The New Azeroth

I have not had nearly as much time to play at the PTR as I would have liked. Because of that, since originally having a sneak peek at the Cataclysm Event I specifically avoided playing the different builds that came along with the patches. Now however, I could not help myself from updating and logging into the 4.0.3a PTR version, just to look at the new login screen and simply gaze upon the new Stormwind City. Since then, what was only suppose to be a small look turned into a couple of days long testing phase, to see how the game experience has changed for the first 20 levels.

To make sure the change felt real and as close to a new Warcraft player as possible, I chose a class that has so far been completely alien, the rogue and made sure I did not cheat with gold or heirlooms. Darksun, my test character, is a human just simply because Elwynn Forest and Westfall are still my favorite zones in the game, even counting in Outland and Northrend from the previous expansions, and because (with the race/class combo changes) a lot of people will be rolling into this area. The fact that eight out of ten fellow test players I ran across were human hunters only supports this paradigm.

Game mechanic wise, nothing has really changed since the 4.0.1 patch, so I will not delve into those. However, the first thing jumps at you is the new intro and the huge changes made to the immediate environment. Stormwind has been damage, one whole district annihilated, the city’s castle has change completely, buildings like the bank and auction house have been upgraded to the new millennium. Even the street pavement has been updated and the first time you see it, you simply want to stop, walk around and look at the new city. It is absolutely gorgeous.

The city also isn’t the only thing that has changed drastically. While Elwynn Forest itself has not changed much, the first you walk into Goldshire a big, welcome update catches your attention; new flight point. Not just in Goldshire, they also added on in the Logging Camp to the east and the idea carriers onto neighboring zones as well; both Redridge Mountain and Westfall have several new FPs, making it a lot more convenient to get from end to end without spending ten minutes just running. Particularly before you get ground mounts, the time saved is just invaluable.

Westfall, as a location and zone, has undergone bigger changes than Elwynn Forest and although still feels like it used to, the difference is tangible. Questing all around has been updated and is more logical and convenient, often introducing the player to the zone piece by piece. Phasing plays a big role in Redridge Mountain where the quests will literally more you from quest hub to another, across the area. Since I do not wish to spoil it for many of you, I will not give out too many details but I will say, by the time I reached level 20, I was simply awed. Questing has become fun again and Blizzard has really put an incredible amount of work into this. You can feel and see the changes all around the zones. Old quests with quests items with ridiculous low drop rates or long traveling requirements are gone. It also no longer possible to just pass into a quest hub, pick a dozen quests before spending hours traveling the zone from end to end and completing them all. The quests are much more interesting, more engaging and phasing brings makes more quests available as you complete the old ones, without all long period in between.

So, if you have doubts about Blizzard’s commitment to redoing Azeroth, you can lay them to rest. If rest of the world is as successful as these three new zones I have now played, then I cannot wait for the patch to hit and let me at it. It will be glorious.

Busting Leveling Myths

Indeed one of my favorite TV shows and day-off activities, is debunking persisting myths about subjects that interest me. As it is, for me, World of Warcraft is a paradise for old preconceptions that may or may have been true at one time or another. Not surprisingly, once put into circulation, they almost never die. Even after long periods of time, you can guarantee someone, somewhere is still convinced they are true.

This time, I am focusing on leveling guides. Zygor anyone? I was actually an avid user of Zygor for a long time. I thought there was nothing as good in the world, at the time, than Zygor that helped me level easily and quickly through the dry content. However, recently, after not using it for some time have come to question my old logic.

Is using a leveling guide, even as advanced as Zygor really necessary? I do not believe it is. One of the selling points of these products is that they promise it is possible to level at incredible speeds. I believe someone level from 1 to 80 in no more than a week. This may or may not be true, I am not even convinced it is, since there is very little convincing evidence to examine, but even if you work under the hypothesis that it is, so what?

The requirements for leveling at that speed are mind boggling and certainly, the part of a leveling guide plays very little in that role. More than likely, what you really is two or more characters, armed from tip to toe with heirlooms, dual-boxing with recruite-a-friend bonus, and nonstop playing from day to day.

However, this is outside the capability of most average gamers, which the World of Warcraft population is mainly made of. It is true, leveling guides have streamlined the quests that are best for leveling, and the order in which to accomplish them. However, recently leveling various classes, as well previous experience, tells me that this streamlining provides only a marginal benefit.

This is simply because your time is mainly consumed by the quest mechanics themselves - namely by those quests that require you to kill X-type mobs for Y times Z drops. Sometimes these are easy, but often times the drop rates are so low, or luck not your side, that you end up killing dozens for just a few of the items.

Believe it or not, this is the single reason that questing takes a long time. The rest of the factors are controllable with some practical reasoning. The only real tool, I believe everyone needs, is just Questhelper or a similar helper addon that provides the direction and location of the quest objectives. My own favorite is Carbonite, especially now that it is free. While Zygor provides this function, it is not enough to justify paying for it in my books.

Here are some of simple guidelines that I follow when leveling. They are easy to remember and represent just simple commonsense.

1. Get yourself a quest helper addon.
2. Arm yourself with as many heirlooms as you can. Not only do they provide total 20% XP bonus, but also act as blues of your level, raising your performance.
3. Always start by locating a zone of your level, preferably one where your level is at the bottom of its level bracket.
4. Locate a major quest hub within that zone, pick all the quests you can get, filter out group and dungeon quests, check your quest helper and mentally picture a route across the map that you can take which lets you complete them all.
5. Make your route, return to the hub, return all the quests, and just rinse and repeat.
6. Keep in mind that in vanilla WoW, there are two zones for every level. Some zones even have overlapping level brackets, so you can quest in several zones to avoid the quests that would be particularly difficult for your current level.
7. An occasional dungeon is not a bad idea. Gives you an opportunity to gather better gear, other than what the AH has to offer, and also lets you complete a rare dungeon quest

Finally, do not forget the fact that we are not all born equal. It is wrong, yet a reality in World of Warcraft. Some classes level more easily and quicker than others. A case of study can be found in my warlock and mage characters. I am currently in process of doing the same quests on my warlock that, not too long ago, I completed on my mage.

However, playing my warlock is just so much more easier. I can kill more mobs, with less effort and less downtime, than I could ever with my mage. Hunter and shadow priests fall under this same sentiment. Death knights, particularly if specced DPS in the blood tree, are also a joy to play because of the amount of self-healing and no need to drink for mana.

Does not sound complicated does it? That is because it isn't and yet, still just as effective as using a leveling guide. If anything, for me, it seems leveling guides just remove the necessity of thinking for yourself. Helps people, without skill, level more without actually acquiring the skill and knowledge they later need at top levels.

I am not saying everyone has to be an elite player at max level. But a lot of people overlook the fact that leveling provides valuable practice for beginners to learn the mechanics of the game. Even such simple things as flight points, boat routes, and portals are not obvious to some. Even worse, automated game play produces people who think too much for granted. Like people who sit in Stormwind and spam the trade channel for stockade boosts because they are too lazy to do a few quests that would provide the same effect, in the same amount of time they wasted in futile complaint.

Argent Daily Guide - Part 2

As you fly from the west, land immediately in 12 by 28. The area is riddled with targettable, small trees, the source of lumber for the Argent Tournament. Yes, you will anger some treehuggers, as you chop them down but they are just a small irritation. Usually I see people just going from one tree to the other and not even kill the guardians.

If you got the Sewer Stew cooking daily, follow the river east to around 28 by 39 and start picking carrots. You need four and if you were smart, bringing the chilled meat with you, the daily can be cooked on site.

If you got the Shifting Sun Curio jewelrycrafting daily, head just slightly north, beyond Crusaders' Pinnacle and lay waste to some scourge there until they yeld you a Scourge Curio. Easy and quick.

Chipping Stone

No rest for the hero, as we mount once again and fly to the Storm Peaks. If you do not have an epic flyer, I suggest you port to Dalaran and take a flight path to Frosthold. It will be quicker, but otherwise, just fly over yourself.

Your objective is the valley that hosts the Engine of the Makers, where you will see odd pieces of architecture laying around in the snow, just like discarded rock from bigger assemblies that look like they broke off from somewhere a century ago. Blow them up and pick 15 stone blocks for your goblin employer.

The great thing about this spot is that it is a dream for jewelrycrafters, since half of our dailies can be completed here. There are proto dragons flying around 44 by 59 for Intricate Bone Figurine, revenants at 41 by 61 for Bright Armor Relic and plenty of iron dwarves at 37 by 64 for Wicked Sun Brooch. There are additional iron dwarves in 27 by 67 and the cave there.

From there, simply head back to the tournament grounds and collect your bounties. If you choose all cash rewards, you are looking at around 120g for line of dailies that take barely half an hour to complete. I do these quests almost everyday, simply because they are so rewarding and take so little effort to complete.

Of course, remember to also return the jewelrycrafting and cooking dailies to Dalaran. If you are feeling enterprising, do not take the flight path, but fly there yourself, following the mounts on Icecrown's eastern border, for they are riddled with saronite. You will pass two valleys on your way, both sitting on your western side, all good spots as well, so circle around and pick easy materials.

I usually also pass through Crusaders' Pinnacle on my way, because the valley there, controlled by the scourge, has a high concentration of saronite nodes, and of course, any saronite node can also spawn a titanium node. I almost never run out of titanium by just simply doing these small rounds on my way to from A to B.

That ends the guide this time. Naturally, if you have a question or comment, leave a note and I will elaborate on any parts that were unclear.

Continued from: Argent Daily Guide - Part 1.

Argent Daily Guide

Surprisingly, I have been giving tips about completing the Argent Tournament dailies to a few people in the past couple of days. The biggest problems seem to be the jousting fights, against both the scourge and champions, with many wondering what the good tactics are. So, instead of repeating myself, figured it was worth typing it down. Here, I will give you a brief tour of my morning daily run, however, remember that it assumes you are both a miner, jewelrycrafter, and of course able to do the champion dailies. So, if you are not, just skip those parts.

Journey starts at Dalaran, where I quickly pick up my jewelrycrafter and cooking dailies - with luck, it is a quest I can complete on the way. Next I hitch a ride to the tournament grounds where I pick up the following daily quests:

• A Chip Off the Ulduar Block
• Jack Some Lumber

• Threat From Above
• Taking Battle to the Enemy
• Battle Before the Citadel
• Among the Champions

First things first, arm your lance, pick up a steed, and head to The Ring of Champions. The simple rules of jousting is to knock your opponent's shield down with throwing spears, while keeping your own up. Once he is down to one or less, charge him. Of course, never start a fight without full health and your own shields up to maximum.

If you are used to fighting valiants, know that against champions you have to maneuver a lot more. They are faster and hit harder, but the same pattern still exists. Essentially, they will give you chase, periodically breaking off to a distance, from which they will throw spears and quickly charge you. However, they are slower than you, so keep your distance before they break off, evade and throw your spears a couple of times. This should bring their shields down and you can charge yourself, either when they prepare for their own, or before.

The best tactic is actually charge them right before them and remain in close quarters, while buffing your shield and preventing them from charging at all. Couple of seconds after, they will abandon their tactic and give chase again. Repeat four times and your first daily is done.

The Dead Dragon

Next, mount your gryphon and head west, to around 45 by 31, near the Shadow Vault. Follow the mountain range towards the location and pick up any ore that you happen across. The mountains have a lot of nodes, so do not discard it. On site, you will take down the flying, undead dragon. This can actually be soloed, if you have some gifted gear, though if you are unsure, do a quick shoutout in General chat, you should rarily have trouble finding a friend or two who are on the same quest.

In a group, you do not need a tank, or healer. Just two DPS can engage the dragon and burn him, and his henchmen, down. When soloing, I briefly buff with some food, blow my Horn of Winter, and as the dragon is coming from around the corner, summon my Army of the Dead. Do not be ashamed to burn cooldowns, it is what they are for, and in the end, the fight is very brief.

Paladins should have no trouble soloing the quest with their bubbles and healing spells. I have also heard of non-plate wearers being able to do it, including shadow priests and mages, but since they are not my forte, cannot provide help how to accomplish it, and like I said, if you are unsure, get a group. It is a social game after all.

From there, head south to 45 by 49. You will see ghostly, humanoid enemies here, moving in packs and under the leadership of scourge spellcasters. Engage them and quickly dispatch 15 of them, and you will have complete both Threat from Above and Taking Battle to the Enemy.

The Citadel

The next battlefield will be just south of Corp'rethar. This time, follow the eastern mountain slope south on your way, because there are several spawn points near each other. You will find a small Argent Crusade post just after the horrow gate, so equip your lance and grab a horse, it is time to lay waste to the enemy. Kill the flying gargoyles on your left and right as you ride south. You will need to spear them from the air, however do not bother with a shield; they will knock it down and still do almost no damage.

Next, you will see death knights, both commanders and lieutenants, on a slightly sloping ground. I highly advice to fight them one by one, although the lieutenants are the easiest. Do not even think about the foot soldiers. They will fall if you as much as cough in their direction. As always, engage with a full shield and health. Anything less, is probably stupid.

The lieutenants go down fairly easily; begin the fight with a charge and immediately escape to a distance before they can react. Be aware not to run into additional forces, or you will be overwhelmed. Quick turn, throw spear and continue to evade him. Repeat and after a couple of spears, the lieutenant goes down.

The commanders are tougher and unlike the last one, start off with your spear, at max range. Before the spear lands, retreat from him, keeping at a distance, running back and around him. Turn and throw another spear as soon as possible and charge when his shield is in one or less. The fight is faster phased than the champions and you are best simply evading him. Do not bother to buff your shield in between throws. You might even aggro a scout, but do not panic.

I have had three scouts on me and still being able to burn the commander down. Simply evade and charge him. When you are not charging, you should be throwing spears, always on the move. In the end, the fight should go smoothly after some practice. You need to kill one commander, five lieutenants, and ten scouts, before you can call it a day.

By now, you have completed all the quests that reward champions seals. So, if you have no cooking or jewelrycrafting dailies, nor felt like taking the goblin tasks, you can now fly back to the tournament and return the quests. For me, the journey continues to the Crystalsong Forest.

Continues: Argent Daily Guide - Part 2

Fire and Steel

There are few items in the whole of Northrend that are as hard to farm and acquire, insufficient quantities, as Eternal Fire and Relics of Ulduar. However, both play a pivotal role in the current game, and after personally spending a lot of time working out the best ways to get and use them, I figured was time to bring this to everyone.

All the eternal elements are very useful for crafting, but I believe there are three that stand out the most; shadow, earth, and fire. Most notably, they are the ingredients to titansteel bars, which are used extensively in level 80 armor pieces. The first two are however a lot more common than fire because you repeatedly receive them from ore mining and various other actions. Eternal Fire is different, for myself have only found two spots that have a decent drop rate.

Both cases involve simply killing fiery revenants, so it is all fairly straight forward. The first location is a small canyon, east of Dun Niffelem, which is the same place you will complete the Hot and Cold quest, for the Sons of Hodir faction. The downside of this spot is that the drop rate is a bit irritating and to get just Crystallized Fire for one Eternal Fire can sometimes be frustrating. However, the revenants spawn reasonably fast.

Second spot is in Wintergrasp, at the very south-east corner, beyond the Flamewatch Tower. The drop rate is much better here than it is in the Storm Peaks, though however, the respawn time is less user-friendly. Usually I simply run it through once and leave again, with enough pieces for one full piece of Eternal Fire.

For the relics of ulduar, the hunt is a lot simpler. They have a chance to drop from nearly every creature you kill in the Storm Peaks, with various rates of course. The best place I have found, is a small cave just north-west from Frosthold. The cave is full of iron dwarves, all with a quick respawn timer and high drop rate for the relics. At level 80 you can pretty much plow through the cave nonstop and in just half an hour, pick few dozen relics.

Unlike Eternal Fire, the relics are not used used for crafting, but to gain reputation with the Sons of Hodir faction. The faction is a bane to many people, primarily because they do not have a tabard that you can wear in heroics, but instead you have to simply acquire their reputation through tedious daily quests. So the ability to farm hundreds of relics, much like runecloth for the racial factions, is a pretty important shortcut.