Ask a Beta Tester: Leveling, the Taunka, and mounts

All of us here at WoW Insider are staggering around somewhat zombie-like in the wake of BlizzCon with the patch (probably) coming tomorrow and the amount of information we're hoping to get out in the next 24 hours. So in all truth I don't know whether the answers to today's questions are completely factual or just stuff that started swimming in front of my eyes at 1:00 this morning. Arthas is actually a girl underneath all that armor, just like Samus Aran. The zone music to Icecrown is "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. The Hateful Gladiator cloth belt is a pink tutu. Flying bunnies will be available in the next expan-

(Sound of a short scuffle in the background, followed by a whip crack)

Thank you, Dan, a little perspective is always useful in these difficult times.

Jason asks...

Will Northrend be accessible at 68 like Outland was accessible at 58? Or do I need to be a solid 70 to quest and instance in Northrend?

Technically, Northrend will be accessible to anyone with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion installed; you can hop a boat or zeppelin on any character of any level. There's no "You must be THIS HIGH to cross through the portal to Outland" restriction, but you won't be able to pick up any of the quests available in Northrend until level 68. Could you grind your way to 68 in Northrend from the mid-60's? Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Frostymage asks...

With the 50 mounts achievement are you going to have to get a load of rep up with all the capital cities or are there loads of new mounts available?
There are a lot of new mounts available, but in general I would recommend trying to get to exalted with your home factions. I still haven't seen any equivalent to the Mag'har/Kurenai talbuks in Northrend, i.e. a faction granting you an array of new mounts at exalted, and with the Ambassador Achievement, you'd probably want to work on your home factions anyway.

Trilynne asks...

Rep mounts from Outlands factions: Will these still be available to obtain in the expansion? I'm thinking about the Cenarion War Hippogryph, Netherdrakes, and Sha'tari Skyguard Nether Rays.

Yup, these will all still be available, and the Cenarion War Hippogryph is actually the subject of its own Achievement as well. The only mount that's being removed from the game is the Amani War Bear, as the DPS increase from both patch 3.02 and leveling in Northrend would have made getting it a fairly trivial matter.

Sweet Sweet SoulShards asks...

I wonder about Tauren lore...have the taunka helped the taurens with finding out their origin or something?

At the moment it seems to be the other way around; the Taunka need a lot of help. I haven't finished all of their questlines yet, but I've done almost all of the Howling Fjord quests from Camp Winterhoof, and several of the quests from the Westwind Refugee Camp. They're less concerned with lore right now and rather more concerned with getting the hell away from the Scourge, but you do get a rather cool quest inducting Taunka into the Horde (which, by the way, you'll need as a prerequisite for the Wrath gate cinematic). With that said, I haven't done all or even most of the Taunka quests as I've leveled pretty exclusively on the eastern side of the continent, so I'll keep an eye out for you.

Abbadon asks...

How soon can we start sending mail to our new DKs? Can they get mail from the getgo, or do they have to finish the "experience" first? Thanks.

They can start sending and receiving mail immediately, like any other alt. The difference, as Azri notes, is that you'll need to get a few starter quests out of the way before the Lich King sends you out of Acherus to the Scourge camp below. Just down the hill from the camp will be an abandoned house with a functional mailbox out front - but until you finish another few quests, there'll be a lot of hostile Scarlet soldiers between you and it (just be aware of the need to fight through them if you want to hit the mailbox as soon as you reach the ground). So if you want to send your bouncing baby Death Knight some new things, it'll be possible -- but it'll take about 30 minutes to an hour before they'll be able to get it, depending on how fast you get through the opening quests.

Zanieblyar asks...

Is there much of a difference in quest experience/money that I should or shouldn't level my alt to 70 in Outland before entering Northrend?

Money -- on average, yes. Experience, possibly not, depending on what quests you decide to do. Either way, wiith the reduction in the amount of experience needed to level between 60 and 70 hitting tomorrow with patch 3.02, the last two levels to 70 should go by quickly.

Aysel asks...

Any sign of the AQ40 mounts being usable outside of AQ40?

Nada, zilch, zippo. They also don't count toward the Leading the Cavalry achievement.

Jedunster asks...

Since Rhonin and Vareesa show up in Northrend, are there any signs of Krasus/Korialstrasz or of Rhonin and Vareesa's children?

Krasus/Korialstrasz can be found to the left of Alexstrasza in the Wyrmrest Temple, but I've seen no sign of Rhonin and Vereesa's twins. I am very interested to see what the offspring of those two are going to be like.

Everrest asks...

Will (dual specs and new enchanting mechanics) be in the patch that is expected/rumored to be dropping on Tuesday? Or are they going to be introduced within a patch after Wotlk launches?

Dual specs are going to be patched into the game after Wrath launches, although I suppose it's theoretically possible that they'll go live when Wrath does if Blizzard manages to get that done between now and November 13th (don't count on it, though). Being able to sell enchants over the AH with the new parchments provided by Inscription will go live with patch 3.02 as soon as your server's brand-new Inscriptionists level the profession sufficiently.

Eternauta asks...

How fast can you level in outland with the changes to xp? are they implemented in the xpac or in the echoes of doom patch?

It will be implemented with the patch. While Blizzard's been cagey about the exact numbers on it, people on the PTR have reported a 30% reduction in the amount of experience needed to level.

I ask...

Will anyone on this site still be alive by Wednesday or will all of the articles (Breakfast Topic: afdaiojk xxvnvxdie, fdkadksif, kdiwkewl Ѷk}ýÆ©¥Êø) be written by the still-twitching corpse of Mike Schramm?

Mike should probably get started on that.

The Wrath of the Lich King beta is in full swing, and the WoW Insider crew is here to sate your curiosity with Ask a Beta Tester! Leave your beta questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em! And if you can't get enough Wrath, don't forget to check WoW Insider's Wrath Roundup page for anything we haven't answered here!