A Day You Mustn't Miss!

November 23rd, 2004. Does the date ring a bell?

... well, it didn't with me, but then I'm no good with dates. Luckily, Blizzard is much more on top of things. :)

Happy 4th Birthday, World of Warcraft!

If you do nothing else to celebrate the anniversary of our glorious foray into Azeroth and Outlands, at least make sure that you take a second to log in. Just log in. Blizzard is giving us all an easy achievement and a wonderful little polar-bear pet.

I will love him and hug him and call him George!

Sacrum Particulae - 11 Easy Outlands Recipes That You Need - Part 2

When I think about content in World of Warcraft, I always put 5-man 'group play' on a higher tier than solo play. 'Higher' meaning 'harder', more difficult to initiate, coordinate, and execute. There are people for whom this is not necessarily the case, and I am honestly happy for you who can pop online and into an instance in five minutes. For me, getting a group - whether PuG or guild! - has always been an overall frustrating, time-consuming, and difficult process, the reasons for which are fodder for another day's discussion.

Suffice to say, when I think of the second half of the list that we began on Monday, it sticks in my mind as the hard half because the process of even getting to the mobs we need to kill (or the reputation we need to garner) is longer and less-straightforward. They are hidden behind swirling instance portals and an elusive smoke-screen of coordination that is commonly known as 'group balance.' PuG and guild channels can sometimes banish the smoke... and can sometimes fail to make a dent. It's the patience-requiring reality of 5-man game content.

Bah. Where's that gnomish contraption that spawns Tier5 warriors, again??

Thus, we're about to foray into a want-list that we all still share. I haven't gotten any of these recipes, myself. In fact, I haven't managed even one farming run since I first noted this list, last week. (Granted, at least part of that is because of the massive distraction that is the Shattered Sun Offensive and patch 2.4. It takes nothing less than brand-new environs, tasty lore-bits, blue-haired dragon-men, and beautiful cooperation between two previously-opposing factions* to temporarily drag me away from my devotion to all things alchemical. Even were that insufficient to distract me, every 70 I know spends all their non-raid time in Quel'Danas.) That isn't to say that I don't know the instances; just that I don't have direct experience with how little or much is required to get the drops we need, want, and simply demand for our alchemy screens. We're going to have to discover that particular sweet pain, together.

Personally, I can't wait!

Part 2 - Group Alchemy:

I've already alluded to the instancing requirement for these five recipes, but I should probably be more clear about what I mean. You will be running various dungeons for one of two reasons: either you need to kill instance mob X until you get your recipe to drop or you need to earn Y more faction reputation to hit rep level Z, where you will be able to purchase your recipe from the appropriate Quartermaster. Let's look at where you're going and why:

1. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Frost Protection Potion - farmed from Nexus-Prince Shaffar in the Mana-Tombs (Normal or Heroic).
   
   
   
   The Mobs: Mana-Tombs is the northmost of the Auchindoun instances, a place infested by the remnants of the catastrophic magic that destroyed the ancient Draenic city. It's also infested by ethereals seeking to harvest this rampant energy for fun and profit. In Normal mode, it is a level 64-66 instance that culminates in an encounter with our alchemy-friend, Nexus-Prince Shaffar, a rather arrogant fellow who doesn't seem to want to let you and your group clear the place out so the Consortium can steal his profit margin. Imagine that.
   
   You can run this instance on either Normal or Heroic mode for a chance to get your recipe drop, however it is worth noting that a Heroic run nets you a much higher drop rate. Heroic Nexus-Prince Shaffar weighs in at a 15-25% chance to drop our recipe while Normal Nexus-Prince Shaffar offers only 3-14%. You don't need an ethereal's keen nose for business to sniff out the surer deal, but you will definitely need a more powerful group.
   
   Fringe Benefits: Forgetting, for the moment, that instance runs in general offer all kinds of opportunities for gear upgrades, Mana-Tombs has a few benefits that will help you get your party together. First, drag your Enchanting and Blacksmithing friends along for their chances to get Formula: Enchant Boots - Fortitude from the Ethereal Priests and Plans: Swiftsteel Gloves from the Nexus Stalkers. Their recipes drop in both Normal and Heroic modes, so they have no excuse not to contribute to the farming effort. Second, kills in the Mana-Tombs are great ways to get Consortium reputation. Normal Mana-Tombs kills give rep up to Honored, and Heroic Mana-Tombs kills give rep up to Exalted. Their Quartermaster has all kinds of great goodies for your guild's tradeskillers - especially the Jewelcrafters, and each month they give out free gems, the quality of which increases with rep level. Even though they don't have any alchemy recipes to offer, you can always find uses for that monthly Bulging Sack of Gems.
   
   
2. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Fire Protection Potion - farmed from Nethermancer Sepethrea and Sunseeker Astromages (Normal or Heroic) in The Mechanar.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: The Mechanar is the southernmost and first wing of the Tempest Keep, an old Draenic temple that has been pre-empted by the most scientifically-inclined of Kael'thas' Sindorei followers. There are precisely 10 Sunseeker Astromages in The Mechanaar and precisely 1 Nethermancer Sepethrea, so with a drop rate that is 3-14% on both of them in Normal Mode and 25-50% on Nethermance Sepethrea in Heroic mode, it looks like a bit of a challenging recipe to grab. Whether Normal or Heroic, it is a level 70 dungeon.
   
   Fringe Benefits: Your friendly neighborhood Tailors are great people to convince to come on this particular set of farming runs, as the Mechanar is also known to drop Pattern: Arcanoweave Boots and Pattern: Arcanoweave Robe for their sewing pleasure. Kills here are also very valuable for their Sha'tar reputation, which is one of the 'big 3' factions with which every toon should make nice, no matter race, creed, color, tradeskill or sexual orientation. Mechanar kills will garner your reputation with them all the way through Exalted, so don't be shy about bribing your friends to come along. It's for their own good as well as yours.
   
   
3. The Recipe: Recipe: Ironshield Potion - farmed from Captain Skarloc (Normal and Heroic) in Old Hillsbrad Foothills.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: The timing on this particular instance is great, as it was a tough little cookie to crack on Heroic mode before patch 2.4 gave it a smack with the good old nerf bat. Now, you have two feasible options: look for a 3-14% drop rate in the level 66-68 Normal version of the instance or upgrade to the 25-50% drop rate in the level 70 Heroic version. In fact, it was also a tough little cookie to reach before 2.4, but with the introduction of a new teleport** to get you from the wilds of Outlands to the well-hidden Caverns of Time in Tanaris, the path to alchemical glory is a lot more friendly than it was last week. Either way, you're going to want to go say kind things to the Keepers of Time to get yourself started on this particular timeline-saving farming endeavor.
   
   Fringe Benefits: Durnholde is the instance to which you should be dragging your Leatherworking and Jewelcrafting friends, as they both stand to gain a nice craftable piece out of it. Because all Leatherworkers are pimps at heart, they will definitely want to get their Pattern: Stylin' Adventure Hat from the Durnholde Riflemen, which will complement their velvet suit and bling-bling quite nicely. Oh, and speaking of bling, the Design: Circle of Arcane Might is no cubic zirconia, itself. The Epoch Hunter drops it, so we can only assume he's a closet blinger, himself.
   
   Beyond those, we've got our usual phat lewtz and friendly faces - this time of the draconic variety. Durnholde (and all the Caverns of Time instances) gives reputation with the Keepers of Time all the way from Neutral to Exalted. Those confusing, non-linear time dragons have something for everyone, though the Engineers, Tailors, and Blacksmiths may feel left out of the recipe fun. Sorry, guys. Grab some great gear, instead, okay?
   
   
4. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Nature Protection Potion - purchased from Fedryen Swiftspear, Cenarion Expedition Quartermaster in Zangarmarsh. Exalted rep level.
   
   
   
   The Reputation: Cenarion Expedition rep comes primarily from instance runs and quests, bolstered here and there by some rep turn-in items ... that you get from the instances, anyway. Any of the Coilfang Reservoir dungeons will get you CE rep, however Normal mode on Slavepens and the Underbog will only get you as far as Honored. To reach Revered or Exalted, you will need to run the Steamvault or any of the three on Heroic mode.
   
   Fringe Benefits: The CE has no less than five Alchemy recipes to give to the people who work hard to become their bestest best new buds in the whole wide world. They also offer six Blacksmithing plans, an Engineering schematic, two Jewelcrafting designs, five Leatherworking patterns, two Enchanting patterns, a Tailoring recipe, and the best darn Bear-tanking weapon a babybear could ever want***. Look, if they aren't already Exalted with CE, they have no excuse not to come. Drag their butts along and get them some great phat lewtz, to go with your shiny, new potion.
   
   
5. The Recipe: Recipe: Elixir of Major Shadow Power - purchased from Nakodu, Lower City Quartermaster in Shattrath City. Revered rep level.
   
   
   
   The Reputation: Lower City reputation comes from a lower-level item turnin, quests, and - sensing a theme, here? - instance runs. Specifically, you will need kills from the other Auchindoun instances, Auchenai Crypts, Sethekk Halls, and the Shadow Labyrinth. Heroic runs will give you reputation up to Exalted, however if Normal instancing is more your speed, you will be limited to the Shadow Labs after you hit Honored. Learn2Heroic?
   
   Fringe Benefits: Like their CE cousins, the Lower City loot-handlers seem to love just about everyone. By the time one reaches Exalted, they are offering two Alchemy potions, four Jewelcrafting designs, a great Leatherworking pattern, two Enchanting formulae, a Tailoring pattern and a lot of great gear. That's not even mentioning the gear and rewards that can drop from the required instances on the way to Exalted.

There you have it.

Eleven great recipes and five new potential cauldrons, all yours for the taking. Now you know where to look, so even if you don't want to farm repeatedly for these recipes, you'll be aware of which opportunities might benefit your tradeskill. Shadow Labs for the 29th time might be just a bit more palatable if you know you stand to gain something very useful from it.

So, who has gotten the lucky drops? What other great recipes / rewards have you found out there? Does anyone else squee like an imploding cheerleader every time that pretty little scroll icon shows up in their loot window?? ^_^

* I always found it very sad that I couldn't be friends with both the Aldor and the Scryer, so their mutual effort as the Shattered Sun Offensive makes my carebear-fangirl-meter swing way over to Happy. :)
** Available at Revered with the Keepers of Time and accomplished by talking to an NPC in Shattrath City...
*** And, oh boy, does he want it! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!

Sacrum Particulae - 11 Easy Outlands* Recipes That You Need - Part 1

There are a few different types of players in World of Warcraft. Okay, maybe even more than 'a few'. You've got your AFKers, your Twinks, your PvE divas, your Farmin' Fools, your DPS-peeners, your Lootwh--... -lovers, your Carebears, your Roleplayers and a whole host of others.

Listing them (and defining the stereotypes) has been done by bigger and better bloggers than I. To great, amusing affect, I might add.

Today, however, is devoted to one of my favorite sub-classes of the Warcraftian race. Far from amassing wealth and garnering the uber uber l33t reputation that so many crave, these are the brave men and women who farm, farm, farm some more, and then still end up poor at the end of the day. In fact, they'll usually come out with less gold than they went in, and it's all for the sake of some elusive green, blue, purple or crazy consumable that you've never even heard of! Yes, I'm talking about the devoted Tradeskiller, that person who only comes to Heroic UB with you because she really, really needs another Primal Nether.

Specifically, we're here for the education and edification of those crafty courtesans of the chemical concoctions, those magnificent mixers of myriad mounds of marrows - Alchemists! Listen up, my fellow finders of non-ferrous fronds, because I'm about to tell you all about eleven great, rare(ish) Outlands recipes that you never knew you could have.

Do you have your gloves on and your safety goggles in place? Okay, then. Let's hit the scrolls.

Part 1 - Solo-Source:

The first half of this list are the recipes that can be farmed by killing non-Elite mobs in non-instanced Outlands environs. They're (relatively) fast, easy, and often come with some great farming side-benefits. Though you'll see some crazy low drop rates on sites like Thottbot and WoWHead, remember that these recipes only show up for an Alchemist that doesn't already know the potion. Realistically, you can expect to see something more like a ~5% drop rate on all of these solo-source recipes.

1. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Arcane Protection Potion - farmed from Vir'aani Arcanists at Oshu'gun in Nagrand.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: The first of the 6 Major Resistance Potions, this recipe is a relatively easy farm from the etherial casters that hang out all around the wreckage of Oshu'gun. These level 66-67 mobs specialize in Arcane magic, shooting you with Arcane Bolts and occasionally doing an annoying Blink to end up about 15 yards behind you. They have a maximum of 5000 hit points, so they go down very quickly against a level 70 toon.
   
   Fringe Benefits: The Arcanists and their local compatriots, the Vir'aani Raiders, drop some good cash and a metric butt-ton** of Netherweave Cloth. At 10-11 silver and 1-3 Nethercloth per kill, just one circuit around a boulder will net you about 2-3g. Now, add in a grey vendor item every 10 kills or so and a green every 15-20 kills, and you're making good money. But there's more. Vir'aani mobs have a chance to drop the Oshu'gun Crystal Powder Samples that the Halaani love with an unhealthy fervor, and all around the kill area are crystal spawns that you can loot for Oshu'gun Crystal Fragments. These are reputation items that you can turn in for Consortium rep from Neutral to Friendly.
   
   
2. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Holy Protection Potion - farmed from Abyssal Flamebringers at Forge Camp: Anger in Blade's Edge Mountains.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: The Major Holy Protection Potion is, ironically, farmed from demonic elementals in the southern Forge Camp on the Ogri'la Plateau. Now, first thing's first - in order to even reach this spawn location, you will need to either have a flying mount or get the rare, kind pansy goth emo mage to summon you there. I'm not sure that I recommend the trip through hell, personally.
   
   The Abyssal Flamebringers are scattered throughout the Forge Camp, interspersed with Vile Fire-souls. In what is probably not a stunning revelation, I'm going to tell you that they do a healthy dose of fire-element damage, first from a fire aura that tics for about 150 damage on a toon with negligible fire resistance and then from a ~3-second cast 'meteor' spell that will come crashing down on your head for about 800 damage. They do swing their meaty fists, too, but the melee damage is not going to break many people's heads (~2-300 against a cloth wearer).
   
   Most notably, however, these guys are completely immune to fire damage. If you're planning to bring a fire mage, like Livaeya, then you need to stop that right now. Masochist.
   
   Fringe Benefits: You won't get much in the way of non-recipe jollies from the Abyssal Flamebringers, but they do drop Apexis Shards. Ignore the place where WoWHead and its ilk mention Motes of Shadow. That is not true, any more, much to my eternal sorrow. However, if Motes are your goal, then you should definitely put some smack down on the other mobs that will be running around your Abyssals, the Vile Fire-souls. They drop Motes of Fire like a nub 2-Holy-Priest Arena team drops ratings. (That's a lot, okay?)
   
   Warning: This region can get pretty heavily farmed by daily questers killing all the demons in the area, so avoid it during high-traffic hours.
   
   
3. The Recipe: Recipe: Major Shadow Protection Potion - farmed from Shadow Council Warlocks at Legion Hold in Shadowmoon Valley.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: Oh, man. These mobs are a riot! The Shadow Council Warlocks ring three strange obelisks just behind the ramparts of Legion Hold (plus two patrollers, but who cares about them?!). There are about four per giant-phallic-symbol, and let me tell you... it's more than enough. These guys spawn like rabbits on crack with intravenous Viagra - I kid you not. Four to five toons can be farming these twelve little mobs, and not a single one will run out of fodder for his blades / spells. In fact, at times, you can barely grab your loot before you're being attacked by two new spawns. Now, add in the level 68-69 Elite that circles the area, and you're in for one wild farming ride.
   
   Fringe Benefits: Wild, but lucrative. Not only do the Warlocks drop about 11 silver and 1-3 Netherweave Cloth per kill, but they also have a great drop rate for Aldor reputation items. You can come out of a 45-minute farming session with around 50 Marks of Sargeras and 3-7 Fel Armaments. They're great rep if you need them, and great cash if you don't. Win-win makes me happy!
   
   Oh, but wait... these mobs don't drop just one measly recipe that you want, my fine fellow Alchemist...
   
   
4. The Recipe: Recipe: Fel Strength Elixir - farmed from Shadow Council Warlocks at Legion Hold in Shadowmoon Valley. Yes, again. I love efficiency, so go look at the list item above and do it all again and again until you get not one, but two great potion recipes.
   
   
5. The Recipe: Recipe: Fel Regeneration Potion - farmed from Deathforge Imps, Guardians, Tinkerers and Smiths at the Deathforge in Shadowmoon Valley.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: Well, with four mob types, you've got the luxury of picking and choosing who you kill. The guardians are your run-of-the-mill angry, orcish melee mobs. They seem to be allergic to huge, honking balls of fire, as Liv's spells flattened them very easily. Imps are fire-based casters with nice, low hit points. One Mind Blast crit sends the little buggers to demon'la or... whatever. The Tinkerers are Broken and the Smiths are those messed-up mechano-undead-demon guys that like to wander around with drills instead of hands. They tend to travel together in packs of three, so take that with whatever caution it deserves. Also, although I never tried it myself, I hear tell that the Tinkers are immune to Fear, if that's your particular flavor of crowd control.
   
   Fringe Benefits: These guys pretty much have all the glory of the Shadow Council Warlocks. They all drop around 10-12 silver, 1-3 Netherweave Cloth, and some of the Aldor rep items that we so love. They have identical percentage chances for these loots, apparently, so expect the same peripheral take that you got from the guys in Legion Hold. Finally, if you happen to have a friend who is a Blacksmith, bring them along for their own tradeskill loving, as the Deathforge Guardians have a good chance to drop the Plans: Khorium Pants.
   
   
6. The Recipe: Recipe: Fel Mana Potion - farmed from Eclipsion Spellbinders, Bloodwarders, Blood Knights, and Soldiers at Eclipsion Point in Shadowmoon Valley.
   
   
   
   The Mobs: In typical Bloodelf fashion, these guys are soul-sucking anti-paladins, alarmingly not-quite-wussy casters, and melee with an annoying tendency to eat your mana. They are all level 68-70 and not terribly tough, but with a lot of wanderers and some mounted units, they can be a little bit of a pain. The spell damage they can deal is mainly arcane, but as long as they aren't bugged out, they shouldn't pose a serious danger to a level 70 toon.
   
   Fringe Benefits: Well, if the Aldor rep items weren't your preferred flavor, then I think you'll like these guys and gals a lot more. The Eclipsion mobs drop Sunfury Signets and Arcane Tomes for Scryer reputation in addition to the usual 1-3 Netherweave Cloth and about 14-16 silver. If you're a skinner, you can also take a violent paw to the Eclipsion Dragonhawks that dot the area. They drop a great rarespawn leatherworking item, Wind Scales, that you can send to your favorite druid or just sell on the Auction House for 60g (or more) per stack.

Crazy, right? Great stuff? I know my heart gets all aflutter every time one of these drops. Yes, I am that much of a Tradeskilling geek; and, yes, Rhoelyn is going to get each and every one of these. In fact, I farmed up most of them in a few hours, last week. The only one she doesn't have, yet, is the Fel Mana Potion, and that's because I just found it when doing the research for this article. It's really, truly not painful. If you're not a killing class, then lure a friend over with some of the fringe benefits and get them to lend their DPS to your cause. There's more than enough to go around at any of these locations.

By the way, do you know why you want most of these potions, my dear Alchemist? Beyond their innate awesomesauce, five of the six Major Arcane Resistance Potions have a good chance to teach you the related Cauldrons. Can you resist a two-for-one deal like this?

That's the first half of the list. Next time, I'll show you the recipes that you can get with a group and an instance run. Sure, it's not as easy to get going, but the fringe benefits certainly go up in magnitude. Until then!

* Sorry, but that means you'll need to have The Burning Crusade expansion pack for this to be useful to you.
** That's a European unit of measure. Don't worry if you haven't heard of it before. *deadpan* o_o

Impromptu Link Love - Tankalt!

Hm. It's not Thursday. I hadn't intended to write anything for the blog, today, but when I saw this great tanking post, I found that I just couldn't resist.

Tankalt!, a very new addition to the blogosphere, has a great post enumerating the "5 Ways to Break Your Tank." Rhese has been tanking for all of a few weeks, so I'm a complete tank newb. Even so, I have already seen every annoying, irritating and frustrating point on this list.*

In fact, now that I think about it, I've probably been the guilty non-tank party on a few of these in the past, too. Um... oops.

Your tank will love you if you go, read and take Zagan's advice with you to your next raid or instance. I promise. Now, scamper off and do me proud!

* Sure enough, every time it happened, I thought I'd done something wrong, too. Zagan knows his fellow tanks so well!

Intro: Rhese, the Toon

Because all good things come in threes, here is the third and final character introduction. Meet my other significant other*: Rhese!

./who Rhese of Proudmoore

(c) Blizzard Entertainment, 2007

Allegiance: Alliance
Race: Nightelf
Class: Druid, Feral
0 / 44 / 17
Played: 15 days
(over 2 years)
Level: 70
Tradeskills: Skinning (375)
Leatherworking (362)
Raid Experience: Karazhan

Overview: Some people will probably chuckle when they hear about the origins of the dashing, daring and devilishly handsome Rhese. The non-roleplayers will snicker that little, self-conscious "oh, you're one of those" snicker that carries with it a hint of acknowledgment that gamers in glass houses shouldn't throw sharpening stones.** But I'm at ease with my origins, my baser instincts, if you wish, so I can admit that Rhese was born out of a story.

Yep. The toon was created because I had a tale wrapped around Rhoelyn's lithe form, and it demanded something that didn't yet exist: her brother. He needed to be a druid, to look like our lovely little heroine, have a young face and a wickedly wonderful grin, and generally... well, he needed to have his name reserved on the server. So back in the day, looooooong before he ever got any play time, a meaty nightelf with white hair and bright eyes plunked his pale-purple butt down on the character selection screen beside Rhoelyn.

.... and there he sat, chilling at level 0.

After a long-bass time in game, though, the ennui started to set in. I got more than a little tired of the same key sequences***, even despite having two different sets! (Rhoelyn and Livaeya ring any bells?). Not yet ready to retire my login screen, but sick to death of the same-old-shusplodey-face-melty, I turned to the dusty little boy waiting on my login screen.

Of course, he was never much of a newb. By the time dear Rhese met our old friend, Conservator Ilthalaine, I like to think that the person driving him was far enough beyond that particular moniker that even a level 1 toon was immune to newbishness. (Though, to be fair, he did spend a decent amount of time jumping his funky nightelven jump and dancing his funky nightelven male dance in those first few levels. Hey, it is pretty different, you know...) In fact, through Teldrassil and Darkshore, Wetlands and Duskwood, we pretty much encountered nothing amazing or new except how very much I loved my little baby druid.

Attack Power! Agility! Strength! Leather armor! Prowl! Panthers and Cheetahs and Bears, oh my!

Playing Rhese was a thing of beauty, my solace from the pains of raiding, guild responsibilities, grinding, farming, and otherwise being a priest and mage with connections. If I wanted to hide, I went to play my lowbie druid, who was just too darn weak to be called upon for anything more than the occasional Heavy Quiver for someone's hunter alt. It may sound irresponsible, but the game has to stay fun if you want to keep playing it. There are times when raiding mains and fighting eDrama llamas make World of Warcraft more like work than play.

Thus, Rhese crawled his way from 1-70 in fits and starts. He began his climb in the days before the Burning Crusade, but he hadn't even made 60 when the Portal was opened. Now, he is the proud owner of the Master's Key. He is getting ready to enter Medihv's stronghold and let some ghosts try to beat him through his shiny, Clefthoof-strong armor.

The Gyst: Rhese of Proudmoore is the third World of Warcraft toon in this blog whose experiences and abilities translate directly to game play. He's got a unique role when compared to the others, as he is both a) not a squishy little cloth-wearer and b) not a caster. He is also going to offer a lot of learning and growing lessons, being relatively 'young' and inexperienced in the game. Rhese is the third and final 70th-level toon you'll be hearing from in PoC, so look for him to share observations on the path to becoming a tank, mauling for fun and profit, PvP and the joys of shape-shifting, and much more.

* The one wearing the ring WITHOUT stats is my #1. Or maybe that ring is +1337 to Happiness for life? Awww... Heart!

** Geeks calling geeks geeky = pot and kettle, my friends. That's why we learn to laugh at ourselves as well as others. ;)

*** 1, 1, Q, F, turn, 1, 3, Z. Does anyone else feel like there are a lot of times when their WoW experience boils down to a single sequence of keys, repeated ad infinitum? Guh.

Intro: Livaeya the Toon

This isn't a simple blog with a simple focus, and I'm not a simple player with a simple outlook on World of Warcraft. It's not enough to play one class and do it well. For me, the true game is in the understanding and the experience of each mode of play - each class and role and capability. It's a tough goal to meet in a game that's as time-intensive as WoW is. Don't worry, though, I'm not about to subject you to the full brunt of my alt army.

However, there are still two 'voices' to whom I do want to introduce you. Today is a glance at one of them, the mage whose conversations will usually revolve around exploding something or populating the world with a few more muton. Meet Livaeya.

./who Livaeya of Proudmoore

(c) Blizzard Entertainment, 2007

Allegiance: Alliance
Race: Human
Class: Mage, Fire
10 / 48 / 3
Played: 49 days
(over 4 years)
Level: 70
Tradeskills: Mining (375)
Jewelcrafting (356)
Raid Experience: Molten Core, Onyxia, Blackwing Lair, Zul'Gurub, Ahn'Qiraj, Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and more

Overview:

Imagine yourself in the early days of the World of Warcraft Closed Beta Test. The Dwarf Beta* has just recently ended, and your character creation screen has blossomed into a veritable smorgasbord of options. Suddenly, your toon is allowed to be over 3ft tall and doesn't have to have mounds of facial hair. S/he can be blue, green, yellow or purple, and where there was one faction, now there are two. What would you do?

Well, you might just pick the most visually appealing model (in your humble opinion, of course) and roll yourself a pretty, svelt human female whose pert behind is going to wash away the blocky dwarven butt that's burned into your retinas. You might name her Livaeya and cry with joy every day for a week while she sashays around the world, blowing things up in a most un-dwarf-like manner.

Thus began our favorite girly-mage, who has survived unchanged since those earliest days. Her intelligent eyes and messy brown updo made such a lasting impression that she, like Rhoelyn, transitioned the beta-test wipe to the live realms to blast her way to 60 and then to 70.

In fact, she and Rhoelyn have been partners in crime for a very long time thanks to the glory of separate accounts. Their in-game experiences are similar, and you may as well hop back to the previous post if you want to know Livaeya's resume of raid experience. She's been everywhere that Rhoelyn has, and there have even been a few times when they were raiding together**. They make quite a dynamite pair, though Liv feels a little short next to her tall, purple friend. :P

Within the pervue of the mage, Livaeya has very broad experience with specs and modus operandi. In her day, she has spent time in each tree of her talents, so she knows the blast power of Fire, the mob control and massive crits of Ice, and the mental stamina of Arcane. She used to love tossing Slows around like candy and POM-Polymorphing Tauren in Arathi Basin. Now, she's enjoying the simple mechanic of building up Improved Scorch debuffs and then whaling away with Fireballs. Soon, I'm sure she'll just have to try out the builds based on Patch 2.3's Icy Veins, but for now she's pretty content where she is: burning ghosts to a cinder in Karazhan and vaporizing Gronn drool as a public service in Gruul's lair.

The Gyst: Livaeya of Proudmoore is another World of Warcraft toon whose experiences and abilities translate directly to game play. She'll be sharing the soothing grey theme with Rhoelyn, bringing the mage's perspective and experiences into discussions of game mechanics, strategies, play styles, PvP and all kinds of WoW experiences. There's one more voice to add to the mix, however.

To be continued, again ...

* The internet seems to have lost a record of this event, but basically, the very earliest closed beta-test was called the Dwarf Beta. The only playable race was ... well, c'mon. You don't even need me to say it.

** 40-man raids were so much more forgiving.

Intro: Rhoelyn, the Toon

Because everyone likes to know what the bejoolies is going on, let's continue getting to know the different themes and types of posts you'll find here. Meet the charcoal grey theme:

./who Rhoelyn of Proudmoore

(c) Blizzard Entertainment, 2007

Allegiance: Alliance
Race: Nightelf
Class: Priest, Shadow
14 / 0 / 47
Played: 58 days
(over 3 years)
Level: 70
Tradeskills: Herbalism (375)
Alchemy (375)
Raid Experience: Molten Core, Onyxia, Blackwing Lair, Zul'Gurub, Ahn'Qiraj, Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and more

Overview:

The scene is Teldrassil, sometime roughly in the middle of the World of Warcraft Closed Beta Test. One moment, Conservator Ilthalaine was standing alone on a grassy hillside. The next, he was staring at the game's latest newb, a silver-haired young priest wearing a shiny, green 'Rhoelyn' tag over her head.

Five minutes later, after she'd floundered around, learning the basics of moving and clicking and controlling the camera, he gave her the first quest on what would become a long and illustrious career in Azeroth... and beyond.

Baby Rhoelyn (or Rhoelyn I, as I like to call her) loved all the typical newb things. She danced her funky nightelven dance. She jumped her funky nightelven jump. She Smited some boars and imps and panthers, and over time, she managed to be less newb and more kena. (I'd say 'face melty', but keep in mind that face melting came along much later.) She figured out what Shield was for. She practiced her Heals and made funky resurrection macros. She made it all the way from level 1 to level 52... and then Beta was over, and she was wiped from the servers like so much errant data. But somewhere, on the other side of the computer screen, the knowledge she had earned of how to NOT be a newb priest endured!

Thus, when the live game began and people were scrambling to be the first to login, Ilthalaine found himself once more staring at a purple-skinned toon wearing a shiny 'Rhoelyn' tag. Only this time, he knew better than to underestimate his newest student. Armed with 52 levels of unproveable experience, Big Rhoelyn (Rhoelyn II) blasted her way through Shadowglen, then Teldrassil, and then an Azeroth that she had already defeated, stopping only to read every single in-game book she found. :P

As a result, Rhoelyn was hardly the first toon to 60... more like toon #198,204 to make the level cap. Approximately. She trailed her friends, but they were all kind and amused by her witty /g chatter. When she was level-appropriate, they helped her through all kinds of group activities, and she learned all about both solo and party play. She turned out to be passingly good at whatever needed doing, fun to play with, dedicated to her guild and her friends, and just generally a nice toon to have around. (Only a few people she's come across would disagree, and that's really because they wore their loincloths too tightly.)

Before the Burning Crusade came, Rhoelyn had the opportunity to get a lot of raid play time in with her guild(s). She had leveled with the Shadow talents, melting faces (once face-melting was invented) with evil joy, but she quickly switched to Holy in order to save her errant friends' lives in Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, Onyxia and more. Those experiences taught her a lot, not just about being a great priest, but also about people and devotion and the life cycle of guilds. She carried all of this into the next level grind when Azeroth gave way to Outlands in the advent of the Burning Crusade.

Now, having fought her way up to level 70, she resides primarily in Shattrath City where she devotes herself to her current guild, . She has returned to a Shadow talent spec, and lends her face-melting power to the guild's second Karazhan group, which she helps her good friend, Ultarn, to lead. Outside of raid time, she can usually be found pursuing some futile attempt to earn enough gold for her epic flying mount, gleefully mixing Alchemy potions, or farming for herbs so that she can resume gleefully mixing Alchemy potions. She takes great joy in learning about her fellow adventurers, including tips, tricks and abilities for classes not her own.

The Gyst: Rhoelyn of Proudmoore is the World of Warcraft toon whose experiences and abilities translate directly to game play. Journal entries in soothing grey will be discussions of game mechanics, strategies, play styles, PvP and all kinds of practical advice for the people who sit in front of a priest of their own. Here is where you will find class-related ways to improve your play, but if you think the only 'voice' you'll hear from is Rhoelyn's, then you might be in for a surprise.

To be continued ...