So like Alex, I figure I probably have a few more alts than your average player. I have 3 level 70s, 3 more characters above level 60, and a few more at various levels of play. I even started a new shaman just this past week, just because I decided I had a really cool character concept for a female Orc shaman.
Anyhow, I've been playing the shaman quite a bit, and I've actually not been twinking her at all, enjoying the challenge of starting a character from scratch and making sure I still have my mojo despite getting all fat and sassy from all that easy daily money from Sunwell Isle. WoW's done a pretty decent job of keeping the lower level game easy enough for characters, but there's a couple things I've noticed while playing that still feel like they need some work. If I could highlight one, it would be the complete lack of Shaman trainers in Lordaeron.
Ever since the Burning Crusade came out, the battle cry of many a disgruntled fan has been "lollore," a cry which signifies a disgust with the direction the story has taken and a belief that many of the twists have betrayed the previous feel of the world or fallen short of some expected level of quality. Now honestly, There have been some lore twists I haven't really liked. Certainly, there were ways to give us the Draenei besides besides massively retconning the back story of the Burning Legion and making Sargeras corrupt them instead of the other way around. That said, I don't really mind that the Draenei came to us on a space ship. After all, the Orcs came to us through a Stargate!
I also appreciate that Blizzard has, in the lore arena, learned where they tripped up and tried to correct it. This is very apparent to me in the differences between the Lore behind Zul'Aman and the Lore behind the Sunwell Plateau. Where Zul'Aman's lore felt lackluster and weak, the lore behind patch 2.4 keeps getting better and better.
Reader Endreign writes saying he's recently re-rolled a Horde character and is enjoying the sights on the "other side" of the game. And with the changes to the leveling curve that arrived with patch 2.3, there's never been a better time to start working on that alt.
Have you been adventuring in any new parts of the World of Warcraft? Send your stories and screenshots to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com -- your image may be featured in the next Around Azeroth!
Patch 2.3 drops tomorrow, and with it, what will surely become the most popular instance in Azeroth. Blizzard has yelled from the rooftops about how much players are playing Karazhan, and Zul'Aman is a brand new 10-man for groups who conquered Karazhan to find their way through.
In preparation, WoW Insider has compiled everything everyone knows about the new troll city. From history, to quests, to bosses, to loot, it's all here. We've gotten great information from MMO Champion, World of Raids, WoW Wiki, our own Zul'Aman playthroughs and research, and guides all over the internet. We're all going to be headed to Zul'Aman tomorrow, so here's your chance to know everything you need to know today. It all starts after the jump.
Warcry reports this morning that less than 24 hours after the launch of Zul'Aman on the test realms, that the Europeans have done it once again and the guilds Curse and Death Wish have cleared the instance all the way to Zul'Jin.
The article notes that the loot quality appears to fall between Karazhan and SSC, around level 132. Each boss reportedly drops two Badges of Justice while Zul'Jin drops three.
It certainly looks like there is "fresh meat" just around the corner for the raiding community. If you missed it, be sure to go back to check out the Zul'Aman preview so you can get ready for the latest ten-man instance when the next content patch goes live! With a high-level raid in such close proximity to (potentially) flagged lowbie blood elves, I can see Zul'Aman being a very popular Alliance destination!
The next 10-man dungeon, Zul'Aman, is located in the Ghostlands. That makes it the first raid dungeon located in Horde/Alliance territory, which is raising some hackles on both sides on the WoW forums. Teallc wonders why there are so many instances in Horde territory already -- RFC, WC, SFK, RFK and RFD are all in Hordelands. The Alliance get Stockades, Gnomeregan and Deadmines. To get to Zul'Aman from, say, Shattrath City, the Alliance will have to port to Ironforge, take a lengthy gryphon ride to Lights Hope Chapel, and then run up into the Ghostlands -- leaving themselves vulnerable to attacks from Horde raid groups. Meanwhile, Horde just has to hop in the Silvermoon City portal and take a very short windrider trip to Tranquillien.
But Ucantseeme suggests that the new dungeon might cause headaches for lowbie Horde. The guards at Tranquillien are very low-level, so it would be pretty simple for bored Alliance raid groups to wipe out the town and prevent blood elves from turning in their quests.
I don't think this is really going to be that big of a deal. An instance entrance can't get any more horrible, PVP-wise, than Karazhan is, and I doubt that Alliance members are going to take time out to repeatedly camp questgivers. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if they increased the level on the Ghostlands Guardians. As for Alliance having to fly a long way to get to the instance ... yeah, I have little sympathy there. After all the time I spent on zeppelins and windriders trying to get to Blackrock Mountain while you guys were just hopping over from your convenient capital cities, it'll be nice to see you desperately trying to make the raid line-up for once.
What's your opinion on raid dungeons in non-contested areas?
Cynnamun of Shadow Council sends in this shot of the deceased Knucklerot, elite wanderer of the Blood Elf starting area Ghostlands. You may think he looks awfully creepy dead, but trust me, he's just as bad alive. As far as wandering elites go, he's not as bad as Stitches (which is to say players in the upper-end of the zone's range can kill him), but he's certainly capable of stomping you if you aren't paying attention.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
So like Alex, I figure I probably have a few more alts than your average player. I have 3 level 70s, 3 more characters above level 60, and a few more at various levels of play. I even started a new shaman just this past week, just because I decided I had a really cool character concept for a female Orc shaman. 
_thumbnail.jpg "Halazzi")
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