Random Screenshot Night

I think I need to show that our guild is caring and thinks of everyone... so here, have a few random screenshots.

Exhibit the number one: A sock puppet.

See, I get to play adds tank on the lich king fight. So I'm all alone in my corner of the platform with just stinking horrors and a ghoul or two. So my lovely guild put a sock puppet down next to me to keep me company. *snif* I really appreciate it, guys.

Exhibit the number two: Our deathknight tank.

He always looks big and mean and scary, so to cheer him up on the Algalon fight - he got shiny bunny ears. Doesn't he look lovely with them?

Exhibit the number three: Our warlock for the day.

He told the lich king (in a stern voice, I might add) that he'd be draining his soul as punishment for his misdeeds. Well done, says I!

If I were bored...

I'd probably play and blow something up with fireballs - but as both Pilf and Jakkru grabbed the list from Sorry Caps, I felt compelled to play, too.

So without further rambling (in the preamble anyway), the list:

1. Raider, farmer, PvPer, or altoholic?

A little bit of raider and altoholic, I suppose. Unlike my wife, I do have a proper "main" which I enjoy playing. And I tend to do all. I did all the quests, tried to play all the raids (since I play seriously - Molten Core was not my time of gaming) and rather enjoy the warrior tanking. I also have a vast variety of alts. Deathknight, Paladin, Druid, Shaman, Mage, Warlock, and Rogue at maximum level, several others lagging behind. I do just enjoy the leveling experience as well - although not in a healthy and sane fashion (read: playing for the quests), but rather for the success rate. Oh look! Another level!

2. Favorite raid or dungeon?

Used to be Karazhan, but I would by now shift that to Ulduar. Icecrown Citadel is actually quite fun as well, but Ulduar combines masterfully the comedy of Brann Bronzebeard with the tentacled horror from the past. The variety of ways to get into a hard-mode fight is also just brilliant - some are easy to start (beat a timer, press the red button), some require planning (so we're beating up the little guys first today, right?) and some are just flashing laser fun with fire and smoke and bombs and wheeeee....
3. Number one choice for a new playable race?

I'm not terribly bothered with new races, I have to admit. I'd like to see Murlocs, though. Nothing like charging the enemy with a fearless Mrgllbrgllhrgllll.

4. Class you suck the most at?

Difficult question again. From the leveling experience it would apparently be hunter. I find it slow and boring and cumbersome. From a raiding perspective it would have to be anything healerish. I am okay as long as nothing unexpected happens, but loose my cool when dps start blowing up and there is raidwide damage and fire and smoke and bombs and whaaaaaa....
5. Original UI or modded UI?

Slightly modded. I am personally actually a fan of Blizzards attempts to bring everything into the fold - but some things I cannot live without. My current version has more room at the top and bottom for bars and boxes and information and the game is a little compressed in the middle. Still - the layout is pretty close to the original.
6. Profession you've never levelled past 200?

None, I have to say. My lowest currently is enchanting at only 430, gaining slowly. I never found much use for it maxxed in the guild - someone is always around. I did want it high enough to disenchant my own green drops, so now is the time to get it up to Cataclysm levels, while dust is cheap and plentyful.

7. Favorite flying mount?

Hmm. I like the blue dragonhawk and the purple dragon. I love the red protodrake because of all the work that went into it. My favourite would still be one I do not have: The Ironbound Protodrake from Ulduar 25 achievements. Working on it, I'm sure. Well... if I can find another 25 mad people. Our server actually runs a weekly weekend run for those achievements, but it's always booked!
8. Nozdormu -- friend or foe, you figure?

Double answer. Personally I think the cooler storyline would be him to be evil. Using us (that's the heroesTM) to steer history into a direction he deems right towards a goal that might spell the apocalypse for the world. The bronze dragonflight is not exactly known for their gentle treatment of Azeroth. I mean... we get hired to help the orcs invade Azeroth and the Lich King become the Lich King.

However, in game lore I have to grudgingly accept that Blizzard probably intends Nozdormu to be good. As with all (harebrained) plots lately, we were shown the Lich King actually needs to be present (and there always has to be one - oh yes!) and such.

So I suppose I'd like him to be foe, I suspect he'll be friend.
9. Useless item you have in your bank that you'll never get rid of?

Never is a long time. I currently hang on to several vanity items - tabards and trinkets, mainly. I still have my voodoo gnomes and my housekeeping army, for instance. If bank space ever were truly rare, I'd be quite willing to get rid of them, though.
10. Most expensive thing you've ever bought?

I think two single items are almost tied there. The Tundra Travellers Mammoth and the Pillars of Might. The pants cost me 9 saronite + fluff (at a time when the saronites were still going around 1800 gold or so?), the mammoth just money. Overall, the Blue Dragonhawk comes out easily on top, though. I mean - this little flappy is the reason I bought 100 mounts in the first place.
11. Favorite starting area?

Bloodelfie area by far. I prefer it to the Draenei actually - and the two new ones are just better designed, better streamlined and a more pleasant experience than the old world ones. I am really looking forward to the new starting areas with Cataclysm, however.

12. Inane goal you worked hardest to achieve?

Did I mention the blue dragonhawk? Yeah? Well I personally think Loremaster is actually worse. So Loremaster wins the race.

13. Darion Mograine VS Tirion Fordring, gloves off -- winner is?

It would have to be good old Mograine. Tirion rambles too much (should I learn something from this sentence?). Sure - he can break iceblocks and shatter swords, but by the time he actually stopped talking and got around to working, Darion would have beaten him soundly.
14. Game music or your own playlist?

Game music actually - and not turned up very much. I actually rely a lot on audio clues during gaming and I need to hear when an opponent parries or when I miss my smash-in-the-face. I get ridiculed for that a lot - feel free to join in *grin*.
15. Particular option or setting that you always toggle on a new alt/server?

All quickbars set to show, profanity filter to off and auto-self-cast on. Then we go from there. Usually the next steps are setting up the mess of addons that has piled up in the centre of the screen and sort them around a little.
16. Highest amount of levels gained in one play session?

I couldn't say, but more than 10. Of course - playing from 1 to 11 only takes about 2 hours, so a new alt can probably reach level 16 to 20 in one play session. I can't say I kept track, though.
17. Thing you'd most like to experience or see in-game?

I'd love to be there for a server-first raid kill. Going in without knowing the tactics in advance, making them up on the fly and getting a boss down. However, I am well aware of the limitations to my reflexes and skill, so that'll stay a dream.

18. Worst PuG moment?

Nothing truly memorable. I do leave PUGs now and then, usually when I'm in a bad mood anyway and someone manages to upset me. It's not worth the pain and I'd rather wait for 30 minutes or do something else. However, I don't hold grudges for long and I can't really remember anything truly horrid.
19. Best dungeon/raid moment?

At the moment our second Lich King kill. We had worked for a long while, the first kill was a bit lucky (2 people dead, I think) and I wasn't sure we'd be able to repeat that. We got the bugger again with only three wipes and always ended up in the last phase (well.. the one with the vile spirits anyway) every attempt. It just shows that we actually do understand that encounter now and it was not just a lucky fluke.
20. Worst quest ever that you totally hate doing?

If I hate it, I won't do it. There are no quests that are required to be done any more. However, there were a few I did not enjoy much. In no particular order:

- The escort following the "Flute of Xavaric" drop in Felwood used to be a lot longer - and the tree was pvp flagged. Try escorting a helpless NPC for 20 minutes through a "contested" area? Bleh. Made much simpler lately.
- The Margol the Rager questline for the key to the Searing Gorge. This one was practially required in the olden days (when SG had no flightpoint) and it was a lot of senseless running back and forth.
- The necklace in Uldaman. Allegedly my bile for Uldaman is never unfunny, and this is one of the bloody reasons!

21. First thing you do when you hit 80?

Hearth to town and get my training usually. Not like those weird people who just log off.
22. Character (of yours) you would RP as if you had to?

Probably Snack, my fine warrior. However, I find that a quest/raid based game is not as well designed for roleplaying as a more open (sandbox) game - I never particularily felt like roleplaying in WoW. Ultima Online and Star Wars: Galaxies were better suited for that.
23. Keyboard, mouse, or both for using abilities?

Both. Movement and important abilities are keyboard (because it's quicker), but the sheer amount of buttons my warrior needs cannot be fit in reach of my left hand. I have to click a few of the rare abilities and I also use the mouse for targetting (click-targetting and mouseover).

24. Thottbot or WoWhead?

Wowhead since it became available. Back in the days I used to use Thottbot (rarely) and Allakhazam (more frequently). Both are slow and horrible compared to the newer databases on the market, I thought.
25. Acronym you've seen in chat but don't understand?

Several. My favourite being IDD (and yes, Jakkru thankfully explained that to me today). I also had trouble with PMSL.
26. Plot point you'd like to see resolved someday?

Without reading a book you mean? Why does King Varian the horribly annoying have such a burning hatered for the horde? The same horde that was incredibly supportive in driving the demonic minions out of Azeroth. The guys we are at war against for no good reason. Actually: the war between Horde and Alliance would be even more interesting. Why?
27. Biggest thing you're looking forward to in Cataclysm?

I'm easy to please: New stuff! I want to be able to leap at my enemies and smite their heads with thunder, I want to fly my horse around Kalimdor and rain fire and devastation down on unsuspecting zevrah and I am really looking forward to more quests.

The overhaul of the graphics system is also a nice thing to look forward to. It's beginning to look a bit old-fashioned by now.
28. Guild event you'd like to see?

Chicken. All druids meet up on the flight platform in Dalaran and leap off the edge. Whoever deploys flight form closest to the ground wins. Bonus points for Boomkins who switch into owl-shape before going splat.

Most amusing anecdote to the above: When I suggested this in guild I got a lot of positive feedback. Two people tried it at once. One of them forgot she was on her Deathknight at the time, the other flew to the Violet Citadel spire and jumped. Know what you get close to the ground in Dalaran when you want to switch into flight form? "You cannot use that here" *evil grin*

2-0 for the floor so far.
29. Level range you hate being in?

1-20 because it's slow, you can't access half the abilities and some classes are just horrid in that range. I extend this to -40 for enhancement shamans. 78-79 is also not a big favourite of mine.
30. Favorite map to quest in?
 
I've seen that reply twice already, but yes. Nagrand is great. Although the starter areas in Lord of the Rings are rather amazing too.
 

Is that a good looking dwarf tree or what?

The Frost Lord Cometh!

As you probably all remember, Fire Festival has started tonight at midnight. Now I'm luckily done with the torch juggling, but there are still lots of other things to do. I'm sure some of the more well-known pages will have a guide up (edit: yes they do.), so I'll just throw in a quick photo.

Remember that it is now possible to choose Ahune the Frost Lord (Slave Pens in Zangarmarsh) from the Dungeon Finder.

In case you wipe - the entrance to the graveyard is in the centre of the lake, dive down between the three pipes going under water, swim through the open pipe, turn left inside and follow the lefthand wall until you are back in the Slave Pens.

I may be a dirty old man...

There is a lot more to be said about „understanding things differently“ than it first may appear. However, I do not question the validity of Tams recent post. What I might want to add to the discussion is that _my own_ dirty mind sometimes causes a misunderstanding or two.


I should probably add that the following conversation was largely held over vent, where I make a lot more language mistakes … meh… too much explanation, not enough fun. Let me start again with less rambling.

The setting: Obsidian Sanctum on a Thursday night around 10 minutes past midnight. The guild had just finished their day in ICC and decided to quickly mop up the weekly raid quest. We zoned in, walked around and killed some trash and did Sartharion 25 with three drakes up the proper way. Three tanks, lots of healers, killing the drakes (each before the next one landed), mopping up the adds, heading into portals and finally kicking a dragon into the lava. All went smoothly and we didn’t even have any deaths at the end.

Loot dropped and was merrily disenchanted. And of course there was a drake. Rolling commenced and two raiders both got a 96. At which point our lovely guildmaster and raidleader said “Okay, one of them will get head, the other one will get tail and we’re done!”

Now, I know I’m a dirty old man, but did that sound like she just offered an “a mount for a mount” deal to you?

Of course a part of my dirty mind knew there was a titanium seal involved in there, but still…

I think I need to get out more. Or go to Silvermoon City more or something.

Spellpower Deathknight Update

Well. Seeing as it was ages since I last posted, why not start with something useless to get back into the swing of things.

I posted about my mini-project of leveling a deathknight in spellpower robes (and with spellpower trinkets) for fun and profit, didn't I? Turns out that now I am level 62, I actually found the nerve to go in to a few random instances.

Note 1: So far, each group has actually noticed my cloth robes and shoulders.

Note 2: No one has even bothered checking the trinkets - which is a shame, I could have used the haste ones instead.

The comments were not as bad as I thought, though. I'll post a few pictures below. I hope I edited out all the names - didn't mean to actually make anyone look bad *grin*.

The resulting dps-checking actually lead to .. err.. the second deathknight being happy about winning an all-greed roll on spellpower gear. We got a convert to the cult of spellpower DKs! (And before there are heart attacks - no, he didn't actually equip it).

The second group was more on the "WTF" side of things (thanks Calli for that Image). Not so much into the "you're a noob" line of reasoning.

I actually felt bad by that time, so I did explain the whole "I want to see how many comments I get" concept to them. And they also missed the trinkets. Shesh!

Still got to say, Frost Dual Wield Spec rocketh in outland instances.