Ask a Beta Tester: Zul'Drak and more
by Alex Ziebart 
Nov 6th 2008 at 4:30PM
Welcome to yet another edition of Ask a Beta Tester. We're coming to you a little later in the day than we usually do, but I think getting the site's redesign up was worth it! It's sparkly, isn't it? We only have a little under a week of Ask a Beta Tester left, so let's make the best of the time we have and get started!
Nick S asked...
Is there any lore for the Trolls? I've seen very, very little that's not negative. Where's the Troll lovin'?!?
Unfortunately, I'm primarily Alliance and didn't see much from the Horde beyond the first couple of zones, so I'm not really sure about the Darkspear. Zul'Drak has a whole load of Troll content, though. It's an entire Troll zone centered on the last Troll Empire, the Drakkari. There's also the return of the Zandalar Trolls, who are much more friendly. You might have met them back when Zul'Gurub was run frequently. They're there to document the fall of the Drakkari and prevent them from doing something really, really bad.
Nick S asked...
Is there any lore for the Trolls? I've seen very, very little that's not negative. Where's the Troll lovin'?!?
Unfortunately, I'm primarily Alliance and didn't see much from the Horde beyond the first couple of zones, so I'm not really sure about the Darkspear. Zul'Drak has a whole load of Troll content, though. It's an entire Troll zone centered on the last Troll Empire, the Drakkari. There's also the return of the Zandalar Trolls, who are much more friendly. You might have met them back when Zul'Gurub was run frequently. They're there to document the fall of the Drakkari and prevent them from doing something really, really bad.
The zone is actually very awesome, and coming from someone who was sick of Troll dungeons, Zul'drak pulled me right into the story. As you progress through the zone you see the Drakkari become more desperate, and as you get closer to the capital their depravity gets worse and worse. It's very well done. That picture up there isn't Zul'Drak, just in case you were wondering. It's Sholazar Basin.
As we're winding down on questions, I'm sure this has been covered (and I've missed it): do the 10-man and 25-man instances have separate raid IDs? For example, could I run a 25-man Naxx with the guild and turn right around and run the 10-man? Or, if you run one, are you stuck until they reset?
They do have separate raid IDs, so you most certainly can run both back to back.
timmy! asked...
If you champion for faction B and after you just championed for faction A, and faction A catches you wearing faction B's tabard, will you lose rep with faction A for "cheating" on them?
...No. Good deeds are good. The Argent Crusade won't mind that you smashed Scourge in the name of the Wyrmrest Accord.
Enyad asked...
I heard from a friend that Blues went back and said the championing would be allowed for old school reps (Timbermaw, AD, CC etc) in level 80 instances. How true is that, if it is? Or is it just like I've been reading for only Northrend factions?
As far as I know, it's not true at all. It's just Northrend factions. Knights of the Ebon Blade, Kirin Tor, Argent Crusade, and the Wyrmrest Accord. Maybe we'll see it in the future but I haven't heard anything like that since before Championing was even implemented.
ithobbit asked...
Taking a cue from the starting zone quests questions, I am a lore freak, would it be possible (or feasible) to do the quests on BOTH starting Areas at some point?
Absolutely. If you're not worried about trucking along straight to Icecrown or whatever, you can certainly clear out Howling Fjord and then hop a turtle to the Borean Tundra or vice versa. Or you can go back at 80, or you can bring an alt over. Starting in the Tundra doesn't block you off from the Fjord at all.
Ella asked...
Can you give us a short list on what instances there are in northrend, and at what approximately level you should attend to these? I don't want to miss any.
We'll have a nice, clean list for you before Wrath launches, more in-depth than I could give here. Keep an eye on the site!
The Wrath of the Lich King beta is in full swing, and the WoW Insider crew is here to sate your curiosity with Ask a Beta Tester! Leave your beta questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Avarielin Nov 6th 2008 4:42PM
I want a free game card!
hold up Nov 6th 2008 5:36PM
Since I can't get an answer in the Win A "..." sections I guess ill use this post to ask.
If you can register any email to a Wow Insider account what prevents people from creating thousands of hotmail accounts and spamming the comments to increase their chances to win?
If I dont get an answer by tonight I guess ill setup my own little spam bot. :) Just kidding! ... or am i. muahahaha
armi0022 Nov 6th 2008 4:41PM
http://www.wowwiki.com/Instances_by_level
The Wrath ones are in there.
WoWie Zowie Nov 6th 2008 5:56PM
we don't need any more troll lore =(
ZF, ZG, ZA...
there's only 1 gnome place, gnomeregan. why don't people like gnomes? QQ
SINisterWyvern Nov 7th 2008 7:05AM
the gnomes aren't a very old race that had an empire spanning most of the world.
Ooglie Nov 7th 2008 9:15AM
I do like gnomes. They are delicious in a nice garlic sauce.
Balius Nov 7th 2008 10:19AM
Gnomes could do with some lore, they really don't have much at the moment. Their entire history is basically: Dwarves discovered gnomes about 200 years ago, with advanced technology and a somewhat iffy success rate. The gnomes then joined the dwarves, building a capital city right noxt to the dwarven capital. Troggs invaded Gnomeregan, the gnomes irradiated the city to kill them.
Other than that, there are hints in Uldaman that, like the Earthen, Gnomes were artificial constructs created by the Titans that then evolved into flesh, like the dwarves did.
I'm not sure that there's any real room for a full instance for gnomes alone, but I could enjoy seeing some gnome content in the Uld instance that's coming down the pipe.
Aiglos Nov 8th 2008 12:32PM
There is, in fact, gnome lore in WOTLK.
I won't ruin it, but it does touch on/explain the Uldaman hints.
The Big Stu Nov 6th 2008 4:54PM
I love wowinsider.com
ObiChad Nov 6th 2008 4:45PM
http://www.wowwiki.com/Instances_by_level#Wrath_of_the_Lich_King
is good list showing what level ranges are appropriate for the leveling up dungeons in Wrath.
Zuldim Nov 6th 2008 4:45PM
I read on WoWhead that there is a daily quest that lets you change your Oracle/Frenzyheart rep, for instance, you pick Oracle, get to say honored with them, do the daily, become neutral with Frenzyheart, and hated with Oracle, then the next day do the daily again, and switch back to Honored with Oracles, and hated with Frenzyheart. Is this real?
voit Nov 6th 2008 4:46PM
are you guys going to do a drop guide for the starter dungeons for wrath?
cheers
V
jhaman Nov 6th 2008 4:45PM
lol wrong section
ahmed ahmed Nov 6th 2008 4:48PM
Have you hear about anything in wotlk that ghosts can now go through mountains so they can reach there destinations faster because my freind told me that is what is going to happen and i do hopefully wish that it will go live in wotlk!
torgun Nov 6th 2008 5:11PM
There were situations in Storm Peaks where I got a "Spectral Gyphon" to ride while I was a ghost for the trip back my corpse. It was actually how I first saw some of Storm Peaks and Icecrown before I got cold weather flying.
here is a thought Nov 6th 2008 4:52PM
That answer to the Troll question kinda sucked. Should this column be renamed "Ask an Alliance Beta Tester"?
Is there a beta tester that is playing horde you can consult?
JohnC Nov 6th 2008 4:53PM
Well i have two questions i wonder if someone can answer please:
I have just started raiding (only just hit 70) so am gathering some badges of justice. is it worth me keeping this or spending them as soon as i can ?
also what is their for us pvpers ecept the obvious lake wintergrasp. theres alot about gaining rep in instances wearing the tabard, well can we pvpers gain rep for the nothrend factions while in battlegrounds too? or is there that hasnt been documented so much as wintergrasp?
thnx
RogueJedi86 Nov 6th 2008 5:16PM
Spend the badges. We get new badges in Northrend. Otherwise you'd have Sunwell-geared players farming Kara with 5 people and buying uber level 80 gear as soon as they enter Northrend.
As for pvp, an entire zone just for pvpers ain't enough for you?
Raaj Nov 6th 2008 10:12PM
What? One raid dungeon isn't enough for you PvE guys? Be reasonable here. Wintergrasp is a good start, but it wouldn't hurt for them to throw a new battleground into the mix every now and then (instead of limiting them to expansions).
Phil Nov 7th 2008 9:18AM
There's also a new BG (Strand of the Ancients; I'm sure you've noticed its battlemaster is already present and accounted for) and a couple new arenas.