The View from Above

Cataclysym has brung a seemingly endless expanse of changes to our world. So many, that I would have doubts if any one player is able to experience all of them. Some are quite drastic and evident, even from a distance. Others are subtle, they kind of sneak up on you from the rear and tap your shoulder in one of those "I got you" shock waves.


One very grateful surprise, especially for an addicted explorer, is the newly trained old world and Cata flying ability. To roam about at will, to forge into the little or unknown nooks and crannys slightly hidden away from all the mainstay quest lines. To be able to see things from a totally different perspective, the "View from Above."

These are the thoughts Sol had during a recent Kilimdor zone jumping exercise in archeology exploration. What first caught his eye, was Southshore. It was a terrible quest hub for him back then, what with the constant ganking and daily shut-down, literally. Horde would totally wipe out everything including the NPC's. Now, Southshore lies in ruins. Enjoy this little Hillsbrad tour. Perhaps it'll bring back some memories for you as well.

The Elder and the Newcomer

Since the world as we once knew it became 'shattered', Sol has been resting quite a bit with one of his druidic sleeping spells. He's adopted this sort of causal mind-set that things will be what they will be. So why worry about it now? He'll just deal with it as it comes, and he will survive just as he's been doing all these years. He does have two things in mind though for this last week before the Cataclysm. Simple stuff really, nothing special. He'll pay a few more visits to his buddy Baron Rivendare, as they seem to have developed some sort of odd relationship the past couple of months by having breakfast together. There really isn't any love lost between them, but Sol keeps hoping the Baron will show him a little anyway. The second thing is to aquire a drake.

The Eastwall Gate

Baron Rivendare

 

The newcomer to the family is a fast growing night elf mage named Alisym. I must admit that she has been having unusual growth splurts with the new quest lines and is now into her early 30's. Her adventures are, or seem to be, always exciting and fascinating to follow. Story-lines, simular to a good book that are difficult to just put down. One gets caught up in them and before you know it, you find yourself a quick 3-4 levels experienced. The stream-lineing of the quests Blizzard has done is great for leveling, nothing seems like a grind so far. Even the trash "kill 10 this and 10 that" hold little surprises. Unexpected knock-backs, fears, silences. She even ran into a kill quest where the mobs used these sort of backpack flame throwers! (does "don't stand in the fire" come to mind here?) So yes, even at these early levels the mobs are actually fun and I can easily see how these experiences would help a new player be better prepared for end game.

Alisym wanted to share a couple of her early memory pics, these were of her time in Darkshore. Mr. Withers was a delightful surprise reward at the end of a quest chain. When summoned, he starts out nearly as tall as her shoulders, but if you're away from water, he starts to shrink rather quickly! Go near some water, and he grows back to his normal size. This is like, OMGWOW!!! Mr. Chilly can't touch this.

Another great thing about the early quest lines is the new level of npc interaction. One such quest line led Alisym to work along side of the great Malfurion. And later on, Malfurion even made an appearance during another quest in which she also had the dubious pleasure of meeting Queen Azsura. One last note: the Darkshore quests were so enticing, before she realized it, Alisym picked up the achievement for doing 90 quests there. Perhaps there is a Loremaster in her future?

Enjoying the new, old world!