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Leveling a time capsule
I still remember the first day I played this game on live servers, even though it's been nearly nine years since I looked at the login screen and tried to muddle out what to pick. Friends of mine had already made an Alliance guild and encouraged me to join them. When I mentioned I wanted to play a rogue, I was told that they really needed healers, not rogues. However, my friend suggested I roll a druid, as they could not only heal, but they could turn into a cat and stealth around like a rogue does. That seemed suitable to me, so I rolled a night elf druid, logged in and began to play. Several months and sixty levels later, that experience remains full of fond memories of endless frustration with the class and how it played. It absolutely did not help that giant improvements for that class were rolled out in a patch shortly after I hit 60. I rolled Horde, and the rest is history ... or it was, anyway. The druid remained at level 60, years after I hit 70, 80, 85 and 90, frozen in a distinct period of time. Several months ago, while idly looking at the login screen and pondering what to play, I decided to actually level the druid and get it caught up. Furthermore, I decided to make the trip without heirloom gear -- after all, it didn't exist when I originally played the character. This is the story of a peculiar alt that used to be a main, and what happens when you crack open a time capsule from 2005.
5 awesome ways World of Warcraft has improved since day one
I've been known to wax poetic about the good old days of vanilla World of Warcraft from time to time. I have lots of crazy good memories about the early days of the game -- exploring the world, playing through quests that are now long gone, raiding old content when it was current, that sort of thing. And I've followed the story of Warcraft along the way, delighting the various ways its changed and shifted over the years. It's no secret that I loved the early days of WoW -- heck, I've been playing this game for seven years now. Something's kept me sticking around, right? Every now and again, I'll have a conversation with a friend that starts with said friend asking, "Hey, Anne! You like vanilla WoW. If they ever released a server that was just vanilla WoW with nothing else on it, would you play it?" And then there's a moment where I think about that. I think about the first day I was presented with the character selection screen, going over my choices with wide-eyed delight. I think about the night elf druid I made, and the months spent exploring this shiny new world. I think of my Forsaken priest and the hours of fun I had raiding with 39 other people. And then I say to my friend, "No. Oh, no no no. Heck no."
TERA offers answers, launching with level 60 cap
Western players have two new things to look forward to when TERA launches on May 1st: level 59 and level 60. That's right, according to a forum post by Producer Brian Knox, the level cap for En Masse's launch will be bumped up by two levels. As a result of the level cap increase, the team's had to rework the formerly max-level dungeons. "We have shuffled them around -- some up and some down," Knox writes. "We will have more detailed information on it closer to open beta but it should create a much smoother progression to 60 as well as a good amount of content at level 60." For those with many questions about the game, En Masse has launched a new section of the official site called TERA Answers. TERA Answers is a knowledge base that allows players to submit and search for questions and answers to game issues. It's meant to supplement the official forums, as helpful answers may be buried in the latter's case.
The Queue: Scourge frost
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky be your host today. Hopefully you all had a nice Christmas, and are as glad it's over as I am. Time for a handful of WoW questions and answers! Stella asked... "Why do Scourge necromancers (including Kel'Thuzad and death knights) get access to frost-abilities? The Scourge's power derives from Kil'Jaeden and he's a member of the Burning Legion. Demonic power is mostly fire and shadow based (for obvious reasons). So where does the Scourge's power over frost come from?"
Creating "special purpose characters" with the XP toggle
I love this, as I seem to love most of the things that Mania does. She's just posted that she's put together a whole guild of hunters, all with XP turned off at different levels, for one purpose: testing pets as they move up the leveling ranks. She says she cheated a little bit to do it -- transferred alts from other realms, and it's Alliance-only -- but just having the idea to put something like this together is super creative. We've talked about people who've leveled up one of every class before, but I never considered just how much the XP-off option changes the game in terms of what Mania calls "special purpose characters." Of course, raiding at level 60 is one way to use it, but you can go even lower than that -- want to farm Runecloth without it getting too boring? Roll up a death knight, and leave him in Felwood to grind on Furbolgs. Really love running, really running, Scarlet Monastery with your friends? You can all roll characters to 39 (or lower, if you're looking for a regular challenge), turn XP off, and leave them camped outside the instance. Turning XP off means you can create characters for almost any purpose, and having heirloom items (especially if you buy cloth, which any alt can wear, even if it means they take an armor hit in some cases) means that leveling them up doesn't take more than a few days of free time. Lots of interesting ideas to play around with there for sure.
The problem of Outland in Cataclysm
Borex brings up a question I've heard ever since Blizzard first announced they were going to tear up Old Azeroth in Cataclysm: what's the deal with Outland? Up until now, continuity throughout the game has worked more or less the way it should: new content gets added on to the end of the game, so anyone leveling up sees the story as they're supposed to (more or less -- there have been a few elements that have had to be "dealt with" for sure, but for the most part Blizzard has just wiped those clean). But obviously, if Deathwing returns and starts messing with players right away at level 1, the whole continuity will get shaken up. Hence Borex's question: why will level 60s be bothering to go out to Outland and deal with the Burning Legion when, in the world Deathwing invades, the Burning Legion is no longer considered the most pressing threat? Is it logical for level 60s to leave the world, head to a distant planet, and then come back to Azeroth at level 70? Shouldn't they stay and fight?Bornakk's reply hints that Blizzard will probably just gloss over it as best they can -- they're not going to build a whole new 1-85 experience involving Deathwing. When you constantly update a five-year-old persistent world game like this with new stories and content, something's got to give somewhere. My guess is that Blizzard, being the perfectionists they are, will probably come up with a quest or two that gives a lore reason to go out there ("Hmm, you're too green to face the power of Deathwing, but our companions in Outland need help holding what's left of the Burning Legion at bay!"), and leave it at that. They may increase the XP and get you out of there even quicker, but going to Outland at 58 is still a gameplay necessity (Northrend shares the problem at 70, but of course we don't actually know what's going to happen with the Lich King quite yet). It's likely the lore will just have to deal. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgen to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
Out with the old
In response to a what I'd call a troll on the forums, Zarhym gives some thoughtful insight to a problem that's been raising its head more and more often as the game gets older and older: items and achievements that once required lots of time and/or skill to obtain are becoming easier than ever to get. Usually, when this topic comes up, we're talking about epics, but that's not always the case. Here, the item in question is the Warlock mount. It used to require a long quest chain to obtain, but after a series of decisions on Blizzard's part, you can now train it right away from the trainer as soon as you hit the required level.Zarhym says that it's just part of the game's evolution -- originally, the dreadsteed quests were part of the endgame, and just like the Hunter Rhok'delar quests, were designed to show that players had reached the pinnacle of the class. But nowadays, level 60 isn't what it used to be, and the best way to do those quests is to have a higher level character tag along with you. That's not how Blizzard designed it (and it definitely doesn't fit within the "lore" of the quest), so they ditched it.That questline is still in, just not required, but some questlines and rewards are obviously removed from the game completely -- their achievement no longer represents an equivalent challenge, so Blizzard decides to take them out. And that really seems the best way to do it -- though it's always a shame when today's players can't experience the quests the same way veteran players did back in the day, the alternative would be to have them play through content that makes no sense, and no one wants that. As Zarhym says, there will always be new challenges to take on.
Phat Loot Phriday: Silent Fang
This is a nice piece of hefty (as in, anyone can get it, not just the top raiders) loot from Twitter's own @Wibbels. It's a sword from around level 60 with a breathtaking proc.Name: Silent Fang (Wowhead, Thottbot, Goblin Workshop)Type: Rare One-hand SwordDamage/Speed: 45-85 / 1.60 (40.6 DPS)Abilities: There's actually only one, and it's a crazy chance on hit: if it procs (around 5%), the enemy hit is silenced for a full six seconds. Complete silence (no spells, no casting, no nothing) for six seconds, 5% of the time. Pretty awesome, right? Unfortunately, as with everything, there's a catch. %Gallery-33600%
Level 60 Love pines for the olden days of Azeroth
We've heard the idea of "classic servers" passed around before -- some players believe that things were better way back at level 60, when Molten Core was the beginning of the endgame, Tier 3 was as high as things got, and you had to coordinate a whole 40 man raid (shudder) just to pick up a few epics. Blizzard has already said no -- they think it would be trouble to run two different versions of the game at a time, and you have to wonder if they have the capability, as much as the game has changed, to run an old server anyway.But that hasn't kept some players from continuing to ask -- someone has even put together a whole site called, cleverly, "Level 60 Love," designed to convince Blizzard to re-offer the vanilla game again. They've got a mission statement, a FAQ and forums, and even a few ways to "help" out (though you could question how signing a petition helps, but we guess every little bit counts).It's not too farfetched -- as they point out, Dark Age of Camelot once hosted "classic" servers, and the idea of legacy raiding is something that's already happening in game. But of course it's up to Blizzard -- even if they feel the demand is there (and it sounds like it would take a lot of demand), they might just see it as a sign that they need to justify the newer content and do more things like the recruit-a-friend and quicker leveling.
Spiritual Guidance: The sweet 40 - 60
Every Sunday (usually), Spiritual Guidance will offer practical insight for priests of the holy profession. Your host is now Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of PlusHeal, a new healing community for all restorative classes. For the next few weeks (unless it's something game breaking), Matt will do his best to guide you through the Priest leveling process! By now, you'll have learned most of the spells you'll be using at end game. If you've been crafty, you might have been able to land instance runs to hone your abilities as a healer (or DPS if you're of the Shadow sort). I won't focus as much on spells here on out although I will list anything significant on the way to 60. Instead, I'll explore the various zones and instances that you can (and should) do.
Blizzard shows off Recruit-a-Friend benefits: Zhevra mount, summoning, triple experience
There's a new splash screen on the WoW homepage, but instead of hinting at a new game, it is instead showing off Blizzard's new Recruit-a-Friend benefits. Looks like they found a place for that Zhevra mount we heard about a while back -- whenever you recruit a friend into the game (by convincing them to create an account with your name as a reference and having them pay for at least two months of game time), you can choose one of your characters to nab a Zhevra mount. Additionally, you can summon referred friends to your character, and when questing together, you can pick up triple experience until level 60, for both quests and monsters that you kill together.More details on Blizzard's support page. Just yesterday, we heard Mike Morhaime saying Blizzard was aiming to bring tons of people into the game this holiday season, and it looks like the recruiting drive has started.
Staying out of Outland
If you listen to me (or anyone else around here, it seems), the major consensus seems to be to head to Outlands right at 58, period. The leveling is faster, the quests are more interesting, and the money is plentiful, as are the drops. But cyanrose over on WoW LJ makes an amazing case for exactly the opposite: staying in old Azeroth from levels 58-60.She's been rolling around Hearthglen picking up items and XP, and from the way she tells it, things are almost as good there as they are in Outland. A dropped Orb of Deception (which was sold for a whopping 700g) didn't hurt, and there's lots of Rich Thorium around as well. Since old Azeroth is so empty, she hasn't had any problems with PvP, and apparently there's some good AoE grinding to do around there as well.Great example of going against convention and finding your own way to play through the game. Outlands is there if you want it at 58 -- you can replace your gear in just a few quests, and get started on the new reputation grinds early. But don't let the popular opinion stop you from exploring the old world if you want -- there's lots of loot and fun to be had there, too.
Ask WoW Insider: What to do at level 60?
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week a level 60 writes in:I'm a newbie to World of Warcraft and got hooked to it quickly, after trying the 10day trial, and find myself frequently checking WoW Insider for latest news and updates.I'm going to ding lvl 60 within the next couple of days and was wondering what is there to do at level 60 (besides upgrading to the next expansion). What can i do at level 60 that I couldn't do at levels 56+i can upgrade my mount/armor/weapons ...... but is that it? I like dungeons a lot, they are fun and I noticed that I've become eligible for raids at level 56, however I haven't done one yet.... so maybe that's it..... Raids.I'm using this page as a guide http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/wow-rookie-raid-101/ I see all the cool things you can do at level 70 and I could possible get the upgrade and work my way up to it, but, what else can I do at level 60?Sadly, the reality is you're going to need to pony up for the expansion. Oh, I could tell you of people still doing old-world raids (in fact, I answered such a question not too long ago), but, Blizzard and the players have largely left the 60-and-under content behind and moved on to TBC. Plus, if you really like instances, you'll love them in the expansion; personally I feel they're the best in the game.Also, like it or not, Wrath is going to be launching soon-ish (in that "could be this year, could be the year after" way) and with it the level cap is raising to 80. I'd recommend sucking it up and hitting 70 before its launch.Anyone have any advice for him if he delays getting the expansion?Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.
You'll always remember your first
Togus is right-- there's something about your first character. Many of us, as I said yesterday, have tons of alts floating around, but your first character (while probably not your best-- I didn't understand First Aid when I started playing the game, so I just didn't train it at all) was a big deal. Finishing that starting area and realizing there was a whole World out there, grouping up for the first time, and learning just how all the spells worked and what everything looked like-- your first character may not be your main now, but odds are it's still sitting there on the server, like an old friend from years ago.This idea of a "first character" is actually especially interesting to me, as just yesterday my very first character dinged level 60. As I said on the podcast the other day, I'm going back to play the Night Elf Hunter (yeah, yeah-- I was young and impetuous, and I heard Hunter was a good solo class) I started playing the game with, and take it all the way to level 70, and then 80 when Wrath comes out. In some way, I see it as finishing what I started way back when. And after all this time playing something different in game (Horde, obviously, and classes besides Hunter-- Warrior, Shaman, Rogue, Priest), it's been extremely interesting to go back to the beginning. And seeing Outland (and eventually Northrend) through the eyes of the first character I've ever played promises to be a trip. I feel like I'm rediscovering this game I've played so much of already yet again.What happened to the first character you ever started? You didn't delete them, did you? Were you able to get them all the way to 70? And when the next expansion comes out, will you take them further?
Death Knights and legacy content
Merdrah had an intriguing question on the forums a few days ago: will Death Knights get a callout for Nefarian? During the Nefarian fight in Blackwing Lair, each class gets called out by the boss, and the raid has to deal with abilities that define that class (ie for Warlocks, each Warlock "accidentally" summons two Infernals that the raid has to AoE down). Bornakk, kind of surprisingly, says that yes, Blizzard will "probably" add in callouts for Death Knights.And that's interesting, because it means that, at least right now, Blizzard is committed to implementing Death Knights throughout the entire game. Though they're only a Hero Class, Death Knights are the first "new class" that WoW has ever seen, and so we'll definitely see some interesting changes throughout Azeroth. Every class has their moment to shine in each instance, and so if Blizzard wants to give Death Knights their chance to step up in even the "old" instances like Blackwing Lair, lots of changes are probably coming.Of course, one factor of this, however, is that Death Knights won't start at level one-- they'll be starting at a higher level when first rolled. From what we know, Blizzard hasn't actually chosen that level yet (remember as well that when Death Knights appear ingame, the highest level will be 80), but if they're planning on changing around a level 60 instance to include Death Knights, odds are that you'll have at least twenty levels to go on your Death Knight before you can reach level 80.
Breakfast Topic: Embarrassingly Old Gear
Dave wrote in suggesting this topic, and, so, let's have it! What one (or two, or three...) piece of gear have you had for the longest time, but not been able to replace? Did your warlock hit level 60 wearing those same enchanted gold bloodrobes? I know my warlock was using a hypnotic blade well into level 60 - and before you say anything, I must point out that there were, at the time, a lack of one-handed caster weapons of quality. So, do you have any gear on you that you're embarrassed to be seen with, but can't find a replacement for?
"Welcome to the endgame... noob."
Overheard in Orgrimmar: "Welcome to the endgame, noob."Not the warmest welcome a new level 60 might get, but perhaps an appropriate one. Upon hitting 60 (or perhaps even 55+), and encountering endgame content, one is in an interesting position. The content is new, but so many players are familiar with it that there's often little tolerance for those who are learning. This seems to be a particular problem within the PuGs I've encountered. Usually, the players within them assume you've done everything to death before -- that you understand the abbreviations and common tactics. This isn't always the case; from battlegrounds to instances, everyone's new at some point. If grouped with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, here's a plea on behalf of the anonymous noob: bear in mind it might be their first time.
Actress talks to gamer about WoW dedication
The guys at LiquidGeneration went a step beyond stalking an actress and actually scored an interview with the WoW-playing USPS ad girl.Felicia Day is best known in TV circles as the potential slayer "Vi" during the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but she also found a bit of notoriety as "Angie," the USPS-usin' woman for a Postal Service ad campaign. All we're interested in, of course, is her love of Ultima VII, Link (over Mario and Undead Warlocks), and 5 man Strat runs for her Level 60 Gnome Warlock.Maybe it's not the greatest revelation since Dave Chappelle showed some knowledge of the MMO, but many male gamers still manage to find a way of expressing shock that a beautiful woman (especially one who's found a measure of success in Hollywood) enjoys an online raid or two. We're just glad that an actress is willing to be upfront about her love of games--even she sometimes uses it to avoid talking about bad auditions.[Thanks, James]
The Epic Grind
So, you've finally gotten to level 60. Now what? Well, there are some resources to guide you along, but whatever your direction, be prepared for a grind. Rewards for gaining reputation with the game's factions can be high, but the process for getting them tends to involve the tedium of killing the same monsters or doing the same repeatable quest for days or weeks on end. Collecting a new piece of powerful gear is always a thrill, but you may find yourself running through Upper Blackrock Spire a hundred times without winning a roll on the item you seek. Even if you're in an end-game raiding guild, the game can be a grind - running through Molten Core again and again for the low chance of a specific item drop. And I can certainly say that after defeating Ragnaros a few dozen times it becomes less of an epic struggle and more of an issue of "Drop my Choker of the Fire Lord already!" Have you reached the point where the game is nothing but a grind yet, or do you still feel the magic?
Guide for New 60s
With Blizzard's big push over the holidays, reducing the price of WoW and the free 10-day accounts, there have got to be plenty of new players getting close to 60. A guide to 60 was posted a few days ago, but Gamespy's new guide for people who are reaching 60 for the first time is great. It has detailed breakdowns of all the major instances, all the major quest chains, some of which start at level 52, and is generally a good guide to the PvE endgame. I missed the Linken's Secret chain the first time around and kicked myself when I found out about it. This comprehensive guide, though helpful for experienced players too, is especially nice for first-timers.
