Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Quest Extinction

When I first heard they were going to bring the King of Stormwind back I never ONCE considered the fate of Marshal Windsor. I know many hated this chain but I LOVED it. By the time Burning Crusade came around I had it down to such a science I could get a guildie attuned to Onyxia's Lair in just over three hours. Escorting Marshal Windsor to Bolvar was a rite of passage. I remember running it once with a guild mate on their first Alliance toon and their awe at the amount of lore we had as compared to the Horde for going after the Brood Mother. New players will never be able to understand why old Veterans tear up at the end of the Wrathgate chain. Why the sacrifice Bolvar makes at the defeat of Arthas so touches Alliance players. All of that from one quest chain now extinct.

As we get closer and closer to Cataclysm, seeing more hints at how greatly the world we have wandered is about to change a disheartening idea came to mind. How many quests I once enjoyed will go the way of the Dodo? Now Blizzard has let us know that they are basically completely erasing ALL the old world quests and re doing them. This could mean anything from they completely start over from scratch to they rework old ones to better fit what is going on in the present world.

So I have to quest the fate of some of my favorite quests. Will young Pamela and the terrors of Darrowshire no longer touch us as the Plaguelands are reworked? While this quest chains rewards are not spectacular all those who completed the Battle of Darrowshire were touched by it. I have lost count of how many Machinima have been made using this single quest as inspiration. Even a fantastic song by Cranius continues to touch with memories. Many of the comments coming from those in the Beta discuss the many changes effecting those zones.

Near by there is also Nathanos Blightcaller....once the only human Ranger, trained under Sylvanas while she was still a High Elf, now the leader of the Horde forces in the Eastern Plaguelands and the Banshee Queen's Champion. Blizzard has already stated that this Stead will be going away. While this is not surprising as few people take the time to complete his chain now a days since they can no longer find individuals to help, I find it sad because his story is so unique. Sure he may be coming back in a greater position with the introduction of Forsaken Hunters but he will only belong to the Horde, the Alliance may lose any connection with his fascinating lore.

Thousand Needles is getting flooded, is there any way that the Raceway participants will survive? (Yes, yes I know leaks have already answered this one.)  Should we all get our chickens now in preparation or will rumors come true and Magus Tirth relocate to a new home? What about Lonebrow's Journal? This quest chain was something only hardy questers usually discovered. I admit this was the ONLY reason I ever ventured into Razorfen Kraul. Having spent the majority of my childhood hanging out on a farm entering a dungeon that stunk of pigs was not my idea of a fun time. However the lore contained there in about the Horde was rather interesting.

Will the Southsea Pirates get washed out of their hidden cove in Tanaris? Recently revealed pictures of Gadgetzan show it as beach front property. I personally always liked Haughty Modiste and would be sad to see her go. Even Stranglethorn Vale is getting a rework, what will happen to the Bloodsails and Steamwheedle Cartel?

At this point I am taking alts and running through some of these beloved quest chains one last time. What about you? Are there any quests out there you would be sad to see go? Any that have already disappeared whose loss you feel keenly? One of the problems with Beta, even closed Beta is it is like block buster movie with a limited release. Those that see it keep telling us all about it wither we want to know the details or not. They forget that not everyone else has the option viewing it at their leisure. I don't mind if they mention how well the actors were cast or the costuming but when they give me the whole story line...it spoils all the fun of watching it for myself.

4 comments:

  1. The going away of the really epic Onyxia lair questline is a real shame. Had great fun doing it back in vanilla with my friends. Although I know Blizzard doesn't want attunements anymore like this, they definitely should bring back some of the epic feel that questline had.

    Also, the Battle of Darrowshire I have to agree on. That was amazing to do at level -60. That was basically the first time I was in a raid with 40 people (or at least close to 40) and it felt amazing. The fighting, the chaos. *sigh*

    Hopefully with the redesigning of Azeroth, Blizzard will bring back such feelings (as I haven't really had the same feeling with TBC or WotLK) but I doubt it, sadly enough.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by Dark Knight!

    So far what I am seeing out of the Beta has me encouraged. Some of the quests DO have the same "epic" feel at least the first time you do them. Hopefully it they will stay that way. The only problem is the flow from Old world into Out Land and Northrend now.

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  3. You're quite welcome, I've been going through quite a few of the lore posts you have made and enjoyed the reading :). Sadly I have to admit I only discovered your blog today, but I will keep following it now.

    And that is good to hear on the beta front. I guess there will always be the problem that not all continents/areas match up, unless they really go through redesigning those as well.

    To be honest, I don't think I'll care too much about Outlands being different timeline, as they can just circumvent that problem by saying the dark portal is also a time portal of some sort. Which of course is not a nice solution, but at least it works without too many issues. Bigger problem is Northrend, since it is on Azeroth. Have you seen anything in the beta yet that suggests Blizzard will update some of the phasing or if some sort of event will set it straight?

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  4. GC has acknowledged the problem but stated it is part of the issue of trying to keep a 5+ year old game "current".

    Where it really hit me the most was with characters like Tirion Fordring.

    *spoiler here* In Vanilla he is found in the plague lands as a hermit and then during Wrath the Death Knights see him come out of hiding. By now of course we all know what happens. In Cata Fordring goes home to retire at his former holding in Hearthglen. So for those who will be starting the game for the first time it will throw you completely off because you will see him in Hearthglen, then get to Northren and he is in disguise when you first encounter him again. See what I mean?

    So far they haven't done anything and it doesn't sound like they plan to at this point. We will just have to wait and see what the future holds. A lot can happen.

    I am glad you found the blog and hope you continue to give feedback!

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