Ups and Downs

Ups and Downs

It's been four days since the last post. Real life issues and game frustrations are getting snarled up with each other. Keep that in mind.

The major real life downer is our cat, Mr Creme. He's a gentle, easy going 17 year old and diabetic for many years without any serious problems. Two weeks ago he became unable to pass his stool. Bluntly, he can't poop. The cost so far has gone into four digits following an ultrasound that didn't gain us anything. He's gone from a healthy 13 pounder to 11 pounds in that time. Our vet has run out of things to try. Mr Creme is home now.We make him as comfortable as we can and he's still our affectionate cat. He'll let us know when he's ready to leave us.

Coddling the Children?

Quoted from Blizzard: "Early on in your journey to the Broken Isles, you’ll be able to freely choose among a number of zones that adapt to your character’s level: Azsuna, Highmountain, Stormheim, and Val’sharah. Whether you’re level 101 or 108, the quests, enemies, and drops in each of those four zones dynamically scale to your level, giving you the freedom to explore this mysterious new domain as you see fit. Each of these zones has a very different feel, with distinct factions to meet, fantastic stories to uncover, and experiences that you won’t soon forget."

The above cleared up for me why Keya and other toons have so little trouble defeating anything and everything around them - every encounter is scaled to match the character's level and capabilities. That must include elites as well, as Keya has won every battle so far. Honestly, that's pretty deflating. It's like, "Have fun, children, Mommy and Daddy won't let anything bad happen to you. Play nice with your safe toys."
    I enjoy the prospect of gathering gear and pushing the limits of what I can accomplish while leveling. Keya even stuck her head into the Suramar zone, which is all level 110 and not scaled like the other four zones. I've always looked forward to tackling increasingly difficult zones and beating them. On the Broken Isles, that doesn't exist. Keya has begun further leveling in a new zone, Highmountain, and is now Level 104. I will enjoy the journey and gather my goodies, but frankly, the thrill of victory seems kind of hollow.

On the positive side, Keya picked up two more followers, doubling her prior number. That should speed up the order hall missions a bit. I do like playing a demon hunter. Everything she does is flashy and in your face. She's still struggling with her leatherworking, though, and still hasn't made her basic "Rough Rawhide Mask." Guess I'll have to actually read the directions instead of trying to figure it out. Keya is also conflicted because many of her potential kills are docile creatures, including horses, and she'd rather her targets be things that can fight back.

It hasn't been much of an issue, yet, but Keya remains puzzled about how artifacts work. The ones that provide AP are straightforward, but the other pieces are completely baffling.
Keya's equipped artifacts are Tormented Souls, Internal Force, Soul Carver, and Shatter the Souls. They all have ranks (generally from 1-3) that can be bought with APs. She also has three artifacts that she can't equip yet: Rock Fired Ore, Shel'nir Sproutling, and Manathirsty Focus. Just guessing, I think some of these can't be added because there must be a link to another artifact already in place. However, there is one artifact that does go next to another equipped one, but I can't add it to the weapon. I guess I'll eventually figure it out. Keya's gear level is now i726. I'm not sure what the max gear level is. However, on the auction house I see gear for sale as high as i850. The cost to buy ONE set would empty the guild's entire treasury.

Things to remember: (1) Don't forget to check the Scouting Map (it's the THIRD tab on the mission table; (2) Try to remember what level you need to be on while at the Fel Hammer; the crazy quilt multi-layered chambers in such a small space is just ridiculous; (3) Plan your trips between the Broken Isles, Dalaran, and the Fel Hammer to coincide with portal availability (I lose track of how many times I had to wait around to get an available portal); (4) Someone please shut Layne up about wanting me to change artifact weapons. Keya is Vengeance! And doesn't want to learn Havoc. Stop bugging her about it!