The Fight for Gnomeregan & Echo Isles Begins!

Look lively—the efforts to retake the areas of Gnomeregan and Echo Isles have begun. While it's been some weeks since we shared the details surrounding these calls to arms, the battle is finally underway!

If you are of the illustrious Alliance and wish to take up the charge of retaking Gnomeregan as called by Gelbin Mekkatorque, you'll want to report to him for duty in the district of Tinkertown in Ironforge. Members of the noble and steadfast Horde are tasked to report to Sen'jin village in southern Durotar. No matter if you're a weathered champion of your faction, or are still learning the ways of battle, you'll be able to help in these monumental efforts to change the very landscape of Azeroth.

Dismissed!


Operation: Gnomeregan: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p9/gnomeregan2.xml
Zalazane's Fall: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p9/echoisles2.xml

It's great to see that so many of you are excited about these events! The battles for Gnomeregan and Echo Isles are important turning points for both the Gnomeregan Exiles and Darkspear trolls, and we're glad that players across all races and realms have answered the call to arms issued by your esteemed faction leaders, Gelbin Mekkatorque and Vol'jin.

That said, let's get onto your questions!

Q. What are the minimum level requirements for the Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall quest lines?
A. Your character will need to be at least level 75 to participate in the final battle. Most previous quests in each faction's chain, though, should be open to characters level 1 and up.

Q. What would happen if a player were to complete one faction's quest line (say, Operation: Gnomeregan) on a character, receive the Feat of Strength, and then purchase a faction change? Would that character be able to complete the other faction's quest line and receive double the rewards?
A. Yes and no. To continue with the example provided above, if a character were to complete all the quests associated with Operation: Gnomeregan on an Alliance character, receive the corresponding quest reward and Feat of Strength, and then purchase a faction change, the quest reward and Feat of Strength would translate to their Horde equivalents, but the quests would not. This means that the character would have the opportunity to play through all the quests associated with Zalazane's Fall, if he or she wishes, but would not receive an additional Feat of Strength or be able to own both faction’s costume quest rewards * for doing so.

Faction changes affect characters in multiple ways, so be sure to review the full FAQ before getting started: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/28825


* Due to the fact that the costume quest reward will translate during a faction change, it’s currently possible for a player to earn two of them. They’d both be same version of the item, though, and would share the same cooldown.

Q. Will these events be available forever?
A. Like other holiday events, Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall will only be available for a limited time, so it's best to complete the quest lines as soon as possible!

Q. Players are standing on top of key quest NPCs and I'm unable to reach them. What can I do?
A. If you're finding it difficult to click on a specific NPC, the best course of action is to enable name plates by pressing Ctrl-V or zoom in your character's camera all the way. This will give you a different in-game perspective and should allow you to click on the NPC's name plate or its model without other characters or their mounts completely blocking access: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/24589

If you feel that any players are intentionally attempting to detract from the experience of others, then you may wish to contact in-game support.

Q. Why are these events so short in duration?
A. Both Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall are intended to be fun in-game events that allow players to experience the continuation of the Gnomeregan Exile and Darkspear troll storylines, and we think each quest line achieves just that. As several gnomes would argue, just because something is "short" doesn't mean it's not worthwhile! ;)

Q u o t e:
Please correct this. It's 75 minimum, not 78 and I almost didn't try on my shaman because I thought I had to be 78.

The minimum level requirement for the final battles was originally set at level 78, though was moved to 75 when implemented. I just confirmed this with the events' designers.

It's a small mix-up, but the current minimum level requirement is indeed 75 for the final battles and level 1 for the majority of the lead in quests. My previous post has already been updated. :)



Edit: Updating level requirements.

Q u o t e:
Just adding this in, I was able to complete (up to the Troll transform thingy included) the event on my level 1 bank alt.

So those who like having a level 1 bank alt with costumes and vanity stuff... go ahead!

I'll double-check on the lower-level requirements, as well. Thanks for the heads up!

Alright, I've got a few more answers to your questions:

Q. Are Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall the only events that lead into the Cataclysm?
A. Not at all. It's only a taste of what's to come.

Q. I've encountered a few issues when completing these events. Are they being looked into?
A. Definitely. Our Quality Assurance department is aware of the reported issues and looking into them currently. In the meantime, our in-game support staff has created a post in the Customer Service forum about the matter (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=26725724862&sid=1) and will be providing updates on the @BlizzardCS Twitter page.

Q. I'm still unclear: What are the minimum level requirements for these events?
A. There was some confusion about these requirements, but after regrouping with the events' designers, here are the final results: Currently, to participate in the final battles for Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall, you need to be at least level 75; to participate in most of lead up quests, you only need to be level 1. Should these requirements change at any time, we'll let you know.