My Favorite (or not) Quest Chains

The past couple of days, I've been concentrating on questing, pushing for level 32. During that time, I've managed to entwine myself in some of the most annoying quest chains in the early portion of the game. If you've ever played Alliance, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The Missing Diplomat.

The Legend of Stalvan.

The Duskwood quest chains leading to Morbent Fel and Bride of the Embalmer.

Having done these a couple of times before, I have to say that doing them all at the same time was actually quite interesting. What each of these quests has in common is the fact that, no matter what the objective of any particular part of the quest chain might be, it always happens to be somewhere else.

Which wouldn't be annoying, except that it's almost never "somewhere else" as in "a nearby wood" or "that lake over there". Instead, it's "somewhere else" as in "I want you to saddle up and ride for me, Dwarf girl! Haul your butt over to Stormwind! Now to Goldshire! Now go to Westfall! Back to Duskwood! Cross the map, I say! Again! And AGAIN! DANCE FOR ME! DANCE! BWA-HA-HA-HA!"

Ahem.

As I said, doing all those quest lines together was actually kind of fun. If I was heading to Stormwind to talk to some random cheese monger who happened to be an retired SI:7 agent or something, well, there were a couple of other people in the area I could pester. Keeping my quest logs full meant that even though I was running around the southern part of the Eastern Kingdoms like a spastic bike messenger, I still managed to get things done.

I find myself looking at these quests, though, and feeling a bit of trepidation about the future. These quests don't just stay local, you know. They grow. In a few levels, I'm going to find myself running back and forth across entire continents, doing these laundry quests.

You know the type I'm talking about.

"Oh noble paladin! I am archmage Grandlooser. The very foundation of Azeroth is in jeopardy! Even as we speak, a fel host musters itself on the very borders of reality, ready to snuff out all life on this feeble sphere!"

"Wow! Just... wow! How can I assist you in this time of peril, Mr. Archmage sir?"

"While I'm dealing with that, do you think you could cross the world and find my lucky socks for me?"

/me blinks

"They're very lucky, you see. Oh, and they were stolen by a pair of diabolical ogres who hid them within horrible magical protections."

"Right..."

"You'll have to talk to Mekgineer Foozle to start a hideously long quest chain about building a Fuzz-o-matic Sock Relocator to help you find my socks. He'll send you off to the most desperately remote locations in the world, and have you collect unbelievably exotic components - one at a time, mind you, one at a time, can't have you getting ahead of him, now - and then..."

/me backs away slowly

"... you'll be able to conduct the Ritual of the Socks, assuming you can find 39 other people who are willing to go with you into an old world 40-man raid instance that's about as exciting as tapioca pudding these days... I say, Willikins, would you look at how eager she is to get started! Why, she's leapt out of the blocks like a wildebeast! Forgot to accept the quest, though... I SAY! COME BACK! YOU FORGOT THE QUEST! Kids these days, Willikins... all enthusiasm, no attention to detail."

Ahem.

Anywho. All that running around and random "talk to this guy, deliver that letter" experience added up, so I was just shy of level 32 when I realized that if I was going to use the LFD tool to hit Razorfen Kraul, I'd better do it soon. Picked up a really good group, including a wonderful healer (Tussen - Blackhand; if you queue with her, you're in good hands) who was able to direct us through the instance. Which was good, because as with so many other old-world instances, I ran it once, long ago, and have since forgotten how to make my way through it.

Dinged 32 soon after entering the instance, which was a nice little bonus. Now that she's level 32, though, it's time to see about upgrading Aeven's gear again. I'm optimistic about the push to level 40, now. Questing has turned out to be easier than I anticipated, even without gear. I suspect that, at least for old world content, leveling and dungeons will remain doable until I hit the highest tier of challenges.