I'm trying to get two achievements by leveling both my Alliance Druid and my Horde Shaman to 90. I'm taking each through each zone in Pandaria to try to piece together both sides of the story. It started off with two different sides of the same story in Jade Forest, but quickly became the same narrative in Valley of the Four Winds. Krasarang Wilds has the two factions splitting again and their war splitting the continent of Pandaria and releasing the Sha.
For me, the Horde quests started at Thundercleft with an urgent request from an expecting father. This storyline is interesting and there is a bitter sweet ending that I have to admit I didn't expect. This quest hub also brings the mogu more into the story and introduces a new quest to help search for the Pools of Youth. After Thundercleft, I went on to Zhu's Watch.
That's where I started my adventure in Krasarang on my Alliance druid. This town is afflicted by general malaise and an overall bad attitude. I think we know enough about the land of Pandaria to know that an ancient evil has awakened and condemned them to a life of misery if not for a certain scrappy hero or two. That's right, the new Twilight film has finally been released in theaters all across Pandaria and the movie going public are all practicing their Kristen Stewart impression for when radio call in shows start holding contests to give away tickets. Wow, was that a long way to go or what for a ho-hum payoff. Ah well, I was feeling cheeky. Of course, you all know that the Sha have infested the village and it is up to you to help them get rid of it. I must say that Ken-Ken, the resident hozen, has an interesting way of dealing with the manifestation of bad emotion. Again, I was surprised when his mask worked so well. I thought for sure that the ancient hozen secret might have just been bunk.
The paths of the Horde and Alliance cross once again, though not in violence, as they try to prevent the Mogu from advancing their plans. The Mogu are using both Horde and Alliance members as slaves as they try to open a portal to Kun Lai Summit. Not to be outdone, the Mantid are pushing into the zone and they have broken through the Valley of the Four Winds wall with a massive bug overlord and a huge army!
My final words on Krasarang Wilds
Pros: Great story telling, quick moving quest hubs.
Cons: First multiple quest deaths during Red Crane quests. Those sha are tough SoBs!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Mists of Pandaria: Shado-pan Monastery
A few nights ago, I decided to queue up for another random in Pandaria. I expected the brewery and encounters for which I was at least marginally prepared. Instead, I got the monastery and had no idea even of the layout of the place. That turned out to be a mistake.
First, the place has a strange layout. It is several pagodas and dojos connected by rope bridges and guarded by archers. Second, I wasn't aware of boss mechanics (neither was our tank, apparently), so I suffered my first Pandaren instance death. It was during the Master Snowdrift fight and I didn't know that you could get away from his fists of fury move. After the tank went down, I ended up eating that move and dying. The remaining group beat him, though, and we went on our merry way.
The first boss fight, against Gu Cloutstrike and the azure serpent was visually appealing, but not much more than watch out for the lightning. As mentioned, it helps to know something about the Master Snowdrift fight before going in (avoid the tornado kick and fists of fury) to be able to defeat him. The fight is also interesting because before you go against the boss, you have to survive a couple of waves against Shado-pan novices. It's a nice change from trash/boss/trash/boss trap that the game seems to have fallen into as far as dungeon design. Sure, it is just trash, but the encounter makes it feel more than just the usual band of trash.
You also face off against Sha, this one of violence. Unlike the Sha of Doubt, this fight is just another ho hum watch out for the spike on the floor type. However, it does have an interesting mechanic that allows you to see a weak spot on the Sha. If you hit that spot with a few seconds of it being revealed, you will do an auto critical strike. Other than that, there is nothing cool like the figment of doubt routine. The last boss, though, Taran Zhu is pretty neat. You have a rising hate meter that when it gets to full, you have to meditate to release the hatred or else you won't be able to damage the boss. There are also orbs that fly around that need to be killed or else they will bounce you all around the area and not allow you to meditate off the hate. All in all, similar to the Sha of Doubt, this was a cool encounter with a lot happening to keep your interest.
Pros: The last boss (this appears to be a pattern in Mists) is a neat encounter that requires some thought and attention, the encounter before Master Snowdrift gives you more to do than just "pew pew" while the tank holds aggro.
Cons: Make sure you know the fights before you go in. Both Master Snowdrift and Taran Zhu have the ability to wipe a group that isn't ready. The layout of the area is a bit disorienting with all of the bridges.
First, the place has a strange layout. It is several pagodas and dojos connected by rope bridges and guarded by archers. Second, I wasn't aware of boss mechanics (neither was our tank, apparently), so I suffered my first Pandaren instance death. It was during the Master Snowdrift fight and I didn't know that you could get away from his fists of fury move. After the tank went down, I ended up eating that move and dying. The remaining group beat him, though, and we went on our merry way.
The first boss fight, against Gu Cloutstrike and the azure serpent was visually appealing, but not much more than watch out for the lightning. As mentioned, it helps to know something about the Master Snowdrift fight before going in (avoid the tornado kick and fists of fury) to be able to defeat him. The fight is also interesting because before you go against the boss, you have to survive a couple of waves against Shado-pan novices. It's a nice change from trash/boss/trash/boss trap that the game seems to have fallen into as far as dungeon design. Sure, it is just trash, but the encounter makes it feel more than just the usual band of trash.
You also face off against Sha, this one of violence. Unlike the Sha of Doubt, this fight is just another ho hum watch out for the spike on the floor type. However, it does have an interesting mechanic that allows you to see a weak spot on the Sha. If you hit that spot with a few seconds of it being revealed, you will do an auto critical strike. Other than that, there is nothing cool like the figment of doubt routine. The last boss, though, Taran Zhu is pretty neat. You have a rising hate meter that when it gets to full, you have to meditate to release the hatred or else you won't be able to damage the boss. There are also orbs that fly around that need to be killed or else they will bounce you all around the area and not allow you to meditate off the hate. All in all, similar to the Sha of Doubt, this was a cool encounter with a lot happening to keep your interest.
Pros: The last boss (this appears to be a pattern in Mists) is a neat encounter that requires some thought and attention, the encounter before Master Snowdrift gives you more to do than just "pew pew" while the tank holds aggro.
Cons: Make sure you know the fights before you go in. Both Master Snowdrift and Taran Zhu have the ability to wipe a group that isn't ready. The layout of the area is a bit disorienting with all of the bridges.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Mists of Pandaria: Temple of the Jade Serpent
Something foul is afoot in the Temple of the Jade Serpent. You and your allies are needed to defeat this evil and restore the balance.
You are greeted at the entrance by two quests, one to help the masters of the temple regain the purity of the place and one to destroy the Sha of Doubt. The first quest leads you to help Wise Mari, Lorewalker Stonestep, and Liu Flameheart.
Wise Mari is a Jinyu waterspeaker. The waters of the temple have been corrupted by the Sha of Doubt and have caused Wise Mari to become corrupted, too. This encounter starts with you fighting water elementals that the speaker summons from the pools below. After defeating his guardians, Mari faces the party himself. This is a decent encounter that has you avoiding pools on the floor as you run away from a jet that emanates from Mari and rotates around the room.
Having potentially already helped Stonestep in the library by killing moths and squishing bookworms, you now have to deal with the Sha having brought to life corrupted versions of Pandaren lore. Originally, the battle is supposed to choose from two different versions similar to the Opera event in Karazhan, but only one of them is currently live due to a bug. This battle isn't nearly as interesting as the first. It involves switching between two bosses and essentially just "pew pew" until they are dead. The story is somewhat interesting, but this is my least favorite fight in the dungeon.
Before facing the big bad, players need to assist a priestess of the Jade Serpent, Liu Flameheart. This is again a straight forward battle, but at low health, Liu calls the Jade Serpent to protect her. That is an interesting switch in strategy during a fight, but still mostly a straight forward DPS burn. Just be sure to avoid the green fire!
The Sha of Doubt is probably my favorite fight in the dungeon because of the mechanic that calls forth a Figment of Doubt from each player that you have to fight every so often. That is an interesting part of the fight and a very cool visual. I am also a sucker for the enemies that whisper things to you, trying to turn your character or drive them insane.
My last words on the Temple of the Jade Serpent
Pros: Different mechanics in two of the fights, a little bit more on Pandaren lore, Sha!, short instance in case you have limited time, decent quest rewards
Cons: Two fights are little more than DPS burns, long queues right now (I spent more time in queue than in the dungeon)
Overall: A good introduction to instances in Pandaria with two fights that are interesting and two that are tank and spank. I would probably do this one again just for the Sha fight. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of that fight.
You are greeted at the entrance by two quests, one to help the masters of the temple regain the purity of the place and one to destroy the Sha of Doubt. The first quest leads you to help Wise Mari, Lorewalker Stonestep, and Liu Flameheart.
Wise Mari is a Jinyu waterspeaker. The waters of the temple have been corrupted by the Sha of Doubt and have caused Wise Mari to become corrupted, too. This encounter starts with you fighting water elementals that the speaker summons from the pools below. After defeating his guardians, Mari faces the party himself. This is a decent encounter that has you avoiding pools on the floor as you run away from a jet that emanates from Mari and rotates around the room.
Having potentially already helped Stonestep in the library by killing moths and squishing bookworms, you now have to deal with the Sha having brought to life corrupted versions of Pandaren lore. Originally, the battle is supposed to choose from two different versions similar to the Opera event in Karazhan, but only one of them is currently live due to a bug. This battle isn't nearly as interesting as the first. It involves switching between two bosses and essentially just "pew pew" until they are dead. The story is somewhat interesting, but this is my least favorite fight in the dungeon.
Before facing the big bad, players need to assist a priestess of the Jade Serpent, Liu Flameheart. This is again a straight forward battle, but at low health, Liu calls the Jade Serpent to protect her. That is an interesting switch in strategy during a fight, but still mostly a straight forward DPS burn. Just be sure to avoid the green fire!
The Sha of Doubt is probably my favorite fight in the dungeon because of the mechanic that calls forth a Figment of Doubt from each player that you have to fight every so often. That is an interesting part of the fight and a very cool visual. I am also a sucker for the enemies that whisper things to you, trying to turn your character or drive them insane.
My last words on the Temple of the Jade Serpent
Pros: Different mechanics in two of the fights, a little bit more on Pandaren lore, Sha!, short instance in case you have limited time, decent quest rewards
Cons: Two fights are little more than DPS burns, long queues right now (I spent more time in queue than in the dungeon)
Overall: A good introduction to instances in Pandaria with two fights that are interesting and two that are tank and spank. I would probably do this one again just for the Sha fight. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of that fight.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mists of Pandaria: Valley of the Four Winds
I have a confession to make about this expansion. I've been playing my Alliance toons more than my Horde. Even though I don't like either side's justification for the escalation of war, I really hate Garrosh and can at least somewhat see the Alliance reasons for being on Pandaria. I like the guild on my Horde shaman better, though, they're a chattier bunch, so it's an interesting conundrum. Since it looks like both factions are being shepherded along the same storyline, I'm back on my Horde toon for this part of the review, though.
Eventually, after the shocking conclusion to your story in the Jade Forest, you are led to the Valley of the Four Winds. Here, you meet an enterprising brewer in Chen Stormstout and his young niece. One of your tasks in this part of Pandaria is to help him find the ingredients to make a great beer and get into the good graces of the Pandaren Stormstouts. This is what I mean by Blizzard using story very well in this expansion. You don't even care that all you're doing is kill/escort/pull weeds/basically the same thing you always have to do for these quests because the story is interesting.
Another aspect of Pandaren life is introduced in the valley. You've farmed materials. You've farmed rep, justice/honor/conquest/valor points, and gold. Now, be prepared (as in "You are not!") to farm vegetables. That's right, after ridding Azeroth of the Lich King, Deathwing, and the Burning Crusade, your next task is to rid your garden of pesky weeds and bitey insects. This aspect of the game was derided by many as a direct rip off of Farmville. Having somehow completely missed the Farmville boat, I can't speak for that. However, there are many similarities between these quests and Harvest Moon. While you might argue that Blizzard is catering to the casual crowd and ripping off other games for this expansion, at least they are games that I enjoy.
Along the way, you are introduced to one of the beginning instances in the game, Stormstout Brewery, and you play through some simulated boss battles. It is a nice way for solo players to get that experience and see inside of the brewery. Later tonight, I will do both Stormstout and the Temple of the Jade Serpent to get a better idea of boss mechanics in Pandaria. So far, the mechanics are interesting and I'm not sure what people are complaining about as far as instances being the same old, same old. Sure, encounters get old after a few tries and there's only so much that you can do with an encounter, but I think that Blizzard has done some great things recently with boss battles.
After playing through the brewery story, you move on to a village that is being harassed by an ancient enemy of the Pandaren, the mantid. Why does it always have to be bugs? They have brought with them Sha. The Shado-pan are also brought into the story in the village of Stoneplow and Hemet is near there with a hunting party. The most exciting part about my time in the valley was that I ran into one of the rare mobs of Pandaria. Jonn-Dar, a terracotta warrior that doesn't hit too hard. He summons a Quilien and has a crescent shaped something or another that comes out of the ground to spike you to death (nearly ate it when I missed it happening). It was an intense fight, but I got him. Also saw the mantid champion (as I suppose they're called), but a blade fury has me rethinking my strategy against him.
All in all, this zone was fun. After the emotional roller coaster of the Jade Forest, it was nice to be able to relax, farm some, brew a little beer, and hunt with Hemet Nesingwary. There are still threats like the mantid and Sha, but I feel like we're finally working with the land of Pandaria to help heal instead of tearing everything apart. Hopefully that part of the story continues because it makes me feel good about myself and my toons again.
My last word on Valley of the Four Winds
Pros: Great incorporation of Harvest Moon elements into the game, storyline is getting more positive and cooperative, interesting quests in the brewery, fun characters to keep you company
Cons: A little peeved that cooking has now been split into 6 tracks. Granted, you don't have to follow every track, but my OCD won't allow anything else, still mostly the same old kill/collect quests
Eventually, after the shocking conclusion to your story in the Jade Forest, you are led to the Valley of the Four Winds. Here, you meet an enterprising brewer in Chen Stormstout and his young niece. One of your tasks in this part of Pandaria is to help him find the ingredients to make a great beer and get into the good graces of the Pandaren Stormstouts. This is what I mean by Blizzard using story very well in this expansion. You don't even care that all you're doing is kill/escort/pull weeds/basically the same thing you always have to do for these quests because the story is interesting.
Another aspect of Pandaren life is introduced in the valley. You've farmed materials. You've farmed rep, justice/honor/conquest/valor points, and gold. Now, be prepared (as in "You are not!") to farm vegetables. That's right, after ridding Azeroth of the Lich King, Deathwing, and the Burning Crusade, your next task is to rid your garden of pesky weeds and bitey insects. This aspect of the game was derided by many as a direct rip off of Farmville. Having somehow completely missed the Farmville boat, I can't speak for that. However, there are many similarities between these quests and Harvest Moon. While you might argue that Blizzard is catering to the casual crowd and ripping off other games for this expansion, at least they are games that I enjoy.
Along the way, you are introduced to one of the beginning instances in the game, Stormstout Brewery, and you play through some simulated boss battles. It is a nice way for solo players to get that experience and see inside of the brewery. Later tonight, I will do both Stormstout and the Temple of the Jade Serpent to get a better idea of boss mechanics in Pandaria. So far, the mechanics are interesting and I'm not sure what people are complaining about as far as instances being the same old, same old. Sure, encounters get old after a few tries and there's only so much that you can do with an encounter, but I think that Blizzard has done some great things recently with boss battles.
After playing through the brewery story, you move on to a village that is being harassed by an ancient enemy of the Pandaren, the mantid. Why does it always have to be bugs? They have brought with them Sha. The Shado-pan are also brought into the story in the village of Stoneplow and Hemet is near there with a hunting party. The most exciting part about my time in the valley was that I ran into one of the rare mobs of Pandaria. Jonn-Dar, a terracotta warrior that doesn't hit too hard. He summons a Quilien and has a crescent shaped something or another that comes out of the ground to spike you to death (nearly ate it when I missed it happening). It was an intense fight, but I got him. Also saw the mantid champion (as I suppose they're called), but a blade fury has me rethinking my strategy against him.
All in all, this zone was fun. After the emotional roller coaster of the Jade Forest, it was nice to be able to relax, farm some, brew a little beer, and hunt with Hemet Nesingwary. There are still threats like the mantid and Sha, but I feel like we're finally working with the land of Pandaria to help heal instead of tearing everything apart. Hopefully that part of the story continues because it makes me feel good about myself and my toons again.
My last word on Valley of the Four Winds
Pros: Great incorporation of Harvest Moon elements into the game, storyline is getting more positive and cooperative, interesting quests in the brewery, fun characters to keep you company
Cons: A little peeved that cooking has now been split into 6 tracks. Granted, you don't have to follow every track, but my OCD won't allow anything else, still mostly the same old kill/collect quests
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mists of Pandaria: Jade Forest
I mentioned in an earlier post that I've leveled an Alliance and a Horde toon through the Jade Forest in Pandaria. I was hoping that by leveling both factions that I could get a different narrative through the zone. Initially, I was not disappointed. Both the Horde and the Alliance arrive on Pandaria after a quest from their capital city on opposite sides of the Jade Forest, yet they quickly find evidence of their blood rivals and are forced to fight against them to gain a foothold in the new land.
For this part of the post, I'm going to talk mostly about the Alliance section of questing. I am playing through as my Alliance Enhancement shaman again so that I can have a better idea of progression as I move through the zone. I will go back later to fill in the Horde storyline. The Alliance find themselves on Pandaria after a search party to find the missing Prince Anduin Wrynn gets attacked by the Horde near the continent. Washed up on to the shores of the Jade Forest, much of the first part of the quests is fighting for survival against the filthy mongrels of the Horde. After a quick introduction to a new enemy (the Sha), you find yourself in the Pandaren village of Paw'don. Your tasks here include crippling a nearby Horde establishment with the help of your friendly neighborhood Alliance airship captain where the power of the Sha is showcased in a neat story encounter, and rifling through the ruins of what appears to be the prince's ship that has crashed to shore.
Both factions find other allies on the continent besides the somewhat reluctant Pandaren. The Horde meet with the 'ookin' Hozen and Alliance pass through the lands of the merfolk Jinyu. Initially, the Jinyu only sign on to allow the Alliance safe passage through their lands in their search for the prince. They, too, seem like reluctant participants in the war that has washed up on their shores. So far, we have two people who were mostly peaceful and have been corrupted by our influence. One of them, the Pandaren, now fights among themselves and the other, the Jinyu, are trading in their religious beliefs to pick up weapons. This makes me feel really bad about what I am doing on Pandaria.
Please indulge me a theory. I have wondered, for some time, why the Tauren abide by the new Horde. Not only was their beloved leader slain by the new warchief (in a shocking turn of events, he was mind controlled), but the Goblins have been allowed into the Horde. The goblins show such a disdain for nature and many of the things that the Tauren hold sacred, that even if they could overlook the assassination of Cairne, the inclusion of these filthy land rapers should have caused an uproar among the Tauren. There are some strange things afoot in the Horde and it makes me wonder if Blizzard is setting us up for a time when all races may be able to choose their allegiance similar to how the Pandaren are allowed. Add in the fact that we are pillaging what was once a peaceful continent filled with races who might rather not be fighting among themselves. History is repeating in the World of Warcraft. There have also been hints that a new and greater evil is waiting in the wings, the Horde and Alliance have fought side by side to eliminate common enemies, and Vol'jin has said in no uncertain terms to Garrosh that his time as warchief is limited. It really gives me hope that these territorial pissing contents might be coming to an end and an uneasy truce might be in the coming. Imagine the story possibilities!
Back to this story. The Alliance subtly manipulates the Jinyu and draws them into our war. Some of you might make the argument that the Horde is the driving force behind all of the violence, and this time I can't argue with that. Still, there was no reason for either the Hozen or the Jinyu to fight for either side. A few interesting narrative quests along the line of "punching Deathwing in the face" though not nearly as entertaining are followed by more fighting between the Jinyu and Hozen. After that, we are finally off on the next part of our story.
I don't want to give away too much of the story, because it is good and there is quite a bit happening, but you do find out what happened to the prince, learn more about Pandaren lore, and there is a conclusion so heartbreaking that even though I've seen it 3 times, it still makes me angry. I really don't feel good about what either of the factions is doing in this expansion. That's not to say that I don't like the game anymore. It is great when any form of entertainment can elicit a response, that's a good thing. So far, a great start to Mists of Pandaria and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My last word on Jade Forest
Pros: Great and engaging stories, the Pandaren story line and the struggle of the other Pandaria natives, beautiful landscapes, nice little Easter eggs like treasures and lore objects, achievement updates to let you know when you've finished parts of an achievement
Cons: Same old fetch 6 of these, kill 8 of those quests, not sure about the motivations of either the Alliance or the Horde other than to rape and pillage another land much as they have Azeroth in their endless war, hoped for more diversity in the Horde vs. Alliance storyline
As always, thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my run through of the Valley of the Four Winds.
For this part of the post, I'm going to talk mostly about the Alliance section of questing. I am playing through as my Alliance Enhancement shaman again so that I can have a better idea of progression as I move through the zone. I will go back later to fill in the Horde storyline. The Alliance find themselves on Pandaria after a search party to find the missing Prince Anduin Wrynn gets attacked by the Horde near the continent. Washed up on to the shores of the Jade Forest, much of the first part of the quests is fighting for survival against the filthy mongrels of the Horde. After a quick introduction to a new enemy (the Sha), you find yourself in the Pandaren village of Paw'don. Your tasks here include crippling a nearby Horde establishment with the help of your friendly neighborhood Alliance airship captain where the power of the Sha is showcased in a neat story encounter, and rifling through the ruins of what appears to be the prince's ship that has crashed to shore.
Both factions find other allies on the continent besides the somewhat reluctant Pandaren. The Horde meet with the 'ookin' Hozen and Alliance pass through the lands of the merfolk Jinyu. Initially, the Jinyu only sign on to allow the Alliance safe passage through their lands in their search for the prince. They, too, seem like reluctant participants in the war that has washed up on their shores. So far, we have two people who were mostly peaceful and have been corrupted by our influence. One of them, the Pandaren, now fights among themselves and the other, the Jinyu, are trading in their religious beliefs to pick up weapons. This makes me feel really bad about what I am doing on Pandaria.
Please indulge me a theory. I have wondered, for some time, why the Tauren abide by the new Horde. Not only was their beloved leader slain by the new warchief (in a shocking turn of events, he was mind controlled), but the Goblins have been allowed into the Horde. The goblins show such a disdain for nature and many of the things that the Tauren hold sacred, that even if they could overlook the assassination of Cairne, the inclusion of these filthy land rapers should have caused an uproar among the Tauren. There are some strange things afoot in the Horde and it makes me wonder if Blizzard is setting us up for a time when all races may be able to choose their allegiance similar to how the Pandaren are allowed. Add in the fact that we are pillaging what was once a peaceful continent filled with races who might rather not be fighting among themselves. History is repeating in the World of Warcraft. There have also been hints that a new and greater evil is waiting in the wings, the Horde and Alliance have fought side by side to eliminate common enemies, and Vol'jin has said in no uncertain terms to Garrosh that his time as warchief is limited. It really gives me hope that these territorial pissing contents might be coming to an end and an uneasy truce might be in the coming. Imagine the story possibilities!
Back to this story. The Alliance subtly manipulates the Jinyu and draws them into our war. Some of you might make the argument that the Horde is the driving force behind all of the violence, and this time I can't argue with that. Still, there was no reason for either the Hozen or the Jinyu to fight for either side. A few interesting narrative quests along the line of "punching Deathwing in the face" though not nearly as entertaining are followed by more fighting between the Jinyu and Hozen. After that, we are finally off on the next part of our story.
I don't want to give away too much of the story, because it is good and there is quite a bit happening, but you do find out what happened to the prince, learn more about Pandaren lore, and there is a conclusion so heartbreaking that even though I've seen it 3 times, it still makes me angry. I really don't feel good about what either of the factions is doing in this expansion. That's not to say that I don't like the game anymore. It is great when any form of entertainment can elicit a response, that's a good thing. So far, a great start to Mists of Pandaria and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My last word on Jade Forest
Pros: Great and engaging stories, the Pandaren story line and the struggle of the other Pandaria natives, beautiful landscapes, nice little Easter eggs like treasures and lore objects, achievement updates to let you know when you've finished parts of an achievement
Cons: Same old fetch 6 of these, kill 8 of those quests, not sure about the motivations of either the Alliance or the Horde other than to rape and pillage another land much as they have Azeroth in their endless war, hoped for more diversity in the Horde vs. Alliance storyline
As always, thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my run through of the Valley of the Four Winds.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Mists of Pandaria: Pet Battles
I've played through some of the quest hubs in the Jade Forest in Pandaria on both my Alliance druid and my Horde shaman. I also have an Alliance shaman. For the purposes of this page, perhaps I should have chosen her as my Alliance toon on the Jade isle, but the druid is my first ever toon created in the game so I have a bit of a soft spot for him. Maybe I'll jump on the Alliance shaman to try out the new dungeons in the expansion. For now, I have only quested and gotten way too in to the pet battles.
Pet Battles
Upon logging into my character, I was invited to join a guild named <Pokewow>. Most of my friends have moved on to other things besides the game, but I'm still looking for people to meet in the game. More often than not, I'm initially want an interesting or clever guild name. I have been in a guild named <You Can't Say No to a Panda> and currently my Horde guild is <Fabulous PINK>. So, as soon as I saw the name <Pokewow>, I clicked join. Even though the guild has been hit or miss as far as interaction between members, it is a match made in whatever the Azerothian equivalent of heaven is. I'm enjoying this pet battling thing much more than I ever expected. It might have something to do with my oldest son getting into the video and card games due to my introducing him to the Diamond version after he showed an interest in the cartoon while we were on vacation in Florida.
Whatever the reason, I'm having so much fun with the game. I've put aside part of my game time specifically to comb the wilds of Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, find all of the hard to find pets, catch all of them (Is that too close for copyright? I've heard that Nintendo is terribly litigious.), leveling the proper pet type to challenge all of the trainers in the introduction quest line, and move on to that second tier of quests. One of the things that I really like about this is that they've made the pets and mounts truly account wide. No longer do you have to do the same thing over and over on each one of your characters. Somehow people play this game enough to have done some of these things on multiple characters, but I don't see how there are enough hours in a day and enough span in your attention for such an endeavor.
But, I digress. Now, we don't have to live in Azeroth to be on equal footing with the hardcore league in at least this aspect of the game. Some of you are probably screaming at your computer screen, "The whole game is welfare now! There's nothing left for us to feel good about because everybody gets everything handed to them!" First of all, woah. Slow down there, Tiger. Just because Blizzard has tried to make the game more enjoyable for people who don't have the time or energy to take on a full time job in the guise of a game simply to be successful at that game doesn't mean that they are taking anything from you. Also, this game is 8 years old. Give me another game that has had such staying power and continued to entertain over those 8 years.
Dang, I digressed again. Having all of these characters on your account is a definite plus. Being able to park my characters in various parts of the world and pick up where I left off has shortened the amount of time I've had to devote to the task. As I say, I've been able to level up a variety of pets in a short period of time and finish the introduction quests. While those are fun and it is nice to see what some of the special pets are that these trainers possess, the real fun comes when you are out in the wild and a new pet pops up on the minimap as a green paw print or even more exciting when the second pet in a fight ends up being the rare version of something that you've been searching for. I have actually found myself mimicking my son's victory fist pump when I catch one that I need and checking my notebook to be sure that it was recorded and to check out the stats of the new pet. Derided by some players as a direct Pokemon rip off, the pet battles actually add something very fun to the game.
My last word on Pet battles:
Pros: Pets are account wide(!), mostly fast paced combat, finally gives you something interesting to do with all of those pets you've been collecting over the years, good implementation of strategic advantages, sense of accomplishment when you find that pet you been hunting.
Cons: On level battles are a bit too much of a challenge sometimes. That's not completely a con, but sometimes when you're battling, you have to take an 8 minute break to allow your pet heal cool down to expire. So far, that's the only complaint that I have so far. I haven't tried PvP yet, so I will update with my thoughts on that soon.
Overall: If you ever liked Pokemon, you should check this aspect of World of Warcraft. It is a good way to bring other play styles into the game. They have even added new pets to old raids, allowing you to go back to experience content that you haven't for a while/never got a chance to see. So far, Molten Core has been an easy run and has inspired me to chase after the Sulfuron Hammer. BWL is still challenging, at least for me while I learn the mechanics of that first fight. AQ isn't too bad on my Boomkin, and I haven't checked out Naxx since I was 80. Looks like I'll have to have another installment in the near future.
As always, thanks for reading and stay tuned for my review of Jade Forest next!
Pet Battles
Upon logging into my character, I was invited to join a guild named <Pokewow>. Most of my friends have moved on to other things besides the game, but I'm still looking for people to meet in the game. More often than not, I'm initially want an interesting or clever guild name. I have been in a guild named <You Can't Say No to a Panda> and currently my Horde guild is <Fabulous PINK>. So, as soon as I saw the name <Pokewow>, I clicked join. Even though the guild has been hit or miss as far as interaction between members, it is a match made in whatever the Azerothian equivalent of heaven is. I'm enjoying this pet battling thing much more than I ever expected. It might have something to do with my oldest son getting into the video and card games due to my introducing him to the Diamond version after he showed an interest in the cartoon while we were on vacation in Florida.
Whatever the reason, I'm having so much fun with the game. I've put aside part of my game time specifically to comb the wilds of Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, find all of the hard to find pets, catch all of them (Is that too close for copyright? I've heard that Nintendo is terribly litigious.), leveling the proper pet type to challenge all of the trainers in the introduction quest line, and move on to that second tier of quests. One of the things that I really like about this is that they've made the pets and mounts truly account wide. No longer do you have to do the same thing over and over on each one of your characters. Somehow people play this game enough to have done some of these things on multiple characters, but I don't see how there are enough hours in a day and enough span in your attention for such an endeavor.
But, I digress. Now, we don't have to live in Azeroth to be on equal footing with the hardcore league in at least this aspect of the game. Some of you are probably screaming at your computer screen, "The whole game is welfare now! There's nothing left for us to feel good about because everybody gets everything handed to them!" First of all, woah. Slow down there, Tiger. Just because Blizzard has tried to make the game more enjoyable for people who don't have the time or energy to take on a full time job in the guise of a game simply to be successful at that game doesn't mean that they are taking anything from you. Also, this game is 8 years old. Give me another game that has had such staying power and continued to entertain over those 8 years.
Dang, I digressed again. Having all of these characters on your account is a definite plus. Being able to park my characters in various parts of the world and pick up where I left off has shortened the amount of time I've had to devote to the task. As I say, I've been able to level up a variety of pets in a short period of time and finish the introduction quests. While those are fun and it is nice to see what some of the special pets are that these trainers possess, the real fun comes when you are out in the wild and a new pet pops up on the minimap as a green paw print or even more exciting when the second pet in a fight ends up being the rare version of something that you've been searching for. I have actually found myself mimicking my son's victory fist pump when I catch one that I need and checking my notebook to be sure that it was recorded and to check out the stats of the new pet. Derided by some players as a direct Pokemon rip off, the pet battles actually add something very fun to the game.
My last word on Pet battles:
Pros: Pets are account wide(!), mostly fast paced combat, finally gives you something interesting to do with all of those pets you've been collecting over the years, good implementation of strategic advantages, sense of accomplishment when you find that pet you been hunting.
Cons: On level battles are a bit too much of a challenge sometimes. That's not completely a con, but sometimes when you're battling, you have to take an 8 minute break to allow your pet heal cool down to expire. So far, that's the only complaint that I have so far. I haven't tried PvP yet, so I will update with my thoughts on that soon.
Overall: If you ever liked Pokemon, you should check this aspect of World of Warcraft. It is a good way to bring other play styles into the game. They have even added new pets to old raids, allowing you to go back to experience content that you haven't for a while/never got a chance to see. So far, Molten Core has been an easy run and has inspired me to chase after the Sulfuron Hammer. BWL is still challenging, at least for me while I learn the mechanics of that first fight. AQ isn't too bad on my Boomkin, and I haven't checked out Naxx since I was 80. Looks like I'll have to have another installment in the near future.
As always, thanks for reading and stay tuned for my review of Jade Forest next!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Sorry
Sorry, folks, I've gotten side tracked with my high level shaman. Running some of the new Pandaria content (very cool, I might include my review of it to keep the posts coming) and trying to get stuff for my Sulfuron hammer/pets from Molten Core over the past few days. I am in the process of writing Chapter 2 of Bludtusk where he goes to meet Vol'jin for the first time. So far, it is coming out well. Hope to have it up and a some impressions of playing a low level Shaman soon.
Cheers. Stay tuned!
Cheers. Stay tuned!
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