Project Lore

It's been a solid eight months since Blizzard introduced its Recruit-a-Friend system and this week, I know of at least two more accounts they've roped in. One is legitimately one of my RL friends from college who finally caved to playing WoW for the first time out of general boredom. I'm hoping it keeps him entertained enough to get a paid account. And the other is my husband, determined to take advantage of the triple XP to get at least two new level 60 characters - a druid on his new account (which he then plans to transfer), and a shaman on his main account. Now how am I affected by that? Well, it's my DK who is running his new shenanigans through dungeon after dungeon. So he rolled his two Taurens and had one /follow as they leveled to 10 within an hour - triple xp for both the new account and the one its linked to (only up to level 60) is grand. Meanwhile, I quickly leveled my DK (who I had not really touched since completing my initial quests in The Ebon Hold and getting in good graces again with Thrall) to 60, so I could get Death and Decay and some AoE power. Now, I'm certain there are more efficient methods to achieving the quickest-as-possible leveling results. But I'm going to share how we've been going about it. We started off with running the Wailing Caverns to level 20, then Scarlet Monastery to level 40. Pull a group of mobs, bring them back within xp range of the alts, Death and Decay and spam a few spells - mainly Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Corpse Explosion, and Unholy Blight. I'm not a DK expert, but it gets the job done. And despite the difference between the DK and the alts' levels, the triple xp (which unfortunately doesn't seem to stack with rested xp) more than makes up for it. He's actually been doing the bulk of the work - we're on different work schedules, so when I'm not around, he's multi-boxing with his two accounts and my one. It's quite a site. Four days in, and he's got both alts to level 40. Once they're to the level 60 cap for the xp, perhaps we'll start a new pair. The levels come so fast that it seems a waste not to! Now, there is a cost. In order for the characters to be transferable, you have to buy the game and upgrade to a paid account (however, your main account gets a free month for this, so the account costs basically cancel each other out). Then there's the transfer fee. But even if you decide not to transfer, the characters you level up on your main account still get to keep their levels. I guess it could be a game killer for some, but for people who cringe at the leveling process and just want to get to end-game, I say it's a fun and productive way to pass the time in those long hours when we were waiting for 3.1. And although I'm not much of a mount collector, I really want that damn Zhevra! I know a bunch of us here at Project Lore already have taken advantage of the Recruit-a-Friend bonuses - who else has? And how do you view the system - as a game promoter or destroyer?

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While spending my days gearing a level 80 toon, it is pretty easy to get a bit of tunnel vision. Some days it feels like my whole world consists of the inside of Naxxramas, The Obsidian Sanctum, and the walls of Dalaran. It is very easy to take for granted the enormous amount of content that Blizzard has already created. It is largely ignored because it is not all geared towards players at the level cap. I really started to appreciate this recently as I have been helping a friend earn her Classic Dungeonmaster achievement. While I had done all these dungeons before, for some of them it had been a long, long time. This is especially true of the instances that are more accessible to horde, or were simply so long or difficult the first time around I had little desire to go back. Given, there is no longer any challenge in these instances, I can take a step back and enjoy them from an aesthetic or even design perspective. Blizzard has done some really cool stuff that is all but forgotten. Remember the temple stair event in Zul'Farak? The giant waterfall in Maraudon? Or tracking down the Archmage in Shadowfang Keep? Neither did I. Furthermore, taking the time to go back and check out these instances really gives you the opportunity to witness the evolution of Blizzard's game design. “They sure don’t build 'em like they used to.” Now if this is a good or bad thing is debatable, but the way instances flow is very different now. Instances seem much more linear, you really don’t get lost in them very often, and I’ll tell you, I got lost in Dire Maul. The events in instances also seem to flow differently. You don’t see things like the druid event in Wailing Caverns very often anymore. Given, I hate the druid event in Wailing Caverns, but it is interesting to see the path that Blizzard has ultimately chosen. What do you guys think? Are there any old instances that hold a special place in your heart? Or are you more content with the way things are now? I’d like to hear your thoughts on the old world. And if you haven’t seen all these places, go check them out! There’s even an achievement in it for you.

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