(WoW) "The Skies Are Mine!"
... To borrow the line from Alysrazor. That's probably one of the most immediate and striking benefits of hitting max level - being able to go train up the new flight skill. Suddenly, you can be almost anywhere on the map and safe (by being elevated above the mobs). You can drop in and get out of busy areas relatively reasily. You're not limited to the set flight paths when getting around. And, yes, you can trivialize the flow from one area to another. It's something I came to understand back when I first gained the ability to fly in WoW. I don't begrudge being forced onto the ground for a new continent - it doesn't make a lot of sense in-game, perhaps, but I feel it really is good to experience things that way before being able to fly over everything.
So, yeah, I managed to hit level 90 with my paladin last night - second in the guild, though I've certainly not put as much time in as the people with level 87 monks running around.
Saturday night's raid went okay. There were a few rough spots. Rhyolith, as always, gave us some problems and Baleroc's healer debuff didn't seem to be working on monks for some reason (a bit of a problem when your whole raid healing is coming from two monks). After clearing through Staghelm, we were left at an agonizing 249/250 essences. So while I expected there to be one more run necessary prior to killing Ragnaros and getting a Dragonwrath, we'll have to do it for a single essence when any of the six bosses we have to go through would give something like three times that at minimum. Ah well. It should be at least a few weeks before we're ready to try MoP raids anyway.
I was convinced to dive into two of the earlier dungeons on normal, and ended up doing them a couple times before the weekend was out. Temple of the Jade Serpent feels relatively traditional. There's not too much trash and most of the boss mechanics aren't too difficult. Overall, it's pretty good, though one boss is a little disappointing in that you can't do anything directly to him in phase one and phase two all you do is run around in a circle around him pounding away. Stormstout Brewery is a bit more interesting and fun in general. I find the virmen section a little annoying, but the alementals make up for it, culminating in a final boss with a set of three semi-randomized abilities that's a little crazy, but some genuine fun too.
I spent a good bit of time Sunday in the Dread Wastes, building up Klaxxi reputation while getting my last level. With blacksmithing patterns, they're the most immediately-attractive rep faction. Oddly, though, I find myself looking through rep rewards and seeing almost nothing I want at exalted level from pretty much anyone. Hmm. Anyway, the Klaxxi are an insect people with a conflict between the fear sha-influenced queen and a council. You spend a lot of time for the council freeing their paragons - heroes who have been sealed in amber until the time they are needed (which, as was pointed out to me, is a familiar concept.. hmm...). Then, whilst running quests for the paragons, they can gift you with some interesting buffs like a life-saving ice block, a periodic cleave/bleed effect against multiple enemies, the ability to mind-control a mob as a minion - all pretty cool.
I have to say the Wastes themselves, however, feel to me like the zone must have been one of the first ones done. Mechanically, it feels the least innovative. The quest rewards are the more traditional "here's three things that might appeal to your class specs" rather than the newer "here's a reward that fits your active spec." The concentration of the daily quests on an island and the general feel of most of the quests strike me as very like what we've seen before. The Angler quests re-use the underwater mechanics of Vashj'ir (which I'm actually glad to see back even in a small way), though the tide effects there might be some new technical influence. And let's be honest, some of the quests here felt a bit grindy.
On the other hand, I haven't felt that very much elsewhere. The Jade Forest seemed a good balance overall, with quests feeling like they had a purpose and variety. Valley of the Four Winds starts with a lot of "getting to know the pandarens" quests and a minorly-annoying abundance of wide-roaming mob packs. When you get toward the end of the zone, though, things shift into a much more heroic gear, with an awesome martial arts montage and a big showdown against forces breaking through the wall. Krasarang Wilds gets a little heavy on the "kill X" quests, but has an interesting hunt for a fountain of youth. Kun-Lai Summit is pretty cool overall, though the yak wash was a little cheesy.
Tone of the quests has ranged from light and silly to extremely somber, including attending a couple funerals. I have to wonder how Varian is taking Anduin's level of involvement on Pandaria, as the prince has been spending a lot of time helping the locals and trying to prove the Alliance is helpful. Certainly there are ups and downs to it, but the newcomers, Horde and Alliance, are a mixed blessing to the natives. I'm sure it's purposeful, raising the question of whether it's better to be peaceful - even if that means being serious risk of being conquered/killed by aggressors - or to have the resolve to fight. Neither path is depicted as perfect.
And one big story point that I'm not really clear on yet: how exactly do the manifestations of the sha and the fading of the mists come together? Was the balance of Pandaria breaking down, thus allowing the newcomers to find it, or is their (our?) arrival the reason the balance is breaking down? Early incidents make it look like the sha problem might be caused by the main factions bringing their war to Pandaria, and yet some later events seem to indicate that the sha are/were acting up regardless. If there's an explicit explanation of what is cause and what is effect that's come up, I must have missed it.
So, having hit level 90, I've a whole bunch of things left ahead. I've got about a zone and a half of quests unfinished. There are several rep factions to look into. I've only been in two of the (nine, was it?) new/revamped dungeons. I need to start working into endgame gear, and complain more about not having an ideal one-hand sword to tank with. ;) At some point, there are new raids. And while I've gotten my blacksmithing to cap, I have alt professions to pursue, especially when alchemy is needed to support high-end metals. There's a dragon prince to impress and still more story to uncover. There are also several rare things I'd probably like, but I can't exactly plan on those.
So far, it's been an enjoyable expansion. Of course, we're only about a week in, so I can't speak for longevity yet.
So, yeah, I managed to hit level 90 with my paladin last night - second in the guild, though I've certainly not put as much time in as the people with level 87 monks running around.
Saturday night's raid went okay. There were a few rough spots. Rhyolith, as always, gave us some problems and Baleroc's healer debuff didn't seem to be working on monks for some reason (a bit of a problem when your whole raid healing is coming from two monks). After clearing through Staghelm, we were left at an agonizing 249/250 essences. So while I expected there to be one more run necessary prior to killing Ragnaros and getting a Dragonwrath, we'll have to do it for a single essence when any of the six bosses we have to go through would give something like three times that at minimum. Ah well. It should be at least a few weeks before we're ready to try MoP raids anyway.
I was convinced to dive into two of the earlier dungeons on normal, and ended up doing them a couple times before the weekend was out. Temple of the Jade Serpent feels relatively traditional. There's not too much trash and most of the boss mechanics aren't too difficult. Overall, it's pretty good, though one boss is a little disappointing in that you can't do anything directly to him in phase one and phase two all you do is run around in a circle around him pounding away. Stormstout Brewery is a bit more interesting and fun in general. I find the virmen section a little annoying, but the alementals make up for it, culminating in a final boss with a set of three semi-randomized abilities that's a little crazy, but some genuine fun too.
I spent a good bit of time Sunday in the Dread Wastes, building up Klaxxi reputation while getting my last level. With blacksmithing patterns, they're the most immediately-attractive rep faction. Oddly, though, I find myself looking through rep rewards and seeing almost nothing I want at exalted level from pretty much anyone. Hmm. Anyway, the Klaxxi are an insect people with a conflict between the fear sha-influenced queen and a council. You spend a lot of time for the council freeing their paragons - heroes who have been sealed in amber until the time they are needed (which, as was pointed out to me, is a familiar concept.. hmm...). Then, whilst running quests for the paragons, they can gift you with some interesting buffs like a life-saving ice block, a periodic cleave/bleed effect against multiple enemies, the ability to mind-control a mob as a minion - all pretty cool.
I have to say the Wastes themselves, however, feel to me like the zone must have been one of the first ones done. Mechanically, it feels the least innovative. The quest rewards are the more traditional "here's three things that might appeal to your class specs" rather than the newer "here's a reward that fits your active spec." The concentration of the daily quests on an island and the general feel of most of the quests strike me as very like what we've seen before. The Angler quests re-use the underwater mechanics of Vashj'ir (which I'm actually glad to see back even in a small way), though the tide effects there might be some new technical influence. And let's be honest, some of the quests here felt a bit grindy.
On the other hand, I haven't felt that very much elsewhere. The Jade Forest seemed a good balance overall, with quests feeling like they had a purpose and variety. Valley of the Four Winds starts with a lot of "getting to know the pandarens" quests and a minorly-annoying abundance of wide-roaming mob packs. When you get toward the end of the zone, though, things shift into a much more heroic gear, with an awesome martial arts montage and a big showdown against forces breaking through the wall. Krasarang Wilds gets a little heavy on the "kill X" quests, but has an interesting hunt for a fountain of youth. Kun-Lai Summit is pretty cool overall, though the yak wash was a little cheesy.
Tone of the quests has ranged from light and silly to extremely somber, including attending a couple funerals. I have to wonder how Varian is taking Anduin's level of involvement on Pandaria, as the prince has been spending a lot of time helping the locals and trying to prove the Alliance is helpful. Certainly there are ups and downs to it, but the newcomers, Horde and Alliance, are a mixed blessing to the natives. I'm sure it's purposeful, raising the question of whether it's better to be peaceful - even if that means being serious risk of being conquered/killed by aggressors - or to have the resolve to fight. Neither path is depicted as perfect.
And one big story point that I'm not really clear on yet: how exactly do the manifestations of the sha and the fading of the mists come together? Was the balance of Pandaria breaking down, thus allowing the newcomers to find it, or is their (our?) arrival the reason the balance is breaking down? Early incidents make it look like the sha problem might be caused by the main factions bringing their war to Pandaria, and yet some later events seem to indicate that the sha are/were acting up regardless. If there's an explicit explanation of what is cause and what is effect that's come up, I must have missed it.
So, having hit level 90, I've a whole bunch of things left ahead. I've got about a zone and a half of quests unfinished. There are several rep factions to look into. I've only been in two of the (nine, was it?) new/revamped dungeons. I need to start working into endgame gear, and complain more about not having an ideal one-hand sword to tank with. ;) At some point, there are new raids. And while I've gotten my blacksmithing to cap, I have alt professions to pursue, especially when alchemy is needed to support high-end metals. There's a dragon prince to impress and still more story to uncover. There are also several rare things I'd probably like, but I can't exactly plan on those.
So far, it's been an enjoyable expansion. Of course, we're only about a week in, so I can't speak for longevity yet.
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