Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Questes : The Battle for Darrowshire

Wait, you say. I know that name! I have seen a great many things... and that's one of them - that's the extremely awesome video and song by Cranius! Of course, if you don't know about it, then now you do, so you can reread the beginning of this paragraph and be just as informed as the rest of us. Congrats.
Now, what would you say if you could relive one of the best machinimas of all time IN GAME? Yes, I know you can blast your foes in twill and stealth into Stormwind (can't attack Ony any more, but you could) - but seriously, Darrowshire was a brilliant masterpiece by Cranius... and was based on a quest. Which is, oddly enough, the very same quest that we're going to do today in questes! It makes a man wonder, it does. With that said, let's get to fightin'!

Who can do it?
Anybody over level 50. This chain used to end in one of the most epic outdoor raid quests ever - no longer, nerfed in the death of the microdungeon in patch 2.3. Now it is possible to finish the last quest with a decent 5-man at level, or 3-man if you're good. Try to solo it if you really want to, but it is difficult and requires an inaverage amount of cleverness/speed. I'd wait until 70 or so to attempt soloing it, however, especially as a class not so levelling-inclined.

Where to begin!
There are two options of where to start this. Firstly, you can talk to Jessica Redpath in Everlook, the goblin quest hub in Winterspring, for the quest 'Sister Pamela'. Or, you can begin the chain qith a very similar quest from Marlene Redpath, who wanders around a ramshackle inn in the Western Plaguelands. Starting it here is suggested, because you have to go back to her later, she is in the same general area, and the quest she gives you offers a bit more xp. Basically, start with her. Also, neat bit of music inside the hut she stays in - not sure if it exists anywhere else in the world.
You an also bypass both of these quests, and go straight to Pamela Redpath on the outskirts of Darrowshire - use quest tracking to make it easy.
Who tells me how to do THIS one?
Well, you guessed it, wowwiki once again comes to the rescue. Isn't it amazing how much anonymous people give to the community through posting there? Also, if you know your mobs well, you could try to just do the quest based upon Cranius's masterpiece. However, it takes some artistic interpretations, and if you just followed it linearly you'd probably get lost. Best to just stick to Wowwiki/Wowhead with this one.

Like always, however, I'd really suggest that you try and do these quests on your own, without outside instruction. In-game quest help makes it pretty simple, and if you keep referring to a guide, at least I feel it takes away from the epicness of the game. You can do what you wish, however.

The stuff we find...
Like always, experience is good. So is Argent Dawn reputation, for a number of reasons, not least the Argent Champion title.
As for stuff stuff, you first get some Tea with Sugar, which is actually usable during the Vezax encounter. Only 3 charges, but still neat you get something useful after all this while.
Next, you get three decent blue items, good for their level, but soon replaced by outland gear. They are the Ring of Protection (Best Vanilla feral tanking ring evar - its true, some durids is bare), the Arclight Talisman (Caster neck) and the Magebane Scion (offhand with a heap of resistances).

Why I picked this...
First, this is the best quest that is currently in game. No question. Beautifully crafted, brilliant story, interesting yet not idiotic game mechanics. All ending in a really awesome and epic encounter. Well done, Blizz, well done.
However, Blizzard is revamping all of the Lordaeron zones. A lot. It seems like the plaguelands may be hit by the revamp bat the hardest. It would be a really sad shame if it got lost to the hourglass of eternity - and I really hope it isn't - but just in case, do it now. Even if they make it better, and add more interesting and new followup quest lines, you really really dont want to miss your opportunity now. You'll kick yourself for it later.

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