Weekend (19 Dec) - Back From the Road

Weekend (19 Dec) - Back From the Road

The traveling circus that is our RV made it back from Monterey Saturday afternoon. The five of us - yours truly, the Mrs, the cat twins, and the dog - all had a great time. There were a few hiccups, such as our refrigerator refusing to work on the morning we were leaving. We eventually figured out that our deep cell battery (the battery that provides the juice to the fridge and other appliances) had died on us. Once we knew what was wrong it was an easy fix as even lefty and all thumbs me can swap out a battery. But our 10am start was delayed until 1:30pm by the time everything was ready to go. Not to be out done on the backside of our trip, the driver side seat belt froze and refused to function the morning we were leaving. I had just enough belt to get it around my shoulder, but not enough to latch it. We made it back without getting caught by the "click it or ticket" boys and we'll get it fixed before we head out again. The most unusual aspect of this trip was that it rained every single day. SoCal is under what for us is a deluge of rain that is expected to continue into mid-next week. We had one sort of sunny day in Monterey and spent that day walking the beaches. We did our Cannery Row afternoon in the rain, but that only made the superb clam chowder that much better. On the drive home it rained the whole time all the way from Monterey to our driveway in San Diego. I've never seen anything like it.

For those looking for something about WoW, I got nuttin! But both DER and Sis tortured me during the week away with some excellent tales and research that I am sharing below. Now I have to go see what mess Happy and Lost are in after a week without the Auction House.

From the Sis/Lao family: Well, I broke into Cata this weekend. Not as vigorously as Wild (as there was competition for game time) but I am in none the less. Neekia got the first exposure. Since she was my very first WoW toon, I though she should be the first to run in. So off she went onto the boat, wondering if she as well, would be attacked. She was, and weighted down with her heavy plate began to sink. Once she recovered she began the chain of quests. Took her a bit to remember what end of the sword to hold onto (she has just been fishing and cooking for too long) but after a few deaths.. maybe half a dozen, she now seems to have the hang of it. The last death she had she can thank Wild for the fact that it was not many more. It was the flame spewing guy that you had to “weaken” but run out when his flame aura kicked on. She got toasted by the first round of fire and had the “Ah, this is the one that killed Wild” memory, and ran out after that. Unlike Wild, all of her purples are lvl 200 pvp gear, so half of her armor (and both weapons) has been replaced with quest greens (and one blue). Any time the quest giver shows plate it seems to be an upgrade. Oh, and I think Neekia got turned off by being used as bait in the Gnaws quest chain. She likes to fish for fish, not to be used as bait and caught up in giant jaws.. *shudder* see if she ever takes quests from nutters again.
But it seems that it is quests (I am sure among other things) that gives you guild points. I think I will work on Sis next (mainly due to Lao wanting the new Obsidian ore) and get our guild some points. Kia is content to sit on the side lines, she discovered the new daily cooking and fishing quests and is excited to get back to her true passions in that regard.

DER, meanwhile, has been doing some research on Arena and battleground pvp changes for Cata. An amazing addition is War Games. Read on:

"Beginning with Arena Season 9, we’re giving Arena and Battleground teams the option to challenge each other to War Games, a new kind of skirmish that allows teams to practice, set up matches against friends or rivals, or even try out potential recruits.
War Games allow you to engage in a PvP scrimmage with other people on your server. It’s like a /duel, with groups, only you get to choose where you fight. You don’t gain any Honor or Conquest points here, nor Honorable Kills – but you do get to send your group and another group into any BG or Arena to practice your skills.
This is a great thing for casual and hardcore PvPers alike, allowing people to practice without consequence. You’re in a group that you choose, so you no longer have to pug a battleground to learn how it works. You can explore at will if your opponents are friendly (hellooooo, better BG screenshots!) or use it to actually compete with other groups in your guild.
I read over the FAQ Blizzard posted above and it covers a lot of possibilities War Games modes opens up. I think this is a great tool, one that can be creatively applied to make battleground PvP a better experience for everyone. You can bring new players into Battlegrounds and teach them how it works without the pressure of competition. You can try out different group compositions and strategies. You can hold intraguild competitions – my own guild leader is already planning a 2v2 bracket event with prizes.
One of the biggest challenges to getting people into battlegrounds and Arena is unfamiliarity with the game, combined with the pressure of having to learn very quickly. War Games will definitely help make them more accessible, while also giving a tool that high-end players will use to perfect their play.
I’m really excited that Blizzard implemented this. It’s due out this week, and I can’t wait to try it out. "

Discovered at:
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/would-you-like-to-play-a-game-of-chess/

Oh, and I have to report that Sis is now level 82, only one level behind Wild at just barely level 83. Given how much I still have to do to get ready for Christmas morning, it may be another week before Wild reaches level 85. Sis may well beat me to it. But not if I can help it!