Author Topic: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Frog_King 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
I'm happy that they're adding portals to the main faction cities, but I'm surprised to see them removing the portal hubs from Dalaran and Shattrath. I can see them wanting to encourage players to populate the main faction cities, but Shattrath has had it's portals since BC launch, and that didn't stop players from migrating to Dalaran. Shattrath is a ghost city on my server at least.

Currently, if I were to need to visit a trainer while in Outlands, skipping Shattrath would require me to fly back to hellfire penninsula, walk through the portal to the Blasted Lands, ride my mount to the town in the NEXT zone, and then fly from there to (depending on my class) either Undercity or Stranglethorn Vale where I'd then take the boat to Thunderbluff / Orgrimmar.

That strikes me as overly tedious, but maybe they're adding in OTHER alternative travel methods to get back and forth that are less tedious that I haven't read about. Either way... have they announced a reason for this change?

Read that on the mmo-champion boards: http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2080-Darkmoon-Faire-Fortune-Patch-4.0.3a-content-Blue-Posts-Fan-Art

 

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jojo263 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
the portals are going to be replaced with class trainers. last I heard.

 

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-Mithan- 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Frog_King posted:
I'm happy that they're adding portals to the main faction cities, but I'm surprised to see them removing the portal hubs from Dalaran and Shattrath. I can see them wanting to encourage players to populate the main faction cities, but Shattrath has had it's portals since BC launch, and that didn't stop players from migrating to Dalaran. Shattrath is a ghost city on my server at least.[link=http://
]$3[/link]

The situation between Dalaran and Shattrath are totally different. Dalaran is a complete HUB to anywhere in the world, Shattrath is not.
Why? because the portal drop from Dalaran to Shattrath is utterly important and gives you full access to Shattrath from Dalaran, while the reverse is NOT true.

If they had kept those portals there, Dalaran would become even MORE important as a hearthstone location than it is now.
Why? because those "old city" portal drops are even more important now due to the content in the old world being relevant once again. Navigating around Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms becomes much easier when you can portal drop to any city and then fly out from there. Today, we don't care that much because what do you do in the old world? Nothing but hit auction houses and class trainers. That all changes with 4.0.3a.


By getting rid of Dalaran based portals, they effectively tie the player back to the old world cities which is what they want, for several reasons, such as the game IS in old world and to help newbies find cities that have people in them again, though Darnassus and Exodar will mostly remain empty.

Now, for Alliance, the main hub will be Stormwind because of the portals that are located there, which is why it is getting a second bank added.

It also makes travel mean something (somewhat) again because you wont be able to just portal drop anywhere you want, you will need to learn the bus routes again like in the old days.




Personally, I am for the change as I want the people in the game to be populated around where the content is located. Northrend is dead now, so I see no reason to keep people centralized there, same as Outland.

 

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Elaok 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
They are adding class trainers and auction house to Dalaran and Shattrath but removing portals, I like that they are removing all portal hubs (except the ones that go to new places for obvious reasons) but for convenience they sure were hella nice




I won't miss em that much I have lots of mage friends grin

 

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JzeroVN 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
I'd rather they left the existing portals alone. The 80-85 content location and the added capital city portals would have been sufficient to move player hangouts around without forcing it so much. I already have a mage on 2nd account so no biggie for me either - it just seems an uneccesary (and annoying for some players) change.

 

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Zero_Washu 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
hopefully ink traders migrate off of D then.... else I am going to not have fun

 

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Arunne 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Did you hear? Blizzard wants to make WOW hard again. This is a feature of Cataclysm!

 

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Auenwing 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Arunne posted:
Did you hear? Blizzard wants to make WOW hard again. This is a feature of Cataclysm!



laugh Return to the Future with Speedbump-Travel-Times!

 

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Rill_of_WE 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
I'm parkin' the mage in dalaran to sell ports to the people who haven't moved out by patch day. Nothing outrageous but I can make a few gold.

 

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kyrv 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Thanks for the explanation Mithan - great changes. happy

 

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Elaok 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Arunne posted:
Did you hear? Blizzard wants to make WOW hard again. This is a feature of Cataclysm!



More time traveling between cities = hard?







It was convenience thats all it was with the portals hubs, now they are just increasing travel time that is all they are doing, that is not making the game hard at all...

 

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Dhorje_RK 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Rill_of_WE posted:
I'm parkin' the mage in dalaran to sell ports to the people who haven't moved out by patch day. Nothing outrageous but I can make a few gold.


Hmm, didn't think about this. Better make sure my low level alts without flying are out of Shatt or Dal. It would be nice if Blizz put in a questgiver that would give you a one time port out of those cities to Org or SW for those who don't realize the significance of the change.

 

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Frog_King 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
jojo263 posted:
the portals are going to be replaced with class trainers. last I heard.


Bah, you're right. From the link I posted above:
# Portals in Dalaran/Shattrath Removed
# Class trainers in Dalaran where portals once were

I even remember reading that, but obviously completely missed the significance of it as I was trying to figure out why they'd even need to remove the Dalaran / Shattrath portals. I had originally thought that the Orgrimmar portal hub that's coming in Cataclysm would include portals to Shat, Dal, TB, UC, etc, just like Dalaran / Shattrath does. After looking into it further that doesn't appear to be the case, so I can see now why they'd want to remove the hubs in Shat / Dal.

I still think a better solution would be to offer a similar hub in Org / Stormwind also. :P

 

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Sprawl-zero1eye- 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
I like the change. While subs can be convienent, they kinda kill the whole continious world immersion in heavy doses.

EVERYONE would be in Dalaran come expansion, which I suppose is how it already is, which kinda sucks.

 

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Shenron_ 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
i kinda liked how it was without the portals in either of those cities. i remember i used to bind at astranaar and walk down to the wsg place to queue...and get in some nice pvp at splintertree or barrens. i would like to see more reasons for there to be traffic running through the lands instead of portals and flight points everywhere.

 

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Arunne 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Elaok posted:
Arunne posted:
Did you hear? Blizzard wants to make WOW hard again. This is a feature of Cataclysm!



More time traveling between cities = hard?







It was convenience thats all it was with the portals hubs, now they are just increasing travel time that is all they are doing, that is not making the game hard at all...


You do realize i was being sarcastic.

 

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Eternal_Midnight 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
Don't forget you can fly everywhere now. A trip that might have taken 3 or 4 minutes via a flight path before might now only take a minute of flying on your own. And most of the old world zones are smaller in overall size than the outland and northrend zones (unless they are being enlarged through this expansion).

Because you'll be moving 3x faster flying AND because the zones are generally smaller AND because you won't have to follow some ridiculously long and scenic flight path.... your travel times will be shorter.

 

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Azure-TheBlueOne 
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Subject: Why are they removing portals in Dalaran / Shattrath?
-Mithan- posted:
...you will need to learn the bus routes again like in the old days.
Or just fly yourself.
Eternal_Midnight posted:
Don't forget you can fly everywhere now.

 

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