Ask A Beta Tester: So long, and thanks for all the fish
Yes, folks, the proverbial fat lady has sung, and this is the last "real" Ask A Beta Tester. Tomorrow we're going to run an AABT that showcases the best, funniest, and most prescient questions we received, and after that -- bowing to popular demand -- the column's going to change gears somewhat and become Ask A Guy (or Girl) Something, or...I dunno, whatever we decide to call it. AAGoGS is cumbersome but oddly endearing, I admit.Deri (among others) asks...
At 77, approximately how much money will I have made levelling up through quests?
At 77 you'll be eligible to train Cold Weather Flying for 1,000g, which I assume is what this is about. Will you have made that much questing? I'd made...I want to say somewhere in the region of 800g leveling between 70 and 77, but I also tanked and healed a LOT of instance runs, so my quest income was on the low side. So I'd say it's probably going to be very easy to finance Cold Weather Flying just from Northrend quests. If you're occupied with a lot of instance runs, just keep in mind that you'll be leveling proportionately faster than you're making money, though.
Morthas asks...
My first faction I am planning on hitting exalted with is the Kirin Tor, so I wonder wich startin zone would be the best to hit if I want to gain reputation with that faction?
Borean Tundra is the way to go. They'll give you a number of quests to complete both in and around the Nexus, but unfortunately it's not going to get you to -- or even very near -- exalted. The vast majority of your Kirin Tor rep is probably going to come later while running level-80 dungeons wearing their tabard, but you can also work on rep through Dalaran-related quests and some daily quests; you'll find a full list of reputation quests here.
Pat asks...
I want to follow the undead side of the story.....which factions are heavy on forsaken lore?
As RogueJedi says, you'll want to start at Vengeance Landing in Howling Fjord, and then move on to New Agamand and the Apothecary Camp. After Howling Fjord, continue at Venomspite in Dragonblight. This will get you pretty far down the Forsaken story in Northrend and will also reward you with oodles of Hand of Vengeance reputation.
Jay in Oregon asks...
Will the daily Shattered Sun Offensive quests continue to give out the amount of gold they're currently giving out, or will the amount diminish when WotLK comes out?
You'll find them rewarding around 3-4g a pop now with (on average) 10K experience now that you're leveling. I assume they'll go back to rewarding the usual amount after you can't get any experience from them again.
Jlocke asks...
Since you can create a DK if you have a level 55 character, does this only apply to your faction you have the 55, or can you make either a horde or alliance DK (Im on a pve server)
On a PvE server you can create a Death Knight of either faction; I had both a Tauren and a Draenei DK on the beta. In terms of which spec is most "fun" -- your mileage, as they say, may vary. If you're planning on doing a lot of tanking, a heavy Frost build will keep your healer from wanting to kill you. Blood, from what I understand of it, is shaping up to be the raid/sustained DPS tree. Unholy was how most DK's in the beta were leveling, perhaps because it has a lot of neat tricks.
Save asks...
I haven't read anything about it, I was wondering if there will be daily heroics?
There will be both daily dungeons and daily heroics given in Dalaran, the completion of which will reward Kirin Tor rep in addition to items/badges.
Norm asks...
Do you need to purchase the epic flying skill before you purchase cold weather flying?
Nope. But trust me, you'll want epic flyer in Northrend. The zones are huge.
Kurfroow asks...
I know there are 2 starting areas. Are there any key differences among rewards between them?
Like stats in the gear or an interesting pet reward or whatever.
Nope. Assuming an equal level of progression in either the Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord, your gear will come out roughly the same. The only factor that might swing you one way or the other is proximity to the early dungeons (Nexus in BT, Utgarde Keep in HF) and the items that drop there, as their loot tables are completely different.
I wanted to end by thanking our readers. This column was entirely dependent on our readers, commenters, and the questions/ideas you guys had, and it was tremendous fun for all of us here at WoW Insider to write and read. Keep an eye out tomorrow for what are, in my humble opinion of course, the best questions we got during AABT's run -- and if you're hitting a midnight launch party, we hope you enjoy the game as much as we enjoyed the beta!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, Features, Leveling, Factions, Making money, Wrath of the Lich King






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
hellvector Nov 12th 2008 11:44PM
Great reference in the title. :D
Duck Knight Nov 12th 2008 11:49PM
Must be wearing a Ring of Pop Culture Reference.
VSUReaper Nov 13th 2008 12:13AM
I read the title and had to double take to above my head to my book case....
Allison Robert Nov 13th 2008 12:35AM
How could I not bogart a Douglas Adams reference on the last (well...not really) real AABT?
And if we get enough comments on this one I'm gonna try like hell to be #42 for the sheer thematic irony.
Horizons Nov 13th 2008 9:06AM
good night, sweet princess
Nilrum Nov 12th 2008 11:48PM
Good bye dear poster! Ye shall be missed good Sir. And so long ... and thanks for all the Halibut.
Nilrum Nov 12th 2008 11:48PM
Corrected. Madam. Please be sorry for the mistake!
Ancro Nov 12th 2008 11:56PM
Certainly, they shall be sorry for having been... the wrong gender? Aha.
Anyway, it's been a great column, and I think it's probably worth continuing in a more "Ask a Raider" or "Ask a PvPer" format. "Ask a Casual" might get a little boring, but some people might be interested.
Pimmeh Nov 13th 2008 9:22AM
I really wish you could just make it:
Ask a Player
Since I really liked reading this column.
Thanks for the good stuff, boys!
Allison Robert Nov 13th 2008 12:35AM
We'll be calling it something, just not really sure what yet. No matter what I'm pretty sure it'll preserve the Q&A format, which we all really enjoyed.
Medved Nov 12th 2008 11:50PM
AABT is what led me to this site, and now i check it all the time and its my source for everything! AABT shall be missed.....and yes thats a sweet refrence....42!!!
Vazpucci Nov 13th 2008 12:03AM
Thanks! I LOVED reading all the fun questions! Hope to see it during the next expansions beta as well! I will miss you till then!!! =D
peagle Nov 13th 2008 12:27AM
Probably the most interesting column over the last couple months, ty for posting all these answers. Despite having beta access I didn't play it much, and preferred exploring the less-spoilery questions others had through these articles.
Allison Robert Nov 13th 2008 12:37AM
Ack! Don't go anywhere, Vazpucci, AABT will keep going, but we'll just have to call it something different. We'll still be here to answer as many reader questions as possible! And yeah, I'm 100% positive it'll be retitled Ask A Beta Tester for the next expansion. Odds are heavily in favor of an Emerald Dream expansion atm.
nathael Nov 13th 2008 12:07AM
AABT has helped me slog through many long boring meetings at work. I'll certainly continue to follow it in whatever incarnation it assumes in the future.
Douglas Adams is teh Roxorz!
Pally Guy Nov 13th 2008 12:56AM
I'd echo the thanks of those above, this column led to to WoWInsider, and I've been a regular reader since.
Top job to you all, and thanks for the invaluable information these columns have contained!
Might I suggest, in light of Ancro's suggestion above, that the format continue as we level into Nothrend, and the column becomes "Ask a Quester" - providing tips and notes for quests we'll encounter along the way to 80?
As a player with three level 70 Paladins, I can't resist this... "Arthas, we're coming... for YOU!"
Ian R. Nov 13th 2008 12:16AM
I loved this column and look forward to future installments. Too bad Ask WoW Insider is already taken. Maybe it could be WoW Insider Q&A ?
Hurode Nov 13th 2008 12:26AM
OK, I'm an pretty casual and also lazy player. I don't have epic flying yet and I'm sitting on about 250 gold. How difficult will it be to make the money for epic flying on top of the money for cold weather flying, and which should I go for first?
Allison Robert Nov 13th 2008 12:46AM
If it were me, Hurode, I'd save the money for epic flying first just to get over that hurdle. It'll also help you get a much faster mount for any gathering or dailies you continue to do in Outland (and of course later Northrend), and the speed will give you a lot more time to get other things done. With that said, a lot of people find it psychologically easier to take care of the littler things first, so paying for Cold Weather Flying may provide you with a little boost and incentive to keep going for a really great mount.
How easy will it be to save? Well, you should be able to afford Cold Weather Flying easily at 77 if you don't go hog-wild on expenses in Wrath, and if you still find yourself in Northrend a lot more than anywhere else you can use a flying mount, CWF is a better initial investment than epic flight. But I really can't stress this enough; keep saving to buy epic flight ASAP. Northrend is huge and you will shave so much travel time off by having an epic flyer. Send all of your BoE's and white items to a banker alt and make that toon earn his keep!
wowi Nov 13th 2008 10:31PM
Hurode - My tip is that quests, even dailies, won't make you rich.
There are several free guides available on how to make money, grab one and even if you only do 1-2 things it says, you will find money less of a problem.
It's a good chance to develop some RL business sense, tbh. Fx a new arena season = new arena gear = new gems required = surge in prices. A smart JC stocks up beforehand and milks during.