Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
Sometimes it’s nice to just sit in the rain and enjoy nature. It’s too bad we forgot our brews.
wow
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Wrathion is an interesting character, and I’ve been dying to see more of his legendary quest line. Unfortunately, I’ve been stuck for a few weeks now. Sure, I have a ton of Sigils of Power, but that last Sigil of Wisdom just didn’t want to drop.
This weekend my final Sigil of Wisdom dropped for me at the end of Terrace of Endless Spring. Wrathion sent me right back into the raid again to defeat the Sha of Fear for a second time in a row, but it was worth it. While I had already seen Wrathion’s actions and dialogue when he creates the gem, it was great seeing him do it for me. I think it felt powerful, and I love the line, “Make no mistake: the Black Dragonflight lives on!”
Wrathion proceeded with a dialogue about what it means to be in the Horde. “Is it an instrument of vengeance, hellbent to carve out a future for its people? Is it a refuge for those who need shelter, a commonwealth of the downtroddon, built for mutual support? Or is it an alliance of convenience, a confederacy of unlikely partners free to pursue their own agendas?” He brings up great questions. Of course, the answer is simple. Yes. Yes, it is all those things. He then spoke of valor before tasking me to grind reputation with him off Alliance forces in Krasarang Wilds and to earn 6000 valor points. Well, the end of February should be fun!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
You know Mooglegem loves yaks, right? She wanted us to take this screenshot with the yak family.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
Mooglegem wanted to make sure everyone saw her playing on her yak. She loves yaks.
Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s first kill of Gara’jal the Spiritbinder, we one shot the Spirit Kings! We had never even attempted this boss before ever (because we had just killed Gara’jal for the first time). It was definitely a good night! No loot dropped for me, but I’m happy anyways!
After our one shot, we went to try Elegon. We wiped twice on the trash. Apparently trash is more difficult than bosses. We got one attempt in on Elegon before we had to call it, but next week should be great!
Mooglegem and I were late to the raid because she had to work overtime. We didn’t make it online until 8:05 or so even though the raid was supposed to start at 7:00. On top of that, one member had to leave at 9:00. That means our normal 3 hours was cut down to 55 minutes. I’m amazed we still made some progress!
Realization, Anna, Too Many Annas, 1/9/13.
I should have posted this last week. I’m in agreement with a lot of this. I don’t have time to do everything Blizzard wants me to do, and I miss the idea of finishing everything I needed to do for the week and just being done.
Know Your Lore: Hands drenched in blood, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 1/13/13.
A fantastic look at the lore behind the Blood elves and Lor’themar Theron. I’ve been really fascinated with the Blood elves recently, so I was very excited to see that Anne wrote this!
Stormwind and Orgrimmar get repaired, somewhat, on the patch 5.2 PTR, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/10/13
Title says it all. I’m excited about this!
Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.
Good to know for priests!
Patch 5.2 valor gear not tied to dailies, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/14/13.
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
Patch 5.2 PTR: New notes from Ghostcrawler on tier 15 bonuses, other balance concerns, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 1/15/13.
Might be good info. Then again, things might change.
Patch 5.2: No flying mounts in the new zone, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.
Flying does feel like skipping content, so I’m glad about this.
Direhorn hunter pet in patch 5.2 is the triceratops we’ve been wanting, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.
I need a hunter. Now.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
With the Dominance Offensive complete, I’m going to miss my friend Tak-tak here who used to fill me in the story in case I forgot.
Mooglegem and I finished the Dominance Offensive recently. Getting a new storyline, non-repeatable quest every two days of dailies is a whole lot better than the faction reputations that launched with Mists of Pandaria. As I worked on my Klaxxi reputation, I only got a break from the monotony when my reputation level changed. With the Dominance Offensive, I looked forward to the dailies because I wanted to see where the story went. I hope that dailies in the future follow the Dominance Offensive model.
I took a lot of screenshots along the way, so I thought I’d go through them. Landfall starts with Garrosh landing in the Krasarang Wilds and leading the Dominance Offensive in an attempt to conquer take control of Pandaria. He doesn’t seem to want to forcibly take it from the pandaren, but he definitely wants to keep it away from the Alliance. He brings tauren, Blood elf, and goblin with him and his orcs but distrusts the Forsaken and Darkspear. When Vol’jin follows after being ordered not to come to Pandaria, Garrosh sends him on a mission with the Kor’kron. This is really a secret mission for the Kor’kron to slay Vol’jin. Ultimately they fail as Vol’jin clings to life while the player heroes return, pretending that the deed was done.
Vol’jin gives players his hearthstone, which players then take to Thrall. Learning something is wrong, Thrall escorts the heroes to the Echo Isles where they discover that Garrosh has ordered martial law and is treating the Darkspear as prisoners under the watch of Kor’kron. When the Kor’kron explain that they will not stop at Thrall’s request, Thrall and the heroes slay the Kor’kron, and Thrall stays in the Echo Isles to protect the remaining Darkspear.
Garrosh travels across Pandaria with Malkorok, former Blackrock member, and Ishi. He’s intrigued by the mogu’s power, especially their ability to create warriors. Garrosh orders Lor’themar Theron, leader of the Blood elves, to find out more about the mogu’s powers. After Garrosh orders Blood elves to an area without warning them about the mogu present in the area, Lor’themar Theron further questions Garrosh’s rule. He remarks that with the Horde not valuing Blood elf life (just as the Alliance treated his people at the end of presence in the Alliance), perhaps it’s time to rethink their stay in the Horde and to consider old alliance. Baine Bloodhoof arrives on Pandaria as well and appears to help Garrosh. He doesn’t really agree. In fact, he’s in communication with Vol’jin but chooses to stay close to Garrosh.
A Sha-related artifact is found, and Garrosh uses it to empower his soldiers. The warriors can’t control is and end up driven mad. In this picture, a Sha-touched mindbender battles a Sha-corrupted Horde soldier. After more pushing by Garrosh, Fanlyr Silverthorn, of the Reliquary (and likely the Sunreavers) discovered information about the Divine Bell, an artifact capable of empowering warriors. Its location was eventually discovered, but the Alliance beat the Horde to it and teleported it to Darnassus.
Fanlyr teleports Horde heroes to Darnassus and magically cloaks them. He urges them to remain hidden, telling the heroes that should Jaina Proudmoore discover the Sunreavers’ actions there could be dire consequences. The Divine Bell is found and teleported to Silvermoon.
Unfortunately, Jaina does discover the actions of the Sunreavers and exiles them from Dalaran. Any Sunreavers she discovers are attacked and imprisoned. Horde heroes are sent to Dalaran and meet with Grand Magister Rommath. They evacuate as many Sunreavers as they can, slay Alliance soldiers stationed in Dalaran, and free the Sunreaver Dragonhawks so that escape will be possible.
Heroes search the city for Aethas Sunreaver, leader of the Sunreavers. He’s discovered imprisoned in the Violet Citadel. After freeing him, he makes an escape with the heroes.
Grand Magister Rommath, Aethas Sunreaver, and the Horde heroes escape through the sewers of Dalaran and jump out of a pipe, landing on the Sunreaver Dragonhawks below. In this picture, you can see Mooglegem still falling. (Don’t worry; She lands on a Dragonhawk just fine.)
In Silvermoon, Lor’themar Theron learns of the happenings in Dalaran. After angrily throwing a bench, he welcomes the Sunreavers to Silvermoon, and the Sunreavers join the ranks of the Magisters. Lor’themar Theron remarks that the Alliance’s actions have only pushed the Blood elves back further into Garrosh’s Horde.
Back in Pandaria, Garrosh prepares to use the Divine Bell. While clearly wielding the power of the Sha, Garrosh doesn’t care. He rings the bell, his Kor’kron and Ishi are corrupted by Sha.
Anduin attempts to stop Garrosh from using the bell, but it’s too late. As the corruption spreads, Anduin helps the Horde heroes defeat the corrupted soldiers who are not able to control their power. Garrosh seems to believe that if a person is strong enough, they can control the power.
Anduin uses the Harmonic Mallet to stop the effects of the Divine Bell. Garrosh, furious, strikes the Divine Bell, shattering it and burying Anduin, presumed dead by the Horde.
And then Horde heroes are given mounts. I’m sure Anduin lives, but I don’t actually know the Operation: Shieldwall story. I’m considering watching it on YouTube, but it’d be nice to stay in the dark like I should in character. Regardless, the Dominance Offensive was some of the best story-telling Blizzard’s done with WoW. I look forward to further content like this and can’t wait to see what plays out with the faction leaders. Lor’themar Theron finally took action, and I loved learning more about the Blood elves. I’m sure I’ll learn more in the next patch!
Goodnight, Sweet Warrior, wolfgangcat, WoW Misadventures, 12/23/12.
A final farewell.
Guestpost by Garrosh Hellscrem for Furtive Father Winter, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 12/31/12.
A fantastic guest post by the writer of the Warchief’s Command Board.
Age Old Question: Farm or Progression, Matticus, World of Matticus, 1/8/13.
It’s a tough question, but at least they’re in a position to be facing it.
Know Your Lore: Missed opportunities of 2012 Part 1, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 1/9/13.
Deathwing, the Dragon Soul, Kul Tiras, and more.
The Pet Bank Thesis, JD Kenada, Amateur Azerothian, 12/27/12.
Can you make money by buying and selling pets across servers?
Patch 5.2 PTR: Transmogrification restrictions relaxed, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 1/3/13.
It looks like we’ll finally be able to transmogrify weapons into other weapon types.
Ghostcrawler tells 8 year old how to be a game designer, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 1/9/13.
This is a long one.
Loot is the carrot, not getting loot is the stick, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 12/21/12.
A discussion of the fact that we not getting loot drives us.
Around Azeroth: Won’t you guide my slaying tonight?, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 12/20/12.
Those are a lot of reindeer.
LFR.
It’s almost always full of wipes, jerks, and waiting for spots to fill. I did have an interesting run last week though. There was one person who was particularly arrogant and bad. He continually called himself number one despite never being anywhere near the top of the chart. In fact, he made a lot of mistakes, pulled early, and was a huge problem. I’ll just call him… “Rotdik.” Luckily, Blizzard has given me the skills to deal with these people when I don’t want to raid with them.
I stood in the pheromones and watched my health tick down. When it was pretty low and Rotdik’s still nearly full, I used Void Shift to swap health with him. Normally one of the other healers would just heal him back to full, right? Wrong, because I used Leap of Faith to pull him into the pheromones when he was a tick away from death. At full health, I simply walked out while he took the tick and died.
Problem solved. I love my class.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
One of my Christmas gifts from Mooglegem was this Heart of the Aspects pet. I may have overfed him a little in my raid to get him to grow. Thanks, Mooglegem!
This weekend, Mooglegem and I became exalted with the Klaxxi. I enjoyed seeing their story unfold, but I was also very glad to put it behind us. I was very happy with it for a while, actually, but eventually it just got so repetitive. Once I’d done every daily 10 times, how exciting could it be to see it again? If you continue reading, there are some slight spoilers, but I’ll avoid the “big reveal.”
It was cool to see the story culminate in a fight between the Klaxxi and the queen’s forces. It was leading to it, and I was afraid Blizzard would neglect to show it to us. It was never explicitly stated as far as I can tell, but I wonder if the fight outside is why there aren’t Klaxxi with us in the Heart of Fear. We’re the representatives of the Klaxxi pushing inside while the rest of them hold back the bulk of the her forces outside.
I wonder if Blizzard knows they need to keep these reputation grinds more exciting? The Klaxxi was interesting, yes, but it was also about three times too long. You know what they could do to improve it? They could give me more non-daily quests that progress the story, say once every two days or so. Oh, yeah, they did that with Dominance Offensive. The Dominance Offensive is quite the grind as well, but I enjoy seeing the story play out as often as it does.
And now it’s time to get started with the Golden Lotus.
Yesterday (by the time this is posted) I saw two packages sitting outside my house from Amazon. I glanced at the label, saw my roommate’s name, and brought them in for them. It wasn’t until I was setting them down that I noticed that the second one was actually addressed to me! Of course, I hadn’t ordered anything, so I assumed Mooglegem had shipped something to my name and address. I set it aside in my room and went about my day.
Later she told me that she didn’t order anything. I thought it was strange. That’s when she said “oh, the Secret Santa!” She was right (at least I assume). I still don’t know who my Secret Santa was, but he bought me the World of Warcraft Monopoly game! I can’t wait to play it. It even has instructions for a one-hour version that should help me find people to play with me.
Thanks, Secret Santa!
Look! I got Lumpy! He’s a cute little guy. Happy Winter Veil everybody!
(As a side note, I spent hours looking for a knit Christmas sweater with Christmas trees, snowman, or something similar on it this past weekend. I couldn’t find any. Why is it easier to find a sweater in WoW than in real life?)
Bizmo’s Brawlpub & The Brawlers Guild, Pugnacious Priest, 12/17/12.
A fantastic account of what it’s like to be in the Brawlers Guild. A really good read!
Jin’ya & the Sha, Cymre, Bubbles of Mischief, 12/19/12.
I finally learned why my Mindbender looks like a little Sha! In case you don’t know, check out her post for more info and to check out her new loot.
Murdering animals for 5.1 reputation, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 12/19/12.
If you’re working on the new 5.1 factions, make sure you’re doing the optional quests!
Reputation in review: The Dominance Offensive, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 12/16/12.
Here’s a good review of the The Dominance Offensive.
Student artist’s Darkmoon carousel stuns Blizzard, earns internship, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 12/13/12.
Title says it all
Why the Burning Crusade didn’t suck, Alex Ziebart, WoW Insider, 12/14/12.
Last week we learned why BC sucked. Now we learn why it didn’t.
Last night we managed to kill Feng the Accursed! He went down without too much trouble, and we had time to spare! One person had to leave, and we didn’t have someone to fill the spot, so he switched to LFR. We played a different sort of game there. Once we recognized that dying was best because it meant you didn’t have to do anything, I just spammed heals on guildies to keep them alive despite their best efforts.
Fun night.
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
When Mooglegem saw this, she exclaimed “that tombstone is Ryu!” It does sort of look like that!
While doing my Klaxxi dailies the other day, I noticed this amusing conversation. This kind of thing really brings the game world alive.
Rik’kal the Dissector: That is quite an impressive beast you have there, Manipulator. Very intriguing.
Kaz’tik the Manipulator: No.
Rik’kal the Dissector: All those years in stasis followed by sudden, rapid growth.
Kaz’tik the Manipulator: Do not even ask.
Rik’kal the Dissector: I am just saying… I bet his genes tell quite a story…
Kaz’tik the Manipulator: And I am just saying, Dissector, that you do not appear to possess any resistance to sonic manipulation.
Kaz’tik the Manipulator: How would you like to suddenly become “intrigued” by your own thorax? I bet your skilled hands could perform a self-vivisection in mere seconds if they were properly compelled.
Rik’kal the Dissector: Point taken.
Rep Grinding with the Joneses, Bravetank, 11/20/12.
A fantastic parody of what it’s like to grind reputation.
Blizzard calls for Christmas craft, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 12/11/12.
Time to step it up, crafters.
Getting the Most Out of Disc and Spirit Shell, Derevka, Tales of a Priest, 11/28/12.
A disc priest that’s not using Spirit Shell is not a good disc priest.
Battle Pet Ability Guide, ReversionLFM, Looking For More, 12/5/12.
When ReversionLFM couldn’t find an easy to read ability guide for Pet Battles, he made one.
What raids will we see in patch 5.2?, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 12/12/12.
Zandalar Island? A mogu island? An underground mogu stronghold? Something else? Lots of speculation here.
Are rogues a dying class?, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 12/11/12.
Rogues in sharp decline? Locks being played more?
Challenge Modes could be coming to older dungeons, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 12/10/12.
I’d like to say this would be really cool, but I’ve yet to do a Challenge Mode.
Anduin Wrynn broke my heart, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 11/15/12.
After everything they’d been through, Anduin acts like he doesn’t even know Dawn Moore!
Grandpappy Frostheim on Why Burning Crusade Sucked, Brian Wood, WoW Insider, 12/13/12.
Keep your nostalgia in check.
Lon’li Guju, Reputation Grind, 11/21/12.
His look at the Lonely George tribute.
Boo-Boo Number Three, Cymre, Bubbles of Mischief, 11/23/12.
Cymre attempt to trick her friend with a port to Old Dalaran.
Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Alliance, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/18/12.
Why does she have to call us dummies?!
Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Horde, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/25/12.
How is this Act I still?
Know Your Lore TFH: The origins of the pandaren, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 11/21/12.
What’s the relation between pandaren of Pandaria, the pandaren of Northrend, and the furbolg?
Know Your Lore: The Yaungol, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 12/12/12.
A nice recap of their history.
Know Your Lore TFH: Something is wrong, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 12/5/12.
The timeline is wrong if the Horde-Alliance conflict released the Sha.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The seventh Sha, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 12/9/12.
Building on the “Something is wrong” KYL, Stickney speculates about the seventh Sha.
Around Azeroth: Cub scouts, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 12/5/12.
Let’s all be pandaren cubs!
WoW Archivist: How forum trolls broke a CM, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 11/16/12.
An amusing story.
Gok’lokk’s Shell brings beauty to Pandaria, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/20/12.
Now you can reenact the Birth of Venus!
Frolicking merrily with Martar the Not-So-Smart, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/23/12.
Because you’ve always wanted a gnoll sidekick.
Patch 5.1: Treant Form now combustible, Chase Hasbrouck, WoW Insider, 11/28/12.
Why would we want to set our trees on fire?
Death knight Mionee solos Madness of Deathwing, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 12/9/12.
I guess we all knew this was coming eventually.
Last night went decently. We downed the Stone Guard very quickly, which was only our second kill. It was also the first for which Mooglegem was present, so I’m glad she got some personal progression. We put in some good attempts on Feng the Accursed, but we couldn’t kill him. We got him under 20% but didn’t have time to kill him. I’m confident that we will very soon though. Assuming the same people show up for our raid Thursday, I think we’ll get him then.
Our problems mostly came from learning the fight – determining when to use CDs and how to place abilities. For example, we had issues with the fires being too close, barrier placement, usage of CDs during the fires, and Feng running through fires on the transition to phase three. However, we worked through most of them.
After the raid, we killed the Sha of Anger. Unfortunately, neither Mooglegem nor I received loot, but a guildie did. This was also the first time Mooglegem got to fight the Sha of Anger, so I’d say it was a good night for her.
Here’s to Thursday!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
For a Dragonflight that’s generally evil, a black dragon can still look nice against a beautiful background.
Every week, Blog Azeroth proposes a Shared Topic for World of Warcraft bloggers to discuss. This week’s topic was proposed by Noahdeer of Be MOP.
Winter Veil is around the corner and it’s time to sit upon Greatfather Winter’s lap and answer the important question, “What do you want for Winter Veil?” Is it that expensive grand expedition yak? a nice transmog custom outfit? or a Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock?
What is on your Winter Veil wishlist?
I have to admit, this was actually last week’s Shared Topic. Whoops.
What do I want for Winter Veil? Well, there are two things I check the Auction House. I want a Tabard of the Lightbringer and a Spectral Tiger.
Icecrown Citadel is still the only tier that I raided consistently from start to finish. It was at the peak of my time investment in World of Warcraft, so it’s important in my memory. I still wear T10 because it seems so valorous and priestly, and I think the Tabard of the Lightbringer would go well with it!
As for the Spectral Tiger? Well, it looks amazing. While I like the Swift and regular, I think I like Swift Spectral Tiger a little less only because of the armor.
Hurry up, Greatfather Winter! Bring me my gifts!
The last 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?
You can read the responses here!
Well, I had a little more progression this week – kind of. We decided to three-man ICC 10. After the first five bosses or so, we decided to switch it to heroic mode. It was totally doable. On Sindragosa, a fourth person joined us. Previously I was 11/12 ICC10H, but now I’m 12/12! It was nice to finally earn Bane of the Fallen King too!
I also got a nice drop – Valius, Gavel of the Lightbringer. I was already transmogged into T10, so this went very well. It was a good night!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op, even if there isn’t much to say about it!
While clearing out the Scarlet Monastery with Bulleto, I got covered in blood. Try as I might, I couldn’t get it to wash off. Bulleto, however, seemed to be enjoying shower time.
Last night we didn’t have enough DPS to raid, so we decided to do LFR as a group. After clearing Guardians of Mogu’shan and the Vault of Mysteries like I have the past few weeks, I would have had to stop because my ilvl wasn’t quite 470. However, my guild leader purchased the Inscribed Red Fan off-hand for me. It’s a huge jump, so I was able to continue doing LFR. We completed the Dread Approach, which was fun, and then moved on to Nightmare of Shek’zeer. While working on Amber-Shaper Un’sok, we all disconnected. After not being able to get back into the game for a few minutes, I decided it was time to sleep.
It was fun getting to see the new raid and downing four new bosses. Tonight I’ll finish it up and move on to the Terrace of Endless Spring!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
Mooglegem and I attempt to train at the Tian Monastery. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a monk. I just kept yelling!
On Thursday Mooglegem and I got back from our Hawaiian Thanksgiving vacation just in time for Carpe Flux Capacitor’s first raid night of the expansion! Unfortunately, Moogle had to leave on a business trip the next day, so she didn’t raid. I, however, had the opportunity. Boy, I really missed it.
It was a short raid night, but we managed to defeat the Stone Guard! It was a fun battle. No loot dropped for me this time, but I love progression more than loot!
On Saturday, I tried the Sha of Anger for the first time. It was sweet! Well, the fight was okay, but winning Guardian Serpent Handwraps was awesome! That’s two raid bosses down this expansion in the span of three days! Here’s hoping we continue progressing this week!
Every once in a while I can’t resist a photo op!
I had to swerve to miss them!
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.
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?)
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.
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.
earthwormgem
Peter (Devee)
Kor'kron 501st 