Farming for pets

When I first heard about having a farm on Wow I was pretty sure it wasn't something I'd be interested in. Wow pets on the other hand was sure to be my newest addiction. I was only half right.

Farming is strangely addicting. Half-hill is in a decent location and isn't just the farmers but all the cooking trainers as well. I really like how well cooking and farming work together. And I find that I'm putting priority on my tiller's dailies over my other ones. Opps. I should be working on the bugs and golden lotus or something. But I also want to get more crops! And I can finally plant Songbell's or whatever they're called and get motes of harmony. That'll be a big help with my blacksmithing. Although I should still get my druid's alchemy leveled since I'll need living steel.

Anyway I managed to raise my Tiller's rep high enough that I can plant 12 seeds. Which is pretty nice. It means I can do Farmer Yoon's quest and still have enough spots to get enough motes to get one spirit of harmony a day. If nothing else it'll help with buying the pvp crafted gear recipes. I think I have more motes spent in my thoughts than I've earned. But the other day I picked up an unusual item along with my crops. An  ominous seed. I had no idea what it was for and I was a little afraid of planting it but figured my curiosity wouldn't rest until I found out what it grew into. I know I could have just looked it up on Wowhead, but I didn't think it was anything outside the ordinary. When I came back the next day I harvested it and saw terrible turnip. Bummer. Just another crop and not a good one I guess. Than I looked at the tooltip and saw, "use:teaches you to summon this pet" What!?! Pet!!!! After finding it in my bags I saw that the Terrible turnip was indeed a pet. So I learned it. Than realized it wasn't soulbound. I could have sold it! Than I thought about it. Would I have sold it. Nope. No way. No chance. I'm not a very big pet collector but I am one. Since I didn't have this pet yet I would have learned it anyway but if I get another one it's going on the auction house.

It's a terrible turnip!

I was a bit surprised to learn that the turnip is also a battle pet and it's blue quality so it'll probably get leveled. At least a little bit. I finally started getting into pet battling this weekend. I keep changing my pets around. I started battling with my monk Geshi. Geshi is about level 14 now but I thought she'd be good because she would be in the area's I'd see the pets at and I can just battle pets while I leveled.

I love pet addons and one that I really like is petbattleglow. It's supposed to show you the quality of the pet you're battling. Unfortunately I don't have it uptodate and I also didn't realize that. I was going around and wondering why there were so many common and poor quality pets in Westfall and than it hit me. Maybe the addon wasn't on. I took a look and saw that it was on but it was out of date and I didn't have load out of date addons on. I definitely felt a little silly.

 I decided to get my mage for some more pet battling because she'd have the fastest transportation to all the different areas. A few quick teleport spells and battles and she had managed to win a battle in all of the Alliance cities. I also took her to Azuremyst and Bloodmyst to at least catch one of each pet there. I wanted to catch more rares but my first priority was to catch one of each kind. I also discovered something cool. When I was battling the plague squirrels I was really excited about catching one only to ko it. Opps. Than it came back to life and I was able to capture it than. Mechanical and undead catching just became a bit easier although with the undead you better hope your crate doesn't miss or you'll lose your pet anyway. Guess I should get to leveling the turnip for the attack that won't kill stuff.

I also got addicted to pvp pet battles. My first battle was terrible. I'm pretty sure I can still hear my opponent's laughter. But it was a good learning experience. I did much better after that. My main battling team is a sprite darter hatchling, pandarian monk, and voodoo figurine. I can do really good until I come against a spirit of competition or the celestial dragon. Or really any long Asian looking dragon. I'm not sure if there's more of them but those little dragons are beastly. I'll still have to experiment some more.

Defense of the Death Knight

A few days ago on WowInsider there was a very interesting breakfast topic. It was basically If you could remove any class from the game which would it be? Most of the votes were evenly spread among the different classes except for death knight. It seems that death knights were the clear "winners".

That was definitely a surprise for me. Why do people think death knights need to go? It couldn't be because they were the new class since monks didn't have an outstanding number of people voting to kick them out. And there were a lot of comments about why people felt death knights should go. I'm not going to address them. Instead I want to give 5 reasons why I feel death knights are amazing.

1. Death Knights have one of the few melee specs I can think of where you can easily go from dual-welding to using a 2-hander. Frost was nice in Cata but if you wanted to change from two one-handers to a two-hander you had to change your spec. Not so anymore with the Mists talent changes! As for others specs, rogues and shamans dual-weld and druids and paladins use two-handers. Hunters, priests, warlocks, and mages are all range. Warriors were similar but still different. Arms warriors used one 2-hander while fury would either dual-weld two 1-handers or two 2-handers. Now the monk class does something similar with the windwalker and brewmaster specs but the idea of having the choice of weapon first came from the death knight's frost tree.

2. Another reason I love the death knight is the story. The idea is very similar to the undead but is different as well. Death knights could have either died or just been close to death. But the idea that the soul has been ripped from your character and returned by the Lich King and the need for blood and violence infused into your character's body is a bit different from the mindless minions that the Forsaken used to be. The starting area provides all the death knights was a similar starting experience but if you're into role-playing it than gives you the opportunity to take your story in whatever direction you think would best fit. There's some direction given for what a death knight can do but the fact that so many death knight npc's come across as slightly evil and definitely anti-hero gives them a very different vibe from so many other classes. We don't care about nature or saving the world. We wanted revenge against Arthas and after that it's pretty much up to you to decide what you want from your toon. And Mists is an amazing place to continue the story of the Death Knight! A place that reacts to your emotions. Is your character conflicted? Than they are ripe fodder for the Sha! But there's places and npc's that your character can interact with that can help them find a balance and peace and who needs peace more than a death knight?

3. Blood spec. One of the least changed tanking specs from Cata to Mists. Why? Because we were doing active mitigation before it was cool. But the idea that as a tank I can do more to improve my chances of surviving that just having the very best gear I can that makes playing a blood tank fun for me. I have tanking cooldown's like other classes that reduce the amount of damage I take but I also have abilities that do some self-healing. Not big heals like a paladin but lots of little self-heals. But knowing how to use those abilities to survive things such as healer death or a large amount of damage is part of the appeal of being a blood tank.

4. Army of the Dead. Does that really need any more explanation?

5. Control Undead. Five minutes of having a constant undead minion from a mob you'd otherwise have to kill. sounds nice to me. And when the five minutes are up you can control the mob again. Tanked all of heroic Scholo the other night with an undead minion at my side. How is that not awesome?

Update

It feels like forever since I last wrote something. Where does time go?

Anyway I got Tyledres to level 90. Yay! And I was able to start running heroics right from the start. I was surprised by that. I had leveled mostly though questing running a few normal dungeons but mostly just questing. I was surprised that I could go from questing right to heroics. I remember it being painfully difficult to get the gear to go from regular dungeons to heroics in Cata and that it did take some time in Wrath as well.

I finally realized the real pain isn't getting gear to run heroics but getting gear for raid finder or even raiding. Bleh. Tyledres is a blacksmith and a miner and I had actually managed to get her professions to a high enough level before Mists was released that I could learn the Zen Master stuff. I have maxed professions but I still can't make my gear. I need motes to make spirits of harmony to get 8 of them. And I need living steel which is only available from transmutes. Which is expensive. And I need 8 of them. The transmutes cost spirits of harmony to make and they are soulbound so even if I could find an alchemist to transmute for me I still would have to pay a price for the transmute beyond that of the mats since I would only be putting forth some of the mats. I suppose if I wasn't so impatient it wouldn't be so bad. But I want stuff now!

So I've taken Aritâ into the starting zone to start picking flowers and leveling her alchemy. I should probably change her from a potion master to a transmute one. Living steel will be pretty important for making belt sockets if nothing else.

I guess I'll just have to get used to the idea that I'm starting over. I don't have my comfortable army of alts at max level and with some decent gear on them. I have one level 90 and I'm pushing to get her to a level I'm comfortable with. But I think it's good too. When Cata started I didn't really feel the need to be maxed level and I wasn't concerned about getting gear. I feel some of the same excitement that I felt in Wrath. I want to experience it all and I want to see it all now!

Rambling, ranting, and ruminating

Still working on leveling the death knight. It feels like it's taking forever. I want to be 90 right now. Unfortunately I'm still level 88. I think the magic of how pretty the zones are is starting to fade. But that just might be my impatience. And the slow rate I'm currently leveling. When I did the run up to 85, I was able to get close to a level a day reaching level cap at the end of a week. It's been feeling like more than 2 weeks have passed and I'm leveling slower than dirt. I realize that it's just a feeling and I have no real reason to feel pushed to 90 but I want to be 90 now!

It doesn't help when I discovered the farm and after completing all the parts that I could and doing some research I realized I'd need to be level 90 to keep working on my Tiller's rep. I find it a little difficult to realize that I originally had no interest in farming. I live on a farm so why would I want to spend my spare time farming? But it's so easy to do and takes so little care and in an easy to reach location. And it's right by the cooking trainers! The cooking is pretty amazing. All these different specializations that need to be leveled separately. I want to have them all leveled! I didn't think Tyledres would be able to level cooking but discovered the trainer that had special recipes and material to help you get caught up on your cooking. It would be nice if all professions had such a trainer. Although fishing would come close since you can find a nice trainer by the water and stand there and keep casting until your leveled. Boring but doable.

Pet battles is one of the features I was most excited about but I haven't done much with them yet. I think part of it is my insane desire to level all my pets. Or at least a lot of them. I have 3 level 5 and a level 3 and I've done one master battle. I could do another one but I'm more interested in catching rares and leveling. Come to think of it, I've never finished any of my pokemon games. I like to get 5 levels for every pet between boss battles. Sometimes even more levels. So I spend my time wandering in the grass and killing wilds. Which is fine when you only have 5 pokemon but when you start getting 20 of them it starts taking longer to level them. And some of the pokemon can't level themselves (Magikarp) or is week against the current mobs and have to be leveled using the 1/2 level xp gain. That takes awhile. Eventually I get bored and play something else. Only to come back with the goal of finishing only to spend more time leveling pokemon. I'm very much afraid that's what my pet battling will become. And I have guildies who think I'm joking when I say I like leveling. Heh.

JD has asked that others put together a pink outfit for Breast Cancer Awareness. I've spent some time playing with mogit and I have ideas for a plate and cloth outfit but I don't think I'll be able to get the pieces I'll need to wear it. I'm hoping for better inspiration with leather and mail. If nothing else I'll be better prepared for next year.

That's pretty much what's been going on with me lately. I think my writing has been going downhill. But I also don't feel like I have many thoughts just a drive to get to 90 so I can start leveling something else XD

Still Leveling

Shiny Dragon! Finally mine!

Between school and  work I haven't had much time for playing wow recently so Tyledres is still working on leveling. Currently at level 87. Still have a lot of leveling left. But the new zones are so very pretty. And I love looking at the architecture and the scenery and just everything.

Gorgeous. Amazing. And the dungeons are a blast. They're so much easier than the cata dungeons. Not that they're cake and you can ignore boss mechanics but you don't have to spend more time trying to remove trash than you do killing bosses. There are some disadvantages to easy trash though. The dps are impatient and seem to think that they should pull for me. Nothing peeves me off more than trying to catch my bearings only to have the mage running ahead and pulling 20 mobs. Bleh. It would be nice if they would ask me to pick up the pace instead of pulling for me. But once I'm familiar with a dungeon I don't seem to have that trouble but I think it's also because I'll chain pull and even pull several groups at once. I like pulling a bazillion mobs and running though things as fast as I can but not on my first attempt at a new place. Besides I figure when I'm leveling there might be others who would appreciate a slower pace so they can indulge their senses because these instances are just as pretty as the questing area. I think I did one that was in an outdoor zone. A monastery or something. I can't remember much about it though because the one time I did it I spent the entire time running after the mage, swearing profanities, and praying that the healer would keep me up because I know I was standing in stuff that I should have been avoiding but I was too busy trying to keep up with the mage to figure out what I was doing. I hate feeling like I have to scramble to keep with with dps when I'm the tank. It's a fun challenge to be chasing down the tank when I'm heals or dps but to be chasing after others as the tank is more frustrating than anything.

Ok, I'm done ranting. But I've enjoyed my other groups. I particularly enjoyed running Stormstout Brewery and the Jade Temple with a group that was entirely guildies. My guild has been so close to being inactive for so long it's such a pleasure to log in and see 10 or more people on. And guild chat has been busy as well. But I'm trying not to feel to optimistic. It's a new expansion. Traffic  picks up after something new is released but than tapers off. So far only one guildie has reached 90 but the rest of us are working. We weren't planning on being the first ones to 90 or being the first guild to finish the raids. We're just going to work on getting it done in our own time.

I haven't done much with pet battles. I named my feline familiar Tuttle, my clockwork rocket bot Dalek, and leveled them both to 5 along with my Spritedarter Hatchling. I've also gotten my creepy crate to level 3. I mostly just wanted to get the last few pets I needed to get  the Celestial Dragon. I've mostly just been working on leveling my death knight.

Unexpected game time

That is one big carrot.

I wasn't going to play today. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days where I'm busy with school all day and work all night and sometimes find myself up until midnight still scrambling to get homework done. I wasn't going to be playing today.

Than I woke up and felt terribly awful. In my rush I managed to knock over my glasses and step on them. Bleh. I'm not about to try and wear contacts either. I still fill twitchy from the last time I wore them and I managed to get them crumpled up under my eyelid several times. But since I figured I wasn't going to be going anywhere I figured the headache I'll get from trying to make sense of this weird half-blur of a world was better than the eye ache I'll get trying to wear contacts.

So now I find myself with tons of time. So I figured I'd play some Wow but I find myself reluctant to try and level anything to 86. Why? Because the areas are full of people trying to level and since I'm on a pvp server I have no doubt that there will be those waiting to get some kills. I'm just not feeling up to that. So instead I made a monk. I had done some joking with my guildies about my monk being the first toon I was going to level but I never expected to be playing a monk until after I had a few 90s. I had no idea what race I was going to be for my monk or what name.

So I made a Pandarian. Yes, yes, very original. Heh. And than had no idea what name to use. I eventually just kept hitting randomize but wasn't seeing anything. I tried a few names and nothing was available. Than I hit randomize once more and got Geshi and hit accept. I had meant to keep hitting randomize but I think I rather like the name.

I spent my time going though the zone but I think I'll have to make another Pandarian later when I can see better or at least don't have to have the screen a foot away from my eyes to make things look clear. But what I could see and what I remember from my brief foray into beta was that the zone is beautiful. General chat was filled people asking when they could choose a faction, why there was no mailboxes, how to get there boa's, and why the chat was doubling up and when Blizzard was going to fix it. I stopped paying attention. There was a decent number of people making Pandaren but the zone wasn't really busy but I expect most people are off trying to level their mains.

This lady reminds me of Tyledres
I think it's the hair :)

I managed to get Geshia though the starting zone and picked Alliance for her faction and than did the walk into Stormwind. It was very different from the Death Knight walk of shame. Geshia did the walk with two npc's who stopped to marvel at the quest's board and everywhere we went the npcs would stare at us and say things like "I never expected to see a Pandarian here!" And meeting the King was interesting because he insisted on showing us around and laying down the law along with having a quick battle! I want to make some horde ones just so I can punch Garrosh in the face... unless Garrosh isn't the one we have to fight. Than I spent a bit of time doing a few pet battles but I figured it's about time I tried to get some rest.

Theramore Scenario Finished

Tonight I managed to complete the Theramore Scenario on all of my 85s. I wasn't certain that I would manage to get my horde Arita's ilvl up but though some cheap auction house finds, a little luck, and a lot of prayer I managed to sneak it to the right level.

I had been very curious to see how the two events compared. There are some similarities.

Spoilers