hidden-quests
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Did you miss in Pandaria?: The Pinch King
A few days ago, I was fishing along the coast of the northwestern Dread Wastes and something caught my eye: a red-named mob pathing back and forth behind a rock. It was a pretty obscure location, and the only enemies nearby were swimming in the water, so I decided to investigate. It was a makrura named Odd'nirok. It wasn't considered a rare spawn or a quest objective. Curious, I killed him. He put up a tougher fight than I expected, though by no means difficult. He dropped Odd'nirok's Clamshell and a book called Troubles From Without. The book reads as follows: Brothers and Sisters, We need to keep our eyes beyond our shores. The mists have fallen. We, the Shado-Pan are the next and final line of defense. The first to come, as you know, were the Horde and Alliance. While they have not shown themselves to be hostile, we continue to follow them with a wary eye. The next to come did not arrive by air, but from beneath the sea. The makrura have shown increased activity on our shores, which suggests a possible future attack. I will highlight a few high-priority targets to look out for. As I read through the book, it became clear that I had stumbled upon something awesome, and also something very much hidden. No skull marker or exclamation point indicates this "quest." No achievement hints at it. You just have to find one of these makrura, like I did, and then you're off. I was determined to find the five others that the book identified and see where this crazy clamshell led me.
WoW Archivist: It's a secret to everybody -- the Linken quest line
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? In the original version of Un'goro Crater, players with a penchant for exploration and a keen eye could find a mysterious quest near a small pond. The first players to find it had no idea that they were embarking on one of vanilla's most epic and celebrated quest lines, and one of Blizzard's most elaborate easter eggs. The chain was a tribute to many of the key moments and tropes in the beloved Legend of Zelda series. It took you up and down Kalimdor multiple times to solve puzzles, forge magical weapons, face deadly enemies, and ultimately find the legendary Triforce Golden Flame. Sadly, the Cataclysm erased the Linken quest line and it can no longer be completed. Let's relive the glory that was. Wreck it, raft Finding this quest early in vanilla was not simple. No quest took you to this area. No floating exclamation point marked it back then, either. To begin the quest line, you had to spot a clickable object called A Wrecked Raft. The raft gave you the quest It's a Secret to Everybody. The quest name referenced the original Legend of Zelda game. An enemy moblin would sometimes offer you rupees, presumably in exchange for keeping their help a secret (to everybody). Once you found the hidden quest from the raft, you were faced with another mystery. The quest text read, A destroyed raft rests along the shoreline. Considering this is only a small pond, it is not clear as to how it ended up here, although looking at the trees tells you that the water level may not be constant. Perhaps a little exploration in the area might uncover more clues...
WoW Archivist: Vanilla WoW's most hidden quest line
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? The southern coast of Arathi Highlands is mountainous and all but impassable. Most players leveling through the zone in vanilla never bothered to explore beyond the steep ridges. Yet if you were curious, you might have discovered a tucked-away area known as Faldir's Cove. To find it, you either had to swim along the coast or discover a small cave tucked away in the hills southeast of Stromgarde. The area wasn't labeled on the map, and no NPC sent you there. Explorers were rewarded with perhaps the least-known quest chain in vanilla. Other secret quests such as Message in a Bottle were "hidden" in plain sight in high-traffic areas. You were bound to notice The Matron Protectorate if you ran Blackrock Spire enough -- or someone would helpfully point it out to you while you were grouped. The only one that might be more obscure was Sully Balloo's Letter, but that wasn't really a line of quests, and you didn't do anything but talk to some NPCs. Therefore, I give the title of most hidden quest line to Faldir's Cove.
