Just when you thought you were done with dailies in MoP, Blizzard releases a new hub for it. The Isle of the Thunder King is the new hotspot for World of Warcraft patch 5.2, as players from both factions will begin to assault the Mogu emperor Lei Shen’s stronghold. According to the WoW PTR preview notes, players will be able to unlock new questlines and hubs for their dailies, as well as unlock goodies for their faction from a special treasure room as they progress the storyline. This sounds like a MoP version of the Firelands quest hub from Cataclysm.
Questing hubs will be split up by factions with Jaina Proudmoore leading the Alliance under the banner of the Kirin-Tor Offensive and, surprisingly, Blood Elf racial leader Lor’themar Theron leading the Sunreaver Onslaught. It is surprising to see Lor’themar taking a key role in the conflict, as he has been largely ignored since the end of Burning Crusade. It’s about time Blizzard began to acknowledge the faction leaders from the races they introduced in BC.
Both PvP and PvE players will have something to do on the Isle of the Thunder King, as they have the choice of focusing on either of the two when doing the dailies. The PvP quests involve killing NPC characters from the opposite faction as well as player characters. Just in case you didn’t satisfy your blood lust in WoW 5.1.
Another feature of the Isle of the Thunder King is the Lightning Forge. Those with the blacksmithing profession will be able to create raid-quality items, as well as some favorites from previous expansions. The ability to craft these items will have to be unlocked along with the storyline and questing hubs.
Kael’Thas Who?
All in all, the Isle of the Thunder King looks to be an interesting place to quest. I was a huge fan of the Firelands. What has me most interested, though, is the involvement of Lor’themar. Maybe WoW players will finally remember that someone replaced Kael’thas.
