tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66515913700757528632024-02-18T21:53:33.344-06:00Avocation WoWAdventures in tanking and spanking across Azeroth (and Outland).The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-91260873193823356172011-09-23T07:00:00.000-05:002011-09-23T07:00:18.258-05:00Sweet Surrender<div>First of all, apologies for going dark without any notice or explanation. It's been an unexpectedly tough summer due largely to the necessary evil known as the dayjob. I won't go into boring details here; this is supposed to be a blog about WoW and those of you on my Twitter stream are probably inured to my stress!rants anyway. ;) Once upon a time I used to work well under pressure. Now I just seem to fall apart -- mentally, physically and emotionally. I can only wear so many hats and juggles so many fires at once before something's gotta give. Since the stress-filled-dayjob is what pays the bills, everything else becomes expendable.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The blog was the first sacrifice. I just didn't have the time or the mental capacity for it. My play-time was the second sacrifice. There were many weeks where I only managed to log in once, and some weeks when I couldn't even manage that. The results were predictable. A guild, especially a small RP guild, without an active GL doesn't last very long. I was down to two active members and my Officers quietly and mysteriously disappeared into the ether. I finally had to face reality and about a month ago I "suspended" the guild. I didn't have the heart to disband it. But with little to no time to log in and no end to the dayjob-crazy-madness in sight, there was no way I could possibly do a recruiting a blitz.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It was tough. It felt like Failure. And I <i>hate</i> to fail. Trial and error is one thing. I'm not the sort to rage-quit after a wipe or three. When you fall down, you get back up, dust yourself off, analyze how and why you ended up on your ass in the dirt and then you try again. Giving up... that's something else entirely. Admitting defeat was bitter to say the least.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It was also a relief. The game had lost something. At the time, I thought Cata endgame just didn't appeal to me. In retrospect, I think that was influenced by a good deal of GL burnout. So, yeah, it was a huge relief to come home mentally and physically exhausted, often near tears and <i>not</i> feel obligated to log in. It was a relief to not feel guilty about letting the guild down. To not feel guilty if I don't want to run Hyjal dailies. To not feel guilty if I want to hang out with Tweeps on other servers. To not feel guilty if I take a writing night. I'm a bit surprised at just how much all those self-imposed GL obligations affected my game play experience.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Things have let up a time or two this past month, and I've rediscovered my love for the World of Warcraft. I've had a blast hanging out with Stormy and Rush and the crew of <a href="http://theasylumwall.com/">Sane Asylum</a> over on Garrosh. To my astonishment, the hubby even logged into WoW for the first time in months and rolled a toon or three over there. I'm actually excited about WoW news and I've missed blogging about the game and my experiences.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I wish I could give this post a happy ending, but the truth is that things are in a sort of stasis at the moment. Work stress flared back up this week and has triggered the pinched nerve in neck to protest most vehemently. I think I'm getting a cold too. This inability to handle boat-loads of stress, especially over extended periods of time, is very annoying! I don't know if or when the dayjob situation will ease up. Despite how much I have to do, I don't know how long I'll make it at work today since my neck is already screaming at me for the time at the computer that it's taken to write this. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't know what I'm going to do with the guild or my ten toons (including my one and only level 85) on Moon Guard. I'm trying not to think about it. It just stresses me out and WoW is supposed to be my avocation. Y'know, something I do fun to escape the stresses of the real world.</div>The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-61534406522249711352011-06-12T21:22:00.000-05:002011-06-12T21:22:28.656-05:00Gladiator Games<b>Have I mentioned that I don't PvP?</b> Well, every once in a while I'll hop into a BG for something different. But I have to be in the mood for PvP and it doesn't strike me very often. Because I find it agitating.<br />
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Anyone who's ever been in a duel or a BG knows that PvP is a <i>completely</i> different experience to PvE. PvP is faster paced and utterly unpredictable; a lot of people, including the hubby, find it exhilarating. I can appreciate their appreciation of the rush. Tanking is a rush that I came to love - yes, it can be stressful too, but damn it's fun!<br />
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PvP is a different sort of rush - one that, for me at least, is full of panic and confusion. I'm not even sure why I find it so nerve-wracking. Give me an NPC baddie to face and it's a <i>challenge</i>. But put me in a BG, or even a duel, and I go into adrenaline overload and all my logical thought processes grind to a stuttering halt. It's rather embarrassing really.<br />
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<b>Enter the <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/arena/">2011 Arena Pass</a>.</b><br />
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The hubby obtained his Arena Pass as soon as it was announced. And started bugging me to buy one too. While on one hand, I'm grateful and flattered that he wants to play with me, on the other hand, I know damned well that PvP isn't my strongest skill. (And that's putting it mildly.) I told him he'd be better off partnering with someone who's good at, and enjoys, PvP. So we approached one of my officers who regularly runs BGs and asked if he'd be interested. He was and suggested we try out some level 85 Arenas as practice.<br />
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<b>I'm still not quite sure how my suggestion that the two of them team up resulted in the three of us queuing for All Arenas last weekend.</b> O.O<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Seeing as we were queued I hastily retrieved my crafted Resilience set from the bank and suited up. I frantically dug through my Spellbook for any abilities that sounded PvP-friendly. I rearranged my toolbar. The enter Arena screen popped up. /panic<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZeMH65lZxlNnW55ZwQC2JNy4OV1a-KmpCF25pbPjdCO3E_qC8oZkEyFZtrOf8-8WChrSt6u_lrgcfTeIvcExeehN9iieTgViFY17OUAEQzZhPzLd9_LHRqkVk5t9zUywLEHS-IwotSE/s1600/Arena+crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZeMH65lZxlNnW55ZwQC2JNy4OV1a-KmpCF25pbPjdCO3E_qC8oZkEyFZtrOf8-8WChrSt6u_lrgcfTeIvcExeehN9iieTgViFY17OUAEQzZhPzLd9_LHRqkVk5t9zUywLEHS-IwotSE/s400/Arena+crop.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Our first match was laughably short and I'll freely admit that I was the first to die. I did get marginally better with each match (at least I'm assuming I did since it took me longer to die) and E's incredibly patient instructions via chat. Sometimes I'm glad we don't have Vent since I'm quite certain he was probably growling some very unflattering things about my failtastic endeavors at his monitor.<br />
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Our last match, the hubby got up from his machine (his desk is behind mine in our study) and stood over me to watch as E and I fought for our lives. (Without the hubby to heal us, it was only a matter of seconds before E and I went down.) Our conversation went something like this:<br />
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Hubby: <i>Are you just running around?</i><br />
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Me: <i>No! I'm pushing buttons too! See?? OMGWTFsomebodystunnedmeNoo! Wait, where's my bubble-heal button? No, don't kill me! Ahhh shit.</i><br />
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<b>I had to call a halt.</b> I was breathing hard, sweating and shaking so badly I couldn't keep my fingers hovered over the keys. I swear it took at least ten minutes for my heart rate to return to something resembling normal and for my hands to stop shaking.<br />
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I don't think I'm cut out for this Arena stuff.ThePinkPallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727276201952687297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-82206012466683798562011-05-27T22:25:00.000-05:002011-05-27T22:25:05.714-05:00Fictional ConsiderationsI am contemplating an experiment. You see, since I got back into WoW about two years ago, it's become my main time sink. Time I used to spend writing, I now spend online killing internet dragons and/or role playing. And while I think role playing in WoW has been good for my writing skills in many ways, not writing isn't. Yes, I write on the blog and in the guild forums, but it's not the same thing as writing fiction. Blog writing is good too, but it doesn't work the same muscles as writing a scene or dialogue, a short story or even a piece of fanfic. I need to start flexing those muscles again. Hence, the experiment contemplation.<br />
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/deep breath<br />
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So... I'm thinking of starting a journal/story vignette based on a toon's adventures. Or something. I know there are bloggers/writers who do this. I've thought about doing so more than once with toons in the past. Thought about it in a passing sort of way, but never found the motivation to go through with it. I'm not talking about switching the blog focus solely to fic, but maybe a once a week thing. Would anyone be interested in the idea? And/or willing to help me stick to a schedule and give me some feedback?<br />
<br />
>.><br />
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<.<The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-23712105746808995402011-05-17T20:58:00.000-05:002011-05-17T20:58:53.156-05:00Alternate RealitiesI log out of Twitter for a few hours this afternoon and miss the breaking news. /huff<br />
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What? You haven't heard about the new <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/cross-realm-dungeon-finder-premium-service-coming-soon/">cross-realm dungeon finder premium service</a> that Blizzard is working on??<br />
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<i><span style="color: black;">Well, then, my friends, let me be the first to tell you that the Gnome and Goblin Engineers of Azeroth have been working overtime on a cross-faction project that will Blow Your Mind! The Elite Engineers of Azeroth (EEA) are proud to present: <b>New and Improved Reality Transporters!</b> That's right, friend! Soon you'll be able to step into a Transporter and visit those long lost friends in an alternate reality for an hour or two and then return home to your own reality in time for supper. No, no. They're perfectly safe I assure you. Not like the early generation Reality Transporters that disappeared countless </span><strike style="color: black;">foolish</strike><span style="color: black;"> /ahem brave test subjects. These Transporters are New and Improved! (As based on our previous string theory experiments.) That old friend or lover who stepped into a Transporter and never returned isn't dead or lost in the Twisting Nether as you thought. No, Sir! Your buddies are living it up in an alternate universe very similar to our own and very soon you'll be able to visit them at will. Well, for a fee of course. Time </span><b><span style="color: black;">is</span></b><span style="color: black;"> money friend. And this sort of Engineering takes a lot of time....</span></i><br />
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Yeah. I know. Craaazy! It's like LFD met <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliders">Sliders</a>. <br />
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Enough with the silliness. I don't do humor well. (Or poetry.) My apologies.<br />
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I have mixed feelings about this new premium service.<br />
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1. "Premium Service." Yeah, that caught my eye right away too. Meaning yet another extra we have to pay for. It left a bad taste in my mouth until I read World of <a href="http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2011/05/17/would-you-pay-for-premium/">Matticus' take</a> on premium services. I gotta admit, Matt has a very good point. I'd much rather keep my $15/month fee and have the option to pay for extras than have Blizzard up my subscription to $20/month and include services I could care less about.<br />
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2. And, when I look at it that way... well, it seems pretty cool. I'd certainly be more willing to pay for the option of grouping with friends from different realms than for guild chat on my phone. ((Seriously Blizzard? Guild chat?? That's what twitter and guildsite forums are for. And they're free! As for the AH... I'll admit I've been tempted; I just don't do enough auctioneering for the monthly fee to be worth it to me.)) But I've got a few RL friends on other servers. It would be cool to group up and run an instance every now and again. Chatting over Real ID is great, but it can't match actually playing together. And there's all the new, amazingly fun WoW players I've met on twitter. How awesome would it be to hook up with them in game? And <i>then</i> there's the rare special case where you could use some assistance on a specific instance or boss. It's one thing to have a friend look over your armory and give you recommendations on gear/reforging/gemming/enchanting or say <i>this</i> is the rotation you want to use for <i>that</i>. It's another thing when you just can't get that one encounter down no matter how many guides you read or vid clips you watch. Sometimes you just need someone to say, "Ok, come stand here. No. Here. Right on top of me. Now look 45 degrees to your right. You see how the light makes a little dagger on the floor? So, when the mob gets to the tip of that dagger and does X, you're gonna do Y...." And suddenly it all just clicks into place and you <i>get it</i>. I know! I'm excited too. =D This has to be the <i>coolest</i> feature Blizz has <i>ever</i> invented!! All you have to do is give your Real ID info to....<br />
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3. Yeah. Give your Real ID info to that person who seems pretty cool most of the time on twitter. I mean. I've "known" her for... a couple weeks now. I think she's a her. Um, and yeah. S/he seems pretty cool. I'm sure s/he isn't a stalker or mentally imbalanced or an identity thief or.... Yeah. Wow. This rather brings us full circle doesn't it? Right back to gripes about Real ID. Some folks have no problem handing out their Real ID info left, right and center. I'm not one of them. I have a number of gripes with Real ID that I won't go into. It's old news, right? The WoW community hashed out the pros and cons of it long ago. Real ID has been around for... what? Almost a year? By now, you're either firmly in one camp or the other and I'm not likely to change your mind. Not that I'd want to. In my not so humble opinion (at least on this subject), Blizzard did the right thing when they made Real ID opt in. If I want to give out my info, it's my choice of when and who gets it. Of course, that means that if I'm not comfortable giving a quasi-anonymous internet persona my email and real name... well then, I just miss out on some stuff. Like the new nifty cross-realm LFD service. <br />
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Dear Blizzard: I will forever resent you for associating billing names with Real ID instead of a player-chosen account Username. I hold out hope that you will come to see the error of your ways and correct this horrid misstep. Soon. I'm just not going to hold my breath waiting for it.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-46550186986284543702011-05-13T20:27:00.002-05:002011-05-13T20:28:26.323-05:00WoW NarrativesGreetings fellow WoWcrafters! The Pink Pally's world has been crazy busy the past month and not in a good way. Well, the week I spent in Orlando, FL on vacation with the hubby was great, but the mad, hectic rush of work deadlines before and after was not fun.Thankfully, the immediately time sensitive work priorities are finally complete and I can get back to regularly scheduled blogging. I'm a much happier person when I can write regularly. :)<br />
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Blogger, that means no more days-long outages that eat my drafts m'kay?<br />
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I'd like to preface today's post with a disclaimer. I'm home sick today. I don't feel well and I have medicine head. So if this is rambly and doesn't entirely make sense... well, you know why.<br />
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Earlier this week, Lani of Flavor Text Lore posted an introduction on <a href="http://flavortextlore.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-narrative-of-the-player-character-introduction/">The narrative of the player character</a>. Now, Lani's post is more about how we, the player characters, fit into Blizzard's story narrative. However, the post got me thinking of how we interact with the game world and, more specifically, how it affects role playing in WoW.<br />
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(For anyone who wants or needs a quick review on various narrative styles -- first, second and third person as well as past tense vs. present tense -- you can check out <a href="http://www.dailywritingtips.com/tips-for-selecting-your-story%E2%80%99s-narrative-style/">this post</a> over at Daily Writing Tips.)<br />
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Even if you never role play, your avatar interacts with the game world and the NPCs that populate it through quests. As Lani points out, the game world is designed to put the player character at the center of events. Which is probably why quests and emotes are written in first and second person. The problem is that Blizzard isn't exactly consistent with their narrative choice throughout our interactions. Let's look at some examples. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyBbB4kZLBCIh5_60ZWKU-1vFtqQiOKRWHY4VcqExvGG_JREP7x28-ZukUks3T1k33kryjVYrAsX3mDCAnsgXGLkHOak3WOAgbnap3hj-rJfH_TnUT8SZ2VBTNEK0WIHed0NRbWZQw4s/s1600/Bwemba1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyBbB4kZLBCIh5_60ZWKU-1vFtqQiOKRWHY4VcqExvGG_JREP7x28-ZukUks3T1k33kryjVYrAsX3mDCAnsgXGLkHOak3WOAgbnap3hj-rJfH_TnUT8SZ2VBTNEK0WIHed0NRbWZQw4s/s320/Bwemba1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bwemba is speaking in first person present tense.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmeKjLahGBsZVjYa0qc_L28ykN8iyOIQPVOn25RXCBaMUu8liLqtCDKVGDeCCtRSAN9T4eQMO3PYWq_tjEqeReF4Nt54aEbZX-bKGzm0HO9RV0mUISSEiQAMlvpPlQCVyVmQ9wXRbHg0/s1600/Bwemba2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmeKjLahGBsZVjYa0qc_L28ykN8iyOIQPVOn25RXCBaMUu8liLqtCDKVGDeCCtRSAN9T4eQMO3PYWq_tjEqeReF4Nt54aEbZX-bKGzm0HO9RV0mUISSEiQAMlvpPlQCVyVmQ9wXRbHg0/s320/Bwemba2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same here, first person present tense.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>A role playing rule of thumb for newbies is take your behavioral ques from the NPCs around you. If the NPCs walk, you walk. If they run, you run. NPCs speak to us in first person present tense. The same way we speak to each other in the real world.<br />
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Emotes on the other hand, are another story. To us, the player-character performing them, they appear in second person present tense. /salute appears as: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28sloOCA5NYFBd_gND_K-n7Jvaps2Y5yJxll813emWuGG7qxaBsfaHksToTYhUKlgKobiWSxjAEl5eA-jzT6uLcrHtXW6l5ckY2fhm2FhC9Hm9QyZWmNvY_6rNevmHWaYb8PkIwioTBA/s1600/emote1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28sloOCA5NYFBd_gND_K-n7Jvaps2Y5yJxll813emWuGG7qxaBsfaHksToTYhUKlgKobiWSxjAEl5eA-jzT6uLcrHtXW6l5ckY2fhm2FhC9Hm9QyZWmNvY_6rNevmHWaYb8PkIwioTBA/s1600/emote1.JPG" /></a></div>The same second person sense applies in reverse action as well: "Commander Sharp salutes you with respect." And yet, what a third party observer sees, "Commander Sharp salutes Caela with respect," is in third person present tense.<br />
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Likewise, /e commands are written in third person. /e eyes the Darkspears.... appears as:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEIbcw-0kMhO5RJhz-VfCjkIKzVBeInLNUpHSELKk1LT9DN5sORnKOxdH9FtnjcDu5JvqggHs39w5ipgQHu7k5P4g4ITc0giMKjgyKy2C4NQ5M3UzPa1C0KNtEUueos4Vv1vqYqmefHA/s1600/emote2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEIbcw-0kMhO5RJhz-VfCjkIKzVBeInLNUpHSELKk1LT9DN5sORnKOxdH9FtnjcDu5JvqggHs39w5ipgQHu7k5P4g4ITc0giMKjgyKy2C4NQ5M3UzPa1C0KNtEUueos4Vv1vqYqmefHA/s320/emote2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>No wonder folks new to role playing, and non-native English speakers, get confused and intimidated!<br />
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There are perfectly logical reasons why Blizzard does this of course. They're putting us, the player-characters, at the center of whatever is happening. Unfortunately, it can make for some awkward narrative at times.<br />
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At least Blizzard is consistent in the use of tense. The one thing all these examples have in common, is that they're written in present tense. NPCs speak in present tense. Emotes are written in present tense. Whatever the event, its occurring <i>right now</i>. Not yesterday or in the past hour; not tomorrow or sometime in the next hour. Presently. That present tense aids in immersion, which is why it's so jarring to us that certain quests haven't been updated. NPCs in Northrend still talk as if we're all about to march on ICC and confront the Lich King any moment. It ruins that immersion experience. But that's another topic for another post.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-48435253853846283862011-04-06T15:00:00.001-05:002011-04-06T15:51:53.079-05:00All in the FamilyThis post is in response to the <a href="http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewforum.php?f=25&sid=1e6f2f359543cff08f7a7618beec8abf">Blog Azeroth Shared Topic</a> of the week.<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://kamaliaetalia.wordpress.com/">Kamalia</a> asked: <i>Whether you have many alts or just a few, do they know each other? Do they have some sort of relationship as people living in Azeroth, or is sending materials and money between them just a game mechanic for you? If your characters do know each other, what kind of relationships do they have, and how did those relationships come into being? If they don't, what functions do your different alts serve?</i></blockquote><br />
I have a good number of characters on Moon Guard. Most them know each other and are related by blood or by association to some degree. Some of those relationships are by design and some by circumstances that evolved over time. Some of those relationships are quite intricate and to further complicate things, the hubby and I play together so several of my toons are related/involved with several of his toons. For example:<br />
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Once upon a time, Kamyla (my Rogue), who was studying with her mother's relatives in Dalaran at the time, was swept off her feet by a dashing Paladin in shining armor named Nikandros (the hubby's DK). The two were married by Nik's godfather, Matumi (the hubby's Warlock), who was studying to be a Priest, and settled down to a nice quiet life together in the country. Life was sweet until Nikandros, and his squire Caela (my Pally), went off to Northrend to fight the Lich King and his armies. Nikandros was struck down in battle and the young squire was sent home to complete her training and inform her mentor's widow of his passing. (It did not escape their notice that word of Nikandros' demise, and a paltry death benefit, were all that was delivered to Kamyla. A body never made it home from Northrend.)<br />
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Nikandros' death had a profound impact on Caela, Kamyla and Matumi. Caela was filled with the need for vengeance and threw herself into her training. Kamyla went a bit crazy with grief and disappeared one night. Matumi abandoned his studies with the Northshire Brotherhood and took up a darker path, seeking a way to "tame" the undead as others summon and control demons. Caela and Matumi traveled the length and breadth of Azeroth together, searching both for Kamyla and any rumor of Nikandros. Meanwhile, Kamyla's cousin, Nathalee (my mage), relocated from Dalaran to Stormwind to better facilitate her own search for Kamyla. When they finally encountered Kamy, they were taken aback -- the lighthearted alchemist who'd specialized in healing potions had been replaced with a sell sword of cold and deadly efficiency who specialized in poisons. Shortly after the four were reunited, Nikandros, Knight of the Ebon Blade and recently free of the Lich King's influence, surprised everyone by turning up in Stormwind.<br />
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Thankfully, my other alts aren't nearly so complicated in their relationships. My new Dwarf Warrior is betrothed to the hubby's Dwarf Shammy, but neither of them are otherwise related to the others and their only association is as guildmates. <br />
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My three Hordies are related as well (though their relationships are far simpler). My Belf Death Knight is even known to my Alliance toons since she's part of a group hellbent on torturing and killing a member of Burning Serenity (my Alliance guild).<br />
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My Moon Guard toons know one another because their RP backstories and interactions brought them together in some way, but I never gave much thought to how my <i>non</i>-RP toons know one another until I was faced with Kamalia's questions. I have real life friends who play on Muradin so I have a fair number of toons of varying classes and professions on that server as well. My Muradin toons don't have backstories or personas per se so their knowledge of one another is far more limited in my mind. For example: Gitta isn't the Dwarf Paladin or someone's relative or significant other, she's <i>The Blacksmith</i>. Lenaria is <i>The Leatherworker</i> or <i>The Tracker</i>. Their relationships are strictly professional associations. Nothing more.<br />
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I must admit, I find it fascinating that some non-role players with toons on non-role play servers have secret backstories and personas for their characters! You can check out other responses to this shared topic <a href="http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2799">here</a>.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-4655426504986810542011-04-04T08:58:00.002-05:002011-04-04T19:05:47.689-05:00Discovering Diamonds! - 1st EditionLast week, Vidyala of <a href="http://manalicious.wordpress.com/">Manalicious</a> issued a <a href="http://manalicious.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/others-endings-are-not-my-endings/">challenge</a> to the WoW blogosphere. The challenge itself was twofold:<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #444444;">If you’re a blogger: Find a new blog today that looks promising, that you enjoy. Link to it on your blog. Leave an encouraging comment!<br />
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Here’s my second challenge, for non-bloggers. If you have found a blog recently that you enjoy reading, if you appreciate the content there – whether it’s guides, points of view, or just something to make you laugh – <i>leave a comment. </i></blockquote>In <a href="http://avocationwow.blogspot.com/2011/03/sifting-through-ashes.html">my response</a> to Vidyala's challenge, I shared some links to blogs I had recently discovered and added to my blogroll and/or feed reader. In an effort to keep both the practice and spirit of the challenge alive, I thought I'd post a list of the blogs I've discovered during the previous week.<br />
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The discovery process varies. Sometimes it's due to a tweet or retweet of a post announcement. Sometimes it's a title on a blogroll that catches my eye. Sometimes it's a link from a comment someone left on the blog post I happen to be reading. Some of those discoveries end up on my blogroll and/or in my feed reader. Some don't. But just because a blog's focus or writing style doesn't appeal to me at the time of discovery, doesn't mean it isn't <i>exactly</i> what someone else is looking for (or that I won't end up hunting it down sometime in the future while I curse myself for not clicking the RSS). They won't all be new, but they were new to me and maybe they'll be new to you too. Some are diamonds in the rough, relatively unknown. Some are so polished people have probably been oohing and aahing over them for years.<br />
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Without further ado, <span style="color: magenta;">Pink Pally Productions (TM</span>) proudly presents: <i style="color: black;">Discovering Diamonds!</i><i><br />
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<ul><li><a href="http://www.orcisharmyknife.com/">Orcish Army Knife</a> by Rades, featuring raid stuffs, DK stuffs and a wicked sense of humor. And if you're at all interested in wowfic, check out Rades' <a href="http://www.orcisharmyknife.com/">Letters from Northrend</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kissmyalas.com/">Kiss my Alas </a>by Alas, raiding mage and GL of Eff the Ineffable. The first two posts I read weren't even about WoW, but I came back for more. Alas has a great sense of humor and even if you don't play a mage, or raid, you may just find yourself becoming a repeat visitor as well. (Next time I feel the urge to roll an alt server, I'll definitely be stalking the Effers! >.> Though maybe I shouldn't be announcing that....)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.beerbaconbrawling.com/">Beer Bacon Brawling</a> by Beerbelly. I laughed so hard I nearly peed my Pink Pally Panties (TM). Beerbelly is a new blogger with only four posts under his belt, but even if I'd wandered there after his post I'd have been hooked. Poop Nuggets. /snicker</li>
<li><a href="http://gnomeaggedon.net/">Armaggedon's Coming</a> by Gnomeaggedon<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is one of those blogs that's been around for years that I can't believe I'm just now discovering. Whether you like or hate Gnomes, whether you play or Mage or not, check it out. And please tell me I'm not the only person on the planet who's been missing out on this....</span></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shecantdps.com/">She Can't DPS</a> by Aestiah. General WoW musings and wowfic by a fellow Moon Guard blogger. /cheer (even if she is a Hordie. :p) I look forward to digging through Aestiah's archives and I've got to find out who does her artwork! </li>
<li><a href="http://speccedfordrama.blogspot.com/">Specced for Drama</a> by Ama. The blog title just draws you doesn't it? I haven't had the chance to explore much, but I enjoy Ama's writing style and look forward to poking around her archives.</li>
</ul>Have <i>you</i> discovered any good blogs lately?<br />
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<i>Post Script:</i> A quick comment on comments.<br />
I'm what is often referred to as a lurker. I could follow a blog, religiously, for years and never leave a comment. Sometimes, I don't know what to say or I don't feel that I have anything worthy to contribute. Now that I'm forging my own path into the blogosphere wilderness, I have a new appreciation for comments. They let the author know that someone is reading and, hopefully, enjoying the blog. This past week I've been more conscientious about leaving comments on the blogs I read, but I've run into some time constraints. I do most of my reading during the weekdays when I'm on my lunch break. I follow quite a few blogs and that lone hour doesn't leave a lot of time for well thought-out, meaningful comments. Which has made me a huge fan of the "like" button and the star rating option so I can at least let the blog author know I read and enjoyed their post when I don't have the time to leave a comment. (Wordpress won't let me "like" since I don't have a WP account so WP bloggers will likely see some short, lame, one-line comments from me.) <br />
<ul></ul>The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-48573128109561871932011-03-31T21:12:00.001-05:002011-03-31T21:13:07.509-05:00Off to the Races!This post is in response to the <a href="http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewforum.php?f=25&sid=1e6f2f359543cff08f7a7618beec8abf">Blog Azeroth Shared Topic</a> of the week.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pverogues.com/">PVE Rogues</a> asked: <i>What is your favorite race in WoW?</i><br />
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Lucky for me, Blog Azeroth doesn't hold bloggers at gun point and force us to go with the first thing that flits though our minds in response to a prompt. If they did, this would be a very short post because my immediate thought was, "I don't have one."<br />
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After some time mulling over the playable races and my stable of toons on various servers, well, I still don't think I have a favorite playable race in WoW. There are things I like and dislike about all of the races for reasons from lore to RP to racials to game aesthetics. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-hMOE7OQTEaBGiZaXWFiSj_7TN4bJq7ZFjpD1-XkeVT5O0SNgcaK5NXj5rmSlwJslO-JwrpcSUNBgIGcoG0-EKU3vf-PdyUJKFCF19AI7uEro0DqQ97uR7ThEaKOgaDgVc8_A9g4VhE/s1600/Human_Crest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-hMOE7OQTEaBGiZaXWFiSj_7TN4bJq7ZFjpD1-XkeVT5O0SNgcaK5NXj5rmSlwJslO-JwrpcSUNBgIGcoG0-EKU3vf-PdyUJKFCF19AI7uEro0DqQ97uR7ThEaKOgaDgVc8_A9g4VhE/s200/Human_Crest.jpg" width="168" /></a><u>Human </u><br />
Human racials like <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Every_Man_for_Himself">Every Man for Himself</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20599">Diplomacy</a> are highly useful. Humans are average in height, which I like, and I find the female model aesthetically pleasing. The human female dance gives me an eye twitch of irritation, but it's something I've learned to live with. And it doesn't get easier to role play a race than it is to RP a human. After all, we all know exactly what if feels like to be human! They have the shortest lifespans, and memories, of any race on Azeroth, so even if you don't know jack about lore you can play a human. If you <i>do</i> know lore, there are just so many different subcultures, former Kingdoms and potential backstories available among the various human factions. The possibilities are nearly endless.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrP62QsvSI9jwyqwVTrjlWSnxp-r_qnl9XjfpE1vj0xClQVSwTBlsUEfbACh9zlk_R5hagXvscxq9LNqFGbXjX3hsSBinSEYtjTvP_ezpdSUAyjD9Xj2NsLvtXIMBkSRJZ-jKh21tDb0/s1600/DwarfCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrP62QsvSI9jwyqwVTrjlWSnxp-r_qnl9XjfpE1vj0xClQVSwTBlsUEfbACh9zlk_R5hagXvscxq9LNqFGbXjX3hsSBinSEYtjTvP_ezpdSUAyjD9Xj2NsLvtXIMBkSRJZ-jKh21tDb0/s200/DwarfCrest.jpg" width="171" /></a></div><u>Dwarf</u><br />
Dwarves have a special place in my heart. I'm 99.9% certain (it was a long time ago) that the very first toon I ever rolled in WoW was a female Dwarf Paladin. Back in the days when we were autoattackadins. I remember being almost literally bored to tears in the early days.... But, back to topic. I've found the Dwarf racial <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20594">Stoneform</a> somewhat useful, the extra <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20596">Frost Resistance</a> comes in handy at times, and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=92682">Explorer</a> just freakin' rocks if you're into <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Archeology">Archeology</a> at all. I find the Dwarves aesthetically pleasing and their rich history provides a wealth of RP opportunity. If there's anything I dislike about Dwarves it's playerss tendencies to go overboard on the accent. I hate having to spend time deciphering what the hell someone is trying to say when I could be spending that time reacting to it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeEKkEG7ju_sb4qDYNfYCzkmIRKyDW6sNy9gXzXCvn-zlcgk2KheELjBx_8bn1de3V-D5wkxMEoxLU0jypOEQ8Vw5sQcqOuR09PI-0vSmkHK4NOKsO0B_I877pQN3G9ciDI_jy1yLLHY/s1600/NightElfCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeEKkEG7ju_sb4qDYNfYCzkmIRKyDW6sNy9gXzXCvn-zlcgk2KheELjBx_8bn1de3V-D5wkxMEoxLU0jypOEQ8Vw5sQcqOuR09PI-0vSmkHK4NOKsO0B_I877pQN3G9ciDI_jy1yLLHY/s200/NightElfCrest.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><u>Night Elf</u><br />
Female Night Elf's had the best dance in Vanilla (IMO) and they're nice 'n tall. The female model is aesthetically pleasing and the male is tolerable (why do they have to hunch over like that?). As for racials, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=58984">Shadowmeld</a>'s usefulness outside of RP is highly situational, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=21009">Elusiveness</a> is a nice bonus for Rogues and Druids, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20583">Nature Resistance</a> doesn't hurt (though I've yet to roll a toon because of it) and let's be honest, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20585">Wisp Spirit</a> is just nifty. The Nelfs' greatest draw for me has always been the lore. Not many races on Azeroth offer the opportunity to give your character 10,000 years of backstory!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1VtAeb-4IdcOrN4itxIVRMjD-7uEf1q_l-m8WVmIaiJKaV0WOWNE3Hqbb3VmE0dVst0_MYsI84Zd1zDJtitS3nCk2DYKELnI0gZU-VMooUhVcZaN-zS2io66nW5oiNP7DDy8aCeBQfo/s1600/Gnome_Crest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1VtAeb-4IdcOrN4itxIVRMjD-7uEf1q_l-m8WVmIaiJKaV0WOWNE3Hqbb3VmE0dVst0_MYsI84Zd1zDJtitS3nCk2DYKELnI0gZU-VMooUhVcZaN-zS2io66nW5oiNP7DDy8aCeBQfo/s200/Gnome_Crest.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><u>Gnome</u><br />
Gnomes have useful racials, especially for <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20591">mana users</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=92680">dagger wielders</a>, and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20593">Engineers</a>. <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20592">Arcane Resistance</a> certainly doesn't hurt either. Their lore has always seemed to revolve around the fall of Gnomeregan... or there's a huge gap in my lore intelligence. Either way, it takes a special personality to successfully role play a Gnome, IMO, and I just don't have what it takes. That and I can't stand the shortness. All I can see are kneecaps! Still, I have a fondness for Gnomes. Their laugh can brighten my day though it loses some serious sunshine when coming from a 'lock standing over my corpse. >.><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjz3JWSUDkaIfnfMeio5i_lf6VZSR8j1f8G9DEezU2JVkHQMgdOUaXh1WP9Cz6Ts3KOaOM7poTa9-PKULfm8uK17Q-sscO1ING76TOMPf6jhlr6_T9o_KaL-n5tCZXdU5E7Q3k4rVDgc/s1600/Draenei_Icon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjz3JWSUDkaIfnfMeio5i_lf6VZSR8j1f8G9DEezU2JVkHQMgdOUaXh1WP9Cz6Ts3KOaOM7poTa9-PKULfm8uK17Q-sscO1ING76TOMPf6jhlr6_T9o_KaL-n5tCZXdU5E7Q3k4rVDgc/s200/Draenei_Icon.png" width="200" /></a></div><u>Draenei</u><br />
Ah, space goats. The race with the name few can spell. (Yes, I looked it up to make sure I spelled it right.) I remember the hype prior to BC's release. It seemed all anyone Alliance side could talk about was how awesome Draenei Paladins were going to be. And they are pretty awesomesauce. Draenei have some of the best racials in the game, IMHO: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=28880">Gift of the Naaru</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=28878">Heroic Presence</a>, <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Shadow_Resistance_%28racial%29">Shadow Resistance</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=28875">Gemcutting</a>. At BC's launch, at least for Paladins, is was like, "Daaamn, jackpot!" Unfortunately, I've never been able to get into role playing a Draenei. Even though they're from Draenor and existed in lore as the Eredar long before Burning Crusade, their history always felt... tacked on and canned to me. That's not to say I haven't come across some exceptionally well-played Draenei over the years, because I have. I just could never get into them much myself. And the hooves. There's something about the hooves that just turns me off, despite the female model being the most overtly sexy in the game IMO. Still, they're nice and tall and I think the Draenei dance (male and female) is just win. :) There's at least one space goat lurking around in my stable of alts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOo_JcKTFTjJAHUk-kdw1QJrFflj-Q7T24QLg_s-w9TWnxLg8TVrLksP8zxiAB2k2gAjVZlPkqx5Bzd2wGi3hQ736yoXda-7RA0m-2KQykpOqki68h3twT_MkDVAHbzmDDZXv7NiHogww/s1600/Worgen-Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOo_JcKTFTjJAHUk-kdw1QJrFflj-Q7T24QLg_s-w9TWnxLg8TVrLksP8zxiAB2k2gAjVZlPkqx5Bzd2wGi3hQ736yoXda-7RA0m-2KQykpOqki68h3twT_MkDVAHbzmDDZXv7NiHogww/s200/Worgen-Icon.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><u>Worgen</u><br />
Our new, flea-infested friends, the Worgen. At long last the Greymane Wall has come down and the Gilneans have rejoined the Alliance. Being fond of dark characters, I was highly anticipating rolling a Worg or three. And, oh, the racials: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=68992">Darkflight</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=68975">Viciousness</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=68976">Aberration</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=68996">Two Forms</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=87840">Running Wild</a>. Hot damn! Unfortunately, I do not find the Worgen model aesthetically pleasing in the least. It's not even something I can point to and say, "If Blizz would just fix this they'd be great!" (Though they should definitely have tails. Seriously. What kind of werewolf doesn't have a tail?? And the way they run all hunched over. That could definitely go.) It's more just a Pink Pally thing though. I've never been fond of the wolf-man werewolf. I prefer my Lycans to be either human or direwolves, not wolf-men. (Oh, and Druids should totally have a direwolf form instead of a cat form. C'mon! A werewolf that turns into a cat?? Pfft.) I do have a Worgen on Moon Guard. A sadly neglected Druid - so I don't have to look at her in Worg form. She's either human, or a fighting cat! /hiss If you haven't read it yet, I thoroughly enjoyed James Waugh's <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/lore/leader-story/genn-greymane/1">Lord of His Pack</a>.(Oh, and Worgen should totally be able to be Paladins, danmit!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMDyZt6m53_CkhwoXPEliXv4RjuNawXbXa3XvYiBYpDlw0tLD3xYouG53Cx_f4-FQ_yawfEgBuOJ-gIPjeDsYS1ndCtehEeoFbPV0BAa2XWb_-AyCEVTrQqYgUvj4E2-pQIRedAPESpk/s1600/OrcCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMDyZt6m53_CkhwoXPEliXv4RjuNawXbXa3XvYiBYpDlw0tLD3xYouG53Cx_f4-FQ_yawfEgBuOJ-gIPjeDsYS1ndCtehEeoFbPV0BAa2XWb_-AyCEVTrQqYgUvj4E2-pQIRedAPESpk/s200/OrcCrest.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><u>Orc</u><br />
Big, buff, green (or brown) skinned humans. Well, that's what the in-game model looks like IMO anyway. The male model is one of the few I can stand to play. I like the Orcs as a race. They have a rich and tragic history and are great fun to play (and role play) as a melee class. With racials like <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=33697">Blood Fury</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20573">Hardiness</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=54562">Command</a> how could they not be? I love Thrall as a character (especially how he contrasts with Varian). I totally hated Grom until I read <u>The Shattering</u>. Now, he's not so bad and in a lot of ways is probably archtypical of most younger Orcs. I do not care for the female Orc dance in the least. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjconFJPgE8eZn0ABpvLnwNwI5NXGZhX7USHsETcN5K4lz9vRioIERo4qaJn-5D13IRdNJXpnXYyOj7PT0yTTB8YMB3GO0mc81WnSDe4OSc-TSQ2btrdLDguOQRvtESDGZIjF3r3TC30Tk/s1600/ForsakenCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjconFJPgE8eZn0ABpvLnwNwI5NXGZhX7USHsETcN5K4lz9vRioIERo4qaJn-5D13IRdNJXpnXYyOj7PT0yTTB8YMB3GO0mc81WnSDe4OSc-TSQ2btrdLDguOQRvtESDGZIjF3r3TC30Tk/s200/ForsakenCrest.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><u>Undead</u><br />
AKA Forsaken. /shudder I never was a zombie fan. I just can't play them. I mean, the racials are great: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=7744">Will of the Forsaken</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20577">Cannibalize</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5227">Underwater Breathing</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20579">Shadow Resistance</a>. The lore is great for those dark characters I like. But I get hopelessly lost every time I go to Undercity and I just <i>can't</i> do the zombie thing. The in-game model turns me off and annoys me. If I could make an undead that looked more like Sylvanus or that one undead-looking DK face option, then maybe. But the whole bones sticking out and flesh falling off thing.... Ugh. (I can't watch zombie movies either.) /ponder They might be rather fun in fanfic though. The fact that undead can be Priests and not Paladins has always annoyed me as well. Don't tell me their weren't any infected Paladins in Stratholme who died trying to protect the other infected and uninfected civilians when Arthas and his troops showed up. Seriously, am I missing some vital piece of lore here or is this just Blizzard being obtuse and stubborn?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Lp0LGC4-Bx7wvoCAKL-h6ypwYWTQHNwnR_VkeSKbGl9U7ImPS2Vw2jYvqMdmBtKIvsbXUfnJ_PMowGvO2rwtk7Eve6Ae9VrwZjm9ZdwZyBOEd2Ia7bf9RJ0L0upDQB3Z26Iuu8fS8Kk/s1600/TaurenCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Lp0LGC4-Bx7wvoCAKL-h6ypwYWTQHNwnR_VkeSKbGl9U7ImPS2Vw2jYvqMdmBtKIvsbXUfnJ_PMowGvO2rwtk7Eve6Ae9VrwZjm9ZdwZyBOEd2Ia7bf9RJ0L0upDQB3Z26Iuu8fS8Kk/s200/TaurenCrest.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><u>Tauren</u><br />
I've always thought of the Tauren as the pacifists of the Horde. Well, maybe not pacifists exactly, but they're certainly not warmongers or haughty isolationists like the Belfs. They're nice and tall, I like both the male and female models and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20549">War Stomp</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20550">Endurance</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20552">Cultivation</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20551">Nature Resistance</a> are decent racials. Even so, the Tauren are another race that I've never been able to get into. I mean... they're cows. >.> I don't like cows. Unless they're dead, properly butchered and medium-rare on a plate. Filet Mignon preferably. Though ground sirloin burgers smoked over a mesquite woodfire grill are quite tasty too.Yes, I'm poking fun, but it's all in good spirit (if poor taste). The Tauren are a noble race and I was saddened by Cairne's death. I like Baine so far and I'm very glad that he and Prince Anduin seem to have started off on the right foot in their relations. I object to the Tauren being Paladins for two reasons. One, the whole undead thing I mentioned above. Two, it doesn't fit their lore (at least not that I know of) or history. And three (yes, I know I said two, but seriously), the holy cow jokes. /facedesk<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtnrWJfRnYy4m-LqATUVV1WFrMDusuTy4S_Kphsuf4fFUndCLuLwDBh6do9hD4adnFQhl3Xaa3-5wHX_LTrXvERC7A9S1R8X-xoJmGfqnIGdvMj4LyqQB_xLXWr4hTHSHLgkfGxZ9wio/s1600/TrollCrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtnrWJfRnYy4m-LqATUVV1WFrMDusuTy4S_Kphsuf4fFUndCLuLwDBh6do9hD4adnFQhl3Xaa3-5wHX_LTrXvERC7A9S1R8X-xoJmGfqnIGdvMj4LyqQB_xLXWr4hTHSHLgkfGxZ9wio/s200/TrollCrest.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><u>Troll</u><br />
The Trolls seem to be getting their due this expansion what with all the Troll lore. I've never been able to get into the Trolls, despite their rich history and pretty sweet racials: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26297">Berserking</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20555">Regeneration</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20557">Beast Slaying</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=58943">Da Voodoo Shuffle</a>. I think it's the wanna-be-Jamaican-accent thing. Just doesn't appeal to me. And the feet. Like hooves, and paws, their feet just kinda turn me off. And they hunch. What's up with the slouching?? Trolls are akin to Gnomes and Draenei in that when they're role played well, they're freakin' <i>awesome</i>. I haven't run across many well-played Trolls, but that could be because I don't hang out Hordeside very often and when I do it's usually in Silvermoon where the population tends to be largely Belf.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rzFPXlZSk82qixixyzOk6T8iO8-qCrVGSsKTmLxvDuD3FP1buV6hmOuXGji9jUUOaSLe71w7e2DCCzoPaAriEkaz5RnOO4vHTcEJ9yn-uT2okdiqHkA3zu8GJDPwtlZyMkqkoj8nkVA/s1600/Icon_of_Blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rzFPXlZSk82qixixyzOk6T8iO8-qCrVGSsKTmLxvDuD3FP1buV6hmOuXGji9jUUOaSLe71w7e2DCCzoPaAriEkaz5RnOO4vHTcEJ9yn-uT2okdiqHkA3zu8GJDPwtlZyMkqkoj8nkVA/s200/Icon_of_Blood.jpg" width="168" /></a></div><u>Blood Elf</u><br />
Yup, you guessed it. Most of my Hordies are Belfs. What can I say, I like the pretties. And it's fun to be aloof and elitist at time. I still think the Blood Elf starting zone is the most beautiful in the game. I love the history and lore of the Blood Elves and the duality symbolism of Silvermoon City. Their racials aren't anything to write home about, although <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Arcane_Torrent">Arcane Torrent</a> is wonderful for silencing mobs, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=28877">Arcane Affinity</a> is sweet for Enchanters and some extra <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=822">Arcane Resistance</a> certainly never hurts. I do not like the <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/File:Hawkstrider.jpg">Hawkstrider</a> mount and I don't like the way the male model runs all hunched over. Their dances and jokes amuse me. As much as I <i>love</i> the whole Dark Paladin <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Blood_Knight">Blood Knight</a> thing, I find it annoying that Blizzard went to such great lengths to justify the existence of Belf Pallys and yet Belf Priests were considered par for the course. I don't get it. They both draw their power from the Light, why were Pally forced to draw on M'uru and yet Priests were able to just draw directly upon the Light? Did I miss something else somewhere or was this just a glossed over and neglected plot gimmick for everything that happened with M'uru and Kael'thas and the Sunwell? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbZFfPWeFPRLCYw56wRwXCCeTOGLzseEPw3t9Xl0UBPe6bk2omKskeFYYEUDuNarVkqnMBKp_kLmaBVPi4OJpTAnM9qIMdJpzqIBUx0LfRG6JmCEXUT9VFUbKmLMHi1VB2ZI2mi3sNSo/s1600/Goblin-Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbZFfPWeFPRLCYw56wRwXCCeTOGLzseEPw3t9Xl0UBPe6bk2omKskeFYYEUDuNarVkqnMBKp_kLmaBVPi4OJpTAnM9qIMdJpzqIBUx0LfRG6JmCEXUT9VFUbKmLMHi1VB2ZI2mi3sNSo/s200/Goblin-Icon.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><u>Goblin</u><br />
Man, I was psyched about rolling a Goblin Rogue come Cata. I didn't even make it out of the starting zone before I deleted the toon. Nothing about the Goblins appealed to me and I'm still disappointed. I don't' know what I was expecting, but the whole gangsta thing wasn't it. Like the space goats spaceship crashing on Azeroth, the gangsta thing didn't fit my idea of WoW as a sort of medieval fantasy world. Yes, I know that viewpoint is not entirely accurate, but that's how I think of it and the Goblin zone, the entire characterization of them, just didn't fit with my mental image. That said, I'll no doubt try them again sometime in the future. After all, the beauty of RP is playing your toon however you want. The whole <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Trade_prince">Trade Prince</a> thing definitely holds some interest and RP potential for me. And talk about sweet racials - <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69070">Rocket Jump</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69041">Rocket Barrage</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69042">Time is Money</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69044">Best Deals Anywhere</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69046">Pack Hobgoblin</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=69045">Better Living Through Chemistry</a>. (Alchemy is one of the professions I've always enjoyed, though I confess to being surprised there's not an Engineering racial instead.) /whistle.<br />
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/blink Wow. That turned into something of a disertation didn't it? And I never even answered the intial question! Favorite race in WoW.... If I had to pick one, just <i>one</i>, race as my absolute favorite, it would have to be Dragons. Does it get any more awesome than Dragons? Appointed by the Titans as guardians of Azeroth. Freakin' kick ass powers. And they can shapshift at will to pretty much any race they choose. Oh, yeah. If I have to choose, I choose Dragons!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtkL9pi59lQM6c4RGmZfLWBq-EIav2N9jMqZ-1aJyHco5jwxky4PlG09CHWfWzM8PelUCZSuurQDuoK6XNzT7LJR2B_DaQaPA2eUdrBAmgn7IqH7aMak9P27DLZdV6XMXvjHkdC9vhYI/s1600/Dragons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtkL9pi59lQM6c4RGmZfLWBq-EIav2N9jMqZ-1aJyHco5jwxky4PlG09CHWfWzM8PelUCZSuurQDuoK6XNzT7LJR2B_DaQaPA2eUdrBAmgn7IqH7aMak9P27DLZdV6XMXvjHkdC9vhYI/s400/Dragons.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-7598125219434939362011-03-28T22:33:00.002-05:002011-03-28T22:38:40.227-05:00Sifting Through the AshesA version of this post has been smoldering in my draft box since last night. It needed to smolder, and so did I. But now that the embers have cooled, it's time to sift through the ashes.... A few of those embers are still smoldering though so this may be a bit rough. My apologies if the following is disjointed or overly emotional.<br />
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Sunday is hubby time. It's the one day of the week that we're both guaranteed to have off of work. Sometimes we go out and do stuff. Sometimes we do housework or yardwork. Most of the time we laze around the house for some QT downtime, which usually involves WoW. This past Sunday, while the hubby was earning his Dwarf Shammy's last few bars to 85, I logged in to my blogger dashboard to find <a href="http://www.pinkpigtailinn.com/2011/03/one-chilly-blustery-morning-in-march.html">Larísa's farewell post</a> at PPI. I read the first section of her post and promptly logged out of blogger and twitter. I still haven't finished reading the entire post.<br />
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Please don't get the wrong impression. This isn't a rant post. I'm not bitter. I'm not angry. I <i>am</i> disappointed, but I think that's to be expected. I, like so many others, was (and still am) very sad to see the Inn abandoned. Larísa had a wonderfully distinctive voice and even when I couldn't directly relate to the subject matter (I don't raid), I never failed to find humor and camaraderie in her posts. She will be greatly missed and I wish her all the best in the world, both in and out of Azeroth. I will eventually get around to reading the entire post and will likely express my sentiments in the comments even though Larísa may never read them.<br />
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But on Sunday, that fateful, farewell post was something of the straw that broke the camel's back. Larísa was one of the bloggers who inspired me to start blogging. When I first started following WoW blogs, it was very class specific ones. <a href="http://ferarro.blogspot.com/">Paladin Schmaladin</a>. Then <a href="http://honorscode.blogspot.com/">Honor's Code</a>. Then <a href="http://rhida.ch/">Righteous Defense</a>. And though blogging about my adventures in Azeroth appealed to me, I didn't feel I had the expertise or experience to provide the sort of guides and advice I was reading. Then I discovered and began lurking in the shadows of <a href="http://www.righteousorbs.com/">Righteous Orbs</a>, <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/">Big Bear Butt</a> and <a href="http://www.pinkpigtailinn.com/">The Pink Pigtail Inn</a>. WoW blogs that were about more than class specifics and raiding. Blogs with great authors who wrote about their personal experiences in WoW in a way that I could relate to. Something I felt I could do. Something I <i>wanted</i> to do. <br />
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Then Paladin Schmaladin went dark. Then Honor threw in the towel. Then Tamarind. And then, on Sunday, the unexpected <i>Closed</i> sign up at the Inn. It seems as if half of my blogroll is either retired or simply dark. Depressing didn't quite begin to cover it. I logged into WoW, had a good time playing with the hubby and was reminded why I love this game. By the time the evening rolled around, I felt revived enough to blog about the issue. I've always found writing to be cathartic, but the words were still too hot to handle.<br />
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This morning, <a href="https://twitter.com/_vidyala">Vidyala</a>'s <a href="http://manalicious.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/others-endings-are-not-my-endings/">Others' Endings Are Not My Endings</a> expressed much of what I was feeling and couldn't articulate. And she issued a challenge to the rest of us. One that I intend to take up. I'm still new at this blogging thing. I have a lot to learn. But I'm not alone and the WoW blogosphere is full of wonderful, helpful and inspiring people. Like <a href="https://twitter.com/fannon451">Fannon</a> over at Battle Medic, who also answered Vidyala's challenge in an excellent post on <a href="http://battlemedic.blogspot.com/2011/03/death-of-wow-and-circle-of-life.html">The Death of WoW and The Circle of Life</a>.<br />
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Like Azeroth itself, the WoW blogosphere has experienced a shattering of sort, but it is far from it's death throes. I have discovered so many wonderful blogs and authors over the past several months since Cataclysm launched and I continue to discover new ones daily. Here a few blogs that have made my dashboard in the past week alone:<br />
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<a href="http://pixelatedexecutioner.thestorythusfar.com/">Pixelated Executioner</a><br />
<a href="http://stackshields.wordpress.com/">Stack Shields</a><br />
<a href="http://thestoriesofo.net/">The Stories of O</a><br />
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When the fire dies down, and you're shifting through the ashes, pay close attention or you'll miss the phoenix hatchlings.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-38991886859148656772011-03-22T14:44:00.001-05:002011-03-23T13:50:12.535-05:00Sea Salt & Cracked PepperI had an absolutely terrible morning. Since it's non-WoW related (and I've already whined and bitched about it on my private blog) I shall simply sum it up here: jury duty. For anyone who's ever received a summons, those two little words no doubt suffice. Luckily, my trusty blogger dashboard provided me with some sunbeams.<br />
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First, <a href="http://bossypally.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/this-is-me-making-fun-of-people-who-gank-me/">Bossy Pally making fun of gankers</a> made me lol. The small-minded gankers of WoW are why I'll always choose a PvE server over a PvP server if I have a choice, but there's something truly heartwarming about players triumphing (is that even a word?) over gankers.<br />
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Second, <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/2011/03/21/supersonic-and-lightspeed/">BBB's 'just sit your ass down and write something'</a> was great. I especially like his little 'title secret' tucked away at the end!<br />
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And lastly, the truly epic animated Ghostcrawler gif in <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/03/22/the-queue-animated-ghostcrawler-gif/#continued">today's edition of The Queue</a>. Just... win. Seriously.<br />
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So, a big thank you to the WoW blogosphere for brightening my day! I needed it.<br />
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Oh, and if you wondered wtf the title has to do with this post, the answer is: absolutely nothing. I suck at titles and happened to be eating Lay's Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper potato chips with my tuna sandwich when I started writing this. ;) Thank (or blame) <a href="http://thebigbearbutt.com/">BBB</a>'s post today (linked above) for this and no doubt many future obscure titles. I have been inspired. MwahahaThe Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-53697098061480862662011-03-19T13:06:00.000-05:002011-03-19T13:06:53.651-05:00The Daily Blink - Tiers of SadnessROFL I love The Daily Blink. I really, really do. And classics like this are why. Discovering <a href="http://www.thedailyblink.com/2011/03/tiers-of-sadness/">Tiers of Sadness</a> on my Blogger Dashboard made Saturday morning at the office worth the trip. Thanks guys!The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-23819658244949525712011-03-10T16:07:00.001-06:002011-03-26T12:57:42.683-05:00HomelessA link to <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108305-World-of-Warcraft-Players-Could-Be-Homeless-Forever"><i>World of Warcraft</i> Players Could Be Homeless Forever</a> came across my Twitter feed Tuesday and it got me thinking.<br />
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Player and/or Guild housing isn't a new topic in WoW. RPers especially have been asking, screaming, whining and begging for it since Beta. I appreciate the unique challenge it provides to developers and I can completely understand why Blizzard has shied away from it. And I agree with the statement J.Allen Brack makes in the article about there not being a need for player housing beyond just saying, "Oh yeah, we have housing too." Player housing has no <i>relevance</i> on gameplay in WoW (though, if it helped clean up whoreshire, that's more than enough reason IMO!) and there are plenty of other games where people can buy and decorate houses if that's what they're into. Guild housing on the other hand, is something I'd love to see and I think the new guild perks system is the perfect vehicle for it.<br />
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True, guilds, and players, can, and do, use some of the spaces already available in the game world as guild halls. The main drawback to this, especially on a high population server, is one of supply and demand. Or as they say in real estate, location, location, location! The good spots are popular and therefore in high demand. Sometimes you can share a space with another guild or two quite amicably. Sometimes not. Guild housing that's specific to the guild and only accessible to guild members would solve that. How great would be it to have guild meetings at your guildhall and not have random players wander by and interrupt/interfere? True, the drawback is you couldn't hold rp events at your guildhall for other players if it's only accessible to guild members, but it's a drawback I'd be willing to live with. After all, if I want to host a server-wide rp event, I can still do it in a public location in-game.<br />
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As far as where such housing should be or what it should look like... well, I could ramble on about what I'd like to see, but it would be what <i>I'd</i> like. I'm sure each player would like to see something different, which is one of those challenges that has probably had the devs tossing in the towel each time housing comes up at a meeting. Still, I'd love to see Guild housing introduced as a guild perk option sometime in the future. That's an objective I'd definitely be willing to dedicate guild time to unlocking and spend guild gold on purchasing.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-37534021655939395462011-03-03T22:04:00.001-06:002011-03-31T21:21:01.162-05:00ProgressWow. Has it really been nearly a month since I posted? When I started the blog, I figured it'd be at least a weekly thing. But life is what happens when we're making other plans and the majority of mine happens at the office, which is like one giant f'ing Drain Life. Not that I'm here to bitch about the daily grind that pays the bills, though the time constraints it applies to my avocation are part of what's been occupying my thoughts lately.<br />
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A few noteworthy things have occurred since my last post.<br />
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First, and foremost, my other guild Officer, A, is back after a school-work-overload-forced hiatus. /cheer Let me tell you, logging in to his "Howdy" in the guild OOC channel made my night!<br />
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Second, I've learned that it's far more efficient to auction raw mats than use them to craft stuff and auction the end product. Yes, it's sad to say, but this was a revelation for me. See, I suck at making $ in WoW. It's too much like work. This epiphany came courtesy of A pointing out to me that I could sell a stack of Northrend herbs for 4-5 times what it'd cost to buy the one snowfall ink I need for Northrend Inscription Research each day. (I hold out hope that someday I will actually know all the glyphs in the game and will no longer need this annoying daily.) And I won't even mention the sums folks on Moon Guard are willing to pay for Cata herbs/volatiles. Talk about pay dirt! I now have high hopes of no longer having to scrape together funds for every little thing my toons need. Like riding upgrades. And gear.<br />
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Third (thanks to A & the aforementioned revelation), I was able to make enough gold in 24 hours for Caela's last riding upgrade. Whee! The downside to this is that Kam now seems to fly even slower than before so upgrading the Rogue's riding is now tied with contributing to a new guild bank tab as my next gold-saving goal.<br />
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Fourth, there's light at the end of the tunnel in the quest to re-form the guild. Guild name changed in game - check. Guild website updated with name change and new Charter - check. New guild rp concept - check. Just need to settle on an accurate and appropriate guild description and create a decent recruiting blurb or two to spam in LFGuild channel. And that last is where I've been stumped. But before I ramble any further, I think some background might be useful....<br />
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I didn't start the guild. I did help co-found it and was an officer pretty much from day one. About 10 months ago I logged in from a couple weeks of being MIA (pinched nerve in my neck, very painful and not conducive to time spent in front of a computer) to find the guild leader/founder gone from the roster and someone's alt as the new guild leader. Short, drama-free time-skip, as the only original co-founder/officer left, guild leadership was passed to me.<br />
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Now, I'd imagined starting a guild many times. But never a heavy rp guild. I just don't have the free time to dedicate to running a successful heavy rp guild IMO. I work full time, and unfortunately, I'm one of those people who actually need 8-9 hours of sleep a night to function properly. Factor in eating and a bit of keeping up with the house, and I'm left with about two hours each week night to play and then whatever I can spare on weekends. However, I did the best I could and I think I did a pretty decent job for a good while, aided in large part by my two fantabulous officers. But my time is limited, and I have that lovely pinched nerve in my neck that likes to flare up and kick my ass when I'm overloaded with stress, and both my officers are college students balancing full-time university class schedules and jobs and WoW officer duties. There were, and no doubt will continue to be, lulls in what we can provide.<br />
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Like many small guilds, Cataclysm took it's toll on our roster. So much so that I called a vote among the remaining members on whether to disband or to re-form. The guild voted unanimously to re-form. The rp concept on which the <Order of Chaos Dreams> was founded no longer fit our group. Even the name didn't fit us anymore. And it had become perfectly clear to me that despite my best efforts, there was no way in hell I could run the sort of heavy rp guild with weekly events and multiple guild rp plot lines that the original founder had going. So I made it perfectly clear that the "new" guild would be more casual. We'd still be an rp guild and we'd still have events, but not on a committed regular time table. Most of the guild was cool with that so we started working on re-forming pretty much from the ground up. Luckily, Blizzard lets you rename your guild (just open an in-game GM ticket and list a few names you want in order of preference after you've checked them against the armory to be sure they aren't already taken) so we got to keep all our guild xp, tabard, bank tabs, etc.<br />
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Which brings me back to the issue at hand and the fourth development above. New guild name <Burning Serenity>. (Not my first choice, but I run a rather democratic guild. We voted. And the name's growing on me.) New guild rp concept: a cross between a chivalric order and a royal society. The military Order is for folks dedicated to fighting the good fight and battling Azeroth's (or their own personal) enemies head on. The research/learned Society is for folks who prefer that sort of thing to combat. It fits our existing members better and I'm happy with the rp potential it provides. It's summing that up in an rp friendly and originally appealing way that has had me stumped.<br />
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It's almost a case of writer's block, only it's not so much not knowing what I want to say as how I want to say it. What audience do I want to target? How do I want to bill the guild to best set expectations? And thinking about expectations gets me off on a brainstorming tangent and then having to pare down all my brilliant ideas to things I might be able to commit to doing on a weekly basis. After struggling for a week, I finally asked myself a question (that I should have asked long ago) and have had something of an epiphany.<br />
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See, Moon Guard (especially the forum community), has this sort of unspoken prejudice that if you're not a heavy rp guild, or a raiding guild, you're somehow... less. Casual, social, leveling guild = second-class citizens if you will. Rather like the whole nonsense of the "casual gamer" being somehow "less" simply because they don't play as often as the lucky folks who have more time to do so. Yes, it's just as nonsensical to look down on the "casual rper" as the "casual gamer" or "casual raider". And no, it isn't explicitly stated anywhere (though I have seen it, occasionally, heavily implied). Or perhaps I simply read too much into things because I still feel obligated to uphold the heavy rp guild tradition that we were founded on. Either way, I've struggled with what I know are my own limits and finding a way to "spin" the guild concept to be appealing to other rpers.<br />
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Then, that little voice in the back of my mind that nags, and occasionally offers inspirations, piped up. "What do <i>I</i> want from the guild?" /blink I'm pretty certain a tiny little light bulb appeared over my head in that moment. What do I want when I come from work, an empty husk of a human being because my day of stress has sucked out pretty much all will to live? I <i>don't</i> want something that's more work than it is enjoyment. I <i>don't</i> want to feel pressured to participate in dungeon runs, or raids or even <i>every</i> rp plot-line that pops up. I <i>want</i>... I want what I already enjoy with our few guildies. I want to chat and goof off with folks in the OOC channel. Ask advice on all stuff WoW related and sometimes stuff that isn't. Run dailies and dungeons and quests with other guildies while we're in character so we can enjoy the new content to it's fullest. That's what I want. Which would make us a social and leveling rp guild. And you know what? I'm ok with that. =)The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-41656303161697636012011-02-17T18:04:00.005-06:002011-03-31T21:21:43.976-05:00Onward and UpwardRather a lot has been happening during the past month. <br />
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Not being overly fond of Deepholm, I headed out to Vashj'ir to tackle all the underwater realm had to offer. Once I got used to the 3D environment, I enjoyed it immensely. Finished up Vashj at 84 and headed out to Uldum, which I immediately loved. Yes, it's a desert. But then, I always liked Tanaris and Uldum is very Tanaris-like, but with the added bonus of <i>Harrison Jones</i>. Oh, and I tanked my first instance, Blackrock Caverns, which wasn't bad at all with only one wipe when we pulled the first boss on accident. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing, especially considering only one person in our PuG had run the instance before. It did drive home the need for much better tanking gear (not to mention that I'm very rusty) so I temporarily abandoned Uldum in favor of Twilight Highlands. A few quests saw me ding 85, fourth in my guild to do so.<br />
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Despite a good first run, I was still shy of tanking randoms via LFD. E, one of my guild officers, wanted to try tanking with his DK so I popped into the AH and picked up the cheapest 2handed weapon I could find, threw some talents and glyphs into Ret for my offspec and off we went, dragging my hapless hubby (who'd just dinged 85 on his Druid) along to heal for us. We rolled a random and got Grim Batol. Neither the hubby or I had been there, so I was happy not to be tanking. It was a disaster. I now know it was a disaster mainly because we weren't using appropriate cc, but I didn't have a clue what we were supposed to do at the time and apparently neither did E; to be fair, I don't know if he'd ever been there either. I'm still amazed we managed to down General Umbriss (after more than a couple wipes, mind). E got DC'd just before Forgemaster Throngus. When he didn't come back after a few minutes, I offered to give it a go and switched over to Prot. Disaster! Again, due at least partially to not knowing what I was doing, but I was also very undergeared. After 3 wipes, we called it quits.<br />
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I hate to fail. And in an effort to not do so again, I did some research. Blogs are freaking awesome resources! I found the awesometastic <a href="http://swordboard.wordpress.com/category/tactics-and-cheat-sheets/">tanking cheat sheets at Sword & Board</a> and <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2100-Cataclysm-is-going-live-THIS-WEEK%21">video guides at mmo champion</a>. That just left my gear issue. I liked Twilight Highlands and made a point to run each and every quest for as much gear, rep and of course achievements as I could get outta the zone. I got some decent gear and probably would have been ok to start tanking some of the easier instances. Instead, I took some bad advice amidst a complete mental breakdown.<br />
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Shortly after the Grim Batol fiasco, E declared he was gonna tank some of the lower instances to gear up and get in the grove. Since I need to gear up myself, and que times being what they are for dps, I was more than happy to tag along as Ret. (No, that wasn't the bad advice. I'm getting there. Be patient.) We rolled Vortex Pinnacle (which is just gorgeous!) and things were going quite well until E had a family thing come up and had to log. The Grim Batol nightmare was still fresh in my mind and I wasn't ready to try tanking so I didn't even offer. Instead I waited around in the que with the other dps and quickly remembered one of the reasons I'd so fallen in love with tanking. Waiting in the LFD que sucks. Two hours and three tanks later, we finished the instance. The rest of us in the PuG spent our time in que waiting on those tanks chatting. (Yes, this is where the bad advice comes in.) After I was done lamenting our recent Grim Batol experience and my concern over gearing up, one of the other dps (we shall call him Brutus) chimes in that 'my guildie and I should invest in the Bloodied Pyrium armor set so we could que for heroics and gear up faster.'<br />
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So, dumbass that I occasionally am, I listened to this complete stranger and headed over to the AH right after Vortex Pinnacle. As even more damning evidence of my lack of intelligence, I noticed that this Bloodied Pyrium stuff had Resilience on it. I remember thinking, "Resilience? What the hell is that? I should go look it up." Do I follow through with this instinct? Why, no, I don't. For some bizarre reason I do something completely out of character and buy it anyway with the cavalier thought, "Ah, I'll just reforge it." I should<i> know</i> better. I really, truly should! But the stupidity doesn't stop there. No, sir. 3K gold in armor later, I then proceed to sell my old gear as I'm equipping this new armor, thoroughly pleased that I've not only managed to upgrade my gear, but I no longer have the need to carry around an rp armor set because I now match and it's nifty and dark and pretty badass looking on Cae. It isn't until I'm at the Reforger in the Mage District that I realize Resilience is a PvP thing. Huh, no wonder I never heard of it, I don't PvP. And that <i><b>you cannot reforge resilience!</b></i> /cry Now the intelligent thing to do, would have been to hit the nearest vendor and buy back all my old armor. Unfortunately, that didn't occur to me until the next day when it was far too late to do so.<br />
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Yes, this is (sadly) a true story. Why, yes, I <i>am</i> a natural blonde. In my defense I had a cold. And medicine head. I'm not always so dumb. Really, I'm not. I swear!<br />
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I've spent the past couple weeks patiently sitting in the LFD que as dps and slowly acquiring tank gear. Had I rolled Need on every tank drop, I'd have been geared in a week, but I just can't do it. I feel guilty rolling on tank stuff when I'm dps, so I always /w the tank first and ask if it's cool for me to Need. Most of the time I've been lucky, but when a tank says they need a drop, I just can't do it and roll Greed or Pass instead. My Mommy taught me to live by the Golden Rule. And I do believe in karma.<br />
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I think I'm pretty much set except for some decent pants. For those, I need Justice Points. Which means randoms. And I don't care what my "gear score" says, that PvP stuff is not meant for heroics!<br />
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Now, if I could only figure out why I don't have any quests in Uldum when I haven't even completed half of what should be available. After the Gnomeblitteration quests I didn't get another one and I'd really like to finish the zone.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-60655045031503208382011-01-11T14:39:00.002-06:002011-03-26T12:40:09.264-05:00A Brave New World... or something like itMy brand new pretty shiny computer arrived on Friday, December 17th. Coincidentally, my 9 year old niece was staying with us that weekend so I didn't get a chance to even unpack it Friday when I got home from work. (But I did admire the box with a big, goofy smile on my face.) Saturday, the hubby and I pulled it out of the box and started the process of loading Windows and transferring programs. Sunday, I was able to play for a couple hours and marveled at how amazing and wondrous the world looks on ultra settings and solid 60fps. It didn't take long to finish up Mt. Hyjal and if I hadn't been so psyched at the beauty and ease of it I probably would've cried at the amount of time and frustration I'd spent previously.<br />
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Being so close to the holidays I didn't get much of a chance to even log for the rest of the week. (Both my brothers and their girlfriends were "home" for Christmas and every spare moment was spent getting together to just hang out and enjoy visiting face-to-face.) As much fun as I had hanging out with my siblings, I was dying to really test my new shiny so I decided to take Boxing Day (the day after Xmas) and give it a good marathon run.<br />
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After some vacillating on what to do first, I settled on rolling a Worgen. I was thoroughly enjoying myself and role playing my way through the starting phases, taking time to walk around and explore and try to interact with other players who were far more interested in rushing through the whole experience. (Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with an RP server.) Still, I was having a grand old time, gratified that my frustration and waiting had finally paid off.<br />
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Two to three hours in, disaster struck. My pretty shiny new machine froze for no apparent reason. Thinking it a WoW glitch, I dutifully restarted only to have the computer freeze again. And again. And again. I finally gave up and just left it off until the hubby could take a look at it and figure out how I'd managed to break something brand new. (I tend to have that effect on technology. Especially computers. It's why he gets annoyed when I borrow his.) <br />
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After a week's worth of cursing and crying, having the hubby and my brother (who's an IT guru) toy with it, we finally isolated the issue to a bad graphics card. The hubby talked to CyberPower (I was too upset to talk to them myself) and on Jan 3rd they shipped me a new graphics card. It arrived this past Thursday and the hubby had my pretty shiny back in working order by the time I got home from the office that evening. Since then, all seems to be going well (on the technical front) once more and I spent Sunday giving it a proper test run of 10-12 hours.<br />
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I took Caela (the main) into Deepholm, which I like far less than Mt. Hyjal. It isn't aesthetically pleasing to my eye -- well, except for the pretty gem pillars and floaty bits that break up all the monotone earthiness -- and the quests aren't anything to write home about. At least so far. (At least Hyjal was pretty, and some of the quests made me laugh even as they made me curse while I chased frightened bunnies and chucked squirming bear cubs.) I managed to hit 83 and get Cae's first aid up to Embersilk. Not that I ever use first aid, being a Pally and all, but you never know when it might come in handy. I still haven't rolled a Cata random. It's been so long since I've tanked an instance... I'm out of practice and... I think I've got cold feet. >.><br />
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I took Kamyla (the Rogue) out to Netherstorm for some questing and ran her through at least half a dozen randoms. Her spot on the dps chart seems to vary quite a bit from group to group. In a group of melee dpsers, she's typically racing the tank for the top spot. (Which is where a combat rogue belongs IMO.) In a group of mainly casters, she's dead last. It's highly depressing and I'm glad I did so many runs or I'd be seriously doubting myself and her specs. (Of course, remembering to reapply poisons when they fall off helps immensely too.) As it is, I'm simply torn between continuing to quest and grind rep in Outland while it's still level appropriate content or to abandon Draenor for Northrend and push for the level cap. I'm leaning towards the former, but the latter also has it's appeal. I blew through Outland on Caela, and I have to admit I'm rather enjoying doing quests that are new on not just one, but two of my toons. <br />
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As far as I'm concerned, the Sunday test run was a resounding success. The only fps dip I noticed was in Mana Tombs where it dropped down to the 30s several times. But my settings are on ultra, I'm still running Windows XP and there were a lot of casters in that group.The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6651591370075752863.post-23943636798301662182010-12-13T15:35:00.002-06:002011-03-26T12:34:07.767-05:00Marshmellow TestThink that an odd title for a first official blog post? Think an introduction would be more appropriate? You're probably right. But perhaps if I explain circumstances a bit then my choice will make some sense.<br />
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Y'see, even tho my computer meets the Blizzard recommended specs for Cataclysm, ever since Deathwing broke the world, my framerate has randomly, yet consistently, dropped to single digits. I could understand that my tired graphics card, old Pentium processor & single gig of memory just couldn't handle spell effects or graphics intensive/overcrowded areas. (Dalaran - lol - 4fps, though that was pre-4.0, it's quite a bit better now that Dal is pretty much deserted.) But to be sitting in the same deserted spot & one second have 28fps & the next 8 fps... that I do not understand. I tried all the Blizz recommendations I could find on the tech forums. I turned all my settings to low, except view distance to fair because you really can't see much beyond a handspan in front of you on low. I turned off all my addons. I disabled my firewall before I logged into the game. Nothing made a difference. Even the hubby was clueless and helpless to fix my problem. (Being a geeky-gamer-guy, he hates it when he can't fix things for me.) I don't know how anyone can <i>play</i> the game and enjoy it at the recommended specs. I certainly can't.<br />
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To make a long story short (and cut the bellyaching about the frustrations and motion sickness of single-digit framerates so I can get to the point sometime today), let's just suffice it to say that after hitting a wall with my system as is, and ruling out the possibility of upgrading individual components, it was obvious I simply needed a new computer. The one I have is a little over four years old. It's time for an upgrade anyway.<br />
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My system performance pre-4.0 wasn't exactly stellar and I was afraid the Cata changes would make my system obsolete so I wasn't completely unprepared for this event. I've been saving for most of the year. Unfortunately, life happens when we're making other plans & my savings took an unanticipated hit a time or two along the way, leaving me with a lot less to spend on my "gaming" system than I had hoped. But Black Friday was too good an opportunity to pass up. I ordered my new system from CyberPower & only went $100 over my budget. Woot!<br />
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Now, I knew my shiny new system wouldn't arrive before Cataclysm. Hell, the estimated ship date when I placed my order was 12/10. I told myself, "I can wait a week or so. I can pass the Marshmellow Test." So when the hubby, and the vast majority of the WoW community, upgraded & hit the new content Monday night, I just smiled & told myself it was worth the wait. "I mean, look at how crowded Vashj & Mt. Hyjal & the new starting areas are! I'll enjoy the new content more when things thin out a bit. I'll just do cooking and fishing dailies while I wait...."<br />
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Tuesday I came to the realization that without Cata I couldn't learn Archeology (which is exceedingly boring, but something I can <i>do</i> with crappy framerates) or get my Flight Master's License to cruise around Azeroth and marvel at all the amazing changes to the world, or train my maxed out Herbalism so that Crusader dailies are more productive. /cry. I caved on Thursday & upgraded my account. Now, as you can imagine, my framerate did not miraculously improve. My new machine did not miraculously appear on my doorstep. My temptation to delve into the new content ratcheted exponentially. I wanted to cry. I logged in on the hubby's computer whenever he wasn't using it (which wasn't very often since he's been on vacation) just so I could <i>do</i> something.<br />
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Saturday night, he asked if I could tank an instance for him. I laughed despairingly. Sunday afternoon (after kicking me off his computer) he spent an hour or two cannibalizing his old computer to make what boosts he could to mine. It helped. Now my framerate only dips to 10-11fps randomly & when it's good, it's in the 40s-50s. I was actually able to quest in Mt. Hyjal without getting motion sick or dying unnecessarily. (I have only my stupidity to blame for getting caught in Baron Geddon's AoE, not that I could see much of it with my settings on low but the NPC tank yelling his head off really should've been a clue to get the hell out of the way). I still haven't rolled one of the new races, I'm not even going to attempt to tank an instance and I'm taking the leveling slowly.<br />
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I can do this. I can wait for my new machine. I can pass the Marshmallow Test. I just need a little nibble around the edges while I wait....The Pink Pallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08149812421399377690noreply@blogger.com0