Ask A Beta Tester: AABT's greatest hits, part 2

On to part 2! This series of questions spans August and early September, and we'll keep moving forward this week.

Hoops asked....

How much gold roughly would you get from questing 70-77 (until you unlock the flying mount)? I was wondering if it would it be worth farming money beforehand or would the money from questing be enough.

Elizabeth answers: I'm not 77 yet, so I can't exactly address the question as asked, but I can tell you that I've made about 400g leveling from 70 to 72. That's just from questing, vendoring trash & unneeded greens -- and it includes some stupid deaths, plenty of repair bills(I blame Dalaran for many of them!), and training a couple of professions (35g to train a primary profession to the next skill level and 100g to train a secondary profession to the next skill level).

Allie adds: I finally started keeping track of how I was doing gold-wise while leveling. On the beta I leveled a lot through instance runs because the demand for healers was so high; on the live realms I've leveled mostly through questing. Between 70 and 76 so far (remarkably fast for me but my guild starts raiding next week) I've made somewhere in the region of 2K gold after training, repairs, professions, etc., mostly through questing and keeping my bags as open as possible to sell vendor trash. As Elizabeth observes, that part's key; Northrend vendor trash and greens sell for a LOT.

MaDaBr14 asked....

Is the Death Knight starting zone in the past? Some of the events and people in the instance has made myself and some friends wonder if you're starting in the past and once you leave its the current?

Elizabeth answers: After a lengthy chat with Daniel on this subject, I think it's safe to say that we agree that th Death Knight starting zone is slightly in the past to anyone playing in Wrath. By the time you leave the instance, you'll have caught up to the events of present-day Azeroth.

Evan asks...

Are there any good spots for AoE leveling between 70 and 77?

Elizabeth answers: Zach recommends Zul'drak as an awesome place to farm, AoE-style. "The Undead are all so clumped together, especially east of Ebon Watch." Alex suggests that in the Howling Fjord at Valgarde and the Horde outpost above Vengeance Landing, they're under siege from an endlessly respawning stream of Valkyr. They award XP and they're pretty weak. As for level 80 money-grinding stuff, that'll probaby be something in Icecrown or Storm Peaks- level 78-80 mobs, but those zones aren't in the game yet.

Allie adds: Drakil'jin Ruins in Grizzly Hills used to be the site for AoE grinding, and that was in fact how Nymh managed his world-first-to-80 feat. Blizzard has since caught on to this technique and the mobs no longer give experience.

Alc asked....

How does Blizzard account for all the wanton slaughter of Dalaran folk by the Horde? How would a hordie get into Dalaran because of this?

Elizabeth answers: Not being Chris Metzen, it's tricky to answer this question. Dalaran was not treated kindly by the Horde in the Second War and even today in Silverpine Forest and Hillsbrad Foothills, Horde questlines encourage the killing of Dalaran's mages. So how exactly is Blizzard working around this minor problem? WoWWiki claims that Dalaran has been neutral since the Lands in Conflict RPG sourcebook, but provides no additional details. How Blizzard is going to make lore mesh with reality? We aren't sure yet, but we're keeping out eyes open.

Allie adds: On the live realms there's really no reference that I've seen to the old Horde's treatment of Dalaran, or the current Horde's dispute with the Dalaran mobs wandering Silverpine. Either the Dalaran mages of Northrend are pragmatists and know they can't do anything about Malygos without Horde assistance, or they've forgiven and forgotten, or -- well, I dunno. They're certainly aware that the vast majority of the current Horde had no involvement whatsoever in the previous wars, and that the Kirin Tor would not have existed without the contributions of the Blood (formerly High) Elves. So it's complicated.

Nizari asked....

Have you seen much of the Nordic influence that Wrath is supposed to have? I know you've discussed the Vrykul and the Val'kyr before, but I'm wondering if you've seen any more esoteric or obscure references? I'd find it mighty entertaining if there was a baker who sold Kransekake, or a cooking recipe to make Lutefisk.

Elizabeth answers: I think this question pretty much floored most of the team -- because none of us really experts in Norse mythology. Your friend and mine, Alex, had this to say about Norse influences in the expansion: There are the jormungar, of course, and the Avatar of Freya in the Sholazar Basin. The Avatar of Freya is a vaguely Druidic being that is battling the Scourge and Freya is one of the Titans. The Titans themselves are heavily inspired by Norse and Greek mythology.

Allie adds: Yes to krumkake. No to lutefisk. And I don't mean ingame, I mean out of game. Fish that is prepared with an ingredient usually used in commercial cleaners terrifies me.

Corusis asked....

In BC, we were treated to such disgusting quests as picking through Talbuk poop, fetching rotten eggs that cause you to projectile vomit, and rescuing Corki. What sort of unpleasant tasks will Blizz make players slog through in their desperation to get to 80?

Elizabeth answers: Of course Wrath has its own unpleasantries to deal with.... Daniel notes that there's a quest in which you get to sort through your own, uh, leavings in order to recover some seeds. Matticus tells us there's an Alliance quest in Borean that had something about Gnomes and a downed pilot -- you had to feed wolves because the wolves ate some fancy Gnome things and have to poop them out. Aren't you looking forward to the expansion now?

venumus asked....

As a Retribution Paladin, I rely on both spell crit and melee crit. Now that they are essentially one ability, does intellect and agility add together for one crit percentage?

Elizabeth answers: Not quite. While spell crit and melee crit as they currently exist on gear have been changed to a single critical strike rating stat, the critical strike you gain from stats seems to remain the same. So intellect will still improve your spell crit and agility will still improve your melee crit -- it's just gear with critical strike rating that will affect both. (This is currently reflected in the mouseover tooltip for intellect on your character sheet, which specifies "sepll critical strike." The mouseover tooltip for agility only specifies "critical strike," but improved agility does not presently improve your critical strike chance with spells.) Check your talents -- though some talents (like Paladin's Conviction) now help with both spell and melee crit, not all crit talents are multi-faceted!

Batium asked...

Can a warrior with Titans Grip dual-weld this fishing pole with another one for extra +fishing?

Alex answers: Nope. Titan's Grip doesn't actually let you dual wield any two-handed weapon. It specifies two-handed axes, maces and swords. It excludes things like staves, and I don't believe Fishing Poles have any classification at all. You can't use melee abilities with one equipped.

Allie adds: Not being able to dual-wield fishing poles is a smart move on Blizzard's part, because the rest of the game would have exploded from the sheer blinding awesomeness of it all. Then again, I say that as a hardcore fishing enthusiast.