Refinements

So after playing the game again for a little while, I've discovered that a lot has (thankfully) changed about the game. Not everything, as can be seen above, but enough to really streamline the experience. So, in case you're thinking about getting back into the game or maybe you just want the perspective of someone who essentially took 4 years away from playing, here are some awesome changes:

• Better quest tracking, specifically with areas outlined in your map to help you locate whatever you're supposed to kill 20 of. One thing I always hated about WOW was the almost necessary use of Thottbot at every second. Now I only look things up when I'm having a hell of a time finding what I'm supposed to be looking for which is significantly less.
• Random Dungeon and PVP group finding. Back when I used to play the game, if you wanted to do a Dungeon, you'd have to message people all over the game world, wait for them to get to your particular dungeon, THEN play. It was not uncommon to spend 40 minutes in transit before actually doing anything. Towards the end you could line up using a meeting stone, but you'd have to make your way to a particular dungeon first, still eating up a lot of time for very little fun return. Now I can use a handy button on the UI to start searching for a group to do a random or chosen dungeon, which I'll be teleported to from anywhere in the world when everything is lined up. It's not an idea system- no random matchmaking service is - but it's heads and tails above the old way. I've found myself actually finishing all my dungeon quests, which was not something I had the time commitment for before.
• Flying and Flightpaths. First of all, there are MORE flightpaths, which was very much so needed. When the pre-Cataclysm patch dropped, we got even more. Yay! But what is really the game changer for me was gaining the ability to fly. Not only does the addition of vertical movement drastically improve the design possibilities for the game, but it also greatly speeds up most of the questing. Fly over enemies to get to a goal, go over terrain that would normally force you to take a long detour, swoop in to attack the Alliance: It's a huge improvement to the game and probably the real reason why I've played a bunch since re-joining. Without it, I'd probably have quit after a couple of days.

There are other refinements of course: Tons of them in fact, although as a combat rogue, Stabby doesn't play much different than he did before. Still, I'm very interested to see how everything shakes down come December 7th... Overland flying in the old world is very welcome. Never get stuck of terrain while trying to trail-blaze a shortcut ever again!

Stabby doesn't know where he's going, but he's getting there in style, dammit!