The MMORPG community loves more content, even if it's actually old content from a game more than 15 years old. That explains the recent news from Blizzard regarding the expansions and patches currently live and incoming for both versions of World of Warcraft.
Classic WoW continues to progress as it did when it was blazing a trail in the world of MMOs, which means the recent patch that extends the storyline to the Island of Qual'Danas is now live. Getting to the island isn't as easy or intuitive as most players think, and even those that played the original game might need a quick refresher course.
Although Quel'Danas is an island that looks like it's just off the northern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, it's impossible to run or swim to the region from Silvermoon City. The island is only accessible via portal or flight plan, and before the initial supply chain quests are completed there is no direct portal.
Begin In Shattrath City
Before going anywhere, every player has to talk to a Draenei NPC named General Tiras'alan in Shattrath, the main city in Outland. He can be found standing next to A'dal, the big Naaru floating in the middle of the city, in the same interior space that has the badge vendor and the Sha'tar Quartermaster.
Not everyone can travel to this new location. The Island of Quel'Danaas is endgame content, which means the quests and access points are only available to level 70 characters, although some Flight Plans are available from level 65. Once the quest in Shattrath is accepted, players must travel to another NPC on the island in order to complete it.
Access To Quel'Danas
Before setting out on this latest adventure in the land of Azeroth, a character has to meet certain requirements, and the exact route they take depends on the faction.
- Neutral Routes. There's a portal directly from Shattrath that leads to the Sunwell Offensive that both Horde and Alliance players can use. However, this portal doesn't open until the island has been reclaimed by the cooperative efforts of both factions and not everyone can start their journey in Shattrath City.
- Alliance. The flight path available to Alliance players is from either Ironforge or the neutral settlement of Light's Hope. The trip from Ironforge is slightly shorter, teleporting players directly to the island's edge to avoid a very long trip.
- Horde. Being allied with the Blood Elves has its benefits. Horde players can teleport directly from Shattrath to Silvermoon, and the Flight Master there will automatically have the new flight path to the island available. Should they be in Old Azeroth as opposed to Outland, the Orb of Translocation in the Ruins of Lordaeron takes players directly to Silvermoon.
The Alliance Route
Alliance players can take portals to Ironforge, Darnassus, or Stormwind City from Silvermoon, but only Ironforge automatically connects to the flight path that goes to Quel-Danas. Geography nerds understand this is still a long route, hence the teleportation quirk.
The other option available to Alliance players is the flight plan located in Light's Hope, a settlement established by the Argent Dawn in the Eastern Plaguelands. There's both a Horde and Alliance Flight Master available, and the Alliance one offers passage to Quel'Danas.
The Horde Route
With the Horde-friendly city of Silvermoon nearby, this trip is considerably shorter and easier for the other faction, especially the Forsaken. Of course, Lady Sylvanas would have a direct mode of transport to her former hometown from her current throne room in Undercity, which is partly why there's a handy Translocation Orb in the ruins outside.
The orb takes players to an antechamber behind the throne room, unlike the portal from Shattrath which puts players in a small room in the front of the throne room instead. From there it's a short run to the Flight Master outside the front door and a direct line to Quel'Danas.
Reaching The Island
The quest players picked up in Shattrath ends here with an NPC on the boat named Archmage Ne'thul. Take note of the vendor standing next to him who exchanges tier sets for tokens found in the nearby dungeons.
After completing this quest, players will be able to accept other quests from nearby NPCs representing the Shattered Sun Offensive. These include the usual type of daily grind quests to raise reputation levels and earn faction rewards, and there are also a few quests related to the new dungeons nearby.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC