My Alternate Reality

Decisions Decisions...

Well, for about a month or so (I'm horrible with time), Aurendar has wandered around all alone over on the Blackwater Raiders Realm. My days consist of running dailies, building rep and just hanging out in Dalaran or Stormwind.

Lately I've been contemplating a return to raiding. I have an alt over on Silvermoon where my beloved guild Summit now resides. While there, the guildies mentioned the need for additional DPS. Since they moved over to Silvermoon, they have steadily progressed leaving me well, behind.

Nonetheless, I can still DPS my ass off! It just won't be up to par with the rest of the guilds output. What to do, what to do.

Come September, the Darkmoon Faire will be going strong in Elwynn Forest and I will finally get to make the journey there and pick up my Darkmoon Card - Greatness! That will definitely help on the DPS output. I've also been scouring the Elitist Jerks fourms to tighten things up in the DPS arena. I found an awesome web bases tool called the Hunter DPS Analyzer! It's based on Shandara's DPS Spreadsheet. This should do wonders in tweeking every drop of DPS that I can possibly muster.

Bottom line though, more DPS means getting my ass into more heroics and for now, 10 man raids.

This, however, begs the question: Is my current lifestyle condusive to raiding?

I love raiding with every fiber of my being. The problem is the frequency that most raiders engage in the event. Being a family man, wife, dogs, job, picket fence, yard etc...etc....etc... Will I be able to carve out the time required to actually raid?

Summit (my guild of choice) raids Monday - Thursday. This is mainly 25 man progression raids. Friday - Sunday are 10 man optional raids. If I were to make the jump, I'd probably stick in the latter.

However!

A recent issue reared it's ugly head regarding casuals in 10 man raiding. It seems that if a "raider class" toon wants that 10 man spot, any casual lined up to run will get booted so the raider can go. Being a raider has to have it's perks after all. Just not sure how often I would actually see a raid if I go in as casual. I'm definitley not geared enough for 25 mans without being carried through so this will take some thought.

Oh, one other requirement, Maeliegh or Majesty MUST rejoin SUMMIT for all to be right with the world!

I'm giving it some thought and will make the decision soon!

~SjN (Aurendar)

WTB Darkmoon Faire

Finally!

The Darkmoon Faire is coming next week! I have a Noble's Deck sitting in the bank burning a hole in my bags! I've been wanting to get my hands on one of those decks for AGES!

A couple of weeks ago, I finally raised the coin to grab one off of the AH. Mind you it wasn't cheap! The normal going rate for the Noble's Decks are around 5200 to 5500 gold on my realm (OUCH).

I'm considering myself lucky however as I found a deck on the AH for 4300 gold! I scooped it up as soon as I saw it! You can actually get the Greatness card itself but those run around 8K on the Auction House. Ummmm.... Not an option.

While waiting around for the next Darkmoon Faire, I decided to just gold grind to try to recoup much of that gold that I handed over for this deck. If there is one thing that hunters do well, it's farming/grinding! Since buying the deck, I've recouped 3,000 gold! So at least I don't feel as bad as I did.

HOWEVER!

Until I can turn those cards in, I recently found something far more important to do. FIX MY &$%$^#!@ COMPUTER! My beloved WoW maching died a horrible death a couple of days ago. I've been shopping around for a new PC and have a couple of prospects. I contemplated building another machine but find that I don't have the time nor ambition to take on that kind of endeavor.

I was looking at some really nice high end machines but came to my senses. The World of Warcraft graphics aren't that demanding on moderate gaming machines so I'm looking to be a bit more frugal.

We shall see!

It's funny though. Having a computer die on you is stress enough. But that's not what is filling me with that sense of dread. What am I dreading? Installing WoW on this new machine! Installing WoW has GOT to be the worst experience any gamer can take on. It's entirely too painful! Blizzard really needs to do something about that. Oh well. Hopefully this is the last time I'll have to do it.

You see, next year a game is coming that has the very, very VERY real potential to actually pull me away from WoW. Next year, I give you - Star Wars: The Old Republic!

But that is another post (and another blog)!

~SjN

Welcome to Maintenance Day!

Welcome to your regularly scheduled Tuesday Morning Maintenance! To show you what a loser I am, I actually got up at around 3:30 this morning just to log in and get a few dailys done prior to server shutdown!

Northrend was pretty deserted which made it nice. There wasn't much competition for some of the mobs (The Sons of Hodir dailys are notorious for competitive mob nabbing)!

Anyway, I managed to get 6 dailys done prior to shutdown. That brings my total gold tally to 956 gold! YAY! I had more but I splurged two days ago and bought a Noble's Deck off the AH for 4300 gold. That's actually the cheapest I've seen it. They normally run anywhere from 5200 - 5500 gold. The Greatness card itself usually cashes in at 8K.

So now I've got this Noble's Deck and nowhere to take it. The next Darkmoon Faire will be held in Shattrath on August 3rd. So I have a wait ahead of me :-(

Well, I guess I'll run off for now. Have to get ready for work and spend my day at the office. What a bummer. And to make matters worse, it's raining cats and dogs outside! Uuuuggghhh...

Take care everyone! Have a good day away from WoW!

SjN

Of Azeroth & iPhones?

Greets all of you WoW-oholics! SjN here with another dose of WoW goodness!

 In case you haven't seen it yet, I just HAD to chime in about the new Blizzard App for the iPhone! I had read about it yesterday and decided to head out to the App Store, grab it, and take it for a test spin.

First off - IT'S FREE! Yes folks, Blizz threw us a bone. It's called the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory. As it's name implies, it's basically the Armory for your iPhone. The good news however is it doesn't stop there. Oh no. It does SO MUCH MORE!

This screenie here is your front page. Your door step into the magical world of Azeroth. As you can see you not only get your character screen but you get PvP Leader boards, your in-game Calendar right at your fingertips, talent calculators and so much more!

I love being on the go and able to pull up my Calendar to see the latest goings on with my guild. It truly makes WoW mobile! To be able to hang out with my buddies and talk WoW (which we do A LOT) then whip out this bad boy to show off my spiffy characters is just the coolest thing EVAR!

Blizzard added some very nice touches to the application as well. For example, you turn pages much as you would a book. There is a nice animation of a page flipping when you run your finger across the screens accompanied by a cool sound of a page turning. I giggled like a little school boy! The Character Profile gives you everything it's daddy does. You can even detail your gear to get more information on certain items you may have equipped.

Really slick.

Tapping on the CHARACTER PROFILE drops down a window that allows you to select Talents, Glyphs, Achievements, Arena Teams, your Calendar and your Guild data! Everyone in your guild pops up and you can then drill down into them as well!

I'm really impressed with the sound Blizz put together with this app. When you tap the trinkets to detail them, they have that familiar "ding!" that you get when you drop a trinket into a slot. Nice touch.

Over on the Talent Calculator, you can pull up your talents (both primary and secondary if you have dual class. It also lets you play around with other specs which is really cool as sometimes I get a bit anal on specs and properly assigning them so I have fun dinking around with different specs while in board meetings ;-)

It's also cool to looks at others specs too see what the hell is making them DPS so damn much (Naminee, I got my eye on you!)

There's just so much you can do with this nifty little app that it's hard to cover it all! If you have an iPhone and WoW is something that consumes any and all of your free time, it won't be complete without this little slice of heaven!

As you can see, there's some TOTALLY cool stuff going on here! Kudos to Blizzard for the kick ass iPhone App! I was only able to find ONE problem with it however. You need an iPhone use it! Hopefully for you WoW-oholics out there, this will push you over the edge and you'll start scrimping for one. This app is a definite MUST HAVE if you enjoy your Alternate Reality as much as I do!

Oh, before I forget, here are some shots of the Calendar and the Achievement screens. Damn I LOVE THIS THING! Now go get yourself an iPhone! Love it, cherish it and GET THIS APP!!

********* UPDATE! ***********

HEY! Just a quick update. Was messing around with the NEWS feature of the application and guess what I found! My good friend Maeleigh formally of BLACKWATER RAIDERS is FAMOUS! Check it out!

EXCELLENT JOB MAE! I'll love ya ALWAYS!

Confessions of a WoWNerd

Lets be honest here. I'm a WoWNerd. I mean, c'mon, I build computers, think that spending hours buried in physics equations constitute FUN and I enjoy reading tons of books on the likes of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan while playing old episodes of Star Trek. Yea, I think that qualifies me as a nerd.

On the World of Warcraft side of the house, I can literally spend hours in the land of Azeroth. I don't even have to be raiding or doing anything constructive. Chillaxin' in Stormwind with friends and a flask of Dwarven Stout will do me just fine!

Put the two together? Yep, that spells WoWNerd. Sometimes I curse the day I ever installed that damn free trial. That 10 day free trial is the equivalent of a crack dealer handing out free "hits". He knows that just one try, and he's got ya! The same holds true for Blizzard. They know very well that once you spend but a single hour ingame, they've practically got you wrapped around their little finger. Get a few level 80's under your belt and you're a lifer.

So much hard work, blood sweat and tears went into molding your character into who they are that throwing them away is unconscionable! For me, real life and Azeroth life will be tied together for a very, very long time. The very idea of not having access to that wonderful "nether-world" is something now that I just cannot comprehend. Now granted, there have been times when I've wanted to shelve the game and never again stroll it's cities or fly it's skies but I always come back for more. The World of Warcraft is like any other hobby. It tends to be a sine wave in structure. You have peaks and valleys. Highs and lows. The art is staying somewhere in the middle is where you want to be. I've lost count on how many times I've been burned out. It's an art in and of itself.

I find it odd that sometimes, real life and my Azeroth life sometimes merge. Take for example, driving into work. Every morning on my commute, I pass this intersection. Off to the side in a grassy area is this nicely shaped sage brush. When it blooms, it is adorned with these beautiful tiny purple flowers. Immediately I think to myself "Silverleaf Bush". I know it's stupid but I swear, I do it EVERY SINGLE MORNING! It looks exactly like a Silverleaf bush!

So the next time you hear me QQ'ing about quitting this &#%$@! game, don't fret. I'm just venting. Nothing could ever tear me away from The World of Warcraft!

nuff' said,
SjN

Ice, Ice BABY!

G'morning! Razor here!
Thought I'd chime in as I've had a pretty adventuresome day so far! It started last night really. I finally scrounged up enough coin to go ahead and purchase the dual spec ability for Razorwyn. After fumbling around with that for around an hour, I was off and running. My secondary spec is now Beast Mastery. This spec, while not optimal for raiding any longer (CRY) will always be my favorite spec. Yea, yea... call me a nubcake, whatever. It is by far the most enjoyable spec for me to play. I'm so happy I did it!

But that isn't the half of it! Since I specced BM (with the Beast Mastery talent point to allow exotics) I decided to just snoop around Sholazar Basin to see if I could corral Loque'Nahak the Spirit Beast. Prior to respeccing to Survival waaay back in the day, I must have hunted this beast for WEEKS with no luck.

Well- After flying around her usual haunts. I decided to head for Icecrown. While making my way through Sholazar to the mountain ranges, BAM!! I got a hit on my target macro! THERE SHE WAS!!!

Landing in front of her, I dropped a freezing trap at my feet and started the tame. She bolted directly for me and began her attack. **POOF** my freezing trap encased her in a nice handy block of ice while I finished off the tame. A quick feeding, a scratch on the neck and she was purring at my feet like a kitten.

SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!

Now comes the arduous task of leveling her to 80. Yea, I know Blizz made pet leveling easier but that doesn't change the fact that leveling pets is major suckage. I suppose I'll hang out in Icecrown and grind on 80 undeads until I get her leveled.

Naming a pet is one of those tasks that really drives me crazy. It reminds me of my old DnD days where I would literally spend DAYS trying to think up a really cool 'medieval' sounding name like Audrik or Lothar. After flying around and pondering, I got to looking at that really cool blue glow coming from her eyes, nose and mouth. She also breathes frosted breath so I decided to name her ICE! I must say, it really fits and she just looks COLD all the time!

Damn now I've got that stupid song in my head. "All right stop collaborate and listen, Ice is back with my brand new invention Something grabs a hold of me tightly Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly..."

Well, that is gonna drive me bonkers for the rest of the day! Anyway, think I'll get back to grinding. Want to get her in a dungeon or two to see how she fairs! Oh, did I mention she also has this really awesome arcane ability called Spirit Strike? It looks really bitchin' when it procs albeit not very effective.

See ya 'round the Meeting Stone!
~SjN
(a.k.a Aurendar & Razor)

Just Doodlin' Around

You've seen it. I know you've seen it. That really cool painting hanging on the walls of Dalaran shops. Well, I decided to recreate it.

This first rough draft is just a line drawing using Photoshop to fill in some colors. What I ultimately want to do is actually do this in oils to recreate this amazing painting in real life.

Yea, it's what I do when I get bored. It'll be really cool though hanging in my office! It's definitely quite the conversation piece!

I think I have the colors pretty close, now it's just a matter of transferring it to canvas and lay down some oils!

Shouldn't be too hard. The lines are pretty clean and there isn't much to the technique. All in all a good time! Nothing like paying homage to one of my favorite past times!

Hmmmm, wonder if I could get paid for this? Nah, Blizzard might take exception to that.

Just a short post tonight!
Laters!

No Gnews is Bad Gnews!

Greets all of you WoW-o-Philes!

Today I thought I'd throw a post down about Razor over on Moon Guard. Last night I was relaxing in Stormwind and like clockwork, a very well known guild on the realm, The Underfoot Express gathered at 9:00pm server to deliver the Gnightly Gnews to the masses!

If you like the RP side of the World of Warcraft, you just can't do better than Moon Guard. Everynight when The Underfoot Express assembles, everyone in Stormwind gathers around, pulls out a pet, munches on some snacks and sits down to enjoy the Gnews. It really is RP at it's finest! I find myself looking forward to it! As a matter of fact, thirty minutes prior to the Gnews, I started setting my Brazier of the Dancing Flames out. To see 20 to 30 people all doing the Draenai dance while on fire is quite the sight! It also is sure to gather an even larger crowd to the Gnews. Moon Guard is definitely good times.

Speaking of Razor, she's been going through some changes as of late. She's currently unguilded and has been wandering around Azeroth doing her own thing. One day while doing some shopping in Ironforge, I came across Truitt Haefyn. The Exchequer of The Order of Sterling. A fabulous RP guild on Moon Guard. Had a nice conversation with him and that soon set me on the path to possibly rejoining the guild.

Razor was a member of Sterling for a long long time until I started to get bored with the game. I thought If I changed things up a bit, I would reignite that interest. It worked for a while but I soon began to miss my friends and the wonderful RP that we used to have.

Well, I have been in contact with Sterling's Guild Master - Bjorke and I soon hope to don the Sterling Tabard once again.

I am thinking about posting a thread on RP-101 as I get asked about RP'ing quite a bit while I am online. I get the distinct feeling that people join RP servers in hopes of picking up on the fine art of "living the game". I really like getting asked the questions and do what I can to help. But I think an official "do's & don'ts" of RP might be beneficial to anyone that would like to get more deeply involved into it. As a matter of fact, Bjorke has a podcast that she puts on (albeit she's been sluffing as of late) called Mischief & Mayhem. She does a WONDERFUL job on laying out RP and how to become an expert at it! If you have some time, go check out some episodes!

Well, gotta run. I've got some dailies to get done!

~From the journals of Razorwyn Moonstrider

Looking For A Home

Movement in the dark.

Glint of chain mail.

Whisps of white hair highlight against a flickering candle flame.

First one glove. Then the next. Daggers sheathed.

A muffled "uummph" and her mantle fit snuggly into place. Buckles adjusted and tightened.

With a slight breath, the flickering flame extinguishes. Darkness. Silence.

 

A turn of the door handle sends a shaft of sunlight to pierce the darkened room as if by command. "Azrael. Let's move..." With each step, the clanging of metal against metal signals Aurendar’s approach. Her daggers bounce rhythmically against her thighs. Azrael's low growl reminds passersby to keep their distance as they make their way through the crowds of Stormwind and up to the city’s message board.

 

Stormwind’s Trade District was bustling with crowds. Rarely is this a lonely place yet through all of the commotion, a terrible loneliness enveloped Aurendar. Scanning the recruitment board, Aurendar spies a small unassuming scrap of parchment. It had obviously been there for awhile as it had seen the ravages of time. One could however still make out the familiar golden leaf on a white background signifying that this parchment came from the halls of Turus Thalanaar.

 

Tearing off the parchment and kneeling down, “You up for a bit of adventure Az? Strangely Azeroth can be quite a lonely place even with so many people about” Aurendar whispered to her faithful companion. Azrael rubbed up against her daggers in approval.

 

“Yes, I believe it is time to seek out companions to break bread with. I have come across this ‘Gwydion’ in the past. A very pleasant priest if I remember correctly. I will seek him out”. Aurendar thought to herself.

 

“Well Azrael, how about we hunt? I need some exercise and you, my friend, look hungry! Let’s go visit Nessingwary in Sholazar”. Azrael ran ahead of her toward the docks. “Yea, he’s hungry”

 

Folding the parchment, Aurendar placed the note in her bags.”Azrael! Wait for me!” It wasn’t long before the two disappeared into the crowds of Stormwind.

I am Aurendar Moonstrider – Hunter. I believe a plan is coming together.

"Ande'thoras-ethil"
~From the journals of Aurendar Moonstrider~

Noblegarden. JUST SAY NO!

Okay. Take a look a this picture. A REAL GOOD LOOK. Here I am in Goldshire. I thought "what the hell, I think I will go hunt down some eggs and see what this whole Noblegarden thing is all about. I usually don't get too involved in these world event things but, since I'm not raiding much any more, I don't really know anyone in other guilds to run with and all of my good friends moved to SIlvermoon. I figured, what the hell. Let's collect eggs. I get to Goldshire. Grab a basket, a couple of quests and I'm off and running. After about 5 or 10 minutes, I was finding it odd that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find one single egg. "That's strange" I thought. I remember reading that the eggs could be found in and around Goldshire.

I kept looking.

No joy. That's when I noticed it. People standing very still in odd spots around Goldshire. Not moving, not saying anything. I decided to stand in front of Inn and watch these guys. Sure enough. One by one, they would kneel down and collect an egg. After making another round of the Shire, I realized that for every spawn point, there was one sometimes two or three people standing there, with finger on mouse button ready to snag that egg.

It was the most unbelievable thing I had witnessed in a long time and I've seen some doozys in my raiding career. I then decided to conduct a little experiment. I dismounted and walked over to a female draenai who was intently staring at a corner of the inn near a flower box. I stood next to her and waited.

Sure enough...

"Get the F*** out of here you Bi***! I was here first. Whispered this no life-having loser. I stood there for about a minute longer and even lauged a few times. This Draenai was SMOKING PISSED. She must have called me every name in the book. I finally had enough, mounted up and headed for Stormwind.

Well, needless to say, Nobelgarden is one event that I won't be participating in. Collecting those eggs in that kind of a situation is pretty much impossible and the rudeness of some of these players is almost unbearable. Blizzard really screwed the pooch on this event. The eggs really need to be zone-wide and maybe more difficult to find if they are way out in the zone. But hey, that's just me.

I've never been so dissappointed in a world event more than I have this one. I only hope and pray that Children's Week (one of my favorites) revives my faith in this game. Maybe I should leave BWR. I suspect however, the attitudes of these players spans realms. There is no escape.

All I wanted are some &#$^#%^@&#@! eggs. Why are people such pricks? I really try to see the good side in people but you know what? I'm finding it increasingly harder to see that side. I'm beginning to believe that it no longer exists.

Oh well, going to go be bored in Dalaran some more.

SjN