World of Warcraft: Forever will drop a new item that teaches you a profession of your choice in the starting zone. This is a great change as you do not have to run to Stormwind or major hubs first.
A BlizzCon demo writeup from Icy Veins walked a new Human through Northshire and watched a Kobold Vermin drop an item called a Nibbled On Book. Using it opened a quest chain that is not in Classic. The chapel librarian and a nearby NPC send you after kobolds that have been stealing books and eating them. You need eight books. The drop rate is poor on purpose. The extra kills plus the new quest XP pushed that character out of the valley a little over level 6, which is when most people used to grind anyway so they could pick up skills in Goldshire.
The reward is the part that changes the first hour. At the end you choose a profession manual: Mining for Dummies, or the Skinning and Herbalism versions. The Mining book bumps the skill by 2 and will not let you raise it past 15. If you do not already know Mining and you still have a profession slot, using the item teaches Mining. Same rules for the other two gathering books.
This is one of many of the Classic pain points that Warcraft Forever is trying to solve for players of all kinds. Humans who wanted ore used to finish Northshire, walk Elwynn, then eat the Stormwind trip for Gelman Stonehand before they could click a Copper Vein. Almost every race had a profession that was a pain to get. Warcraft Forever putting a dummy manual in the first valley means one gathering profession can start while you are still on wolf and kobold quests.
It does not replace trainers however. Fifteen skill points is easy to fill and require the trainer quick. You will also still need a pick or whatever trade items are needed, get the materials for the professions and a city trainer when the cap gets in the way. So far the devs have already added more than 600 new recipes, camp objects at 20 skill, and food that carries stats plus a small XP bite. The Northshire book is how that system says hello before you own a camp.
Blizzard promised more than 1,000 new quests. This is one of them sitting inside a zone people have run since 2004. The original Northshire list is still there. The kobolds are still the same kobolds. The new chain sits beside them and pays XP, and a easy profession start instead of another item.
Whether every starting zone gets a matching drop is not known, but it is probably a safe bet to make. If Warcraft Forever is serious about filling leveling gaps, Durotar, Dun Morogh, and other starting zones will probably have their own chewed-up McGuffin as well.
The beta opens Thursday, September 17, at a level 20 cap that later moves to 30. You will not live in Northshire for long on that client. The dummy books still matter for fresh characters after November 4, when the live game starts at 1 again and the long 1-60 beings for reals.
Are you taking a profession from the dummy book, or skipping it and running to the city trainer the old way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Continue reading on Gamefragger:
Warcraft Forever Adds Over 600 New Recipes And Puts XP On Your Food
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World Of Warcraft Forever Is Confirmed For November 4, With Classic+ Beta Next Week