Mists of Pandaria Beta: The Angler's Wharf makes the perfect fishing hideaway
Fishing is both my favorite and least favorite WoW profession. I love sitting lazily around, watching a movie and click-fishing. That seems weird, but it's very relaxing to me, considering you don't have to move as much as you do in archaeology. But I digress. Mists of Pandaria is introducing a brand new faction, The Anglers, and their adorable fishing village to the new continent. This new hub features a cast of fishing characters, their village, daily quests, and a faction to work on with, presumably, rewards. We like rewards.
The ever-angler, El, previewed the new fishing village, showing off the gorgeous buildings and the fun cast of characters. I'm sure that we'll get to know these guys pretty well over the course of the expansion, since we'll be hanging out with them on a daily basis. Well, at least I will be. In fact, hopefully Blizzard sees these new little hideaways as places players want to set their hearthstone in order to get out in the world rather than be cooped up in the capital city. If this little village has some cool features, like a secret bank or something, I might just never leave.
Blizzard's ability to create a fun ensemble cast ranges from the lovely Fiona and her traveling wagon in the Eastern Plaguelands to Harrison Jones and his band of troll hunters. The denizens of The Angler's Wharf are a mix of new and old races, all brought together by their love of the line. John "Big Hook" Marsock and Trawler Yotimo, human and tuskarr respectively, join Fo Fook (a hozen), Shen and Haito (two pandaren anglers), Elder Fisherman Rassan (a jinyu) and Fiznix, a goblin who likes to fish with explosives. And, of course, there is resident vendor Master Baiter, currently selling, well, lures. I'm sure that Baiter will either 1.) become a fan favorite, have Cleave added to his attacks, and have a long speech in the Garrosh raid in 5.4, or 2.) get changed.
I cannot wait to see the interaction between all of these fishermen and their daily quests.
Making fishing fun is a combination of drive and mechanics. Blizzard is definitely addressing the drive portion with compelling quests, a cool, fishing-inspired special area, and fun NPCs to liven up the profession. Mechanically, fishing has not changed substantially, and there are places to improve. One day when that all meshes together, we will look at Mists of Pandaria and wonder why every profession didn't have some cool hideaway special to itself.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
