5 Things to Remember from 2009

There’s going to be a lot of year-in-review type posts in the blogosphere today, so we’re going to keep this one short and sweet.  Here are five things I’ll remember from 2009:

1.  Goodbye, Ambermist the Tree.  In the first few weeks of 2009, I went from being a full-time raid healer for 2 years to being a full-time, pain-bringing moonkin.  The first few months were rough.  I thought dpsing was an uncomplicated, shoot-in-a-way-that-sorta-makes-sense kind of thing.  I quickly discovered this is NOT the case.  In a quest for current how-to-moonkin information for a complete noob, I started Tastes Like Battlechicken.  I sought information from lots of different sources, and after one heck of a learning curve, I became a moonkin I could be mostly proud of (I’m still prone to stupid mistakes).  I was able to pass on the information that I learned in what is still my most popular series of posts:  Noobkin to Boomkin.

2.  Dual Spec.  There was a lot of speculation about this before it was actually released, but the way they executed this was spot-on.  Your glyphs remain with their appropriate spec, it’s very easy to switch between the two, and it’s ridiculously useful, especially for hybrid classes.  Now if they would just give me tri-spec…

3.  Blizzcon 2009.  We live-streamed the coverage and hooked up the laptop to the TV.  I don’t think we turned it off the entire time.  I remember watching with UK as the Cataclysm announcement came down, and all the information that came with it.  Deathwing!  I was so excited, and still am.  This is the biggest thing to happen to Azeroth yet.  A complete re-vamping of the old world?  Saying a permanent goodbye to Azeroth as we know it?  How awesome is that.

4.  Val’anyr, Hammer of the Ancient Kings.  Our first Yogg kill alone was pretty memorable.  It took us a few weeks of getting everything perfected, and it was an accomplishment.  It took us another month or so to finish gathering the shards for Gopherus’ weapon, and then another few weeks of trying to get Three Lights in the Darkness.  But I’ll tell you, not since Vashj have I been that on edge and that excited for a boss kill.  I remember decursing faster than I could think, and casting when I could.  I remember watching Yogg’s health bar drop lower and lower but refusing to believe this could be the kill until I saw it.  Those are the boss kills I raid for.

5.  The Random Dungeon.  Love it or hate it, this has become the most discussed change since the pre-Wrath patch (remember the patch that introduced achievements and barber shops?!  Yes, it really has been that long).  It seemed like just another new thing to get used to on the PTR, but this has completely changed the way things operate.  PuGs, previously the thing you begged guildies to help you avoid, have now become not only more common but in some cases, even preferred.  For some, this has changed the way they play, or even the way their guild operates.  I haven’t written a post about it (nor do I plan to; holy moly, have you seen the number of blogs about the Dungeon Finder?!), but I love the thing on my 80s.  (The low-level PuGs are still cringe-worthy).  Just like the pre-Wrath patch, this is one I’ll remember.

There are many more memorable moments from this year, like rolling a toon on a new server (I haven’t forgotten you guys!), the first time I got over 100 views here on TLBC, and rolling my first successful twink.  But this list is called “The Five” not “The Forty,” so I think I’d better end it here.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year, in-game and out!

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