Around Azeroth Beta Edition: Love among the ruins
Is it just me, or is the forthcoming cataclysm specifically targeting the most annoying zones to level in? Just in this column, we've featured changes to The Barrens, Stranglethorn Vale, and now Desolace. Amatil of <Back from Exile> on Nathrezim (US-H) sent in this screenshot of the formerly underwater ruins off the coast of Desolace, now risen and exposed to the open air. Hopefully all the naga that would never drop that stupid quest key migrated elsewhere.
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Filed under: Around Azeroth







Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
traptinacivicsi Aug 27th 2010 12:38AM
So is that with water on lowest settings? The old style of making grid pattens at far angles caught my eye right away :P
niko Aug 27th 2010 10:28AM
yeah, it looks like it. There are three water settings in beta right now, this one appears to be the lowest/current live version.
niko Aug 27th 2010 10:32AM
I should also mention that Cata beta has shown to be more demanding of the machine than live... i've had to scale down settings that previously I was able to rock np... water was the first to go, sadly.
I need to get the Mrs. to sign onto the "need a new computer for cata" bill. Vote YES this November!
Jormund Fenris Aug 27th 2010 10:06AM
Am I the only one who liked Desolace? D:
Nina Katarina Aug 27th 2010 10:07AM
Yes.
Caz Aug 27th 2010 10:21AM
No. But then, there are people who like The Barrens - so don't worry yourself about it.
matt Aug 27th 2010 10:23AM
not the only one, its not really that bad for alliance, you make like 3 big circuits around the zone and you are done. Once you figure out how to optimize the circuits its is a really great zone in terms of XP/hr. I suspect a lot of the hatred comes from folks who had to do it on foot /shudder.
and is ugly.
paragorillabear Aug 27th 2010 3:06PM
Desolace is one of my favorite zones. I know, I know, call me crazy.
I'm also the guy who was raving about Azshara yesterday.
Is Desolace ugly? Sure, I guess so. But it's so distinctive in its look, far different from any other zone. I always thought it looked like the surface of the Moon, and then I'd come across one of those muddy ponds (great color there!) and think, "Wow, there's water on the moon!"
Speaking of the moon, there's nothing quite like a moon-rise or moon-set (can't remember which way our moon goes) off the shores of Desolace -- hauntingly beautiful; I'll see if I can drum up my old screenshot.
Having recently visited Desolace for the first time as Alliance, I can understand how it sucks -- there's no damn quests it seems!
But with almost every one of the Horde characters, I've done the Demon quest chain and the Naga quest chain (there's one point where they overlap). Killer experience if you do them as orange or red quests, plus I find the "coral reef" and sunken ruins to be quite stimulating, not to mention underwater adventuring is always a challenge.
And there's also that really awesome Shield as a quest reward, the one that looks like a ship's helm -- I'd like to link it, but not sure how to do that -- can someone help out here?
Bottom line, as with Azshara, I LOVE Desolace -- am curious about the changes but will be sad to see the old one go.
Oh yeah, and one more thing to mention: the density of random monsters and near lack of "safe" roads make this one of the most challenging zones at 30 -- frustrating, but a great way to learn.
Oh yeah, and the mining is good too (and competition is slim).
RedMosquito Aug 27th 2010 4:18PM
I kinda liked Desolace. Kinda. Sorta.
But then again, I liked Darkshore.
Firestyle Aug 27th 2010 10:14AM
I liked STV. I leveled my shaman there almost exclusively from 28-40. I snagged an epic shield off the AH and went to town beating whatever I came across, whatever level, with my mace. It's the only zone I could spend 8-12 levels in without really having to leave.
RedMosquito Aug 27th 2010 4:19PM
I loved STV. I can't think of a single one of my characters (except for my DK, of course) that didn't level there, Horde or Alliance.
sephirah Aug 27th 2010 10:18AM
Ugh! The sea texture tiling looks horrible!
Cephas Aug 27th 2010 10:50AM
It's the old (current) water.
Rezekiel Aug 27th 2010 10:23AM
"Love Among The Ruins" - is this a play on the the title of the Walker Percy novel?
If so, kudos to you Bub, that is a great book.
Feldring Aug 27th 2010 11:31AM
That was my first thought too, Rezekiel; I certainly hope the title is in reference to the novel. Astounding book when you're ready for it. I very seriously credit reading Walker Percy books over one summer with saving my life. :)
So do we have some other "Southern Gothic" literature fans among us?
shkss Aug 27th 2010 10:46AM
erm...I don't think this is a beta screenshot. I'm pretty sure these particular ruins are already at sea level in game.
shkss Aug 27th 2010 10:59AM
Ok, I stand corrected, this is a Beta screenshot. The water fooled me, that and there are already some ruins at sea level, just not these particular ones :)
Cephas Aug 27th 2010 10:56AM
Ok guys, seriously, if you're going to submit a Beta screenshot with water in it, get your water settings off of the lowest setting. You don't need to have a good framerate while you take your screenshot, because you're only going to capture one frame anyway!
N-train Aug 27th 2010 11:19AM
Firstly, my friend who is in the beta says there's about 20,000 graphics bugs (like crash the client bugs), and that often he has to turn his graphics settings way down to avoid crashes, despite his rather nice computer.
Secondly, some people do have computers that can't handle high graphics settings at all. Imagine trying to take a good screenshot when you are at 2-3 fps, you better hope you have your shot right, cause if you move you're screwed. This may not have been a planned screenshot at all, just some guy flying over Desolace and thought "that looks neat".
TL/DR- You're getting looks at the beta without being in the beta, don't complain about the quality settings.
Also, as someone that isn't packing an alienware computer, I'm glad to see that I am not forced to use the new shiny water and that everything still looks alright without it.
Cephas Aug 27th 2010 1:21PM
Firstly, I know that there used to be some bugs that required you to turn your draw distance way down to avoid crashes, but I'm not aware of any bugs related to the new water that would crash clients.
Secondly, say you are just flying by Desolace and think, "that looks good, I want to take a screenshot of it" you can get the shot set up, then turn the graphics up, then take the shot, and then turn the graphics back down again. So what if you only have 2 fps while you're taking the screenshot? I don't think a few seconds of terrible framerate is too much to ask to make your screenshot look as good as possible.
It's not like I have some personal vendetta against people with low-end computers, mine isn't that great either. I can sympathize with people whose framerates would suffer horribly with the new water, but it's just so gorgeous that I think it's a shame whenever I see a beta screenshot with the old water.