Ask a Beta Tester: Flying in the snow, etc

FoSho asked....
Maybe I'm in the dark here, but how does one get to Dalaran since its floating in mid air. Is there a portal in a town, or do you have to be 67 to get there? I keep on hearing its "dangerous" to get to Dalaran, how so?
I wouldn't call it dangerous, but you aren't going to be able to get there at level 70 without the help of a Mage or Warlock. Because Dalaran is floating high above Northrend, you need a flying mounto reach it, and when you first arrive in Northrend, your flying mount simply doesn't know how to handle the cold weather. You'll need to complete a level 77 quest chain to obtain Cold Weather Flying and reach Dalaran on your own. Alternatively, there's a quest at level 74 you can seek out in certain inns that will take you there.For more of your beta questions -- and our beta answers -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
Blue_Bland asked....
Are the Mage spells Conjure Food (Rank 8) and Conjure Water (Rank 9) still only able to be learned from book drops or are they now available from the Mage trainers at 70?
Both of these are available at a Mage trainer near you in the Wrath beta.
Debesun asked....
I'm unsure whether this has been detailed yet but I was wondering about the starting reputation of Death Knights. Does a Death Knight begin the game at 55 but with the faction standings of a level 1?
I'm afraid a new Death Knight starts where any other new character starts -- with little faction standing anywhere. Alliance DKs start out at friendly with all Alliance factions. Horde DKs start out as friendly with Trolls/Orcs/Tauren or Undead/Blood Elves, depending on their racial selection. (And before anyone starts with cries of unfairness, this is exactly how a level 1 starts. You may now continue with your regularly scheduled cries of unfairness.)tehvoid asked....
Death Knights will have all old world flight paths but what about explored zones? Will they have some pre-explored parts of the world (like flight path sites) or have just forgot all of her past life minus flight paths?
Besites their flight paths, I'm afraid Death Knights know nothing of the lay of the land. If you're after exploration achievements, you'll be starting from scratch.
Tap asked....
Speaking of talent spec swaps, is Blizzard going to implement anything? I'm guessing they're too busy and won't get to it for WotLK....too bad, it would be awesome to change from DPS to healer (as a Priest) or (less likely) tank to healer and back (as a Pally) depending on need.
At the Worldwide Invitational this year, we were told, specifically, that "We are working on a plan to give players access to two talent specs." Though they promised more details in the future, they weren't specific about when, and there's always the chance that their "future" time-frame is post-Wrath. However, they've also promised the dance studio for Wrath, and we've not seen a hint of it in-game yet, so it's probably not too late for new features to pop up. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that dual talent specs makes the Wrath launch.

MacGayver asked....
I remember someone mentioning something about king Varian Wrynn being back on his throne. Any word about how that all is currently?
King Wrynn has returned and Stormwind's throne room redecorated to celebrate -- see above.Eric asked....
Do we have any idea what the rewards for the achievements will be, beyond those points? Will we be able to trade them in for something?
Though new achievement (and feats of strength) rewards seem to be popping up regularly, we do have information on some rewards. There are a number of new titles in Wrath, available only by completing certain achivements. In addition to cool titles, PvPers out there will be able to pick up a Black War Bear mount as an achievement reward. (But getting your Black War Bear won't be easy -- you'll need 100,000 honorable kills before you unlock the achievement requiring you to assassinate opposing faction leaders, which then rewards you the mount.)
Kevin Gass asked....
I have a mount question: You mounts are learned to the new spell book and you move them around an organize them? or should a clutterfree freak like myself learn the mounts in the exact order I want them to appear?
I'm afraid they show up in your spell book in alphabetical order, no other organiation to it. However, like some in the comments mentioned, I've no doubt there will be addons that will allow more precise sorting for the obsessive compulsive among us.
Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Dinosoar Sep 15th 2008 1:08PM
Actually, in the most recent patch you learn cold weather flying for 1000g from a trainere in Dalaran.
Tap Sep 15th 2008 2:04PM
At what level? 77 only still I assume.
Cowy Sep 15th 2008 5:41PM
1000g? not bad. Thought we'd be seeing a money reset in WOTLK to even the playground and combat goldfarming.
Still though... Someone out there stands to make a crapload of money by offering ports. I could see high demand for a long time (Just don't port anyone that can also port and cut into the profit!).
RogueJedi86 Sep 15th 2008 1:11PM
Calling Northrend flight "Cold Weather Flying" still bugs me. You learn it in Sholazar, a very hot and humid zone, and Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord are warm too. It leaves you wondering why you can't fly in those warm zones without Cold Weather Flying. Not to mention Cold Weather Flying won't let us fly in Dun Morogh and Winterspring, which are colder than most of Northrend too.
Blizzard should've just called it Northrend Flying and be done with it. At least there's no contradictions in calling it Northrend Flight.
TuckaGRAVES Sep 15th 2008 1:44PM
agreed, idk, i guess they were looking for more of a catchy name than just, Northrend flying, i mean i guess it is a pretty catchy name, but i understand what u mean....
Ktok Sep 15th 2008 3:20PM
"Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord are warm too."
Tundras are not warm places. Just because it's not covered in snow doesn't mean it's warm. Plus, in both locations you can see the breath of your character, indicating that it is quite brisk at the very least. ;)
Tweek Sep 15th 2008 3:29PM
Personally I'd rather it wasn't there at all. It annoys me that people spend so long getting their flying mounts will go to Northrend only to wait another 7 levels before being able to fly.
Even with insisting that flying should be unlocked, it should be 75 or something a little more balanced.
Nathanyel Sep 16th 2008 12:28PM
Besides the obvious "not wanting players to just skip subzones", it would be weird to get dismounted or 'freezing' and going down when flying into "cold" zones, both for reasons of consistency and people complaining why they can fly there but not there without understanding.
Tarfuin Sep 15th 2008 1:14PM
Question:
I have a priest alt getting close to 70. Planning on doing healing come Wrath. With the conversion to spellpower should I be picking up healing gear or damage gear right now? How is, for instance, Spellfire stacking up against Primal Mooncloth? Is spellfire actually able to heal better right now in the beta? How about damage?
Charlie Sep 15th 2008 1:43PM
To be honest, if you aren't planning on raiding untill wrath with your priest alt, then just go damage.
However if you want to raid (in the 2 months till the expansion), then just get healing gear. The amount of healing you get from spell damage gear might be better, but healing gear still has the other stats you need like int, spirit, and mp5 (depending on your class) for regen.
Galla Sep 15th 2008 4:00PM
idk whats going to happen with the Mooncloth stuff, but Im pretty sure the Spellfire is going to stay strictly a Fire damage modifier.
Khanmora Sep 15th 2008 6:19PM
spellfire in live: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21846
spellfire in wrath: http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?item=21846
you can check most existing items on wowhead to see what their post spellpower conversion looks like and base your current gear choices on that.
Jonny Dale Sep 15th 2008 1:14PM
**MASSIVE WRATH SPOILER**
After the betrayal of Sylvanas and Varimathras, are there any replacements for the 2 of them in the undercity royal quarter? And do undead NPCs talk about their betrayal - or a new UC leader?
cjshrader Sep 15th 2008 1:22PM
Whoa what? I haven't heard anything about this, I'd love to learn more.
cjshrader Sep 15th 2008 1:29PM
Upon further research, where did you hear this? It doesn't make sense as Sylvanas is in Howling Fjord about to release some kind of plague on the Scourge.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/northrend/howling-fjord.xml
Varimathas, sure, but not Sylvanas.
Jonny Dale Sep 15th 2008 2:12PM
"Arthas: Boldly stated, but there is nothing you can--
Sylvanas: What?
Did you think we had forgotten?
Did you think we had forgiven?
Behold, now, the terrible vengeance of the Forsaken!
Arthas: Sylvanas...
Sylvanas: Death to the Scourge! And death to the living!
Horde: Fall back!
Arthas: This isn't over.
Sylvanas: Now, all can see this is the hour of the Forsaken.
Alliance: We're finished.
Horde: No escape... for any of us. "
Dialogue from beta files.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=15888.0
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=915A9736CD61F1EDFD0F32E243C8857F.app11_08?topicId=9956355637&sid=1&pageNo=1
http://www.wotlkwiki.info/forum/showthread.php?t=2865
Clasifyd Sep 15th 2008 2:14PM
The storyline I've read is a little mixed, but it seems to me that Putress is the one that betrays Sylvanas. I don't want to reveal too much, though...
tehvoid Sep 16th 2008 6:10AM
As a Forsaken, I pledged allegiance to Lady Sylvanas. Should I choose, I would follow our Leader, must I have everyone living and Scourge as my enemies!
/me wish we'll be "At war" with everyone and have a 3rd faction^^
buckpinne Sep 15th 2008 1:15PM
My question is regarding the new profession, Inscription. Since we will start at skill level 1, and Inscription uses herbs as its main reagents, does this mean we should stock up on what low level herbs we can now to help facilitate leveling Inscription, and if so, what type of herbs are used in most inscription recipes? Should I be stocking Peacebloom/Earthroot, or Mageroyal/Fadeleaf, or all of it?
I'm just hoping to avoid trying to buy low level herbs from the AH when inscription hits, for fear of low supply/high demand leading to crazy prices.
RogueJedi86 Sep 15th 2008 1:20PM
http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?search=Pigment
Each one's tooltip says which herbs make them. That should give you an idea of what to get. Since each type of pigment comes from several different herbs, it's probably best to farm the easiest to herb/cheapest on AH.