mists-flying
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Would Blizzard's efforts in Pandaria be negated by early flight?
In response to a forum thread started this weekend, Blizzard Community Manager and pug aficionado Crithto clarified Blizzard's thoughts on a Tome of Pandaria Flying. The Tome of Cold Weather Flight was an item introduced in Wrath of the Lich King, which permitted players to avoid buying Cold Weather Flight -- the flight training required to fly in Northrend -- for their alts. Rather than re-purchasing the skill on every character at max level, you could use the tome and begin flying in Northrend a couple of levels earlier than it could ordinarily be acquired. The Tome of Cold Weather Flight was removed from the game in patch 4.0.1. Crithto's comment is as follows: Crithto We're not sure if we'll be doing this. The tome worked out well enough for Wrath of the Lich King as an experiment, but so much of the experience we spent a lot of time and effort shaping in Pandaria is negated by flying. In addition to the upcoming reputation changes for alts (when a character on the account hits Revered), we'll consider other methods of potentially speeding up the leveling process for alts, but we don't think "allow flying" is necessarily the best answer. source While it is clear to see why players feel differently, given how much easier flying makes questing, WoW Insider largely agrees with Crithtos's opinion. Certain achievements, for example, Legend of the Brewfathers, are hugely enhanced by riding rather than flying. Exploration of the world Blizzard has created in Mists of Pandaria is essentially two new experiences when undertaken first from the ground, and later from the air. Crithto's assertion that Blizzard's developers are looking into methods of speeding up alt leveling may bring considerable comfort to players for whom the leveling experience has been enjoyable but overwhelming. The adventure through Pandaria, while thrilling, may start to lose its shine with subsequent playthroughs, so changes may be needed. Would you welcome methods to level alts at greater speed? Or, like the pandaren, do you believe that players should slow down, that Pandaria is to be savored? Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The OverAchiever: How to find the new cloud serpent mounts in Mists of Pandaria
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. Today, we experience the horrors of exploration. One of the joys of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, lovely, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items. One of the annoyances of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, horrible, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items that you have absolutely no idea how to find. If you're me, you will eventually find yourself on a ledge somewhere in the Jade Forest, looking in silence over a cliff with a 2,000-foot drop with the knowledge that you can't fly off of it and that your hearthstone is down. This is bad. I put this article together for that reason, because when I got into the Mists of Pandaria beta, I was desperate to find the new cloud serpent mounts but didn't actually know how to find them. (I did, however, "find" the bottom of the cliff. Good for me.) Hopefully, this will help you speed up the process a bit on your end, although we're still not 100% sure where all of these mounts will eventually be found.
Serpent racing in Mists of Pandaria?
So there I was, exploring the beta, just going around looking for cool things, and I found this! What is it? Well, it certainly looks to me like a racetrack in the sky, so I had to go and gather further evidence. I went to the top of the hill where the finish line is and found a bunch of pandaren NPCs who were race spectators. This, I thought, looked promising. And then I headed to the bottom of the hill and saw a few NPCs hanging around with Serpent mounts. A few of them could be interacted with, so I spoke with Big Bao, who said, "Don't worry, kid. Riding's not as hard as it looks. You should get a few more notches on your belt before attempting this, though." Interesting, Big Bao, very interesting! So then, dear reader, I found my best clue: Toudu Tigerclaw, who is a race officiator. He was rather rude to my little level 85 pandaren lady, though; he didn't think I was mature enough to race just yet and made it very clear to me. So I am fairly convinced that, in a few levels time, players are going to be taking to the backs of serpents and participating in an exciting air race around the eastern edge of the Jade Forest. Will you be taking up the challenge? 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!
