Friday, November 14, 2008

Northrend Day 2

This text is from Stardancer's Off the Beaten Path as heard on Epic Dolls Podcast.

Hello everyone, this is Stardancer of Off the Beaten Path- but if you have been in the expansion lately, with all the crowds in the new areas, you know its more like “the well-worn path”. Haha But seriously, this is what I am doing on Day 2 of the Expansion.


QUESTING
I decided to begin today with some basic quests from Valiance Keep area and ended up in some really interesting spots. One of quests took me to the ancient mariner ghostly area of RipLash Ruins. The added graphic tunnel effect on the screen added to the dismal haunted feeling – almost as if you could feel the fog and cold salt water on your face. My questing for the day ended up in the Fizzcranks Airstrip with the Gnomes who apparently had a “malfunction” while installing their water systems. I will let you read the quest and find out what the those wacky gnomes did now.


SIGHTSEEING -
I did some sightseeing to, and traveled up a long broken highway at the very North eastern edge of Dragonblight that leads further north to tower over Crystalsong Forest. It appears to be an ancient Titan road, complete with Jotun the Curse Bearer who still walks the road, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. The large highway ends abruptly (sort of like a California highway after an earthquake) , but the view from this spot is worth the trip.

I mentioned on a previous episode that a quest given by Bishop Lazaril in Shattrath during the scourge invasion prompted you to speak with Tyrande Whisperwind. She mentions something about another world tree or “great tree”. Perhaps I have found it or maybe one like it in the West central area of Crystalsong Forest underneath the shadow of the city of Dalaran. All is not right with the rest of this forest though, and runes shimmer upon the bark of the Great Tree …is that good or bad? You will need to quest there and discover the story of the struggle over this forest and the life who reside there.

Special thanks to Kynas.

DEATH KNIGHTS
I have to admit, I did make a death knight and went through the entire quest chain. I wasn’t in the BETA, so this was my first time experiencing the new class and all quests associated with it. What made this starting zone unique from all the others is that you are inside an instance the entire time. The instance opens up other aspects or changes the landscape based on which part of the story arc you are on. The series ends with the Battle of Light’s Hope in which Fordring of the Silverhand battles against Arthus, the Lich King.

The Battle of Light’s Hope Chapel is a scripted event, sort of like being in a movie. The intent of it is to lead you through the entire story of how the Death knights came to be free. But from a graphical standpoint the Argent Dawn and the Death Knight regiments fight against one another was like watching 100s of cats run amok in a field. Trying to jump in and get involved was humorous. However, from a role-play or story standpoint, I had my Death knight kneeling down at the end with the other Death knight NPCs in defeat or reverence… the world of the Death Knights was going to change dramatically. Arthus was defeated at this battle.

Many players are trying to run quickly through the quests and level their characters. However, I hope you stop to read through the stories and listen to the dialogue that takes place. I found the entire experience from beginning to end interesting, fun, and often poignant.

Have fun everyone.

Music
From the Game