Shrinking Giants

There were still quests that remained to be done before leaving the ogre encampment of Stonemaul Hold. Today Udderwin and I aimed to finish them off. We started off with another quest involving that strange device that shrinks beasts into a container. This time they wanted us to collect hippogryphs (giant bird creatures) with it.

Hunting Hippogryphs

Afterward, we took to the western shorelines of Feralas where we were tasked with collecting elemental cores from the water elementals that patrolled the coast. The drop rate for these cores caused a slight contention between Udderwin and I, as the cores seemed to conveniently keep dropping for him but not for me. Eventually he was able to collect all ten cores while I still needed six more.

Collecting Elemental Cores

Our business with the coast was not finished after gathering the cores however, as we were instructed yet again to use a shrinking device; this time on the shore strider giants. Apparently the goblins we've been working for seem to have an obsession with shrinking the local populace here. Although this time, we needed to collect the residue left behind from the device after slaying the shore striders rather than placing them into containers.

Hey, pick on somebody your own size!

There we go.

With the residue collected, our final quest for Stonemaul Hold was to take out the Gordok Clan of ogres to the northeast near the ruins of Dire Maul. They were the last source of trouble for our little encampment that needed to be dealt with.

The Gordok Ogres

The ogres were defeated, and now it was time for us to take our leave. We received orders to head further east toward another camp in Feralas, Camp Mojache. I grabbed a flight on a wyvern over there and headed to the local inn to log off.

Deedlitt in Camp Mojache

It seems during these middle stages of the game, the number of players we've come into contact with has taken a significant dive. It is interesting how the social aspect of Warcraft can impact the gameplay. We've been tending to play in shorter bursts now that we aren't spending as much time with other players. This is something significant to note for game developers considering creating their own MMOs in the future. Do not underestimate the need for social interaction in these games. I unsubscribed from SWTOR as noted in a previous blog posting for similar reasons. MMOs following Warcraft's gameplay structure tend to suffer during the middle portions of the game due to failure to provide enough opportunities for player interaction. It would be wise for developers to consider and address these problems in the future.