Today in WoW I unexpectedly gained a new faction, as I got to non-hostile with the Sons of Hodir and could then do quests for them. I did a bunch and have now pretty much finished the Storm Peaks area as far as I can tell, and got the achievement for it (these zone quest achievements seem a lot easier to get in Northrend than they did in Outland).

In these later areas there’s also a lot more use of the ‘phasing’ tech, changing the spawns, NPCs, and available quests in certain areas of the maps as you complete quests. It certainly helps the feeling that things have actually changed because of you.

I finally got enough money in total, and now have the artisan riding skill and a new, faster (+280%) flying mount. And that also makes me poor, with 21 gold left to my name… That’s the major expense of my career out of the way, though, with the only major ones remaining being dual-spec specialization (another 1000 gold), and maybe the Kirin Tor rings (over 8000 gold, but of questionable value).

Instead of charging off to Icecrown though, I’ve headed back to the original lands to see if I can finish off the Loremaster achievements there. I still have to find 35 quests somewhere in Kalimdor, and hopefully this guide will lead me to enough. I’ve found a few in Desolace already, although three of them are part of a faction grind I’d rather avoid…