Here we are, a couple weeks in to the pre-patch experience for Shadowlands. Here are just a few of my random thoughts:
1 – Not gameplay related, but I really like the login screen for the expansion. Wrath of the Lich King was one of my favorite expansions because of the lore and all, and Icecrown Citadel was just amazing to see once it finally dropped. Watching the intro movie and seeing the Shadowlands open up was amazing. To be reminded of that every time we log in is very powerful, at least to me.
2 – Also not gameplay related, but I really enjoy the soundtrack so far. For as long as I have been playing WoW (including the many breaks that I have taken), the one thing that I have loved the whole time is the soundtrack.
3 – The leveling process up to 50 is kind of confusing, at least to me. I currently have 3 characters that are at 50, with several others ranging from 25 to 40-ish. I am sure that there is a leveling guide somewhere already, but that would require research and reading. As Tamori and I have said countless times on the show, who has time for that?
4 – With #3 being said, I tried to do some “power leveling” just by running dungeons. That was how I got my monk to 50, granted she was already at 46 after the squish so it wasn’t THAT bad. Dungeon running still seems to be the way to go, at least from what I have experienced.
5 – I’m glad that I did some research before I finished this post, because I kind of felt like a moron. As clunky and time consuming as it may seem to have to go back to Orgrimmar to check in with Chromie every time you want to change timelines, it is kind of cool. I was really worried that all of my lower characters were getting locked out of the dungeons that I love to run, but now that I figured out “Chromie Time”, I really enjoy being able to pick which dungeons I am running.
6 – This is brand new based on my dungeoning last night (10-25). As an experiment on my lowest character, a level 28 rogue, I went back to Outland content. My first dungeon in LFR for said content? None other than Shadow Labrynth. Good lord, what a suckfest that turned out to be. It turns out that when you are running this place at the appropriate level, it’s just HARD! The mechanics were just as frustrating as I remember them being the first time around, especially on the Grand Master Vorpil fight. As much as I would like to say that the Murmur fight is still difficult, it’s probably my own stupidity that led to my dying so much. Although it helps to know what to look for on screen, it also really helps to pay attention to what you are being told as far as the mechanics of the fight. Long story made super short, on the 2 attempts that we made before killing Murmur, I died twice to the Shockwave because I was looking for the visual cue (which is already too late) rather than at his cast bar.
Anyway, I think that’s all for now. Be safe out there and may all of your loot be EPIC!
-Zebgora