How do you get around? On kites, of course! The factions have brought a few classic taxies, but Pandaria Air involves surfing through the skies to get where you’re going. Your flying mounts will work in Pandaria, but only after you hit Level 90.
There’s a new mount type to make up for this, though – the Cloud Serpent. You can’t just buy one; instead, you have to raise your own from an egg over the course of many, many daily quests. At the moment, it’s tough to see how these will be better than a regular mount – they appear to be the same speed – except for acting as a flying ego-boost.
For a pet that’s easier to look after, you want Pet Battles. This ‘don’t call it Pokemon!’ mode lets you turn any critter that you’ve collected into a warrior, from the Tiny Goldfish to the Spirit of Competition. Each one levels up, unlocking new abilities to use in their special turn-based battles. You can have up to 500 pets in total, and three of any kind.
Pet Battles is a whole new game, accessible from Level 3. Animals fought in the wild can be captured without the need for a magic ball, with a matchmaking system to pair your fi nest critters off against other player tamers. Not trainers! That’s that ‘other’ game…
Azeroth itself is still ripped apart by the Cataclysm, although you’ll fi nd a few changes here and there: notably the new Pandaren outposts and hot-air balloons. If you’ve not logged in for a while, you’ll also fi nd new portals to the later Cataclysm dungeons and a tribute to Deathwing’s fall – complete with character to show you the ending movie – although it won’t make any sense at all if you’ve not seen the rest of the story.
