Yup, I'm back. Again. Reactivated my account a few days ago to do the Elemental Invasion stuff, and now the whole world has changed in many interesting ways.

Orgrimmar looks spectacular, but it's extremely disorienting. There's so much new stuff in there, and everything old has changed dramatically. I knew the old city like the back of my hand, and this is like coming back to your home neighborhood after 20 years. I'm absorbing it, in bits and pieces, but it's going to take time. I'm so glad they got rid of all the buildings that were half-embedded in the cliff faces, although there are still some left in The Drag (looks like they might be "rebuilding" those too eventually though). I guess I know who's been buying all that Dark Iron I've been putting on the AH over the years: the Hellscream Development Corporation.

My old druid, Spamfire, is dead. He was only lvl. 21, a Tauren of exceptional bravery. He died in the attack on Camp Taurajo...more or less literally. I had no idea where I left him when I stopped playing him (a couple years ago) and it turns out I left him in the Inn in Taurajo. I logged in, and he got killed by those Alliance bastards squatting in the ruins. I was basically just there to cannibalize his gear anyway.

In reality, I deleted him to create a new troll druid, Yabengo, because troll druid animal forms are WAY better than any other race's. Especially their flight form.

I don't know if I'll keep updating this blog. Probably, because I'm so vain. We'll see. I'm sure I'll be updating a lot once Cataclysm is released.

Continued...

I, like everyone else who bought WLK, recently made a Death Knight (named Pareidolius, from the word "pareidolia"). And I, like everyone else, was dismayed to find that trade skills start at ZERO. So now, I've gotta run all across old-world Azeroth picking low-level flowers so I can make low-level crap that I'll vendor (fortunately, low-level Glyphs are desirable for everyone, so it's not a complete waste) so I can pick higher-level flowers so I can make higher-level crap...well, you know how it goes.

The biggest mistake Blizzard made in this expansion (besides allowing gnomes to be DKs) was setting tradeskills at base level for new Death Knights. They're basically saying "here, go waste your time on something we could've easily fixed". How? Easy. Since Death Knights enter the "real world" at lvl. 58 (and immediately head to Outland), they should automatically start their new trade skills with 290 skill points. They should walk through the Dark Portal, get to a profession trainer, have Master-level crafting available to them to train, and be given 290 points right then and there.

Another way to fix this problem, and the skill point system in general (including weapons, defense, etc.) would be to give all players the option to go to a trainer and train up to the appropriate level, or pretty close to it. It's not fun to have to go and "grind" up your skill on something. Who wants to run around collecting materials, or even worse: buying them off the AH? Who wants to go stand in one place and get beat on to level their defense skill? On Baluki, I've been using nothing but daggers for a VERY long time. If I decided to respec to Enhancement (and I've been collecting gear for it, partly because I don't have a choice (WTF BLIZZARD? DID YOU FORGET THAT ELEMENTALS EXIST?!?) and partly to try it out) I would have to go wail on some low-level creatures to get my skill up so I can be effective in combat.

I'm sure Blizzard knew about this problem, but for some reason they chose not to address it. I hope they do some day, but it'll be too late for my Death Knight, because he's going to get his Herbalism and Inscription skills to 275 before he hits Outland. And he's going to hate every minute of it.

I sure am glad I have podcasts and audiobooks.

Continued...

I just wanted to point out that this past month I hit 70 on both my Mage and my Hunter. I rule.

I've also been working on my Rogue quite a bit. I've gotten him from 35 to 45 in about 2 weeks.

I've also been playing my Priest, but that's a huge pain in the ass. I don't know how other people do it. I've got her up to 32, and it's taking forever. I originally had her specced Shadow, but I actually have her specced for Holy DPS now, shockingly enough. Shadow just didn't seem to gel for me. The Holy DPS spec I have right now is fairly effective, but the mana efficiency is atrocious.

I'm still working on my Paladin too, who's at 64 right now. She'll probably be the next to 70. I had respecced back to Prot for its AOE abilities, but I was having much more fun with Ret, so I switched back.

My Warlock has been sitting in Shattrath at 51 for months now, disenchanting and making potions. I'll probably pick her up again once I get my Pally to 70, and the first thing I'll do is respec back to Affliction. I wanted to try the Felguard, and I don't really care for it. Which is weird, because my Hunter is a BM.

My Warrior and my Druid are still sitting at 18 and 20. I have no interest in playing either. I don't like the Warrior class in general (at least not at 18) and I already have a rogue, warrior, mage, and priest, so I don't feel any desire to play my druid over the others.

I'm really looking forward to adding a Death Knight to my repertoire.

Continued...

Continued...

About a week ago, I decided I was ready for a change with my mage Trellan (who's currently 56, but was 54 at the time). He's been full Frost from the beginning, but I felt like trying out a Fire spec. So I traded in my durable, CC-endowed, AOE powerhouse frost spec for a glass cannon fire spec. How do I like it?

Well, it's ok. The damage output is nice, and the fact that you can kill stuff really quickly is fun, but I spent too much time eating and drinking between fights. And, it's pretty bad for fighting more than one opponent.

The fire spells seem kinda weird to me, too. Pyroblast is a great opener, but after that I don't know what to do besides keep firing off fireballs. What is Scorch for? Blast Wave confuses me, and Flamestrike is just difficult to use. As for the rest of the talents, I just don't "get" them.

So, clearly being Fire-specced isn't my thing; I went back to Frost. Maybe I'll try Arcane the next time I want to try something different, perhaps once I have Arcane Blast at 64.

By the way, I'll gladly accept any tips and explanations for making the most of a Fire Mage. I'm always willing to try again.

Continued...

Well, I got my third character to Outland. Aellsa, my Blood Elf Paladin, is now 60 and tearing up Hellfire Peninsula on her new SuperChicken. She joins Baluki (70 shaman) and Inebrius (68 hunter) on the shattered world.

I recently wrote a post about changing her spec from Prot (which she had been from 20 to 57) to Ret, and even though some people suggested that I respec her to Holy (which sounds like a terrible way to solo level) I did in fact go Ret.

Man, I sure am levelling up a lot faster. I knew that Protadin multi-mob tank-grinding was slower than going Ret, but I didn't know how much slower. Not only is Ret faster, but it's also a lot more fun. I still plan to go back to Prot when I hit 70, but until then Ret is my spec of choice.

I really thought that my mage Trellan would be my next character to hit Outland, because I've been playing him a lot lately. I guess I got kinda frustrated with my paladin, though that problem was solved by going Ret. I also respecced my mage to Fire (from Frost) and I'm surprised by how much faster my killing with him is too.

I'm pretty sure my mage will be the next to hit Outland, since he's lvl. 55 right now. My warlock is lvl. 50, but I haven't played her at all for months, except to disenchant stuff and make potions.

After her, my next character is Abscondius, my rogue, who's only 35. Haven't played him in a long time either. Then there's my shadow priest Sallas at 29, my drood Spamfire at 20, my warrior Oroc at 18, and my other shaman Rogahn at 14 (who will probably be deleted in favor of a Death Knight if Blizz doesn't increase the characters-per-server cap).

Continued...

I made it to lvl. 57 on my Paladin specced Protection. But lately, I haven't been playing her, because it's been hard to AOE grind in Winterspring, EPL, and Silithus.


So, I'm looking for some advice. I'll be heading for Outland as soon as I hit 58, so should I just stick it out? Is it easier to do Prot AOE grinding in Outland, or would it be much easier to respec to Retribution? I know it'll be easier, but will it be MUCH easier?

Here's a build I've been considering if I do go Ret.

The main reason I want to stick with Prot is so I can tank well. But then again, I haven't been doing much of that lately. Maybe I just talked myself into switching already...

Continued...

I just got back into the game again after another of my month-long hiatuses (hiati?) and decided to start up a new character on a friend's realm. Once again I made another troll shaman named Baluki, because it's my favorite race, favorite class, and favorite name.

I'm considering making this one my new Main, but it all depends on how fast I can level him up, if I can get him to 70 before WLK, if I can stand being on a PvP server, and if I can stand having all 9 of my other characters on another realm.

I really wish I could just get my friend to transfer to my realm, but of course you can't transfer a character from a PvP to a PvE realm. I completely support this rule (PvE servers would turn into nothing but training grounds for people who haven't hit 70 yet, and the PvP servers would be full of 70's and the economies would be totally out of whack) but I just wish I could get it done this one time.

Continued...

I encountered this bizarre graphical glitch when I took my hunter Inebrius (still lvl. 67) into the Netherstorm for the first time. It was probably caused by a slight malfunction in one of the swirly sky textures and its transparency. I suppose it's also possible (nay, likely) that I am The One.

Continued...

It's hard being an Elemental shaman. REALLY hard.

For starters, it's really hard to find a group. Everybody knows that your standard dungeon party has one tank, one healer, and 3 DPS, and there's always plenty of people available for DPS. And to make matters worse, now that most people are doing Heroic dungeons, nobody wants you if you don't have any crowd control. People would rather take a lousy hunter over an excellent Elemental (or Enhancement) shaman (not that I'm saying that I'm excellent).

Ever since 2.3 was released, I haven't been able to get into a group. I've been invited to Kara a few times, but I don't even have my key yet. Getting into Black Morass has been very hard, and now nobody is doing it in Normal mode (I'm just one full clear away from my CoT key) and nobody would take me even if I COULD do it in Heroic.

So instead, I've decided to try PvP a bit. I'm not normally a big PvP fan, but I need better gear, and this is the only way I can do it (and non-PvP Elemental itemization is lousy anyway). But PvP just makes me angry and frustrated, and I really hate it. Every Alliance character I see starts to look like they're mocking me, and I start taking it personally and thinking that every Alliance player is an asshole. And of course all my teammates are complete idiots, or so it seems.

And Elemental shamans just aren't any good in PvP (or at least in Battlegrounds). I can hide in the bushes launching lightning bolts and do some decent damage, but as soon as anyone sees me I basically have to run away or die. All I can do is shoot lightning bolts and a shock every 6 seconds. I don't have any pushback resistance or anti-stunlock. Against hunters, I'm worthless. Against warlocks, I'm just feared forever while they DoT me up. I don't even bother fighting back against rogues anymore. I don't have any CC, I barely have any anti-CC. How am I supposed to deal with this?


Well, today I finally had enough. I can't do what I want to do with Elemental. Just don't bother with it until Blizzard wises up.

I went Resto. God dammit.

I really don't want to be Resto. I was Resto back in my raiding days, back before BC was released. After going through Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, Ahn'Qiraj, and halfway through Naxx, I burned out on healing. I don't like being the one whom the success of the group hinges upon. But what choice do I have? I could continue with a spec that I like but doesn't work, or I could go back to doing something I don't really enjoy that is in high demand.

My healing gear is pretty crappy, but at least I'll get into groups. And if I let my groups know ahead of time, I should be able to continue building on my Elem set while I'm healing. I don't really know how long I'll stay Resto, but it may be until WLK comes out.

I'm really starting to consider just giving up on my shaman completely, for the first time in 3 years. The Elemental tree just doesn't work very well in the game as it is right now. There are still serious, deep flaws and overall design problems that keep it trapped in the pre-BC game (not that it was ever very good then, either).

My Hunter is 67, but I'm probably not going to bother trying to do dungeons with him; there are already too goddamn many hunters out there. Same with my 50 warlock, although I'll probably PvP with her at 70 out of revenge, and also because they're basically unstoppable. My next highest is a 44 Prot Paladin, which may become my new "Main" but I just don't know right now. I don't think I like the other classes enough to make any of them my new main. Switching to a Death Knight when WLK comes out sounds damn tempting at this point.

Here's hoping that Blizzard gives Elemental some REAL attention in WLK, and hopefully before then too. The changes in 2.3 were nice, but Elem just isn't viable in its current state.

EDIT: I should point out that I'm not talking about Raiding or Arenas. Just 5-man dungeoning and Battlegrounds.

EDIT 2: I also should point out that this post should be taken with a grain of salt. It's mostly just frustrated complaining (which is why it's in the "Bitching" category). Things are certainly better than I make them sound, though that's not to say that there aren't still problems.

Continued...

Well, I finally hit 60 on my hunter Inebrius. That's not really as huge of an achievement as it once was, but he's the first character I've gotten that far besides Baluki (who is of course 70).

I wouldn't have taken so long if not for the fact that I've lost interest in the class numerous times. And to be honest, hunters aren't very interesting when soloing, once the newness has worn off. All I do is send in my pet, Sting the target, and Arcane Shot when it's ready. Of course, all I do on Baluki when soloing is cast Lightning Bolt over and over, which is probably why I haven't played him in several days.

I've never grouped or PvPed on my hunter either, and those are the two places where you get to REALLY play your class. Then again, if I have time for those things, I'd much rather do them on Baluki. Indeed, there are some skills that I haven't even bothered to purchase yet, like Wing Clip or Frost Trap, because I have almost no reason to use them while soloing.

But I'm looking forward to levelling up my hunter in the future. Steady Shot and Kill Command look like they'll be fun to use, and add some much-needed interactivity to my questing. But once Patch 2.3 hits, I probably won't bother for a while, since I'll be too busy levelling up my Tankadin, Mage, and Priest.

Continued...

I was questing in Dalaran while playing my Belfadin. I noticed a beam leading up to a chimney, and I wondered if I would get stuck if I tried to jump in.

I did.

Continued...

Jeez, look how much better this Murloc Suit looks compared to everything else on the screen.

Continued...

Ah, it's good to be back. Thanks to my student loans, I can now afford to play the game again!

That's not all. I also have a brand new uber laptop (also paid for with student loans) that lets me run the game with the video settings maxed out. And, of course, in Widescreen.

I haven't actually played Baluki at all so far. I've just been playing my 25 Tankadin and my 25 Shadow Priest. I'm still working on finding a new guild to join (everyone left my previous one) so hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things soon.

Continued...

Finally got my Hunter, Inebrius, to 58, and I immediately sent him to Outland. I picked up a couple quests, saw the rewards that would be replacing the junk I've been wearing since 35, and wept openly.

Continued...

So, I finally bit the bullet and started a Paladin. Well, that's not strictly accurate; I started her a couple months ago, got her to lvl. 9, got bored, and went back to levelling my other alts. But this week, I decided to dedicate myself to getting her levelled up, because there's a lack of tanks on our server. Yea, I intend to make her Prot eventually, but right now I'm taking some select Retrib talents for levelling.

I don't know what to think so far. I was initially turned off by the fact that their combat system is basically just "hit it with a sword" with a few embellishments, but naturally I keep picking up more spells and talents, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. There's a lot of stuff that they can do that I wasn't aware that they could do. Right now though, my biggest issue is my melee hit rate, so I guess I'll have to craft some JC items on Baluki to help her out until I can get into the Prot tree. (EDIT: I thought for sure there were some low-level +hit items that JCers could make, but I was wrong. The first one I could possibly get drops in Maraudon.)

How are my other alts? Let's see...

My mage is up to about lvl. 26 I think. I like being a caster (which is why Baluki is Elemental) but actually having crowd control options up the ass is a new thing for me. I can keep something sheeped forever, I can freeze everything around me, I can slow them to a crawl...it's almost unfair. Levelling is a much more active affair than it ever was on Baluki; I just cast Lightning Bolt until my target dies, and if they close to melee range, I just have to deal with the spell pushback. But on my mage, I can sheep to avoid pulling too many things at once, I slow my target WITH my primary nuke, and as soon as they get in melee range, I freeze them in place, blink away, and do it all again.

I've actually been having a lot of fun with my priest too. She's shadow (though she's only lvl. 22 or so) and I just grabbed Mind Flay, which is an unusual spell. I haven't quite figured out the best way to use it yet, but it's probably much more useful once I've got a couple other shadow spells.

I respecced my 44 warlock to full Affliction after being full Demonology since I started her. Man, what a trip. I've gotten pretty good at fear juggling, and with the increased range of my DoTs, I can just sit back and watch stuff fall over dead. Having my pet out is kinda a liability, actually.

Continued...

I made a new shaman on another server so I could play with a RL friend of mine. He's exactly the same as Baluki, except his hair is orange, and he's going to be Enhance-specced.

I'm thinking about trying to convince my RL friend to transfer to Draenor so I don't have to start over on all 9 of my characters. If that happens, I'll probably transfer Baluki Jr. to Draenor. Of course, I'll need a new name for him... I don't want to use "Balukijr", so maybe he'll be "Balukii" (with the 2 I's representing "II"). Or maybe Baluuki, like a Star Wars clone.

Actually, this is the third Baluki. The first died with the Beta, and reached the ripe old age of lvl. 15. The second is the one you all know and love.

Continued...

I couldn't help it. I'm way too amusing to myself.

Continued...

This was awe-inspiring. Sameji here apparently felt that the fire behind him was just too far away, so he made his own so he wouldn't have to move at all. :)

I should also probably mention that this is the last screenshot I have that's worth showing. I'm not playing right now (no money for subscription, and no reason to play until they bother to put some effort into the shaman class) so it's going to be a while until I can find something new to post. I WILL be back though. And maybe I'll find something to fill the void.

Continued...

Here's another pic of my alt, Inebrius (left). He got the growth buff from Sen'jin village.

Continued...