I finally have a computer capable of handling World of Warcraft. Yay! So I installed the free 10-day trial and I’m enjoying it enough that I’ve gone ahead and ordered the full retail version.
That said, I have a question that I can’t find an answer for in-game (though I haven’t talked to a GM or anything - I’ve just asked around, trying unsuccessfully to get answers from other players).
I have two human characters, a priest and a paladin. Both use maces/hammers. As humans, I see they apparently have racial sword proficiency … and yet when I try to equip a sword they say, “I can’t use that yet”. Indeed, any weapon they pick up other than a mace or a hammer has the weapon type listed in red text, indicating that they can’t use it.
Since I keep finding nice swords (both from monsters and in shops), I’d really like to have these characters learn to use swords. But I can’t figure out how to accomplish this. I see I need to find a weapons master to train me. The only weapons master I’ve been able to find so far is that Woo Ping guy in Stormwind City, and he only trains in staves and daggers. He offered to tell me where to find other weapons masters for different weapons and he asked which type I wanted to learn and presented me with a list of weapon types … a list that contained everything but swords.
I’m at a loss. How/where do I learn to use a sword?
Also, I accepted a quest, “Stormpike’s Delivery”, from a dwarf weaponsmith in Stormwind City to deliver a custom axe to another dwarf in Loch Modan. I’ve located Loch Modan on the world map, but I simply can’t find any way to leave Stormwind City to the north. Does the ability to leave Stormwind City and its environs come later? I’ve been through Goldspire, Westfall/Sentinel Hill, etc., but those are all to the south. I need to go north and can’t see how to do that - the northern road seems to end at Stormwind City. I haven’t discovered how to book passage on a ship at Stormwind Harbor, but I don’t think that matters in this case as Loch Modan is inland.
The paladin will be able to learn swords at a higher level; when you go to train up, you can scroll down the list of red skills (ones you can’t learn yet); I don’t know when you can learn sword, but it’s probably 10. Priests won’t be able to learn to use swords.
They include it as a racial package deal, even if it’s something your character’s class can’t ever learn.
You can get to Loch Modan from Stormwind, sort of. Go to the dwarven section, and on the eastern end (past the hunter trainer) there should be a tunnel, which leads to a subway station (no, really). That will take you to Ironforge, the capital city of the dwarves, which is in the zone called Dun Morogh. Loch Modan is east of Dun Morogh, through some tunnels.
Woo Ping is in fact where you learn both sword skills, One-handed and Two-handed. However, you’re limited by what your class can learn. Priests cannot learn either type of sword, but Paladins can. When you went to Woo Ping, was it only with your Priest? That would explain your confusion. Mind, just because humans have a racial bonus to swords does not mean they can automatically use them regardless of class, only that if you happen to use a sword you get a bonus to your skill.
I’ve really only played Horde, but I’m pretty sure that there’s a “tram”/“subway” between Stormwind and Ironforge (the dwarf/gnome city). Take the tram to Ironforge, then head east and you’ll go through a series of tunnels that will get you to Loch Modan.
Priests can’t ever learn swords, only 1hand maces, daggers, staves, and wands.
Checking WoWWiki, it looks like that weapon master, Woo Ping trains swords. You may have the skill already - is the sword perhaps rated for a higher level than you are currently? Some items require you to be a certain level before you can equip them.
In game, hit C to see your character sheet, then click the Skills tab and scroll to the weapons section. You’ll see what weapons you can currently use.
I wondered if it was something like that. The paladin is up to 12th level now — I’ll check with the paladin trainer as soon as she hits 13th.
Thanks! I’d heard about the tram from one of the Stormwind city guards, but didn’t investigate it as I was on my way to do something else. I didn’t realize it left the city.
Usually there are nice and patient people who will explain stuff for newbies in-game. You’ll also get a bunch of people who’ll chide you and tell you to read the quest log. Here are two sites that’ll help with questions like you had (and will continue to have. I’ve been playing for years and still have to ask every now and then “does this city have a forge?” or some such)
Thotbott is the one I use most often because I’m old and resist change.
WowHead is for the whippersnappers with it’s friendlier interface.
Also get co-ordinate add-on. I use Cosmos but there are others out there. I’d shoot my computer out of frustration without my co ords.
Whenever you explore a new zone/province/area, look for, and click on, the “flight point guys”. That way, in the future, you can ride birds (for a fee) to the connecting flight points.
A Human will automatically know the Stormwind flight point.
The Ironforge flight point is on one side of the center “forge” area.
Leave Ironforge, head down the hill, than follow the road east. Eventually, you will come up into the hills, and discover either the “north gate” or “south gate” pass. These will have two tunnels for you to go down into the Loch Modan zone. (This zone is populated by level 11-20 mobs and quests.) “South Gate Pass” is closest to Thelsamar, where the flight point is.
The dude you are going to deliver your stuff to is in a little tower at Algaz Station, in the north west corner of Loch Modan.
The Tram is in the Dwarven Quarter. If you start at the Trade Quarter in Stormwind, go east to the canals. Then just follow the pavement around the canals around (over the first bridge, turn left, follow around, over the second bridge, turn right, then turn left…that’s the Dwarven Quarter. Go through the Dwarven Quarter until the walkway splits around the forges and stuff in the middle and turn right. Go through the big tunnel with the giant gear spinning around it. That will zone you through to the Tram. Just wait for a train, get on, then get off in Ironforge. When you go through the tunnel in Ironforge, you come out in the gnome district, Tinkertown. Turn left after you get out of the tunnel, go to the next opportunity to turn right and do so, then turn right once you come out in the Great Forge. The flight point is about midway on the closest edge of the forge. Grab it (the only place you’ll be able to go is Stormwind at this point), then turn around and turn right. Go around the Great Forge until you see a small tunnel entrance with a guard and a brazier in front of it. Go through that to come out in what is basically the trade quarter of Ironforge. Go over the bridge to the big tunnels on either side of the Auction House, then go out. Follow the road down the mountain, turn left at the bottom, go over the bridge, and turn left again. Follow this road to where it splits, and go left at that point. Go through the pass, through the tunnel, through that valley, through the other tunnel, and out into Loch Modan. At that tunnel entrance you just came out of, Algaz Station is just ahead (the tower you can see). Stormpike is at the top level. Just climb the steps, hand in the quest, and get the quest “Stormpike’s Order”. Go down out of the tower, go around to the main road, and start south. You’ll come to Thelsamar, another town. Get the flight point, and go back to Ironforge. Go back to the Tram. When you get to Stormwind, come out of the Tram and turn left. As you come around that building, the guy you hand the new quest into is right by the forges and anvils area. You’ll see his question mark on the mini-map. Hand that quest in to him.
You can learn any weapon skill available to your class at level 1 with the exception of polearm which becomes available at level 20. Weapon masters locations and skills trained found here.
You need to go to the weapon trainer not the paladin trainer, but i think you should be able to use swords and hammers already IF they are of your level. The human sword/mace proficiency is simply a small bonus while using those weapons.
Hmmm. Judging by that page, part of the problem may have been my lack of 10 silver when visiting Woo Ping
I’ll double check on that. It’s just that every sword I’ve picked up has had red text - even one that I picked up off a monster around 2nd level and have held onto. At 8th level+ I’ve found any number of swords at vendors that say things like “Requires 3rd Level” or “Requires 6th Level” and the text is still red.
Maybe this is a “trial version” issue that will go away once I’ve installed the full retail version?
If you’d like to play with other Dopers, we have a Horde guild called “Burning Dog Legion” on the Carine server. Many of us have only started playing in the last year or so, so we are kind to newbies.
If you’re interested, create a Horde toon on Cairne and type “/who Burning Dog” to see a list of us online, or type “/join SDMB” to join our chat and ask for an invite.
Hmmm… I’m wondering if chat is available on a trial account?
I am unsure of the differences between the trial and the retail version.
when you “mouse over” the sword, you get a popup box showing you the weapons stats.
If the weapon type is in red (e.g. the words “Two Handed Sword”), then you cannot (currently) use the weapon, because you dont have that specific weapon skill in your “book”.
If it was only a level restriction, the weapon name-type would be white, but you would see that the “Level x required” is in red. (Assuming that “x” is greater than your level.)
Another way to check is to open your skill list. Hit “c” to open your character’s “paper doll” (where you would drag and drop stuff to equip it), and look at the tabs along the bottom. One will say “Skills”. Click on that tab. You may have to use the scroll up/down bar on the right of that box to see the weapon skills you know, which are the last things (except for spoken languages) listed.
I don’t know if the trial version restricts weapon choices…I never bothered with it, just went straight in to the regular version of the game.
It sounds to me like you have not trained to use swords yet. Note that one handed sword use requires training, and two handed sword use requires different training. Same deal with maces, and axes. As mentioned above, the trainer is Woo Ping in Stormwind. You will have to pay for the training from him. You will also have the option of training other weapon types. I don’t remember everything available to paladins, but I know you can use swords, maces, axes, and polearms.
One thing you may want to check is your skills tab in your character window. It will have a list of all the skills you have, with a current skill/maximum skill format. If you haven’t trained a particular weapon type, it will probably say something like
“One handed sword 0/75” where the mace you are using will be shown as “One handed mace 37/75” (or whatever skill level you have with one handed maces in place of the 37).
You really do not want to try to run from Stormwind to Ironforge at level 8. You’d die early and often along the way, because you’d have to cross several high level areas . What you want to do is take the train, as described above. My gnome mage makes a point of boarding that train, and typing “/train” to make the choo-choo noise, but that part is optional. Once you do the quest turn in to the dwarf, he’ll give you another quest to return something to Stormwind…or maybe another dwarf standing near him gives that quest. Grab it while you are there, and then run down the road to Theslamar to grab the flight path. At that point, you can either do more quests where you are, or fly back to Iron Forge, or Fly back to Stormwind. I suggest flying back to Stormwind, because you will fly over some high level zones and get to see some cool stuff…drakes, new zones, etc.
