The Burning Crusade: Week 1 Impressions

My Internet is not cooperating with me, so let’s hope I can get at least this post out there during a window of up time, since I can’t access the Internet at the moment.

I’ll take the opportunity to break down my experiences in The Burning Crusade so far.

Leveling:

After a week, I’ve managed to get my Druid to 61 and my Mage to 62.5. I see 70s running around (last night saw a hunter on his flying mount! *cry*) and I’m not sure how these people have done it. I imagine if you run instances over and over, then maybe it’s possible. Or like the guy who reached 70 in 28 hours by having a couple of healers on him at all times while he AoE’d his way through the level grind. I don’t know. I think you have to be a little off your rocker to be 70 already. Not to say I don’t envy you and your flying mount. ;)

 

Quests & Quest Rewards:

So far, I’ve been having a blast with the quests. Sure, some are the same thing over again (i.e. “Bring me 20 of these” or “Kill 10 of these, these, and these”), but they’ve included some awesome quests as well. So far, my absolute favorite involves flying around on a gryphon and bombing things from the air. I had so much fun that I kept purposely missing so I could come right back and do it again. Little did I know, the quest is repeatable (for no xp, just fun).

Also, the quest rewards have been ridiculous in terms of stats. I had heard from people in the beta that this was so, and still I was not prepared to exchange my beautiful rare armor (rare armor I had slaved to get!) with a green piece mere minutes after stepping into Outland.

That said (and Blizzard, if you’re reading this, please take note), I refuse to wear some of the armor that I’ve gotten, despite the fact that it’s better for me, simply because it makes me look like a tramp. I don’t know why Blizzard insists on making cloth wearing girls look like complete sluts. I put on the outfit for my friend (a warrior) and she laughed herself silly at how ridiculous I looked. Give us some nice robes, pleeeease.

 

New Zones

I was really depressed upon stepping through the Dark Portal to find an extention of the Blasted Lands at the other side. All the red mud and mountains were very blah. I have, however, grown to really love the Hellfire Penninsula and find myself going back repeatedly despite the fact that I had originally intended to skip it altogether.

I was impressed by Zangarmarsh and it’s beautiful blue hue (blue is my favorite color) and further enticed by the brand new herbs I could get my greedy little hands on. I’ve yet to explore all of it.

I love the elevator you take to get up to the city. I laughed hysterically watching my guildies fall to their deaths while trying to catch said elevator before it reached its final destination (Note to the wise: don’t do it).

Ran down to Shattrath City (the main city in Outland) and decided that I don’t like it very much. I was far more impressed by The Exodar (Draenei city) and Silvermoon City (Blood Elves). I guess I was expecting that “Oooh!” feeling and got more of an “Ah… kay” feeling.

Also, no Auction House in Outland. That fails big time.

I’ve not made it any further than that, so I’ll come back with further impressions a week from now.

 

New Races

I have a couple of Blood Elves (level 5 hunter and 10 warlock; female, male repectively) and I enjoy them very much. I found the female blood elf a little awkward at first, but I think I’ve gotten over it. I love the way the females sit. It’s not a girlie/ditzy animation, which is what I was expecting. The male blood elves sit a little oddly, though. They’re always kind of bent to the side.

Their world is absolutely gorgeous, though. I’d recommend rolling a blood elf if simply to look at all the prettyness first hand.

I suppose the most surprising thing for me has been the female Draeneis. I had very little intention of rolling one or playing one, but I think I like them even more than the Belfs! Love the dance and their animations. Unlike the female Belfs, I found no awkwardness at all in the way they move or play. I have only leveled one to 6 so far, so I’m not an expert, but so far I love her.

Have yet to roll a male Draenei. I like them, but I don’t think I can play a character that takes up half my screen.

The starting zones and quests are all pretty standard, but I’ve found them infinitely less tiresome/annoying than the human/night elf ones (I never really minded the gnome/dwarf one). Though we’ll wait on that, since I’ve not yet rolled my usual 100 alts and might just not be tired of it yet.

 

New Loot

Back to Outland… I’m loving the loot. Even the vendor trash I loot happily for I know it will sell nicely. Greens drop at a very decent rate, and I’ve been disenchanting pretty much everything since putting those greens at auction costs a small fortune, and I’m not entirely convinced they’d sell (someone tell me if they’ve had success on this front).

Rares have also been dropping at a nice rate. I have gotten a couple so far. No epics for me yet, alas.

 

New Instances

I’ve tried a couple: Hellfire Citadel and Blood Furnace. Had a really good group and it all went smoothly (thanks, Matt :)) Running 2 instances in 3 hours is pretty nice. Unfortunately, no good loot for my mage dropped at all, though there’s a beautiful Kilt that keeps dropping in BF that my Druid weeps over every time. I’ll have to bring her next time (only for a mage robe to drop, I bet). The final boss through BF drops a *really* nice robe for a Priest.

There’s already some awesome strategy guides up in the Internets, so need to go there. Suffice it to say, I love the new content, and getting through it without a lot of frustration is ultra nice. I look forward to checking out the rest.

 

Professions

Jewelcrafting is awesome. I haven’t gotten around to leveling up a jewelcrafter because I fail at mining and I ended up going back to Herbalism instead. But a guildie has gotten her Jewelcrafting up and it’s nifty stuff she’s making. I love that stone that heals you. Awesome.

I have a 300 tailor and alchemist and I’ve been leveling up their professions nicely. The new potions rock my socks (+50 healing for 1 hour! Nice!). It’s also great to be able to make a 16 slot bag without worrying about Mooncloth (which has a 4 day cooldown to make). Looking forward to making those 18 slot bags, though. It’s amazing how crowded my bags are now.

Herbalism: Ah, it’s so nice to obsess over new herbs again. I’ve died over Felweed oh-so-many times, but it was worth it. I love the new buff that Dreaming Glory gives (+30 health every 5 seconds) when you gather it. And OMG, the mobs you can gather herb from when they’re dead are my new crack. I was running around like a little kid at Christmas gathering herbs from all the corpses people kept leaving around. So. Much. Fun.

Cooking: They’ve added some really, really nice cooking recipes. Buzzard bites with their +20 Stamina/Spirit for 30 minute buff is a must in my bags at the moment. Love that there’s food you can cook for pets now, too, which buffs them up nicely. Very very cool.

Fishing: Did some fishing, got some fish I don’t know what they’re for yet. My fishing is entirely too low at the moment with my mage, but an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor did the job in Zangarmarsh. A quest in Shattrath you get from a little kid gives you a pole with +20 fishing as a reward (though I already have one that does that).

First Aid: My Mage can live well on Heavy Runecloth Bandages (since she has very little health and needs the cloth for her tailoring anyway) but Netherweave Bandages are really good for you high-hps classes. It’s worth well leveling that up.

Leatherworking: I don’t have a 300 leatherworker, though there’s a new kit that gives you a +9 (or is it 8?) sta buff on your armor. That’s pretty hot. Some nice set gear, too, for all the armor-making classes.

Mining: I have dropped mining, alas, but I’ve seen some nice gems dropping off the new mines. Fel Iron is the first you can get at 300. It almost makes me want to be a miner again. Almost.

All you profession buffs out there can chime in with anything I’ve left out.

 

Mobs

In Hellfire Penninsula you kill anything from orcs to boars. I suppose the most notable of all new mobs is the Fel Reaver, a giant elite mechanical boss that wanders around and kills you very dead if you happen to be in its path. Thankfully, the shaking of the ground alerts you to his approaching footsteps, so scatter quickly but cautiously. I have scattered many a times right into his foot. I have died. Died hard.

 

So Is It Worth It?

YES.

I am *loving* the expansion. The new content is a breath of fresh air, and so far I’m having a complete blast in Outland. So much so, that I’ve not been working very hard on leveling up my Belfs/Draenei. I’ll probably level up to 70 and then go back to lowbie land and try the 1-70 grind again.

It’s clear to me that Blizzard has really put a lot of thought into improving things. Professions, for example, have gotten really interesting.

There are always the people who will be disappointed, but I’m having too much fun to notice the things that need improvement. There is always room for improvement and I’m confident that Blizzard will deliver.

Now, when’s the next expansion? ;) Emerald Dream, anyone?