Thursday, December 2, 2010

Zone Review: Durotar (H)

Aah Durotar, so long the butt of collective jokes. Historically the worst place for a beginning hordie to level up, it featured very dull quests, a huge number of beast killing quests, and lead into the equally-bereft Barrens. How times have changed.

First of all, the troll starting zone in fantastic fun. Early quests get players acquainted with their basic abilities before even facing off against a single mob, then against neutral animals, then against aggressive and differentiated enemies. You even get a side kick for a quest, to show the power of grouping and to help the uninitiated with accidental huge pulls. Orc starting zone is a comparatively blah, resembling more strongly the Durotar of old. Still, the quests are proficient, mobs are more populous, and the fan favorite whack-a-peon is still around.

Razor Hill also brings some fun quests, the crowning jewel of which is the flooded area in the west. You climb a guard tower, survey the land for Horde citizens in need of aid, and are given a large meta-quest to complete all their quests. It almost feels like Assassin's Creed: ascending to a perch, seeing the people in need, and then aiding them for fun and profit.

Other high points include an old favorite target of Durotar levelers having drowned in the flood, slaying several champion warriors, and acting out a play. An old shaman tells you a parable complete with anthropomorphic metaphors and a wise moral at the end, with you controlling a wolf and acting out the protagonist's part. It's totally out of left field, and totally awesome. It also introduces the concept of vehicles (the idea that you control something other than your character in WoW) without any stress or time limit. Perfect for beginners!

I haven't played the other starting areas (I hear undead have a lot of good shit going down) but you couldn't go wrong with Durotar. It also connects you to Orgrimmar, the central city of the Horde. I suspect, and I never thought I'd say this, that Blood Elves will be running from Eversong to get the Troll starting experience. How delightfully ridiculous!

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