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.

20170412: Death Knight Order Hall

Death Knight Order Hall

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Eastern Kingdoms
Region: Eastern Plaguelands
Where: Acherus: the Ebon Hold, a fort floating above Light's Hope Chapel near the eastern border
Specifically: the whole fort is devoted to Death Knights
Faction: the Ebon Knights

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

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions
--as in Lords of Draenor, the Legion missions are done by named NPCs.
--examples: Thassarian,
--also available: nameless followers (ghouls 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 Death Knights 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:
Every Death Knight has a spell that invokes a portal to Acherus.  Only Death Knights can go through one of these, and one Death Knight may not use another's portal.

Return from Acherus:
There is a portal to the new Dalaran floating over the Broken Isles.
Alternately, fly out to the Eastern Plaguelands.

Artifact weapons: (can only be updated in Temple of the Five Dawns)

Blood (Tank):
--Maw of the Damned, two-handed axe
--relic slots: Blood, Shadow, (initially locked) Iron

Unholy (DPS):
--Apocalypse, two-handed sword
--relic slots: Fire, Shadow, (initially locked) Blood

Frost (DPS):
--Blades of the Fallen Prince; two one-handed swords (Frostreaper and Icebringer)
--relic slots: Frost, Shadow, (initially locked) Frost

20170412: Druid Order Hall

Druid Order Hall

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Broken Isles
Region: Val'sharah
Where: the Emerald Dream subregion of Val'sharah
Specifically: the Dreamgrove, from a portal in the Emerald Dream
Faction: 

What you are called there: Archdruid

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions using NPC followers
--known NPCs, such as Naralex and Zen'tabra
--train and use nameless troops, here Dreamgrove treants; cost for training is in Order resources
Upgrade followers from mission rewards
Do order research
Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for druids to update traits within the artifact weapons.
Train temporary troops; these are called treants (rather like Lord of the Rings treants)


How to get there:
Every druid (of any race) has a skill called Dreamwalk, which teleports the druid to the Emerald Dream, which is sort of a place, sort of a state of mind.  Within the Emerald Dream are a number of portals.  Choose the portal called The Dreamgrove.

Return from The Dreamgrove:
Take the portal back to the Emerald Dream.  Act like it's a physical place and walk out into Val'Sharah.
First alternately, there is a flight master in The Dreamgrove.
Second alternately, use the Dalaran hearthstone to return to the new Dalaran floating above the Broken Isles.
Third alternately, there is a direct portal to new Dalaran in the Dreamgrove.

Artifact Weapons for Druids:

Balance (DPS; Moonkin form):
--Scythe of Elune: two-handed staff
--relics: shadow, life, (initially locked) shadow

20170412: Paladin Order Hall

Paladin Order Hall (Sanctum of Light)

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Eastern Kingdoms
Region: Eastern Plaguelands
Where: Light's Hope Chapel, toward the eastern border
Specifically: under the floorboards in the chapel itself

Your title: Highlord (one word)

What one does there:
Get quests
Set missions executed by NPC followers
--get armor for followers for harder later missions
--get artifacts that strengthen your weapon
--get buffs for followers
Do order research; this needs to be complete before the third relic slot is unlocked
Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for paladins to update traits.
Train temporary troops; here called 'squire squads'
One uses 'order resources' as currency to grease most of these operations.

How to get there:
1. If you are in the Eastern Kingdoms, fly to Light's Hope Chapel; walk in.

2. Hearth into the Dalaran that lies above the Broken Isles in the Legion expansion.  Inside the Kirin Tor building, teleport to the inner part of the building.  There is a portal to the Dalaran crater that is from the pre-Lich King period.  There is an immediate drop upon arrival.  Use some protection to avoid the damage from the long drop.  From the bottom of the crater, fly to Light's Hope Chapel to the east.

3. In the Greyfang Enclave building in new Dalaran, there is a portal up one flight of stairs that activates when a paladin is near it.  Take it for direct teleport.

Return from Light's Hope Chapel:
In the order hall there is a portal to the new Dalaran floating over the Broken Isles.
Alternately, fly out of Light's Hope Chapel to the Eastern Plaguelands or other destination.

Artifact weapons: (can only be updated in Sanctum of Light)

Protector (Tank):
--Truthguard, Shield and Oathseeker, one-handed sword
--relics: holy, iron, (initially locked) shadow

Holy (Healer):
--The Silver Hand, two-handed mace
--relics: holy, life, (initially locked) holy

Retribution (DPS):
--Ashbringer, two-handed sword
--relics: holy, fire, (initially locked) holy

20170412: Monk Order Hall

Monk Order Hall

Location:
Planet: Azeroth
Continent: Unknown, but sort of near Pandaria
Region: the Flying Island
Where: the Flying Island, the newbie region of Pandas
Specifically: the Temple of the Five Dawns in the center of the island

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

What one does there:

1. Get quests from NPCs
2. Set missions using NPC followers
   --known NPCs like Taran Zhu, Chen Stormstout, Li Li Stormstout
   --a few new NPCs, like
   --renewable temporary troops


3. Upgrade followers from mission rewards: the NPC followers have iLevels that have to be increased in order to do tougher missions
4. Do order research: one must do this in order to unlock the third relic slot for your weapon.
5. Edit the artifact weapon at the weapon forge.  This is the only place for monks to update traits.  The forge is in the center of the Temple at the top level, on the face of the big turtle statue there.
6. Train temporary troops; here troops are called '{Ox, Tiger} x {initiates, adepts}'; the troops cost order resources and last exactly one mission
7. Get buffs from the Stormstout Brewery
8. Buy Grandmaster armor and armor upgrades after passing a variety of milestones

How to get there:
Every monk (of any race) has a skill called Zen Meditation.  Use this to travel to the Temple.

Return from the Flying Island:
Use Zen Return to get back to where you came from.
Alternately, use the Dalaran hearthstone to return to the new Dalaran floating above the Broken Isles.
After some leveling, there is a portal from the Island to Dalaran.

Artifact weapons: (can only be updated in Temple of the Five Dawns)

Brewmaster (Tank):
--Fu Shan, the Wanderer's Companion; two-handed staff
--relic slots: Life, Storm, (initially locked) Iron

Mistweaver (Healer):
--Sheilun, Staff of the Mists; two-handed staff
--relic slots: Frost, Life, (initially locked) Storm

Windwalker (DPS):
--Al'Burq, Fists of the Heavens; fist weapons
--relic slots: Storm, Iron, (initially locked) Storm