Alliance questing in Swamp of Sorrows?

Post by Peter Knutsen
Well, how is this supposed to work? I haven't been able to find any
friendly or neutral inns, nor flight masters, and a quick peek in
WoWwiki mentions only a Horde flightmaster in Swamp of Sorrows.
Currently I'm based in Duskwood, riding from the inn there through
Deadwind Pass and into Swamp of Sorrows. At least I've got an Epic mount
now (being level 45), so it's reasonably fast, but this zone still
strikes me as logistically hostile towards Alliance characters.
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked? I know I've yet to see most of the
game's content, but I've never been in a zone like this before, which
has plenty of quests for me, but nothing to make it easy, not even
something as simple as a flightmaster so I can get to a fairly central
location (or just any in-zone location) quickly and in AFK-style.

Sure - Just south of there in the next zone is the Blasted lands, and
in there is the Alliance Nethergarde Keep. It's easier getting back
and forth into the swamp that way than to ride through the pass...

In addition, I don't remember what level you can do it, but in the Mage
tower in Stormwind is a portal to the Blasted Lands (really meant for
access to the outlands) it will drop you on the other side of the
Blasted lands, but a not so bad ride up will get you to the keep or the
swamp...

IYM

2010-03-19 13:56:14 UTC

Post by IYM

Post by Peter Knutsen
Well, how is this supposed to work? I haven't been able to find any
friendly or neutral inns, nor flight masters, and a quick peek in
WoWwiki mentions only a Horde flightmaster in Swamp of Sorrows.
Currently I'm based in Duskwood, riding from the inn there through
Deadwind Pass and into Swamp of Sorrows. At least I've got an Epic
mount now (being level 45), so it's reasonably fast, but this zone
still strikes me as logistically hostile towards Alliance characters.
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked? I know I've yet to see most of the
game's content, but I've never been in a zone like this before, which
has plenty of quests for me, but nothing to make it easy, not even
something as simple as a flightmaster so I can get to a fairly central
location (or just any in-zone location) quickly and in AFK-style.

Sure - Just south of there in the next zone is the Blasted lands, and
in there is the Alliance Nethergarde Keep. It's easier getting back
and forth into the swamp that way than to ride through the pass...
In addition, I don't remember what level you can do it, but in the Mage
tower in Stormwind is a portal to the Blasted Lands (really meant for
access to the outlands) it will drop you on the other side of the
Blasted lands, but a not so bad ride up will get you to the keep or the
swamp...

hmm - now I think about it, I think they have the portal locked until
you are leveled enough to go to the Outlands (level 58 min I beleive)

But, being more specific, there are Horde only areas in this game, and
the swamp is one of them. Just as the Horde will not find a flight
point in Westfall for them, you will not find one in the Swamp.

But like I said, if you go through the pass and take the south road out
of the swamp you will enter the blasted lands...Follow the road and take
the first left and you will find the Keep. There is a FP there for ya!

neithskye

2010-03-19 14:04:40 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
Currently I'm based in Duskwood, riding from the inn there through
Deadwind Pass and into Swamp of Sorrows. At least I've got an Epic mount
now (being level 45), so it's reasonably fast, but this zone still
strikes me as logistically hostile towards Alliance characters.

Not to mention that the place is crawling with Horde NPCs who
are . . . PvP flagged. So if you're on a PvE server and don't want to
get flagged, the only real thing you can do is run away.
Unfortunately, SoS is packed with mobs, so all you're likely doing is
running into 12 Swamp Jaguars.

This was much worse earlier when you didn't get a mount at all until
level 40. Questing there as Alliance in the late 30s and walking
everywhere . . . yikes.

Anyway, some places are Horde-friendly and some are Alliance-friendly,
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

--
Jill

Urbin

2010-03-19 14:09:25 UTC

On the other hand, it's much safer now that the dragons are no longer elite
:-)

Post by neithskye
This was much worse earlier when you didn't get a mount at all until
level 40. Questing there as Alliance in the late 30s and walking
everywhere . . . yikes.

Still, I liked the zone. It's a herbalist and skinners paradise.

Post by neithskye
Anyway, some places are Horde-friendly and some are Alliance-friendly,
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

On that we agree :-)

Cheers
Urbin

--
Dun Morogh-EU (PvE) | Surana (70), Draenei Mage
Urbin (80), Dwarven Hunter | Kordosch (65), Human Death Knight
Mymule (80), Gnomish Warlock | Greeta (50), Dwarven Rogue
Sunh (80), Nightelven Priest | Taalas (17), Draenei Shaman

Peter Knutsen

2010-03-19 17:32:57 UTC

Post by Urbin
Still, I liked the zone. It's a herbalist and skinners paradise.

I find lots and lots of Blindweed. Not sure what they're good for yet,
but my Warlock is both a Herbalist and an Alchemist, so she'll find a
use for them eventually. Also some Goldthorn, plus a lot of Khadgar's
Whisker and Liferoot that I'm not turned on much by, because I've got
lots already, Liferoot both gathered and scummed from the Faire, adn
Whiskers scummed from the Faire (and then gathering some more in
Stranglethorn Vale).

Based on what you write, I'll see if I can take my Horde Druid there
later. He's a skinner. I've only played my Warlock lately, so apparently
I enjoy playing her the most, but of Horde charcters, I like playing my
Druid (Balance) and my Mage (Fire), but I'm not sure yet which of those
two is the most fun.

(Now, if the Druid could summon a Nature Elemental, *or* of the Mage
could summon a Fire Elemental, it'd be easy to decide. I like pets a lot.)

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

Urbin

2010-03-19 19:06:59 UTC

Post by Urbin
Still, I liked the zone. It's a herbalist and skinners paradise.

After a dip a while ago, I noticed - to my surprise - that these flowers
sell for two digit gold amounts per stack. An hours picking can easily net
you a few hundred gold. And no, I don't remember what Blindweed was used
for, but it used to sell well pre-BC and still sells well today where it is
most likely just being milled.

Post by Peter Knutsen
Based on what you write, I'll see if I can take my Horde Druid there
later. He's a skinner.

I like all zones where questing has you kill many beasts, so you practically
get your leather for free. Apart from Swamp of Sorrows a few others come to
mind: STV, Un Goro, Dustwallow.

Cheers
Urbin

Shiflet

2010-03-19 22:37:29 UTC

(Now, if the Druid could summon a Nature Elemental, *or* of the Mage could
summon a Fire Elemental, it'd be easy to decide. I like pets a lot.)

Roll a shaman, they can summon an earth AND a fire elemental. If you go
enhancement, they can summon spirit wolves, too.

Peter Knutsen

2010-03-20 20:14:50 UTC

Post by Shiflet

(Now, if the Druid could summon a Nature Elemental, *or* of the Mage could
summon a Fire Elemental, it'd be easy to decide. I like pets a lot.)

Roll a shaman, they can summon an earth AND a fire elemental. If you go
enhancement, they can summon spirit wolves, too.

I did make a Draenai Shaman long ago, but only played him to level 14 r
so. It wasn't really fun.

Also, the fun part about playing a Fire Mage or a Balance Druid is that
they can blast DPS at range. That's my second-most favourite playstyle
after hiding-behind-the-pet as in Warlock and Hunter.

Can Shamans blast at range?

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

Rob Wynne

2010-03-20 20:32:51 UTC

Post by Shiflet

(Now, if the Druid could summon a Nature Elemental, *or* of the Mage could
summon a Fire Elemental, it'd be easy to decide. I like pets a lot.)

Roll a shaman, they can summon an earth AND a fire elemental. If you go
enhancement, they can summon spirit wolves, too.

I did make a Draenai Shaman long ago, but only played him to level 14 r
so. It wasn't really fun.
Also, the fun part about playing a Fire Mage or a Balance Druid is that
they can blast DPS at range. That's my second-most favourite playstyle
after hiding-behind-the-pet as in Warlock and Hunter.
Can Shamans blast at range?

Sure. The entire elemental tree is about caster DPS.

--
Rob Wynne / The Autographed Cat / ***@america.net
http://www.autographedcat.com/ / http://autographedcat.livejournal.com/
Gafilk 2011: Jan 7-9, 2011 - Atlanta, GA - http://www.gafilk.org/
Aphelion - Original SF&F since 1997 - http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/

Shiflet

2010-03-20 22:16:45 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
Can Shamans blast at range?

That's what the entire shaman elemental tree is about.

Post by Peter Knutsen
--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

Steve Kaye

2010-03-20 08:12:19 UTC

Post by Urbin
Still, I liked the zone. It's a herbalist and skinners paradise.

I find lots and lots of Blindweed. Not sure what they're good for yet,
but my Warlock is both a Herbalist and an Alchemist, so she'll find a
use for them eventually. Also some Goldthorn, plus a lot of Khadgar's
Whisker and Liferoot that I'm not turned on much by, because I've got
lots already, Liferoot both gathered and scummed from the Faire, adn
Whiskers scummed from the Faire (and then gathering some more in
Stranglethorn Vale).
Based on what you write, I'll see if I can take my Horde Druid there
later. He's a skinner. I've only played my Warlock lately, so apparently
I enjoy playing her the most, but of Horde charcters, I like playing my
Druid (Balance) and my Mage (Fire), but I'm not sure yet which of those
two is the most fun.
(Now, if the Druid could summon a Nature Elemental, *or* of the Mage
could summon a Fire Elemental, it'd be easy to decide. I like pets a lot.)

Deep Balance Druids can summon Treants. Look for the talent Force of
Nature.

steve.kaye

--
Jengu - 80 Undead Death Knight Clokk - 74 Tauren Druid
Jelan - 80 Troll Priest Miho - 72 Blood Elf Rogue
Kibbs - 80 Blood Elf Paladin Jaille - 71 Blood Elf Warlock

Catriona R

2010-03-22 20:58:29 UTC

On the other hand, it's much safer now that the dragons are no longer elite
:-)

Except that that lulls you into a false sense of security, thinking
you can wander around the dragony area fairly safely and... BAM, hi mr
lvl 62 elite drake! Don't actually know from personal experience if
he's hostile, but I'd guess he is, and that's gonna be a painful
lesson for anyone not aware of him ;-)

Post by neithskye
This was much worse earlier when you didn't get a mount at all until
level 40. Questing there as Alliance in the late 30s and walking
everywhere . . . yikes.

Still, I liked the zone. It's a herbalist and skinners paradise.

It's fantastic for herbs, yep, love that place from that aspect...
really sucks to be alliance questing there... forgot in my previous
post, if you're a pet class, gotta turn them to passive too, grrr... I
like having them defensive but that's autoflag time :-(

--
EU-Draenor:
Sagart (80 Undead Priest)
Tairbh (80 Tauren Druid)
Buinne (80 Troll Shaman)
Balgair (74 Human Rogue)
Eilnich (70 Blood Elf Warlock)
Ruire (70 Blood Elf Paladin)

IYM

2010-03-19 14:25:12 UTC

Not to mention that the place is crawling with Horde NPCs who
are . . . PvP flagged. So if you're on a PvE server and don't want to
get flagged, the only real thing you can do is run away.

The PvP npc's are wandering / patrolling around, and my first time in
there I was riding and came across one who attacked me - I didn't fight
back, but as a frost mage at the time, I had my frost armor on, so as
soon as he hit me, he took damage which automatically flagged me pvp. I
started riding again (slow mount at the time) and all a sudden another
rider pulls up along side me. We both stop, look at each other, and I
say "oh crap.." and I then see one measly arrow come at me from the
level 60 horde hunter and next thing I know I'm in a heap on the ground
and he rides off...but just the few seconds we stood there looking at
each other knowing what was coming was classic - lol

Shiflet

2010-03-19 14:54:39 UTC

Post by neithskye
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

Aren't all NPCs PvP tagged?

John Gordon

2010-03-19 15:34:43 UTC

Post by Shiflet

Post by neithskye
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

Aren't all NPCs PvP tagged?

That depends how you define "NPC".

Questgivers, vendors, flight masters, city guards, faction leaders etc.
are flagged PVP.

But just to give two examples, the Alliance guards in Nethergarde Keep
are not flagged PVP, nor are the Horde lumber workers at the Warsong Lumber
Camp in Ashenvale.

--
John Gordon A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs
***@panix.com B is for Basil, assaulted by bears
-- Edward Gorey, "The Gashlycrumb Tinies"

neithskye

2010-03-19 16:50:43 UTC

Post by Shiflet
Aren't all NPCs PvP tagged?

Well, yes, like vendors and flight masters and such.

But I can't think of any other example where PvP-flagged NPCs are
roaming around where you are likely to be questing. And it's not just
one. There are lots. And not only are they on the road, they are also
roaming around in the wilderness. I certainly can't think of any
Alliance-friendly PvP-flagged roaming NPCs I discovered while simply
trying to quest.

--
Jill

Peter Knutsen

2010-03-19 17:29:56 UTC

Apart from Stonard, and the elit dragon near the Temple in he late, the
Horde NPCs were trivial for my level 44-45 Warlock.

Also, I was sent to the Swamp to do some quests, such as gather crawler
legs for a guy in Dustwallow Marsh, and gather some kind of book or
document for an NPC in... Stormwind City?

Post by neithskye
This was much worse earlier when you didn't get a mount at all until
level 40. Questing there as Alliance in the late 30s and walking
everywhere . . . yikes.

Yes, that was terrible. I remember those days.

Post by neithskye
Anyway, some places are Horde-friendly and some are Alliance-friendly,
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

The firt time I went ther, it was to deliver a package from Stormwind to
the Blasted Lands, and I figured (or the quest giver told me) that the
best route was through Deadwind Pass and then the Swamp.

The ride through the Swamp was fast and a bit scary, because I was a bit
lower level then, but later I got some Alliance quests that took me
there, so I decided to explore, and I also found a bunch of neutral quests.

Just bothers me there isn't at least a neutral flight point somewhere.
Riding in from Duskwood, or from Blasted Lands, is a long and boring trip.

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

neithskye

2010-03-19 18:34:23 UTC

Apart from Stonard, and the elit dragon near the Temple in he late, the
Horde NPCs were trivial for my level 44-45 Warlock.

I understand that. But alarms would have been going off in World and
Local Defense. This was worse when Kara was the thing, and Horde rode
there from Stonard, but you better pray there are no bored 80s in the
area.

Back in the day, I had a level 70 Warrior friend who made it his
mission in life to go hunt down these Alliance, while waiting for the
Kara raid, and camp their corpse for however long he felt like it.

My point about being PvP-flagged . . . worried about getting ganked on
a PvE server, because you happened to defend yourself against a mob
that was attacking you, is silly.

--
Jill

Steve Kaye

2010-03-22 09:15:50 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
Apart from Stonard, and the elit dragon near the Temple in he late, the
Horde NPCs were trivial for my level 44-45 Warlock.

I understand that. But alarms would have been going off in World and
Local Defense. This was worse when Kara was the thing, and Horde rode
there from Stonard, but you better pray there are no bored 80s in the
area.
Back in the day, I had a level 70 Warrior friend who made it his
mission in life to go hunt down these Alliance, while waiting for the
Kara raid, and camp their corpse for however long he felt like it.
My point about being PvP-flagged . . . worried about getting ganked on
a PvE server, because you happened to defend yourself against a mob
that was attacking you, is silly.

The problem isn't that they are PvP-flagged but that they are also
aggressive and patrol. They should make them non-aggressive (which is
possible - there is a small alliance camp in Aszera which allows the
Horde to pass through it to get to a quest giver)

steve.kaye

pv+ (PV)

2010-03-19 19:03:06 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
Just bothers me there isn't at least a neutral flight point somewhere.
Riding in from Duskwood, or from Blasted Lands, is a long and boring trip.

It's long-obsolete leveling content for which plenty of alternatives exist,
so quitcherbitchin. You can entirely skip the zone if you want. I think
there will be some serious changes to it in Cataclysm, since it's mostly at
sea level...

SKipping is a good thing to do - back in vanilla when you did quests
there a bit as alliance, you a) were probably at a level where you walked,
not rode, and b) the only good thing about the zone was that it was LOADED
with (at the time) high value herbs needed by rogues for making vanishing
powder. There's no such thing anymore, so nobody cares about blindweed. *

--
* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something
like corkscrews.

Urbin

2010-03-19 20:31:53 UTC

Post by pv+ (PV)

Post by Peter Knutsen
Just bothers me there isn't at least a neutral flight point somewhere.
Riding in from Duskwood, or from Blasted Lands, is a long and boring trip.

It's long-obsolete leveling content for which plenty of alternatives exist,
so quitcherbitchin. You can entirely skip the zone if you want. I think
there will be some serious changes to it in Cataclysm, since it's mostly at
sea level...
SKipping is a good thing to do - back in vanilla when you did quests
there a bit as alliance, you a) were probably at a level where you walked,
not rode, and b) the only good thing about the zone was that it was LOADED
with (at the time) high value herbs needed by rogues for making vanishing
powder. There's no such thing anymore, so nobody cares about blindweed. *

Actually, these herbs still sell for quite a bit of money on my server, I
assume for milling.

Cheers
Urbin

Miikka

2010-03-22 14:23:33 UTC

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

Catriona R

2010-03-22 20:54:43 UTC

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:04:40 -0700 (PDT), neithskye

Not to mention that the place is crawling with Horde NPCs who
are . . . PvP flagged. So if you're on a PvE server and don't want to
get flagged, the only real thing you can do is run away.

Yep, every time I enter that zone it amazes me that with all the other
things that have been nerfed/altered, they have *not* changed this
one! Questing there as alliance was a total nightmare for me, always
having to try and avoid those mobs, don't use a damage shield in case
that flags you when they hit you (yeah I know they aren't *supposed*
to but some do anyway!) etc. Urgh. Where's the zone with Horde quests
in it that's crawling with hostile alliance-flagged NPCs to balance
things up? ;-)

Post by neithskye
Unfortunately, SoS is packed with mobs, so all you're likely doing is
running into 12 Swamp Jaguars.
This was much worse earlier when you didn't get a mount at all until
level 40. Questing there as Alliance in the late 30s and walking
everywhere . . . yikes.
Anyway, some places are Horde-friendly and some are Alliance-friendly,
but why they ever tagged those Horde NPCs as PvP is beyond me.

Ditto, it's pretty illogical to me, every other place i can think of
with faction-specific NPCs like that has them as not flagged, or at
the very least not hostile (unless they're town guars or patrols etc,
which is fair enough... Stonard Explorers wandering around the
wilderness are just cruel though.

--
EU-Draenor:
Sagart (80 Undead Priest)
Tairbh (80 Tauren Druid)
Buinne (80 Troll Shaman)
Balgair (74 Human Rogue)
Eilnich (70 Blood Elf Warlock)
Ruire (70 Blood Elf Paladin)

Urbin

2010-03-19 14:07:32 UTC

As IYM suggests, Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands is the best option
for alliance wanting to go to SoS.

You leave the swamps towards the south. The path starts near Stonard (on the
west side of Stonard), the road is easily visible.

Even though the Blasted Lands are a level 50ish zone, the trip to Nethergard
is trivial for alliance. Once you have entered the zone you will see a mine
entrance to the left. The people working in the mines are friendly to the
alliance. Just leave the road when you see the mine and ride past the mine
entrance, cut across the flat area until you get back onto the path leading
up to the keep you should see now. You will not encounter any hostile mobs
on this path.

If you take the "long way" around by staying on the road you are much more
likely to have a run in with the mobs in the zone.

The portal IYM mentioned is located in the mage quarter of the capital
cities. However, you need to be level 58 to use it and it will take you to
the Dark Portal. This is further away than Nethergard Keep plus you will
need to get past hostile mobs.

Post by Peter Knutsen
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked?

In addition to the quests you can get in the zone, there are a few quests
that start in other zones that take you there.
- there is one that takes you from Theramore to get crab legs (it may be a
later step in a series)
- Costello's Riddle starts off a random scroll item laying around in one of
the pirate ships in southern STV
- there is a quest to collect some items from around the lake in which
sunken temple is, though I can't recall where that starts right now
- there is quest starting in stormwind asking you to get some book or
letter written by khadgar, it drops off the elementals in the zone
and has a horrible drop rate

The two alliance quest hubs in the zone are the draenei village in the north
and the lone NPC in the south, both in the western half of the zone. There
are a few quests starting elsewhere: there are supply boxes which give a
repeatable quest to bring the box to Nethergarde (probably to help people
find the flight point there :) and there is a group of three fallen ones
that drop an item that starts a quest. The escort quest to bring the
captured draenei out of the camp in the north east is horrible, I have yet
to manage to do that with a level appropriate char, I have stopped trying to
do it.

If you are a herbalist, this is the place to go from 215 to 300+ and make a
shitload of money in the process :)

Post by Peter Knutsen
I know I've yet to see most of the game's content, but I've never been in
a zone like this before, which has plenty of quests for me, but nothing
to make it easy, not even something as simple as a flightmaster so I can
get to a fairly central location (or just any in-zone location) quickly
and in AFK-style.

Actually, there are a few other zones like that. Badlands only have a horde
flight point at Kargath. Alliance either need the FP in Loch Modan or
Searing Gorge. Un Goro had no flight point or mailbox for either faction for
a very long time and still has no inn. The eastern plaguelands used to not
have an inn and mailbox at LHC (though I believe the flight point had always
been there). Thousand Needles has no flight points for alliance (though
Gadgetzan is conveniently close for Shimmering flats).

Cheers
Urbin

Steve Kaye

2010-03-19 14:28:14 UTC

Post by Urbin
Thousand Needles has no flight points for alliance (though
Gadgetzan is conveniently close for Shimmering flats).

There's also Thalanaar which is just on the border between Feralas and
Thousand Needles.

steve.kaye

Urbin

2010-03-19 15:47:30 UTC

Post by Steve Kaye

Post by Urbin
Thousand Needles has no flight points for alliance (though
Gadgetzan is conveniently close for Shimmering flats).

There's also Thalanaar which is just on the border between Feralas and
Thousand Needles.

Does that have an inn/mailbox, too? I thought it was just a flight point.
And I never quested in any other part of 1kN other than Shimmering Flats, so
my main use of Thalanaar is a quick entrance into Feralas and Dire Maul.

Cheers
Urbin

Peter Knutsen

2010-03-19 17:43:48 UTC

As IYM suggests, Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands is the best option
for alliance wanting to go to SoS.

Thanks to you and IYM. I actually had the flight point in Nethergarde
Keep, but I thought the path from the Keep and up to the Swamp looked
kinda rundabout and full of agressive yellow-level mobs, so I thought
the walk from Duskwood would be less bothersome.

Then after seeing IYM's reply, I tried Nethergarde Keep again, and found
out it's possible and easy (and safe) to go through the cave tunnel, so
it's a lot less roundabout than I had thought.

Post by Urbin
You leave the swamps towards the south. The path starts near Stonard (on the
west side of Stonard), the road is easily visible.
Even though the Blasted Lands are a level 50ish zone, the trip to Nethergard

[...]

Post by Peter Knutsen
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked?

Finished that one.

Post by Urbin
- Costello's Riddle starts off a random scroll item laying around in one of
the pirate ships in southern STV
- there is a quest to collect some items from around the lake in which
sunken temple is, though I can't recall where that starts right now

I had a quest to find the temple, then collect some tears, but I assumed
the tears were inside the temple. There's also a level-skull elite
dragon nearby, and the quest is yellow colour for my level 45 Warlock.

Post by Urbin
- there is quest starting in stormwind asking you to get some book or
letter written by khadgar, it drops off the elementals in the zone
and has a horrible drop rate

Completed that one too, and yes the drop rate is horrible. Worse, there
are very few of the mobs that drop it. When possible I'd try to "tag" 5
or 6 mobs at a time (all very level green to my then level 44 Warlock)
and put DoTs on them, then let my Voidwalker do most of the work, but
that only worked about twice in the valley, after that they'd be thinned
out too much, so I'd only be able to tag two at a time, sometimes only one.

I went there like 3 times, did several rounds each time, before the book
or letter finally dropped. That's a horrible quest, especially with
green mobs. At least if they had been orange to me (but not too dark
orange!) it would have been exciting and fun, and some nice XP.

[...]

Post by Urbin
If you are a herbalist, this is the place to go from 215 to 300+ and make a
shitload of money in the process :)

What's there, that is worth picking apart from Blindwed and Goldthorn?

I don't mind the lack of an inn, if there's a flight point. I can base
at some nearby inn, then fly AFK to the in-zone flight point. IIRC I did
that in the... Arathi Highlands, with my Warlock a month or two ago.

Post by Urbin
have an inn and mailbox at LHC (though I believe the flight point had always
been there). Thousand Needles has no flight points for alliance (though
Gadgetzan is conveniently close for Shimmering flats).

Are there any Alliance quests in Thousand Needles, apart from at the Flats?

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

Urbin

2010-03-19 19:12:05 UTC

As IYM suggests, Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands is the best option
for alliance wanting to go to SoS.

Thanks to you and IYM. I actually had the flight point in Nethergarde
Keep, but I thought the path from the Keep and up to the Swamp looked
kinda rundabout and full of agressive yellow-level mobs, so I thought
the walk from Duskwood would be less bothersome.
Then after seeing IYM's reply, I tried Nethergarde Keep again, and found
out it's possible and easy (and safe) to go through the cave tunnel, so
it's a lot less roundabout than I had thought.

No need to use the tunnels. Just take the short cut past the mine, there are
no hostile mobs there.

I had a quest to find the temple, then collect some tears, but I assumed
the tears were inside the temple

No, they are actually in the water, mostly close to the shore.

Post by Peter Knutsen
There's also a level-skull elite dragon nearby

Really? Never saw that one. What is he called? In vanilla all the dragons
around the lake were 42-44 elites, but I never ran across a skull level
dragon that I can remember.

Post by Urbin
If you are a herbalist, this is the place to go from 215 to 300+ and make a
shitload of money in the process :)

What's there, that is worth picking apart from Blindwed and Goldthorn?

Everything it seems. Khadgar's Whisker, Fadeleaf and Liferoot all sell for a
pretty penny on my server, just as Blindweed and Goldthorn do.

Are there any Alliance quests in Thousand Needles, apart from at the Flats?

Maybe there are a few, I've never done any but those at the flats. I recall
farming harpies for feathers to hand in to the fair back in vanilla wow to
earn tickets for my [Darkmoon Amulet] - my first ever epic :)

Cheers
Urbin

Steve Kaye

2010-03-20 16:39:19 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
There's also a level-skull elite dragon nearby

Really? Never saw that one. What is he called? In vanilla all the dragons
around the lake were 42-44 elites, but I never ran across a skull level
dragon that I can remember.

I've seen it a few times but can't remember its name. According to
wowhead a dragon called Somnus mob patrols where I've seen it so maybe
it's the one: http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=12900

steve.kaye

--
Jengu - 80 Undead Death Knight Clokk - 74 Tauren Druid
Jelan - 80 Troll Priest Miho - 72 Blood Elf Rogue
Kibbs - 80 Blood Elf Paladin Jaille - 71 Blood Elf Warlock

Peter Knutsen

2010-03-20 20:12:57 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
There's also a level-skull elite dragon nearby

Really? Never saw that one. What is he called? In vanilla all the dragons
around the lake were 42-44 elites, but I never ran across a skull level
dragon that I can remember.

I've seen it a few times but can't remember its name. According to
wowhead a dragon called Somnus mob patrols where I've seen it so maybe
it's the one: http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=12900

Yes, that's the one. The level 42-44 dragons are no longer elite, so
they're easily dealt with (except in large groups maybe), but to my
level 45 Warlock, Somnus was skull-level, and IIRC also elite.

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org

ScratchMonkey

2010-03-22 08:36:40 UTC

Post by Peter Knutsen
Yes, that's the one. The level 42-44 dragons are no longer elite, so
they're easily dealt with (except in large groups maybe), but to my
level 45 Warlock, Somnus was skull-level, and IIRC also elite.

He's part of an old Horde attunement chain. One has to kill several similar
dragons including one in Winterspring and one in Dustwallow, I think.

Lewis

2010-03-22 09:18:39 UTC

Post by ScratchMonkey

He's part of an old Horde attunement chain. One has to kill several similar
dragons including one in Winterspring and one in Dustwallow, I think.

they were part of the Onyxia chain. 4 different elite dragons, as I
recall. Can't remember where the other one was though.

--
I WILL NOT CREATE ART FROM DUNG Bart chalkboard Ep. BABF04

Cryptoengineer

2010-03-20 13:45:45 UTC

As IYM suggests, Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands is the best option
for alliance wanting to go to SoS.
You leave the swamps towards the south. The path starts near Stonard (on the
west side of Stonard), the road is easily visible.
Even though the Blasted Lands are a level 50ish zone, the trip to Nethergard
is trivial for alliance. Once you have entered the zone you will see a mine
entrance to the left. The people working in the mines are friendly to the
alliance. Just leave the road when you see the mine and ride past the mine
entrance, cut across the flat area until you get back onto the path leading
up to the keep you should see now. You will not encounter any hostile mobs
on this path.
If you take the "long way" around by staying on the road you are much more
likely to have a run in with the mobs in the zone.

Thanks!

I Did Not Know That.

I've quested through there twice - first when levelling, then again
while doing Loremaster. I've herbed my way through SoS dozens of
times.

I usually went from Duskwood, because the trip from BL was such a
pain.

Again, thanks.

pt

ScratchMonkey

2010-03-22 08:39:25 UTC

Post by Urbin
- there is a quest to collect some items from around the lake in which
sunken temple is, though I can't recall where that starts right now

And when one gets to a level appropriate for Sunken Temple, go to the
"inn" in Stormwind's Dwarven district, and get the beginning of a quest
chain to collect what I call "bathroom tiles" from the Temple. That chain
can be completed without entering the instance, as the tiles are throughout
the entrance corridors before you get to the portal. (But you can also
collect them inside.)

Thomas Jespersen

2010-03-19 14:23:52 UTC

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:30:56 +0100, Peter Knutsen

Post by Peter Knutsen
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked? I know I've yet to see most of the

There is a small camp with neutral quest-givers. This place on the
map:

http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=1776

But there is only very few quests for alliance in SoS.

unknown

2010-03-19 15:16:31 UTC

Well, how is this supposed to work? I haven't been able to find any friendly or neutral
inns, nor flight masters, and a quick peek in WoWwiki mentions only a Horde flightmaster
in Swamp of Sorrows.
Currently I'm based in Duskwood, riding from the inn there through Deadwind Pass and
into Swamp of Sorrows. At least I've got an Epic mount now (being level 45), so it's
reasonably fast, but this zone still strikes me as logistically hostile towards Alliance
characters.
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked? I know I've yet to see most of the game's content,
but I've never been in a zone like this before, which has plenty of quests for me, but
nothing to make it easy, not even something as simple as a flightmaster so I can get to
a fairly central location (or just any in-zone location) quickly and in AFK-style.

Other have mentioned nethergarde keep just south with a fp
but
you should have found a quest in duskwood to deliver a package there
and one from the southern npc quest giver (the quests are painful on foot, easy on mount)
at the end of the chain
http://thottbot.com/q1395 should have taken you there first

http://thottbot.com/q1425 from in the zone, but end of chain

there is also another quest in stormwind in a shop near stockades
That quest has you kill the swamp beasts in ne corner for a drop, lots of them, heaps of
them,
great stinking piles of them, endless miles of them (your luck may vary )
for really very little

Then just when you think you have finished with the zone
another quest on the other side of the world sends you back there.
( by then you would have had a slow horse, so it was merely boring instead
of stupefyingly tedious )

Of course the difference is that back then there were many groups of 2 or 3
to share kills and provide mutual support, you could probably have asked in zone chat and
had a reply
whereas you may have seen , 3, maybe 4 others while in the zone ?
I saw 1 other player during the whole time in the zone when levelling a lock a short
time ago.

Lewis

2010-03-19 21:58:40 UTC

It's a horde zone.

Yes, and?

Post by Peter Knutsen
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked?

The keep in Blasted Lands is a better base of operations than Darkshire

--
'Witches just aren't like that,' said Magrat. 'We live in harmony with the
great cycles of Nature, and do no harm to anyone, and it's wicked of them to
say we don't. We ought to fill their bones with hot lead.' --Wyrd Sisters

Neil Cerutti

2010-03-22 11:41:16 UTC

One benefit to the zone was that none of my friends, who have
been in WoW for much longer than me, had ever done the quests
there before.

Post by Peter Knutsen
Currently I'm based in Duskwood, riding from the inn there
through Deadwind Pass and into Swamp of Sorrows. At least I've
got an Epic mount now (being level 45), so it's reasonably
fast, but this zone still strikes me as logistically hostile
towards Alliance characters.

That's how I did it, pretty much. It's a short trip. Nethergarde
Keep was annoying as hell, since almost nobody there would talk
to me.

I got tagged PvP a few times, but since I was playing a Rogue I
could avoid the patrols pretty well. I got wasted by wandering
too close to high-level guards a couple of times, though. My
"stealth" didn't impress them very much.

Post by Peter Knutsen
Any tips? Anything I've overlooked? I know I've yet to see most
of the game's content, but I've never been in a zone like this
before, which has plenty of quests for me, but nothing to make
it easy, not even something as simple as a flightmaster so I
can get to a fairly central location (or just any in-zone
location) quickly and in AFK-style.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that the pool around
the Sunken Temple entrance is where Rogues can level up their
lockpicking from 125 to something-or-other.

I found it to be a fun place. It felt forlorn, dangerous, and
new. Many zones are fun to play, but Swamp of Sorrows really felt
sort of like a frontier.

--
Neil Cerutti
"It's not fun to build walls. But it's even less fun to live
without walls in a world full of zombies." --Greedy Goblin

Ashley hill

2024-02-05 05:13:42 UTC