Tuesday Morning Post: I believe I can fly at level 60 edition
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Jun 16th 2009 at 7:00AM
It's been a week of big news altogether around these parts.Mount changes in Patch 3.2 were probably the biggest news. Not only will we be getting most mounts earlier, but normal flying mounts will gain a pretty sizable speed boost. Of course, this also means that class travel abilities will come earlier as well. And while we're on the whole faster transportation thing, we'll also see new portals to the Dark Portal for both sides, and a new Thunder Bluff Zeppelin for the Horde. And as long as we're on the subject, if you're looking to get a new flying mount because of the Patch 3.2 changes, remember that Mei Francis in Dalaran can hook you up.
But there were also a few other big stories and interesting happenings going on in the WoW community this week, and since we're coming up on some downtime from 5 AM to 11 AM pacific this morning, you should have plenty of time to read all about it right here on WoW.com. You'll find our usual 7-day roundup below:
Hot News and Features
- Isle of Conquest details have been released. Prepare for the thrill of Alterac Valley combined with Arathi Basin and Wintergrasp!
- Don't fall victim to account theft. Let us get you up to speed on how to avoid some of the most popular scamming methods.
- E3 has come and gone, and while Blizzard wasn't there, there's still a few things WoW players might like to know.
- Shamans got first crack at the new class Q&A series, and of course, Totem Talk had stuff to say.
- Mountain Dew Battlebots are now live. Get yours before they're gone. If nothing else, it's one more pet toward that fawn, right? Offer only valid in the USA, sorry international readers.
- You still have time to enter our Dirty Jobs of Azeroth contest, with prizes courtesy of Geeky Clean.
- Encrypted Text has yet more Ulduar Rogue raiding advice.
- Warriors get some more Ulduar advice this week as well.
- Arcane Brilliance really hates Bubble Man.
- Scattered Shots reminds Hunters to think twice about that next gear upgrade.
- Some Hunter talents are still acting pretty screwy lately, says The Hunter's Mark.
- Sorry, stubborn old school Druids. The old cat and bear forms will be gone completely in patch 3.2.
- Check out some of the latest hotfixes, including the dread Vindication nerf. There were also a few Ulduar boss nerfs recently hotfixed in.
- Speaking of Ulduar bosses, Ready Check brings a guide to the Flame Leviathan encounter this week.
- Also in Ulduar boss news, we have another round of Algalon firsts to report.
- Officers' Quarters begs us to remember the normal raiders.
- Addon Spotlight discusses addons for Raid Leaders.
- Could the Brewfest Mount be the next up for the holiday achievement nerf-fest?
- WoW Rookie discusses getting the most out of your hearthstone.
- Insider Trader continues analyzing the profession-specific buffs.
- Leveling on a PvP realm? We have some help for you.
- WoW Casually asks a question both simple and complex: What is casual?
- ShrinkGeek recently sat down with us and talked about fitness for nerds.
- Still wondering about Authenticators? We answered another batch of Authenticator questions.
- Could the Maelstrom be our next expansion? There's plenty of lore to work with.
- In news that is not technically about WoW but is still somewhat WoW related, our good friends at sister site Massively have a WoW player's guide to Free Realms, the free-to-play MMO that's getting a lot of nice buzz and decent subscriber numbers besides.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Realm Status, Odds and ends, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Adam H. Jun 16th 2009 7:10AM
One thing I've been wondering is about the twink community and their feelings on the changes to travel. More importantly, the level 16 travel form/ghostwolf. I would imagine the level 19 bracket to be a little bit more interesting with speedier druids/shamans.
I am no twink player myself, but it strikes me as something important for them.
Cyanea Jun 16th 2009 7:16AM
Making flyers purchasable in Northrend really strikes me as one of those: "Why did they wait so long to do this?" kind of things.
Rugus Jun 16th 2009 7:53AM
I really welcome the upcoming mount changes with a good feeling. Flying mounts have been heavily penalized with WOTLK. Why spend 5K at level 70 when you will be probably already grinding content in Northerend... while unable to fly until 77? Even more absurd, why spend 5000 + 1000?
Prices, speeds and level requirements were fine (at least for me) when 70 was the maximum level. Having a 5000G mount was not easy like buying stuff today (WOTLK offers infinite ways to stack good gold in your bags). But when it comes to level an alt OR a new toon, there is no sense at all.
I think they will re-introduce [Riding Crop] (+10% mount speed) from 60 to 70. That would be nice and useful.
In my opinion Blizz is doing a fantastic job in rebalancing things to help people level 1->70 seamlessly. Of course it's still a long process but compared to the old TBC era things are much much better.
One thing Blizzard should have already implemented is the ability to start a new toon with higher level if you've got at least a level 80 on your realm. Heirloom items help, I know that... but the idea of re-doing every quest in Azeroth to level my Druid just kills me. Some people (altoholics!) love doing so... but having to balance game time and real-life time I do not see myself starting from scratch.
Blizzard developers said that "old content is there to be discovered, the game is not JUST Northerend". I agree, absolutely. But ONLY if you're a new subsciber. I play Wow since (almost) 3 years and visiting Azeroth once again is the last thing I would do.
liu Jun 16th 2009 9:30AM
The key is that you're not redoing every quest in Azeroth - they've sped up leveling time from 1-60, and provided Heirloom shoulders to cut down that time significantly. Plus the fact that you've gone through it once means you know which quest hubs and chains are worth it and which aren't.
Also, if you're bored with the process, try it from the other faction's perspective.
I'm against letting folks start characters out at higher levels because I think those 79 levels up to 80 are useful as a way to learn your class. That means that by the time you hit raiding form, you've got enough experience with all your abilities to be able to use them intelligently and not just parrot what EJ recommends under ideal conditions.
Besides that, consider how empty the old world looks now to new players. Now consider how empty it would look if not for alts. It's tough enough to get an appropriate level group together for low lv dungeons, which help new players learn how to play as a group.
Zanpher Jun 16th 2009 11:43AM
I cant wait either. To bad this is just another one of those fake maint days :(
Lord Noblesteel Jun 16th 2009 8:09AM
So I guess there is a good chance Butter's favorite BG will be released:
Hello Kitty Adventure Isle of Conquest
Mike Jun 16th 2009 8:35AM
The Battle Bot, I can confirm, is also available in Canada. However, the other rewards on the promotional site (which require registering) are not.
SpearXXI1 Jun 16th 2009 10:04AM
How lame. I went to bed early last night cause I was tired and figured I would log in early in the morning. Now it is 7am and I can't log in. XD I so forgot about maintenance day.
Brondorf Jun 16th 2009 10:32AM
Fool its always a play late on monday night and sleep in on Tuesdays. Will be like that for as long as maintanence is being done
Rugus Jun 16th 2009 11:18AM
It's interesting to note that almost everyone on the Wow official forums just blamed, insulted and overall laughed at people who asked/wished for a flying mount reduction, some time ago. Same happened for gender change.