Well, dear readers, I am living proof that you can raid as a casual player and progress while doing it. For the last 5 weeks or so, I have been spending every Saturday night (the progression night) in a raid group. Sure, it’s only once a week, but it’s the best I can do. We have been raiding SSC for 3-4 hours every Friday and Saturday night, and I’ve happily been part of every kill so far. On to Saturday night.

For the second week in a row, the Friday night crew managed to take down Hydross, Lurker and Morogrim. Last week we started on Fathom Lord Karathress, and he ate our lunch. I think he even dated my sister, it was so bad. So we started out this week in the same predicament, a little wiser, and a little better prepared.

Say hello to the Fathom Lord and his cronies.

I got some advice on the fight that I passed along to the raid leader courtesy of Matt at World of Matticus. (Thanks Matt!) So we had a better idea of strategy going in. I was once again assigned to be the main healer for our Pally tank, who would be handling the Shaman. The kill order would be the shaman, the hunter, the pet, the priestess and then the Big Guy himself.

The first attempt was a wipe, due to aggro troubles involving the hunter’s pet. He got loose and ran around smacking clothies and healer types upside the head, yours truly included. He two shotted me, if I remember right, and I didn’t even SEE him. Ugh.

The second attempt was smooth. The shaman went down, and I became something of a healing free agent. Healing the raid, kicking in to help tanks in trouble, generally slinging regrowth around like it was going out of style. (Why regrowth? Well, one thing I’ve found in the raiding environment, is that once I’m raid healing, lifebloom gets healed over anyhow. So generally I just use it on tanks and regrowth on raid targets.) I also managed to battle rez a healer up that had gone down. Anyhow, before I knew it, we were blasting away on the Big Guy.

What the heck? Wrath? Yeah, that’s right. Mad Resto Druid DPS took over. Healing was pretty well covered, my CD on Rebirth was long since blown, so there was only one thing to do. Unleash the Hounds of War. (When it comes to Resto druids, the Hounds of War are Toy Collies and Pomeranians, btw.) Can you see those crazy damage numbers? Sweet! (Ok, enough of that, /sarcasm off.)

Of course once my DPS was added to the mix, the Fathom Lord did indeed fall. Yay! And I have a shot to prove it!

So, what did he drop? Honestly, I don’t remember everything. I had typical class-specific tunnelvision for the loot. He dropped the T5 pants token for Druids, I know. As well as a pair of [Soul-Strider Boots]. I used my SK spot on the boots, passing on the pants. I plan to get the [Grovewalker's Leggings] as soon as I pick up another 6 badges, and the boots were a nice upgrade over my [Boots of the Incorrupt] from Kara. Yeehaw!

It was a great night overall. We learned from our previous mistakes, stayed focused, and took down that blasted Naga. Sure, we’re not progressing all that FAST, but we are progressing. We’ve now downed a new boss 2 of the last three “progression” nights. Let’s hope it continues next week! (We did take a few cracks at Leo, but they didn’t go so well. I’ll serve up the story and pics on that later.) We’re now 4/6 in SSC, and I got some shiny new boots to show for it. Thanks for reading!

It can be depressing to be a casual player.   I play roughly 4 times per week.  On two of those nights, I can play around 3 hours, sometimes more.  The other nights, though, I can only jump in game for an hour or two.  This is probably a big reason why I have so many mid-level alts.

The reason for this is that it’s tough to get anything done in just an hour or two.  Sure, I could run dailies, but then I’m looking at roughly half my play time devoted to the same quests over and over again.  (Of course, I should do dailies anyhow if I EVER want that epic flying skill!)

What I usually do is log on with my Druid, and ask in guild if anyone wants to get an instance going.  If I can quickly put a group together, in 15 minutes or so, I can do any instance in the game.  The times I log on though, around 10 pm game time, there are usually only about 10-15 guild members online, and many of them are almost done for the night.

So there you have it.  Time to alt.

Now, the real reason for this post.  I’m tired of getting to the mid levels and giving up.  I want to focus my efforts on one or two alts, and try to get one or two more 70s.  This will help with getting instances more often, if I can fill different roles.  So let’s look at what I have now.

• Pummra, 70 Resto Druid
• Feroz, 70 BM Hunter
• Emerson, 50 Shadow Priest
• Whitman, 42 Enhancement Shaman
• Mummrah, 42 Combat Rogue
• Pummrah, 40 Arms Warrior
• Pumrah, 20 Fire Mage

I also have a couple really low levels, and I have one empty slot on my server.   So theoretically, I could make an entirely new character and focus on him.  (Which I’ve thought about doing, maybe trying a Paladin.)  It’s just so hard to make a decision. 

Honestly, I like all my characters in their own ways.  I’ve thought maybe I’d want to level the Shammy, and respeccing him to Resto at some point for that awesome Brain Heal.  I’ve also thought maybe the warrior is a good idea, to have a tank class.  I used to love tanking w/ Pummra when he was Feral.  The shadow priest is nice because he seems SOOO tough right now.  I can take anything, and Shad Priests are perhaps the ultimate Raid Support Class.  (He also has another benefit in that he’s actually doing really well on tradeskills, 300 Tailoring and Enchanting.  For a long time he was a tradeskill alt.)

Ack!  If I could just make a stinking decision, I’d be dangerous.  The problem is that I can’t.  It’s been a weakness of mine forever, indecisiveness.  I’m also easily intrigued by seeing someone play a particular class REALLY well.  I started focusing on the Priest when I saw a raiding Shadow Priest in action.  I started focusing on the shammy when I realized how much the raids I ran in could use a chain healer.

So, anyone have any advice?  Heck, even if you tell me I should start a Pally, I could do it fairly painlessly.  I now have the ultimate alt kit on one of my ultra low levels.  All white (non binding) leather armor with some good enchants.  Pants with clefthide, a staff with fiery, gloves with haste, a chestpiece with +stats.  Some really good stuff that makes the low levels fly.  So I’m begging you, dear reader, convince me! 

I know it’s getting a bit like High Fidelity around here, but what can I say? I like lists!  I thought we’d dial things down a notch and attack a fun topic: The Top 5 Reasons I Hate Murlocs. Starting from the bottom:

5. Too Many Blasted Casters

I don’t know about you, but I hate mobs that are casters. You can’t pull them away from a crowd, as they’ll just sit there and blast away, inviting their buddies to join in the fun. They also have a tendency to sneak up on me while I’m fighting other mobs. Sometimes I won’t even realize I’m getting seared in the back repeatedly with lightning bolts. I hate casters no matter what class I’m playing, their equally irritating to any playstyle. Murlocs also seem to have at least 2 or 3 casters roaming around. With camps like Ogres or humans, there’s usually maybe one or two casters at most. With Murlocs they’re like a disease. If they make such great casters, why aren’t they a playable race?

4. Murlocs are EVERYWHERE

If I had my druthers, I’d nuke every zone with a Murloc presence, but then I’m afraid there wouldn’t be many places left to go. Murlocs are there from the beginning, and they seem to follow you around, like a piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe. I first saw the twerps near Goldshire, and they whacked me around then. They taunted me with their treasure chests strewn about, and dared me to try and take them. They tortured me in Southshore, refusing to drop their stupid heads. They even embarrassed me in the expansion, when I made my new Draenei, they attacked me by surprise, while I was just fishing!

When I got to 70, I thought I was done with them. Boy, was I wrong. Then they had to slap me and the whole raid around in SSC. Gigantic warrior Murlocs? Are you kidding me? They’re like a disease, without any cure.

3. Murlocs are Unskinnable

I would get such pleasure out of skinning their fishy bodies after killing them, but no such luck. They sure look skinnable to me, what’s the problem? I could surely make a nice pair of boots out of them, maybe a belt!

[Murloc Boots]
Binds when picked up Leather
+25 Stamina
+25 Spirit
Equip: Increases Coolness Rating by 10,000
Equip: Activates Title: Murloc Bane

2. Murlocs RUN

I hate runners. Seriously. They cramp my style, and often lead to death – which I also hate. Obviously, this is less of a problem with some classes than others, like with a hunter or ranged class, for instance. I still much prefer a mob that stands there and takes it. The problem with running Murlocs is they often run right to the aforementioned casters. Smart, those Murlocs. Devious.

1. The NOISE

You knew it had to be this. What the heck IS that noise anyway? I truly wish I could do a good imitation of a Murloc noise, but I have no such skill. If your coffeemaker were taken over by the devil, I think it would sound similar.

That noise just evokes an instant loathing, deep in my bones. It drives me to turn around instantly and start hacking at its source. The problem is, I often turn around to about 10 Murlocs coming right at me. Lightning bolts flying, nets being launched, a full-on frontal Murloc Assault. It’s like the Shock and Awe of World of Warcraft.

So there you have it. I could have easily stretched this list further, adding things like their irritating, constant dropping of mostly useless Shiny Fish Scales and Fish Oil. If there were Murlocs IRL, I’d gladly mount one of their heads on my wall, and I’m a pacifist!  I’m well aware that I’m far from the only one who hates Murlocs. Sadly, I also know there are those who love them. Crazy, I say. Crazy.

I’ve been playing World of Warcraft for quite a long time. I began playing the beta around late August or early September 2004. We’re talking the time before hunters were in the game, and when you paid for skills with skill points rather than gold.  I don’t even want to mention my /played time!

Anyhow, to have lasted close to 4 years playing one game, there must have been some quite memorable moments. I thought it would be interesting to look at my Top 5 Unforgettable WoW Moments. Perhaps some other bloggers will share theirs! Without further adieu, here they are, from leastest to mostest.

5. Karazhan

Kara is one heck of an instance. It’s the kind of place that people have run many, many times and intend to keep running. In my opinion, Kara has EVERY element that makes a great instance. It has a great, cohesive feel, and it’s actually believable as a single, massive tower of fun. It has many boss fights of varying degrees of difficulty, and a great collection of loot for literally every class. It’s also still the single best source for heroic badges in the game.

If I had a single complaint about Kara, it would be that there is too much trash. The trash in and around Moroes, Maiden and Opera is really a bit out of hand. Take out half of those mob groups, and the instance would flow much more smoothly.

Still, I would call Kara one of the best instances in the game.

4. My First Ramparts Run

This one is a little different. There isn’t anything particularly interesting about Ramparts. It’s kind of vanilla, some ok boss fights, and decent loot for the appropriate level group. The reason this ranks so high with me is based solely on my first run in here with my Druid. It was really the first instance I had run with the druid that I didn’t seriously out level.

It’s also the first time I really, REALLY fell in love with my druid. It happened during the the Omor the Unscarred fight. I was a feral druid at the time, and was there for DPS. During the course of the encounter, the healer got taken down by one of the loose hounds. It looked like it may be a wipe, but it wasn’t. I switched to caster, got off a Battle Rez and a couple of heals. Sadly, the tank went down during the course of this, so I switched to Bear form and picked up aggro on Omor before he could wipe the group. I managed to get us through this fight – just barely. It was the first real example, for me, of just how flexible and valuable a well-played druid could be. I’ll never forget that fight.

3. Ragnaros

This one had a real “wow” factor. If you haven’t played WoW for very long, there’s a good chance you never participated in this fight. Heck, there are many people who have been in from the beginning who might not have seen it.

Molten Core was the only real end game for a long time, and it was quite a challenging instance for its day. I mean come on, you needed 40 people to run it! I start to twitch if I even THINK about attempting to take charge of organizing an MC run. Ouch!

Anyhow, the Ragnaros fight was truly epic. When he first came out of the lava, I was in total awe. It was one of those moments where I had to stop and say, “Man, this game is so fricking good!” Ragnaros is enormous, he looks awesome (if you haven’t seen it, he looks a bit like Murmur, though fiery!), and it was one tough fight. It was great to see that mace fall to the ground when we took his flaming butt down. And it was always exciting to wonder just what he just dropped.

2. VanCleef’s Boat

I mentioned this in my Top 5 5-mans post. The Deadmines was my very first instance, and though I was hooked on WoW from the start, this place sealed the deal. The Deadmines just seemed to keep going and going, while getting better and better. When you ended up in the giant cave with the boat, it was a spectacular sight. This was the first time in an MMO for me (and I had played a LOT of MMOs) where something felt truly cinematic, truly epic. It was like I finally understood just how BIG and DETAILED this game was compared to the ones I had played in the past.  After this, I quite buying other games.

1. Hitting 60

Once a true benchmark, this has largely been watered down. To be sure, leveling in WoW was never as difficult as in games like EQ and DAoC (and thank god for that!) but it’s not nearly as easy as it is today either. When 60 was the end game, it really meant something. It meant you could start shooting for purples in MC. It meant people had automatic respect for you. It meant you were a dedicated player.

My first 60 was my hunter, Feroz. I was in the Western Plaguelands at the time, finishing a quest for Kirsta Deepshadow. The mob was a Scarlet Spellbinder, if I remember correctly – some scarlet something or other, at any rate. It was my single most thrilling moment to date, better than either time I dinged 70. After playing for over a year, I finally had a level 60 character. I could finally participate in ANYTHING the game had to offer.

There you have it. My top 5. I’ll surely remember some other great moment I left off the list, but for now it’s a good list. It sort of encapsulates my whole WoW career, touching things both old and new. So what are your Top 5 Unforgettable WoW Moments?

Earlier this week, Aurik at /hug tackled this very subject. In my opinion, one of the elements of WoW that makes it so great is it’s vast number of instances, which all have their own feel and foibles. One of the first things I do when I log on is ask, “anyone up for an instance?” Here are my top 5 5-Mans. We’ll start at the bottom.

5. Magisters’ Terrace

Honestly, there is a good chance this could get a higher rating, but I honestly haven’t run it enough to judge its longevity. I love the feel of this place. Perhaps that’s partially due to its “newness,” but ultimately I think it was just very well designed. The colors and layout really pop for me.

Another good element of MagT (and no, I flat out refuse to call it “MrT”) is its fine collection of bosses. They are varied and keep the fights interesting, without any boring old tank and spank fights. They can also be quite a challenge, even on regular mode.

The fact that this instance comes with a built-in cutscene is a great addition – though I probably won’t stop to watch it again, it was a nice touch. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I think it has some great loot, too. Go ahead and read my post on the resto druid drops if you don’t believe me.

4. Shadow Labyrinth

I kind of wonder if I’m in the minority on this particular instance. It’s not especially pretty or well thought out, and it doesn’t necessarily have anything that I can say makes it stand out from the crowd. My reasons for enjoying this instance are a bit more nebulous.

I think it again has something to do with the bosses. You have some interesting boss fights that can be both fun and frustrating. That blasted Ogre boss has wiped many a group I was in, as well as that silly Warlock. All that being said, I have fun in those fights. I’ve also run this one a LOT due to rep needs and key frags and the like, and I’ve never grown tired of it. I also really enjoy the big battle at the end with Murmur. It can be a real challenge for a resto druid to heal through, as that big AOE is NASTY my friend.

3. The Botanica

I’ve always like the feel of the Tempest Keep family of instances. I like the color scheme and the other-worldliness (is that even a word?). They all make me feel as if I’ve warped into some odd sci-fi movie on USA late night. For that reason alone, I like them all.

The Botanica, though, is the best of them. I enjoy the fact that you can see the big boss at the end as you go through. I like the variety of mobs you fight, and I like how everything in this instance seems to “fit”. The fight with Warp Splinter at the end really tops it off. There is also something to be said for the loot in here, as there are a LOT of good things for a resto druid. Read this to find out more!

2. The Deadmines

Now we’re going old-school from here on out. In terms of later instances, I know The Deadmines (more commonly known as VC on my server) doesn’t really compare. It’s kind of haphazard, and not as well organized as some of the newer stuff. It still has boatloads of charm, though, from the undead to the crazy goblins. I especially enjoyed the Goonies-esque intro of the boat in the cave. Some things about WoW I will never forget. One of those things was the first time I saw that boat. For a lot of us, VC was our very first instance, and it holds a special place in our hearts. I remember being amazed at all the twists and turns, and how it just seemed to keep on going. I thought it was just another cave at first, but boy was I wrong. I still try to run this with every new character.

1. Dire Maul

Ahhh, DM. How I love thee. This instance was so fantastic when it was released. Dire Maul was just plain ginormous. There really was nothing like it at the time for high level players. If I remember correctly (and the chances of that are slim!) it was the first high-level instance with a multi part “winged” structure, like that of Scarlet Monastery. This is obviously something that Blizzard likes to incorporate now!

You could do any wing of the dungeon that you like, and there were something like 15+ different bosses and sub bosses. The biggest thrill in DM for me was the famous “tribute” run. If you’ve never done the tribute run, you owe it to yourself to do it someday! In the tribute run, you had to get all the way to and kill King Gordok without killing any other bosses! There were a few different tricks you had to use, including using special traps, putting on an ogre suit, and others. If you were successful, you got a guaranteed chest full o blues, became King of the Ogres, and got all kinds of sweet 2 h our buffs. When it was done right, it was some of the most fun I ever had in game. And the loot was great, too!

So there you have it. My top five. Subject to change, with the next great batch of instances. I’d love to hear what some of your favorites are!