Breakfast Topic: Getting a certain achievement down
by Rich Ostorero 
May 18th 2011 at 8:00AM
Whatever goes up must come down, right?
That isn't always the case in WoW. Between islands in the sky in Outland, a floating city in Northrend, and many other places from which to fall to your doom, WoW has many manifestations of gravity and its effects on your character. In the realm of gravity-based achievements, there is Going Down.
Most achievements offer just one way to earn them; either you have killed the Lich King, gone Insane In The Membrane, or killed enough turkeys, or you have not. There is just one way to get each of those achievements. But of all the achievements available in WoW, few have as many ways to earn it as Going Down.
Just survive a 60-foot fall.
I have earned this achievement many different ways. I have: dismounted with a mage and Ice Blocked before hitting the ground; dropped off a flying mount while drunk during Brewfest; attacked and been dismounted in flight by an Frostbrood drake; taken a running, mounted leap off the ledge in Stormwind Harbor.
Of course, there are always the laugh-about-them-later mistakes made before falling, like the time my shaman plunged into Stormwind Harbor for the lobster-gathering daily quest after dismissing from my flying mount ... only to forget that I'd cast Water Walking on myself. Or the time my DK had Path of Frost on during the long plunge into the pond before in AN. TPK.
What is the strangest way you have earned the achievement Going Down? What is the strangest thing to happen to you while falling down?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
MattKrotzer May 18th 2011 8:04AM
I'd always just used the Scryer Tier in Shattrath.
Jestin May 18th 2011 8:37AM
For people who don't have it yet... it's not "creative" per se, but you get it automatically when flying to Al'Akir's platform when the Conclave is down. Made me chuckle when I saw it, more because I couldn't believe I hadn't gotten it yet.
Shinae May 18th 2011 9:52AM
The Scryers' Tier is how I got it, too, again and again throughout my older alts. How boring. After reading all the ways in which people got the achievement accidentally, I am not going to intentionally try for it any more. I'd rather be surprised.
MattKrotzer May 18th 2011 9:58AM
On the three characters for whom I've use the Scryer's Tier, all of them took place during BC, when really, that was the only reliable option for it. In Wrath and Cata, there's been a lot of growth vertically in the game, which has expanded the options immensely.
Hob May 18th 2011 10:24AM
The first character of mine to get it was a paladin. He fell off the Aldor Rise and just before the *splat* (which happened many times on my death knight), I remembered to bubble. Bing! Got the achievement.
My next character fell off the top of Utgarde Keep while looking for the instance entrance (this was pre-Dungeon Finder, pre-flying in Northrend at 68). Being a rogue, he survived the fall but just barely. Someone in the group, seeing only that my health had gone from 100% to 2%, asked, "Where are they?" I thought that was a very nice gesture.
Kaorael May 18th 2011 2:27PM
Have you tried going down the whirlpool in Darkshore? You get it as soon as you touch the ground, and a level 10-12 can get there easily for Alliance.
Spider May 18th 2011 3:17PM
All of my alts seem to get it when I jump off the Zeppelin arriving to UC.
thedoctor2031 May 18th 2011 5:00PM
I also got it off of the Scryer Elevator. I must say it is a lot more fun as Aldor though =P.
Naina May 18th 2011 8:07AM
Spent all day leveling my druid alt when I jumped off the top of Stormwind Castle. On my shaman. Whoopsie...
Rikansolusar May 18th 2011 11:31AM
This happens to me an embarrassing amount. My main is a druid and the vast majority of my alts are taurens, so it's easy to slip up. It also doesn't help that all of his shifter forms are key bound, so I don't even have to think about it usually.
Except when I take a flying leap off a docking zeppelin on one of my many alts and they plummet to their death. That half second of "Why isn't shift+q making me a birdy?" followed immediately by "aw damn."
Andrew R. May 18th 2011 8:12AM
Engineering. During Wrath while doing my Argent Tourney dailies I saw a group of horde coming at me. I hit my rocket boots and was sent into the air. No sweat, I'll just use my parachute and try to put up a fight.
First rule of engineering. When you NEED the profession to work it will ALWAYS FAIL. I hit my parachute key and was rocketed into the ground. The horde all stood there while I released. I come back to my body and was cheered by the group. And yes I still have engineering.
thinkuknowme May 18th 2011 8:13AM
Got "Going Down" after disengaging off the bridge in Alterac Valley on my hunter.
MrJackSauce May 18th 2011 8:14AM
I fell off the side of Hellfire Peninsula. I hit a glitch or whatever and all of a sudden my HP was at 2% and I had the achievement... While still falling...
davebooth1 May 18th 2011 8:16AM
Not strange, but, a very big (defeat the object of the achievement) surprise...
I recently got this from simply getting shot from the cannon doing the 'In With a Bang' quest in the Swamp of Sorrows
Kurtis May 18th 2011 9:14AM
Yep, got it on an alt a couple weeks ago on the same quest.
WoogieNoogie May 18th 2011 11:35AM
That's what I was gonna say. I got it, then said in g chat "...what the hell?"
Boven May 18th 2011 8:17AM
The only time I can recall getting the achievement unintentionally was when was mounted and on autorun in the barrens and not paying attention to the screen. I went off a cliff.
Since Cata, though, all my Horde alts have gotten it without having to even try. You get it automatically during the Samophlange quest chain in the Northern Barrens.
Samutz May 18th 2011 8:24AM
I got it on an alt from that NB quest too. There's also a quest in Swamp of Sorrows that gets you the achievement after being fired out of a canon. I think there was at least one other quest that gave it to another alt.
Lweydd May 18th 2011 9:37AM
^this
Got it on my priest when I afk'd to make some coffee... and forgot she was still running. Then I got slaughtered by some Alliance guards.
On my main, I just jumped from undercity sewers. Then, like two weeks later, I forgot I already had it and jumped again. Fun times.
Brainded May 18th 2011 9:40AM
I always chuckle at the Samophlange chain. I loved taking my Holy Cow through there, getting ported 60' above Mor'Shan Rampart and having the goblin freak out, running around in circles yelling, "Help! It's raining Tauren!"