As a teenager I was an angsty, emo mess and spent most of my time reflecting and looking back on my life without ever really understanding what I was walking into. As I get older I find that I spend a lot less time in my head, and sometimes am so busy living life that I forget to think about who I’ve become and what I want to be. Writing a “Year In Review” post makes me cringe a little, but there’s probably a worthwhile reason that everyone does it. It’s time to put some of the clutter collecting in my head into words.

Blogging

I failed miserably at blogging in 2012. Until Mists came out I was in an enormous WOW slump, and once it came out I was so busy playing that I didn’t stop to write. I don’t know if this will ever improve, but I’m not ready to give up. I renewed my hosting for another 2 years in December. I think the only way to really write more is to worry less about focusing on WOW and just spit out whatever is on my mind. I keep saying that I need to filter my thoughts a bit less, but I haven’t managed it yet.

Work

2012 was the most stressful year at work I’ve experienced yet. I spent a lot of time waiting for things that never came, and when things changed in unexpected ways I was completely thrown off guard and had trouble adapting. I went through a whole range of emotions – rage, depression, bitterness, hope, and finally some semblance of acceptance. I like the current project I’m on, I really like some of the people I’m working with, and for now that will be enough. I’m not really sure what the next year will bring, but I need to focus on staying calm and not letting the politics and change stress me out. I need to be more zen.

Hobbies

I neglected some of my hobbies – writing, photography, and drawing efforts were nearly nonexistent. I didn’t play a lot of video games outside of WOW, although I finally finished Portal 2. Diablo 3 caught my attention for a few weeks, but I honestly haven’t given it the attention it deserved.

I did gain a lot of new expertise in different programming technologies and frameworks, some of which is crossover with my career. I also managed to complete my reading goals (55/52) books. With the stress at work I simply didn’t have a lot of creative energy and it was easier to consume content that make it. I hope this is something I can change.

Health

I finally got off my ass a bit and made an effort to focus on my health. In April I started tracking calories and being more regimented about my exercise (twice a week minimum). It went well at first, and at my lowest back in September I had lost 13 pounds. As the weather got colder I backslid a little, but nothing insurmountable. This year I’m going to step it back up a bit and push my workouts a little harder with more efficient circuit training.

WOW

My WOW playing was nearly nonexistent until the pre-launch events for Mists. I really do love this expansion – it is everything I could have hoped for. I’ve been immersed in pet battles lately, as well as finally leveling my druid (she’s now 81).

My one stumbling block right now is the complete lack of raiding. We only managed one guild raid before schedules fell apart, and although we’re certainly going to keep trying it doesn’t look very promising. Jardal and I had a very brief affair with a raiding guild, and quickly realized the more serious atmosphere and 3-day a week mandatory schedule wasn’t for us.  It simply comes down wanting to raid with friends, not co-workers. This is still an unknown coming into the new year – I’m not sure how we’ll find a way to get what we want. Will we need to move our mains again (maybe even to another server)? We’re certainly going to continue play with our current WOW friends, but maybe we need to make some new ones too.

Welcoming 2013

To everyone out there in who happens to come across this – I hope that the new year is everything you want it to be. I wish you luck in sticking to your goals, and to letting go of all the crap that 2012 sent your way. Don’t completely dismiss the clichéd words and traditions of this day – reflecting and taking some time to look forward can be a good thing.

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2013. | Permalink | Leave a Comment
Post tags: blog toast, New Year

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

What we got was a tiresome, grindy experience reminiscent of the original incarnation of fishing, but without the added benefits of tying in with Cooking. I chose to level Archaeology on my former main (Kaelynn the rogue). Instead of giving me a reason to play her, Archaeology gave me a reason to stay away. I did eventually reach max skill in Cataclysm, but couldn’t convince myself to continue to grind for the items I actually wanted (pets, mounts, and BOA epics that would have been useful in the first tier of Cata raiding). I grew to despise the continent of Kalimdor and its long flight paths. The Tol’vir became the bane of my existence. Archaeology was frustrating and dull for any significant length of time.

With Mists of Pandaria, a lot of changes were made to the profession. Dig sites give more opportunities to survey, and each find gives you more fragments. Pandaria artifacts aren’t just worthless grays, but can be turned into crates that can be converted into other races fragments. Sha will randomly spawn after a find, offering even more artifacts. Pristine artifacts can be put on display and reward you with Keystones.

These changes certainly make archaeology in Pandaria a less frustrating experience. The XP provided is still a nice supplement to leveling through the zones. Getting dig sites for a race you no longer care about doesn’t feel as worthless. The Lorewalker tie-in makes the profession feel more integrated into the game. All things that really should have been a part of the profession in the first place.

I found myself leveling archaeology on my rogue instead of questing. I finally felt like I was having some fun with it! Digging was easy, things got solved faster, the crates of artifacts stacked nicely in my bag, and I didn’t have to fly across ridiculous sized continents to get them.

Then I saw the archaeology quest for the Order of the Cloud serpent, and screamed in frustration. My max archaeologist was not my main. The though of leveling again through the old world made me shudder.

I eventually got Exalted with the Order of Cloud Serpent, and forgot all about archaeology for a bit. Then Blizzard put in a tiny hotfix that went almost unnoticed – skill ups are now given after every find. I sighed, realized I had no excuse anymore, and got to work leveling on my main. It only took me three days, a few hours each. It was not painful at all, and actually had the addictive quality I had so longed for.

umm… which way am I supposed to go?

At this point I’m reluctantly admitting that I like archaeology. I like it about as much as I like any other profession. It’s not quite what I had imagined, but it is something I’ll continue to spend my time doing.

I forgive Blizzard for whiffing on this one, because the profession they introduced with this expansion is exactly what I hoped archaeology would be.  Yes, Pet Battles. But more on that some other time.

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | Leave a Comment
Post tags: Archaeology, Mists of Pandaria, Professions

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

What have I been up to for the last few months? For the most part, I’ve actually been playing WOW. I’ve actually been logging on almost every night, and enjoying the game again. In short: Mists is everything I hoped it would be. From exploring the gorgeous scenery, to the Tillers, to interesting quests with a less on-the-rails feel, to heroics, and scenarios and beyond, I think that MoP is a great experience. I could ramble on about my initial impressions for a while, but you’ve already heard it from a hundred other people and I really don’t have any new spin on the topic.

Other things I don’t really feel like belaboring on about: cross-realm zones, dailies, or class balance. I’m at the point where I just want to enjoy the game, and I don’t feel like trying to “fix” everything with long discussions about everything Blizzard is doing wrong. If you want to read an eloquent post on one of these subjects that I agree with wholeheartedly, try this.

Now let’s jump around randomly to a few things I do want to talk about.

Bag space. Seriously. There are way too many cool on-use quest items in MoP. Adding that to my collection of archaeology artifacts, transmog gear, random mats, and holiday items means my bag and bank are not in a good place. It’s getting as crowded as my real-life t-shirt drawer (what, doesn’t everyone have a drawer stuffed full of unfolded t-shirts, where you have to shove things in to get the drawer closed?). Oh yes, I’m whining that Blizzard gave us too many toys that I want to keep. And yes, I realize this is a problem that they can never actually solve because no matter how much space they give me it will never be enough. But I just wish they could give us bigger bags. Especially that darn backpack. I realize as a programmer that they probably hardcoded it to 16, and it would be a huge pain in the ass to change its size. If it weren’t hard they would have done it already. This doesn’t stop me from hoping.

The Tillers have been hands down the best faction experience ever. I love how you grow your farm slowly over time and feel like you’re actually making progress with each bit of rep you gain. I love that you can grow your own profession mats and cooking ingredients. I love how each “Best Friend” gives you another digital addition to your farm. It’s so well-designed that I can only hope they can put as much love and care into future factions.

There are certainly bits of annoyance, like how that darn Chrysoberyl never seems to spawn, or how much I hate finding Old Hillpaw’s prize chicken. Farming itself can be infuriating when the “wrong” kinds of plants spawn. For example I recently had this lovely moment – 5 Alluring crops at once.

Overall, it’s been an absolute blast. I think it would be really cool if Blizzard would consider extending the farming experience in later patches. New crops, or new “friends” could be added to spice things up over time.

I’m still in love with my shaman in this expansion. The new talents are full of interesting choices. Ascendance is definitely my favorite – giant elemental form that does powerful healing or damage. Healing heroic dungeons isn’t as painful as it was in the beginning of Cataclysm. I’m just beginning to raid and shake of the rust, and am amazed at the realization that I actually have quite a few cooldowns now. Cooldown usage is definitely my weakest point as a healer right now – there are just so many of them to remember, and most of them are new in MoP.

For the first time I’m actually OK with not having a shield. This umbrella from Archaeology is the best offhand ever.

Real life has been a bit painful lately. Work has been an absolute mess. My company did a re-org back in July, and it has shaken up so much to the point of making it almost impossible to get actual work done. Everything has turned political as people try to define their roles, and try to avoid taking responsibility for anything. I keep telling myself that it will get better and that I agree with their vision of where we want to end up. The only problem is that I can’t for the life of me see how we can possibly get there. My goal of sticking it out until at least next June for my 5 year anniversary is feeling harder and harder.

Last random item of note for today. Apparently I was so focused on WOW that I missed fall, and it is now winter. Today was the first real snow that stuck to the ground. Oh the joys of living in Minnesota…

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | One Comment
Post tags: MOP, Tillers

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

The quest items are included to ensure a solid baseline of gear as you work toward rep items and drops.

Most items can be used by both Resto and Elemental casters, as they require similar stats. Trinkets are specific to spec and are listed separately. Items that do not have spirit, and items that have hit are clearly marked (see the key below).

Reputation gear has a new twist in Mists – the best level rep gear is actually purchased withValor points instead of gold, so it may take longer to acquire than in the past, depending on your play style.

Resto stat priority: Intellect [= Spellpower] > Spirit >Haste (Until 1194)> Mastery rating (50%) > Crit

Elemental stat priority: Intellect [= Spellpower] > Hit /Spirit(until 15%) > Mastery >= Haste > Crit

I did not include PVP gear, but if you have some easily accessible, it can be a decent stand-in. I also did not include Raid-Finder gear, however I may add it at a later date. Raid-Finder gear should not be necessary to begin Normal raiding, and will typically only provide minor upgrades, however it may fill in certain gear gaps for you.

Leveling Gear Shortcut: Each zone has a ‘set’ of gear with the same name, as well as sharing a similar visual appearance. They do not have actual set bonuses. The items in the set vary in iLevel, and some are blues while others are greens. If you’re looking to just blast through to raiding, however, the ‘Withered’ set out of Dread wastes is probably your best bet. The list of sets is listed below.

• Dread Wastes: Withered set
• Townlong Steppes: Earthmover set
• Kun-Lai Summit: Dreaming Spirit set
• Valley of the Four Winds: Huangtze Scale set
• Krasarang Wilds: Deepwild set
• The Jade Forest: Jade Witch set

• * Indicates that the item does not have spirit.
• ^Indicates that the item has hit

Head

Crafted

• Energized Retinal Armor - Engineering ONLY

Reputation

• Nightwatcher’s Helm – Shado-Pan: Revered, 2250 VP

Dungeon Drops

• Waterburst Helm – The Jade Forest (H): Wise Mari

BOE

• Helm of Elemental Binding - World Drop

Quest

• Earthmover Helm* – Townlong Steppes: The Sha of Hatred
• Withered Wood Cap – Dread Wastes: Kor’thik Aggression
• Withered Wood Helm* – Dread Wastes: Reunited

Shoulders

Reputation

• Mindbender Shoulders* – Golden Lotus: Revered, 2250 VP

Dungeon Drops

• Neverdare Shoulders - Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Sha of Doubt

Quest

• Withered Wood Spaulder* – Dread Wastes: The Mariner’s Revenge
• Earthmover Pauldron - Townlong Steppes: First Assault
• Earthmover Spaulder*- Townlong Steppes: Mists’ Opportunity

Chest

Crafted

• Lifekeeper’s Robe - Leatherworking
• Stormbreaker Chestguard* – Leatherworking

Reputation

• Robes of the  Setting Sun - Golden Lotus: Revered, 2250 VP
• Mountain Spring Ringmail - The August Celestials: 2250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Uncasked Chestguard - Stormstout Brewery (H): Yan-Zhu the Uncasked
• Shivbreaker Vest – Scholomance (H): Lillian Voss

Quest

• Withered Wood Breastplate – Dread Wastes: Falling to Pieces
• Earthmover Armor* – Townlong Steppes: The Point of No Return
• Withered Wood Armor* – Dread Wastes: Fresh Pots

Waist

Reputation

• Klaxxi Lash of the Precursor* - The Klaxxi: Revered, 1750 VP

Dungeon Drops

• Sunheart Waistband – Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Lorewalker Stonestep
• Belt of Totemic Binding - Siege of Niuzao Temple (H): Wing Leader Ner’onok

Quest

• Withered Wood Waistguard – Dread Wastes: Overthrone

Legs

Reputation

• Swarmkeeper’s Leggings – The Klaxxi: Revered, 2250 VP
• Snowpack Waders - Golden Lotus: 2250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Bradbury’s Entropic Legguards - Scarlet Halls (H): Flameweaver Koegler
• Leggings of the Charging Soul* - Shado-Pan Monastery (H): Azure Serpent/Gu Cloudstrike

BOE

• Kilt of Pandaren Promises - World Drop

Quest

• Earthmover Kilt - Townlong Steppes: Improvised Ammunition
• Withered Wood Kilt* - Dread Wastes: Walking Dog

Hands

Crafted

• Fists of Lightning* – Leatherworking
• Lifekeeper’s Gloves – Leatherworking

Reputation

• Ravenmane’s Gloves* – The August Celestials: Revered, 1750 VP
• Gloves of Forgotten Wisdom - Shado-Pan: 1750 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Gloves of Explosive Pain - Scholomance (H): Darkmaster Gandling
• Hexxer’s Lethargic Gloves - Mogu’shan Palace (H): Gekkan

Quest

• Gloves of Sanctity - Scarlet Monastery: Unto Dust Thou Shalt Return
• Withered Wood Handguards - Dread Wastes: Rending Daggers
• Withered Wood Gauntlets - Dread Wastes: Nope

Feet

Reputation

• Sandals of the Elder Sage - The August Celestial: Revered, 1750 VP

Dungeon Drops

• Airbender Sandals - Siege of Niuzao Temple (H): Wing Leader Ner’onok
• Blastwalker Footguards* - Shado-Pan Monastery (H): Taran Zhu

Quest

• Withered Wood Sabatons - Dread Wastes: Fires and Fears of Old
• Withered Wood Shoes* - Dread Wastes: Amber Arms

Wrist

Reputation

• Brewmaster Chani’s Bracers* – The August Celestials: Revered, 1250 VP
• Runoff Wristguards - The Klaxxi: 1250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Shadow Puppet Bracers - Scholomance (H): Instructor Chillheart

Quest

• Withered Wood Armbands - Dread Wastes: The Dissector Wakens
• Withered Wood Wristwraps* Dread Wastes: Extracting Answers

Cloak

Reputation

• Sagewhisper’s Wrap – Shado-Pan: Revered, 1250 VP
• Pressed Flower Cloak – The August Celestials: 1250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Cloak of Hidden Flasks - Stormstout Brewery (H): Hoptallus
• Cloak of Cleansing Flame* - Mogu’shan Palace (H): Gekkan
• Cape of Entanglement* - Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Liu Flameheart

BOE

• Drape of Flowing Gauze - World Drop

Quest

• Cloak of Collective Thought - Gate of the Setting Sun: That’s a Big Bug
• Shadebound Cape - Dread Wastes: Bound With Shade
• Cloak of the Hollow - Townlong Steppes: Enraged By Hatred

Neck

Crafted

• Tiger Opal Pendant - Jewelcrafting
• Skymage Circle* - Jewelcrafting

Reputation

• Links of the Lucid - The Klaxxi: Revered, 1250 VP
• Wire of the Wakener^ – The Klaxxi: Revered, 1250 VP
• Pendant of Endless Inquisition – Golden Lotus: 1250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Necklace of Disorientation - Shado-Pan Monastery (H): Sha of Violence
• Mindcapture Pendant - Mogu’shan Palace (H): Xin the Weaponmaster
• Mindbreaker Pendant* - Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Sha of Doubt
• Temperature-Sensing Necklace* - Scarlet Monastery (H): Flameweaver Koegler

BOE

• Mending Necklace of the Golden Lotus - Vale of Eternal Blossoms: The Final Power
• Dorian’s Necklace of Burgeoning Dreams - World Drop
• Shiny Hozen Rock Holder* - World Drop

Quest

• Hardened Resin Pendant* - Siege of Niuzao Temple: Take Down the Wing Leader
• Mantid Eye Amulet* - Siege of Niuzao Temple: Take Down the Wing Leader
• Amberglow Locket - Dread Wastes: Better With Age

Rings

Crafted

• Band of Blood - Jewelcrafting
• Lionsfall Ring^ – Jewelcrafting

Reputation

• Leven’s Circle of Hope - Golden Lotus: Revered, 1250 VP
• Simple Harmonius Ring^ – Golden Lotus: Revered, 1250 VP
• Sorcerer-King’s Seal - Shado-Pan: Honored, 1250 JP

Dungeon Drops

• Vithrak, Gaze of the Deadman* - Scarlet Halls (H): Flameweaver Koegler
• Viscous Ring - Gate of the Setting Sun (H): Commander Ri’mok
• Beastbinder Ring - Scarlet Halls (H): Houndmaster Braun
• Ring of Malice* - Shado-Pan Monastery (H): Taran Zhu
• Alemental Seal* - Stormstout Brewery (H): Yan-Zhu the Uncasked
• Triune Signet* - Scarlet Monastery (H): High Inquisitor Whitemane
• Signet of the Hidden Door^ – Scarlet Monastery (H): Thalnos the Soulrender
• Eye of the Tornado^ – Shado-Pan Monastery (H): Master Snowdrift

BOE

• Anaxo’s Multi-Layered Seal* - World Drop

Quest

• Mending Mark of the Golden Lotus - Vale of Eternal Blossoms: The Secrets of Guo-Lai
• Band of Terror* - Dread Wastes: Terror of the Dread Wastes
• Band of Channeled Whispers - Dread Wastes: A Cry From Darkness 

Weapon – Mainhand

Crafted

• Masterwork Forgewire Axe - Blacksmithing

Reputation

• Amber Spine of Klaxxi’vess - The Klaxxi: Exalted

Dungeon Drops

• Je’lyu, Spirit of the Serpent - Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Sha of Doubt
• Carapace Breaker - Gate of the Setting Sun (H): Raigonn
• Firescribe Dagger* - Mogu’shan Palace (H): Xin the Weaponmaster
• Melted Hypnotic Blade* - Scarlet Halls (H): Flameweaver Koegler

BOE

• Solianti’s Insect Smasher - World Drop

Quest

• Jol’Grum’s Frozen Mace - Kun-Lai Summit: The Arena of Annihilation
• Boggeo’s Ritual Axe / Oracle’s Blade* /  Boggeo’s Thorns* - Dread Wastes: The Horror Comes A-Rising

Offhand

Crafted

• Masterwork Lightsteel Shield - Blacksmithing
• Inscribed Red Fan - Inscription
• Inscribed Fan* – Inscription

Dungeon Drops

• Metanoia Shield - Scholomance (H): Jandice Barov
• Shield of the Protectorate - Gate of the Setting Sun (H): Raigonn
• Bottle of Potent Potables* - Stormstout Brewery (H): Hoptallus

BOE

• Turpster’s Sonorous Shield - World Drop

Quest

• Eye of the Wakener* – Dread Wastes: The Scent of Blood

Two-Handed Weapons

Crafted

• Inscribed Cane Staff - Inscription
• Inscribed Serpent Staff* – Inscription

Dungeon Drops

• Gustwalker Staff - Siege of Niuzao Temple (H): Wing Leader Ner’onok
• Staff of Trembling Will* - Temple of the Jade Serpent (H): Sha of Doubt
• Greatstaff of Righteousness* - Scarlet Monastery (H): High Inquisitor Whitemane
• Wort Stirring Rod^ – Stormstout Brewery (H): Yan-Zhu the Uncasked
• Headmaster’s Will^ – Scholomance (H): Darkmaster Gandling

Quest

• Liuyang’s Lovely Longstaff* - Kun-Lai Summit: The Arena of Annihilation

Trinkets – Resto

Crafted

• Relic of Chi Ji – Darkmoon Crane Deck – Inscription
• Zen Alchemist Stone - Alchemy

Reputation

• Scroll of Revered Ancestors - Shado-Pan: Revered
• Blossom of Pure Snow - Shado-Pan: Revered

Dungeon Drops

• Empty Fruit Barrel - Stormstout Brewery (H): Ook-ook
• Vial of Ichorous Blood - Siege of Niuzao Temple (H): General Pa’valak
• Price of Progress - Scholomance (H): Darkmaster Gandling

Quest

• Relic of Kypari Zar - Dread Wastes: The Root of the Problem

Trinkets – Elemental

Crafted

• Relic of Yu’lon – Darkmoon Serpent Deck – Inscription
• Zen Alchemist Stone - Alchemy

Dungeon Drops

• Flashfrozen Resin Globule - Siege of Niuzao Temple (H): Vizier Jin’bak
• Vision of the Predator - Gate of the Setting Sun (H): Striker Ga’dok

I will continue to edit the list as I find mistakes and as the Wowhead database of items for Mists is stabilized.

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | 2 Comments
Post tags: Elemental, Gear List, Mists of Pandaria, MOP, Resto, Shaman

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

There is a rather unforeseen consequence of the account-wide feature. Since pets and mounts are available to any character, they can be acquired by any character. In the case of rare drop mounts or pets with a limited number of attempts available per day or week, this greatly increases the options available to you. Now instead of just grinding on your main, you can grind for them on every alt you’ve ever created! For most mount/pet collectors the word ‘can’ in that last sentence should be substituted with ‘must’. Blizzard has given those of us with alts an opportunity to truly drive ourselves insane.

My husband Jardal ran Heroic Sethekk Halls on every high level character for several months, in anticipation of the account-wide feature. He finally got the elusive bird to drop last week, and even I was grateful. I was tired of the squawking noises. I was tired of hearing him say, “I’ll be ready to go in just a few minutes – I need to finish my Anzu runs”. It was starting to drive me insane, and I wasn’t even running it with him.

My guild-mate also pointed out that we can now speed up acquiring pets and mounts from factions that require token grinding via dailies, such as Tol Barad, the Argent Tournament, or the Darkmoon Faire. You can now do the sets of dailies on multiple characters a day if you’re working towards multiple items you want to purchase.

For the pessimists among us, this is proof that there is a downside to everything.

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | One Comment
Post tags: account-wide, Mounts, Pets

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

If you haven’t played the beta at all yet, or have been away from it as long as I have, then you’ll quickly realize a LOT of things have changed. The most jarring thing is that the level 85 starting area, the Jade Forest is no longer accessible.

Don’t worry though – Blizzard didn’t leave everyone stranded. If you are still level 85 or created a new template character, just find your main ‘Heroes Call Board’ in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. Standing next to the board will be this amusing NPC – ‘Adm’rl Placeholder’.

The Adm’rl will have a quest for you that, after talking to him, will port you to Pandaria’s Valley of the Four Winds.

Turning in the quest to Private Tim P. O’Rary will grant you a free level.  O’Rary also sells a complete set of greens for all classes that are more fitting for a level 86 toon than most Cataclysm epics. He can also port you back to your Capital city if you should so desire.

Flaskataur Esq. is a glyph seller that you can find in your capital city before you leave, or standing behind O’Rary in the Valley of Four Winds. You can’t really miss him – he is a giant Tauren with a tophat.

Once you’ve gotten yourself to the Valley of the Four Winds, and refreshed your gear and glyphs, then you’re ready to go! It’s still a bit of a lag-fest in in the initial starting area, but once you venture off into the lovely farm-filled countryside things get a bit better. The zone is filled with Pandaren farmers, the endearing Vermin, Chen Stormstout, and much more.  I’ve been really enjoying the questing so far. The scenery is gorgeous, the mob designs are unique, and the quests feel a bit more immersive – like there is actually a reason to gather  X watermelon and turnips, or kill X mobs.

There is a lot of speculation on why exactly Blizzard closed the Jade Forest, since it’s not something they’ve previously done with any expansion. I think its a combination of having major quest-flow rework in progress, and wanting the swarms of Testers to move on to other zones. Regardless of the reason, I like  how Blizzard was able to do an on-the-fly tweak to make it simple and painless for players to continue progressing. I also enjoy the beta humor, with the ridiculous NPCs.

Have you been spending any time in the beta? Have you been keeping up with the news at all, or has your attention been mostly elsewhere? I’d love to hear how everyone’s summer has been going.

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | One Comment
Post tags: Beta, How to get to the Valley of the Four Winds, Jade Forest Closed, Mists of Pandaria

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

I miss connecting with other people who are more like me.  So many of those whom I’ve encountered over the past four years of playing WOW, through blogging or the game itself, have always felt more like “my people” than those I encounter in my daily life. I’m starting to feel like I lost that somewhere along the way. Most of the blogs that I truly enjoyed in the WOW community have gone dark (mine isn’t really any exception, given the number of posts I’ve made lately). I find myself reading home design blogs or tech blogs to fill the void, but I miss this community. I’m absolutely terrible at keeping relationships going. I don’t know if this stems from laziness or just being so paranoid and devoid of self-esteem that I fear that no one actually wants to talk to me.

I can say that I’ll try to do a better job to read blogs, talk on Twitter, comment, and start being a part of this all again, but I don’t want to make any false promises. A part of me is just hoping Mists of Pandaria’s release date will be announced soon so I can just find some motivation.

If I have any readers left, some links to your favorite geek/WOW blogs would be helpful. I feel like the volume of compelling writers/content coming through my feed reader has slowed down to a trickle.

Real life has been a bit stressful over the past month or so. My company is doing a huge restructure and everything is up in the air. I don’t know what I’m going to be doing next month, who I’m going to be working for, or even officially if I’ll have a job (I’m not too worried on that front, but there is always a small chance). It’s taking them what seems like an eternity to make decisions. I don’t deal well with change or the unknown. I get annoyed when friends try to change/make plans at the last-minute. I get annoyed when the weather isn’t what I expected. Obviously, a large change like one with my job gives me some pretty serious anxiety.

I’ve spent most of my time lately reading, playing a bit of Diablo, or watching TV. I’m not entirely sure where the time I used to spend on WOW went. I’ve also discovered that my home is becoming a substitute for the sanctuary that WOW once was to me. I don’t need to retreat to a virtual world to feel safe and happy – I can just enjoy hanging out in my comfy library or on our new patio, with a book and perhaps a cocktail.

Diablo 3 is certainly a great game. I expected no less from Blizzard. It’s exceptionally polished, with a great stylistic appearance, decent voice acting, and solid gameplay. The care and thought they put in to designing all the class abilities was obviously worth it. It’s fantastic leveling up and continuing to get more awesome abilities or ability modifiers. The story is also quite entertaining. I really don’t have any complaints other than it’s a bit cumbersome to have to log on when playing single player.

I dabbled in the beta for Torchlight II awhile back. I didn’t get very far, but I liked what I saw. Having a pet that sells your trash for you is by far the best feature, and one I’m disappointed Blizzard didn’t implement. Torchlight II has a bunch of new animals compared to its predecessor, including an awesome ferret. I worry though, that I’ll be temporarily burnt out on dungeon-crawler-style game play by the time Torchlight II actually releases.

And for today’s most random topic – Otters. I’m slightly obsessed with otters and how adorable they are, and it seems like the rest of the internet is too. Here are a few adorable otter links:

• the Daily Otter
• Otter subreddit 
• Otters in the House - a video of otters causing adorable mischief
• Rescued Sea Otter Pup With a Bottle

I think that’s enough rambling for one day. Until next time, enjoy whatever game(s) you are currently playing, and an early Happy Father’s Day to all those geek dads out there!

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | 4 Comments
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Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

Thursday, my Battle.net account finally showed that lovely second box entitled “World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Beta”. I didn’t end up getting to play yesterday due to the hordes of people slamming the login servers, but I was relieved to finally have the chance.

Today, like so many others, I tackled the Wandering Isle on a newly minted Pandaren Monk. Spoilers lie ahead, so anyone wishing to approach the Pandaren starting area with virgin eyes may want to skip this post.

I took things slow (and not just because of the lag), and really tried to pay attention to detail, and soak it all in. I found a few minor bugs along the way, but I nothing that wasn’t already mentioned on the forums.

There are a few things that stand out from my experiences that I’d like to highlight, and I encourage you to chime in with your own beta experiences, (or lack thereof if you’re still among the unlucky set of Annual Pass subscribers waiting).

Memorable Mobs and NPCs

It’s been awhile since we’ve fought mobs that felt outside of the box, and unique. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Kobolds, “You No Take Candle”, and Murlocs, “Mrggglglgl”.  The mobs on Wandering Isles felt a little more like those classic, quirky creatures. The Hozen jumping on one’s head is hard to forget – it’s startling and rather annoying, but it adds a certain element of interest. The Vermin have an ability called “Carrot Breath”, which is quite amusing, and their monstrous rabbit-like appearance made me want to see more of them.

As with the Worgen and Goblin starting zones, the Pandaren starting area has NPCs that actually have personalities and names, and most importantly  – a story. Aysa Cloudsinger and Ji Firepaw make frequent appearances and continue to reaffirm their personalities and outlooks on life. JoJo Ironbrow also reappears several times (that darn cheater) with his martial art breaking stunts. Master Shang Xi is a rather stereotypically wise master, but much more interesting than some random NPC in the Human starting area.

Visual Detail

The scenery on the Wandering Isle is absolutely breathtaking, and I hope that the rest of Pandaria shares the same magic and beauty.  I noticed so many little details that astounded me. The Pandaren themselves of course are incredibly expressive, with faces and eyes that actually move, and graceful animations even when standing in place. What really amazed me, though were the background details.

The flowers were very 3d and delicate, and I had to stop and stare at them for awhile, admiring the artistry.

This smoke around the Wind Spirits was exquisite.

A kite was waving in the breeze, and even its shadow had motion.

A Hozen hung on a tree off in the distance, swinging on a branch.

Questing

I really enjoyed the Pandaren Monk questing experience. It’s not really any more innovative than the Goblin or Worgen experience, but I think I almost enjoy it more. I felt like it flew by a bit faster. It was all very user-friendly, with NPCs urging you on in the right direction, and a nice wagon ride to travel larger distances. The quest rewards were very simple thanks to the new class filter. I loved the zen-like phrases that filled the Pandaren quest text.

My favorite quest was probably was the one where you walked into water spouts and got catapulted into the air. My least favorite is probably a tossup between gathering fireworks in the Hozen village (due to the spawn rate), and trying to reach Aysa on those awful tight ropes.

A Neutral Race

The Pandaren are of course the first neutral race in WOW, and I was very curious to see how Blizzard implemented it. Unfortunately, the choice to become Alliance or Horde felt a bit forced – like there was a bit of story missing. My biggest question is – why would I choose either? Why would I even want to leave the Isle to deal with these strange races that brought evil to our beloved turtle island?

I think that other choices in the history of WOW (Aldor vs. Scryer, or Frenzyheart vs. Oracles) felt a bit more natural. I understand that Aysa was meant to represent the Alliance point of view, and Ji to represent the Horde point of view, with their two different Pandaren philosophies, but that wasn’t really ever spelled out. Maybe we just need a bit more dialog with the two characters, trying to convince the player of why they should join the Alliance/Horde. I appreciate that the faction choice was shown in an incredibly obvious pop-up window, rather than an ambiguous quest, but it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Wandering Isle Wrap-up

Overall I’m quite pleased with my experience. I know there is still a bit more polishing to do, and that the starting experience has already improved from the very early weeks of the beta. Does anyone out there have any thoughts they are dying to share about their experiences? Anything that really bugged you? A small detail that really impressed you? I’d love to hear about it!

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | 3 Comments
Post tags: Beta, Mists of Pandaria, Monk, Pandaren, Wandering Isle

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

As I suspected, the release of news from the Mists of Pandaria press tour was the shot of excitement needed to my blood pumping again. And there is so much to be excited about!

For more in-depth details about MoP, head over to MMO Champion, Wowhead, or the Warcraft  Mists of Pandaria site itself. I’m just going to discuss the things that made me go “squee”, as well as some things I’m sad were left out or unmentioned. I’m sure that factual errors abound, but I wanted my raw first impression of the news. No shiny pictures here, as I wanted to publish this post during my lunch break.

Druids FTW

First, some druid news that made me want to run home and level my druid:

Several new minor glyphs for cosmetic form changes!

• Glyph of the Stag: Transforms your Travel Form into a stag that other players can mount
• Glyph of the Treant: Allows you to shape shift into Treant Form. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of movement slowing effects
• Glyph of the Chameleon: Gives you a random appearance when you shift into Bear or Cat Form.
• Glyph of the Orca: Transforms your Aquatic Form into an orca
• Glyph of Stars: Transforms your Moonkin Form into Astral Form

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | 5 Comments
Post tags: Druid, Mists of Pandaria, Pandaren

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons

• Go into your image folder
• Open the sixth sub-folder and choose the sixth image.
• Publish the image! (and a few words wouldn’t hurt, though I dare say I couln’t stop a blogger from adding a few words of their own).
• Challenge six new bloggers.
• Link to them.

I certainly don’t have six sub-folders in my WOW screenshot folder, and my other images folder is full of wallpapers and personal photos that I’m not really inclined to share. So I just went with the sixth image in my first screenshot folder – from 2010. I’m not sure where my first two years of screenshots went…

A Bunny's View of Icecrown Citadel

This screenshot may look familiar as it’s been a part of my banner since I moved to self-hosting over a year ago. I believe this bunny was my rogue, as I primarily raided ICC with her. My guild is always entertained by turning into things, and I’m sure that I had a herd of other bunnies behind me. This was a spot in ICC where we often stopped for breaks. Dance parties, kegs, flames, and other transformation-type items made common appearance here. It’s strange – a tiny part of me misses ICC, even though I was utterly sick of it by the end of Wrath.

And here’s the tagging piece (ie. time to make others suffer through the meme). Apologies if you’ve already been tagged, but I’m just going with six bloggers who I read and have not yet participated. There’s just no way I have the energy to read every post again and see who has/hasn’t been tagged.

• Beru at Falling Leaves and Wings
• Lilpeanut at Heal Over Time
• Lyrandre at I Like Bubbles
• Keredria at Tree of Life
• Dechion at Screaming into the Vacuum
• Gladly and Manners at The Ready Check

© Kaelynn for Shades of Kae, 2012. | Permalink | One Comment
Post tags: Meme, screenshots

Site Resources: Shaman | Rogue | Addons