Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
I had to swerve to miss them!
World of Warcraft
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Despite our ability to walk on water here, Mooglegem and I still wanted to bring out our sea turtles here.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
I need a sidecar on the other side – one for my blood elf lady and one for my pandaren lady.
Happy early Thanksgiving! While I enjoy writing about World of Warcraft (and occasionally other MMOs) here, I won’t have much to write about for the next week. That tends to happen when you go on vacation to Hawaii!
Feel free to enjoy a few screenshots I have scheduled in my absence.
Aloha!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
I had to snap a shot of this cute yak as I saved him from the cave!
I like getting new gear, and I like knowing what gear I need. Specifically, I like knowing what bosses, dungeons, or raid bosses I no longer need to worry about. Back in 3.3, I reached a point where I was very rarely seeing anything drop that I needed. This was when I decided to start tracking gear upgrades.
Because I wanted to complete Loremaster of Pandaria, running dungeons only once I reached them in a story, I didn’t really need to worry about gear until I finished questing. That happened on the 4th, and I quickly made this spreadsheet. By the 10th, about one week later, my item level was high enough to queue for LFR. While I’ve run every instance, I actually haven’t run every heroic. I keep queuing for random heroics, but I haven’t been given heroic Shado-pan Monastery yet. That doesn’t bother me; it’s just an observation. I’ve completed the LFR of Mogu’shan Vaults and am hoping to be able to continue in LFR soon.
There are some areas that I’ve barely touched. For one, I haven’t PVP’d much. When I don’t need to run heroics so much, then I can run battlegrounds. I’ve only done one scenario. Again, I’ll do that later. Dailies are something that I really need to tackle more. I’m focusing on the Klaxxi first, but I’ve only spent a few days on them really.
Regardless of the amount of content left, I like seeing my gear spreadsheet shrink. It lists all possible upgrades, where to get each upgrade, notes BiS per raid level, and ranks each item. The nice thing about ranking is that when I get a new piece of gear, I don’t need to compare it to any thing else. If I get a piece ranked 4th in my spreadsheet, I can delete the items ranked 1st through 4th and update the numbers accordingly. (Maybe I should have ranked them the other way, but it is what it is until I change it.) There are only 22 more items I need from heroics! That sounds like a lot, but it’s nice to see it shrink. Hopefully it gets a lot smaller this weekend! (And really, there are only 214 more upgrades in the game for me. That’s only a handful, right?)
Lost!, Chris Pearson, Confessions of a Grown-Up Gamer, 11/14/12.
WoW let Chris know that he was in the wrong zone. Unfortunately, it didn’t elaborate.
Mists of Pandaria and the new age of World of Warcraft, Mike Schramm, WoW Insider, 11/9/12
How Mists of Pandaria represents a new era of WoW content.
Know Your Lore: Dailies and story development, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/11/12.
A look at how story progression and dailies have changed.
Know Your Lore: The mysteries of the pandaren, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 11/14/12.
What do we know about the pandaren? More importantly, what don’t we know?
A thought about the Brawlers Guild, TyphoonAndrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 11/10/12.
Why do you fight in the Brawler’s Guild? To fight.
Brawlers Guild Invitations, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 11/9/12.
Rohan explains the Brawler’s Guild and gives some alternate ideas for inviting players to join.
Blizzard Talks about Brawler’s Guild, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 11/8/12.
Blizzard responds to questions and feedback about the Brawler’s Guild.
After obtaining Loremaster, doing all the dungeons, and gearing, Mooglegem and I were finally able to enter Mogu’shan Vaults. It was an enjoyable raid, although I’d probably need to run it a few more times to fully form an opinion.
When Mooglegem died, I took it upon myself to cremate my body. Don’t worry; no trolls were hurt in the recording of this picture.
We wiped a couple times on The Spirit Kings due to some bugs. We couldn’t get everyone in the room at the start of the fight. That’s fine except that when you get the boss down to 0% and people are locked out of the room, it counts as a wipe. I took the time to transform the entire raid using Hallow’s End wands. I almost got through all my wands!
When all was said and done, I managed to score two items from LFR. I’d call that a success!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Mooglegem and I were very tired, so when we saw these comfy looking beds in Kun-Lai Summit, we had to catch a quick nap.
I made a lot of progress in World of Warcraft this weekend, but there’s something more important than my progression that I wanted to talk about today.
Saturday my friends Kristine and Justin were in town, so gem and I had dinner with them and our friend Nate. The three of them our people we met in our guild, Carpe Flux Capacitor, and Kristine’s our guild leader. As usual when I see them, I had a great time. We went to California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa, CA, which is a fantastic shabu shabu restaurant featuring vinyl toys, game-inspired art on the walls, and a generally fantastic atmosphere.
Even if we stopped playing World of Warcraft, I’m very thankful (hey, this is sort of a connection to Thanksgiving, eh?) for the friendships I’ve made in the game. Thanks for dinner and the friendship guys!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Watch out Mooglegem, that shark’s about to eat you! Wait, oh, she’s just sharking.
A weekend without WoW, typhoonandrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 11/7/12.
Sometimes it’s good to take a break.
Over the Haste Cap: What keeps Olympic gold medalist Aries Merritt hurdling raids?, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 11/1/12.
Yes, you can totally win an Olympic gold medal and still be a hardcore raider. Well, okay, probably not you.
Patch 5.1 PTR: Upgrading items with justice and valor, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 11/6/12.
This is going to be very important soon.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: When is a well not a well?, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/4/12.
What if the Well of Eternity was the remains of a fallen Titan?
WoW Archivist: Blizzard’s hot and cold attitude toward weather, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 11/2/12.
Why are people excited about weather in Pandaria? This might give you a clue.
The economics of perfect gem cuts, Basil Bernsten, WoW Insider, 11/2/12.
If you’re a jewelcrafter and don’t know about perfect cuts, this is important.
Maine’s “World of Warcraft” candidate Colleen Lachowicz appears to win State Senate seat, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 11/7/12.
I honestly don’t know a thing about her political opinions.
Around Azeroth: Dragon envy, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 11/3/12.
I just thought this was pretty.
The Terrible Turnip is a pet collector’s best friend, Alex Ziebart, WoW Insider, 10/31/12.
I would like this pet, please.
With the presidential election behind us in the United States, I thought it’d be a good time to discuss the future of the Horde. We still don’t know have confirmation of what Garrosh does to make Horde and Alliance decide to unseat him, but we’ve been told that he “has become corrupted and has been doing some really nasty things beneath Orgrimmar.” I suspect this is sha corruption, and my guess is that he’s trying to control and use sha underneath Orgrimmar. At this point though, who knows? What I’m anxious to find out is who his successor will be.
Thrall
J. Allen Brack, lead producer, claimed that Thrall would be reinstated, although Blizzard later backpedaled. I really loved Thrall, but lately I’ve been disappointed in him. More and more I think that his legacy will be founding the Horde, but that he doesn’t really have the ability to lead. I don’t think Blizzard should go this route.
Baine
Baine has been thrust into a leadership position after his father fell in battle to Garrosh. It’d be fitting if Baine took Garrosh’s position after taking his own father’s as well. He’s strong and willing to fight, and he loves the Horde. He’s also willing to talk to the Alliance and very much wants peace. My character would love for him to become Warchief, but would the Horde be too friendly with the Alliance?
Vol’jin
Vol’jin promised Garrosh he’d be the one to kill him. I’m very confident that that will come true. I see Varian acting honorably and pulling back from landing the killing blow before Vol’jin shoots an arrow through Garrosh’s heart. Vol’jin is aggressive and has been more and more willing to get his hands dirty lately. He’s willing to work with the Alliance, which is great. While I could see Baine wanting to unite with the Alliance practically, I don’t see Vol’jin going that far. Vol’jin would make a good leader, but he’s also one people expect.
Sylvanas
Then there’s Sylvanas. If Blizzard wants to keep tensions high between the Horde and Alliance, Sylvanas should be the next Warchief. Garrosh is bad, and most people dislike him. Sylvanas is bad, and many people like her. She’s a much more interesting character in that she doesn’t have personality shifts (Garrosh demands people act honorably and then uses the mana bomb) and is simply who she is. You may not agree with her actions, but you’re not surprised by them. This would also give the story an interesting twist. Imagine the Alliance’s response when they find that Varian led a fight to unseat Garrosh only to have Sylvanas fill that seat. If they did this, I’d suggest they make the Undercity the capital with portals to the new zones in the next expansion, but leave old portals set up the way they are. This would keep Orgrimmar an important hub for some content but spread most of the population into the Undercity. (However, this wouldn’t be mirrored to the Alliance unless a new reason is introduced to make Ironforge the primary city.) Is this likely? I don’t know. But it would be very interesting!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
After getting my Magical Crawdad on the first try, Mr. Pinchy has just been using up bag space. I decided to use him up, and on my last charge Furious Mr. Pinchy came to play!
Mooglegem and I worked on Townlong Steppes and the Dread Wastes this weekend. Here we were looking for a yak in Townlong Steppes. This one was quite mean… and smelly, angry, and, dare I say, very bad. He was a cute too.
I loved this quest, The Terrible Truth. While investigating the Sha of Fear, this quest led me to some infested catacombs. When I saw my screen go red and my health drop to practically dead, I panicked. I felt the fear of dying, and I quickly used CDs and began to spam heals. When my health didn’t increase, I realized the truth. I, the player, had succumbed to the Sha of Fear just as my character had. I love it when games play with emotion, and this one of the best I’ve experienced.
We also found the missing Titanic Watcher, Huggalon! Of course there needed to be another watcher! He drops the B.F.F. Necklace, which lets you put a B.F.F. buff on someone. We waited for him to respawn so we could each get one, and then we gave each other the B.F.F. buffs (because we’re B.F.F.’s).
At Niuzao Temple we made sure to stop and play with Niuzao, the Black Yak. He’s cute too. He seems to spend his days running in circles around the temple.
After finishing Townlong Steppes, we ventured into the Dread Wastes where we met the Klaxxi. This was a very interesting zone. It’s not very often that we get such detailed lore about an enemy race.
When we were tasked with walking Dog the sea lion around the waters off the coast of the Dread Wastes, we had to take a picture. I want to take Dog with me everywhere!
And before you say that Dog wouldn’t like the dry land, look here! He’s totally hanging out on dry land with Mooglegem and looks very happy about it.
Not all of the Dread Wastes looked like a wasteland. Here’s a very lush, bright picture showing the other aspect of the zone. For a place called the Dread Wastes, the zone was actually quite beautiful. I think there’s a sense of elegance to the sha-twisted trees even.
With the completion of the Dread Wastes came Loremaster of Pandaria. I’ve never finished a loremaster achievement so early! It’s nice to see the story in the correct order.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
A relaxing balloon ride over Kun-Lai Summit.
Horseman rise…
Your time is nigh…
You felt death once…
Now, know demise!It is over,
Your search is done.
Let fate choose now,
The righteous one.
The Headless Horseman is my favorite holiday event in any game. His poetry probably has a lot to do with it!
We waited until the 30th, but Mooglegem and I managed to earn Tricks and Treats of Pandaria in time! I’m not sure why we cared, honestly, but it’s fun. I really wanted (as usual) the Headless Horseman’s Mount, but it wasn’t to be for either of us this year.
Here we are in front of the Wickerman in the Ruins of Lordaeron. That’s Mooglegem in front and me off to the side. Yup, totally.
Know Your Lore: Pandaria’s great oppressed, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 10/31/12.
Virmen. Yup.
Know Your Lore: Why do we fight?, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/28/12.
Why do the Horde and Alliance fight? This article not only discusses each factions’ reasons but also discusses their perspective on their opposition.
PSA: Ninja or Not, Arioch, clearcasting, 10/26/12.
Arioch comments on gearing, especially in lower levels, and argues that people shouldn’t be so quick to through around the term “ninja.”
SWTOR F2P Model Thoughts, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 10/25/12.
Even though I haven’t played TOR much recently, I still like to read about it.
The effect of persistence, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 10/30/12.
A discussion of persistence and change in World of Warcraft.
Patch 5.1: Vol’jin gets a new model, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 10/31/12.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
How to keep world bosses away from the pesky Horde (or Alliance), Matt Low, WoW Insider, 10/25/12.
A few tips for dealing with the opposing faction when fighting (or wanting to fight) a world boss.
Around Azeroth: Out of the sea, wish I could be part of that world, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 10/27/12.
This was cute.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Have you seen Mooglegem’s terrific Water Elemental costume for Hallow’s End? I think she looks great!
Kun-Lai Summit was a beautiful zone, and as with the rest of Mists of Pandaria, I enjoyed it thoroughly. This is a scene from later in the zone, but I thought it looked great and wanted to start with it.
It wasn’t all green though! Here’s a picture from the summit in which you can see the snow storm. Very pretty!
As the story got to the point where the Horde was backing a settlement, Mooglegem and I were really worried that the architecture was going to change to the iron and spikes look of the Horde. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. I think this looks great, keeping the architecture and the feel of the Pandaren culture while incorporating in the Horde.
We ran into Korda Torros while questing and decided him to teach him a lesson. How dare he be a rare out in the world! Don’t worry; We dealt with him.
He wasn’t the only Pandaren Champion that we defeated either. Here you’ll see us standing over Borginn Darkfist!
We ran into the world boss, the Sha of Hatred. I love that world bosses are back, and I think he works very well in the story. I decided to see how close I could get to him after taking this screenshot. Yes, he killed me quickly.
She looks aggressive but she’s a cutie. I also like the daily involving her; You get to control her and run around, smashing the tiny enemies.
The Zandalar have been introduced into the Pandaren story now, and I enjoyed kicking their asses. Their alliance with the Mogu is a cool story hook, and killing them was fun. I can’t wait to see Zandalar Island.
I had some trouble figuring out which gnoll was the real one. Look how similar they all look!
Things like this really put the polish on this expansion. A Darkmoon Faire Bill of Sale? I wasn’t expecting that.
Speaking of details, the funeral was a nice touch too. It’s also not the first NPC death we’ve had, although the one in Krasarang Wilds made me much more sad than this one.
Here Mooglegem talks to Xuen, the White Tiger. She wanted him to let us in to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms! Luckily he agreed after talking to Anduin. Anduin has been a great character; I started to really love him in The Shattering, and he continued to be a terrific character in Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. Throughout the expansion so far, he’s been a great character who strives for peace and really seems to respect the Horde as well as the Alliance.
Xuen the White Tiger granted us access to the Vale of Eternal of Blossoms, ending our adventures through Kun-Lai Summit. Two zones left!
The other great news is that we now have the ilvl to run heroics! Mooglegem and I still plan only to run a dungeon once we reach it in the story, so we can’t yet do all the dungeons, but it’s nice that we can at least run the heroic versions of the ones we’ve reached.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
This pandaren loves his tiger so much, he cuddles him when they take naps together in Krasarang Wilds!
Okay, they’re actually dead.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
When we saw all these turtles, Mooglegem and I knew we had to join them.
A break from dailies, Arioch, clearcasting, 10/24/12.
Arioch recounts The Boon of A’dal, the quest in Icecrown about a dying crusader and the help of A’dal. It’s a great quest, and I liked reading Arioch’s response.
A Disconnect on Valor Gear, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 10/21/12.
Rohan wonders if Blizzard views Valor gear as completely optional because the best route for PvE is from dungeons and raids while players don’t trust RNG and feel faction Valor gear is required. Interesting idea.
EVE Online player loses tiny ship worth over $6,000, Brendan Drain, Massively, 10/22/12.
This is why you don’t transport a huge amount of valuable goods in a small, ill-armed ship.
MoP: Mists of “Preoccupation”, Chris Pearson, Confessions of a Grown-Up Gamer, 10/19/12.
Pet Battles! Farming! So much to do! Read about how Chris gets distracted with the many great activities in WoW currently.
12 new pets added to vanilla raids in 5.1, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/23/12.
More reasons to do old raids!
Every week, Blog Azeroth proposes a Shared Topic for World of Warcraft bloggers to discuss. This week’s topic was proposed by Mataoka of Sugar & Blood.
What is one thing, just one thing, you did that was pretty awful in Azeroth, that you wish you could get some kind of redemption or forgiveness for, or even just get off your chest?
It bothers me that so many people roll need on things that they don’t really need or are for their OS. Instead of being the bigger person, I sometimes just do it too. In LFR, there were definitely times in which I rolled need on all of my tier pieces, even the ones I already had, just so I could possibly trade them later. I know, I know, it sounds horrible. It wasn’t that I wanted to hold them ransom. But if someone else was doing it, I wanted to have something with which to barter. And that’s likely what others were doing too, leading to this big mess. While it’s true that I’d also freely give it to others at the end if I didn’t end up using it for trading, it’s still a jerky thing to do.
Similarly, I’m also willing to roll need on things that might be for Mooglegem. On the holiday bosses especially, I look at us sometimes like a single unit. “Do one of us need this?” If the answer is “probably,” I might roll need and sort it out later.
Sorry.
The last topic was also proposed by Mataoka of Sugar & Blood.
What are your personal rules you wish others would know about you?
My two favorite replies were from Chris of Confessions of a Grown-Up Gamer and Martha Bechtel of Perish Twice. Most of Chris’ rules boil down “please act intelligently,” a nice rule that people should follow both in and out of World of Warcraft. I liked Martha’s rule that faction hate should only belong in RP. I also like to stop and help characters on the opposing faction (even though I’m on a PVP realm and usually sport the Conqueror title).
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Ooo, look how strong!
I hit level 90 on Sunday morning while questing in Kun-Lai Summit. I dinged off of Zandalari trolls. It’s too bad I have to be killing my own race.
This is almost a picture of Mooglegem hitting 90. Neither one of us actually caught it. Whoops.
We’re trying to experience this expansion linearly according to the story, so we still have a ways to go. We only do instances what they make sense in the plot, which means we’ve actually only been able to do the Temple of the Jade Serpent and the Stormstout Brewery. Now we’ll finish Kun-Lai Summit and move on to the last couple zones, unlocking instances as we get to them. And then we can work on heroics and finally raids! :)
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
I don’t know. I just like this guy. Look how cute he is just grubbin’ it up there.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Mooglegem and I meeting a special Alliance member that some Horde operatives captured. Not to sound like a traitor, but I’d really like to let this man go!
I recently received a red ribboned gift from my good friend Bulleto! I was very excited. With trembling hands, I carefully pulled the ribbon off the box and peered under the lid.
It was a mechanohog! Sure, I heard that they were dangerous, but they’re also cool and fun, so who cares right? Of course, Mooglegem would be thrilled as well. Now I could drive her all around Azeroth.
I jumped on my new hog and told Bulleto to get in the sidecar. Meanly, I teased him a little about his weight. It looked like we were going to tip over! But no matter. I had a mechanohog, so nothing could stop me. If you had seen my face, you would have seen pure joy. I raced through the streets of Orgrimmar, shooting up anything that could be used as a ramp just to fly through the air. Wanting to get closer to the sky, I took the elevator up to the Orgrimmar Skyway to look down on the city racing past below.
Unfortunately, all those warnings you hear about the dangers of mechanohogs might be warranted. Not five minutes into my ownership of the new hog I went careening off the Orgrimmar Skyway (okay, I was doing wheelies near the edge) and plummeted into the side of Grommash Hold.
Let’s go over the events again.
- Bulleto gave me a gift.
- I called him fat.
- I enjoyed it for a couple minutes.
- I killed myself and Bulleto.
Lucky for us there are healers in Orgrimmar who were willing to restore us to the world of the living.
Now I’m off racing around the world once again. Bulleto, I’m sorry I called you fat and killed you. You’re not fat, and I promise to be more careful on my mechanohog. I absolutely love it!
Getting started with reputation at level 90, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/16/12.
As someone who isn’t 90 yet, I found this very reassuring and informative.
Guild Wars 2 writer laments racial lopsidedness, Justin Olivette, Massively, 10/16/12.
Humans are the most common GW2 race followed by norn (big humans). This makes me really sad, because some of the races are pretty interesting. I can’t believe more people don’t want to be charr or sylvari!
Questgiver PSA, Typhoon Andrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 10/12/12.
Please, everybody give this quick post a read!
Endgame PvE in The Old Republic, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 10/14/12.
An interesting evaluation of TOR’s endgame with comparison to WoW’s.
Heroic Dungeon Bosses in 5 seconds, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/16/12.
These guides are always fantastic.
#129 The depressing Tone of Mists’ Dungeons, Spencer Nozell, Be MOP, 10/12/12.
Do the player characters in Mists’ dungeons lose? It’s an interesting idea.
Make your pet battles look like Pokemon with WoWkemon, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/15/12.
Who doesn’t want pet battles to look like Pokemon?!
This is a very, VERY fast mount, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 10/15/12.
Super fast, limited-use, and nearly uncontrollable? Sign me up!
Darkmoon Faire updates in store for patch 5.1, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/13/12.
5.1 brings the DMF a new attraction that gives an XP and rep buff, a master pet trainer who has a chance of awarding a pet when defeated, and a new pet for 90 tickets. And I was so close to not needing tickets!
World of Warcraft Patch 5.1 PTR Patch Notes, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 10/11/12.
Speaking of the 5.1 patch, here are the notes on the patch. The naval fleets are coming, and with them come outdoor PVP in Krasarang Wilds. In addition, there will be solo PVE underground fighting rings in Stormwind and Orgimmar and the ability to upgrade the quality of battle pets.
Lost and lonely dog seeks warm and loving home (on your farm), Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/10/12.
I want a dog!
PvP sound announcements in patch 5.1, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/17/12.
“The gate of the yellow moon was destroyed.” Useful or annoying? I’m not sure yet.
Diablo III Monster Power System Detailed, Andrew Goldfarb, IGN, 10/11/12.
The Monster Power System allows players to increase the power of monsters in order to increase some stats and drops.
Every week, Blog Azeroth proposes a Shared Topic for World of Warcraft bloggers to discuss. This week’s topic was proposed by Mataoka of Sugar & Blood.
What are your personal rules you wish others would know about you?
- If I’m in a random group, I’d prefer people to speak up if they don’t know what’s happening.
- I want to play with my girlfriend, Mooglegem. I know WoW players coming as a pair can be annoying, but I want to play with her.
- I like to collect things. In current content, I understand that people who need an item for gearing should have priority over me wanting it for fun. But if we’re running old content, and I’m there just to get something for fun, I should have an equal chance.
- I like to be light-hearted and joke around even if (especially if) things are going badly. When I start to joke around, it’s not because I’m not taking the raid seriously.
Last week’s topic (well, the week before last because there wasn’t one last week) was proposed by Ninevi of Flask Half Empty.
Do you think there any faux pas in WoW? If so, please explain your thoughts or maybe share your own memories and experiences!
I enjoyed Malkshake VG’s post on Holy Nova. It’s summarized as “If you wouldn’t do it to someone in real life, don’t do it online.” Good advice. Ninevi posted some great examples as well!
Vol’jin and I like to party together. Check it out! Okay, really I just like that sweet, sweet buff. Mooglegem and I worked hard this weekend to reach 89 in time to do Coren Direbew. On the last day, we made it.
And then he promptly kicked our butts. Of course, having an 89 tank doesn’t help. I went and reforged all of pieces to give me spirit, bought Cataclysm mana potions and flasks, and fully enchanted myself in the best Cataclysm enchants. (Sorry, but I’m not springing for Mists of Pandaria enchants yet.) Oh, and we ate of course! With the help of our guildie Fiirnok, we bested that dirty Direbrew! gem has two trinkets in her bags (one for ilvl) as do I. Only afterward did I realize that the caster trinket will actually help me thanks to Atonement!
The Valley of the Four Winds is really beautiful. We couldn’t resist snapping this picture of Mooglegem as we began to quest in the Valley. Because the stories flow together, I’m going to talk about the Valley of the Four Winds, Krasarang Wilds, and the Stormstout Brewery all in this post. Spoilers for all three could be in this post.
I found the Valley of the Four Winds really amusing. There were lots of puns throughout, and it was full of light-hearted humor. “They was WATERING them. They was trying to GROW WHEELBARROWS.” God, yes.
Excuse me, do you carry Bottletoads? You do? Fantastic!
Besides meeting Chen Stormstout and learning more about brewing, we also get to meet the Tillers and Farmer Yoon in this zone. I love that you have to point out to the quest giver who Yoon is. “You can literally see him from where you are standing.” I’m really looking forward to continuing the farm later when I’m 90.
There’s a small quest hub that tasks you with training with the Hidden Master. It was a ton of fun. In this picture, Devee has already mastered breaking bamboo and wood and just mastered breaking stone!
I was little confused when the cutscene played of the training until it hit me – a TRAINING MONTAGE! I’M IN A TRAINING MONTAGE. Yes, this expansion is definitely the best.
Even though I knew there was a dungeon called the Stormstout Brewery, it was really exciting when Chen Stormstout found out. I could feel his excitement as he realized that he had family in Pandaria and that they ran a brewery!
Keeping with the theme of humor, I also loved that Chen didn’t have us help him brew his beer. In WoW, we always had to prove ourselves to NPCs high in our faction. At some point, they stopped making us do that. We’re veterans now. This is similar but reversed. Chen knows his place and our place. He’s the best brewer. Why would he need our help?
When Chen found out that the Stormstout Brewery was infested, he set off to clean it. Inside he found the ghost of Auntie Stormstout who wanted to give him some cookies. He didn’t have time for cookies! Well, he had time for one.
While transformed into hozen, Mooglegem and I decided to stop for a ookin’ party with the other hozen.
Eventually we were able to cleanse the Stormstout Brewery and reunite Chen Stormstout with Uncle Gao.
After helping out in the Valley of the Four Winds, we headed to the Krasarang Wilds where we first killed the Mogu champion, Qu’nas.
One champion wasn’t enough for us, so we took out the jinyu champion, Cournith Waterstrider.
We met the Sunwalker Dezco who was involved with one of the most touching quest lines I’ve done in World of Warcraft. I think I’ll talk about his quests separately in a later post.
With the help of Anduin, we were able to defeat the Sha of Despair and release the sadness he was causing over the Krasarang Wilds.
We had to hurry back to the Valley of the Four Winds though, where the Mantid had broken through the wall to attack Stoneplow.
With the help of Miss Fanny, we launched ourselves into the largest Mantid and used our training with the Hidden Master to defeat it from the inside!
With the Valley of the Four Winds successfully defended against the mantid, the Stormstout Brewery cleansed, and the Sha of Despair defeated in the Krasarang Wilds, Mooglegem and I are ready to push forward into Kun-Lai Summit.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
At least it’s a different type of minecart than last time!
Addons-What next?, Bravetank, 10/7/12.
These are totally real addons. Really.
People live in Pandaria; or, our house in the middle of the sea, Michael Sacco, WoW Insider, 10/10/12.
A consideration of how it doesn’t seem like people really live in Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, or Northrend, but Pandaria truly feels alive.
The Warlord’s Ashes, hidden daily of the Dread Wastes, Matt Walsh, WoW Insider, 10/8/12.
This is super cool. I really hope there are more like this.
Mana Regen vs Throughput: Spirit Stacking in Mists of Pandaria, Derevka, Tales of a Priest, 10/9/12.
Just how much should you stack and spirit, and how should you do it?
Dungeons and you – a guide to basic etiquette, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 10/10/12.
Even if you think you know how to act in a dungeon, you might want to read this anyway.
Fye of US-Quel’dorei, Transmog Fashion, 10/9/12.
This just amused me.
Bling-tastic Blingtron 4000!, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/10/12.
This might be the greatest reason to become an engineer.
A quick guide to archaeology on the Pandarian continent, Daniel Whitcomb, WoW Insider, 10/8/12.
Planning on leveling your archaeology? Give this a read first.
How to choose between the same pets, but different stats, Robin Torres, WoW Insider, 10/3/12.
A look at stats on pets.
Addon Spotlight: Still more pet battle addons!, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/4/12.
Something tells me I’ll be looking at more pet battle addons in the future.
Major reputation changes coming to WoW, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 10/4/12.
After one character on a Battle.net account hits revered with a faction, all characters on that account will earn double reputation with that faction all the way to exalted.
Interview: Maine Senate candidate tells why gamer shaming bodes ill for the future, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 10/9/12.
This Senate candidate plays WoW, and it became an arguing point in her campaign.
WoW Insider’s Guide to the Anglers, Matt Walsh, WoW Insider, 10/9/12.
Nice little guide for people who enjoy fishing.
I’ve been enjoying pet battles as a nice little side objective to World of Warcraft. Like many people, I was always wishing for a Pokemon MMORPG. (Pokemon Red Version was the first game I actually went out myself to buy.) This is pretty much just as good.
My team has been a Hyjal Bear Cub, Toxic Wasteling, and Kirin Tor Familiar. The Hyjal Bear Cub is the star, and they’re all level seven currently.
I snagged Experienced Pet Battler recently for winning 50 pet battles.
I also earned Building a Team for capturing 25 pets and Littlest Pet Shop for collecting 150 unique pets.
You might notice that I’m not on Devee in the screenshots. I didn’t want to use up any of my Brewfest Enthusiast buff, but I still wanted to do some pet battles!
I’ve defeated four of the twelve masters in Kalimdor. I guess I’m on my way!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Mooglegem struts her stuff in Dawn’s Blossom. The pandaren in the front decides to celebrate by drinking a brew.
This was the first weekend during which I had significant time to play Mists of Pandaria. I’m absolutely loving it so far, and the Jade Forest is a beautiful zone. I felt like I was taking screenshots all the time, and the plot moved forward nicely as well. Allowing players to take control of a lore character during stories is a nice touch and wasn’t overdone. Similarly, there were some cutscenes but not a distracting amount like there was in Uldum. The Jade Forest was done perfectly.
There will be some spoilers for the Jade Forest in this post.
This Dawn Watcher said “What interesting colors you are wearing. Did you weave that yourself?”
Interesting indeed, Miss Dawn Watcher. It’s the Runecloth Robe, the same thing you all are wearing!
We ran into a champion, Mister Ferocious. Mooglegem and I were 86, so we were a little nervous when a level 90 Alliance flew over to us. He just watched as we fought him. When Mister Ferocious was low, he began to attack us. Uh, oh. We should be nothing to a level 90, right? After killing Mister Ferocious, we focused on him until he ran away. In fact, we’ve been attacked a number of times now, and we’re always victorious. Why do higher level players who aren’t any good attack lower level players? On that subject, why do players who are alone attack us when we’re obviously together? It seems odd to me.
While I understood the concept that the Horde-Alliance war would bring about the Sha, it was wonderfully implemented. Here Mooglegem and I circle the Sha of Doubt before banishing it.
Upjade Complete! We finished the Jade Forest. It was a fun zone and great introduction to Pandaria.
Unrelated to the zone, I cleaned my bags too. I usually hang on to every holiday gear/item as well all my tier and PVP gear. I went through and DE’d things that don’t really get seen. I don’t need tier legs if my robe covers them, and I don’t need gloves if they’re under the robe anyways. There were also a few lame holiday items that I decided to throw away too. If they’re not for transmogrification and I’m never going to pull them out, why hold on to them? It’s great to have the additional bag space now, especially because Mists of Pandaria seems to hand out a lot of toys. I consider any item or trinket that has some sort of fun use a “toy,” and I have a category for toys in ArkInventory.
I noticed that there are less distinct trash items while questing. There’s still a lot of trash, but it’s a lot of the same trash, allowing it to stack. Thanks, Blizzard! This makes my bags feel even more empty! I actually cleaned my bags so I’d have more room while running dungeons. I only like to run a dungeon once the story has reached that point, so I had one dungeon to run.
The Temple of Jade Serpent, of course! This was a fun dungeon, and I managed to keep up even though it sure seemed like I came close to running out of mana. I’ve run it a couple times now and have yet to see any cloth drop. Is this a coincidence or is there just no cloth gear? Surely it must be a coincidence, but I should go check. I used the WoW Insider post Mists of Pandaria leveling dungeon bosses in 5 seconds by Olivia Grace to teach me what to do. WoW Insider’s 5 second guides are great because they teach you what you need to know without spoiling the instance.
I should add that I’ve also been doing some pet battles too, but I’ll talk more about that later.
Okay, enough blogging. I’m almost 88, and I need to go play more. Bye!
Note: I wrote this in 5.0.4 before the launch of Mists of Pandaria. I’m using it now as filler!
I know none of this is going to really matter in a couple weeks, but I noticed something kind of funny with 5.0.4. I use AskMrRobot to determine what gear is best for raiding. Because I wasn’t raiding normal mode regularly, I had it set to LFR. With 5.0.4, what was valor point gear is now available for justice points, and what was conquest point gear is now available for honor points. Good raiding gear comes from raids, but good PVP gear came from conquest. Because of this, there was a bunch of new PVP gear I could purchase (because I don’t do arenas or RBGs), but nothing I needed with justice.
Then I noticed something I wasn’t really expecting on AskMrRobot. Because I now have access to good PVP gear but only do LFR, AMR was suggesting two pieces of PVP gear as the best gear for raiding. The “Ring 2” entry, Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Band of Meditation, has a red arrow indicating it’s not BiS, but the ring it wants me to use requires being exalted with the Avengers of Hyjal (and I’m not).
Anyways, this seemed pretty funny to me. Regardless, all this gear will be old soon.
Pandaren: Split Decisions, Sullivan, RP Made Simple, 9/26/12.
Seriously, this is a great idea. What if your Pandaren didn’t have to choose a faction? Sullivan decides to create two characters, one for each faction, and RP them as a single character.
10 most common names for monks, Michael Gray, WoW Insider, 10/3/12.
My favorite is Brewswillis. Check the article for more!
Add On – CameraPlus, Arioch, clearcasting, 10/3/12.
CameraPlus is an addon to help people make movies in WoW. Arioch likes its ability to remove name tags with a single click. I’m sold.
How to tell pet quality during battles, Robin Torres, WoW Insider, 9/27/12.
You can either use an addon or a macro. Both work during pet battles but not out in the world.
Addon Spotlight: Pet battle addons?, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/28/12.
Care for more pet battle addons?
WoW Archivist: 7 ways vanilla Wailing Caverns baffled us, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 9/28/12.
This instance took so long that it always annoyed my girlfriend that I was taking so long. The problem was solved by buying her a copy of WoW.
PvP Power, PvP Resilience and PvE gear, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/28/12.
Nice guide to the new PVP stats.
Every week, Blog Azeroth proposes a Shared Topic for World of Warcraft bloggers to discuss. This week’s topic was proposed by Ninevi of Flask Half Empty.
A faux pas, noun, \ˈfō-ˌpä, fō-ˈ\ is a violation of accepted social norms (for example, standard customs or etiquette rules).
The term comes originally from French, and literally means “misstep” or “false step”. (via Wikipedia)Shared Topic:
Do you think there any faux pas in WoW? If so, please explain your thoughts or maybe share your own memories and experiences!
Feel free to include serious ideas (ie: etiquette in LFD/LFR) and silly ones alike (ie: fashion disasters in transmog)!
Rolling need on something that you don’t actually need for an upgrade is a faux pas unless no one else needs it and you’d like it for offspec. Note that this gets bent a lot, I think.
Rolling need on gear that isn’t appropriate for you or doesn’t matter is as well. As a disc priest, there are (limited) times where a cloth piece with hit on it could technically be an upgrade for me, but I should never roll need on it if there’s a DPS that needs the piece.
Winning all the loot. It’s good form to pass if you’ve continually won everything (or to give away the piece you won previously). There’s no specific limit in my mind, but you’ll know when it starts to feel unfair.
Yelling at people simply for not knowing how you were going to do something should be, but people seem fine with it.
Pulling a mob if you’re not the tank unless the tank has asked you to do so.
Initiating combat when your healer is out of mana should also be a faux pas but seems acceptable to a lot of people.
I’m sure there are a lot more, but these are the ones that come to mind!
Last week’s topic was missing, but the previous one was proposed by Mataoka.
But with the new patch, and all the new things coming, what are three things that you will absolutely not leave behind? Consider these three objects your virtual backpack- the twist is, a tiny story to go along with each item.
Steve of razor lemon included his ability to solve practical problems. This is otherwise known as engineering! I thought it was a pretty great response. I also liked Kaleri’s response on Power Word: What? It caught my eye because I didn’t know (or didn’t remember) that the Argent Dawn Commision gave a ligh effect. I hope I still have mine.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
Did you know that every game has an obligatory minecart level? It’s true!
Note: Spoilers for the first few Horde quests of the expansion.
I finally made it to Pandaria over the weekend. After training pet battling and doing a few battles, Mooglegem and I reported to General Nazgrim. So far, I’ve enjoyed the story and the limited quests I’ve completed fit well and don’t feel lame.
Having characters remember you is nothing new, but I enjoyed the fact that General Nazgrim remembered me. I don’t know what the Jade Forest was like at the beginning of beta, but I like that the war between the Horde and the Alliance started right away. As of writing this, I just reached the first town. (I assume I’ll be a little further by the time this is posted.) I’m looking forward to travelling deeper into Pandaria!
When I wanted to pre-order Diablo 3: Collector’s Edition, GameStop always responded that they weren’t taking pre-orders yet. The day it was dated I tried to pre-order it, and they said it was sold out. (I ended up buying it at Fry’s.) For Mists of Pandaria, I checked repeatedly. The day it was dated I called my GameStop and asked if they were accepting pre-orders. They were! I confirmed that I didn’t need to pick it up at midnight and that I had a few days to pick it up. They let me know that they actually hold collector’s editions of games for weeks. Fantastic! After work that day I went to the store, asked them all the same questions again, and put my money down.
Later, I went back to that GameStop to pre-order a Wii U. While I was there, I checked on my pre-order to make sure everything was set with Mists of Pandaria. Everything was good. I asked all the same questions again and was reassured.
I wasn’t going to go to the midnight launch because I prefer sleep. However, it didn’t matter much anyways because my friends Alex and Darnell were visiting the week of the release, and I was going to be with them Monday and Tuesday anyways. On Wednesday after work, I stopped by GameStop to pick up my copy of the game.
I told the cashier I had pre-ordered Mists of Pandaria. He replied with, “did you want to pick it up?” Yes, yes I did. He grabbed the standard edition without even asking me for my name or phone number. I informed him that I had pre-ordered the collector’s edition. He went to the back to look, came back a few minutes later, said “sorry, just a sec” and went to the other door. A few minutes later he returned to tell me that they didn’t have any more copies.
Now I might forget the exact details, but I remember that he didn’t seem to offer any other information. I pointed out that I had pre-ordered it, and he was quick to tell me that they were short one unit in their delivery and that it wasn’t their fault. I told him that the whole point of pre-ordering is that I’ll have it for sure, and I told him about how I asked over and over about picking up a couple days later. He repeatedly reminded me that it wasn’t the store’s fault. Who cares if it’s corporate or the store? Either way, that’s the fault of GameStop.
The cashier, David, checked in the computer and told me that the Spectrum store (near my office and the location of the launch event) had extra copies. He called them, and his half of the conversation sure sounded like they weren’t sure if they could give me one. I heard him say something along the lines of “well can I give you my phone number and have you call me if things change?” He got off the phone and told me that he was pretty sure he’d get one from them. He said Blizzard was going to pick up the extra from them the next day but that he was pretty sure they could ship one copy. They might get it by the end of the week or the next week. Then he asked me how soon I needed it. I told him that my guild was probably hoping I had it by yesterday.
His manager told me to give them my name and phone number and that she’d figure out a way to get me a copy. She then let me know that everything would be okay. Well, it already wasn’t okay.
We went to In-N-Out, and on the way I called Fry’s Electronics. They had some and would hold one for me if I provided my name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and credit card information. I wasn’t okay with that and decided to just wait until after dinner and go to the store. Then GameStop called. The manager found a collector’s edition at another store and offered to pick it up in the morning on her way to work. Then I could pick it up later that day. I knew if I went to Fry’s, I wouldn’t have much time to play that night anyways because of the queue, so I agreed.
Before getting off the phone, she told me that she found me a copy so everything was fine now and there was no problem. This sort of bothered me. I’m glad she found a way of solving the problem of “I need a copy of the game I pre-ordered,” but it didn’t solve the problem of “I need to be happy with the whole interaction.”
On Thursday I called the store in the middle of the day to make sure that they had it. They did. After work, I swung by the store and picked it up. I wasn’t able to play it that night because I was busy, but at least I had it.
The store was in Orange, California on Katella and Tustin. Mistakes happen, and I wasn’t happy with how they handled everything; However, I was happy that the manager went out of her way to get me this copy. I’m still very nervous about my Wii U pre-order, but I have Mists of Pandaria: Collector’s Edition at least.
“Guide Dog” player and sightless guild-mate honored with in-game items, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/26/12.
Back in January, WoW Insider reported on British soldier Ben Shaw (Hexu) who was blinded by shrapnel in Iraq. He continued raiding in WoW thanks to his friend Owen (Davidian) who guides him in the game. Blizzard has now honored them with in-game items. Hexu’s Amplifying Helm with flavor text, “A man with a friend is never without vision,” and Davidian’s All-Seeing Eyes with flavor text, “Sharp enough to see for two men.” Such an amazing story!
Blizzard releases The Story of Warcraft, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/21/12.
Anne reports on Blizzard’s new The Story of Warcraft, an online account of the past history of the Warcraft series. It looks terrific, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
Catch Up Mechanics, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 9/20/12.
Matticus thinks that in-combat resurrection spells should be removed from the game, but Rohan disagrees. He feels that they allow people to catch up after making mistakes and is important. Without them, raid groups would be forced to call wipes after one error.
Getting started with your legendary in Mists, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/25/12.
If you’re interested in legendaries, you might want to give this a read.
Know Your Lore: Pandaria and the Sundering, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/26/12.
A look at the history of Pandaria and speculation about it.
Know Your Lore: The lost introduction to Theramore’s Fall, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/23/12.
Care to find out more about how Theramore’s Fall fits into the world (of Warcraft)?
Blizzard clarifies Cross-Realm Zones, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/24/12.
I think it’s interesting to note that Blizzard has been increasing spawn rates of rare spawns to accommodate cross-realm zones.
Mists of Pandaria Contest: Convince the Pandaren to join your faction, Michael Gray, WoW Insider, 9/25/12.
If you like making videos, maybe you’d like to enter a contest by convincing the Pandaren to join your faction?
Remember to watch for Lorewalker items while leveling!, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/25/12.
Just a friendly reminder.
Around Azeroth: An inauspicious beginning, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 9/26/12.
Quest mechanics combine with over-crowding lead to turmoil.
I haven’t had a chance to really play Mists of Pandaria yet, so here’s another photo op! After infiltrating Theramore, I claimed the city for myself! On my right is Mooglegem, and on my left is the warrior Vylane of Draka (from a random group).
While running Theramore’s Fall a bunch, Mooglegem and I had to stop in Jaina’s tower for a photo. Behind us you can see Rhonin, Jaina, and Kalecgos.
I wish they weren’t my enemies in this situation. Sorry you three!
In other news, happy Mists of Pandaria! The attack on Theramore triggers the war that’s the start of Mists of Pandaria, so since I don’t actually have anything to say about Mists of Pandaria yet, this seemed like a good post for today.
Today is the last day of Cataclysm. I thought it’d be a good time to look back over the expansion a bit. I hit my first level cap during Wrath of the Lich King, giving Dalaran and Northrend a sort of homie and familiar feel. Cataclysm was the first expansion to be released while I was actively part of the endgame, so it was a new experience for me.
As Cataclysm was released, I left Carpe Flux Capacitor to make a guild with friends, Playground Brigade. It was fun to play with them, and I’ll happily remember working with my friend Elizabeth on the Conclave of Wind. And by working, I mean joking around in whispers when we screwed up. I really like that memory!
We didn’t complete any of the three T12 raids, and the guild began to fall apart. I rejoined Carpe Flux Capacitor in, I think, 4.1. Unfortunately, my computer went down, and I didn’t get it back up until the end of 4.2. I managed to catch up on the troll heroics and jump into Firelands, killing Ragnaros before killing any other boss. I don’t regret my time with Playground Brigade, but I really regret leaving Carpe Flux Capacitor. That seems contradictory, but I still feel bad for leaving.
Love you, Carpe!
I enjoyed the zones for the most part, and the linearity didn’t bother me. Of course, I don’t have alts either. Vashj’ir was really fun in my opinion. I loved the story and the feeling of loneliness in the zone. I wish the story had continued! Hyjal was pretty cool, but I know I forgot a lot of the plot points as they were happening. Deepholm was fun, but I wish Therazane the Stone Mother would have showed up against Deathwing. Uldum was interesting, but the cutscenes screwed up on my computer all the time and would just show me the ground. I might have liked it more if it worked! Twilight Highlands was fun, and I enjoyed it while I did it. Most of it wasn’t memorable, but I enjoyed surfing on the drakes, exploring, and noticing the fun names of areas and NPCs.
The Zandalari patch was very fun. I’d like to see Blizzard use the option of a content patch without raids in the future. It’s not that I don’t enjoy raids, but Blizzard shouldn’t feel obligated. The raid finder sort of killed Carpe’s drive to raid, but I still think it’s a great tool. I’m thankful that in the future, I’ll always get to see all the content even if I can’t devote all the time.
Cataclysm also brought about void storage, reforging, and transmogrification. I filled my void storage on the first night, and would love to see more. Reforging is actually a bit annoying to me. It just adds an extra puzzle that I don’t enjoy. (Well, I just use Ask Mr. Robot.) Transmogrification, on the other hand, is one of the best features Blizzard has added in a long time. I already collected cool gear that I could only wear in town. Now I can be seen in it!
I love PVP, but I didn’t enjoy the two new Battlegrounds very much. Twin Peaks is just Warsong Gulch 2, and Warsong Gulch is much better. The Battle for Gilneas is decent, but I enjoy Arathi Basin a bit better. I’ll still play and enjoy Battle for Glineas as well, but I don’t know what it is about Twin Peaks that I dislike so much.
It’s been too long since Tier 12 for me to do an analysis really without revisiting. I enjoyed them for the most part though. As a healer, Chimaeron was an interesting fight. Atramedes the blind dragon was also very cool, although his sonar pulse didn’t show up right on my screen! I’m not really qualified to talk about most of the Firelands bosses either since I came late. The zone design was great though, and the Molten Front ties were fantastic. I’d love to see more of that. Ragnaros felt pretty epic. Honestly, it felt more epic than the Madness of Deathwing!
Dragon Soul was enjoyable but flawed. Morchok was a nice introduction to the raid. War’sahj the Unsleeping and Warlord Zon’ozz had interesting mechanics, but I feel like only one of them should have been in the raid. Hagara seemed a little odd, but it really did fit with the story, and I like visiting old locations (and using old artifacts). Ultraxion was cool and fit well, and Deathwing running for it after he saw us defeat his creation was great. Warmaster Blackhorn felt like a step backwards. The fight was odd and anti-climatic, and it seemed to go against the rising tension. Fought a bunch of minions, fought a powerful dragon, went after Deathwing, fought a tauren, and then jumped on Deathwing himself! Which one of those seems out of place? The Spine of Deathwing was very cool. It was so different than other fights, and we’ve never fought a boss while standing on him previously! The Madness of Deathwing sounded good in theory, but it was flawed as well. First, it didn’t look like we were fighting Deathwing. The camera doesn’t go back far enough (without some tinkering) to get a good look. It was also, as far as I know, never really explained why he was full of tentacles. And then there are the Aspects. They’re mortal now? What powers did they lose? Ah, whatever.
Soon it will be time for Mists of Pandaria. I’m already loving account-wide achievements, pets, and mounts. The new continent looks fun, pandaren seem interesting, and monks look pretty cool. I’m actually very excited about pet battles and farming! The character development should be excellent as well. It looks like Blizzard is developing Varian to be more heroic. This is very cool even as a Horde player. This will be a nice juxtaposition to Garrosh’s corruption. I’m looking forward to taking him down at the end of Mists of Pandaria!
Every week, Blog Azeroth proposes a Shared Topic for World of Warcraft bloggers to discuss. This week’s topic was proposed by Mataoka of Sugar & Blood.
But with the new patch, and all the new things coming, what are three things that you will absolutely not leave behind? Consider these three objects your virtual backpack- the twist is, a tiny story to go along with each item.
Hammer of Purified Flame – When Mooglegem and I found a Battered Hilt within the Forge of Souls, we had no idea what we were about to do. With the help of Krasus and the Sunreavers, we discovered that the hilt belonged to the legendary blade Quel’Delar. After we reforged it with Saronite at the Pit of Saron and tempered it in the Crucible of Souls, it came to life on its own within the Halls of Reflection. We subdued it, and following the advice of Uther’s spirit, we took it to the Sunwell to be cleansed. The blood elves and the Sunreavers allowed Mooglegem to keep it. As thanks, I was rewarded with the Hammer of Purified Flame.
When I originally wrote this post, this section was much longer. I realized that I wanted it to stand on its own, so I took it out and posted it separately.
Old Ironjaw – I always enjoyed fishing. It’s a quiet, relaxing activity. However, there was a little more to it. Whispers told of two very old fish that were impossible to fish – Old Crafty and Old Ironjaw in Orgrimmar and Ironforge respectively. I wasn’t sure I believed the stories until I found fished Old Crafty himself from the waters of Orgrimmar. At once, I knew I had to travel to Ironforge to see if the stories were true. I prepared for the worst, because I knew I wouldn’t be welcome. I donned the best armor I could to defend myself from the Alliance and waited until the dead of night.
Slipping into Ironforge as quick as I could, I darted left, travelling around the center forge clockwise. Guards chased me, but I managed to evade them and find a pool of water. Some Alliance members did see me and didn’t take kindly to me entering their city. I chose not to fight back, hoping to show my willingness to cooperate. Most of them didn’t care. However, I then felt a pressure on my mind as a draenei priest took control of my mind. I expected more trouble, but then I felt soothed, and I realized what was happening; She was Mind Controlling me to heal me and protect me from her own faction. I wish I could have learned her name, but I never did. Soon after, I found the legendary Old Ironjaw himself.
If only I could win one of Azeroth’s fishing tournament. Regardless, Old Ironjaw will always be my trophy.
Rusted Proto-drake – After defeating the Lich King with my guild, Carpe Flux Capacitor, Mooglegem and I had a request. We wanted to see the great Titan complex of Ulduar. We had heard many stories from our fellow members who had fought against Yogg-Saron in Ulduar. Eventually our leader, Harley, yielded and took us back there. While Yogg-Saron had been defeated some time earlier, the Old God’s minions still held sway over parts of the complex. We managed to to drive them out. Brann Bronzebeard wrote to me soon after saying that his men found a drake that was likely an Iron Dwarf experiment. As they weren’t trained to ride such a creature, he saw fit to gift it to me as thanks for my help in Ulduar. Can you imagine that? A great dwarven hero gifting me such a magnificent creature as this rusted proto-drake? I was overjoyed.
Seriously, my guild did not want to return to Ulduar. As I mentioned earlier, I hit 80 when ICC was released, so I never got to see Ulduar. Mooglegem and I loved it! It’s so fantastic. I really wish I was raiding when it was current.
Runners up included Sylvanas’ Music Box (which I purchased from the AH because it’s awesome), the Runed Signet of the Kirin Tor (because Dalaran reminds me of home), the PVP trinket (regardless of which one because, come on, how could you go out without a PVP trinket?), my T10 as a whole, and Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love (which I won on our first LK kill).
Last week’s topic was proposed by Noahdeer.
“We all know of the Seven deadly sins (Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy and Gluttony) and we all succumb to aspects of them at one time or another, but is there one particular sin that affects you more than the others when you play World of Warcraft?
Are you a bit too prideful about your armor set? or Do you look upon someone with envy when they have a piece of armor that you don’t have yet?”
I enjoyed ReaperSA’s response on Mending and Mayhem. Like quite a few other people, he amusingly had to admit that he suffered from all of them. Noahdeer on BeMOP and Jstmel on MoMaR both felt quite gluttonous. We all suffer from that I think.
Next WoW novel set to focus on Vol’jin, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/13/12.
Yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes. (Please let Vol’jin kill Garrosh at the end of Mists.)
“Appear Offline” coming soon to Battle.net, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 9/20/12.
We’ll finally have some privacy on Battle.net!
No Greg, you’re missing point, TyphoonAndrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 9/20/12.
TyphoonAndrew responds to Ghostcrawler’s post in which he states that he believes players were expecting a big event instead of the Theramore’s Fall scenario. Nope, we were just expecting something coherent.
Spiritual Guidance: Guide to Mists of Pandaria discipline priests, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 9/19/12.
This could be important for me.
Breakfasts Topic: Do you use items from your guild bank?, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 9/19/12.
Lisa discusses how she’s never sure what she can take from the guild bank. I know that feeling.
No nerfs, no lockouts, no consumable restrictions for Challenge Mode dungeons, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/13/12.
Some explanations for Challenge Modes.
Why the NFL’s Chris Kluwe will always be @ChrisWarcraft on Twitter, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 9/14/12.
An interesting article about and interview with NFL player and WoW player Chris Kluwe.
The Endgame Reimagined, Mike Zadorojny, GuildWars2.com, 9/13/12 (via Massively).
An interesting look at ArenaNet’s idea of endgame.
RaF Mount For Five Bucks?, JD Kenada, Amateur Azerothian, 9/15/12.
Give this a read if you want to get the RaF mount for $5.
earthwormgem
Peter (Devee)
Kor'kron 501st 