Impressions of Frostfang Sea starter area

[Jrral]

<p>OK, I finally took a new character through the New Halas starting area. Well, am taking him actually, I'm working on the second quest hub (the cave by the Great Shelf).</p><p>The first part near the Icemane Plains is good. Once you get to the Great Shelf, though, it turns into an outdoor maze. Example: you get a quest for the Ry'Gorr raiders. OK, they're there on the map (or at least on EQ2Maps). There's an obvious out of the cave that runs in the direction of the raiders. Except that the path takes you to completely the wrong layer of the zone for the raiders, it takes you back into the Icemane Plains high above where you need to go. There <em>is</em> a path, but it's not marked in any obvious way and you have to turn around facing <em>away</em> from your destination to even see there's a path there and it starts out heading directly away from where you want to go. If you take the obvious path, you have to jump off a cliff to get where you're going. This whole section of the zone seems to be like that, cut up into multiple levels and you need to either know exactly how the paths are laid out or be experienced in puzzling out zone geography.</p><p>I like the quests and the rewards, but if a new player asked I'd strongly urge them <em>not</em> to start here. Take your first character over to Timorous Deep, where the geography's not such a challenge. Or hook up with someone who already knows the zone and let them lead you around. But don't try puzzling out this zone on your own unless you're an experienced MMO player or you love 3D mazes.</p><p>Overall Gwenevyn's Cove feels like it was designed by whoever did Timorous Deep, but the Great Shelf seems designed by the same guy who thought Gorowyn was a good layout for a city.</p>

[Obadiah]

<p>Having started a toon in TD very recently and now having started one in New Halas as well I would opine that it's six of one half-dozen of the other. Layout-wise though, if anything I'd say NH is slightly simpler. My biggest complaint in NH was Jagged Daggers Isle and the little island next to it with the lazy orc on it. Can't swim very fast at these levels and that's quite a long swim. Luckily I was a Fae so I had that little wind-walker buff every so often and not just Sprint. Still ... having to go back and forth a few times was annoying.</p><p>I don't think either one directs you toward a broker early enough. Logically, without going out of your way, it doesn't really happen until around level 20 in either place; i.e. when you get to "town" proper. That's late. Just sticking one at one of the earlier camps in both zones (Great Shelf or Cragged Spine) would be nice.</p>