World of WarCraft Patch 4.2 Impressions – Part 2

Before beginning, a quick story: Most people when they see that a “patch” has been issued, just download it and proceed to play – they do not read the patch notes. When Patch 4.2 was issued, a friend of mine did just that and promptly proceeded to get semi-violent. Seems his special “points” money had disappeared! Distraught beyond belief (I think he was saving up for some special gear), he spent the better part of an hour checking his system for hacking. Turns out that in Patch 4.2, Valor points and Conquest points have been eliminated – and converted into Justice and Honor points respectively. Also, there are caps on the Justice and Honor (4000) points, and limit adjustments on what you can earn each week, with excess converted to Silver currency and mailed to the player. With order and logic restored to the Universe, my friend returned to Azeroth an embarrassed but wiser Undead Mage.

Aggra

Most of the stories and quests in WOW are truly unique and enjoyable. In Patch 4.2, you see the Super Hero Thrall be ambushed and split into the 4 elemental phases with each banished to a different location. Aggra, who apparently has been enamored of Thrall but loving in silence, entreats you to join her in finding Thralls spirit pieces and restoring them!

Traveling to the water sphere, the air sphere, the earth sphere and finally the fire sphere… you nuke the enemies, receive decent rewards, and work to reunite Aggra with Thrall.

All is good in this quest of love and saving the Super Hero Thrall. But I must admit, Aggra’s incessant pleadings with Thrall to hold out “my love”, almost made me hit the mute button.

In this quest, you also meet the single ugliest person in WOW: the Earth Mother… truly ugly-ful enough to kill the goddess Venus with a glance.

Firelands

After the Thrall quest, you can travel to the Firelands to establish a beachhead, and once established, to 10 and 25 player raids against six new bosses: Red Widow spider; Magma giant; firehawk; Flamewaker with 2 flaming pet dogs; Baleroc; and Archdruid of the Flame… join the fun and head out for a sunny day at the beachhead!

Dragonwrath

This quest involves an invitation to help created the Dragonwrath, a special magic staff. The staff duplicates destructive magics, and allows the player to transform into a member of the Blue Dragonflight. Apparently, this requires guild participation to assemble the Dragonwrath.

Unfortunately for me, you must complete the following quests first to qualify for the Dragonwrath quest: Blackwing Descent, The Bastion of Twilight, and the Throne of the Four Winds. If you have completed these quests, the Bronze Dragonflight emissaries at the Alliance and Horde capital cities of Stormwind and Orgrimmar recruit players for the quest. I will endeavor to find the requisite quests and attempt to join a group to complete the Dragonwrath quest… unfortunately, I am a Dark Elf Death Knight – so I have zero interest in owning a magic staff (which I cannot use anyway).

Overall Impressions – Life after 85

I enjoy Blizzard’s efforts to keep player involvement. While I do have several characters, the burning question continues to be “Is there life after Level 85?” With Patch 4.2, and rumors of another release (new levels to 120? – let us pray), Blizzard continues to offer an excellent entertainment value to us gamers. The additional quests were enjoyable, and importantly, FREE (outside of the standard subscription fee). There is not much else to say but – Thanks Blizzard!