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The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: What's your questing style?
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Dec 2nd 2008 at 8:00AM
I'm generally in the last category myself. There's so much interesting lore and compelling story in Wrath that I don't want to miss risking a questline anywhere I go. Besides, if I finish all the quests, I'm that much closer to becoming a Loremaster, if nothing else. I do mix it up sometimes if I want to head into a zone early to grab a specific quest reward, such as heading into Borean Tundra to get my Axe of Frozen Death before heading back to Howling Fjord, but for the most part, when I head into a zone, I like to get it nice and cleared out from end to end.
How do you quest, and why? Do you fit one of the types above, or do you have another method?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Quests, Leveling, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
Axolotl Dec 2nd 2008 8:21AM
I tend to do as many quests possible in a zone that don't require groups. I also travel around much, so my /played time is not representative of the time it actually took me to level.
I tend to go for flightpoints as soon as it's possible to get them, though when not scryer or aldor aligned, I did get thrown out of Shattrah when trying to take the shortcut to Nagrand ...
At the moment I'm taking my deathknight on leveling (using Jame's guide to do it, it's free, pretty good and doesn't require a bunch of mods) and I find my character to be 3 levels above the 63 it should be by now ... so the quests are easy, relaxed and soloable (even the groupquests) ... I'm enjoying outland way more now that I don't have to go find everything.
A friend of mine is using the 'this-level-so-to-that-zone-approach' and he's not leveling faster than me ...
dave Dec 2nd 2008 8:31AM
I fit most closely into the last category as well. I started off in Howling Fjord and did the whole achievement/cleared quest log. Then on to Borean to get the DEHTA achievement and all teh kalu'ak quests. Then I did Dragonblight just for the Wrathgate questline. Followed by a full clear of Grizzly Hills. Then I went to Sholozar to do the Hemet quests and by the time I finished those I was 77 and I flew myself to take on the scourge. That's where I'm at now. About 100 xp from 78...
So I guess I have tried to fit all the mega-quest chains in to my lvling, and also go all the way through some zones. Once I'm 80 I'll go back and clear the rest of BT and DB.
RogueJedi86 Dec 2nd 2008 9:01AM
You sound more like the first category "There's the guys people who just sort of go where the wind takes them, maybe try a few quests out of this zone, a few out of this zone, and play around." definitely sounds like your fluttering from zone to zone, cherry picking quests to do(like DEHTA specifically in Borean, Wrath Gate in Dragonblight).
Wulfkin Dec 2nd 2008 8:22AM
I tend to turn up in a zone, then play it to death. I moved through Tundra to Dragonblight (my favourite) to Girzzly Hills and now into Zul'drak. Picked up achievements as I went, not by design, but because there were so many quests to do I just had to complete em all! :D
Shevva Dec 2nd 2008 8:25AM
I'm a skitter from zone to zone doing the quests that intrest me and enjoying the lore and the hard work Blizz have put into this expansion, plus it doesn't help that i'm leveling 5 chars at once but hey i think i've seen every quest up to ZD.
I did have a guy come up to me last night and start moaning because he was 3 bars from 80 but his quest helper wasn't working so he couldn't seem to do 3 bars by himself, so basicallu the quest helper had leveled him 70 to 80 without him engagiung his brain once???? i mentioned to him that if he read the txt it might help????
Thedarktower Dec 2nd 2008 8:24AM
I really wish all of Azeroth would be redone completely. And maybe an instant travel to instances for the dungeons in Azeroth so people will actually do them, and buff the loot stats again and drop rates a lot :).
Make Azeroth feel like the majority of the game again.
I will admit I rushed to get to 80, but I did not do it by skipping around.. I did it by fully clearing a zone and then moving to the next with next-to-no-sleep till I hit 80. I did 76-80 without a break, that was intense. Now I'm walking around northrend in a few epics from heroics doing the quests in order from easiest to hardest until I'm a loremaster, partly for the epic flier that I want (Deathknight, didn't save for it on my main either) and man does it suck not having an epic flier. On my main I could zoom around and easily do dailies, I feel like I'm being punished for being poor on my DK right now. Well I just finished up Basin, so now I'm off to the next zone once the realms are up, I don't really read quest text.. I am more into the social part of the game, but I do dig the lore. Right now I'm a Frost DK with tanking gear, its hard to quest and I wish they would patch dual talents today instead of whatever they do on Tuesdays. Once that happens I will probably be done with northrend quests and have gotten loremaster, but it will be really awesome for going blood or whatever when I feel like doing dps. I think I'm gonna level a mage next, or a druid, probably after I do some raiding.
With all this new content I couldn't help but feel searing pain doing BC although it was brief, 58-68 took no time at all, but the quests were so mundane and the atmosphere did not involve you as much as it does now. And that reminds me of AZEROTH!! Blizzard, your next expansion pack should include a new class and don't bother with 80-90, instead make azeroth more engaging and beautiful than northrend so I can enjoy the game for the ages. Four years ago Azeroth amazed me, but now its seen as a generic kill 40 mobs, fetch this, fetch that, kind of grind that I do only to get to the high lvls where the fun begins. Fix Azeroth blizz, for the sake of alt whores.
brunen Dec 2nd 2008 8:27AM
I am the completist, though I might not have been if it wasn't for achievements!
In fact, my main is now 78 and has done only all of borean tundra and howling fjord and half of Dragonblight - aside from instances, thats it. 8 levels in 2.5 zones.
Ekimus Dec 2nd 2008 8:28AM
Like some of the comments above, I won't leave a zone till it's completely explored and I've gotten the associated quest achievement.
Also, I've been doing zone questing exclusively. I've only done one Nexus run on normal. I'm a feral druid, running around in nearly T6 tanking and T5+ dps gear. So, dungeon upgrades are few and far between.
Kuroyume Dec 2nd 2008 8:28AM
i'm a loremaster type on my main (prot warrior)... i'm 77 and still in Grizzly Hills. Being able to solo most group quests is awesome. Only ones i had to group for were Last Rites in tundra, and the runed giants in fjotd (they have a really nast dot).
My alts however, just go through the fastest way possible... screw group quest, instance quests, etc.
thaliana Dec 2nd 2008 10:30AM
I definitely tend toward the finishing every nook and cranny before leaving crowd. However, much to my bf's chagrin, I also wander a good bit, and am easily distracted by herbs, strange animals I've never seen, or just "what's around that corner?" He finishes most quests in an area, but he does it hard core, going to 80 fashion, with the least amount of interest in anything except levelling and cool gear. *sigh* I ask you wowinsider, are we going to make it?
FenSat Dec 2nd 2008 8:37AM
I've definitely been a completionist on my run to 80 with my main. The story is incredible, and I would have definitely missed a lot had I just rushed to the next zone once quests started greening out. The only quests I would leave undone in my log were dungeon quests and the odd group quest I couldn't find a group for at the time.
I'll likely adopt the same approach with my alts as well, but there is one lesson I've learned: bounce back and forth between Borean Tundra and the Fjord for a couple of reasons.
First, despite the Fjord's superiority as a zone, variety is the spice of life...and.../cough...the Last Rites questline isn't located in the Fjord. Seriously, sometimes you just need a change of pace.
Second, and more importantly, is that one quickly reaches one's ability to tolerate the Barrens-like general chat of Borean Tundra for so long, so it's best not to maneuver oneself into a position of having Borean being your sole option because you've already completed all of the Fjord's questing goodness.
As an aside, I am a huge advocate of doing both starting areas before moving on, even if one doesn't care much for the lore. I hit 80 in the Basin, meaning that every quest in Storm Peaks and Icecrown were pure gold to me, and, due to the sheer number of quests as well as going back and knocking out some dungeons/group quests rotting in my log, I'm still not done with Icecrown yet. So, do them all...you'll be glad you did!
Damagon Dec 2nd 2008 10:26AM
I generally work in one zone, go to completion of all the quests I can find, and then move to the next zone.
Kind of like a locust.
Brila Dec 2nd 2008 8:42AM
The way I do it is I get all the quests in one place and do them all, moving onto the next city/town/outpost after that.
Completing all the quests in the zone of course. I get pretty lucky and have a duo partner for all the group quests though.
I agree that this expansion is great. Love the environments and the quests are very well written in my opinion.
Rekranar Dec 2nd 2008 8:44AM
I started in Borean Tundra, and I do every single quest in a zone before moving on for the blues at the end of chains, the awesome lore. This is important especially in Dragonblight for the Veteran of the Wrathgate achievement and the aftermath... BTW if you are interested in lore do Grizzly Hills before Zul'Drak otherwise your gonna be confused about a particular Troll NPC
Screwblade Dec 2nd 2008 8:50AM
I steamroll all the quests in a zone as fast as possible.
Reading quests? That's not me. I read that little blurb that says So-and-so wants you to kill X of Y in Z and off I go or pick up all the thingamajigs in the dark cave and I'm off.
I do tend to load up with all the quests from a quest hub as I can before setting off. I like how Zul'Darak is set up like that where you get 5-10 quests from one guy. Do 'em. Then he sends you to his friend Larry for some more.
I started in Borean; hit that achievment. Ran over to the Fjord; hit that achievment. Conquered Dragonblight next. Skipped over Grizzly Hills (I'll save that for level 80 cash). I'm 13 quests from the ZD achievment and I'm level 77.5.
I'm not sure where to head to next. Maybe Scholozar to help out that Nesingwary guy and pick one of those factions.
Tondef Dec 2nd 2008 8:46AM
I love how they have the quest in one zone now, as has been said already some of the old quest had you running from continent to continent using flight points and boats.. Painful
I'm hoping that today they fix the LFG tool to allow us to LFG in all the instances, not just the Northrend ones as it is now. And it would be fantastic if they would help us with some ways to raise reputation other than the mageweave quest which seems to be my only option to getting faction at some starting cities now.
Thedarktower Dec 2nd 2008 8:48AM
Reading these comments makes me really want to get back to earning Loremaster on my DK, and the eventual flying mount gold that will come with it :)
I wonder if I will clear TBC with my DK fully once dual specs are released (currently frost and it's very hard to kill things quickly, besides aoe trains).
I might end up doing all of TBC I left behind just for the "completion".
apoxic Dec 2nd 2008 8:51AM
I'm actually a bit of both. I completed Fjord, Borean, Dragonblight and Grizzly before moving on to Zul'drak.. but GOD how I hated that place. I actually ended up with 99/100 before moving on to Shozalar Basin, just dinged 79. Ended up to get to 80 in just slightly more than 4 hours, even with hoarding LOADS of herbs.
Obviously Epic flyer helped, Don't think I would've stayed that long in Zul'drak without it..
Did Heroic UP and VH on my first night as a resto shaman, with my sparsely collected healing gear from quest rewards up until this point (Think I only ran two or three instances pre-80.)
Psybil Dec 2nd 2008 8:53AM
I'm the enjoy every nook and cranny type as well, the storyline and 'plot points' have so far been supremely executed. The origin of one of the races is revealed in the Borean Tundra, to the Lich King cameo in one of the quest lines Howling Fjord. So far its been fabulous. Side note: the quest chain in Coldara that starts from an item drop on a humanoid in there is pretty snazzy.
PPS: Keep an eye out for some critterish Disney references in Grizzly Hills.
Umehte Dec 2nd 2008 9:00AM
Being rather new to the game, my fiancee and myself tend to take our time questing, mostly so we don't miss an important detail ("you mean I needed TWO thorium bars to make that skeleton key? I guess I should have read that before climbing up the ungoru volcano...") Plus we are enjoying the feel of play, we were both fans of Baldur's gate but we like the options and questing of WoW. I tend to be more of a gamer, however, so usually I quest ahead with my Rogue so that I know a good general path to follow with our group (of which I play my Elemental Shaman.) Of course we haven't even made it to Outland yet, I just made my Deathknight last weekend, but I must admit that the opening DK quests are some of the best that I have encountered thus far!