World of Warcraft....

The event ended an hour before the 11PM(my time) launch of the expansion. Which was a pity as I was leveling up the Monk nicely. Being so close to the launch time I decided to wait and see what shenanigans would ensue. Nothing on the size of a WoW expansion launch really goes 100% smoothly.

Not that I was 100% active in the time up to the launch, semi-afk like a lot of players waiting at the blimps soon to be location. Chat was lively, players were excited to see everything new...

And when the time came, the quest accepted and the blimp arrived everyone pilled on in. We all waited for the blimp to leave, it left and the loading screen hung for an overly long time.... Then everyone who was on the blimp found themselves on the ground outside Orgrimmar with no blimp or new lands in sight.

If chat was lively before it was on steroids after. Nobody expected a smooth ride. Talk of other players on other realms where things were both better and worse was discussed. More talk in fun ways and at  Blizz's ridiculed expense.... Yea it was all up for discussion, fun and frolics. But it was after the same thing happened three more times that I bailed from the game. It was late and I was no longer in the mood. I saw what I wanted and needed to see in the expansion launch and I can say I was there.

Yesterday(29th) I got both my Hunter and Lock to the first area and quested away. It's a slower more story driven experience. More old skool and reminded me a lot of my Vanilla days. Dragon/Drake flying in it is great and worth it as a mechanic. 

The new lands(so far) are varied and interesting, familiar but new. Just like the quests and the quest givers and the mechanics of 'being' in game. I need to update a few mods but I'll leave that for another few days.

If there was any downside it was that my wife and I were the only guild members online. Two old members(old leaders of the guild) were online but are in a different guild. The last week has surprised me in how much both old players have not returned(still in guild) and those that are in game but out of guild are distant. We still got to group with them for some things but there was 'something' missing. Not like the old days where we'd have done anything for any one of them. That's the melancholy of the situation. I know I've been out of the game a long time but not that much has changed but then again for them it has; Not being a part of that(of their experiences) has increased the separation. Even asking about what their new guild was like was met with less than enthusiastic replies. I'm not looking to follow them but if they are in a good guild that will do raids then yea I'm gonna ask; Getting the cold shoulder is off-putting in more ways then one. Another old guildie is more in with them but wants to restart the old guild, get them back in it and fire things up again. She may succeed but not even she was asked to join them in their new one. There is something off and nobody is talking about whatever elephant may be in the room. Maybe things will change but for now I'm happy enough to solo and quest when my wife is on. When that other old guildie is active(with her brother as well) at least there is friendly banter(She is U.S. timezone for now; EU time zone in a few months).  All is not lost but it's a pity as the guild was so good back in the day(not so long ago); I thought it would have come back together.

Eitherway and anyway; WoW is WoW. There will be much gameplay to be had over the next weeks/months....

I also got the reward Drake with the Twitch/Blizzard drop which is nice.

STO....

Buc Buc Bucawk!!!

While I've not see it in an in game setting; The dev blog images for the new 'The Praetor Command Warbird Battlecruiser' to my eye (and to be kind) looks very very 'ugly'. There are elements that I like; Such as the neon on the wings.  But the look of the ship just makes me think of it as a rubber chicken!

It's a rubber chicken in space! All ships stats, good or bad aside 'why would they do that'. There are so many good ships and good ship designs in game.... To think this passed all levels and got made is a new one to me. Design choices eh.

Despite the looks of a ship the stats are what make the experience but I don't think I'd fly it unless it was the all singing all dancing be all of everything(it's Spinal Mount Plasma Torpedo?). Then again I'm ok today with the OP, sit and do nothingness of the Cnidarian Defender(posts on that here and here). So it takes all sorts. Chicken or Eagle in the eye of the beholder.

World of Warcraft....

Today is the day. The pre expansion event ends; A new expansion gets to be released.

It crept up fast. I could've done with a few more days or a week of the event. That said I've gotten the bulk of characters I wanted leveled and geared up(previous posts here and here). In order of my preference(class and spec):

Warlock(destro), Hunter(BM), Druid(Balance), Shaman(Ele), Paladin(Prot), Evoker(Dev), Mage(Ice), Priest(shadow) and Warrior(Arms).... 

The Warrior was the last to be done yesterday. An enjoyable surprise for me given my melee misgivings. I'd thought to leave him as he was but in doing the event with my wife I needed a character to both help and take advantage of the XP. The class and arms spec grew on me. 

The event is horrendous for unavoidable aoe damage. Getting bounced from one damage area to the next to another, flung back in the air to die and watch as my characters body death throes in a heap.... Oh look it's the millionth time it happened and there's another 2 minutes wait to res. It's nasty if your unlucky. Getting the Warrior done was circumstantial 'lucky' not so lucky(for the most part) with the aoe. 

That said the Balance druid was a retro blast form the past. A surprise as well, and a welcome one. Reminding me of when I first started playing the game. Really enjoyed it as a class so no wonder it's moved up the list. Boomkin ftw!

I also made a journey to the dark side to kill the missing Elemental needed for both the achievement and obtaining the heirloom trinket. I've only seen a few Alliance boss take-downs in the event but Horde, even as an Pug mob are much more organised than Alliance. For the Horde!!!!

Of the characters and classes that remain, The Demon Hunter, Death Knight and Rogue are now on the long-finger. The event does not allow for a fair evaluation. That aoe damage etc. All three seem to be 'good' but leveling them in the event is a painful experience and not that quick. So leaving them for another time is 'fair'. All are level 41 and the thought of trying to brute force level in the time remaining is off-putting.

The end of the event is still a pressure point. A few more hours of playable time today.... 'Free' XP is still XP... The Monk remains.

Unlike the DH, DK and Rog, Melee with a Monk rubs me the wrong way. Just a class and a spec I can't get used to. I'm no tank at the best of times but then I've never really tried that spec with a monk. Yet the remaining hours of the event will see me as a monk as she is the next highest level wise(mid40's). Mistweaver seems to suit me and it's not just as a 'caster'. Mass healing as I spin kick all the things(tagging) is actually enjoyable. Survivable and useful to me as well as other players... Healer it is.

Planet Crafter....

For a gamer playing 4 MMO's at the moment it's a wonder I have time for any other games. Ok maybe that's an exaggerated stretch. WoW is the real time killer. Star Trek Online on PC and Xbox are a daily and admin each day and Eve Online is not even a character login to claim the 'login' rewards(which is 90% of my 'gameplay' there). Yet time I have and time I've spent on more Planer Crafter. Not much different since the last time I posted. Like I've said before and like Minecraft, the game is just fun (for me) to be in. 

On that score I've been farming the new area for golden larva; Or any larva that's not the standard versions. Of which there has been a steady endless supply. I've deconstructed the blues(and all sub golden) to get more valuable fertilizer and mutagens. With stockpiles of surplus in multiple areas.

Even the Golden Larva have replaced all of my butterfly setups and more. It's funny(not ha-ha) how certain grinds in games are 110% acceptable while even the merest hint of grind in others is a turnoff to gamplay. Perspectives, RnG and luck!

In thinking I've gotten all from the latest patch I thought I'd look up the Steam discussions to see if there was talk of anything I'd missed. There wasn't, but I did spot talk of a strange box.

A 'hidden' storage crate filled with blueprint chips! 

Obviously a developer testing thing. But easily accessible(for now at time of blogging). So of course I went and collected the collectibles I've no purpose for(for now). Mmmmmmmmm chips.

I've also embraced both the T3 extractor and the Auto Crafter. Creating a small ad-hoc Rod creation setup(Iridium, Osmium and Alloy). Making the most of the T3 drill which is now seen as overpowered(in ability) and which will be nerfed in the next patch in the new year.

So progress is progress. Tweaking, storing, resorting and collecting.

I'm looking forward to that next major update in the new year. With luck elements of the next phase are going to be implemented.

Happy Friday!

World of Warcraft....

Busy, busy all consuming WoW times. Tis the pre expansion season to level those alts..... All the alts? 

I'm making good headway. After getting my feet wet again in game and leveling up my Lock and Hunter with the event; I did the same with my Ice mage, Shadow Priest and Prot Paladin.

All are max level 60's(which sounds weird to my vanilla WoW brain, full circle!?!) and all have their class version of the event vendor gear 'set'. Which isn't a real set but is, kind of. Bags emptied, quest logs cleared and bank re-sorted etc. All ready for the expansion. Where presumably the first green gear drop will replace what they have on at the moment. This is the way. 

My other half has been doing the same with her characters. Between solo and dual grinding of the event were 'getting there'.

A story worth sharing from my Shadow Priest; The last of the event quests is a dungeon run. After getting into that dungeon the healer bailed straight away.... The tank ploughed on and in an 'oh shiz' moment thought I better 'do' something to heal, so I did.... In Shadow form.... Which I enjoyed in a weird way to the end of the dungeon.

So I don't know if the tank was that good(he must have been), the dps even better(they must have been) or my healing in shadow form while dps'ing being great(doubt it but we all lived); I've a feeling it was a lucky run and a combination of all with a heavy smattering of the dungeon not being 'that' hard. Still it was an unexpected situation and at the very least I feel safe in saying I can multitask. 

My current leveling character is a Shaman(Elemental); A class I've not played in years, even before I left the game last time. But I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. Lighting chain with surge is very very Dark Jedi-esque giggling fun.

The road to 60 is paved with a mish-mosh gear look.

In between all of that my wife and I over the weekend did create our new Dracthyr. Of the new classes from the previous expansions they are one that has clicked with me the most. They're familiar yet so different. Very pick up and play. Which has me excited for the expansion. 

Getting the characters into the 'real world' after the tutorial/story we geared them up with spare essence for the event vendor and have them ready for the expansion as well.

6 characters done, one doing and 6 more to do after..... Of those remaining 6 I'm not sure I'll grind the levels pre expansion. Besides the Prot Pala I'm not keen on Melee classes. Even as I hear good things about specs etc. Monk, Warrior, Rogue, Feral Druid, Death Knight, Demon Hunter.... All to be tested and seen before fully committing. I'll do that by getting the initial event quests done; buy the reagent bag and then make a decision.

I may change the druid to Balance as that was my very first class and spec in the game back in the day(never done resto(tree dance test doesn't count), so a return may be fitting. 

As for Monk, there may be a long shot hope in the healer spec but again it's one I've never done. 

All up in the air.