Three Down

Zlaenya is level 80. Now I want to wait for patch 3.3 so that I can effectively use my time to do Trial of the Champion repeatedly on normal to get basic epics before starting on heroics.

I crafted two rings and an amulet for Ilyaena for when she hits 80. There is also a healing robe sitting in my bank, and I will craft the gloves when I get around to making the cloth.

Titanium ore is way overpriced. I guess it stands to reason though, considering I have yet to mine my first node and I spent all of three levels in Icecrown. I have seen two nodes, actually. The first time, my skill was too low. The second time, I lost track of the node before being able to get to it. Considering auction prices, though, if I want anything crafted, it does appear to still be worth flying around, looking for nodes.

Guess it's back to the priest for now, though.

Peace.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Trial of the Warrior

Ensidia wins the game

Zlaenya is now level 79 and motoring through Icecrown. I also tweaked her talents to set her up for my desired level 80 build. I ran Utgarde Pinnacle a couple of times, aiming for Ancient Royal Legguards but I only walked away with Vestige of Haldor. Running instances for specific gear is something I want to avoid, due to the randomness of drops. This is why I will probably end up gearing her up in mostly Savage Saronite Battlegear before repeatedly running Trial of the Champion on normal (iLevel 200 epics, such as Breastplate of the Imperial Joust).

When patch 3.3 hits, running instances will be a whole lot easier. The new dungeon tool will make it very easy to find groups. Once I have a few iLevel 200 pieces of gear, I will run random heroics as often as I possibly can for Emblems of Triumph, to trade in for iLevel 245 gear (and 2x Emblems of Frost per day, to be traded in for Tier 10!).

This is my current aim for pre-Heroic gear.

Peace.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Are You Prepared For 3.3?

I have yet to go and fight this year's Headless Horseman. Perhaps I will see the horse drop again and actually win the roll? Or maybe it will take ten years of seeing it drop to finally outroll someone. >.< I completely missed Brewfest, but it didn't really hold any excitement for me. Achievements are on the back burner. :/

The testing continues on the PTR. Looks like the Lich King's new "champion" could turn out to be Bolvar Fordragon, who, if you remember, was slain at the Wrathgate by those foul Forsaken.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there are some nice changes coming. The current patch notes reflect some nice improvements to various classes, and reputations will be easier to gain overall.

I continue to level my warrior. She is now level 73 and starting on Grizzly Hills.

That's all!

Peace.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

The Frozen Throne

Firstly, I'd like to recap my recent play experiences. I have been playing three toons: my mage, my priest and my warrior.

I finished Sholazar Basin with Gaiwyn, to gain the achievements Into the Basin and Loremaster of Northrend, the latter of which granted me the tailoring recipe for Deathchill Cloak. Being Frostfire is proving to be both powerful and fun. 13K Frostfire Bolt crits are crazy.

Ilyaena is level 77 and still melting faces. I got Fo' Shizzle My Grizzle and moved onto Sholazar Basin, but having recently done it with Gaiwyn makes me want to take a break from that zone for a little while. One option is to bite the bullet and simply start questing in Zul'drak; another is to play another toon aside from my warrior.

I have been making steady progress with Zlaenya. I got her to level 72, and she also has Cold Weather Flying, which helps immensely. Dragonblight is frequently feeling my fury. Warriors are fun!

Another thing I have been doing is trying to buy up Cobalt Ore at a reasonable price. So far I have smithed a lot of items with Nick's warrior and disenchanted them. I just have to work out which enchants are best to sell at the auction house to turn a pretty profit.

With the Lich King solidifying his hold on Northrend even more and the argent champions doing all in their power to overcome the scourge, the epic battle within Icecrown Citadel looms ever closer.

The patch notes will no doubt be updated regularly, but as it stands there are some nice changes incoming. Let's take a look at what patch 3.3 is likely to offer:

Firstly, the instances that we have been holding our breath for: Icecrown Citadel's raids and five-man wings. I would absolutely love to have the chance to experience Tier 10 content, but since my mage is still in T7 and I don't have the slightest chance of having enough time to raid, let alone do the latest heroics, I guess I'll just have to settle for watching videos and drooling over images of gear and encounter screenshots. So far, things are looking rather delectable.

Class changes are indeed improvements, too.

The changes to Improved Scorch are long overdue, where stacking is no longer required to gain the 5% spell crit increase. And there is a new glyph to make a mage's Water Elemental more of a pet; perhaps much like the indefinite up-time of a Death Knight's ghoul. The introduction of this glyph alone is making me second guess my recent move away from frost.

Speaking of Death Knights, we knew it was coming, but the changes to Scourge Strike should finally make it worth having as your primary talent again. Wave goodbye to Obliterate, if you are Unholy. Thank goodness. >.>

Some of the changes for shadow priests are very nice, too. Changes to haste, more mana regen and a greater bonus to shadow will increase overall performance.

Finally, new achievements are worth looking at, even if I will never be given the chance to attempt any of them. Titles like I'm on a Boat (that single from The Lonely Island, m*thaf*cka) and I've Gone and Made a Mess (a tribute to Moroes) made me chuckle.

There's also the latest Feat of Strength: It's Over Nine Thousand! Self-explanatory >.<

Keep an eye out for talent updates and other upcoming changes as the PTR continues to drive forward in its endeavour to prepare us for the storming of that final bastion that stands between Northrend's finest and the obliteration of the scourge once and for all.

I can't wait to see how the Lich King's long awaited defeat is decisively delivered!

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

3.1 Commences

And patch 3.1 fell hurtling from the sky like a screaming comet, inadvertently bent on the destruction of free time and real life priorities and commitments.

It's upon us at last: the biggest content patch for quite some time, and the first major patch of the current instalment of the game. Highly anticipated by every ilk, whether raider or casual altaholic, PvPer or socialite, patch 3.1 brings a lot of welcome changes and additions to the game.

[Official Ulduar Trailer]

Check it:
Ulduar, with its 14 bosses -- including the old god, Yogg-Saron --, varying tiers of difficulty, and over 800 new pieces of equipment -- including the much anticipated and coveted Tier 8 armor.
The Argent Tournament in Icecrown -- sure to keep most of us occupied for weeks, if not months to come -- with its daily quests, achievements, mounts and other items.
Dual-spec.
Class talent tree changes -- and we get all of our talent points refunded (meaning free respecs for everyone!).
Many profession changes -- including additional recipes, changes to buff durations, tweaking of oldschool items, etc.
And a whole lot more additions, tweaks, fixes and changes. [3.1 Patch Notes]

I really miss raiding. I wish that I was given the opportunity to raid Ulduar, but with my inability (and unwillingness) to commit to a specific raiding day or time, it makes raiding all but impossible. I will, however, be cheering on various high-end guilds in their race to complete Ulduar and defeat Yogg-Saron, garnering them the server first achievement and some form of strange geek respect for having no lives and achieving something so monumental in a mere virtual world.

It is time to dust off my Mage's robes and fire up those afterburners. I want to try and enjoy what content I do get to experience with these additions and changes to the game.

Let the Secrets of Ulduar begin.

Long live the Alliance!

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Death Knight Ding

MMO-Champion have put up a YouTube video showcasing Tier 8 armour.

My Death Knight is level 80. I will probably finish Icecrown with him, regardless. I also need to start doing heroics for gear upgrades and reputation. I equipped his Titansteel Destroyer. The funny thing is, his 2H mace skill is 1/400. It's a long grind ahead of me, full of misses. :p

As I said previously, I will probably level my Priest to 80 next. I'd better start saving cloth and stuff for crafting her level 78 gear. :o

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Almost Two Eighties

Just one more level for my beloved Death Knight. I am making good headway into Icecrown, and look forward to doing heroics; possibly starting next week!

I would like to get both my Warrior and Paladin up to at least 70, but Ilyaena is going to be the next alt I level to 80.

Having high level mining will be a bonus, although I heard that Alchemists can make a boatload of money at the moment. Might be time to level the Rogue...?

Apparently they are not making the changes to rage depletion on a stance change. This is disappointing for a levelling warrior. Still, Blizzard don't believe that stance dancing warrants this change. I guess it gives PvP warriors too much of an advantage or something, if they can switch to defensive to spell reflect and then back to 'zerker with little to no rage loss.

Also, apparently, Titan's Grip is getting the nerf bat again. This is just speculation as far as I am concerned, so I will keep my eyes open for a blue post regarding this possible upcoming change.

As for the raiding front, it is such a relief to not have to be on at any particular time to meet a commitment like raiding. I still want to experience Ulduar, but it just doesn't hold importance for me anymore. I play every day, but I am definitely a casual player now.

I look forward to doing more out of game activities and spending my time a bit more wisely. Productivity over entertainment; or something like that. :)

On another note, I was browsing my character armories and had to chuckle at my rogue's pvp statistics. The sheet is absolutely blank and yet she is wearing season 2 / season 3 arena gear. GG no statistic records pre 3.0. >.<

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

25-man Raiding

I was promoted to Guild Master last week. Since then, we have had a couple of meetings, discussed a lot of things regarding moving forward, and I have written up various proposals surrounding decisions that we felt needed to be made.

I finished Icecrown but haven't yet touched Sholazar Basin. I felt like playing my rogue, so have been doing a few quests on her.

Raiding is pretty quiet right now. We are trying to recruit more players so that we can begin 25-man raiding. Feel free to check out our recruitment forum.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Three-quarters Cleared

We cleared three of Naxxramas's wings last night on normal (10-man): Arachnid, Plague and Construct. One wipe each to Grobbulus and Gluth wasn't too bad, considering some were there for the first time (my first Gluth fight) -- also, especially since we wiped the floor with them the second time around. I was the only person to die on Thaddius, and I'm still not sure why. One second I was moving to my +ve companions; the next: dead.

It was a good raid, anyhow. We will be clearing the Military Quarter on Sunday, as well as taking down Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad. I look forward to 25-man raiding, but that may be a few weeks away yet, as we continue to gather the numbers. Normal Malygos raiding should be coming up pretty soon, too.

Last night saw me attain two gear upgrades too: [Grieving Spellblade] and [Spaulders of the Lost Vanquisher], which I turned in for my [Heroes' Frostfire Shoulderpads]. And I crafted, gemmed and enchanted some [Glacial Slippers] in preparation for Sapphiron (may not need them until we do it on heroic).

I continue to quest in Icecrown, ever so slowly. Once finished there I will clear The Storm Peaks, hopefully gaining me enough Sons of Hodir faction to get new shoulder enchants.

Here's to Sunday. ;)

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Improve Your Gear

On my guild forums, there is a link to a website that helps you to assess your gear (or look at other people's gear). I have a lot to improve on with more than just what pieces I have, but it is a work in progress, just as gathering gear is. Website added to sidebar.

One thing I really need to do is socket my belt. Once that is done, all I can really do is get a better cloak to make it worth enchanting with more than spell penetration, and slowly replace my blue pieces.

My Tailoring and Enchanting continue to be levelled very slowly. For both, it is a matter of obtaining mats. I hope to quest in Icecrown some more after my Christmas / New Year holiday. That will gain me more reputation with Argent Crusade and Knights of the Ebon Blade, cash from questing, and greens to DE for Enchanting mats. ;)

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Bear Essentials

Ding: 78.

Achievement: Fo' Grizzle My Shizzle.

I also completed Explore Grizzly Hills, netting me the Explore Northrend achievement. I got Tabard of the Explorer in my mailbox, as a reward.

If I can finish off Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, I will get both a World Explorer achievement and a title: the Explorer.

Next stop: Zul'Drak. Maybe. It depends on whether I am able to handle those undead mobs in Icecrown now that I am 78. >.<

Whatever happens, I will clear every zone before I am happy. I'm in no hurry to do it; but I will do it.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

Titanic Lightning Rods of Supreme Brilliance

I finished Dragonblight last night and started on Grizzly Hills tonight.

Dinged 77 and got my Cold Weather Flying. Ah, it's good to be able to fly again!

I flew around the rest of the Northrend zones. Words like 'epic' and 'amazing' fail to describe the splendour and incredible magnitude and magnificence of this continent. Such varied environments; such humongous structures; such an amazing array of creatures; and such extreme activity everywhere.

I really love the Titan lore and Storm Peaks captures so much of this across its mountainous terrain: giant structures built into the mountains; rune-inscribed golems roaming the mountain crags and paths; huge temple structures that bring a new definition to monolithic architecture.

I couldn't capture in my screenshots the scope of all there is to see, but I can say that I was in absolute awe of the superb job the design team have done in every gigantic zone. There is so much to see and it all takes your breath away.

Take the time to fly around Icecrown, Storm Peaks, Sholazar Basin and Crystalsong Forest -- and actually look at everything. You won't be disappointed.

Gundrak, Zul'drak

A Huge Crater in Zul'drak

Steps to the Zul'drak Plateau

Crystalsong is Breathtakingly Beautiful

Beware the Creatures of Icecrown

Before logging off, I decided to try and find a good spot to farm Frostweave Cloth. I am going to need hundreds of them to get my Tailoring up. I tried a spot in Icecrown, but the mobs there are level 80, so I would recommend waiting until level 79 and grinding out your last level there if you are after cloth, like me.

I also went to Zul'drak. Just outside of the Argent Crusade area, there is an ongoing undead event. You can kill a number of mobs at once, with a decent droprate on cloth. The downside of this is that the respawns are pretty haphazard and sometimes you can't get out of combat. I had a couple of close calls and had to run for my life a couple of times.

One bonus of killing the undead mobs, though, is that one of them dropped a Manual: Heavy Frostweave Bandage for me.

I intend to continue questing in Grizzly Hills and then probably Zul'drak until reaching 79, when I will do my Frostweave stint and hopefully be able to craft my Magnificent Flying Carpet at Level 80. ;)

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore

The Trailer is Here!

Another interview. We learn a little bit more about Icecrown and Arthas.


Quote

---

What can we expect from the currently closed zones in the Beta?
J.A.B: Icecrown is the home of the Lich King. So you'll see the seed of the scourge power. So there will be lots of different scourge things that happens there. Eventually there will be an actual raid to face the Lich King. That will not be when we release Wrath of the Lich King. That will be later on. In Storm Peaks we actually have two different dungeons, that are based on the titans, which are the creators of Azeroth. The next dungeon to open will be the Halls of Lightning.
T.C.: In Icecrown Glacier, theres something a little bit different that players may not have seen before, which is the Horde and Alliance quest hubs are actually gunships that are flying above the zone. Theres an Alliance gunship and a Horde gunship which are sorta the quest hubs.
J.A.B.: The idea behind it is, the Icecrown glacier is so full of the scourge, that neither the Horde or the Alliance have been able to get a toehold, and to create an actual base. So they've actually flown these goblin and gnomish engineering vehicles up and they act as the quest hubs.
The Halls of Lightning are also closed. What awaits us in there?
J.A.B.: The Halls of Lightning is the second of the titan dungeons that we'll be releasing with Wrath of the Lich King. I did a playtest of Halls of Lightning last week and its coming along real well, looks really cool. The art style for it is very good, very exciting. It looks other-worldy. It definitely has a lot of other worldy kind of influences. The architecture that the titans have is really different from the Horde and Alliance architecture. So it just looks very ancient, very powerful, very titan'ish.

---

Sindragosa -- The Frost Queen

See more.

The Wrath of the Lich King cinematic trailer is available to download from the official (EU) site. Download it using the Blizzard Downloader or Filefront.

Gaiwyn of Proudmoore