Gold From an Unlikely Profession

Leveling First Aid on my first couple of toons was priority to me but on the last toon, I never bothered. Perhaps because I'm a healer, because I'm lazy or perhaps it didn't seem important to me anymore. I wonder how many of you have or have not leveled your First Aid and how often do you use it?

Anyways...I'm not certain if the price of the old world clothes were always crazy but they seem to be at quite a high price since I've been looking the last couple of weeks. Mageweave cloth on my server is selling for 30-40g per stack and Runecloth at 50-60g per stack.

I know with the mention of a new bandage coming out with Cataclysm (Dense Embersilk Bandage that will heal 34,800 over 8 seconds) that perhaps this has put the push on folks to level their bandages (which I should do). Hence cloth has taken a good hike in price? Good for me, bad for the the First Aid levelers.

Perhaps my assumption about First Aid is a stretch and we simply have more people, tired of raiding, creating new toons with new professions to level like tailoring and this could be attributing to my price gouging on cloth. I'm not sure of the answer but I do know it is currently a money maker.

A good spot for farming Mageweave cloth is at Jintha Alor in the Hinterlands or a quick run through ZF in Tanaris will give you a few stacks.

Runecloth I've just start farming but Blackrock Depths has been noted as a good spot to farm Runecloth.

My gold quest of reaching 70k by the time Cataclysm comes has been shockingly almost reached with a current stash of 66,400g. So the goal has to change, pushing me to 100k by expansion time.

Now get out there and farm!

Loving Defense in AV

It was the bonus honor for Alterac Valley this past weekend and honor was pouring in at 5-6k. I am always on offense in AV and generally kill Galv then head right for the final base to help hold the GY and keep the badies out of Drek's room. On one AV run, I found myself in trouble as the horde had placed a ton of their people in with Galv and I died, returning me to our base. I decided for a change to go defense and found myself in Van's room with a DK and Priest.

OMG it was awesome!!! The DK was pullin' the horde in and Van with his associates was tearing them apart. The priest would be ready to fear as many as possible into the room as they peaked their heads around the corner. Dead horde everywhere....life was good.

I healed them up and popped into a corner when necessary to avoid damage and finally the scores popped up and we knew we were a big part of bringing the Alliance to victory.

This was definitely a new aspect of AV for me and I hope to do it more often.

Guild Rep & Rewards

Although I don't have a full grasp of the upcoming guild rep stuff, I absolutely LOVE the idea that guilds will get rewards (perk system) for their team work with reputation in Cataclysm.

I can absolutely see this portion of the game becoming a very hip thing and that guilds will be created just for getting the rep built up and reaping the benefits of mounts or tabbards or whatever other goodies that Blizz has in store. Perhaps guilds would promote a Rep Leader to coordinate days and events to build reputation for the guild. Almost like a whole new job:)

There are so many possibilities for this aspect and if done well, it could perhaps open doors for those that are more serious pver's within a guild to group with those that are not so serious to complete quests or whatever task it may be as a group. I would love to see some really fun goofy cheeves put in for guild rep. Perhaps drinking until its all a blur then winning an Arathi Basin match hehehe. I know I know, I'm a goof.

I do hope it isn't all too serious and that there are lots of fun elements combined in this to really pull guilds together. I'm excited about the prospects for surSave Nowe.

Big WoW Family

I just read a post at WoW dot com about a family playing wow. Husband, wife, mother, father, siblings and other relatives. They do their own 10mans and the dad does the gear check. It's insane and awesome.

Check them out and their favorite (and now mine) WoW family saying of "I can't heal stupid"

(scroll down a little on the the link page provided for the article)

LOL

Sticking with the Plan

On June 8th I mentioned I wanted to get from just under 45k to 70k by the time Cataclysm comes. This past week I've been working hard to get a start on my goal. Presently, I'm at 51,81r7 so making just over 5,100g this past week. Probably not a lot of gold to those big AH players but it certainly was a lot to me.

Old world mats is what I focused on and with more and more people leveling alts while waiting for Cataclysm, these mats seem to be in demand for leveling professions. My main sellers were:

Adamantite ore: 55-58g per stack

Fel Iron ore: 24-30g per stack

Primal air: 30-33g per stack

Cut gems 80-130g each

Netherbloom: 30-33g per stack

Terocone: 30-35g per stack

Adamantite and gems have been my biggest items. Since I have nothing else to get with honor and I do premades quite often. I can get about 40k honor any night I do premades (couple of hours) which is 4 epic gems. Even if you aren't a farmer, if you enjoy pvp doing premades for gems is easy and fun work. As an alchemist I can make one epic gem per day.

So it's been a good first week, hopefully the market will continue to go my way:)

What Were They Thinking?

So yesterday I thought I would make a little gold doing random heroics. It seemed like a good idea at the time. First heroic that popped was Halls of Reflection and within seconds the tank disappeared into the nether. So we wait and wait until finally a bear tank appears with great health but no defense gear on. He couldn't hold aggro and we wiped, twice. I was done.

I waited my time and signed up for another. Halls of Stone popped which is an easy but annoying instance. To my surprise I'm struggling keeping the tank up in the first couple of pulls. Do I have just a Lovely Dress on? Am I naked? NO, the tank is in lvl 78 PVP blues and so I nicely comment "don't forget to put on your tanking gear dear"..no response. He continues to move forward and we wipe as he pulls a boss with some mobs. "So if you don't have tanking gear, you really should drop out of the group", I stated once back in the instance. As the words left my mouth he aggro'd a bunch of stuff and we die again..finally he leaves group before we kick his ass.

All in all it was a terrible random morning.

Permade randoms with guildies are definitely the best option and that is what I'm gonna stick with when possible.

Podcast - Drawing us Back

Podcasts are a great way to stay on top of what is going on or coming up in Warcraft. They bring us tons of information that can make our game much more enjoyable.

When it comes to Warcraft Podcasts there are certain things that keep me going back. For me, a podcast has to be entertaining, informative and light. I don't like a podcast that has a lot of dead air or feels very forced and formal. Listening to others discuss topics among themselves about the game and giving highlights is what I enjoy. Personal Warcraft stories within the game are another great touch that will often make me giggle (I like to giggle). Podcasts that let their listeners get involved with emails, calls etc makes the podcast seem much larger and provides a greater educational element without getting too involved.

Podcasts that are heavy with class mechanics or discussing one small topic for an extended period, loses my interest. This is just personal preference. I know some of you are very much into podcasts heavy with details of your classes and skills etc. It's just not something that floats my boat. A show that runs no more than 1 - 1 1/2 hours is ideal. A long podcast can often be just a lack of editing and will tend to have periods of rambling.

Presently, my favorite podcasts are:

The Instance: Funny and informative, this podcast provides great updates within the game and you know they have done their research. No long dead spaces here and the communication between the cast members runs very smoothly and has a great welcoming atmosphere.

Wow Insider: An oldie but a goodie, this podcast is the ultimate for Warcraft news. A funny cast that has made my farming days much brighter:)

Warcast Podcast: Another easy listening podcast that isn't too long winded but gives great insight into the game.

Still LOL at the picture of the boys from "The Instance"

Don't Be Glum Chum

Seems like everyone is in a very low mood in the game these days. Restless, bitchy, complaining and just downright miserable. I know the expansion won't be for quite some time but perk up people there is still much to do and here is just a few suggestions:

Guild BGs:

This is fun way to pass the time and get some honor for pieces. Great way to get your guild working together.

Achievements:

You can go through the achievement list (Lord knows there are tons) and see what ones tickle your fancy. Do them or alone or with friends. Create a list and slowly work your way through it.

Farm for Something Special:

Farm for that special mount, pet or gear. Again, a great activity alone or with a group.

Help Your Lowbies:

Help get those lowbies leveled up in your guild. Do runs and show them how OP you are.

Guild Events:

Hold special guild events as I've done in the past.

Get Gold Happy:

Find whats hot and make some gold before Cat comes. I'm sure there will be awesome loot and perhaps some special pets to purchase.

WoW Trivia:

This is another activity we would often do. Do it in game and make it just Warcraft trivia or general trivia. Perhaps get rid of some items that are sitting in your g-bank as prizes

Kill HORDE:

Nothing lifts the spirits like a dead horde. Get your guildies grouped up and head to a horde town and bring the pain. (unfortunately this one does not apply in reverse:P )

What you should be saying is "there is so little time and so much to do" before Cataclysm.

My goal is to farm/save 70k before Cataclysm. Presently I'm at 45k so I've still got a lot of work to do but if you continue to buy my old world mats, primal air for 30g per item and my terocone for 60g/stack, I'm well on my way hehe.

Gold DKP Sytem - A Whole New World

Just attended my first Gold DKP ICC run yesterday on my resto druid. What can I say? I LOVED IT!! I was kinda tired of raiding and then hubby had gone on one of these GDKP system runs and got a couple of awesome pieces so I thought I would check it out.

Our raid leader was very clear about the rules of minimum dps requirements, that all loot is auctioned off and the balance of the gold obtained upon slaying of the last boss is split among the players. If the raid leader is not clear about the rules of loot, afking, dps requirements etc, don't go.

This gives an opportunity for various types of players; those players who perhaps are in need of a couple of gear pieces and those that are well geared and just come for their split of the gold at the end but bring their super dps/heals to the raid.

The system is run by an addon from the Raid Leader or Lootmaster. When an item is being auctioned off, you simply type in your bid ie. 1000 and hit enter in raid chat (must be in raid chat). Your bid shows and any further bids will display. There is a count down of about 5 seconds if no further bids are made. The winner then exchanges their gold with the loot master and he passes them their item.

Of course my biggest concern was trusting this person who held our gold so I do suggest you get a group that others have recommended or that do run with this system regularly. You will have to commit the time required to get your gold in the end so know you will be available for however many hours they wish to run.

I bid on 3 items. My first one was a 264 neckpiece Bone Sentinal's Amulet which I outbid myself on hehehe. In all the excitement and fast pace I went from 2400g to 2800g ...beating myself (watch for that hehe) I didn't care, I was thrilled to win it. The next was one of the tokens to get a tier 10 piece. I found it hard to place a value on it and went to 4k but didn't win it. My other win was a 264 head piece Helm of the Elder Moon which I amazingly got for only 500g. I was shocked:) There were a few druids there but perhaps more interested in any dps drops. So I spent 3300g to get 2 lvl 264 pieces. Then once the pot was split up at the end, I received just over 1,400g back. So my two pieces only cost me about 1900g. I'm still in shock and can't wait for next week:) We did pay 1000g for one guy to come who had the King Slayer title to open up a heroic mode for us with the Gun Ship fight. This fee was deducted from our pot, which was no biggie as seeing some 277lvl gear was a first for me.

I highly recommend you try this system out and please take a look at this detailed explanation of the GDKP system at Elitist Jerks with some great tips for when you do your GDKP run:)

My biggest tip again is ensuring the rules are very clear before you start and ask questions ahead of time so there are no misunderstandings or disappointments.

The Slutty but Deadly Succubus

Succubus: In folklore that stems from medieval legend, a succubus is a demon who takes the form of a woman to seduce men in dreams to have sexual intercourse.

Sooooo, this is what my husband is up to while I'm in arena dying at the hands of a lock. No wonder it always seems to be happening behind a post or on the other side of the arena when I'm not there. He has been overly complaining about the succubus in arena. So when I hear "OH MY GOD" it isn't a "I'm in trouble, help me" cry, it's a cry of "DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN". So to all you locks out there, I'm coming for you and I'm gonna wrath that bitch down. You keep that slut's hands off my hunter man /GLARE

The Price is High, But I'd Pay it

Now we all know I won't be attending Blizzcon as it's in that foreign country of the United States. However, if I were attending, I would like to think Blizzard would be offering me some sort of discount for my continued game play for over the past 3 years and with 3 accounts.

I would think a 5% discount from the $150 ticket for every year you had a full Warcraft subscription (with a maximum of 4 years or 20%) would be fair. For the other useless games like Diablo or Starcraft:P, you get your discount with proof of purchase. This would be a nice and thoughtful "thank you for your continued game play" attitude.

One of the podcasts I listened to this week (sorry I don't remember which one) mentioned that Blizzard has to make money to pay for these events and pay for entertainers like Ozzy Osbourne. Now I think a couple of posts back I said Blizzard is receiving about $170,000,000 per month in subscriptions if the figure of 11.2 million subscribers per month is accurate. Please don't tell me that Blizzard needs to make money from this event. These events are just to fuel the fire of the players. Don't get me wrong I would LOVE to be there. More so for the community of gamers that it brings together, it seems very exciting. Would I pay $150, damn straight, hence why there is no discounts. With not enough tickets for these events as they are sold out immediately. I know I know, supply and demand.

The only thing I ask, lets not pretend that Blizzard needs the $150 per ticket but that people are willing to pay that amount.

Hellfire - Bringin' Home the Bacon

This week I had noticed that fel iron ore was at a pretty good price of 32g per stack which is much more than saronite. I emptied my 71 warrior bags and took a flight to Hellfire. Thankfully my warrior is a gatherer with herblism and mining.

Because Hellfire was an initial new zone of Burning Crusade it still held some of the old world herbs like dreamfoil and golden sansam and the newer ones of Burning Crusade with Felweed, dreaming glory and some fel lotus to boot. Last night I sold two stacks of dreamfoil for 50g per stack and 40g for a stack of golden sansam. Felweed a moderate 20g per stack and my fel iron ores at about 26-30g per stack. I even prospected a few of the ore on my mage to sell the smaller gems for quite a bit.

It was a very prosperious weekend for sure with an easy farm. I highly recommend this zone for mining or herbalism as all the mats here will get you a pretty good price on the AH. Get yourself ready for Cat:)

BlizzCan 2010

Wouldn't that be a wonderful event, Blizzard bringing the party to Canada. Maple syrup for all, everyone gets a hockey stick at the door and the epic dog sled could be the ultimate new mount.

Seriously though, I would love to see a Canadian event of some sort, even on a smaller scale. Us poor Canadians are always forgotten. No country on earth more resembles Northrend. Despite what many think, we don't live in 6 months of darkness (most of us don't), igloos are only for when the in-laws visit and I'm just trying to help the environment using the dog sled.

Speaking of dog sleds, in my picture above are fellow WoW players and friends Rorik and Kittiara heading to the first anticipated Blizzcan 2010. (they won their mount with a loot card:P) Seeeee...wouldn't you want that bad ass mount?

So Blizzard...come to Canada, I'll get the kettle on.

Posters & Mags Oh My!!

Knowing how gnomeaggedon loves to see images his rugged little gnome, I had hubby create a little poster for him. This brought to mind a magazine cover he created for my bestest dwarf friend Breana (one of the original hosts of the Twisted Nether Blogcast and kick ass hunter). With Pulp Fiction in mind he did a photo shoot to catch the sexy dwarf Bre in a great pose, which was easy.

I love this picture of Bre...I gotta get it on a mug.

My Pepper Potts Justamom mage look on Gnome's poster is just so elegant, don't ya think? hehe

11.5 Million Subscribers - Still Shocks Me

According to WoW-Insider the figure of 11.5 million subscribers has been holding steady since late 2008. This still shocks me. I think that is a freakin' impressive number of people playing the same game. With the technology and graphics always drastically improving, there are so many options for folks to choose from. If I was just getting into gaming and faced with all the possible options available out there, would I play World of Warcraft? I'm not sure. I do know once you begin playing that it is easy to fall in love with your character, the game and want to always move forward.

With Wii and Xbox making some amazing graphically intense fun games, the cost would be far less for that type of investment over Warcraft with the ongoing fee. I wonder if game play time is down? Do people now divide their time between their Xbox or Playstation and Warcraft. Perhaps we have the same number of subscribers but not the same amount of game play.

Sometimes I think it's is a conspiracy. This number of 11.5 million is being repeated to give us that "we are part of something huge" feeling. If Blizzard lost even just 2million subscribers it would be a loss of $30,000,000 per month. Bringing their monthly total to $142,500,000 per month. OMG they would starve. We'd have to send a fruit basket for sure.

With Cataclysm only having a 5 level increase, I'll be waiting for my 1/2 price expansion pack:P

The Courteous RankWatch

While in a BG one day I got a strange message about my spell rank not being at it's top level for Wrath. I was shocked and wondering what the hell is this and realized from looking at my spellbook that I was using two ranks lower than I should be.

I recently installed the RankWatch addon from Curse.com as I truly thought it was a helpful tool. It can happen that spells don't rank up on your toolbar for whatever reason and get missed. So, this sends a message to the party in question, courteously telling them they are using say "rank 5" but can be using "rank 8" for their level. Clever addon I thought.

Well, to my surprise most people seem to hate it hehehe. Which I found kinda funny. I don't think there is occasion anymore to use down-ranked spells, so I thought I was being the helpful samaritan by letting others know when they have the incorrect spell rank on their bar. Instead of those comments like "oh, thanks I didn't realize" I got "WTF, Shutup, I'm gonna report you" comments. I giggled a little and thought "are they serious". Perhaps it is an embarrassment or lack of knowledge about their class so unfortunately I would make it worse by messaging back "Dear, don't be embarrassed if you have the wrong spell rank, happens to us all". Which seemed to infuriate them more.

Rankwatch sends a message to the party in question of a low rank spell and also tells me it sent it. You can then put that person on ignore by Rankwatch if you don't want it to send the message again later.

I currently have my little polite RankWatch turned off, but I think I may try it again. Perhaps I'm evil now that I know it annoys people or perhaps I hope to find that occasional person that appreciates catching the error of their ways.

Either way, I'll be Rankwatching YOU!

Patience for Gold Makers

Always at the beginning of a new expansion making gold can be extremely easy. You can make a lot of gold and make it quickly. As we come closer to the end of Lich King and most folks are geared, the prices have been dropping for mats.

Now making gold is a game of patience. I find myself waiting for days that are significantly more raiding days to sell flasks and mana pots. On a good raid night my 5 mana pots will sell for 50g, other nights only around 20g. Gems have dropped in price and I would probably do better with them on Tuesdays when players cash in their arena points for gear but because I have soooo many gems (as most people do). I tend to put them up and just patiently go through which cut has a better profit for me. Cash in your extra honor points for gems, or your heroism emblems. Don't forget you can downgrade your triumph emblems into heroism emblems to buy gems. You can turn them in at the Silver Enclave from the 3 emblem vendors but much easier to do it from one NPC in the sewers called Usuri Brightcoin who holds all the emblems and can turn them for you easily into heroism.

Really look at your professions and check even your lower level items you have or can farm (like herbs) to make some more serious profit. Lower end ores are also bringing in a good profit or the gems that come from those ores that are needed for leveling JCs. (not the Big JC but Jewel Crafters, although I'm sure the Big JC can make some fine gems:P )

I still make gold on a few fish feasts as I have my Twisted Nether Podcast running while I fish or I'll even watch online TV shows or You Tube. Use your Windows mode in the game. If you haven't used the feature in WoW just go under video and select "windowed mode". It's a great option while you are farming to multi task. Surf porn, pay bills online (pay my bills online?), surf porn, watch TV, porn. You get the idea.

Step it up and make some gold even in these hard WoW times:)

Cataclysm - 5-mans

Very exciting with Cataclysm to have new 5 man dungeons. I love running with just a few friends, especially when none of us have seen the content before. It will be awesome.

Apparently there will be 8 new 5-man dungeons including new versions of Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep. I think it is a brilliant idea. It always seems shameful when these wonderful little instances disappear as new expansions arrive. Perhaps I'm a nostalgic sap when it comes to the older zones (or perhaps because I'm tree hehe..sorry couldn't resist) but I love going into the old zones.

5man dungeons are where it all started and I would love to see more of the players that are leveling toons get the opportunity to play them at their level. Most of us just get ran through by a high level guildie. Hmm perhaps that could be a project for your guild. Level up very slowly together and run those old 5mans. I'm sure the prisoners at the stockades are waiting for you. Ewww creepy hehehe.

PVP Tutoring Site

Earlier this week, hubby came across a website Arenapwnage.com. As a druid/hunter team we are always looking for tips to improve our arena game. At this site they have instructional videos, class tips and forums to answer questions or discuss arena issues with high end arena players.

Since we just got the account this week (there is a fee) we can't really give our opinion as yet. Once we have really gotten into the site and all it has to offer we'll be able to provide you with our thumbs up OR down on this arena website tool.

Stay tuned.

Trivia For the WoW Geeks

Firstly, make sure the office door is closed or your screen is turned off. Don't want the boss to catch you doing trivia at work. I take full responsibility if you get caught but no you can't come live with me if you lose your job. Well, maybe if you bring chocolate.

Anyways...here are a few WOW related trivia questions to sharpen your mind or fill it with more useless information:) Fill in the blank

1. Prince Arthas _________

2. _____________ __________ was once a glorious temple dedicated to the night elves' moon-goddess, Eluna. However, the great Sundering shattered the temple - sinking it beneath the waves of the Veiled Sea.

3. _________ & ___________ host the popular Warcraft podcast Twisted Nether.

4. To obtain the Tabard of Brute Force you must win ____ (number) rated arena matches at level 80.

5. In general, _______ are scaled humanoids with the lower bodies of large serpents.

6. A rare mount drops in Kara from _________?

7. _______________ & ________________ are the two flight paths in Grizzly Hills for horde?

8. ______________, the questgiver, is found patrolling the southeastern part of the fringe of the Bone Wastes. This questgiver provides a quest with the miniwing pet reward.

Strats for Strand

Upon visiting Cynwise's Battlefield Manual, I thought I would throw my thoughts in on BGs from time to time since I've been doing quite a few of them of late.

It took me a while to get my bearings in Strand when it first came out. As a woman with no sense of direction I found it strange to travel uphill towards yellow and not feel I was traveling North. Now I have my bearings hehe.

Here are a few tips I have learned from our BG leader in premades that will definitely help you. Hopefully I haven't missed too many:)

OFFENSIVELY:

1. Decide on a door to attack

2. Melee drivers

Put your melee as drivers and any CC classes and healers as passengers. Those CCs will let the enemy fall behind the tank and take less hits and heals will help those players on the ground. As a druid I love to ride shotgun, healing, cyloning, rooting...its great

3. Capture the opposite graveyard

This was an unusual move in my opinion but seemed to work. Have a member capture the opposite GY of the door you take down as soon as possible. You take the east door, have someone grab the west GY. This way when you die you rez on the other side where the fresh tanks are and they are totally unexpecting it and you have little or no opposition. Later you can then capture the other.

4. Bombs, Bombs, Bombs

Too many folks don't put emphasis on the bombs but they can truly change the game. Everyone should have a bomb, no excuse...tank dies, get to a door and place it.

5. Keep going back for tanks

Many players get caught up in the fights and leave tanks just sitting there. Keep going back and try to have multiple tanks going at once. Again CC is so important here. Have a partner in your tank to do some CC or heals of the ground players.

DEFENSIVELY:

1. Split your group with healers and dps for each dock

2. Put NO players on the guns.

All players should be on the beach at the designated dock

3. Focus only on the tanks

This is a huge mistake most people make in focusing on killing players. Tanks are the full focus of Strand. Its unlikely they will take the initial door down with bombs as most folks don't think of it and they are generally too busy in combat with all our team on the beach. Begin killing the tanks but if no one gets on them, leave them at about 10% to avoid re-spawns. If the enemy does get them moving, take them down fast and as fresh tanks appear get them to the 10% mark for an easy take down if they begin moving to the gate.

3. If they do get through keep them off the GY flags

By letting them cap the flag you are getting them closer to the end goal. Again you will be watching the beach to quickly destroy any tanks that come up. We generally have not had the enemy get through the first door and if so they are usually kept stagnant at that point.

4. Communication, communication, communication

Follow your raid leader's direction and communicate where you may see a breakthrough or bombers

Last week we had some great Strand BGs. Generally I hate doing Strand but with a premade it's a lot of fun and feels easy.

Hope these little tidbits I've learned help you.

Many thanks to TheChosen on Bleeding Hollow for his great leadership.

Don't Be That Guy

There is always someone who brings pain to raids, guilds, economy and other aspects of the game. Just so we are clear, I did a list of those guys that make most many of us crazy. Feel free steal my post for your blog and add to it. Actually, I challenge you to add to it hehe. I'm certain there are many guys I've missed:)

1. Don't be that guy who levels a toon with the help of a guild and then /gquits

2. Don't be that guy who comes to raids without any pots, flasks or food

3. Don't be that guy who goes into random heroics under geared and wants to be carried though

4. Don't be that guy that complaints about his guilds lack of raiding without ever trying to organize one

5. Don't be that guy who is constantly asking guildies for gold

6. Don't be that guy who wants to high end raid but doesn't want to learn his class well

7. Don't be that guy who leads a raid and ninjas the loot for himself or his friends

8. Don't be that guy who spams the meter to show his own ego (most folks have their own meter)

9. Don't be that guy who is always criticizing others about their gear or skills

10. Don't be that guy or leaves a group or raid when they get their cheeve done

11. Don't be that guy who buys gold online (since they probably hacked it from my husband's account)

Finally....

12. Don't be that guy whose a tool and brings drama and unpleasant to the game. Be courteous, play smart, play fair and enjoy.

What guys have I missed?

Shopping at Blizzard

I recently bought the Panderan Monk pet from Blizzard and I've seen tons of folks riding on the new celestial steed mount available for purchase from the Blizzard site. Do you think Blizzard is going to do a big expansion on this area. Right now it is a mount and pets. I can imagine them creating cool trinkets something like the Orb of Deception for purchase or perhaps some fancy gifts for holidays ie. Christmas or Valentines. I doubt it will ever be a game enhancing item but just cool stuff that can be purchased with money from the site instead of in-game gold.

Personally I do like the idea of being able to purchase an item outside the game but I'm sure there are folks that hate it. I know I know Blizzard needs the money *rolling eyes* but for me (a woman who loves to shop) it is a great idea.

I'm just curious as to how far it will go. Buying outfits for your pets, saddles for your steed or perhaps buy your own phased out area to take your loved one on a picnic. I know I'm getting scarey now hehehe.

Should the whole idea of buying stuff on the Blizz site that you can use in game be done away with?

Happy B-Day Gnomeaggedon

I was thinking what could I do for this special gnome on his birthday (Gnomeaggedon) so I thought I would re-live his horrible stocks experience. Because, thats the kinda mage I am...we are all in or not at all.

A moment of fear did come over me as I entered the Stockades but I blinked, gathered mobs from the first wing and moved the large brutalizing gang to the stairs. There I suffered horrific blows to the head and torso. Blood spilled into my eyes and tears began to well but this was for Gnomer and I must endure.

The pain lasted for what felt like hours (more like 3 minutes) and when I finally fell to the ground the last words before going into unconsciousness were "Tell Gnomer Happy Birthday". In the distance I heard prisoners walking away "who the hell is Gnomer".

My mage is currently recuperating at the Stocks medical care area but is expected to make a full recovery. All gifts of flowers or chocolate can be brought there.

Happy B-Day Gnomeaggedon *cough* *cough* *gasp*

Flower Picking Whore

How many characters have you leveled up and then when you are bored you simply toss them aside, leaving them alone in the dark twisting nether. They know no love, but await that moment when something is awoken in their player's head to activate them again and bring them back to life.

From an earlier post you noticed I leveled my alchemy and used my first character ever; a 71 female warrior, to farm the herbs I needed. Now I'm enjoying making flasks and pots and continue to put that warrior to work.

I've been farming in Storm Peaks the last couple of hours on my warrior and although she is only 71 I have very few difficulties in this zone. There are 2 or 3 nodes I avoid picking but aside from that she can fill her bags quickly. Most of the herbs there are not near mobs and so its quite easy. Every now and again I come across a horde that will gank me for a flower but thats to be expected and it really is a rarity. Storm Peaks is a much safer zone than Zul'Drak or the Sholazar as there are just too many mobs in those zones.

I love my easy breezy beautiful flower picking warrior whore:)

Afraid Of My Own Shadow

Well this brand new kick ass computer I got about 2 weeks ago has had some serious issues of auto shutting down and restarting and upon returning it to the store twice they finally replaced the two sticks of ram which seems to have fixed the problem.

Aside from that, I'm am just thrilled with the speed and the graphics. Warcraft has never been so crisp and lag free. Immediate arrivals when hearthing or going through portals to major cities. Traveling around Dalaran and doing so freely without stumbling over my own feet. It has been absolutely wonderful.

I want to enjoy the full graphic experience of WoW and therefore have all my settings turned up. The landscapes, the crisp colors all are just so vivid. However, every time I farm and go to land I see a vision of someone flying nearby and gasp for an instance ready to defend myself. Only then do I realize its MY shadow on the ground. Today I picked about 150 herbs and probably 50 of those times I forgot it was my shadow and had that instant feeling "someone is following me". NO I won't turn off the shadowing ability as when I'm not surprised by myself, I quite enjoy seeing my shadow as I could never use that aspect well on my old system.. It's like a really bad blonde moment I have 50 times a day. Perhaps I need a hair color change.

Ornithophobia

I believe I suffer from a specific form of ornithophobia, which is the fear of birds, specifically boomkins. Although I love druids, sweet mother of god the boomkin form is ugly. Seriously what is it with this druid form. Boomkins should be peaceful approachable creatures that put a smile on your face. Not this bird that nightmares are created from. As you can tell from the picture above, boomkins are not in denial about it, they know just how creepy they look.

I did try the boomkin form for a brief period of time only to be traumatized every time I logged in. In arena I like my partner to kill them first, make it bloody and painful. These creatures have no place in warcraft. Spay or neuter your boomkin today...help control the ugliness population in warcraft.

I know I know..you folks are probably gonna tear me apart...BRING IT!!

The Mentally Challenged Raider

Perhaps its my age, perhaps its my nature but raiding more than 3 hours puts me in a state of sleepiness, boredom and agitation.

I like to raid but after about 3 hours, especially with many wipes on one boss, my mind begins to wonder and I often ponder "why did I come to this raid". I absolutely enjoy my time with friends Millie and Rorik who make it much more bearable as we PM back and forth, laughing about unrelated tidbits of nothingness. Rorik and my husband have a very similar sense of humor, which does scare me a little.

Upon the third hour it is as though something in my brain begins to shut down. My bed begins to call out to me. Between wipes I find myself laying my head on my desk and closing my eyes for just a few minutes. I begin to fidget in my seat and I'm sure my prominent sighs can be heard by the neighbors. I know there are raiders doing this 5 or 6 hours a night, 3 or 4 nights per week which would make me mental but I admire their determination. Perhaps now that my PVP side has again awakened and it is an instant gratification or kick in the pants, this short term game feels better for my brain.

After tonight I'm going to take a little raiding break. The folks I raid with are great. I know I know, you all will never invite me to a raid again, but know I'm there with you in spirit...wait...no. I don't even wanna be there in spirit, the thought gives me heartburn :)

I shall die in PVP with honor and broken branches but never feeling the agitation I've been experiencing lately with raiding.

The Pouting Lazy Druid

I've been a slacker on my drood with only 1 profession so this weekend,

since I have the gold, my plan was to buy all the herbs necessary to level

alchemy. Hubby is an elixir master so I will be a potions master. I hope to level

it over a 2 hour period.

Well that plan went to pot as the old world herbs were freakin' insanely priced.

Some at 120g per stack. I was absolutely floored. I knew the prices would be a

little high and didn't mind paying more for the low level herbs but it was over

the top. On Saturday with hubby's help we farmed some of the herbs and

got me to about 250 then on Sunday we got me to 439 so the rest if gravy

and I'll do it with transmutes.

Flask of the North

Binds when picked up

Requires Alchemy (400)

Item Level 80

Use: Increases your spell power by 47,

attack power by 80, or Strength by 40 for 1 hour.

Counts as both a Battle and Guardian elixir.

Effect persists through death.

"Can be used in arenas. This potent flask is not

consumed when used, but is unaffected by Mixology."

A nice little buff for pvp.

I can't count the number of times I hear folks asking about leveling a profession

and each time I tell them to visit wow-professions.com as they give

you guides for all the professions. They indicate what mats you need and how

much of each, recipes and where to get them. It can have you leveling any

profession in no time flat. There really is no reason to not have two professions

unless you are a lazy drood like myself:)

Loserville

Draw - A contest ending without either side winning.

From this definition of draw, are we all losers then? After a 45 minute arena match myself and hubby played was a draw, I was shocked to discover we still lose 12points as did the other team. I would have thought a draw meant that no one wins and no one loses. Apparently we all lose:( Blizzard's way of saying we all suck I guess. Why not just Zero for both teams after spending a hard fought 45minutes in arena. This game does not count in your 10 games though.

If you are someone who only does 10 games per week, to waste that 45 minutes must be a real pain in the butt. I think no points lost for either is a better way to do it.

I don't mind that the game doesn't count but to also lose 12points is a double whammy for some.

Conducting Premades

Many times battlegrounds will turn into a warcraft nightmare. I highly suggest trying to get with an organized premade. We have found such a premade with an awesome BG leader.

Not all premades go smoothly. Folks seem to think just because they are grouped together they will win but in many instances you have too many folks giving opinions of strategies which just confuses things and people will do as they please.

You need a strong leader to direct and monitor activities. Someone who has a plan and ensurse everyone sticks to it. Our guy simply says "do exactly as I say and we will win" and we always do. (err maybe 1 loss) He is constantly watching and moving folks where necessary. As if directing an orchestra to the crescendo he moves his groups strategically from point to point until we have a perfect balance and finish with a win.

I initially found it difficult to follow his direction as at times it made no sense to me, but his bigger plan was very clear to him and he knew exactly how to bring us to victory.

Participate in premades you see in trade chat until you find one that seems organized with great leadership OR perhaps YOU are that great leader?

I love to BG so if you are ever on Bleeding Hollow, look me up and I'll be your pocket healer:)

Here are a few links for some BG strategies...

Check out Cynwise's Battlefield Manual for some great BG strategies

(Thanks to hubby for creating the fun image for me)

Decisions Decisions

I attend 10man ICC most weeks and as any gear pops up that is suitable for me I find it difficult to make the decision whether it is a true upgrade. Giving up some haste for more spell or gaining some critical strike. I never like to take loot from someone who it is truly an upgrade for. I've seen folks during our Naxx days take gear and never put it on when someone else who could really use it rolled for it and lost.

That being said I rolled against someone when I had a level 245 piece and it was an upgrade to 251 and said "no no give it to them its just a slight upgrade for me" Only to find out they had the exact same piece they were upgrading from. What a tangled web I weave.

At this point for most of my raids it is only a slight upgrade for most and I have to lose that mindset that I shouldn't roll on slight upgrades. I don't want to be greedy but I don't want to lose out on the opportunity to improve my toon. I only have 2 healing specs (pve and pvp) so I never roll on moonkin or dps pieces so I really should be more aware when gear comes my way.

Does anyone else spend too much time pondering gear during raids as I do? UGH

Blonde PVP moments

I've had many "ah ha" moments while pvping and since I didn't know alot of the skills of other classes you'll often see those little light bulb moments from me. There are a few things I've learned from pvping that many of you would say ..."she's such a nub" Let me share some with you.

1. Don't stay in tree form while there is lock around

Banish is a silly thing I often get caught in unnecessarily

2. I can actually take out a shammy totem with my branches

When it isn't a super intense fight I now try to get rid of those silly totems for me and my partners benefit

3. I can change forms when hexed by a shammy

Yes, I know you are all shaking your head but now I know

4. Can't get feared if I keep my distance from locks and priests

Learning when to keep my distance is coming with more experience and the timing of that distance is everything. There is a balance which I must obtain of knowing when my partner is in trouble and hots are running out and when to stay out when he is safe

5. Mortal strikes from warriors have to be taken much more seriously because they reduce my healing by such a crazy amount

I've often underestimated the mortal strike and just how much it affects my heals especially from a well geared warrior that can do intense damage. I'm definately being more aware when they are on me to root them when possible and keep myself topped off.

6. Importance of LOS

I still struggle with line of sight. Again the balance of popping a hot and hiding. I tend to want to be close to my partner to help him but I know I'm not helping if I'm dead or have no mana. Mana burns are my worst nightmare and I am working hard to avoid them. Somtimes I get caught up in healing and CCing an don't even realize until its too late. But, I am trying to be more conscious of them.

7. Last Woman Standing

When my partner has died the fight is not over, especially if its now only 1v1. I have my swarm, moonfire and if careful I can still win it. I've made mistakes in this case but changing out of tree to root which I have to be more cautious about depending on how much damage the enemy is doing but playing it wisely, it can be done.

Yes there are many more but I'll leave you with these to roll your eyes with :)

Bouncing From PVE to PVP

Funny how my desires in the game change more often of late. Since I'm back I had been totally pushing my PVE and didn't even want to do a BG. In the last couple of weeks though I'm back into BGs and arena. Although Hunter/Druid combos are not the most popular, myself and hubby have been having a good time. Taking a while to get our groove back and I still have much to learn but the excitement is building. We never did that great last season...about 1500, but the thrill of arena is back.

3s is another new thing for me. I hadn't done much 3s before we have a great rogue for 3s and he is totally encouraging and positive. I really couldn't play with a super serious team who yell and get uptight over it. Don't get me wrong we have our moments here at home but its more a self-loathing thing. "OMG I can't believe I did that, or what the hell was I thinking I didn't pop my trinket" Our rogue is a cool cucumber, calm and very communicative. Thats another thing that makes me crazy is people who don't communicate while they play. Sometimes I'll hunt someone down for skirmishes to practice and its like "lets just kill em". UGH! I need a plan.

The most important thing I'm learning in PVP is that timing is everything. CC has to be perfectly timed. Double CCs and rotating CCs can make for an easy win if timed properly.

Any PVP tips for this old druid gal are greatly appreciated:)

Next time I'll share a few of my blonde pvp moments with you.

Bearly Back

Well its been a while. I did take some time from the game but now I'm back playing my resto druid. Lots of changes had happened while I was gone including random heroics. Generally, I have really enjoyed the randoms and have only had a couple of not so great experiences. I've starting doing 10man ICC and even pugged a couple of 25man ICC which were great but disband quickly if one or two people leave the group, which sucks.

When I came back I knew my gear was in significant need of an upgrade. Luckily I always had some gold on my toons so I quickly bought up 3 or 4 pieces of gear for a start. It has been going well ever since. My only issue is a nice neck piece. Seems hard to come by or I lose in a roll. I'm currently wearing a 226 and anxious for an upgrade.

My mage has been put to work with her JC skills and keeping me and other guildies in gems.

I hope everyone is doing well and watch for more updates.

Thanks so much