Ask a Beta Tester: Daily quests, skill trainers, and Arthas, oh my!

Vjax asks...
Can you still do level 70 dailies for gold, and do you get XP for doing them?
Alex said these wouldn't be worth your while, and he was right. For those of you interested in specifics, though, you seem to get 3g 40s and 9,500xp for your average daily quest in Wrath. On the other hand, you could be doing quests in one of the starting zones of Northrend and getting yourself 4 to 5g and in the 20,000xp range per quest. Executive summary: go to Northrend. Go directly to Northrend. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
tehvoid asks...
Is there a port from Shattrath to Dalaran?
Not at present, though I'm guessing it won't be necessary in the long term. Once Wrath is out, I imagine Outland will be even more deserted than Azeroth is now, as Outland doesn't have the class trainers or auction houses to keep you coming back. There doesn't need to be a portal because you're probably never going to be there, save leveling alts.
Rymer asks...
In BC all trade skill trainers were in Hellfire, So does that mean what professions my characters have will decide what starting zone I need to go to? Or will both zones have trainers so the choice is up to me?
At present, there is a mix of random profession trainers in each zone starting zone, but this may change. In fact, I think it's fairly likely to change. For example, Horde players can currently find a Grand Master Inscription trainer in both Warsong Hold and Vengeance Landing -- the Horde starting cities on each side of Northrend. However, one of them will talk to you and the other (perhaps bugged?) will not respond to anything. This indicates, to me at least!, that Blizzard intends to have a Grand Master Inscription trainer in both areas. And if Inscription is there, it makes sense to have others.
However, I don't think the location of profession trainers needs to dictate your choice of starting zones. It is something of a pain to move from one side of Northrend to the other (until you've collected all your flight paths, it's easiest to head to Azeroth and catch the boat or Zeppelin to your new location), it's not impossibly difficult and, after all, how often do you need to visit profession trainers, anyway? I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and guess that, even while leveling a profession, most players will only have to visit the trainer a handful of times. In short: level where you want!
Tharko asked...
I know we are supposed to come into more contact with Arthas in this expansion. How often have you seen him so far and what role will he play in the casual's experience?
If you roll a Death Knight, you will receive your very first quest from Arthas himself -- and as you continue through the chain, you will find yourself carrying out his wishes and checking in with him occasionally. For others, his presence is not as immediate as seeing him the first time you step into Northrend, but many of your quest chains will speak to the reason your faction has come to Northrend: to fight off the Lich King. An early quest from Vengeance Landing even involved going out on a field of battle between the Alliance and Horde and burning corpses, because in Northrend, under the sway of the Lich King, those who fell in battle might not stay dead .
Athura asked....
Can we encounter Alextrasza (aspect of the red dragonflight) somewere?
Yes! She may be found perched atop Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight. Go on, have a little chat with her -- she doesn't seem to bite!
Have more questions? We have more answers! If your question didn't get answered today, don't despair -- we're reading and researching as many as we can as quickly as we can. Leave any questions in the comments below to be answered tomorrow!Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Arras Aug 4th 2008 10:36AM
about how long does it take to get a death knight out of the starting area and into Outlands? Is it something that can be done in a few hours?
Badger Aug 4th 2008 10:47AM
Easily. With the frantic, "war footing" pace of the beginning DK quests, it doesn't take long at all.
Niekon Aug 4th 2008 10:52AM
Quickest I've seen from rolling a new DK to the "conversion" from Scourge to Alliance/Horde is about 90-120 minutes. But this is while trying to deal with the various glitches still present in gameplay.
Tenchan Aug 4th 2008 5:54PM
When you already know all the quests and hurry through, you can be done in a good 2 hours (less if you are really lucky at the Frostwyrm quest).
I suggest you don't, however. You only have one DK (unless you plan to delete and remake one over and over again), and the quest texts and little flavour items you can read, as well as all many of the NPC (re)actions are extremely interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes epic, and definitely a big part of the experience. Even if you do take your time though, you are done in a few hours, yes.
Zoidberg Aug 4th 2008 10:48AM
Is anyone doing any PvP on the beta servers? If so, how close is class balance now at the max level?
Yeah, I know it's early, but Blizzard has been doing a bunch of class balancing. Has anyone been testing the balance?
tayluca Aug 4th 2008 11:23AM
I don't know about bgs and such but I can tell you this, on Lich King (PVP Server) I get ganked... a lot! :P
Lots of people testing the class pvp balances, me... I'm testing the length of the run back from the nearest graveyards. :P
Markymark Aug 4th 2008 10:48AM
I doubt a few hours maybe a day of casual play. I know outlands lvling will be shortened thank god.
Archenemy Aug 4th 2008 10:48AM
New question.
I heard that paladin auras, warrior shouts and shaman totem buffs will affect the whole raid. My question, is this party->raid mechanic is extended to other effects (like "Tranquility" or "Leader of the Pack" from a druid for example, or Imp Stamina form a warlock), or most of the effects that affect your party will remain in that way?
K Whitt Aug 4th 2008 12:13PM
We've heard that the Imp "Blood Pact" does indeed affect raid wide, however, I haven't heard about some of the Hunter, Druid, and other party buffs going raid-wide. It may be on a a selected basis.
That said, having a haste proc go raid-wide instead of just party-wide from the improved Moonkin talents would be quite welcome. Same thing said to Vampiric Touch/Embrace from Shadow priests (which may explain the nerfing of them).
Jeni Aug 4th 2008 10:48AM
At what character level can you train your professions past 375? Currently, a character may train their professions up at level 20, 35, and once a character reaches level 50, they can go to Outlands (via a friendly mage port to Shattrath), take the freely learned flightpoint to Hellfire, and gain the last (next) level for their trade skills and gathering professions.
Therefore, I would like to know what levels my alts must attain to train their skills past 375.
innajunglestylee Aug 4th 2008 10:59AM
I haven't tested it, but I would assume 65. Look at the pattern in those numbers -- 5 to learn a profession, then 20 to upgrade, then 35, then 50...it seems to be happening every 15 levels.
This would mean my JC alt needs to get leveled to 65. Ugh.
Nick Aug 4th 2008 10:53AM
Blizzard plans on removing the availability of the Zul Aman war bear. What about the shattered sun title and nether drakes?
Ametrine Aug 4th 2008 11:18AM
Nope. Only the bear is vanishing, nothing else. The bear is the only one that has a restriction that 80's could overcome much more easily than 70's - namely, completing ZA within a certain time-limit.
BillDoor Aug 4th 2008 11:24AM
They're also removing the ability to get the Champion of the Naaru and Hand of Adal titles.
Keysdawg Aug 4th 2008 2:28PM
Champion of the Naaru and Hand of A'dal are supposed to still be available, if you can complete the chain before turning 71. At least that's what they said earlier, not 100% that's changed.
yazah Aug 4th 2008 11:06AM
RE: Trainers in Northrend
I know that on my characters I have been able to find trainers for enchanting, mining, blacksmithing, first aid, fishing and jewelcrafting in both starting cities.
I know I have seen many others, and I assume that *all* of them are there, but I can only confirm the ones I have personally used.
Also, the "track trainers" mini-map option is helpful since some are kind of tucked away.
Jack Spicer Aug 4th 2008 11:08AM
How difficult would it be for a level 70 character to go straight to Dalaran immediately after arriving in Northrend? What would be the most convenient route?
eyzo Aug 4th 2008 11:22AM
you cant enter dalaran untill lv 74 or have mage or lock help you.
but for the most part head to wyrmrest temple and head north from there
Hank Aug 4th 2008 11:43AM
Wait, do you mean that you can't enter Dalaran until you are 74, unles you are ported directly there, or that the zones you need to travel through to get to Dalaran have mobs that are best defeted when you are level 74?
Thander Aug 4th 2008 12:58PM
I think you need to complete a quest to get access.