Like Locusts on a Corn Field

Blizzard released patch 2.4 Fury of the Sunwell today. My download went off without a hitch. For once.

After logging in and making my way to the center of Shitrat, I spied a new quest giver. He prompted me to visit Silvermoon City and take the flight path there to the new island. I took the gate to Silvermoon City, jumped on the flight path, and prepared myself for new adventures.

Once I made it past the ocean and over land, I was greeted with the sight of swarming player characters crawling over each other to get to quest givers and spawning mobs. In some places, I couldn't even see mother earth, only gobs of players spreading out over the terrain like black ink spilling out onto virgin paper. Their sheer numbers threatened to pile vertically, effectively blotting out the sun. Which would give me the opportunity to fight in the shade.

The scene reminded me immediately of beta testing for the game, when countless players would fill the starter zone and patiently wait for extinct spawning mobs. The moment a hapless boar or wolf or kobold made an appearance, ten players would gank them into oblivion. To the dismay of PETA, I'm sure.

Needless to say, I turned in the starting quest and hearthed back to Shitrat. The Isle will be still be there weeks from now. I'll enjoy its bounty when it feels less like Disneyland and more like a game. In the meantime, it's back to PvP. That is, once I get my UI fixed again.

Ah, patch day.