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How To Defeat Gorespine With Standard Pets

November 1, 2015 by

World_of_WarcraftI love my pet battles but I have to say this Elite pet frustrated the hell out of me.

After about 20 attempts at Gorespine (who’s located in the Dread Wastes on the lower west coast), I finally stumbled on a combo of standard Level 25 pets that worked:

1. Alpine Foxling Kit

2. Emerald Turtle

3. Arctic Hare

The strategy that worked for me was: Dazzling Dance, Howl and Bite from the Foxling Kit, then Headbutt, Emerald Bite, Healing Wave, Emerald Bite from the Emerald Turtle. Finally Burrow, Dodge and Scratch from the Arctic Hare finished him off.

Hope that helps!

Filed Under: Maps, WoW Tagged With: ,

World of Warcraft Is Going Down The Draenor

November 9, 2013 by

Apologies for the post title but I just couldn’t resist. With BlizzCon 2013 underway, the announcement has been made about World of Warcraft’s next expansion. Titled Warlords of Draenor, , we get seven new zones on a new planet (Draenor), an increase in the level cap to 100, the ability to start a character at Level 90, player Garrisons and some world PvP options that sound interesting. Not surprisingly there’s no firm release date as yet.

Here’s the announcement trailer:

I’ve been a very irregular player of WoW over the past few months, but nothing gets me back into the game quicker than an expansion, and I have to say I like the look of this one. Here’s what’s got me particularly intrigued:

1. The ability to have your own garrison populated by NPCs picked up via questing could make the game in a big way, assuming there’s decent levels of customisation available. I love how this is a nod to the original Warcraft games and I’m hopeful that this will be a focus of further development. If there can be pet battles, there can be some retro Warcraft scenarios / quests surely?

2. As a player than actually likes levelling, I’m encouraged by the level cap increase that’s twice the increase of Mists of Pandaria. Sure, that doesn’t mean there’s necessarily twice the levelling content, but I’m going to remain optimistic.

3. The new character models and veiled references to graphics engine improvements have me excited as well. No-one is going to argue WoW is anywhere near being a graphically cutting edge game, but ongoing improvements at least stop the gap widening.

Most importantly, we want to hear from you – has the expansion announcement caught your attention? Check out our poll on the right hand side of the page and take part if you can. We’ll also be talking everything Warlords of Draenor on tomorrow night’s podcast.

Filed Under: General News, News, WoW Tagged With: ,

Through The Mist: Making The Switch

May 2, 2013 by

wow-through-the-mist-new

Through the Mist has been a regular column from Luke Le Page covering everything World of Warcraft.!

As most of you are probably aware, it has been a long time between drinks for me. I recently made the call to cancel my WoW subscription – this was not entirely due to the quality of Mists of Pandaria (though it was a factor) but a culmination of a lot of other circumstances as well. I’ve taken on a larger course load at university and returned to playing SWTOR.

 

Why, you may ask, have I made the decision to swap from my once beloved WoW to the Old Republic? To put it simply, I was enjoying it a lot more when it came time to make the decision to cut back on my monthly expenditure. The fact that I can play without paying anything if I choose was also a factor.

 

Back to the enjoyment factor, I haven’t enjoyed Mists in quite some time. It took me months to get a second character to 90 and I didn’t even consider a third. From a game where I had max level characters of every class (bar druid) at every expansion this says a lot about my enjoyment factor. Most of the time that I logged in I had hopes and intentions of doing all sorts of things but it usually turned into pet battles because I found that’s where my enjoyment was coming from.

 

Then along came the Rise of the Hutt Cartel and I really enjoyed the new content – yes it was short but it was sweet. I now have three 55s and a handful on their way to level cap. So in future I will turn my writing to SWTOR – I want to thank the WoW readers I’ve had. It was a lot of fun writing about a game I was passionate about but the passion has died out and I have moved on, I hope my readers can forgive me and move on with me. It was a great honour and privilege to write about something so many people are interested in.

 

I will also turn some attention to Neverwinter Online (if I ever truly get a grasp of the game systems myself) and the Elder Scrolls online.

 

Filed Under: General News, WoW Tagged With:

Oceanic Soap Box: Gander At The Pandas?

August 30, 2012 by

It’s an embarrassment of riches at the moment with MMOs. Guild Wars is only a few days old, SWTOR is close to going Free to Play, and World of Warcraft just had Patch 5.04 drop, the last one before the Mists of Pandaria expansion hits in late September.

So let’s focus on Pandas for a few minutes. For ex-players of WoW, is the latest expansion enough to draw you back? For people who’ve never played: is the game too old to consider? For current players like me: what are you liking or hating from your first 24 hours with 5.04?

Let the debate begin!

Filed Under: General News, Op-Ed, WoW Tagged With: ,

Through The Mist: World of Warcraft Pet Battles

August 20, 2012 by

Through the Mist is a regular column from Luke Le Page covering everything World of Warcraft. If you’d like something covered in a future column, drop us a line!

This week I logged in to take a look at the new pet battle system coming with Mists of Pandaria. Prior to logging in I was not particularly looking forward to this feature and it was something I looked at as a time waster while waiting for queues to pop and raids to form. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the feature. As I mentioned a few weeks ago in my overview of the major changes Pet battles does not offer us anything ground breaking in terms of new MMO technology or gameplay, it is simply a mini-game that is extremely fun.

To enable the feature we need to learn about pet battles from Varzok in Orgrimmar. He can be found near the flight master.

Once we have learnt the ability we now have to find some critters to fight. We can do this via our mini map – attackable critters appear as a paw on our mini maps and are spread generously throughout the world:

To attack on these critters we simply click on them. We begin the battle with just 1 pet slot and can unlock more as we progress through levels. At level 5 we receive our 3rd slot and can then queue to fight other players, though we can challenge players to a pet duel at any level in person.

As our pets progress in level, they unlock new skills and eventually we can capture the critters that we are fighting. Each pet has 4 stats: Health, Power, Speed, and Quality.  Health, Power and Speed increase as your pets level up.  Quality designates the overall strength of your pet’s stats and will vary on every pet that you catch.

We also have the option to rename each of our pets individually – this is helpful as we can capture multiple types of one pet as we battle across Azeroth. It also allowed me to officially rename my Panda from the original collector’s edition to the name by which I have been referring to it for years.

As mentioned above there is nothing mind blowing about this new feature, it is in fact very much like the classic Pokémon games from the Nintendo Gameboy. It is highly addictive and a lot of fun to play and after having played it on the Beta I have spent close to 5,000 gold on pets on the live realm, ready to be levelled as  soon as the feature is released.

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, WoW Tagged With: ,

Mists of Pandaria Cinematic Trailer Released

August 16, 2012 by

It’s been a while coming, but Blizzard have release the cinematic trailer for next month’s Mists of Pandaria expansion.

Enjoy!

Over to you: what are your thoughts? Is the cinematic more or less than you expected?

Filed Under: General News, WoW Tagged With: , ,

Through The Mist: Level 85-90 Experience Points

August 15, 2012 by

Through the Mist is a regular column from Luke Le Page covering everything World of Warcraft. If you’d like something covered in a future column, drop us a line!

Last week I looked at the Pandaren starting area and I had hoped to preview some of the higher level content for you this week. Unfortunately the first zone we enter for Mists of Pandaria, the Jade Forest has only been reopened fairly recently after a major overhaul and I have not yet had the chance to replay it.

First I’d like to direct current subscribers to the following information regarding the recent Blizzard security breach. I encourage all current subscribers to follow the steps suggested by Blizzard in regards to account security. This breach also limited my game time last week as I could not for the life of me locate my authenticator for the hotfix so I apologise in advance for not being very content oriented this week.

The pre Mists of Pandaria patch (5.0.4) is also now available via background downloader and the pre expansion event will not be publicly tested.

There’s also some interesting information regarding the use of Blizzard’s recruit-a-friend system for levelling a Monk.  You can see here that Monks using this feature WILL be able to receive realm first achievements. Though using the Scroll of Resurrection feature to have an instant level 80 will not allow realm firsts.

Recently it was discovered that the experience required for levels 85+ was increased significantly in the Beta. There were also a number of changes to the pre-85 levels you can see the conversions below:

These increases seem fairly significant, however my own experience on the Beta has shown that the experience received for killing mobs as well as completing quests shows a significant increase in Mists of Pandaria, we also know that these are not finalised numbers (source).. Though it was some time ago, Level 85-86 took me less than 3 hours in an extremely crowded (and bugged) zone early in the beta. Unfortunately given the overhaul to the Jade Forest mentioned above, I cannot currently comment on this with great detail. A quest in the Valley of Four Winds for example gives 141,900 experience points, so the overall increase is relatively minor when put in perspective:

Next time I’ll take a look at The Jade Forest once again, the small amount of play time I had this week showed it with a significant visual overhaul. I also intend to offer a preview of  the new Pet battle system.

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, WoW Tagged With: ,

Through The Mist: A Tour Of The Wandering Isles

August 7, 2012 by

Through the Mist is a regular column from Luke Le Page covering everything World of Warcraft. If you’d like something covered in a future column, drop us a line!

This week I will be taking a look at the Wandering Isles, the new starting zone for the Pandaren and the Pandaren in general. The zone offers us a new introductory cut scene, which I will not describe so that you may enjoy it on launch night.  Suffice to say that this zone known as the Wandering Isle has begun to move erratically and it is up to you as an adventurous and gifted Pandaren to discover the reason for this.

The Pandaren are World of Warcraft’s first neutral race and as such the starting area is quite serene with some amazing new scenery. The entire zone has a strong Chinese feel to it as one would expect given the lore behind the race. Due to its neutrality, the starting zone does not have mailboxes, meaning that until the area is complete players cannot use their BoA items or send bags and supplies to their new Pandarens. This has been the focus of a lot of discussion in the beta but overall it has proven to be a sensible decision on behalf of Blizzard. The zone is rich in lore and the visuals are absolutely stunning and there is no surprise that Blizzard want players to be immersed in every aspect of the Wandering Isles.

Last week I described the Pandaren as bobbly and I stand by this description. To me it feels similar to the bobbing motion that a character has when they are riding a Raptor mount. In a way it suits the physics of the race but personally I find it distracting.

There are a number of interesting racials for the Pandarens to enjoy and these include:

Epicurean: Your love of food allows you to receive double the stats from Well Fed effects.
Inner Peace:  Your rested experience bonus lasts twice as long.
Bouncy: You take 50% less falling damage.
Quaking Palm: Strikes the target with lightning speed, incapacitating them for 4 seconds.

Onto a tour of The Wandering Isles:

Starting area

The first few quests follow along the lines of those that were introduced with Cataclysm and focus on teaching new players how to equip items and use their abilities.

While this is somewhat annoying as a seasoned player, it is brief enough to be tolerable knowing that it will help new players to the game learn their characters.

Quests

Next up is a handful of quests where the player is trailed by Master Shang Xi as they attempt to complete their training. This series of quests also introduces us to a new protagonist the Hozen who we will also meet in the higher level zones to be previewed later.

The Hozen have some nifty little attacks such as the ability to jump on the players head (similar to the Kobolds) in ToGC.

Hozen

We continue along these lines until we reawaken the spirit of fire, upon completion of this quest we learn that Shen-zin Su is in pain. While there is little hint as to what or who Shen-zin Su is, we are whisked off to awaken the remaining elemental spirits, whose absences are being felt to varying degrees across the Wandering Isle, in order to communicate with it.

The quest line follows this approach, with various side quests that have us dealing with the Hozen, until we have gathered the four ancient spirits together. After this we learn that Shen-zin Su is an enormous turtle and the Wandering Isle is affixed firmly to his shell and the might creature is in pain due to a thorn in his side.

Shen-zin Su

We are now sent to investigate this injury to learn that an alliance airship has crashed into his side. This is the first time the Pandaren are exposed to the battling factions of the Alliance and the Horde.

After completing a series of quests for both factions and finally healing Shen-zin Su with their assistance, we return to the spirit of Master Shang Xi where you are required to select a faction. After selecting the Horde I was teleported to Orgrimmar where Garrosh Hellscream gave me a fairly cold welcome and put me through a quest that sets the tone of the expansion.

Summary

The Wandering Isles was an interesting zone, I was just shy of level 12 upon completion of the quest for Garrosh Hellscream and I feel that the levelling was well timed. I never felt too strong for my opponents or too weak and I am glad that BoA’s are not allowed in the area. The zone itself was visually stunning and the quests combined with the environment reinforced the sense of discipline and lore of the Pandaren race and Monk class. There is a fair amount of walking involved in this new area which in future may become annoying for now it allowed me to enjoy the aesthetics of the zone.

Filed Under: General News, News, WoW Tagged With: , ,

Through The Mist: MoP Overview

July 29, 2012 by

Through the Mist is a regular column covering not just the new expansion but pretty much anything else of interest in the game. We’re thrilled to welcome Through the Mist’s writer, Luke Le Page. Luke is going to writing the column regularly, starting with an overview of the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. Welcome Luke!

As this is my first piece I was having some difficulty in determining how to start it. Blizzard have managed to do it for me by announcing the release date for World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion; Mists of Pandaria. This also leaves me with a lot of content to cover and not much time in which to do it. Mists will hit shelves and for the first time in the franchise’s history be available digitally on September 25. The digital version will enable players to log in the second that the servers are ready and eliminate the need to wait in line at various retail stores for midnight launches. Thurday’s press release also detailed the different version of the game and can be found here.

I will start by summarising ten of the major changes to be found in the upcoming expansion and unpack them in more detail on a weekly between now and release.

Character creation:

There have been a number of complaints over WoW’s lifespan regarding character customisation, which was partially addressed with introduction of the barber shop where players could, for an in-game fee, change the look of their characters. This was advanced further with the recent introduction of transmogrification – which allows characters to transmogrify their equipped items into something entirely different. This feature was warmly received and has seen a huge differentiation in the items that many people display on their characters giving them a more unique feel. Despite these other additions the actual character creation had not changed since the initial launch of WoW and it was past time for this feature to be updated.

While the changes in Mists are by no means ground-breaking they offer an exciting new feel to making a character and I have spent some time on the beta playing with the new functions.

Talents:

The talent tree has received a major overhaul. Veteran players will be familiar with having to adapt to a number of changes with the release of past expansions, but the new system is something completely different. We still see the 3 major tree’s for each class, but it is the talent trees themselves that have seen the major changes. Players will now receive a talent point every 15 levels giving them just 6 talent points overall. Each tree has 6 tiers with 3 choices per tier, offering just 18 talent choices in total, however only one talent in each tier can be selected. Many of the old talents are now incorporated into abilities passively and are acquired as characters progress through levels. This change has seen a lot of discussion across various message boards but when people ask me what I think of it I describe it as ‘less is more’. These changes can already be seen on the PTR.

Pre-release world event:

I will not go into any real detail on this as I do not wish to spoil it for anyone but we all love a great in-game event and the Mists of Pandaria launch event is set to be excellent.

Shared Zones:

This is one of my favourite changes to the game in its life span. MoP will see the introduction of cross-realm zones where players from multiple realms will be able to see, interact and play with one another.  This will help solve the issue of sparsely populated levelling zones and shows promise towards the introduction of a fully shared game world where guilds and friendships can be formed across realms.

Account wide mounts and achievements:

This feature may not impress everyone but for me personally it is a major selling point. I have well over 100 mounts on my Rogue, including a number of rare and no longer attainable ones, so it is nice to be rewarded for this hard work on all of my characters. This feature is still being worked on but it looks promising for release

New Race:

In this expansion we see the introduction of a new race, the Pandaren. The Pandaren come with a rich back story and breathtaking new starting zone, which I will preview prior to release, and is available to both factions. I was quite impressed by the dynamics of the Pandaren race, though their movement felt somewhat bobbly to me.

New Class:

MoP will introduce us to the class of Monk. The Monk is a new melee class with the ability to fulfil all three roles in the game i.e. healer, tank, dps. I will preview the Monk in full prior to release but so far I have found it an extremely fun class to play.

Pet Battles:

This is an extremely fun mini-game. I hate to bring up another game but many readers of this site will be familiar with the high demand for a Pazaak mini game in SWTOR and the disappointment that accompanied its exclusion. While Pet battles is not Pazaak it seems that Blizzard have taken note of the demand for mini-games and decided to try their hand at it and the result is a lot of fun. Again this is by no means a ground breaking advancement of the modern MMO, it is simply another way to have fun in the game.

Challenge modes:

This is a feature I am extremely excited about. This feature sees the introduction of challenge modes to dungeons where players will race against the clock to complete instances as fast as possible. Rewards will vary based on the speed with which the instance is cleared. Gear will also be normalised to a level appropriate to the dungeon ensuring that challenge modes remain difficult throughout various tiers of gear. The only downside I see to this is that it encourages “zerging” of the challenge mode as the rewards are based on speed and not the difficulty of content.

New Zones

Lastly we have the customary introduction of new zones. We see the introduction of eight new zones in Mists of Pandaria and all of them are breathtaking. If, like me, you enjoy exploring the world, MoP offers you spectacular scenery to enjoy and explore.

This is by no means all of the changes that are coming with Mists of Pandaria and I will attempt to cover everything I can in the time until release I felt that these 10 points were the major changes that have me excited to play.

Over to you: have you been involved in the beta and if so, what have you enjoyed the most?

Filed Under: General News, WoW Tagged With: ,

Five Reasons I’m Excited About Mists Of Pandaria

July 26, 2012 by

With the announcement in the last 24 hours that the next World of Warcraft Expansion will hit virtual or physical world shelves on September 25th, I thought I’d put down some reasons why I’m actually quite excited about the fourth expansion to one of the world’s most successful MMOs ever.

There are of course more than five reasons to be looking forward to MoP, and hopefully you’ll add some more below in comments, but for what they’re worth, here are mine:

1. New explorations

Despite the pandas, I’m excited to have a bunch of new territories in WoW to explore. Having played since Burning Crusade, I’ve always loved those initial days or checking out new zones. That’s not a WoW-specific joy by any means, but it’s still something that gets me going. And hell, I might even get to like the Pandarians.

2. Assessing whether the shark has been jumped

As much as I’m a dedicated WoW player and Blizzard follower since Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, I’m also cynical enough to be interested in whether Blizzard are able to grow WoW via this expansion, or just hold off the decline for a few more months. There’s also the potential that MoP doesn’t deliver, in which case the game will have well and truly ‘jumped the shark‘. Of course, some true cynics would argue WoW achieved that status after Burning Crusade…

3. Watchin’ the innovation

With each expansion Blizzard have delivered some innovative new aspects to MMO gameplay. MoP will be no different and I for one am excited to be able to log in, check out what’s changed, enjoy re-speccing and going out into the wide blue questing yonder. Being particularly selfish, I don’t just want to see WoW show off some new ideas, I want those ideas to be so good that they form a launching pad for my other favourite MMO SWTOR to mimic or even improve on. C’mon, it could happen!

4. Indulging my achievement junkie

I’m a diagnosed achievement junkie and I still think WoW’s achievement system is the best one going around. That alone means I’m keen to immerse myself in MoP and to see if there are some particularly cool achievements. I still tell everyone that will listen (there’s not many left) how I won the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza – so I’m hoping there’ll be some similar things I can get excited about. Hell, I just want to level up my fishing to the newest level cap!

5. It’s the Event, dummy

In the lead-up to Cataclysm, there was a series of World Events that were nearly as much fun as the expansion itself. Last time it was protecting your home city from being overrun. Who knows what it’ll be this time, but I can’t wait to see it.

So now it’s your turn: will you be buying MoP and if so, is it a return to WoW for you or just the latest expansion in a long period of playing?

Filed Under: General News, Opinion, WoW Tagged With: ,

Map of Stormwind Vendors, Trainers and NPCs

June 30, 2012 by

FULLY UPDATED FOR MISTS OF PANDARIA!

How to use this map: find your Stormwind trainer, vendor or quartermaster in the table and match the number or letter listed in that cell to find it on the map. If you’re looking for the Stormwind portal to Pandaria: go to number 46 on the map below 😉

Stormwind Vendors, Trainers and Quartermasters

(Click on image for full size version)

Ref Vendor/s or other key NPCs Trainer/s
A Guild Master (Aldwin Laughlin) Golden King (NPC)
Tabard Designer (Rebecca Laughlin)
Guild Vendor (Shay Pressler)
Adam Pressler (NPC)
B Mistress of Cheese (Elaine Trias)
Apprentice of Cheese (Ben Trias)
Master of Cheese (Elling Trias) – upstairs
C Reagents (Kyra Boucher) Renato Gallina (NPC)
Alchemy Supplies & Reagents (Keldric Boucher)
Morgan Pestle
D General Goods (Thurman Mullby) Bag Merchant (Dawn Radue)
Trade Supplies (Edna Mullby)
E Weapons Merchant (Marda Weller)
Weapons Merchant (Gunther Weller)
F Cloth Armor Merchant (Carla Granger) Harlan Bagley (NPC)
Leather Armor Merchant (Lara Moore)
Mail Armor Merchant (Aldric Moore)
G Auctioneers Justine Demailer (NPC) – outside
Ian Drake (NPC) – outside
H Innkeeper Allison
I Bankers Portal Panda (Ka Pao
Guild Vaults
J Bow & Gun Merchant (Lina Stover) Topper McNab (NPC) – outside
Bow & Arrow Merchant (Frederick Stover)
K Barber (Jelinek Sharpshear) Genevieve (NPC)
Anastasia (NPC) Ol’ Emma (NPC) – walks past
L Gryphon Master (Dungar Longdrink) Flying Trainer (Bralla Cloudwing)
Gryphon Keeper (Tannec Stonebeak)
Stormwind Quartermaster (Lancy Revshon)
M Florist (Bernard Gump) Little Adeline (NPC)
Herbalism Supplies (Felicia Gump)
N Clothier (Lisbeth Schneider) Rema Schenider (NPC)
O Wine Vendor (Julia Gallina) Suzetta Gallina (NPC)
Merlot Connoisseur (Roberto Pupellyverbos)
P Enchanting Supplies (Jessara Cordell) Enchanting Trainer (Lucan Cordell)
IIthurian Whitespire (NPC) – former reforger Apprentice Enchanter (Betty Quin)
Q Librarian (Adair Gilroy) Mazen Mac’Nadir (NPC)
Candy Vendor (Lisa McKeever) Acolyte Dellis (NPC)
R Inscription Supplies (Stanly McCormick) Inscription Trainer (Catarina Stanford)
Ink Trader (Sarana Damir) Lexicon of Power
S Fireworks Vendor (Darian Singh)
T Bartender (Jarel Moor)
U Tailoring Trainer (Jalane Ayrole) Warlock Trainer (Demisette Cloyce)
Zardeth of the Black Claw (NPC) Warlock Trainer (Ursula Deline)
Gakin the Darkbinder (NPC) Warlock Trainer (Sandahl)
Demon Trainer (Spackle Thornberry)
V Arcane Trinkets Vendor (Charys Yserian) Fizzles (NPC)
W Reagents (Owen Vaughn)
X Hatter (Evan Larson) Apprentice Tailor (Sellandus)
Robe Merchant (Wynne Larson) Thurman Schneider (NPC)
Collin Mauren (NPC) – outside, around corner
Y Bartender (Joachim Brenlow) Innkeeper (Steven Lohan)
Head Chef (Angus Stern) Apprentice Chef (Connor Rivers)
Erich Lohan (NPC) – mobile
Z Archmage Malin (NPC) – outside Master Mage (Maginor Dumas)
Portal to Blasted Lands Mage Trainer (Jennea Cannon)
High Sorcerer Andromath (NPC) Mage Trainer (Elsharin)
Coridormi (NPC) Portal Trainer (Larimaine Purdue)
2 Wand Merchant (Ardwyn Cailen) Staves Merchant (Allan Hafgan)
3 Light Armor Merchant (Duncan Cullen) Tailoring Trainer (Georgio Bolero)
Tailoring Supplies (Alexandra Bolero) Apprentice Tailor(Lawrence Schneider)
4 Herbalism Supplies (Eldraeith) Apprentice Alchemist (Tel’Athir)
Alchemy Supplies (Maria Lumere) Alchemy Trainer (Lilyssia Nightbreeze)
Herbalism Trainer (Tannysa) – outside
5 Nambria (NPC)
6 Recruiter Burns (NPC)
Ship to Valiance Keep (Borean Tundra)
Dockmaster (Leesha Tannerby)
6a Bwemba (NPC)
Commander Sharp (NPC)
6b Justin Boehm (NPC) Engineer Kurtis Paddock (NPC)
Daniel Kramer (NPC) Serban Oprescu (NPC)
Meghan Dawson (NPC) Art Peshkov (NPC)
Galley Chief Paul Kubit (NPC) Candace Thomas (NPC)
6c Argos Nightwhisper (NPC) Priest Trainer (Nara Meideros)
Dockmaster (Nayura) Druid Trainer (Sheldras Moontree)
Ship to Auberdine (Darnassus)
7 Arcane Reforger (Thaumaturge Vashreen) Thaumaturge Rafir (NPC)
Void Storage (Vaultkeeper Razhid)
Transmogrifier (Warpweaver Hashom)
8 Stormwind Census (Royal Factor Bathrilor)
City Architect (Baros Alexston)
9 Nil
10 Orphan Matron Nightingale (NPC)
Orphanage Matron (Shellene)
11 Mail Armor Merchant (Agustus Moulaine)
Robe Vendor (Theresa Moulaine)
12 Staff & Mace Merchant (Gregory Ardus)
13 Scarlet Crusade Emissary (Brother Crowley) Priest Trainer (Brother Benjamin)
Reagents Vendor (Brother Cassius) Priest Trainer (Brother Joshua)
Brother Sarno (NPC) Priest Trainer (High Priestess Laurena)
Duthorian Rall (NPC) Paladin Trainer (Katherine the Pure)
Bishop Farthing (NPC) Paladin Trainer (Arthur the Faithful)
Gazin Tenorm (NPC) Paladin Trainer
Altar Boy Thomas (NPC) (Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker)
First Aid Trainer (Angela Leifeld)
14 Stable Master (Jenova Stoneshield) Pet Trainer (Karrina Mekenda)
Muzzle (NPC) Hunter Trainer (Einris Brightspear)
Hunter Trainer (Ulfir Ironbeard)
Hunter Trainer (Thorfin Stoneshield)
15 Battleground Emissary
16 Engineering Supplies (Billibub Cogspinner) Engineering Trainer (L. Sparkspindle)
Shoni the Shilent (NPC) Priest Trainer (Chief Surgeon Gashweld)
17 Guns Vendor (Thulman Flintcrag)
18 Grimand Elmore (NPC) Blacksmithing Trainer (Borgus Steelhand)
Axe Merchant (Kathrum Axehand)
19 Mining Supplies (Brooke Stonebraid) Mining Trainer (Gelman Stonehand)
20 Blacksmithing Supplies (Kaita Deepforge) Blacksmithing Trainer (T.Deepforge)
Locksmith (Benik Boltshear) Hank The Hammer (NPC)
Furen Longbeard (NPC)
21a Naanae (NPC) Lucas Severing (NPC)
Rell Nightwind (NPC) Emissary Taluun (NPC)
Crithto (Battle Pet) – mobile
21b Caledra Dawnbreeze (NPC) Count Remington Ridgewell (NPC)
Bishop DeLavey (NPC) Lord Baurles K. Wishock (NPC)
21c Battlemasters Battleground Emissary
Mithras Ironhill (NPC)
21d Major Samuelson (NPC) Grand-Admiral Jes-Tereth (NPC)
King Varian Wrynn (NPC) Prince Anduin Wrynn (NPC)
Genn Greymane (NPC)
21e Cenarion Emissary Jademoon Archaeology Trainer (Harrison Jones)
Lana Dubing (NPC) Donyal Tovald (NPC)
Darnella Winford (NPC) Milton Sheaf (NPC)
Alicia (NPC)
22 Shield Merchant (Bryan Cross) Officer Connolly (walks past)
23 Cobbler (Mayda Thane)
24 Leatherworking Supplies (Jillian Tanner) Leatherworking Trainer (Simon Tanner)
Bag Vendor (Alyssa Griffith) Skinning Trainer (Maris Granger)
Leather Armor Merchant (Seoman Griffith) Little Noah (NPC)
Randal Worth (NPC)
25 Heavy Armor Merchant (Osric Strang)
Mail Armor Merchant (Wilhelm Strang)
26 Blade Merchant (Heinrich Stone) Jenn Langston (NPC) – walks past
27 Two Handed Weapon Merchant Nikova Raskol (NPC) – outside
(Gerik Koen)
28 Innkeeper (Maegan Tillman) Cooking Trainer (Stephen Ryback)
Barmaid (Elly Langston) Cooking Supplies (Erika Tate)
Harry Burlguard (NPC) Tavernkeeper (Reese Langston)
Bartleby (NPC) Aedis Brom (NPC)
Christoph Faral (NPC) Master of Cooking Recipes (Kendor Kabonka) upstairs
29 Rogue Trainer (Osborne The Night Man)
30 Justice Heirlooms (Larisse Pembraux) Warrior Trainer (Ilsa Corbin)
Legacy Justice Quartermaster (Toren Landow) Warrior Trainer (Wu Shen)
Valor Quartermaster (Faldren Tillsdale) Warrior Trainer (Ander Germaine)
Justice Quartermaster (Magatha Silverton) Hunter Trainer (Wulf Hansreim)
Justice Trade Goods (Talric Forthright) Hunter Trainer (Sarisse Jume)
Gonzalez (NPC) Hunter Trainer (Don Omar)
Dave the Quick (NPC) – outside Pet Trainer (Alma Deering)
31 Officer Accessories Quartermaster Accessories Quartermaster (Master Sergeant Biggins)
Weapons Quartermaster (Capt O’Neal) Legacy Armor Quartermaster (Sergeant Major Clate)
Legacy Weapon Quartermaster (Lt Jackspring) Honor Heirlooms (Liliana Emberfrost)
War Mount Quartermaster (Lt Karter) Honor Trade Goods (Edlan Halsing)
Armor Quartermaster (Captain Dirgehammer) Archmage Gaiman (NPC)
Apprentice Armor Quartermaster Harbinger Ennarth (NPC)
Armor Quartermaster (Lt Tristia) Sergeant Major Skyshadow (NPC)
32a Shady Dealer (Jasper Fel) Rogue Trainer (Lord Tony Romano)
Poison Supplies (Sloan McCoy) Renzik “The Shiv” (NPC)
Samuelson’s Files (up spiral staircase) Master Matthias Shaw (NPC)
32b Training Dummies Master Wood (NPC)
32c Stable Master (Karin) Riding Trainer (Darlene Stokx)
Horse Breeder (Katie Stokx)
33 Jewelcrafting Supplies (Isabel Jones) Jewelcrafting Trainer (Theresa Denman)
Jewelcrafting Supplies (Terrance Denman) Epic Gem Recipes (Farrah Facet)
Jewelcrafting Design Vendor (Isabel Jones)
34 Head Chef (Robby Flay)
Sous Chef (Bario Matalli)
35 Thargold Ironwing (NPC) Stormwind Rat (NPC)
36 David Gregory (NPC)
Judy Gregory (NPC)
37 Lana Ashwin (NPC) Sean Copeland (NPC)
“Daphne “”The Rose”” Bloom (NPC)” Scott Keenan (NPC)
Warren Fulton (NPC) Daniel Kinsey (NPC)
Quincy Cutler (NPC)
38 Heavy Armor Merchant (Allison Potts) Blacksmithing Trainer (Jordan Smith)
39 Brohann Caskbelly (NPC) Wilder Thistlenettle (NPC)
40 Morgg Stormshot
41 Auction House
42 Royal Bank of Stormwind Banker (Fineas G Bankworthy)
Officer Brady (NPC) Bankers
43 Innkeeper (Thaegra Tillstone) Shaman Trainer (Farseer Umbrua)
Tavern Keeper (Colin Field) Shaman Trainer (Bolner Hammerbeak)
Barmaid (Myrla Stoneround) Shaman Trainer (Dalga Hammerbeak)
44 Dylan Aguilar (NPC) Battle Pet Trainer (Audrey Burnhep)
45 Naraat The Earthspeaker (NPC) Portal to Uldum
Portal to Deepholm Portal to Mount Hyjal
Portal to Twilight Highlands Portal to Tol Barad
Portal to Vashj’ir
46 Jojo Ironbrow (NPC) Monk Trainer (Aysa Cloudsinger)
Portal to Pandaria
47 Chromie (NPC) Wyrmrest Protectors
48 Brunn Goldenmug (NPC)
49 Leria Nightwind (NPC)
Filed Under: Maps, WoW Tagged With: , ,

World of Warcraft – ‘Well Read’ Achievement

June 30, 2012 by

As a long-term World of Warcraft player, I’m still regularly astounded at the complexity and depth of the ‘game’. For the past couple of years, the Achievements system has helped to encapsulate the scope of WoW. At time of writing, there are more than 1400 achievements that range from pulling off 100 victories in a battleground to kissing a range of WoW fauna.

One of these achievements is titled Well Read and requires the reading of 42 books spread around different parts of Azeroth. It’s a time-consuming quest but one that gives you the opportunity to read a lot of WoW lore if that’s what takes your fancy. If not, then it’s just another grind for an achievement 😉

Any Level 70+ character is likely to be able to pick up the quest solo, with the biggest challenge being Scholomance.

I recorded the location of each book as I did it, for your benefit – I tried to do it in the most time-efficient way as far as flight time etc. Of course, the list below applies to Alliance characters, Horde characters may want to check here for an alternate approach.

Onto the list:

Ref Name Where Specifics
1 The Alliance of Lordaeron Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Table
2 Aftermath of the Second War Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Table
3 The Guardians of Tirisfal Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Table
4 Aegwynn and the Dragon Hunt Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Floor
5 Beyond the Dark Portal Stormwind Keep – Royal Library 2nd Table
6 Civil War in the Plaguelands Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Floor
7 The Kaldorei & the Well of Eternity Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On Pillar
8 The New Horde Stormwind Keep – Royal Library On 2nd Pillar
9 The Dark Portal and the Fall of Stormwind Stormwind Keep – War Room On Table
10 The Battle of Grim Batol Stormwind Keep – War Room 2nd Table
11 War of the Spider Stormwind Keep – War Room 3rd Table
12 Archimonde’s Return Stormwind – Library – The Canals On Table
  and the Flight to Kalimdor    
13 Mount Hyjal and Illidan’s Gift Stormwind – Library – The Canals On Table
14 Lethargy of the Orcs Elwynn Forest – Eastvale Logging 2nd Floor House
15 Kil’Jaeden and the Shadow Pact Duskwood – Darkshire Inn Upstairs
16 The Founding of Quel’Thalas Duskwood – Darkshire Inn Upstairs
17 The Birth of the Lich King Duskwood – Town Hall On Table (Mayor)
18 The Last Guardian Westfall – Sentinel Hill – Inn On Table
19 The Scourge of Lordaeron Booty Bay – ‘Sea Wolf’ McKinley Bottom Floor
20 The Twin Empires Booty Bay – ‘Sea Wolf’ McKinley Bottom Floor
21 Empires’ Fall Booty Bay – ‘Sea Wolf’ McKinley Bottom Floor
22 Wrath of Soulflayer Booty Bay – ‘Sea Wolf’ McKinley Bottom Floor
23 The Sentinels and the Long Vigil Booty Bay – ‘Sea Wolf’ McKinley Top Floor
24 Sunwell – The Fall of Quel’Thalas Booty Bay – Salty Sailor Tavern 2nd Floor
25 Ironforge – The Awakening of the Dwarves Ironforge – Hall of Explorers Library Table
26 War of the Three Hammers Ironforge – Hall of Explorers Library Table
27 Arathor and the Troll Wars Ironforge – Hall of Explorers Library Table
28 The Old Gods and the Ordering of Azeroth Ironforge – Hall of Explorers Library Table
29 Charge of the Dragonflights Ironforge – Hall of Explorers Library Table
30 The Rise of the Horde Ironforge – Hall of Explorers  
31 The Invasion of Draenor Western Plagulands -Scholomance First room (down)
32 Exile of the High Elves Western Plagulands -Scholomance First room (down)
33 The Seven Kingdoms Western Plagulands -Scholomance The Reliquary
34 Icecrown and Frozen Throne Western Plagulands -Scholomance The Reliquary
35 Sargeras and The Betrayal Western Plagulands -Scholomance The Reliquary
36 Kel’Thuzad and the Forming of the Scourge Western Plagulands -Scholomance The Reliquary
37 The Lich King Triumphant Western Plagulands -Scholomance The Reliquary
38 Rise of the Blood Elves Darnassus – Craftsmen’s Terrace B/W Cooking & First Aid
39 The War of the Ancients Darnassus – Craftsmen’s Terrace B/W Cooking & First Aid
40 The World Tree and the Emerald Dream Darnassus – Craftsmen’s Terrace North most building
41 The Betrayer Ascendant Darnassus – Tradesman’s Terrace Back row, behind Cloth
42 Old Hatreds – The Colonization of Kalimdor Gadgetzan At Flightmaster
Filed Under: How-To, WoW Tagged With: ,
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