The World Explorer Revisited

Posted April 2nd, 2011 by Kharin

explorerrevisited490x309The recent ravages of the maddened dragon aspect Deathwing have changed the face of Azeroth forever – and with it the requirements a number of meta-achievements like World Explorer and Loremaster.  While the changes to Loremaster have been much more radical, Cataclysm has made achievment of the World Explorer title both easier and at a couple of crucial  points significantly harder.

Cataclysm introduced flight in all areas of Azeroth for level 60+ except the Draeni and Blood Elf starting areas, the reduction of the level requirement for Cold Weather Flying in Northrend to 68 for all players and the introduction of a number of level 80+ areas in Azeroth.  Unless you toon has been awarded this achievement prior to Cataclysm, you will now need to complete Explorer Cataclysm as well as the Explorer achievements for Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Outlands and Northrend to get the World Explorer achievement and Explorer title. You can still get the Explorer Tabard for exploring Northrend.  Areas explored pre-cataclysm will still count toward Explorer despite the significant changes in terrain (unlike Loremaster where very few of the quests completed in the past count towards Loremaster of Kalimdor or Eastern Kingdoms.)

In this post I will look at the challenges of exploring Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Outlands, Northrend and the new Cataclysm areas as well as give some pointers to help make the journey easier.

In the days following the launch of Cataclysm and the Sundering (a few weeks earlier), one of the first things I did on various toons was to a) obtain flight in the old world as soon as it was available (the Flight Masters Licence allows level 60+ to fly in Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Deepholm) and b) fly over both Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms to survey the changes.  As I mentioned in my original post, I love travel to distant and exotic places in real life – to explore different landscapes, languages, places and cultures.  With WOW it is possible to enjoy the variety and beauty of its diverse landscapes without the expense, risk and time demands of real life travel.  Okay, not quite the same thing but it is still enjoyable.

And the changes were significant.  Northrend and Outlands remained unchanged.  However, in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor the only regions untouched were the Draeni and Blood Elf areas.   Large areas were permanently inundated or emptied (e.g. Ten Thousand Needles or parts of Durotur under water while Loch Modan emptied with the breeching of the Ironwall Dam), coastlines radically eroded (eg Tanaris, Darkshore, Feralis, Blasted Lands), regions split in two (eg the Barrens divided by a rift into north and south, Stranglethorn divided by a maelstrom into North and Cape, a canyon dividing Loch Modan and the Badlands), factional balances altered and conflict intensified (e.g. major Horde incursions in Ashenvale and Hillsbrand), significant level changes (e.g. Western and Eastern Plaguelands at least 10 levels lower, Southern Barrens higher in level etc), large geographical areas added to the map (e.g. southern part of Blasted Lands as well as a new coastal area) including whole new regions appearing (e.g. the Vashj’ir region, Uldum, The Twilight Highlands), and/or becoming accessible (Mount Hyjal, Tol Barad, Deepholm at the heart of the Maelstrom) and brand new or redeveloped starting areas (for Goblin, Worgen or for Trolls and Gnomes).  Incidentally, in my early explorations a number of my toons got the Cataclysm achievement Surveying the Damage for passing by and observing 13 landmark changes across the two continents.

Explorer of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms

There are three main challenges in old world areas of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms particularly for those who are confined to ground travel:

  • The Isle of Quel’Danas can only be reached by flight path (automatically acquired on reaching level 65) from Ironforge (Alliance) or Silvermoon City (Horde) or by portal from Shattrath City (available once reaching 70) – unless you can arrange a summons by a friendly ‘lock. (For a time, this flight path was available to lower level toons but once again seems restricted to level 65+.)  While in theory it should be possible to swim to the Isle if one can heal through the fatigue, in practice there is an invisible wall surrounding Quel’Danos preventing entry.
  • Areas defended by aggressive elites remain a challenge especially in major factional cities and towns. In such instances you can either attempt to enter by stealth or mount up, charge in & then use all the protection/heals/crowd control skills you have available (i.e. in major cities such as Silvermoon City or Ironforge).  In some cases a lateral rather than a direct approach can save on the repair bill – for instance, it is much safer for Alliance to approach Shadowprey in Desolace from the water and for Horde to approach Stormwind from the Harbour area. Alliance can get credit for Thunderbluff and Undercity on the outskirts of these cities without going up or down the lifts respectively.

Of course, once your toon can fly, hostile high-level or elite NPCs are no longer a problem – even in major factional capitals as long as one flies high enough or in the case of Undercity and Ironforge, fly high and then descend quickly for a quick entrance and get away.  Both the Exodar and Silvermoon City have to be entered the old fashioned way.

NOTE: A number of areas that presented a challenge due to the presence of high level aggressive elites (such as the dragon portals in Ashenvale, Duskwood, Feralas and Hinterlands or other areas with elites such as Zul’ Grub or Tyr’s Hand) are now populated by non-elites or, in the case of Zul’Grub, are empty.

  • There are still a few hidden hard to find places such as the Hidden Grove accessed through a cave in far north-west of Winterspring or Farstrider Lodge east of Ironband’s Excavation Site in Loch Modan.  The change in topography has eliminated some of these (eg Zalashji’s Den in northern Tanaris ).  Matching uncovered grey spots on your map with a reference map can help here while flight makes searching for elusive spots less tedious.  The Goblin starting area is inaccessible to all but Goblins doing the initial starting quests.  However, it is not required for any of the Explorer achievements.

Explorer of Outlands

The main challenge with Outlands was always reaching the four areas impossible to get to without flight:

  • Throne of Kil’jaeden in Hellfire Peninsula (a quest in the Isle of Quel’Danas does port you there for toons 70+ but now flight is now available at level 60);
  • Skettis in south-west Terrokar Forrest;
  • Twilight Ridge in north-west Nagrand;
  • Netherwing Ledge in Shadowmoon Valley

While Netherstorm looks like it might be inaccessible there is a bridge from Blades Edge and bridges between the different “islands”.

However, now flight in Outlands (the Masters Licence) is available at level 60 (?58 for druids)  which is around the same time that Outlands is accessible (by the Dark Portal at level 58).  It is only necessary to fly over an area to receive credit and the only dangers are flying guards at factional towns and a few other flying mobs.  Hard core explorers who want to explore Outlands before 58-60 while need to get a lock summons to somewhere in Outlands or a mage port to Shattrath city and a lock summons to the four inaccessible areas detailed above. Needless to say, you need the Burning Legion expansion pack to access Outlands.

Northrend Explorer

Northrend is accessible by boat (Alliance) or zeppelin (Horde) for toons of all levels who have the WOTLK expansion pack.  A boat from Stormwind Harbour goes to Valliance Keep in Borean Tundra while another boat goes from the pier in the half-drowned Menithil Harbour, Wetlands to Valgarde in Howling Fjord.  The zeppelin in Orgrimmar will take you to Warsong Hold in Borean Tundra while the Zeppelin from Undercity takes you to New Agamand in Howling Fjord.

Obviously the main challenge for low-level toons is the level of the mobs.  Aggressive creatures and NPCs are 10 levels above your toon can seem to appear out of nowhere (the aggro circle is very wide at that level difference) and kill you with one hit.

The other challenge for those not yet 68 (when Cold Weather Flying becomes available for training) is reaching a number of areas that are either difficult to get to or appear to require flight to reach or at least get credit for. However, unlike the Outlands, all these areas can be explored by ground mount with a bit of ingenuity (see Flightless in Northrend) or by a mage portal to Dalaran and ‘lock summons to the other spots.

  • In Scholazar Basin, credit for Stormwright Shelf can be achieved by running/swimming up the west coast and for The Makers Overlook by jumping down on the roof from Icecrown just north of Winterspring.
  • Storm Peaks – the K3 area can be accessed by a pass from Crystalsong Forest.  Apart from flying, the only way to access the rest of Stormpeaks is by running east from the Argent tournament, up the mountain to the Snowdrift Plains.  For a more detailed explanation of how to get credit for Ulduar, Frost Hold, Temple of Storms, and Engine of the Maker see Flightless in Northrend,
  • Icecrown can be accessed from Crystalsong, past the Argent Vanguard and through the breech or by jumping down from Storm Peaks. Onslaught Harbor can be reached by running up the west coast from Borean Tundra.
  • The City of Dalaran can be accessed by the portal in the Wintergrasp Keep while your faction holds the Keep (jump down from Icecrown directly behind the Keep).

Cataclysm Explorer

Exploring the new Cataclysm areas can be surprisingly easy – once flight is achieved at level 60. Transport to each of these areas becomes available on reaching the required level and portals between the new areas and the Earthen shrines in Stormwind or Orgrimmar are opened after completing a few quests.

  • Mount Hyjal in northern Kalimdor is inaccessible by ground except perhaps Darkwhisper Gorge.  At 80 a quest become available which takes you first by portal to Moonglade and then by dragon back to Nordrassil, the starting area in Mount Hyjal.
  • Vashj’ir is a large submerged area with a few small islands off the coast of Dun Morogh and Stormwind.  It is dominated by Naga and hotly disputed between Horde and Alliance  At 80 a quest becomes available that will take you by boat from Stormwind or Orgimmar  to this area (a few vials of water breathing elixir is very useful until this ability is granted by the questline).

However, it is possible at level 60 to fly to this area (through the fatigue) from Dun Morogh.  Most of the area can be explored by flying over it with the exception of the area to the north-west where you will be dismounted.  From there you can explore this by swimming (though of course you are more vulnerable to high level aggressive mobs).  Don’t forget to pick up the one flight point above water (the one specific to your faction)  on Sandy Beach near the Shimmering Expansebefore leaving.

  • Deepholm is a subterranean area beneath the Maelstrom in the middle of the map of Azeroth.  A quest available at 82 will take you to Thrall at the Maelstrom and then send you into it.  After the completion of a few quests, a portal back to Stormwind or Orgimmar becomes available in the Temple of the Earth.

As far as I can discover, there is no other way to enter Deepholm.  It is not possible to fly to it from Vashj’ir as there is an invisible barrier preventing one from flying closer too it.  Dying by fatigue next the barrier transports your toon to a grave yard in Westfall (Alliance).  It may be possible to be summoned to the area.

  • Uldum is south of Tanaris.  The entry quest (and the quests that set up the portal to it) only becomes available at 83.  However, it is accessible by the Gate into the area in the southwest of Tanaris.  A couple of areas in Uldum are only accessible by flight but the area is very easy to explore once flight is available.
  • Twilight Highlands are to the east of Wetland and the north of Loch Modan.  The entry quest become available at 84 with a plane flight from Stormwind Harbour (Alliance) or from Orgrimmar (Horde).  Only once the base is secured and necessary parts are obtained from the Twilight Cult that the portal to Stormwind or Orgrimmar is established.  Apart from a couple of areas with elite hostile dragons flying about, Twilight Highlands is easy to explore by flight at 60.
  • Tol Barad is a PvP area – a couple of islands west of Wetlands and south of Silverpine Forest and Gilneas – which is accessible by portal in Stormwind or Orgrimmar at level 85.  Like Deepholm it has an invisible barrier around it preventing entry by flight.  However, this area is not necessary to obtain Cataclysm Explorer or the Explorer title.

In summary, it is possible to explore Kalimdor, most of Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend without assistance and, with a lot of time, tedium and determination, at even low levels.  All the needed Cataclsym areas except Deepholm can be explored at level 60 with a flying mount.  However, without assistance Outlands (due to four areas inaccessible apart from flight) can completed at minimum level 60 and a flying mount, while Eastern Kingdoms (due to the Isle of Quel’Danos) needs level 65, and Deepholm requires level 82.   It is a long wait from 65 to 82 as as one of my toons knows, though at least she has the Northrend Explorer Tabard to console her.

Nevetheless, you don’t have to wait until 82 to to explore. Along the lines of my original post, I would suggest:

  1. Start early – explore as you level.  It often doesn’t take a lot of extra time to uncover all the areas of a map when you have been questing in an area – and it saves you time later.
  2. Remember to grab flight points as you go.
  3. You don’t need to cover every point in the map.  In some areas you may only need to cover 5-6 points of each area to get full credit though lower level areas and the new Cataclsym areas require more like 8-10.  Of course, exploring additional areas gives you additional experience points (for toons below 85).
  4. Track the achievement for exploring that area to see what points remain to be uncovered. Use resources such as maps provided by sites such as www.gamepressure.com (still accurate in Northrend and Outlands) or reference sites like www.wowhead.com  if you are having problems finding a spot.
  5. Remember to think laterally – sometimes the points to uncover are on the edges of the map, through caves or round promontories.
  6. Don’t forget that flying, once you can, is a much easier, faster and less dangerous way to explore. And in some cases, it’s the only way you can get there.
  7. You may wish to methodically explore or you can combine exploring with other activities such as gathering herbs or ores, fishing schools, digging archaeological sites, waiting in dungeon or pvp queques, even getting achievements for low level dungeons etc.  Do what works for you.
  8. You can get this achievement largely on your own or you may wish to enlist the help of a friend or pay gold to friendly mages, ‘locks or, indeed, someone with a two-seater flying mount to help you.

So there you have it – a tabard in the mail after exploring Northrend and new title after uncovering all those spots on the map across Outlands and the shattered and reshaped Azeroth.

Along the way don’t forget to enjoy the views.  For me at least, two of the joys of the Azerothian World are the vast variety of its landscapes and peoples –  from picture postcards winter landscapes of Winterspring; the sylvan Old England woods of Elwyn Forest; the  golden Tolkienesque arcadian glories of Eversong Woods;  the desolate desert landscapes of Burning Steppes; the Africaneque dry savannah of the Barrens; the jaggered spears of Blades Edge Mountains; the giant Mushroom forests of Zangermarsh and the surreal beauties of Nagrand’s floating islands and steams to name just a few – and the sheer joy of flying through them all.  The recent cataclsymic events have not dented that those pleasures at all.  Buen Vijae.

Kharin

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Gone Fishing

Posted March 18th, 2011 by Kharin

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Before the release of Cataclysm fishing (and cooking) dailies were reserved for the higher level player (the Old Man Barlo fishing dailies near Shattrath and the Dalaran fishing dailies).  Now they are available to toons level 10 and above in Stormwind (Alliance) and Orgrimmar (Horde).  While not as lucrative as the Dalaran fishing adventures, they are still an easy way to get experience, fishing skill, and reputation and all the quests are centred in or very close to Stormwind or Orgrimmar.

The Dailies

Stormwind

Five cooking dailies can be picked up from Catherine Leland (fishing supplier) who is standing beside the fishing trainer (Andrew Leland) on the pier in between the Canal Tailor and Fit Shop and the bridge to the Mage quarter and across the canal from the Stockades, Stormwind City.  They are:

  • Hitting a Wall Eye Simply catch 8 Hardened Walleye Fish from Stormwind Lake to the north of and in between the Dwarven District and the Cathedral District, Stormwind.  (Make sure you are in the Lake area rather than the canal area next to the jetty.  A lure is recommended if your fishing skill is below 55.)
  • Rock Lobster Collect six rock lobsters (right click) from the lobsters cages in the deep waters around the Stormwind docks.  The cages are on the ocean floor, the waters are very deep and level 85 sharks patrol the area.  You do get a 10 min buff that enables you to breathe underwater and have increased swim speed so use this to your best advantage.  If you are below 80 watch out for the sharks!  Best to check the water before entering, collect a couple of cages close to the one of the ramps out of the water and then be ready to exit the water fast when one of the sharks starts coming your way.  Both sharks and rock lobsters show up with beast tracking (eg hunter tracking or tracker snacks etc).
  • Thunder Falls Catch 4 Violet Perch in the river above Thunder Falls just south of Stormwind.  You can reach this upland area by foot or ground mount by exiting the Stormwind Gates, travelling south-west skirting the mountains until you reach Mirror Lake, then follow the shallow ravine on the eastern side of the Thunder Falls to a small valley above it with level 8-9 bandits, a small pier and house.  If you have a flying mount it is much quicker to fly to the upland area which is immediately south of the Mage Tower in the Mage Quarter.
  • Diggin’ For Worms Look for an overgrown earthworm (under sparkling patches) around Olivia’s Pond in the new farmland area just north of the Dwarven District, Stormwind. Once you loot the worm, equip your fishing rod, apply the worm to the rod (right click) for a 10 min buff , add a lure if fishing skill is very low and fish in Oilvia’s Pond until you catch a Crystal Bass.
  • Big Gulp asks you to find Catherine’s locket that she lost in the Valley of Heroes (the moat at the entrance of Stormwind).  Fish until you catch a monkfish and then fillet (right click) it to get the Precious Locket.

Orgrimmar

Five fishing dailies can be picked up from Razgar (Master Angler) standing just southwest of the auction house and near the pier with the fishing trainer in the Valley of Honor, Orgrimmar.  The dailies are:

  • Clammy Hands Collect 10 monstrous clam meat from the giant clams in the waters of Bladefist Bay just east of Skull Rock and the Orgrimmar Pier (go directly east once exiting the Orgrimmar front gate until you reach the coastline).  You will be able loot 1-2 clam meat from each clam.
  • A Staggering Effort Go out the back gate of Orgrimmar into Azshara and kill the nearby Stags until you loot a stag eye.  Return to the pond in the Valley of the Wisdom near the class trainers, apply the stag eye to your fishing rod and a lure if necessary and fish until you catch a  Sandy Carp;
  • A Golden Opportunity Go to the inundated Thunder Ridge (southwest of Orgrimmar and north of the wastelands and the bridge across to the northern barrens) and swim down to the bottom until you see one of the Drowned Thunder Lizards.  Use Razgar’s knife (right click) to cut off a tail being careful to time it so that you are not caught up in the periodic electrical explosions.  Then swim close to a golden perch and use the tail to electrocute them and then loot them.  You will need three perch.  Obviously water breathing or increased swim speed abilities (eg swim form for druids) or potions make this fun quest easier.
  • No Toxic Dumping Allowed Fish six Toxic Puddlefish from the oil slicked waters near the oil pump in the Goblin Slum area (southern end of the Valley of Spirits).
  • A Furious Catch Catch a Giant Furious Pike in the South Fury River near the Orgrimmar Side gate.  You need to be standing on the Orgrimmar river bank (rather than the North Barrens bank) to be able to catch the fish.

Each daily awards + 1 fishing skill, gold, a Bag of Shiny Things which can contain a random grey item and various potions such as water breathing or waterwalking elixirs, or fishing lures or the herb stanglekelp etc, as well as awarding factional reputation  and experience (if less than 85).  The bag may also drop the Weather Beaten Journal that teaches you to track fish (pools) and gives the achievement Fish Don’t Leave Footprints.

Achievements and other rewards

There are also a couple of associated achievements: Fish or Cut Bait for completing the five dailies in Stormwind City (Alliance) or Orgrimmar (Horde) and achievements for catching a certain number of fish (eg 25, 50, 100).  It is also possible that you might fish up extremely rare catches such as Old Crafty in Orgrimmar while completing the daily.

So, if you haven’t yet got into fishing, now may be the time to give it a go.  While fishing can be time consuming to level it does have some benefits such as fishing up chests with gear, trade goods and gold; potions; elements; even companion pets  or mounts as well as fish to cook or turn into potions.   There are in fact a multitude of achievements related to fishing though gaining the meta-achievement Accomplished Angler with the title Salty is no mean feat (but that is another story).

How to Fish?

Fishing is one of the secondary professions available to all players and it is not too difficult to do though it does require time and patience.  After visiting the fishing trainer in one of the factional cities, obtain a fishing pole and lure from the fishing supplier usually found near fishing trainers.  Lures (Shiny Bauble, Bright Baubles etc) are not strictly necessary but they enhance your fishing skill which is a decided advantage if you are just starting out or are fishing in higher level waters.  You can cast in any level water these days but will be much less successful the lower your skill level is compared to the level of the water.  Find some open water (a pond, river, canal, lake or ocean), stand or sit on the edge (you won’t be able to cast if you are swimming), equip your rod, attach the lure and cast into water by right clicking the fishing icon (find it in the professions tab and it place on one of your task bars for ease of use).  If the water is too shallow or doesn’t land in the pool of fish you are aiming for, recast till it does, adjusting your position if necessary.  Wait with your cursor over the fishing bobber (it will appear as a hook if it’s in the right position) and right click quickly once you hear the splash and/or see the bobber bounce.  If you click too soon or are too slow you will reel in an empty line.   Your success in catching fish will also depend on your fishing skill, the level of the waters you are fishing and any fishing skill enhancements you are using (i.e. the level of the lure, the level of your fishing rod and certain items of clothing or potions which give a bonus in fishing skill).  If you fishing skill is low you will fish up grey trash items which still level your fishing but generally are of low value and little use.  Initially you will gain one skill level for each successful cast, though as your skill increases it begins to take more casts to skill up. And of course, remember to visit the fishing trainer before you reach your current skill cap.

Fishing is usually the profession that takes the longest for my various toons to level.  I tend to fish for short periods of time (maybe 10 mins or so) and/or for a purpose – completing fishing dailies (the ones in Dalaran can award a lot of gold), fishing pools when I find them, doing the fishing competitions and/or completing fishing quests (there are a few).   When I do decide to power level I often combine it with another fishing goals like catching one of the rare fish for achievements– eg Old Ironjaw in Ironforge, Old Crafty in Orgrimmar or Mr Pinchy in the highland areas of  Terrokar Forrest, Outlands – or waiting for the dungeon or battlegrounds queue (though this can be embarrassing if I forget to reequip my weapon).

There is no doubt that fishing isn’t one of the most exciting things to do in Azeroth yet it can still be rewarding given a little time and effort and may give you a chance to sit and enjoy the view.

Kharin

Cooking Dailies

A Bunch of Lunch – a guide to the new Cataclysm cooking dailies in Darnassus, Ironforge, Thunderbluff and Undercity – including where to find the quest givers, tips on completing each daily, which quests give 2 cooking awards or 2 cooking skills, rewards and achievments.

Doing Lunch – a guide to the new Cataclysm Cooking Dailies in Stormwind and Orgrimmar- including where to find the quest givers, tips on completing each daily, rewards and achievments.

Fishing dailies

Other Fish in the Sea - a guide to the new Cataclysm Fishing Dailies in Darnassus, Ironforge, Thunderbluff and Undercity – including where to find the quest givers, tips on completing each daily, rewards and achievments and which quests give 2 fishing skill.

Other Cataclysm Dailies

Mount Hyjal

Opening the Portal – a guide on qualiying for and progressing in the new Mount Hyjal dailies (give gold, Mount Hyjal & guild reputation, Marks of the World Tree, epic 365 gear, companion pets, a mount, achievments).

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Dangerous Love

Posted February 10th, 2011 by Kharin

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Once again the cities and townships of Azeroth are festooned in pink bunting, flowers and love hearts, guards in Stormwind and Orgrimmar are swathed in clouds of sickly pink perfume, the goblins of Crown Chemical Co and their more sinister and nefarious masters are purveying lovely merchandise, Crown agents are spraying toxic perfumes like the plague and heroes are creating love charms and bracelets through somewhat dubious and aggressive means.

Love is in the Air seasonal events coincides with and is inspired from Valentine’s Day which has become the traditional time for expressions and tokens of love to be exchanged. The festival revolves around the completion of a quest line and the dailies that enable one to loot love charms and which reward love Read more »

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Elders in Danger

Posted January 29th, 2011 by Kharin

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The Elders can be found in the strangest of places and this is particularly so of those who inhabit the dungeons across Azeroth.

While Where Are the Elders details the location of the Elders in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor Newly Remembered Elders of the Cataclsym gives the location of those in 80+ areas and Honoring Our Elders covers the quests and achievements related to the Lunar Festival, here I will give the locations of the Elders in Northrend and the Dungons.

Elders of the Dungeons

Thirteen elders are found inside – sometimes near the entrance but often deep inside – instances across the continents of Azeroth. They can be accessed by the dungoeon finder at the appropriate level, by a pre-made group  or can be easily soloed by higher level toons.  The actual entry requirements to dungoens are lower than those required by the dungeon finder. Meeting stone no longer have  level requirements and with Cataclysm all dungeons (not just Northrend dungeons) have an in-game map with bosses marked to help you navigate your way around them.

Read more »

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Where are the Elders?

Posted January 28th, 2011 by Kharin

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My level 81 dwarf paladin circled the deep water filled crater, with its fractured masonry, shattered beams and flame charred earth for the fourth time.  The golden question mark was clear as day but the Lunar Harbinger, Lunar Celebrants and Vendor, and the Stormwind Elder were nowhere to be seen – either improbably clinging to the sides of the devastated area or standing on protruding stone work  in the middle.  To be honest, I hadn’t really expected them to be there with the total destruction of the Park precinct following the Sundering but this was where my in-game quest finder was leading me.  I soon caught up with them, standing serenely outside the gates of Stormwind amidst a flurry of fireworks and lunar beams as if nothing untoward had happened.

In 2011 there have not been many changes to the Lunar Festival apart from the some drastic changes to the lands and maps of Azeroth, a change of location of a handful of Elders (see below) and the introduction of flight in the old kingdoms.  Flying (for those 60+ with the Cataclysm expansion who have paid for the training) certainly makes visiting some 75 elders across the major cities, selected dungeons, towns and hamlets of Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend much faster and easier, especially when essaying into hostile territory (flying high and then descending vertically makes visiting elders in most factional capitals and settlements almost safe and easy).

The Lunar Festival, clearly tied into the celebration of Chinese New Year both in content (fireworks, ancestral coins, red packets, festival foods and clothing) and timing.  It centres on journeys across the continents of Azeroth to pay respect to the Elders – past heroes of both factions.  Elders come from the ancient races indigenous to Azeroth including Night Elves, Dwarves (both of flesh and stone), Taurens and their ancestral cousins the Taunkai (though not Trolls, Gnomes or Goblins).  Unlike many traditional cultures, modern Western culture often puts much more emphasis on youth, new skills and knowledge, invention, progress and change than wisdom from the past.  Yet it does not hurt to be reminded what we owe to past generations and to wisdom that has been forgotten or perhaps unnecessarily dismissed.  To paraphrase an “elder”, the scientist and theologian Isaac Newton, “If we have seen further it is because we have stood on the shoulders of giants.”  I wonderr if you were to select 75 or more influential people in the history of Earth, who would they be and why?

Kharin’s guides Honoring our Elders and Lunar Firework Frenzy give information on the quests and achievements of this festival. This guide gives the location of the Elders of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and the Elders of the Horde and Alliance while Elders in Danger will give the locations for the Elders in Northrend and the Dungeons and Newly Remembered Elders of the Cataclsym gives the location of those in 80+ areas.  The locations have been presented on a map of each continent to help you work out your most efficient routes depending on your starting points, faction etc.

Be warned that since Cataclysm an 85 elite guard with ranged attack spawns once you get close to the elder in factional cities and towns (eg Brill, Sepulcher, Razor Hill etc).  This makes  Elders of the Easter Kingdoms and Elders of Kalimdor difficult to complete for toons 70 and less – though being able to fly (level 60 onwards) gives some advantage.  In these circumstances, speed is essential and can be enhanced by create a keybinding to  “interact on mouse over” (eg SHIFT- D) as well as creating and putting on the tool bar the following macro:

/tar elder
/script SetRaidTarget(”target”, 3)
/script SelectGossipAvailableQuest(1)
/script CompleteQuest()
/script GetQuestReward()

Once you are close enough to the elder to interact use the keybinding (eg SHIFT-D or whatever key you set up) to interact, click the macro, then click complete quest.  If you are not successful the first time, rezzing on top of the elder may help – just wait a few minutes so that the 85 elite guard has time to despawn.

Eastern Kingdoms

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There are seventeen elders scattered across the Eastern Kingdoms.  While in some cases the areas and maps around them have been changed by the recent sundering, their locations remain virtually unchanged.  While difficlut due to the spawning of elite 85 guards at factional towns like Brill and Sepulcher, Elders of Eastern Kingdoms can be completed before flight becomes available at  level 60.

1. Elder Winterhoof (40, 73) is standing on the roof of the ruined goblin bank  –  enter the top room of the Booty Bay Inn, turn sharp left at the balcony and continue past the Horde flightpath.

2. Elder Starglade (53, 18) is standing just right of the second flight of stairs to the entrance of Zul Gurub, Northern Stranglethorn.  The elite trolls no longer patrol this area with the decommissioning of Zul Gurub.

3. Elder Bellowrage (54, 50) is standing in the crater in front of the Dark Portal in the south of the Blasted Lands.  (This area can be reached by all players 58+ through portals in the major factional cities.)

4. Elder Skychaser (57,47)is on the top of the Sentinel Tower, Sentinel Hill, Westfall.

5. Elder Stormbrow (40, 63) is standing by the pond at the back of the Smithy in Goldshire, Elwyn Forrest

6. Elder Rumblerock (70, 45) is on the south side of Dreadmaul Mountain (just below the main or top cave), Burning Steppes. The path to the top is on the west side of the Mountain.  (Note: some players have reported that Rumblerock was phased out to them until they completed all the quests from Flamecrest.)

7. Elder Dawnstrider (53, 24) is just below Flamecrest to the north of Thassarian Ruins in Burning Steppes.

8. Elder Ironband (21, 79) is outside Blackchar Cave just south of the Searing Gorge entrance into Black Mountain, in southwest corner of Searing Gorge.

9. Elder Goldwell (54, 50) is near the Inn in Kharanos, Dun Morogh.

10. Elder Silvervein (33, 47) is standing near the road near the graveyard and on the other side of the Flight Master in Thelsamar, Loch Modan.

11. Elder Highpeak (50, 48) is standing on a small hill just north of the Creeping Ruin in the central part of the Hinterlands.

12. Elder Moonstrike (51, 36) is standing on the walkway between the towers of Scholomance (she is not inside the instance), Western Plaguelands.   Either fly up to the walkway or enter the tower, turn right (not left into the instance) and then up the stairs to Elder.

13. Elder Windrun (36, 69) is inside Crown Guard Tower in the southeast of Eastern Plaguelands.

14. Elder Snowcrown (76, 55) is close the southern wall in Light’s Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands.

15. Elder Meadowrun (64, 36) is some way in the Weeping Cave (65.3, 38.6) in northeast of Western Plaguelands.

16. Elder Graveborn (61, 53) is standing just inside the east gate and next to a plague wagon in the south of Brill, Tirisfal Glade.  There is an 85 elite deathguard  who spawns once you are detected  making it difficult for lower level alliance (ie < 60) to reach the elder though flight (60+) helps.

17. Elder Obsidian (45, 41) is standing in the middle of the cemetery in the Sepulcher, Silverpine Forest.

Kalimdor

KalimdorElders2011b509xThere are twenty-one elders scattered across the Kalimdor.  While in most cases their locations remain unchanged, in most there are changes in the areas and maps around them and a couple elders have relocated to new settlements (notably the Elder of Auberdine and the Elder of Camp Taurajo).  For Alliance at least Elders of Kalimdor is virtually impossible to complete before getting flight.  While spawing of an elite 85 guard in The Crossroads and particularly the placement of Elder Runetotem next to Burok in Razor Hill can be overcome by speed in interacting with the elder, the extreme difficulty in getting into Mulgore without flight makes it  virtually impossible to achieve.

1. Elder Blade Leaf (57, 53) is standing in front of the herbalism/alchemy trainers’ hut in Dolanaar, Teldrassil.  You can either fly (it is now possible to fly directly from Darkshore despite some fatigue) or take a ship from Stormwind, ride through the red portal at Ruthven Village and then ride west from the Bank tree up the wide bridge/ramp through the Warrior’s Terrace, across the courtyard and out the gates.  Follow the road east to Dolanaar.

2.  Elder Starweave (50, 20) is standing close to the shore on the southern outskirts of Lor’Danel, northern Darkshore.  She is still called the Elder of Auberdine, which however was shattered with the recent Sundering.

3.  Elder Nightwind (38, 53) is standing  amongst ruins, just past where Winna’s Kitten (a green striped big cat), along a path to the north (right) of the road into Jadenaar in central Felwood.

4. Elder Riversong (36, 49) is standing in the Moon Shrine near the Flight Master on the northwestern edge of Astranaar, Ashenvale.

5.  Elder Brightspear (53, 57) is in front of one of the ruined buildings on the side of east side of the frozen Lake Kel’Teril, Winterspring.

6.  Elder Stonespire (60, 50) is standing on small hillock between the bank building and the armor and weapon shop in Evertook, Winterspring.

7.  Elder Skygleam (65, 79) is at the ruined Ravencrest monument, between the feet of the gigantic statue  – at the end of the upland peninsular in southern Ashvara.  If you need to run/ride there are two land bridges (just past the Southern Rocketway Terminus) that connect this area with the rest of Azshara.

8.  Elder Runetotem (54, 44) is standing within the walls close to the southern entrance, next to the flight master of Razor Hill, Durotar.  Not only will a 85 elite guard spawn but the elder is standing behind the Flight Master Burok and in the middle of the Wyverns who will attack any alliance character on sight.  However, if you rez right on top of the Elder and interact fast enough by using the macro detailed above, it is actually possible.

9.  Elder Moonwarden (49, 59) is standing behind the flightmaster within the walled area at the Horde village of the Crossroads, Northern Barrens.

10.  Elder Windtotem (68, 70) stands on a small hill just north of the bank and flightmaster and south of the engineer trainer in Ratchet, Northern Barrens.

11.  Elder Highmountain (41, 47) is standing on the southern outskirts of Vendetta Point which overlooks the impenetrable Great Gate built across the entrance into Mulgore from the Southern Barrens.  While he is still called the Elder of Camp Taurajo, he no longer stands within this now ruined settlement.

12.  Elder Bloodhoof (48, 53) is standing next to Ahab Wheathoof and just south of the bridge across Stone Bull Lake in the northern outskirts of Camp Bloodhoof, Mulgore.  Since Cataclysm, a impassable gate has been placed across the entrance into Mulgore making it impossible to run/ride there.  To reach Mulgore you need either fly (60+), take the Zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Thunderbluff or, possibly, get a warlock summons into the area.

13.  Elder at Skyseer (46, 51) of Freewind Post in central area of a Ten Thousand Needles.  It is now surrounded by water as well as being taken over by the Grimtotems following Cataclysm.   If you don’t have flight this post can still be acessed by a maze of walkways from Razorfen Downs or a ramp and 2 rope bridges on the southern side of Freewind post which can be reached by swimming.

14.  Elder Morningdew (77, 75) of Mirage Raceway is on the southern loading barge of the Fizzle and Pozzik’s Speed Barge, close to the site of the old raceway, Ten Thousand Needles.  There is both a ramp up on the southern side as well as a submerged hatchway at the back to up onto the barges (if you swim rather than fly there).

15.  Elder Dreamseer (51, 28) is standing close to the arena cage in centre of Gadgetzhan, Tanaris.

16.  Elder Ragetotem (36, 80) is outside the Ruins of Uldum, in the Valley of the Watchers, Tanaris.

17.  Elder Thunderhorn (50, 76) is standing on a small hill just north of the biggest hive entrance in the middle of the Slithering Scar, just south of Marshal’s Last Stand in southern Un’goro.

18.  Elder Bladesing (53, 36) is standing in the moonwell at Cenarion Hold, Silithus.

19.  Elder Primestone (30, 13) in among the elementals in Crystal Vale in the northwest of Silithus.

20. Elder Grimtotem (77, 38) is in the Lariss Pavilion (back entrance to Dire Maul) in eastern Feralas.

21. Elder Mistwalker (62, 32) is in the Maul (arena) in the Broken Commons, Dire Maul, Feralas.

Elders of the Horde

I Undercity – Elder Darkcore (66,38) is in the throne room in the upper city (the ruins of Lordaeron) – it’s the domed building past the open courtyards though it is possible to fly into the room and stay mounted.

II Orgrimmar – Elder Darkhorn (52, 60) is on the roof area next to the Flightmasters.   He can be reached by flying over his position and then descending.  Otherwise, you can run/walk through the front gate, keep going straight until you reach the entrance to the Drag.  There is a lift which will take you to the roof and, once reaching the roof, the Elder is close by the Flightmaster.

III Thunderbluff – Elder Wheathoof (72, 23) is in the Elder Rise, the edge of the mesa.  He is easy to reach by flying.  Otherwise take the north lift, turn left at the first building and go up the stairs, take the bridge across to the Elder Rise.  Wheathoof is on the left past the Lunar festival celebrants.  Of course mages, priests and paladins can jump off the rise once they have paid their respects.

Elders of the Alliance

i Darnassus – Elder Bladeswift (39, 32) is standing at the base of a tree in the Cenarion Enclave.  It is now actually possible to fly (through the fatigue) from Darkshore up the trunk of the tree into Teldrassil and Darnassus.  Otherwise, it would be necessary to take a ship from Stormwind, or walk/swim (may die a couple of times though it is possible for some classes to heal through fatigue) to Rutheven Village.  Then ride through the red portal into Darnassus, cross the bridge and ride to the left past the Bank tree, across the bridge to the Cenarion Enclave area.

ii Stormwind – Elder Hammershout (34, 50) is no longer in the destroyed Park precint.  He is just outside and to the east of the gates of Stormwind where the Pilgrim Bounty’s tables were set up.

iii Ironforge – Elder Bronzebeard (29, 17) is in the pool outside the Hall of Mysteries in the Mystic Ward which is on the left of the main entrance and the Commons.  It is possible to fly through the gates and continue flying all the way to the Elder.

Have fun and don’t forget to make meaningful connections with the “elders” (both past and lving) in you life.

Kharin

Other posts you may be interested in:

Lunar Festival

Newly Remembered Elders of the Cataclysm

Honoring Our Elders

Lunar Firework Frenzy

Elders in Danger

Other related posts:

Dangerous Love and Love is in the Air - Guides on Love is in the Air Festival - coming up in a few weeks!

Come One! Come All! Be Amazed at the Wonders of the Darkmoon Faire – the Darkmoon Faire starts the first Sunday of every month.

Kharin’s  Seasonsonl Guides

Explorer revisted

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Worlds in Cataclysm

Posted January 17th, 2011 by Kharin

intothemaelstrom490x

With the release of the third WOW expansion pack Cataclysm, Azeroth faces once again the wrath and malicious machinations of the Old Gods first through the Elemental Invasion precipitated by their Twilight Hammer dupes and servants and then again through the destructive power of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing (Neltharion) and the scheming of the Naga (transformed Highborne elves) and the ubiquitous Twilight Hammer.  The battle to save Azeroth from fate similar to Draenor now confronts its heroes – in fire scarred regions of Mount Hyjal (where Ragnaros rises anew), in the underwater world of Vashj’ir (where Naga conspire to destroy the Tidehunter Neptulon), in the deep elemental realm of Deepholm beneath the Maelstrom (where Deathwing’s rapid exit from his former hiding place has shattered the earth’s pillar) , the sandy wastes of ancient Uldum, on the high peaks of the Twilight Plateau and the battlefields of Tol Barad.

Global catastrophe and cataclysm is not a new thing in the lore and history of Azeroth.  Since its beginning Azeroth has been subject to a number of potential world destroying calamities. According to the lore, the newly formed Azeroth was initially shaped by the powerful Eternals or Titans who brought symmetry, order and structure to the world.  They build great cities and machines and constructed earthen, stone and mechanical servants to bring about their purposes.  Eventually, the “makers” or “creators” moved on to fashion other worlds, leaving Azeroth in charge of the Titanic Watchers and Keepers (like Thorim, Sif, Loken, Freya etc) and the Dragon Aspects (Neltharion, Malygos, Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, Ysera).  After the creators left, Azeroth was invaded by the powerful chaotic “Old Gods” (though older strands of the lore suggest they were present when the Titans first arrived in Azeroth).  These malevolent beings tore Azeroth apart, creating chaos and co-opting the indigenous elemental Lords of fire, wind, earth, and water to further their destructive will. Due to the influence of the Old Gods or “Whisperers”, “the curse of flesh” began to change the creations of the Titans.  The earthen and stone beings “devolved” into the dwarves and troggs while the mechanical became gnomes.  (The origin of the other indigenous Azerothian races is more mysterious though humans probably “devolved” from the vrkyl and night elves and trolls may be related).  The powerful and malicious Old Gods were subdued with the return of the Titans.  The creators realized that the only way to eradicate this “curse” and the maleficent Old Gods was to destroy all that they had made so they allowed the new races to remain and imprisoned the Old Gods beneath the surface of Azeroth where their power was curtailed but their influence continued to corrupt the unwary.  Meanwhile the Titans left Azeroth once again to continue their mission of shaping and ordering worlds and defeating the chaotic demonic powers of the Twisting Nether.

In more recent times, Azeroth has once again been subject to massive invasions and catastrophe.  In the War of the Ancients over ten thousand years before the present time, the almost overwhelming invasion of the fallen Titan Sageras’ innumerable demonic forces (the Burning Legion) swept into Kalimdor through the portal within the Eternity Well created by the deluded Highborne elves. When the Eternity Well imploded as Sageras himself tried to enter, most of the single ancient continent of Kalimdor sunk beneath the waves in the catastrophic Great Sundering leaving behind the swirling Maelstrom and the present day continents and islands surrounding it.  The threat of the Burning Legion seemed averted until, some nine thousand years later, mad Medivh (under Sageras’ control) opened of the Dark Portal to allow the savage, demon-corrupted Orcs to overrun and threaten the kingdoms of humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves until eventually repulsed in the First and Second Wars.  Kil’Jaeden, now the leader of the Burning Legion, once again attempted to subdue Azeroth through the seemingly unstoppable undead Scourge plague controlled by the Lich King and through demonic forces lead by Archimonde.  While Archmonde and the Burning Legion was defeated, the Lich King remained as a threat and unleashed the Zombie plague on the peoples of Azeroth before finally being defeated by an uneasy coalition between Horde, Alliance and the Knights of the Ebon Blade. As a result of the coming of the Burning Legion, the creation of the Dark Portal and of the Lich King, the fates of Azeroth and the shattered remnant planet of Draenor (Outlands) have become intrinsically linked

World shattering and life destroying catastrophes are not new phenomena in the fantasy genre (for example think of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and the shattering of Arda in the Silmarillion, David Edding’s Belgariad series, Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series, Raymond E Feist’s Riftwar Saga, Ann MaCaffery’s Dragons of Pern series or Emily Rhodda’s Deltora series to name a few).  Such epic narratives, more often than not, draw on the myths, legends and stories of catastrophe and titanic conflict in our own world’s traditions.  This borrowing is clearly evident in Azerothian lore – with names, functions and events drawn from ancient Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Hindu traditions among others.

Many cultures’ origin narratives start with the gods bringing order and symmetry out of the initial chaos (e.g. Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Roman, Norse) followed by stories of a “fall” from a Golden Age of beauty, harmony and prosperity which is lost due to the overweening human pride and/or breaking of a divine prohibition or boundary with subsequent world destroying cataclysms. The ancient Greeks told of an overwhelming flood as well as the sinking of the land of Atlantis beneath the waves.  Greek, Hindus and Mayans retold stories of periodic catastrophes in which the world was destroyed and made anew.  In fact, stories of a cataclysmic flood from which just a handful of people survived are found among virtually all peoples and cultures of the earth.  The Hebrew tradition also narrated the creation of an ordered, perfect world, forever altered by angelic and human rebellion, a cataclysmic flood and foretells a fiery end to the present cosmos.  It differs from virtually all other traditions in positing an eternal, infinite, creator, who instead of imposing order on pre-existent chaotic forces, creates the ordered cosmos de novo by the power of his Word alone.  Thus, the Hebrews (and their Jewish and Christian inheritors) insist that God is the powerful spiritual reality outside of and unconfined by the material universe of time, space, matter and energy.  Unlike the Hindus, they saw this ultimate spiritual reality as personal with a keen, caring and enduring interest in humanity.  They also saw the physical universe (the heavens and the earth) as real and indeed good though a secondary, dependent and transient existence marred by the willful disorder of angelic and human agents. In other words, God created a good world for humans to care for and enjoy even though it has since been marred and life on earth is now difficult, dangerous and relatively short.  However, the journey doesn’t end there – and what we do here in this world determines what happens to us on a much greater undying adventure.

It was this Jewish-Christian tradition that has predominantly shaped Western civilization and it has been the prevalent world view in the West until recent times.  In the eighteenth century however, these ideas and beliefs were challenged and new narratives developed to explain the origins and nature of the world.   At the heart of this challenge was the increasing insistence that God should be excluded from explanations about the world (naturalism) and assertion that “the present is the key to the past” (the principle of uniformitarianism).  After the dust had settled between uniformitarian and catastrophic geologists, it became de rigueur that the earth’s crust had been formed slowly over long periods of time and all claims of catastrophic processes was ruled out of the court (of science).  The picture was of a stable, slowly changing, extremely ancient earth in which “catastrophes” occurred only in a small and local way (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, the slow encroaching glaciers of the ice-age).  In recent decades, this comforting picture is under increasing threat as evidence long disregarded or dismissed, has become too convincing to ignore any longer.  Now ideas that were considered laughable a few decades ago  -  Continental Drift and plate tectonics; frequent and massive meteor strikes that have lead to mass extinctions; super-volcanoes; massive floods which can transform and scar a immense area (e.g. the Channelled Scablands) literally in hours; and rapid climate change (e.g. Global Warming) – are accepted by the majority of scientists.  Moreover, the potential for global catastrophe of human making (climate change, thermonuclear winter etc) is being increasingly accepted.  It seems that the earth does in fact have a more violent, catastrophic past with more rapid changes than previously admitted.

Of course, none of this equates to the mythic neo-pagan and fictional world of Azeroth where Titanic figures stride across the landscape, portals to other places and worlds are regularly made and “demonic”, elementals and ghostly forces are substantial enough to destroy with swords, guns and poisons as well as more arcane attacks.

It begs the question – what is the true history of our world and how does it impact on how we live our lives.  How did our world come into existence?  What is its nature and purpose and what will be its end?  Where do we humans fit in?  What are we here for? Is this world, this physical reality the product of eons of random occurrences and is all there is as claimed by secular materialists; or is it unreal, merely an illusion and distraction from an impersonal spiritual reality (as many Eastern sages have claimed)? Or just maybe it is the real creation of a loving, all-powerful, all-wise, infinite and eternal God who has not abandoned it to its own devices as he goes about more urgent business (as the deists thought), but who remains involved in this world and its people to extent of being incarnated among them and who continues to work towards it ultimate liberation? For in the end, the kind of world we live in and its ultimate fate makes a decisive difference to who we are, how we should live our lives and which way we should take through life’s journey.

Kharin

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Saving Winter Veil

Posted December 28th, 2010 by Kharin

WinterVeil2010490x338

Winter Veil is probably the Azerothian festival I enjoy the most.  Running over 18 days, Winter Veil is less time pressured than many of the other seasonal events, has some fun quests and interesting challenges, some cool companion pets and the distinct feel of celebration about it.  After all, there is something nostalgic about checking the gifts under the tree, waiting impatiently until Christmas day and then opening the gaily wrapped packages to see what they contain.  As usual Winter Veil is packed with goodies including companion pets (Red and Green Little Helpers, Snowman kit, Jingle Bell), festive goodies, quests and achievements (see below about quests and achievements).

Winter Veil clearly falls around the time and alludes to the major Western festival of Christmas (mistletoe, holly, gifts under the festively decorated fir trees, the garb and roles of Father Winter and his helpers, traditional Christmas foods, reindeer, the Greench etc).  The date of Christmas is close to (though not exactly on) the date of the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) and it was common in pre-Christian Europe and in East Asia to celebrate a festival in the very depths of winter in the hope that summer, light, warmth and growth would return to the world.  In the quest line The Reason for the Season both Dwarven and Tauren Legends are cited to indicate that Winter Veil was a time to celebrate the land’s blanketing with snow by Great-Father Winter and the renewal of the land.   The traditionalists lament that the Goblins have commercialised the season with “a bumbling fool in a red suit,” the giving of gifts and festival foods.  This is the closest that Winter Veil gets to alluding to the other major reason that Christmas has been celebrated in the West over the last 2000 years – the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in the small hamlet of Bethlehem in Israel.  Jesus was thought by many to be the long awaited Messiah (Christ) and he made radical claims about himself and announced a radical message about God’s love and forgiveness that got him offside with the religious authorities of the day.  Despite his subsequent death at Roman hands, his followers claimed that he had risen from the dead, continuing to spread his movement and message and “turning the world upside down.”   It is perhaps surprising that such an influential person, who is honoured, at least in name, by half the world’s population and respected by icons such as Mohammad, Mahatma Ghandi, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, is so easily sidelined into obscurity.  While Christians might claim that Jesus is the Reason for the Season, any allusions to the existence and influence of this world figure in the world of Azeroth are at best obscure, satirical and perhaps unwelcome – reflecting a major trend in popular, secular and neo-spiritual Western culture.

This guide will look at the quests, achievements and the changes from 2009.

Read more »

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Doing Lunch

Posted December 6th, 2010 by Kharin

Doing Lunch Orgrimmar Style

Up until now, cooking dailies have been reserved for the higher level player – with the release of the Roc cooking dailies (with the Burning Legion expansion – requirement level 70) and then the Dalaran cooking dailies (with Wrath of the Lich King – requires level 71).  These cooking adventures have been a fun way to earn some gold, get experience, new recipes, and earn reputation.

With the impending release of Cataclysm expansion and the new world that has emerged from the Shattering, Blizzard has introduced new cooking (and fishing) dailies in Stormwind City and Orgrimmar similar to the non-factional dailies available in Dalaran and Shattrath.  Like the Dalaran dailies and in marked contrast to the Shattrath dailies, most (if not all) of them can be performed in and around the Stormwind (Alliance) and Orgrimmar (Horde).   Also, like the Dalaran dailies, these new dailies give cooking awards (Chef’s awards) which can be saved to buy 450+ level cooking recipes.  Unlike both the Dalaran and Shattrath dailies, these “old world” dailies are available from level 10 onwards and award one or two cooking experience points (depending on level).

The Dailies

Stormwind

Five cooking dailies can be picked up from Head Chef, Robby Flay just south of the Stockades entrance, Stormwind City.  They are:

  • A Fisherman’s Feast (collect 5 barrels of gigantic Catfish on the jetties and near the fishermen around Stormwind canals, lake and harbour);
  • Orphans Like Cookies Too! (Collect 4 sacks of Confectioner’s Sugar from general supplies shops or the kitchens of inns or, if actually in stock, purchased from the cook at Blue Recluse or other vendors.  The sacks have a very fast respawn time( in populated servers) so , once you have found one, it is worth staying put and waiting for the respawn);
  • The King’s Cider (collect 12 fallen juicy apples lying beneath the apple trees along the canals and districts around Stormwind City.  Fallen apples show up on the mini-map with “find herbs” tracking ability.);
  • Feeling Crabby? (Collect 10 canal crabs. Travel along the Stormwind canals (swim, ride or water walk using what options you have to make this faster e.g.  druid form, water breathing, swim speed potion etc) to find the crabs and then collect them with a right click.  Apparently, riding a mammoth allows you to go at a faster walk rather than slower swim speed because of their height.  Also, the fishing daily Rock Lobster gives a water moving and breathing buff that can help with this quest.)  Track beasts, targeting macro or the v button can make the small crabs more visible); and
  • Penny’s Pumpkin Pancakes (harvest 6 Stormwind Pumpkins in the new farm section next to Olivia’s Pond in north of Stormwind City.  To reach this area you should go through the new gate behind the engineering trainer in the Dwarven district).

Each daily awards A Chef’s Award, + 1 cooking skill, alliance reputation (including Gilneas rep) and experience (if not already maxed out).  Next to Robby is the Sous Chef, Barrio Metalli who sells 450+ recipes (requires level 80) and a crate of tasty meat (for Chef’s Awards).

Orgrimmar

Five cooking dailies can be picked up Infantry Chef Marogg from at the southern entrance of the Drag, Orgrimmar.  The dailies are:

  • Careful, This Fruit Bites Back (collect 8 pieces of prickly pear fruit from the cacti scattered around Orgrimmar.  The fruit shows up on the mini-map with “find herbs” tracking ability);
  • Even Thieves Get Hungry(tackle the stealthed thieves next to stacks of horde marked crates to loot 3 stolen Infantry Horde rations.  They are easier to see if you pause for a few seconds.  Also, track hidden or a targeting macro are helpful in finding the thieves);
  • Stealing From Our Own (commandeer the 6 barrels of Darkspear Rice scattered about Troll section of the Valley of the Spirits ).  Trolls get a different version -  Stealing From Our Own (commandeer the 6 barrels of Kezan Rice scattered about the Goblin area in the Goblin Slums area);
  • Crawfish Creole (pick up 10 muddy crawfish in and around the ponds in Orgrimmar.  The pond next to the goblin area is perhaps the best place to collect crawfish as the lack of pond weed makes the crawfish more visible.  In shallow water the crawfish leave a bubbly trail. Track beasts (hunters, tracker snacks), targeting macro (see below) or using v key are also helpful in making the crawfish visible.  Remember to right click to collect them – you cannot fish them up); and
  • Everything Is Better with Bacon (loot 6 swine bellies from mature swine and wild mature swine in Durotar just south of Orgrimmar);

Each daily awards A Chef’s Award, + 1 cooking skill, horde reputation and experience (if not already maxed out).  Next to Marogg  is the Sous Chef Shazdar, who sells 450+ recipes (require level 80) and a crate of tasty meat (for Chef’s Awards).

Achievements

There are also a couple of associated achievements: Let’s Do Lunch for completing the five dailies in Stormwind City (Alliance) or Orgrimmar (Horde) and the various Cooking Awards (e.g. for one, 50, 100).

So, if you haven’t yet got into cooking, now may be the time to give it a go though, of course, it is going to take more than a few dailies to level your cooking or to earn the title of Chef.

In the midst of the chaos and shifting uncertainties of cataclysmic change, it is comforting to think that the simple pleasures of life can still remain.  The preparing, sharing and eating of food is at the heart of family life, significant celebrations and community building across races, factions and cultures despite their differances .

Kharin

Targeting Macros

/tar canal
/script SetRaidTargetIcon(”target”,1)

/tar muddy
/script SetRaidTargetIcon(”target”,1)

/target Orgrimmar Thief
/script SetRaidTargetIcon(”target”,1)

Cooking Dailies

A Bunch of Lunch – a guide to the new Cataclysm cooking dailies in Darnassus, Ironforge, Thunderbluff and Undercity – including where to find the quest givers, tips on completing each daily, which quests give 2 cooking awards or 2 cooking skills, rewards and achievments.

Fishing dailies

Other Fish in the Sea - a guide to the new Cataclysm Fishing Dailies in Darnassus, Ironforge, Thunderbluff and Undercity – including where to find the quest givers, tips on completing each daily, rewards and achievments and which quests give 2 fishing skill.

Gone Fishing – a guide to the new Cataclysm Fishing Dailies in Stormwind and Orgrimmar – including where to find the quest giver, tips on completing each daily, rewards, achievements and a brief guide on how to fish for those starting out in this profession.

Other Cataclysm Dailies

Mount Hyjal

Opening the Portal – a guide on qualiying for and progressing in the new Mount Hyjal dailies (gives gold, Mount Hyjal & guild reputation, Marks of the World Tree, epic 365 gear, companion pets, a mount, achievments).

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From the Jaws of Deathwing

Posted November 29th, 2010 by Kharin

Deathwing

Just when we thought it was safe to go about our normal everyday game play – raids, random dungeons, battlegrounds, exploration of a transformed world, questing, dailies, crafting, chasing achievements – Blizzard has released a new catastrophic event upon us all.  A few days ago a small blue post announced,“One of Azeroth’s oldest adversaries will soon tear through the Elemental Plane to reforge the world in flame, but this foe won’t be conducting his reign of terror from the confines of a castle or lair. Deathwing is a destructive force the likes of which adventurers have yet to see in World of Warcraft, and his appetite for devastation can only be satisfied by the shattering of the world. Following his explosive escape from Deepholm, Deathwing will cast a deadly shadow over the people of Azeroth as he wreaks indiscriminate havoc across the land.”  Over the last few days, sightings and deaths at the fiery breath of Deathwing have indeed been reported.

It seems that murder, chaos and mayhem will be unleashed when we least expect it.  With catastrophic suddenness the maddened, corrupted dragon aspect, Deathwing the Destroyer will continue his destructive revenge – sweeping in with ferocious suddenness and reducing all before him – landscape, buildings, mobs, critters, NPCs and players alike to so much dust and ashes.  The only warning of impending doom will be a blackened sky with a fiery red glow.  Areas will be devastated – though fortunately not irreversibly.  (After all, in the world of Azeroth even the worst death and destruction is rarely permanent – mobs respawn, resources nodes reappear, bosses can be defeated countless times and terrors faced and defeated ages ago can return to terrorise again, problems solved reappear, and our toons die countless times with little to show for such harrowing experiences than the time it takes for a graveyard run or maybe a dose of resurrection sickness and some gold to repair broken armor.)

Naturally, the World of Warcraft is no stranger to such world encompassing catastrophic events.  It is after all a world born out of the chaos of the “old gods”, a world brought to brink of global destruction by repeated drama and disaster.  Invasions by the demonic burning legions and their servants; the arrival of the orc armies through the dark portal; the almost complete shattering of the planet draenor (home to orcs and draeni); repeated attempts of the “old gods” and a couple of corrupted or maddened dragon aspects to bring about chaos, sedition, destruction; and waves of the devastating undead plague have all threatened to overwhelm the inhabitants of Azeroth and to destroy their world beyond reckoning.

The lore of such cataclysmic events draws from myth and legend of our own world.  Many ancient societies (e.g. Greek, Hindu, Chinese, Mayan) claimed that our world was formed from chaos and has been subjected to periodic world-remaking disasters.  While ancient Hebrew sources declared (in contrast to many of their Middle Eastern and Mediterranean neighbors) that a good, powerful, eternal God created time and space (the cosmos as we know it) de novo, they agreed with their neighbors that this world has experienced global disasters as the result of human and angelic rebellion.  These ancient sources all foresee future global catastrophes.

Be that as it may, what the Deathwing event will entail – apart from wholesale regional devastation transcending even the Zombie Plagues – and how long it will be with us is at this point in time difficult to know.  The only clear fact is an achievement (under the Cataclysm explorer category) Stood in the Fire which requires being killed by Deathwings fiery breath (though there are reports of this being glitched).  Being caught up in what is essentially a random and overwhelming event will normally result in death of even the most seasoned hero within seconds.  There is no opportunity to rally a credible defense unlike the Elemental Invasion or the Headless Horseman’s attacks on factional towns in Hallow’s End.  There will be nowhere to hide from the attacks- fleeing to the wilderness areas (as my hunter did during the Zombie Plague) will not save you for Deathwing can reach the most remote crannies of the world.

Certainly, the experience will be out of the ordinary and it would seem from the forums that many players are extremely anxious to experience it.  The fainthearted, those with tight playing schedules or those who lack an overwhelming death wish may wish to head back to safety of Dalaran or even Shattrath until the attacks cease.  On the other hand, it’s is hard to know how long Deathwing will be allowed to roam free, spreading devastation in his wake.  And at the moment at least, his attacks are so random and sporadic that many if not most players are yet to become aware that they have begun and getting the achievement may pure luck. But be warned for a fiery death could descend at a moment’s notice.  Be prepared.

Kharin

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Perilous Times … To Be a Pilgrim

Posted November 26th, 2010 by Kharin

Pilgrim's Bounty

These are tumultuous times in the WOW universe with dramatic changes happening almost too fast to keep up with.  First there came new and expanding quest lines and new boss encounters here today and virtually gone tomorrow.  Then the cataclysmic shattering of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor followed, it would seem, by a number of years of rebuilding.  In the midst of this time of peril and change, even as the world is remade, the NPCs outside factional cities continue to celebrate the seasonal festival Pilgrim’s Bounty uninterrupted and basically unchanged from when it was introduced last year. Read more »

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