MMORPGDot Feature: World of Warcraft Beta Journal #6
Dialogue, 2004-04-15

Early this past week I broke 20th level with Grodin, my Dwarven Warrior. I can now range almost unhindered in Elwynn Forest, Dun Morogh, Westfall, and Loch Modan. The first tier zones (1 - 10) and second tier (10 - 16) have given way to the starkly beautiful Redridge Mountains east of Elwynn, the murky depths of the trecherous Wetlands north of Dun Morogh, and the cloying darkness of Duskwood, to the south of the Elwynn. Each of these third tier maps have very particular quirks and support a variety of play styles. Blizzard has made a very wise decision in ensuring that as you level, you have more options as to which areas you can explore and what sort of play styles you have available to you. Redridge Mountains begins with a few soloable quests, very similar to the other maps, but quickly gives you objectives which almost demand that you group to complete them. Redridge is a beautiful area with deep canyons and monster-infested human strongholds. These areas are packed to the brim with level 17 and higher creatures, many of which have overlapping aggro ranges. Social creatures such as Orcs and Gnolls dominate this map. Pulling one Blackrock orc is almost always impossible. The likelyhood of a pull snagged three orcs and a summoned elemental is quite high. Redridge is not easily taken on by the rugged individualist. As long as you are with a group, there are many interesting quests here. One early quest has you diving into the lake to search for a toolbox left behind when a boat sank. Another has you killing a large, angry boar for a young woman who is tired of having her flowerbeds uprooted. Aside from Bellygrubber the pig, there are several named creature quests in RedRidge, and you'll often see people asking for partners to take on the likes of Yowler, or Thariz' Gul.

The Wetlands, the third tier zone that is easily accessible to the Dwarves, is similar to Redridge but features slightly more quests that are soloable. The Wetlands consists primarily of a large swamp that connects to the sea. The largest settlement in the Wetlands is the island town of Menethil Harbor. The island is home to a large dwarvish keep, around which the settlement of Menethil has sprung up. Quests are available a-plenty for the solo adventuerer as well as a group. Solo adventurers can retreive crocolisk skins, cull the Gnoll population, obtain Murloc skins, and retrieve a nice lady's handbag from a slime. Groups are likely to set their sights on some of the more obvious landmarks in the area, such as the saurian excavation site near the harbour, the spider infested mineral caves near the Dun Algez gate, and north near the border with Arril Highlands is the fallen city of Dun Modr, home to the dangerously mad BlackIron Dwarves. The Wastelands features a very wide array of monsters, and the level ranges (from around 19 to 30 and beyond) is sure to keep any visitors on their toes. The most entertaining visitors are the "boat" riders from across the sea. At the moment the boat that will transport passengers from Kalimdor to Azeroth is not working, but Menethil Harbour features a "Boat Captain" that will teleport you to Darkshore for free. His counterpart on the far side of the vast sea will do the same, and as Darkshore is the closest area to the Night Elf starting lands that features teleportation to Azeroth, many low level Night Elf characters make their way through the trecherous Wetlands to meet up with companions further south.

Duskwood, finally, is a map that has many quests suitable for soloing characters. It is also the genuinely creepiest place I have ever been within a Massively Multiplayer game. What was once a fertile forest has become a somewhat Lovecraftian haunt for nightmares of all shapes, sizes, and levels. Duskwood was the map where I was first affected by a "fear" effect. Watching Grodin run for his life straight into the waiting jaws of a Wurgen, without my being able to do anything about it, was very distressing. Quests here center around assisting the citizen's brigade known as "The Night Watch" These courageous volunteers patrol the paths of Duskwood, keeping the road mostly safe for travelers. The Night Watch has you battling the undead and finding supplies for the citizenry of Duskwood. As such you find yourself up against graveyard monstrosities, poisonous spiders, and large, feral wolves.

Duskwood's geography seems to have been created with the specific purpose of keeping you frightened. There is only one main path through the map, running from the village of Darkshire in the east to the abandoned hamlet of RavenHill in the west. This path is up on a ridge, so leaving the path involves moving downwards into the tree-shaded darkness. Off the trail, things lurk in the shadows, waiting for you. And on the trail... During the Beta, Blizzard has apparently decided to keep Duskwood-located characters on their toes. Back in the days before Beta you may recall a Computer Gaming World preview of World of Warcraft in which they mentioned a quest that resulted in the loosing of a hideous beast on a small village. Well, the village is Darkshire, the map is Duskwood, and the abomination is called "Stitches". Stitches, the "Gift of the Embalmer", spawns at fairly regular intervals on the path between Darkshire and RavenHill. The Embalmer's gift is a very large sack of organs barely held together with string and magic. He has three arms, and weilds deadly implements in all three. He is level 35+ and there is no NPC guard on the map that can face him and live. He regularly slays a quest giving NPC near the center of the map, and his path always leads him back to Darkshire. Once he reaches the village, all hell breaks loose as every villager within shouting distance of the Town Crier swarms him, attempting to destroy him. These NPCs, of course, have no chance without us Heroes. The NPCs and PCs regularly band together when Stitches comes to town, and his massive carcass is a frequent feature of the Darkshire town square.

I hope you've enjoyed my little tour of the third tier maps. Next week I'll have a bunch of new info for you regarding the new push, and.....what? What's that? Oh, you want to know what that circle of mountains in the middle of Duskwood contains. Well, that's easy. Within that circle (known as the Twilight Grove) lies an incomplete magical gateway of Night Elf construction. See you next week!

Past Journals -

• Beta Journal Entry #1
• Beta Journal Entry #2
• Beta Journal Entry #3
• Beta Journal Entry #4
• Beta Journal Entry #5