Four Years

It was actually yesterday but, um, yeah I thought it was tomorrow, so we’re going to celebrate my 4th Blogiversary today, mmkay?

I don’t really have a lot to say about it. Obviously since I’m still playing and posting, I’m still having fun. Part of the reason for that is because Blizzard has done a great job of evolving and making sure that the game has something for everyone. They make fun things like questing with Zen’Kiki …

You’re doing it wrong, love.

That’s better.

But fun and engaging gameplay alone wouldn’t have kept me around for so long. You guys … the people I play with and the people I blog with … you make it more than just a game. You’re not just other players … you’re friends. The game would just not be as much fun without you.

Last night is a perfect example. Dyle headed down to the Faire to kick Fezwick around. I opened the bag of goodies afterwards and saw blue. Oh my, is that … it is! A Darkmoon Eye!! OMG!!!
Would this be as exciting if I had no one to share it with? Not only no but Hell No! No one on in guild chat? No problem! I hit up stalker ID. Oh look, it’s Bocat, she’ll understand! And my night will be made because I have someone to be excited with. That’s the true magic in the game … the friendships we build.

So Bo … here’s the screenshot I promised you of the Darkmoon Eye in shadowform. Creepy eh?!?

P.S. I reserve the right to change my opinion on in-game friendships after SR visits Disney World together. I hope Orlando is prepared. Maybe we should warn them ahead of time?

Farming Lovely Charms

Yesterday I was sitting here minding my own business at work when Trout e-mailed me complaining about the low drop rate of Lovely Charms the night before. I was like, ‘yeah, you know, I didn’t get very many either,’ so I hit up Google and went on a researching mission. Not surprisingly, the official forums are full of bitching about this. However, in between the whining, I also found some very helpful posts with suggested farming sites. So last night, after my daily ganking in Uldum for the holiday daily, I headed out to test the spot that I found most appealing.

The site I chose? The Iron Crucible located inside Halls of Lightning. This is the room full of elementals that you run through after you have killed the first boss. Why did I choose this place?

• It’s instanced, so there’s no competition for kills, and most importantly if you are on a PvP server like my belfs, NO ONE CAN GANK YOU!
• The adds are level 79 non-elites with just under 16k health, so they die very easily, even to a newb in greens like my third-string pally. (Seriously, he got a ring in ZA last night that was an upgrade for his ret set.)
• The adds do not drop loot. Some might count this as a negative rather than a positive, but I’m there for Lovely Charms and only Lovely Charms. Looting would slow me down and take up bag space with non-Charms.
• The adds have a very fast respawn rate.

So, how did the test run turn out?

In the first 20 minutes there, I went from 11 Charms to 81 Charms. Then I grabbed my mage friend who was looking to work on the holiday as well, and said hey come out to Ulduar and I’ll show you how to churn these babies out fast. Once I had her there, we each took a side of the room and neither one of us even had to move from our spots. I was standing in one place, perfectly still, and would have three adds at a time spawning on top of me. I’d use Art of War procs to one-shot slags to my sides for super bonus fun times. After another 30 minutes I was up to 200 Charms.

One other thing to consider…there have been complaints that people who have the Test Your Strength quest from Darkmoon Faire will get fewer drops because the Grisly Trophies and Lovely Charms cannot drop at the same time.  I did not get to test that last night … Kale had turned in Test Your Strength when the Faire opened on Sunday, so he does NOT have it in his log. I’ve seen reports that putting the Adventurer’s Guide in your bank when you go out to farm Charms remedies this situation.

So there you go, a perfect spot to grind out those charms, and you can even bring a friend to speed it up!

P.S. Today is my 3 year blogivesary. Three years! Is that crazy or what? Thank you to everyone who has visited over the years.  Don’t forget to mock Sorak in the comments!

Epic Verse!

Yes, I borrowed the title from the Warchief.  I suppose he could sue me, but since he’s gone missing I don’t think I have much to worry about.

Navimie over at The Daily Frostwolf recently celebrated her blogiversary. As a part of that celebration, she sent a gift to everyone who wished her a happy one. Hey, wait a minute … shouldn’t WE be the ones sending gifts to HER?

Anyway, being the silly goose that she is, she has to be different, and I’m certainly not going to complain about that! She sent me this really awesome poem, and I got permission from her to post it. I am not changing a thing, so here it is, word for word.

Ode to the Grind

Reputation Grind is a blog I read,
It’s quirky fun, oh yes indeed
If it’s your first time, you will be amused
But you also might get a bit confused

So many alts, I don’t know who’s who
There’s Arelin, Rozjin, Kerick too
Dyle, Junahu, Futura, Vanicus
Ragle, Sanbec, Kalyon, Karyus.

And then all his guildies!  So many stories!
Arv is that one who prances like ponies
Sorak’s a tank, And so is that Cayle
I wonder why, his nickname is Fayle?

If you go look what’s on his side bar,
He’s listed all loots, that he’s got so far
From Call to arms – my god, there are heaps!
Guess he queues heals, and not as a deeps.

This week he got TWO green proto-drakes
Gimme his dice, for goodness sakes!
He’s got a seahorse, a Vial of the Sands,
If only I could take them off his hands

You might not know, but coz u dropped by
On my birthday post, I pledged that I
Would make a gift for every one
Who left a note.  It’s just for fun.

So this silly rhyme I made for you
Just my small way to say thanks too
Keep up the work, I would like to hear
What other stuff u get up to this year.

EPIC. I had to stop reading at that line about Arv and roll on the floor for awhile. And yes, I did clarify the gender thing after the fact, so don’t make fun of her for not knowing. It’s not like I make it obvious, with all my boy toy toons! ^.^

Two Years?!?

Where has the time gone? Two years ago today, a journey began. Well, ok, the actual journey began the spring before that. But the history, the diary, the written documentation … The Blog … began then. (Yes, I linked to the site you are currently on. Want to make something of it, punk? Do you??)

So much has changed. I started out as a newbie huntard. I’d been carried into Kara a couple of times very late in BC, where my sole purpose was pretty much to enjoy the scenery and prove that I was able to hang out in a group without my pet pulling.

At the time the blog began … well, I was in much the same situation, expansion wise, as we are now. First tier of raiding, gearing up in heroics … oh my, the heroics!! Don’t you people remember way back when Loken … LOKEN ferelunesakes … was the deadliest boss in the expansion?? And Ingvar, dear Ingvar … how I prayed and pleaded with him to drop that cursed ugly Drake-Mounted Crossbow and it never would drop … similar to some other items that I am yearning for this time around. (Wands and Holy Pally bracers, I am looking at you!)

We had a small, tight 5 man group that geared up together .. kinda like now. That group pugged Naxx together and I learned to raid with them. A few weeks down the line, however, I was also introduced to the concept of loot drama, and it all fell apart. But I’d had a taste … I’d cleared Naxx on both 10 and 25 and wanted more. So a new journey began … one to find a new home, where there were more than 2 people logged on at one time.

For The Horde was recruiting to try to start raiding. It seemed like a good chance to get in on the ground floor of a new group. I transferred over, and convinced Fiak to join me. The raiding never quite happened, too many real life complications, but I made some great friends. Most of them, in fact, now play where I do on Winterhoof. Pie has been having a great time hanging out in Crits.

How I got to Crits is pretty amazing in itself. I told Trout that his guild sounded like fun and if I ever got crazy enough to play Alliance I’d check it out. One night Dawnbringer was down, so I rolled a DK on Winterhoof  .. and the madness began.

From newbie Horde huntard, to serious Alliance raider. Fiak probably still hasn’t completely forgiven me. He’s spending his time doing what he loves best, leveling toons through the BGs and racking up HKs. It’s not so easy finding people to PvP with on this side, I know.

As for me … well ……

Pretty green numbers SQUEEEE! Boss kill numero four. We downed Omnomnom Council over the weekend, also, along with the two we’d already killed the week before … Magmaw and Council of Four Winds. Yes, I healed all four. I got a shiny new ring, too.