Ahead By A Century

After a few delays and time away from Azeroth, Zarahi became the first of the Amateur Army to hit the new cap of 100.  With much rejoicing I stopped to consider things thus far.  As such, here’s 100 random thoughts about the new expansion:

1. The leveling is definitely quicker.
2. I don’t know if it’s the lore and stories, but even the process is far more enjoyable than Mists of Pandaria was.
3. I think if you leveled 1-100 it would be faster than 1-95 took.
4. Gar’rok’s little story in Nagrand was a nice touch despite some of it seemingly being unexplained.
5. I swear I move faster in Cat Form than in travel form.  Plus, I notice I’m getting passed, despite having no ground mount training to do.
6. Garrisons are much more fun and practical than I expected.
7. Maraad.  *eyetwitch*
8. The goofy bad guy introductions at the beginning were…different.  “Hey guys, look!  It’s Ner’zhul!”
9. Being treated as a Commander changes one’s approach to things.  Instead of just answering the call, you call the shots.
10. Arsenal in Talador.  Boom baby!
11. Minerals and herbs should have low Auction House value thanks to everyone having access to both in their Garrison.
12. Level 2 Mine…so much Ore.
13. A LOT of old faces back on the active Friends List.
14. I think Blizzard got back the numbers they lost in Pandaria, but now they have to keep them back.
15. Why did I never get a Druid past level 30 before???
16. I had zero remorse for the Iron Wolf.
17. I’m still laughing at Fo Sho.
18. Being able to Weapon Enchant transmog is a thing of beauty…unless you’re a Feral Druid.
19. The bag sort feature is fantastic.
20. Seeing Budd show up in my Inn made me think him and Fo Sho should hang out.
21. I do not missing flying in the slightest.
22. Seriously, it makes the land so much more vast.
23. Speaking of which, Nagrand got huge.
24. Gorgrond didn’t really grab me as I traveled, aside from Stonemaul.
25. Actually, that’s not true.  But I swore at Cymre way too much to desire going back any time soon.
26. Still tickled she was made an NPC
27. If you’re Horde and haven’t gone to the zone, it’s worth going just to get follower Tommok.  Nice change of pace with that one.
28. You never really have to deviate from your questing in order to gear upgrade.
29. So. Many. Rares.
30. I like the new system of only being rare until you kill them…but that makes some of the drops absolutely terrible.
31. Combat variations and puzzles to get to them makes the rares interesting.
32. None are terribly difficult, just unique.
33. Speaking of drops, I love the “upgrade” chance.
34. What was Milhouse Manastorm doing in Draenor before he showed up in my inn?
35. Timeless Isle is now dead.  I won’t miss it, really.
36. Haven’t pet battled much, but also have not seen too many pets worth nabbing (without looking them all up, of course).
37. Frostfire Ridge was a fantastic zone.
38. The Battle of Thunder Pass was both exciting, and saddening.
39. I still have no idea what to think of Khadgar.  Seems like a reasonable guy but I spend too often wondering why I’m even needed.
40. Minimal dailies!
41. I’m not quite ready for the Proving Grounds yet.
42. I like that they brought that back at 100.  Helps players measure up.
43. Of course, it also makes me think I have no place getting in the queue any time soon.
44. Which is good, because I’ve since learned I can’t until I’ve done said Proving Grounds.
45. 10 levels and I never saw Garrosh.  He was referenced, but I never saw him.
46. Just my path perhaps?
47. Saw plenty of Gul’dan and Cho’gall.  Seems they aren’t BFF’s anymore.
48. I don’t know what to think of Yrel and her story just yet.  More Alliance exposure is needed.
49. The Horde start seems more interesting than the Alliance so far.
50. I have no doubt that it balances out.
51. Someone tried to poison my bartender!
52. I like the main travel hub was made available almost right away.
53. Mages might not.
54. So much for wanting the cities to look busy.
55. With Ashran and a Garrison, you don’t need to go anywhere else unless something’s going on in a city (such as the upcoming Winter Veil).
56. Speaking of Winter Veil, use Warlords to update what’s under the tree this year.
57. “Go talk to Ariok…the orc that isn’t Thrall.”
58. I expect a Khadgar/Kargath showdown late
59. Oh Nagrand, you and your kill a mountain of wildlife quests…
60. And there’s Hemet, just chilling.
61. Mankirk is a Boykirk?
62. With a girlfriend…oh.  Oh my.
63. “Bonus” quests are a unique idea that I like.
64. For their time involved, they are also a fantastic means of getting XP.
65. Quest mobs no longer being tagged?  What a concept!
66. Quest items no longer being tagged?  What a concept!
67. Even with a fishing hut, I still don’t think I’ll care for fishing.
68. Garrison resources disappear much faster than I had anticipated.
69. Leveling your buildings as you go may not be the wisest move, unless you’ve farmed all the rares.
70. Of the two instances I’ve done, I enjoyed both…though there wasn’t much to the mechanics.
71. Except for Skyreach.  The wind plateau is interesting.
72. I watched a guy get so fed up he couldn’t do it that he quit group.Meanwhile, I actually got stuck and had to teleport in and out of the dungeon to get free.
73. With the changes to the class, I’m a better Hunter.
74. Probably still not great, but perhaps not a Huntard on the damage charts.
75. I haven’t seen very many mobs in Draenor that scream “must have for a Hunter!”
76. I’ve seen more than enough Corehound mounts already.I get it, new hotness.
77. Aside from the Spooky Scythe, I haven’t seen too much to get me transmog giddy.
78. I know, most of it comes from dungeons and whatnot.
79. I like the Sabaron race.
80. First time in a while, I kind of wish they were a playable race.
81. Similar to the Tol’vir, but not statue-esque or quadruped.
82. Would make them more viable.
83. Eh, to be fair I don’t think Blizzard should add any more player races.
84. It was actually nice to spend the jungle introduction working together as both Horde and Alliance.
85. I really would love to see Alliance and Horde work together as players, just once.
86. Invariably you would have asshats that would deliberately try to ruin the experience though.
87. Speaking of which, there was some of that while I was leveling, but not as bad as I expected.
88. Only one in particular was a Hunter who would follow me around and when I got anywhere near a mob, would tag it.
89. Then I started tagging them with Faerie Fire and let him/her kill them for me.
90. I can’t wait to run some content together with Mrs. Amateur.
91. In non-related Warlords news, Canada Post actually lost her laptop.
92. I can’t even fathom how someone signed for it that didn’t even work for the company it went to for repairs.
93. As it is, we share mine.
94. I think she’s enjoying the expansion.
95. Heck, I don’t know anyone who’s come out and been disappointed to any extent.
96. Perhaps it’s rose-coloured glasses, but aside from a few bugs and the DDoS attack, this has been a good launch.
97. Part of me wonders how the lore will play out through the patches.
98. I would think Garrosh first, then the Warlords.
99. I could see perhaps an Ulduar effect where we face each Warlord in a dungeon or raid, then a big raid where we’d take on them all.
100. Final thought: It’s good to have that old World of Warcraft feeling again!