Magic is in the air

Some race/class combinations just come naturally: Orc Warrior, Tauren Druid, Troll Shaman, Human Paladin... When it comes to Blood Elves, magic is in the air from the moment your character is created and it only made sense to me to create a Mage character.

Say hello to Minimage - lvl1 Blood Elf

I must admit, that when playing original WoW, while I enjoyed the start areas and early grinding, it was mostly because of the satisfaction that gaining a level provides, and not due to the place it is done it. While all the starting zones of the original races have their charm *cough, cough*, nothing prepared me for Sunstrider Isle - a place where Blood Elves are born.

Again, the screenshots can't possibly describe the place, nor can they prepare you for your first encounter. All my doubts and reservations to the idea of Blood Elf were gone as if they never existed.

Blizzard managed to beautifuly merge the soft tranquility of a world filled with magic with a dose of viciousness just high enough to make Blood Elves my new race of choice. You get to kill a dwarven spy within 1 hour of gameplay! Sweet.

Sunstrider Isle

The area itself is plain amazing. Glimmering lights and magical objects suspended in the air, magical creatures roaming around (or swimming through the space, as Mana Wyrms do), the colors, the music (mentioned earlier Harry Potter sound-alike)...

One of my favorite aspects of the Sunstrider Isle is the overal use of animation and transparencies. Not much is solid around here. There are ghostly mobs, crystals, auras, lights... even some doors have semi-transparent courtains in them.

The quests also appear a bit more interesting that your usual WoW variety. They of course can be classified as kill x of y or find z and bring it to q, but everything seems somewhat better connected than what I used to see. It was just pure fun to explore the newbie areas - and I can't recall ever hearing anyone having fun exploring Valley of Trials (Orc/Troll starting area) and getting mesmerized with the sights.

Mana Tap and Arcane Torrent in the Spellbook

A great addition was a quest that teaches the use of Blood Elves racial ability - the Mana Tap. While not necessary to learn the skill, it is a great addition to the training and I can't understand why don't other races have such quests for all the War Stomps, Underwater Breathing, etc.

Soon it was the time to leave the newbie zone and to head to the first quest hub - Falconwing Square at the Ruins of... of... of some city I don't remember - I guess it was Silvermoon. In there I shall kill many mobs, complete quests, craft some jewelery and report it all to you in the future posts.

Leaving newbieland