Posts with tag world-map

Looks like the newly-renamed Dungeon Finder isn't the only new UI feature we have to look forward to in Patch 3.3 -- Blizzard just released an official preview of its new Quest Tracking feature, and it looks great. It seems to have a number of the features that ZorbaTHut's great QuestHelper addon does, which follows Blizzard's pattern of poaching the best third-party UIs for use in the stock UI.

Our UI whiz Gregg Reece covered the feature briefly last week, based on what was active on the PTR. For those who haven't fiddled with it, new additions to the UI include:

• Enhanced World Map: The large world map is now separated into four active panes. Quests are automatically tracked on the map and listed to its side. The quest log entry for the selected quest is located below the map.
• Areas of Interest: Shows what area on the map your quest's points of interest can be found, represented with a blue polygon. If mobs populate a large area, the map will indicate it. If you need to find one specific doodad, that'll be on there too. If there are multiple spawn areas for a mob or doodad, the map will automatically locate the one closest to you.
• Pop-out Map: Players can utilize a smaller zone map outside of the normal full-screen map to track progress and get their bearings.
• Better Tracking: Tracked quests outside the map will now indicate your progress with a number for items found or mobs killed and will indicate whether you've already completed it.

And more! The main thing I notice is missing (so far) is the arrow that indicates where you should head next on the World Map, like QuestHelper or Carbonite, but who knows if that'll even make it in.

Blizzard says that the new UI will work with nearly every quest in the game, regardless of type. You can check out the official preview here.

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Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.

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The patch 3.2 PTR patch notes have been updated again; I still expect the PTR to go live sometime today. The only new information in this iteration of the notes is what they'll be marking in the way of quest objectives on the world map, and with what markers. We already knew they'd be doing something like this, but we didn't have the specifics.

User Interface: Quest creatures and objects will now show on the player's world map.

• A skull graphic will be placed on the map in the general area where creatures players must kill can be found.
• A glowing skull graphic will be placed on the map in the general area where creatures can be found that drop quest objects.
• A gear graphic will be placed on the map in the general area where players must loot objects found in the world.
• A chat bubble graphic will be placed on the map in the general area where players must interact with a specific NPC.
• X marks the spot on the map where players must reach, discover or explore a designated area.
• A yellow question mark graphic will show on the map to provide the location of a NPC whose quest the player has completed.

Thanks to Michael for alerting us to a post over at the WoW LiveJournal. He has managed to piece together a map of Sunwell Isle and the new Azeroth world map from the beta files currently available for patch 2.4. Of course, this is just beta information and may change at any time.

As far as the PTR goes, you can now download the patch files. However, when you try to copy a character you get the error message "You have no characters on Anvilmar," or what ever server you live on. This is because while the patch files are available, the server is not up yet.

Stay tuned to WoW Insider all this weekend for the latest patch news!

See the new maps after the break.