Without any significant gear changes it’s not all that interesting to show you the character selection shot. That said, I did get a new toy thanks to a mage port to Dalaran from a guildie. Thanks Wonad!

Some thoughts on the content I’ve experienced in Northrend below the cut.

Questing: Blizzard is actually trying to tell stories with these things. No joke. Most of them – true enough – devolve to ‘go kill the things’ or ‘take this over here’, but some of them are downright awesome. Just as in BC one of the first things you do out of Vengeance Landing is a bombing run. Lots and lots of fun. Later quests in Howling Fjord (which I’ve taken in the entirety of to get to 72) have you donning a faux-wolf suit, boarding a ghost ship, literally fighting your own inner strife and then leaping from a mountaintop, hacking apart Vrykul to stop them from rising as the dead, and taking control of an exploding Abomination. There are some realm gems in this new content.

Theming: Howling Fjord, Dalaran, Borean Tundra, and environs are all absolutely gorgeous. All around there’s a consistent effort to return WoW to its fantasy roots. There was a deliberate choice, it appears, to step firmly back from the sci-fi twists of Burning Crusade. The result is an entirely different tone – from the soaring peaks and shadowed glades to the very music on the air itself. Really interesting context, and (again) very well done. I personally liked the sci-fi stuff (Netherstorm is a fantastic zone imho), but I know I’m in the minority.

Hubs: Not only are quest-giving hubs very well constructed in this expansion, the quest-doing hubs are really evocative too. Ice-claimed wooded glades, crypts and fortresses of taciturn giants, plague-battered villages, and rough-and-tumble buccaneer refuges all make appearances in Howling Fjord.

Dungeons: I quite enjoyed both Nexus and Utgarde. My two through Utgarde have given me a pretty good grasp of the boss strategies, and I’d now feel comfortable walking people through them. I still very much want to go again, though, because of a certain Fist Weapon that drops from one of the bosses. My offhand weapon wants its main hand companion – real bad. The final boss of the dungeon is a fun fight for melee DPS – lots of running away at the right moments. Fun for me; maybe not so much for healers.

Nexus is amazing. Not only is it gorgeous, but the bosses are all crazy-wacky-cool. I’m told there are a lot of similarities between boss strategies in there and higher, tougher bosses back in the BC days. Keristrasza in particular requires a lot of being-on-your-toes that generic PvE content just wouldn’t prepare you for. I’m not all that up on the strategies in there, but I’m learning. That’s a lot of what I’ve felt in the last few days: lots of learning.

Pace: I have to admit, it’s been a bit straining to move as fast as I have through the content. I normally much more of a dawdler, but I’m determined to stay with the back of the pack on this expansion. At 72 I’d say that very firmly puts me on the trailing end of most 80-or-bust characters. Most players in my guild seem to be 73-75 at this point, with an outlier or two higher up than that.  Looking at the /who lists seems to verify my guild as a representative sample. With Howling Fjord completed, I’m off to Borean Tundra to clear that out, with Dragonblight on my list after that. I’m really looking forward to Dragonblight – my favorite zone on the back of Lich King’s box … if that makes sense.

Goals: Hit 73 | Exploration Achievement, Borean Tundra | Quest Achievement, Borean Tundra | Quest Achievement, Howling Fjord (3 short) | Get an Arm Blade of Augelmir from Utgarde Keep

Having fun, don’t see myself slowing down any time soon … except for right now, when I’m going to do some chores and exercise my back!

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