Wildshard Makes His Decision

Wildshard Makes His Decision

Wildshard went to the Alliance side today. His faction change from Horde to Alliance was successful.

Whoa! What a rush! Wildshard remains himself in his new incarnation as an Alliance Night Elf and Gaurdian Druid. He also kept his name. Clean shaven, too. I must say he makes a dashing figure. Wild's slouch is gone, too.

Wild begins his new life in Darnassus, but he doesn't stay there long. He needs to get to Stormwind City. There was a moment of panic, but Wild quelled it quickly. He took a page from his own experience, remembering that he could fly to Ratchet, near Wild's haunts that are now dangerous for him so close to Orgrimmar.

Ratchet caters to both Horde and Alliance. Wild took the boat to Booty Bay. He thought he had to go through Ironforge before going to Stormwind, so he took that flight path. That made the flight longer but it wasn't very long before Wild flew into Stormwind.

Wild's ticket to Legion was ready, but Wild wasn't. There were things that needed to be put in place before he put himself in harms way.

He checked on his Garrison, and was pleased that it was in good shape. The bank still had all his stuff, a rich treasure of materials now available to Sista and the rest of the guild.

Wild should catch up with Sista, also a Gaurdian Druid, to get his spells and weapons straightened out. At Level 100 he does not have his Legion weapon yet. Gear score begins at i680 with an i621 staff.

But there is some nasty history with Sista. Sista made a terrible mess when she pushed too fast into Legion. Sista very nearly went insane and to this day she operates at less than full strength, having never completely mastered her talents. She is not a good role model for Wild. Wild claims to need no role model. He intends to make his own way. Perhaps he'll even help Sista getting her own issues resolved.

Tiphaine kept tabs on all the activity, keeping her thoughts to herself. It has been a long time since Wild had cared about anything important. Time will tell whether this new version of Wild will be a boon to the guild, or an even worse albatross around the guild's neck. Still, not even Tiphaine could completly ignore the potential temptations of the Elven Wildshard.

Wild thought it would be easy, but he quickly discovered what so vexed Sista when she took the path to becoming a druid in the world of demons.

Wildshard is now on that path and is finding it as unfriendly as Sista did. Wild has reached the Dreamgrove, but that is as far as he has gone to date. After the previous Crash a lot of trouble was taken to simplify and remove addons to protect against future crashes. Yet Wild finds himself looking for crutches such as TomTom in order to track paths and locations.

For example, the quest "To the Hills" requires a flask of moonwell water. Sounds simple. But the series of actions required to complete it nearly destroyed Sista's sanity. Wild hopes the same fate doesn't fall on him as well. Tiphaine grudgingly authorized the addon Tomtom to help with tracking.

Should Wild fail in the next 24 hours, he may very well become just another broken druid.
So much doom and gloom!

A Young Wildshard

Wildshard the Elf

Java's First Legion Assault

Java's First Legion Assault

Java now had her freedom, but her leveling was rather random. The rest of the family was busy, taking up Java's time. Many things were going on and she could only quest piecemeal, and over short periods. Such as Tiphaine, who continues to enhance her gear. Java felt that this was unfair. Chaitee was given a lot of time to reach level 110.

She managed to get most of the Aszuna area mapped out and some random runs in Val'sharah. Then Atkar came along to confuse things further. Java kept at it. Over the course of several broken periods she managed to get through most of Highmountain, though she left broken quest threads all over the Broken Isles.

Java hopes for a cleaner path going forward, but there still seems to be a lot of pieces to clean up. She got a nice break when she came in contact with a Legion Assault. The battle was everything she'd hoped for and she acquited herself well. Well enough to reach Level 109. Sadly, she still cannot enter the Broken Shore, where all the action is. Nor are there much in the way of quests available. She will keep looking.

A few more Leagion battles later . . . 
Hello, may I introduce to the Tiphaine family - Level 110 Javajoo! And her i767 gear score.

PS - Java picked a very difficult quest for her first challenge as a Level 110. She attempted the nasty path to protect Thyrssa in Suramar. Java tried four times and died all four times. She told herself if was just a matter of practice and earning better gear.

But there has always been something weird about Javajoo, something out of kilter. Not Java herself, she has proven a faithfull and willing warrior for her guild. But something wasn't right. Java felt it, worried about it, but the source of concern remained clouded.

Java hoped that she would get answers to her strange feelings, and called for help from the Sanctum of Light, the powers of the Altar of Ancient Kings, and her own artifact, Truthguard. Instead of revelation, the powers that should set her straight were confused and contradictory.

The artifact powers of Truthguard did not match her skill sets. I'm a Protection Warrior! Java literally screamed one late night, wrestling demons in her head, standing on a precipice that could destroy her - or enlighten her.

Java thought back to the terrible Crash that forced every member of both Horde and Alliance to rebuild from scratch. Everyone had recovered from that ordeal. Or so Java thought. She sought out Tiphaine, pleading for more help. Tiphaine could see that Java was struggling. Java complained that nothing worked the way things should. Java had soldiered on despite everything.

Tiphaine asked a lot of questions, and focused on two areas. "Are you comfortable with your combat tools?" Java admitted that she was often confused by what she had to work with. Her abililties did not seem to match her gear. Tiphaine then asked about her artifact, the core of her competence, Truthguard. Java emphatically stated that Truthguard was the ONLY thing she felt comfortable with.

Java might well have lost her mind - become something worse than what had happened to Atkar. But she wouldn't give up. Didn't give up. Despite everything Java had still reached max Level 110. That had to mean something. She sought outside council from the powerful conglomeration of Icy-Veins, the most revered of instructors. Icy-Veins was initially intrigued at Java's conundrum. But like many things, when the answer finally found it's way, the solution was staring them in the face.

Javajoo, Protection Warrior. So she thought.

No. Javajoo, Protection PALADIN.

How things got so twisted was a mystery that may never be known.

Java is a Paladin, not a warrior. The answer stared everyone in the face, yet no one saw it. How Java survived at all is a miracle, yet she overcame it.

She stands before all, Level 110, gear level now i773. Truthguard Artifact Power has been upgraded to Artifact Level 49.

I love the summary from Icy-Veins about paladins: The Protection Paladin rotation is not very complicated, since all abilities have different cooldowns, and you basically just press whatever is coming off cooldown next. When two abilities are ready at the same time, you prioritise accordingly. Having downtime with nothing to cast is not uncommon.
She's the perfect player for the way I play the game lol.

Javajoo Takes a Walk

Javajoo Takes a Walk

The Auction House hasn't been much fun the past few days. Too many farmers ruining Java's usually smooth running apparatus. Java figured it was time for a break when she found herself buying cheap silkweave bags for 600g and selling them with barely 100g in profit. Her heart just wasn't into it.

It was time Java took a look at her world again. Skyfire Triage is where she left off on her last flyabout. Her memory is pretty vague as it's been some time. Just a reminder that Java is a Level 107 about two-thirds toward level 108. Her gear level is i755. This will be her first foray since the last computer crash, so forgive her if she is a little rusty in combat.

She spent a day in Highmountain and got aquainted with Stormheim. Unused to hard terrain, she did not get a lot of progress, and when she finally called it quits she knew she would be sore for a week. Java was elated when her efforts resulted in attaining Level 108 and improved her gear from i755 to i760. At the end of the day, there was one thing she knew for sure - Java was not going back to the Auction House.

Java's announcement started a tornado. It seems that no one wanted the job to begin with and no one wanted it now. Attempts to talk Java out of it came up short. She had taken her turn at the Auction House and had the right to finish her leveling.
A lot of the attention then turned to Atkar. Sista butted in before Tiphaine could say something she might regret later.

Seeing Sista step forward, Tiphaine held her tongue, waiting to see how things went. "Atkar is still learning her professions. Her assistance has already earned the family gold and useful gear. I need her out there farming, not at the Auction House." There were dark looks, and the argument grew.
A low, vibrating growl quieted the room. It was Chaitee's cat, Taz. Chaitee spoke into the sudden silence. "I will take it back," Chaitee declared. "You goons don't know how to run an Auction House, anyway." She said it with a smile.

The last time the reins of the Auction House turned over it was turmoil. Java had done her best, but Chaitee was the more practiced at it. She quietly relished the challenge to improve on Java's small successes. This is how it went: (1) Chaitee inherited all of the purchased goods still in the Mailbox. She will begin her first day with 810,000 gold. (2) She  cleared all of Java's  active bids and sent those mats back to Chiatee. (3) Once that is done there will be no backlog of purchased goods to rely on. (4) With no backlog of mats, Chaitee will be working from scratch.

And now Java is free to pursue her own dreams of completing her leveling.

Yawn Cracking Boring (you were warned)

Yawn Cracking Boring (you were warned)

Sista vs Atkar - Atkar pressed Sista into a contest to see who could collect the most materials for making frostweave bags. To Sista, the work was a necessary grind. To Atkar, though, it meant a lot more. The nightmares were returning. She had to stay busy. She had to feel productive. Below are the results:

Atkar's Take                  Sista's Take
778 Frostweave cloth    715
171 Infinite dust            172
3 Abyss crystals            3

Sista mentioned more than once that the amount of materials collected varies on every run. She tried to make it a fun contest, but all Atkar wanted was to win.

Atkar was ecstatic! She won! 

As for Sista, she was mostly bemused. Let her have her victory. After all, she has taken her Tailoring profession from nothing to all the way to level 658 and keeps at it every day.

Fighting a Losing Battle

It may not matter how well Atkar or Sista farm materials. There seems to be a paradox. Mat prices continue to climb while the value of the bags crafted by those mats continues to fall. Frostweave bags have fallen from 385g to 360g. Despite the glut there are very few buyers. Of even more concern is the fate of embersilk bags. Java has managed to keep the buying price at 748g but there is a lot of pressure that continues to push down the price. Competing with the embersilk bags are the silkweave bags. The cost to make a silkweave bag has risen to 720g per bag , yet the bags are on the market at 699g.

The farmers are the winners on this matchup. Silkweave is the only ingredient needed to make silkweave bags. Farm enough of it and the seller can set his own price for the bags. The one thing in favor of the auction house is that the competition has to keep under-bidding each other to maintain sales. That doesn't help in the short term. Java counts SIX farmers pressuring the market. It will have to end eventually, but it will continue to be tough times for now.

PS - Sista spent two hours farming mats at the Maw of Madness. She collected 226 embersilk cloth. It takes 75 cloth and 15 hypnotic dust for the materials. The cloth is easy, but the hypnotic dust must be created by enchanting and there is a random element involved as well. Bottom line is that the number of bags that results from this haul will vary between , say 6 at the low end and 8-10 on the high end. Yes, the good thing is that the only cost is in time. The down side is it's yawn creaking boring. Worse than fishing, Sista commented, if that can be believed. Her fishing skill, by the way, is a mere 173 out of 800. Sista was too bored to make bags. Maybe later.

A Change of Faction (Under consideration)

A Change of Faction (Under consideration)

The Horde faction has all but disappeared from meaningful activities.
The list of players is small:

Plumrosefist (Level 101 Monk)
Wildshard (Level 100 Druid)
Jocelyne (Level 100 Paladin)
Happpyface (Level 24 Warrior)
Pulsefyre (Level 24 Warlock)

There is considerable interest in phasing out the Horde side. Maintaining both factions is a drain on resources. Essentually the abandonment of the Horde has already happened. No Horde player has breached the Legion Expansion except for Plumrosefist. And she has not made any attempt to level beyond those first steps.

However, there is something of significant value within the Horde faction. And that value is not a "what," but a "Who." Wildshard. Wild's Tailoring profession skills would add a considerable boost in farming mats and crafting bags and other items. His tailoring skill is at level 700, allowing him to use hexweave cloth and craft the prized hexweave bags. He also has a large Bank stocked with useful crafting materials.

To get him, though, Wild would have to change faction from Horde to Alliance. That can be dangerous. The few faction changes that have been done in the past all discovered that many things were lost in the transition. Important things. A faction change is always a risk due to unintended consequences.

What would it take? Here are the directions for a faction change:

Select your character's new race, appearance, and name. The race you choose must support your character’s class.
   
    Alliance Races: Night Elf, Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Draenei, Worgen, Pandaren
    Classes: Druid, Demon Hunter, Hunter, Death Knight, Warrior, Monk, Priest, Rogue, Mage

In order to stay a druid Wild has a choice between Night Elf and Worgen as his race. Wildshard is an uncomplicated fellow, and Worgen are complicated. Wild picks Night Elf Druid.

    Appearances and Name: Wildshard was adamant that he would remain Male for the transformation. He was born Male and he intends to stay that way. Wild hopes that he retains his name as well,  but random chance could play into that once the "Wildshard" name becomes available. If Wild loses his name, he will have to concoct a new one. Maybe something like Wyldershard.

Guild Issues: Wildshard will lose access to the Horde Meitha guild. Wild has kept tabs on the guild over the years. Currently there is still activity in the large guild, but it appears to be single player efforts. Under "Guild Challenges" there are no listed dungeon or raid events. Wild is designated as a "Casual" member. Wild needs to let the guild leader know that Wild is leaving the guild but is still interested in staying in touch. I'd like to stay in touch via Plumrosefist (aka Wildshard). That would mean that Fist would have to leave the Order of the Dragon guild. Hmm, this is more complicated that I thought it would be.

Other Miscellanous Items:
Currencies—honor points, gold, etc.—are unaffected. Flight points will be reset, and your character will receive a new list of level- and faction-appropriate flight points.
Followers, Shipyard, and completed Garrison buildings will not be lost.
Faction-specific followers, ships, and ship crews convert to an equivalent from your new faction.
Follower traits stay the same, but abilities may change. Ship abilities and equipment remain the same.

When all that is settled and Wild is secure in his new Him, Wild wants to do some fishing with Keya. Wild and Keya have that in common.

Have I missed anything? If there is anyone out there that has gone through the process of changing faction and all the pieces associated with it, any pointers would be appreciated.

Back in the Saddle (returning from vacation)

Back in the Saddle (returning from vacation)

(Note: There was no Warcraft played during my visit with my Mom)
(Tiphaine and Wildshard wave at Tanis and Erik!)

It's been more than two weeks since Java has been able to get into the Auction House. She is expecting a very large mess.

The mailbox was choked with items that had expired. Once Java got the mess cleared out she checked on her usual stock of goodies. As usual, the bag situation was complicated. The smaller frostweave bags were under priced at 286 gold when they should be closer to 398g. With the weekend coming up that price should rise to it's expected level.

Embersilk bags are the most difficult to determine the correct pricing for, allthough the reason for it has more to do with silkweave bags than the embersilk. Sellers are trying to get 900 gold for an embersilk bag, but silkweave prices are currently barely hanging on at around 700g. Several sellers have dumped silkweave, posting them around 550g. Java will let things settle out a bit before jumping into the pit.

Bag materials are also all over the place. Mat prices are very high, which will force Java to get her farming gear ready.

With the immediate needs taken care of, the Wild/Tiphaine family is faced with a major decision - Has the new expansion been launched or are they still in the Alpha phase? 

Answers:
(1) My Alpha opportunity expired before I could use it.

(2) The new expansion, Battle For Azeroth,  can be pre-purchased at any time, but I don't get anything for buying it early. Other than a 110 level Boost which might or might not be useful.

(3) In fact, the expansion will not be released until at least September 2018.

(4) Back to the every day grind.