Running Around in Warlords

     The last several days before the expansion were spent getting ready for a Launch Party hosted here at my place. So when the portal opened we had five people sitting here in my living room with WoW open and all ready to go... and a sixth friend on Vent to join in on the fun. The majority voted Alliance for starting so a rather worried looking Ailuuya climbed down from her perch in the shrine to go and see what she could do for the past, or the alternate past as the case may be.

     Unfortunately her part in the night's adventure was short lived. She started the party and got a short way into Tanaan jungle before repeated disconnects kept having the lot of them stuck waiting on me. If I'd been powering through alone I might have kept at it but when other people were waiting I decided to pick someone on a different (and apparently less populated) server to sub in instead. Tyl took Ailuuya's place and though there was lag (oh so very much lag) later, he at least mostly managed to stay connected.

     I'd tried to keep myself as mostly unspoiled as possible so though I'd seen a few screenshots Shadowmoon Valley has me oohing and aaahing and screencapping at every turn. It's just beautiful. I think WoW gets more beautiful with every expansion.

 

     Tyl couldn't resist making a new friend or two, though Snowthorn will never be replaced. But the new hydras are too adorable to pass up. I didn't go tame a hydra when it became available last patch because I was waiting for one of these. It was well worth the wait. Now can we please have them as mounts too? Pretty please?
     Yesterday morning Tai's paladin had some time free so I -finally- got to go see a little of the Horde experience. It was fun. And Frostfire Ridge is beautiful too. And entirely different kind of beauty than Shadowmoon but still definitely beautiful.

     Tai feels right at home in his orcish style outpost, though he's the only one of my Blood Elves who will. He's quite happy, though and wandered around telling goblins what to build in between punching ogres and making friends with the locals.

     He got to meet Draka, briefly, but long enough to be impressed. Tai's got a soft spot for fierce orc women and thinks Thrall's mother's a lovely one. Durotan's a lucky guy.
     Poor Ailuuya's still dealing with queues to try to get on and level so when Tai's paladin needed a break it was Tyl who got to log back in an play. He had a queue too, but 50 is shorter than 1500+. Overall, despite the garrison issues (Tyl spent half an hour sitting on a parked flight path gryphon just inside the border) and the getting booted a few times yesterday I'm really impressed so far. I think the garrisons will be a lot of fun though I don't have any plan for them and am just deciding spur of the moment what to make. And I can't wait to keep leveling and see what the rest of these zones look like.