Breakfast Topic: Grab it while you can
by Zach Yonzon 
Jun 29th 2010 at 8:00AM
Some of it might just be re-itemizing the quest rewards, but I suspect Blizzard has pulled out all the stops and made quests -- especially starting ones -- far more creative and interesting than the basic kill X creatures or FedEx deliveries from five years ago. With so much experience under their belt as well as new tools and technologies, the new starting areas and the rest of the Cataclysm-wrought world is ripe for a more engaging questing experience. Be prepared for everything you know to change, so even if you've leveled like ten characters to 80, expect to chuck all that familiarity with old world quests out the window. That means if there are pretty trinkets from quests that you like, these are the last few months for you to get them.
I know, a few months sounds like we've got a ways yet, but time zings by quicker than we realize. What quest rewards would you like to grab as keepsakes of the old world? I'm fairly certain members of the Alliance are all rushing to get their Dartol's Rod of Transformation before it disappears forever. How about grabbing that Sprite Darter Egg from Feralas? The Horde just farm it as a drop, but why take chances? With all of Azeroth getting a facelift, Blizzard is probably going to change mobs and their drops, as well. Horde hunters might want to get that one last chance to tame Echeyakee or Sian-Rotam before the opportunity is gone forever. Quests will surely change, but I suspect rare mobs will be moved or disappear completely, too. I don't think Blizzard is holding anything sacred, which means we're running out of time to grab our souvenirs from vanilla. Quick, what will you be grabbing before it's gone?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Inaraserra Jun 29th 2010 8:06AM
I'm not sure if Dartol's Rod of Transformation will stay though - its been forever since I picked it up, but from what I remember, this wasn't a quest reward - it was a quest item?
If they remove that quest altogether, wouldn't the rod disappear aswell?
Imnick Jun 29th 2010 8:12AM
This keeps coming up but I don't blame you for not knowing.
The quest was changed so that you keep the rod afterwards, as so many people were keeping the quest in their logs just so that they could keep the rod too.
Inaraserra Jun 29th 2010 8:18AM
Sweet, Thanks!
Time to go back to ashenvale then :)
Netherscourge Jun 29th 2010 8:50AM
This presents a major problem for Hunters.
If you collect Spirit Beasts and you use a Wolf to Raid with, then you're SOL as far as taming Vanilla WoW Rares because you don't have any open SLOTS!
You got 5 slots at the moment. 4 of them are most likely filled with Arcturis/Loque/Skoll/Gondria - the 4 Spirit Beasts.
Your 5th slot is most likely your raiding pet slot - and most likely it's a wolf of some sort.
So if you want to go back to get any of the old-world beasts, you have to sacrifice your "utility" pet.
Stinks - I wish Blizzard would have given us more Stable Slots in the last patch to give us some space to play with.
Luci Jun 29th 2010 9:22AM
@Netherscourge
Yeah that's why I only picked up one spirit beast. I've been anticipating this and made sure I kept some of the more rare of my favorites. I've got Humar, the Ghost Saber, and now I guess I'll go get Echeyakee.
Ringo Flinthammer Jun 29th 2010 11:57AM
You don't need to worry about Humar. After him being rare for years, they inexplicably made a predictable every-5-minutes black lion spawn in Sholazar Basin.
Grovinofdarkhour Jun 29th 2010 12:08PM
I've got Smuckers, the cat I first trained at level 10 before even leaving Teldrassil, way back when I first picked up the game in '07. Semi-retired, but he ain't going anywhere.
I've got Pete, my raiding wolf. He ain't going anywhere.
I've got Leatherhead, the rare croc from the Stormwind canals that my wife alerted me to when he was available. Sort of a gift from her. Now also my "extreme soloing" pet. Not going anywhere.
Just tamed a nameless hyena for an upcoming foray into PVP. This little phase probably won't last long (they never do) but I do need an appropriate pet for it. Not going anywhere, yet.
This leaves me one slot for an "exotic" pet. If any of them might disappear from the wild at any time, which one(s) are the most raid-viable, or worthy of preservation for other reasons?
dragon_eel Jun 29th 2010 12:32PM
"The quest was changed so that you keep the rod afterwards, as so many people were keeping the quest in their logs just so that they could keep the rod too."
What of the people who already have done the quest before this was enabled?
wcmavity Jun 29th 2010 8:08AM
I think flat out removing monster models is unlikely. The mobs as we know them may disapear or change but I don't think hunters have that much to worry about; this topic comes as a bit over the top. Sprite Darter Eggs could vanish but that would make the pet acheivement (even though it is just slightly) more difficult and with Blizzard's recent trends of wanting to make people stay and the game be less punishing that seems unlikely.
Anyway, interesting possibilities, but I hope that last paragraph of this is over reaction and will only happen in some bizaro universe.
Zuckerdachs Jun 29th 2010 8:48AM
I doubt difficulty of attaining the pet achievement without the Sprite Darter will be an issue. There are MANY more than 100 pets now and it's not really hard anymore. =)
Killik Jun 29th 2010 1:30PM
I doubt Blizzard is going to shy away from reusing old mob skins.
Gath Jun 29th 2010 8:12AM
I would love to grab a drake flyer from Oracle Mysterious eggs, but one of my ally 80 DK's has had over a hundred of those eggs and it never dropped once.
Dreamstorm Jun 29th 2010 8:22AM
Northrend quests will not be affected, so you can still get those after 4.0
nate Jun 29th 2010 1:26PM
Over a hundred, you say?
Seeing as they are on a 7 day cooldown, that would mean you have been revered with The Oracles for at least 700 days.
Wrath of the Lich King was released less than 700 days ago (Nov 13, 2008) so its impossible to have had "over 100" of them.
Felix_NZ Jun 29th 2010 5:13PM
MATHPWN'D!
Arizor Jun 29th 2010 8:11AM
Y'know I always wanted to get that robo-chicken pet (http://www.wowhead.com/quest=3721) but Im just loathe to remember which zones Ive already done the escorts in, while levelling in the BC era.
How would I know if the OOX was just elusive and refusing to drop, or that Id completed it and Im wasting my time...
kv83 Jun 29th 2010 8:32AM
You can use the addon EveryQuest to look up which quests you already done in a specific zone. Just go to that zone and if it still says that you have to do the Distract Beacon-questline for that zone :)
Sleutel Jun 29th 2010 8:38AM
QuestHelper also has an option to tell you which quests you've completed. Also, if you're willing to wait through the queues, if you open a ticket, a GM will tell you which parts you've completed.
monkeyhouse Jun 29th 2010 8:49AM
you can also ask a GM - i have had to ask on 2 toons and they have been very helpful. also it looks like the drop rate has increased - or maybe for once the random number generator cam up for me.
Rob Jun 29th 2010 9:26AM
The drop rate on those is extremely high, so chances are you already did it. Also the escort quests have all been changed, no more do you walk accross the entire zone. Now its just a few steps, and walaa. This was a very pleasant surprise for me, and i recommend everyone do those quests while leveling now. The XP reward is really good for the level.