Catch Her if You Can

Catch Her if You Can

Frostwall is an untamed land. The bare bones stretch of icy dirt and rock didn't look much like the future site for Tiphaine's fresh start, but it would have to do. Workmen were already on the site, and she left that business to those who knew what was needed.

Personally, her most urgent need is her own safety. Her combat skills are badly erroded and her gear, while carefully cared for, is desperately ancient and unsuitable for this new land of Draenor. Death Knight skills have changed four times since Tiphaine last took up arms.  Master the new arts, and do it fast, so Warchief Vol'jin advised.

Tiphaine left Ebon Hold at level 72. Now, surveying the buildings going up around her, she is level 90. An eighteen level jump may not be as impressive as Jocy's sixty-three level jump, but it was a striking change for Tiphaine. She wasted no time on such matters, having already asked herself what kind of Death Knight she wanted to be. Blood is her choice. What race? The steel tendons of the Undead had always kept her killing skills intact, but felt inadequate now, not up to the new standards Tiphaine expects of herself. She Changed, shedding undead bones for the meatier strength of the Trolls.

 Tiphaine agrees to a rare photo atop her Town Hall.

Tiphaine Atop Her Town Hall

There is little time for recording events now. Tiphaine has no patience and plows through anything and everything in her way. She cleared every quest in Frostwall Ridge in an afternoon, including some that Jocy spent long hours working on. Jocy would have complained that she was bound to a ground mount when she made it to Draenor, but Tiphaine cut her short. "What do you want?" Tiphaine sneered at her. "Permission to whine because I can use a flying mount?"

[] The Town Hall is up, as is her Level 1 Forge and a still under construction Storehouse. Her followers are busy filling in every mission. Others have come before her, including her daughter, and Tiphaine dismisses the boring work. She has all she needs for herself, now, but allows the rest of the garrison to carry on.

[] Frostfire Ridge has no more secrets. She will soon be heading for Gorgrond. Tiphaine is now level 92 +27% with a gear score of i525.

[] Jocy, still trying to gain a measure of value to Tiphaine, crafts her a beautiful two-handed greatsword, spending her own gold to upgrade the blade from i630 to i705. Tiphaine's average DPS doubles with the new weapon and  Tiphaine's gear rises and climbs in steady bursts of mayhem. Jocy gets no thank you for the help.

[] Determined to make an impression, Jocy shows off her bodyguard, Tormmok. Tiphaine is suitably impressed, until she learns that Jocy had already reached level 100 before getting the bodyguard, and took even longer to max the follower's gear and weapons.

[] A day later Tiphaine shows up with her own Tormmok, having hunted him down while still at level 92, a full level BELOW that of level 93 Tormmok. Tiphaine gave "her" Tormmok a nickname, Mock, declaring that Mock would be level 100 and geared to the max well ahead of Jocy's pace. Rubbing it in, Mock has an extra ability, Pummel, that Jocy's Tormmok lacks. Jocy glares and smoulders at the joke on her.

[] New buildings go up, a level 2 Forge, Level 2 Storehouse, and a Mine. The Herb Shack can't be opened until Tiphaine is level 96. She's up to level 94 (i553 gear) and deep into Gorgrond.

[] Tiphaine exposes a secret she harbors explaining in part the swift path she cuts through her enemies. An addon called Spellflash whispers spell casting suggestions in her ear, aiding her in choosing which of her many spells she should cast. Depending on such magic is death in raids and dungeons, but Tiphaine fights alone, and makes no excuses for her methods.

[] Fighting alone got her in trouble more than once. Used to wading into mid-level mobs, she swept into a Bonus area in Gorgrond and began hacking away at half a dozen creatures. As her health began to drop she intensized her attack, knowing the hits were gaining back her health . . . except this time the incoming damage was too high to sustain the heals. Tiphaine died. She forgot she was only level 94, and she'd waded into a dense level 100 zone.

. . . To Be Continued.

Tiphaine Begins Her Journey

Tiphaine Begins Her Journey

"I am Tiphaine, level 72 Death Knight, once called Naithipe. I am the mother of Plumrosefist (aka, "Fist"). Fist's birth is my finest accomplishment, the only good deed I lay claim to. I've remained, reclusive, in Dalaran, the floating city above the Crystalsong Forest in Northrend. I have remained here because of what I am, and for what I have done. I deny nothing, and accept all condemnation of my past actions. The world changes, and perhaps there are worse things in this new world than I. I intend to find out."

Tiphaine's surprise announcement was met with suspicion. Certain factions and various enemies began to stir. There was no further word of her whereabouts. Her room at the inn is recently vacant, leaving no sign that she had ever lived there. There are rumors that she entered the Death Gate and returned to Ebon Hold above the Eastern Plaguelands. Some believe she is re-dedicating herself to the Death Knight creed and working to restore her craft and hone her skills.

The rumors flurrying about Tiphaine proved true when she was seen briefly at Warsong Hold in Northrend's Borean Tundra. She made no attempt at concealment at her next sighting, waiting for the zep outside the Undercity and obviously heading for Orgrimmar. Once in the city, Tiphaine went straight to Grommash Hold. Warchief Vol'jin ordered the doors closed.

What transpired between her and the Warchief remained between them, but for a time the Hold shook as if battered from within. Vol'jin made no comment, but seemed satisfied with the outcome. When the doors to the Hold opened, Tiphaine was no longer there. She'd taken the portal to Draenor.

Tiphaine has a tendency to kill reporters who try to paint her likeness, so there are few such portraits of her. The only known likeness is a portrait of Tiphaine and Fist together when the two briefly grouped together to help Fist during her training to become a Fistweaver Monk.
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If the rumors coming out of Orgrimmar are true, however, Tiphaine may no longer look the same. Certain of the Foresaken Deathguard that surround Vol'jin have been found to have surreptitiously sketched Tiphaine's likeness during their conversation. Tiphaine inherited the bent, bony body of a typical Undead. Now, cloaked by her armor, she stands much taller than any undead, though the coals of her eyes were just as baleful from within her helm.

The rumors were denied and the sketches dissappeared. More telling, the entire Deathguard team on duty also dissappeared, replaced by others. Reporters, following the faint clues, are headed for Draenor as well. If they are in fact on Tiphaine's trail, they had better keep a close eye on their heads, for Tiphaine won't hesitate in separating their heads from their bodies.

In A Good Place

In A Good Place

Now that Jocy can fly in the Tanaan Jungle, accomplishing each day's tasks are a little easier. Easier still are the speedy kills given Jocy's now i693 gear and Tormmok's stolid assistance. The armored goon still gets in Jocy's way too often, but it's a small price to pay for a hard to kill attack dummy that leaves Jocy free to kill things.

For example, this morning's strafe through the Rumble in Jungle was almost an afterthought. Usually Jocy waits for some other player to start the event, but this time she purchased all three events and ran through them with only one other player helping. Jocy barely got a scratch against the first two bosses and even the final boss, Eyepiercer, was yawnable.

Jocy's quickly completed business gave an opportunity to other members of the family. The surprise of the day came from Tiphaine. The reclusive death knight is stirring about, making noises about a potential change of abode. Tiphaine has been more or less hiding out in old Dalaran. The place is so remote that Blizz has to bring it out and dust off the cobwebs whenever Tiphaine decides to open her eyes and look around.

Tiphaine has a very nasty history, and has transformed herself at least twice. Who knows what motivates her actions? Not even her daughter, Fist, can say what her mother's ultimate goals are.
The facts, however, can't be denied. Tiphaine is only level 72 and has seen only one expansion, The Burning Crusade, where the level cap is 70. She is four expansions behind and might still be short when the NEXT expansion arrives, Legion, which would raise the cap to 110.

Tiphaine will likely wind up in Orgrimmar, if she moves at all. She is considering a serious makeover. The possibility of a "Boost" maneuver could get her quickly to level 90. If Jocy gives her enough leveling time, she could follow Wild, Jocy, and Fist to level 100.

The question is why? Simply put, Jocy is very fun to play, in part due to her heavy armor and protections that keep her going even under heavy pressure. Death knights don't have quite that level of protection, but they are plate wearers and tough to kill. I think. Tiphaine will be very rusty, should she decide to get into action, although Jocy and Happy could keep her outfitted in the best gear.

Tiphaine remains mum on the topic. Anyone else have an opinion? Should Tiphaine come out of the shadows again? Remember, real characters died permanent deaths the last time she rose into action.

Nothing Beats Flying

Nothing Beats Flying

This past weekend featured a special event called "Sign of Apexis" that doubles the amount of apexis players can collect. Jocy has about 130,000 apexis. That sounds like a lot, but it takes a gob of them to buy anything useful. Jocy was faced with a bit of a conundrum. The Awakened faction has a bird mount that Jocy MUST have. It costs 150,000 apexis. Jocy didn't quite collect enough to buy the bird before the special event ended, but she could continue the normal dailies and would eventually have enough.

However, there is another use of apexis that may trump the bird. Apexis aren't the only item that got a buffed up drop rate. Baleful gear also dropped at far higher rate than usual. The gear is only i650, but it can be upgraded to i695 - if Jocy spends 20,000 apexis to buy the upgrade. Hmmm, buy a cool new mount? Or get better gear?

Practicality, not Jocy's strong suit, still won out. Jocy upgraded a baleful ring to i695, raising her overall gear to i690. A baleful neck piece also dropped. Jocy's practicality is really getting a workout now. Spending another 20k apexis for another gear upgrade is going to mean a LOT more grinding to reach 150,000 for the bird. Jocy wishes she could pay gold instead.

Tormmok also improved his gear. He's maxed his weapon at i675 and his armor is now i660. He also completed his first 10,000 level points and was granted an upgrade to his DPS. The buff doesn't show on his stats sheet, but I didn't know that, and now I can't recall what it was. I have to take it for granted that he got it, whatever it was. Sigh.

Overall the whole weekend was a frenzy of mayhem. Jocy completed all of her dailies and then did every bonus event. Thousands of mobs and critters died, and boy was it fun!

And now it's over.

The Last Dance of Draenor Pathfinder

The Last Dance of Draenor Pathfinder

On Tuesday Jocy picked up Unseen Influence, and then ran the Rumble in the Jungle, earning 6 fragments. She then went after the Night Haunter, and gathered one more fragment, for 7 total on the day. That was all she could get.

Back at it on Wednesday, Jocy hung out around the Rumble and talked a nervous horde rogue into taking on the first boss with just the two of us and our bodyguards. The battle went smoothly but only garnered one fragment. Feeling a little more confident, the rogue hung around for the second boss. This one went a little rougher, but rogue stayed alive and the outcome was the same - dead boss. Jocy picked up two fragments this time, and she now had her ten fragments for the day (counting the 7 she picked up the day before). The third boss would have been a lot trickier with only the lone rogue so Jocy had to bid him goodbye and good luck. There was no point in trying to get an extra fragment from the third boss because Unseen Influence stops taking them at 10. Once ten are turned in, Jocy can't get another Unseen Influence quest until the next day.

Jocy turned in her ten fragments and earned 1500 more rep. She is only 1500 rep - ie, one more turn in of Unseen Influence away from reaching Revered with the Awakened. Let's hope the Kra'nak mission pops, which would improve her chances. If she's lucky tomorrow will be the day.

Jocy was out of bed early on Thursday morning. Today could be the day. Feeling confident, she headed immediately for the Rumble area. Luck was with her. A mage and a druid were already standing around in the arena. No waiting. We killed all three bosses. Luck quickly abandoned her. The Rumble dropped only 6 fragments. She was hoping for seven. Her next stop was the Fangrila swamp, her target the Night Haunter. The Haunter dissappointed, too, dropping only one fragment and she had to have two. Jocy has seven fragments, leaving her three short.

Well, that sucks. Jocy isn't ready to give up, though. She already had the Ruins of Kra'nak as her fall back. She won't be on the mission, but based on the Rumble she can probably still collect fragments there. Jocy and Tormmok flew to the Aktar flight master. The entrance to Kra'nak is nearby. They had to dissuade a few mobs that Jocy wasn't interested in completing the mission. She went directly to the area where the elite boss spawns. Jocy was unlucky once again, the boss having been killed just before she arrived. So close. The carcass was still simmering. She won't get any fragments from there.

Jocy heaved a large sigh, pounded on Tormmok's knee to get his attention, and got to work. The rumor is that small treasures lined with a purplish light might contain fragments. Jocy doesn't remembering seeing such things when she's done this mission, but then at the time she wasn't trying to collect them.

They killed a few more mobs who didn't have the sense to stay away, and it only took about five minutes before Jocy spotted a smal purplish item hanging from a tree. Jocy picked it - a fragment dropped into her hand. Woo Hoo! Jocy needs only two more fragments!

Jocy got a little excited (a little?) and started running around looking for the purple things, mobs trailing along, Tormmok swatting them away.

She found another one, but couldn't get hold of it because she was surrounded by the trail of mobs that were following her. It took a little while to kill them all. With corpses all around her, she couldn't see the purple thing. Did some other player grab it while she was busy? Oh, she'd go all PVP on the b-tard if that's the case.

Tormmok waited patiently as Jocy still steamed. "Come on," she told him, we'll have to find another if we can." She took one step, Tormmok following, and there it was. Tormmok had been standing on it. Jocy smacked him and picked up the item from inside the size twenty footprint. Jocy opened it.
It held TWO fragments. Jocy has her ten fragments. And that, is that. Jocy has earned the Draenor Pathfinder Achievement.

Jocy can Fly!!!!

Jocy Can Fly in Tanaan!

From Impossible to Inevitable?

From Impossible to Inevitable?

Last week Jocy was sure she would never be done with the Awakened Faction reputation grind that haunted her and had her counting fragmented apexis crystals in her sleep.

Still, she went resolutely to Tanaan, prepared to press forward, as daunting as it seemed. Jocy made visits to the Ruins of Kra'nak to get fragments from the rare elite there, with only one other player around to help, and that cost Tormmok a life - and earned her a pair of fragments. Twice Jocy reanimated ten dead soldiers in the Fangrila swamps to prod the Night Haunter into attacking, earning more fragments from the kills. Jocy - belatedly I have to admit - also discovered that helping to kill the elites in the Rumble in the Jungle sometimes drops fragments - even if you aren't on the quest! Hanging around the Rumble and helping out took time, but that's how Jocy got the last two fragments to gather in another 1500 rep.

As a bright day dawns on Saturday morning, Jocy can confidently (maybe) predict that next week she'll reach Revered with the Awakened and complete the Draenor Pathfinder achievement. Unless something goes wrong. Unless her math is off. Unless she forgets to pick up the Rumble in the Jungle quest. Unless . . .  Can one be both confident and panicky at the same time?

Here's the current status of Pathfinder:
Vol'Jin's: Revered (DONE)
Saberstalkers: Revered (DONE)
Master Treasure: 100! (DONE)
Awakened: Honored  -> 7500 -> 9000 toward Revered (need 12,000)

Obviously, Jocy needs 20 fragments to finish this. Rumble in the Jungle drops 5-7 fragments once a week. Doing only the Rumble each week, it could take Jocy four weeks to get enough fragments.
Jocy doesn't plan to take that route. What fun would that be? So here's her plan.

(1) Do the Rumble in the Jungle this week (5-7 fragments)

(2) Kill the Night Haunter. Jocy has had good luck finding and killing the elusive elite (1-3 fragments). I think I can kill the Haunter once a day.

(3)  If she gets the 10 fragments, Hurray! If still short of fragments (Boo!), she'll hang around the Rumble and horn in on someone else's Rumble and hope to get the rest.

(4) Failing the above, Jocy will give the Kra'nak elite a try, although it's one of the few elites that Jocy has trouble soloing, and I can't be sure it drops fragments if Jocy doesn't have the Kra'nak mission. Jocy's one kill of the elite was while on a mission, and Tormmok gave his life to the cause. Jocy had already burned her save me spells and was pretty low on health when the elite went down.

(5) Last resort, keep plugging away until Jocy gets those last fragments or another week arrives and Jocy gets another Rumble, which will then seal the deal. That's the "inevitable" part.

By the way, Tormmok is now past the halfway mark in leveling (5,030 toward 10,000) and has i654 gear and an i660 weapon. The max is i675. I'm not sure I'm counting levels properly, though. I never did spend much time learning the ins and outs of followers.

On another topic, Wild (remember him?) reached a long sought milestone. Wild is a fisherman, and has been working on earning the one hundred Nat Pagle marks needed to buy a new mount. Wild reached that goal Saturday night. It took more than 10,000 fishing casts - hours and hours of deadly boring monotony, I know, but thanks to Wild the Wild family now has the Crimson Water Spider mount, which can walk on water. Sorry, didn't get a pic, Blizz shut me down this morning before I thought to take one.

Jocy has her eye on another mount, the Reins of the Corrupted Dreadwing. Yes, another bird mount. I really want this bird. Jocy needs about 40,000 more apexis crystals to reach the 150,000 needed to acquire it from the Awakened faction. And no, there is no pic of Jocy astride it, since she doesn't have it, yet. Duh.

PS: I'm 58% through The Martian. It's as good as ya'll have been telling me. 

The Grueling Grind

The Grueling Grind

I once thought the Saberstalkers would be the toughest rep grind to gain the Draenor Pathfinder achievement, but on Wednesday morning that challenge fell. The Saberstalkers are now Revered. The final accomplishment did not come from the Rumble in the Jungle or a string of elite monkey kills - it came from the daily quest Tooth and Claw, one of the easiest quests to complete. A nice start to Jocy's morning.

The nice start turned very cold soon after. Jocy chased treasures in three different zones, spending an enormous amount of time, collecting all sorts of things, but none of them got her any closer to 100 treasures. After some more running around, this time in Tanaan for Unseen Influence, the three apexis crystals she needs for today's daily still elude her.

Jocy and Tormmok are down to very small numbers, but each win gets ever harder to find. Of the three treasures still needed: A last garrison bag in Bladespire Citadel; an elite kill in Nagrand; and the last - a parrot drops a key which then opens a locked chest. With that, Jocy earned Master Treasure Hunter.

All that is left is the Awakened. Jocy is 7 of 10 for the daily quest today, and finding the remainder will be a real chore. Jocy spent considerable time in the Fangrila swamps tracking the Night Haunter elite. The elite wouldn't come out and play until Jocy collected the souls of the dead scattered in the swamp. Once Jocy had the ten items needed to flush the creature out of the shadows, it attacked immediately, catching Jocy by surprise. A number of dinosaurs decided to join in the battle as well. It was along slog, but the Night Huanter died, and Jocy got one fragmented apexis for all that work.

Still two to go. There is a cave in the swamp. When she was a young level 100 she nearly drowned attempting to get a few of those fragments in that cave. There was one treadure left that Jocy couldn't figure out how to reach. Armed and with Tormmok at her side, Jocy delved into the cave once again. The treasure wasn't deep in the water, it was high of a spire of rock. It was well guarded and the whole area had to be cleared out. Then a way had to be found to get to it. Ultimately, Jocy was able to scrabble up on pointed rock, found a thin rope she had to highwire across, and then she had to jump to another narrow spire where the treasure lay. All that work for one more fragment, now at 9 of 10 required. Somehow she has to find that tenth fragment. And then try to find another ten the next day. . . and the next. Here's the math:

Best Case:
Today - 1500 rep (if Jocy gets that 10th fragment) = 7500 rep
Tomorrow - 10 fragments = 9000 rep
Day 3 = 10,500 rep
Day 4 = Revered and done
Worst Case:
The weekly Rumble in the Jungle gives 5-7 fragments, but if Jocy can only find enough fragments to turn in once a week, it would take four weeks to reach Revered.

But, hey, I'm on page one of "The Martian," a book I want to read, even if at the expense of slowing down my march to the Pathfinder achievement.

Progress Toward Draenor Pathfinder:
Vol'Jin's: Revered (DONE)
Saberstalkers: Revered (DONE)
Master Treasure: -> 86 -> 97 -> 100! (DONE)
Awakened: Honored -> 4500 -> 6000 toward Revered (need 12,000)

Progess on The Martian: 11%