12.29.2008

freakin' FINALLY

Guess who's 80?

That's right! Why yes, I did respec shadow. More on that later.

Now I can sleep!

12.22.2008

old school screenshot of the week: december 22

[Moonshrine Sanctum, Blackfathom Deeps]

12.15.2008

old school screenshot of the week: december 15

[Auchindoun, Terokkar Forest, Outland]

12.14.2008

...or i'm psychic?

The Blizzard gods have answered my prayers!

In yesterday's post, I off-handedly mentioned how I would love to have my very own pack mule to carry around my bank items. Well...according to a recent mmo-champion post, this is actually something that will be implemented in an upcoming patch:

Pack Mule ?
  • Pack Mule -- Summons a pack mule, giving you access to any bank items for 3 min. The mule may only be summoned once.
  • Summon Faithful Mule -- Summons your faithful pack mule, giving you access to any bank items for 3 min.

This is awesome news! I wonder how people will be able to acquire these, though. Rep rewards? Or something really uber-expensive? There isn't anything much else in that post to explain it, so I guess we'll just have to find out.

There was something else in the upcoming patch notes that caught my eye, though. First, the good:

Priest

Yay, minor woot? Sadly, the Blizzard gods are as fickle as they are generous. They will just as soon smite you as shower you with blessings, I soon found out:
  • Glyph of Dispel Magic -- Your Dispel Magic spell also heals your target for 3% of maximum health. (Down from 6%)
Oh, LAME. Well, I guess that's not so bad.
...Wait, what?
6 second cooldown

6 second cooldown?!

Major freaking QQ!

So I guess Blizz doesn't want us to rely too much on this spell. I won't know for sure how much of an impact this'll make until I hit 80 and start venturing into Naxxramas. However, it may not seem like a long time, but when everyone in your group is taking big hits six seconds can seem like an eternity.

I can't say I don't appreciate a challenge, but still: damn you, Blizz, for making me work harder! (I kid! But only a little, because I'm still QQ-ing.)

More on the recently released patch notes later.

12.13.2008

a good night for leveling

I am a fantastically slow leveler. I don't think that my decision to level holy is the main reason why, I think I just really am that slow. But I'm getting there! I went on a questing spree in Borean Tundra last night and finally hit 74!

Shut up, yes I know I should be 80 right now. WHATEVER DUDES. Just direct your attention to the following picspam!


First I went to explore Wyrmrest Temple and met the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza. I love what you've done with your horns, Alex.


When I first heard about the fabled turtle boats of the Kalu'ak, I knew that I had to see them for myself. And they were everything I ever dreamed of and more. Come on. Giant turtles are immediately For The Win. Also, lol @ the giant [Carrot on a Stick].


I love the Tuskarr. They seem like they'd be the most awesome faction to hang out with.


I kinda wish that I could have my own pack mule following me around all the time. Then I'd never have to say, "Oh crap, guys, I left the quest item in the bank!"


Say what you will about adult murlocs, but baby murlocs are friggin' adorable. (Taken during the quest Oh Noes, the Tadpoles!)


No words, really. (Taken during the quest Surrender...Not!)


Chillin' with the penguins. (/groan)


The D.E.H.T.A quests made me a little sad. I was tempted to not turn in this quest, just so I would be able to continue saving the mammoth calves. Poor little guys!


As I found out, though, it's all good. This little guy will take care of them.



After doing this quest, I kind of want my own mammoth mount now.


Can I keep him?

After I finally hit 74 on Illythia last night, I decided to take a break and level my druid since she was halfway to 46 anyway.


First things first: Off to get a Shave and a Haircut! Sadly, her new hairstyle didn't last long. It was cute, but her original hairdo is where it's at...yo.

Okay! Nooby story time! So I was off in the Badlands doing the questing thang when I decided to finish up the Tremors of the Earth questline. I had just hit 46.

Now, I did not read the Wowhead comments on this quest very thoroughly, just enough so that I knew where to find the items that I needed to complete it. Unfortunately I completely skipped over the part that said that once I turned it in, two HUGE, HONKIN' DRAGONS would IMMEDIATELY spawn with the urge to DESTROY. But more on that later.

So I walked up to the Seal of the Earth, ready to turn in all the jewels needed to...to do what? I'm not sure what I was thinking would happen at the time. I turned in the jewels, sorta stepped back for a moment, thinking I was done, and then...wait, where'd those dragons come from...AHHHH WHAT THE HELL?!

A quick glance told me that the two drakes were, thankfully, non-elites. But both of them were level 50. Both of them had just decimated the poor undead mage who had been sitting nearby at half-health. (Sorry, dude!) And now both of them were after me. GASP.

I thought I was done for, but I decided that I wouldn't go down without a fight.

And it was a long, long fight, spent mostly in bear form. And I had to blow all my cooldowns. And I went out of mana from having to heal myself up so much, but a quick Innervate fixed that.

AND THEN: VICTORY!


That's right!


I was pretty damn proud of myself. And I even scored this: [Blazewind Breastplate].

(Now that I think of it, if I had read all of the comments, I probably would have been like "Oh, wow, two level 50s? I can wait a couple levels until I attempt this so I don't get owned," and then I wouldn't have gotten my shiny new armor.)

Bonus: LOL CHAT.

12.09.2008

in-game flirting vs. guild princess-ing it up

ROUND ONE: FIGHT!

This may get a little rant-y, FYI.

We've all had our own run-ins with in-game flirting, I'm sure. Sometimes you meet someone in-game, and they either assume that you're a girl IRL for various reasons, and they start acting pretty friendly towards you - offer to help you out with things in-game, send you gold or loot, run your alts through instances, etc. For the most part, in-game flirting can be quite innocuous, as long as both people leave it at that and don't expect anything more from it. Although it's not something I do in-game, I can understand why people would find it fun, and I don't think that it's wrong for them to enjoy a bit of attention or to hit on their in-game friends. But there's a thin line to walk here, and it can end badly pretty quickly. (Personally, I'd hate it if someone thought I needed extra help in-game because I have girl-bits, but that's just me.)

First, in-game flirting can progress into skeevy territory fast. My own experience with this kind of thing is tame, I suppose; the worst thing that happened to me was when this guy I had been questing with when I was still leveling my mage in the 20-29 range, out of nowhere, asked me if I was 18 yet. Of course, I stopped talking to him after that. For the record, I was 18, but good God, what a creepy question to ask someone. Also for the record, I hadn't been flirting with him at all, which made that question particularly perplexing - was he being nice to me because he expected that I would give "something" back to him, so he decided to play it safe and make sure I was legal first? Who knows. All I know is that me being a girl IRL does not make it cool for guys in-game to assume that I will want to flirt with them (or anything else, seriously).

(ETA: There was another incident that I totally forgot about until now, and it was after this that I really stopped correcting people who referred to me as "he": this hunter figured out that I was a girl and actually said, within an hour of meeting me, that he wished he could fly out to where I lived to see me. Ummmmmmmmmm. I was not flirting with him, either.)

After this incident I didn't correct people who referred to me as "he" or "bro" (lol) anymore (unless I'm interacting with a guildie, because I will probably interact with them more often anyway), mostly because I've found it's easier when people assume you're a guy. Yeah, I know. It sucks that I have to pretend I'm a guy in order to get people to leave me alone, and I shouldn't have to do this to get respect. But it definitely is easier to deal that way.

As for people from my guild knowing that I'm a girl: my guildies have always been very respectful and kind. They didn't send me loot or gold (which I'm thankful for), and while they were much less crude when they talked to me than when they talked with each other (didn't want to offend my delicate sensibilities, I guess), they treated me very much like I was just a normal member of the guild - which is what I wanted. And the vast majority of girls that I know in-game are like this (off topic: I totally just typed "mast vajority" first. What the hell.) .

And then there are guild princesses - people who take in-game flirting and go way over the line with it. We all know who they are, they don't need much description. I've been in my fair share of guilds and fortunately, I've run into very few guild princesses, but still the brief contact was enough to drive me into a fury. There was one girl who was in an old guild of mine who posted a bunch of pictures of herself in the "Post your picture!" thread on our forums - of course there's nothing wrong with this, but she also included a picture of her ass in very skimpy panties. There was also another girl (same guild) who posted a picture of herself, topless, but with her arm covering her boobs.

Now. As I've said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with posting pictures of yourself. I don't have anything against girls who do this. Yes, it is fun to see what your guildies look like in real life. It's also nice to be able to attach a face to the character. But honestly, what is the point of posting your ass or your boobs? All I can think of is that it gets you loads of male attention (which it did), guaranteed raid spots (which they did), and loot (also did). I have been in a couple raids with one of these girls, and let me say right now that it was not her skill as a player that got her that raid spot in AQ20.

I know that some people justify this behavior by saying, "Who cares, it's just a game, I'll do what I want so I can get my shiny purples," but this (non)reasoning sucks, to say the least. It's important to not forget that there are real people behind the characters, and when you screw them over or mess with their heads (and this can go both ways, I'm not pinning all the blame on girls or all on boys) the consequences can be pretty devastating. I have been in a guild that pretty much fell apart not only because of a very influential princess, but because everyone else could not deal with her properly.

So why do some guilds tolerate this kind of behavior? Needless to say, it's totally unfair for other players who actually are skilled at the game to be skipped over for someone with little to no skill who happened to post a sexy picture. People play this game for fun, and it's obviously the opposite of fun when someone sashays in and gets the loot or raid spot that you worked your ass off for.

So: to the one of you who is reading this right now, what are your experiences with in-game flirting and guild princesses? How do your guilds deal with these kinds of things? How do you deal with them?

a shameless plug


I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to my boyfriend, who just (as in the last hour) started his own WoW-themed blog here:

Rain of Fire!

As you can probably guess, it's about paladins.

...Kidding! It's about druids.

But seriously, it's about warlocks. (And maybe druids sometimes).

He is an experienced raider and knows the game well, so it will be interesting to see what he has to say about our beloved time-sink.

In conclusion, check it out.

12.08.2008

old school screenshot of the week: december 8

[The Hinterlands, Eastern Kingdoms]

12.07.2008

but does he speak with a french accent?

The other night I decided to take a break from priesting and logged on my mage to get her the Shop Smart, Shop Pet...Smart achievement. I was at 43/50 pets needed, so I flew to the Stormspire to pick up a few of the pets that I hadn't acquired yet. That bumped me up to 49/50. Just one more! I thought, But where do I get the last one? Then I remembered: I never bought the [Prairie Dog Whistle]. I ported to Thunder Bluff quick as I could, got my prairie dog, and then:


Success! Isn't he cute? The only thing that would make this better is a green cloud of stink emanating from his tail that gives surrounding players a "STANKY" debuff.

I also really enjoyed the letter that accompanied the [Reeking Pet Carrier] in the mail:

Stinker's New Home

I've heard how well you take care of our furry friends. I hope you don't mind but I must get Stinker a new home. He just refuses to play nice with others.

Please make sure to feed him twice a day. And um... he has a thing for black cats.

--Breanni
If only there was a way to summon Stinker and my Bombay at once...

Also, can I say how much I love the Dalaran pet store?



Because I do.


A lot.


(Here is Adenine's Warcraft Pets profile. Some of the pets listed are actually Illythia's or Mayari's, but I'm just too lazy too make separate profiles for them.)

12.01.2008

11.30.2008

from northrend with love

So far, my opinion on Wrath of the Lich King: EPIC. Yes, Blizz did a remarkably awesome job with the new expansion. Currently my priest is sitting at 72 but I'm in no hurry to level. I'm taking my time soaking up the scenery, reading the quest logs, and just enjoying the game in general. Everything just feels so different from Burning Crusade, and although that expansion was great this one just blows it out of the water entirely.

Anyway, picspam!

November 23, 2008 was WoW's 4th Anniversary. I hope everyone logged on to get their cute-as-a-button polar bear cub!

Anyone else catch this reference to American Gothic? (Found in the Vengeance Landing Inn.)

Of course, I couldn't resist hopping on the death knight bandwagon. Originally my death knight was going to be a draenei on the same server as my druid, but I couldn't wait until I leveled Mayari to 55 so I went and deleted my level 13 blood elf paladin, Thalestris, and remade her into a knight of chaos and destruction. The val'kyr are amazingly badass - I love their character design.

A couple weeks ago, some alliance raid killed our beloved Thrall. /cry So a large group of young death knights was stuck waiting forever for him to respawn so that he could tell the guards to stop spitting and throwing rotten fruit at us, dammit.

This is the sole reason I want to level tailoring on my mage. This right here. Also, is it weird that every time I look at screenshots of magic carpets, I get "A Whole New World" stuck in my head? Please tell me I am not alone here. (Taken during the quest "Magic Carpet Ride" in Borean Tundra.)

The battle tanks are also an freaking epic addition to the game. I mean, seriously...who doesn't want to single-handedly obliterate a large number of Scourge minions with a Horde Tank of Death?

I don't think I need a caption to explain how great this is.

This was my first jaunt into Azjol-Nerub. Have I mentioned that I hate spiders? Because I really do. And seeing this badboy up on my screen did not improve my opinion of them. At first sight, I actually scooted my chair away from my desk and "eep"-ed out loud. Good job giving me the creepy-crawlies, Blizz.

Speaking of instances, I'm still trying to figure out the mechanics of healing and mana conservation, post-downranking era. I've been having to drink a lot more often now, even after trash pulls. You can imagine that this gets annoying fast. The instances themselves are not difficult to heal, however, though I have had a few times (in Utgarde Keep, for one) when I almost had a heart attack healing my death knight tank friend, who took quite large damage spikes far too often - leaving me OOM and slightly shaken.

So far, my favorite boss fight has to be Grand Magus Telestra from the Nexus. Circle of Healing is love in this encounter, particularly when she casts Gravity Well. Take that, you silly mage!

One more, because the scenery in this game is absolutely gorgeous: Howling Fjord.

11.15.2008

new ui: done!

...For now.

on sexy addons

Last night I spent the better part of an hour and a half fixing up my UI. I'd say the results are well worth the time:

Here's the breakdown (and links to their pages on Curse):


  1. Elkano's BuffBars
  2. Prat 3.0
  3. Omen Threat Meter
  4. Bartender 4
  5. Recount Damage Meter
  6. Pitbull
  7. Quartz
  8. Outfitter
  9. SexyMap (truly lives up to its name!)
  10. Decursive
  11. Scrolling Combat Text
Not shown:

11.13.2008

belated obligatory hallow's end screenshot post, and my druid

As I have not yet acquired my own copy of Wrath, and will not be acquiring one until tomorrow morning, I've decided to plaster this blog with MOAR screenshots, this time from the Hallow's End world event. I put together an in-game costume for Illythia; this year she went as my favorite Alliance character, Lady Jaina Proudmoore. Of course, she had to go visit Thrall after she got all dolled up:


Her costume consisted of:

Sadly, I was only able to get the Hallowed Be Thy Name achievement on one of my characters, and just barely (damn you, [Tooth Pick]), but I think that her new title suits her well, don't you?


Also, since at the moment I can't visit Northrend, I've been occupying myself with leveling a new character: my druid, Mayari.

Now, let me just state right now: I'm a Horde girl, through and through, but...I couldn't help it, I just made her as an alt to mess around with one day, and then--


Yeah. She's level 44 now. This is the highest I have ever been able to get an Alliance character, and well, I have to admit...I heart her. Druids are a blast to play! They're way different from what I've been used to (namely, clothies and casters). I love cat form, I love bear tanking, I love being able to swim faster than everyone else (and breathe underwater, hah!), and I can't wait until I get instant-cast epic flying. Hell. Yes.

That's right, I'm taking her to 80.

Anyway, I'm off to level in relative peace since pretty much everyone and their grandmother are either lagging up Northrend or the Ebon Hold. (This doesn't mean that I don't wish I was there lagging it up with them. Launch night FTW!) Hopefully my next post will find its way to you from the wintry landscapes of the north.

Oh, and - here's Adenine, [Orb of Deception] equipped, flaunting the spoils she got from Blizzcon:


Happy leveling, everyone!

11.12.2008

the calm before the storm breaks...

I'm long overdue for an update, but whatever. Here we go!

So, as we all know, Wrath of the Lich King hits tomorrow. What have I been doing up until now? Well, mostly school, but we try not to speak of those things here. I was fortunate enough to participate in the beta for the expansion. Unfortunately, due to that thing that we try not to speak of here, I was unable to do any instancing or leveling during my stint as a beta tester, and everyone already knows about all about the 51-point talents since patch 3.0, so basically I was a useless beta tester. /cry

Oh, but I had fun though! And I come bearing beautiful screenshots (thanks to the premade druid I copied over):





















So very excited.

In other, less exciting news, I went with a 14/47/0 spec for my priest. Desperate Prayer has saved my ass plenty of times, while Holy Nova, which I never bothered speccing into before, is loads of fun to spam (just like Arcane Explosion!).

Oh, and the spell I named this blog for? Nonexistent. So here is a short tribute: Touch of Weakness, you may have been pretty ineffective, but I always made sure to put you up whenever I could in hopes that Consume Magic (another well-missed spell) would eat you up as opposed to other, more useful buffs...I will miss you, old friend.

Next time: I'm updating from Northrend!