How Goes The Battle?
Posted by 
Bastosa on Monday, November 24, 2008 - 37 Comments Tags: grinding, leveling, phasing, quests, rewards, vehicles, wrath of the lich king
Bastosa on Monday, November 24, 2008 - 37 Comments Tags: grinding, leveling, phasing, quests, rewards, vehicles, wrath of the lich king 
So we have all had Wrath in our hands for a little over a week now. That was enough time for a few dedicated people to “beat the game” but I suspect many of us are a little behind the curve in that regard. I, myself, am on the verge of hitting level 80… and will likely have done so by the end of the day today. So I feel like I have seen a fair bit of the new content.Originally I had intended to grind instances all the way to 80, but quickly learned that was not the way to go. The XP per hour is simply much larger if you are questing. So ultimately I ended up questing for the majority of the leveling process.
And, man, I am glad I did!
I have found questing in wrath to be absolutely awesome! The new phasing mechanics really add a while new element to the game. While I have always enjoyed questing, there was never much tangible result other than a quest reward and unlocking the next link in the chain. Now you get to see the world change as the result of your actions. You get to witness time move on and realize things will never be the same as they were. It is great.
I am not going to give out any spoilers here, but the epic quests that take advantage of it in Dragonblight, Icecrown, and even the DK starting area had me cheering at my computer monitor.
Beyond the phasing mechanic, it seems to me the quests are all together better. You don’t see nearly the amount of kill X mobs for Y drops. They are more creative, more exciting, and all together larger feeling. The new vehicle mechanics play a big part in this, making lots of things possible that you were not able to do before. From time to time you get to step out of your character and control something of absolutely epic proportions.
For me, so far, Wrath has been all I wanted and more. Now with hopes of seeing some end game next week I am anxious to see what the rest of the game has in store! What do you guys think so far?
Reader Comments (37)
There are still plenty of kill X quests but they seem to have more meaning behind them. There are definitely a few that are just "we need meat go kill meaty things" but usually they're the first quest in a chain of awesome quests.
it really is amazing
I think L70+ horde should stop ganking alliance in STV and go play in Northrend. Seriously, WTF?
I cant get into it... im loving my fishing, my herbalising, my exploring, i love the new areas, i love vehicles more than just about anything else...
And yet im 73. I want to quest, i really do, but iv been there, iv done that. If it wasnt for my wife constantly nagging me to hit 80 so we can start raiding again (now THAT is nagging i can handle btw boys)... i still find FarCry2 and Fallout3 much more alluring...
It's been slow going for me. I'm only 71, but I have an excuse: I'm playing a Death Knight. Plus, I just started working, and with the holidays things are gonna get pretty hectic. Also, my friend from high school who I haven't seen in forever is about to release his first album, so I've been going out to his shows to support him. And then we go get wasted at a bar or a club. WoW drunk isn't nearly as fun/productive as WoW high :)
I'm enjoying the lore of each quest, hence why I didnt hit level 80 yet (though damn close). I am enjoying Northrend. Even with being a guildie of the legendary 3rd Reich Leader Steve Bastosa.
By PatrickD on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I think L70+ horde should stop ganking alliance in STV and go play in Northrend. Seriously, WTF?
Happens the other way around as well, its just STV.
And I LOOOVE the phasing.
@Shaun
You are soooo right about the playing WoW high thing..
I get so much questing done, I went from 71-72 in idk how long. but was one sit down and a lot of "grass....."
I couldn't agree more with you Bastosa. I've actually seen you a few times in my own personal questing endeavors, which is somewhat of a cool little treat; seeing members of the PL team on the same server.
I agree that the questing here in NR has been face lifted and taken to another level. Hit 80 yesterday and hope to soon step foot into Naxxramas too. GL to you and all of on progression. will be rooting you on as we clash steel with the bosses inside as well.
I was a bit skeptical at first, before the WotLK expansion was released. But when it finally launched... I was completely blown away by the new phasing mechanic, having more quests that'd actually catch my interest, the graphics, and *especially* the lore.
It's been worth every penny of the $40 I forked over to play this. :D
I have to agree, the new questing is absolutely stunning. My Death Knight is happily rolling along at 75 and I've experienced so much content in the first 3 areas it's just ridiculous.
I've met the Dragon Aspects that you read about in the books, I've seen Arthas on more than 2 occasions now, and almost everything has some kind of voice now when a quest cutscene is taking place, it's amazing.
I've had my taste of tanking and dps, and I'm still having fun, so I'll see y'all at 80, when they put Arthas in the game :P.
Rock on Project Lore.
Blizzard really, really sat down and went.. "Ok, if we're gonna raise the level cap... we need to give the players something AWESOME to go out and do if they're gonna level again." And they delivered. There is just so much to do and what you do is absolutely awesome.
I'm well on my way to having a character at 80 and looking forward to getting myself some endgame action hopefully before Christmas or New Years.
Lvling is not even a problem anymore wen im questing or in a instance, Im not even looking at my xp bar blizzard Have filled WOTLK with so much more new content even stopping and looking at the world around you can take up some time, You are right wen you do open up a new quest chain the world open's up around you. Im lvl 76 and looking forward to halls of stone and icecrown quest lines, And 1 more thing i must say im a TanKadIN and people said befor LK that pallys will have to go ret to lvl up to 80 and i said no and im dam right the new spells we have are amazing we can kill things just as fast now :D so thankyou Blizzard for another year or two of GreatNess
I got the game in the middle of the day on the 13th, and I'm about halfway to 77. I've absorbed as much Lore as possible, and done a few instances, and have come up to doing basically all of Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Zul'Drak. Howling Fjord is nice and all, but the quests are kind of lacking in my opinion. So yeah, going on two weeks and I've done seven levels. Not too shabby. Hoping to hit 80 over my Thanksgiving break.
Oh, and when Bast states he was cheering at his monitor due to epic quests, he really was. Listening to him on vent brought images of a kid in Disney World. I went out of my way to get THE questline in Dragonblight specifically so we could gush over its awesomeness.
Blizzard has done an exceptional job with WotLK. The added NPC and world detail is amazing. The sheer number of quests is mind-boggling (>130 in Borean Tundra alone). Special effects much improved. The gap between WotLK greens and BC epics is also less at L70, which is much appreciated since we can keep hard earned gear longer. And...I really (really) like the buffs that have been added to Leatherworking!
IMHO, Blizzard decided to ramp up XP and decrease the time it takes to level in order to get more players interested in raids, especially with a couple of "starter" instances like Utgarde Keep and Nexus. A few days ago, as a 73 Rogue, I joined a PUG for Nexus lead by a 75 Pally who joined us just for fun. Don't know who was playing that toon, but he/she was fearless, held aggro the entire run, and we cleared that place of all bosses probably in less than an hour, tank and spank the whole way. It was lots of fun.
Last night, I completed the teleport quest for Dalaran, ended up in Violet Stand...and just stood in amazement for a few seconds. The environment was beautiful. I then decided to suspend questing and strike out on my own to find a flight point that would connect to the other ones I'd discovered so that I could fly to Dalaran. That was a "quest" in itself, and quite rewarding when I did find it (and several others) along the way. And then I got sucked in to questing again!
Thank you Blizzard!
I'm just about to hit 75 and so far I'm in awe of everything. The quest mentioned before in Dragonblight took me by complete suprise (I refuse to look up anything until I have no other choice) and I found myself dumbstruck by it.
I've had a few gripes about how they changed the character model of some of the characters I reconized from the books (yes...I'm that geeky), but my biggest thing is the lack of different herbs. So far, I've only encountered goldclover & tiger lily and I've almost maxed out my herbalism. Kinda disapointing...
I wish I could say the same. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the quests are great, but I've only been able to do a handful of quests in Howling Fjord. While I'm sure lag is still bad there on most servers, I get it tenfold on my computer. I am only running 128mb ram on my machine so it takes me about 45 minutes to someplete 5 or 6 quests. While the quests i have done were great, a few of them (such as the harpoon quest) required me to change my video settings (which are all at low) in order to complete...and after 7 tries of my computer kicking me, I finally got it.
But it's not all bad, I decided to go back to outland and finish up all the quests I still had, and since I only became 70 a week before launch, there's still plenty to do. So until I get a new computer (it's to old to upgrade), it's grind ala' outland for dinner! ^-^
I dont see why people insist on playing till they are sick when an expansion comes out. I'm having a great time just enjoying Northrend and playing on my DK just not rushing through. My main is just about 73 and my DK is 62 so im playing my fair share but im not rushing through like most people seem to do. When i see level 74 DKs and lvl 80s running around after 4 days of Wrath being released i don't feel happy for them i feel sad........
The battle goes well, I hit 76 (prot paladin) last night and looking forward to being eligible to fly again soon, I've only been thru one instance completely (Nexus) but want to do more. Also got a bear mount in Dalaran, just couldnt pass it up. I love the toy store in Dalaran, nice touch.
Great Post Bast!!! (guess everyone was able to let off steam at last weeks post).
I am also cheering at my monitor (Its New!! & so is my vid card!!) Huzzah!! Still, Northrend is just EPIC! I don't care what the quest has me do. I do it. If it told me to actually help hammer buildings together I would do it. The Environment is just excellent. I don't know what new toys Bliz was able to get or what the WoW Edit can do, but damn it had to be fun to put this together.
I have cleared the Fjord & Tundra, nearly done with Dragonblight, will probably move to Grizzlyhills to finish of "lvling". After that, I will get the explorer title (small note, running around clearing what seemed to be random places n Kalimdor just sucked ass!!) but well worth it to have all FP and a Clear map.
Enjoy my $$ Bliz, you will put my crack dealer out of biz.
Its been fantastic imo. I have my DK upto 76, and I admitt I do have the occasional "I need to 5 man something, i can't level anymore". All in all though i agree with your post, its been different, way more storyline, and that DB quest line, epic.
The one thing I have noticed that is not as 'clear' or 'polished' as wow, and BC - the quest descriptions/text. I have not really had any major issues, however there are a few quests where i have seen MANY people say "what am i doing wrong?" and you realize you are missing a key step or process of completing the quest. You are usually at the right spot, but your task is not what you had in your head.
Other than that, I think I will push for 77 tonight to up up and away from the silly ground mount. I did pay over 5k for my epic DK flyer which I used in shat a few times... :o
I just hit 74 last night. Getting to that point has consisted of doing all the quests in Borean Tundra (> 130 as someone has pointed out), and more than 90 in Howling Fjord. I don't know what the Dragonblight questline entails, but so far EVERYONE I play with has whispered me with just gushing glee when they've finished it. I am purposely NOT looking up info on it as after I finish the Fjord, Dragonblight is next (caveat: I have asked where to start the chain so that I can do it right away as it just sounds SO epic).
All in all, I couldn't be happier with Wrath! It was cool to be questing on the other side of the island from UK and actually seeing the outdoor platform that you fight the boss on. And, like others, I can't say enough about the phasing. Just AWESOME!
I'm 72 now and after finishing all of Howling except three group quests that I'm too lazy to see if I can do or to find a group for, I've moved on to Borean Tundra to plow through all of those quests. So far, they've all been ridiculously easy and I've gotten several upgrades. Borean definitely has better dps gear for a death knight. Then I'm heading back over to Grizzly Hills and then Dragonblight. Borean shouldn't take me longer than a day or two, but I won't be able to play for another two days or so. Busy busy busy.
77 prot specced pally. I feel like I'm leveling kind of fast. Coming in I had a few kara drops, and the ZA shield. The rest were pre-kara blues. I've replaced a few of those with quest rewards and a couple of ring drops.
It's weird because leveling hasn't really been my goal since my guild doesn't plan on doing any raiding until January. I've just been shooting for the quest achievements and having a blast tanking instances when my guildies ask. I've completed the quests in Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra, and I'm not even half way through Dragonsblight.
Questing is a lot more fun now than it was in the mast though. Kudos to Blizz