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BlizzCon 2009: Live blogging the Cataclysm new starter zones
Live from the BlizzCon press room it's character creation for Worgen and Goblins. We're going to write up our experiences live, so keep your eyes on this post.Be warned, below there be spoilers!
Getting back to basics with LotRO's new player experience
We appreciate a developer who goes back to earlier content and improves upon it. And to that end, our appreciation of those who go back to the very beginning knows no bounds. That's why we're quite pleased with Turbine for rolling out their "New Player Experience" changes with the free Volume II: Book 7 update to Lord of the Rings Online.If you'd like to know exactly what all the changes are going to be about then take a look at this developer diary focusing on the Dwarf and Elf starting zones. Much of the changes are quality of life stuff, like reducing travel times and removing all newbie instances to avoid any load screens. Turbine's also added quest rewards for specific races and classes, and even tossed in dyes as rewards to alleviate the tedium of seeing equipment clones running all over the place.These changes (and others) are all great improvements. With the new quest tracking system coming at the same time, Lord of the Rings Online is shaping up to be an all-around friendlier MMO experience.
Massively goes to WAR: Guide to the Dark Elf starting zone
It's hard to know which area within Warhammer Online is best for you. To that end, we've put together this friendly Dark Elf starting zone visual guide for you to check out before the madness that will be Warhammer Online's launch day. Inside you'll not get a how-to guide, but instead a look at what you can expect to encounter within the most brood-heavy of all the races in the game. Click the image above, or button below, to check it out. Click to Begin >> %Gallery-34148%
The Elves of WAR: Your very first Dark Elf quest
So what's the very first thing you do when you log into Warhammer Online as a Dark Elf? You accept the quest "Blood Feud" and get right to the High Elf killing, of course. Surrounded by the towering ebony ships known as Black Arks, the very first thing you see is a Dark Elf man. He has light purple skin, is wrapped in red robes and metal bracing and his name is Gorthan Rakar. He has a job for you:"Thousands of years have pased since our treacherous kin, the so-called High Elves, betrayed us by choosing the follow the pretender king, and used their vile magics to sunder our lands. So long have we waited for our revenge, and today, with the strength of the Black Ark behind us, we will have it!"After reading these words, you turn around and see before you a wide breadth of beach covered in NPC Corsairs fighting Sea Guards. It is up to you to aid in the slaughter for if not you, who else? Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
The Eye of Sauron makes an appearance in Wrath of the Lich King
The ultimate evil in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is represented by a large eye sitting atop a gigantic tower in a desolate and war torn land. It is one of the most iconic images in not only fantasy literature, but also in recent cinematography. Just about anyone who has paid attention to movies in the past eight years would be able to pick the Eye of Sauron out immediately, and I would have to imagine just about everyone playing WoW would be able to as well.The Eye of Sauron makes an appearance in Wrath of the Lich King in the Death Knight starting zone. It goes under the name of the Eye of Acherus. In the image at the top of the article you can see the two side-by-side – the Eye of Sauron on the left, and the Eye of Acherus on the right. Arthas himself directs you to control it and use it to gather data from New Avalon, a nearby Scarlet Crusade fortification. Take a look at the gallery below for images of the quest, what you do during it, and how everything appears.%Gallery-28758%
Around Azeroth: Looking up at Northshire Abbey
Reader Ginevra of Skullcrusher sends in this shot that I imagine most of our audience will recognize as Northshire Abbey, the starting point for many an adventuring human. Just think it's a boring old building? Well, let me be the first to point out that, while Blizzard frequently reuses architecture throughout the game, this abbey is completely unique. (To be fair, most of the starting areas have unique architecture.) And Ginevra points out a resemblance to Van Gogh's The Church at Auvers. No, it's not a precise duplicate, but the colors and and angles have some similarities.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
