2018-0811: on the eve of Battle for Azeroth expansion start

Done.  Left the game again 28jan2019.
Battle for Azeroth turned out to be as bad as Legion was good.

1. What I like
1. Demonology Warlocks: I had no luck with DW in Legion or before,  In BfA, DW seems quite robust.
2. Discipline Priest: weak in Legion, but more durable in BfA
3. World quests in Darkshore.  It has been nice to get level 210 weapons and armour, except for rings, trinkets, necklace, and cloak.  Now and then, pieces at 215, 220, 235 show up.
4. Survival Hunters: quite robust in BfA, while next to worthless (my viewpoint from long series of deaths) before BfA.


2. What I don't like
1. End of artifact weapons: strong, clear meanings to components, useful.  The loss is actually a loss.
2. The Heart of Azeroth: stupid, weak, ugly, meaningless. Quite an eyesore as well. Feeding the Heart might increase your iLevel, but nothing actually improves your character's abilities.
3. Scalable region difficulty. I hate having to work to kill something in Westfall, when it should die with a one-shot.  There are many examples like this.  I suppose that this increases XP generation overall, but I miss the total domination that one gets from having a much higher rank than the environmental NPC trash.


3. Later: mid-November, 2018.
1. Heart of Azeroth: is controlled by the game, not by you, the player. It contributes nothing except to control your characters.  Every time an NPC drops <explitive deleted> azerite, the amount the HoA is updated by the game, not by you.
2. Solution: drop the Heart, replace with necklaces, as done in WoW from 2004 until the sorry BfA, 2018.  Drop azerite.  Forever.  Drop azerite armor.  Forever.
3. My lead character armor iLevel 350, has not particular way to advance.  The emissary quests provide a little intermittent forward progress, usually only small artifact level increases.
4. My lead character is my favorite, but I have no particular reason to play it.  Great.  
5. Why continue playing?
6. Leveling is still sort of fun, but I am too good at it.  All my 32 characters will be level 120 soon enough.
7. Why continue playing?
8. Island expeditions: utter nonsense.  Lots of effort, little reward.  An average world quest yields more return than island quests.  Perhaps you have had better success.  I have not.

20180228: Mage Order Hall

Done.  Left the game again 28jan2019.

Battle for Azeroth turned out to be as bad as Legion was good.

Mage Order Hall: Hall of the Guardian

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Broken Isles
Region: hard to tell.  Connected to Dalaran (above Broken Isles) through a portal.
Where: Hall of the Guardian
Specifically: Lovely design. Very smooth and easy on the eye.
Faction: The Tirisguard

Your title in the order hall: 

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions
--as in Warlords of Draenor, the Legion missions are done by named NPCs.
--also available: nameless followers (water spirits, invokers)
Upgrade permanent followers from mission rewards
Do order research: most of this is done at the 110 level
Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for warlocks to update traits.
Train temporary troops, by armour upgrades and enchanted tools that give them extra power.'
As one accomplishes more, be able to change the weapon's appearance with the artifact forge

How to get there:
Buy the teleport skill to the Mage order hall, Hall of the Guardian.  There is no other way in!

Return from Hall of the Guardian:
There is a portal in Hall of the Guardian to Dalaran. Alternately, teleport (mage skill) to Dalaran.

Artifact weapons: mages can only update their artifact weapons in Hall of the Guardian.  Find the highest level of the Order Hall.  The forge is on the floor in the centre of the room.

Arcane (DPS):
--Aluneth, Greatstaff of Magna
--relic slots: Arcane, Frost, (initially locked) Arcane

Frost: (DPS)
--Ebonchill,  Greatstaff of Alodi
--relic slots: Frost, Arcane, (initially locked) Frost

Fire (DPS)
--Felo'melorn, sword, plus Heart of the Phoenix, held in off-hand
--relic slots: Fire, Arcane, (initially locked) Fire

------

Notes from early on with the mage:

1. new Dalaran hearthstone
2. armor upgrades: considerable
3. from Stormwind Vanguard Staff (staff, level 685; replaced 536)
4. from Accolade of House Wrynne (trinket, level 685; replaced 565)
5. from Signet of Stormwind (ring, level 640; replaced 515)

2018-0228: Priest Order Hall

Done.  Left the game again 28jan2019.
Battle for Azeroth turned out to be as bad as Legion was good.

Priest Order Hall: Netherlight Temple

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Broken Isles
Region: hard to tell.  Connected to Dalaran (above Broken Isles) through a portal.
Where: Netherlight Temple
Specifically: Lovely design. Very smooth and easy on the eye.
Faction:

Your title in the order hall: High Priest

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions
--as in Warlords of Draenor, the Legion missions are done by named NPCs.
--examples:,
--also available: nameless followers (fel servants of one sort or another)
Upgrade permanent followers from mission rewards
Do order research: most of this is done at the 110 level
Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for warlocks to update traits.
Train temporary troops; here called 'ghouls'
Engrave weapons with enchantments
As one accomplishes more, be able to change the weapon's appearance with the artifact forge

How to get there:
In the new (Legion expansion) Dalaran, there is a portal to NT in the Greyfang Enclave.

Return from Netherlight Temple:
There is a portal in Netherlight Temple to the Greyfang Enclave in Dalaran.

Artifact weapons: priests can only update their artifact weapons in Netherlight Temple.  Find the highest level of the Order Hall.  The forge is on the floor in the centre of the room.

Discipline (healer, sort of):
--Scepter of Sargeras, staff
--relic slots: Fel, Fire, (initially locked) Fel

Shadow: (DPS only)
--
--relic slots: Shadow

Holy (healer)
--
--relic slots: 

------

Notes from early on with the warlock:

My level 98 Destruction Warlock, Chronoslock, on 20170503 attained the

1. new Dalaran hearthstone
2. armor upgrades: 560 average to 587 average
3. from Stormwind Vanguard Staff (staff, level 685; replaced 536)
4. from Accolade of House Wrynne (trinket, level 685; replaced 565)
5. from Signet of Stormwind (ring, level 640; replaced 515)
6. an invitation from the faction 'Council of the Black Harvest.'
7. There was a summoning; the demon showed, then the demon imprisoned my warlock and 3 others.
8. One obtains 'A Tome of Blighted Instruments' then tries to escape.
9. I got the book, got away from the demons, but hearthing back to Dalaran did not constitute escape.  Crap.
10. Start over.
11. Did the same stuff, only more efficiently.  Worked this time.  Go figure.
12. A portal to the warlock meeting place seems to be the Ring underneath Dalaran in what was called the Underbelly.
13. Got the quest to get the  Destruction artifact weapon.
14. Finished the quest, got the weapon
15. Got the invite to the order hall
16. Got my character installed as leader (Netherlord)
17. Got my artifact weapon properly initialized at the artifact forge.

20170503: The Warlock Order Hall

Warlock Order Hall: Dreadscar Rift

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Broken Isles
Region: hard to tell, but seems to be above the Broken Isles...somewhere
Where: Dreadscar Rift
Specifically: the whole nightmare location is devoted to warlocks and their fel servants
Faction: Council of the Black Harvest

Your title in the order hall: Netherlord (one word)

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions
--as in Warlords of Draenor, the Legion missions are done by named NPCs.
--examples:,
--also available: nameless followers (fel servants of one sort or another)
Upgrade permanent followers from mission rewards
Do order research: most of this is done at the 110 level
Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for warlocks to update traits.
Train temporary troops; here called 'ghouls'
Engrave weapons with enchantments
As one accomplishes more, be able to change the weapon's appearance with the artifact forge

How to get there:
In the new (Legion expansion) Dalaran, there is a portal to DR in the Underbelly near the entrance next to the Kirin Tor tower.

Return from Dreadscar Rift:
There is a portal in Dreadscar Rift to the new Dalaran.

Artifact weapons: warlocks can only update their artifact weapons in Dreadscar Rift

Destruction (DPS):
--Scepter of Sargeras, staff
--relic slots: Fel, Fire, (initially locked) Fel

------

Notes from early on with the warlock:

My level 98 Destruction Warlock, Chronoslock, on 20170503 attained the

1. new Dalaran hearthstone
2. armor upgrades: 560 average to 587 average
3. from Stormwind Vanguard Staff (staff, level 685; replaced 536)
4. from Accolade of House Wrynne (trinket, level 685; replaced 565)
5. from Signet of Stormwind (ring, level 640; replaced 515)
6. an invitation from the faction 'Council of the Black Harvest.'
7. There was a summoning; the demon showed, then the demon imprisoned my warlock and 3 others.
8. One obtains 'A Tome of Blighted Instruments' then tries to escape.
9. I got the book, got away from the demons, but hearthing back to Dalaran did not constitute escape.  Crap.
10. Start over.
11. Did the same stuff, only more efficiently.  Worked this time.  Go figure.
12. A portal to the warlock meeting place seems to be the Ring underneath Dalaran in what was called the Underbelly.
13. Got the quest to get the  Destruction artifact weapon.
14. Finished the quest, got the weapon
15. Got the invite to the order hall
16. Got my character installed as leader (Netherlord)
17. Got my artifact weapon properly initialized at the artifact forge.

2018-0202_Battle for Azeroth pre-order goodies

Battle for Azeroth (pre-order, 31jan2018)

Bias: Of my 33 characters, 7 are Horde, 26 are Alliance.  Of my ten (10) characters at level 110, only 1 is Horde, while 9 are sensible members of the non-bastard Alliance.

Setting:
Planet: Azeroth, after the Legion was taken out.  The warring sides are the traditional Horde versus Alliance.  Both are looking for reinforcements to their ranks.
Leaders:
Anduin Llane Wrynn, King of Stormwind, leader of the Alliance, and
Sylvanas Windrunner, Warchief of the Horde.

Purpose of the preorder:
Make money for Blizzard
Get new BfA appropriate armour: my lead Legion character had armour iLevel 928.  After the pre-launch patch, that same armour was level 210, 208 (a couple days later), then 204 (a few more days later.  During the pre-launch patch, moving up to 212 was not especially difficult using the world quests.
Get a new weapon: my glorious artifact weapons were all totally castrated.  May you be damned, Blizzard.  The new replacement weapons are monstrously weak, but they work in BfA.  So get a round of new weapons ASAP.

Introduce two new races per faction.
Void Elves and Lightforged Draenei (Alliance).
High Mountain Tauren and Nightfallen Elves (Horde)

After the actual start of BfA, there will be even more allied races.

Introduce requirements (2  per race) enabling the user to access the races.

Standard purchase reward: user gets to advance an existing character to level 110, or start a new character at level 110.

Deluxe purchase reward: everything in standard, plus mounts and pets

Why go ahead with the pre-purchase:
The enabling quests might take most users a long time.  For instance, I am still working on "Revered" from Argussian Reach (01mar2018).  Exalted is required.  On the other hand, I witnessed players getting access to the new races on 01feb2018.

After a re-launch, or sooner, your 110 level characters should get mail and video from High King Anduin (Alliance) or Warchief Sylvanus (Horde).  Meet your respective leader where they have indicated that your character go.

Next travel step:
Alliance:
Get to Stormwind City, one way or another.
Fly, ride, or walk to Olivia's Pond.  You should be able to see the new Embassy building.
High King Anduin Wrynne awaits within, along with kings, queens, and distinguished leaders.

Horde;
Go fuck yourself.
Less seriously, get to Orgrimmar, the Horde capital.  When the goblin filth joined the Horde in the Cataclysm expansion, Orgrimmar suddenly had a goblin slum.  Go there.
Find Warchief Sylvanus.  A motley crew of traitorous Horde backstabbers surround her.

What to do, Alliance:
Listen to High King Anduin Wrynne discuss the losses incurred by the Alliance and the growing militarization of the Horde forces.  Anduin introduces High Exarch Turalyan and Alleria Windrunner.

High Exarch Turalyan discusses Light-forged Draenei as allies. Speak to him. A dialog pops up giving requirements for creating a Light-forged Draenei character, and some of the abilities the new character would have.  One needs to have exalted status with the Army of the Light.  Also, complete 'you are prepared.'

Alleria speaks of Blood Elves who have studied the Void to the point where she can use it, rather than it use her.  Speaking to her yields pop-ups describing Void Elves' abilities.  One needs to achieve exalted status with the Argussian Reach faction, and complete 'you are prepared.'

What to do, Horde: 
Go straight to hell. Do not pass GO, do not collect 200 dollars.
Less seriously, listen to the Warchief, who introduces two useless scum.

Listen to the scum, then speak to them about requirements to create a character from the new races.

20170526: a few recommendations

Some best early decisions in the Draenor => Legion transitions.

1. One can get to Legion material from Draenor at level 98.  Speaking from the viewpoint of a post level 110 veteran, I'd say there are planning decisions one can make at level 98 to simplify things.

2. How many alts do you have?  If the answer is 'many,' read on.

3. Recommendations, early on.
  a. Choose your strongest level 98 to go forward.  'Favorite' is OK, but strongest is better.
  b. Get through the Scenario about landing on Broken Shore.
  c. Pick up all the armor and goodies from subsequent quests.  Try not to skip any quests, including the one that gets your to New Dalaran and a third hearth stone.  (Yes, third.)
  d. On the quest to get your order hall, do all possible parts.  Learn how to get there and get back to New Dalaran.
  e. Get the quest to obtain your first artifact weapon.  Get it.  Do not do ANYTHING ELSE until you get that first artifact weapon.  (First?  One can get a separate artifact weapon for each specialty your class has. For Monk, it's three: Brewmaster (tank), Mistweaver (healer), Windwalker (DPS); each has its own artifact weapon.)

4. You've got class order hall, artifact weapon, hearthstone to New Dalaran.
  a. Get the quest to choose the first campaign for your order hall.
  b. This starts your campaign in one of the following regions: Val'sharah, Azsura, High Mountain, or Stormheim.  The sub-regions Suramar and Broken Shore are intrinsically level 110, so you cannot start there.
  c. This is the start of your work in the Broken Isles.-----------------------------

5. There are a few common things to do early on.
  a. Your opponents, wherever you choose to start, will be at your level.  Well, except in Suramar, which always seems to be level 110.
  b. Start any quest line.  Follow it as far as you can.
  c. Get flight points as you go.
  d. Do not leave the region until you have reached 'Honored' reputation for the dominant faction.

6. Flight.
  a. Once you have reached 'Honored' for five dominant factions, you can get the 'pick me up if I'm under the sky' taxi service.  This is great.  Once you have finished a harsh quest, you usually have to fight your way out of the bad region you are in.  The taxi service saves you from most of this.
  b. To get the license to fly your own bird, much more is required:
     
i. Get the Exploration achievement for each of the sub-regions
Val'Sharah,
Azsura,
High Mountain,
Stormheim,
Suramar, and
Broken Shore.
   
ii. Reach reputation 'Revered' with all of:
Dreamweavers,
Wardens,
Vrykul,
Court of Farondis,
High Mountain,
Nightfallen, and
Army of Legionfall.
   
iii. Complete the 5 Loremaster achievements:
Azsura Matata (five parts),
Ain't No Mountain High Enough (seven parts),
That's Val'Sharah Folks (seven parts),
Good Suramaritan (eleven parts),
Vrykul Story Bro (eight parts).

-----Use your Achievements pane to check your progress on these Loremaster achievements. Each of these parts consists of a quest line which consists of 10 to 25 quests.

20170429: Demon Hunters and Professions

Demon hunters start at level 98.  What is their overall initial state?

1. Pieces that start rather nicely:

1. Armor: your average iLevel is 660, which is rather nice.  It would take some definite effort (gold, dungeons, nasty quest chains) to get it otherwise.
2. Your character starts with four 20 slot bags.  This would also be expensive.
3. Your character starts with a viable weapon that is good enough to let you get your first artifact weapon.

2. Professions: start quite unevenly.

1. The common professions (First Aid, Cooking, Fishing, Archaeology) all start at 1/75.
2. The optional professions Gathering (Herbalism, Skinning, Mining) and Construction (Weaponsmithing, Jewelcrafting, Engineering, Herbalism, Alchemy, Leatherworking) also start at 1/75.
3. Normally ('before Warlords of Draenor') one with 1/75 must only gather low-level materials, and construct only low-level products for which one already has recipes.
4. That means that, normally, the Demon Hunter would have to go back to Stormwind, Goldshire, and surroundings to work with the lowest of the low critters, herbs, and ore deposits.
5. Thankfully, Blizzard changed everything in WoD.
6. Take First Aid and Skinning for instance.
7. Usually one would have to work up from level 1 in skinning to level 601 just to start skinning in Draenor.
8. Instead, one can skin Draenor animal monsters with skinning at level one, not 601.  These same animals will drop Fine Fur.  Fine Fur can be used in First Aid (even if you are at level 1 in First Aid) to make Draenor level bandages. 
9. For instance, by DH harvested 102 Fine Fur by killing elephants, wolves, and giant birds.  I converted the Fine Fur to bandages in lots of 4, yielding +4 on First Aid per lot.  So...100 Fine fur from pre-skinning gave me +100 in First Aid, even though my character started at 1/75 in First Aid.  The parallel skinning results lifted my skinning level by over 100.
10. Fishing is another place where Blizzard made allowances.  After some enabling quests, one has an official Fishing Shack on the Garrison property.
11. There are daily fishing quests from the Fishing Shack.  Each success is worth +15 (yes, fifteen) in the fishing level.
12. To make things even nicer, the products of filleting the fish can be used in first aid to produce anti-poison and anti-venom products that further level up First Aid. 
13. Fish fillets can be used in Draenor cooking to level up cooking.
14. At level 96, one's Garrison gets a quest that enables an herb garden to be built.  Herbs mature everyday, and even with a low level herbalism initial rating, one can level up quickly, at about +8 per day.
15. Mining gets engaged early on.  Even with a low initial rating, the garrison mine allows for +8 or so mining improvement per day.
16. Engineering, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Jewelcrafting, Alchemy, and Inscription also get boosts from WoD's new design permissiveness, but not nearly as good as with fishing/first aid/skinning/herbalism.
17. Archaeology, as usual, gets little respect.  One starts at 1/75, but one can do archaeology on the planet Draenor and also in the new continent Broken Lands on Azeroth.