I’m still alive!
My first question after early access weekend was: What year is it?
As usual, I was the first raider on the team to hit max level once early access opened up. It took me 7 hours on the dot, and I cleaned out all of the primary Campaign quests. Levelling as the shadow was great despite everything quick before my dot spells could even kick in. I felt partially useless even running dungeons at level 80 because everything died fast.
After the Priest, I levelled another 5 more characters to 80. There wasn’t much else to do during that period since heroic dungeons weren’t open then. That stacking experience from having alts is great for this.
Real quick impressions (Alts)
- Frost Mage: Frostfire feels fun and visually satisfying but seems to be lacking in firepower. Spellslinger feels a bit clunky. It almost feels like it’s conflicting against itself, and I can’t seem to articulate why.
- Retribution Paladin: Templar is great. Packs a big punch and is also fun. I feel like a justice-dispensing freight train.
- Ele Shaman: Far Seer is the choice for levelling. Shifted to Stormbringer for dungeons, it is a fiesta of Chain Lightning and Earthquakes.
- Dev Evoker: Challenging. Wasn’t the most responsive or fun. I flew off the ledge with a Deep Breath, trying to steer. Can’t seem to corner worth a damn.
- Fur Warrior: Surprisingly enjoyable. Needs a better bind setup on my side. Hurts my fingers after prolonged play.
After I levelled my arsenal of alts, I still had another day of early access and cleaned the map of all side quests. Finished my loremaster achievements (Sojourner).
All in all, it was a great levelling experience. I was pleasantly surprised that there were no server issues during the leveling and questing process. Stormrage did happen to go down for a bit during general release (and somehow, I dodged that by being in a dungeon or something). Unfortunately, the auction house was under immense load and strain during the first week so that made it harder to get professions going or to make gold. Thankfully, it looks like much of that has been resolved and the throttling that was put in place has been lifted.
But aside from that, maybe… just maybe, Blizzard’s starting to get their fastball back.
The Warband feature has been stellar. Alts can farm on quests that offer gear and I can still get the Renown rep from them.
I’ll devote a separate post to the Profession Patron system since it warrants its own discussion.
On the guild side of things, we’ve had a few departures and we thank all the players who have contributed to our squad’s success over the course of Dragonflight. Our roster currently stands at 25 players, and here are our current needs:
- Elemental Shaman
- Shadow Priest
- Warrior DPS
- Havoc Demon Hunter
- Aug Evoker
As always, Mythic and CE experience is greatly valued. If you’re interested, you can learn more about us and apply from our Raider IO page (Look for the recruiting form link).