Keya's Dungeon Run (Sort of)
It's Saturday morning and Keya is already on the move. Legion invasions have begun in Highmountain. The whole mountain seems to be alive with Legion soldiers and their beasts. Keya fought demons almost solo in the early battles, and she seemed to be at the forefront of those battles. With every eruption from the Legion, Keya was there, tagging and killing the elites and clearing quests. Sometimes solo, sometimes with two or three following the same path, there was never a lack of targets to take down. Keya has to admit that the caliber of elites we were fighting wasn't scaring anyone. Keya could solo them relatively easily, it just took her a little longer to bring them down.
Having nearly cleared entire mountains of Legion demons, Keya found herself alone on a high snow bank. Below was a deep depression of hard packed snow. At the center of the depression was a fearsome elite, "Drugon the Frostblood." This beast was no simple elite, it was among the higher caliber of Legion elites.
Drugon is a Level ?? Boss, one of only eleven World Bosses in Legion. It waited, a trap ready to be sprung. Keya was determined to pit herself against this boss. She made herself be patient, and eventually a second player arrived. Now there were two of us waiting to see what would develop. Others arrived. We were five. No one seemed to want to start the thing. Keya shrugged to herself. She is "sort of" a tank. Well, since no one said anything and no one moved, Keya decided to try her luck. What's the worst that can happen? She dies in an embarrassing way?
She went for it. Keya started the battle, and it was pure hell. But Keya acquitted herself well, and in the early going Keya kept pace with the monster, keeping it locked on her while others pounded it with DPS. This was no quick kill, either. The battle raged, and Keya had to start using up her save me spells. Keya also had to go on the move, the monster still locked on her, avoiding the attacks and trying to stay behind the monstrous thing and away from the tree sized club it wielded. Keya hoped there was a healer among the group of players, but she got almost no relief. Twice Keya saw she'd received small heal spells, but if there were any other help out there they had their own hands full keeping themselves alive.
The fight went on so long Keya used her Fiery Brand FOUR times (each have a one minute reset). It was the only thing keeping her alive by then, but that minute wait between casts was deadly to her.
Keya died. Drugon died less than two minutes later.
Keya got no credit for the kill.
But Keya knows what she accomplished. She took on a Boss elite and very nearly killed it.
For the sake of accuracy, Keya also has a small confession to make. Keya entered the fight without a single health potion or other means of gaining instant health. For the lack of a health potion, Keya might have remained in the battle for those last two minutes, and, perhaps, gotten credit for the kill.
Keya refused to give up, however. Instead, she got mad. She flew to Skyhorn. She contacted Chaitee and had potions and elixirs flown out to her. Keya went back to Drugan. It was still there, waiting for new blood to spill. She waited for others to come. It took awhile. Several came and went, refusing to stick around. Eventually, though, there were five of us. Two DPS, a hunter and a warrior, Keya, acting as the tank, and a healer! In addition, Keya now had her health potions. This group was better organized, too. "I'm going in," Keya advised those circling Drugan. No one objected, and Keya went to work.
The battle took an hour. Okay, it only seemed that long. It took at least five minutes, though. Keya cast Fiery Brand six times. Even with a healer, who had to keep himself alive, too, Keya needed and used his healing potion and made good use of Metamorphis for added health. This time we won.
Drugon the Frostblood, Level ?? CORPSE (Boss). Slain by Keya and company. So, not exactly a dungeon run, but it felt that way. Keya is feeling pretty good about herself.
With the success of the Highmountain invasion and her victory over the Boss elite, Keya felt different. Something had changed. She's always been the cautious type. She uses her underwater swimming form to reach most locations without fear of coming across things she hadn't accounted for. She favors the strike and retreat methods, a slower but more controllable combat. Her thirst for nethershards is becoming insatiable, however, and bolstered by her Boss success, she is becoming more reckless as well.
As the day grows longer Keya is strolling through the interior of the Broken Shores like she belongs there. She followed under the Sentinax and lofted beacons at it, slaughtering everything that poured out of the portal. A special portal caught her attention. Several players were waiting around. Why are we waiting? Keya asked herself. She entered the portal, killed the guards and then killed the elite that was inside.
Keya has 4,771 nethershards now. She needs 229 more to roll the dice with a relinquished token. When she gets to 5,000, she's hoping for a good roll on a trinket, currently an i855 with an expectation of at least an i880.
Keya got her 5,000 against a 112 level elite guard. It was a long slog, but Keya never wavered and the guard died. She originally tried the blubber girl elite. Keya had killed her once before. However, she appears to be bugged. She randomly resets her health and Keya finally had to walk away.
Keya went for a Trinket to replace her i855. Keya was anxious to see what level her new trinket would have. She rolled the dice. An 885! That's a 30 slot upgrade! Then it all fell apart. The trinket was not an agility trinket, or even a stamina one. It was a Versatility trinket. What . . . a . . . ripoff! The trinket that cost her 5,000 nethershards is useless. It dawned on her that every time she rolls those dice she might get versatility specs. That makes the chances of getting something truly valuable even harder. Keya is down to 102 nethershards.
Keya tries to be philosophical about it all. Random chance got her that i940 legendary. It was inevitable that chance would turn the other way sooner or later. The grinding will continue.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Black Market Fun
Black Market Fun
Keya had her reasons for entering the Underbelly. There were some things she thought might be found there, but the pickings were slim. A horde player was hanging around the auctioneer and stood so close to Keya it seemed to be on purpose. Keya finished her business, extricated herself from the group and left. On the way back out that same player decided to have his own fun. He attacked Keya.
Keya doesn't really "do" PvP, but she wasn't going to let the guy kill her without a fight. The guy must have thought she was an easy kill, ripping her down to half health in seconds. But then Keya's defenses and weaponry began revving up, she metamorphosed into demon form, and when that didn't dissuade the guy, she tagged him with Fiery Brand. The guy had to see that Keya was already back at 95% health, but he persisted. So Keya finished him and left his corpse smouldering on the Underbelly floor. Still tagged for PvP, no one bothered her when she departed.
That got Keya to thinking about just how far she can get with her gear without going into a dungeon. Her current gear score is i874. She is exceptionally lucky to have earned two legendary items, i940 belt and boots. Overall, she is hoping to reach level i900, but based on the what she's seen, that may be a tall order. If she can get all of her gear to at least i880, the two i940 pieces might be enough to push her over. At least that is plan.
Here is the list of gear she wants upgraded to at least 880.
Head - 910 ! . . . Hands - 875
Neck 855 . . . . . .Waist - 940 !!
Shoulder - 880 ! .Legs - 880 !
Back - 885 ! . . . . feet - 940 !!
Chest - 865 . . . . . Fingers - 860/865
Wrist - 860 . . . . . Trinkets - 880/855
There is gold to be spent on getting there if chance fails her. Another thought is to put a lot more focus on gathering nethershards. For 5,000 shards she can buy a relinquished token with a base i880 with a chance to gain a higher value. Nethershards can be earned in a number of ways, such as during invasions and the sentinax vessels.
Keya had several sentinax beacons and used them. The take was terrible, averaging 4-10 nethershards. That sucks. But she only needed a small amount.
Keya finally got her 5,000 nethershards. She chose to replace her i860 helm. When the relinquished token was delivered, Keya had an i910 helm! Keya's over all gear score went from i874 to i877. Keya killed two elites to help get the nethershards. She'll need to kill a lot more to upgrade more gear.
PS - Chaitee has heard rumors of mismanagement of funds, such as the sifting of paper money vs gold. The Black Market frowns on paper and keeps close track of such nefarious bits of suspect value. Gold is Chaitee's standard. Gold is what she pays for guild upkeep, as well as what she dispenses to the family at need.
Keya had her reasons for entering the Underbelly. There were some things she thought might be found there, but the pickings were slim. A horde player was hanging around the auctioneer and stood so close to Keya it seemed to be on purpose. Keya finished her business, extricated herself from the group and left. On the way back out that same player decided to have his own fun. He attacked Keya.
Keya doesn't really "do" PvP, but she wasn't going to let the guy kill her without a fight. The guy must have thought she was an easy kill, ripping her down to half health in seconds. But then Keya's defenses and weaponry began revving up, she metamorphosed into demon form, and when that didn't dissuade the guy, she tagged him with Fiery Brand. The guy had to see that Keya was already back at 95% health, but he persisted. So Keya finished him and left his corpse smouldering on the Underbelly floor. Still tagged for PvP, no one bothered her when she departed.
That got Keya to thinking about just how far she can get with her gear without going into a dungeon. Her current gear score is i874. She is exceptionally lucky to have earned two legendary items, i940 belt and boots. Overall, she is hoping to reach level i900, but based on the what she's seen, that may be a tall order. If she can get all of her gear to at least i880, the two i940 pieces might be enough to push her over. At least that is plan.
Here is the list of gear she wants upgraded to at least 880.
Head - 910 ! . . . Hands - 875
Neck 855 . . . . . .Waist - 940 !!
Shoulder - 880 ! .Legs - 880 !
Back - 885 ! . . . . feet - 940 !!
Chest - 865 . . . . . Fingers - 860/865
Wrist - 860 . . . . . Trinkets - 880/855
There is gold to be spent on getting there if chance fails her. Another thought is to put a lot more focus on gathering nethershards. For 5,000 shards she can buy a relinquished token with a base i880 with a chance to gain a higher value. Nethershards can be earned in a number of ways, such as during invasions and the sentinax vessels.
Keya had several sentinax beacons and used them. The take was terrible, averaging 4-10 nethershards. That sucks. But she only needed a small amount.
Keya finally got her 5,000 nethershards. She chose to replace her i860 helm. When the relinquished token was delivered, Keya had an i910 helm! Keya's over all gear score went from i874 to i877. Keya killed two elites to help get the nethershards. She'll need to kill a lot more to upgrade more gear.
PS - Chaitee has heard rumors of mismanagement of funds, such as the sifting of paper money vs gold. The Black Market frowns on paper and keeps close track of such nefarious bits of suspect value. Gold is Chaitee's standard. Gold is what she pays for guild upkeep, as well as what she dispenses to the family at need.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Demon Hunter Campaign
Demon Hunter Campaign
Keya took a break from Suramar to pursue yet again a set of quests which have frustrated her multiple times.
Rune Ruination
Rune Ruination: Runeskeld Rollo
- 0/1 Rollo's Rune
Keya has attempted completing the above several times, but came away empty-handed each time. Note that the Twilight Highlands has a quest of the same name, but it has nothing to do with the Legion version. The quest involves a grapple that can be used - or not used if you have lost it. Since Keya has been unable to unravel this set of quests she is going to attempt to follow a youtube video that supposedly walks through the whole thing. Keya is skeptical, but is determined to get it done.
For once a video did help Keya complete the quests, and it hardly took any time at all. Frankly, Keya was a bit disappointed with the Rune Ruination thing. She killed of a few thugs and broke some things. Then she was asked to kill an elite at the bridge where all of the armies were parked.
Keya killed the elite. She didn't even break a sweat. So, after all that, what remained was another quest which requires a dungeon run: Vault of the Wardens: Vault Break-in. So ends Keya's still unfinished Demon Hunter Campaign. At least she got to do a little damage. Back at the bridge with all the bad guys she got to slaughter a few thousand soldiers and gain a few more order resources.
Keya's Artifact progress is stymied by "The High Lord's Return." She tried to solo that beastly thing and Kruul took Keya apart in about ten seconds. Kruul is a dungeon lord and can't be had without a full five man group.
Keya reached her Fiftieth Rank on her artifact this morning. It's a nice round number, but mostly meaningless without the Fel Artifact Relic slot still locked out. Keya likes to see things in a more positive way, though. Look at all she has been able to do without ever entering a dungeon. She still has one more slot to fill and her string will be full. She needs 400 million AP. That should take 2-3 days, and then she'll see what happens next.
Making a Million: Chaitee's game to reach one million gold started two days ago at 901k. It is now 918k.
Keya took a break from Suramar to pursue yet again a set of quests which have frustrated her multiple times.
Rune Ruination
Rune Ruination: Runeskeld Rollo
- 0/1 Rollo's Rune
Keya has attempted completing the above several times, but came away empty-handed each time. Note that the Twilight Highlands has a quest of the same name, but it has nothing to do with the Legion version. The quest involves a grapple that can be used - or not used if you have lost it. Since Keya has been unable to unravel this set of quests she is going to attempt to follow a youtube video that supposedly walks through the whole thing. Keya is skeptical, but is determined to get it done.
For once a video did help Keya complete the quests, and it hardly took any time at all. Frankly, Keya was a bit disappointed with the Rune Ruination thing. She killed of a few thugs and broke some things. Then she was asked to kill an elite at the bridge where all of the armies were parked.
Keya killed the elite. She didn't even break a sweat. So, after all that, what remained was another quest which requires a dungeon run: Vault of the Wardens: Vault Break-in. So ends Keya's still unfinished Demon Hunter Campaign. At least she got to do a little damage. Back at the bridge with all the bad guys she got to slaughter a few thousand soldiers and gain a few more order resources.
Keya's Artifact progress is stymied by "The High Lord's Return." She tried to solo that beastly thing and Kruul took Keya apart in about ten seconds. Kruul is a dungeon lord and can't be had without a full five man group.
Keya reached her Fiftieth Rank on her artifact this morning. It's a nice round number, but mostly meaningless without the Fel Artifact Relic slot still locked out. Keya likes to see things in a more positive way, though. Look at all she has been able to do without ever entering a dungeon. She still has one more slot to fill and her string will be full. She needs 400 million AP. That should take 2-3 days, and then she'll see what happens next.
Making a Million: Chaitee's game to reach one million gold started two days ago at 901k. It is now 918k.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Suramar is Fun
Plus "A Determined Chaitee"
Keya redoubled her efforts in Suramar toward earning Pathfinder over the weekend. At first she was cautious, using the disguise she was given and quietly slipping away when the patrols came through. Then she had a couple of missteps and had to kill people. Someone argued with her. The disguise slipped. Keya killed a few more. An elite guard took notice. Keya killed him, too.
Keya tried a different approach. When it was convenient to be in disguise, she used it. When it became a bother, she killed whatever objected her being there. She no longer worried she might die. It wasn't even on her mind. Her massive armor could not be breached and sooner or later anyone or anything that approached her died.
That did present a few problems. People she was trying to save often died in the crossfire. Quests got muddied and she wasted time trying to locate her next goal, often killing the same mobs several times while trying to locate things. Keya is a lot of things, but she tends to jump first and then worry about the consquences later. So her progress with Pathfinder is taking a very winding path.
A Determined Chaitee
The start of the weekend had Chaitee angry. The auction House was turned into a party house and the Auctioneers took the day off. There was a huge boom box up on the stage and everyone was dancing themselves silly. Sure, it was fun for awhile, but come on! Chaitee still needs to get some work done. Update: It's 9am and the party is STILL going on. Another update: It's dinner time and STILL the party remains in full swing. How do you stop this madness! People have jobs! And Chaitee works weekends.
Chaitee eventually had to admit that she wasn't going to get any work done any time soon, if at all. Not at Stormwind. Is there anywhere else she could access an Auction House? Frankly, Chaitee, born and raised at Stormwind, had never thought about the possibility of another Auction House somewhere.
Chaitee asked Keya, who was still around after a long, successful run of AP gathering earlier in the day. Keya has made a few trips to Stormwind from Dalaran and knew there were other Auction Houses. Since Stormwind was out of commission, Keya suggested Ironforge. Dalaran has a portal that goes directly to Ironforge. There was just one problem. Neither Keya or Chaitee knew how to get Level 32 Chaitee to Dalaran.
Keya scratched her head some more. Chaitee was starting to get the shakes, a reaction from being unable to use an Auction House for so long. Her eyes were starting to bulge and her fingers wouldn't stop twitching. Keya got her to calm down a little by suggesting she count her gold. That should keep her busy for a long while.
Keya was getting worried, though, and offered to go to Ironforge herself. Keya would buy and sell on Chaitee's orders. Chaitee was skeptical but desperate. Keya ported to Ironforge. The two started moving goods through mailboxes. Business was light at Ironforge, but those that were around took a good look at Keya and decided to go elsewhere. The two made it work.
The following day the name "Mahakeya" showed up all over the Auction House. Keya liked the mysterious business dealings and fancied herself in the role of Auctioneer. She had a blast and offered to help out Chaitee any time. Chaitee was magnanimous in her praise of Keya for helping out. Keya strode off with her pockets full of jingling gold as well.
So how did the Chaitee/Keya pack do overall? Chaitee pocketed 23,000 gold (18,000 sold by Keya), one of her best nights in some time.
By Sunday the Auction House was back to normal in Stormwind. Chaitee made a lot of gold despite the interruption of AH access. But more importantly, she learned she had other means to access an AH now, should she want or need to use it. Chaitee was ecstatic to learn that Ironforge runs a Deeprun Tram between Stormwind and Ironforge! Some day she will try it out. For right now, though, getting her AH back in full operation is her priority.
PS - Sunday afternoon Chaitee added 7,500 more gold from stormscale sales, hitting the 900k bar. She's now begun hunting for the million mark.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Legion Pathfinder Part One
Legion Pathfinder Part One
Keya is done flirting around the edges. She sees Rakta struggling to keep up. She sees Java without a purpose. And most telling, she sees her leader, Tiphaine, doing very little. Though she hasn't said it out loud, Keya believes that Tiphaine has become a relic. Her greatness came in Draenor, when it was Tiphaine who rallied the Autumn Tea Green guild and made flying in Draenor possible for all her guild.
Now it's Keya's turn. She is going to focus all her attention on achieving Legion Patherfinder. She will not stop until it is done.
The first part was to finish the Broken Isles Explorer. The most interesting were (1) Highmountain's Trueshot Lodge. You can get there from the Nesingway flight path. A path takes you to the boundary of the Lodge, where the Hunter Order Hall is. You won't see it if not a Hunter and will be warned not to advance any further. (2) Nightwatcher's Perch is a PvP area. In fact, several of the areas were. At the Perch you have to go to the top of the tower and kill the elite commander there. Not too hard, but there were few pvpers about. In fact a horde helped Keya kill the captain and we both decided not to attack each other. (3) Highmountain Summit can give you the jitters if you are afraid of heights. Keya loved it. The rest begin to merge into each other.
Keya is now working on the Good Sumaritan track of the Broken Isles Pathfinder.
Progress to date: Completed items are in BOLD
* Broken Isles Explorer (Aszuna, Valsharah, Suramar, Stormheim, Highmountain)
* Variety is the Spice of Life (100 world quests)
* Loremaster of Legion (Complete except for "Good Sumaritan")
* Good Sumaritan (An Ancient Gift, Blood and Wine, Jandvik's Jarl, The Waning Crescent, Moon Guard Stronghold, Eminent Grow-main, A growing Crisis, Breaking the Lightbreaker, Tidying Tel'anor, Statecraft, A change of Seasons)
* Broken Isles Diplomat (Court of Farondis, Highmountain Tribe, The Nightfallen, The Dreamweavers, The Varajar, The Wardens) - reach Revered with all of the above
* A Glorious Campaign (Earn all 8 armor pieces - helm, gloves, boots, belt, bracers, legs, chest, shoulders)
Keya knows this is only the beginning. But it's a start. Note that Keya has stopped obsessing about running up against dungeon and/or raid requirments. Her goal is to finish as much as she is allowed to complete. When all that is done, then she'll decide what her next step will be.
PS - It seems to me that the Legion pathfinder is a lot more difficult than Draenor Pathfinder was, as well as more complex. But then that might just be me.
Keya is done flirting around the edges. She sees Rakta struggling to keep up. She sees Java without a purpose. And most telling, she sees her leader, Tiphaine, doing very little. Though she hasn't said it out loud, Keya believes that Tiphaine has become a relic. Her greatness came in Draenor, when it was Tiphaine who rallied the Autumn Tea Green guild and made flying in Draenor possible for all her guild.
Now it's Keya's turn. She is going to focus all her attention on achieving Legion Patherfinder. She will not stop until it is done.
The first part was to finish the Broken Isles Explorer. The most interesting were (1) Highmountain's Trueshot Lodge. You can get there from the Nesingway flight path. A path takes you to the boundary of the Lodge, where the Hunter Order Hall is. You won't see it if not a Hunter and will be warned not to advance any further. (2) Nightwatcher's Perch is a PvP area. In fact, several of the areas were. At the Perch you have to go to the top of the tower and kill the elite commander there. Not too hard, but there were few pvpers about. In fact a horde helped Keya kill the captain and we both decided not to attack each other. (3) Highmountain Summit can give you the jitters if you are afraid of heights. Keya loved it. The rest begin to merge into each other.
Keya is now working on the Good Sumaritan track of the Broken Isles Pathfinder.
Progress to date: Completed items are in BOLD
* Broken Isles Explorer (Aszuna, Valsharah, Suramar, Stormheim, Highmountain)
* Variety is the Spice of Life (100 world quests)
* Loremaster of Legion (Complete except for "Good Sumaritan")
* Good Sumaritan (An Ancient Gift, Blood and Wine, Jandvik's Jarl, The Waning Crescent, Moon Guard Stronghold, Eminent Grow-main, A growing Crisis, Breaking the Lightbreaker, Tidying Tel'anor, Statecraft, A change of Seasons)
* Broken Isles Diplomat (Court of Farondis, Highmountain Tribe, The Nightfallen, The Dreamweavers, The Varajar, The Wardens) - reach Revered with all of the above
* A Glorious Campaign (Earn all 8 armor pieces - helm, gloves, boots, belt, bracers, legs, chest, shoulders)
Keya knows this is only the beginning. But it's a start. Note that Keya has stopped obsessing about running up against dungeon and/or raid requirments. Her goal is to finish as much as she is allowed to complete. When all that is done, then she'll decide what her next step will be.
PS - It seems to me that the Legion pathfinder is a lot more difficult than Draenor Pathfinder was, as well as more complex. But then that might just be me.
Saturday, July 15, 2017
The Death of Solo Play
The Death of Solo Play
Please critique this and let me know if any of it makes sense.
Dungeons and raids are not my thing anymore. And yes, I was a strong participant in dungeon and raid guilds for many successful years that go back to the original Molten Core. So I've been around a long time. I hung up my raiding spikes not long after Mists of Pandaria came out. I was burned out.
I am primarily a solo player now. I love to level characters, work on my professions, take part in world quests, and the many other ways to play the game. That is what I love about Warcraft - there are as many ways to play the game as there are people playing it.
So it saddens me when I'm told that I am not allowed to do something that I should in this amazing world. Specifically, in the Legion expansion, Blizzard laid down rules that force players into dungeons in order complete content or be forced to abandon content that cannot be completed without dungeon runs. Blizzard bluntly states, "Run dungeons or you will never finish your professions or fly in Legion". Why would Blizzard alienate so many players this way?
Rather than just complain, I'd like to offer a suggestion that I hope Blizzard will consider seriously. First, did you know that Blizzard already has two types of solo dungeon play?
(1) "Proving Grounds" were an idea developed in the Pandaria expansion. They were described as "a solo PVE instanced area where players will be able to challenge themselves to accomplish role specific objectives." Essentially, one real player with four non-player allies go against a dungeon. Would that work as is? Not alone, but at least there's a framework in place.
(2) How about something more recent? My druid, Sista, recently opened the staged quest "Cleansing the Mother Tree." Sista and four non-player characters (each of which have roles mirroring real players) battle evil in three stages. Turn "stages" to rooms, halls, etc, and we are looking at a single player dungeon.
(3) What about the loot in single player mode? Most of us solo players would be happy accepting lesser gear and goodies from a single player dungeon. We aren't after your loot, we just want to be able to complete our solo objectives. By allowing this, regular dungeons will remain exactly as they are.
(4) Here's the kicker. Developing single player dungeons is doable, if that is what it takes. But really, that isn't even the issue.
The Real Issue: Eliminate the stupid rules mandating dungeon runs and this whole thing just blows away.
And that is what I hope for in the next patch.
Please critique this and let me know if any of it makes sense.
Dungeons and raids are not my thing anymore. And yes, I was a strong participant in dungeon and raid guilds for many successful years that go back to the original Molten Core. So I've been around a long time. I hung up my raiding spikes not long after Mists of Pandaria came out. I was burned out.
I am primarily a solo player now. I love to level characters, work on my professions, take part in world quests, and the many other ways to play the game. That is what I love about Warcraft - there are as many ways to play the game as there are people playing it.
So it saddens me when I'm told that I am not allowed to do something that I should in this amazing world. Specifically, in the Legion expansion, Blizzard laid down rules that force players into dungeons in order complete content or be forced to abandon content that cannot be completed without dungeon runs. Blizzard bluntly states, "Run dungeons or you will never finish your professions or fly in Legion". Why would Blizzard alienate so many players this way?
Rather than just complain, I'd like to offer a suggestion that I hope Blizzard will consider seriously. First, did you know that Blizzard already has two types of solo dungeon play?
(1) "Proving Grounds" were an idea developed in the Pandaria expansion. They were described as "a solo PVE instanced area where players will be able to challenge themselves to accomplish role specific objectives." Essentially, one real player with four non-player allies go against a dungeon. Would that work as is? Not alone, but at least there's a framework in place.
(2) How about something more recent? My druid, Sista, recently opened the staged quest "Cleansing the Mother Tree." Sista and four non-player characters (each of which have roles mirroring real players) battle evil in three stages. Turn "stages" to rooms, halls, etc, and we are looking at a single player dungeon.
(3) What about the loot in single player mode? Most of us solo players would be happy accepting lesser gear and goodies from a single player dungeon. We aren't after your loot, we just want to be able to complete our solo objectives. By allowing this, regular dungeons will remain exactly as they are.
(4) Here's the kicker. Developing single player dungeons is doable, if that is what it takes. But really, that isn't even the issue.
The Real Issue: Eliminate the stupid rules mandating dungeon runs and this whole thing just blows away.
And that is what I hope for in the next patch.
Friday, July 14, 2017
What is a Chromie?
What is a Chromie? And Other Things of Note
Keya was looking for something useful to do. She has been seeing advertisements for something called a Chromie and decided to find out a bit more. Chromie is a quest having to do with timehopping. It's not a dungeon or raid, which increased Keya's interest in finding out more.
Keya likes to know what she is getting for whatever level of work is involved. Even on the surface, it appears that starting Chromie would take considerable time and effort, including a serious reputation grind with five scenarios followed by two more at the end. Keya jumped down to the bottom of the explanations and guides to "What do I get if I do this?"
The answer? - She gets 1,000 artifact power. Keya wouldn't bother getting out of bed for such a minimal amount of AP. Looks like there is some Chromie reputation that is earned, but Keya couldn't find anything useful for that reputation.
So, unless I find out otherwise, I believe Chromie is useful to players still leveling their character. Which still doesn't make much sense when several posts say it is very hard to complete.
A Dead Market
Unless the tide turns during the weekend, this could be a very poor week for Chaitee and the Auction House. It seems no one needs bags right now. Prices have dipped somewhat as a result, and Chaitee has bought up those that were way underbid. She is overstocked with hexweave bags, which seems impossible, but there is a seller who dumped almost fifty of them last week at 1,000 gold each. Chaitee refused to buy in, but she is making a little headway as the price drops below that.
Of more concern is the rising cost of other items Chaitee depends on, such as stormscale, stonehide, leather barding, and leyblood. She depends on others to farm the mats and post on the AH so she can buy up the cheap stuff and resell when prices are right. Unfortunately, quantities have remained low and so prices are too high to stockpile. Bottom line: Chaitee is not making much gold. Sending Sista out to farm is no more than a stopgap measure. She can't farm all that stuff herself.
Chaitee has a high number of sold items still sitting in the mailbox. That buffer will hold her over for a couple of days if she has too, but that is something of a last resort.
Loopy Rakta
Rakta needs to complete the quest, "A Personal Touch" in order to start leveling her jewelcrafting from 701-800. The quest is in Suramar, a zone that only Keya has experience with. Frankly, Keya doesn't think Rakta is up to the challenge. Suramar is an enemy city crawling with soldiers and Legion watchers. Most of the work requires wearing a disguise to appear like the rest of the city folks. One mistake, though, could be her last. If the disguise slips, she'll likely be overrun by the armed protectors that are constantly on patrol. Her i785 level gear is far less effective than the high level i873 gear Keya has. Keya also has the advantage of simply jumping into the waters that surround the city and disappear by morphing into a fish, should things get too hot.
Keya poked some half serious fun at Rakta, telling her she should take fishing lessons and earn the Underlight Angler fishing pole which grants morphing into a fish, as well as walking on water. Keya knew Rakta would be too impatient to go that long route.
Rakta wasn't listening to Keya's warnings. She traveled to Lorlathil and then into Suramar at Iron Grove retreat. There wasn't anything there but the flight master, so she moved on, expecting to find Meredil. She did find Meredil, but it wasn't what she expected. There was no flight path, and the entire area was hostile. Rakta killed her way out of that mess, including a pair of level 110 guards that Rakta killed rather easily.
Feeling emboldened, she entered the city to take a look around. It was a short look. There were plenty enough guards to make her wary, but the real issue was that without quests to guide her, there was very little she could actually do. Raka has gotten ahead of herself. For example, she has the quest "Trail of Echoes", but when she reached that spot on the map there was nothing there but two guards, which she killed. She needs to reconnect with her quest threads and establish the flight path at Meredil first. At least that is her plan.
Give Rakta some credit. She found her quest link and followed the long thread of quests leading to Thyryssia, the battle to take over the cave and Rakta's new set of orders. Looks like she has a lot more work to do. Oh yea, Meredil now has a flight path. And double Oh Yea, her gear level is now at i802.
Keya gave Rakta a strong caution that she will likely not listen to - despite all that progress, she has not even started on her key quest, "A Personal Touch."
Keya was looking for something useful to do. She has been seeing advertisements for something called a Chromie and decided to find out a bit more. Chromie is a quest having to do with timehopping. It's not a dungeon or raid, which increased Keya's interest in finding out more.
Keya likes to know what she is getting for whatever level of work is involved. Even on the surface, it appears that starting Chromie would take considerable time and effort, including a serious reputation grind with five scenarios followed by two more at the end. Keya jumped down to the bottom of the explanations and guides to "What do I get if I do this?"
The answer? - She gets 1,000 artifact power. Keya wouldn't bother getting out of bed for such a minimal amount of AP. Looks like there is some Chromie reputation that is earned, but Keya couldn't find anything useful for that reputation.
So, unless I find out otherwise, I believe Chromie is useful to players still leveling their character. Which still doesn't make much sense when several posts say it is very hard to complete.
A Dead Market
Unless the tide turns during the weekend, this could be a very poor week for Chaitee and the Auction House. It seems no one needs bags right now. Prices have dipped somewhat as a result, and Chaitee has bought up those that were way underbid. She is overstocked with hexweave bags, which seems impossible, but there is a seller who dumped almost fifty of them last week at 1,000 gold each. Chaitee refused to buy in, but she is making a little headway as the price drops below that.
Of more concern is the rising cost of other items Chaitee depends on, such as stormscale, stonehide, leather barding, and leyblood. She depends on others to farm the mats and post on the AH so she can buy up the cheap stuff and resell when prices are right. Unfortunately, quantities have remained low and so prices are too high to stockpile. Bottom line: Chaitee is not making much gold. Sending Sista out to farm is no more than a stopgap measure. She can't farm all that stuff herself.
Chaitee has a high number of sold items still sitting in the mailbox. That buffer will hold her over for a couple of days if she has too, but that is something of a last resort.
Loopy Rakta
Rakta needs to complete the quest, "A Personal Touch" in order to start leveling her jewelcrafting from 701-800. The quest is in Suramar, a zone that only Keya has experience with. Frankly, Keya doesn't think Rakta is up to the challenge. Suramar is an enemy city crawling with soldiers and Legion watchers. Most of the work requires wearing a disguise to appear like the rest of the city folks. One mistake, though, could be her last. If the disguise slips, she'll likely be overrun by the armed protectors that are constantly on patrol. Her i785 level gear is far less effective than the high level i873 gear Keya has. Keya also has the advantage of simply jumping into the waters that surround the city and disappear by morphing into a fish, should things get too hot.
Keya poked some half serious fun at Rakta, telling her she should take fishing lessons and earn the Underlight Angler fishing pole which grants morphing into a fish, as well as walking on water. Keya knew Rakta would be too impatient to go that long route.
Rakta wasn't listening to Keya's warnings. She traveled to Lorlathil and then into Suramar at Iron Grove retreat. There wasn't anything there but the flight master, so she moved on, expecting to find Meredil. She did find Meredil, but it wasn't what she expected. There was no flight path, and the entire area was hostile. Rakta killed her way out of that mess, including a pair of level 110 guards that Rakta killed rather easily.
Feeling emboldened, she entered the city to take a look around. It was a short look. There were plenty enough guards to make her wary, but the real issue was that without quests to guide her, there was very little she could actually do. Raka has gotten ahead of herself. For example, she has the quest "Trail of Echoes", but when she reached that spot on the map there was nothing there but two guards, which she killed. She needs to reconnect with her quest threads and establish the flight path at Meredil first. At least that is her plan.
Give Rakta some credit. She found her quest link and followed the long thread of quests leading to Thyryssia, the battle to take over the cave and Rakta's new set of orders. Looks like she has a lot more work to do. Oh yea, Meredil now has a flight path. And double Oh Yea, her gear level is now at i802.
Keya gave Rakta a strong caution that she will likely not listen to - despite all that progress, she has not even started on her key quest, "A Personal Touch."
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Rakta's Return to Draenor
Rakta's Return to Draenor
In a strange reversal Tiphaine surprised Rakta and the rest of the family by agreeing to deliver ores from her Draenor mine as well as blacksmithing items. The agreement requires Rakta to expand her Dreanor jewelcrafting and alchemy efforts. Rakta has no gem shop in Draenor, but she quickly remedied that. She tore down the storehouse and replaced it with a new Gem Boutique. By the end of the day the boutique will be at max Level 3. Her Level 3 Alchemy lab is also open for business.
Rakta has been gathering JC recipes at a staggering pace. From level 315, to level 430, and now at 662. The pace has slowed as draenor recipes fall from red, to yellow, and now into green. She's hoping to reach 700 using draenor mats but in some cases she is already using Legion recipes. Java hasn't been doing much rock gathering, which greatly irritates her, but she turned once more to Chaitee, who bought her 200 leystone ore to crack.
It's a new morning and Rakta wrapped up her Jewelcrafting, at least to 700. She now has to figure out how to start leveling JC to 800. Java promises to help, and as of the prior evening reached Level 107, but she is having some quest issues that have slowed her down.
On The Chaitee front the Auction House is at the beginning of one of it's downturns. She's been able to make money on stormscale, stonehide leather, and leylight shards, but her staple, bags, are not selling at prices Chaitee wants to post.
Hexweave bags have flooded the market at 1000 gold, and Chaitee will sideline her stock until prices go at least over 1200 gold.
Embersilk bags were the one bag that has maintained it's price at 498 gold, but another idiot has dumped a large stack of silkweave satchels on the AH for 434 gold. No one will buy 22 slot embersilk bags when the 24 slot silkweave bags cost less. Chaitee may put a contract out on the seller.
Speaking of silkweave bags, Chaitee's ability to find bargains on the AH is really being tested. It used to cost 360g to make a silkweave bag, which she then sells at 498g or higher. Those bags now cost 450g to make, more than the 434g the AH is selling them at now.
Farming the silk is slow and boring. It takes Sista an hour to farm enough silk to make just two bags, and she balks at longer hours. It may still come to that. After all, if Sista does the farming herself, the family keeps 100% of the profit for the sale. That doesn't make Sista any happier, though.
Tiphaine is back from Draenor, her hands blistered from breaking rocks and covered in blackrock dust. Rakta is elated by the help, but behind her back, the rest of the family is worried and maybe even a little fearful. Tiphaine does nothing for free. The scary thing is wondering what that payback will entail.
In a strange reversal Tiphaine surprised Rakta and the rest of the family by agreeing to deliver ores from her Draenor mine as well as blacksmithing items. The agreement requires Rakta to expand her Dreanor jewelcrafting and alchemy efforts. Rakta has no gem shop in Draenor, but she quickly remedied that. She tore down the storehouse and replaced it with a new Gem Boutique. By the end of the day the boutique will be at max Level 3. Her Level 3 Alchemy lab is also open for business.
Rakta has been gathering JC recipes at a staggering pace. From level 315, to level 430, and now at 662. The pace has slowed as draenor recipes fall from red, to yellow, and now into green. She's hoping to reach 700 using draenor mats but in some cases she is already using Legion recipes. Java hasn't been doing much rock gathering, which greatly irritates her, but she turned once more to Chaitee, who bought her 200 leystone ore to crack.
It's a new morning and Rakta wrapped up her Jewelcrafting, at least to 700. She now has to figure out how to start leveling JC to 800. Java promises to help, and as of the prior evening reached Level 107, but she is having some quest issues that have slowed her down.
On The Chaitee front the Auction House is at the beginning of one of it's downturns. She's been able to make money on stormscale, stonehide leather, and leylight shards, but her staple, bags, are not selling at prices Chaitee wants to post.
Hexweave bags have flooded the market at 1000 gold, and Chaitee will sideline her stock until prices go at least over 1200 gold.
Embersilk bags were the one bag that has maintained it's price at 498 gold, but another idiot has dumped a large stack of silkweave satchels on the AH for 434 gold. No one will buy 22 slot embersilk bags when the 24 slot silkweave bags cost less. Chaitee may put a contract out on the seller.
Speaking of silkweave bags, Chaitee's ability to find bargains on the AH is really being tested. It used to cost 360g to make a silkweave bag, which she then sells at 498g or higher. Those bags now cost 450g to make, more than the 434g the AH is selling them at now.
Farming the silk is slow and boring. It takes Sista an hour to farm enough silk to make just two bags, and she balks at longer hours. It may still come to that. After all, if Sista does the farming herself, the family keeps 100% of the profit for the sale. That doesn't make Sista any happier, though.
Tiphaine is back from Draenor, her hands blistered from breaking rocks and covered in blackrock dust. Rakta is elated by the help, but behind her back, the rest of the family is worried and maybe even a little fearful. Tiphaine does nothing for free. The scary thing is wondering what that payback will entail.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Lockbox Explosion
Lockbox Explosion
Rakta was too lazy to do any leveling, so she badgered Chaitee to let her play the Auction House for awhile. Chaitee was on a roll, hot on the trail of enough gold to tip the pot over the 800,000 gold mark. Rakta said she needed a few sangrite to help her level. Chaitee waved her away muttering something about useless warriors. Rakta kept hanging around, though, making Chaitee more ornery than usual.
"Go stand around somewhere else!" Chaitee growled. "Better yet, haul that chest to the back and get a ticket for it from the Auctioneer. Buy an ice cream or a draft beer or something and then get out of my way."
Chaitee stomped off, yelling bids at the Auctioneer.
Rakta watched Chaitee for a few more minutes.
Then she sidled up to the chest and tested the lid.
It was locked.
Rakta reached into a pocket.
She slipped a jeweled lockpick into her hand.
There was a short "click."
Rakta slipped away.
Chaitee found Rakta two hours later. She was standing at the Dalaran Merchant's Bank.
"Where is my chest, Rakta! That chest was full when I turned it over to you!"
"Working," Rakta shot back. "I'm testing the value of 425 and 550 chests by picking those locks."
Chaitee started to argue, but then had a second thought. "What are you getting from those chests, Rakta?"
"Between 25-35 gold and a piece of i300 level gear. The 550 chests drop 30-50g and an i780 piece."
"Ok, just a minute." Chaitee checked the going price of sangrite, the mat that Rakta uses to pick the locks. They were selling at 18g apiece. "Hmmm." The profit was fairly small, but it did make money.
"What level of lockpicking can you handle, Rakta?"
"I'm maxed at 750 so far." Which may be max level for chests, Chaitee thought. She made her decision. Chaitee bought 200 sangrite on the spot and told Rakta she could pick locks for as long she was gaining jewelcrafting levels.
When she had finished opening all of the boxes, Rakta went from JC 260 to JC 315. At last, Rakta has something productive to do. One interesting thing - When opening lockboxes one can receive a lockbox! And sometimes there are two pieces of gear instead of just one. Even after getting all that done, Rakta still had over a hundred sangrite to make more keys.
Maybe Rakta could set up a stall and spend her day opening lockboxes.
PS - Rakta belatedly learned that her jeweled lockpick could be mailed to others and can be sold on the Auction House. So anyone can open locks simply by buying keys? That seemed too good to be true. And it is too good to be true. The key states plainly that the owner be at least a level 1 jewelcrafter in order to use the lockpick. I think. Rakta has already opened all the chests in the bank. The final check will be when Sista comes back from her next run and has a few chests to open.
Rakta was too lazy to do any leveling, so she badgered Chaitee to let her play the Auction House for awhile. Chaitee was on a roll, hot on the trail of enough gold to tip the pot over the 800,000 gold mark. Rakta said she needed a few sangrite to help her level. Chaitee waved her away muttering something about useless warriors. Rakta kept hanging around, though, making Chaitee more ornery than usual.
"Go stand around somewhere else!" Chaitee growled. "Better yet, haul that chest to the back and get a ticket for it from the Auctioneer. Buy an ice cream or a draft beer or something and then get out of my way."
Chaitee stomped off, yelling bids at the Auctioneer.
Rakta watched Chaitee for a few more minutes.
Then she sidled up to the chest and tested the lid.
It was locked.
Rakta reached into a pocket.
She slipped a jeweled lockpick into her hand.
There was a short "click."
Rakta slipped away.
Chaitee found Rakta two hours later. She was standing at the Dalaran Merchant's Bank.
"Where is my chest, Rakta! That chest was full when I turned it over to you!"
"Working," Rakta shot back. "I'm testing the value of 425 and 550 chests by picking those locks."
Chaitee started to argue, but then had a second thought. "What are you getting from those chests, Rakta?"
"Between 25-35 gold and a piece of i300 level gear. The 550 chests drop 30-50g and an i780 piece."
"Ok, just a minute." Chaitee checked the going price of sangrite, the mat that Rakta uses to pick the locks. They were selling at 18g apiece. "Hmmm." The profit was fairly small, but it did make money.
"What level of lockpicking can you handle, Rakta?"
"I'm maxed at 750 so far." Which may be max level for chests, Chaitee thought. She made her decision. Chaitee bought 200 sangrite on the spot and told Rakta she could pick locks for as long she was gaining jewelcrafting levels.
When she had finished opening all of the boxes, Rakta went from JC 260 to JC 315. At last, Rakta has something productive to do. One interesting thing - When opening lockboxes one can receive a lockbox! And sometimes there are two pieces of gear instead of just one. Even after getting all that done, Rakta still had over a hundred sangrite to make more keys.
Maybe Rakta could set up a stall and spend her day opening lockboxes.
PS - Rakta belatedly learned that her jeweled lockpick could be mailed to others and can be sold on the Auction House. So anyone can open locks simply by buying keys? That seemed too good to be true. And it is too good to be true. The key states plainly that the owner be at least a level 1 jewelcrafter in order to use the lockpick. I think. Rakta has already opened all the chests in the bank. The final check will be when Sista comes back from her next run and has a few chests to open.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Another Aldrachi Warblades Review
Another Aldrachi Warblades Review
Keya periodically comes back to the research on her warblades. Early on she almost gave up when it appeared that her lack of dungeons and raids on her resume meant she could never complete her third relic slot. She isn't so sure of that, anymore, as she learns more about it. Keya has acquired 42 ranks so far (Almond's must be a way higher), and has reached Artifact Knowledge 40. So now when she checks on her research there is a book called Artifact Research Compendium Volumes 1-VII (1-40). I could buy it for 1,000 order resources, but if I read this right I don't need it, since Keya has already reached artifact 40.
The thing that seems strange to me is that both times Keya has had an opportunity to buy one of them, she's already reached that level. I wonder if those are for alts or something? I was reading somewhere that Keya could, for example, buy the compendium for Sista, and Sista could use it to get a large jump start.
As for getting Keya's third relic slot, she now knows what she is up against. Keya is currently working on step 28 of this challenge (which has four parts). Assuming she completes that step, she immediately runs up against another major hurdle.
At step 30 she faces the Vault of the Wardens. A dungeon. Her journey ends there unless she decides to sneak into someones dungeon run and hope no one notices the tanking gear on a demon hunter that is doing DPS. Maybe they won't notice?
At step 39 it gets even worse. Keya would have to collect 15 sovereign souls from legion dungeons. That would require, at minimum, three more dungeon runs.
So Keya's third relic slot will likely remain unfilled. Since she has never been able to use it, and there doesn't seem to be any penalty for not having it activated, Keya is now determined to ignore it.
Or maybe, just maybe, she might try the "can I join your dungeon run as a DPS wearing tanking gear? Please?" Yea, right. I can hear it now. "You are wearing tank gear and you still keep dying??"
PS - Keya has an interesting thought. Since the accumulation of AP and ranks is an endless procession, Keya is essentially following in Almond's footprints - at great distance, of course - but, still, she persists. Keya is now getting AP in the millions, so she can set goals, such as her first 100 million, and ultimately her first billion, and . . . well, once Almond retires, Keya might even catch her. Another "Yea, right!"
Keya periodically comes back to the research on her warblades. Early on she almost gave up when it appeared that her lack of dungeons and raids on her resume meant she could never complete her third relic slot. She isn't so sure of that, anymore, as she learns more about it. Keya has acquired 42 ranks so far (Almond's must be a way higher), and has reached Artifact Knowledge 40. So now when she checks on her research there is a book called Artifact Research Compendium Volumes 1-VII (1-40). I could buy it for 1,000 order resources, but if I read this right I don't need it, since Keya has already reached artifact 40.
The thing that seems strange to me is that both times Keya has had an opportunity to buy one of them, she's already reached that level. I wonder if those are for alts or something? I was reading somewhere that Keya could, for example, buy the compendium for Sista, and Sista could use it to get a large jump start.
As for getting Keya's third relic slot, she now knows what she is up against. Keya is currently working on step 28 of this challenge (which has four parts). Assuming she completes that step, she immediately runs up against another major hurdle.
At step 30 she faces the Vault of the Wardens. A dungeon. Her journey ends there unless she decides to sneak into someones dungeon run and hope no one notices the tanking gear on a demon hunter that is doing DPS. Maybe they won't notice?
At step 39 it gets even worse. Keya would have to collect 15 sovereign souls from legion dungeons. That would require, at minimum, three more dungeon runs.
So Keya's third relic slot will likely remain unfilled. Since she has never been able to use it, and there doesn't seem to be any penalty for not having it activated, Keya is now determined to ignore it.
Or maybe, just maybe, she might try the "can I join your dungeon run as a DPS wearing tanking gear? Please?" Yea, right. I can hear it now. "You are wearing tank gear and you still keep dying??"
PS - Keya has an interesting thought. Since the accumulation of AP and ranks is an endless procession, Keya is essentially following in Almond's footprints - at great distance, of course - but, still, she persists. Keya is now getting AP in the millions, so she can set goals, such as her first 100 million, and ultimately her first billion, and . . . well, once Almond retires, Keya might even catch her. Another "Yea, right!"
Monday, July 3, 2017
Cottage in the Woods
Cottage in the Woods
The Tiphaine family took a little vacation so us humans could go up to Idylwild (a small community in the mountains of California). It's called the "Cottage in the Woods," and it is. There's nothing to do but lay around, enjoy our rustic cottage, and eat. We've been going here for years. For the first time, the cottage now has air conditioning, though it's not needed most of the time. We never turned it on. We mostly nap in the hammock, feed the blue jays, squirrels, and rabbits, and generally do nothing for three days. Heavenly. We were also around to see a family of quail run across the back yard area, showing off eleven new chicks and making a remote corner of the yard their own nesting area.
The cats (we brought two, Jackson and Jonesie) and the dog, Sheila. Sheila has cateracts and doesn't see very well, but she had fun, too. Jonesie tried the hammock, too (that didn't go so well), but everyone enjoyed the little vacation.
Keya brought us all back to reality, demanding time to complete the Concordance of the Legionfall, which is the wheel Keya has been completing. She looked forward to what came next now that she had finished all but the center of the wheel. Well. The center of the wheel requires that every other rank must be filled before the wheel is done. Sigh. Then, to her horror, she learned that even when everything is done, it's not done. A new set of ranks will be added EVERY TIME a set is finished. In other words, it can never be finished. Honestly, that sucks. Pretty poor imagination, too, in my opinion. Back from the vacation, Keya still does her morning runs in the Broken Isles, but her heart isn't really into it. She currently has about 74 million AP and could add another rank, but she hasn't bothered.
Java was sent out to run Naxramas and did a decent job of gathering infinite dust. Java found the whole thing boring and felt bad for Sista, who has to make those runs all the time. Rakta is going to have to make that run soon, and Sista, poor Sista, has to do them both.
Rakta is deep trouble with the family. Once Java began shilling for her and letting her do all the work, Rakta simply stopped working. She has only 88 order resources to her name and can't afford a single mission. Hard to believe that a level 110 could be a pauper. Tiphaine made a call to Skyhold, and Rakta found herself sent packing down to the Broken Isles at Deliverance. Stay there, Tiphaine told her, until you have at least a thousand order resources.
The Tiphaine family took a little vacation so us humans could go up to Idylwild (a small community in the mountains of California). It's called the "Cottage in the Woods," and it is. There's nothing to do but lay around, enjoy our rustic cottage, and eat. We've been going here for years. For the first time, the cottage now has air conditioning, though it's not needed most of the time. We never turned it on. We mostly nap in the hammock, feed the blue jays, squirrels, and rabbits, and generally do nothing for three days. Heavenly. We were also around to see a family of quail run across the back yard area, showing off eleven new chicks and making a remote corner of the yard their own nesting area.
The cats (we brought two, Jackson and Jonesie) and the dog, Sheila. Sheila has cateracts and doesn't see very well, but she had fun, too. Jonesie tried the hammock, too (that didn't go so well), but everyone enjoyed the little vacation.
Keya brought us all back to reality, demanding time to complete the Concordance of the Legionfall, which is the wheel Keya has been completing. She looked forward to what came next now that she had finished all but the center of the wheel. Well. The center of the wheel requires that every other rank must be filled before the wheel is done. Sigh. Then, to her horror, she learned that even when everything is done, it's not done. A new set of ranks will be added EVERY TIME a set is finished. In other words, it can never be finished. Honestly, that sucks. Pretty poor imagination, too, in my opinion. Back from the vacation, Keya still does her morning runs in the Broken Isles, but her heart isn't really into it. She currently has about 74 million AP and could add another rank, but she hasn't bothered.
Java was sent out to run Naxramas and did a decent job of gathering infinite dust. Java found the whole thing boring and felt bad for Sista, who has to make those runs all the time. Rakta is going to have to make that run soon, and Sista, poor Sista, has to do them both.
Rakta is deep trouble with the family. Once Java began shilling for her and letting her do all the work, Rakta simply stopped working. She has only 88 order resources to her name and can't afford a single mission. Hard to believe that a level 110 could be a pauper. Tiphaine made a call to Skyhold, and Rakta found herself sent packing down to the Broken Isles at Deliverance. Stay there, Tiphaine told her, until you have at least a thousand order resources.
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