Don't underestimate the Isle of Quel'Danas
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 17th 2008 at 2:00PM
Patch 2.4 supplies a great amount of solo content along with the new 5-man dungeon and raid zone, but there is one thing that you should remember stepping onto the Isle of Quel'Danas: This content is not the same difficulty level as everything else we've done so far.The dungeon and raid aren't the only things that have progressed the difficulty of the game, the solo content is more challenging as well. While the respawn rates on mobs may be turned down on the Live servers compared to what they are on the PTR, the fact remains that some of these baddies are not to be underestimated. Even the new bombing run is more difficult, though less likely to kill you than the others. When Ogri'la and Skettis were first released, they were a bit of a death trap. Most people went into them in a daze, expecting to nap through the little battles like the zones we had done before. The reality was, though, that it was quite a bit harder than that. Until we adjusted to the difficulty and played a little smarter, it was death city.
Quel'Danas is about the same. It isn't incredibly difficult, but it is a step up from what we've seen so far. Tread lightly, bring lots of bandages. If you're brand new to level 70 and your gear is... well, junk, then you might want to group with some friends for the new daily quests. And uh, don't be like me and go AFK in the middle of enemy territory and expect to come back 10 minutes later unharmed. That probably isn't going to go well for you.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Quests
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nightwatch Feb 17th 2008 2:20PM
So having a tankadin means i can only go AFK for 4 minutes instead of 5?
Rodrígo Feb 17th 2008 2:24PM
or pulling 23 mobs instead of 24?
Thander Feb 17th 2008 2:47PM
Alex Ziebart, could give a little more detail? Are the monsters stronger 70-71 mobs than the ones we've seen before. Are there mixed types of mobs that synergize well? Is it just fast respawn rates?
You didn't give enough information for us to get an idea about what you're talking about.
Also, Hunters and Warlocks should be just fine. My warrior with mostly epics only now plays about as easily as my Hunter with quest greens.
vildand Feb 17th 2008 2:50PM
"When Ogri'la and Skettis were first released, they were a bit of a death trap."
This renders everything you said about difficulty useless because Orgri'la and Skettis weren't hard at all.
David Whyld Feb 17th 2008 2:59PM
"When Ogri'la and Skettis were first released, they were a bit of a death trap."
"This renders everything you said about difficulty useless because Orgri'la and Skettis weren't hard at all."
You must be the only person playing the game who never got knocked off his flying mount by a monstrous kaliri :)
Some people find certain parts of the game more difficult than others and a good deal of it depends on gear. Someone in full tier 6 is going to walk over the Magister's Terrace without trouble; someone just dinged level 70 is likely to really struggle.
NolaADD Feb 17th 2008 3:59PM
"You must be the only person playing the game who never got knocked off his flying mount by a monstrous kaliri :)"
Space bar :)
vildand Feb 18th 2008 11:38AM
I've been knocked off alright, and then I've landed on the bridge or platform 2 feet below and killed the bird. Annoying? Yes, lethal? Not in a million years.
Tarbh Feb 17th 2008 3:59PM
"You must be the only person playing the game who never got knocked off his flying mount by a monstrous kaliri :)"
Or Never got blasted off their mount by a dragon, or set alight by flack cannons, take falling damage as you land right on top of a group of mobs.
My experience from the daily quests:
1) They earn you a good deal of money over time.
2) You have to make sure you don't overwhelm yourself, spawns are fast as hell and you might find them coming from all places. I've not died once yet. (However, I'm on the PvE PTR and I'm a hunter.)
3) The potential for ganking makes me shudder, I always felt netherwing had some sort of code/manners to it, only ever ganked once, they were restricted by the requirement of epic flying. I don't know how this area being open to everyone will effect things, but it makes me dread the thought of being swarmed by a pack of gnome rogues and night elf druids.
vildand Feb 18th 2008 11:38AM
I'm exalted with ogri'la and I've been knocked off my share of times, but I've never died because of it.
Never flew high enough to catch aggro by a dragon, but even if you do I can't imagine anyone would ever do it twice.
Charlie Feb 17th 2008 4:18PM
More difficult solo content?
Yay!
Charlie Feb 17th 2008 4:19PM
(cont...) Opps...
Anyways, hopefully they have something akin to Shartuul's Event, some pretty epic (if you want to use that word), or intense event for a person.
Zarzuur Feb 17th 2008 4:44PM
"And uh, don't be like me and go AFK in the middle of enemy territory and expect to come back 10 minutes later unharmed"
But don't most normal mobs respawn in under 10 min?
Do you mean instead there are extra patrols or the mobs are 71-73?
insomnifox Feb 17th 2008 5:05PM
Mob respawn rates are pretty fast right now. Maybe on the order of 45 seconds to a minute for some mobs. But I haven't noticed that any of the mobs outside the instance are anymore difficult than mobs in other level 70 areas. My rogue is in crafted and kara epics to give a reference point.
In some areas the mob density is a little high, but it's manageable, and no where near Gnomer's density. Think the first two months of BC out in Hellfire.
The Dead Scar bombing run is a little more difficult simply because some of the mobs take two or three bombs to kill and the bombing run is basically a rail shooter (like the bombing run in Hellfire Peninsula) so it takes two or three attempts to get all the mobs.
PvP is rather relaxed on the PvP server. There's been some people camping the flight masters and getting people when they're away from the guards, but nothing too bad.
Magnetite2 Feb 17th 2008 5:58PM
Well, most of the mobs were no problem for my well-geared feral druid, but my newly-minted lvl 70 pally definitely had problems with mana-draining mobs - they were particularly thirsty!
Dipstick Feb 17th 2008 6:46PM
I found that as a paladin, I'll definitely be tackling the daily quests as retribution due to the need to burn the mobs down quickly before they use the dastardly tactics of mana burning you. This, coupled with some pretty good damage, makes them no pushover.
And for me, the reputation/rewards outweighs the costs to respec.
On the PvP side of things, I'm hoping there'll be an unofficial truce like there is on Netherwing Ledge and Ogrila Plateau in the realisation that if you gank someone, you're merely encouraging them to disrupt your own daily questing and thus your income. Whilst it's not wise to be complacent, I'm hoping the shared interests of gold, rep farming and trying to open up the PvE content will mean that PvP servers aren't too chaotic. I'll still be in my reslience gear though!
Bloodieros Feb 18th 2008 5:00AM
The mob population are pretty dense in places and they did hit decently hard for normal mobs. A freshly dinged 70 in leveling greens will struggle. The other issue one may encounter is jerks parking their level 1 PvP flagged Belf on top of the quest givers thus you hit them (one shotting them of course) while trying to click on the quest giver, then you get your ass handed to you by 20+ NPC guards (all Elites of course)
Nathan Feb 18th 2008 1:38PM
I haven't seen anything on where Quel'Danas is relative to the rest of the eastern continent, is it just somewhere near eversong or what?