Monday, December 08, 2008

Storm Peaks and Icecrown

I finished Storm Peaks and Icecrown over the weekend.[1] Both were very good zones. In particular, the first set of quests with the Argent Crusade was great. For the first time, the world changed with you as you accomplished goals.

I was stuck at 139/140 quests for Icecrown for the longest time. I could not find any other quests, and normally Blizzard gives you a little leeway in the quest count for the achievement. Finally after looking up the quests on Wowhead, I found I had missed one questline that started from a drop. I had just never killed that mob type before.

There are two things that disappointed in Icecrown. First, it doesn't come to an end. It's like the first book in a trilogy. All the other zones told a full story. I guess we'll have to wait for a later patch to finish the story. Second, Blizzard stopped doing voiceovers for the Lich King quest cutscenes. I think the Lich King voiceovers really added something to those scenes when they occurred in previous zones, and hopefully they put them in at some point.

I do have to give Blizzard credit for putting the Arthas front and center for this expansion, and really integrating him with the questing. It's a very refreshing change from trend of major storylines which only occur in raids.

So questing is pretty much done for me, and now I have to turn my attention to the other parts of the game. I still haven't decided what to do yet.

Also, where are all the breadcrumb quests that lead into the high end dungeons and raids? Isn't there a quest which sends you to Naxx? It might be deliberate, to allow non-raiders a true sense of completion, rather than having quests in the log which they will never be able to do. If this is the case, I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I can see the advantages, but it also seems wrong somehow.

[1] Technically I have one quest left in Icecrown. But on Skywall it's been bugged for the last few days. Hopefully it will get fixed during the server reset.

13 comments:

  1. "For the first time"? You didn't skip Dragonblight, did you?

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  3. Bugged? Let me guess, your flying fortress doesn't show up on the map and most of the NPCs are missing. It happened to me a few days ago.

    I also was a bit disappointed that the story lines ended. However I bet the facts are that this is how it happens all the time, except in the case the story was so great that we wanted it to keep going forever. And ever. And ever. Again.

    Sorry about the fail above, that's what happens when I don't log out when using a friend's computer.

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  4. Christopher, I didn't skip Dragonblight, but what happened there was a one-time change. Before and After. Plus, it was very non-interactive

    This was an entire sequence: Before, After and During. You did something, the world changed in response to that, and you did something else in response. I think that back and forth is new and interesting.

    Klepsacovic, the bugged quest is Basic Chemistry. The cauldrons are not resetting or something.

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  5. Ooh, lucky you, a new and unique bug. :P

    I'd like to give an I Told You So to anyone that disagreed with my claim that Dragonblight phasing was pitiful compared to Icecrown.

    Does anyone else get a bit annoyed by the constant screaming when trying to fly around?

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  6. Yes. Especially since it's the flight point closest to Wintergrasp if your faction doesn't control. Dragonblight is desperately in need of a third "now the fire is out" phase.

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  7. Basic chemistry might not be bugged, its a stupidly hard / timing sensitive quest, typically I found tank + 2 throwers was needed for the role, ideally one of those throwers is a healer the other an aoe.

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  8. @Rohan: Ah, I see. That sounds a lot like the death knight starting area, with the world constantly changing as a result of where you are in the quest lines. Have you gotten to try that yet? To quote Mr. Bueller: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it."

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  9. I completed basic chemistry at the weekend as well - 3 of us. Me Healing (gasp) a druid tank and a rogue for dps.

    All 3 of us had the potion thing - we found the pot and got to work. It took 3 attempts to get it done, once we figured out that one of us has to stop what we're doing and go pop the potion in the pot in order for the potion to be ruined.

    It is tricky but i wouldnt say it was bugged. (the cauldron you want is the one at the back of the room near the elite mob in there)

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  10. There are no quest for Naxxramas. Could have at least gave a quest to kill Kel or Saphiron.

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  11. I, too, was impressed with Icecrown phasing (and I haven't finished the zone, so there may be more). It was definitely cooler than Dragonblight's phasing.

    SPOILERS (sounds like most people have seen this, though)

    It was really awesome to go fight to hold a certain point, and then to see the AC set up an outpost there complete with a flightpoint and inn. The battle only lasted about 10 seconds, though - couldn't it at least have been as long as the quest it seemed modelled off of near Gruul's Lair? (The one where you plant a flag and take on waves of ogres.)

    They should have tweaked that one a little bit more to make it feel more epic. And I think they need to add some voice acting from NPCs for those kinds of moments - don't just put the story in quest text. When you accept the quest, let the giver say something about how that pass must be taken or all is lost, etc. WoW could use more voice acting in general. They certainly spend enough time on the expansions. ;)

    Fedaykin98

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  12. Basic Chem on Skywall is bugged. You can't actually use the item near the cauldrons, it gives an error message. Something like "Invalid Target".

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  13. We actually got the same "invalid target" bug with Basic Chemistry on my server...

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