Posts with tag hellfire peninsula

Reader Dekulink sends in a lovely image of a terrible spot. We're looking out over the Pools of Aggonar, right above Aggonar's bones. But in the foreground of this troublesome scene is the the lovely golden glow of the herb Dreaming Glory, which maintains its brilliance despite the dreary surroundings.

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

Reader Drakid of Arygos sends us this very pastel image of Blood Furnace, one of the wings of Hellfire Citadel in Hellfire Peninsula. With a name like "Blood Furnace," you'd really expect something more ominous than these pastel pinks and blues, though I doubt the choice of colors makes the monsters inside any friendlier.

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

Reader Paul sends in this nice areal shot of the corpse of Aggonar located in the Pools of Aggonar in Hellfire Peninsula. When the Pit Lord Aggonar died here, his demonic aura quickly corrupted the pools, which were once a sacred site to the Draenei.

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

The world PVP objectives were a nice addition in the Burning Crusade. Capturing objectives in Nagrand, Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh and Terokkar Forest provided minor buffs to everyone in the zone, as well as exchangable tokens for the capturers.

Yet today, at least on Magtheridon, barely anyone actually does the world PVP objectives. What went wrong? As best I can figure:

1. The rewards aren't good enough, at least for sustaining competition. As one of my guildies put it, "Woo, you get a graveyard in a zone you probably aren't doing anything in, or some marks for items that you don't care about."
2. Unless you're doing SSC and can afford to station a couple people outside to keep the graveyard, most level 70s aren't in the areas affected by world PVP, and thus have nothing to gain from the zone-wide buffs.
3. In a lot of cases, it's easier to get rewards simply by letting the opposing faction capture the towers/city/arena or what have you rather than actually holding the thing. "So you captured Halaa? Great! Now quick, lose it so we can take it back!"
4. Dedicated PVPers are probably spending all their time on arena teams, rather than farming in Outlands.
5. And, last but not least, that one level 70 in a guild with a name like "Huge PVPness" who spends hours in HFP or Zangarmarsh, constantly camping all of the objectives and pyroblasting anyone who comes near. Amazingly enough, no matter which faction you are on, this guy will always be on the other side and you will never have any 70s of your own to rescue you.

Other than increasing the rewards to attract more people and/or tying world PVP objectives into honor and arena points, I can't think of many ways to fix the world PVP situations. Currently on my server, there's little to no town raids and organized world PVP -- "world PVP" consists of ganking and the occasional hunter on roofs.

How is the state of world PVP on your server? Can you think of anything to make the world objectives more attractive?

As I've said many times before, I'm not particularly good at PvP. This is primarily because I generally don't ever take PvP quests, and I avoid the battlegrounds for the most part. But the other night while running around on an alt, I ran across the PvP quest I'd skipped on my main to capture the three posts in Hellfire Peninsula. Since it was 2 AM server time, I figured what the hell (no pun intended) and took the quest. Hellfire seems to be deserted on most days with everyone playing World of Motecraft lately. Surely 2 AM had to be even better for my chances to capture the towers and get away without any trouble! So, I accepted the quest, jumped on my trusty kodo, and hauled my Druid butt out to the first objective.

Sure enough. As expected, nobody was around. The Alliance had the flags, so I dropped off my kodo and flagged so that I could "recapture" the Stadium. After waiting a few minutes... *whoosh!* Horde had control! Hooray! Still cautious, I jumped back on my kodo and beelined for The Overlook. Waited a few minutes, and *whoosh!* The second objective had come under Horde control as well! Woot!

Still flagged, I hopped back on my kodo and headed for Broken Hill. Almost as soon as I got there, two level 70 Alliance players flew by on their birds. As my Druid is currently level 63, I knew no amount of bear tank weardown would save my noob PvP self from the beatdown they would undoubtedly soon be coming to administer. Nervous, I slid off my kodo and surveyed the area. Good. Nobody else around. Maybe I could finish and get back to Thrallmar! But just as the flag slider on the bar was about to go into the grey area between Alliance and Horde control, the two Alliance players landed and started towards me. They were unflagged, and talking between themselves in that strange Common language. I mentally prepared myself with the certain knowledge that I was about to become a rug...

Reader Eccentricity sends in this amazing overview shot of the throne of Kil'jaeden in Hellfire Peninsula. The area is really only supposed to be accessible by flying mount, but intrepid explorer Eccentricity managed to reach this cliff-top vantage point at level 62. If you decide to take time to visit this scenic spot yourself, beware -- usually you'll find Doom Lord Kazzak waiting here, and neither he nor his minions are particularly fond of visitors.

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.

See more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

This isn't the first shot I've seen of a low level player running around Outland (no, players can't go through the Dark Portal before level 58, but they can be summoned by a warlock or ported by a mage at any level), but I think it may be one of the most amusing. Reader Nirun sends in this shot of an amusingly named level one warrior running around -- not in Shattrath City but outside Hellfire Citadel itself! And to the burning question of, "Is there really any place in Hellfire Peninsula a level one player can stand without aggroing half the zone?" The answer, apparently, is yes!

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.

See more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

I know what you're thinking -- by the time you first entered the Dark Portal you'd already seen enough pictures of the Outland sky that it was getting a bit old. And shortly after that what looked so amazing in those first screenshots became as ordinary and boring as old Azeroth. So why, oh why, am I posting yet another Hellfire Peninsula sky shot (YAHPSS)? Well, I think this is a nice one -- highlighting not only Hellfire's distinctive sky but also the thorny brambles the local ravagers hide in and, in the distance, the massive mushrooms of Zangarmarsh. And I don't care what anyone says -- giant mushrooms are just cool. Thanks to Siana from Doomhammer for sending this one in!

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.

See more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

Over at Curmudgeon Gamer there's some speculation that the zone Hellfire Peninsula is meant to be Blizzard's commentary on the Iraq war. And Blizzard is certainly known for making in-game references to pop culture; why in Outland alone you can find Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Monty Python, Snakes on a Plane (literally!), Star Trek, and Dune, just to name a handful. But usually they restrict themselves to to humor -- their goal, after all, is to entertain, and making you stop and laugh (come on, did anyone not lol at the "Voidwalkers Gone Wild" quest?) is just part of the job.

So is Blizzard really making Iraq war references here? Curmudgeon Gamer makes note of the invading army (us: the denizens of Azeroth), the plumes of fire coming out of the ground (oil refinery fires, anyone?), and the Zeth'Gor Must Burn quest which requires you to mark towers in Zeth'Gor for later bombing runs. And then there's this bit of NPC chatter:

Marshal Isildor says: Do you think that demons will play fair? These beasts are more savage than orcs and more cunning than the undead.
Marshal Isildor says: How many more soldiers need to die before we start paying attention out there?

While I see his points, I'm not so certain the zone is meant to be a specific reference to the Iraq war as opposed to trying to catch the feel of a front-line war zone in general. With the Iraq war being the current event of the day, a connection stands out -- but I wonder if the political climate were different would we just connect Hellfire Peninsula to the most recent conflict?

Well duh, it's in your bags, of course. But more importantly: where's it set?

We've covered this one before, but that was before we had a whole other continent full of inns and towns to bind ourselves to. While I used to be bound to Grom'Gol, I went ahead and switched my stone to Thrallmar (right across from Honor Hold for you Alliance) for easy access, as well as a quick exit back into Outland after I finish training (since there's no trainers in Outland).

But as soon as I hit 62 or so, I figure I'll have outgrown the good ol' HP (Hellfire Peninsula, to those of you still in Azeroth). So where to? If you've made your way into the mid 60s, where's your stone set? And if you beta players have insights for us too, have at it.

[ Thanks, Tim, for the suggestion! ]

Following up on yesterday's post lamenting Hellfire Peninsula chat, I thought it might be helpful to make a FAQ for each of the three starting zones: Hellfire Peninsula, Azuremyst Island, and Eversong Woods. I'll start with HFP, but look for baby zone FAQs soon. I only have experience on the Alliance side of things. However, if you want to contribute Horde FAQs (or any other FAQs) in the comments, please do, and I'll update the post accordingly.

Update: added two more Horde questions.
Update: more stuff for both factions

For both factions:

• Where's the bank? Shattrath City.
• Shat-huh? Follow the road south out of HFP and into Terokkar Forest, then follow the road west.
  
• OK, how about the auction house? No AH in Outlands, I'm afraid. Blizz stated that they didn't want Azeroth to become too deserted, so they made it so that you have to go back to the old cities to use the AH.
• Where do I find Dreadcallers? The same place as the other demons for that quest; they just have a bad spawn rate. Be sure to kill the other demons too, since they're on the same spawn table. [thanks, Roger]
• Isn't there an easier way to get back to the old cities? I'm glad you asked! Yes, there is. There are free portals to all capitals from Shattrath, right in the middle of the city with the Maia Archon Naaru. No portals back to Shattrath though. [thanks, Tom]
  

Stepping into Hellfire Peninsula is like deja noob all over again. You don't know where you're going and what you're going to do when you get there. Where are the trainers? How do I find the flight master? Dear God, what just smushed me? It's an exciting and exhilarating time, but it makes the general chat a really, really annoying place, full of year-old memes and mispelled swear words.

Here, from the home office in Thrallmar, we present the Top Ten Questions Asked Every Five Minutes In Hellfire Peninsula General Chat:

1. Where's the first aid trainer?
2. Where do I go to learn jewelcrafting?
3. Is there a bank out here?
4. Where is Mankirk's wife? (Yes, it was funny the first time. But NOT AFTER THAT.)
5. What should I use, (item that the person forgot you can't link in general) or (other item that the person forgot you can't link in general)?
6. So is there a way out of here or what?
7. How do I do (quest that is easily completed if you read the quest text)?
8. Where is Arelion's satchel?
9. Is this Portal Disruptor thing broken or what?
10. Where is the Assassin?

So many Hordies ask where the Assassin is that there should just be a great big arrow in the sky pointing to him.

It's tempting to leave general chat, but then you'd miss the actual important messages like "LFM Cruel's Intentions" and "Fel reaver at 33, 43!" So I guess I'll be putting up with the questions for the time being.

What things are you already sick of hearing in general chat?

I'm sure we're all familiar with the elite quests scattered throughout Azeroth. Or if not familiar with the particulars of each and every one of them, at least aware that there exists such a thing as quests that are flagged "elite" that involve killing more powerful "elite" monsters. Well, in the Burning Crusade you won't be seeing any of those. And, no it's not because Blizzard has decided to remove elites from the game. Instead, Blizzard has dropped the "elite" flag from quests and replaced it with a "group" flag, which I first noticed when questing on my new level 12 Blood Elf. Curious about the above Anok'suten quest, I located a partner and headed out to complete it immediately -- in the end it involved killing a single level 11 elite, surrounded by non-elites of around the same level. I might have been able to solo it -- but the suggested players hint is appreciated.

And this trend continues into Outland -- only the elites are a bit bigger.