Playing Horde after years of playing Alliance can be very confusing, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am having a blast. The best part is not only did Blizzard do an outstanding job with the goblin starting area (an area I've been through 4 times now), but there are tons of new, stylized quests in all the vanilla areas of Warcraft.Phasing is now the "In" thing when it comes to dividing up questing zones. Once you do a Phased quest the world transforms around you and it's done very seamlessly. Blizzard dev's learned a lot from there experiments with phased events in Ice Crown and made it oh so much better.
But that's not the only change. Twisting up old mechanics and reinventing them for questing is also a new trend. Sure they have had us in vehicles before but this time they are more inventive. Quest item usage is more imaginative and unique. It isn't just a new coat of paint and a few more quests. It feels like I'm playing a completely different game.
The shortening of the talent trees seemed odd at first when I was playing my level 80 pre-cataclysm. It was different but it was more of an "meh" moment instead of a "this is fantastic" moment. Now that I'm starting over it's more of an "OMG" feeling.
You are rewarded with talent points on the odd numbered levels and spells on the even numbered levels or so it seems (that covers me incase I'm talking out my ass). So every level I get something different to improve my character which keeps it fun and exciting. Since the trees are so different now, figuring out where to place your point is more challenging and exciting.
As always you don't get any talent points till you reach level 10. Once you add your first point and effectively pick your "Spec" you are stuck with it (you can still pay to respec but that takes the fun out of it) till you reach level 30 when you can dual spec, so you have to be pretty sure how you want to level up. However, one of the great things about dual spec is the cost. It's been reduced from 1,000g to 10g. A huge break for new players.
When you do pick a spec, one of the newer features is you get free abilities that are key to succeeding with that spec. When a warrior chooses the Protection spec now, he or she gets shield slam, which does damage but also generates a large amount of threat to help hold agro at lower levels.
All this newness to WoW has inspired me to not only change faction but to also try classes I would never have attempted before like a rogue. I'm still very new to the concept of hiding and killing, but a ShadowStepping Rogue is the bomb in PvP, especially at the lower levels. I have a feeling I will be ganking a lot of
The only complaint I have is that you level too fast now. I understand that Blizzard wants players to enjoy end game as soon as possible, but I want to enjoy the new content, relish in the exciting new quests and see the changed world. I'm having too much fun and it goes by so fast. I don't want to turn off my xp gain, just slow it down a little and enjoy the scenery.
But kudos to Blizzard for crafting a spectacular new world that I plan to play in fir a very long time.
-Oak
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I agree man, this expansion has delivered in almost all of the areas that I hoped it would. What makes the game even more fun to play now is having a great group of people to enjoy it with!
ReplyDeleteI've been having a blast, doing the exact same thing as you but trying alliance for the first time ever instead of horde. I love phasing, just finished redridge on my paladin and even though the quests were gray, I still gained almost two levels. My poor 80's are sitting at 82 wondering where they went wrong.
ReplyDeleteWho am I going to play Rift with now?
ReplyDeleteNever fear I will find a way to play both Rift and WoW. Stargrace, I feel like a bad parent because I left 5/80's sitting on another server. One day I hope to either get back to them or make them Horde.
ReplyDeleteOh and the people in my Horde guild make the transition that much more fun. As Medwa says, they are a great bunch!
ReplyDeleteI agree on the leveling too fast - I love the new quest in the undead area I find them funny and gross at the same time but you level so fast it's really hard to enjoy them all. Having a fun time playing with you. I don't make jokes I make money friend :P
ReplyDeleteAka Zezzle