While questing in Kun-Lai Summit, the northern zone for Pandaria, I came across something I should have expected. A "Great Wall" you might say, called the "Serpent's Spine". It happens to be located directly adjacent to a mountain range that resembles the Himalayas. In fact there's one particular mountain called, "Neverest". Does that sound vaguely familiar to you?

    I've been questing continuously and managed to finish two zones to completion in Pandaria, The Jade Forest and Valley of the Four Winds. The first thing I must say is that questing has vastly improved. Quests are finally more integrated into the storyline through impressive cinematics and a well thought out plot. I truly appreciate the effort Blizzard put into streamlining the questing process. Not just through story telling but by including quest markers on the map. That is a godsend, I cannot tell you. Not to mention smoother, straight forward quests and a check for each storyline you complete. Finally, questing is actually pleasurable.

    Today is the official release day for the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria. I stayed up last night with my partner waiting for the moment the expansion would be available digitally, 1 a.m. our time. It was very exciting. It was the busiest I've ever seen our server. People were literally waiting around Stormwind (Alliance capital city). There was so much buzz about what to expect. Then when it came time, everyone flocked to Pandaria, the new continent. The funniest part was since it was so busy there was a time when everyone was stacked on top of each other for a particular quest so we couldn't see anything, it was just a flurry of random shooting.

    I've played a couple of quests and thought I'd give my first impression. The cinematic cut scenes are a nice touch but my favourite part (spoilers ahoy) is the ride on the gunship to Pandaria. I love the gunships. Once there you are deployed into a full scale assault on the Horde. This was of course, classic. The Alliance and Horde are two different factions who have harboured an intense animosity for years.

    I guess my only real reservation about the game is that it's a little bit racist. It features Pandas living on an island in Chinese structures, wearing stereotypical garb. I suppose it's not necessarily insulting but I guess that also depends on who you are and what you find offensive. Despite the obvious stereotypes, it appears to be an excellent expansion. I'm looking forward to leveling up to 90. If you play World of Warcraft on the Nathrezim server, look me up! My name is Naraya. Anyway, I hope to see you there!

    Mists of Pandaria is being released midnight on September 25! I hope you're ready to create your own Pandaren Monk and explore Pandaria. Of course you shouldn't neglect your main character, you'll need to level up from 85 to 90 in order to collect gear from new dungeons and raids.

    I'm excited to explore the new area since I've been everywhere else in Azeroth. I'm especially excited since this will be my first time playing a new World of Warcraft expansion at its release. I've prepped for the game by finishing all the quests. It would have earned me Loremaster before the Patch but now Pandaria has been added to the achievement!

    I will be blogging about Mists of Pandaria this week. I hope you enjoy! For all you non-gamers out there or maybe just non-Blizzard gamers, I hope my insight helps you understand what the game is all about. I play for fun and sometimes it helps me relax.