As I am prone to do, I decided to make a couple new toons on a realm I’ve never played before. The first was a male worgen druid that, thanks to the Warcraft 15th Anniversary bonus, I got to level 20 before leaving Gilneas. I’ve never gotten a worgen to 20 before leaving their starter area and it was cool being able to mount up before boarding the ship headed for night elf lands.
Deciding that I needed a higher level toon to hopefully make money a bit faster, I then created a female night elf death knight. She was actually a recreation of a DK named Zyve I’d had on a different realm and then deleted because I knew I wasn’t going to play her. I played her new version through the DK starter area and she was level 60 before she left, also thanks to the anniversary bonus.
I was happy to get to Stormwind, and once the guards stopped throwing rotten fruit at me and King Anduin accepted me into the Alliance, I headed to the riding trainer to get flying. However, I quickly discovered that I didn’t have the 250 gold required for flying. I barely had 50 gold at that point. In the past, I’d just buy a WoW token and then get plenty of gold on a new realm, but that’s not in my budget right now with the holidays coming up.
Deciding I’d just have to live without flying, I took my DK to Northrend and started questing in Borean Tundra. I’d forgotten how tedious it feels having to ride along the ground everywhere instead of flying, but I also think it might be good for me. I’ve experienced Northrend many times, and I think for most of it I always had flying. I took that flying ability for granted, even after being grounded for so long in Battle for Azeroth.
After running a random Lich King dungeon, I reached level 66 and got Path of Frost, which helps immensely! I can now run atop the water instead of over land and that helped me get all the way from Borean Tundra to Grizzly Hills, which is my favorite Northrend zone.
Now that my DK is grounded (or frozen watered) in Northrend, I have a new perspective on the whole gold versus grind to get flying. Sure, the gold thing is easier if you’ve got established toons on the realm with lots of gold, but in the case of my new DK, I almost wish there was a grind instead. Mind you, I said almost. Then at least I’d know all my running along the ground was serving a purpose and I’d have a set of tasks to accomplish before unlocking flying. That said, would I forego the flying I’ve purchased with gold? Certainly not!
Needing to save my gold instead of spending it on transmogs (which I love!) will be difficult for me, but I can do it! Plus, when I do finally get the gold I need for flying and beyond, I’ll feel really proud of myself because I worked for it. I’m about halfway to what I need after playing tonight and I’m sure I’ll get flying soon, but I’m in no particular rush. World of Warcraft is my escape into a world away from mundane reality and as I’ve said before, I’m never bored and can always find new ways to play the game.
Srinity 