The Wild Family Eleventh New Year's Report for 2015

The Wild Family Eleventh New Year's Report for 2015

It's time for the annual review. Grab a cup of coffee, it's a long one.

The big news of 2015 was the latest expansion, Warlords of Draenor (WoD). Wild and family are thrust 35 years into the past, planted on a chunk of rock and embedded in an endless war. The centerpiece of the expansion is the new, personal Garrison which establishes a base of operations for individual characters and provides for almost every need. Suffice it to say that Draenor occupied us all for the entire year. Draenor will still be with us until Legion arrives, somewhere around September, 2016.

The year 2015 began with frustration. Wild was the first in the family to try his hand at establishing a Garrison. The best that could be said of that task is that Wild suffered through all of the mistakes so that the rest of the family could have a smoother transition.

It took Level 90 Wild 59 days to reach the new max level of 100. By then his garrison was more or less working - limping along, mostly. Perhaps annoyed by his garrison issues, Wild made some strange decisions.

Wild convinced the boosted Jocy into learning Herbalism and Alchemy, figuring they would be needed in Draenor. She took on the task, getting those two professions to level 600 and reaching level 93 in the process. She at least professed to have enjoyed the journey. That outlook would later change for the worse when it became clear that farming herbs was a waste of time since Garrison herb gardens could produce far more than farming. Jocy never bothered to finish leveling either profession.

Wild still thought he might return to raiding, an idea that would come and go numerous times over the course of the year, but which never got any further along than a couple of trips into the Proving Grounds.

Jocy and Fist endlessly challenged each other, making wagers on who would reach level 100 first. As March turned to April, both girls were neck and neck at level 95. In May Jocy began pulling away from Fist. On June 1st, Jocy hit level 100. Fist was still plugging away at level 97.
In late June Patch 6.2 launched, opening up the Tanaan Jungle in Draenor. Wild and Jocy were ready for the invasion into Taanan, but Fist still lagged behind.

Patch 6.2.1 came along in mid-July. Up until then only ground mounts were allowed in Tanaan. Flying mounts were off limits. Tanaan was now open to flying mounts, but there was still a catch. A series of achievements had to be completed before flying mounts could be used.

The grind to complete those achievements began. Little did Wild and Jocy know just how difficult reaching that goal would be. Wild soon gave up the effort and turned the task over to Jocy exclusively. It only required one of them to finish, and then all could get their mounts into the sky. So, on July 28th, Jocy laid out a specific, step by step plan to complete every element of the flying mount achievement called Draenor Pathfinder.

Jocy was the first to figure out that all those Garrison followers she was housing and feeding could be put to use. Specifically, Jocy learned that followers with the bodyguard trait could go to war alongside her. Suddenly, she had a partner to help with everything Jocy needed to do. Jocy had her choice of several bodyguards, and she chose Vivianne.

Around the beginning of August an impromptu pageant was held between Jocy and Fist on who had the best wardrobe ensembles. Both were stunning, but neither would compliment the other, and Wild hid from view until it was safe to return. Stalemate.

It's August 3rd and Jocy is working Pathfinder Part 5. Already frustrated with the Pathfinder grind, she explodes when Happy asks her to make some healing tonics.

"I HATE the Alchemy profession, and herbs give me hives and makes me sneeze. Why I agreed to take over the flower business from Jezzibel I'll never know."

Jocy pleads with JB. "JB! PLEASE take it back!" Jocy sneezes violently and rubs snot from her nose. "This may be a big mistake, but I want to unlearn alchemy and learn mining and Blacksmithing, even though I'll lose my alchemy trinket." JB smiled to herself, and took back her profession. JB quietly began making future plans.

Fist began leveling again at level 97 on August 9th in the Spires of Arak. She moved on to Nagrand for the final push. The rush ended in Lok-Roth twenty-three minutes after midnight on Sunday morning, August 15th. Plumrosefist earned Level 100, i601 gear level.

In late August Jocy suffered a meltdown with her bodyguard, Vivianne, who kept falling into misfortunes. So says Jocy: "Viv" has reached a point where she is more hazard than help. She's maxed out in weapons and gear, but she just doesn't have the stamina to last against the level and number of mobs Jocy is dealing with. Viv is usually already dead before Jocy really gets warmed up. That costs Jocy an hours time for her to resurrect, and it's easier to not even ask her to come along.

Jocy began looking for an alternative. She found another follower with the bodyguard trait, Aeda Brightdawn. The little warlock was enthusiastic but lacked basic common sense, her outlandish wings kept getting in the way, and a frustrated Jocy had to toss her out. Jocy turned away from the flighty bodyguard and took a chance on hiring Leo, a powerfully built lion-like shaman bodyguard with healing abilities. Leo lasted one day before Jocy fired him. Hmm, one wonders if the problem is the bodyguard, or Jocy?

At the end of August Jocy was still grinding out Pathfinder, but there was at least the glimmering that the long journey was coming to an end. Wild, who had largely stayed out of the way, weighed a number of decisions that had been on his mind.

Wild quietly gave up his patriarch's role and turned the family leadership over to Jocy. Jocy's first act was to tell everyone that Patriarch was a fine title for Wild, but one better not refer to her as Matriarch. With Wild's acquiescence, Jocy is cleaning house in preparation for the next expansion.

Ten family members make up the current active account, including: Happyface, Jocelyne, Wildshard, Plumrosefist, Jezzibel, Phillyperdue, Chaitee, and Tiphaine. Sistaphilia will also come over from the inactive account, and there is the new demon hunter spot as well.

Five family members currently residing in the inactive account are now considered retired, but will remain on the account (Bruiserbabe, Beanoevil, Hapless, Alwayslost, and Mewgoogaipan).

The next move will be a difficult but necessary one. Wild is glad that it's Jocy having to make such a decision. Javajoo, Merylitlbotm, and Hearnoevils currently reside on the active account. Once the above changes are put into place, however, there will not be enough room for everyone, even with the addition of a 12th spot (which will be held for the demon hunter). Javajoo and Merylitlbotm will be able to stay on, at least for the time being. They have to know their spots are shaky. Unfortunately, that leaves no place for Hearnoevils.

Hearnoevils got some support from Beanoevils and Chaitee, asking Jocy to activate the second account. Jocy nixed that right away. There will be only one active account and only twelve active family members. The only hope is that the gods of WoW decide to pay a transaction fee and move Hearnoevils to the inactive account. All in all, it's possible that Mery, Java, and Hearnoevils could all be permanently retired.

JB was so angry at the decisions being made she ran amuck for several days, working through her fury by improving her level from 85 to 87. Her defiant manner continues to grow, worrying many in the family, though Jocy has ignored the whole outburst. The fact that JB, in her younger years, fought ferociously as a mail wearing, dual blade wielding, Enchancement Shaman was not lost on Jocy. They just might need her one day.

On the positive side the family got a flying mount upgrade, adding the Dread Raven as an upgraded Raven Lord, Wild's favorite mount. Even better, Jocy finally settled on Tormmok as her full time bodyguard, having fired Vivianne, Aeda, and Leo. Tormmok is a keeper.

On October 8th, Jocy finally finished Draenor Pathfinder. The skies are now open to flying mounts for the Level 100s!

Less than a week after Jocy's mammoth Pathfinder success, the reclusive Tiphaine suddenly came back on the scene. Tiphaine has a very nasty history, and has transformed herself at least twice. Who knows what motivates her actions? Not even her daughter, Fist, can say what her mother's ultimate goals are.

The facts, however, can't be denied. Tiphaine returned at level 72 and has seen only one expansion, The Burning Crusade, where the level cap is 70. She is four expansions behind and might still be short when the NEXT expansion arrives, Legion, which would raise the cap to 110. The possibility of a "Boost" maneuver could get her quickly to level 90. If Jocy gives her enough leveling time, she could follow Wild, Jocy, and Fist to level 100.

What is Tiphaine up to? Should Tiphaine come out of the shadows again? Remember, real characters died permanent deaths the last time she rose into action.

Tiphaine does return to action. See the post:

http://wildfamilytales.blogspot.com/2015/10/tiphaine-begins-her-journey.html

In early November, Tiphaine reached level 100 with surprisingly little fuss. However, she had a few thoughts about the new Demon Hunter Class: "Demon Hunters?" Tiphaine mused aloud. "I'd say this new Hero class is no more than a pale copy of the original (note that Tiphaine is a Death Knight, the first Hero Class). A "hunter" that can't use ranged weapons? A demon that leaps backward away from the enemy instead of facing it?" She shook her head. "These demon hunters are toys, and when the time comes my daughter Fist will prove just how easily she can take them apart."
And now Fist has something to worry about, too.

Personal Bests and Raid Info

The Wild family grew to four level 100s this year:
Name         Gear    Followers
Jocy           i693    24/25
Tiphaine    i653    22/25
Wild          i653    21/25
Fist            i660    19/25

Guild Review (What there is of it)

Home: Happyface continues to run a successful business from his guild, The Order of the Dragon. On the Alliance side, Chaitee is the guildmaster and caretaker of the guild Tea Green. What only a few others knew until now is that the Wild family has a second horde guild. When Tiphaine was still calling herself Naithipe, she took over another guild from a guildmaster who no longer wanted it (rumors say it was a forced transaction). Tiphaine's guild is called Knights Templarr. She is the only member.

Summary: Fate Sealed (FS) was Wild's first true raiding guild. Mostly a fun and casual raiding guild, it had a small contingent of super raiders. Wild would still be in FS if he hadn't been forced out of the guild by Kikz when the uber raiders were trying to become a top tier raiding guild. Wild didn't meet Kikz's standards. Wild loved FS, but followed other friends to join the Mayhem guild. When Mayhem fractured, Wild followed his friends into Meitha. So, Wild moved from FS to Mayhem, then to Meitha, and has been a happy member there ever since. Meitha is a casual raiding guild, mostly interested in enjoying the experience and playing with friends. It appears that FS remains a formidable raiding guild.

On the downside Rhonna's Warchild (WC) guild shows some slippage. The guild did gain a small number of new recruits, but it wasn't enough to stop a fall off in raiding or the complete failure to get a single boss down in HFC. Mayhem was already failing last year, and is now gone. Mayhem spawned Meitha when the guild fractured. The two guilds competed against each other, and now there is only Meitha.

 Raids: Note that raid success is determined by checking on the activity of key guildies.

Meitha (MM2) - Guild Leader Talatiana, plus Porkkchopp & Grrbaby
    - 479 total members (down from 486, minus 7)
    - 140 level 100s (up from 76, plus 64)

    Highmaul (LFR/Normal/Heroic) - 7/7, 5/7, 4/7
    Blackrock Foundry (LFR/Normal/Heroic) - 10/10, 0/0, 0/0
    Hellfire Citadel (LFR/Normal/Heroic) - 13/13, 0/0, 0/0

Fate Sealed (FS) - Guild Leader Ramux, plus many others (Frohgurt, Muximus, Kikz, Lagaris). Wild counts all of these folks as friends, and very glad that the guild is still active. Based on the numbers below, the guild grew significantly this past year. This is the only guild which got into Mythic level raids.
    - 213 total members (up from 176, plus 37)
    - 90 level 100s (up from 36, plus 54)

FS is a very active raid with a top notch group. LFR is taken for granted so it isn't listed.
    Highmaul (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 6/7, 4/7, 0/0
    Blackrock Foundry (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 10/10, 0/0, 0/0
    Hellfire Citadel (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 13/13, 13/13, 2/13

Warchild (WC) - Grymshot Guild Leader (aka Rhonna), Amevia 2nd. Rhonna was Wild's first raid leader, guild leader, and a good friend who taught me a lot. I wonder how this guild is doing, given poor results in BRF and not a single boss down in HFC.

    - 72 total members (up from 69, plus 3)
    - 28 level 100s (up from 18, plus 10)
    Highmaul (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 7/7, 5/7, 0/0
    Blackrock Foundry (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 4/10, 0/0, 0/0
    Hellfire Citadel (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) - 0/0, 0/0, 0/0

Mayhem (MM) - The Mayhem guild that is now in Silvermoon is not the Mayhem guild that Wild once was a part of. It has been replaced with no recognizable characters. The former guild leaders, Whiteblade and Kira, no longer exist.

Wild has not stepped into a live raid since May 10th, 2012.