Downloading the PTR... Again?

That is the way it sure seems.  I went to pop on the PTR last night to check something out (the cataclysm events have been added) and it started to download again.  I figured this had to be a mistake but I rolled with it.  After I was able to log in I figured I would log in and check.  I did not need to download the entire thing to see what I wanted to see.  I get in and my characters are gone.  Now that pissed me off.  I now have to wait for the download to finish again and wait for my characters to be transferred again?  Why?

I can understand the need to download the PTR again and I'll live with it.  It is the PTR after all and you have to understand that not everything is going to work perfectly.  I am not happy about having to wait for my characters to be transferred again however.  There is no reason what so ever for that.  My characters data has not changed since I logged off.  They have that data.  Even if I need to download everything again that data is still there.  Why not just use it?  It better not take 4 days to transfer a character over again.  PTR or not, that is just stupid.

So I started a new Priest for the hell of it to see what the starting parts look like now.  Only played a short while but I must say I both love and hate the leveling process now.  The part I hate is that there seems to be too much hand holding.  When I started I liked that I needed to find my own way and explore some. Everyone you need to talk to is highlighted as if to say, hey you, come here and talk to me.  Every mob you need to kill for a quest is highlighted as if saying, hey you, come here and kill me.  Now for me, even more so having done some of these things 5 or 6 times, it is not needed but I can see how a new player would love this.

They also have an embedded arrow that shows you where you need to go next on the map.  One problem with that is it seems to show you the wrong direction half the time.  No biggie, their quest system has been screwed up since they added it.  Whenever there is a quest that has an alliance and a horde equivalent, it always sends me to the horde version of it... as alliance. Who says that Blizzard does not support PvP, hell, they are trying to trick people into it.  I personally do not mind, I am smart enough to notice that but I hope they fix the arrows.  To a new player that has no clue what they are doing following those arrows will get them lost.

I love the leveling up graphics.  Simple but I like them.  I do like the notice when you can learn a new spell that pops up.  You can now learn Power Word: Shield, please visit your trainer to learn it.  Sweet!  I can not tell you the number of times I took a trip to the trainer hoping to learn something new and there was nothing new to learn or all they had to teach me where things I never used anyway.  This will make it a lot easier to know when it is worth going back to the trainer.

Now on to the water.  The last time I was in the PTR there was no water.  This made for a very interesting view of the world.  Stuff just floating in the middle of the air, fish swimming in the middle of the air.  I got a chuckle out of it.  Now the water is added and I can tell you one thing for sure.  As soon as you see it you will just have to go for a swim.  The water looks fantastic.  Thumbs up for some nice graphic work there.

Looks like I will not be testing the pre-Cataclysm stuff if they are going to make me wait 4 days again for it or even if I do, it will be out shortly after but so far I am looking forward to leveling some new characters when the changes come.  Sad part is, on my main server, I do not have much leveling left to do on any of them and all 10 slots are filled with one of each class. 

Guess that means off to the RP server for me where I have a hunter, paladin, warrior and DK all on 100% rested.  They will be saved for Cataclysm however.  Maybe I will go back to my long abandoned Orc Hunter on Aggy.  Been a long time since I have been there.

Either way, while I still seem to not be excited about the end game, or 80+ stuff from Cataclysm, I am really looking forward to the leveling aspect again so I can see the whole world and leveling looks interesting again.

Oh, and the Alchemy mount.  That I am really really looking forward too.  A Night Elf Hunter that turns into a Dragon to travel.  Wow, now that is F'N epic.  Can you just see this dragon flying at you at 310 speed then changing instantly as someone drops out of the sky and an arrow comes at your head from 40 yards away and a wolf comes dashing at you to crew your face off.   I can't wait.