Expect Changes

That's my lesson for 2009, I think. Always expect changes. With all the new goodies and toys that came with Wrath and the big content patch, much of Prin's gameplay and mechanics is substantially different than the early posts here.

The upshot is that I think some new posts are in order here. Playing a Shadow Priest is likely a whole new experience.

Stats
Talent Builds
Healing as Shadow
Mana Management
Aggro Management

That's not even taking into account the rest of my toons. Malarea has reasserted her position as my "Main." She's been the first to make her way into Northrend and has finally dinged 78. I plan for my DK to learn how to tank, but right now she's still wading through Outlands at level 66. Two more levels, that's her mantra.

Big change: look for more about other classes, achievements, and old-world content revisited - or just plain "visited," for most of it, actually. Mal dinged 60 the night before BC released, so she never got to experience the original raid content at all.

I Am Ashamed

You know that feeling you get when you've neglected a responsibility for far too long, only to have said neglect just CRAMMED AND RUBBED into your face, briskly and with great malice, without regard for whatever might have been keeping you from that responsibility?

I'm back to work; yes, it's only a temp job, but it IS a long way away and I'm spending an additional 2 hours on the road in commute. Wrath has been out for a month and a half and I had 4 level 70s and a 60ish mage, for god's sake. That's a LOT of toons to choose from just to pick who's gonna level first.

The holidays. That's a lot of work and time and stress, too. I've had cooking, baking, traveling, shopping, lots of stuff. In the words of someone whom I dearly love, I can't be all things to all people!

So what brought on this attack of guilt? I went to take the dog outside last night, after I got home from work. Bent down to attach the leash to her collar. Noticed a dust bunny the size of freaking Colorado under the bench in the foyer. I am indeed ashamed. Here's my pledge to do better.

Oh - and I also need to get back to posting. Sorry I've been gone so long!

Now THAT's an Achievement

The game that D has loved so well for so long has finally recognized his heart's desire in the form of "Achievements." Several of these are right up his alley, promoting thorough exploration of every inch of every zone, and true appreciation of all the wildlife therein.

To All the Squirrels I've Loved Before

How to get it?

Lots and lots of exploration, and I quick '/love' macro, and this achievement will be yours! If you're doing the "full exploration" achievement as well, you'll have no problems. Understand, however, that at least 3 of these critters have only been spotted on Northrend thus far, so you may have to wait another couple of weeks to really finish it.

Pure Evil, Part 2 - from GameFAQs

whizeguyPosted 10/13/2008 5:55:02 PMmessage detail

Something along these lines had to have gone down at the Mythic HQs:
Mythic Guy Tom: Hey Barry, follow me, I wanna show you what I just got in.
(Tom leads Barry to a huge storage room)
Tom: Check it out bro.
Mythic Guy Barry: Whoa, what the heck is it?
Tom: It's a server, one of the first ever built, a hold-over from the Cold War.
Barry: Wow, it must be slow as all hell and really unreliable.
Tom: It Sure is Barry, and barely even works too.
(Tom grabs a nearby fire extinguisher and puts out a small fire that has started in the ancient server)
Barry: Whew that was close.
Tom: Meh, happens 3 or 4...dozen times a day.
(Sparks begin shooting from the server, Tom grabs a wrench and proceeds to beat the server until the sparks stop)
Barry: Jeeze, Tom, so what are you gonna use this server for?
Tom: I was thinking in-game mail.
Barry: Sounds good to me.
Tom: Hey, I have a box of puppies in my office, you wanna light them on fire and toss them off the overpass and see if we can cause some wrecks?
Barry: Boy do I!!! Afterward we can go to the oldfolks home push people out of wheelchairs!!!
Tom: You read my mind Barry, you read my mind.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=520538&topic=45950685

Out of the Frying Pan and into the WAR-fire

So, I've been meaning to post this for over a week, now. None of my WoW toons have seen any love whatsoever since I installed Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning two weeks ago.

http://dwarfpriest.com/2008/10/07/patch-302-priest-survival-guide/: This is going to be what brings me back to WoW, at least to try it out. It just seems so damn cool, like a complete overhaul of the game I've loved for 2 years. Hell, it may turn out to BE a completely different game, you think? I think it's possible.

So, WAR v WOW. Yeah, I know, but anyone who's played them both is going to be comparing them. You just can't help it.

Cute Factor: WOW, hands-down. There is no dancing in WAR. No hugging, or blowing kisses, or any of that happy crap. If you see a half-naked Dark Elf hanging out, rather temptingly targeting you, don't fall for it! She's not checking your "gear," my friend, she's just waiting for her friend to engage you from behind so that she can unload on your carebear-nightelf-druid ass.

Questing: WAR has the definite edge here. Some guy wants you to go gather lion flanks? Cool. He's circled the area on your map where they can be found. And get this - EVERY freaking lion has a flank. You don't even have to loot the lion - just whack it with something sharp and the flank will detach from the beast and jump into your backpack. It's unsettling, yeah, a little bit. But oh so very efficient. WAR also has a thing called PQs, or Public Quests. They're 3-stage open-air "events," not instanced, that anyone can join in and help out with. Loot distribution at the end of these is based on the player's percentage of contribution plus a random roll of chance. And even if you don't win a loot bag, every bit of contribution is filling up an "Influence" bar that eventually provides 3 stages of rewards; for instance, a potion, a pair of bracers, and perhaps a sweet new staff.

Grouping: WAR, no doubt about it. Say you're on a quest for drops from Archers and some other player comes running up with the same quest. In WoW you'd be cursing that guy's name right about now, having to share your mobs and take twice as long to get your required 30 cufflinks or whatever. In WAR, however, you just invite him. That Archer will drop cufflinks for everyone, no problem. And if you're the new guy running up to a crowd of people working where you need to be - still no problem. You can add yourself to their group without having to wait for their leader to stop and do the invite-thingy. LFG is officially DEAD.

/dance on LFG's grave.

Gear Smexiness: My main is only 16, so I can't really comment on how cool the gear eventually gets in WAR - but I CAN say that if you're all decked out in purple and a sweet new pair of boots drop in DAY GLO ORANGE - you can simply dye them to match for 2 silver. Whatabargain, mirite?

PvP: Known in WAR as RvR; I hated pvp in WoW. You guys know that. I HATED it. Guess what? I think it totally rocks in WAR. I love the scenarios, which are like WoW's BGs. I love the fact that I can roll on a "Core" server and go about my merry way unmolested... but then I can simply cross that red line on the map and be ass-deep in some hawt Empire-killing action. D was especially sceptical of this, until last night. We jumped over into New Emskrank to knock out a couple of quests in the RvR zone, and he had an absolute BALL. We especially enjoyed setting up Marshmallow's Pink Horror minion to fire-bomb the Order players perched on the roof of a nearby house while she - Marsh, that is - controlled him from safe under the eaves. D's Zealot was doing the D-thing, that being hopping around waving his skull at people and spamming heals on any Destruction players in reach.

In the interest of unbiased reporting, I should probably mention that WAR, being brand-spanking-new, has a few bugs to be worked out. I once got stuck in a casting animation and had to run through an entire Scenario all hunched over like Igor. D had several "black-screen-crashes" until we underclocked his graphics card, and they're still trying to get the /ignore-report-gold-spammer thingy working right.

So - yeah, I'm hoping that WotLK brings me back, I've loved WoW for so long, and it's loved me back so very well. But for now, dear friends, if you've fallen to the siren call of WAR... Hit me up on the Destruction side of the Bretonnia Server. Hazanevyl the Dark Elf Sorceress, Zoey the Chaos Zealot, or Marshmallow the Chaos Magus.

Keep Yer Ban-Hammer Off'n My Books, Ya Punks

Kirk of Priestly Endeavors issued a challenge to several bloggers concerning Banned Book Week (9/27 - 10/4). I wasn't personally called out but I see no reason for that to stop me.

Of the 100 books from the list of those most challenged between 1990 - 2000, I have indeed read, perused, or out-right studied the following - and I'm not ashamed to admit it.


7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
55. Cujo by Stephen King
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

First of all - check out all the Stephen King on this list! That's my effort to distract you from all the Judy Blume. Hey - I was once a teenaged girl. Hard to believe, but it's true. So anyway - that's 25 of the 100 titles down... now I just have to pick one to read next week! And you know what? Because this is AMERICA I believe I'll just saunter into the local library and check it out. If, that is, I can get the neighborhood 10-year-olds to return it.

Prin Re-Specs Holy; Stubs Toe; Dies

So I haven't had much to say in the Shadow Priest area this week. See, D got it in his head that if I respecced holy, I'd be able to heal a heroic. *snort* Turns out, no, I can't. No, I didn't really try, but even specced holy and in my tragically underwhelming healy gear, Be Imba had me at under 100 for PvE. I couldn't get my +heals over 1k, and yeah, while I could have dropped some gold on enchanting her stuff, I didn't want to pull an Obama, you know?*

Now here I am, running around Sunwell Plateau, attempting dailies. I'm still not Exalted there on Prin, you see. Okay, the coast. I pull a Myrmidon, he badly wounds me. A Siren spawns right on top of me and I'm dead.

Moving on to the demons. Oh, awesome, someone has just killed the big guy. I run over there to plant my flag in its back, and apparently stabbed myself in the foot with it because I'm suddenly at like, 20% health. I'm not even in combat!

I resolve to L2Smite. Geez this feels so alien to me...

Bombing run? Oh, yeah! I can't possibly get hurt doing this. HA. You forgot about the Reservists at the landing dock, didn't you? Yeah, I did. /sigh

Bloodberry bush! Aha! GAH! Since when do these things have THORNS!?

Donate gold to the cause? Sure, why not? It's not like I'm going to have a 400g repair bill, or anything. Anchorite Ayuri's Rough Cuticle hits Principessa for 7,000 critical. Principessa dies.

I'm totally going to go re-spec back to Shadow. I don't know how you holier-than-me people get anything done in this game. *grumble*

*PLEASE do not take this comment as an open invitation to get all political here. I'm just trying to be topical, I'm not trying to ruin my rep as the founding member of the Apathetic party.