Around Azeroth: Sea of hate
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Jan 12th 2011 at 10:00AM
Calaf and Shofie, you will both be receiving bills from my therapist. Any zone where you get attacked from above by a contingent of six angry eels is not my idea of a good time, especially when everything suddenly has 30,000 HP and the starter quests don't gear you up nearly as well as in previous expansions. At least it's better than the Zelda water temples. Readers, what do you think of Vashj'ir? Fun or fearsome?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Chan Jan 12th 2011 10:03AM
Best. Zone. Ever.
Chris Jan 12th 2011 5:06PM
Beautiful but if you do it all it takes too long and levels you up too quickly in my opinion. Don't get me wrong I have plenty of alts to level through the new content, however 80-85 felt WAY too fast and left me feeling like I missed entire zones (never set foot in Hyjal). I left Vash at almost 83 when I started at 80!
Maybe this new rate of advancement is to keep new zones fresh for alts like I said, but still I had to try to pick and choose quests to do in subsequent zones so I had a chance to see storyline quests at level.
Still it was fun, but not nearly as much as Uldum and questing with the great Harrison Jones!
Leethax Jan 12th 2011 10:06AM
I liked Vash'jir on my warlock, who was geared enough from WotLK to be able to stand a chance against 6 eels ambushing you.
On the other hand, on my warrior, who was not nearly as geared, I failed quite miserably. I decided to just get my seahorse, find Throne of the Tides and leave on him.
The biggest problem I had with it is that I'm not used to playing WoW in three dimensions and it really trips me up when I aggro things that I never saw coming.
Hidendragon Jan 12th 2011 11:42AM
Let me just start off with a comment that I think all readers should take into account when reviewing this thread. Blizzard have not spend all this time and effort developing these area’s with the intention in mind for players to just rocket through them so they can lvl cap and start end game content. I too am guilty of just wanting to hit lvl cap as fast as I can, but this content is supposed to give a gaming experience. I have members of my guild that went through the new zones on day one of the expansion, lvl capping in under 24hrs and then doing guild run after run. They cannot even remember what they did in these zones, let alone what they look like or anything like that. Lvling is a major part of the game, not just a necessity needed to run the end game content.
Now to my comments -
I have to disagree
When I started to lvl my Warrior I went to discover ToT and though as ive gone through the ridiculously long winded journey to get here I may as well get my sea horse mount, which also opens up the portal in SW to get back there easily enough (no idea when this actually happens I just know its there by the time you get your mount)
As a Fury Warrior raid spect I found this content a grind, but not difficult, especially before you get the buff, man did it take forever to get anywhere. I had my occasions where I aggrod multiple mobs and found despite the crappy rotation we have atm resulting in, for me, a major drop in DPS I was still able 9/10 times survive.
As mentioned further down, the gear rewards are however not much of an upgrade compared to MTH so I bounced.
On my main ICC25HC spect druid tho I found there is two sides to this argument. Yes I was managing to find nice spots and range pull and nuke a lot more and I was downing them very fast etc, but at the same time I found myself in far more situation where I was pulling multiple mobs as I was staying in multiple aggro zones to attack at range, as apposed to being in a single or only maybe 2 aggro zones. If I wasn’t running this zone so highly geared I feel this would have ended with me being facerolled by trash regularly.
I think this is just down to personal playing styles. I personally though this was a fantastic use of 3d zoning and gave a whole new experience to the rest of the content and felt “new” as apposed to just running the same old things in visually different places.
That takes me on to visuals, this place is out of this world in this department. The scenery, detail and animations left be in aawwwww, I was really blown away by it. The quest lines have a really nice flow to it and allow you to experience all the zone has to offer.
To those who have found this area difficult at lower levels I highly suggest returning when u are lvl 85 and experience this place.
JaimeRavenholdt Jan 12th 2011 10:07AM
My favorite zone in Cata.
Icehouse Jan 12th 2011 10:09AM
Such a unique zone. The questline really moves you through everything. I especially loved the visions quest where you get to play as a Naga.
Scomparsa Jan 12th 2011 10:09AM
Vashj'ir on a ranged character is fantastic. Melee, notsomuch. I leveled my warrior through there and am running my mage there now and on my warrior it was a grind, on my Mage it's a BLAST!
My rogue (now 85) went through Hyjal, and I must say it's the way to go as a melee class.
Viruzzz Jan 12th 2011 10:13AM
You need better awareness of your surroundings. I never had trouble with mobs above or below me.
Gossamer Jan 12th 2011 10:19AM
It's a very pretty zone with some fun quests, but I did the zone on my hunter first. Yeah...
Tricia Jan 12th 2011 10:26AM
I liked Vash'jir personally. I had difficulty navigating in a few areas but overall it was a truly breathtaking zone to work through, and I -loved- the naga lore.
ManicBlowfish Jan 12th 2011 10:26AM
Same boat here. I had 4 80's in Wotlk but decided to level a worgen druid instead of one of these guys. Just got to Vash'jir yesterday, and was surprised to find my 3 hit rotation barely dented the mobs. I didn't die much but definitely would have on a toon without the awesome survivability of a druid. I think it's an awesome zone but can see how it would be frustrating coming in with a fresh 80 on certain classes.
Lipsin Jan 12th 2011 10:32AM
I loved Vash'jir on my Priest, who was in a mix of ICC gear. It didn't go as well on my DK who was in Wrath quest gear. I think the trouble with Vash'jir for lesser geared toons is high population of mobs that are waiting for you in multiple directions amking it easy to aggro more things than you can handle. There is also not much in the way of an escape plan there. Since there are no real paths running from a mob tends to just aggro more things to you unlike Hujal where you can run until the tether pulls mobs back to their original position while you rest and try again.
All in all, I love Vash'jir. Best zone ever.
eli laury Jan 12th 2011 10:33AM
effing hated that zone, so hard to navigate the terrain and random people attacking you not only form behind but also on top of you or under you.
only reason i go to it is for the mount
Tayacan Jan 12th 2011 10:41AM
I didn't really mind it when playing through it as warrior - it's a beautiful zone. Found some of the quests kinda buggy, though... Anyways, it gets a lot easier if you stick close to the bottom whenever you can - that way there are.. fewer.. mobs that attacks you from above.
Wolfshanze Jan 12th 2011 10:41AM
Vash'jir?
It's the gaming world's version of Kevin Kostner's Waterworld. Too long, overbudget, and boring.
Seems like with all media in life, there must be a "water zone"... doesn't mean it's a good thing... I hate water zones, water movies, water this, water that... just cuz you can, doesn't mean you should. Vash'jir? I can (and do) live without.
Maybe i'm old fashioned... like Khan in Star Trek II... intelligent perhaps, but my playstyle is two-dimensional thinking... I don't like being attacked front, back, up, down and all around.
The best think about Cat, like WotLK, you have two starter zones, and if you like (like me), you can choose one over the other... all four of my 80s went straight to Vash'jir, did the starter quests to get the mount, unlocked Throne of Tides, then immediately (without passing GO or collecting $200), moved on to Hyjal and never looked back. I've only been back to Vash'jir to visit the Earthen Ring QM (which thankfully I can get rep from Deepholm and tabard the rest in dungeons).
Japith Jan 12th 2011 10:46AM
Having never been a fan of Disney's The Little Mermaid, I immediately hated the zone and still don't like going there. I'll take my leveling toons to Hijal every time.
mattmellish Jan 12th 2011 10:51AM
I loved Vash'jir. Compelling quests from the very start to the finish, great atmosphere that makes you feel really alone at times in the crushing depths with deadly attack immanent. levelled a rogue, Dk and shaman through that zone simply because of how easy and fast paced it was. I can sorta see how some people would be frustrated but as long as you watch where you are and whats around you it's a breeze :)
Caz Jan 12th 2011 10:48AM
I liked Vashj'ir at the start. I didn't have any issues with situational awareness or problems coping with the vertical combat aspects. But.....right around the time I started the battlemaiden quests I was just sick of the place. The guy above who said "too long, overbudget and boring" was spot on - that's exactly how I feel about it, with a touch of claustrophobia added in as well. I'll probably skip it if I ever get an alt past level 30.
Sir Broose Jan 12th 2011 10:48AM
I have to agree with the frustration of learning to work in 3 dimensions regarding aggro, but once I got my head around that, I loved it. My Warrior was ICC 25 geared, which I suppose helped a lot. I often found myself fighting more mobs than I bargained for but I don't know if I died more than once or twice the entire time. The new fury self healing talents made an enormous difference (not that that has anything to do with the zone, I suppose). Eventually, I learned how to look around -- ALL around -- for possible danger, and it wasn't so bad.
One other frustration I found was the difficulty in finding the quest zones. It is easy to lose your bearings down there, and when you are looking for a cave, and there are no paths to lead you there, and it could be anywhere above or below you, that can make it a lot tougher.
I have to say, though, I really enjoyed the uniqueness and beauty of Vashj'ir and the challenge of learning the geometry of 3D. The Naga role-play was also cool. All-in-all one of my favorite zones ever.
Minos Jan 12th 2011 12:47PM
There's one form of sea life that only grows outside the entrances to the quest hub caves. It looks like a blue tube with a big yellow siphon sticking out of it. Once I figured that out, it was much easier to find my way home. I just wish I knew what they were called.