The Dark Portal Beckons Philly

The Dark Portal Beckons Philly

For all the grousing about Pandaria, the low level Jade Forest was packed with quests. It only took a couple of hours of almost leisurely effort to get to Level 90. Using a batch of Timeless Isle gear the family had stored up, Philly improved her gear from i432 to i474. Perhaps Philly will hang out in Pandaria a little longer, depending on how much xp she gets. Plundering Pandaria would also give Philly an advantage should she level a couple more times before plunging into Draenor.

The family is slowly getting the rest of the recipes held by the Traders. I'm going to have to make a chart that shows what can be bought for each Trader, what payment has to be used, and which player needs which Trader. For example, the Herb Trader had to be visited twice: Once for Tiphaine (Inscription recipes, paid for with cerulean pigments), and a second time by JB (Alchemy recipes, paid for with alchemical catalyst). So far the family has visited the fur, leather, and herb traders. Next up is the Ore Trader. There are recipes for blacksmithing (Jocy and Tiphaine), and Jewelcrafting. The family jeweler is Philly. That will have to wait until she puts her own garrison into order.

Philly made one more foray into Hyjal to see if the Daily quests were worth doing at level 90. The short answer - No. Pre-90 Philly was getting 12-16k XP per daily. At level 90 that sank to 4k per daily. Not worth the effort.

She also learned that Pandaria was not the plunder plum she expected, either. She still can't fly there. She must learn the "Wisdom of the Four Winds." Skydancer Shun is the flying trainer for the Horde located on the landing platform at the Shrine of Two Moons. And Viola! Philly can fly. That was easier than I thought it would be. Any guess where she's heading now?

The Timeless Isle was a humbling experience. Philly had no problem flying to the island. She was met on the beach and sent to the main square. She got the starter quest that introduces the four main quest hubs around the square. Philly confidently marched off in the direction given by the quest and within thirty seconds was in the middle of a desperate fight against two level 90 ghosts. She won the battle, but was a bit shaken at how hard it was. Philly tried going to the second quest location, which sent her to a cave. There were some rocks to pick up. She barely got inside the opening when a floating apparition slid silently right at her - her brain registered the sight - a level 90 elite. Philly lasted about thirty seconds. Dead.

Philly reluctantly moved back into Pandaria. The quests are numerous and boring, the XP is modest at best, and the mobs harder to kill than Philly is used to. Philly has had it too easy for too long. More than two hours of questing got Philly only to 21% of the way to Level 91. This is going to be a long slog.

Forget Hyjal. Forget Pandaria. Forget the Timeless Isle. It won't be any easier in Draenor, but that is where, ultimately, she must be. Might as well start now. Philly headed for the Dark Portal. Following in the footsteps of her family she fought her way into Draenor and built her garrison. She reached Level 91 and raised her gear score from i474 to i507.

The family now has SIX garrisons.