Lostariel

I'm thinking of doing one of these posts for each of my heavily played characters. Since Lostariel is my project right now, I have added her rss feed to the right of my blog. That area will change as my project or main changes. Here she is. Neat to have a blog post that changes with your character!

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.

Twink From Scratch - An Alliance Experiment.

My hubby has reinstated his WoW account, so he suggested a project we can work on together. This is a great project in that I get to explore twinking after Lich King, after the option to do away with experience gains, and after the looking for group dungeon overhaul. I think the last thing is one of the great random things that could help make twinking great, giving people non-cookie cutter gear options for their new character.

Here I am at the starting phase. The character selection screen has changed for the better. It tells the new player just what they need to know to start with their chosen class and race. I have labeled this picture to show how it helps.

1. Racial Awareness. Everything speial you have or get to do because of your race is listed here.
2. Your background as a member of this race is here. Just enough to start you off in elementary role play.
3. The role you play in a group setting is here. Roles available are tank, damage, and healing, and you can be more than one, depending on your class.
4. Did you want to wear a pretty dressie? Than a warlock is a good choice. Not many pretty dressies in the leather, mail, or plate categories.
5. What you can expect to be able to do in your chosen class is here. Pets, damage over time spells, and specials that require imprisoned sols. Fantastic!
6. Yes, your main power source is mana. Deal with it. If it weren't you'd be an enraged warrior, an energetic rogue, even a runed death knight. Or you'd be confused and be a druid.
7. Here you find everything you wanted to know about warlocks. What kind of damage they do, how society feels about them, and what general stats your gear should be sporting.
   

Now, the picture is not entirely indicative of what I plan to play. The gnome was just cute! Next we have to decide what Race and class combo suits your style of play. Lately, I have been better at casting and ranged combat than I have been at melee, so I want a caster or a hunter. I like to heal, even in PvP, so my choices are down to druid, paladin, priest, or shaman. I like to twink the 19 bracket, just because it is the easiest to get to, with the least spells, and only one battleground. That, and if I decide that the 19 bracket is too slow, I can always turn experience gains back on and start working toward the next bracket.

Here is a breakdown, by class, of healing spells available to the level 19.

Druids have Healing Touch, Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Cure Poison, Revive, and Mark of the Wild as their restorative skills. Other helpful skills include Hibernate (to get rid of nasty hunter pets), Entangling Roots, Nature's Grasp, and Travel Form (or any form to morph out of traps and snares).

Paladin have Holy Light, Purify, Redemption, and Lay On Hands as their holy spells. In the protection tree, they have some mitigation in Divine Protection, Hand of Protection, and Hand of Freedom. Other helpful skills are Devotion Aura, Blessing of Wisdom, Blessing of Might, and Hammer of Justice.

Priests have Lesser Heal, Heal, Renew, Dispel Magic, Cure Disease, and Resurrection in the holy tree. Power Word: Fortitude, Power Word: Shield, and Inner Fire in the discipline tree are also great tools. Other helpful spells are Psychic Scream (for when they found out you were healing), and Fade (to get the random hunter pet off you when it was running around uncontrolled).

Shaman have Healing Wave, Cure Toxins, Ancestral Spirit , and Tremor Totem as their restorative spells. Other helpful spells and totems are Ghost Wolf, Earth Shock, Wind Shear, Purge, and Stoneclaw Totem.

I have to admit I am biased toward the priest. I know priests because I play them. The paladin and shaman with only one useful healing spell apiece at 19 really don't interest me much, even if they have many other abilities. It's probably the melee feel they have with their heavier armor and weapons that turn me off. The druid, however, might win out for the difference of its healing (heals over time dominate their skills, even at 19).

Here comes the hard part. As I mentioned in this post, racial traits do matter! As a druid, I would only be able to be a night elf, with Shadowmeld, a higher chance to dodge, and a boost to nature magic resistance (plu the get out of snare free by shapeshifting). As a priest, the only race I wouldn't be able to choose (until Cataclysm) would be gnome. The benefits of certain races can be found in that post I linked earlier in this paragraph, for those who want to research. For me, I'm going to skip to professions.

At 19, the profession to have has always been and may always be Engineering. Engineering, throughout the levels, is known for its head gear and fun toys. There are 3 pairs of goggles a level 19 can wear if you have chosen engineering, Flying Tiger Goggles, Shadow Goggles, and Green Tinted Goggles. Since the twink profession, enchant and enhancement nerf of mid '09, these goggles will be the only head pieces with stats available to the 19 twink population, unless you fish, and even then, you cannot slap an arcanum on them. The Lucky Fishing Hat still wins for style and the extra stamina. I still recommend the goggles to at least start with. Better to have something than nothing. There are plenty of hats out there with a few armor with no level requirement, but as a healer, I skip them every time. Those kind of hats are only good for role play or your bank character. This is war!

What to choose for profession number two? At 19, there are no other crafting professions that you must have the profession to get the item, so my choice will be a gathering profession. Mining pairs nicely with engineering, giving another 5 stamina at 150 mining. Skinning is easy to level and grants 6 critical strike rating at 150. Herbalism is by far my favorite, giving a heal over time that you can use only on yourself, even in stealth or while invisible. Since it scales with Maximum health, this is a great twink spell to have.

To sum things up, I have chosen my intended race, class and professions for my twink experiment. Her name is Lostariel (means blooming), and she is on the Shadowsong server. She is a Night Elf Druid and will have Engineering and Herbalism, and level Fishing and Cooking. I chose Shadowsong because I have high level characters there that can help fund her growth, and help hubby with his project. Next article about her will be about planned gear and quests, and things bought to help with leveling.

Random Dungeons And The 19 Twink.

Today, partly to test out the blocked experience bar on my rogue, and partly to see if the 15-25 crowd were as nubbly as the 80 heroic crowd I was having no pleasure with tonight, Rowena queued for the random instance. Rewards were to be a handful of copper and a random useful item. Rowena ended up in the Deadmines, working on the second boss.

The under 25 bracket people I started with were a warrior tank, a priest healer, a hunter, and a warlock. The damage dealers seemed to know what they were doing, even if the pets were being unruly. The tank was holding aggro well, but I think I stepped on his ego a coupe of times, stealing the threat away and taking care of adds that strayed. The run was rather uneventful, until we hit Greenskin. Somehow, the hunter pet ran past a bunch of mobs andbrought Greenskin, his two pirate buddies, and 3 more, with parrots. I was able to help clear two, and got Greenskin to about 20%, but evasion was on cooldown. We wiped, everyone came back ,and we tried again. This time, less adds, before we got the second of the four adds down, the tank died. The hunter helped with the last add, then I was on Greenskin again. Somewhere before that Greenskin and a parrot bugged at the base of a ramp, giving me time to bandage. It was a close fight, but I got him down, with only 5% health to spare. I think that was the last straw for the warrior, as he never came back. We ended up pulling a paladin in to finish the last boss, and Rowena got her achievement for Deadmines. Here in the picture you can see what else she got.

If you click you can see my badly drawn commentary. I am now off to submit a ticket for my twink friends out there so that I am one of the few that earn experience after experience is turned off, or at least get some kind of answer. The belt is yummier than what I had, though, and Rowena has a few more experience points she can trade if that is the way it has to be.

Since posting this, a ticket has been opened, which is sitting unanswered. I just submitted a post here about it. Hopefully I'll get an answer to this question soon.

Rowena's Long Lost Brother, Slahtz.

Look, we even have the same taste in gear :) If you had a hard time finding this guy, he is in Orgrimmar, in the battleground masters building, stealthed next to an entrance, behind a support beam, against the wall.

Things That Directly Affect Me - Patch 3.2

I don't usually comment on the patch notes because, hey, everyone else is doing the same thing. The patch notes today have so much that affect me that I felt I would comment on the ones that really grabbed my attention. I skipped a lot, mostly because they are items that only affect me when the whim strikes me to play something other than my priests, which lately hasn't been striking me as much. The screenshot? Completely unrelated, but I felt this needed something at the top. :)

Priests

• Prayer of Healing: The percentage of spell power this spell gains in healing (per target) has been reduced from 80.7% to 52.6%.(Does this mean I will be using this less in groups? I glyphed this spell!)
  
• Talents
  
  • Holy
    • Inspiration: The buff from this ability now reduces the physical damage taken by the target by 3/7/10% instead of increasing the target's armor.(I think I like this better now.)
      
  • Shadow
    • Dispersion: Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes, down from 3 minutes.(I'm addicted to the spell as it is. Now I can use it 33% more often. Yowzas!)
      
    • Improved Mind Blast: Redesigned. Now, in addition to reducing the cooldown of your Mind Blast spell by .5/1/1.5/2/2.5 seconds, while in Shadowform your Mind Blast also has a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to reduce all healing done to the target by 20% for 10 seconds.(Yum, a Mortal Strike of my very own *hugs self* How does this help me in PvE though?)
      
    • Vampiric Touch: The amount of damage done when this spell is dispelled has been doubled.(YAY. More penalty for someone dispelling my VT. But wait, how does this help me in PvE?)

Character name auto-completion for the chat frame, pop-ups, and mail interface is now active(Now I can send tells faster to all my friends with names at the character limit. Here's looking at you, IGeightyate.)

Character names can now be colorized according to class in the chat frame. This feature can be enabled through the chat settings by right-clicking on a chat window.(So in LFG, I won't have to shift and click on someone to find out what they are? Hot Sauce. Now, can we have shades for specs? Hot pink for ret pally, light pink for healy pally, and regular for tanks? I get carried away sometimes)

Item Comparisons: Holding the shift key while hovering over an item will now display the stat differences with the item currently equipped in the relevant slot.(I hesitate to get rid of my RatingBuster. I'll turn it off for a day or so and see if I miss it.)

Item Level: A new option has been added under Display in the Interface Options to show the item level on item tooltips.(No more guessing if an upgrade really is an upgrade? Sometimes, if the stats are really close, I find myself going to WoWHead to check I-level. This will save me time)

Vendor prices will now be listed on items whether or not players are at a vendor.(I see me getting a Greedy achievement here soon. I usually pass if it's not something I can use, but Halinka does like her shopping..)

Wolvar and Gorloc orphans have arrived in Dalaran and need your help! Players can find out more by visiting the Eventide District (completing the quests being offered for this event will not count toward any Children's Week achievements). Players have a limited amount of time to care for these orphans before they take their leave. They will then return again for the regularly-scheduled Children's Week next year.(The question here is, will it get me a mini pet, or some other vanity item to clog my bank with? Yesterday I checked Delgada's bank, and found more than 50 slots dedicated to vanity items. GUH.)

The ravasaur trainer Mor'vek has returned to Un'Goro and will offer to help Horde players raise and train a Venomhide Ravasaur as a mount... if they can survive the creature's deadly poison. (Halinka is gunning for a Wintersaber mount. It is only fitting that Delgada should be able to get something equally unpleasant to grind for.)

Cooking

• Blackened Dragonfin Recipe: Now only requires 1 Dragonfin Angelfish.(I don't use it. But Halinka cooks everything, then sells it. This will make an already profitable item even more worth farming.)
  
• Chef's Hat is now superior quality and allows the chef to cook faster. (It will be a long time before any of my characters have this. But I want it. Cooking faster means more time doing something else while standing in the middle of Dalaran. Oh, wait, I wasn't doing anything anyway...)
  
• Increased the drop rate for recipes from the Outland Daily Cooking quests.(Finally. After I have almost all of them. Oh well, I know some other people who will be happy for this change.)
  
• Increased the chance to get a bonus Dalaran Cooking Token from the Spice Bag.(More tokens means faster recipe buying. Halinka likes that.)
  
• The recipe for Captain Rumsey's Lager can now be randomly found in the quest reward Crate, Barrel, or Spice Bag from the cooking dailies.(More booze! That makes 4, doesn't it?)
  

Enchanting

• Values on Northrend ring enchants increased.(Delgada and Shawndra are happy girls. Finally, a reward for the hard, costly grind of enchanting.)
  

Fishing

• Players with 300 or higher cooking have a chance to find a Waterlogged Recipe in the Bag of Fishing Treasures awarded by the Northrend fishing dailies. This item can be traded to other players and rewards several Dalaran Cooking Rewards when turned in.(Any character I have a fleeting interest in has their cooking and fishing near their level, Carlotta being the exception, because if she is farming, it's for herbs, not fish. Another way to earn those cooking tokens is great, though!)
  

Herbalism

• Increased healing from Lifeblood (Rank 6).
  
• Lifeblood now scales slightly with maximum health. No longer affected by global cooldown. (As this is my newest go-to profession for my alt characters, I am thrilled. A free heal that doesn't have a cooldown, doesn't take me out of form, and scales with max health. This could also be a valuable 911 button for tanks out there.)
  

Skinning

• Master of Anatomy (Rank 6) provides more critical strike rating.(My second new go-to profession for my alts, every bit of critical strike rating is great.)
  

Tailoring

• Embroideries improved.(Waiting to see how "improved" they are.)
  

Non-Combat Pets: 8 new pets have been added (not including Argent Tournament rewards). Raptor Hatchlings can be found on rare and elite raptors throughout the game world. In addition, an Obsidian Raptor Hatchling can be purchased from Breanni in Dalaran. (more mini pets for me! Last night Delgada got her Sprite Darter Hatchling after brutally murdering at least 50 Sprite Darters. She is 5 from the 75 pet achievement. Halinka is also looking forward to getting the last 2 for her 50 pet achievement. Neither of them are looking forward to working for the Argent Crusade, though it seems Halinka may need to.)

Glyph of Shadow: This glyph can now be triggered by critical strikes from periodic damage.(I have seen dots and channeled spells crit so often lately, that I can't wait to see my dps go up :) )

Battlegrounds Battleground experience has arrived!

• Players will now be awarded experience for completing objectives and actions that yield honor in Battlegrounds (honorable kills not included).(Rowena would be worried if not for the next bullet point)
  
• Players who do not wish to gain experience through PvP can visit Behsten in Stormwind or Slahtz in Orgrimmar - both located near the Battlemasters in either city - and turn off all experience accumulation for the cost of 10 gold.(10 gold is less than a daily away. To not have to worry about accidentally leveling into the next bracket is wonderful. If new items come out for the 10- 19 bracket, Rowena will be able to get them without a reroll. Ahh, if only this worked in real life. To be 19 forever...)
  
• Disabling experience gains will prevent a player from gaining experience through any means available in the game.(Now, when someone asks me to run a dungeon, I can astound them with my tanking skills (as a rogue) And, Rowena can now finally build up her arsenal of weapons, and have the specialty sets she will need for going up against the more hard core twinks. Stamina set? You bet. Avoidance set? Coming along nicely. Glass cannon? Whoa baby!)
  
• Players with experience gains turned off who compete in Battlegrounds will face off only against other players with experience gains turned off.(Any little bit of guilt Rowena had killing players that wandered unknowingly into Warsong Gulch with less than blues on is now gone.)
  
• Behsten and Slahtz can reinstate experience gains for players, for a 10 gold fee of course. Any experience that would've been accumulated if experience gains were enabled cannot be recovered.(Yeah, we don't think we'll need to turn on that experience gain again. You won't be getting any more gold from Rowena!)

Added after posting, an item at the very bottom of the patch notes says I am one of the lucky ones that got my game graphics messed up this patch. There doesn't seem to be an update to the drivers my laptop is running, so I added SET fixedFunction "1" to the config.wtf file(as prescribed). Voila! No more graphics problems. If you are running a laptop that has Intel 965 Mobile Express chipset drivers on Windows Vista prior to version 7.15.10.1559 (December 2008), make sure to apply this easy patch before the servers come back up. They say 3pm, but we all know that great content requires long patch day downtimes. Anyone got any good movies they can recommend?

Twinking Post 3.1

This past week, I had the pleasure and pain of taking my bank alt, Rowena, into her first Warsong Gulch in a very long time. Apparently, it had been so long, that when I was transported into the Horde Flag room, I discovered it. It took me until today to realize that I had taken her after I put the finishing touches on her gear, because how else would I have had the scout's medallion around her pretty little neck?

Back to the story. It was purely out of rage that I took her in, as most times are, because she is my frustration release. Not getting my way? Rowena comes out to play. This time, I was at home as my husband was out picking up his kids for the weekend. First of seven was home to watch Seventh of seven so that I could nap. I desperately needed a nap. So, hubby pulls out of the drive, and I prepare to log out by logging in Rowena to post auctions. Just as Rowena pulls through the nether and finds herself inside the Orgrimmar Bank, First of Seven's boyfriend walks through the door. He is a nice enough kid, very careful of respecting my wishes when I am within earshot, even to the point of steering my daughter away from stubbornly doing the opposite of what makes me happy. Now, as many parents of teenagers, I have been accused of "not trusting" my offspring, "not being fair", and been called many names. I don't nap when anyone else's kid is spending time under my roof and I am the only adult present. It isn't kosher. She tried to get me to take a nap, I told her my point, she got huffy, Rowena steered away from the auction house. She had just made an impulse buy of 14 explosive sheep, and she had found a perfect reason to use them. Rowena's operator, crankier than all, is more than into this foray into the battleground.

Rowena tells the battlemaster she is ready, and waits her summons. Less than a minute passes, and she is whisked into a battle that is almost won, with only one more flag needing to be run. She runs out to the middle, thinking they don't need a guard in the flag room at this point, and looks for an easy mark. Remember, friends, this is after the patch, and Rowena has taken a little ding. I say little, because even though this patch took away 500 health, 12 agility, and 10 haste rating, it did not take away enough to make me want to kill Rowena and redo her. Rowena got out there and did what she has always done best, making them run screaming after one sinister strike, then following them and finishing them off. Nothing wrong with this part of the game, she all of a sudden is mobbed by most of the other force, and sprints away with just a hair left on her health bar. Finally dropping combat, she stealths and sneaks into the flag room to bandage. No bandages, bad rogue, so she will have to report on whether she is still able to use heavy runecloth bandages another day. At that point, with half her health back, she runs back out to kill a few more, and someone gets past and gets the flag. Somehow, she catches up, and kills him.

Rowena is a great flag room guard. She likes to place a guard sheep near the flag and stealth near him, poised ready to sap and start ripping the enemy to shreds. So, sheep placed, she waits impatiently for the next flag runner. He shows up, and the sheep ignores him. WHAT? Rowena misses the sap she is so upset about the stupid sheep, and starts whaling on the carrier. She follows that sucker all the way to the gates of their flag area before she dies from lack of healing support. The flag is capped, and the flags are returned. If she could have gotten in just a couple more swings...crusader would have procced, and he would have been down. She shuffled back to her self assigned guard post, pulled out another sheep, and waited. Someone leaves the battle, and a new one arrives, pats the sheep on the head, and goes off to farm honor. Rowena skulks along the wall, waiting for another. The same person this time, the sheep continues to ignore them, but someone had been hiding upstairs watching, and jumped down to help. He got out to the first bit of green before she landed the killing blow, and returned the flag. The call from the rest of the players was to grab the flag and end this battle, so they did. Rowena didn't check her damage, she had done well for herself, and she knew it.

My thoughts? I could care less about the lost leg armor kit, the lost head arcanum, and the lost chest enchant. I may replace the chest enchant with the lesser absorption enchant, just because it is level appropriate and I have always wanted to play around with it. I can even deal with the fact that those nifty pair of boots in my bank from Nat Pagle she will never be able to wear. But the sheep?


WHY?!?!?!??!

On a side note, I have searched, mostly in vain, for this problem. A few people have had the same problem. It may not be a priority. PLEASE MAKE IT ONE! /batlashes

Queue Up for Battlegrounds... Anywhere?

This is fabulous news. I have heard of the twink that would group up, travel to Sen-Jin Village to get whatever buff the witch doctor would give them, and then have their buddies queue up for a battleground. Now, Bom'Bay, the witch doctor in training, doesn't give any performance enhancing buffs, but how fun is it to run into Warsong Gulch huge, or ghostly? Mangletooth in Camp Taurajo has buffs he gives in exchange for Blood Shards that improve your stats. Certainly worthwhile for a level 19 twink to park themselves in Camp T instead of a major city now, isn't it? For us higher level characters, perhaps we'll be camping in Zim'Torga and using our Drakkari Offerings before a fight to get these buffs. I don't imagine Alliance have any cool buffs you can get for a few worthless gems, do they?

What other fantastic things can we do as we wait out our queue time in just about anywhere? Dailies come to mind, as well as flower picking and mining. Fishing trips with a little butchering sprinkled in? Tired of the long grind for reputation and want a change? Enter the queue. Pug group really so bad that you want to go kill yourself? Queue up and let the other side do it for you.

When you finish your battleground, does it deposit you where you left off, or will you find yourself at the nearest town, flightpoint, or worse, major city (faction taken into account)? I guess we will have to wait for the test realm players to tell us. I can wait. :)

Spend some of those shards on your twink!

I decided to go see what Blizzard had added in the 1-19 bracket, courtesy of WoWHead, in Wrath of the Lich King. When I saw the list, my hand immediately flew to my forehead and my eyes rolled. How could I have forgotten about the heirloom items that were so talked about a few months ago? Anyhow, with the help of another handy dandy WoWHead tool, the in game link, I was able to convert the stats to level 19 to see if they were worth the time and the shards or emblems for purchasing them.

Balanced Heartseeker 40 emblems of heroism
one hand speed 1.70
17-33 Damage
(15.o damage per second)
+2 agility
equip - +8 attack power
equip - +1 hit

This does not match up to the ultimate dagger, the Assassin's Blade. It does beat the runners up, though. Unless you are desperate, I'd pass this up. The others are easy enough to get with a run through Deadmines or Wailing Caverns.

Battleworn Thrash Blade 200 Spirit Keeper's Shards
one hand speed 2.4o
25-46 damage
(15.0 damage per second)
equip - +3 resilience
Chance on hit - may grant extra attack on next swing.

Depending on the proc rate, this may be a nice purchase. The dps is significantly lower than Rowena's Shadowfang, but on par with the next best choices. If Shadowfang eludes your grasp, this might be a worthy runner up. Unfortunately, only enchants this baby will take are those without level requirement.

Charmed Ancient Bone Bow 65 Emblems of Heroism
29-54 damage speed 2.40
(15.0 damage per second)
equip - +5 attack power
equip - +1 critical attack
equip - +1 hit

Rowena has her Throat Piercers. There isn't really all that much at this low level with worthy stats when it comes to a ranged weapon. This is superior for the extra 3 attack and the extra .73% crit chance. But the agility also provide me with .48% dodge. It's a toss-up. If you have the extra emblems, go for it. This would be on the bottom of my shopping list.

Exceptional Stormshroud Shoulders 200 Spirit Keeper's Shards
69 armor leather
3 agility
6 stamina
equip - +8 attack power
equip - +4 resilience
equip +10% experience per kill

1 more armor point, 6 less agility, and 6 more stamina. I'm looking at adding a bit of attack, and a bit of health, at the cost of crit rating and the loss of almost 1.5% dodge. What does .32% resilience do at this level? I'm not sure I'm willing to trade out what I have. This item, in my opinion, is too costly.

Inherited Insignia of the Horde 250 Spirit Keeper's Shards
trinket-unique
equip - +6 resilience
use - removes movement impairing effects and effects that cause the loss of control of your character (5 min cool down)

HUZZAH! A trinket!! This one would fly to the top of my list for that reason, and the fact that before Wrath, the Insignia of the Horde was not attainable by under level 20 characters, at least as far as I remember. Now that I have done the search for the equivalent, I may go get some honor and get the lower item.

Sharpened Scarlet Kris 200 Spirit Keeper's Shards
one hand speed 1.50
15-29 damage
(15.0 damage per second)
4 stamina
equip - +6 attack power
equip - +3 resilience

Another dagger. I'm not a dagger rogue, but for those that are, this one falls short. It's fast. It has attack power, and stamina. All these things you can get from the Scout's Blade. What you lose in .2 attack speed and 2 stamina you gain in .54% crit and .96% dodge. Not worth it, in my opinion.

Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders 40 Emblems of Heroism
69 armor leather
4 stamina
equip - +14 attack power
equip - +4 hit
equip - +10% experience per kill

Have I mentioned how I love agility? Sure, these babies have a lot to offer. But my Serpent's Shoulders have all that yummy agility...1.22% crit rating and 2.15% dodge, and the 9 attack power all in one small handy package. Another pass for me.

Swift Hand of Justice 50 Emblems of Heroism
Trinket
equip - +6 haste rating
equip - heals you for 2% of maximum health per kill that yields experience or honor.

Another TRINKET! This one is not unique, and I'm sure the second effect doesn't stack. Still worth it for the haste rating. Not many 19 twinks bother with haste rating, but there are some enchants and items available to help in that area, and more haste = more attacks. That, and this may be by far easier to get than two of the Arena Grand Master trinkets. I say put this on the shopping list as a must have!

Upgraded Dwarven Hand Cannon 325 Spirit Keeper's Shards
30-56 damage speed 2.90
(15 damage per second)
equip - +3 attack power
equip - + 2 crit rating
equip - + 1 resilience

Umm...on the fence with this one. I like the .48% dodge the Throat Piercers give, but the extra attack power and crit rating are enticing here as well. I'm gonna put this one on the "if I have too many shards" list.

Venerable Dal'Rends Sacred Charge 40 Emblems of Heroism
Main hand speed 2.90
30-56 damage
(15.0 damage per second)
3 stamina
equip - +3 attack power
equip - +3 crit rating

Slower than what I have, less top end damage than what I have. Eh. If you cannot get something better, get this for the crit. There are better swords out there for less effort. Save your emblems.

So, to wrap this up, this is some very cool stuff Blizzard has given us the opportunity of owning. New twink trinkets, and some pretty promising ranged weapons. The weapons and armor only seem to really be desirable if you are just unable to get anything else, and really, you CAN get better. 19 is not a hard level to reach, as I know from my accidental "let's see what the daily PvP quest can do for me?" re-roll after the dungeon gear upgrade.

Please, leave me a comment. I'd love to hear thoughts, or debates, on my opinion piece! :)

Improving on my 19 twink rogue

Rowena is my bank character. Since leaving Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, or Undercity means certain experience point gain, that is all she can do, aside from putting the hurt on the 10-19 bracket in Warsong Gulch. I rarely take her out, but when I do, I like to make sure she is holding her own out there. That means she needs some updates.

What has changed recently that a 19 might want to take advantage of? Let's start with the new profession, inscription. For a rogue, there seems no benefit for being one. However, there are the new Darkmoon card sets that can be made by a scribe, and glyphs, of which a level 19 will have 1 major and 1 minor to fill. Rogues Deck gives a quest for items (the quest giver is summoned right to you!) That have a level 10 requirement. They are green, but with the random enchantment, you really never know what you are going to get. Might be worth toying with. As for glyphs, there are many major to choose from, but few minor. Here are my picks...

Glyph of Evasion-5 seconds is enough to get away and bandage, to kill the other person, or to cap the flag.

Glyph of Eviscerate-Eviscerate is great at low levels, because you don't have many spells. For higher level rogues, this glyph is meh, but for 19, 5 combo points can mean the death of almost anyone out in that battleground, twink or not. That is, if you stick around long enough to lay those combo points that thick...

Glyph of Sprint-I'm on the fence on this one, and this is why. At 19, twinks drink Swiftness Potions like kids drink Kool-aid on a hot summer day. That extra speed increase might get you ahead of them faster, but to have it drop off sooner? I'm still thinking on that one. Not sure if it's worth a major slot.

Glyph of Sinister Strike- Another one I'm not too sure of. I think I would take the evasion over this, because sometimes I may hit one stinky gnome, then hare off and stab an icky draenei. If I'm gonna have both of them hitting me while I jump on the "catch the flag runner" train, I'll need the evasion.

Glyph of Backstab- I personally am out for damage and evasion at 19. Those that do use daggers, this is an excellent boost in damage for you, especially if you are handy with your sap and gouge attacks.

Glyph of Garrote- Another nice boost to damage for my stealthier counterparts.

There are more to be had at this level, some for spells you haven't even learned yet! Take a look at them here.

As for minor glyphs, there are only three, and they aren't really handy for low level rogues that are stuck in major cities. If you are a fishing twink, you might be able to use the Glyph of Blurred Speed to get away from aggressive mobs/players. Otherwise, pick pocket and pick lock seem kinda silly.

How about the new buffs given to gathering classes? Let's look into these and see what benefits we can reap from them.

Mining gives us Toughness. The buff is small at first, giving 30 extra health. At maximum, it gives 500 extra health. This is a huge boost! I heard that the restrictions for level on gathering professions had been tossed aside, but is it possible to smelt all the way to the top? Let's look. According to WoWHead, this chart seems to tell me you can smelt, though it may become expensive, all the way to 375. This should give you Toughness, a boost not to sneeze at.

Herbalism now gives Lifeblood, a nice heal over time effect. This is not a profession you can do alone to level higher than 150. If you have the experience to blow, or are starting from scratch, and have a buddy that is much stronger than you along, this could be overpowered. Lifeblood at this rank is all your health and then some over 5 seconds. Hot Dog! This can be cast in stealth after the next patch, if I remember right..

Skinning awards us Master of Anatomy, figuring we have skinned so many beasts that we now know just where to hit to gain extra damage. This, again, is not a skill you can level alone. If you have a buddy and enough experience points, wouldn't this be a wicked addition to what should already be a high percentage of crit?

As Rowena already has mining, I may, over time, slip her some ore to smelt to get her health bonus. She is also a semi-fishing twinklette, her boots waiting in the bank for an enchant, and hat still uncaught.

That is all for now! Did I miss anything? Tell me below!

Quests and Reputations for your 19 twink.

What is out there for a level 19 that can't be bought? What items must you have that can only be given as a reward for services rendered? What kind of experience are these quests going to add? What is the lowest level I can possibly complete this quest at? Are there quests in areas I wouldn't normally take my low level character that can be taken before level 19 that have rewards I must have? Are there reputation rewards usable by my character in higher level zones? All these questions I hope you have been thinking about as you plan out your twink.

There are some very nice items that can only be had for questing. Take for instance the Gravestone Scepter. This item comes from a quest you can take from a dead npc in Blackfathom Deeps. You have to be 18 to get this quest, and the item level is in the high 20's. Or, you warrior twinks out there, how about the Runic Darkblade? The item level is in the low 30's, and out paced all of the rare swords that a warrior could get on drops. Since the recent dungeon loot overhaul, this is just not worth the experience you have to spend to get it. The Battle of Hillsbrad quests are attainable by a level 19, and the experience gain from the quests alone is 15,600. Unless you absolutely have to have a sword, I'd go with Smite's Mighty Hammer, a little less damage per second, until you figure in the strength and agility that are added. Another item from that quest line does deserve a look, the Sacred Burial Trousers. No stamina and less intellect than the cloth twink favorite Darkweave Breeches, but look a that spell damage. I might plan carefully to run this quest chain, dead most of the way, with a high level escort.

Another very popular item that requires either some late late night camping or some very high level help is the Arena Grand Master trinket. In the Gurubashi arena, once every three hours Short John Mithril drops a chest in the middle for an all out free for all fight to see who gets the chest. In the chest are some greens and blues, and Arena Master , a trinket that gives stamina, but not usable until level 35. But, if somehow you are lucky enough to collect 12 of those babies, you can turn them in, earn a whopping 850 experience, and get the no level requirement trinket.

How about reputation? This item I have seen on only one twink warlock, and I know he did some big planning to get it. the Furbolg Medicine Pouch is an item you can purchase once honored with the Timbermaw. I'll let you all read how people managed to get the reputation needed on the link provided. The use effect doesn't work at level 19, but the 10 stamina is well worth the money and time invested.

If you have more experience points to spend than money, or for clothies that want 2 extra points of armor (whoa!), there is a quest to be had from killing the Alliance Outrunners in the Barrens. Leather wearing types can get Trailblazer Boots as a final reward from the quest chain (find a strong friend to help), and Cloth wearers have as a choice the Jutebraid Gloves, which are just slightly better than the cloth gloves that drop in Deadmines and Wailing Caverns. All Horde side should do the Leaders of the Fang quest for the weapon that can be had, on par with most twink level items, and the price is right. Alliance leather and mail wearers would be smart to pick up The Defias Brotherhood quest for the chest or pants. The staff, in my opinion, is really not worth it for PvP.

Do you know any other quests that are a must for the 19 twink? Add it to the comments!

Travel for the successful Twink.

I enjoy Twinking. What is twinking? In my favorite game of the moment, World of Warcraft, it means you have a character at the top of their level bracket (ie 19, 29, 39), in the best gear planning and money can get, with the best enchants and librams that level will be able to use. Some do it just to see what can be done, some gear up for battleground hijinks. I have a level 19 rogue, twinked pretty well, for my bank character. I also have a 19 hunter and priest, missing maybe one enchant each, that are fun for battlegrounds.

I have read about level 1 twinks, even level 10 twinks, but, for now, I like the 19 bracket. There are very few talent points to spend. Spells and abilities are fewer, making it easier for me, who doesn't enter Player Versus Player combat unless necessary, to enter battlegrounds and be effective. I even get pretty good sometimes! It's a taste of endgame, without the trouble of making the 70 level cap and raiding incessantly.

How do you plan for a good twink? I was told by a wise person once that you should always take your level one intended and walk them everywhere you plan on going with them. Why? Because it will keep you from the accidental experience gain of discovering an area. For a low level twink especially, this is crucial, as a lot of your gear requires endless dungeon runs, and if you are twinking without a level 60 or so to drag you through, these runs are going to be very expensive in terms of experience point gain. Every point you can possibly save for another chance at that bind on pickup drop is worth skipping starter zone quests and dying numerous times to mobs more than twice your level to avoid the future experience gain.

So where should a future 19 twink explore after birth? I recommend every major city possible, even Shattrath if you can find someone to whisk you there. Discover Ratchet, for the quest turn in there, and the ship that travels to Booty Bay. The Wailing Caverns and the oases surrounding it (if you have no sugar daddy, this is where you should level fishing, for Deviate Fish are worth more than their weight in gold) should be discovered, as there are some great items in there for leather and cloth wearers, and THE bow for the hunter twink. Wander the length of Ashenvale, discover the Zoram Strand and Blackfathom Deeps, for mail wearers, shield bearers, and the ultimate wand quest. Travel into Silverpine Forest, and chat with a bloke in the Sepulcher for a great ring quest, then find Shadowfang Keep, another great place for weaponry and some nice melee cloaks. While in that neck of the woods, if you aren't planning on taking engineering and have a buddy to help, Hordies should hit Tarren Mill for a quest that nets a nice cloth headpiece. Booty Bay and Grom'gol and all the land along the shores there should be travelled if you plan on trying for fishing gear. The Gurubashi Arena is a sight to see, and should be found if you have some high level buddies willing to help you gain the trinket from the event. For those brave Horde(who will also have to discover dreary Duskwood) or lucky Alliance, Westfall should be on your list of sights to see, as well as the Deadmines. Van Cleef has a leather chest piece any leather or mail wearer should have on their list of must haves, and some of his minions drop some nice weaponry and rings. For those of the Horde faction, the Ghostlands have some nice quest rewards and a very nice cloak you can purchase at high reputation levels with Tranquillien. There is a nice thrown weapon to be had from one of their vendors there,too, if you are quick about it! Your baby may level a few times while exploring, and die many times more, but it will be well worth it!