Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Emergence: Tiphaine/Naithipe

Emergence: Tiphaine/Naithipe

Level 101 Tiphaine knew she had become soft. Too many years and too few battles. All she knew was Draenor. She feared only one thing - becoming irrelevant. Tiphaine has seen all of her charges become powerful weapons of the guild. Now it is Tiphaine's turn.

Tiphaine headed first to Acherus via her Death Gate. She needed to get reaquainted with the process. Things like Class Hall Missions. Like how many followers she has (3). She quickly got that part settled and ready.

Tiphaine visited her two favorite mounts, the Ebon Blade steed and Iron Skyreaver. Each have their specialties. The ebon blade mount is compact and swift, best against groups. The iron skyreaver is a vicious mount, large and dangerous, striking fear in even the largest of her enemies.

With Acherous back in operation, she returned to Dalaran. Her first stop was the Blacksmithing trainer. Tiphaine's face grew dark, making the poweful trainer take a step back. She took a few breaths to get hold of herself, thinking of Atkar's destroyed forge. Nearby was the Inscription Trainer. For the life of her, Tiphaine didn't know what had prompted her to take that skill. She would keep it until she had time to do a thorough review.

Tiphaine visited the bank. At least nothing has changed there, and Java is working out well.
Tiphaine even took a quick trip to her Garrison. She smiled to see her forge in full operation under the hand of Artificer Romuul. Defender Illona took Tiphaine through the Barracks, praising the work. There was more, but Tiphaine was satisfied. She went last to the Scribe's Quarters. She ran her hands over the selection of inscription-crafted weapons. Beautiful, though little more than relics now. Perhaps a use will be found.

Her final task is to get a handle on her open quests. The Broken Shore isn't completely foreign to Tiphaine, but she accepts that she's a rookie there. Aszuna is all that she knows, and of that, not much.

Time to get bloody.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Dragon Soul - Atkar Takes an Interest

Dragon Soul - Atkar Takes an Interest

Atkar's raid forays into the Maw of Madness, Twilight Highlands, and Naxxramas have taken on some focus. Java has to admit that at least some of the things she is farming is getting back to Java in the form of gold. Is Dragon Soul her next target? It would represent a change from targeting materials to sell and craft and moving up to outright killing for gold. Tiphaine made no comment, but she is keeping a wary eye. There is a certain amount of concern for Tiphaine's sake. No one would dare challenge her leadership, but the unspoken thought is clear - Tiphaine is level 101. Atkar is level 110. Should such a thing even become thinkable, it would be a contest between Atkar's raw power and Tiphaine's long and bloody experience.

Clueless Wildshard is oblivious to the undercurrent of concern. He heard about Atkar's interest in Dragon Soul and offered his experience. Wild admitted that he didn't like Dragon Soul very much, but he was willing to impart what knowledge he still remembered of the place.

To get there, one must enter through the Caverns of Time. In "the old days" Atkar would have had to travel the length of Kalimdor and into the desert wastes of Tanaris to find the entrance. That's when raiders had to physically travel to the location of the raids.

Now, of course, Wild mocked, at Dalaran there is the Chamber of the Guardian portal with instant access to the Caverns of Time. Of course, once there, one must still find the correct portal. There are many such portals, and few of them are marked. One must know which to enter.

Wildshard nodded to himself, letting his own faded memories revive. The raid is not just a slaughter fest. Special tasks are required. He remembers. Few in either family have been on a Dragon Soul raid  - except Wildshard. AND, Surprise! JB and DB. I’m not sure if it was the first time the two had raided together, but it was a good night, downing seven bosses.

But Atkar didn't bother to ask Wild about any of this, considering it a waste of time. Atkar found the portal in Dalaran easily enough, and figured the rest would be just as easy.

A battered Atkar crawled back to Dalaran after returning from the Caverns of Time. The start of the Dragon Soul raid went quickly at first. Nothing could penetrate her combination of gear and shield. She was invulnerable. It was slow work, though. Endless enemy soldiers were spread across a wide field thick with menacing creatures. The beasts went down - slowly. So slow.

Forget the trash mobs, Atkar decided. She went directly after the elite Morchok. It was a short fight. Once Morchok was down, she was able to enter the Temple. There were two drakes to take care of as well. Both Warlord Zon'ozz and Yor'sahj fell easily.

From there, Atkar wandered about, looking for new challenges. Still hanging out at the temple, she spotted the portal to the next boss, Hagara the Stormbinder. The Hagara battle took more time, but Atkar didn't seem to notice. She killed whatever came at her. Eventually it was over and Hagara was dead.

Four elites went down in her first foray against Dragon Soul. She had to cut the rest of raid short, curtailed by guild business she cared nothing about. She was mostly angry at herself, though. She was actually taking damage, and was way off her game. More work would be needed on her gear and her preparedness.

Getting over her anger, Atkar returned to the task at hand. She crushed Ultrazion and actually had fun with Warmaster Blackhorn and his great ship, fighting flying dragons and heavily armed soldiers. Finally, Atkar had to abandon the failing skyship and took her chance, leaping onto the back of Deathwing itself. Despite her best effort to hang on, the slippery dragon swept to the left and Atkar went to the right in a veer, sending her tumbling down to earth. It was a wild, short trip, and the ground got in the way. Ouch.

Resigned at the defeat, Atkar took a look at her spoils. She earned just over a 1000 gold. For a first effort it was okay, but Atkar wanted more. A lot more.

A Blast from the Past:

Atkar stirred up some old memories in Wildshard. There were several bellweather events during the 2012 campaigns to finish off Dragon Soul before MoP launched in 2012.
(1) The Hunter Fortress PvP team put away their bows.

 (2) Wildshard finally won his Raven Mount (one of the most difficult of the old mounts to get), a task that took him literally years.

(3) When Wildshard was raiding regularly, he would never speak on Vent. It took 5 years and a very special occassion for me, as Wildshard, saying "Hi" in Vent. My good friend Lady Hunter practically peed her pants. Wild misses those old times.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

The Atkar Watch

The Atkar Watch

Tiphaine now has the Atkar watch. After hearing what had become of Rakta/Atkar, Wildshard backed out of any contact with the strange warrior.

"Your problem," was Wild's terse response to Tiphaine.

Tiphaine knows where Atkar is spending her time -  At her old old Dreanor garrison. Tiphaine hired a mole, Ashran's Kinkade Jacobs, the Blueprint Trader, to keep tabs on her there.

What is she up to? She now has a pet, a monkey called Bonkers.Also, Kinkade reports that a load of expensive silk mats were stolen recently.  Not sure what the connection is. [pic of atkar and monkey]
Atkar continues her strange behavior. She knows there are watchers. Let them wonder. She pats the head of Bonkers. The monkey is a better companion than the rest of her so called family.


Atkar with Bonkers

Sometimes she might even do things Tiphaine can understand. Or thinks she understands. Maybe that's why no one stops her from taking whatever she wants from the guild coffers. Java grits her teeth at the extra work.

Atkar, in one of her more lucid moments, tried to repay the things she'd taken. Figuring that Sista's mat farming was as easy as it looks, she watched Sista near the shoreline in Aszuna. After Sista finished her farming and left, Atkar waded into the shallows and turned the water red with blood. She had killed at least two dozen of the shoreline creatures, until none were left standing. But the effort took her down to 45% health, and her take was a miserable two silk.

Returning to her garrison, Atkar smoldered in anger. She sat crosslegged in front of the garrison Forge. The Level 3 Forge consumed blackrock ore and true iron ore for blacksmithing work. Tiphaine is a Blacksmith. A waste, Atkar decided.

Burn it down, she ordered. The workers barely got out with their lives. Aerial monitoring around the garrison reported a huge explosion. Atkar was seen dancing around the flames.
Tiphaine turned grim when she got the news, but at least her anger seems focused on her, and not the rest of the family. So far.

A day later Atkar did another very strange thing. Without asking or getting permission, she took it upon herself to farm the Maw of Madness in the Twilight Highlands. She had a potion with her, too, likely stolen from Sista's stash. In one sense the work was easier than she thought. Slamming the spell "Thunder Clap" every five seconds kills a lot of mobs. The potion helped as well. Overall it went better than Atkar had any reason to expect. The only downside is that a significant number of kills resulted in soulbound items that could be sold for gold but couldn't be used to produce useable mats. She would have to fix that somehow.

Tiphaine is beginning to think that Atkar has a plan in mind. That this isn't random acts of destruction or the mad ravings of a lunatic. After the Maw of Madness, Atkar disapeared again. On a hunch based in her interest in the Maw, Sista followed her in Dalaran. She entered the Chamber of the Guardian, and then took the portal to Wyrmrest Temple in the land of Northrend. What is there in Northrend that would interest Atkar?

Sista thought she knew. Naxxramas. Atkar is farming mats. Sista would bet her last gold piece that she is headed for or has already been to Naxxramas.

Sista remains skeptical of Atkars's interest. Atkar would have a harder time of it in Naxxramas, the loot would be far less than what Sista could gather, but she is certainly capable of clearing the raid.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Working Warcraft Family

The Working Warcraft Family

With the shut down and then return to work of the two families, things have gotten very disorderly. Each member was asked to present a short summary of their progress and plans. Nothing elaborate, just a solid report of current and future efforts.

Javajoo - Level 107 Protection Paladin
Java was the first to respond. Java took over the job of managing the Stormwind Auction house. She is a Level 107 Protection Paladin. Java is working hard to restore the guild bank to it's former glory. The shut down took a heavy toll. The cache of gold at the time of the shut down was 564k gold. By the time Java was able to get a handle on the job after shut down ended, Java was left with 555k gold, a loss of 9k gold. Java has spent some serious gold to get things moving again, but is holding back on releasing new funds until she's sure there is sufficient backing from the rest of the family.
    Small update: Java made a great sale on leylight shards. The gold raised the bank ledger to 562k gold, and she is now back in the black.
Java still plans to complete her Leveling to 110, but she has no firm date at present.
Gear: ilevel 754, Weapons ilevel 785
Professions: 792/800 Herbs, and 750/800 Mining. Though sort of silly, Java intends to keep those professions. Unlike the near useless Draenor herbs, Legion herbs might be worth selling.

Chaitee - Level 110 Survival Hunter
Chaitee is the former Auction House manager. Java agreed to take her place for awhile. Chaitee's plans are somewhat of an experiment. Most of the family is hard wired to the heavy armor and defense of the Protection spec. Chaitee so loves her pets, however, an exception was made in her favor. Chaitee and her pet, Tazzy, are already Level 110. Chaitee isn't certain she will stay with the Survival spec, but so far she is sticking with it.
 Gear: i782, Weapons i824. She is still new to the Class Hall progress, and that is what she is focusing on, as well as working on improving her gear and artifacts.
Professions: 115/800 Herbalism and 132/800 Mining
Note: Chaitee's professions are under review.

Sistaphilia - Level 110 Guardian Druid
Sista is the family workhorse. Anything to do with farming mats of all kinds falls to her and she provides a steady stream of goods to sell on the AH. She is, of course, level 110, but she was damaged almost beyond repair by mistakes made in the early days of Legion. Sista refuses to dwell on that, saying only that the past is the past.
Gear: ilevel 857, Weapons ilevel 840
Professions: 775/800 Tailoring and 727/800 Enchanting

Mahakeya - Level 110 Vengeance Demon Hunter
Professions - 800/800 Leatherworking and 800/800 Skinning, plus 800/800 Fishing
Gear: iLevel 922, Weapons i933
Keya's gear is truly scary. She worked hard to earn that gear. That and her awesome Shrieker Mount. She's been taking a break to give others time to catch up.

Atkar - Level 110 Protection Warrior
Some Information Missing
Gear: iLevel 803, Weapons i794
Professions - Alchemy 747/800, Tailoring 65/700

Tiphaine - Level 101 Blood Death Knight
Tiphaine runs the Alliance guild. She has a long history, too extensive to encapsulate. She wields power having nothing to do with levels and gear. Some see her as a legendary figure.
Gear: iLevel 711, Weapons ilevel 752
Professions - Blacksmithing 701/800 and 705/800 Inscription

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The Warlock Case

The Warlock Case

Pulsefyre is a member of both the Wildshard and Tiphaine families. She began her life as a Horde Goblin Warlock. Her profession preferences were Mining and Jewelcrafting because she liked working with the earth. She reached level 24 without making much of an impact, and stayed very much to herself.

For reasons that Tiphaine and Wildshard still loudly argue about, a decision was made to transition Pulsefyre from Horde to Alliance. This did not happen immediately, but plans were being made. The non-decision confused Pulsefyre, but she did the best she could. She knew that Rakta was also a Jewelcrafter and sought her out for guidance. She was further confused when Rakta took Pulsefyre aside and told her that not only would she have to change from Horde to Alliance, she would have to go through the grueling Change from Goblin to Worgen.

Pulsefyre did not know what to do. Terrified of what amounted to destroying everything she was and worked for, she pleaded with her friend Rakta, hoping desperately that all this could be sorted out.
"Sure," Rakta told her, "you can disobey the orders of both Wildshard and Tiphaine. Is that what you want?" Pulsefyre shook her head, but then she dug in, certain there must be a mistake. "I want to talk to Tiphaine first."

Pulsefyre had no knowledge of what was happening with Rakta, and Pulsefyre was well below the radar of Tiphaine and Wildshard, busy with their own issues. By then, the person of Rakta had become something else.

The daily order of business of the Alliance and Horde continued. Java managed the Auction House. Sista farmed mats at the Maw of Madness. Chaitee turned up at the Trueshot Lodge working on her leveling. Rakta's retreat to her Garrison culminated with an announcement to all that she had changed her name to Atkar. She then slipped back to Draenor with most of her belongings.

No one missed Pulsefyre.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Final Statistics for the Year 2017

Guild and Character Lists:
Alliance Autumn Tea Green Guild: Guild Master Tiphaine (101), Sistaphilia (110), Mahakeya (110), Chaitee (110), Atkar (110), Javajoo (107)
GONE: Whispersoul (12), Sinnstarr, Hcab

Horde Order of the Dragon Guild: Guild Leader Happyface
    Members: The guild still shows the following members: Hapless, Beanoevil, Seenoevil, Amarga, Erikred, Bruiserbabe, Narcissus, Jocelyne, Plumrosefist

Wildshard is actually a member of the Meitha Guild. The guild still exists. There are 491 players on the roster. Grrbaby is still the Guild Master. Porkkchop and Talatiana are ranking members. Other names I know: Bloodknuckle, Ristan, Wildshard of course, Jezzibael ! Yep, Jezi is in Meitha.
Legion Raiding: None
Legion Dungeons: 13 of 14 Legion dungeons completed - Active as of September 2016

Fate Sealed: 212 members, Ramux still in charge, others are Frohgurt, Kikz, Lagaris, Gnurple, Muximus, Rizon, and others.
Surprised there were no Legion raids. Legion Dungeons - 14 of 14. Active as of Feb 2017.

Warchild - This was Rhonna's guild. The only Warchild guild I found was on Proudmore server, and it is no longer active. I did not know anyone on those rosters. I have to accept that the guild is no more. Rhonna - he helped me SO MUCH over the years.

A Belated 2017 New Year's Wrap Up

A Belated 2017 New Year's Wrap Up
(Yes, this is a long one)

At the end of every year, the Tiphaine and Wildshard Families craft a summary of the success and failures of the out going year. Three weeks into 2018 and only now is the data starting to filter in.

The year started with a count of the two active guilds:

Alliance: Death Knight (Tiphaine), Druid (Sistaphilia), Paladin (Java), Warrior (Rakta), Demon Hunter (Mahakeya), Hunter (Chaitee): These are the classes in the Autumn Tea Green Guild led by Tiphaine.

Horde: Paladin (Jocelyne), Monk (Plumrosefist), Druid (Wildshard), Shaman (Jezzibael), Priest (Phillyperdue), Warrior (Happyface): These are the classes in the Order of the Dragon Guild.

The two factions, horde and alliance, had agreed to a peace. It was a peace kept by Wildshard, and broken by Tiphaine. The Alliance team was allowed to grow and prosper, gaining ever more strength. Wildshard tried to follow the rules, and that all but doomed Horde attempts to gain any ground. The Horde fractured further when Philly, unhappy in her minor role, agreed to take long haitus. Wild had a plan to replace Philly with a young warlock named Pulsefyre and use his last Boost to thrust the warlock into power. The tactic failed.

Plumrosefist, the daughter of Tiphaine, went against Wildshard and threatened to cross the line from Horde to Alliance. Wild backed off, unwilling to go to war.

Dungeon Woes:
It was in February of 2017 when both guilds learned that solo leveling would not be enough. Nor could professions be completed solo, either. Dungeons became mandatory in the world of Legion. The anger and vitriol of that decision weighed heavily throughout the entire expansion.

Keya made a huge achievement by earning the Underlight Angler for her fishing expertise. The awesome fishing pole is more than a fishing rod, it is a powerful weapon in it's own right.

Then there was the "Game of Gold"  - Chaitee and Almond agreed to a friendly bet on which family could increase their coffers by the most gold over the course of one month. The challenge match between Chaitee and Almond must have ended, but I could not find the specifics. Does anyone still remember who won that contest?

Chaitee claims a winner was never annointed! So where did the gold go? Look no further than Keya. Chaitee and Keya made a sweet deal that ultimately handed Keya with a six level jump in gear and a thousand gold price tag. The largest payment for gear in memory.

One thing that remained an issue throughout the year were problems with my computer. I should say "computers, plural" since I killed two of them. The computer failures did not get settled until April.

Then came "Argus," and the beginning of the assault on the Legion home world. Mahakeya "Keya" dominated the entire expansion, including Argus. The demon hunter was a powerful force and very little was beyond her skills. Even so, she relied heavily on her friends when she was stuck on a quest and they came to her rescue several times on the grueling path to gain her Class Mount. THANK YOU!

Keya earned her Slayer's Felbroken Shrieker in late October. Nothing could compare to the pride in Keya and her new mount. They bonded swiftly and have been inseperable since.

Finally, there is a small bit of tidying up to do before closing the books on 2017. Chaitee has been trying to level even while still working at the Auction House. She's made some minor progress by getting to level 102 after her boost at level 32. But that is a long way from level 110, her desired goal.
Bottom Line: Chaitee wants out of the Auction House job to pursue her leveling desires. Who would take over the AH? Javajoo raised her hand. Java is a level 107, quite capable of handling the ruffians at the Auction House. A dedicated clothes horse, she prefers the city and it's pleasures. Leveling is an after thought, something she could do when she got bored.
Tiphaine agreed.

What followed was a shock. The Autumn Tea Green Guild took a sudden haitus. Leaving everything, the doors to the guild were closed off. Wildshard was given no warning, but he, too, shut down his guild. It was November and it was snowing. Quiet descended on both guilds for the winter.