One More Season to Northrend

Seona hit level 67 yesterday, plus a couple bubbles more. At this rate, I'll get to Northrend early this week. Although the leveling is still going quickly, I've definitely felt the steeper slope to get to the next level. I was blazing through levels while in Zangarmarsh and Terrokar Forest. I thought for sure Nagrand would take me to level 68, or at least very close, but it only just got me to level 67 on quests I could solo.

Seona did manage to finish the Nesingwary quests, including the Ultimate Bloodsport, earning the Hills Like White Elekk achievement. Hopefully all those skins and leather will sell for a pretty penny... uh... copper, I mean. While I had to burn some cooldowns, as a ret paladin I was able to take out all the elite beasts required solo. Some good luck happened, too, as I got a Sheath of Light proc on a Lay on Hands, healing me for tons afterwards on the Elekk. I'm pretty sure that alone let me solo her. Still, managed okay, and got my first libram. While not terribly helpful for me as retribution, if I ever have to do some quick healing it'll come in handy. I'll replace it quickly enough in Grizzly Hills with the Venture Coin reward.

She also did the Ogre quests that deal with that half Draenei, half orc Blademaster. Thanks to that quest chain, she got a new polearm. And, believe it or not, Seona's racial made finding the armaments and such things really easy. I know people scoff at that dwarf racial, but I wonder just how many people bother to use it? Probably no one, since it's so obviously terrible. I mean, it's not amazing, but it's helped me several times now. In Zangarmarsh, in Nagrand, and now in Blade's Edge. Great all the time? No. Situationally helpful. Definitely. Hopefully it'll come into bigger play with Catatclysm and the new Archeology secondary profession. It makes sense to do so, but Blizz sometimes doesn't make sense. Plus, I found some chests for extra silver and food. There are a couple scattered thinly in Nagrand.

So, new loot, new achievements, new area, and less than a level to go till 68. While I really should be worrying about some real life issues, this is fun. And, honestly, fun is good.

Got My Groove Back

Yep, I'm definitely back in the leveling groove. After taking a week and a half off from WoW, getting back into the leveling grind is going really smoothly. It's been awhile since I've done many of the Outland quests I'm doing now, so, while not "fresh" per se, it isn't terribly stale, either. I'm keeping Seona in Zangarmarsh for as long as possible, now, after taking some time to work in Terrokar for a bit. Honestly, the forest itself isn't awful, but the Bone Wastes are just boring.

That being said, I am nearly finished with the quests in Zangarmarsh, I think. Not every single one, of course, because I'm not stopping for instances, but all of the other quest lines are just about done, I think. I've picked up the breadcrumb quest to get me to Nagrand, though, so it's okay. I avoided the breadcrumb quest for the Bladed Mountains, as I'd like to ignore that entire part of Outlands, if possible.

With Nagrand on the horizon, and Zangarmarsh fully explored, Seona is blasting through levels. While it may have completely depleted my gold supply at the time, buying her flying training and a gryphon was the best investment so far. She can skip tons of mobs if necessary, fly straight from point to point - more efficient travel is always good - and just get stuff done faster. It's fantastic. And as for gold... she's already earned back a nice bit from quests alone. Nearly every quest she's doing now rewards a few gold. She went from having no gold left at all (just a handful of silvers and coppers) to well over 150 gold in a few hours of questing. That's not amazing by any stretch, but she can take care of the basics, like training, without any worries.

Completely avoiding instances may have been a mistake, but I'm trying not to worry about it. Getting groups is hard, and apparently Blizzard still hasn't fixed the whole "More Instances cannot be launched at this time" problem, yet. I have faith that they'll take care of it, in due time. Seona may not have the best gear, but what she does have takes care of quest mobs without any issue. And it isn't like I'm a newbie... I know how to act in a group, what my duties are as a hybrid class, and how to take over different roles if needed. The only thing I haven't done, yet, is heal.

I have a pseudo healing set, one that doubles my mana bar, but I don't have dual spec. I understand that healing as Retribution is perfectly possible, even viable, especially at lower levels in regular dungeons... but I've never done it before. I've managed to pick up plenty of spell power gear through quests and probably have a decent healing set, I guess, but I haven't put it to the test. I guess my next goal should be to save up 1000 Gold for dual spec, though. Holy Pallies are great healers, and I'd love to really give healing an honest try. What's the point in carrying all this healing gear if I never use it?

My plan for Seona is, once she hits level 68 (only three levels to go...), to head to Northrend. From there, I'll plan to do instances again for good gear, hopefully as Retribution, but I'll heal if that's what's needed, especially if the group I'm in agrees to allow me to roll on DPS gear instead of healing stuff. From there, it's a straight shot to 80. Fame, fortune, and phat lootz and purps await!

Renewed Vigor

Although I've been feeling under the weather (yuck, Bronchitis), I've still managed to spend some time in game (sick days ftw?). Seona has finally scraped together enough gold to purchase flight training, and has bought a beautiful golden gryphon to carry her all over Outlands. She's named him Zephyr. Caliburn is a little jealous, I think. She also hit level 64, which means only four levels to go until Northrend.

Having a flying mount at level 60+ instead of 70 has completely changed the leveling dynamic in Outlands. Several of the quests can be easily completed just by flying to the point, especially if it is a quest that requires you to go find an item and bring it back to the quest-giver. What? You need me to go get the eyes of the Skettis? Sure, no problem, let me just fly on over and pick those up for you... It makes it almost too easy, and I begin to see what some of the purists complain about. Still, I find it nice, seeing as my only goal at this point is to reach level cap and begin joining the guild in even more events.

She's also firmly out of Hellfire Peninsula. Most of her current quests are located in Zangarmarsh, which is fine by me, as it's got to be one of my favorite zones in the game. It's calm, and beautiful, and serene. The music (when I have it playing) is also quite nice. The little Spore people are also adorable and I don't mind helping them in the least. It's just a great place to level and explore in general for me. Nagrand is next and it's my second favorite in Outlands. The sky is what makes Nagrand so pretty. All-in-all, I think what makes leveling through Outlands so terrible for people - and why they complain about it so loudly - is Hellfire Peninsula. if you can just get through that Orange place, you'll be fine. The rest just... flows.

With the increased speed to leveling, a flying mount, and rested experience, Seona should make level 68 in no time. Northrend is waiting, and since I did it once already, albeit with a Horde character, I think I'll be fine.

3 Down 1 To Go

Last night, after deciding that I'd only get on for about an hour or so do do a bit of questing before going to bed, I somehow ended up with several new achievements. And they're achievements I never thought I'd get on Seona at this point in her existence. The Kingship decided to retaliate against the terrible Horde last night, and made a run on their leaders.

Seona was able to tag along (and trust me, at only level 62, that's all I was able to do) and the group (more or less full raid of 40) managed to get three of the four bosses down. Lady Sylvanas fell first in Undercity, then Lor'themar was taken out, and finally Cairne was downed. By this time, however, the Horde was able to regroup and it made killing Thrall impossible. To be fair, we did leave the hardest boss for last, and it showed. Naturally they carried me all the way, but I did what I could to help, stomping totems for example and helping summon people. Of the three achievements, I got two of them while dead. Still, it was a great fight and a ton of fun. Even better, I upped my Honorable Kill count, earning the achievement for 100 HKs.

What I love about the Kingship is their honor and compassion. We were unwilling to leave anyone behind after the wipe. I felt real kinship and strength with them. What's even more exciting is the fact that I know we'll go after Thrall again in the near future. There's always an excuse to get retribution on the Horde, and killing Thrall is a great way to do so. Hopefully next time they go for him, I won't be a level 62 just along for the ride. I mean, I hope to at least be level 70. ;)

Holy. Cow. CATACLYSM

I don't know how I'll focus on life after Blizzard's announcement today.

Check. This. Out: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm

It's beyond all imagining. I thought I'd want to take screenshots/video of the old zones for nostalgic purposes, but now I know I have to. Azeroth as it's currently known will be no more once this hits. Old zones will be completely redone, and I don't mean new skins and an extra hill or two... I mean straight up, full on armageddon. Shattered lands, lava and molten rock everywhere, and giant scars in the land.

Thankfully, we'll get to use our flying mounts in the old (now new) world.

But, God, this is so awesome. I haven't played in about a week, but I'll be jumping online tonight for sure. Leveling up Seona seems to be a must. And I'll hit up Yrovi, too. I'll be rerolling a few toons (Undead Hunter FTW!!), and definitely picking up one of the new races to level to cap. At least. On top of everything else, it appears that there will be other new things, like guild leveling and a new profession. The guild leveling thing interests me... I wonder what it's all about and how it works. Oh! And there's something called the "Path of the Titan" for players. It sounds like a crazy-epic questline or something.

I'm so freaking stoked. :D

Edit: So, Goblins and Worgen will start at level 1, but their opening areas are going to "top the Death Knight starting area" with full on cinematics (like Wrathgate) and the like. This expansion might as well be called World of Warcraft II.

The Big 100 - Cataclysm Spoilers Ahead!

It's a bit funny that my 100th post comes when I haven't been playing WoW. My friends were in town, so instead I hung out with them, did the tour guide thing and partied. All-in-all, WoW hasn't been on my radar much over the last few days, but I'm definitely looking forward to what Blizzcon has in store for us. Don't read if you don't want spoilers. Even if not all of it is true, too much of this is potentially fact.

MMO-Champion has gone into heavy speculation (almost-fact, according to them) about the new expansion. If even half of what they're saying is true, I'm beyond excited. This is starting to go into crazy-awesome territory, where mere words cannot express the emotions I'm feeling. While I won't go into every single thing that Boubouille has posted regarding Cataclysm, I figure I'll touch on the ones that make me giggle with joy. Seriously, stop reading if you want everything to be a surprise... Okay, don't say I didn't warn you.

• New Class Combinations. Holy Cow. Literally. The next expansion will allow new race/class combinations, including the possibility for a Tauren Paladin. Do want, now. I also find the idea of a human hunter, undead hunter, and dwarven mage flat out giggle worthy, but in a good way. I'd love an undead hunter, especially if I could tame all the diseased-looking beasts for that special look. It also looks like Gnomes will finally get their healing class, and Trolls can potentially become Druids. That's surprising, simply because... well, will they use the Tauren forms or do they get all new ones? I'm not holding my breath for all of the combinations listed, but wow, this could be cool.
• Classic Azeroth Redone. Armageddon. Flooding of certain zones, breaking up the Barrens, reworking Azshara to be a lower-level zone... it's all amazingly cool. With the potential for phasing technology, this could be one of the coolest changes of the entire expansion. Thousand Needles underwater? Yes, please. To be able to fly in the old world? Do want. As much as I love the game as it is, can you imagine how absolutely fantastic it could be with the old world updated as well? Leveling will supposedly be more streamlined as well, making getting to the new level cap of 85 that much faster. And yes, it'll only be 85 instead of 90... interesting, but not unheard of. I'd hate to go another ten levels, as slow as I usually go.
• Thrall's Destiny Revealed. Thrall, leader of the Horde forces and beloved orc of all... will become the Guardian of Tirisfal and hand over leadership to Garrosh. Of all the changes, this one is most interesting to me. I'm not overly fond of Garrosh. He's a hot-head, and not overly intelligent. He'll definitely throw the Horde into full war against the Alliance (which will only be more fun for PvP) and be an overall jerk. Still, it's a change, and it moves the story along, so I can't complain. Varian will finally look better, at any rate, as even he isn't as big of an ass as Garrosh.
• New Races. I've covered them already, not much new here, aside from the potential backstory involved. Apparantly the Goblins will be rebellious slaves of Deathwing and the Worgen will be Gilneans who have found a semi-cure of their Worgen curse, allowing them to keep their head during their transformation. Very "Remus Lupin-esque." Still, cool backstory and huge potential there.

All in all, I'm beyond ready to hear what happens at Blizzcon. I can't go, and I can't buy the live stream, but Wow.com will cover it all, of course, as will every other WoW news site out there.

I just realized... I really need to go visit all the old zones and take screenshots. Can you imagine what the new world will be like? I might want to wax nostalgic later on, so I better go get that explorer title and snap photos. Cataclysm, we're all waiting for you, eager as ever.

99th Post... Onyxia and a Confession

Wow. I've actually talked about stuff nearly 100 times on this blog? Crazy. Honestly, I didn't even think I'd go past maybe a month or two writing, yet here we are. It's because no one reads and it's like leaving an open journal sitting on my desk. If someone came by, they'd see it and maybe read it, but no one does so.

Still, I never did this for others, only for myself. ;)

There's news regarding WoW's 5th anniversary. Onyxia, raid boss known so well for providing the experience that lead to the "DPS VERY, VERY SLOWLY... AND BY SLOW, I MEAN F#*@ING SLOW" video known so well among WoWers, is making a comeback. Blizzard is revamping her raid to be 10/25 man and will drop updated loot, including updated T2 helms and a new flying mount that will look like the queen dragon herself. In addition, anyone who logs on during that time will get a special Onyxia broodling whelp pet (I'm excited about this, actually. Last year it was a baby polar bear, which I love, too.) that may or may not be account bound. The bear last year was account bound, so we'll see.

I have never seen Onyxia, personally. I know that it's currently possible for a decently-geared level 80 to go in a solo her, especially paladins. Interesting, considering she was once a very difficult 40 man boss (Vanilla WoW). Still, it just proves how powerful we've all become in the many years we've traveled the World... of Warcraft. I'd like to go up against her, but Yrovi is not exactly raid-ready. Sure, she's uncrittable, but I've more or less shelved her (obvious, I'd guess, since I haven't written about her, at all, for weeks now), not run anything with her, and her health pool is, thus, still quite low. Plus, I've more or less come to the conclusion that, while tanking can be fun (especially at the lower-levels), the extra responsibility required of a tank makes the game less fun for me. I don't want to lead a group, usually because I have no idea of what's really going on.

Seona, on the other hand, while a completely new character and one that takes time to build up, is tons of fun. DPS is so much more carefree. That's not to say there isn't responsibility involved... I still have to be good at my class to not be carried. And I don't want to be carried. That's, honestly, the last thing I want. But I don't want to have to constantly ensure that every mob is on me, that I have things positioned well, that... well... that I'm the leader.

Here's the Confession: I don't want to lead, I want to play. That means I don't want to tank, possibly ever again. I don't know if I want to try healing. There's responsibility there, too, but it's different. But, I don't think I want to tank. After all the work I put into Yrovi, that's a bit of a harsh realization for me. I spent a lot of gold, and my guildmates (especially Tyra) did a bunch for me to get to uncrittable and theoretically raid-ready. I don't know if it's just a phase, or if this is a real, honest feeling, but tanking just may not be for me.

*Deep breath* That being said, my dwarf paladin is coming along really well. Seona is 60, which means a super cool avatar on the forums and potentially flying training (if I can get 650 Gold anytime soon). I'm doing all I can to get my Honor Hold rep up to reduce the price a bit, now that it applies. At this point it's safe to state that Seona will be my new main and I hope to do some raiding with her in the near future. In this case, it'll be the guild helping me along, thanks to lots of members and generally helpful people. Not that we didn't have generally helpful people on the old server, but there are so few of us. *sigh*

I kinda miss my old guildies... :( The Cradle is/was cool. I think I'll have to log on again soon, if nothing else, to say hi. The Kingship is freaking awesome, though, too, and I think I can make some good friends here, especially once I get to level 80. Only 20 levels to go...

Speculation... New Races?

So, I wrote about this some time ago, right when MMO-Champion first talked about it. Boubouille, a member of the MMO-Champion team, did some crazy data-mining and found some interesting halloween masks of Goblins and what looked like Worgen. Based on his findings, he determined that these would be the new races in the next expansion, which people are now calling Cataclysm, a name Blizzard patented recently. Most of the WoW sites are now more or less saying this is true and stating it as almost-fact.

Also, as I mentioned before, all those who are following this train of thought agree at this point that the Goblins will be aligned with the Horde and the Worgen will be aligned with the Alliance. It makes sense. Goblins have always leaned a little towards the Horde side of things, giving them more support with Zeppelins and shredders for tearing down Ashenvale forest and things. Well, I say give, but I guess what I mean is that they have a long-standing business relationship with the Horde, and those Zeppelin Goblins sure don't like the Alliance. Ever get on a Horde zeppelin as an Alliance..? Yeah. Those little green bastards are mean.

I imagine, if I were one of the writers for Blizzard, that the playable Goblins would be from a different merchant group than the current goblins. The Steamwheedle Cartel and the Venture Co. are already in game, one neutral and one hostile. So these playable Goblins would just be another Trading Prince's faction that chooses to join the Horde, perhaps as mercenaries. I would also guess that the classes available to the Goblins would be similar to the ones open to the Gnomes... things like rogue, warrior, warlock... but no healing class. Something tells me they're specifically meant to be the Horde equivalent of the "tiny" race.

I'm actually more excited about the Worgen. My guess is that Blizzard will finally open up the Greymane wall and reveal a totally Worgified Gilneas. While I realize that Arugal was in the vicinity of the wall for a long time, I don't think these Worgen will be of his making. Perhaps the Night Elf who first received the Scythe of Elune entered Gilneas and used it there... maybe they went there on their own... who knows. Regardless, it will be interesting how the writers tie them into the overarching storyline of the World... of Warcraft.

I'd guess they'd have similar classes to humans, though perhaps not a healing class... except maybe shaman. Warrior, rogue, mage... those sound good for Worgen. I doubt they'll be warlocks, as they despise the "Emerald Flame," essentially the Burning Legion. They are well attuned to magics as well. The Worgen from the other dimension are known to be very vicious and territorial, though, so it's still unclear how they tie to the Alliance, aside from Gilneas. Like I said, I'm interested in how Blizz will work them into the story in a believable way.

Regardless, I'll roll at least one of each. Who doesn't want a goblin? "I'VE GOT WHAT YOU NEED!" The worgen are just oozing "cool factor"... maybe I should make place-holder toons to get the names I want. While I'm not totally sure what I'd name a goblin, if I rolled a Worgen on ED, I'd probably name it something like... Aconitum or Vulparia. Or maybe Usiaslau. The first two names come from the plant known colloquially as "monkshood" or "wolfsbane" and the third was the name of a Belarusian prince who lived during the 11th century that was thought to turn into a wolf. Obviously the first and third are male names, while I'd make Vulparia a female. Goblin names tend to be like: Rizzo, Vark, or Guido. They're meant to be funny, seriously. :D

God, I can't wait for Cataclysm. The only drawback? All the new Worgen that will be called:

Xxjacobxblackxx, jacobblack, jaccob, and Lupin. Maybe throw in a Cujo and Lucian for good measure.

*sigh*

My Lucky Day

Have you ever had one of those days where things just worked out? And it doesn't have to be some big thing, it can just be over a little thing, like finding that perfect book or a great pair of jeans when you weren't really looking... or a tv show you like on sale. :)

So, yesterday evening, I was catching up on my recorded TV shows, specifically Inuyasha (yes, I know, I know... not the best anime ever, but I'm a fangirl, what can I say?). I was sad, because Adult Swim only shows two episodes a week now, as opposed to every night, like they used to a couple years ago. I wanted to own the series, of course, but it's so expensive!

I mean, I had seen the box sets at Best Buy, but each season - there are 7, I think - ranges in price from something like $45 to over 100! Each! I can't afford that! So, last night, on a whim, I searched on Amazon. I don't mind buying them used, as long as they play. Unfortunately, most of the seasons are still quite expensive, even used. So, I was all crestfallen and sad, when I remembered that Half Price Books, a discount bookseller chain here in Texas, usually has a bunch of used Anime on their DVD shelves.

Of course, it was Sunday, and I figured they'd be closed by the time I thought of it (7:30 PM). I was surprised, though, to see that they were open till 8! I jumped in my car and drove over, thinking that if they have any of the sets, I'd buy them... provided they were reasonably priced. I figured I'd pay no more that $25... at least, that's what I figured I could afford.

I especially wanted the first season, as I'd like to watch them all in order. Imagine my surprise when I got there, ran over to the Anime section... and there it was. Plain as day and just sitting there. On top of everything else, it was only $10!!! I couldn't believe it! The discs are in perfect condition, too. I was grinning like an idiot, let me tell you. :D

As a bonus, they had the first movie, too. There was an "As Is" sticker on it, but I checked the disc and it looks fine. I haven't tried to play it, though, so there may be something wrong with it that I just can't see. I'm super happy, though, because I got exactly what I wanted, for an amazing deal, and now I can have fun "treasure hunting" for the other seasons at other stores.

So, basically, this was like getting that rare drop, epic lewtz, uber-purples kind of thing. And the best part? It happened IRL. :D

EDIT: I just realized that seasons 1, 2, and 3 are on Hulu!!! Holy crap, that's amazing. ^_^ Now I don't have to buy 2 and 3 right away, I can get my fix for free... at least until I can dig up those seasons on sale or at Half Price. EditEdit: Turns out on Hulu they're subtitled... that's a minor inconvenience. Still, better than nothing, right?

Hunter is Overpowered

Last night included further experimentation with the Battlegrounds, again on a hunter, but this time on my Nelf Hunter, Berryl. I think I played five or six Warsong Gulch games, and two Arathi Basin games. She was about half-way through her level, fully rested experience, and managed to get to level 26 by the end of the night. I haven't had that much fun in a battleground in a long time.

I stuck with Warsong Gulch for the first two tries, just to get a feel for the character again. Unlike Gruun (level 12), Berryl has quite a few more tricks up her sleeve (level 25, now 26). I'm even proud to say that on one of the games, I was the top damage-dealer for the Alliance. I've never been the top of the damage list. It gave me giggles. :D

Luckily for me, talent points had been reset for hunters, so I made her Marksman. I'm liking her current build so far, and I'm loving the Spider pet's special ability. I'm sure it pisses the other players off to no end to be suddenly rooted in place by a hunter's pet while I'm whaling on them from way over here, where they can't get me. Plus, her little 8-legged beastie can do some decent damage by himself.

That's not to say I don't die. I die plenty. Usually to some class that can bubble or to those damn rogues. Many of them are over my level and can one shot me if they catch me at below full health. Their crippling poison is a real pain, too. Still, I do really well, especially on defense. Set a freezing trap at the flag, leave Obsidian (her spider) on aggressive in the center of the flag room and go to the corner to Shadowmeld. Perfect.

I even did the Battleground daily for Arathi Basin last night, which got me some extra honor. It's too bad I can't get her any heirloom gear. I see plenty of players in the heirloom shoulders and I'm green with envy. Not only are they probably getting an increase in experience, but the gear itself is a nice boost. And gear is going to become a main concern here, soon.

See, you can't get gear just from fighting in a BG. You have to earn enough honor to buy stuff, and it seems like most of it isn't available to use until much later. I'll have to do some research because otherwise it looks like the AH and I are going to be best friends. Or, rather, my gold and the AH will be... :(

The Perfect Gun and BG Experience

Blizzard has once again honored one of the elite, one of the great players of their game, with an in-game item. In this case, it is a gun, specifically tailored for Hunters, and it's a drop in the tribute chest in the new Argent Tournament Coliseum. That's right, everyone's favorite Beast Mastery Hunter, BigRedKitty, aka BRK, has a new weapon named after him.

The BRK-1000. Isn't it pretty? *sigh* We miss you Daniel and it looks like Blizzard misses you, too! This is a pretty nice way to remember him, I think. Good on you, Blizzard, this was a long time coming for the guy that taught me more about playing a Hunter than anyone else.

And speaking of hunters, I recently dug up an old alt of mine to test the Battleground experience change, since ED was locked out with a 400+ server queue to get in. His name is Gruun (troll males FTW!) and is located on the Underbog server. At level 12, I knew I'd probably get stomped into the dirt in Warsong Gulch, but hunters are good for PvP, so I gave it a shot. I set him up with his 3 talent points in Improved Tracking (+3% damage against whatever I'm currently tracking, obviously humanoids for the BG) and queued up.

He actually did okay. No twinks, although there were a few level 19 and even a handful of 20's in the bracket that could one-shot him (he only has just over 300 health). He got several of the PvP achievements that night and I actually had fun for once. It definitely makes me want to take another toon out to the BG's and tear up the place for fun.

I like hunters for PvP, with their kiting abilities and decent damage, plus pet. I'm fairly certain hunters have gotten a talent reset (I definitely didn't pay for his talent change last night) and I think Berryl might make a good candidate for BG leveling. She's higher up and will soon have more access to Arathi Basin. Warsong Gulch is fun and all, but the experience gain vs. time spent is pretty awful. The developers are definitely watching this, they've said as much on the official forums, so hopefully they'll bump the experience gain for WG soon.

Gear is still a factor, but not having to worry about twinks makes life easier. And, it may have just been my good luck, but there appeared to be a great deal less QQ in the BG chat last night. If a happier, friendlier Battleground is what awaits, then I'm all for a great deal more Battleground excitement.

Don't Be Lazy... You'll Just Die

Normally I'd hate Hellfire Peninsula, but it isn't too bad right now. Seeing it from a different perspective is pretty nice. There are plenty of quests to do, and though they're very similar to the Horde quests, the story behind them is just different enough to make me care again.

There are some drawbacks, though, of course. Seona's mining never did get to 300, so I'm unable to gather any ore I see while questing. That's just a bummer. Her skinning is doing it's thing, however, so all those over-eager Helboars need to back off or get skinned. I'm also having to level up my two-handed axe skill, which is just boring and tedious. Seriously, Blizzard needs to find a better or more interesting way to level up weapon skills. Right now it's just masochistic. Oh, and I'm dying more often than I should be.

Yes, the Fel Reaver got me. It wouldn't be Hellfire Penninsula if you didn't get one-shotted by the big guy at least once while there. It's interesting how easy it is for a giant, metal, evil robot to sneak up on you, but trust me, he can and will. I've gotten really lazy when it comes to my "oh shit!" buttons, though, because I've died to mobs when, frankly, I shouldn't have. It makes me feel very noobish and ignorant of my class.

For example, I over-pulled some of those red fel orcs in the middle of the zone. Instead of popping a bubble and running away to try again, I stayed to fight. Fine, shouldn't be an issue, pop the bubble... well... no you're dead because you didn't react fast enough. You know, you really shouldn't have died because Lay on Hands was also off cooldown, too. Wow. You just sucked that up right badly, didn't you? Terrible.

That went through my head not once but TWICE last night. I blame the late time and sleepiness... or maybe it was the pudding I was eating while playing...

Mmmm... pudding.

3.2 Has Arrived (And a Wedding)

So, anyone who plays knows now that 3.2 is here and ready to go, as soon as Tuesday maintenance is done. Before I go into that, though, Seona attended a beautiful wedding last night between two guildies.

The wedding took place in idyllic Elwynn Forest, high up in the hills, by a waterfall. Even more beautiful, the entire ceremony took place over the water. Thanks to a few water-walking spells and potions, we were able to stand out on the lake, the waterfall cascading down behind, and witness a beautiful ceremony. It was really quite touching and an amazing RP experience. I dressed Seona up in a very nice blue-green robe that matched her eyes and enjoyed the refreshments afterwards. It's just too bad I couldn't stay longer. The ceremony started around 10 pm and didn't finish till nearly 11... and getting up for work was going to be difficult enough as it was.

So, congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Fost! Best wishes to you both!

Okay, so, 3.2...

First thing I'm gonig to do is log onto Ziir and send out some Gold to Seona. She's getting an upgrade to Caliburn. She managed to level to 58 right before the wedding last night and has already reported for duty in Honor Hold. The demons are no problem, so the "old world" is going to become a pretty distant memory, at least for the time being. I'm also very keen on doing all the quests I can for Honor Hold, to get to exalted as quickly as possible.

Flying training was quite expensive and had no discounts. Now, thanks to the trainers moving to Honor Hold/Thrallmar, you can get reputation discounts and they've made it cheaper. The PvP daily you can grind out there gives reputation, plus tokens and 70 silver. I'm also hoping to finally run a few instances, although with all the Death Knights out there, I'm not so sure I'll get any drops as Retribution. More than likely, I'll throw on some spell power/+int gear and keep those undead buggers alive for experience and fun times... although Hellreaver would be really, really nice. *sigh*

I always intended to make Seona dual spec into healing, however, so this might give me good practice. Regardless, any chance of running instances is good for me, and I actually like some of the BC dungeons.

So Close I Can Taste It

Level 58 is now a heartbeat away. Seona managed to solo Araj the Summoner out in the Plaguelands, allowing her to finish the Scholomance key as well as Alas, Andorhal. Those two quests alone got her 14300 and 11900 experience, respectively. Araj is a pushover when he's alone. I pulled and killed his guards (coming from the East, you know, where the bridge is) and then cleaned out a few more mobs around him, then attacked him directly.

Thanks to Chromie, I had an attuned dampener or whatever it is, which damaged him quite a bit and nerfed his damage to me by 25%. Easy. Done and done, and that much closer to the greatly wanted level 58. Unfortunately, the only quests I have left for the Plaguelands are in the dungeons and I don't really think I have time to run an instance. I'd love to do so. I'd love to run Scholomance or Stratholme at the level you're supposed to, as I've never done so before. Except... well... I want to be level 80 ASAP. And tonight Seona needs to attend a wedding (she's going to look so pretty in her dress) so running something time consuming like the Plagueland dungeons is out of the question.

So, I took her to Silithus. God, I didn't think anything could be worse than Desolace, but Silithus does it, hands down. I'm not a fan of bugs and such to begin with, and that's all you see in this desert (plus the buzzing puts me on edge). The good thing is that it's all new to me, so at least I'm not bored (just on edge :/ ). A few more quests there, though, and Seona will be through the gate and in Outlands, especially since the week means I'm occupied during the day and Seona is gaining rested experience while I'm working.

Good gravy, I can't wait. :D