Patch 5.3: Wishing I Were Horde Again But…

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Patch 5.3 obviously belongs to the Horde, and as a Hordie at heart I am just dying to go back to my original faction.

And also because I am crushing on Vol’jin but you don’t really need to know that freaky little tidbit.

Okay, while it’s not fair to judge the new patch after merely a day and a half of playing, here’s my take on it plus some random thoughts:

The new quests and scenarios were “textbook fun” (for lack of a better description).

War is Coming Quest

Scenario-1

Scenario-2

You know it’s a new patch when a not-so-popular spot like the top of Mogu’shan Palace is suddenly the place to be.

(Click to see actual size)



And when the quest line took me to Durotar, I felt a wave of nostalgia. Kind of like the thing that makes you go, I’m home, I’m home. Maw, Paw, I’m home! Only I had to snap back to reality when I realized the quest could get me flagged and killed by my former faction.

Durotar

Mechanical Cat

Vol'jin

That’s right. You never cross family. Just you try crossing my husband. You’ll live to regret it.

I kind of mindlessly blazed through the events, but things turned sour when I got to the part where I had to do Battlefield: Barrens that required eye-watering amounts of meat, lumber, stone and oil just to get the Hordebreaker title.

Lizzie the Hordebreaker

So how did I find that particular task?

Mind-numbingly grindy. Like most of the previous crap Blizzard threw our way. Same old, same old.

And suddenly, I was very tired. Not physically but emotionally. I suspect it’s more than burnout.

I’m afraid I’m losing interest in this game.

I can only chalk it up to what my real life has been the last year that periodically took me away from the game and changed my priorities and passions. In 12 months, I moved countries, ping-ponged between the South and the Eastern seaboard, accepted offers to pursue further education, filed for divorce, experienced the death of two dear loved ones, experienced depression from missing my children, ditched school, and chose to settle down with the man  who vowed to love and care for me for the rest of his life. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.That said, and with a new exciting life ahead of me, how can WoW still hold my interest like it used to?

Mists of Pandaria will most likely be my last expansion. There’s only so much repetitiveness a player like me can take. In the meantime, I’m going to take things slow so I don’t hang up my DPS gloves just yet.

Happy hunting, y’all.

It’s Raining Battered Hilts

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Once upon a time, back in Wrath of the Lich King, my guildies and I ran the heroic versions of Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection to farm for the Battered Hilt till we got all cross-eyed.

Back then, the drop rate was so low that when it did drop, almost everybody had seizures and drama queen fits. Yes, it was that in demand. I’ve heard of friendships turning sour because the person who got the winning roll refused to sell it to the person willing to pay top dollar, or should I say, gold for it. But not all the gold or free blowjobs in the world could convince the lucky dude to give up his precious Battered Hilt.

I got two Hilts during that expansion, but it took months before I saw another one drop (which I was fortunate enough to win for my alt).

Fast forward to present times. This week I’ve been running Wrath heroics to farm Frostweave cloth for my baby priest, who’s a Tailor by profession and can now make Frostweave Bags. Well, guess what I got besides Frostweave cloth?

Battered Hilts

Three. Battered. Hilts.

(Click to see actual size)



Three Battered Hilts within a matter of three days. Holy cow.

Excited Asian Man

Why didn’t this shit happen to me back in Wrath? And did they increase the drop rate for the Hilt?

So…to sell or not to sell.

Transmogrification: Going Purple

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It took me a while to jump on the fancy transmogrification bandwagon. When Blizzard introduced ‘mogging’ in WoW, I couldn’t quite bring myself to go through the hassle of hunting down specific pieces of gear in separate instances for the sake of color-coordinating. I kept things simple (and boring) by going basic black — I transmogged my gear into the old Death Knight pieces I wore when I left Acherus at level 58 to be pardoned by Thrall in Orgrimmar (ah, the good old days of being Horde!).

But over time, I started developing ‘mog envy’. I’d see all these other plate wearers with the most awesome, put-together gear in the most spectacular colors, like the ones below, and wished I could look pretty like them.

Transmog Plate-1

Transmog Plate-2

Transmog Plate-3

The last one with the Avenger’s Battlegear set is my personal favorite! Love the orange-pink combo. Reminds me of the Matthew Williamson and Narciso Rodriguez Spring/Summer 2013 collection:

Williamson - Rodriguez

So after obtaining Despair – the first pretty and girly weapon I own so far – I went on a mission to to get some purple-magenta pieces to go with the sword The first few items I got from old BC dungeons were kinda iffy when combined, so I went for the next best thing which was the Replica Soulforge set sold by the Darkmoon Faire NPC, Baruma.

And voila, here’s my first attempt at ‘fashionable’ mogging:

Transmog Purple Plate

Now I know there are better transmogs out there, but I’m pretty new at building a collection and still figuring things out. I don’t think it’s such a bad first attempt at all, even if it looks like something straight out of the Purple Dress Run circa 2009.

Purple Dress Run

Purple Dress Run-2

(Images from Project Q Atlanta)

Work it, ladies! :D

The Virtue of Self-Sufficiency

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Whether in real life or in WoW, I have always striven to be as self-sufficient as possible. Only when the going gets really tough for me that I swallow my pride and ask for help, but other than that, I prefer to solve my own problems.

For example, in WoW you will rarely see me ask people where a certain object or NPC is located. Wowhead and Google are my best friends (so is my friend Eric on Real ID when I’m too lazy to open Firefox but hey, what are friends for!), so instead of asking on guild chat the wheres, whys and hows of a quest objective, I turn to said sources. I think every player should learn to look up information the same way, just to be less annoying to others, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.

I’m also the kind of player who likes to work alone for the following reasons:

  • I prefer to work at my own pace.
  • I want the loot all to myself. Sounds selfish but I’m trying to save up gold for that super awesome Grand Expedition Yak mount.
  • I don’t want to get caught in that awkward dance of needing or greeding should a rare item drop from trash.
  • I’m naturally shy when it comes to asking favors.
  • I enjoy the fruits of my labor more when I know I did it all by myself and that it was an honest day’s (or year’s, depending on how long I farmed the damn thing) work. That I did not badger anyone or take valuable game time away from them to get what I want. On that note…
  • I really don’t like taking up other players’ time, especially the ones who are in demanding jobs and don’t have a lot of hours to devote to WoW. The last thing these folks should be doing during their limited game time is to carry others.

Unfortunately, that last bullet point is something not a lot of people in WoW take into consideration. Recently there were a few players who went against this personal principle of mine and irked me big-time, hence this post. Their requests (or should I say demands) ranged from wanting their level 90 guildies to run them through old school raids like Hyjal Summit for their transmog sets or whispering me out of the blue to take them to Tempest Keep for Ashes of Al’ar. I had a cow with the last one simply because:

  • I myself don’t have Ashes of Al’ar yet.
  • I solo Tempest Keep each week shedding blood, sweat and tears for said mount for ME and ME alone.
  • Kael’thas Sunstrider, while soloable at 90, is still as annoying as f*ck. If I have to go through the same soul-sucking hassle week after week, year after year, I have every damn right to keep every single thing that son of a bitch drops, INCLUDING SAID MOUNT!
  • Since he joined the guild, that guy never spoke a word to me and pretty much kept to himself and a few of his pals. Then suddenly, he decides to grant me the honor of his attention by asking me for a free mount run right off the bat. No preamble of pleasantries, nothing, nada, zip. Like a guy who deemed that wining and dining and foreplay were too much effort and instead, went straight for that all-out thrust.
  • Last I checked, I wasn’t paying $15 a month to be someone’s peon/bodyguard. You want a particular drop? Take a page from me and the other hard-working, independent players and go farm it yourself! Oh, you’re only level 70? Tough. I had to wait to turn 90 to solo old school shit, why should I help you – who isn’t even my close friend – make your experience easier?
  • That said, have some fairy dust, you lazy motherf*cker!

Have Some Fairy Dust

“How can some players have the audacity to ask, nay DEMAND, to be carried?” I bitched to one of my friends. “I could never muster the nerve to ask someone to spend two hours of his life running me through instances! That’s just plain inconsiderate!”

“Well, they probably think that it never hurts to ask,” he said.

“There’s a fine line separating asking and demanding,” I shot back. “It’s this self-entitlement in WoW that gets to me. It’s this whole mentality that’s about taking advantage of other people’s generosity, taking as many shortcuts as you can, all while trashing the concept of basic courtesy and respect.”

“You do have a point.”

“Why can’t these people be self-sufficient? It is no one’s responsibility but yours to gear yourself up, get that rare drop you’ve always wanted, pay for faster flying or anything that requires EFFORT!” Man, I was on a roll with my tirade.

“Some people think that it’s only a game, no need to bring in the same Protestant work ethic you have,” he kidded.

“But this game is designed to make you work! Hell, even something supposedly as faceroll as LFR requires you to exert some effort if you want something better than blues and greens.”

“Try telling that to people who think they’re entitled to government benefits in real life,” he muttered.

I honestly don’t mind helping a fellow player every now and then, but when that request for aid turns into a constant stream of demands that require a ridiculous amount of time and effort on my part, then I’m sorry but you’re no longer worthy of my or anyone’s help. The world (of Warcraft) doesn’t owe you a living, or shiny purples, or rare mounts. Each one of us is required to exert effort to earn those things,and the harder you work, the more well-rewarded you will be.

Now if you can’t bring yourself to be as self-sufficient like the others and just want a free ride, then I have bad news for you: there is no welfare line in Azeroth.

Blizzard’s Naming Policy

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When it comes to naming World of Warcraft characters, I give my toons pretty normal names, save for the airy-fairy Cloudrunner (whom I sorely miss). Lizzie, Ysabel, Louisa, Claire, Barbara — names so common in real-life that they could be the names of girls you went to school with, had sex with, and faced in court when they demanded child support from you.

Someone asked why I chose such “boring” names in a fantasy world, and I replied that said boring names would, ironically, make my own characters stand out from the populace whose idea of naming convention, if applied in real life, would result in them losing custody of their children. Remember the case of Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii? Click the link to the article and you’ll see I ain’t shitting you.

Oh, and also because I’m just too f*cking lazy to think of catchy names like, oh I dunno, Funnypiggy (whom I sorely miss too).

But I’m not here to talk about my toon names. I’m here to talk about Blizzard’s odd naming policy that restricts certain words or combination of words but let slides the most offensive ones.

Here’s an example:

Aryanna

Ariana is my daughter’s name. I wanted to name a character after her but unfortunately said name was taken, so I tried out spelling variations and to my surprise, “Aryanna” was flagged as containing “mature language”. I was like, WTF? Then it dawned on me that the “Aryan” part was probably the culprit.

Hitler - Aryan

Um-kay, so I can understand if Blizzard wants to discourage any WoW-playing Neo-Nazis out there from flaunting their support of Aryanism, but what I can’t understand is how something as nasty and vile as the T-word slipped through the cracks (pun not intended).

WoW Pet Name

So yeah, Blizz, how the hell did the T-word slip past your naming system? You won’t let me use the name Aryanna, which is in fact a Greek name that means “very holy one”,  but you let some idiot name his pet TWATSNIFFER! Hell, I even once had a guildie named Twatwaffle! Something ain’t right with your in-gaming censoring system! Either that or someone in your team is still stuck in the fifth grade and is getting his jollies from allowing like-minded players to take advantage of the loopholes.

Do. something. about. it. ASAP. Fix it! Think of the children!

Helen Lovejoy Quote