Tag Archives: World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft Dragonflight – A Casual Review

In this blog post, I would like to share with you my casual rating on the various aspects of Dragonflight based on my initial month of playing the game. After all, I have to pay US$14.99 a month to continue playing. So one month is a good time to evaluate the expansion. And as I said, I am a casual player. Our views may vary. And if you are into watching a video review instead, below is the clip.

Now, 28 hours of gameplay on the latest expansion Dragonflight is not considered as long for a huge MMORPG like World of Warcraft. Previously, I have sunk in more than six thousand hours playing up to Cataclysm in the year 2010. I have left the game for around 10 years but I have made a promise in the past that I would return to WoW when Blizzard releases a new class and a new race. Dragonflight has Dracthyr – a new dragon race that offers one new class, the Evoker. Hence, I am back!

Dracthyr the New Race ❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍

I like the deep level of customization on both the dragon form and its visage. I also like the auto-switching between the two forms. I don’t really like the genderless design of the dragon form but I can live with that. Hoovering by jumping is fun though at times during solo combat, it may get me into trouble as I launch ahead and aggro other groups. I can fly for short distances too. I just don’t like the long cooldown. It feels too restrictive.

Evoker the New Class ❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍

I don’t really like the Devastation DPS specialization. The whole hoovering mechanism in dealing damage while moving doesn’t quite work for solo gameplay as I tend to aggro other groups. I do like the Preservation healing specialization. I have played all healer specializations in the game. Preservation Evoker brings something unique to the table. Strong in AoE heal in a tight area with good mobility. But I find myself struggling when the group is spread out or I need to perform a single target or burst heal.

Dragon Isles Storyline and Questing ❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍

One of my least favorite aspects of WoW is questing. It generally breaks down into a few board types: kill something, fetch something or rescue someone, go talk to somebody, or listen to a story. I have leveled to the max mostly through playing the dungeons. I know I have missed out on a lot of progress. I think questing is bearable when in a group. But soloing is boring. The cut scene though is rather nice. Unfortunately, I don’t get much of the story at all.

Dragonriding ❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍

Compared to ground mounts whereby I often see the game designers restricting freeform flying on new zones till late game, dragonriding does give options for traveling within Dragon Isles. The cooldown required for the dragon to recuperate “vigor” does mean I would be doing something else like watching a Netflix video while waiting. I know the experience can be improved by discovering and earning Dragon Glyphs. I just wish there is a better way to track my progress besides having to install a third-party mod.

5-People Dungeons ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I absolutely love playing in the dungeons. While the dungeons are the same, each group is different due to the different class combinations and players’ experience of the dungeon, gear maturity, and skill. Most groups are quiet, just down to business. Occasionally, I do encounter some great groups that have nice and fun people.

Trading Posts ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

One of the new features being added to the game is called Trading Posts. It provides a means to earn cosmetic rewards with the inventory refreshed every month. You can lock one item to be purchased next month if you don’t have enough points or trading tenders. From my experience so far, it is doable even when I don’t have friends or a guild in this game anymore. It compels me to log into the game every month.

February’s reward is a beautiful tiger mount called Ash’adar. You can also spend the trading points earned this month to purchase the Celestial Steed, which I have purchased with money in the past. In a way, even when I don’t really spend that many hours playing the game each month, I would not feel that my subscription is completely wasted.

Moving Forward

I have committed to a six months plan so I will hang around for a while and will do another checkpoint later in the year. Stay tuned! And thanks for watching.

World of Warcraft’s Upcoming Expansion Dragonflight Got My Attention

More than 6,000 hours and US$1,000 I have spent playing World of Warcraft, I quit playing the game 10 years ago. It was 18 years ago when I dived into this MMORPG with my buddy Mark. Holland Village I recalled when Mark passed me a physical copy of the game, one that was extremely hard to get our hands on given the popularity of the game back then. Countless memorable encounters in-game, fond memories of real life, and painful memories as well. Time lost that cannot be recovered, money aside. Regrets. No regret. Songs of my youth. Of real-life stupidity. Of virtual heroism. Those who were concerned were sad when I was at it, relieved when I was out of it. Others, we banded together in-game and into the fantasy. And to what purpose? You either get it or you don’t.

Cataclysm

The fourth expansion of the game is titled Cataclysm. It was a controversial title. I love it. Many don’t. I adore the stories of dragons or the lore, period. I was thankful that as a casual player (who spent a lot of time playing nonetheless), I was able to raid (through the then-new feature looking for raid). I had a lot of fun playing Deathwing raids week after week, toons after toons. I had a closed circle of companions, all with common goals, daily quests, weekly quests, we helped each other, we counted on each other, and we made history together.

The Decline

The fifth expansion Mist of Pandaria introduced a new race – a panda that is kind of cute – and a new Monk class that I didn’t quite get it. The seventh expansion introduced a new hero class Demon Hunter. Frankly speaking, I just wasn’t able to get into it.

It was the story. To the point whereby, I didn’t really care. Cataclysm was heading in the right direction. Thrall was the hero who brought together Horde and Alliance alike for a common goal, to align with the dragon Aspects in defeating Deathwing. But Thrall being a Horde, the storyline displeased the Alliance fans. Thereafter, the Horde and Alliance are back to war with Horde heroes being eliminated one after another. Blizzard was trying too hard to make everyone happy.

That pisses me off.

Here Comes Dragonflight

The new expansion comes with a new race and a new class.

The upcoming tenth expansion Dragonflight got my attention. It is back to my favorite story arc – the dragons. I would get to play as a Dracthyr, a new race. On top of that, exclusive to Dracthyr race is a new class called Evoker, a caster.

To be honest, hearing just that may be what I need to be back in the World of Warcraft.

For the Horde!

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War By Christie Golden

In recent days, books published by Blizzard Entertainment are more in line with the pace of the popular online game World of Warcraft‘s lore development.  At the end of Cataclysm, the age of the Dragons has passed.  Now, we are onto the age of the Mortals.  The so-called lesser races have proven themselves that they can and they will rise up and guard this world.  Dragons – the previous guardians since the age of the Titans – have lost their immortality in the battle against Deathwing who was corrupted by the Old God.  They have stepped down from the guardian role.  Slowly but surely, Blue Dragons have lost the notion of a dragonflight and now seek the concept of individuality.  Nexus – home to the blue dragonflight – is turning into a ghost town.  The world is indeed changing.

Human and Orc have been at war with each other for years.  Over time, Human has gathered other races namely Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Draenei, and Worgen and formed the Alliance.  As for the Orc, Horde is formed with Troll, Undead, Tauren, Blood Elf, and Goblin.  The Horde and Alliance are technically at war with each other.  But they have briefly joined force with the Aspects of the dragonflights in the battle against Deathwing who threatened to destroy the world.

Now that Deathwing is vanquished and the world is on the path of healing, Horde is in a much stronger position compares to where they were years before.  No longer the orcs are enslaved by the humans like they have in the past.  Led by Thrall – the ex-Warchief – the peoples of the Horde have left Eastern Kingdoms and settled in the opposite continent, Kalimdor.  Due to Cataclysm, Thrall has answered his calling, dropped his mantle as a Warchief, and has become a shaman who has a key role to play in saving the world.  Before his departure, Thrall has named Garrosh Hellscream – son of Grom Hellscream who once succumbed to the demonic power but died a heroic death – as the new Warchief.

In the Universe of Warcraft, while good and evil is as clear as black and white, it has nothing to do with the races’ appearances.  Horde are as honorable as the Alliance.  They have bad seeds, just like the Alliance do.  During the Cataclysm era, there are disgruntle voices within our online community: Do Blizzard flavor Horde?  Thrall has turned into a savior while his counter part King Varian seems to have been sidelined.  Horde appear to have gained ground against the Alliance across the world.  Supporters of the Alliance have made a long list in justifying their claim that Blizzard has indeed flavored the Horde.

I am concerned, of course.  Because it seems to me that Blizzard is making a U-turn in order to please and retain the fans.  In the online game, we know that the fall of Theramore once ruled by Lady Proudmoore is the trigger of a new war between the Horde and the Alliance.  We also know that at the end of this new Mists of Pandaria expansion, the Horde capital Orgrimmar will be raided and Hellscream will be defeated – by Alliance and Horde alike.  As a keen observer of the lore, this a very bold plot development.  Blizzard is going to upset a lot of people.  This is a big gamble.  But, if played right, this plot twist may well bring the entire franchise back to its very root.

War.

As a fan of this franchise – be it as a Horde or Alliance supporter – I welcome this twist.  Let’s put war back to Warcraft.  In order to fully appreciate this wind of change, Christie Golden has written an excellent book called Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War.  I have read quite a number of her novels.  This book again moves me to tears.  The scale of war is nothing like what I have read before (within this franchise that is).  Garrosh Hellscream has a plan.  He is not agreeable to the ex-Warchief’s vision of peace.  Garrosh wants to bring glory to the Horde.  More specifically, he wants to be the leader who finishes off what Thrall – in his eyes – has failed to do.  Readers of Christie Golden would immediately recognize that while Garrosh is hotheaded, he is one great tactician when it comes to warfare.  He would sacrifice all that he has in order to achieve a goal.  But he would also retreat if the tactical advantage is no longer viable.  He does not listen.  But he values loyalty and he does not hesitate in exerting authority over his people and other Horde races.  Horde leaders such as Baine and Vol’jin do not agree with Garrosh’s thirst for war.  Both have secretly negotiated peace with the Alliance in the past through diplomacy means.  But for their peoples’ survival’s sake, they answer to Garrosh’s call for arm because Horde units, even when it is fragmented within.  Such is the political difference between the two factions.

Jaina Proudmoore’s Theramore is of a strategic military importance to the Alliance.  The city is located by the sea, in Kalimdor, south of Orc Capital Orgrimmar, and has a key route to Night Elf’s home land up north.  Garrosh’s vision is clear.  Destroying Theramore is only the first step.  His military plan is to barraade Kalimdor from Alliance’s reinforcement, and ultimately drive out or exterminate the night elves in the north.  Both the Undead and the Blood Elf are uneasy about Garrosh’s plan.  Because their capitals lie in Eastern Kingdoms.  Alliance will retaliate and they will be the first to suffer.  But like Tauren and Troll, it is either follow Orc’s command or face isolation.  That leaves them little options.

While Garrosh vision is sound, the execution can be less than honorable.  Slowly, we can see how power corrupts Garrosh and turns him into a tyrant, a dictator who will stop at nothing unless his goal is attained.  This time, there is no demonic corruption to be blamed.  Nor the Old Gods.  It is pure greed and ambition of the mortals, which is something new in the lore.

The center figure of this new book is of course Jaina Proudmoore.  I have been following Jaina’s story for years, mainly because in the early days of this online game, I enjoyed role playing as a human.  Jaina is one of the – if not the – most powerful living human mage.  If you roll a mage class like I do, she is the role model to look upon.

Due to her heritage, she rules Theramore and was romantically linked to the then-human prince Arthas who turned into Lich King.  While her family was slaughtered by the Horde, she believes that most Horde are as honorable as the Alliance and that diplomacy is the key to peace.

Imagine her emotional shock when Garrosh has launched an assault to Theramore.  As an attempt to halt the assault, she has to plead for help from the neutral organization Kirin Tor residing in the magical city of Dalaran, from her new friend Kalecgos the ex-Aspect of Blue Dragonflight, and from King Varian the leader of Alliance.  This is one spectacular battle when we get to see first hand the transformation of Jaina as well as King Varian stepping up as a war strategist.  This war does not end when the book does.  It is going to be escalated as more stories unfold in the World of Warcraft.

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War is a must read for the fans and the lore lovers.

Of Blood and Honor by Chris Metzen

Chronologically speaking, Of Blood and Honor is the last book of the Warcraft: Archive series.  This book is written by the esteemed Chris Metzen, generally regarded as the father (or one of the fathers) of Warcraft.  It is of an honor to finally read his work.

Of Blood and Honor, on the surface, is a rather short story.  Lord Tirion Fordring, a human paladin and a follower of Light, one day finds an old orc in his province.  In his days, every orc is a monster and must be eliminated.  Tirion fights the old orc and is being defeated.  As the tower collapses threatened to kill the unconscious Tirion within, the old orc saves his life, binds him onto his horse, and sends him back to his Keep.

Deeply affected by how the situation turns out, Tirion has decided to return to abandoned tower and confront the old orc once again.  Why would a monster save its enemy’s life?  To his surprise, this old orc speaks his language and has a name.  Eitrigg further enlightens Tirion on how some orcs have decided to leave their ranks because they do not wish to be corrupted by the demonic power and lose their way of life.  Do orcs have honor?  This one seems to have, so thinks Tirion.  In return to Eitrigg’s saving his life, Tirion has vowed to leave Eitrigg in peace and never seek him out.

Unfortunately, words are out and people now know that there are orcs in the area (although there is only one).  Is Tirion willing to risk losing everything he has in order to uphold his honor and his vow with an enemy?  To those of us who have been playing World of Warcraft since the beginning, the interaction between Tirion and Eitrigg marks a pivoting moment in the history of Warcraft – Horde and Alliance can collaborate.  They can fight side by side if a situation calls for.  This is exactly what we do today, when we face the worse adversity the world has yet to face.

Of Blood and Honor may not be rich in complexity.  However, without a doubt, it is a book that is rich in honor and sacrifice.  The path to heroism is not easy.  Especially when most don’t see that you are one.

The Last Guardian By Jeff Grubb

For those who have played Warcraft 3, the real time strategy game released decades ago, you may recall a black raven that transformed into a human prophet at will speaking to both the Horde and Alliance.  It was the prophet’s plan to bring both sides’ attention to the looming danger of the demonic invasion – The Burning Legion.  The game ends with the glorious battle of all races of Azeroth against the demons’ final assault to the World Tree.

Perhaps the name Medivh means something to you.  The Last Guardian tells the story of Medivh, the most powerful mage known in Azeroth, before he has become the raven that some of us are familiar with in Warcraft 3.

To my best knowledge, The Last Guardian is the only Warcraft novel written by Jeff Grubb.  I do not know why he no longer writes for the Warcraft series.  I happen to enjoy his writing style – slower pace no doubt, but with a certain mysterious underlying to the overarching story.  The Last Guardian almost reads like a detective story.  Magic is explained in the finest technical detail.  The entire book is written in such finest detail.  I feel as though I am living inside the tower of Karazhan, together with the visions within and all.

Medivh is an enigmatic character.  His tower of Karazhan holds many secrets of the past and the future.  To tell the story, Jeff Grubb relies on the young Khadgar – a human mage highly recommended by Kirim Tor (an organization of mages residing in Dalaran) to be the apprentice of Medivh.  Khadgar has an inquisition mind and his undying curiosity makes him a perfect spy to learn the secret of the tower.  Medivh knows of Kirim Tor’s intend but is confident that by building trust, Khadgar may one day stand by his side.

The stories told within Karazhan are epic.  It goes all the way when Medivh’s 800 years old mother Aegwynn battled the evil Titan Sargeras.  Throughout my interaction with the Warcraft franchise – be it as in-game or the bits and pieces of lore scattered in books and at Blizzard’s website – it is the closest moment I have read about the Titans.  There are plenty of visions that explain what the past was, and what the future is to be.  The stories further explain Medivh’s background and why the most powerful mage in Azerorth is going insane.

After reading The Last Guardian, there are still many questions in my mind.  If Medivh is the Guardian of Order of Tirisfal, how does he relate to the Aspects of the five dragon flights – who are also named as the Guardians of Azeroth?  If the Aspects are empowered by Titans, what empowered the Guardian of Order of Tirisfal?  Sargeras appears to be one tough Titan to defeat – though it does not seem impossible – would this Titan be the ultimate villain in the online game World of Warcraft?  If so, when would that be?

The Last Guardian is the third book coming from the Warcraft Archive series.  It reads differently from others.  A worthwhile read nonetheless.