Warcraft Diary
Apr. 4th, 2007 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexxkayI forgot to mention in my last post what *kind* of flying mount I got. Being an Alliance character, my options were various kinds of Gryphons. Being a long-time Carolingian, I naturally chose the Golden Gryphon :)
I have discovered that, as I expected, enemies with ranged attacks can go after you while you're airborne. It's pretty simple to get out of their range, though. Also, flying is really wonderful for when you've finished a quest. No more fighting your way out of hostile territory, now you can just go straight up! Well, not if you're in a cave I guess. Still, very useful most of the time.
The Blade's Edge Mountain zone is most notable for having huge spikes of stone coming out of the ground in lots of places. It's a very distinctive look. Last night, I saw an even more distinctive section, by the name of Dragon's End. There's a large cliff face made up of these spiky protrusions. And about half a dozen full-sized dragon corpses are impaled upon them, as if they had perhaps been flung there by a potent magical wind while flying past. Every picture tells a story, but that one's more intriguing than most.
I really hate Crust Bursters. They lurk underground, so you can't hit them unexpectedly with an opening shot, *they* do that to *you*. They hit hard, both melee and at range. They have a decent amount of magic resistance, and they can duck back underground during a fight, breaking my combat lock and ruining any in-progress casting. Last night, I got a quest requiring me to get a bunch of CB poison glands. Bleagh. But, I discovered, there was an area nearby that had "Young Crust Bursters", who are not strong enough to burrow yet, and stay above ground. I expect that the drop rate for the poison was much lower with these young ones than it would have been for the mature ones. But I was *totally* ok with that as long as it meant I didn't have to fight any of the grown ones either. Indeed, I got a bit of a role-playing thrill by imagining myself wiping out the entire next generation of the cursed things.
Now that I'm at L70, and quest xp converts to gold, I'm getting about 100G an hour just by questing. I still have a lot invested in the Auction House, though, so will be spending time there also for a goodly while.
---
I've started taking advantage of a relatively new UI mod that lets me switch between outfits with one click. So now I have three sets of gear: one that emphasizes crit chance, for when I'm in relatively low-level areas, one that emphasizes Stamina, for challenging work, and one that's balanced for everyday stuff. (I don't actually have three of most things, just two, I use them in various combinations.)
One of the recent quests I did was rated for solo; though it was against a named boss, he wasn't elite. He was *damn* tough though. I actually double-killed with him! Luckily, the quest was just to kill him, not bring back any proof, so I didn't have to go on a corpse run. I did check Thottbot to make sure he didn't drop any quest-initiating items. He doesn't, but I did see a bunch of user comments complaining that he wasn't really soloable :)
The Auction House business is, in general, going quite well. My cash-on-hand is close to 4 digits again. I have, however, pretty much given up on my scheme to corner the market on Arcane Dust -- that market is simply too large. I may hang onto my inventory, or simply sell it at a loss.
Interestingly, one of the best profit areas right now is low-level Blues. I guess there's a lot of Draenei being twinked out by high-level players. Contrariwise, high-level loot from Outland seems to be a pretty poor investment. The Auction fees are punishingly high, and will eat away the profit margin entirely if the item doesn't sell fast. So know I disenchant most of the magic items I find. Other people doing the same may explain why there is such a lot of Arcane Dust on the market now...
---
I have finished all the Blades Edge Mountain quests that I can reasonably expect to do solo, so it's on to Shadowmoon Valley. This is a pretty dismal region, mostly dark blue rock, punctuated by sickly green lava. They do a good job of making this seem like a place that's perpetually under attack by demons - mostly by perpetually attacking it. The area immediately around the player cities is full of NPC defenders fighting against never-ending waves of demon attackers. Don't linger near the town, or the attackers will turn their attentions to you! They are fairly tough, there's an infinite supply of them, and they yield no xp or loot. Luckily, once you get beyond the immediate environs of town, things go back to normal. At least if by 'normal', you mean demonically-corrupted wildlife, demonically-enraged elemental spirits, roving demon-worshippers, and, oh yes, the occasional actual demon.
It turns out that the "I see dead people" power isn't universal, even in the Outland. In Shadowmoon Valley, if you want to see dead people (which many quests require), you need a special set of headgear, which is given to you after one of your first quests here. It's called "Spectrecles". You may groan now.
---
Well, that was a quest type I've never done before. Truffle-hunting. Well, the name was different, but that was the essence of it. Going out into the wild with semi-domesticated pigs to dig up delicacies. Naturally, the area had lots of pig-eating predators to add interest.
A buddy from work asked me to join in on a quest line called the Ring of Blood, a gladiatorial combat thing. We got a pretty good group together and went through all the parts in less than an hour. Almost 100 gold in rewards, plus lots of potions, and, at the end, a weapon that was so impressive that it actually was worth replacing the spiffy one I got myself for Christmas. I couldn't bring myself to disenchant it, but it did go into the bank, in the bag I have for sentimental keepsakes.
Between lots of questing and running the Auction House, I'm up to about 2000 gold. 3k more before I get the epic flying mount...
---
There's a series of quests in Shadowmoon Valley that are mostly given out by an extremely large dragon, who flies back and forth over the SE sector of the map. You actually have to fly up to talk to him. This is a cool theory, but annoying in practice. While WoW can easily create gigantic beasts, they don't seem (yet) to be able to scale the "clickable radius" you need to be within to talk to someone; it is roughly the size and shape of a standard humanoid, no matter how big the thing it's attached to. This was already somewhat noticeable with earthbound Giants, but it was only mildly annoying there, as it was relatively easy to just run up between the giant's legs when you wanted to talk to him. But where the 'sweet spot' on a dragon is is much less clear, *and* you have to find it in 3D space, *and* the dragon is moving. One hopes they'll fix this in a patch at some point.
---
Netherstorm is a strangely mixed zone. The terrain is subdued blue and purple rock, with little to no foliage. By itself, it's kind of dull, but interest is added near the boundaries, since the zone has been smashed into several 'islands' floating above the void. There are cool landmarks throughout as well. Towering "Manaforges" built by the Blood Elves to suck pure magic from the void into giant crystal tubes. A goblin settlement which is building a rocketship. Giant force domes containing rich micro-ecologies. A sizable human -- well, formerly -- settlement inhabited almost entirely by ghosts.
Now that (in the expansion content), quests are rated for how many players are expected, escort quests are a little less annoying. If a quest doesn't recommend multiple players, then there's a decent chance that it *can* be solo-ed, even if it's an escort mission.
I did recently run into one escort quest rated for two players which, despite my generally completist attitude, I didn't bother to try and find someone to help me do it. Truffle-hunting is one thing, but I draw the line at helping the *ghost* of a *cow* find her way home. No, I'm not insulting some noble Tauren spirit -- this was an actual 4-footed barnyard animal.
Oh wait. Damn. I may have to go back and do it after all. Since the expansion came out, I haven't seen the old loading screen tip, "There is no secret cow level." So maybe there *is* one now, and this is part of reaching it. Argh!
I have discovered that, as I expected, enemies with ranged attacks can go after you while you're airborne. It's pretty simple to get out of their range, though. Also, flying is really wonderful for when you've finished a quest. No more fighting your way out of hostile territory, now you can just go straight up! Well, not if you're in a cave I guess. Still, very useful most of the time.
The Blade's Edge Mountain zone is most notable for having huge spikes of stone coming out of the ground in lots of places. It's a very distinctive look. Last night, I saw an even more distinctive section, by the name of Dragon's End. There's a large cliff face made up of these spiky protrusions. And about half a dozen full-sized dragon corpses are impaled upon them, as if they had perhaps been flung there by a potent magical wind while flying past. Every picture tells a story, but that one's more intriguing than most.
I really hate Crust Bursters. They lurk underground, so you can't hit them unexpectedly with an opening shot, *they* do that to *you*. They hit hard, both melee and at range. They have a decent amount of magic resistance, and they can duck back underground during a fight, breaking my combat lock and ruining any in-progress casting. Last night, I got a quest requiring me to get a bunch of CB poison glands. Bleagh. But, I discovered, there was an area nearby that had "Young Crust Bursters", who are not strong enough to burrow yet, and stay above ground. I expect that the drop rate for the poison was much lower with these young ones than it would have been for the mature ones. But I was *totally* ok with that as long as it meant I didn't have to fight any of the grown ones either. Indeed, I got a bit of a role-playing thrill by imagining myself wiping out the entire next generation of the cursed things.
Now that I'm at L70, and quest xp converts to gold, I'm getting about 100G an hour just by questing. I still have a lot invested in the Auction House, though, so will be spending time there also for a goodly while.
---
I've started taking advantage of a relatively new UI mod that lets me switch between outfits with one click. So now I have three sets of gear: one that emphasizes crit chance, for when I'm in relatively low-level areas, one that emphasizes Stamina, for challenging work, and one that's balanced for everyday stuff. (I don't actually have three of most things, just two, I use them in various combinations.)
One of the recent quests I did was rated for solo; though it was against a named boss, he wasn't elite. He was *damn* tough though. I actually double-killed with him! Luckily, the quest was just to kill him, not bring back any proof, so I didn't have to go on a corpse run. I did check Thottbot to make sure he didn't drop any quest-initiating items. He doesn't, but I did see a bunch of user comments complaining that he wasn't really soloable :)
The Auction House business is, in general, going quite well. My cash-on-hand is close to 4 digits again. I have, however, pretty much given up on my scheme to corner the market on Arcane Dust -- that market is simply too large. I may hang onto my inventory, or simply sell it at a loss.
Interestingly, one of the best profit areas right now is low-level Blues. I guess there's a lot of Draenei being twinked out by high-level players. Contrariwise, high-level loot from Outland seems to be a pretty poor investment. The Auction fees are punishingly high, and will eat away the profit margin entirely if the item doesn't sell fast. So know I disenchant most of the magic items I find. Other people doing the same may explain why there is such a lot of Arcane Dust on the market now...
---
I have finished all the Blades Edge Mountain quests that I can reasonably expect to do solo, so it's on to Shadowmoon Valley. This is a pretty dismal region, mostly dark blue rock, punctuated by sickly green lava. They do a good job of making this seem like a place that's perpetually under attack by demons - mostly by perpetually attacking it. The area immediately around the player cities is full of NPC defenders fighting against never-ending waves of demon attackers. Don't linger near the town, or the attackers will turn their attentions to you! They are fairly tough, there's an infinite supply of them, and they yield no xp or loot. Luckily, once you get beyond the immediate environs of town, things go back to normal. At least if by 'normal', you mean demonically-corrupted wildlife, demonically-enraged elemental spirits, roving demon-worshippers, and, oh yes, the occasional actual demon.
It turns out that the "I see dead people" power isn't universal, even in the Outland. In Shadowmoon Valley, if you want to see dead people (which many quests require), you need a special set of headgear, which is given to you after one of your first quests here. It's called "Spectrecles". You may groan now.
---
Well, that was a quest type I've never done before. Truffle-hunting. Well, the name was different, but that was the essence of it. Going out into the wild with semi-domesticated pigs to dig up delicacies. Naturally, the area had lots of pig-eating predators to add interest.
A buddy from work asked me to join in on a quest line called the Ring of Blood, a gladiatorial combat thing. We got a pretty good group together and went through all the parts in less than an hour. Almost 100 gold in rewards, plus lots of potions, and, at the end, a weapon that was so impressive that it actually was worth replacing the spiffy one I got myself for Christmas. I couldn't bring myself to disenchant it, but it did go into the bank, in the bag I have for sentimental keepsakes.
Between lots of questing and running the Auction House, I'm up to about 2000 gold. 3k more before I get the epic flying mount...
---
There's a series of quests in Shadowmoon Valley that are mostly given out by an extremely large dragon, who flies back and forth over the SE sector of the map. You actually have to fly up to talk to him. This is a cool theory, but annoying in practice. While WoW can easily create gigantic beasts, they don't seem (yet) to be able to scale the "clickable radius" you need to be within to talk to someone; it is roughly the size and shape of a standard humanoid, no matter how big the thing it's attached to. This was already somewhat noticeable with earthbound Giants, but it was only mildly annoying there, as it was relatively easy to just run up between the giant's legs when you wanted to talk to him. But where the 'sweet spot' on a dragon is is much less clear, *and* you have to find it in 3D space, *and* the dragon is moving. One hopes they'll fix this in a patch at some point.
---
Netherstorm is a strangely mixed zone. The terrain is subdued blue and purple rock, with little to no foliage. By itself, it's kind of dull, but interest is added near the boundaries, since the zone has been smashed into several 'islands' floating above the void. There are cool landmarks throughout as well. Towering "Manaforges" built by the Blood Elves to suck pure magic from the void into giant crystal tubes. A goblin settlement which is building a rocketship. Giant force domes containing rich micro-ecologies. A sizable human -- well, formerly -- settlement inhabited almost entirely by ghosts.
Now that (in the expansion content), quests are rated for how many players are expected, escort quests are a little less annoying. If a quest doesn't recommend multiple players, then there's a decent chance that it *can* be solo-ed, even if it's an escort mission.
I did recently run into one escort quest rated for two players which, despite my generally completist attitude, I didn't bother to try and find someone to help me do it. Truffle-hunting is one thing, but I draw the line at helping the *ghost* of a *cow* find her way home. No, I'm not insulting some noble Tauren spirit -- this was an actual 4-footed barnyard animal.
Oh wait. Damn. I may have to go back and do it after all. Since the expansion came out, I haven't seen the old loading screen tip, "There is no secret cow level." So maybe there *is* one now, and this is part of reaching it. Argh!
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Date: 2007-04-05 11:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-05 04:58 pm (UTC)