Filed Under: Editorial, Leveling // Tags: Quests
After playing this game we all love so much for almost four years, leveling three toons to the level cap and many more alts halfway there, I stopped to think back on the aspects of the game that I love, and the quests that I never miss no matter how many alts I level. Let’s face it, there are some truly epic quests in this game, and there are some you just shouldn’t miss, whether you only do them once or revisit them again and again for all your toons.
1. Jailbreak! / Ony Attunement
This has to be one of the longest quest chains in the game, spanning two continents, several zones, and a couple dungeons making it a truly epic–and time-consuming–venture. The chain begins with a rather inoxious quest in the Burning Steppes called the Dragonkin Menace which is a one-part quest that unlocks the start of the attunement chain. From there, you complete The True Masters quest line bringing you from the Burning Steppes to Lakeshire, Stormwind, and back again, and then into Blackrock Depths to find Marshal Windsor and rescue him.
I spent a grand total of 16 hours in BRD one day getting this chain finished, and while it was infuriating at the time, I now look back on the experience with awe and a sense of pride. Truly a quest chain not to be missed!
Note: As of Patch 3.0.2, this quest chain is no longer available in-game in it’s original incarnation. Some of the quests involved with this chain do still exist, but Onyxia has been updated from a Level 60 40-man raid boss to a Level 80 10 and 25-man raid boss and no longer requires an attunement.
2. The Baron Run
Veteran players already know what I’m talking about: the 45-minute mad dash through Stratholme to rescue “that stupid bitch”.
But I’m not bitter, I swear.
Dead Man’s Plea is the third quest in a 9-quest chain that few players ever completed… sane. Because of this quest, I still occasionally go back to Stratholme to beat up Baron Rivendare just on principle. While the experience will be drastically different with the level cap raised and players being able to go back with stronger spells and better gear, it’s still worth doing.
I still hear his voice cackling… “I shall take great pleasure in taking this poor wretch’s life! It’s not too late, she needn’t suffer in vain. Turn back and her death shall be merciful!”
What a prick.
3. Barov Family Fortune
If for no other reason that to get the Barov Peasant Caller, a foray into Scholomance is a must. The Barov Family Fortune quest asks you to journey into Scholomance to get the deeds to four rather familiar locations: Brill, Caer Darrow, Southshore and Tarren Mill. Bring these back to Weldon Barov to pick up another quest, The Last Barov, and travel to The Bulwark in Tirisfal Glades to slay Alexi Barov.
4. The Legend of Stalvan
Another long quest chain making you run all over creation. This quest was torture when mounts weren’t available until 40, but the ultimate “FedEx” quest if you’re looking for lazy XP. The Legend of Stalvan begins after speaking to Madame Eva in Duskwood and takes you all over Westfall, Elwynn Forest, Stormwind, and back again to finally slay Stalvan Mistmantle. Another great quest chain to complete with this one for a bit of lore-gathering is Sven’s Revenge.
5. All Along the Watchtowers
One quest among many in the Western Plaguelands that you shouldn’t miss is All Along the Watchtowers, which you receive from Commander Ashlam Valorfist in Chillwind Camp. This quest introduces you to the dangerous Ruins of Andorhal, and though the quest has been nerfed (the mobs guarding each tower are no longer elites) it’s still a fun one to complete.
6. Defenders of Darrowshire
While this quest is relatively tame in both scope and difficulty, it’s always been one I’ve enjoyed and made sure I completed on each of my toons. The Defenders of Darrowshire quest begins with Carlin Redpath requesting that you free 15 Darrowshire Spirits that died defending their homes from scourge invasion. While the act of completing the quest itself is fun, contemplating the lost souls you free from their plagued bodies will haunt you.
7. Hero of the Stormpike
This quest is an old favorite that provided much-needed upgrades when they were few and far between and your only options were farming Strat and Scholo until you tore your hair out in disgust. The Hero of the Stormpike quest provided two particularly nice upgrade choices for Hunters: Bloodseeker or the Ice Barbed Spear. Personally, I chose to turn in my Hurricane for a Bloodseeker, which I took with me to Silithus later on.
8. Ivus the Forest Lord
This quest is just pure awesome, no two ways about it. Watching Ivus stomp around the Field of Strife, and then move on towards Frostwolf Keep with the Alliance Army flowing in his wake as he blasts unfortunate Horde along the way is a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, completing the Ivus quest takes cooperation from your fellow PvPers, which is often hard to come by. But, if you can pull it off, it’s totally worth it.
9. The Defias Brotherhood
I’m convinced that it’s impossible to level without doing these quests. Well, that’s not true. I’m sure it’s possible, but it doesn’t feel quite right if you pass them by. The Defias Brotherhood chain starts with Gryan Stoutmantle asking you to visit Wiley in Lakeshire to learn more about this nefarious band of thieves and ends with a trip into The Deadmines to slay Edwin VanCleef.
An interesting side note: The 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie “Hard Target” featured a particularly nasty villain called Pik van Cleef (played by Arnold Vosloo).
10. The Buzzboxes
Anyone who has leveled at least one Night Elf already knows what I’m talking about: one of the most irritating quest chains in Darkshore. Or at least it was before the advent of Thottbot and WoWHead.
The chain begins with the Buzzbox 827 quest which you get from Wizbang Cranktoggle in Auberdine and takes you literally all over the zone. The truly annoying thing about this chain is that, while it’s relatively short and not really very demanding, the amount of travel required at the pre-mount level the quests are designed for is painstaking. Still, the quests themselves are neat, and you get to see secluded parts of a hauntingly beautiful zone.
11. Elven Legends
The Elven Legends quests are cool for the simple fact that they introduce you to a much-neglected dungeon: Dire Maul, if for no other reason. Scholar Runethorn in Feathermoon Stronghold asks that you search Dire Maul for Kariel Winthalus and return once you’ve found him.
12. The Nesingwary Quests
If you want mindless XP, then the Nesingwary quests are where it’s at, whether you’re in Stranglethorn Vale, Nagrand, or Sholazar Basin. The first Nesingwary quests you’ll encounter can be obtained from Hemet Nesingwary Jr just south of the Rebel Camp in Stranglethorn Vale. You’ll receive three sets of three “grind” quests to kill various creatures in the zone, culminating in a final named kill for each species you’ve hunted. The next set of quests you’ll obtain from Hemet Nesingwary himself in Nagrand, and the quests are much the same: three sets of three quests, culminating in elite kills at the end. The Northrend versions of the Nesingwary quests, unlike previous renditions, can actually be completely entirely on your own and introduce an interesting new vehicle mechanic for completing the final quest.
13. Bring Me the Egg
While fun, this quest can be infuriating as you try again and again to position yourself such that you actually land in the tree to summon the Matriarch. Stupid goblin, I will bring you that egg if it kills me! (And it did a couple times…)
Still, it’s a nice break from the usual “run there, kill that” quests and you should definitely give it a go. Who knows? You might get lucky and land it on the first attempt.
14. Divination
The Teron Gorefiend quests in SMV are a must. They begin with Zorus the Judicator in Wildhammer Stronghold and consist of multiple small quest chains:
- A Ghost in the Machine, Harbingers of Shadowmoon, Teron Gorefiend – Lore and Legend
- Divination: Gorefiend’s Cloak, Gorefiend’s Truncheon, Gorefiend’s Armor
- Teron Gorefiend, I am…
This chain isn’t just worth it for the rewards (though they are nice for pre-raid content), but provides interesting insight into the lore of Shadowmoon Valley and Outland.
15. A Rare Bean
A yes, A Rare Bean. Who didn’t love this quest? Who didn’t find perverse interest in being told to dig through Talbuk poop? And who doesn’t still carry around a few Nagrand Cherries in their bags… just in case?
16. Mission: Uh… Bomb Them!
The Mission: The Murketh and Shaadraz Gateways quest introduced to us the concept of bombing runs, and they were a big hit from day one. I can still recall release night when there were login queues, Outland servers crashing, and players new and old swarming through Hellfire taking in all the new sights and sounds. (Watch out for those Fel Reavers!) Who doesn’t love a free gryphon ride over enemy territory? And you get bombs!
17. Dr. Boom
Watching people attempt to finish the Dr. Boom quest while doing DPS tests was hilarious. The trick is to stick and move, people, stick and move!
18. Needs More Cowbell
Not only is it a reference to the immortal Christopher Walken SNL Blue Oyster Cult sketch, which makes it worth doing in and of itself, but you get to escort a cow. Needs More Cowbell takes you through a lesser-traveled portion of Netherstorm to escort poor lost Bessy out of harm’s way.
19. The Vengeful Harbinger
If you managed to complete this quest without it bugging out, I congratulate you.
This quest is actually one that was beautifully designed and can be a lot of fun to do. You get to see gorgeous graphic displays that are seldom seen elsewhere in the game, but it can be totally infuriating if the quest does bug out on you. Allegedly, the event has been fixed and no longer bugs out, but I was too infuriated from the last time it bugged out on me to try it again, so I have no idea if the rumors are true. Still, it’s something you should try at least once, and the rewards from The Vengeful Harbinger are good hold-overs until you find something better.
20. Missing Friends
And finally, Missing Friends. This quest is just too cute. Little Ethan asks you to free his trapped pals that the Arakkoa have taken captive, and in return, he’ll give you his battered but beloved steam tonk for saving his young friends. I totally still have my steam tonk in the bank.
Which quests have you enjoyed the most?
I still haven’t finished the Gorefiend quests. The two group quests in the chain are still sitting in my log. Onyxia attunement is also something I never got around to doing because when I had True Masters, I hit level 58 and immediately abandoned everything for Hellfire. I suppose I should go back sometime.
For Alliance players, I’d add the quest chain that provides Dartol’s Rod of Transformation. I also recommend doing the Ogri’la attunement. Killing gronns is fun.
Tirion Fordring’s questline in Eastern Plaguelands. Especially if you are a paladin.
You can’t complete the Onyxia attunement now. I’m not sure how much of the quests were removed, but Bolvar and the lady that Onyxia was masquerading as are both gone from Stormwind Keep.
On the plus side, you don’t need attunement to kill Ony anymore.
In my opinion, the hunter and priest quest from the chest of Major Domo ranks as 2 of the Must-Do quests. The opening of the AQ Gates quest chain is also one for the books.
There’s this quest in Auberdine to kill the spirit of a guy’s wife– afterwards it does this little interaction between the two of them and it’s really heartrending.
Without a doubt though, I think my favorite quest in the game is actually a the horde-only questline in Nagrand that brings Thrall to Garadar. SUCH a good questline. It’s only unlocked after you’ve done almost all the other quests in the zone which all sort of focus on trying to bring “spirit” back to this really depressed Mag’har orc. Then you go through this super long questline that eventually takes you through Auchenai Crypts in a last ditch effort to cheer him up. It doesn’t work… until the old dying orc “greatmother” happens to let slip that her son was Durotan… and you get to break the news to her that her grandson Thrall is the warchief of the Horde.
Such a good questline and easily the most touching and immersive that I have encountered; I’d almost make it a must for pure-Alliance players to play at least one horde character up to level 65ish JUST to do this quest.
@ Athryn – so glad I did that questchain the week before 3.0. I knew that Blizz was taking it out so I actually FRAPS’d the walking-through-Stormwind part.
@Pike – I forgot all about the Relics of the Highborn stuff in Darkshore! I have no idea how I managed to forget about it, I’ve done it on all my characters. You’re right, the little scene on the docks between the two is very nicely done. It’s just too bad the quest reward is rather lack-luster.
Like Pike said, the Hero of Garandar is by far one of my favorite Outland quest lines.
Also, I love the (Horde-only) quest that brings the Murlocs to Outland. Not the most complex, but those Murlocs sure are cute, especially when they’re rocking all night long!
I’m not sure what the quest is called but it’s a horde quest where you bring Sylvanas her sister’s necklace and she sings “The Lament of the Highborne”. It’s worth a looksee.
@Vulpinor – Good call! The Lament of the Highborne is a must-see for Hordies.
The Cipher of Damnation (SMV) is an amazing quest chain with several great rewards and a decent variety of objectives to do. Something about picking rotten eggs to buy drugs to get a blood elf to drop his guard . . . priceless. I will be be starting that with my lvl 69 pally tonite, actually.
I see that someone else mentioned Tirion Fordring, so I will only second it.
Vengeful Harbinger is no longer bugged: I helped a couple friends with it on Saturday, in fact! However, I also remember taking my 5 (now) level 70s through there in their 60s, and it bugged for every single one of them. And here, I thought it was ME!
Almost all the chain quests in the plaguelands are solid. Scholomance in particular has a series of quests lines that are really impressive.
It has already been mentioned, but nothing in the game compares to the Tirion Fordring series. The quest starts painfully with 3 quests that have you killing things all over EPL and cursing the RNG gods on the drop of grub meat. Trust me, you want to suffer through it.
From that point you will rob graves, talk to ghost, steal a painting and have a gnome give you a make-over before sending you on an escort quest you ain’t ever seen before. No spoilers but , suffice to say I am more worried about pissing off Tirion then facing Arthas in Wrath.
The other quest lines I would recommend is the Linkin quest and BRD emperor line.
[...] Mike was kind enough to link to my quests post on WoW Insider yesterday, and I couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately, his gracious link [...]
I’m coming a little late to the party, but no one has mentioned either of my favourite chains.
First, the wildkin/moonkin quest line that starts with Erelas Ambersky in Rutheran village, and takes you to the Hinterlands and then to Winterspring where there’s lots of good lore revealed.
And second, the Druid epic flight form chain. Just a brilliant quest line, that feels very epic indeed.
I’d love, one day, to get the petrified leaf from majordomo’s chest and go and do the epic stick quest. But it’ll have to wait til I can convince my guild to run MC for me.
The Thethyr quest chain in Dustwallow Marsh ends with a really cool scripted battle against a sea monster and you have to man the cannons. Defiantly worth seeing even at 70.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Tethyr
For those who are Horde, the quest made by Ezra Chatterton as his MakeAWish is a must see. It starts in the Mulgore town between the Thunderbluff and the starting area. It’s especially sad considering he has since died
RIP, buddy.
This is one that a lot of people missed, and I only just found it. Go to Cowlen on Azuremyst Isle and complete the quest he gives you to collect the remains of his family from the Moonkin, and then go to the north of the isle and complete Magwin’s escort quest. This is one of the sweetest moments I’ve seen in WoW, going from the low to the high.
Needs More Cowbell is okay, but the best escort quest is the one with Torta and Tooga, the turtles in Tanaris. (alliteration anyone?) Tooga doesn’t charge headlong into the nearest mob group – he’s actually smart enough to let you lead the way! And the quest dialog is great, all the way through. I actually found myself encouraging Tooga, and being happy for him – briefly – when he was reunited with his wife.