The "Team" of Wildswench and Happyface

Wildswench and Happyface

To make a long story short, it all started and ended with Wildshard, now retired.

The "new" pairing now is between Wildswench and Happyface. Happyface is a latecomer who spent a large part of his life watching his gold grow. He has now realized his chances to earn even more gold by engaging in the new world of Zuldazar and it's various areas and opportunities.

Despite Happy's age (which he won't divulge), he has turned away from the gang of druids that ran things. Instead, Happyface has returned as a Warrior.

Happyface's progress began at level 60. He has been working steadily and has recently reached Level 64.

Compare that to Wildswench, at Level 82. It would seem that Wench has a staggering head start, but Happyface has a few tricks up his sleeve.

More to follow . . .

Going Rogue?

Wildswench is doing moderately well. She has reached Level 73 plus 58% and her overall ILevel gear is 414.

She could be doing better if she replaced her i310 ring with the i415 ring she has. That ring, however, is corrupted. She can still use it, and it would raise her score to i421, a significant boost.

BUT . . . The corrupted ring causes backlash and other damage. In other words, she must choose between safe usage of the normal ring versus the more powerful but unstable corrupted one. Wildswench will take damage much faster and die more quickly using the corrupted ring. Time will tell which serves her best.

On another front, the demon hunter Mahakeya is stirring from her retirement. She and Wildswench are on opposite sides of the endless war between the two factions. Still, Keya is arguing to earn time to improve Keya's skill. It may one day be needed. Or, from another angle, demon hunters are a lot of fun! There would be a long retraining process, but that would be part of the challenge. More to follow.

Wildswench Discovers the Power of Z'Noth

Wildswench Discovers the Power of Z'Noth

Continuance from prior post.


Wildswench was furious that she was being denied access to all that gold in the guild vault. She stomped away, swearing to get back at Jocelyn and Happyface.

Trouble soon followed. She found a ring. Or, more likely, the ring found her. It was clearly a powerful ring, level 415. Words came into her head. The ring is known as The Corruption. It gave Wench newly discovered power (50 corruption) to bedevil her enemies.

Wench quickly learned that the ring would be difficult to manage. Often, the ring caused worse things than improvements. No matter. Wench embraced it and persisted in doing everything she could to build on that madness.

Days later, Wench was heard working with the ring, learning its secrets. She also learned that the spells she cast could backfire. But that didn't stop her. She vowed to learn how to control the madness.

Re-telling an Old Story

Re-telling an Old Story

Every now and then the story of Wildshard and the complicated changes that brought about the woman "Wildswench" have to be dusted off and reviewed for relevance. The information is there in the records should anyone ever want to wade into that mess. Go with a fair warning.

Guild Stuff

The Order of the Dragon is the official guild of Happyface and  Jocelyne. These two are the only ACTIVE characters with access to the gold coffers at present. Family squabbles over the years have driven most other guild members into sullen silence. Happyface and Jocelyne control the gold of the guild. The guild is prosperous' but there is much grouching at how little of that gold is allowed to be spent.

Now a new wrinkle has been brought to light. Wildswench is demanding that she receive fifty percent of all of the guild's gold, claiming that her former husband, Wildshard, owes her.

Wildswench is NOT a member of the guild, nor does she have access to guild funds. However, that hasn't stopped her from making trouble.

Wildswench is now demanding that she be given guild status under an old rule that allows married and "former couples" to automatically gain guild status. The courts will have to decide.

The rest of the guild, most of whom are retired, were stunned. Such a thing could undermine their own retirements. A petition was sent from the other guild members: Happyface, Jocelyne, Plumrosefist, Atkar, Pulsfyre, and Bruiserbabe. Another group of associates also weighed in - Narcissus, Erikred, Armarga, Seenoevil, Beanoevil, and Hapless. Nothing is firm.

The upheaval has MAJOR complications. Wildshard has decided to relinquish certain players from their duties and give them full permission to pursue whatever path they wish to take. This is being done due to the terrible decisions of the past that forced Pulsefyre and Atkar into work duties that they were not equipped to perform. That's a long story, but basically, they were forced to perform tasks they were not fit to handle; ie, forced to perform cloth making tasks.

Both Pulsefyre and Atkar have decided to retire in order that other opportunities can be given to those with more compatible strengths.

In their place, two more candidates with the specialties they need will be found: (1) Tailoring and Enchanting, and (2) Tailoring and Alchemy.

Then Wildswench butted in and demanded that she is taking Tailoring and Alchemy. That remains an issue.

Sadly, not all went well with the changes Wildshard hoped would end the bickering.

A day later Atkar was found dead in his room.

The Gods Weigh In - Atkar and Pulsefyre have been taken off the rolls - permanently. One new spot has yet to be claimed.

A Humming Azerite Heart

A Humming Azerite Heart

Wildswench stepped through several improvements on this round, bumping her gear levels from 45% to 65% to 75% and finally to 78% toward the next level.

Wench also added 500 valuable resources AND 4,000 gold!

Wildswench is an Alchemist and has struggled to find the materials and earn the requirements to move forward. At last, Wench finally completed the partial elements needed to capture the 10 razerwing eyes and ocular extracts needed. Progress is monumentally slow, but she is very happy for a full jump from level 150 to 151.

Heart / Neck now at 471

Item Level 416

69 AP
Pigsticker Weapon now i420

The 'Noth' Have Arrived

The 'Noth' Have Arrived

Warcraft has released another half-baked product that essentially replays the world of Uldum. Wildswench took a look at it - once she found the old, dying pyramid where most of the action is. Wench made it through about 90% and then things got too stupid to continue. Sigh.

Things then got even worse. For some unknown reason, Warcraft decided to make changes to the Auction House. This venerable business has been in place since the dawn of time. Some might say it arose even before there was a Warcraft. Anyway, the powers that be decided to dicker with it.

And of course, they broke it. There have been apologies but no fixes as of yet, assuming they ever fix it.

Now, as to the Noth, Wench intends to keep scratching her head and digging for info on how to make use of the thing. So far it's a bust.

This is an update about the Auction House. Here is what happened. What happened is that when the Auction House was updated all of the add-ons associated with it were dropped. So, what is there now is the vanilla version.

Wench has two choices. She can learn to use the vanilla version, or she can learn to install and use the add-on.

Merry Christmas for the Wildswench and family

Merry Christmas for the Wildswench and family. It's been an austere year for the most part. An aging Wildshard is having trouble remembering things now and has been persuaded to consider retirement. Though there is no announcement to that effect - so far.

Wildswench is jumping forward to the current state of play as follows:

Heart of Azeroth is now at Level 67
Heart Forge remains at 467
iLevel gear score is at 413

These are mostly modest steps forward. 

An entirely new landmass has been discovered called Nazjatar.  Most of that land has already been thoroughly explored. Wench has to acknowledge that she may never reach her full potential. She hasn't given up, yet, though. 

For those few still hanging on, this blog will continue. 

Logged December 22nd, 2019.

Learning From the Enemy

Learning From the Enemy - Wildswench Considers Gaining a Druid

A lot has been going on between Alliance Druid Wildshard and Horde Happyface in recent days. For those who have forgotten, Happyface has been the caretaker of the Horde Auction House for many years.

Wildswench is learning the hard way that she must have a Druid on her side. The Alliance depends heavily on Tailoring and Enchanting to gain the gold required to function. Wildswench knew she needed to match those skills on the Horde side of the equation.

So, after a lot of back and forth, a new arrangement has been settled on within the ranks of the Horde.

Jocelyne will continue to act as the leader of "The Order of the Dragon Guild." Wildswench has declined to become part of the guild, but in all other activities, she will participate to the fullest with the Horde.

And now for the BIG Announcement: Happyface has been granted a BOOST to iLevel 120! The happy Warrior has a huge pile of work to complete. Among his most early tasks is to get the Tailoring and Enchanting work started and functioning for the Horde.

And, oh by the way ...  Happy must learn this new world of Zandalar, Zuldazar, Daz ar alor, and other critical places. It's a huge undertaking.

Question? Why was this monstrous process necessary? The rationale was simple - The Alliance was crafting materials used to earn gold. The Horde wanted that capability as well. And now they have it.

GO HORDE! 

A Fearful Moment

A Fearful Moment

For a long moment, I had no name. Sitting on a horse. Wondering for a long blink if there was no name. Then it slid back into the mind's view - Wildswench. Yes, that's the name. My name. She was here to consider tapping Worldvein Intelligence for her next foray. Still not quite herself, she let it pass. No matter, she would need two more players for the three foray run, and there were no takers. There was a bit of relief at that. 

Then the world tilted, righted itself, and Wildswench Strikes the Motherload!

In one great swoop, Wildswench raised the bar to the next level of her skill. To start, she finally retired her worn but beloved Honorbound Pigsicker; ie, her i370 two-hand polearm. She has now replaced it with a new weapon - a dazor alor i415 Two Hand Polearm. The major upgrade jumped her gear score from i370 to i415!

Here are her newest Stats:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i461

AP Level 64 plus 74%

Gearscore rises to i407

The above upgrade is the largest Wildwench has received in real-time in a considerable time.  

It's now time to make a new foray to Sisthulus in hope for another upgrade. 

The Last Gasp of Bag Sales

The Last Gasp of Bag Sales

Flooded Markets

Prices Continue Falling - a 30 slot bag is selling for 650 gold. Used to be over 1,000.

There are fewer and fewer players who needs bags.

Virtually Everyone Already Has maxed 30 slot bags

Only the Rich Can afford the 32 slot bags that sell for nearly 10,000 each.

And of course there is no intermediate bag between the 30 slot and the 32 slot.

Is there a case to add a 34 Slot general bag?

So What About Other Types of Specialty Bags? Is there a viable market for these bags?

More to follow  . . .

Meanwhile, Wildswench is back on the trail for more azerite.

Update on Progress:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i457

AP Level 62 plus 52%

Gearscore rises to i401

The Blind Islands Expedition

The Blind Islands Expedition

A strange thing happened when Wench joined an Islands Expedition. As usual, there were three players participating. Every expedition has a leader and Wench never really thought about how or who would lead it. Every expedition she'd ever been on had a leader assigned. Wench more or less assumed that someone would ask to take the lead. Wench also never considered that maybe no one would sign up as the leader. This morning Wench found out how that works. Wench was assigned as leader of the three person group.

Well, despite Wench being the "leader" of the group, Wench quickly noted that one player had a good idea where to go and what to do. Wench followed him and shortly the third player also follwed after the lead. The expedition was a success.

The Latest Stats Follow:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i455 

AP Level 61 plus 29%

Gearscore rises to i399

Update on Progress:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i455 

AP Level 61 plus 47%

Gearscore rises to i399

Wench sometimes gets a little lonely. Wench has to do everything for herself. She belongs to the Order of the Dragon Guild. She is only at iLevel 194 and would need to work very hard to progress. What Wench REALLY wants is to be a Demon Hunter, but Demon Hunters are for Alliance only. Sad.

Anyway, enough of that. Back to the grind.

The Heart Forge Responds

The Heart Forge Responds in Big Way

Wildswench was in Nazjatar plugging along, killing bad guys and trying not to die too many times. She wanted a break, so she decided to make a trip to Silithus. Wench makes these trips in between doing other things, hoping each time that she might learn something new or gain some new talent or something else useful.

Wench entered the Heart Forge and clicked on it and as always nothing happened. Except that this time something DID happen. The two items that Wench has never been able to apply to the Heart now accepted the two items she had been holding on to all this time. So now, instead of just one Power, she has three (ie, her original one and the two that she's being carrying around).

Wildswench now has a significant upgrade:

NEW:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i445

AP Level 56 plus 40%

Gearscore is i390 (the gear upgrade was a shoulder piece of i405 to i420 !

Update !! Wildswench Raises the Bar Again

The New Level is:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i447 

AP Level 57 plus 4%

Gearscore remains at i390

BUT Wait! Wench has another update - Her Gearscore has risen to i391! She got the upgrade by raising her Waist gear piece from i385 to i410.

The New Level is:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i447 

AP Level 57 plus 37%

Gearscore rises to i391

Wench has been doing pretty well with her improving gear, but she was still impatient. So Wildswench decided to take a bigger step. She decided to take on the entire continent of Vul Dun. She sliced arcross the continent, slaughtering the poor alliance and leaving behind the dead. She had to complete all four major segments. Here is the new results:

The New Level is:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i447 

AP Level 57 plus 72%

Gearscore rises to i393 !! by earning an i415 pair of gloves.

Wench is anxious to see if she might get a benthic piece of gear once she gets back to NazJatar. What a great day for the Horde!

Wildswench Reaches One hundred Thousand Gold

Wildswench Reaches One hundred Thousand Gold (9/5/2019)

Wench reached a major gold goal by reaching 100,000 gold. Her primary method of achieving that goal is through fishing. Wench learned that method from Wildshard, who is a master fisherman who has fished virtually every spot with fishable water.

It's too bad that in Nazjatar there are only two types of fish available.

A Plea For Help

My Character is Wildswench. She is struggling with her Heart of Azeroth. She has an unused Essence slot but can't figure out how to use it. The new slot pulses, but Wench cannot find a means to activate it. She has two elements meant to fill that slot, but again, no means to use it. Frustrating.

There have been several attempts to fix the problems. All have failed. So now I am asking for assistance to walk through the process to understand what I need to go through. What are the steps needed?  What is the order that things have to be done? What if anything is missing?

Here is what Wench has right now. She is a Level 120, i388 gear, Heart of Azeroth i443 Neck. Shift Right Click to bring up The Crucible of Flame Rank 1. She has a pulsing, empty minor slot. She has another minor slot to be unlocked at 65. She has two items at rank one available: Pearl of Lucid Dreams and Volitile Worldvein.

Note that Wench has been to Silithus a number of times. The Heart says that An Essence is Available. But I can't interact with it.

With that information, can you help explain what I need to do to progress further?

Enough about Wildswench - Chaitee Has Fallen on Bad Times

The machinery that funds the gold for Wildshard has taken a sharp turn to the worse.

Hexweave Bags (30 slot) once sold for 900-1000 gold apiece. That price has been falling for some time and has now scraping rock bottom at 569g. There are signs it may fall even further.

Even more alarming are Silkweave Satchels (24 slot). What should be prices in the 500-700 range are now being posted at the basement level of 274g. Chaitee has 18 satchels for sale sitting idly with no takers.

Frostweave bags seem to be hanging tough. These bags (20 slot) are still available at 232 gold. Embersilk bags (22 slot) are still available at 378g  but are often unavailable.

The more modern bags are also available but pricing is uneven. A Deep Sea Bag (30 slot) is readily available for 500g.

Those players with deep pockets will pay over 23k gold for one Embroidered Deep Sea Bag (32 slot). That price has been very stable and unlikely to change. It's also the largest bag you can buy.

Benthic Treads - The New gear upgrades

Wildswench Super Dooper Island Run

 Benthic Treads - The New gear upgrades

Wench is not the type to lead troops into battle. In all of the previous Island runs she's been in (not many), Wench has stayed with her group and followed the leader. This time, though, Wench found that the leader of this run really didn't know what he was doing. Given that Wench was in bear form which generally are the leaders, Wench found herself in the lead simply by way of the other two players letting her lead. 

Since Wench didn't know where to go either, Wench simply started killing things. Wench attacked and killed whatever got in her way, stopping only when items or enemies were killed or paused to collect goodies. Sometimes Wench had his helpers around, but just as often Wench was alone with bevies of bad guys around her. The result was the best Island venture she's been on so far. Wench was only 7 percent toward her next upgrade - at the end of the run she was a 90%. Wow. She even received a Volitile Worldvein. This item should be a piece to go into her Chamber of Heart. An outstanding morning.

Wench did get an upgrade, at last. Using the benthic system to upgrade gear is still confusing. Almost by accident she stumbled over her i385 shoulder gear and earned an upgrade to i390. Her item level rose from i386 to i387.

Heart of Azeroth Neck i441

AP Level 54 plus 32%

Gearscore is i387

The unfortunate part, however, is that Wench is still unable to interact with the Heart Forge in order to use the two new items she should be able to interact with: Volatile Worldvein and Pearl of Lucid Dreams. Her Crucible of Flame is still level 1, but she did ger a minor upgrade called Perseverence that granted her an additional 3% Stamina.

Attempts to use the Benthic system has failed so far. Wench has lost two pieces of i385 gear trying and filaing to figure it out. 

Benthic Treads - The New gear upgrades

Wench didn't even know she had earned a Benthic item until she accidentally activated it. The resilt was an i390 Benthic Shoulder piece. Wench wondered how long it would take to earn a second piece, and that piece fell into place. She now has as a pair of  i385 Benchic Treads. Wench already has a pair of i390 treads . . . but, there is a possibility that returning the Benthic item could result in an even better piece of gear. Wildswench is currently in Orgimmar and will have to go back to to complete the work.

Unfortunately the Gods weren't giving, and granted no gear. Wench is still confused about how to acquire and use Benthic gear.

Wench has recently started using companions. Her favorite is Poen Gillbrack, a healer who tries to keep Wench alive. Her companion can also level up along with Wench.

Wench is learning the hard way that she will have to work a lot harder to gain the gold she needs. Her cache has hovered around 90K gold for some time and she's just treading water. Wench has relied on fishing to gain gold. There are only two types of useful fish, though, Mauve Stinger and Viper Fish. She has made some early cash, but there are a lot of players out there and prices are falling fast. Other options are the redtail loach.

Wildswench Newest Upgrades

Heart of Azeroth Neck i443

AP Level 55 plus 2%

Gearscore is i387

The Heart of Azeroth Throbs

The Heart of Azeroth Throbs

Dated August 23, 2019

Wench has been to Silith twice. That is where her upgrades come from. That process failed and Wench had to battle with the Gods of Wow to get it fix. Ultimately, Wench won out and gained the upgrade. She is now ready to enter the Heart Forge for a second upgrade. Sadly, Wench is now having the same problem again. The WoW Gods have to fix this so she can move forward without requiring help from the game. It's really irritating.

Now for the Good Part: Below are the progress she has made below:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i433

AP Level 50 plus 39%

Gearscore is i385

Wench has also decided to take a companion. Newhome has three companions available to aid her. Neri Sharpfen is Wench's favorite. Neri is a take no prisoners kind of gal leaving dead bodies in her wake. Neri will be able to grow and improve over time.

Wench Gear Upgrade:

Heart of Azeroth Neck i433

AP 51/3156 Plus 13%

Gearscore 385

Heart of Azeroth Neck i435

AP 51/1049 Plus 71%

Gearscore 385

Note: Wench helped herself by doing an Island Expedition.

August 18 2019

Heart of Azeroth Neck i437

AP 52/4327 Plus 8%

Gearscore 386

August 23 2019

Heart of Azeroth Neck i439

AP 53/4400 Plus 7%

Gearscore 386

An August Recess

An August Recess
(In other words, catching up with things)

PS - Of course I still got the order backwards. To read this post in order start at the bottom post and read up. 

There has been a longish hiatus where I failed to enter posts that had been made. And of course, I'm now trying to sort things out and insert those many posts into the right spots. I will try my best to do better in the future. For now, though, here is the list of post titles in proper order. Using the titles, I will then insert the content of each post.

 Heart of Azeroth Fix (July 30, 2019)

It took two days of trying, but a tech managed to fix the problem I had with the Heart of Azeroth. It is now working. Wench is still getting used to Nazdajor. At least for now most of the action is there. A lot of water areas as well as a number of places that seems very similar. Wow may be retreading a number of things. That includes adding partners that go with Wench like we used to do. They are only available in the new zone, I believe.

Wench now has her Heart of Azeroth and she's added two new pieces to it. Wench says that given another week and she will feel comfortable in the new zone.

Update on Stats

Gear score is i384, AP Level 48 plus 22%. She is still using her trusty i370 polearm.

 Hoping to Re-Connect (July 24, 2019)

This morning I saw an old friend who turned up on the chat channel. The post was recent but the friend was already gone. Her name is Talatiana. She is a member of the Horde and is a member of the Meitha Guild. Wild has attempted to contact her before, but this time Wild might actually get a chance to say hi. I left a message of my own, letting her know that my current character is called Wildswench. Yes, Wild is playing a female character now. If we can connect with her, or someone else in the guild, I'll give an update and hopefully reconnect with what I consider my real warcraft family.

The next day Talatiana had left a note saying that she had received note and was excited to be back in touch.

That is only the first step. Talatiana (Tala for short) has no idea what level Wildswench is at or even if there is anything I have that would be of interest to the guild. I could ask to join and I'm sure I'd be happy to add to there large guild. But at least to begin with I really don't have anything to contribute. The Wildshard that Tala knows fought in dungeons and raids, with Wild always being the Healer. I can't really do any of that anymore. Maybe it won't matter to her, but it matters to me.

Worse, I am stuck in the game and haven't been able to fix it. What would they think if I join them and immediately tell them I'm stuck and need help. They might think I'm using them, and when they fix my problem I drop them. I wouldn't of course.

Poor Wildshard (July 15, 2019)

Everyone knows that Wench is stuck, unable to proceed further into the Heart of Azeroth. Wildshard decided he would come to the rescue. Wild figured that he could follow the initial parts, showing Wench the path up to the point where it intersects with the parts that he had trouble with. Alas, all Wild managed to do was mess up his own process. Not only that, he somehow managed to completely screw up his combat rotations. He thought they had to he reconfigured - instead, he mangled his skillset to the point he will have to go back to the beginning. Sigh.

So now both Wildshard and Wildswench are completely confused.

Wench and Wildshard Begin a New Adventure (June 26, 2019) 

To start with Wildswench pushed her gear score into new heights in the latest upgrades. Her gearscores are now as follows: Overall Gear went from i374 to i377. Wench's i350 two-handed polearm was upgraded to i370, a major improvement. She's still at AP 46 plus 69%.

 Stuck in the Mud (July 14, 2019)

It took longer than expected, but Wench finally gained a new level. She now is at AP 48. Her gear score is i381.

Then the world tilted and Wench lost her way. The rules have changed. What used to be a simple Neck piece has been transformed into the Heart of Azeroth. All power is now embodied into by this element. It is manifested as a neck piece from which all requirements are founded. Wench has one item that is designed to fit into the Heart of Azeroth. It's called Petrified Ebony Scale. Wench has been unable to figure out how to use it. She knows that she has to go to Silithus to complete the transformation. She has been able to complete some parts of the puzzle, but has been unable to complete the process. She is stuck. And she's alone.

The Battle For Darkshore - Wildswench ROCKS!

The Battle For Darkshore - Wildswench ROCKS!

PS - Yes, there is a post already on the board. This is a newer Darkshore run that is WAY more fun and productive. Enjoy.

Wench began her morning at AP Level 45 and a gear score of i371. She'd been part of similar assaults in the past, but her success was below what she was capable of. For one thing, she's had trouble keeping up when large groups split off and she'd lose direction. Wench grumbled under her breath that all of the Wildshard family are prone to this unfortunate trait.

She refused to give up, though. The morning's Darkshore run was at least her fourth of fifth try to improve on her success. On this run Wench killed not just one, but two of the badder of the monsters the raid fought. With her confidence growing, she took some risks and also showed that she was learning the ropes in keeping track where the bulk of the raid was heading during the battles. Just being able to stay in range of the main group helped a lot.

The final push sent the raid off the boat dock and it disappeared into the enemy fortress. Wench paused on the dock, alone. Did she miss out? Drats! No way. Wench leaped into the water, popped into fish form and sped across the water to the waiting enemy fortress. Did she get there in time? YES! Just as she touched the enemy walls, they fell to the Horde.

After several failed tries in earlier Darkshore raids, Wench finally got her reward. Wench is now the proud wearer of a Deathstalker's Belt at level i400. Her i405 chestpiece is the only piece that is better. So how did that affect her overall gear score? Her score jumped over i371 gearcore not to i372, but to i373!! Plus 43%.

More good news. Wench's fishing is bringing in the gold. Her best seller is a fish called a redtail loach. So far she had raised her once 22k gold level all the way to her current 64k gold! Wench has been watching the Auction House for upgrades for her gear, but there is very little available and what is there is WAY to expensive. So, Wench plans to keep fishing until she can afford a truly great gear upgrade. She very much wants a new weapon. Time will tell. Overall, she has had a great morning!  

BOOM! Wench Figures out The Darkshore

BOOM!  Wench Figures out The Darkshore

Wench has been creeping forward with her gear by grabbing every piece of azerite she can get her hands on. She ground her way for AP 42 and felt blessed with a gearscore of i360. A score bolstered with two Island Exhibition trips. She felt much more comfortable on her third trip, spending a lot more time getting work done instead of just trying not to die too many times. She was able to reach the enemy camp on the latest run, and actually had fun fighting the Alliance. Point to remember - Don't go too close to the enemy ship - nasty things happen!

Even so, progress on gear improvements were slow. So Wench decided to take another stab at a Darkshore assault. Wench learned a lot on this second run, and even kept up with the traffic and almost kept pace with the front line players. She eventually got left behind, but she felt much more comfortable. Wench will be looking forward to the next run.

Wench earned some whopper gear: An i400 chest piece, ro replace her i360. Her gearscore jumped.

Wench's gear score soared to i365! She is at AP 42 plus 74%. Another upgrade is expected at AP 43 where she believes there may be an even greater reward.

BUT WAIT!

Wench went back to Nazmir to yet again to upgrade her skills. She is finally getting used to improving her skills by collecting Azerite since picking up actual pieces of improved gear is so hard to get. Gear set at around i370 and higher are nearly impossible to get outside of a dungeon or raid. Here is the current status of each piece of gear:

375 Head

366 Neck

360 Shoulder

385 Back

405 Chest

370 Wrist

375 Hands

375 Waist

370 Legs

390 Feet

375 Finger

350 Finger

365 Trinket

360 Trinket

Weapon: 350 Polearm

Overall Gearscore is i370.

AP 44 plus 11%

Swiftwind Post

Swiftwind Post

This new post in Drustvar is, by Wench's assessment, the worst post she's ever seen - not that she's seen many posts. The post is set on a hillside. The nearby stream is manned by the enemy and the town is on constant assault. Wench had to fight her way to the post. The post does have a flight path, an outdoor in keeper and a mailbox. That is the full extent of the post. Wench's fishing may have to be curtailed given the closeness of the post to the enemy held shoreline.

Warfang Hold

Warfang Hold is another safe spot where Wench can take a break. The usual amenities and a flight path are available. That was just a stopover, however. To the northwest in Dustvar Wench fought a number of battles that led to a massive series of battles at Corlane. Wench was hoping to gain some upgrades . . .  She got a large one, pushing her gearscore of i350 all the way to i353 !  She is now tied with Wildshard, each having i353 gear scores now. Whoo Hoo!

Wildshard is proud of his daughter, and continues to track her progress to the detriment of his own needs. He intends to help her where he can (without letting her know where the help is coming from).

Darkshore

Wench made another run to Darkshore, clearing what few opportunities were available. She mostly earned honor and reputation but lacking a real upgrade.

Each day she checks the auction house for bargains, and on this morning after the Darkshore run she found a potential item for sale. Her main weapon is a polearm at i340 level. There was an ilvl 350 polearm for 10,000 gold. It was time to put up or shut up, and she bought the weapon. Her gearscore edged up from i353 to i354, now surpassing Wildshard. She remained at AP 40, edging up slightly to plus 43%. On the other hand, Wench now has only 40k gold. Happyface has not offered to replace the cost of the new gear.

Small But Welcomed Steps

Wench edged another step with an upgraded shoulder enhancement, dropping an lvl i345 to pick up an i360. Her overall gear score rose  to i355. Her AP spiked as well, now at AP 40 plus 72%. On a practical note, Wench is now capable of defeating most "Normal" Elites in single combat.

Island Expedition Part Two

Wench's second foray produced even less - two dubloons. The only piece of gear she got was an i310 - and it was cloth. Sigh. This run seemed to Wench as a "you're on your own" kind of run. The other two players took off in different directions. Wench pulled her weight, killing dozens, but she soon realized that she should be farming azerite instead of battling bad guys. When Wench checked the results of the run, though, she was relieved to see that she did get some progress. She gained 150 artifact power. Wench didn't figure out there were chests to get, either. The Alliance also showed up, but only briefly, focusing more on their own gathering than fighting the horde. Wench will continue to learn. The whole thing took less that 20 minutes. Waiting for the run to start took more time than the whole run.

Finally, an Upgrade!

Wench checks the Auction House in Org every time she stops by. She fishes when she can and with sells a few hundred to help with expenses. Yesterday, she earned 2,000 gold. One would think that gear would be heavily traded, but the fact is that buying good gear is tough to find. She caught a break this morning. Her gear score was stuck at i354 with no viable quests to help improve it. Gear at prices at or below 15,000 don't get bought because that level of gear usually comes easily when leveling, Higher priced gear jumps quickly into the 30 plus thousands and higher because there are few items available. This morning Wench was making her rounds, checking and checking on available gear. A ring popped up for sale for 18,000 gold. At that price she would expect the ring to be around i330. She is wearing an i315 ring. Bottom line. The ring was listed was MUCH better than the cost should have been. Someone goofed. Wench bought the ring. Oh, so what did she change the i315 into with that 19k gold? An i350 ring. That one purchase upgraded her overall gear score from i355 to i358!

So, Gear score is now i358. AP 41 plus 41%. That's progress.

PS - Another Expedition, two dubloons, and a mere AP 41 plus 44%. A very paltry take. Sigh.

Island Expedition

Island Expedition

Wildswench left Orgrimmar for Zandalar this morning. This time she was not interested in either the Highlands nor Darkshore. There were a few quests still laying around, but she wasn't interested in them, either.

Instead, she went to the Grand Bazaar where one signs up for an Island Expedition. These expeditions are designed for three players. The goal is to earn azerite while fending off the deadly critters that live there as well as combating an opposing force to defeat.

Since this will be her first time to attempt an expedition, she gets to start with a kind of practice run. She will do the run alone to get a feel for how things work. Once she completes that Wench will be able to sign up for expeditions. On a real expedition, however, Wench will be in a three person group that includes combat with the opposing force - ie, Wench on the Horde side vs Alliance on the other side, ie, PVP. It's the pvp part that concerns Wench, but she it going to give it a go. She thinks.

In case things go very badly, she is laying her current status:

i350 gear, AP 39 plus 89% . . . she is hoping to get at least one piece of upgradeable gear from this run. Wish her luck.

Well. It seems that Wench went right into a Island Expedition without trying it out beforehand. Wench was certainly the anchor of the group, always trying to catch up. The other two players could kill things much faster, but Wench did feel like she held her own when it came to taking a pounding while the others killed things. She died only once, and for a first time that was pretty darn amazing! 

So now she has been blooded.

So, what great treasure did we get? Well . . . Wench earned four dubloons. Dubloons? It took Wench a few minutes just to find them - aha, they are listed under "currency."

The good part of this first run is that Wench was able to keep track of where the other two were if/when she got separated. All in all, this was a pretty easy run. The expeditions are weekly. Wench will attempt a second run just to see if she gets one, or it she truly has to wait a week for the next run. It was fun!!

Oh yea, Wench did made some progress, too, going from 89% to 95%. Okay, that's pretty tiny. But she'll take it. 

PS - Still no joy on getting pics. Grrrr!