Wrath of the Lich King so far

[cdybedahl]

So it's been a little while since WotLK was released. I've got to Death Knights through the introductory quest line. My druid main went to Howling Fjord at level 68, and is now 71 and halfway through Borean Tundra. These are my impressions so far.

1) The Death Knight starting quest chain is really cool. So cool, in fact, that I created a second DK just to get to do it again. The second one (a female gnome with pink pigtails named Blåviol, on Argent Dawn EU) has been standing in Honor Hold since she got out of the intro area.

2) Borean Tundra is pretty meh. Just another area. Sure, some quests are mildly amusing (like the whole D.E.H.T.A. thing), but on the whole it's nothing special and some quest chains are downright tedious ("Ok, I fought my way through a gazillion annoying mobs to get you this thingy" "Thank you. Now do it again to get me the other thingy that's lying right next to first one"). If you like Blasted Lands, Burning Steppes and Western Plaguelands, maybe you'll enjoy this area more than I did.

3) Howling Fjord, on the other hand, is awesome. Hands down my favourite area of the entire game so far (I reserve the right to change my mind after I see the rest of Northrend). VIsually, it's gorgeous. The landscape is gorgeous. The Vrykul architecture is gorgeous. Even the Forsaken architecture is notch above the usual. The quest design is varied, inventive (mating walruses!), almost ridiculously well done (a warning: the "just one more quest" effect is very strong here) and just plain fun. The music is amazing. Howling Fjord is the only place in the entire game where I have turned the sound volume up to hear the music better (in sharp contrast to, for example, Everlook, where I can't hit the mute button fast enough). They've managed to use ancient Nordic myth material in a way that is both surprisingly true to the source material and very well integrated with the WoW lore. This area alone is easily worth the price of the expansion. And I want the Vrykul to be a playable race.

Comments

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

I want to create another DK, unfortunately I don't have a level 55 or higher on any other server :( I _may_ have to transfer one from ER to Blade's Edge to free up a slot on ER for a rogue (I'm powerlevelling her via D's RaF account) to be transferred over to.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

Transfers to Blade's Edge won't open until mid-January or thereabouts. The server only opened in July, and it's closed to transfers for the first six months. But if you do end up there with a female character on the Horde side, don't forget to contact the Amazon Nation guild :-)

[child-of-air.livejournal.com]

My highest character is at level 54 right now, so I've got a way to go before I get there. Still, thanks for this post, gives me some things to think about. :)

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

You're only one level from being able to make a Death Knight.

[child-of-air.livejournal.com]

I know, but I have no intention of doing so. I'd rather keep playing my warlock- I like her.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

You're one of those strange people who only play _one_ character?

[simonb.livejournal.com]

The Howling Fjord is definately a much nicer place to level than the Tundra.

There is a nice fringe benefit as well - most people went "How do we get to Northrend ? Well, they added the harbour at Stormwind, so that must be the place" and ended up at the Tunrda. I'd guess that ~3/4 of the server (Silvermoon is something like 95% alliance) ended up at the Tundra, with people who'd read ahead a bit ended up at the Fjord. A much nicer environment to quest in.

[shady-fox.livejournal.com]

I actually like the quests in the Tundra better than those at the Fjord. I do agree that the Howling Fjord is gorgeous though.