Apr 30

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I was level 67, with about three bubbles (a little under 15%) into the next level. I had told a coworker that also plays WoW that “by the end of the day, I’ll be flying.”

Well, I hadn’t been to Blade’s Edge Mountains or Netherstorm yet. So, I did the beginning quests (10 or so) in BEM and then went to Area 52 and quested and ground my heart out. At 9:30, I dinged 68, teleported to Moonglade, got my spells (one in particular) and hearthed back to Shatt. First thing I did, of course, was run outside and hit the Flight Form button.

I know most people have a 70 already, or even multiple 70s, and as one friend of mine said, “Flying was so 7000g ago.” But it was cool, seeing as this was the first time I’d flown on my own (ie, not from a FP), and I’ve never had a character this high level.

It was a fun experience, but now it’s time to hit 70!

Apr 22

Everyone’s favorite Part Time Druid posted a list of the top 5 reasons he hates murlocs. I found the article extremely enjoyable, especially when talking about that infamous sound: “I truly wish I could do a good imitation of a Murloc noise, but I have no such skill. If your coffeemaker were taken over by the devil, I think it would sound similar.” Funny, and worth a peek.

Apr 22

I saw these little “quiz” results on The Hunter’s Mark and decided to take my own.

Based on your answers you are …

EASK

EASK players often live by the phrase ‘The journey is often more enjoyable than the destination.’ They are motivated by meeting the challenges of the world, but they are usually in no rush–because seeing the creatures and places of the world is even more fun.

Breakdown: Achiever 60.00%, Explorer 66.67%, Killer 13.33%, Socializer 60.00%

And the other one:

Based on your answers you are …

Creator-Strategist

This combination is also referred to as the Toymaker playstyle.

You are the go-to person for cool stuff. You enjoy understanding all of the nuances of the game, and want to leave their own imprint on it. They like to create things for games, both in and out of the environment. Inside games, they are crafters and city-builders; they might also make mods and skins for games.

I actually think they are pretty accurate. As for the first test, I love to discover new areas and learn things no one else knows; beyond that, I enjoy setting my own goals and working toward meeting them. WoW is more about the lore and the people than it is about the PvP, as well, so “Killer” being my lowest area is accurate as well. The second test also seems accurate to me. I have so many mods it’s not even funny, and if you have any question on game mechanics or the math, I either know or know where to look it up.

Check out the Bartle Test and the Online Gamer Playstyle Survey to get your own results.

Apr 21

A few guildies and good friends of mine decided to run Hellfire Ramparts, Blood Furnace, and maybe a couple other instances the other day. One of them is a feral druid that doesn’t PuG much, so I agreed to heal through it so he could practice tanking. I had some extra coin laying around (not much, but a little), so I decided I’d respec resto and see how it felt. I teleported to Moonglade and went over to the druid trainer, and after getting hit in the head with a large hammer and forgetting everything I ever knew about being a feral druid, I promptly turned into a tree, at which point my bar addon said “please insert spells here!”

So, after getting everything situated on my action bars, we head in to Blood Furnace. Not that they needed much healing (we were over geared and over level, for the most part), but healing as a tree druid rocks! I love all the healing over time spells; it reminds me of a friendly warlock, in a way, and Swiftmend is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

We did go out into Zangarmarsh in preparation for an Underbog run, and had to do some mob grinding, and it sucked big-time. I tried both fighting as a cat, which felt horribly, horribly wrong, and as a caster, which was okay (since healing gear has +damage on it too, now). But after we were done I went straight back and got bonked on the head again to forget the whole experience.

Healing as a druid feels very different than the healing I’ve done as a priest or paladin (I’ve only had minimal experiences healing as any of these three, but enough to tell the difference). I really like the way it feels, to be honest. I know I didn’t get the whole experience as I didn’t yet have Lifebloom, but it was fun none the less.

Apr 18

For fear of turning this blog into a druid blog (hey, she is my “main” right now, okay?) I’d like to take a minute to talk about why I love them so much.

In short, they’re awesome.

The long story is… well, longer. Read more… »

Apr 17

I posted on April 8th that I had just hit level 50 and gotten Mangle. In a fit of leveling frenzy I hit 58 not long after, and just before logging off last night I was looking at a level 61 druid with 25% (that’s 5 bubbles for you non-math folks) left to go until 62 and start getting the really fun spells every two levels. Maim, Lifebloom, Lacerate, and of course Flight Form are the highlights in this area.

Read more… »

Apr 11

WOW Insider posted yesterday that Wrath of the Lich King is in closed alpha testing. Although the news is all over the Internet, it’s not really all that exciting to me. I mean, sure, it may help define some sort of a time frame, but really, this is a standard part of the software development cycle–nothing to get all crazy about. Now, when open beta starts, then we can start getting excited!

Apr 8

I finally hit level 50 on my druid. First thing I did was hit the talent Mangle and drag it on top of Claw on my action bar, and tossed Claw out the window. Man it’s awesome! It does more damage, gives bleeds an extra 30% damage, and costs the same amount of energy (in Cat Form) as Claw! As one of our most beloved druids* would say,

MANGLE: CAT DURIDS LUV SUM MANGLE. IS NOT MAN ANGLE, MAYBE U THINK- IS GIRL ANGLE, LIEK CORELIEL

But seriously–even if I hadn’t prepared for it and went full feral so I’d get Mangle at level 50 (like when I used to have Furor, etc) I would have high-tailed it back to the trainer and respecced. Mangle is a truly awesome ability, and all feral druids would be crazy not to get it.

*I highly recommend you go check out this article. You will laugh.

Apr 4

Pugs tend to come in two varieties:  really great ones where everyone seems to be able to work together, and ones where exactly the opposite is true. And whether the reason is lower quality of gear, lack of skill, bad communication, or anything else, the majority (not necessarily overwhelmingly, but the majority) of the pugs most people experience are the latter.

I have had a few experiences that lead me to believe that there are, basically, two kinds of bad pugs:  the ones that are bad because people are ignorant, and those that are bad because people are stupid. One is doomed to failure while there is a chance for success with the other. I’m going to share two (true) stories that demonstrate the difference and what you can do about the one with hope.

Read more… »

Apr 3

My Items (assuming no one uses my name >.>)