Pet Notes, Level 70-72

Tivara hit 72 last night, thanks to helping out the swell undead guys at New Agamand. (Some of my characters would be horrified by it all. It's fortunate for my desire to explore that Tivara's personality includes plenty of room for finding the plague project fascinating.) Along the way I've been playing around with a variety of pets.

• Gorilla: Sagarmatha. No question about it, gorillas remain my pets of choice. The tanky pet is most comfortable and enjoyable for me in more circumstances than any other option.

• Wolf: Scourgebane. Almost as dear to my heart as Sagarmatha, Scourgebane is my instance pet of choice (everyone who does damage likes Furious Howl, pretty much), and I bring her out for questing when I feel like doing some single-target attacking and less volleying.

• Devilsaur: Gorynych. I'm genuinely uncertain about ol' Stompy. He's fun, and though he's taller than a rhino (see below), he doesn't have the bulk or thick fur, so he's easier to see around. But I don't feel any real urge to use him outside instancing. I suspect I should probably keep him leveled up and see how he does in higher-level instances and raids. I can afford the stable slot, at least for now.

• Worm: Kurgan. Not bad so far, but I haven't given it a really hard workout yet. Hoping to get the chance to do that soon.

• Rhino: Byran, retired. I gave it a shot, but it just wasn't the thing for me. They're big and massive enough to make the same kind of visibility and access problems for me that large-winged flying pets do, and while the knockback effect is hilarious to watch, it's much harder to control and maneuver with than gorillas' thunderstomp. I retired her, with thanks.

• Bird of Prey: Shravana, auditioning. I wasn't really planning to try out a new bird of prey, but then I saw someone with the fjord hawk matriarch in Coldarra, and Nyo's player asked me if I'd thought about getting one, and off we went! Not bad at all, so far. I'm not sure she actually does anything Scourgebane doesn't, but I'm willing to keep on experimenting. She has relatively short, thick wings, which means she interferes less than I'd have expected with my visibility.

Come level 74 for Tivara and I'll think about what to do dump to get a Blighthound to play with.

From 70 to 71: A Miscellany, part 1

Tivara earned her first level of Lich King experience last night. Color me happy! This is a real grab bag of things I've seen, done, and/or thought about along the way.

The interior of Utgarde Keep (seen in part 2 of my intro tour) is gorgeous:

Most of the inhabitants are vrykul, up to bad things on behalf of their new chosen master, the Lich King. These fellows were making powerful weapons when we came along:

But they're not alone. There are, for instance, enslaved proto-dragons—bipedal rather than quadrupedal like the dragons found on the other continents:

And the frenzied geists, which I know are going to make at least one of my readers think, "Hey, they're up on their Barker":

I haven't yet taken a character into the Nexus, the other introductory dungeon. I do have a friend who specifically hopes that he can be grouped with me when I do, to get my reactions, which makes it sound all the more intriguing. Pictures will no doubt follow.

The cold seas of Northrend turn out to be rich in life, including my favorites:

And inland and uphill, a stone giant take it all with him:

In the Warcraft universe, dryads are tangible nature spirits, and centaurs are the offspring of their seduction and corruption by elementals. Northrend has suitably arctic dryads, the frost nymphs:

Meanwhile, back at the Borean Tundra, this is the way to scout contested territory:

Down on the coast, the marauding kvaldir (mentioned here briefly earlier) are at work destroying anyone and anything along the shores. They come wrapped in a formidable magical mist:

Yes, while Tivara is in the mist, I see her field of view reduced and colors de-saturated. It's a wonderful eerie bit of scene-setting.

There are also some formidable Scourge forces in a nearby valley that's been sprayed with poisons and diseases, like the Warsong Aberration seen here:

But it's okay, because after a series of quests to gather up crucial materials for repair and upgrade, Tivara got to charge right into the middle of their ranks...in this:

I've drawn circles to help you spot Tivara in the midst of the tainted air and goblin machinery. Alas, no still picture can capture the experience. The thing chugs and trembles and belches smoke and *insert maniacal giggling*. So. Yeah. It shoots rockets and stuff, but you can also fire up the blades on the front end and just grind down the Scourge in front of you. This quest calls for grinding down a hundred of them (and also rescuing trapped soldiers whose vehicles got taken down in earlier waves of the assault and counter-assault):

I've got some other things I want to share pictures of, but for now I'll wrap up with a look at gear. This is Tivara's guildmate Nyo, mentioned from time to time already. Here she is showing new helmet and weapon, which go very nicely with the Argent Dawn tabard and undead-slaying gear she got from hunting Scourge invaders:

First Looks at Northrend, Part 2: East By Turtle

Last time I took a look at the Borean Tundra, at the southwest tip of the croissant that is Northrend. This time, what I saw making my way toward the Howling Fjord at the southeast tip.

I included a picture of one of the tuskarr last time. They have villages along the southern coast, and offer free transportation. At first I thought that the mention of "turtles" was referring to the overall design of their boats. I was wrong. It is in fact turtles all the way down the coast:

This fits with the mounts their village guards use on land:

By the way, notice that there's something fishy about the light at the end of the dock:

After sailing past coastlines much like those in the pictures above (some ice, some cold bare stretches), I reached the Howling Fjord, home of the vrykul. This is how I first saw their distinctive style:

An automatic lift system with boast-shaped gondolas carries the traveler up the massive cliffs separating Howling Fjord shoreline from its interior:

The uplands are host to all kinds of interesting life, including these prehistoric-styled elks:

This stag didn't much fancy either Tivara or her worm:

And this wandering storm giant, whose way I tried to leave clear. Notice that his knee pads are made out of the main doors of large buildings:

Dwarves are excavating several big ruins. Yes, this is a very large statue's hand holding a torch aloft:

This was Tivara's and my first look at Utgarde Keep, home of prominent vrykul leaders (and the first dungeon for those newly arrived in Northrend). By the way, I didn't get any pictures of vrykul I really want to share; that's on the list for future updates. But if you picture 10-foot-tall half-giant warriors in the Viking style, you've got the idea.

Something that I didn't realize about Utgarde Keep until Tivara was actually inside, by the way, is that it's in the process of being carved out of this big rock spire. You go up and up through tunnels in varying degrees of completion, and there are miners working far above ground level. Pictures of that will be coming.

The northern reaches of the zone are covered in permanent snow, and inhabited by things like this ice elemental:

I think that's enough for now. Future parts will include the new society the Forsaken are building for themselves, more looks at the astonishing terrain of the Howling Fjord, and aerial views flying from the Fjord back to the Tundra.

First Looks at Northrend, Part 1: Borean Tundra and Points West

I don't yet have a lot to say about the newly accessible continent, because I haven't done very much there yet. I do, however, have quite a bit to show, because I've been looking all around. It is, simply, staggering—literally breathtaking for me, from time to time.

Warsong Hold is the Horde stronghold in the Borean Tundra, at the west end of the continent. The zeppelin from Orgrimmar actually flies right into it:

Inside is everything needed to prepare the massive offensive the Horde wishes to launch against the Lich King's forces, both materials...

...and planning. The two orcs at right are Garrosh and Saurfang, who are still arguing:

Right outside is a massive mining operation, partly infested with nerubians (of whom I didn't get any good pictures this time):

And beyond that, my first look at the actual Borean Tundra. Notice, by the way, that auroras are visible day and night over much of Northrend:

It is illegal in 17 states to be cuter than this baby mammoth....

...which means this tuskarr is in some risk of trouble if he visits the US:

Not this guy, however:

I like the taunka, northern cousins to the tauren:

The Scourge is, of course, never far off:

And finally for now...the Borean Tundra has worms! Big ones! They have a great acid spit that reduces the target's effective armor. This is Kurgan (he is, after all, but a worm):

Next time, sightseeing my way east toward the Howling Fjord.