Overachievers and me

Spent this afternoon leveling fishing and cooking on Mariposa. Im now at 242 cooking and 225 fishing (need to complete the quest). I also managed to pick up 11 honourable kills, it turns out that STV is not a relaxing spot for doing a spot of fishing. 

So why am I, at this stage of the game leveling fishing and cooking on a character ive been playing for 3 years? Achievements, a system that Blizzard are implementing with this upcoming expansion. Basically you get points for a variety of things, collecting minipets, tabards, having professions maxed out and so on. 

But the main reason for the sudden interest in fishing is the simple fact that the expansion will bring the number of mini pets only obtainable through dipping a rod into the water to 6, 4 baby crocs, 1 crawdad and 1 gnome sized rat. I need a gnome sized rat, it will make my priest complete. Thus i need to be able to fish in Dalaran, so im working away on making sure ill be ready as soon as i can access the city.

Hocus Pocus

My first ever character on my own account was a little human warlock on a pve server. I played her for a few months and then we moved along with some friends to a pvp server, so she got abandoned. Abandoned until now in fact. The ability to move from pve to pvp became too tempting, so im now leveling her to 70 taking advantage of the fact that soloing is fun when no one can ganking you, with the intention of transfering once she hits the level cap.

The Pluses of this are

1. Shes a human, diplomacy is good, especially when like me you hate rep farming
2. lv 60 already
3. Has PvP rank, ok Knight Captain is nothing wonderful, but considering I only played her for a few weeks with the ranked pvp system
4. She is a herbalist and alchemist, which will allow me to drop alchemy on her and take up inscriptions

The negatives

1. Human and a particularly bovine one at that. Not sure what i was thinking when i made her. At least i can change her luridly golden hair to something less neon when the next patch comes out.
   
2. I leveled a gnome to lv 31, so im guessing the little gnomeling will become my new bank alt
3. Having to pay to transfer her, I resent giving Blizzard any more than i need to.
4. She doesnt have the epic riding skill

Beer of the Month Club

Mariposa has obviously been away from her homelands far too long. In rare moment of drunkeness, she allowed some gnome (at least she thinks it was a gnome, might have been a small devil though) to talk her into joining the Beer of the Month Club.

This is a newly implemented for Brewfest 2008 and the first sample makes you talk in Gnomish Binary... brings my inner computergeek to the fore.

Raise a glass

Its brewfest time again.

Whilst this is far from my favourite festival, I love the ram racing and am trying to improve on my personal best of 11 runs in one go at the moment. I think 13 at least is possible, particularly on the alliance side which seems much easier than the horde one, due I think to the placement of the apple barrels.

Shiver my timbers

Its talk like a Pirate Day.

Sleeping Beauty awakens

When I first read that Blizzard were making transfers from PvE servers to PvP servers available, I was a tad annoyed. After all the Gnomeling had just leveled another warrior precisely because they had been adamant that they would never offer that service.

Then I thought about it and primarily about my other priest, little Dornröschen (which translates as Little Briarrose, the name given to Sleeping Beauty in the Grimm Brothers' version of the fairystory, a name that seemed so fitting for an undead) who was for all intents and purposes abandoned on a dead PvE server.

So fastforward a few days, and lo and behold, Dorn and the gnomeling's orginal warrior (Tabasco) are now safely rehoused on the same PvP server that our two Orclings call home.

Goodbye to Priest Racials

Blizzard have finally given up on trying to balance the priest racials and are removing them. Im in two minds about this really.

In an upcoming build all Priest racials have been retired, except the following:
- Desperate Prayer - This is now the 11-point talent in Holy, Holy Nova is now a base ability. Cooldown also reduced to 30 seconds.
- Devouring Plague - Now a base ability. Cooldown reduced to 30 seconds, mana cost greatly reduced.
- Symbol of Hope - Now a base ability. Now restores 5% base mana every 2 seconds for 8 seconds to your party. Renamed "Hymn of Hope."

While this change does reduce the "uniqueness" of different Priests, we feel game balance as a whole will benefit. Note: These new "racials" are not racials, they are trainable to all Priests.

Its scary that the developers feel we need desparate prayer on a 30 second cooldown however, especially if they arent scaling its healing down.

I liked the variety between priests, even if my own toons didnt always have the best ones.

However Blizzard did take 3 decent racials to apply equally.

1. An extra form of dps is always good, that form of dps fitting in with your major magic schools and healing you into the bargain is not to be sneezed at.
2. Holy Nova is a bit too gimicky to be a talent, especially since downranking has been removed, so making it baseline is a buff, especially since its been replaced with something useful.
3. Self heals on short cooldowns that dont need mana are a wonderful thing, up there with whiskers on kittens and raindrops on roses.
4. Hymn of Hope is another reason to take a priest to a raid, abeit a weak one. Plus an extra method of regen is always welcome especially given the potion nerf and the removal of downranking.

All in all, I think its positive, but ill miss the Starshard graphics, huge arcane arrows following your target around was pure win.

No more shadowmeld & drinking

My precious precious shadowmeld nerfed....

Harvest Festival

Even though its day two of the festival it seems that honouring the ancestors has gone out of fashion, at least for the Alliance. When I made the journey to Uther's tomb, only one other candle burnt against the gloom.

A quick ride to Ashenvale on my undead priest proved that the Horde suffer from the same malise. Either that or Grom is arising every night to collect his spirits before returning to his grave.

Lyloids

RAWR!!!!

Meet the Chief Lyloid, note the cute big eyes and the calming teal coloured fur. How innocent he looks, no sign of chomping, ripping fangs, no blood smearing that unruffled skin, see the arms outstretched for a huggle. But beware my friends, beware, when your back is turned, the teeth extend, the claws come out and the pack as one pounces.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Blizzard announced last night that they are making changes to the racials and already there are pages and pages of threads crying, complaining and demanding.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan

It seems that Bob Dylan was spot on. Personally Im in two minds about the whole thing, yes its Blizzard's game and they reserve the right to chance what they want when they want, but they must be aware that certain people roled certain class/race combinations with race in mind.

Playing God

Picked up Spore this afternoon and we are loving it so far. The gnomeling is playing a carnivous cute but evil species bent on galactic domination and im playing a plant eating butterfly bird thingie. Typecast much...

The only downside is it makes me feel sick after a while so my civilisation is still living in a nest whilst the "Lyloids" are already nuking people.

We daren't go a-hunting

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;

William Allingham

Ok I admit, my hunter hasnt got beyond lv 30 because im scared of gnomes... although gnomes are scary, its because im lazy. That said, ive been eyeing the forthcoming hunter changes with interest, especially the pet related ones (im a sucker for pets).

1. Being able to have 5 pets up from the 3 we can currently have.
2. Pets actually having their own talent trees and the trees being defined clearly into tanking, dps etc
3. All pet families having focus dumps
4. All pets getting a unique family skill (Although this is a bit of a double edged sword but ill come to that later)

My first thought when i read about the changes was "oooh, i can finally go back to having a wolf", after all ive always been a dog person and in Vanilla WoW my little hunter had a black worg from Shadowfang keep (one of those with a fast attack speed). I even picked out a worg on Petopia, one of the new white ones coming in the expansion. Then i got my Beta key and discovered them in the wild. Whilst one was biting on me, i realised that i didnt actually like them.

Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near

But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.

To his Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

This has always been one of my favourite poems, but I think im beginning to grasp his point more and more these days. Time is a ticking, Christmas and the expansion are sneaking up on us, I have work to do in RL (EEK) and oh so much to do in WoW, but im just procrastinating (another favourite word) and making lists.