east. So you're immediately trying to skulk past mid-20s level bears, wolves and spiders.
And then you die.
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