Project Lore

I've had a ton to keep my busy in WoW since dinging level 80 a couple of weeks ago. There's rep to grind, daily heroics to run and farming of the ToC to be had (building up my purple collection FTW). But on the side when I have a few moments (or hours) to spare, I've taken up exploring Azeroth. Perhaps it's not something that most players would have at the top of their priority list after hitting 80, but so far for me it's been a bit of a nostalgic way to re-visit the old world, run through parts I've never seen before, and earn some achievements in the process. Plus, now we have an even more compelling reason. With the imminent destruction of Azeroth in the Cataclysm, this could be the last time I see some of these zones before they are changed forever. Sure, I'll likely visit Orgrimmar and UC, but the surrounding areas? Probably not. And we still don't know what the expansion will mean for exploration achievements - if a zone is completely altered to the point of being split in two (I'm thinking Barrens), will the old exploration achievements be locked? The same could be said for questing in the Old World, but that's for a later conquest. Maybe there will be some middle ground on the issues, but I'd rather not take my chances. Anyhow, back on point. I started out in Kalimdor, from good ol' Durotar, where I had neglected to uncover Kolkar Crag. Then it was west to the grasslands of the Barrens, where my Zhevra visited her long-lost cousin. I worked my way west and then to the north, finishing off a couple of uncovered areas in each zone of Thousand Needles, Feralas, Mulgore, Desolace, Azshara, Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale, Felwood and Winterspring (and /love-ing every critter I see along the way). One of the high points: running into a pack of Worgen hiding out in Ashenvale and beating up on a few of them (good practice for future PvP fun). There also was Moonglade and Dark Shore, neither of which I had stepped foot in before. So far, I've finished up 14 of the 20 zones in Kalimdor, but I've still got a long ways to go before hitting that coveted Explorer title. It's easy to forget, when hidden away in the deep corners of Northrend, how vast and diverse Azeroth is. My secret pleasure - I've really enjoyed running into some of those humanoid tribes that you don't see too much of anymore: The Centaurs, Ogres, Furbolgs, Harpies and Wildkin of the world. I suppose Murlocs still are a pretty common sight, but I also made a point to run over top of every single murloc I came across, just to hear their gurgling battle cry while I galloped away. And more fun is yet to be had. I still have more nostalgia to come as I finish up Kalimdor, then head to the Eastern Kingdoms. Has anyone else taken to exploring lately? What about any other achievements that you want to get before the expansion? Don't worry if not - it seems that we'll still have quite a while before it comes out.

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