My Little Army: Warlords of Draenor Characters

It’s here! Legion’s less than 12 hours away from launch. I’m sure there will be server queues and lag and downtime, but that has never stopped me from being awake at 3am to see it happen.

I’ve been almost exclusively doing invasions for levels and gear (I know I’m not alone, I see you all out there), and now I have a little army of level 100s ready to go. As I did at the end of Mists of Pandaria, here’s my collection of characters as we say goodbye to Warlords and a big hello to the Legion, starting with my new main ❤ :

I could not be more ready. Let’s go.

Legion Beta Picture Dump Part 1: Azsuna & The Dreamgrove

I can’t help it, I have to take screenshots. It’s a thing, okay. And there are lots of pretty pretty things to take screenshots of in the Legion beta so far. I’m going to put everything else after a break; I don’t plan on posting spoilers but some people I know are really particular about their exposure, and I don’t want to risk ruining anything.

I’m Still Okay with the Timeless Isle

I can’t even keep up with the rate my Twitter feed moves anymore, but every now and then when I’m scrolling through, something will catch my eye. A week or so ago, it was a link to Blog Azeroth’s shared topic idea, which boiled down to: “How much time do you spend on the Timeless Isle, and why?”

Edit to add: Okay, so after I posted this, I realized that I had used the headlining picture previously. Can’t have that, so now there’s a brand new bonus pic. 😛

 

It stood out to me because I have spent a ton of time on the Isle, and truthfully, I don’t hate it yet. I don’t spend all my time chasing after rares or completing events like I did at first, but I’m still there at least a few times a week.

On my druid, I’m working on Shaohao exalted rep. Yes, really. At least 3 members of my guild think I have gone completely stupid. I’m not sure they’re wrong.

Every Tuesday, I go out to the Isle, pick up the weeklies (cause Valor), and go kill Ordos Fire Dudes on Fire Dude Hill. So many fire dudes have died, guys; sometimes I feel the need to preserve their legacy.

Of course, Timeless Isle is best for alts–I have at least one complete set of each type of Timeless armor tokens sitting on my bank alt just in case, I don’t know, I decide to level 4 more warlocks or something. It could happen.

Each of my alts has spent at least a tiny bit of time on the Isle, certainly some more than others.

Both my hunter and shaman dinged 90 on the Isle thanks to the convenient worm packs and friends who didn’t mind killing large scores of mobs or dragging me through the crystal cave in search of a Crystal of Insanity (<3 Frenzie!).

And, of course, my druid and my shaman go out there every week to kill the Celestials and Ordos, because I sure love boxes of gold. Who needs loot when you’ve got BOXES. of GOLD.

I imagine that the Timeless Isle will continue to be at least a part of what I do every week until I throw my computer out the window in a rage fit one raid night or 6.0 drops, whichever comes first.

What about you?

Ol’ Girl’s Still Got Some Life in ‘Er

My server isn’t fairing so well. In the past 6 months, we’ve seen the raiding guilds we had either dying or moving off-server until there are only a handful left still progressing even when you combine Horde & Alliance.

People have been saying Durotan is dead for years (literally), but this is the closest we’ve come to that being a true statement.

However, last night proved that we’re down but not out.

The Trouble with Nalak

It all started in a Nalak group. My daughter has been busy playing “her” paladin, and she was playing at the same time as me yesterday evening before bed.

Someone in the guild said there was a Nalak group forming, so I volunteered my priest.

Then I had a great idea–get my daughter in the group. Sure, she’d do barely any DPS and probably die, but I could more than make up her dps and man, would she have fun!

…Except there wasn’t a warlock in the group, and we couldn’t use the summoning stone because she was only level 88. When I broke that news to my daughter, she started to cry.

“I know it’s silly, but I was really looking forward to coming!” she said through her tears.

The Plea

So before we pulled Nalak, I asked the raid group for help. I explained the situation and several volunteered to go do Sha & Galleon for my daughter:

When the smoke cleared over Nalak’s corpse, I dropped the raid and started inviting people. Many of the people from the original raid group joined, and then as I asked in Trade and Guild, I got more and more players.

Some came for themselves. Some came just to help the Lil Raider. I appreciate every single person that joined.

The Kills!

My daughter was a BUNDLE OF EXCITEMENT as we got ready to pull Sha. “What if I can’t remember the buttons? What do I do? One, two, three, four, right? Where do I stand? Is everyone here yet?”

When we pulled, she diligently ran up to the boss and started whacking on it. Her DPS? 7k. Her smile? It made Luke Skywalker’s Light Saber look like a flashlight.

When Sha was at 25%, she said, “You’re almost down, bad guy!”

When she found out we were going to Galleon, she was thrilled. “There’s another one?!”

By the end, she had seen her first 2 bosses ever, was terribly excited, and faith in (most) of my server was restored.

You did a good thing, Durotan. Thank you.

Battlechicken Vlog #2: Let Me Make a Macro

Battlechicken Vlog #2! I told Navi earlier this week that I wasn’t sure I’d ever find something as awesome to vlog about as Navispam. I still haven’t, but you get this anyway!

I like to make made-up albums for my guild with song titles specific to our raid and members. I’ll show you the cover of the “album” from which this song comes, but the songs themselves are guild-related and will stay on our forums.

However, “Let Me Make a Macro” has been stewing in my head for a few months. Our raid leader/GM Boomslang says this phrase at least once every new fight. I felt like it needed to be written, so I wrote it. And that’s what vlog numero dos is: “Let Me Make a Macro.”

If it gets someone to smile tonight, I’m good with that. 😀

5.0 Patch Day Mayhem

Best advice I have for pre-patch is read all the blogs. See the bottom of this post and the comments for resources, posts, and guides. If you have one, please link it!

Here’s the problem. In the past, I did patch days like everyone else does patch days in the blogosphere. I talked about my class, I wrote guides, I talked about all the changes. Here’s what I’ve decided: there are so many people doing that way better than I would.

So instead, we’re going to amble down the path of the many, many half-finished blog posts I’ve written about this patch and Mists and the game in general. We’re going to hit each point as succinctly as possible (which means this post will go on forever…) and, yeah. That’s the plan.

Point 1: Where I Stand on Mists of Pandaria

When MoP was announced at that fateful Blizzcon, I looked at my husband and said, “You have got to be kidding me. Pandas? They’re going to base our entire expansion on an April Fool’s joke?” Later came: “Who am I fighting? What will I be raiding? What is my purpose?”

I would never completely discount something without seeing it first, but my initial response was slightly more than reserved, slightly less than annoyed. Internally, I gave Blizzard this challenge: you’re going to have to sell me hard on this one.

For months, no matter how interesting the news came out, I dismissed it. Over and over again I brushed it off, sneered, or sighed at “monk” this and “pandaren” that and “Horde” this and “Alliance” that.

Then I played the beta. I wanted to play because it was beta, not because my mind had changed. I wanted to see it for myself. This was it–the moment Blizzard would have to sell me on Mists of Pandaria.

World of Warcraft Isn’t Real, And My Name Isn’t Ambermist

Heads up, this one’s long, personal, and maybe sort of pointless, but it’s been swimming around in my head for a long time, and since I did just ask everyone to tell me about themselves, it seems relevant.

This post has been in my head for months–as a matter of fact, I started writing it there the day I came back to this blog, but I kept coming up with reasons not to flesh it out and post it.  When I came up with the July Challenge, it was on my mind, and then I read this post at Tree Heals Go Woosh (which is, by the way, the best blog name ever). It got me thinking about all of that stuff again since the end of Wrath/beginning of Cataclysm brought a lot of this to the forefront for me.

Over the course of Wrath, I learned so much about WoW. I’d been playing half-blind for a couple of years, I realized, and with the leap into blogging, I suddenly had a world of information and experiences at my fingertips. As an expansion, Wrath encouraged that exploration, and I honed a lot of my skills there.

See, I knew my stuff. >.>

I had a lot going on in my life during that expansion, too; a lot of change: my father-in-law passed away from cancer, my brother-in-law had a heart attack and a stroke, my daughter started kindergarten, and my son was diagnosed with autism. I was stressed out, at my highest weight ever, dealing with my own issues on top of everything else, and profoundly insecure.

I started using WoW and its many, many things to do as an escape, but more than that, I started to find my identity there.

A Letter to World of Warcraft Raiders

Dear Fellow Raiders,

It’s the end of the expansion. None of us have failed to realize that, I promise. Some are farming for Mists and leveling alts, others are taking a bit of a breather or playing different games–I get that. I’ve been victim to it too, lately. Besides, everyone needs a break now and then, and if you’ve been pouring time into Cataclysm non-stop since it came out, you’re probably due one.

However, can I make one simple request? Please tell your guild before you stop showing up to raids. Really, it’s a courtesy. The 9 or 24 other people who are showing up are counting on you to be there to fill the raid and kill bosses.

June Challenge: Tell Me a Story

At the end of the Newbie Blogger Initiative, my weekly challenges ended. But a few people expressed interest in doing a monthly challenge. This is the first of those, and I’ll keep doing them as long as I have continued interest!

I’m a sucker for story time. I still enjoy being read to. I love picking up a new book–including my kids’ books!–and reading them for the first time. I love stories and lore in the games I play. Some people have Calgon, I have story time!

A few months ago, I posted about some guild stories–just a few of the many, many we have stored away. Those were raid-oriented, but I KNOW you guys have stories!

Do you have a funny story about how you accidentally–or “accidentally on purpose”–wiped a raid? Or the tale of an epic battle against that ONE GUY in PvP who always got the best of you and how you cut him down (or didn’t)? Maybe you watched a friend pull a boss and get eaten alive (*cough* certain paladin raid leader and XT *cough*) or were moved by a stranger in game who somehow stood out from the crowd. Whatever it is, there’s a story you like to tell, and I’m asking you to tell me!

Your challenge is this: write me a story about something that happened to you (or something you witnessed) in the game(s) you play!

When you finish, link it here in the comments for me (pingbacks are fine) so I can check it out! All participants will be featured in a blog when I issue the new challenge at the beginning of July.

This story begins, “Once upon a time, there was a group of adventurers who set out on a dangerous journey…” Trust me, that’s putting it mildly.

(P.S. You can click on the picture to find out more about Challenge Accepted. I don’t get to participate much, but the night I did it was a blast!).

I look forward to your stories!

Screenshots & Reactions from MoP Beta

First off, let me point you to a couple of thoughtful posts about druid beta stuff I read this week, because this will not be one of those posts:

• WoWInsider is flooded with druid-related beta news, including a recent Symbiosis breakdown and the simplification of the moonkin rotation.
• Lissanna and crew at Restokin are keeping us current with discussion of the new Level 90 talents and (wait for it…) mounting in moonkin form.
• Graylo also delved into the Level 90 talents, breaking them down one-by-one.

No, my post will be about, as the title suggests, random reactions to things I experienced in beta since it stopped crashing every two minutes. With pictures, of course.

From the Wandering Isle

Temple area from the Wandering Isle

The Arboretum in the Jade Forest

The exact words that came out of my mouth when the above screenshots were taken: “Ooh, that’s pretty!”

Astral Form using Glyph of Stars

Okay, I was all for keeping my moonkin form, but I have to admit these stars are cool. I might change my mind.  

Level 85 Mistwalker Monk casting Soothing Mists

Created a premade monk for my husband to play with. Could that guy look any cooler?

Level 85 premade Pandaren Rogue

Pandaren Rogue about to STAB THINGS…

Pandaren Rogue in the act of STABBING THINGS.

I’m asking for a race change for my rogue when it’s my birthday. I’m not kidding. 

Pet Journal – Pet Options

Wait, what? I can rename my pets?! Meet Botty, Shivers, and Chili. 

Druid Travel Form with Glyph of Stag…and a warlock.

This is both extremely awesome and terribly awkward. 

Celebratory tree form dancing, don’t mind me.

Tree Form Healing in Temple of the Jade Serpent

Tree Form Healing in Temple of the Jade Serpent…again.

Tree form. Tree form. I’m a TREE. OMG, I MISSED YOU TREE FORM! I missed you so much, don’t you ever leave me again. I’m going to hug you and squeeze you and name you George! I love you, George! /flail. /squee.