Could It Be? Armor Parity at Last?

What? I know, I know. I should be ashamed. Am I finding bugs and reporting them … no. Am I spending my time in beta ferreting out useful information … no. Am I basically … I don’t know … playing dolls? Um, yeah. Sort of. My only excuse is the visual part of the the game is very important to me.

There has long been an imbalance between what armor looks like on female characters and what it looks like on males. Yeah, to the point of ridiculousity in a lot of cases. Redbeard posted a great cartoon of game armor logic.

But what’s this! I made a level 100 male Warlock … no, what … never mind why, jeez. Well actually Cim made him, it’s her dream date I guess. I noticed his chest armor was rather scanty. NO! I wasn’t complaining but I wondered what a female Warlock in the same armor set would look like. I mean, it can’t be scantier, can it?

Look! I think she has more coverage than he does! Is this a new era? Will we at last have armor parity? Is this a sign of things to come?

Yes, Cim was apparently busy making multiple trials conjuring up her idea man. I like him Cim. In fact I like him so much what do you think about changing your … OW! Crap, Cim call that stupid demon off me! It was just a thought, I was just thinking out loud! JEEZ! So touchy.

Yeah, I see a world of trouble brewing here. I’m just saying. Come on, don’t you see it? That might be Cim’s dream date but he’s EXACTLY Cat’s type. EXACTLY. This might get ugly. Demons and claws smack down over him.

I took a peek at Cat in beta, she’s looking decidedly more cheery now. The last version would have torn into Cim the Warlock for a chance at a shot at him, this one looks more peaceful. Maybe this one will just roll her own date. I can only hope.

Mr & Mrs WoW’s Top Three Things

Mr & Mrs WoW would like to hear the top three things we’re doing until WoD appears over horizon. My problem is that I’ve been so busy doing these things I haven’t had a chance to write them down.

Battle Pets

Yeah, I didn’t see this one coming. I thought it was a nice idea but I wasn’t interested. I never knew I’d be stricken with battle pet fever practically right off the bat. Right now Cat seems to have become convinced that she’ll get to WoD and find she hasn’t leveled some pet that’s crucial for a Tamer fight.

Since Cat’s doing so much pet leveling, she needs to do the Beasts of Fable every day because fast leveling goes so much better with a Lesser Sausage of Pet Leveling. It also means that she has a worse Snowy Panda infestation than Cim the tailor ever had with Imperial Moths.

Rare Mounts

We have a long, long way to go to 200 mounts. Cim the Warlock is the farthest along with 177 so collecting more mounts is another almost daily routine. I should say TRYING to collect more mounts. What’s strange is that in some cases, while happy to get the mount, there is a little sorrow. Cim was thrilled to get her Onyxian Drake but she kind of misses the weekly visit. I don’t think she’ll mind seeing the end of The Stonecore one day but Cat enjoys her time in Vortex Pinnacle, it’s so beautiful. She’s in no big hurry for Altairus to hand over that mount.

Archaeology

Poor Cat, digging and digging. She made a mistake. At the beginning of MoP she dug until she found the rares she wanted and then pretty much quit. Now she’s trying to make up for lost ground. I don’t know if the time left will be enough for her to complete The Seat of Knowledge but she’s going to give it her best shot.

I realized another benefit of Archaeology was getting a chance to say my goodbyes to all the places in MoP I will miss. I remember being pretty choked up about leaving Wrath behind and feel pretty much the same way about MoP. I’m always happy to see a dig in Zouchin Village so we can drop in and say hi.

There are many other things. I want to go back to the Brawler’s Guild and see if Cim can make it to level 7. She was stuck at level 6. Both Cim and Sasche should go and try to find their way to Kanrethad at least once and spit in his eye or something but they’re both directionally challenged and probably can’t even find their way to the big head in the sky thingy.

And then there are outfits to be assembled for transmogging and money to be made for WoD … oh and catch the two Tiny Carp I’m still  missing. So much to do and less than three months to do it! There’s no time to lose!

Maintenance Blues

Most Embarrassing

Every morning I login to check the AH, level some battle pets and generally goof-off before the morning dog walk. Since we’re at the end of an expansion I’ve grown spoiled by rolling restarts. Imagine my utter horror this morning to find not only was there a maintenance but a long maintenance, it had already begun.

What will I do! Halp! Halp! You’re killing me! Okay … deep breaths … you’ll figure something out, just stay calm.

I know! I’ll review the expansion with my screen shot folder! A walk down memory lane! That’s the ticket!

It’s hard to believe that Cim wasn’t TRYING to look that bad early in MoP but … yup … she wasn’t. The leveling look … terrifying. Sorry Cim but I had to … you should be happy because it’s truly gruesome.

A few stood out …

Bigfoot

I don’t know why but when Ragnaros gains feet he scares the bejeebers out of me. HE WALKS! Run for your lives! Yeah … your fears may vary but his feet are mine.

Prettiest

The Old Ladies’ Raiding Guild do not just vanquish their foes, they do it with style. No messy, random bodies for them. They leave the places they visit prettier than they found them. You’re welcome.

Biggest Goof-off

Lastly … no surprise here … Cat wins the biggest goof-off in the screen shot category hands down. I remember that … she sat there forever waiting for that Dwarf to give her a ride … and then he just walked off. Poor Cat, she probably went goat-kicking after that.

Oh! It’s time for the dog walk! Yay! It worked! Screen shot nostalgia for those times you just can’t login.

The Old Ladies Got Me a Pony!

It cracks me up to refer to the old ladies since I’m pretty sure I’m the only bonafide old lady there. I get a giggle out of it. Anyway, last night at the OLRG run I finally got Glory of the Icecrown Raider done thanks to them and I got my new pony!

Isn’t he beautiful cute … um … awesome! Thank you so much clever Matty and ladies! It would never have happened without you because between you and me I have no idea how to do some of those achievements. I mean we did Been Waiting a Long Time for This and I’m still puzzled.

And yes, I have watched videos and yet still I’m puzzled. I could never figure who had what stacks where so thankfully others know enough to say … hey … you there … go stand here until A happens and then go stand at B. Whew, now that I can handle. I am so grateful ladies.

Last night a certain lady told us how she’d been talking in vent and we seemed to be ignoring her. It took her a while to realize her mic was off. I’ve done that. But last night while flying around on my new pony I was talking away and the ladies were ignoring me. Hey! Hey! Look at my amazing pony guys! Hey!

It’s kind of scary how long it took me to notice no one was in vent anymore … but who cares! I got a new pony!

 

Orcish Feelings

Yeah … okay … I’m a little late. Yesterday I took time out from important work I had to do to watch the WoD cinematic reveal and finally find out that WoD will release on November 13, 2014. Then I had to get back to my important work. What work?

Oh … caulking the bathroom. That is really, really hard. I suck at caulking. I either move the gun too slow and get lumps or too fast and it’s too thin. Man that is hard. Anyway.

Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m not about true facts, theorycrafting … wait … HAHAHAHA … theorycrafting and me, that’s just way too funny. I am about feelings. Yup, that’s it. And after watching the cinematic and the first part of Lords of War what I felt like doing was being an Orc.

I felt the NEED to be a badass, ass kicking Orc. I do have them. There’s Grak looking pissed. No wonder, I see I left her sitting in the Barrens at level ten. Not even the comfort of an Inn. No wonder they’re pissed off and badass. But like a bazillion of my alts she’s a Warlock.

I feel the need for a head busting, melee Orc. Not a caster. That’s one problem. I pretty much suck at melee as well as caulking. Oh I know Cat’s melee but she’s not much for head busting if she can stealth by. I know, she’s kind of a pacifist … weird.

I already have a Goblin Rogue impatiently waiting at 49 for me to get with the program. I have a Warrior at 60 which was far enough for me to know … I’m not a Warrior.

A Death Knight? Maybe … I don’t know. There are after all RULES to altoholism. No jumping the line. What about poor Pettifog the Mage, stalled at 13. I could go on but the point is that Blizzard created a problem and put me in this predicament.

I wonder if I played an Orc on beta would I get it out of my system. I don’t know … maybe. All I know is that for a person who has no real faction bias I’m feeling pretty lok’tar ogarish right now.

YEAH! YOU TAKE THAT MANNOROTH! YEAH … YOU … YOU … BIG MEANIE!

Um … maybe I’m going to have to work on the Orc thing. Get my whole fierce thing going. There’s time.

The Marrinott Azeroth Parade of Inns

Right now we’re not only waiting for WoD, we’re waiting for the REVELATION of the release date. I know we’re all making the assumption that it will be a date other than:

This item will be released on December 20, 2014.
Pre-order now.

Journey to a classic age Drop into the action at level 90 Stake your claim on Draenor Power your way to level 100

Because that would just be … stupid. We’d hit our enrage timer and who wants that. So yeah … these are the times that try men’s souls. And women and Tauren and Forsaken and Dwarfs … yeah, pretty much all of us.

So idle hands are Gul’dan’s play things or however that quote goes, so I thought Cat needed to work on some things that she won’t want to do once WoD is here.

Archeology, how’s that coming Cat? Cat! One dig a day is not what I meant, I meant finish up Pandaria! What are you doing anyway?

Achievements? Great, that works! What did you get yesterday? Better Off Dred? Okay, that’s great. What else? That’s it? How about Bloody Rare, you’ve been working on that for a while now. Are you done? Kraator? That’s it? This whole expansion and you only got that one? What have you been doing?

Promotion? Promotion for who? A hotel chain? What? Oh, THE hotel chain. They own all the Inns? Okay, I guess if you’re gainfully employed that’s a good enough reason … FOR FREE? You’re doing it for free! Cat, that’s not how employment works, are you at least getting millage for all the flight paths?

Jarel? You mean your boyfriend Jarel? Oh, he works for them, of course. He thought it might help? Why, is he in trouble? Oh! Do I think he looks shifty? Erm … no … of course … not. I can’t IMAGINE why they’d have any doubts about Jarel.

Yes, I’m sure your promotion will help them see he’s a fine upstanding employee who has only the best intentions. No, I am NOT being a smart ass, I really mean it Cat.

Are you having fun? Sigh … okay … I guess that’s all that matters Cat. No, hey … you just keep on having your fun … Bloody Rare will still be here in two years.

What? Guess where you are? I hate that game, I’m not playing. No, it IS NOT fun. Ask someone else. Jeez … WoD … please hurry.

The Godmother’s Big Ten

The Godmother of AlternateChat is doing a survey. These are her questions and she’s hoping for a lot of responses, let her know your WoW history!

1. Why did you start playing Warcraft?

My daughter complained that her husband was too wrapped up in “a silly game.” I thought I would see what he was doing. I got it wrong, I bought the Warcraft Battle Chest and I liked it. When I told my son-in-law he said but that’s not the MMO. MMO??? They bought me WoW for my birthday and I proudly proceeded. I’m playing an MMO!

I got everything wrong though, he told me to “roll” a character on Bronzebeard. On being presented with the server selection Bronzebeard clearly said “full.” I thought it meant I couldn’t have a character there so I made one on a server that said new players, because I was. At least I remembered his caution to not to roll one on a PvP server.

2. What was the first ever character you rolled?

My son-in-law told me to start with a Hunter and I did. She still lives although she’s semi-retired. I rolled the cliché Night Elf Hunter, I was beyond awful. Ran out of arrows all the time and when trying to get range from what was in front of me would back into mobs, aggroing them. No wonder she retired, she was just too polite to tell me.

3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?

After playing the Battle Chest games I wanted to play Horde, preferably Forsaken but my son-in-law had told me to roll Alliance as he was a Dwarf so I did, and then blew the whole thing by being on the wrong server.

4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?

There are so many but I think the most magic was before I even played. I was at my daughter and son-in-law’s house when he showed me the game. It was Hallow’s End in Ironforge. This was back in Vanilla and Ironforge was decorated and so full of people you couldn’t see the floor. I was … enchanted. I had to play this game. I had always lived in the worlds of the books I read, this seemed a natural progression to me.

5. What is your favourite aspect of the game and has this always been the case?

The world and the story. Almost everything I do is just an excuse to be here. They have managed to get me to care about these people. YES, I KNOW THEY’RE NOT REAL … jeez, really I do but I still get kind of choked up when Farmer Yoon is finally accepted by the Tillers.

6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?

There are many, I seem to be partial to zones run by those Goblins, Tanaris and Winterspring being some of my favorites. Beautiful Nagrand and the Storm Peaks come to mind but if the time came to log out one last time it would have to be in Darnassus, the place this journey started.

7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?

Since November 2006 and it has been continuous.

8. Admit it: do you read quest text or not?

Only the first time doing the quest and just a quick scan if it involves killing 12 boars. There’s usually not a lot of deep meaning in boar killing.

9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?

Nope, can’t think of a one.

10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside gaming?

The only effect I can think of is my husband and daughter think I’m just a wee bit touched by my attachment to this world. Frankly I think they thought I was a wee bit touched before I played. Frankly I think they might be right.

When I Grow Up to be 100

… I will not be camping Garnia. I didn’t keep track of the number of times I killed her/him but did keep track of the days. Nine days of camping, I’d say Cim’s pretty lucky. At 8:10am this morning the final kill before the Dog Walk, it dropped. Cim was relieved and Cat ecstatic. One thing I won’t be doing in two years.

And it must be a lucky RNG day as Cat immediately started the droplet’s training and on reaching level 10 a Flawless Battle-Stone dropped. Does anyone know if lucky RNG days last a whole 24 hours? I can hope!

I’ll make a prediction and see if I’m right in two years. When all those level 100s are looking for ways to pass the time these are things they’ll still be doing.

Sasche will still be killing crabs in search of the Monstrous Spineclaw.

Cim might … just might go back to Isle of Giants to grind out those over 7,000 bones she still needs for the mount.

Cim will finally finish the achievement Zul’Again. She had the ten scouts right away as she can do those solo but I’ve given up hope on the last two Warbringers.

Nowadays she stands there spamming the zone for a group to take one down. What does this get her? It alerts the people who can take one solo and they sweep down and kill it. The nice ones just fly away, the majority do rude emotes and mock poor Cim for being a loser who can’t do it alone … lovely. Who raised these people? Is this a strictly daytime thing? Meanies play in the daytime? And there’s not even the excuse of faction as these are all my people. Sigh.

Everyone will still be visiting Stratholme for a shot at the mount. I don’t know why but some drops seem possible and this one feels improbable at best. I FEEL like the mount in The Stonecore MIGHT drop. I don’t feel like I’m ever getting that horse. I wonder if my negativity is affecting my RNG.

Cat will be STILL be visiting the Badlands and purchasing Billy Goat Blasters. She’s the only character that does it but it just never seems to get old. I don’t know, must be some kind of cat humor I’m missing.

Okay, enough with my list. It’ll be interesting to see if my predictions are right in two years. Now I’m off it see if a lucky RNG day does really last 24 hours!

 

 

 

A Persuasive Cat

I’m not sure how Cat does it but she’s managed to get everyone in on her quest for pets. Yeah, there were a few little issues in the beginning but they’ve mostly worked them out.

Yeah … noxious deja vu. There seemed something very familiar while in Feralas, couldn’t quite put my finger on it … yup, I see by the date I was waiting for MoP. Sasche had the same result too, no Emerald Whelpling. After a day of that she’d had enough, maybe some of these pets were meant to be bought.

Crimson and Emerald Whelplings I’m looking at you … oh yeah, and you too Gundrak Hatchling. You’re all a pain in the butt. Sasche’s had enough.

Cat now has her stationed on the Timeless Isle killing crabs in the hope to spawn a Monstrous Spineclaw. It’s the only way, it’s never on the AH. It takes her around an hour and a half to get a spawn. Ow! Ow! Ow! But she prefers it to Feralas so she’s cooperating so far.

The Death Knight is doing the Celestial Tournament every week for coins for Flawless Stones. What! Cim is helping? Unbelievable!

Cat figured beating up Garnia would be just what would appeal to the Warlock and she was right. She’s camped there and the view is spectacular so no complaints so far.

Cat is … is … I have no clue. Maybe her brew of the month arrived in the mail.

Hopefully whatever she’s doing is in SOME way pet acquisition related.

I am much fonder of MoP than I was of Cata but the announcement that there would be an announcement is really welcome.

I like to think of this post as a time capsule I’m sending to the me in two years. Will Cim be up there at Ruby Lake waiting for the next expansion. Will Sasche have her coveted crab? Only you know, two year older me.