In his latest World of Warcraft article, MMORPG.com Industry Relations Manager Garrett Fuller takes a look at some of the changes in the overhauled starting areas that have gone live as of the 4.0.3 update. Garrett chronicles what he believes are the most significant changes with the advent of the new patch. Check out his article and leave us your comments below.

As a follow up to last week’s article on the WoW Patch 4.0.3, I wanted to write about my experiences in the new starting area of Warcraft. I made two new characters, a Tauren Paladin and an Orc Mage. The Mage won out and I started playing in the old zone of Durator once again. Only this time there were some serious changes. Are they changes for the better? I think so.

Read more World of Warcraft: Early 4.0.3 Experience.

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

 yeah thats been in awhile now, but to the OP make sure you hit redridge once you reach the level (20 i think?) it for me had the best quests by far. i just started over tho and only like 25 so far.

I took a break from leveling a Warlock alt to try out a Tauren Pali and noticed quite a few of the Mulgore quests have changed. The Camp Narache quests have changed and are now all focused on killing quillboars form quest givers in a couple of locations. Many of the quests from Bloodhoof are the same but seem a bit more streamlined but I must admit it's been a while so I may be mistaken. The only noticable difference was the 'spirit wolf' quests now transforms you into a spirit wolf and takes you to a new quest hub in Northeast Mulgore.

One of the big differences is Mulgore is now isolated as you cannot get into the barrens from here. The Alliance now hold the South Barrens and they have built a wall where Camp Turajo used to be, it has been destoryed. So to get to the Crossroads, you must either fly (the Wing Rider Master gives you a free one way trip as you don't have the FP yet) or take the Zep to Orgrimar. From there you' hoof it' to the Bridge that crosses the river from Durotar. This is now a mini-quest hub, as is Grolgom Farm. Some of the quest givers have moved location which can be confusing for the old timers at first but it brings a refreshing change as you want to see what they did with the landscape and see all the new hubs.

I only got to level 23 but I like the changes so far... Pali leveling on hold for now as I revert back to the Warlock.

Originally posted by mbd1968

I took a break from leveling a Warlock alt to try out a Tauren Pali and noticed quite a few of the Mulgore quests have changed. The Camp Narache quests have changed and are now all focused on killing quillboars form quest givers in a couple of locations. Many of the quests from Bloodhoof are the same but seem a bit more streamlined but I must admit it's been a while so I may be mistaken. The only noticable difference was the 'spirit wolf' quests now transforms you into a spirit wolf and takes you to a new quest hub in Northeast Mulgore.

One of the big differences is Mulgore is now isolated as you cannot get into the barrens from here. The Alliance now hold the South Barrens and they have built a wall where Camp Turajo used to be, it has been destoryed. So to get to the Crossroads, you must either fly (the Wing Rider Master gives you a free one way trip as you don't have the FP yet) or take the Zep to Orgrimar. From there you' hoof it' to the Bridge that crosses the river from Durotar. This is now a mini-quest hub, as is Grolgom Farm. Some of the quest givers have moved location which can be confusing for the old timers at first but it brings a refreshing change as you want to see what they did with the landscape and see all the new hubs.

I only got to level 23 but I like the changes so far... Pali leveling on hold for now as I revert back to the Warlock.

Yeah almost have my Paladin out of Mulgore and the quests are a lot more...streamlined is a good word. I love the spirit wolf quest a lot! That was just cool. I also like the Grimetotem quest from Blaine and the little scene that plays out. I am still not sure about the area behind the quest with the rabbits and squirrels that are...well i do not want to spoil it.

They also made drop rates better and maybe some annoying quests easier like Mazzenrache. It use to be 4 special drop items that took up a ton of room in your bags. Now its just 1 item. Having leveled 3 other Tauren before, this was a refreshing surprise.

I like how the war board guides you to the new area or at least lets you know where to go. The best part is how each zone has a theme or a story and it really helps you feel like you are more involved with the story and can feel the impact the Cataclysm had.

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

I have no idea what either of you are talking about,there is tons of aggro,there was never any such thing as all yellow and can wander carelessly.

As for the actual aggro mechanics,there are none,bascially another EQ copy,you hit a certain point and bam auto aggro,cheap effort and design.So happens there is a MUCH older game with far superior aggro mechanics,but sounds like the first poster is happier with no aggro,wants to wander care free with zero risk.

My take on 4.03 is just same old,new face,i am sure it will keep the bored happy ,but really it is a cheap way of holding players attention.I played 4 players in different zones then felt totally bored with the game,after only 3 days.It is no different than day 1 of release,i find it hard to believe people can actually continue on after such a boring design.Even my players structure for combat was boring.

there was some nice quests,but hey i can get that in any game and usually with nice cutscenes and or better graphics.A few were bugged or repeated the same over in the other zone ,example the fire extinguisher was a rehased quest.

This is the truth....

On all 4 players ,i cannot remember the name of one single spell,i just briefly read them[super easy to understand ]then put them on my hotbar in order.Then all i did was spam the same sequence over and over,no thought ,no challenge no real care,i got bored really quick with every class i played.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

I have no idea what either of you are talking about,there is tons of aggro,there was never any such thing as all yellow and can wander carelessly.

As for the actual aggro mechanics,there are none,bascially another EQ copy,you hit a certain point and bam auto aggro,cheap effort and design.So happens there is a MUCH older game with far superior aggro mechanics,but sounds like the first poster is happier with no aggro,wants to wander care free with zero risk.

My take on 4.03 is just same old,new face,i am sure it will keep the bored happy ,but really it is a cheap way of holding players attention.I played 4 players in different zones then felt totally bored with the game,after only 3 days.It is no different than day 1 of release,i find it hard to believe people can actually continue on after such a boring design.Even my players structure for combat was boring.

there was some nice quests,but hey i can get that in any game and usually with nice cutscenes and or better graphics.A few were bugged or repeated the same over in the other zone ,example the fire extinguisher was a rehased quest.

This is the truth....

On all 4 players ,i cannot remember the name of one single spell,i just briefly read them[super easy to understand ]then put them on my hotbar in order.Then all i did was spam the same sequence over and over,no thought ,no challenge no real care,i got bored really quick with every class i played.

 The OP was talking about the starting area level 1-5.  At least that's the way I read it.

Originally posted by elos_rekat

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

I have no idea what either of you are talking about,there is tons of aggro,there was never any such thing as all yellow and can wander carelessly.

As for the actual aggro mechanics,there are none,bascially another EQ copy,you hit a certain point and bam auto aggro,cheap effort and design.So happens there is a MUCH older game with far superior aggro mechanics,but sounds like the first poster is happier with no aggro,wants to wander care free with zero risk.

My take on 4.03 is just same old,new face,i am sure it will keep the bored happy ,but really it is a cheap way of holding players attention.I played 4 players in different zones then felt totally bored with the game,after only 3 days.It is no different than day 1 of release,i find it hard to believe people can actually continue on after such a boring design.Even my players structure for combat was boring.

there was some nice quests,but hey i can get that in any game and usually with nice cutscenes and or better graphics.A few were bugged or repeated the same over in the other zone ,example the fire extinguisher was a rehased quest.

This is the truth....

On all 4 players ,i cannot remember the name of one single spell,i just briefly read them[super easy to understand ]then put them on my hotbar in order.Then all i did was spam the same sequence over and over,no thought ,no challenge no real care,i got bored really quick with every class i played.

 The OP was talking about the starting area level 1-5.  At least that's the way I read it.

It doesn't matter...to him (not the OP) everything is an excuse to post "I HATE WOW, WOW SUCKS, ONLY BORED MORONS PLAY WOW" comments in any thread about or having anything to do with WoW. Its quite humorous to be honest.

EDIT: The mobs for the first quest or two are yellow and therefore do not agro. However, its been this way a while and changec several patches ago.

Could they make this game any easier????  FFS way to kill any sense of accomplishment or challenge while leveling

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by elos_rekat

" No more aggro from mobs was a big change, so everything is friendly yellow. You can run around and kill the monsters you want in order to finish your quests. "

This was in the game long before the mentioned patch

 

Gotta admit I quit reading after that because obviously, the author has no idea of what changes came about as part of this patch.

I was about to say the same thing lol he couldn't be more wrong about the aggro.

The game might be too old and too well-known to attract significant amounts of new players. Having to buy all those expansions will put off quite a new players as well, I guess.

And about returning players: quite a number of people who stopped playing have discovered RL and they might not want to return to any MMORPG (and if they do, they might prefer a more casual one or just want to try something different). Others have tried other games for a change and found some they liked.

I am certainly no WOW-hater or -basher, but I doubt whether the Cataclysm is enough to keep player numbers from a slow decline. I guess I am a WOW-pessimist.

I've gotten my tauren pally up to level 38.  I did Mulgore, then Azshara.  Azshara was just AWESOME.  Then I hit Stonetalon Mountains, another well "re-done" zone and then I hit Desolace.  Was going OK until I hit the last few quests.  They were bugged.  So Desolace still sucks as a zone overall.  Now I'm in Ferelas and doing quests I've done before, so nothing new so far although the western coast areas are really different now.  I'm hoping the awesome storylines I had in Azshara and Stonetalon make an appearance again, was loving levels 1 - 30.  

I like how they split the dungeons up into wings now and lowered their level reqs.  Like I can run Diremaul now at level 36, the first wing that is.  Can't wait.  Overall, I think these changes are awesome, I just wish they had put the same level of polish and story into EVERY old world zone.  

Played 3 or 4 of the new starting areas. I like what they've done. Back playing WoW after 15 months off. Game is basically the same with some nice tweaks & a huge improvement in graphics, IMO. Starting new tune from scratch and looking forward to a more relaxing level climb than in the past.

I'll give people 2 months before they get bored of Cataclysm. Some of the changes are ok but overall its the same old quest grind to the max level. Can't see how that can be so appealing when so many are screaming for something new and different.

I got to ask, is it still a walk in the park to level or have they made it a bit harder? One huge reason I left wow was that Blizz wanted everyone at top level so they made it very easy to get there. To me reading these it seems as if they havent changed much at all in a sense of feeling good about accomplishing something.

I love the changes. Low level questing is way more fun now. Can't wait to make my Worgen Warrior!

Originally posted by snoop101

I got to ask, is it still a walk in the park to level or have they made it a bit harder? One huge reason I left wow was that Blizz wanted everyone at top level so they made it very easy to get there. To me reading these it seems as if they havent changed much at all in a sense of feeling good about accomplishing something.

Actually they have made leveling easier than ever. Quest lines are streamlined, all the quests for a dungeon are available just inside the entrance of each dungeon and they even reduced the amount of exp required to lvl by 20% in the 70-80 range.

They did add some challenge to two of the older dungeons (SFK and DM) which is really kicking some players asses. I have a feeling once people hit lvl 81 and start running the new dungeons they will hit another brick wall. So although the solo quest grind is now easier than ever, the group/dungeon content is slowly moving back toward being challenging.

"Overall, WoW has definitely changed for the better. I think the stream-lined questing and advancement will give new players a much easier time."

First of all I don't hate WoW, I had fun with till my shaman reached lvl 60 and BC came out, but left a week after I bought BC on it's release, simply had enough of the game. But to be honost I didn't really get the quote I copied, as in "give new players a much easier time" As far I can recall WoW was already very easy, or am I missing something or just misunderstanding what is meant with a much easier time?

As with all games regardless if I like the game or not is that I hope it does well for those who play it.

Originally posted by mrshroom89

Could they make this game any easier????  FFS way to kill any sense of accomplishment or challenge while leveling

 

 I couldnt agree more WTF, its good cause its more streamlined?  Has that ever been a issue with WoW being to hard at low levels?  Holy crap where are we going as mmo players?

"I think the stream-lined questing and advancement will give new players a much easier time."   Now im not mister hardcore but dear god its like a bad joke.  Wheres the big red i win button??!!?