Off the beaten path

While questing in Searing Gorge - one of the zones you either love or hate.  The giant big hole in the middle can be a  real PiA, but I actually enjoyed it this time through.  I didn't like this much on a Horde priest in a heavy Alliance questing zone, and really must have skipped this zone or did only a select few quests on my Alliance characters.

Maybe the stealth feature a druid has made some of the quests that much easier to accomplish, but I really didn't remember many of the quests (and I've leveled three 80s, so go figure!).  Stealing the dwarves pillows for Kill Them with Sleep Deprivation was interesting, even when Chambermaid Pillaclencher popped out!  A bit of a surprise - yea for root, run, heal abilities!!  Or the very easy What the Flux? Love the humor Blizz!

Nothing tickles me more than finding these obscure quests in games.  This one - The Horn of the Beast which involves killing a now non-elite beast - Margol the Rager was great!  I received a key! 

There are two follow ups to this chain, basic delivery quests Loch Modan to Ironforge to Loch Modan, which rewards you with a key.  Specifically the Key to Searing Gorge.  This allows you (for whatever reason you might want it - lol!) to go from Loch Modan directly to Searing Gorge or vice versa. 

I'm not sure how useful this is with shorter hearth times and multitude of flight paths, but it's another key!  I can hear the clinking of keys now!  (Yes, I'll be repeating this quest for keys for the 80's too!)

Noblegarden

 Last night in Warsong Gulch (I know I spend way to much time there!), I was on my pally having fun with the "turn your group in to bunnies blossoming branch" and one of the team stayed in rabbit form and actually ran the flag.  

Good times.

(before anyone asks, no this is not my usual UI setup, but how I have it for classes I don't play often - pally/shammy/rogue.

WoW Warsong Gulch weekend

Battleground weekends aka now known as Call to Arms start Thursday and runs through Tuesday.  Extra honor and experience (leveling) are worth participating in the featured BG.


Thursday night my druid went from level 46 to 50 just in Warsong Gulch (one of my favorites especially with the 20 minute time). Although I did hear someone complain yesterday "not another drawn out 20 minute win".  I had to laugh and asked if he remembered when WSG could literally take 45 minutes to a few hours - he didn't.  I'll take the 20 minutes.

1. Yes turtles exist but they always have.  
2. Yes graveyard campers exist but they always have.  
3. Yes people farming HK midfield exist, but they always have.

I hadn't realized WSG was the Call to Arms, and so surprised when my druid was leveling every two or so wins.  Nice XP gain there!  Dinged 50 Thursday evening, proceeded to level the lock and hunter both to 40 (4 levels each) and the second hunter is sitting at 38 on Friday.  I'm going to try and get her to 40 too.  Then work on the pally and rogue tomorrow.

EQ2 Again

I couldn't resist getting the next expansion for EQ2 (EverQuest 2), even though I haven't played EQ2 in over a year. It's still my first love. 

So, I jumped on my Ratonga first. Found her in North Qeynos, standing in front of her loom where she's been for a year. Yes it made tons of sense to me at the time, roll a Berzerker (plate wearer) Ratonga, i.e. small, and then make her profession be tailoring!  /wrists - oh well.

(In her green/red appearance gear)

She was my second character, the evil one to my Kerra Monk's good side.  Being one of my first characters and not alot of thought as to 'why' I made her a Bezerker, so a plate wearer and choose as a profession - a tailor.  Hmmm.  I've enjoyed playing her, even though I don't think I'm that good of a tank.
Now level 44, she was my first betrayal questline, betraying Freeport, then rep grind to get into Qyenos.  I still find it humorous some of the guards in Qeynos still don't like her.  The Freeport-Qeynos betrayal (back before it was nerfed) was one of the harder ones, especially compared to Faydark or Neriak or even Freeport now - they're cake!  Just killing the NPC before being beaten up and thrown in jail - took me 2 or 3 levels to do.

LoTRO again

During the PAXEast event, Turbine offered the complete LoTRO game, including Mines of Moria & Siege of Mirkwood, along with 30 days free play for $9.99.

Yeah I know, had to buy it!

I already have the collectors set from the games initial release but have never purchased the expansion as I haven't played in a year.

My biggest regret with LoTRO is not buying the lifetime membership for $199 when it was initially offered.  This is a gorgeous game and I love playing it - beautiful scenery, characterization is fun, crafting is different, PvP is really different!  Rumor is it's up to $300 for lifetime, which is the equivalent of 20 months.  Hmmm.... if I had bought it in 2007.... Oh well.  I put a ticket in to Billing to see if Lifetime does still exist.

The tradeoff - time to play versus monthly cost.  I always balk at the monthly fee for a couple days a month.  could look at this as equivalent to going to the movies once or a meal out, but in our current economy.... hard to justify!  Add to that I still have DragonAge and Borderlands collecting dust.

LoTRO is downloaded, account is activeLoT and on the agenda for Easter weekend (on the recovery side of the flu/but not up for socializing).  Another game to remember how to play - lol!

New Server

It's been a few weeks on the new server, Vashj.  So far....it's okay.

I was a bit bummed, when my Alliance guild was deciding where to move and the vote seemed to be going for Vashj and I jumped the gun, then it swung to the Malorne server.  Malorne is CST, and I just didn't want to get trapped into that again - raid/group at 4pm PST - sorry not going to work!  I'll miss a number of people from that guild, but not the frustration of trying to play with East Coast players that log out before I'm ever on - missing raids/instances/old content because of time difference was not fun.  Bid them all farewell, good luck and exchange of text info, and off to make my way on a new server.

I've put a couple of alts in different guilds, but haven't found the 'fit' yet.  I'm not a guild hopper, and don't really mind being guildless as no guild is better than the mindless chatter/drama filled ones.

I keep thinking I should be lonely, but after the past year or so of both Alliance and Horde guilds restructures, dramas, people coming and going - I'm actually enjoying the solitude, leveling alts that have been sitting around for awhile instead of the pressure to be on or go do/run something I'm really not in the mood for - so all in all I've had a relaxing time.  These are all characters that I have wanted to try the different professions on as well as 'eventually' get a couple to end game before Cataclysm.  So that is what I'm doing!

Two hunters - a dwarf and draenei 35/36 (I know but I love this class its an addictive sickness!), the druid 46 (my only male character), the gnome warlock 37 (my original WoW Alliance character!) are working on their professions (enchanting, engineering, alchemy, tailoring and the assorted gathering professions).  Next on the list is the shaman sitting at 28, and the pally at 23 for jewelry and blacksmith professions. 

Ziboo (gnome rogue bank alt), has been freed from duty and is leveling slowly too.  Level 12 right now, I'm finding rogues are fun to play - lol! 

Therefore, the plan for the next couple months, is to continue leveling with a mix of questing, grouping and bgs (okay lots of bgs), while having the death knight run higher instances for mats to level up their skills if needed.


The dungeon finder is a godsend - thank you Blizzard - as LFG is no longer the PiA it use to be!  I've been in more level appropriate dungeons in the past month than in the previous two years!  Love it!


 A slight digression, but I have to say with WoW, I haven't found a class that I don't like to play - well maybe Warriors.  Not that I dislike them, just seem to have no talent that direction.

Twice I've made it to level 20 and deleted the character!  Getting, maintaining rage - yikes!

I may try again I have a gnome warrior at level 5 that may one day....

This in truth is followed by Mage's.  I don't know why but I can't get into playing a Mage.  My original WoW character is a Mage.  2 1/2 years later she's 23.  I just can't/don't play her.  So, if I get the rest moved along I may try to level a Mage and a Warrior - just to see if I can!!!


So, thoroughly loving my Alliance group - even on a Horde heavy server - where winning Wintersgrasp is usually an activity after 2 a.m., and world PvP is abundant.  I'm enjoying Vashj.  It's a medium population server, trade is trade, the people have been mostly friendly, so all in all a nice place for the gang to hangout while I level along.

(Feels like a scene from 300 in most WG's - outnumbered in a sea of red)

Now that I've said all that, a blogging community guild has been started - Single Abstract Noun on both US (alliance) Argent Dawn server  and EU (horde) Argent Dawn server, so I've been highly tempted to roll yet another character there.  Time for that Mage, Warrior or Rogue to level ...hmmm, or Hunter #1,155... rofl!