Practice makes perfect December 13, 2010
Posted by D in WoW.add a comment
I never really have any foreknowledge of expansions (see recent Runecloth debacle) because I don’t do alpha/beta/ptr stuff — aside from that one stupid time I tried it and people were camping the spawn points and slaughtering you as you logged in…have I mentioned how much I hate PvP? I feel like I have the right to hate PvP based on my time in EQ1 on a Free-for-all PvP server. Anyhoo. So I go into these expansions mostly blind, because I want to be dazzled by the shiny new content. The only problem is, I don’t know what’s important ahead of time, so I make decisions that I kind of regret four alts later.
With TBC, I rushed my main druid through Hellfire and Zangarmarsh not knowing who or what was going on, or which dungeons I could or should do. So I didn’t do the little things, like saving up those uncatalogued plant species until after the normal repeatable quests end. I suppose that in the end it all worked out and I got Cenarion Expedition up to exalted, but it could’ve been a lot easier if only I’d known.
With WotLK, I had more alts ready to start the new content, so I spread them out between the starting zones and worked my way through more slowly and deliberately. But then I ran into another problem — I didn’t know who I wanted them to be. I’m sure there are therapists who specialize in this (“So what I’m hearing you say is that you don’t want the responsibility of tanking, but you feel obligated to do it just because you can?”). So my druid maintained 4 sets of PvE outfits at all times — boomkin, healy, bear, cat. My paladin was like, “Imma be a healadin all the way to 80!” My rogue was all, “Swords…no, fists! No wait, maces! Aaaagh!” So I spent a lot of time (and bankspace) changing things and planning for future changes. Hence the 18 stacks of dense stone. You know, just in case, cuz that shit’s rare!
Anyway, for Cataclysm I hoped to start anew. I sent my shaman into Vashj’ir to scout it out, and then I sent my warlock (gimpiest of my 80s) into Hyjal. My shaman really really struggled to get to the Shimmering Expanse. It seemed to take forever and I’m pretty sure I swam in a lot of circles. But my warlock blew through Hyjal and I really really enjoyed it. Then for good measure, he went and caught up with my shaman, and it didn’t even seem like it took all that long. So I think that’s going to be my itinerary for the alt crew. Hyjal first, then we’ll take it from there.
I think one reason I liked Hyjal was that it wasn’t just continually getting your ass handed to you and retreating, with people dying all around. My favorite NPC has been that Druid of the Talon who’s sitting on the fountain. You know the one with the leafy shoulders that say BADASS MOTHERFUCKER. Finally, someone who’s striking back and getting dirrty.
We’ve also started a worgen pair and a goblin pair. Naturally, I prefer the worgen and Mr. Hubby prefers the goblins. It’s like clockwork. Admittedly, the goblins are goofy and fun, but the storyline of the worgen really sold me. Still, I’m wondering if I missed the part that explains why the night elves decided, “hay gusy, lez go 2 gilneas kklol. i kno they haf a big wall and don wanna takl 2 ne1, but why not lol?” Seriously, if the Alliance was so strapped for allies, why didn’t they just sail to Gilneas to ask Genn “wtf dude?” Or have Jaina open up a portal, since apparently she can even port into Orgrimmar itself. So why, all the sudden, did the night elves decide to intervene? I mean, it’s not like the night elves have a great record about intervening and making world-altering decisions. Maybe I just haven’t gotten to the questline that explains that, I don’t know.
Speaking of sad storylines, how horrible was the Grimclaw quest? I’m not sure why I have such contempt for the Anaya quest (that guy needs to just get over it already, how did he make it into this xpac anyway?) but yet I find the Grimclaw quest so sad. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, start the Alliance Darkshore quests.
