This morning, I ran an alt through a trip that, when I ran it with my main for the very first time, was magical like a little kid going to Disney World. For those of you who've been through it a bunch of time, the magic might be gone, but I can recall my first time vividly...
I'm talking about the beautiful trip from Menethil Harbor to Stormwind City.
Probably most applicable for Night Elves and Draenei who start out in Kalimdor.
When Amava was a wee lil girl, around level 10, she had only been questing in Teldrassil, and then a drop in Darkshore, never venturing too far from Auberdine. I had no idea what the world had in store for me, or just how much sweet sweet content there was out there.
I'm following my nose around Darkshore, very randomly questing, with no real direction or clue of what was around me, just as any good first-time player would be in their early stages. Some guy says he's got 4 people ready to run to SWC and do I want to come? "What's SWC", I ask? Stormwind City. Oh. oh. I see. Ummm, whats a Stormwind City? It'll be cool, just come on. KK.
So we jump ship from Auberdine and head to Menethil Harbor. I'm taken in by all the sights, and especially the fact that this is the first 5-man group I've ever ran with. At this point, its just SOoooo cool to be running in a pack like this. The leader guy tells me to get the flight path. What's a flight path? I imagine he's like "oh brother, who brought the new girl?"
Then its the run across the Wetlands. Every crocolisk I saw gave me shivers. And when we came across one that had wandered onto the path, well, just amazing to see all these (four) people stomping it. I just stared in wonderment.
Running, running, running. We hit Dun Algaz, and the amazing tunnels. I kept thinking of the first time I read the Hobbit, and the images of the giant dwarven tunnels and caverns. Totally amazed. And as we run through those steep steps, and get to the little breaks where the orcs are, the leader guy just says to keep left or keep right and stick to him and keep running.
Then you get out of there and start to see all the Dwarven outposts and you enter the snowy tundra of Dun Morogh. More exotic creatures, and I could just hang my jaw slack, as I was blown away at how this guy can know which way to go through all these different turns and forks in the road we've come across so far.
We hang 2 sharp rights and turn up the giant hill leading to IF, with all the burned out equipment from ancient wars, and Dwarven guards everywhere. And then the gates of IF. WOW. I couldn't believe my eyes. And then we wind through IF, with the leader guy, being a sharp cookie, gets us the flight path.
And more twisting and turning through IF and into what? Is this a subway you're taking me on? Holy SSSSSSS! And we take the Deeprun Tram over to SWC.
Get in SWC and leave the subway...to enter a smoky, sooty, slum in the Dwarven district. Following the crowd through these narrow streets and ramparts, we go over the canal bridges, and through archways and up to the flight path in SWC. Little did I know that all these turns and directions would become second nature in a few short months.
And there I was. A little girl, lost in a big city. I had absolutely no clue where I was, but I did know one thing...
I had the most amazing experience getting there. That first trip was simply magical, and had me in total wonderment for just how much was out there in this thing called WoW that I was just starting to play.
So this morning, I decided that my level 20 Draenei priest was ready to leave the starting area around the Exodar. Looking at a continental map for a good zone to spend my 20's in, I see that Redridge Mountains looks suitable, and Amava has barely run through there. She didn't even get the flight path there until she was about 61 or so, and realized that she'd have to run to join the group in BRD since I had never even been through there.
Of course, on my run this morning, I was silly and totally forgot to get the flight path in Menethil Harbor, so when I got to IF and the flight master said that I had no connecting hops, I kinda slapped myself across the face. But I continued on to SWC anyways, knowing my hearthstone is still set to the Exodar, which is only two easy ship connections away from Menethil, so I didn't have to run the trip again.
But the 30 minutes really made me remember that awesome first trip I took.
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3 comments:
I remember that journey very well, having to go to Westfall for a druid quest (the one to get aquatic form)... Remember thinking that Blizzard was insane by forcing me to go to a place that had skull mobs just to do a class quest!
Also remember when, on my first and long deleted char, a human mage, I ran through a gazillion places trying to find a way into Loch Modan as I had a class quest for a robe there and there was no way I could get from SW into Loch Modan that would not take me through VERY high skull mobs (so high they would 1-shot me: that's how I measured different skull mobs!).
Imagine my surprise, when long after having deleted that char and started with the NE Druid that has become my main, when I discovered about the Deeprun Tram! :)
And I can almost see the look on some player's faces that I helped do the same druid quest when I showed them the Deeprun Tram!
On one occasion, where I wasn't with the player but was instructing him, he almost refused to continue following my instructions when I told him about the Deeprun Tram thinking that I was fooling around with him! It was only when he asked a guard and actually entered the place that he believed in me! :)
And still, I know that several chars after there is still some place, somewhere, and I'm not even talking about instances!, where I have not been on any char so far! :)
And it still amazes me how Blizzard managed to get such a huge world fit onto my computer! (Not "literally" amazed, as I'm a developer myself so I know how this things are done, but still amazed at the huge size of it and imagining the huge data structures needed for it!)
That was a great story Amava! Reminds me of my first journey to IF many many moons ago! Met a nice elf in Auberdine who was kind enough to show me the way and how to avoid all the crocolisks, spiders and orcs along the way!
Ah yes, I was but a level six newbie myself when I made the run, based on directions given to me from some some "veteran" friends. I died multiple times and I had no idea where I was going, what was going on, or why the crocodiles had to be so hungry, but it was great.
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