The Faces of Wildshard

The Faces of Wildshard

Wildshard was born of the Horde. He was raised as Horde, and grew to serve not only one, but two Horde Guilds. Fate Sealed was his first guild, a guild he served well for many years. Wild also served in the guild Meitha. There is history buried in the annals that record why Wildshard settled with Meitha and not Fate Sealed. The two guilds competed with each other, but Wild remained good friends with members of both guilds. One day Wild may drag out those dusty tomes for a revival of what happened to cause the rifts among the guilds.

As noted, Wildshard was once part of the Horde faction. Later on, he turned to the Alliance and struck out on his own. During that time he made an effort to start his own guild, a challenge that he has yet to fulfill.

Since then Wild has been a drifter, a loner, unable or unwilling to settle down. That is, until Wild learned that an old flame of Wild's had died in one of many wars between Horde and Alliance, leaving Wild a surprise daughter he'd never known and with a name she hated - Wildswench.

Wildshard doesn't know what to do with this situation. Wildswench will have nothing to do with him. The name itself . . .  well, that sort of shows that things won't go well between them.

Tiphaine suggests that time will heal. Taking advice from Tiphaine, an Alliance monster in Wildswench's eyes, haven't gotten him any closer to seeing her, much less having anything to do with him.

Wildshard did some digging and learned that Wildswench was speaking with a Horde guild that might take her in. It's a small guild, well respected. The guild is called the Order of the Dragon. An elvin paladin, Jocelyne, is the Guild Leader. Happyface manages the money and has a reputation as a keen competitor. Plumrosefist is also an active member. The rest of the guild have been on hiatus for a considerable period.  

At present she is staying at the Wyvern's Tail Inn in Orgrimmar.

As for Wildswench, she is considering their offer.
 
 

Hearts and Kisses

 Hearts and Kisses

Hearts and Kisses are everywhere during the Valentine's period. Wildshard took a small breather from his ongoing progression. His artifact Power is now at AP 31 plus 87%. His gear score is i348. His highest single piece of gear is an i375 chest piece.

Wild was designed and geared for defense, to survive, no matter how long it took. So, the progression is slow. But sooner or later, whatever confronts him dies. Boralus has few challenges left other than repeats to add to his AP. He did finally finish the Stoat quest, a fun but frustrating game. Wild hated the games originally, and refused to the play them. But after getting a taste of the games, Wild now loves them.

Wild also pays better attention to the World Quests now that his gear level makes such quests easier to acquire and complete. There is also a small - very small - possibility that a world quest could pop a piece of gear as high as into the 900 level. So Wild still does the quests even though the chance for an upgrade is small.

Note that "back in the day" Keya acquired such gear - which maxed out at i240 at the time.

Wild has also been going through a series of wardrobes as his ear changes. Below are a few of them:

Wildshard Passes Mahakeya

Wildshard Passes Mahakeya

Mahakeya : Gearscore 311, AP 19 plus 18% and i325 weapon

Wildshard : Gearscore 312, AP 17 plus 10% and i340 weapon

Keya sneered. "It took five pieces of gear from the Auction House to get that status, Wild."

Then came an Update from Darkshore on the 17th:

New Gearscore 315, AP 19 plus 21% and i350 pole arm weapon

NewGearscore 316 AP 20 plus 22%

"Whatever it takes," Wild replied. "I don't care how I get there, as long as I get there."

Keya wasn't finished. "So how's the guild going, Wild? How many conscripts have you paid to join? Oh, wait, that would be zero, wouldn't it?"

"Too bad you left the Horde," Keya added. "You had friends there, two guild options you could have taken. And yet here you are, running as Alliance instead of where you should have stayed, with the Horde."

Wild said nothing. He knew Keya was right. Wild's stubborn streak may yet get him killed beyond redemption one day.

Wild shook off the ugly thoughts. The past two days were actually good for Wild. He has surpassed Keya's scores now, thanks to his efforts at the Portal to Darkshore and the Highlands.

But now, Wild told himself, he still had to make a living. Time to do some farming.

Wild's new Friends.

The 2018 Warcraft New Year's Wrap-Up

The 2018 Warcraft New Year's Wrap-Up

The Battle for Azeroth marks the Fourteenth year that the Horde and Alliance have been battling each other on their home grounds and on more than one planet.

At the end of 2017 the various families and guilds took a siesta. Keya was still around, still working on more improvements. Chaitee was on a break at her True Shot Lodge and Java took over the Auction House business. Sista handled the day to day work, such as it was. Sista was very worried about Rakta.

Unrelated to Rakta (could it have been Rakta?), the guild family decided to remove all add-ons. None of them were working properly. Frankly, things became easier with the add-ons gone. The Auction House was the biggest worry, but even that settled down over time. Meanwhile, Argus was becoming the center focus.

In March, there was a flurry of activity involving the Horde. There were voices raised demanding that the Horde Faction (which Wild is part of) shut down for lack of activity. Obviously, Tiphaine and her Alliance guild was both happy and complicit. The complications would be enormous.

Meanwhile, Java dumped the Auction House, bored beyond tears. Chaitee happily took back the reins, loudly emphasized by Chaitee's cat, Taz.

Then, on March 29th, Wildshard went to the Alliance side.

Quote: "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."

But as the days passed Wildshard began to have second thoughts. He still sees himself as a healer. Quote: "There are reminders every time he opens a bag and out spills things with intellect on them. Wild was a healer in his heyday. A good one. Dungeon and raid successes. The Glory days. Now he doesn't even have a Guild.

It's April and I Quote: "When Wildshard reaches max level it is always past midnight. Call it coincidence, call it fate, but it always falls that way. Last night was the first exception. Usually Wild has someone to talk to while doing that midnight work, but this time Wild was alone. Wild also typically goes fishing on the nights that turn into leveling, and that didn't happen this time, either. Make of it what you will.Wild still reached level 110.

Much of the year revolved around fishing. Both Keya and Wild are avid fishermen and both would win their own Underlight Angler fishing poles.

In May Demon Hunter Mahakeya returned to action.

Keya owns three legendary items of gear:

She has her Underlight.
She has the Cinidaria, the Simbiote, an i970 belt.
She also has The Sentinel's Eternal Refuge, an  i970 pair of boots.

About the same time, guild less Wild was welcomed into the Goblin Gearworks Guild.

May wound down with Wildshard doing the impossible - he joined a raid. The target was a super elite target and the raid leader was looking for volunteers, specifically another tank. Wild got the call. He did well, stayed alive, and only twice did he get into serious trouble. The healers had Wild's back, and Wild thanked them for the help. And he was still standing when the boss elite went down. The highlight may also be retirement for the elderly druid.

Wildshard stayed with the Gearworks for awhile but things were just not the same. Wild quietly left the guild. Age is catching up. Wild catches himself thinking more about the past than the future.

Wild has in mind going on a walkabout. A journey of introspection and discovery. At some point in his journey he may want company. Or he may not. Which means he needs to be prepared for both options. And for that to work, Wild is going to create his own guild. Should he take that approach, Wild already has a name for the guild: BloodNtheWater.

So there goes the last word on the 2018 Campaign. Read the last post on December 29th.

"The Revival of Wildshard" Read it.

PS - As for Guilds Wildshard once belonged to, they are still here. Rhonna's guild Warchild is still listed. Raid Progression shows a 8/8 Uldir on LFR. Still active.

The Horde Fate Sealed is also still active. Ramux is still Guild Leader. Horde. Four Mythic guild runs successful.

The Horde Meitha Guild is active as well. Grrbaby is still the Guild Leader.

The local Order of the Dragon is also on the Horde side of the family.  

Question to Ponder - The list of Wild's guilds all fall into the Horde camp. So why is Wild in the Alliance?

A Splurge at the Auction House

A Splurge at the Auction House

Note: Wild's return and swift progress from nothing to max iLevel 120  had a number of twists and curves. Fun and intense, but then Wild is just one of many who have trod those paths. Wild opted to forgo all that commentary and get to the point. 

Wildshard has now reached max iLevel 120 with an overall gear score of i275. Wild is happy about that milestone, but it is not yet good enough. He's been holding on to his gold, hoping Chaitee could steer him to any bargains he might get on weapon buys. 

Wild has 43,387 gold  in his pocket and entered the Auction House determined to make the most of it. His highest level piece of gear is his i275 staff. He loves that staff, simple though it is.

Then Wildshard started spending.

His first piece of upgraded gear was an ilevel 340 wrist piece. Yes, a jump from i275 to i340. Wild then broke a few records with additional purchases, adding i340 hands, waist, legs, and feet. His biggest need turned out to be cheaper than expected, a two handed i340 Mace. When Chaitee tallied the cost of the upgrades, she told Wild he had only 13k gold left.

Wild's new ensemble gave him an overall gear score of i305.

Wild's new dudes look good - mostly. Wild likes the dark grey overall tone and has been able to keep that, but when out in the field Wild cares only that he has the best gear he can get.

That said, Wild HATES the comical look of his mace, so he makes sure he gets plenty of gore plastered on his kills.

Wild has some decisions to make now that he has upped his game. He wants to get his guild in place. He also has to get more serious about earning Artifact Power (AP) , which is the defacto method of leveling once level 120 was reached.

Wild's AP is currently AP 12 plus 75% toward AP 13.

For comparison, Demon Hunter Keya's gear score is i311. Wild still has a way to go if he decides to overtake Mahakeya. And of course Keya will have something to say about that, too.

Wild's Grey Outfit

Wild's more outlandish gear to follow in next post. 

The Revival of Wildshard

The Revival of Wildshard

Has anyone noticed that the character who laid the foundation for all that has happened in the World of Warcraft has all but disappeared from view? Among all of the current active players, Wildshard has fared the worst, particularly in the new lands of Boralus.

Having barely reached Level 110, Wild's Artifact Power (AP) is barely visible at AP Level ONE! and is still short 32% to reach level 2. This is the Druid that's fought and triumphed over hundreds of dungeon runs and raids and is still standing in this fourteenth round of world building.

How far ye have fallen, someone once said. How did this happen? Somewhere along the line Wildshard and Guild Leader Tiphaine departed ways. Wild had it in his mind that he would start his own guild. What happened to that goal is buried somewhere in the past. Wild himself can remember little of it and is still searching the records for facts.

It's time to bring Wildshard back into the light. Sure, Wild will continue to help out the guild. But he has his own aspirations as a guild leader. He wants to revive that goal in his own way. Think of it this way, Wild told Tiphaine. Wild has always been a loner, more comfortable in the shadows instead of at the head of the march, so to speak. Wild's first attempt to bring that to fruition fell short. Wild became frustrated with a process that seemed determined to see him fail.

Wild is going to try again. He will revive his moribund guild aspirations with a new kind of liberty. Wild still wants his own guild, and he now thinks he has a way. The new dungeons, raids, and scenarios may not be what Wild wants, but he has his eyes on the three man runs that are new. Island expeditions they are, and require only three players. So what if he sucks at it? The worst that happens is he'll get kicked. So what? Try again with another group. Get better at it.

At the same time, keep asking random strangers to join his guild, and then they can stay or leave once it's firmly in place. Wild only needs four players to give him a helping hand.

For all of that above to become true, Wild has to greatly improve all aspects of his game. No one will take him into a three man island expedition with such a poor set of gear. Get to work.

Wild's "in process" guild is called BloodNtheWater. Wild wasn't sure his charter was still valid since it has been months ago when he applied. So Wild went to the Dalaran Visitor Center to find out. He spoke to Guild Master Matthews and confirmed that the charter was still valid.

"You need signatures," he told Wild. "Four of them. How you get them is up to you."

How to get a signature - (1) Find the guild charter in your bag. (2) Right Click the charter and request signature. (3) The charter should show up on the person's screen and he can then sign it. (4) Note that a player must be guildless in order to sign a guild charter. Obvious, but just saying. Once the guild has the four signers and the guild is officially recognized, the signees don't have to stay. In fact, Wild will thank them, pay them if gold is involved, and remove them. Wild plans to accost low level players in Stormwind hoping to get them to sign the petition. If gold is asked for, Wild will sweeten the pot.

NOT SO FAST - Oh My.

Sometimes expectations go beyond reality. And sometimes one wants something so bad that wishes seem true. Wildshard is Level 110. Repeat that - Wildshard is LEVEL 110. The lowest rung on the ladder.

Wildshard thought he was already at level 120. That has to hurt. No one is going to join a fledgling guild with a guild leader that hasn't even taken the first step toward level 120.

Okay, reality check. It really is time to get to work.

The Limits of Gear

The Limits of Gear

Sista recently earned a piece of gear rated at i340. That is the largest single item of gear that the Tiphaine family has earned.

Ever wondered what the max limit is? Theoretically, there is no limit. Checking on that, Keya has seen high end players with gear levels in the i900's. Keya's own gear is i311. Among that gear are two pieces of i340 gear. As a practical matter, there is really no limit, since the Tiphaine family does not raid.

Sista is determined to improve on that score. Think of it this way. The higher level of skill, the faster Sista can farm the mats she needs. Farming mats entails not just picking flowers and rocks. In the world of Boralas, killing humanoids drop tons of mats such as tidespray linen and many others.

BUT . . .  with a gear level currently at i302, and competitors with gear as high as i900s, Sista is at a huge disadvantage. Sure, she can still farm, and will continue to do so. It's a fantasy that Sista could ever challenge the big players.

However, if she works at it, she hopes to carve out a niche that would at least help the guild prosper and move forward. That is why Sista keeps pushing and continues to press the big players in the market.

Tiphaine has also accepted that buying gear is now acceptable. Keya has the record for a piece of gear - 100,000 gold. Most likely, though, such purchases are rare. The "reasonable" priced gear is too easy to get and already in use. The truly good upgrades can run in the millions. It's Chiatee's job to pick and choose gear that will help the guild without breaking the bank.

Here is a real life example. Sista's current weapon is an i325 two-handed staff. At the Auction House, Sista is looking at an i340 two-hander she can afford at 10,000 gold. As a practical matter, this is a no-brainer. Sista bought the gear, a two-handed mace. The next best piece of gear for sale had an asking price of 50,000 gold. Chance plays a huge part, which is why Sista pounced on that two-handed mace. The mace is ugly, but functional and will help keep her alive. The downside is that an hour from now Sista might win a battle and EARN an i340 two-hander, which is a lot more fun than just buying one. You take your chances.

The final tally is that Sista's gear score has risen from i298 to i304, and she has become a bit more deadly. Even though the weapon you rely on is ugly ugly. 

The UGLY Mace

The Pretty Staff