Chilling...

Pugnacious Priest wrote a post about where we like to chill found here, and I've found it rather inspiring.

Stormwind is the place to be, and specifically the Dwarven District is quite populous due to it's proximity to the portals to Cataclysm zones. I have to admit that Ice spends much of her time there, but I've not completely abandoned my other favorites.

Both Audrid and my new gnome have set Ironforge as their home, and I have to admit it's rather nice and quiet now. I can remember the hotbed that Ironforge once was during Vanilla. I was just a wee newbie back then, and I can remember looking at all the level 60 characters and their Epic gear, wondering if I'd ever make it that far. I guess I've come a long way since then, and so has the game itself. Ironforge feels almost as deserted as Darnassus now.

My bank alt, Levi, lives in Dalaran still. She likes to hang out with Frozo outside of Like Clockwork and groove to the hum of the nearby Chopper's rumbling motor. She occasionally takes a trip to One More Glass, for a visit with Christi Stockton and a glass of Dalaran Red. I've discovered that I'm not the only one still chilling in Dalaran either. It may be just a shadow of what it once was, but it seems more populous than Ironforge.

I still miss Shattrath. The Aldor Bank was Ama's home. So many hours spent there, laughing and chatting, dancing and playing dress-up, napping in the piles of gold. It will never be the same since I no longer have Ama anymore, but the memories live on.

Where do you find yourself hanging out?

Another 20 Days (Day 10)

Saga at Spellbound has come up with her very own 20 Days of WoW Blogging challenge - this is Day 10.

Blog/Website favorites

My favorite blog used to be Righteous Orbs. Who didn't love the witty and unapologetic Tam and Chas? Then my favorite blog was The Gray Place, again for the intelligent yet unapologetic wit. Sadly both of these blogs have come to their end. Now, my favorite blog is Moar Alts, I think mainly because I feel as though Pilf and I sometimes follow the same paths. A close second goes to I Like Pancakes, beautiful artwork and a no-nonsense approach to the game as well as RP. ~points at the blogroll~ This is not to say that I love any of the about a hundred blogs that I read any less. It's hard to choose a favorite. The two I've chosen are the two bloggers I feel I can most identify with.

As far as websites go, like much of the population, I frequent Wowhead (phallic icon ftw). I'm also a big fan of Warcraft Realms, because inquiring minds wanna know just how many mages there are on that there realm. For profession guides I tend to go to The Noob School (even though there are ads to gold sellers on their pages). Although as a second choice I'd recommend Crafter's Tome, although sometimes a bit slow to load, there is tons of information to be found there.

Shared Topic: New Class

This week's Blog Azeroth Shared Topic is New Class Theories, suggested by Shadowfox. See other responses to this topic here. 

There have been many theories on what the next hero class will be, but at this time all signs point to Demon Hunter (which is consequentially what Shadowfox wrote about). Why else would the Writings of the Void quest chain exist?

However, if I had to choose what the next class would be I'd definitely pick a Monk type class. I discussed this briefly in my review of EQ2, found here. Typhoon Andrew also has written about it here.

When I first started gaming I played Baldur's Gate and eventually Neverwinter Nights. Just like in WoW I tried a little bit of everything, but in the end settled on the Monk class as my favorite. It was a disappointment when I started playing WoW to find no Monk class in the game. There is something just amazing about beating someone down with just your bare fists or a simple stave and the sheer power of your will, dancing out of harms way on fleet feet. Of course having the ability to heal yourself and others helps too. Everyone knows I'm a healer at heart. Monks are like the perfect combination of rogue/priest.

On the other side of the spectrum are those that long for a Battle Mage of some sort. A plate wearing caster, that can get into the thick of things without dying, but still cast powerful spells at range. Some have suggested a buff class, such as the Bard in EQ. There are so many ideas and options, none of them all that unique or new to the fantasy rpg genre.

In the end, as I said at the beginning, all signs are pointing to Demon Hunter. Time will tell...

Another 20 Days (Day 9)

Saga at Spellbound has come up with her very own 20 Days of WoW Blogging challenge - this is Day 9.

Your first blog post:

My first Blog post ever was at Love and War in Azeroth, and can be found here.

Things have changed since then, not least of all the move to Blogger. When I first started blogging I was flailing lost in Azeroth, searching for a home where I could lay down roots. Nearly a year later and things have not changed much. I am still flailing around Azeroth in search of a home. My partner has tied me down to the Cairne realm, and I'm ok with that (most of the time). I occasionally still get that bit of wanderlust and roll an alt on a random new server just for giggles. These alts rarely make it much past level 10, as I always wander back to Cairne and back to him.

If I hadn't switched to Blogger and the new blog (my other first post is here) I would be celebrating my blog-iversary at the end of this month. I think I've learned a lot about myself and about writing over the year, but I'm not sure I've made any progress at all into finding a home in WoW.

The guild I was in through BC felt like a home. I was friends with so many people in the guild. The guild was active and raiding. I felt like a central part of the team. I had a home again for a brief while towards the end of Wrath, but it all fell apart in bitterness. People who I had thought were my friends stabbed me in the back. Now, when I think about searching for a guild, the memory of that heartache holds me back.

Technically I have a guild now, but it isn't really a home. I see one or two other guild members occasionally. Most of the guild is around on weekends when I am busy working, and so I am the oddball mid-week player.

When I think about what I'd like from a guild now, it would be what I had in the first guild I was in, Eclipse. It was a large guild of casual players. There was always someone around to chat with, even during the day in the middle of the week. Occasionally we'd get a guild group together to run regular dungeons or heroics or some battlegrounds. It was nicknamed "The Old Folks Guild" as the leadership and most members were older, more mature players.

I moved on from Eclipse to be a part of Lesson Learned, a fledgling raiding guild which eventually ended up raiding fairly hardcore. It has been an amazing journey and I wouldn't take anything back, but I do wish I could find a guild like Eclipse again now. Then maybe I would have a home again...

Then again, if I found a home and was perfectly content in my game, would I have anything left to write about?

The torture that is maintenance day...

It's Tuesday - maintenance day. I know, we are all going through our WoW withdrawals, but Tuesdays are particularly horrible for me.

You see, I work loooong hours on the four days that I work each week, allowing me no time for WoW on work days. Tuesday is like my Friday. I am freshly off of work and ready and anxious to play, and more often than not I am presented with half of the day wasted because of maintenance.

Now, I'm not begrudging maintenance. It must be done, and I'm glad it is normally done on a regular schedule that is well posted. I'm not crying for Blizzard to give me my money back and all of that nonsense. I understand maintenance must happen. I just wish my schedule was different or that the maintenance schedule was different.

I guess I am crying a little bit because I always end up chomping at the bit on Tuesdays, anxious to get back into the game. I catch up on the blogs that I read. Try to think up new posts for my own blog, maybe write a little bit. And then I am left thinking about what I'm going to do when the servers come up.

This is what gets me into trouble. I'd love to work on my baby warrior. I kind of want to try out an RP server again now that the new guild finder is in place. I really should run a dungeon on Ice. What about Audrid? She's in Outlands now. I wonder if there are mats for the enchanting rod I need to make on the AH? I should work on my professions on... all of my toons. What about Archaeology? Its so much fun! I really still want to roll a Horde alt and stick with it.

When it comes down to it I will probably end up playing Ice or Audrid with my partner, but what about all of the rest?

With limited play time I find that all these side projects are suffering, and I just wish I had more time. That extra time that I spend every Tuesday waiting for the servers to come up.

And now for something completely different...

I've always dreamed of being a writer. It was never about the money or the fame, or even or the love of literature. It was about touching others the way that I've been touched by the authors that I love. There is something magic in reading the words that others have written, whether it be an article in a magazine, an epic fiction series, or one of our blogs.

We touch each other with our words. That touch can invoke any number of reactions, from rage to lust, from sadness to joy, and everything in between. Perhaps it is a selfish goal, but I want to touch others in that way.

I still don't feel as though I've found my voice. The voice I write with here is my speaking voice. I find that I want more from myself, but I'm unsure of how to push it out. The key, I'm sure, is putting more time and effort into my writing, which is something I rarely do with my blog posts. The posts with the most effort put into them are my little guides and my bits of Fan Fic. It may end up being pretty near impossible for me to coax much more into my writing in the near future, as I am heading into the busy season at work and hours are growing even longer than they already are, but I'm going to try.

At times I feel as though I'd like to move beyond the game with my writing. In the near future there may be added spaces here for things outside of WoW, but the blog as a whole will remain a WoW blog. If you're interested, I'll encourage you to check out the things that I'll hopefully be adding. Any and all feedback is welcomed.

Another 20 Days (Day 8)

Saga at Spellbound has come up with her very own 20 Days of WoW Blogging challenge - this is Day 8.

10 things we don’t know about you:

I have to admit, I've found this topic to be one of the more challenging to write. There is a fine balance to be found between finding things that my readers don't know about me, but also finding things that are appropriate to share. Anyway, here goes...

1. My favorite color is emerald green.
2. I am a lazy, pleasure seeker, with minimal motivation outside of desire, and I'm learning to be ok with that.
3. I am addicted to caffeine, with my poison of choice being Diet Cherry Dr Pepper (Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry is a close second).
4. I have an orange tabby named Sammy.
5. I have a habit of naming the important purchases in my life. For example, my car is named Buttercup.
6. I am terrified of heights, both IRL and in game. It takes me time to get across the bridges in Thunderbluff or down the chain to BRD because it scares me that much. I'm also afraid of the elevator bosses (both in game and IRL).
7. I'm horrible at making decisions. When I have to choose I always feel guilty, as though I'm being selfish, and will sometimes choose what I think my companions would most like.
8. While I've never been to a psychiatrist or psychologist for diagnosis, I think I have a touch of OCD, social anxiety and a bit of depression at times, as well as some massive self esteem issues.
9. I'm a conservative socialist. I dare you to figure that one out!
10. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.