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.
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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
trogdor7 Sep 15th 2008 2:38PM
Now that the king is back, where did Bolvar and Prestor go? I'm wondering how the Onyxia attunement chain in particular will work.
RogueJedi86 Sep 15th 2008 3:23PM
Not to mention the Missing Diplomat chain, since the no longer missing diplomat is now throned up in Stormwind.
G Sep 15th 2008 4:27PM
I'd also like to know the story behind the king's return (if it's in-game, I can wait). I thought they were going to go into that story a little more by extending 'The Missing Diplomat' to that large island north of Theramore, what with the new quest to fly over it and gather intel. It almost makes me think that's not really the king..
Ford Of Mortis Sep 15th 2008 7:15PM
If King Wrynn is back then why does his son keep asking if you have heard any news about his father?
pab Sep 15th 2008 4:14PM
Earlier it was said that riding crops would be removed from the game, but will happen to my druids Charm of Swift Flight?
Chris Sep 15th 2008 4:20PM
In Wrath, do we earn new abilities at ever level? In Old World, we earned at every Even Level and in BC it was every level. So, do we get new abilities at every level?
VSE Sep 15th 2008 4:28PM
It was mentioned that you can only create Death Knights if you already have a level 70 character. I'm wondering however whether that is faction specific? I.e. if I have a level 70 Tauren, would I then be able to go and create a Night Elf DK?
And also, are achievements per account based, or per character based?
Thanks!
Doffencrag Sep 15th 2008 5:00PM
You can make a Death Knight if you have a lvl 55 character on any realm... doesn't even have to be the realm you make a Death Knight on. You can make a Death Knight of any race, subject to server rules (you can't make an Alliance character on a PvP realm if you already have Horde characters there).
Currently, achievements are character-based.
Khanmora Sep 15th 2008 6:26PM
You need a level 55 of any character to create any kind of DK you want on any server you want, the only restrictions are on PvP servers where you have to stick with the same faction type you already have on that server.
Cryo Sep 15th 2008 5:55PM
Is there a quest at the end of the Death Knight starting zone that sends you to Outland? If so, how do they explain having to return there since the whole questline takes place after the events in Outland?
Khanmora Sep 15th 2008 6:27PM
The DK questline actually takes place prior to the current timeline and leads up to it. After you finish you are sent to pledge your allegiance to the faction you now belong to. Then you would be sent to the Dark Portal the same way anyone else would be. There is no special quest (at this time, this could all change) that sends you there for any reason other than to prove you really are not evil anymore.
Shadowpriest Sep 15th 2008 6:12PM
Do the two talents, Improved Spirit Tap and Meditation stack?
Cliffrunner Sep 15th 2008 7:25PM
''(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.)''
i thought you only had to kill the leaders....
Slow netconnection Sep 15th 2008 7:47PM
Liz
One question I do have, is I was lucky enough to be picked in this latest round of beta tickets, the download requirement is HUGE though. First download was 1.8Gig and second is now just over 1 Gig and unsure if there are any more after that.
Can we upgrade from the Beta to WolK or will we have to go through the whole process again? Anyway..seeyou Beta-side.
Erinar Sep 15th 2008 7:45PM
Is there any storyline in beta so far involving Jaina Proudmoore? She and Arthas have such a history, It'd be a shame to let a potentially excellent storyline go to waste.
gravious Sep 15th 2008 8:09PM
do i need to install BC to be able to install Wrath of Lich King
Xino Sep 15th 2008 10:20PM
Yeah
Wii Willie Sep 16th 2008 12:06AM
MacGayver asks a very good question regarding the King of Stormwind but there is a very important extension of the question he didn't touch on which I think needs to be answered. With Varian back on the throne and confirmation that there is no more Prestor or Bolvar in the room how is this going to affect certain quests? Although this will cause some minor changes to some quests (and actually bigger dynamic changes to a great deal more within the alliance quest language) there is the question of what happens to perhaps the most epic alliance quest: Stormwind Rendezvous and the quest chain that surrounds it.
Will it still exist? How can it exist? What is the plan - the other quests can be worked around I'm sure, but the removal of the march through the city and the fight? C'mon, they have to jig something together for that, right? Right?
I notice Kiqu on the official forums (linked below) recently asked the question too but, as yet, is unresolved. Perhaps Elizabeth Harper and her Beta tester team can shed some light on this issue that is wanting to be answered by people when they realize the implications of the return of the king. I wish I had a Beta key just to resolve this one issue.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=9956667176&sid=1
Thanks in advance.
Liero Sep 16th 2008 3:59AM
So King Wrynn is back huh? So what happens to Drakefire Amulet quest? Is Prestor (Onyxia) still in the court?
And I finally figured out why hes back, not to save and protect humanity from the Blue Dragonflight o no.
Because to get the Black War Bear, you need someone to kill in SW, and Anduin would be a challenge. An invincible one at that :)
alja Sep 16th 2008 3:40AM
So quick question about the whole "getting to dalaran" thing, everyone says (at least in this article & responses) that you will have to have a mage port you there or a warlock summon you initially - that's all find and dandy, but if that's the case how in the crap do the mage and warlock get there? My mage has had to go to every portal location to pick up the portal training, so unless they are gonna train me how to make a big swirly hole to Dalaran from a trainer in IF, how am I gonna get there?