It seems QuestHelper’s days are numbered, as Blizzard continues the trend of taking the best and most popular third-party addons out there and developing their own versions of them.

Considering this is developed by Blizzard, one immediate advantage comes to mind – it’s going to work well by default. Whereas in the past the QuestHelper developers, for example, have had to wait until Blizzard have finished developing new quests and released them to the public before they can update their add-ons, new quests will automatically be compatible with Blizzard’s new Quest Tracker by default upon release. Fewer bugs are likely to be expected too.

So what exactly does this new system feature? One major difference between QuestHelper and Blizzard’s version is that you won’t see a GPS-like arrow pointing you in the direction to the suggested next quest you should complete. Now whether or not this is a major disadvantage is up to the individual, but blindly following the direction of an arrow in-game isn’t recommended in any case.

World map changes

The world map has been overhauled in order to better incorporate the quest tracker. On the left hand side of the screen you’ll notice the world map. On the right-hand side, your currently-tracked quests will be listed, as well as the objectives you are yet to complete. Underneath the world map – at the bottom of the screen – the quest text and rewards will be listed for your currently-selected quest.

Important areas

On your map, the areas that are important for your quests will be denoted by blue shading. If there’s an area where mobs for a quest are located, for example, it will be shaded in blue. If there’s a specific place you need to mission to, it will be indicated on the world map too. Lastly, if there are multiple areas where the same mob or item is available, by default your map will highlight the area closest to you.

Pop-out map

A miniature version of the world map can be popped-out that will display your current zone, as well as important information related to your quests. Think of it as the currently-available zone map with the quest tracker added to it.

Quest information

Quests that are listed on-screen outside of the world map will display the number of items you still need to retrieve or mobs you still need to kill.

Overall the system is well-integrated with the current user interface, and it certainly provides a viable alternative to the third-party addons out there. One can definitely see it was inspired mostly by QuestHelper, which to be honest isn’t a bad thing at all.

Discuss World of Warcraft quest tracker in the forums