01-23-2007, 05:39 PM
The only negatives I'm feeling so far are the completely overpowering advantage Alliance has in world pvp on Durotan (which was made worse by a lot of the better geared Horde players leaving on a free character transfer a couple weeks ago -- I wouldn't be surprised if the A:H ratio was 4 or 5 to 1 now), and the overdose of desolate terrain that Helfire Peninsula provides. I really wish that the terrain in the west third of Helfire was more grasslandy, at least in ground textures and plantlife.
Zone appearance: I was very happy to proceed into Zangarmarsh. Feralas was my favorite zone, visually, before Zangarmarsh and Terrokar (sp?), but both give it a run for its money, now, and I can't wait to see the rest of the continent.
Quests: Helfire was a bit predictable, and left me feeling a little stressed due to the high speed I cycled through the quests and the crowds. However, I was feeling better by the time I hit Falcon. I guess the quests in Zangarmarsh really aren't innovative, either, but I am enjoying exploring the zone enough that it feels more rewarding.
Professions: Mining is at 324, after mostly completing Helfire P and Zangarmarsh. I use Gatherer (beta), so I occasionally alter my travel paths to check a node spawn point, but almost all my Fel Iron harvesting has been incidental. Enchanting is at 316. I disenchant all greens I don't use, and skill up with no regard to profit (I just enchant my own stuff instead of wasting time trying to sell my enchants).
Money: I'm pulling 40 to 50g an hour of play, once AH receipts are counted in. I've blown it all on equipment off the AH; I'm afraid if I don't invest money on stuff that actually upgrades me, I'll get stuck holding devaluing gold pieces. Prices are increasing on the AH, but my feeling is that gold income is increasing at an even faster pace.
Character: My main is a rogue I've built to shine in solo grinding, due to high survivability and speed (hemo with a HWL blade, rather than ambush/backstab). Going into TBC, she had just over 40% dodge, with a 0/21/30 build. My equipment was devoid of raid gear, except gloves from MC. I have managed, with a few sacrifices of attack power, to maintain my dodge at 39% at level 63, while increasing my attack power by about 50% and my hitpoints by about 20%. I have four alternate pieces of equipment I switch to in instances that drop my dodge to around 35% but give me another 100 AP or so. I am still very much enjoying playing the character in all situations. My damage output is acceptable, coming in first in three of four pug runs in Helfire instances. Recap shows my solo grinding DPS at around 300, up about 50 from my entrance through the Dark Portal.
Instances: It takes more work for me to find what instances are worth running, since Thott isn't close to completely populating its drop table information. I've determined I have no need to run ramparts or furnaces, slave pens may only be useful for rep (I want that CE Honored leather chest), and underbog will only be worth running until I get the agi/dodge cloak off the end boss. I suspect the next couple evenings of play will be devoted to underbog runs and CE rep gain.
All in all, it has totally sucked me in.
Ayyad of Durotan, Cenarion Expedition Assassin
Zone appearance: I was very happy to proceed into Zangarmarsh. Feralas was my favorite zone, visually, before Zangarmarsh and Terrokar (sp?), but both give it a run for its money, now, and I can't wait to see the rest of the continent.
Quests: Helfire was a bit predictable, and left me feeling a little stressed due to the high speed I cycled through the quests and the crowds. However, I was feeling better by the time I hit Falcon. I guess the quests in Zangarmarsh really aren't innovative, either, but I am enjoying exploring the zone enough that it feels more rewarding.
Professions: Mining is at 324, after mostly completing Helfire P and Zangarmarsh. I use Gatherer (beta), so I occasionally alter my travel paths to check a node spawn point, but almost all my Fel Iron harvesting has been incidental. Enchanting is at 316. I disenchant all greens I don't use, and skill up with no regard to profit (I just enchant my own stuff instead of wasting time trying to sell my enchants).
Money: I'm pulling 40 to 50g an hour of play, once AH receipts are counted in. I've blown it all on equipment off the AH; I'm afraid if I don't invest money on stuff that actually upgrades me, I'll get stuck holding devaluing gold pieces. Prices are increasing on the AH, but my feeling is that gold income is increasing at an even faster pace.
Character: My main is a rogue I've built to shine in solo grinding, due to high survivability and speed (hemo with a HWL blade, rather than ambush/backstab). Going into TBC, she had just over 40% dodge, with a 0/21/30 build. My equipment was devoid of raid gear, except gloves from MC. I have managed, with a few sacrifices of attack power, to maintain my dodge at 39% at level 63, while increasing my attack power by about 50% and my hitpoints by about 20%. I have four alternate pieces of equipment I switch to in instances that drop my dodge to around 35% but give me another 100 AP or so. I am still very much enjoying playing the character in all situations. My damage output is acceptable, coming in first in three of four pug runs in Helfire instances. Recap shows my solo grinding DPS at around 300, up about 50 from my entrance through the Dark Portal.
Instances: It takes more work for me to find what instances are worth running, since Thott isn't close to completely populating its drop table information. I've determined I have no need to run ramparts or furnaces, slave pens may only be useful for rep (I want that CE Honored leather chest), and underbog will only be worth running until I get the agi/dodge cloak off the end boss. I suspect the next couple evenings of play will be devoted to underbog runs and CE rep gain.
All in all, it has totally sucked me in.
Ayyad of Durotan, Cenarion Expedition Assassin