Hunter Class Hall, Legion Alpha
by Magistrate - 8 years ago show comments
Today, we have a quick tour of the hunter Class Hall, Trueshot Lodge. Located high on Talon Peak in Highmountain, the Lodge has been the center of the Unseen Path faction for thousands of years. It has a rich history of elven and tauren lore, and boasts several returning characters and factions.
Preview
As a personal aside, I think Trueshot Lodge has some of the best ambiance and clutter of the Class Halls we’ve previewed so far. It connects flawlessly but distinctly with the greater Hightmountain region–an area reminiscent of, say, the Flatirons that rivals Kun-lai and Storm Peaks in majesty.
You’ll immediately notice the fully animated stream winding down the path, a common feature throughout all of the Broken Isles. They’re seriously awesome–a fly-over of most zones shows amazing attention to water details. The crunch of needles and (I’d imagine) pine cones adds a refreshing flare to the area, along with the whistling wind. If you look up, you’ll see birds of prey and a wyvern cycling through the clouds and sunbeams, as well as other foul bursting from nearby woods and bushes.
Trueshot Lodge has been the home of the Unseen Path for many centuries. The Unseen path, founded in reaction to the War of the Ancients, has been silently awaiting the Legion’s return–gathering the greatest hunters from across the planet. When you first arrive, you’ll pledge yourself to their cause, learning something about their history in the process:
Emmarel Shadewarden: The Unseen Path was founded after the War of the Ancients to safeguard the people of Azeroth. From these Broken Isles, we watched for the Legion’s return.
Emmarel Shadewarden: As we arrived here to build Trueshot Lodge, the eagle spirit, Ohn’ahra, appeared and gave her blessing. From that day forth, we called this mountain Talon Peak.
Holt Thundertotem: When the elves who founded the Unseen Path left Mount Hyjal to return to the Broken Isles, the Highmountain tauren recognized the nobility of their cause and offered them friendship. It was the descendants of Huln Highmountain who led the Unseen Path to this peak.
Holt Thundertotem: Since the Legion’s return, the Highmountain have helped restore the lodge, such as replacing damaged watch towers with tauren structures.
Emmarel Shadewarden: Over the centuries, most of my fellow watchers have been lost. The few of us remaining sought out heroes worthy to heed the call when the Unseen Path was needed again.
Vareesa Windrunner: The Silver Covenant stands with you!
Halduron Brightwing: The Farstriders vow to fight at your side!
The Lodge is a truly ubiquitous amalgam of racial identities. Humans, blood elves, night elves, orcs, pandaren, forsaken, gnomes, goblins, trolls, tol’vir, murlocs, vrykul, and many others have taken the Pledge:
We are the watchers in the wild.
We are the eagle on the wind.
We walk the lonely road…
For ours is the Unseen Path.
Such lore heavyweights as Rexxar, Vareesa Windrunner, and Halduron Brightwing, as well as other returning characters such as Che Wildwalker, Bartender Tomro, Karga Quickshot, Dark Ranger Velonara, Huntsman Blake, Erohaan, Kari the Beastmaster, and others go about their business on Lodge grounds. Inside the Lodge, you’ll find an amptly supplied bar, as well as numerous ornamental weapons and the Altar of the Eternal Hunt:
The altar acts as a focus for ancient powers…the Wild Gods, the Keepers, even elven wells of magic.
Certain artifacts can be infused by such powers to become even more potent. The weapon you carry is such an artifact.
Think of this altar as a conduit to those primordial forces. Make use of it whenever you’re here, for you’ll need every advantage to lead us against the Legion!
-Altar Keeper Biehn
You’ll find three sentry towers–two Highmountain tauren ones and one night elf styled one on the topmost cliff. The Lodge has an excellent view of the world tree Shaladrassil in Val’sharah, as well as Azsuna and Highmountain. The greater view distance tech in Legion let’s you take advantage of these views better than ever before.
In addition to the usual vendors and blacksmiths, you’ll also find stables, dueling grounds, memorials, a flight master, and camps.
For more on Class Halls, see our previous coverage and the BlizzCon Class Hall presentation. Also, don’t miss our coverage of the hunter (and all other class) artifact intros!
