And that was a tricky title… the idea of this post is to discuss why are YOU playing WOW!

Is it to gear up and be the best that you can be in game? Is it to enjoy a fun time with friends? Or is it something else?

This past weekend I went to Stratholme Live to farm Righteous Orbs for some Crusader enchants.

Yes, Stratholme is a level 60 instance, with under-par loot compared to Outlands greens and blues; but it is still FUN. We did the whole instance in group of three toons: I was tanking on Dreadmoon (level 70 druid); we have a healer (level 62 priest) and DPS (level 62 mage).
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My main’s guild has recently started AQ40. They’re a very tight, generally disciplined raiding guild, and (from what I’ve seen since hitting 60 and starting to raid with them) very good at moving quite quickly through the process of learning how to take various bosses in new instances. This has proven a bit of a drawback in AQ40, since we’re a bit undergeared in NR for the bosses that we’re taking, and consequently we’ve wiped quite a bit. When you are farming MC, Ony, BWL, you get used to perhaps wiping here and there on occasion, but overall you make money on the night and hopefully get some good drops. New instances, however, are something else entirely…
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Pierre de Coubertin, founder of modern Olympic Games said “The most important thing…is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

Our guild has just moved on to AQ40, and we are trying to develop tactics for the first bosses; last night, we met Battleguard Sartura. We wiped, and wiped, and wiped. And you know what? It was wonderful. There’s a huge difference between instances that a guild has on farm status, and new encounters. I am relatively new to raiding at this level; when I reached level 60 and started raiding, all bosses up to Nef were well-choreographed, and everyone knew what to do. All I had to do is watch, learn, and not make any stupid mistakes. This is different.
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Our guild raids three nights a week and this week we managed for the first time to clear Molten Core & Onyxia in two days, so that left us all with a free evening … It was time for us to hit BlackWing Lair!
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In response to Getting up to speed, part I, 5000! wrote:

Every time I read one of these kinds of things it makes me want to stop playing. I’m never going to have the time to play at that level!

I can certainly see where this is coming from. What follows is an exploration of the first couple of weeks of being 60.
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Since my last update I’ve

• Helped down Ragnaros.
• Stepped into Dire Maul (but been pulled out to help down Ragnaros).
• Made it through to the big boss with all the eggs in AQ20.
• Run the arena in Blackrock Depths so many times and so quickly that we hit the hourly instance limit.

For all of these activities I’ve been a healer and I’ve observed one key thing that you just don’t notice in earlier instances; Boss battles are long and if you’re not very careful, to the point of needing to prep beforehand, you will run out of mana.

More details follow.

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I ran Zul’Gurub last night, my first raid. It was a facinating experience. Mostly I stayed up the back and tried not to be noticed, but I am reliably informed that my healing was helpful. That said, I’ve identified a number of things I can do to help more with such raids…

Details and the update after the jump.

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I’m not particularly good at introductions, so I’ll make this as brief and forgettable as possible. Hi, I’m Halley. I’ve been playing since January of last year, and I’m still as addicted as I was when I first started. My current main is a level 53 Night Elf Shadow Priest (he’s such a pretty boy). Even though I’m a girl, I primarily play male characters because they have better dances.

Phew, anyway. I figured that I’d bring something exciting with my first entry on here, and after finding the loot table for Naxxramas, I thought I’d share it with you all.

Here ya go!

Some of the things that piqued my interest were the pieces of Atiesh, Medivh’s staff, and the new legendary caster weapon (finally!) Not sure if these are confirmed or not, but apparently, depending on which class your caster is, the stats will vary. Also worth noting is the Corrupted Ashbringer. Obviously, to get the Legendary Ashbringer, you’ll have to go through some ridiculous quest, but the epic one’s stats are already pretty damn awesome. Improved chances to hit and crit, plus a built in Crusader enchant? Not bad, even if it is at the cost of 25 stamina.

Hey folks, the patch 1.11 test realms are live and with them we get news of the new 40 man instance Naxxrammas. As you can see from the image below, attunement looks like it’s going to be pretty expensive. f you’ve got the gold handy I’d recommend buying the crystals before the patch goes live and prices skyrocket.

There are many things in World of Warcraft that make us come back time and time again. Friends, items, guild duties, quests, and encounters. There are magical moments in this game that bind you to it. The first time my rogue left the serenity of the Northshire abbey and ventured into the Elwynn forest, I was charmed by the details, the splendor and the overall feeling of the place. When I first saw the ocean at the bay of Menethil, I realized just how big this place really is. There are cities, villages, castles, dungeons.. and there are the monsters.

WARNING: The following text contains enough spoilers to kill a molten giant.

When the 1.9 patch was released, I travelled to the caverns of time to see what all the fuzz was about. After sneaking past the guards, I saw.. the hugest thing I ever saw. Anachronos, heir to the dragon of time. He just stood there, watching me with a mixture of curiosity and amusement in his eyes. Some folks settled out to slay him, and close before he fell, he just disappeared, proclaiming that his time has not come yet, adding yet more to his greatness. Try to imagine a Stratholme zombie just trotting away from combat - it won’t work.

Time went on, and I learned more about those great beasts, even battled and bested some, including the fearsome Onyxia. But last night, one of those creatures taught me again never to take them lightly.

Vaelastrasz is the second boss in Blackwing Lair, right after Razorgore. And if a monster ever deserved the term boss, he does. Being able to insta-wipe a complete group with one hard breath, packed with enough life to fuel a small city and larger than an entire raid group stapled, he put up one of the most intense, long-lasting and interesting fights I ever witnessed in the game. In the end, after the 20th try, we got him down to 1% (Yes, one percent), and then our last standing fighter died, and he remained triumphant. Well, not really, considering he entered the lair just to kill his (and life’s) arch-enemy Nefarian in the name of Ragnaros, only to succumb to the corruption of the Black dragonflight.

Monsters like Vaelastrasz are why I play WoW. Not only does he have a moving, intense and deep story attached to him, he is also everything I ever trained for. The reason why I farm for hours on end to get that single piece of equipment that will push my stats more. The reason why I go on Ony/MC/ZG farming runs with my guild. So that when I meet a true and worthy opponent that cannot be simply dispatched by repeatedly using Sinister Strike with the occasional Eviscerate, Evasion or Blade Fury. A fight that takes speed, training, teamwork and a bit of luck. This time he got us, but the next time, we’ll be better prepared, and relieve him of his misery (and phat loot, of course. Can’t forget the loot. Hmm, purple goodness.)

By the way, whoever understood the title reference of this article gets a free soykaf the next time he/she is in Vienna.

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