Questing Through Stormsong Valley

I finally finished all eight chapters in Stormsong Valley after making myself go back there so I could get the Kul Tourist achievement. I knew I’d have to finish the zone at some point anyway if I ever wanted to unlock flying! Stormsong is in a weird place for me maybe because it’s the last zone I quested through and by that time I was a little burnt out. After questing through long and intricate story-lines in Tirigarde and especially in Drustvar, the quests in Stormsong didn’t give me that same feeling of awe.

While the zone itself was beautiful and the music was calming, I was anything but calm. I was in a rush to finish all the quests so I could get the achievement, and then go write this blog post because I’m terribly behind on that. But, even though there are a number of factors that may have led to why it didn’t have that same feeling as the other zones, I can’t shake the feeling that there was something else, too.

I have to agree with many people from the community on some of the out-of-place quest-lines in Stormsong. The whole part where a section of Brennadam got destroyed by the Horde didn’t seem to fit with the story, and I recently learned that this wasn’t Blizzard’s original intention (Edit: ctrl+f+”Stormsong” to find it quickly) with that quest-line. I heard a lot of talk about the Quillboar part and, even though it wasn’t my favorite, it was still ok. I may have been under the wrong impression that all eight chapters would have something to do with the Tidesages and the lost Kul Tiran fleet.

Right after first being introduced to the zone, Taelia and I started investigating the strange behavior of the Tidesages and why they seem to be of no help in locating the lost fleet. While we do get our answer (Old Gods, man) in a compelling quest-line, it eventually ends and we are left with a dungeon quest for Shrine of the Storm. I was left wanting more, and with lots more chapters to play through I was excited to find out what was next. While there was a great quest-line involving the Naga (more on that later), the rest of the zone didn’t really deliver on my expectations of more spooky Old God stuff. This could be a problem of me getting my hopes up, however, and I do know that Blizzard fully intends to give us more Old God stuff in light of the Azshara Warbringers video.

Speaking of Azshara, I fought Naga over at Fort Daelin who were summoning a giant water creature thing, called the Pride of Azshara. Players from Legion will remember the final boss, Wrath of Azshara, from the Eye of Azshara dungeon. The one I fought in Stormsong looks the same, but has a slightly different name. These creatures seem to be magical manifestations of Azshara’s emotions, and aren’t that easy to defeat. The one from the Eye of Azshara dungeon was already greatly weakened by the time the boss encounter started. It was very exciting to have a quest-line all about the Naga, and it was awesome to be able to see their updated model used so much.

The Naga were exciting to me because ever since watching the Azshara Warbringers I know they have a plan that has been stewing for ten-thousand years. No, these Naga aren’t just part of a random quest to kill ten of them (but there’s still lots of that), in Stormsong they are clearly attacking the Kul Tirans with a purpose. Azshara has been waiting ten-thousand years for whatever is about to happen in the next couple major patches, and it is going to be big. Plus we finally get our first in-game glimpse of Azshara’s new model when we pick up a quest item that has a message from the queen herself! Needless to say, I’m very excited for what is to come, and chances are you already know that if you read my last post!

Aside from the usual excitement that comes with Old Gods and Naga, I did some other quests that stood out to me. The first being a quest-line that takes place entirely in Deadwash, where the Irontide Pirates are attracted to rumors of lost treasure. It was here, after turning in a couple quests, that I hit level 120 and took a short questing hiatus. But after returning to Deadwash and finishing up the chapter there, I found the treasure and was awarded 83 gold along with a letter in the mail claiming that the rest of my share would be mailed next week. I’m fairly confident that my gold will never show up, and I certainly wasn’t looking forward to buying a new mount.

In my travels through Stormsong I came across the honey bee farm, Mildenhall, where its owner was experimenting with honey production. Increased honey production as well as increased bee hostility made for an interesting time when I had to help save the farm. The new bee models are adorable and makes me want to get a honey bee mount that much more!

Overall, Stormsong Valley was as beautiful as the first two zones I went through, but leaving Stormsong to the end and feeling burnt out may have contributed to why I wasn’t as excited about questing here. Some of the quest-lines were really awesome, like with the Tidesages and Naga, while other ones felt out-of-place, like the Quillboar and Horde. I’ll have to revisit how I feel about this zone when leveling alts and I’ll make sure not to save it for last! Right now, Stormsong to me feels a little bit like a missed opportunity, but I also understand that Blizzard really wants to build up to the Old God stuff.