Mahakeya Gums up the Work
Tiphaine made a difficult but successful first run into the Broken Isles. Tiphaine tapped Keya for the second member into the breach so she could include work on her leather working skills. Keya, to my surprise, was still standing in the Trade District looking a bit lost. What the hell? Where's your quest!?
A Khadgar's servant came to her rescue and handed her the quest, "In the Blink of an Eye." Nice catch, Blizz. Even if we screw up help is right at our elbow.
Mahakeya took up her role in the Legion war and, quite frankly, kicked butt! Blizz must have put some extra juice in her breakfast. If Keya and Tiphaine were to go up against each other in pvp the winner would easily be Keya, based on the results from the prior scenarios. Sparks may fly over that assessment.
Keya was taken down a few pegs when she had numerous issues. After getting through the initial events she was given the easy task of flying to the Illidari campsite below Dalaran. She watched other demon hunters leaping off of the edge of Dalaran and saw the huge wings span out behind them, cradled in a slow guidable descent.
Encouraged, Keya, who is a bit afraid of heights, mind you, mimicked the prior flyer and leaped from Dalaran. Amazing! The wings spread out and Keya was flying! She could even maneuver! In her both frightful and exciting descent she didn't notice the floating pad off to the right and below Dalaran. That's where the Illidari base is. Keya drifted past and continued to descend. Now the problem is that she didn't know where to land, having missed the landing field.
So. After landing, Keya got to do a lot of exploring and considerable swimming hoping to find her way out of her situation without too much embarassment. Clever and resourcefull, she did eventually find a base with a flight path, though not the one she should have been at. Still, she took the flight path back to Dalaran for another try. This time she did some additional research [Can you tell I know nothing about the demon hunter race except which buttons kill things?].
So. I may be using that word a lot. So. Demon hunter wings don't spread on some command, they need airflow to open naturally. It's a two part process. Get a running start, Jump! and then hit the glide button. Viola! The wings spread. Gonna need a macro for that. Anyway, she tested her process by jumping off the stairs in Dalaran. They were short flights, but it got her some needed practice.
So. Feeling more confident (and having taken some nausea meds), Keya again did the run, jump, and glide over the edge of Dalaran. Keya glided smoothly, this time turning to the base below and landing safely. Wow, now that that's over with, the rest should be a piece of pie.
So. A simple quest took Keya three failed attempts until she noticed the button that was accidentally covered in the corner of the screen. Thirty minutes of frustration, but Keya finished the quest and was back in business.
The long night is starting to take its toll. Keya has a lot yet to accomplish. Tiphaine may want to wrestle back some time, too. But right now it's nap time.
Tiphaine didn't take a nap. She went back into the Isles, burned some quests, and leveled to about 90% of the way to level 101. Tiphaine also has three weapon artifacts, but I haven't figured out how to add them to her blade. Two of them should be equipable but I think I'm missing some agent to make it happen. The third has artifact power which may be a one time use or a permanent upgrade, I can't tell which.
So went the first full day of Legion.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Doomsday Cometh, Legion Hath Arrived
Doomsday Cometh, Legion Hath Arrived
Tiphaine demanded to be the first to step into Legion. She took the Stormwind portal to Dalaran at about 11:30 pm PST. Dalaran was still monster infested so most of the players in Dalaran hung out in the main room where the quest thread ended. Seemed appropriate. See pictures of the crowd. At about two minutes before midnight the quest, "In the Blink of an Eye," appeared in air. Those of us already in Dalaran realized that we/they would have to leave Dalaran and then port back into Dalaran or the quest couldn't be completed. With that part done, Tiphaine was ordered to the flight area in Dalaran and then took a waiting flight that carried her down to the Broken Isles.
Once there, Tiphaine was given a sidekick and began a special segment to prove her worthiness to the Lich King. The long segment took most of an hour to complete. It was gruelling. Tiphaime died against the first mob she encounterd. It was embarrassing. Even with the help of the sidekick she died at least ten times. Death in the invasions just meant getting reincarnated and returned with 100% health. Not here. Reincarnation left Tipahine with about 25% health. She was guzzling potions and using bandages constantly trying to stay in the game.
After the first battle I don't think Tiphaine was ever able to get over 60% health before having to deal with another challenge. The demons hit hard, and most of the terrain was covered in burning ooze that can quickly suck the life out of her. Give Blizz credit, it was a tough opening for Tiphaine. The prize at the end was well worth it - she earned the blade "Maw of the Damned" with gear level i750. Her overall gear score is now i708.
Tiphaine did eventually pass all her tests and was sent to Archerus where the death knight training is done. She was also named a Deathlord of the Ebon Blade and became an emissry of the Lich King. So, I guess Tiphaine works for the Lich King now. I assume there are similar trials for the other races. Following that she got her first class hall quest to lead a troop against an array of bad guys on the Broken Isles. Tiphaine was able to pick from five different areas - not that it mattered, I didn't know anything about any of the areas.
She randomly chose Aszuna as a likely spot to start. Tiphaine wielded her new artifact blade and began killing. Thankfully, the intensity of combat was more in line with regular leveling and something Tiphaine could manage. It helped to finally get away from the button mashing recklessness of the invasions, and start to think again about spell choices and methods to stay alive.
I stayed up until around 3am, and didn't push too hard. Tiphaine broke out of questing mode for while, too, doing some exploring and enjoying the new landscapes. Overall I'd call Legion a success so far. She's now about halfway to level 101.
Tiphaine demanded to be the first to step into Legion. She took the Stormwind portal to Dalaran at about 11:30 pm PST. Dalaran was still monster infested so most of the players in Dalaran hung out in the main room where the quest thread ended. Seemed appropriate. See pictures of the crowd. At about two minutes before midnight the quest, "In the Blink of an Eye," appeared in air. Those of us already in Dalaran realized that we/they would have to leave Dalaran and then port back into Dalaran or the quest couldn't be completed. With that part done, Tiphaine was ordered to the flight area in Dalaran and then took a waiting flight that carried her down to the Broken Isles.
Once there, Tiphaine was given a sidekick and began a special segment to prove her worthiness to the Lich King. The long segment took most of an hour to complete. It was gruelling. Tiphaime died against the first mob she encounterd. It was embarrassing. Even with the help of the sidekick she died at least ten times. Death in the invasions just meant getting reincarnated and returned with 100% health. Not here. Reincarnation left Tipahine with about 25% health. She was guzzling potions and using bandages constantly trying to stay in the game.
After the first battle I don't think Tiphaine was ever able to get over 60% health before having to deal with another challenge. The demons hit hard, and most of the terrain was covered in burning ooze that can quickly suck the life out of her. Give Blizz credit, it was a tough opening for Tiphaine. The prize at the end was well worth it - she earned the blade "Maw of the Damned" with gear level i750. Her overall gear score is now i708.
Tiphaine did eventually pass all her tests and was sent to Archerus where the death knight training is done. She was also named a Deathlord of the Ebon Blade and became an emissry of the Lich King. So, I guess Tiphaine works for the Lich King now. I assume there are similar trials for the other races. Following that she got her first class hall quest to lead a troop against an array of bad guys on the Broken Isles. Tiphaine was able to pick from five different areas - not that it mattered, I didn't know anything about any of the areas.
She randomly chose Aszuna as a likely spot to start. Tiphaine wielded her new artifact blade and began killing. Thankfully, the intensity of combat was more in line with regular leveling and something Tiphaine could manage. It helped to finally get away from the button mashing recklessness of the invasions, and start to think again about spell choices and methods to stay alive.
I stayed up until around 3am, and didn't push too hard. Tiphaine broke out of questing mode for while, too, doing some exploring and enjoying the new landscapes. Overall I'd call Legion a success so far. She's now about halfway to level 101.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Legion Countdown - Last Day Before Legion Launch
Legion Countdown - Last Day Before Legion Launch
Wildshard got most of what he needed for Legion in yesterday's mulitple invasions. His gear score is now up to i679. He's purged all of the +int from his bear form gear. Wild has been very unlucky in one aspect, though. His original staff was a +int one, of course. Wild had hoped to pick up an agility staff from the invasions, but that hasn't happened. In fact, Wild just found out that +agi staffs don't drop from invasions at all. He has to wait for Legion.
Wild found himself at the Auction House. The pickings were decidedly slim at any cost. Wild had to settle on an i621 staff, Kihrawr's Scratching Post. Wild does have two Coalesced Fel's he may be able to use should a staged weapon come into his hands after the launch.
Wild actually likes his new staff, despite it's poor properties. See the pic below. Also, notice that Wild has enough of the invasion gear (called Felshroud gear) to look very similar to all the others. It's a good look, I admit, the artists did a good job, but it's pretty boring when everyone looks pretty much the same.
The rest of the family are as prepared as they're going to be. If anyone does invasions today it will likely just be restlessness to get started, not for any particular need. I may add to this post as the day goes by. I'm restless, too.
Update: Wild can't help himself, running two invasions. Nothing fancy, but at least his gear score went up to i680.
Everything changes tomorrow.
Update #2: Restlessness seems to have descended on all of the Alliance. Read on . . .
Tiphaine took the opportunity to use up her nethershards, getting her two-hander the three Fels she needed to complete stage 6. Her gear score inched up to i704.
Keya took the time to buy three Coalesced Fels, completing her dual, stage six pair of warglaives. Her gear score inched up to i702.
Guess what? Javajoo has also saved up the Fels to reach stage 6 on her weapon, too. She raised her gear score to i702.
Don't forget me! Sista catches up with the rest. She, too, got a nice two-hander and paid for three Fels to reach stage 6. Her gear score rose to i702.
Rakta finds herself left behind, wondering what she could have done with a little more tiime. She is short three stages on her weapon and two stages on her shield. Gear is at i698 and only 137 shards to spend. What will she do?
Everything changes tomorrow.
Update #3: Actually, everything changes at the stroke of Midnight on the West Coast. Will it be Alliance or Horde who step into the world of Legion first?
Wildshard got most of what he needed for Legion in yesterday's mulitple invasions. His gear score is now up to i679. He's purged all of the +int from his bear form gear. Wild has been very unlucky in one aspect, though. His original staff was a +int one, of course. Wild had hoped to pick up an agility staff from the invasions, but that hasn't happened. In fact, Wild just found out that +agi staffs don't drop from invasions at all. He has to wait for Legion.
Wild found himself at the Auction House. The pickings were decidedly slim at any cost. Wild had to settle on an i621 staff, Kihrawr's Scratching Post. Wild does have two Coalesced Fel's he may be able to use should a staged weapon come into his hands after the launch.
Wild actually likes his new staff, despite it's poor properties. See the pic below. Also, notice that Wild has enough of the invasion gear (called Felshroud gear) to look very similar to all the others. It's a good look, I admit, the artists did a good job, but it's pretty boring when everyone looks pretty much the same.
The rest of the family are as prepared as they're going to be. If anyone does invasions today it will likely just be restlessness to get started, not for any particular need. I may add to this post as the day goes by. I'm restless, too.
Update: Wild can't help himself, running two invasions. Nothing fancy, but at least his gear score went up to i680.
Everything changes tomorrow.
Update #2: Restlessness seems to have descended on all of the Alliance. Read on . . .
Tiphaine took the opportunity to use up her nethershards, getting her two-hander the three Fels she needed to complete stage 6. Her gear score inched up to i704.
Keya took the time to buy three Coalesced Fels, completing her dual, stage six pair of warglaives. Her gear score inched up to i702.
Guess what? Javajoo has also saved up the Fels to reach stage 6 on her weapon, too. She raised her gear score to i702.
Don't forget me! Sista catches up with the rest. She, too, got a nice two-hander and paid for three Fels to reach stage 6. Her gear score rose to i702.
Rakta finds herself left behind, wondering what she could have done with a little more tiime. She is short three stages on her weapon and two stages on her shield. Gear is at i698 and only 137 shards to spend. What will she do?
Everything changes tomorrow.
Update #3: Actually, everything changes at the stroke of Midnight on the West Coast. Will it be Alliance or Horde who step into the world of Legion first?
 | |
| Trade District Empty of Players |
 | |
| Wildshard in Felshroud Gear |
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Legion Countdown - Three Days to Go
Legion Countdown - Three Days to Go
The countdown to Legion is down to three days. As of 27 August there were three players that still needed to finish their preparations. Progress report:
(1) Jezzibael (JB) completed both the Kharazan and Dalaran episodes, becoming the first non-tank character to get it done. To put the icing on the cake, she also took on two invasions and raised her gear level from i649 to i687. She now meets all requirements for Legion.
(2) Phillypurdue had made no plans at all as of just a day ago. Her gear was a mess and, frankly, she wasn't sure she could remember how to be a shadow priest. Doing the Kharazan and Dalaran episodes along with the battlefield with the demons got her blood boiling. She is now ready with a gear level of i664.
(3) Wildshard should have been an easy fix. However, the patriarch of the Horde family has been "on vacation" for so long he had trouble finding his socks, much less locating his gear and preparing for battle. Wild retired as a balance spec druid and might have been content to stay that way. But Wild overheard Jocy asking JB to "keep an eye on Wild, he may need help getting through this." Later, when Wild learned that both horde and alliance families were going with tanking specs, Wild's stubborn streak came out. Soon, a terrible racket was heard in Wild's abode, drawing the attention of numerous onlookers wondering if something was dying in there. The subsequent ROAR had the crowd hastily falling back. Wild emerged in BEAR form.
Wild has largely been a healer throughout his career and exclusively healer in raids. For solo work he takes up the balance spec. One would have to go back to Wild's earliest days to find a time when Wild would don bear spec, primarily for seeking treasure in old dungeons. Beginning now, Wild is ready to take on the garb of a Guardian Druid. There's just one teeny tiny issue. Most of Wild's gear is +int gear, not the agility gear of a tanking druid.
Amazingly, that hurdle didn't seem to bother Wild. Wild completed all of the pre-requisites and then faced off in several invasions to prove he could not just survive, but thrive with a gear score of i669, even though six pieces of gear are still +int. Wild vows to fix that before Legion Launch.
The Last Word - Closing the Second Account
Bruiserbabe has the sad duty to initiate shutdown procedures for the second account. Here is the list of names one last time:
Bruiserbabe (70 death knight)
Merytophvy (60 hunter)
Hearnoevils (30 hunter)
Beanoevils (25 hunter)
Hapless (16 druid)
Mewgoogaipan (12 mage)
Whispersoul (12 warrior) and
Alwayslost (12 paladin)
Stay strong. Your time may come again one day.
The countdown to Legion is down to three days. As of 27 August there were three players that still needed to finish their preparations. Progress report:
(1) Jezzibael (JB) completed both the Kharazan and Dalaran episodes, becoming the first non-tank character to get it done. To put the icing on the cake, she also took on two invasions and raised her gear level from i649 to i687. She now meets all requirements for Legion.
(2) Phillypurdue had made no plans at all as of just a day ago. Her gear was a mess and, frankly, she wasn't sure she could remember how to be a shadow priest. Doing the Kharazan and Dalaran episodes along with the battlefield with the demons got her blood boiling. She is now ready with a gear level of i664.
(3) Wildshard should have been an easy fix. However, the patriarch of the Horde family has been "on vacation" for so long he had trouble finding his socks, much less locating his gear and preparing for battle. Wild retired as a balance spec druid and might have been content to stay that way. But Wild overheard Jocy asking JB to "keep an eye on Wild, he may need help getting through this." Later, when Wild learned that both horde and alliance families were going with tanking specs, Wild's stubborn streak came out. Soon, a terrible racket was heard in Wild's abode, drawing the attention of numerous onlookers wondering if something was dying in there. The subsequent ROAR had the crowd hastily falling back. Wild emerged in BEAR form.
Wild has largely been a healer throughout his career and exclusively healer in raids. For solo work he takes up the balance spec. One would have to go back to Wild's earliest days to find a time when Wild would don bear spec, primarily for seeking treasure in old dungeons. Beginning now, Wild is ready to take on the garb of a Guardian Druid. There's just one teeny tiny issue. Most of Wild's gear is +int gear, not the agility gear of a tanking druid.
Amazingly, that hurdle didn't seem to bother Wild. Wild completed all of the pre-requisites and then faced off in several invasions to prove he could not just survive, but thrive with a gear score of i669, even though six pieces of gear are still +int. Wild vows to fix that before Legion Launch.
The Last Word - Closing the Second Account
Bruiserbabe has the sad duty to initiate shutdown procedures for the second account. Here is the list of names one last time:
Bruiserbabe (70 death knight)
Merytophvy (60 hunter)
Hearnoevils (30 hunter)
Beanoevils (25 hunter)
Hapless (16 druid)
Mewgoogaipan (12 mage)
Whispersoul (12 warrior) and
Alwayslost (12 paladin)
Stay strong. Your time may come again one day.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Final Preparations. Be Ready!
Final Preparations. Be Ready!
Well, it's time to shift from invasions to completing a series of quests meant to prepare the world of Azeroth for Legion.
"The Legion Returns" begins the first leg of that process. By chance, Fist joins in the thread at "Protect the Home Front." She kills a dozen demons hidden among the common folk. There are both horde and alliance versions of this quest and the followup quests. The Alliance version takes place in Stormwind Keep and the Horde version takes place outside the gates of Orgimmar. She boards a flotilla of ships to the Broken Isles for a series of battles.
"City Under Siege" sends Fist for the first time to Dalaran, where she joins with Khadgar for a trip into the past at Kharazan. This is where we learn about the five artifacts hidden in the Broken Isles and the importance of finding them.
"Calling of the Council" explains the rift between Khadgar and Jaina, who hates the horde and refuses to ally with them and Khadgar, which includes a couple of easy quests in Dalaran.
"Author Author" is the last in the quest thread. Fist learns that more preparations are needed and to "be ready" when the time comes. End of thread. At least that's how Fist did it. For the full list of quests, see below:
The Legion Returns
To Be Prepared
The Battle for Broken Shore
The Fallen Lion
Demons Among Us
Illidari Allies
Calling the Council
The Diamond King
Hiding in the Stacks
City Under Siege
Anomalous Anomalies
Author! Author!
In the Blink of an Eye (Not available until Legion release)
Now, everyone who intends to participate in Legion had better get those quests done.
Jocelyne and Plumrosefist, who took the first shot at the quests, have completed the thread. They are ready for Legion, completing the horde series of quests outside the gates of Orgrimmar.
Tiphaine is the first alliance to take the plunge. The Dalaran portal is in Stormwind Keep. Go straight into the Keep and take the first left. The Dalaran portal is in that room. Now all that needs doing is getting everyone through the experience. Line 'em up! Mahakeya is done now. And Javajoo. Now Rakta has finished. Sista got in on the act, too.
That just leaves the hard cases. Three players have yet to complete the process:
(1) Jezi is ready to start "Protect the Homeland."
(2) Wildshard is farther behind, still sitting on the quest, "The Legion Returns"
(3) Philly also needs "The Legion Returns." She still has to clean up her gear and fix a number of problems before she'll be ready.
Well, it's time to shift from invasions to completing a series of quests meant to prepare the world of Azeroth for Legion.
"The Legion Returns" begins the first leg of that process. By chance, Fist joins in the thread at "Protect the Home Front." She kills a dozen demons hidden among the common folk. There are both horde and alliance versions of this quest and the followup quests. The Alliance version takes place in Stormwind Keep and the Horde version takes place outside the gates of Orgimmar. She boards a flotilla of ships to the Broken Isles for a series of battles.
"City Under Siege" sends Fist for the first time to Dalaran, where she joins with Khadgar for a trip into the past at Kharazan. This is where we learn about the five artifacts hidden in the Broken Isles and the importance of finding them.
"Calling of the Council" explains the rift between Khadgar and Jaina, who hates the horde and refuses to ally with them and Khadgar, which includes a couple of easy quests in Dalaran.
"Author Author" is the last in the quest thread. Fist learns that more preparations are needed and to "be ready" when the time comes. End of thread. At least that's how Fist did it. For the full list of quests, see below:
The Legion Returns
To Be Prepared
The Battle for Broken Shore
The Fallen Lion
Demons Among Us
Illidari Allies
Calling the Council
The Diamond King
Hiding in the Stacks
City Under Siege
Anomalous Anomalies
Author! Author!
In the Blink of an Eye (Not available until Legion release)
Now, everyone who intends to participate in Legion had better get those quests done.
Jocelyne and Plumrosefist, who took the first shot at the quests, have completed the thread. They are ready for Legion, completing the horde series of quests outside the gates of Orgrimmar.
Tiphaine is the first alliance to take the plunge. The Dalaran portal is in Stormwind Keep. Go straight into the Keep and take the first left. The Dalaran portal is in that room. Now all that needs doing is getting everyone through the experience. Line 'em up! Mahakeya is done now. And Javajoo. Now Rakta has finished. Sista got in on the act, too.
That just leaves the hard cases. Three players have yet to complete the process:
(1) Jezi is ready to start "Protect the Homeland."
(2) Wildshard is farther behind, still sitting on the quest, "The Legion Returns"
(3) Philly also needs "The Legion Returns." She still has to clean up her gear and fix a number of problems before she'll be ready.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Mounting Fatigue Surrounds Invasions
Mounting Fatigue Surrounds Invasions
The energy and excitement of battling invading demons is beginning to wear thin. Bruiserbabe has achieved her primary goal of reaching Level 70, and the family Boost is now secure and available to either account when a decision is made how to use it.
Fist hopes to see some additional time in the trenches as well, but the endless battles for what is becoming minimal gain is turning off many in the family.
Even Keya, with 500 nethershards to spend, may decide to cut her invasions short and buy the three Coalesced Fels she needs to max her pair of stage six weapons, take a well deserved break, buy one more gear upgrade, and wait on Legion.
Jocelyne spent a ton of nethershards as the first to tackle the invasions after Keya's arrival. She still has 191 shards, 150 of which will go to buying the account bound Felbat Pup Companion for all of the family to share.
Sista still has some work to do, being one step short (i699) of reaching i700. She has 309 nethershards, enough to get her Fel Barbed Spear to stage 5, and will keep running invasions until she gets that sixth stage.
It may be "an invasion too far" for Rakta, however. She has only 100 nethershards, which will help with two pieces of gear, but sits at i698. Another hurdle is her Fel Hacker, which is only at stage 3. Less than a week remains.
Javajoo has done well in getting her gear to i701, but is also coming up a bit short with her Fel Hacker at stage 3. She needs a couple of invasions to get her nethershards over 300 so she can buy her way to stage 5. After that she needs some luck to get a Coalesced Fel to drop to max her weapon. She could really use a ring upgrade as well (i650 baleful) but gathering another 50 nethershards to bump it up to i700 could be a challenge.
Tiphaine has been so busy keeping track of the rest of the family she forgot to check on her own needs. Her overall gear level at i703 is fine, but not so her Fel Lord's Warmace, which is only at stage 3. However, with 491 nethershards, she can buy the three Coalesced Fels she needs to max out her weapon.
Then there are those who simply aren't going to be fully prepared come Legion.
Fist is one of them, buried at i676.
Wildshard took a complete pass on the invasions, standing pat at i655.
Phillypurdue also took a pass at i653.
Shaman Jezzibael once had hopes of being the first non-tank family member to participate in the invasions, but that plan never came to fruition. Jezzi remains mired at gear level i626.
However, in a rare meeting between the two leaders, Tiphaine and Jocelyne both agreed that if possible each of the above family members would get a chance to take the boat to the Broken Isles and participate in at least one invasion. Time is running out to make that happen.
Each member will have to make their own decision about when to accept and use the quest "City Under Siege" which takes place on the floating city of Dalaran and is a must do quest to get access to Legion.
The energy and excitement of battling invading demons is beginning to wear thin. Bruiserbabe has achieved her primary goal of reaching Level 70, and the family Boost is now secure and available to either account when a decision is made how to use it.
Fist hopes to see some additional time in the trenches as well, but the endless battles for what is becoming minimal gain is turning off many in the family.
Even Keya, with 500 nethershards to spend, may decide to cut her invasions short and buy the three Coalesced Fels she needs to max her pair of stage six weapons, take a well deserved break, buy one more gear upgrade, and wait on Legion.
Jocelyne spent a ton of nethershards as the first to tackle the invasions after Keya's arrival. She still has 191 shards, 150 of which will go to buying the account bound Felbat Pup Companion for all of the family to share.
Sista still has some work to do, being one step short (i699) of reaching i700. She has 309 nethershards, enough to get her Fel Barbed Spear to stage 5, and will keep running invasions until she gets that sixth stage.
It may be "an invasion too far" for Rakta, however. She has only 100 nethershards, which will help with two pieces of gear, but sits at i698. Another hurdle is her Fel Hacker, which is only at stage 3. Less than a week remains.
Javajoo has done well in getting her gear to i701, but is also coming up a bit short with her Fel Hacker at stage 3. She needs a couple of invasions to get her nethershards over 300 so she can buy her way to stage 5. After that she needs some luck to get a Coalesced Fel to drop to max her weapon. She could really use a ring upgrade as well (i650 baleful) but gathering another 50 nethershards to bump it up to i700 could be a challenge.
Tiphaine has been so busy keeping track of the rest of the family she forgot to check on her own needs. Her overall gear level at i703 is fine, but not so her Fel Lord's Warmace, which is only at stage 3. However, with 491 nethershards, she can buy the three Coalesced Fels she needs to max out her weapon.
Then there are those who simply aren't going to be fully prepared come Legion.
Fist is one of them, buried at i676.
Wildshard took a complete pass on the invasions, standing pat at i655.
Phillypurdue also took a pass at i653.
Shaman Jezzibael once had hopes of being the first non-tank family member to participate in the invasions, but that plan never came to fruition. Jezzi remains mired at gear level i626.
However, in a rare meeting between the two leaders, Tiphaine and Jocelyne both agreed that if possible each of the above family members would get a chance to take the boat to the Broken Isles and participate in at least one invasion. Time is running out to make that happen.
Each member will have to make their own decision about when to accept and use the quest "City Under Siege" which takes place on the floating city of Dalaran and is a must do quest to get access to Legion.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
A Short Return of the Horde Tea Green Guild
A Short Return of the Horde Tea Green Guild
For those who have almost forgotten, there is another family on the second account that has seen hard times. The names: Bruiserbabe (63 death knight), Merytophvy (60 hunter), Hearnoevils (30 hunter), Beanoevils (25 hunter), Hapless (16 druid), Mewgoogaipan (12 mage), Whispersoul (12 warrior), and Alwayslost (12 paladin)
With the approach of Legion, a decision had to be made whether to return them to the shadowy depths of Draenor and falling an expansion behind or bring them into the light, if only for a brief time.
The senior player, Bruiserbabe (BB), made her case to join in the battle against the demons. At stake is a level 100 Boost that might one day be in jeopardy if not taken now. However, there is a complication. To grant the Boost, there must be at least one player at level 70.
Bruiserbabe took the job of leveling to 70 exclusively through invasions. In her first day of work her modest level of 63 didn't seem to slow her down in any way. In fact, she took a very aggressive attitude, attacking at will anything and everything that came at her. She is now level 68 and has six small chests and six large chests. Her immediate goal is to reach level 70, but there will also be an interesting decision to make once she reaches that goal.
The plan is that once the Boost is available, the first new demon hunter will be born to the Horde side of the family.
Bruiserbabe is making a case, however, to take that boost herself, along with all those chests she's been saving up. If she doesn't use the boost herself, those chests are only worth whatever level BB reaches. If she stays at level 70, those chests will be worth only level 70 type gear.
Can BB hold those chests even into Legion, and still use them if/when she decides to level further? So far I haven't found anything conclusive that the chests are still valid past level 100, although there are rumors they'll be good up until level 109 (ie, at level 109 she would get level 109 gear from the chests). If that's wrong, though, no one really knows what happens to those chests. Still usable at level 100, or become useless? So far no one has an answer to that question. I guess we'll find out on August 31st.
In other news, Plumrosefist began her embarkation to ilevel 700: She is the last in the family of hybrid tanks as a Brewmaster Monk. She's also Tiphaine's daughter, and did not make the transition to the Alliance as her mother did. Make of that what you will.
Fist (new) - (i663) --> i676
For those who have almost forgotten, there is another family on the second account that has seen hard times. The names: Bruiserbabe (63 death knight), Merytophvy (60 hunter), Hearnoevils (30 hunter), Beanoevils (25 hunter), Hapless (16 druid), Mewgoogaipan (12 mage), Whispersoul (12 warrior), and Alwayslost (12 paladin)
With the approach of Legion, a decision had to be made whether to return them to the shadowy depths of Draenor and falling an expansion behind or bring them into the light, if only for a brief time.
The senior player, Bruiserbabe (BB), made her case to join in the battle against the demons. At stake is a level 100 Boost that might one day be in jeopardy if not taken now. However, there is a complication. To grant the Boost, there must be at least one player at level 70.
Bruiserbabe took the job of leveling to 70 exclusively through invasions. In her first day of work her modest level of 63 didn't seem to slow her down in any way. In fact, she took a very aggressive attitude, attacking at will anything and everything that came at her. She is now level 68 and has six small chests and six large chests. Her immediate goal is to reach level 70, but there will also be an interesting decision to make once she reaches that goal.
The plan is that once the Boost is available, the first new demon hunter will be born to the Horde side of the family.
Bruiserbabe is making a case, however, to take that boost herself, along with all those chests she's been saving up. If she doesn't use the boost herself, those chests are only worth whatever level BB reaches. If she stays at level 70, those chests will be worth only level 70 type gear.
Can BB hold those chests even into Legion, and still use them if/when she decides to level further? So far I haven't found anything conclusive that the chests are still valid past level 100, although there are rumors they'll be good up until level 109 (ie, at level 109 she would get level 109 gear from the chests). If that's wrong, though, no one really knows what happens to those chests. Still usable at level 100, or become useless? So far no one has an answer to that question. I guess we'll find out on August 31st.
In other news, Plumrosefist began her embarkation to ilevel 700: She is the last in the family of hybrid tanks as a Brewmaster Monk. She's also Tiphaine's daughter, and did not make the transition to the Alliance as her mother did. Make of that what you will.
Fist (new) - (i663) --> i676
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
For the Real Heroes
For the Real Heroes
One question needed asking - Can low level players participate in the Invasion Lottery? I put the guild's Auction House squire to the test. Leve 21 Chaitee was eager to take on the challenge. She had never gone beyond the walls of Stormwind since she took up with the Autumn Tea Green Guild as their Auction House Meister.
In an astounding announcement we learned that ALL players can participate in battling the attacking demons, from the lowest level ten to the highest level 100.
Two stalwarts of the family, Chaitee and Happyface, have been performing their duties for a very long time. They never complain - okay, they complain, but they like what they're doing - What? Are you crazy, we want to be out there going toe toe with evil doers! - Okay, never mind! For all the work you do for the rest of the guilds, Chaitee and Happyface are released from all duties prior to Legion Launch. Go kill some demons!
Chaitee wasted no time. She took the flight path from Stormwind to Sentinel Hill. There was no ongoing invasion at the time, so she was able to wander about and even practice her bow and let her cat Tazzy run free. Such freedom! She thought of home, and how much see missed seeing the countryside. She knew her duty, though, and took her responsibilities seriously. On the next pass of the demon ships, Chaitee joined the fighters in protecting her homeland. Chaitee fought the demons, raising her level from 21 to 23! She's too young to compare gear levels, but at least she could take pride in the gear she does have, and the level of her best stat, Agility, which is at level 85.
Her worth in battle was proven when she earned two level 28 gear pieces, gloves and helm. The proud additions improved her agility score to 94. Congratulations, Chaitee!
How Invasions Work - Dissecting the Process of Defending the Realm from Demons
To start with, invasions only occur on Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth. There are no invasions on Draenor, Northrend, Pandaria, or the Broken Isles (although I expect attacks on the Broken Isles once Legion launches).
In the Eastern Kingdoms invasions happen in Dun Morogh (Kharanos), Elwyn Forest (Sentinel Hill), and Hills Brad Foothills (Tarren Mills). In Kalimdor invasions occur in Tanaris (Gadgetzahn), Northern Barrens (The Crossroads), and outside the Northen gate of Orgrimmar.
As far as how many invasions there are, it is almost limitless. Invasions form as soon as enough players show up in the invasion zones. I've parked toons in the same place and rotated them (you can't do the same invasion back to back, but you can alternate toons). I can usually get three invasions in until I ran out of invasions at that spot. There are a few periods where one or both continents have no invasions in progress, but I can't tell if this is planned or just random.
Every invasion follows the same pattern. The attackers include low level demons and higher level elite demons relatively easy to kill. Stage 2 includes more of the same with more dangerous elite demons. Stage three includes at least two major elite demons, maybe three, I start to lose count after awhile. Then the REALLY NASTY elites arive, usually one or two. Note that there is always a large throng of players at these invasions, and in general as a group we can survive most of these attacks. The REALLY NASTY elites are a different story. Expect to die A LOT during those battles. Expect the cost of fixing gear to run into the thousands of gold. Seriously. I believe Blizz uses this as one of the games gold dumps. When was the last time you even thought about fixing gear?
Now, some do it the easy way. They park their toon at an invasion site and leave. They come back later, find their corpse, and take the spoils, which is always one small and one large box. Yes, you don't have to do anything but stand around if you want. But its faster to kill things.
Leveling gear is not a science. Raising overall gear scores depends on the size of the upgrade. The gear is a random drop, which can be very frustrating. Rakta was pinned down for quite awhile because she had an i615 wrist that the gods refused to upgrade. When she finally won an i700 wrist she jumped six levels. Weapon gear upgrades using coalesced fels takes as many as three upgrades to win one level, but they're worth it for the added weapon stats.
One question needed asking - Can low level players participate in the Invasion Lottery? I put the guild's Auction House squire to the test. Leve 21 Chaitee was eager to take on the challenge. She had never gone beyond the walls of Stormwind since she took up with the Autumn Tea Green Guild as their Auction House Meister.
In an astounding announcement we learned that ALL players can participate in battling the attacking demons, from the lowest level ten to the highest level 100.
Two stalwarts of the family, Chaitee and Happyface, have been performing their duties for a very long time. They never complain - okay, they complain, but they like what they're doing - What? Are you crazy, we want to be out there going toe toe with evil doers! - Okay, never mind! For all the work you do for the rest of the guilds, Chaitee and Happyface are released from all duties prior to Legion Launch. Go kill some demons!
Chaitee wasted no time. She took the flight path from Stormwind to Sentinel Hill. There was no ongoing invasion at the time, so she was able to wander about and even practice her bow and let her cat Tazzy run free. Such freedom! She thought of home, and how much see missed seeing the countryside. She knew her duty, though, and took her responsibilities seriously. On the next pass of the demon ships, Chaitee joined the fighters in protecting her homeland. Chaitee fought the demons, raising her level from 21 to 23! She's too young to compare gear levels, but at least she could take pride in the gear she does have, and the level of her best stat, Agility, which is at level 85.
Her worth in battle was proven when she earned two level 28 gear pieces, gloves and helm. The proud additions improved her agility score to 94. Congratulations, Chaitee!
How Invasions Work - Dissecting the Process of Defending the Realm from Demons
To start with, invasions only occur on Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth. There are no invasions on Draenor, Northrend, Pandaria, or the Broken Isles (although I expect attacks on the Broken Isles once Legion launches).
In the Eastern Kingdoms invasions happen in Dun Morogh (Kharanos), Elwyn Forest (Sentinel Hill), and Hills Brad Foothills (Tarren Mills). In Kalimdor invasions occur in Tanaris (Gadgetzahn), Northern Barrens (The Crossroads), and outside the Northen gate of Orgrimmar.
As far as how many invasions there are, it is almost limitless. Invasions form as soon as enough players show up in the invasion zones. I've parked toons in the same place and rotated them (you can't do the same invasion back to back, but you can alternate toons). I can usually get three invasions in until I ran out of invasions at that spot. There are a few periods where one or both continents have no invasions in progress, but I can't tell if this is planned or just random.
Every invasion follows the same pattern. The attackers include low level demons and higher level elite demons relatively easy to kill. Stage 2 includes more of the same with more dangerous elite demons. Stage three includes at least two major elite demons, maybe three, I start to lose count after awhile. Then the REALLY NASTY elites arive, usually one or two. Note that there is always a large throng of players at these invasions, and in general as a group we can survive most of these attacks. The REALLY NASTY elites are a different story. Expect to die A LOT during those battles. Expect the cost of fixing gear to run into the thousands of gold. Seriously. I believe Blizz uses this as one of the games gold dumps. When was the last time you even thought about fixing gear?
Now, some do it the easy way. They park their toon at an invasion site and leave. They come back later, find their corpse, and take the spoils, which is always one small and one large box. Yes, you don't have to do anything but stand around if you want. But its faster to kill things.
Leveling gear is not a science. Raising overall gear scores depends on the size of the upgrade. The gear is a random drop, which can be very frustrating. Rakta was pinned down for quite awhile because she had an i615 wrist that the gods refused to upgrade. When she finally won an i700 wrist she jumped six levels. Weapon gear upgrades using coalesced fels takes as many as three upgrades to win one level, but they're worth it for the added weapon stats.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Keeping Track (Saturday/Sunday)
Keeping Track (Saturday/Sunday)
Follow Along as the Gear Wheels Turn . . .
(#1) - Jocy (i700) --> i703 [#1 Horde]
(#2) - Tiphaine (i689) --> i694 --> i698 --> i702 --> i703 [#1 Alliance]
(#3) - Keya (i695) --> i700 --> i701
(#4) - Java (i684) --> i690 --> i695 --> i696 --> i701 (no longer a kid)
Vs the Kids:
(#5) - Sista (i672) --> i678 --> i687 --> i688 --> i696 --> i699
(#6) - Rakta (i669) --> i672 --> i679 --> i690 --> i696
The Eastern Kingdom gets most of the attention for the invasions, primarily because most of the family are housed in Stormwind. Iron Forge in Dun Morogh is convenient since the invasions attack the nearby small town of Kharanos. Java and Rakta take turns and can do it several times a day.
No one seems to like Kalimdor. The Barrens and Azshara areas are mostly horde and its a pain to park anyone there. Ratchet is the defacto holding area. Sista and Keya keep getting pushed out there but they always wind their way back to Stormwind. So Sista is going to bed down in Ratchet. I'm thinking of leaving Keya in Tanaris since its so far south. Or maybe I have that backward. On the other hand, Tanaris is the worst place for an invasion. Keya and Sista both abandoned that spot.
Everyone is having a bad run with drops this weekend. There's enough useless i700 gear to arm every farmer in the Eastern Kingdoms (just don't let the peasants get wind of that).
PS - Only 9 more days until Legion launches. There might even be something new in Tuesday's maintenance. But I'll keep farming invasion nethershards for the Coalesced Fels to get weapon upgrades. Unless Sista and Rakta get very, very unlucky, they both should join the i700 club in a couple of days.
Follow Along as the Gear Wheels Turn . . .
(#1) - Jocy (i700) --> i703 [#1 Horde]
(#2) - Tiphaine (i689) --> i694 --> i698 --> i702 --> i703 [#1 Alliance]
(#3) - Keya (i695) --> i700 --> i701
(#4) - Java (i684) --> i690 --> i695 --> i696 --> i701 (no longer a kid)
Vs the Kids:
(#5) - Sista (i672) --> i678 --> i687 --> i688 --> i696 --> i699
(#6) - Rakta (i669) --> i672 --> i679 --> i690 --> i696
The Eastern Kingdom gets most of the attention for the invasions, primarily because most of the family are housed in Stormwind. Iron Forge in Dun Morogh is convenient since the invasions attack the nearby small town of Kharanos. Java and Rakta take turns and can do it several times a day.
No one seems to like Kalimdor. The Barrens and Azshara areas are mostly horde and its a pain to park anyone there. Ratchet is the defacto holding area. Sista and Keya keep getting pushed out there but they always wind their way back to Stormwind. So Sista is going to bed down in Ratchet. I'm thinking of leaving Keya in Tanaris since its so far south. Or maybe I have that backward. On the other hand, Tanaris is the worst place for an invasion. Keya and Sista both abandoned that spot.
Everyone is having a bad run with drops this weekend. There's enough useless i700 gear to arm every farmer in the Eastern Kingdoms (just don't let the peasants get wind of that).
PS - Only 9 more days until Legion launches. There might even be something new in Tuesday's maintenance. But I'll keep farming invasion nethershards for the Coalesced Fels to get weapon upgrades. Unless Sista and Rakta get very, very unlucky, they both should join the i700 club in a couple of days.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Letting the Kids Play
Letting the Kids Play
Tiphaine, Jocy, and Keya stepped aside to see how the kids do. All three have been through the Legion scenario to prepare for the Broken Isles. Now we get to see how they do under heavy combat in the invasions.
They started like so:
Javajoo
Gear Progression: (i653) --> i672 --> i684
Notes: Started with 3 pieces of gear under i600 (yuk!). Java doesn't have enough nethershards to buy even one bandage. Well . . . So she died a lot. All that massive armor protecting her through the Tanaan Jungle was like paper against these demon invaders. Picked up Fel Hacker, an i700 one hander she can upgrade to i725 (eventually). She'll be using her old i705 weapon until then.
Rakta
Gear Progression: (i655) --> i669
Notes: Began with NINE pieces of Oathsworn gear (i640 boosted gear, vomit!). Her battles were, well, short. Getting into melee range usually meant death against the special elites. Yea, she's a warrior. So? Don't they, well, sort of HAVE to be in melee range? Rakta changed the subject.
Sistaphillia
Gear Progression: (i670) --> i672
Notes: Not much to show for the effort. She did get a third Glaive and its account bound.
Note: The family recently discovered Captive Wyrmtongue, a vendor who sells gear for
nethershards. Necks, cloaks, rings, trinkets, just the things the family needs.
A reminder of who leads this race to the top gear:
(#1) - Jocy (i700)
(#2) - Keya (i695) --> i700
(#3) - Tiphaine (i689) --> i694 --> i698
Vs the Kids:
(#4) - Java (i684) --> i690
(#5) - Sista (i672) --> i678 --> i687
(#6) - Rakta (i669) --> i672 --> i679
Tiphaine, Jocy, and Keya stepped aside to see how the kids do. All three have been through the Legion scenario to prepare for the Broken Isles. Now we get to see how they do under heavy combat in the invasions.
They started like so:
Javajoo
Gear Progression: (i653) --> i672 --> i684
Notes: Started with 3 pieces of gear under i600 (yuk!). Java doesn't have enough nethershards to buy even one bandage. Well . . . So she died a lot. All that massive armor protecting her through the Tanaan Jungle was like paper against these demon invaders. Picked up Fel Hacker, an i700 one hander she can upgrade to i725 (eventually). She'll be using her old i705 weapon until then.
Rakta
Gear Progression: (i655) --> i669
Notes: Began with NINE pieces of Oathsworn gear (i640 boosted gear, vomit!). Her battles were, well, short. Getting into melee range usually meant death against the special elites. Yea, she's a warrior. So? Don't they, well, sort of HAVE to be in melee range? Rakta changed the subject.
Sistaphillia
Gear Progression: (i670) --> i672
Notes: Not much to show for the effort. She did get a third Glaive and its account bound.
Note: The family recently discovered Captive Wyrmtongue, a vendor who sells gear for
nethershards. Necks, cloaks, rings, trinkets, just the things the family needs.
A reminder of who leads this race to the top gear:
(#1) - Jocy (i700)
(#2) - Keya (i695) --> i700
(#3) - Tiphaine (i689) --> i694 --> i698
Vs the Kids:
(#4) - Java (i684) --> i690
(#5) - Sista (i672) --> i678 --> i687
(#6) - Rakta (i669) --> i672 --> i679
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Jocelyne Preens, Challenges Tiphaine
Jocelyne Preens, Challenges Tiphaine
In the latest invasion battle in the Northern Barrens Jocy reached a singular goal unmet by any family member, horde or alliance. Jocy reached gear level i700.
Tiphaine made an elaborate shrug, pointing out that Jocy had no competitors for time, hoarding every invasion until, by pure chance, she reached a goal that would be inevitable in a couple of weeks anyway.
"Jealous much?" Jocy quipped. Tiphaine is at i689, 11 levels short of Jocy's triumph. Keya brings i691 gear to the party, aided in large part by her initial demon hunting training.
Poking fun at Keya now, Jocy brandished her steelforged one-handed weapon and trusted shield, laughing that despite Keya's two shields and six blades, Jocy's one blade and single shield were more than a match against her. Jocy made wild motions in the air, mimicking Keya's demon hunter manuevers.
One wonders which irks Tiphaine the most - being behind her horde rival, Jocy, or watching the young kid Keya surpass her.
The invasions continue almost 24-7. Jocy, Tiphaine, and Keya are the main players. Sure, the others would like some action, but these three are going to be first into the breach come Legion, and they want to be as ready as possible.
Keya has a special advantage in the hunt. She can use the Coalesced Fels that she gains to upgrade her glaives. Only demon hunters can do this, since only demon hunters have access to Legion gear. She's also incredibly lucky - she got not one, but two very rare i710 gear drops instead of the almost always i700, and she could equip both. So Keya can claim i795 gear now. She'd better be a little more careful when waving those blades around, though. She was pretty embarrased when she accidentally attacked a horde player while battling a demon outside Orgrimmar. I don't think the horde player noticed in all the fighting, but she could see the PvP flag. At least no one came after her.
Okay, so it's not all going Keya's way. Her leatherworking still sucks. Raw beast leather is very expensive. Keya farmed it for a few hours in Nagrand. It was BORING.
Can you guess where this is?
In the latest invasion battle in the Northern Barrens Jocy reached a singular goal unmet by any family member, horde or alliance. Jocy reached gear level i700.
Tiphaine made an elaborate shrug, pointing out that Jocy had no competitors for time, hoarding every invasion until, by pure chance, she reached a goal that would be inevitable in a couple of weeks anyway.
"Jealous much?" Jocy quipped. Tiphaine is at i689, 11 levels short of Jocy's triumph. Keya brings i691 gear to the party, aided in large part by her initial demon hunting training.
Poking fun at Keya now, Jocy brandished her steelforged one-handed weapon and trusted shield, laughing that despite Keya's two shields and six blades, Jocy's one blade and single shield were more than a match against her. Jocy made wild motions in the air, mimicking Keya's demon hunter manuevers.
One wonders which irks Tiphaine the most - being behind her horde rival, Jocy, or watching the young kid Keya surpass her.
The invasions continue almost 24-7. Jocy, Tiphaine, and Keya are the main players. Sure, the others would like some action, but these three are going to be first into the breach come Legion, and they want to be as ready as possible.
Keya has a special advantage in the hunt. She can use the Coalesced Fels that she gains to upgrade her glaives. Only demon hunters can do this, since only demon hunters have access to Legion gear. She's also incredibly lucky - she got not one, but two very rare i710 gear drops instead of the almost always i700, and she could equip both. So Keya can claim i795 gear now. She'd better be a little more careful when waving those blades around, though. She was pretty embarrased when she accidentally attacked a horde player while battling a demon outside Orgrimmar. I don't think the horde player noticed in all the fighting, but she could see the PvP flag. At least no one came after her.
Okay, so it's not all going Keya's way. Her leatherworking still sucks. Raw beast leather is very expensive. Keya farmed it for a few hours in Nagrand. It was BORING.
 | |
| Keya and "Friend" |
Can you guess where this is?
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Tiphaine Muscles In
But pictures first. I found a spot to take some demon hunter pics, courtesy of Keya. The first three show Keya with her glaives strapped across her back. In the second pic she is reaching to pull the glaives over her head and into her hands. In the third pic she is carrying the glaives in her hands. The fourth pic shows her mounted on her felsabre.
Tiphaine (i680) has been overtaken by both Jocy and Keya in the gear department. This morning she decided to do something about it. Her first assault was at Sentinel Hill. Stupid me forgot to take a pic of the elite, but he knew the name: Krosus. She did get two upgrades, raising her gear level to i685. Another fact that pleased Tiphaine is that in the battle with Krosus she came in third in DPS. First time I can recall in these battles that any family member made it into the top five DPSers against these elites.
Tiphaine then embarked on a new journey, the first of any in the family. Appropriate, she would say. All of the family are used to seeing the talking heads popping up periodically in game, usually at the wrong moments. This time it was Khadgar asking Tiphaine to help him out in getting support to allow the Horde into Dalaran. And guess what? Dalaran is located over Karazahn now! Khadgar takes Tiphaine for a walk through the past of Karazhan. We did a little exploring, killed a few mobs, and then he returned her to Dalaran. The city is in conflict, and enemy mobs run rampart in the streets. The bank is open, but there is no one manning the booths. At least the Alliance sanctuary, A Hero's Rest, is still in business. Unfortunately, Krasus Landing is occupied by a really, really nasty elite. No flight path available. I am really getting excited about Legion. And I'd better pay more attention when a talking head pops up.
Mahakeya Doubles up on Glaives
Mahakeya Doubles up on Glaives
Keya has been stalking elites at invasion sites since the moment she was released from her starting zone. She's lost track of how many invasions she's participated in or even the names of the elite monstrosities that stalk her in turn. Keya and Jocy, too, need to start taking the names and grabbing a photo of these bad guys for future posterity, although that could be a challenge given the mad frenzy of an invasion.
Keya's single-minded pursuit of these invasion monsters and the swag that can come with them has borne fruit for her. So far the most prized goodies from the invasions are the boxes of (usually) level i700 gear. There are large and small boxes, and can include every type of gear except for cloaks, necklaces, and rings. The most sought after item is Glaive of the Fallen, an i700 weapon that can be upgraded in six stages to i725. Additionally, Coalesced Fel (another rare drop) can be also be used to upgrade gear.
Keya has been very blessed with superior demon hunter gear. Both of her i700 blades are Glaive of the Fallen, and she's been able to upgrade one of them by Coalesced Fel to i710. I was going to include some pictures of Keya in her gear and her very cool ground mount. The black and silver coloring of the gear is truly awesome, but it doesn't come out looking very good in pictures. I'll try to find a location where it can be viewed in the best light.
On the "how could I forget" side with Keya, I totally forgot that she is a brand new toon. She hasn't even been invited into the guild! She tried to access the guild bank yesterday and no go. She had to plead with Chaitee to give her some bags for her bank, which Keya had never visited. That's too bad, too, because the guild couldn't take any credit for all the work Keya has done. Some time when we're both in game I'd like to get Mahakeya into the guild.
Keya decided her best bet to get her leatherworking profession going is to cross over into Draenor. She did that through the Blasted Lands portal, completed the scenario and now has an "outpost" in Shadowmoon Valley. The site is not yet fully a garrison, but it gave her access to Draenor and to Ashran. Keya has been out skinning but has yet to get the Leatherworking scroll she needs to do any speed crafting. It's frustrating that she remains stymied even after going to all this work to establish a base in Draneor.
Cool Note: Keya can one shot just about anything she encounters in Draenor. Elites too? Yes, two or three hits and they're toast. In some of the large conflicts where elites roam Keya was a hero, slamming down elites to help other players get their quests done quickly. She is running quests out of the Lion's Den in Tanaan because she still needs to get upgrades for gear she can't get through the invasions.
Cool Note #2: Keya helped eight (eight!) players finish the Rumble in the Jungle last night. Keya herself still hasn't finished the Rumble, though. She still needs to kill the first boss, which she can solo, but I don't know what to do to "turn on" the match.
So much fun right now! Keya better enjoy it while it lasts.
Keya has been stalking elites at invasion sites since the moment she was released from her starting zone. She's lost track of how many invasions she's participated in or even the names of the elite monstrosities that stalk her in turn. Keya and Jocy, too, need to start taking the names and grabbing a photo of these bad guys for future posterity, although that could be a challenge given the mad frenzy of an invasion.
Keya's single-minded pursuit of these invasion monsters and the swag that can come with them has borne fruit for her. So far the most prized goodies from the invasions are the boxes of (usually) level i700 gear. There are large and small boxes, and can include every type of gear except for cloaks, necklaces, and rings. The most sought after item is Glaive of the Fallen, an i700 weapon that can be upgraded in six stages to i725. Additionally, Coalesced Fel (another rare drop) can be also be used to upgrade gear.
Keya has been very blessed with superior demon hunter gear. Both of her i700 blades are Glaive of the Fallen, and she's been able to upgrade one of them by Coalesced Fel to i710. I was going to include some pictures of Keya in her gear and her very cool ground mount. The black and silver coloring of the gear is truly awesome, but it doesn't come out looking very good in pictures. I'll try to find a location where it can be viewed in the best light.
On the "how could I forget" side with Keya, I totally forgot that she is a brand new toon. She hasn't even been invited into the guild! She tried to access the guild bank yesterday and no go. She had to plead with Chaitee to give her some bags for her bank, which Keya had never visited. That's too bad, too, because the guild couldn't take any credit for all the work Keya has done. Some time when we're both in game I'd like to get Mahakeya into the guild.
Keya decided her best bet to get her leatherworking profession going is to cross over into Draenor. She did that through the Blasted Lands portal, completed the scenario and now has an "outpost" in Shadowmoon Valley. The site is not yet fully a garrison, but it gave her access to Draenor and to Ashran. Keya has been out skinning but has yet to get the Leatherworking scroll she needs to do any speed crafting. It's frustrating that she remains stymied even after going to all this work to establish a base in Draneor.
Cool Note: Keya can one shot just about anything she encounters in Draenor. Elites too? Yes, two or three hits and they're toast. In some of the large conflicts where elites roam Keya was a hero, slamming down elites to help other players get their quests done quickly. She is running quests out of the Lion's Den in Tanaan because she still needs to get upgrades for gear she can't get through the invasions.
Cool Note #2: Keya helped eight (eight!) players finish the Rumble in the Jungle last night. Keya herself still hasn't finished the Rumble, though. She still needs to kill the first boss, which she can solo, but I don't know what to do to "turn on" the match.
So much fun right now! Keya better enjoy it while it lasts.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Opening the Broken Isles [Alliance]
Opening the Broken Isles [Alliance]
[The Autumn Green Tea Guild]
Tiphaine started the train to get access to the Broken Isles once Mahakeya (i688) and Jocelyne (i694) had made their own journeys. Tiphaine improved her gear from i674 to i680.
Next up came Java. She improved her gear from i646 to i653. Easy-peasey, was Java's only comment.
Rakta had to smile when she returned, having raised her gear level from i649 to i655, still ahead of Java. Java pretended she didn't care.
Sista sauntered in last, showing off her gear upgrades of i664 to i670. Jocy will have to lead her own group of horde family members through the invasion when I can get around to it.
The Invasion - It's hard to pick out special invasion moments when the same scenario is played out for each of the six family members who have successfully completed it. But there are a few.
One of the favorites - sort of - is the quest "The Call of War." This quest comes just after first the invasion. You find yourself on a ship in Stormwind drenched in blood from the battle. The king wants your presence at Stormwind Keep. You are offered a flying mount to take you there, but the quest states that it's "optional." It's not optional. If you get to the keep another way you can't complete the scenario. I tried. So just take the offered mount. Once there a cut scene begins with some endless babble that goes on and on and can't be interrupted. Eventually you'll fight a few demon hunters in the Keep (you only have to kill four and they're pushovers) and save the realm. Oh, and don't forget to close two demon gates (also easy). Only then can you escape the Keep, fly to the Mage Quarter (for no reason, since you do nothing there), and then fly to the Trade Quarter where you'll complete the quest, The Call of War. Now you can join the fight against the invaders and get swag along the way. The first time you finish all four stages of an invasion and kill the final boss, you win the achievement "Stand Against the Legion."
Another favorite is inside the invasion. Players entering the scenario quickly gather up and head out to find things to kill. There are also vehicles you can grab, although they go pretty fast. The scenario won't open until enough players sign up, but I always got an instant invite, there was no waiting at all, and there were always plenty of players. Don't worry about tank, DPS, healing roles. It's a free for all. And die all you want, you'll be instantly resurrected.
What I did like (minor spoiler) is the first time you encounter the demon army. Gul'dun stands in the center and makes a speech. Players take dares on who can get the closest to him. Ultimately, the bravest (or stupidest) takes one step too many - Puff! Player is turned to dust. Pretty funny. It's not so funny when that army starts the assault. There are three waves, and after surviving the first two the third looks impossible to defeat. It's a trick, though, the army melts away before engagement into a cutscene. After the first three times through I started leading the parties. Players are like lemmings. They stand around wondering what to do until someone takes off in a direction - a few start following, and then the rest figure it out and rush after. Thre's a spot where you can't go any further, held back by molten rock and a giant elite. Players try to bridge that in every manner they can think of. Can't be done, and many died attempting it. Eventually an ice bridge is created. Then you have to run through attacking meteors - those can kill, but in reality getting killed is the quickest since dying places you right where you are running to. Convenient.
Now it's back to Jocy and Mahakeya. Who will triumph as the baddest of the invasion fighters? That won't be decided now. Now, it's time to settle on a location for faster access to the invasions. Saving time getting to the invasions means more time to get gear drops and other goodies. Not to mention that killing demons is tiring work. Jocy decided to stop all the flying around and took up residence at The Crossroads in the Barrens. After all this time the Crossroads is now a hub of activity and warfare again. I think that's pretty cool.
It's off to bed for Jocy. 'night.
[The Autumn Green Tea Guild]
Tiphaine started the train to get access to the Broken Isles once Mahakeya (i688) and Jocelyne (i694) had made their own journeys. Tiphaine improved her gear from i674 to i680.
Next up came Java. She improved her gear from i646 to i653. Easy-peasey, was Java's only comment.
Rakta had to smile when she returned, having raised her gear level from i649 to i655, still ahead of Java. Java pretended she didn't care.
Sista sauntered in last, showing off her gear upgrades of i664 to i670. Jocy will have to lead her own group of horde family members through the invasion when I can get around to it.
The Invasion - It's hard to pick out special invasion moments when the same scenario is played out for each of the six family members who have successfully completed it. But there are a few.
One of the favorites - sort of - is the quest "The Call of War." This quest comes just after first the invasion. You find yourself on a ship in Stormwind drenched in blood from the battle. The king wants your presence at Stormwind Keep. You are offered a flying mount to take you there, but the quest states that it's "optional." It's not optional. If you get to the keep another way you can't complete the scenario. I tried. So just take the offered mount. Once there a cut scene begins with some endless babble that goes on and on and can't be interrupted. Eventually you'll fight a few demon hunters in the Keep (you only have to kill four and they're pushovers) and save the realm. Oh, and don't forget to close two demon gates (also easy). Only then can you escape the Keep, fly to the Mage Quarter (for no reason, since you do nothing there), and then fly to the Trade Quarter where you'll complete the quest, The Call of War. Now you can join the fight against the invaders and get swag along the way. The first time you finish all four stages of an invasion and kill the final boss, you win the achievement "Stand Against the Legion."
Another favorite is inside the invasion. Players entering the scenario quickly gather up and head out to find things to kill. There are also vehicles you can grab, although they go pretty fast. The scenario won't open until enough players sign up, but I always got an instant invite, there was no waiting at all, and there were always plenty of players. Don't worry about tank, DPS, healing roles. It's a free for all. And die all you want, you'll be instantly resurrected.
What I did like (minor spoiler) is the first time you encounter the demon army. Gul'dun stands in the center and makes a speech. Players take dares on who can get the closest to him. Ultimately, the bravest (or stupidest) takes one step too many - Puff! Player is turned to dust. Pretty funny. It's not so funny when that army starts the assault. There are three waves, and after surviving the first two the third looks impossible to defeat. It's a trick, though, the army melts away before engagement into a cutscene. After the first three times through I started leading the parties. Players are like lemmings. They stand around wondering what to do until someone takes off in a direction - a few start following, and then the rest figure it out and rush after. Thre's a spot where you can't go any further, held back by molten rock and a giant elite. Players try to bridge that in every manner they can think of. Can't be done, and many died attempting it. Eventually an ice bridge is created. Then you have to run through attacking meteors - those can kill, but in reality getting killed is the quickest since dying places you right where you are running to. Convenient.
Now it's back to Jocy and Mahakeya. Who will triumph as the baddest of the invasion fighters? That won't be decided now. Now, it's time to settle on a location for faster access to the invasions. Saving time getting to the invasions means more time to get gear drops and other goodies. Not to mention that killing demons is tiring work. Jocy decided to stop all the flying around and took up residence at The Crossroads in the Barrens. After all this time the Crossroads is now a hub of activity and warfare again. I think that's pretty cool.
It's off to bed for Jocy. 'night.
 | |
| Jocy Retires for the Night |
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Playing Out the String
Playing Out the String
Atttack on Stormwind: As part of the "fun" of the pre-Legion festivities are attacks in the Trade District and other areas by elite demons. Poor Chaitee was minding her business at the Auction House when a very large, fiery fellow squeezed through the AH door. The demon then proceeded to slaughter everyone inside.
In response, Keya made sure Chaitee found a safe place and then joined a number of people in the square. It wasn't long before another attack pounded the Trade District. Keya got a little too excited and drew aggro on one of the elites. It wasn't a fair fight, but Keya got the demon down to 26% before she got squashed. Fighting demons is costing her 50-100 gold in gear repairs each time she dies. Haven't seen that kind of gear damage since Wild's raiding days. Keya found a safer perch on the top of the AH building, along with a few other nervous, waiting combatants. Keya looked away for just a moment and an incoming demon knocked Keya down to 62% health with one blow. At least she didn't die.
However, most of the action now revolves around the invasions. All of Azeroth is being attacked, we are told. Not so. Attacks have been limited to the Eastern Kingdom and Kalimdor. Kalimdor has two invasion points, Northern Barrens and Tanaris. The Eastern Kingdom invasion targets are Dun Morogh and Hillsbrad Foothills.
These battles are laid out in stages, with a counter from 1-100% complete for each stage. Players come from all over and may be in differing stages. It can be a bit confusing if one thinks too hard. My rule of thumb is to kill everything you can to complete stages, kill any and all elites that show up, and make sure you tag the boss Demon elite that arrives shortly after stage four is done. Those bosses are tough, and dying is pretty common.
Small boxes and large boxes randomly appear in your bags. Mostly, this will be random gear from i700 to i715 (or higher, if real lucky). More rarely, is getting a demon hunter glaive. Keya has one. Keya has been in the field so many times she has six i700 dupicate gear she can't even use. Keya is at i688. She desperately needs a ring, necklace, and cape to replace those now out-dated i660 pieces. I don't think that gear drops from the invasions. At least none have dropped so far.
Jocy is also running invasions. She's at i694 and has no gear lower that i675. Jocy also got a decent goody, but can't equip it yet. The item is called a Coalesced Fel. It can be used to upgrade a Glaive to as high as i725. Jocy still has to win a Glaive to use the Fel. It's soulbound and can't be shared.
The Broken Isles Scenario: This is a long, battle filled scenario.Completing the main thread is important, of course, but there are a lot of other things to find while there. Keya did not take full advantage of all the interesting things she could gain in there. She plowed through the battles and happily got her achievements. Those things she forgot about can't be retrieved now. They are gone forever. My Advice: Take your time and fully explore before completing it. You can't go back.
Demon Hunter Disadvantage: Okay, it's not a major thing, but demon hunters face hurdles other players don't in regard to professions. Gathering professions don't have a problem, but all others do. Keya picked up Leatherworking (LW) in Stormwind. If she were in Draenor, she could easily level LW using her garrison and access to the trainer in Ashran. Keya isn't in Dranor. Keya can't go to Draenor, not unless she wants to do the whole Draenor scenario thing. She would have to set up enough of the garrison to get a hearthstone to get home with, and a flight path to Ashran. Non-demon hunters will already be at max 700 when the leveling to 800 starts. Keya has to level 1-800.
Atttack on Stormwind: As part of the "fun" of the pre-Legion festivities are attacks in the Trade District and other areas by elite demons. Poor Chaitee was minding her business at the Auction House when a very large, fiery fellow squeezed through the AH door. The demon then proceeded to slaughter everyone inside.
In response, Keya made sure Chaitee found a safe place and then joined a number of people in the square. It wasn't long before another attack pounded the Trade District. Keya got a little too excited and drew aggro on one of the elites. It wasn't a fair fight, but Keya got the demon down to 26% before she got squashed. Fighting demons is costing her 50-100 gold in gear repairs each time she dies. Haven't seen that kind of gear damage since Wild's raiding days. Keya found a safer perch on the top of the AH building, along with a few other nervous, waiting combatants. Keya looked away for just a moment and an incoming demon knocked Keya down to 62% health with one blow. At least she didn't die.
However, most of the action now revolves around the invasions. All of Azeroth is being attacked, we are told. Not so. Attacks have been limited to the Eastern Kingdom and Kalimdor. Kalimdor has two invasion points, Northern Barrens and Tanaris. The Eastern Kingdom invasion targets are Dun Morogh and Hillsbrad Foothills.
These battles are laid out in stages, with a counter from 1-100% complete for each stage. Players come from all over and may be in differing stages. It can be a bit confusing if one thinks too hard. My rule of thumb is to kill everything you can to complete stages, kill any and all elites that show up, and make sure you tag the boss Demon elite that arrives shortly after stage four is done. Those bosses are tough, and dying is pretty common.
Small boxes and large boxes randomly appear in your bags. Mostly, this will be random gear from i700 to i715 (or higher, if real lucky). More rarely, is getting a demon hunter glaive. Keya has one. Keya has been in the field so many times she has six i700 dupicate gear she can't even use. Keya is at i688. She desperately needs a ring, necklace, and cape to replace those now out-dated i660 pieces. I don't think that gear drops from the invasions. At least none have dropped so far.
Jocy is also running invasions. She's at i694 and has no gear lower that i675. Jocy also got a decent goody, but can't equip it yet. The item is called a Coalesced Fel. It can be used to upgrade a Glaive to as high as i725. Jocy still has to win a Glaive to use the Fel. It's soulbound and can't be shared.
The Broken Isles Scenario: This is a long, battle filled scenario.Completing the main thread is important, of course, but there are a lot of other things to find while there. Keya did not take full advantage of all the interesting things she could gain in there. She plowed through the battles and happily got her achievements. Those things she forgot about can't be retrieved now. They are gone forever. My Advice: Take your time and fully explore before completing it. You can't go back.
Demon Hunter Disadvantage: Okay, it's not a major thing, but demon hunters face hurdles other players don't in regard to professions. Gathering professions don't have a problem, but all others do. Keya picked up Leatherworking (LW) in Stormwind. If she were in Draenor, she could easily level LW using her garrison and access to the trainer in Ashran. Keya isn't in Dranor. Keya can't go to Draenor, not unless she wants to do the whole Draenor scenario thing. She would have to set up enough of the garrison to get a hearthstone to get home with, and a flight path to Ashran. Non-demon hunters will already be at max 700 when the leveling to 800 starts. Keya has to level 1-800.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Protect the Home Front
Protect the Home Front
Personal Note - I came down with laryngitis last Saturday. It was kind of funny at first. My voice was a mere rasp, but otherwise I had no other symptoms. However, by Sunday night I had a full fledged virus. The worst is the coughing, which never lets up and has shredded the back of my thoat. I'm getting less than three hours sleep a night. The worst is that I've been so sick I can only do very short forays into the game before the coughing fits take over.
One of those forays was this morning, when I managed to feel sane enough to attempt one of the demon attacks. It was in Hillsbrad, hell and gone from Stormwind, but Keya took flight to find it. She finally reached Tauren Mills, a horde town that meant those of the alliance persuasion had to fight horde and demons both. There weren't that many of us, but we were able to clear all but a single elite that seemed content to stay in the town forever. Keya died twice and watched as numerous others rushed in, died, and ran back to our corpses to try again. Eventually, we persevered, and won her first event, Protect the Home Front.
I have to admit the "winning" was the least satisfactory part of the event. I received 15 gold, and earned 12 nethershards. The nethershards can be used to buy healing potions and medical dressings. Keya needs to stock up on her medical needs. She also needs to spend more time practicing her spells and rotations. I'm still making adjustments. More to come . . . . excuse the coughing fit!
After recovering a bit, Jocelyne got some time to see how things work in the Horde world of Legion. The scenarios for both factions were fun to participate in. I think the Horde had the easier transition, a surprise (or not, if you're alliance). Anyway, Jocy walked away with very modest gear (since she was already well geared). She gained only one gear point, from i693 to i694.
Now time for another nap. As the saying goes, "It takes seven days to a week to get rid of a cold/virus." Sigh, this is only day five.
Personal Note - I came down with laryngitis last Saturday. It was kind of funny at first. My voice was a mere rasp, but otherwise I had no other symptoms. However, by Sunday night I had a full fledged virus. The worst is the coughing, which never lets up and has shredded the back of my thoat. I'm getting less than three hours sleep a night. The worst is that I've been so sick I can only do very short forays into the game before the coughing fits take over.
One of those forays was this morning, when I managed to feel sane enough to attempt one of the demon attacks. It was in Hillsbrad, hell and gone from Stormwind, but Keya took flight to find it. She finally reached Tauren Mills, a horde town that meant those of the alliance persuasion had to fight horde and demons both. There weren't that many of us, but we were able to clear all but a single elite that seemed content to stay in the town forever. Keya died twice and watched as numerous others rushed in, died, and ran back to our corpses to try again. Eventually, we persevered, and won her first event, Protect the Home Front.
I have to admit the "winning" was the least satisfactory part of the event. I received 15 gold, and earned 12 nethershards. The nethershards can be used to buy healing potions and medical dressings. Keya needs to stock up on her medical needs. She also needs to spend more time practicing her spells and rotations. I'm still making adjustments. More to come . . . . excuse the coughing fit!
After recovering a bit, Jocelyne got some time to see how things work in the Horde world of Legion. The scenarios for both factions were fun to participate in. I think the Horde had the easier transition, a surprise (or not, if you're alliance). Anyway, Jocy walked away with very modest gear (since she was already well geared). She gained only one gear point, from i693 to i694.
Now time for another nap. As the saying goes, "It takes seven days to a week to get rid of a cold/virus." Sigh, this is only day five.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Mahakeya - Demon Hunter
Mahakeya - Demon Hunter
Night Elf Mahakeya, aka "Keya," was transformed on this date. She chose her features carefully, anointed her skin with markings, and proudly displayed her fire-lit eyes, rejecting the selection of permanent masks.
She arrives at Mardum, the Shattered Abyss. She learns the basics of the class. Her great duel wielding blades seem too large and heavy at the start, but she quickly begins to learn and grow. The earliest training allows only Havoc spec for the DPSers. It is not until near the end of the training when Keya was allowed to select her spec, choosing Vengeance. Keya will need more practice and training on her own to become proficient, but the early results are looking good.
Keya owns up to two "wish I'd done that differently" miscues during her long, bloody encounters mostly wrapped in black skies and dark, dank underground tunnels and chambers. Her first was the first and only time she sacrificed herself on a particular quest that gave her the choice of sacrificing herself or another. She chose herself. It wasn't a trick, but it was a trial. There was no saving grace, and she died. Tiphaine, who had faced a worse choice in her training to be a death knight, at least understood, if not approving her choice. As for Keya, she took that lesson to heart. No pity in her future. Her second false step was very literal. She was near the end and needed to reach a rendezvous and the elevator in the Tomb of the Penitent that takes her to the surface. It was very dark, but Keya ran straight to it. Well, she would have - had the elevator been there. It wasn't, and it was a long, looong fall. Look before you leap. Getting to Level 99 came and went without noticing it much. Level 100 was worth a pat on the back. The finale was a bit of a letdown. There is a replay of the event in Stormwind when assassins invade the castle and attempt to kill the king. Remember that years old quest? Well, it was exactly the same, only with demon hunters killing the assassins.
That ends the training part. Keya is now a full fledged demon hunter.
Some comments: The demon hunter training took much less time to complete than the death knight training, with everything completed on the same day. The quests were less varied as well. Too many times we were killing the same kinds of demons in the same kinds of places. I didn't slow down to get all of the lore, so I might have missed some things.
I didn't know that Keya would have to pick a follower. She was given two choices - Kayn or Altruis. There are no advantages to which are picked. I chose Kayn purely because his name is short and easy to holler when he screws up. We don't actually get our follower (or whatever he'll be called) until later.
Anyone with modest gear can complete this without much trouble. Quests are pretty easy to decipher and the yellow quest arrows did a good job keeping Keya from getting lost. Keya's gear score now that she's finished is i679. No one in the alliance guild can touch that, which puts her high in the running for being first into Legion. That's not decided, yet. Horde Jocy did feel the need to point out that her gear level is i693. That may open a crack at giving the horde a shot at some point.
Finally, using our ordinary map, anyone (not just the demon hunters) can check the map to find where legion invasions are in progress, along with how much time is left. So, surprise! at least to me, everyone has a chance at the goodies in this in between time. Go kill some demons!
Night Elf Mahakeya, aka "Keya," was transformed on this date. She chose her features carefully, anointed her skin with markings, and proudly displayed her fire-lit eyes, rejecting the selection of permanent masks.
She arrives at Mardum, the Shattered Abyss. She learns the basics of the class. Her great duel wielding blades seem too large and heavy at the start, but she quickly begins to learn and grow. The earliest training allows only Havoc spec for the DPSers. It is not until near the end of the training when Keya was allowed to select her spec, choosing Vengeance. Keya will need more practice and training on her own to become proficient, but the early results are looking good.
Keya owns up to two "wish I'd done that differently" miscues during her long, bloody encounters mostly wrapped in black skies and dark, dank underground tunnels and chambers. Her first was the first and only time she sacrificed herself on a particular quest that gave her the choice of sacrificing herself or another. She chose herself. It wasn't a trick, but it was a trial. There was no saving grace, and she died. Tiphaine, who had faced a worse choice in her training to be a death knight, at least understood, if not approving her choice. As for Keya, she took that lesson to heart. No pity in her future. Her second false step was very literal. She was near the end and needed to reach a rendezvous and the elevator in the Tomb of the Penitent that takes her to the surface. It was very dark, but Keya ran straight to it. Well, she would have - had the elevator been there. It wasn't, and it was a long, looong fall. Look before you leap. Getting to Level 99 came and went without noticing it much. Level 100 was worth a pat on the back. The finale was a bit of a letdown. There is a replay of the event in Stormwind when assassins invade the castle and attempt to kill the king. Remember that years old quest? Well, it was exactly the same, only with demon hunters killing the assassins.
That ends the training part. Keya is now a full fledged demon hunter.
Some comments: The demon hunter training took much less time to complete than the death knight training, with everything completed on the same day. The quests were less varied as well. Too many times we were killing the same kinds of demons in the same kinds of places. I didn't slow down to get all of the lore, so I might have missed some things.
I didn't know that Keya would have to pick a follower. She was given two choices - Kayn or Altruis. There are no advantages to which are picked. I chose Kayn purely because his name is short and easy to holler when he screws up. We don't actually get our follower (or whatever he'll be called) until later.
Anyone with modest gear can complete this without much trouble. Quests are pretty easy to decipher and the yellow quest arrows did a good job keeping Keya from getting lost. Keya's gear score now that she's finished is i679. No one in the alliance guild can touch that, which puts her high in the running for being first into Legion. That's not decided, yet. Horde Jocy did feel the need to point out that her gear level is i693. That may open a crack at giving the horde a shot at some point.
Finally, using our ordinary map, anyone (not just the demon hunters) can check the map to find where legion invasions are in progress, along with how much time is left. So, surprise! at least to me, everyone has a chance at the goodies in this in between time. Go kill some demons!
Friday, August 5, 2016
Running Out of Things to Do
Running Out of Things to Do
Rakta finally got her gear, spells, and rotation straightened out. Mostly. Turns out she was missing a key quest and needed about a half hour of work crafting potions and learning more recipes before she finally won her Potion Master title.
Sista has taken to calling Rakta "Baby," now that she's at the bottom of the gear competition. Java ignored them both and completed her profession leveling. Mining and Herbalism are both at max level 700 now.
Keya waits. Four more days. Her spot in the family tree is now visible on the character list. It's greyed out, but it's there - Demon Hunter, it reads.
For two days running, Blizzard has scrambled my login. I get this error message: "Looks like there's a problem with your game." It then begins a scan which took about twenty minutes. The good news is that both times it cleared up whatever was wrong and I can login. I hope this is just part of the process of getting Legion ready and not a problem on my end.
Auction House Update: The maker of Auctioneer is actively working on getting the addon ready for Legion. The developers want to fix it once, not multiple times, so I suspect they'll wait until they have all the information they need (and stable Blizz coding) before deploying a product. In a strange way, not having Auctioneer is a blessing. An astounding number of folks can't navigate the simple math required to compare prices. Take embersilk cloth, for example. A stack of 20 cloth is posted for 24 gold, which breaks down to just a little over 1 gold per piece. Scroll down a bit and Chaitee finds stacks of 20 cloth with sell prices of 199 gold. That's 10 gold apiece, if one bothers to do the math. Some don't, and Chaitee sells a few every day. Chaitee also commissioned five high end steelforged gear for sale. That was a risk, given the investment it takes to craft them and the fact they'll be useless once Legion launches. Still, Chaitee has sold four of the five, all at prices over 10k each.
Guild Alert! Rakta is gone, slipping out during the night and failing to come to a guild meeting in the morning. Calls to her garrison went unanswered. Rakta's Garrison guards refused entrance, warning that any attemtpt to force entry would be met with equal vigor. Flyovers, staying carefully out of ranged weapons, were able to determine that the barracks appeared empty.
"Nobody is going to call me "Baby," Rakta rumbled to herself. She adjusted the straps on her armor. "Too many jelly donuts." The heavy gear still chaffed, but then, just about everything pinched, squeezed, pricked or gouged her when she moved. Her bodyguard, Delvar Ironfist, let her be, standing at her left side and keeping watch.
Rakta sighed. She wasn't happy with her spell rotation, and the practice dummy wasn't much help. She knew how out of practice she was. She just refused to admit it to her sister, or to Tiphaine. Just have to work it out herself. The Lion's Den was still where she left it and the tasks at hand were waiting for her as well. Might as well get to it.
The old grind came back, but slowly, and she took too much punishment, her bodyguard unable to fend off the many attackers. Panting with exertion, see needed breaks to regain health and take a breath. She got no breaks from her gear drops, but she didn't feel like she deserved them anyway. Five baleful pieces came her way (but three of them were the same belt, sigh), and she bought a fourth from her haul of apexis crystals. Already in trouble for skipping off to the Tanaan Jungle without permission, she returned with very little to show for her efforts.
Still, Rakta had a foolish grin on her face when Tiphaine confronted her. "What shall I do with you?" She asked, shifting her two-hander back and forth between her hands.
Rakta's grin widened. "Tell Java she's now the Baby."
Rakta began her run with i644 gear - and finished at i649. Java's gear is only i646. "Tag, Java, you're it, Baby!"
Rakta finally got her gear, spells, and rotation straightened out. Mostly. Turns out she was missing a key quest and needed about a half hour of work crafting potions and learning more recipes before she finally won her Potion Master title.
Sista has taken to calling Rakta "Baby," now that she's at the bottom of the gear competition. Java ignored them both and completed her profession leveling. Mining and Herbalism are both at max level 700 now.
Keya waits. Four more days. Her spot in the family tree is now visible on the character list. It's greyed out, but it's there - Demon Hunter, it reads.
For two days running, Blizzard has scrambled my login. I get this error message: "Looks like there's a problem with your game." It then begins a scan which took about twenty minutes. The good news is that both times it cleared up whatever was wrong and I can login. I hope this is just part of the process of getting Legion ready and not a problem on my end.
Auction House Update: The maker of Auctioneer is actively working on getting the addon ready for Legion. The developers want to fix it once, not multiple times, so I suspect they'll wait until they have all the information they need (and stable Blizz coding) before deploying a product. In a strange way, not having Auctioneer is a blessing. An astounding number of folks can't navigate the simple math required to compare prices. Take embersilk cloth, for example. A stack of 20 cloth is posted for 24 gold, which breaks down to just a little over 1 gold per piece. Scroll down a bit and Chaitee finds stacks of 20 cloth with sell prices of 199 gold. That's 10 gold apiece, if one bothers to do the math. Some don't, and Chaitee sells a few every day. Chaitee also commissioned five high end steelforged gear for sale. That was a risk, given the investment it takes to craft them and the fact they'll be useless once Legion launches. Still, Chaitee has sold four of the five, all at prices over 10k each.
Guild Alert! Rakta is gone, slipping out during the night and failing to come to a guild meeting in the morning. Calls to her garrison went unanswered. Rakta's Garrison guards refused entrance, warning that any attemtpt to force entry would be met with equal vigor. Flyovers, staying carefully out of ranged weapons, were able to determine that the barracks appeared empty.
"Nobody is going to call me "Baby," Rakta rumbled to herself. She adjusted the straps on her armor. "Too many jelly donuts." The heavy gear still chaffed, but then, just about everything pinched, squeezed, pricked or gouged her when she moved. Her bodyguard, Delvar Ironfist, let her be, standing at her left side and keeping watch.
Rakta sighed. She wasn't happy with her spell rotation, and the practice dummy wasn't much help. She knew how out of practice she was. She just refused to admit it to her sister, or to Tiphaine. Just have to work it out herself. The Lion's Den was still where she left it and the tasks at hand were waiting for her as well. Might as well get to it.
The old grind came back, but slowly, and she took too much punishment, her bodyguard unable to fend off the many attackers. Panting with exertion, see needed breaks to regain health and take a breath. She got no breaks from her gear drops, but she didn't feel like she deserved them anyway. Five baleful pieces came her way (but three of them were the same belt, sigh), and she bought a fourth from her haul of apexis crystals. Already in trouble for skipping off to the Tanaan Jungle without permission, she returned with very little to show for her efforts.
Still, Rakta had a foolish grin on her face when Tiphaine confronted her. "What shall I do with you?" She asked, shifting her two-hander back and forth between her hands.
Rakta's grin widened. "Tell Java she's now the Baby."
Rakta began her run with i644 gear - and finished at i649. Java's gear is only i646. "Tag, Java, you're it, Baby!"
Monday, August 1, 2016
The Countdown: Preparing for Legion Launch
The Countdown: Preparing for Legion Launch
Players who pre-purchased Legion (that would be me) get a 21 day head start on their demon hunter. The release is on 9 August. Well before the full release on 30 August, new demon hunters should have completed their training at level 98, leveled up to 100, and joined in the initial invasion of Azeroth. This is how it will start:
Demons will fall from the sky in random areas. There are four stages. Get there as fast as you can to defend Azeroth. Loot from these stages include nethershards and a chest (sometimes).
The battles get progressively worse. There are two achievements available: (1) Stand Against the Legion achievement is awarded for completing one invasion. (2) Defender of Azeroth: Legion Invasions is awarded for completing invasions in all six locations. I assume that a similar event will occur on the actual launch.
Nethershards can be spent on transmog armor, a battle pet, and other swag, such as a new toy called a Pocket Fel Spreader. Blizz is being coy about what this is, but it can only be obtained during the invasion. In addition, 16 rare i700 weapons have a chance of dropping from a chest.
So, what's in it for the Autumn Tea Green Guild? Doesn't everyone have an i700+ weapon by now? Well, yes, all except Rakta, who still uses an i675 weapon. The point, though, is that these weapons will be rare and valuable.
IMPORTANT Note: Assuming my demon hunter has completed her training and joined the family for the invasion, I will have to run this thing FIVE times, once for each character. Consider this - Completing the invasion with all five characters include running twenty stages and thirty location changes. I hope three weeks is long enough to get it done.
Preparing Professions: The higher our profession level the sooner we'll be farming Legion mats and the sooner I'll be crafting. The limit of equipping a max of three crafted items is gone. If it can be crafted, it can be equipped. Tiphaine, Sista, and Rakta have all their professions at the max 700. Java, however, hasn't yet reached 700 in mining and herbs. Demon Hunter Mahakeya ("Keya" for short) will have the farthest to go. She will have to level Skinning and Leatherworking from scratch, in competition with Java for time.
I am making an assumption that after the demon invasion Azeroth returns to more or less normal until the 30 Aug launch, aside from any other surprises Blizz probably has in store as the launch date draws closer. Still, Java and Keya should be able to work on their professions and the family can work on wrapping up any other loose ends. Note that there seems no need for Keya to start a garrison, but there are still many questions about how or if they will remain a factor. I believe things will stay in this between time - one foot in Draenor, the other poised to step into Legion.
Finally, for procrastinator's and those desperate to get last minute goals completed, here is a short list of things you might want to do because they will go away with launch if you don't get it completed by 30 August:
1) If you raid, get some anti-demon trinkets by killing bosses in Mythic dungeons.
2) The Grove Warden Mount is a rare and sought after mount that is so hard to get that a twitter hash tag has been set up to help players get the mount.
3) Get your Legendary Ring.
4) Do heroics, kill kazzak every week, sell pets and transmogs. Surprisingly, trash from your salvage crate could be a rare item treasured by the transmog folks.
5) For the Rich - Got 250,000 gold? In Legion Beta there is an i815 ring for sale at that price. This ring can be worn at level 101, granting a huge boost to the wearer in Legion. It also allows the wearer access to Dalaran every thirty minutes. We'll be coming and going from Dalaran a LOT. It's a stamina ring (+1,258) called "Empowered Ring of the Kirin Tor." When asked about the ring, Tiphaine just raised her eyebrows. Clearly, Tiphaine wasn't going to raid the gold coffers for a single ring. But that didn't stop the rumors that "someone" would get it.
Players who pre-purchased Legion (that would be me) get a 21 day head start on their demon hunter. The release is on 9 August. Well before the full release on 30 August, new demon hunters should have completed their training at level 98, leveled up to 100, and joined in the initial invasion of Azeroth. This is how it will start:
Demons will fall from the sky in random areas. There are four stages. Get there as fast as you can to defend Azeroth. Loot from these stages include nethershards and a chest (sometimes).
The battles get progressively worse. There are two achievements available: (1) Stand Against the Legion achievement is awarded for completing one invasion. (2) Defender of Azeroth: Legion Invasions is awarded for completing invasions in all six locations. I assume that a similar event will occur on the actual launch.
Nethershards can be spent on transmog armor, a battle pet, and other swag, such as a new toy called a Pocket Fel Spreader. Blizz is being coy about what this is, but it can only be obtained during the invasion. In addition, 16 rare i700 weapons have a chance of dropping from a chest.
So, what's in it for the Autumn Tea Green Guild? Doesn't everyone have an i700+ weapon by now? Well, yes, all except Rakta, who still uses an i675 weapon. The point, though, is that these weapons will be rare and valuable.
IMPORTANT Note: Assuming my demon hunter has completed her training and joined the family for the invasion, I will have to run this thing FIVE times, once for each character. Consider this - Completing the invasion with all five characters include running twenty stages and thirty location changes. I hope three weeks is long enough to get it done.
Preparing Professions: The higher our profession level the sooner we'll be farming Legion mats and the sooner I'll be crafting. The limit of equipping a max of three crafted items is gone. If it can be crafted, it can be equipped. Tiphaine, Sista, and Rakta have all their professions at the max 700. Java, however, hasn't yet reached 700 in mining and herbs. Demon Hunter Mahakeya ("Keya" for short) will have the farthest to go. She will have to level Skinning and Leatherworking from scratch, in competition with Java for time.
I am making an assumption that after the demon invasion Azeroth returns to more or less normal until the 30 Aug launch, aside from any other surprises Blizz probably has in store as the launch date draws closer. Still, Java and Keya should be able to work on their professions and the family can work on wrapping up any other loose ends. Note that there seems no need for Keya to start a garrison, but there are still many questions about how or if they will remain a factor. I believe things will stay in this between time - one foot in Draenor, the other poised to step into Legion.
Finally, for procrastinator's and those desperate to get last minute goals completed, here is a short list of things you might want to do because they will go away with launch if you don't get it completed by 30 August:
1) If you raid, get some anti-demon trinkets by killing bosses in Mythic dungeons.
2) The Grove Warden Mount is a rare and sought after mount that is so hard to get that a twitter hash tag has been set up to help players get the mount.
3) Get your Legendary Ring.
4) Do heroics, kill kazzak every week, sell pets and transmogs. Surprisingly, trash from your salvage crate could be a rare item treasured by the transmog folks.
5) For the Rich - Got 250,000 gold? In Legion Beta there is an i815 ring for sale at that price. This ring can be worn at level 101, granting a huge boost to the wearer in Legion. It also allows the wearer access to Dalaran every thirty minutes. We'll be coming and going from Dalaran a LOT. It's a stamina ring (+1,258) called "Empowered Ring of the Kirin Tor." When asked about the ring, Tiphaine just raised her eyebrows. Clearly, Tiphaine wasn't going to raid the gold coffers for a single ring. But that didn't stop the rumors that "someone" would get it.
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