Time to take a short stop..
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| Dalaran |
|
While departing from Dragonblight and heading to Zul'Drak, I took some time to head to the city of
Dalaran! This allowed
Feignheart and myself to get some well needed rest at the Inn, to regain our
strength for the
journey ahead. This included a trip to the
Auction House and the
Hunter Trainer, which were most needed. The break also allowed us to finally pick up
Artisan Flying! The saving really paid off, or should I say
paid out! Worth every penny I should mention. Every
last piece of copper we had earned. All
4750 gold of it! However to my surprise, a new mount wasn't needed to accompany the skill. Seems that your current mount becomes '
upgraded' to fit. So watch out Azeroth! For Feignheart now has a
280!
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| Violet Hold |
The actual city itself
floats above the forests of
Crystalsong. Although the forest is as
mystically enchanting as can be, it seems to have no
relevance whatsoever (in terms of quests). Though
Dalaran does indeed hold some
magnificent sites, kind of like the
Las Vegas of WoW. If I am honest, it seems like somewhere that should have been in
'The Wizard of Oz'. Within the city also exists a
dungeon instance. This happens to be
Violet Hold,which is pretty much a prison for all the terrible creatures which have been locked away for their crimes. This lead me to getting my hands on some new weaponry -
Prison Wardens Shotgun.
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| Zul'Drak |
With all due haste, we set out once again. This time for the
mysteries of
Zul'Drak! The once mighty
empire of the
Drakarri Trolls, until the invasion of the
scourge. The Trolls had lived in
isolation in this
pre-historic land alongside smaller tribes of
Furblolgs and other inhabitants for decades, before the scourge showed up and began spreading their
infestation across the land. Those who became
infected by the deadly plagues that the scourge had let loose, later became the
Drakuru (servants of the Lich King). This
Tribal race of Trolls began performing rituals, which involved sacrificing their own
Animal Gods. All to gain unmeasurable amounts of
power, to combat the scourge. It was to be their own
demise.
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| Here come the scourge... |
The land itself is laid out in
levels. Working it's way up to the
heart of the Drakarri settlements. Within the vast
wilderness exist grand stone
temples and
monuments, which are
camouflaged in the surrounding mist and
treacherous looking wildlife. When travelling, you come across a number of
shrines which accept particular '
Drakkari Offerings'. These of course give you a Zone-Wide
buff to assist you in battle. For example one gives you a huge
Attack Power increase. Overall, with the looping
drums in the background, the lurking
snakes, hidden
traps and the whole
atmosphere of the area. I get one idea...
INDIANA JONES!
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| The Arena! |
Another great concept in this zone, or repeat of
Gadgetzan, is
The Arena. Which is of course run by a
goblin, just
typical. Anyway, the Arena is a lot
grander than the Tanaris original (As you can see pictured to the right). Also, this one requires a
full group of allies, suggested 5. However, due to a lack of players in the vicinity, I was
lucky enough to receive the
help from a level 85
TG buddy. Though this proved way less challenging, it was
fun none the less. This was emphasized by the interesting bosses we fought, including a Tuskarr who had an evil army of...
Penguins? Before moving on. A real word of
warning! Make sure, especially when wandering along the main path running through the zone, to keep your eyes
peeled, although the danger is hard to
miss. As this is the route of which
Thrym 'The Hope Ender' takes! Pretty much an oversized version of
Frankenstein, he still has a habit of sneaking up on you despite the sheer size of him.. or
it. Eventually you do come to an inevitable clash with this
monstrosity, but more on that to come later...
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| The Hope Ender.. |
This zone, compared to
Dragonblight, is fairly short. Though nothing far from the
excitement that it set. Mean, who doesn't take privilege in
investigating wild animals, to see what gender they are?
Different I guess. At the start of your quest, you discover that the
scourge want you! They have been trying to trap you into becoming one of them. This is where it gets
interesting. With this information, you are instructed to give them a taste of their own
medicine. Your going
undercover! 007 style. Mission Impossible. You get the drift... So you grab your
disguise and pretend that you've undergone the
transformation, and begin to work your way up the
ranks. Mingling with the scourge, who could ever have imagined. You even go to the extent of buying goods from them and completing their quests. All for the good of
Azeroth though right? No doubt that this was an
excellent quest-line that really
hooked me in, especially with the end resulting in another meeting with the
Lich King!
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| Scourge Transport? |
As you go through the zone, you also find yourself taking a
Storm Giant for a ride. This, with its clever use of
phasing, was by far one of the best quests yet to date. Literally
trampling any scourge that come within your reach - or
footstep! This is where you finally get to
destroy the mighty
Thrum and all the other scourge bosses. Now, last but not least,
Gundrak. Let me re-emphasize the
Indiana Jones feeling in this instance. Anyway, a nice fun run through the instance granted me with yet
another weapon replacement for the one I had only just received in Violet Hold -
Drakkari Hunting Bow!
During my adventures, I have
noticed something. Nothing seriously problematic however. While leveling from
60-80 it seems that their is very little
hunter orientated gear. This meaning, since the class change in Cataclysm. As a lot of the Mail gear includes
intellect and so on, of which we no longer require. I see that a lot of the Leather equipment is more suited, but with the
Mail Specialization, I try to avoid it. Though, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, as there is still more than enough gear to suit. What do
you think? Now, what new
abilities has Feignheart picked up now:
So a really great set of skills/utilities to play with! Also, I have found a really neat way of
soloing elites. Nothing new I bet, but something I have discovered.The use of
Concussive Shot and
Distracting Shot. Basically
kiting the mob between you and your pet!
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| One of the Animal Prophets! |
|
|
Coming to a close on this edition on
Cataclysm Journals. Feignheart is now at the grand level of
78 and is now again in a
split decision.
Storm Peaks or
Icecrown?!
YOU DECIDE!
Now before I do finish I would like anyone interested, of which you should be, in my latest
addon! Head over to my review on
Time Wasted Tuesday for all the information:
Until next time,
Thanks for reading!
Keep Posted - Follow/Comment/Subscribe
- Jamin
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| FIRESTARTER! |
