by JR Cook - 8 years ago     show comments

Exploring Azeroth wanders delves absentmindedly purposefully into the hidden places of the world. From the sunlit glades of Elwynn to the peaks of Highmountain, these articles are your guide to events that are off the beaten path.

Location: Weeping Bluffs, Stormheim

Rewards: Whitewater Torrent (toy)

Welcome to the first (technically second, if we include the Terky episode) Exploring Azeroth – the new face of Exploring Draenor, as we move into Legion. As with all of our Legion coverage, we’ll do our best to avoid spoilers, but some might slip past us. If you want to go in to Legion absolutely fresh, it may be best to stop reading here.

Stormheim, the land of geometrically exact waterfalls.

Still with us? Great. After the Alliance’s explosive entry into Stormheim, you will land at the Weeping Bluffs; a particularly scenic area of rock pools and water falls, filtering down from Highmountain above – much like how Mount Hyjal drains into Felwood. Running down the slope in front of you and then up another, parallel to a small waterfall, will bring you face-to-face with what will probably be your first rare spawn of the expansion: the Whitewater Typhoon.

Normally, rare spawns simply drop gear or buff items, but this elemental is different, giving players a fun toy to play around with. The Whitewater Torrent (no Wowhead page exists yet) can only be used in the Broken Isles. It has a 10-minute cooldown and, after a short cast, will propel you forwards on your own personal wave.

WEEEEEEEEE!

The Typhoon will attack you with a standard direct damage spell (Raging Torrent) and one interesting ability called Gale (look up typhoon on Wikipedia to see why it makes sense for a water elemental to be using an airy spell). Once again, the Typhoon differentiates itself from most rare spawns by having a fairly unique ability. Gale, which is channelled, will not only push you back and damage you constantly, but also spawn waves of water. Make sure to avoid these, as they will knock you back and interrupt casting – if you’re not paying attention, you could easily find yourself blown off of the edge of the cliff.

The Whitewater Typhoon is a fun start to the expansion, requiring little-to-no diversion from your first set of quests, challenging you with a fun spell and rewarding you with a unique toy. While I don’t expect all vignettes to be at the level of the Cave of Betrayal, this one had enough going for it to keep it interesting. Keep them coming, Blizzard.

Well done for sticking with it. As a reward, have a picture of the Skyfire on the entrance to Stormheim.