Enter Rhii

Sometimes a change of pace is kind of refreshing. In the spirit of keeping things interesting, Aurdon has asked me to pop in and make a couple of guest blogs. I couldn’t be a more different player than he is. I just got into WoW six months or so ago (go ahead, yell “n00b”… I’m used to it!); more than that, I play Ally on a PvE server, and my main (a draenei mage named Rhii) has only just hit level 32. I don’t really do the whole PvP thing, I don’t have any high level characters or epic gear. I don’t raid or do dailies, and I’ve never been to Outland, let alone gotten into the Lich King beta.

But what I do have is the fresh vision of a newcomer. I was so surprised when I wandered into the Mage Quarter in Stormwind and found the concealed chamber at the top of the tower. My eyes still widen at the sight of the Great Forge in Ironforge, and I still ask stupid questions like “what would happen to me if I fell in there?!” (I would die… I know, because I tried it. =P)

So, I’m here to share some observations, maybe ask some questions, hopefully inspire some remembrances of leveling your first characters, maybe get a little advice, provide a little variety in the content of the site, and just generally hang out.

Right now, I’m fascinated by the way getting my first mount has changed the game. Not only can I travel faster, but I can actually quest more, because I spend less time getting from point A to point B, I have more time freed up to actually set myself questing goals. I can solo better, because I don’t necessarily need to rely on a group or a higher level escort to sneak through a dangerous area. I even die less! Having a higher speed makes it so I can zip through areas – even ones that are filled with mobs that would normally make me cautious to say the least – armed with nothing more than my numlock key and maybe a bottle or two of healing potion.

After a couple of weeks of hoofing it through Ashenvale imagining my character’s feet getting sore, I realized I was shortly going to need to make a journey to Ratchet of all hopelessly isolated places. It was a final straw me, since I’d been getting increasingly bored deciding whether Forest Song or Astranaar was the closer fp to any point smack in between the two. Ashenvale is amazingly pretty, but by the sixteenth time you’ve run to Astranaar to free up bag space, and then turned around and run straight back to Felfire Hill (all the while blasting slimes 10 levels lower than me), the beauty of the scenery kind of gets lost.

A final push to level 30 and some mad scuffling with the auction house found me out in front of the Exodar with my wallet hurting but my little feet rejoicing as I test drove my new gray elekk. Tonight is sure to find me making the long run to Ratchet (including a wide circle around the Crossroads and other nests of Horde NPCs) at a much more satisfying speed.

Tagged as: Rhii