Joe's World (of Warcraft) - Shattrath

Welcome to what I hope will be a WOW column that will break away from some of the other WOW commentary out there. Throughout this article, there will be a lot of reviews of both past and current WOW topics. Before we start, I wanted to give you just a little bit of background on me: I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since the Beta was available, and a group of friends were lucky enough to get one.  I’m also one the midnight Burning Crusade purchasers (my way of feeling young and in touch, that didn’t go over well for work the next day) I’ve been there from the beginning and it looks like I will be with WOW for a good long time.   So without further ado, here’s a little article I’d like to call…Shattrath Re-Visited.

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Shattrath, the shining star of Outland, is located in North West Terokkar Forrest.  The next zone over from the starting zone of Outland.  If you are new to the Burning Crusade expansion (chances are you aren’t) or if you’re playing catch up with some friends, make your way to Shattrath quickly. It’s the only city in Outland, and a great place to set your hearth to.  Shattrath is broken into four sections; The Lower City, The Terrace of Light, Aldor Rise and Scryers Tier.  One of the first Shattrath quests is City of Light; you will receive a tour of Shattrath along with a history lesson.  It’s a mandatory quest to unlock other quests, so you’ll just need to stick with it.  It’s fun enough, but make sure you complete it the first run through because the second time is just tedious.  Keep your eye on your guide. Rest, Restock reagents, and the flight point, make it an ideal place to set up shop.  Shattrath also possesses a bank; alchemy lab, specialty skill trainers, as well as portals to all the non Outland cities expect Silver Moon City.  These portals are located in the middle of the Terrace of Light.

For the PvP oriented; Battle Masters are located around the lower city, as well as the trademark flags of the current PVP zone of the week.  Keep an eye out for Adam Eternium, the Arathi Basin Battle Master and his pet battle tiger.  You have to love Blizzard’s eighties tributes.
Shattrath is home to a host of quests.  Many of these quests are great for those new to Outland; they give players the opportunity to explore the continent.   As you progress, make sure to get the starter quests. These unlock the daily quests and daily quests are a decent source of income.  They more than cover the cost of repairs, reagents, or potions needed for raiding.

Once in Shattrath you will have the chance to choose between the two “warring” factions located there.   The blood elf Scryers or the Draeni Aldor, take your time choosing between these two.  As you gain faction with one, you loose faction with the other and there is no coming back from it.  The deciding factor for your choice should be based upon the faction rewards from either side.  Visit Blizzards’ website for more detailed information about the reputation rewards at: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/factions/aldorscryers/aldor-scryers.xml

The other two factions to build reputation with are The Lower City and the Sha’tar.  These two factions are open to all players, regardless of their allegiance to the Scryer or Aldor.  All of the faction Quartermasters for these groups are located within Shattrath.  There are some pretty decent reputation rewards, and they can really help complete you character, especially if you are having bad luck with instance drops.
Shattrath has everything a player could want in a city… Well, except for trainers or an Auction House.  The no trainers part is a little annoying, but since it only affects a player every two levels, it’s going to be an inconvenience only about five times, unless you’re a druid, where training is just a teleport to Moonglade away.

Where Shattrath really falls short is with the absence of an Auction House. Blizzard has managed to link the Auction Houses of all the other cities, so why is Shattrath is the exception? Is it too far? Is it because of the dark portal? Does it add to the story, or is it just a pain in the butt that forces folks to burn their hearth stones?  I’m going with the pain theory.  There are constant portals opened from Shattrath to the other major cities, but none from those cities to Shattrath.  You can even portal between the Undercity and Silvermoon.   The addition of an Auction House to Shattrath, in my opinion, would be a great addition to WoW, players could spend more time playing rather wasting time checking for and selling items.
Just a note to all the readers out there, this column will be at its best with your input and comments, and I know the MMORPG members are not shy about commenting.  Additionally, if there are topics or points of interests you would like covered or addressed, just let me know.  No WoW subject is safe from us.  I’ll supply the ammo, you folks take the shots. (How’s that for social responsibility?)