Guide-ish thing to Mulgore...part one.

I love Tauren. No, really, I do. I know Jon hates 'em, but there's something really comforting about having the main tank, whether warrior or bear, be twice your size with some really huge weapons. And there's something about the Tauren as a race that seems to foster the kind of calm, slow thought in players that one would expect of the characters themselves. In short, they're a pleasure to work with, and really cute in shrunken cat form.

Sadly, though, I just can't play them. I've tried, again and again, and never made it past level ten. It's sad, because I know I'd love playing a druid, and I really do enjoy Thunder Bluff and Mulgore--it's just that I can't stand having half a ton of beef in the middle of my screen, blocking my view of whatever it is I just attacked. I mean, seriously, isn't the game about exploring new places and killing interesting mobs? And if you can't see anything, well...

Oh, and kodo. They're pretty darn cool too.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to introduce you folks who've never played Wow, never been to Mulgore, and certainly have never rolled a Tauren, to the cowfolks' starting area and quests. It's not a comprehensive guide, nor is it designed for speed leveling--this is for fun, and to hopefully get me started on a Tauren character I'll actually enjoy.

Here goes.



This is what a male Tauren looks like. Not too bad, but note the size. The females are much smaller, so that's what I'll be using.



All right, I have an appearance I like, now for the name... clever, punnish names are always good. Since she's a Druid, and will thus be spending a lot of time shapeshifting--especially into catform--we'll call her Purrmutation.



All right, ready to get started.




Welcome to Camp Narache--looks like it's a rainy day in Mulgore. Our first quest-giver is right in front of us, and there's another one inside the big tent to our left. Pick them both up, since they can be completed at the same time: one quest is to collect assorted Plainstrider parts, the other is to find someone's grandmother. Head out of camp, and start killing all the big ugly birds you see.



Greatmother Hawkwind is next to the well--she doesn't need an escort back to camp, but she does ask you to take a pitcher of water back for her. Do NOT forget to pick it up--it'll be all sparkly--because you really don't need to come back here later.



Time to head back to camp and turn in quests! You should have hit level 2 by this point, which means that you'll be able to pick up a quest to talk to your class trainer, and also that you can get your level two training. Before you do, though, stop by a vendor and sell off everything you don't need. (Equip what you can use, keep your food and water, keep your hearthstone, sell everything else.) This should give you more than enough money to purchase new skills, and should be your procedure any time you head back to a town for the next few levels. (Later, you'll want to learn how to use the auction house.) Don't let the items pile up--you can only carry so many with the bag space you have, and it's much better to sell them off than to have to destroy an item.

For your next couple of quests, this hut is where you need to go:



It is where you'll begin on the first of the Rites of the Earthmother to become accepted in Thunder Bluff, and is conveniently located near the Mountain Cougars you need to hunt for their pelts. I'd say do have the cougars on the way in, pick up the quest, and then do the rest on the way back to camp.

Hunting cougars:



If you haven't already figured it out, the yellow question mark means you need to talk to this guy to finish a quest. This is up at the small hut I pointed out earlier--don't worry, the climb's not tough.



Now that you have the next quest, head back to Camp Narache--don't start it right away. You have another couple of quests that you can pick up for the same area, and it's more efficient to work on them all at once.

On the way back, you may run into this kodo skeleton--there aren't any kodo up by Narache, but you'll get to see them soon enough once you start wandering around Mulgore. For now, just imagine the kind of creature tat has bones like that! (If you're really curious, there should be a kodo skin staked out by the tents that you can take a look at. Maybe from the same one?)



Now that you're back, turn in the cougar pelt quest, sell off the junk in your inventory, and pick up all the quests you can. You should end up with three in total (you can view them by clicking on the goblet icon or typing "l"), all to be completed in the same area.



It's a long walk, so start right away, heading east.



This is where we need to go. See those brambles in the distance? (Upper right, past the pines.)



We won't be coming back here on the way out, so take the time now to kill all of the Battleboars you need to get enough snouts and flanks. They do attack on sight, so don't get to close--you shouldn't have much trouble fighting them one at a time, though, as they are rather spread out.



Once you have enough of the quest items, head towards the brambles. They mark the entrance to the quillboars' home, where you need to go to complete the next two quests.



See that cave? That's where you'll need to go next. And honestly, I really think this next part is hard if you do it at the right level...so I'm gonna write it all out sometime when I've got a bit more time to explain everything. For now... I'm logging out.