There is a WoWWiki page now:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Long%2C_excep...den_questlines

-------------------------------------------------

I realize this has been done before, but with the advent of TBC means that a lot of this content is at risk of getting "lost" in the grind to 70. It would be great to have a high-quality resource explaining all the long (more than 10 steps), hidden (not often done), or just exceptional-quality quests in WoW.

I didn't have any luck finding any resource like this on wowwiki or via Google, so I'm going to start one. I did find allusions to lists like this in many places, including a couple links to old official forum threads, but the threads are dead and other lists are nonexistent. I'm also leaving out the longer raid questlines, notably the AQ quest that starts with the Broodlord's head, because it's unlikely that anyone will complete that ever again.

I'm also specifically leaving out TBC questlines because I haven't done them yet, and the number of extremely long lines is far greater in TBC than it was before. Additionally, most of the really long questlines in TBC have a purpose (like key for something, earn huge amounts of rep, etc.), which isn't really the purpose of this list.

Please make an effort to post links to places that detail all the steps in the quests in question, so that questionable inquiry is kept quiet; I'd like this thread to be relatively high-quality and contain relative dense information.

Questlines

1. You are Rakh'likh, Demon (aka, the Fallen Hero questline, or the Badlands Demon questline)

This is one of the longest, most well-written, and most interesting questlines in the game. It's one of the few quests that really convinced me that a nonliner RPG can work as well as a linear one. It has you running all around the world -- from STV to Azshara -- and you end up feeling like you're really part of a larger world, doing something incredibly fun.

The rewards, while once very good for the level, are now far outstripped by quest rewards in TBC, but that doesn't mean the questline isn't worth doing. The final boss is a challenge for any PUG, and even an experienced group with no fore-knowledge of the fight will struggle for a wipe or two. This quest is definitely worth grabbing, even if you're just a bored 70 looking for something to do on a Sunday morning.

2. Linken's Questline

This quest starts when you bring an item found in Un'goro to an NPC named Linken. The line is 13 steps long and ends with a pair of fairly decent rewards (particularly for a Paladin). The questline is detailed in the third comment on this Wowhead page.

Again, the questline gives you the sense of being part of a larger world. All the allusions to Link from the Legend of Zelda are just icing on the cake.

3. Onyxia Key (the questline for the Drakefire Amulet)

This is a huge, mega, mammoth questline that is different for both factions. It is detailed extensive on this WoWWiki page. Any new player should endeavour to complete this at some point -- the storyline that this quest unfolds is a central part of the Warcraft lore.

4. The Missing Diplomat

This is a long, Alliance-only questline that I can't really comment on (because I've never done it), but I've heard many friends who speak fondly of it. It takes you all over, though has mediocre rewards. The end is also a little anti-climactic... in the sense that it doesn't really end, the quest line just finishes. I place it in this list because it's long.

The line starts with these 11 quests, continues with these four, and concludes with this reward.

5. The Tirion Fordring series

This questline gives a lot of backstory about the Scarlet Crusade, and it is the first long elite questline that most players will do. The rewards are spectacular for their level, and the questline is extremely fun, involving disguising yourself as an enemy and walking into their castle. The line starts with the link above and ends with this quest after watching the existing Scarlet commander get ganked. Well worth running through, even at 70, just for the storyline.

Contributed below:
6. A visit with Greatmother. See also the WoWWiki page. Part of TBC, this questline has you involved in Thrall's past. I would assume there is no Alliance counterpart. If you could the entire series and the series required to gain access to it, it's well over 30 steps long from what I can gather. (Thanks to Nite_Moogle)

7. The Archmage's Staff. See also Archamge Vargoth on WoWWiki. Might also check out Malevolent Remnants, which is available after completing part of the Vargoth questline. (Thanks to chase)

8. Screecher Spirits. See also the whole questline. This questline is basically an introduction to Zul'Gurub and Hakkar as a fixture of lore. (Thanks to missiletoad)

9. The Scythe of Elune questline. This looks like a really interesting bit of game. It essentially explains a small piece of the world -- some other questlines listed here try to take a larger view, but this is very focused on a single piece of mythology and unexplained circumstance that is part of the world at large. Looks well-worth checking out. (Thanks to Linnet and several others.) Maledict's hypothesis on these events is worth posting for those disappointed with the end of the line:

Should also check out the GameSpy list:
http://pc.gamespy.com/guides/wowat60/

This page in particular is a list of long-ish questlines from level 52-60:
http://pc.gamespy.com/guides/wowat60...questlist.html

(Though not all of them are really "excellent", in my not-so-humble opinion. The Scholomance key quest, for instance, isn't really that interesting.)


I've ignored several quests that were mentioned because I don't feel like most of the population would get anything out of me adding them (the Scepter questline, the Pallie epic charger questline, a number of the maller one-step quests suggested by alienangel. But, I will be adding a page to the WoWWiki about these quests soon. I'll post the link here when it's done. You can feel free to put whatever you want on that page. If I have time, after I make the page, I'll try to include all the stuff listed in this thread. Odds are if one person has remembered the quests this long, they're probably worth mentioning to a larger audience.

-------------------------------------------------

There is a WoWWiki page now:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Long%2C_excep...den_questlines

Gotta include http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=10044 in that list.

GameSpy did a superb resource much like this:

http://pc.gamespy.com/guides/wowat60/

Most of the interesting level 50-60 quest chains, plus level 60 instance guides, plus a bit of info about Zul'Gurub and Molten Core.

I was dissapointed because I didn't realize that turning the quest in with Thrall already there wouldn't yield you the dialog between the two. =(

There's some out-of-game lore that predates WoW about that inn being a secret staging point for a group of Alliance bandits that harassed Horde moving through the area. Presumably the Horde got wise and burned the place to the ground. The Alliance quest for that area has to do with the previous owner who is now a drunk in Theramore.

Deathwing was nearly crowned king of Stormwind in one of the novels (Day of the Dragon or something cheesy like that, it was Knaak's first one). Onyxia follows her father's footsteps and tries to infiltrate the Stormwind political elite; you flush her out at the end of the quest.

Yes, that's a great quest line. Also, the Defias quest line is fantastic. It's a shame that Horde get crappy 'ol Ragefire Chasm and a Lieutenant's Insignia and Alliance get a very deep quest line with a fun and unique instance.

Quest line involving Archmage Vargoth begins in netherstorm Area 52.
10 steps long with the final step having you head into Botanica.

It is in style with the old diplomats quest line. Medicore rewards and an ending that leaves you scratching your head wondering if the guy that created this quest got fired or sick.

Actually it reminds me of those 200 word S.A.'s I wrote in jr high, once I hit 198 words I put a period followed my "the end" no matter where I was in the story.

That one ended with The Deserters rather abruptly. Similarly, the Chained Essence of Eranikus, which had a sort of ending, but without the pre-requisite of doing the first part.

Talvash's Ring from Gnomer and the letter that you get from the skeleton below the Dun Modr area are sort of "hidden" quests.

"You've done it! After being imprisoned for years, me, a powerful archmage and enemy of the Burning Legion with a now personal vendetta against the blood elves; I'm free!"... [sits there]

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed by that.

Does anyone know of an interface option or mod that will turn on the exclamation points for quest givers that you've outleveled? I've had a couple of guildies ask me this, but I've never noticed anything obvious. It'd be nice to be able to go back and not have to talk to every NPC in, say, Ashenvale.

That Duskwallow questline is even more perplexing for the Horde I think... it culminates in two final parts with an informant being killed, and a Thunder Bluff blacksmith saying "yep, I made that shield" and giving no followup. Right up there with the Eranikus questline on the "Wha..?" Factor. It always felt to me like they meant it to be political inter-faction instigating by the black dragonflight and their tendancy for deception, but never got around to linking the Shady Rest line to the Onyxia key quest lines.

Another world-traveling line full of lore I've always liked was the massive Hakkar chain, starting here. All this backstory involving the troll empires and their desperate worship of an evil being, up to the player's role of being duped into unleashing Hakkar upon Azeroth. The only thing it really lacks is dialogue explicitly stating "hey dummy, ya go to Yojamba Isle for quests from here".