Blizzcon 2013: Part 5 - Questing and Leveling

Quests and Leveling

·         You can technically buy as many level 90s as you want if you buy another copy of the game, get the level 90, and then transfer the character to your main account each time. The team has talked about putting a level 90 purchase option in the store, but it hasn’t been decided yet.

·         There will be a legendary questline again in WoD. The questline will be a little bit more custom to your class to help with the lack of class quests. Class quests are very resource intensive, so at most we might see one or two in WoD. (Maybe Shaman)

·         Leveling in WoD will be a fun and fast paced romp through the zones. The team is backing off the idea that leveling should be a long grind.

·         From 91-100, players will get buffs to their existing key abilities, instead of new abilities that bloat up the spellbook.

·         There will be no flying in Draenor until Patch 6.1.

·         Several core abilities will become passive, like Slice and Dice for Assassination Rogues.

·         At level 100, players unlock an additional talent point.

·         When completing quests, you'll have a small chance to get a rare or epic reward instead of the expected one--this adds an element of surprise.

  

Questing is one of the things that really sets WoW apart.  It is one of the more fun parts of the game, but also one of the more irritating parts.  Once you have leveled a time or two, it gets pretty boring.  They hope to fix some of that this expansion.

Blizzard wants to add life back to the game world and make players pay attention to the world of around them.  To start they have re-done an entire world that veteran players will fondly remember (or not).  They are hoping to push the quests and questing forward at a faster clip and help you enjoy the adventure from 91-100 and not punish you with crazy requirements for leveling.  During this time not only are you leveling up your character, but also key abilities are going to grow with you.  Some parts of the presentation made it seem like you may get to choose, others made it seem like it was an automatic thing that happened, we will have to wait and see just how it actually works.

At level 100 you are going to unlock your final Talent point.  This is nice because that last tier looks pretty killer, that and because you need something to make 100 feel more special than just being able to queue for shit. 

You will be able to level any of your existing characters, or a new one, to level 90 if you purchase the expansion.  That means EVERYONE will have at least one free level 90. Unless you are like me and will likely have a 90 or each class prior to then.  I guess I could make a character on a different server….

We will get to walk through another legendary questline.  Blizzard seemed to like the one in MoP and are adding something similar in WoD.  This is good.  It will give those that are playing something to look forward to as they complete content and progress through the game.  Everyone may be able to earn it and it might not be incredibly special of rare, but it allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment.  On top of this you will also now have the ability to get better gear from quests.  As you complete quests you will now have the ability to get higher tier rewards.  Maybe you get a blue instead of a green or an epic instead of a blue.  That weapon quest you always do for a blue weapon?  Maybe you get an epic.  It may last all the way to max level, who knows?!  This is an interesting and welcome change.  I was very happy with the change to how you receive gear based on spec… now I can get even better gear.  YES!