Getting Familiar with Paineel and the Sundered Frontier
stargrace 
Yesterday the digital download went live, and zones became a little more ‘full’ then they had been previously. While most of the people I personally know had purchased the retail box versions, there were a few who managed to hold off from temptation and wait. I may as well have been one of those people because yesterday was the first day I actually managed to dive into the game with any real purpose in mind.
I started out in Paineel, working on the adventure quests. The good thing about this is that I was also able to work on the crafting chain at the same time, and it wasn’t long before I lost myself in those quests. I really love the fact that there are dedicated craft chains for those non-adventuring folk, the quests were fun and interactive and just really well done. Plus they rewarded lots of neat housing items, and who doesn’t enjoy that!
On the adventure side of things, I headed to Paineel and learned about ‘where everything is’ which is really important. The porter that takes you to the city can also be used to travel to other places (by right clicking on it and selecting the location). There are the Airship Docks, which are used to get to instances as well as picking up quests for those instances. There is the Launch Pad which quickly becomes your best friend because it ports you around the Sundered Frontier on a hover craft like machine. This also takes you to the Stonebrunt Highlands, which is the second outdoor zone in Sentinel’s Fate. Both of the outdoor zones are massive, and remind me of Jarsath Wastes but a lot more pretty, and even bigger. With more quests. Yep, more.
There is also Spire Isle, which is of course where the wizard spire is located, and where you’ll find yourself (more then likely) when you first enter the Sentinel’s Fate zones. If you’re looking to begin the crafting chain right away, just head down the path and you’ll find the (familiar named) NPC at the end who will offer crafting quests for those 80 and up. Then there are also two lifts, one takes you to above Paineel, an area populated by a lot of hidden vermin, and the other takes you to a cave that will lead to the opposite end of that same area. It’s also an easy way to head towards the druid ring which you’ll want to pick up so you can port to the zone.
The mystic (who I was doing all of these quests on) managed to inch her way to level 86, and obtained a few alternate advancement points along the way. While I was not pleased (at all) that my epic had been nerfed (why do that two expansions later?!) I do enjoy the new mystic choices for Sentinel’s Fate. One of the aa I can obtain turns my group (of hopefully melee) into stags and gives them a combat art proc for 24 seconds much like the dirge cacophony of blades. There are lots of temporary group buffs that will proc on a spell being cast (troubadors and enchanters are famous for these spells) but not a whole lot procs for CAs, so I am pretty pleased with it. Plus I changed my aa around so that I’m back to using CA instead of spells, and I can actually take advantage of the buff myself.
I’ve been having a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to hit 90 on the mystic before too long. I’d like to get into some instances, as I haven’t played any yet on the live server. That will probably come with time. The troubador is sitting comfortably at 90 but I’m really looking forward to this second character.
I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far, happy gaming, and I’ll see you in Norrath!