Recapping the Year 2011 Part 2 - Family Business

Recapping the Year 2011 Part 2 - Family Business

At the start of 2011 the Alliance pvp team of Sista, Maiy, and Kire had just started out. Sista and Maiy were the first of the Worgen race to join the families and they were very excited to become a part of the team in the level 10-14 battlegrounds. With the sometime help of Rakta, who mostly operates the transfer of goods between the Alliance and Horde on the neutral AH, there were battles galore as well as trips into Ragefire Cavern and Deadmines.

Happy, the entrepreneur of the Horde Auction House, had a radical makeover for the New Year, deciding that he was tired of being a troll and transformed himself into a Goblin. Goblins are the money makers of Azeroth, and Happy felt it was only fitting that he be one. Ya gotta like those big ears, too. Happy also wanted to include a special Thank You! to Lao in this recap. In April a conversation between Lao and Happy resulted in Happy starting to stock Cata enchanting material, which until then he had not been interested in. On Lao's advice, Happy began trading those mats, and have been thousands and thousands of gold happier ever since.

JB has been an on again off again project. She didn't know who she wanted to be. From Jan 2011: "JB used to be enhancement, and used to be elemental, and used to be restoration. She used to be pve before she was pvp. She had gear from all three specs as well as pvp gear cluttering up her bags and her bank." JB was still level 80 and only just starting to explore the new areas of Northrend, primarily to pick flowers for her Alchemy profession.

Did you know that JB was the second character to join the Wild family? Even before Happy? JB was born on May 19, 2005. She started as a miner and skinner. The background and history of most of our family members was explored in this post, for those interested:

Special Report - What's in a Name

JB wasn't the only family member undergoing a mini-crisis. Mery had leveled to 56 but had the gear of a level 40. She would continue to struggle throughout the year, having to fight for game time with Wild, JB, and Sista.

In the DER family warlock Daeth was busy leveling like a madman, eventually winning the Four Family award for adding the most levels in a single year. See the report on all of the level grinding for the year at the bottom of the post.

In February Hunter Fortress exploded onto the scene: "The Hunter Fortress, or "Four Tresses" if one prefers, wasn't a fly by night operation. There were days of planning and preparation by Seenoevil, Hearnoevils (Shevils), Speaknoevil, and Beanoevil - weapons, gear, flasks, enchants, etc, were all laid out. Each hunter had to battle through their home zones and break free from those bonds." These four hunters would wage serious war on the alliance throughout the year, wearing their trademark guild tabards and blue lumberjack shirts. Here is one estimate of their earliest experience:
"Speak - veteran of many battles (two so far), and lots of experience with kinfolk
See - another veteran with experience, but his first time as a hunter
Beano - a raw recruit, eager to show her mettle
Shevils - AWOL, who knows if this girl can tie her own shoelaces"

It was Bean who proved the most impressive in that first great battle in Warsong Gulch when she earned the Wrecking Ball achievement for getting 20 killing blows without dying. Want to see the results of that battle? Check out

Wrecking Ball

Hunter Fortress continued to attract new recruits, such as pvpers Unbleached and Pong, as well as guest pvpers like Jocy.

Naithipe came and went throughout the year, as silent and secretive as ever ... except once, when DER drew her out of the shadows with a challenge. For that momentous exchange, see

Naithipe and DER Sparring

When Sista joined the alliance family, her older brother Java was suddenly the odd man out. In March, though, Java started getting game time for pvp. Dungeon runs followed. All of this leveling effort was done solo, too. Java liked working on his own, but a partner was so much better. In April Java finally leveled high enough for Kire to join him the dungeon runs. They were a blast and both leveled swiftly.

In June of 2011 the Three Families became the Four Families. Lao was a card carrying Horde member of the Order of the Dragon guild. But Lao had a secret . . . in the wee hours of an ordinary June day Lao pulled a trifecta, slipping into a secretive guise as, not Horde, but Alliance, and not Silvermoon, but Boulderfist. She came to a new guild in the remarkable disguise of a Gnome instead of her natural blood elf self, and her new name was Tea. We can only hope that her disguise is never compromised.

Tea (alias Lao) made herself at home in her new guild, GoH, and made friends of a sort with DER's cousin Eowyn, also in GoH. There was talk that Java should join them, but Java had never gotten over seeing Sista being the favorite. Java declined. So, in August, a new death knight escaped her prison over the Plaguelands and the twosome became a threesome in Boulderfist, welcoming BB to the team and the guild. Soon after that the Silvermoon Alliance family made their own farewell to Sista, who crossed realms as Tea did to join BB. Java and his sister, Chaitee, had a fond reunion and live quietly in Stormwind.

The Wild Family is not all about pvp and raiding and leveling and gear, however ... well, maybe raiding ... ahem. There is also sometimes pure fun with no ulterior motive. That was the case when about half of Wild's family had a blast playing a fun and frustrating game within a game Wild dubbed

Lawn of the Dead

And that is the full report. As promised, though, below is the complete list of toons associated with the Four Families: Wild, DER, Sis, and Silver, on two realms, Silvermoon and Boulderfist. Should any of this recap be wrong, it's not my fault! And by the way, Happy New Year!

The Wildshard clan
2010 level (2011 level)
(++) = has passed on and is no longer with us
(??) = uncertain
85 (85) - Wild
80 (84) - JB
80 (82) - Philly
63 (63) - Melasahnd
32 (61) - Java (alliance)
56 (60) - Mery
46 (47) - EZ
23 (27) - Jocey
22 (23) - Happy
20 (21) - Chaitee (alliance)
16 (16) - Hap
13 (13) - Rakta (alliance)
11 (12) - Lost (alliance)
11 (++) - Slash
11 (++) - Deth
?? (??) - Naithipe (she's still shy about her level)

The DER/Sis/Silver clans (I can't tell with some toons who was with who so ya'll get lumped together)

80 (85) - Sis
80 (85) - Sin the Elder
80 (80) - DER
59 (59) - Myst
59 (59) - Red
48 (++) - Ando
30 (71) - Daeth (alliance)
29 (33) - Unbleached (alliance)
29 (29) - Sin the Hunter (alliance)
28 (++) - Sin the Warlock (alliance)
28 (++) - Sin the Younger
28 (28) - Esor (alliance)
20 (20) - El
20 (++) - Andro
14 (14) - Neek (alliance)
11 (11) - Jab

Newcomers in Boulderfist
85 - Silver (Silver Family)
72 (85) - Tea (formerly Lao, Sis Family)
70 - Eowyn (DER Family)
70 - Congou (Sis Family)
63 - BB (Wild Family)
60 - Sista (Wild Family)

Other Newcomers
32 - Speak (DER family)
30 - Hear/Shevils (Wild Family)
30 - See (Sis Family)
30 - Pong (DER family, MM2)
29 - Acid (Family ?)
25 - Bean (Wild Family)

Based on the above, the "Best Leveler" awards go to:

Daeth: 30 --> 71 (41 levels)
Java:  32 --> 61 (29 levels)
Tea:   72 --> 85 (13 levels)

Additionally, special mention goes to the newcomers born in 2011 who made huge leaps in leveling (sorry, DKs don't count): Eowyn (70), Congou (70), and Sista (60).