World of Warcraft - Night Elf Druid

As previously mentioned in an another article there are various reasons WOW has recaptured our attention. Being able to play a really smooth game in regards to the graphics is one of them. Story-lines have become much more in depth and catch your curiosity more. Game simplicity is another reason for returning to World of Warcraft. They have made levelling easier and quicker too so you feel like you are getting somewhere now. I am able to walk into areas now that I got no-where close to when I played previously due to previous expansions and world destruction and its great.
If you are thinking of getting into a new morpg/MMO any time soon there are a good few out there right now but if you have ever played WOW or are completely new to the world of morpgs World of Warcraft is a must. With Mists of Pandaria due for release in September now is a good time to start too. I have no idea what the panda’s will bring but I am really looking forward to some of the story lines to come and following them all the way.

Will I do this with a Pandarian however? Who can say? At this time I am more than happy running around with my Night Elf Druid who has now hit level 30. At this point I will say that I am a casual player with no great knowledge of raiding. I do however have a good knowledge of playing solo or grouping and for casual players who like to dip in for an hour or two a couple of nights throughout the week, this knowledge can take you a long way when playing solo.

I chose to play a Night Elf Druid because I love Teldrassil. Teldrassil in all its glory is named by the Night Elf’s as the World tree of Azeroth. It is in fact the lesser Tree as the actual world tree was named Nordrassil. Nordrassil however took huge amounts of damage in the third war and it is said that Nordrassil will take many years to heal and re-grow. Many races believe that when Nordrassil is fully healed that the Night Elf’s will regain their immortality again. The city of the Night Elf’s, Darnassus was built on the world tree Teldrassil. Everything is decorated in white marble and the city has a regal look to it.

Darnassus is one of the easiest cities to navigate around which makes life easier for me as I have no sense of direction. The quest line is a simple one and although there are some references to later expansions such as Wrath of the Lich king and Cataclysm, their Quest line does not really change much until you are sent to Darkshore. Whilst working your way through Teldrassil however it is advisable to run to the outer most edges of the tree as there are one or two new, updated and fun quests to be discovered when you do.

Darkshore was hit badly after the Cataclysm and my first impression of it after remembering what it used to look like was (excuse the cliché) WOW! My first words if I remember rightly were “What the hell happened here?” This was closely followed by a stream of look at this, look over there and wow look at that statements. Now I have not been further than Stonetalon mountains as yet but from the devastation seen in Darkshore I am really looking forward to travelling through Azeroth and seeing what else Deathwing brought about.

Playing solo with a Druid is a fun experience and now I have hit level 30 I am looking forward to being able to duel spec my talent tree, however I am awaiting the patch 5.0.4 before doing this as there are some major game mechanic changes coming up in this area. (More later on that).
I have however chosen the Balance talent tree for my Druid. This spec allows me to damage or heal as long as I am not caught of guard with any large mobs. Using the balance spec I can comfortably deal with one on one elites (or two on occasion) and groups of two or three mobs at a time. I do sometimes need a breather after the battle if caught off guard, however carrying food and drink supplies as well as keeping up with various potions normally helps to speed up the rest break and I can move on. I would at this stage normally let you know where I have spent the talent points to give an idea on what works (for me, there are many other mixes out there so look around the net for other options too or just try out your own ;). Due to the patch update at this point however I feel it best to wait and set up an article for various talent trees at a later date.

Trade skills are important tools for any class. My Druid has taken herbalism and inscription to help boost her stats to help her in battle and lessen corpse runs. If you are new to the world of morpgs, corpse runs are few and far between. WOW seem to have kept that and it is now rarely seen in other games but I don’t mind it. It makes you focus more on things that will stop you dying such as good talent tree specs, good armour and a trade skill that backs up what your class needs. There will be more about these aspects of the game later too.

Overall I am only level 30 but in a casual player background getting to level 30 in under 6 weeks and having 8 other alts all above 20 is classed as good going. If you are the kind of player that likes exploring and following story lines a Night Elf druid is a good starting character and Teldrassil is a good starting zone however there are many other races to choose from and many other classes and over the next few weeks I will be writing about each one.

I am not one for die hard specs, specific armour, weaponry or inflexible class/race mixes so bear with me as I take you through the world of Azeroth from the eyes of a casual player.