World Of Warcraft Patch 3.2 Adds Quest Markers

Every major patch for World of Warcraft contains at least a few things that piss off hardcore gamers. Patch 3.2 is no exception.

When players accept a quest, they'll now receive visual prompts on where to go. The system's explained here in the patch notes (via CVG):

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.

While this new feature might rankle of "teh hardcorez", this is Blizzard's way of admitting that players need/want these quest aids. There are a number of popular, user-created add-ons and websites that provide this exact information. You can argue that these aids remove exploration or challenge from the game but there's a wide segment of people who just want to blaze through quests as quickly as possible to get to max level and don't feel like searching for some hidden NPC.