Looking More Like She Belongs.

Sun sets over the wasteland.

Eromee watches the sun set as her mind turns the pages of the patterns she has picked up.  She feels too fashionable, too clean, for Embry Crossroads.  She must make tougher, more rustic armor.  She hops on old Red and rides back to town.

Tough enough for you?

Yeah, I Made That.

Sunrise in North Burb.

 Eromee woke up in North Burb today, ready to head for Embry Crossroads.  Looking much nicer in her duster, slacks, and high top sneakers, she felt ready to face whatever they threw at her.

Looking more the professional and less the scavenger.

I looked at the tag on her duster, and though fashionable, it places a debuff on one of her main stats.  So, before I sent her to bed for the evening, I made her a new jacket with better stats and no encumbrances.

This jacket I don't trip on.

Tonight, I tasked her with making several new belts and one long red glove. On the table for next play session is some wood scavenging so she can make a more powerful crossbow, learning the new armor items from the books she was rewarded, and finding some scrap glass to make mason jars for a quest.  Oh, and killing lots and lots of baddies for cloth, skunky beer, and dog food.  No, just for the cloth.  I haven't touched the dog food yet, and the beer?  Our little secret...

Fashion Disaster

Before anyone gets upset that I am playing yet another game, don't worry, I am still playing SW:TOR, Wizard 101, and occasionally World of Warcraft regularly.  It's just that I am out of money for subscriptions for this month and possibly next, so I am down to Wizard 101, where I cannot unlock anything past where I am in Celestia, since I am out of crowns, and whatever free MMORPG catches my fancy.  I remember I enjoyed the short trip I took in Fallen Earth way back when it was a new world to explore, and when hubby urged me to try it again, he wasn't really twisting my arm.

Here is my frumpy housewife clone, Eromee.

Matching zip guns is the only way to accessorize in the Wasteland.

Well, in this picture she doesn't look so frumpy.  Rather well put together in that jacket she ripped off a  fresh corpse.  Then, the crafting starts.  I apologize wholeheartedly for the mess you are about to witness.  

At an underground dive bar, in, uh, North Burb town.

A great jacket, some great gloves, and then those horrible cargo shorts.  Just like little boys from the old days, short pants for young players is the norm.  I logged out tonight with a crafting queue that included 7 rounds of crossbow bolts, a duster, a pair of slacks, a shirt, a pair of high tops, and a brown ball cap.  Let's hope this ensemble makes her look better than that old wrinkled kerchief on her head.  After all, a gal can't make herself known in Embry Crossroads in this get up!

Mutant Chicken Legs.

Too Busy!

I wonder sometimes if anyone is still reading this oft neglected blog.  Life has thrown me a curve ball, and I'm dealing with it the best I can, which means something had to give.  As I am unwilling to give up my fantasy world I escape to daily, the blog has suffered.  I'm not going to quit, but I thought you all should know that updates are going to be rather scarce.

Into the Bastion of Twilight

If you have visited the main page, you'll have noticed my character feed for Delgada is broken.  Yipes!  This is not horrible, and I will fix it shortly. I ran up against the problem of too many priests and not enough tanks in my main guild, KNR, so I server transferred Delgada to Eredar to hang out with an old flame.  The new guild, Wrath and Redemption, is a great one, and have whisked me into raiding, despite my low gear score.  Last night we downed Halfus in the Bastion of Twilight and got in several good attempts on Valiona and Theralion.  I'm sure that we'll get it tonight.  Just before our last two attempts my client disconnected, and when I logged back in, all my key bindings were gone.  I healed our last two attempts from the spell page!  Still, I think we got them down to 80%, so I am looking forward to another fun night tonight. I am more prepared than I was last night (who knew they would drag my lowly butt into a raid so soon!) as I now have Deadly Boss Mods installed and my other mods updated.  Tell me, any raiders reading this, is it still necessary to be running Omen? I have it installed, but I find I'm not using it. 

Delgada has been spending the rest of her time on the server doing dailies and digging for artifacts.  She has found quite a few interesting things, even if they are mostly toys.  She has uncovered a dig in Uldum, however, that is bringing up pieces of a ring!  I might be a little more excited about this if it had some spirit on it. Still, at this point in the game, Delgada is behind the gear curve and ahead of the raiding curve.  I don't think I have ever raided so early in an expansion!

While doing dailies, Delgada has managed to make friends with a few other people in other guilds, who seem to have the same altaholic tendencies as I do.  Eredar is shaping up to be a friendly and more evenly balanced server than Smolderthorn could ever hope to be.  I'm a little sad that KNR has to be there.  Thank goodness for Real ID.  I'd probably never have even thought of transferring had I not a way to chat with them after the move.

My Favorite Pet Spell, Ever!

In other news, My wizard Rowan Trollstalker is closing in on the old level cap of 50, and has finished Mooshu!  She spends most of her days in her garden, since I haven't got any crowns to unlock Dragonspyre yet.  I may finish out Grizzleheim before I head out there, just because I have some areas unlocked there that I haven't touched. 

Flashy!

My Fizzle Queen, Jennifer Rainweaver, just turned 15.  It seems that every level divisible by 5 after 10 has a neat looking, best for class outfit.  I'm not sure if my hat is the best, but check out the art work on the robe.

Lightning Bolts!

More accuracy, and stylish, too!

This outfit is so much more flashy than any of the Life school items Rowan has worn.  She has bought the best items possible, and they have sported life symbols on them.  They just don't reach out and say,"Look at me! I'm epic!"  Maybe they will when she hits grand master.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy every outfit Jennifer gets to wear.

Sweets For Your In Game Sweetie.

What do you get that epic someone in your life for Valentine’s Day? Delgada continues her search of the known world for unusual and thoughtful gifts that any Azerothian would love to receive. You can also go back in time and read last year's selections.

Battered Hilt - This may seem trashy, but there are people out there that, for a little hard work, will turn it into something worth wielding.

Motorcycle - Hit up a friendly engineer to help cut the cost, and get together the materials. Maybe when you're done handing over the keys, he'll take you for a spin!

Clothes - A new wardrobe piece makes a great gift. Crafted items are usually easier to get, but occasionally a loot drop makes its way to the auction house. Click on the categories below for a list of bind on equip epic level items sure to please your Valentine.

Cloth

Leather

Mail

Plate

Cloaks

60 and Under Epic

61-79 Epic

Ammunition - Arrows are more Cupid’s style, but that hunter in your life might well be carrying a gun. A few thousand epic rounds in his ammo pouch will have him thinking of you with every shot.

Picnic - Wise people have said before that the way to a lover's heart is through their stomach. Cook up some buff foods that complement their play style, and invite them to a meal on your romantic picnic blanket. Pick up a cake for dessert!

Love Potions - Potions, elixirs, and flasks may not be a traditional gift, but he’ll love that you gave them, and that is why they are love potions!

Bling - Find a nice ring or necklace to set off your sweet's already great smile and gorgeous eyes.

Flowers - Or any off hand item to go with that scrumptious backless dress. Here are some you can buy.

I hope this helps you find the perfect gift for your in game flame. Stay tuned, as Delgada tours Outland and Northrend looking for the best of the best spots for romantic roleplay. While you wait, check out last year's articles covering the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.

Twink Alliance Druid - 29 Wish List

Lostariel did not come out to play today, my interest instead in playing my Horde druid, Niranjani. Same play style, different shaped character. I did, however, pop my nose into WoWHead for some ideas for what Lostariel will want to be wearing to start playing the 29 twink battlegrounds. Here is her list. If you can think of something that I have missed, feel free to comment.

Healing Gear

For headpieces, there are many options, but the chance at getting them are small. Three of the five I am considering drop off rare mobs, one of them a rare boss in Razorfen Kraul. Until I can get that, my eyes will be on the auction house for the other 4, which are all bind on equip.

Emblazoned Shoulders are the only find I had for caster leather shoulders in that range. the Berylline Pads that drop from Razorfen Kraul are better for the added intellect and stamina.

For the chest piece, there are only random green items. Looking at cloth, the Beguiler Robes are very nice, as are the Mechbuilder's Overalls. Since Halinka hasn't done Gnomeregan all the way through yet, this may be the time to farm for them. Or, Lostariel could just turn off her experience gain and hope for a lucky drop! While Halinka and Lostariel work their angles, Minya will sit by the auction house and hope for a miracle, as they are both bind on equip.

For the wrists, there are a pair of bracers for sale on a vendor that have a nice chunk of intellect. With some help, Lostariel could get these for killing an old orc warlock. Or, these might show up in the auction house. Cloth wins, again.

For her hands, there are few options. If she wants to wear cloth, she might get these, or even these. Leather loses for no extra spell power with only this pair or this pair to consider.

Around her waist, Lostariel will probably run Blackfathom Deeps for this. Remember, this is just a starter list. I already know that there is better from the Highlanders with reputation and some gold. One of the random dungeon reward belts might also find it's place here, if it has good stats (Nira got an "of the Vision"model tonight, with 8 spell power, 4 intellect, and 2 stamina!).

Cloth wins again in the pants department. These pants are pretty rare, so second best seems to be these, followed by these leather pants. I might even consider these above the leather for the spell power bonus.

Footwear is important, but in this case, they will be replaced. This pair from Gnomeregan will probably suffice, or just grab any random of the Eagle high level green leather pair off the auction house. If you enjoy Arathi Basin as much as I do, you will be upgrading those pretty quickly!

On her back will be any of her closet full of Tumultuous Cloaks. Not only do they match everything, but they outdo every single cloak in every single dungeon you are running. If you don't have the exact type you want by the time you hit 29, turn off your experience gain and keep running random dungeons. It will drop in your bag eventually, along with a number of cloaks and belts you don't want.

Baubles. Every girl likes to have a ring or two and a necklace. Lostariel is no different. If she ends up in Razorfen Kraul (why wouldn't she?), a escort at the end will net a nice ring. Another possible drop would be this ring. She could have this one made or quest for this one. There are more out there, but these seem to be the best of them. As for necklaces, she would like this one, but might have to settle for this one.

Last but certainly not least, the weapon. This staff that drops of Twilight Lord Kelris in Blackfathom Deeps is nice. I have never seen this drop in the Stockades, but it could. There is a nice PvP staff to earn, as well, though I doubt it is better than either of those.

Trinkets are part of the earned gear post, so I won't go into detail. From my post on 19 twink gear, the trinkets there are still worth the trouble. The stats will be slightly higher, of course.

So, there is my plan for gearing up Lostariel for 29 fun in the Reckoning Battlegroup. I hear they are planning to have their first scheduled run on the battlegrounds this Thursday at 7 Pacific Standard Time. Here is the organization thread. Hope I am ready by then, and looking forward to meeting new people!

Twink Alliance Druid, Continued.

Lostariel has been a bunch of fun to play. So much so that I totally blew off planning which quests to complete and what gear to purchase. I should have done this a few days ago, but I have been running random instances with great people and a few schmucks, and here I am still making excuses for not posting more about my experiment sooner.

Lostariel is 19, with her experience turned off. I found some great deals on the auction house (a Tree Bark Jacket for 9 gold!) and had her equip them. Here is her armory link so you can see her progress. Has she got everything from the list in my head? Not quite. Let me show you what I have planned for her gear.


Head - Lucky Fishing Hat. This may take a couple of Saturdays to get or more, so right now she is wearing Green Tinted Goggles.

Neck - Sentinel's Medallion. Currently she has nothing, but has a Thick Bronze Necklace waiting in the mail(which may have been equipped by the time you read this).

Shoulders - We got our Talbar Mantle! There is a crafted cloth piece I'd like, but first I have to find it!

Chest - There is just no replacing the Tree Bark Jacket when it comes to making a 19 caster or healer twink. There is no equivalent leather piece.

Wrists - The Crystalline Cuffs Lostariel picked up in Ragefire Chasm are pretty nice. She will probably keep them, and get a pair of Wrangler's Wristbands of the Eagle. Of course, a pair of Mindthrust Bracers would also be nice...

Gloves - Gold-flecked Gloves are a nice pair of gloves for a caster, even a leather wearing caster. No leather gloves at this level come close enough to consider.

Belt - Lostariel is wearing the Girdle of the Blindwatcher for it's wonderful stats. She also has a belt from her aquatic form quest, which could be a nice save in a pinch. Running all these random instances, there is the hope that there will be a caster friendly belt in the bag, but so far all Lostariel and WoWHead have seen for leather belts have been of the Wild (+10 attack power, +3 Stamina, +5 Agility) and of the Bandit (+5 Agility, +5 Stamina, +10 Attack Power). Some commenters on WoWHead claim to have seen of the Monkey and of the Moon. I'll be hoping for an of the Sorcerer drop.

Pants - Smelting Pants from the Deadmines ae a good pair for any druid specialization. For more mana, I am thinking of picking up Rigid Leggings of the Eagle (+5 Intellect, +5 Stamina). I didn't find any cloth items that did as much as these.

Boots - These have been tough to find. The Bandit Boots Lostariel is currently wearing were an upgrade from some Bard's Boots of the same type. I hate to upgrade, because, really, how can you get better looking than these? You can't, but you can get better stats, and that is where the Spidersilk Boots come in. I just sent off materials to get these made to a tailor in my guild. Leather boots are mostly for melee classes, so cloth wins again

Back - The Spidersilk Drape is a lovely piece. I am still hoping for a nice from the random dungeon bag of goodies. We have a nice bunch already, one of Stamina(+8 stamina) and one of the Moon(+4 Intellect, +2 Stamina, +4 Spirit), and a couple of melee types in the bank. Again, I am hoping for an of the Sorcerer drop.

Rings - Lostariel has one ring on at the moment, because she is waiting for her wonderful husband the death knight to run her through the Stockades. Once that chain is complete, Minya and Lostariel will be haunting the auction house, waiting for a Blood Ring to surface. I am also toying with the idea of getting a Bronze Band of Force. It is said to be a solid choice for any type of druid, and the +spell damages is said to be about 6.

Weapons - Druids can't dual wield at 19, and one handed weapons with an off hand don't match up to the stats a single staff provides. There are many staves available to the twink. The Twisted Chanter's Staff gives the most benefit, even though it is rather plain. I kept an Emberstone Staff just for around town.


Trinkets - Got nothing in those slots yet. Here are the available non-profession trinkets in the 19 twink universe.

For the heirloom trinkets, the stats are below, since WoWHead only shows them at level 80 stats.

Discerning Eye of the Beast
Equip: Increases spell power by 7. Equip: Restores 2% of your maximum mana whenever you kill a target that yields experience or honor.

Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 6. (-0.42%)
Use: Removes all movement impairing effects and all effects that cause loss of control of your character (5 min cooldown)

Swift Hand of Justice
Equip: Improves haste rating by 6. (+3.69%)
Equip: Heals you for 2% of your maximum health whenever you kill a target that yields experience or honor.

The Arena Grand Master trinket takes a bit of work, and quite possibly some big, bad level 80 bodyguards. You need to collect 12 Arena Master trinkets to get this one. The on use part of this won't work for a lower level character, but the stamina is what it's all about. They are not unique, so stacking two of these is possible.

The Hook of the Master Angler is a hard one to get, especially if you are little. It has no worthwhile stats, but it is something available to the twink as an option. It is a trophy, useful only if you got that before you got your fishing hat.


I will be dragging Halinka through the random dungeon system as a healer to get the emblems needed to get at least one Discerning Eye of the Beast. They are not unique, so it is possible for her to have two. If I can get the hubby to escort me in the wee hours, I will be trying for an Arena Grand Master, just because I have never tried for one before. As a druid, I really don't feel like I need to get the PvP trinket with an enormous cooldown, but if the shards are there, I might pop one into her bags, just in case. None of these bind, so if Lostariel ever goes feral or just doesn't need an item, it can be shipped to another character.


That is all I have for now. Lostariel has been sitting in the Warsong queue for alost 20 minutes now with no bites. My next post will be on the status of the 10-19 battlegrounds in the Reckoning battlegroup. Stay tuned.

What I've Been Doing - November Edition

If you've been reading lately, it is pretty obvious that Shawndra has me wrapped around her little finger. She has been getting the bulk of my attention, needing tanking gear and catching up to her status as a main character. Delgada has come out to do enchanting for Shawndra, and right back away she goes when she is done. Maura has been out to do leg patches and heavy borean armor kits for Shawndra, which has earned her some levels in leatherworking, but back away she goes when she is finished. Shawndra is working on finishing Zul'Drak, then she will be off to Storm Peaks.

Halinka got out a couple of nights ago. She got to run Heroic Trial of the Champion with a few guild mates and a couple pugs. The healer was a pug, and was undergeared, so the instance wasn't finished. Our hunter got a shiny new pair of shoulders, though, so the run was considered a success. Halinka, at the end of the run, had enough tokens to buy a new pair of gloves and a new wand. It was a pretty successful hour of play, all in all.

Real life has been busy. Getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas is always a chore. Add on top of that poor grades and homework contracts for my oldest daughter, checking in on my mom who is getting the holiday blues, and closing up the kitchen for holiday break kept me really hopping. I did have time, however, to hang out with John and Michelle on the Warcraft Outsiders Podcast recently. I had a lot of fun, and I hope you will all give it a listen, and check out their other shows, Video Game Outsiders and Pop Outsiders. Their shows are lively and witty, and a whole lot of fun! They also have a great community site with busy forums and, of course, a fabulous WoW guild on the Shadowsong server.

So, that is what I have been up to this month. I skipped October, but I plan for this to be a monthly article, because it gives me something to write and something to look back on. Now, I am off to hunt wild turkey and shoot some rogues. Wish me luck!

So I Was Going To...

...write this fabulous post on if it was possible for a fresh 80 to tank ToC regular with a normal bunch and reap the rewards. I have this problem though. My guild doesn't let me do things like that. Yes, My fresh 80 butt was dragged into ToC kicking and screaming, under geared, to tank a few nights ago. I can tell you my health was about 17k, my defense was 480ish, and I was in mostly i-Level 170 and lower blues. I was enchanted and specced, sort of. I knew I wasn't ready.

But my friend insisted. So, I got up in front of the bosses after the joust and I failed miserably. I couldn't hold aggro, I wasn't using all the tools available to me, I stunk in more than just the gear category. I apologized, we lost a group member, and I put Shawndra in the inn in the Tournament grounds to think while I brought out Rowena to try and fix things. My friend helped with things too, making a cloak, enchanting a few items with defense and stamina, making a leg patch for me and some stamina patches for some other parts of my wardrobe. After a serious make over, Shawndra was now sporting a more healthy 22k health and a bit more defense and armor. While they looked for another body to fill our vacant spot, I reorganized my toolbar and found a few new tricks I wasn't using, and we started all over again. It went a lot smoother this time, with me not tanking in battle stance (I wasn't the first time either, but the pug we had before insisted I was), using vigilance on one of our overgeared members, and adding charge to my defense bar (I was specced for it, might as well use it in that stance instead of switching and confusing people).

It's been a long time since I tanked anything serious with Shawndra. Even back then, I was really insecure about my abilities. I tanked because we needed a tank. I'd like to get past the point where I grind my teeth and stare at my buttons, being so careful using all my threat generating and damage reducing cooldowns that I miss what the boss looks like. I don't want to be so afraid that I'm going to screw up the instance or raid for everyone else every time I pull, that I lose a mob staring at my cooldowns.

So, I guess I'll have to get more practice so I am no longer unsure of myself. Delgada is officially shelved as I focus on gearing Shawndra, who is coming along fabulously. The reason she is coming along so well is because KNR members are starting to return to the keys. Experience points in PvP and I imagine the Icecrown Citadel patch play a small factor in their returns. Others return from boredom with Aion, while others have no reason. I say, the more the merrier! We have had enough to field an instance group most nights, and when we haven't, we have seen others catching up with their characters of choice. I'm hoping in the next month to see enough on to run a 10 man, even if it's Burning Crusade content. I miss the guild getting together for a common cause. Perhaps it is time for an old school pirate pvp party. There are new boats to take over!

So, in conclusion, no, you cannot tank ToC in the random gear you were leveling in. Go buy yourself a few crafted and bind on equip pieces and get some health and defense boosts. Go quest in Icecrown for some of the items you can get there. Consider it a heroic level dungeon, because that is really what it is. Heroic content for a tank or a healer more often than not requires you to be almost at the gear level of the instance. Now, if you should decide to run the instance as dps and hope for the dribbles of gear the tank doesn't need, then you go right ahead. I'll just bat my eyelashes at my new favorite healer and see about another run. Shawndra still needs a trinket!

September Edition: What I've Been Doing.

I can't seem to get a post to the point where I want to post it. Is it still considered a post if it isn't posted?

Last week, my focus was on gearing up my mage, renamed Dinnaeh and moved to my friend's server. I would log in, check to see who in the guild was online and where they were, and ask if anyone wanted to run anything. Being a new 80 and new to the guild, I was hoping to find a few people who would be willing to take me along on some heroics. After all, everyone's running them! I wasn't asking for a free ride. I had taken some time and gold to assemble some nice epic crafted items and a few good bind-on-equip blues, and was still trying to get into regular instances for some of the items I might need. As I was working on my arcane spec, one of the guild mates offered up his mage as a model and taught me what my cast sequence should be. I'm not lazy. I had already been looking on WoWPopular for a good arcane build and the glyphs to go with it. I had also another tab open looking for cast sequence. But I took the information, and headed to Darnassus to play with the dummies, right after I took my hubbies start out nuke macro from him (It's a doozy. If you want it, I'll share it!). I found she was putting out a decent bit of damage (around 1700 is not bad for a starter mage, right?) So, I joined the LFG channel, as noone in guild was biting, and got into a regular Trial of the Champion. The first group was horrible. The heals needed help, then the tank had to go, then we wiped several times on the nightmare encounter. The group fizzled. I rejoined lfg, started doing the dailies in the Tournament, since I was out there. She got into another group, this time whizzing through the instance twice. She got a trinket, but passed on the ring that dropped when I saw that the healer needed it. The healer and one other promptly degrouped, and I silently flogged myself for not having needed the ring. From there on, it was a mess of people dropping and trying to find replacements. I had signed up with this group to do four runs, and I had every intention to stick it out. An hour went by, we struggled through oiur third run, but wiped on the nightmare encounter. We lost another group member. I decided it was time to hang up my hat for the night. I apologized, wished them luck, and logged off.

The frustrating part of all that was not so much that I couldn't keep a good pug group going, but that my guild, of the at least twenty that were on, only one answered when I was looking for a healer, and noone answered when I was asking for people to run things with. I looked. There were a couple in instances, but for the most part, they were hanging out in major cities. I'm wondering if I had been a healer, or a tank, if they would have been more inclined to run things with me.

This week, done with the frustration of looking for groups with a dps character, I logged in to say hi to my guild mates on Shadowsong. Guild chat here is always hopping, people are in ventrilo chatting at peak times, and it's just a friendly place to be. The second I logged in my bank character, I got a tell from one of them saying hi. After finishing the banking, I logged in with Halinka. I set myself up to heal a regular Trial of the Champion. I failed miserably. We did fine on the first part, killing all the horde combatants. I could not keep everyone up during the nightmare phase of the Paletress encounter. The group broke up, and I set to doing the dailies over there. Somehow, I got into a regular run again, this time as dps, to help gear someone's mage alt. It went from that to running a 25 man Vault of Archavon, then a 10 man Vault of Archavon, then a race through Gundrak on heroic with two teams, to end in a 25 man Obsidian Sanctum. Halinka got a nice pair of pvp pants and a robe to go with it, and she got a nice pair of pve pants, too. She spent a few badges and bought herself a nice belt. Then, she went and gemmed and enchanted the whole lot.

What is great about this last few days is that, this guild does things together, and not just on raid night. If someone needs a hand, all you have to do is ask, and if they can't it's usually because they are truly busy. The difference between this character and the other? Not much , really. Sure, Halinka could heal, if she had the gear. They are both dps at heart. Halinka, thanks to an active and very social guild, is getting crazy upgrades (i-level 245 pants to replace i-level 200!) Dinnaeh needs to get to know her new guild a little better, I guess. Or switch to her bank alt paladin and level a healer. Because noone seems to want another dps on that server. Things may take a turn for the better when the cross server lfg system goes into place.

Tonight is raid night for my Shadowsong guild. I might pop over and say hi to the other guild. After this daily...

Catch Up Gear For Shadow Priests

So, you are behind your guild by leaps and bounds. Your gear is pre-heroic, and theirs is post Ulduar. You feel left behind, but you don't want to burden them by asking for runs in Naxxramas when they really don't even care to dance another round with Heigen. What can you do?

Well, with the new Trial of the Champion instance, you can bag some i-level 200 epic pieces to help flesh out a good heroic ready set of gear. Everyone is running it, and if you are lucky, you'll find a group that is running it multiple times. Once you're in, stick with it. Here is a list of the gear that a shadow priest can use in this instance.

Belt of the Churning Blaze
Bindings of the Wicked
Handwraps of Surrendered Hope -yes it's a healer piece, but we like the spirit, and the red socket!
Leggings of the Haggard Apprentice -another healer piece, gemmed with a hit gem if you need hit, and a spirit gem, why not?
Mantle of Inconsolable Fear -this piece works well for healing as well.
The Confessor's Binding -this is a healing belt. If you get this one and not the other, it's not so bad, is it?
Signet of Purity -a nice ring for healing and dps
Brilliant Hailstone Amulet
Abyssal Rune
Tears of the Vanquished -I know it isn't a dps trinket, but if the healer doesn't want it, who would laugh at you for wanting all that intellect?(I believe that all my spells are helpful. I boycott the exception of my spells from Blizzard's idea of helpful. Phooey!)

These items don't cover all your gear slots. That's okay though. This is where you use the best item from Shadowpriest.com's beginning raid gear list. Let me throw up an example here. HolyNova, who is kicking herself for her bad choice in naming right now, has been building her shadow set, in hopes that one day she can be as dangerous and beautiful as that fire mage over there (we'll call him Larry). She was able to get the wrists, hit belt, hit neck, and the dps trinket from a few runs in Trial of the Champion. She is thrilled. She gems the hit neck with hit, enchants her bracers with more spellpower, adds a socket to her belt to put another hit gem in it, and puts on only these items. She has 107 hit rating now, and some other nice stats. Right now, we need to make sure her hit rating gets closer to cap. I have found for heroics, cap is not necessarily the same as it is for raiding. Still, we should aim for as close to that magic 289 as possible (assuming you have all points spent in misery and shadow focus). She found The Argent Skullcap kicking around in her bank, getting her to 168 hit rating. She healed a heroic Violet Hold and was lucky enough to get Mark of the War Prisoner, which boosted her hit rating to 241. At this point, some people might just run off without a robe and happily be able to complete Utgarde Keep on heroic mode, but we like well dressed priests. It's cold in Northrend! Speaking of cold, Nova has been working with the Ebon Blade (probably where she got her affinity for the dark side), and they liked her enough to sell her a Dark Soldier Cape. Her hit rating, now at 270, is looking more worthy of heroics. Now, our gal has been cooking and fishing and doing her regular daily dungeon quests without fail, and the Kirin Tor love her. They let her buy Robes of Crackling Flame, which make her think of Larry. Another item the Ebon Blade let her buy are Sterile Flesh-Handling Gloves. Her boots and pants have been hard to replace. She's just using her healing rings now, nothing special about them. They have haste and intellect and critical strike chance and stuff like that.

Now, we were talking about farming heroics for gear to catch up with, weren't we? With the set we have assembled, Nova should be able to hold her own any about any heroic. This is where the fun begins. You see, everyone, and I mean everyone, is farming heroics for the new badges right now. How does this impact Nova? As a healer or as a damage dealer, she will find more groups as she is flexible. More groups = more badges, and more chances at upgrades. Should she still run regular instances? Probably not, unless she is uncomfortable walking into a heroic not having done the regular version. Badges are the key, because the items that can be purchased are i-level 213 and 226, which is fine to jump into Ulduar with. Here is a list of items a priest can use, purchased with Badges of Conquest. Pair that with items you can get from heroics (here are some nice i-level 219's from ToC), and Nova can dazzle Larry with her new role as a damage dealer. Fireball? That is so yesterday. Eat a few of these dots and tell me how you feel in the morning. :)

I hope this is helpful for people, like me, who are trying hard to catch up as a new level 80 to people much further progressed. Comment if you found something fun that I missed. I love shopping for new gear!

I'm Not That Kind Of Hunter!

...Or, strange things players have done in my presence.

The day before yesterday, I had my bank alt, Minya, sorting through auctions when out of the blue someone asks me if I want to run Deadmines. Sure, I said, and was whisked to Moonbrook. The group consisted of Minya (23 hunter), a 17 hunter, a 18 druid, a 21 druid, and a 17 rogue. The rogue was only in it for the blade, and so was the hunter. I was just along for the ride, as were the druids. Before we settled on a full group, we had a few hiccups, but once we were all in, things fell pretty quickly, as we decided to let the pets tank. As we were rolling, and the hunter expressed that he needed that blade, I mentioned there was a better hunter drop at the end than the blade. As the rogue agreed (more so he would have no competition, I am sure), the hunter exclaimed, "I'm not that kind of hunter." To which I replied, "What kind of hunter are you?". Maybe at higher levels a hunter might decide to aim for more intellect than agility, or more attack power or hit, but the lower levels shunning an item with that much benefit seemed silly to me. Sadly, we did not get much further than Smite, as someone pulled a whole level of pirates down on our fragile heads, and heals could not keep up. The rogue said forget this and split. Then a druid disconnected. At that point, we had left a druid who professed to be new to the game (and was doing quite well), and the hunter, who had run out of arrows right before the goblin workshop. I told the druid to add me, and said I was sorry, but I had auctions to process, and I hearthed back to Stormwind.

Last night. after my cherry cheesecake was an uncomfortable memory (no, I shared, but something didn't agree with me last night), I logged in Minya again to sort through some auctions. I stood idly in the bank for a minute or so as I turned to see what the kids were doing on the Wii, and when I turned back, there was a human paladin standing back to back with Minya. I asked if he liked tall, dark, exotic women, and he replied, "YES!". I replied that I was likely too young for him, him being a 53 warrior to my lowly 24. Turns out his paladin was a leatherworker, and he wanted to help get Minya some better gear. Who am I to turn a guy down? He was very generous in gifting Minya some shoulders, boots, gloves, belt, and a cloak for later. He also crafted an armor kit for me, which I slapped right on my chest piece, since I figure I'll hold onto it for a while. We chatted, mostly one sided, as I didn't get the answer to my question, "Why did you choose leatherworking for your paladin?". But the guy was thrilled that he could help upgrade someone. It made his day. To me, that is just awesome. Here I thought I was just getting the benefit of someone hitting on a girl (he was trying to see Minya's face, because she had this fabulous hat on and it was in the way), and he was just one of those guys that really likes to help. I'm planning on sending him an anonymous donation of level appropriate leathers for him to work his leatherworking skill up, because I know he won't take any money.

People astound me with the decisions they make in this game. When given arrows, why does a hunter continue to melee? Why choose a profession that does close to nothing for your character? Why do people show up for a raid without food, potions, water, bandages, and elixirs or flasks?

The world may never know.

Changing Sides Of The Conflict.

Traitor! That's what they would scream after me, as I nonchalantly dropped my Horde colors, went to the Alliance stronghold closest to me, and pledged my allegiance.

Blizzard has announced that they are working on a way that one could change their character from one faction to roughly the equivalent character of the opposing factor on the same server. I can only imagine the work that they are doing trying to make this possible. What would you have to think of when doing this change? Well, here is what I think needs to be thought through.

1. Faction. Your goblin reputation, and any other reputation you can gain without thought to which side of the conflict you are need not change. What needs to change is the factions you have with your main cities and settlements outside Vanilla WoW. Orc could be Human, Undead could be Dwarf, Troll could be Gnome, Blood Elf could be Draenei, and Tauren could be Night Elf. I thought this out by pairing up the main group of each faction, the hardest reputation to grind of each faction, the druid groups, the expansion groups, and the last two naturally went together for their easy reputation grind. All the other relevant factions trade out equally well, such as Horde Expedition for Alliance Vanguard. All that is left unspoken for is the Wintersaber Trainers reputation, which would disappear if switching to Horde, or have to be ground out if switching to Alliance, since their is no corresponding reputation grind on the Horde side, yet.
2. Quests. What a tangled web this is going to be. I guess the easiest part are the starter and secondary areas. They can gauge what was done, and kind of match that to the chosen side. Quests done for neutral NPC's such as goblins would not need to be compared, just marked as completed. Quests that grant faction reputation for both sides would have to be marked completed. Dungeon quests that are normally not available for the other side would have to be traded for the equivalent ( Leaders of the Fang for The Defias Brotherhood). To have to compare zone to zone, quest to quest, I just cannot fathom the amount of work they'd have to do to make the switch even. Crossroads compared to Redridge Mountains? Silverpine Forest compared to Wetlands? Once you get to the expansions, it's not so hard. Let's face it, we all had our poo quests. So one of us got dog poo and the other got an outhouse. The zones are pretty equal there. It's the earlier, growing stages that are really going to cause the problems. And what about quests that give special perks. What Alliance hasn't saved their Furbolg costume from Ashenvale? Sorry, if you go Horde, it goes poof!
   
3. Gear. Some gear you just can't get unless you are on the right side of the fence. Any gear obtained from a quest that was not your faction would have to be traded for gear from the equivalent quest. If that type of gear wasn't offered, the equivalent Bind on Equip item would have to suffice. Things that are race specific, like Blood Elf Bandit masks would be sitting, unusable and not equipped, in their inventory.
   
4. Professions. A profession is pretty much the same no matter where you go. Cooking, on the other hand, is different. Up until recently, Alliance could not get their hands on the recipe for Dig Rat Stew. Horde could buy all the Alliance quest recipes on the neutral auction house, but Dig Rat Stew was bind on pickup, and therefore not available for cross trade. It still is bind on pickup, but there's a fella in Bael Modan that will sell it to you, if it sounds like something you'd want to eat. So, if you were moving from Horde to Alliance, all the recipe quests that were faction specific should be unlocked, regardless of whether you had the recipe or not, because you can purchase these alone, right? As far as other recipe quests, regardless of salability (is that a word?) those quests should remain open when sides are switched.
5. Aesthetics. When this change is made, are we going to be able to revisit the character creation screen? I would hate to have an exact number for number model trade. Take this example. I have the Orb of the Sin'dorei. When I changed my undead priestess' hairstyle, I used the orb and she had a different hairstyle, too. I hate the face that corresponds to the one my undead has. She looks so sour as a blood elf, but so content as her undead self. Are we going to be able to have a sex change, too? Maybe our undead priestess wants to be a hunky night elf priest.
   
6. Name. Delgada really fits my undead priestess. It would never go with, say, a dwarf or a gnome. There is nothing "delgada" about them. I would definitely want to be able to rename my character.
7. Associations. This is a given. Bye Bye Horde, hello Alliance, or vice versa. Guild and friend lists are a clean slate.
   

Now that I have taken the time to sit down and write this out, I can see where Blizzard has been making preparations for this to work.

• Sprite Darter Hatchlings can be farmed for by Horde.
  
• Dig Rat Stew recipe available for purchase to Alliance.
• NPC in Un'Goro soon available for Horde to get special mount, for a quest grind.
• Homogeniezation of expansion content (Horde quests are equivalent to Alliance quests)
• Thunder Bluff Blimp (quite like tram to Ironforge, am I right?)
• Reputation rewards on opposite sides are just differently named and modeled (Charged Wand of the Cleft vs Gnomish Magician's Quill).

Any comments? I'd be happy to debate, or agree with you on this one. Am I happy about this? I am neither happy nor outraged about this. If you are trying to play with someone who rolled the opposite faction and are able to join them without the mess of a re-roll with this, great, I am happy for you. Does this make it easier for people who PvP to switch sides of the conflict for better racial abilities? I foresee a great number of changes to undead for PvP players. How about for PvE? The change from a night elf rogue to a orc rogue would be very satisfying for the new ability to wield axes, wouldn't it? Well, I'm going to let you all comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Additional Instances Cannot Be Launched...

This evening was an exercise in frustration for me and 4 others, as we beat ourselves silly on the invisible barrier barring us from entering Scholomance. We tried all sorts of things. We tried disbanding and regrouping with a different leader. We tried disbanding and trying to get one person in. We tried sitting around and randomly taking runs at the portal. Noone contacted a game master, that I am aware of. Finally, as they were deciding to run Ramparts instead, I burst through the impenetrable shield and stood looking at skeletal guards and fantastic candelabra. I was in Scholomance at last.

I love this instance. The look inside is my absolute favorite. The candles, the oriental rugs, the wrought iron gates, the stonework, the books...all the things I'd love to have surrounding me. The skeletons and creepy spellcasters can vacate my palace anytime.

Once inside, our group, consisting of a paladin, a druid, a death knight, and my priest, Halinka, proceeded to decimate the place. I got a little to close a few times (forgot how low level she is), and died. Thank goodness we had 2 other people who could resurrect. Having to wait over half an hour to get in was well worth it, as we were able to get down all the normal bosses. We didn't get all the way downstairs, and we didn't summon the messenger, and we didn't aggro the entire student body. But, our friend near the alchemy lab was about ready to visit a lady conjurer, it seems, because he had this in his pocket:


Isn't it lovely? I also got a new hat that doesn't quite match, so I won't bother you with the details. This robe should help Halinka grind out her Wintersaber Trainers reputation in style.

Back to the point of this post. I'm reading a thread on this issue. Blizzard says this is happening only during peak periods, and I have noticed this happening only in Azeroth. I have never had a problem getting into an Outland instance or a Northrend instance. Are they hosted on different servers? I don't know. The thread I am currently browsing through is pretty heated, with a few posting helpful information for the game masters to pass on, and many just getting angry and not helping to solve the situation. I posted our problem on page 79.

Have you had any problems getting into instances lately? Let Blizzard know, or just post your thoughts below!

Wearin' O' The Green: In Color!

The Captain's Set.

The Forest Set, with the Green Brewfest Hat.

The Green Iron Set, sans helm. It would muss her hair!

Batter up, it's the Shimmering Set! Sorry, there weren't any ball caps. Blizzard, we must have one!

Wearin' O' The Green

Thought I would dredge through the many items available to wear and pick some green colored, though not necessarily uncommon in nature, items to wear today as you down a few ales in Ironforge or wish you had a good ale elsewhere.

These items almost everyone should be able to find. The stats are non-existant, but the colors are fabulous! During the Elder Festival, did you pick up the Festive Green Dress? If you didn't, don't cry into your beer, because chances are it's already been watered down. Instead, pick up Green Wedding Hanbok or Dark Green Wedding Hanbok. They're not green all over, but they will keep them from pinching you, unless they are too short to see that high. Speaking of beer, if you were clever with your coin at Brewfest, you bought a Green Brewfest Hat. Now, it doesn't necessarily match the last three items, but as I noticed in the lunch line today, when it comes to wearing the green, the more outlandish and mismatched, the better! Another fun option, for you engineers out there, are the level nineteen twink item, Green Tinted Goggles. If you have a tailor friend, the Green Holiday Shirt can be made after a short trip into Scarlet Monastery. Well, make that about 5 of those, the silk drops in there like leaves in the fall! If you have some Frostweave and you don't care, Green Lumberjack Shirt could be yours. Make sure you get a Lumberjack Axe to heft over your shoulder, to complete the look.

Now for some gear that you can use! For you plate wearers out there, I bring you the Emerald Set. Looted from mobs in the 55-60 zones of old Azeroth, these items are randomly enchanted. You might be lucky to find a whole set, who knows? For lower level plate wearers, the Jade Set is looted from level 42-51 zones. For you leather wearers, the Jadefire Set is very fashionable, and available in the 46-55 areas of old Azeroth. This set even has a cloak, which might go nicely with the plate set as well. A lower level leather set, the Forest Set, would be great for the 24 and under crowd.

Cloth wearers, to start, I give you the Beaded Set. The shirt is alright, but that robe is the eye-catcher. Another nice robe with green on it is the Spider Web Robe. The Beastwalker Robe is a lucky drop off Nefaru, a rare worgen in Duskwood. The Conjurer's Set is a lovely dark green, my favorite color, and gives the option of a shirt or a robe. The Greenweave Set is very rustic and raggedy, for that slept-in-my-clothes-after-a-bar-brawl look. The Ivycloth Set is a great leprechaun-like set, except for the robe. I'd stay with the tunic. The Pressed Felt Robe is also a great looking choice. The Shimmering Set, without using the robe, looks like you are ready to play ball! The Willow Set is also a great looking set.

For mail wearers, the Brackwater Set is the earliest green set. Set up your warrior or paladin bank alt with this set for some holiday fun! The Soldier's Set has some nice green accents, for those who don't want an all green outfit. If you have a friend that is a blacksmith and you are at least 34, the Green Iron Set is a real eye catcher! For enough gold to make a leprechaun drool, and enough green to keep you from pinches, try the Captain's Set. This set is a crowd-stopper, especially on the female toon of your choice.

I'm sure there are more options out there, as I didn't touch Outland or Northrend, much. Remember to gather some friends, drink some ale, and put the dwarves to shame this holiday!

This would have kept me from getting pinched so much at school today! Some real world green for Saint Patty's Day! Have fun out there tonight, whether it's in Azeroth or in the real world. Designate a blimp operator, cyclist, or driver. You know the one to pick...the one standing in the corner with the obviously non-alcoholic beverage. Stay safe, and I hope you visit my corner of the internet again soon!

Shadow Priest Kindergarten - The Look

Good Afternoon, class! Welcome back to Shadow Priest Kindergarten. Today we will be exploring the fun and fabulous world of Shadow Priest Fashion. We all wear cloth, but we don't always wear the same cloth as our healing other half.


As we are leveling, we shouldn't be too concerned about how we are dressed. Quest rewards and the odd lucky drop should carry us through. I do recommend picking up some Outland gear at level 58 to help protect and enhance until you are receiving the Outlandish gear that the quest givers reward. (Outlandish is a nice way to explain the look you get when combining the different quest rewards. It would be more accurate to say that it turns the female character into a Vegas showgirl with a cowboy hat. Thank goodness for our all outfit enhancing shadow form!)

In a few posts not long ago, I had lined up a guide to finding as much gear that provides Hit Rating as possible. As a shadow priest, we don't need to amass as much as a holy priest would, so pick and choose your favorite items to hit that magic rating of 290. This is for starters. When you feel comfortable in what you have, follow this link to Shadowpriest.com's ultimate shopping list. Just keep in mind as you shop, that if you replace an item that has hit with one that does not, you will have to make up that lost stat elsewhere. If you don't want to find gear that has it, follow this link to my guides on gemming, enchanting, and consumables to add hit rating.

Since the work here is already done, I will leave you to your shopping. Next class will be on spell priority. Since I am letting you out early today, please make good use of your time and visit some other priest-centric blogs, such as World of Snarkcraft, World of Matticus, The Egotistical Priest, Misery and the Pugnacious Priest. There may be a test later....