Project Lore

Well it has come down to this, the final level. I am fairly certain that I am going to be the last player at ProjectLore to hit level 80, but in all fairness, they play the game for a job. I write about the game for my job. My original goal was to hit the level before the holidays, enabling me to get some raiding in before the new year. Then it was to have it done before my birthday, which was yesterday (Thanks for the awesome weekend Lesley). I guess all those trolls are right, I do fail in an epic manner. New goal equals this week!

I may not have hit 80, but over the weekend I busted into my final stretch to immortalizing SolidSamm as one of the millions of toons to hit the level cap. After watching my second to last ding go off, I quietly logged out of the game and pondered his immediate future. On recommendations from friends and guildies, the little rogue will skip out on all of the quests for the lower zones, heading straight to Storm Peaks and Icecrown to finish out the experience bar.

Many of you may be wondering why a level 79 character hasn't already been in these zones, and that is a legitimate question. Being a hardcore PvEer, I have been tackling every quest I have come across, interesting or not. No ? has gone unanswered as of level 79. Due to this incessant questing, I spent most of my time in the lowbie zones – Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord, Grizzly Hills, Zul'Drak – going wherever those NPCs lead me. With 80 coming in just a few hours and my guild waiting for me to join the raiding ranks, I am abandoning Dragonblight and delaying my personal quest to complete all of Northrend's quests, in favor of starting my Sons of Hodir questline for the shoulder enchant.

Don't worry though, my escapades won't stop me from reporting on any fun quests that I came across. Icecrown's many phasing quests are supposed to be awesome and I will be running through them in short order. On top of that, I do plan on returning to questing between my reputation farming, heroic runs and raiding.  Those of you in my boat, how do you plan on heading to 80?  Do you have any special celebrations for when you join the ranks of the raiding elite?

Before I go, I have to mention Blizzard's newest WoW product, the The Cinematic Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. When I originally heard about the book, I figured it was another cash grab by Activision-Blizzard, but after previewing the first chapter, they had me sold. Hopefully some of our thoughts on the cinematic are confirmed.

P.S. Amazon is offering a nice discount on the book right now.

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If you do a quick Google search of Escort Quests and filter through all the links to guides, the next group of articles you are sure to find is people complaining. Gamers have been QQing about escort quests since they were introduced into the video game industry so many years ago. There is not a single factor that makes them annoying, rather it is a cavalcade. Pointless backstory and ridiculous requests for the escort, random mob spawns, atrocious pathing (scripted or unscripted), and let us not forget, how incredibly slow they can be. This is all compounded a few times if you happen to be on a PvP server, as getting ganked at any point in time will cause you to fail the quest. But PvP does come with the territory.

As I have progressed through Wrath's various quests, I have not come across too many escorts. Not nearly as many as vanilla WoW and less than The Burning Crusade. So I decided to give them another try.  To be completely honest, they weren't annoying on the usual scale. There was a reason for the escort - lost, stranded in Scourge infested areas, dieing, tagged along with you to help – and most pathing issues were resolved by having the NPC use the /follow command. Most importantly, they moved at your pace, and waited for you if you stopped to gather something.

I found a new annoyance though, NPCs that follow you that possess little to no health. Generally speaking, only Rogues and Druids are likely to come across this with much frequency. Initially I just thought it was the one NPC, but I later ran into another and another. Nass the deaf, blind and dumb NPC, was the latest NPC inflicted with the inability to take a hit. He is sent with you to collect Hair samples from Trolls in the colorfully named Kickin' Nass and Takin' Manes quest.

Being a Rogue, I stealth around as I wait for the opportune moment to attack, often opening with a Pick Pocket before I Garrote, if I can. The problem I have with Wrath's new fangled helper/escort quests is that these mobs pull aggro and then die in a few hits. If I fail to open my assault quickly then back to Stefan Vadu I go because I “lost” Nass.

Sorry for the additional QQ, but I am here to point out the good quests along with the annoying ones. Despite Nass' frail nature, the quest text is more than hilarious, referencing a few different cultural lines. Seriously Nass, everyone knows that Stamina is the most important stat to stack!

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What, no meal with this flight?

Before Wrath hit, I admitted that I was awaiting its release far more than its predecessor, The Burning Crusade. Blizzard Entertainment planned to do things with The Burning Crusade that I just did not agree with. And if you ever state a fact along those lines in General Chat, you'll know that one of the first responses you will receive is “Quit if you don't like it.” The thing is, I actually did.

I was only gone a few months, but I tried to show my disdain for some of their choices by slightly lowering their income. I highly doubt they noticed. Shortly after my return, solid details of Wrath started pouring onto the Internet, but I only needed one detail, that the Lich King would be in the expansion. Once the storyline was revealed to include and extend Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne's theme, I was as good as signed up. The other stuff was just icing.

The quest designers really, I mean REALLY wanted players to understand what is going on in Northrend. One would have to be incredibly feeble-minded (or adverse to questing) not to see that Arthas, aka The Lich King, has his talons in everything and sees all.

While putzing around Zul'Drak I picked up the Unliving Choker from a random mob. During my routine vendoring of my junk, I realized that it was actually a quest item that begins the Betrayal quest line. The chance at spying on the Scourge, by disguising myself as one, was enough of a motivator to send me off on my way. The Achievement hungry will be happy to know that it is one part of a two quest chain Achievement for Zul'Drak.

The chain is much longer than that of the Storm Giant's, but to be honest, the gameplay isn't as cool. The chain lacks the destructive qualities of Gymer, but makes up for it in story, which Gymer severely lacked. If only the designers could have merged the strengths of both. Zul'Drak has already hit me with two chains that I have loved enough to highlight here. Safe to say that it is a pretty solid zone, and from what I am told, Icecrown only gets better. Can't wait.

Towards the middle of the chain it becomes abundantly clear why the chain is called what it is. The twist – if you can really call it that – reminded me of something a great man once said “Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

I miss that show.

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When Patch v3.0.8 goes live, players everywhere will be graced with another ridiculous mount-race combination. The brave souls on the Player Test Realms can already witness the sight of a Raptor, one of the most vicious dinosaurs on our earth, crying as a hefty Tauren hops on his back. And yet, the sight pals in comparison to what I, and countless other gnomes, have pulled off in the last few weeks. Riding a giant.

A Gnome on a Kodo is hilarious in its own right, but imagine a Gnome guiding a giant through Zul'Drak. Actually, there is no need to imagine, just look at the screenshot. Not only is this Solidsamm's first ride on a leviathan (sorry Thrakki), but it is his first taste of the new phasing technology designed for Wrath. And what a taste.

It took me awhile to notice that as soon as I mounted the revenge-minded Storm Giant, most of the other players in the zone disappeared. After that fact crossed my synapses, a lightbulb went off telling me that I never saw the giants roaming the area while I was grinding. I emphasized most for a reason though. The fun begins when you mount Gymer and see the collection of other Gymer's roaming the land. You can even PvP with them - although a match would likely last forever, and not grant any honor – as evidenced by my Gymer punting the other one across the zone!

Although the quest is essentially another vehicle-oriented quest, it allows one to feel indestructible while you rampage the Scourge. An awesome feeling indeed. If you missed it while racing to level 80 or have yet to reach Zul'Drak, make sure you head over to Gymer in Thrym's End to begin his chain. The short chain allows you to quickly get to the point of topic.  You won't regret the time spent.

Sorry for always being a critic, but as cool as the chain is, it could have been a little better. There really isn't much lore behind Gymer, making the gameplay mechanics (and possibly the loot) the only reason to take up his reigns. Blizzard seems to have gone to great lengths to implement the Storm Giant, too bad the back story is left relatively bear.  How could a character of this magnitude, and sheer size, not have great stories about him?

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Many moons ago, Bastosa and I discussed how and who we planned on getting to 80. Back then I figured I would simply keep healing my way up to level 80, pushing my priest as my main toon. While things started out that way initially, Solidsamm has returned to the forefront. After Mutilate's “from behind” requirement was removed, I jumped at the chance to try the new dagger spec that would not force me to be behind my target at all times. The freshness that came with the conversion is exactly the reason I returned my angry Gnome to main status.

There are two reasons why I knew I was going to be hooked on World of Warcraft when it was released in late 2004. First off, I have loved the WarCraft universe since I first entered it via WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness. Secondly, and probably most important, was Blizzard's reputation. The company should just make their tagline “We don't make bad video games.” While a game can have the best story ever, it'll still suck if the gameplay isn't there to back it up, enter Wrath of the Lich King.

I had a pipedream that I would level mostly through instances, but without a close friend who's main is a healer, that is pretty hard to accomplish these days. Lucky for me the quests in Wrath of the Lich King have diverse goals, interesting lore, and an attachment to the zones that keeps me interested. While grinding via quests may not be the best XP/hour (that still goes to good old fashioned grinding), it is incredibly less mind-numbing. I will save that process for leveling my fishing.

Now that many of you are well on your way, or already 80, who and how did you get there? Did you roll that Death Knight and start from level 55 or abandon that idea and go with one of your level 70s? While I have done some instances, I generally haven't gone back to them after finishing their quests. How about you?

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Not even two hours after I turned in yesterday's post on toilet humor, I found another quest in Northrend that took it to the max. Due to the fact that the topic is fresh on my mind, and that the quest contains more depth, so much that it made me laugh out loud, I cannot pass up on the opportunity to discuss poop again. SolidSamm finally ventured into Grizzly Hills yesterday afternoon (after scoring the I've Toured the Fjord achievement) and joined the struggle at Amberpine Lodge. In case you failed to pick up on it, or haven't been, the Horde, Alliance and local wildlife in the immediate area are all searching for food. As with any hungry populaces struggling for the same foodstuff, conflict is sure to ensue. Many of the opening quests offered in Amberpine deal with collecting food or protecting resources from carnivorous beasts and even the wildlife. With all the running around you do for these people your avatar is bound to get hungry and indulge in the mouth-watering Amberseeds stored in the inn. Once you do, your life may change forever. After chowing on the tasty seeds you find out that they possess magical properties that could save the town from starvation! Oh noes, whatever shall you do?! The chain continues with Master Woodsman Anderhol demanding you get the seeds back, by any means necessary. He sends you off to collect ingredients for Azeroth's version of Ex-Lax before you head out to the local outhouse, where the fun begins. The line culminates in a usable outhouse, complete with an area effect, sound effects, visual effects and a debuff. Being the shy defecating person that I am, I was a bit embarrassed when I stepped outside to see a line of players behind me. To make matters worse, the next in line /cheer-ed me as I stepped out. I did what any other gaseous Gnome would do, I /fart-ed against her, then /bow-ed to the line before I stealthed away in shame. The image does not do the hilariousness justice. If you haven't participated in the chain, go do it ASAP. I looked quickly and did not manage to find a Horde equivalent. My horde buddy said he did not find a quest like that during his rush to 80, so you evildoers might be out of luck. At least you can enjoy the funny quest names and text? Playing with an animal's bowel movements is one thing, but my own? That is just nasty Blizzard!

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Many players have been griping that the gear they have seen on their first five levels towards 80 have not been good enough. Generally speaking, these players are decked out with Tier 5/Season 3 gear, or better. Heck, one of my characters has a combination of heroic/Karazhan/Season 2 and their set is still going strong. Blizzard Poster Bornakk even addressed the lack of upgrades by stating that those with concerns should "keep leveling and keep instancing, you'll find upgrades soon enough. :)" The flip side to this discussion is that this is exactly the opposite situation from The Burning Crusade's release. After TBC went live, people who had been raiding for the previous two years realized that their gear was being replaced by early quest rewards and instances. Mind you, these players had the best gear available in the game, making them feel that all their hard work was pointless. The reversal of fortunes is not perfect, but I feel it is a much better way to go than the itemization from The Burning Crusade. However, it remains to be seen if Blizzard made the end-game stuff difficult enough to force players to upgrade. While TwentyFifthNovember has now beaten all of Wrath, the hardest way possible, they are the best of the best. Many other guilds are now tackling endgame heroics with their Sunwell gear, and blowing them away. Hopefully they have upgrades available to them, and need them to complete the end-game raids. It remains to be seen. While I have been complaining the majority of this post, that isn't my only point. Many of you out there are in the same boat as me, seeing quest reward after quest reward being wasted because you can't use it. In the interest of helping with your personal economy, I have another gold creating tip for you. If the quest reward isn't a solid upgrade then buy the plate or weapon reward and just vendor it. As tanks know, plate gear costs way more to repair, but on the flip side, sells much higher than Cloth or Leather. The Auctioneer Suite used to be able to tell you exactly how much things would vendor for on mouseover, but the last version I grabbed does not have the updated information. It will likely be updated soon, if it hasn't been already in an alpha release. So for the players out there complaining about not getting upgrades, perhaps this is Blizzard's way of handing you 1000 gold for the Cold Weather Flying fee. Seriously, if you do 300 quests with item rewards on your way to 80, average 4 gold per vendor, you'll bank 1200 gold. Remember, the harder it is, the better it sells.

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Love it or hate it, the Refer-a-Friend promotion seems to have been a big hit for Blizzard.  I have numerous acquaintances that have either signed up, signed up a friend or signed up themselves.  Surely, they must be getting very close to the 11 million mark with the new marketing scheme?  The benefits – mainly the 300% experience gain, including quest XP – are so high that it made my close friend resubscribe just to level a Hunter for the first time.  Seriously, he had no reason other than “it'll be easy.” Seeing as I was his only remaining friend who still plays World of Warcraft on a regular basis, we decided to link our accounts.  The free month will certainly be worth it so I figured what the heck.  What harm can come of some saved money, and a new level 70 character?  Or two.  Lack of sleep, that's what. My friend came over yesterday to watch the football games and we started questing while the Eagles trounced the Rams.  Then the second game came on...and the third.  It was 3:00 AM and I had to wake up in three hours to get ready for work.  What the hell? How did I let this happen again?  The class may be new to me (never leveled a Priest all the way) but the game isn't.  Why did I get sucked in again? After thinking on it for awhile, I came up with a conclusion.  The reason I got sucked in so entirely was because of the grind.  With the new 300% XP bonus, I was burning through those first 30 levels so fast that the “I will just finish this level” mentality was able to remain viable for much longer than normal. At this rate I should have a level 70 character in under five days played.  That is being a little on the safe side since I am already level 30 with just about a day played.  For those looking to get another character to 70 for Wrath, I highly recommend finding a friend to play with.  Or just /follow on a second computer.  The time you save on leveling is likely worth the two-month subscription fee and purchase of the battlechest. You mount collectors will surely want the Zhevra.  It is meh for me though.

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