The Hunter's Den

Syralis is Missing In Action!

2009-01-22T09:26:00.014-06:00

It's times like these that I ask myself, "What would Chuck Norris do?" Anyway so I played Syralis my Death Knight again last night and I completed all the quest in the starter area and I'm now wearing the complete set of armor that you get from completing all the quests and I must say he looks simply marvelous. I've now headed out to the Plaguelands to continue my journey. I'm starting to consider making him my main character because I'm having such a good time playing him. The one thing I've noticed is that this character is "MIA" from the armory for some reason which is strange because all my other characters are there. I'm starting to think Syralis may be a Death Knight-Ninja hybrid. I've sent an email to Blizz so we'll see what happens. I need to get his talent tree in order so if anyone knows a good leveling template for a Death Knight please let me know as I haven't spent any talent points yet and I need to get that done.

Rise of the Death Knight!

2009-01-21T09:06:00.010-06:00

Last night I decided to play my Death Knight and I must say I'm hooked, this is one fun character class to play. Last night I got my mount (I've never gotten a free mount before so I'm stoked) and some decent armor through running the quests in the starter area. I must say I loved running around killing all the helpless citizens of New Avalon. Those poor pathetic humans didn't stand a chance. The truly evil murder with style, and I was definitely stylin' as I gracefully sliced and diced them down to kibbles and bits which will make nice ingredients for my New Avalon stew. In the process I stayed up way too late but I was able to get him to level 57 before I logged out. Now I've got to decide how to spend my talent points so I'll be looking for a good template to use. Poor Galamar may have to take a back seat to Syralis, at least for a few days anyway.

I'm Back!

2009-01-19T10:19:00.026-06:00

Well my friends I've been out of the game for over a year. Life has definitely had its challenges but hopefully 2009 will be better. That said I finally decided to purchase Wrath of the Lich King and get back into the game. I must say it's been hard to get going again after all this time, first I've had to basically re-learn the game and now I've got to get caught up on all the new content that Wrath has brought to the table. It's interesting but not surprising that many of the green items I've seen are much better than all the blue items that I had before Wrath was released. Pre-Wrath I was decently equipped (although I didn't have any purple items) and now I look so puny and weak. I'm a pathetic little insignificant excuse for a hunter and I want take my toy orcs and go home. And to make matters worse I can't really start using anything new until at least level 72. The good news is I made level 71 over the weekend and I worked hard on my primary professions (which incidentally cost me a small fortune) and first aid so I'm off and running and making some decent progress. I look forward to the days ahead, it's gonna be fun.

Keys Are My Friend!

2008-01-09T07:25:00.000-06:00

As you can see I haven't posted for awhile, I've been kinda bored with WoW (please don't shoot me) so I've been on a bit of a sabbatical of late. That said the other day I got the opportunity to get the first Kara key fragment from Shadow Labs and let me say right out of the gate that the group was amazing. I think it was the smoothest instance I've ever run. We did wipe once but that was a bit of a fluke and aside from that there were no other deaths for the remainder of the run. Many thanks go out to Ultraviolete for getting the group together. My chain trapping, or lack thereof was absolutely horrendous, I don't think I could trap a chipmunk at this point. I really have a lot of work to do in this area before I'll feel comfortable running Kara or any other instance for that matter. That said now it's time to move on and get the other key fragments. From what I've seen I don't need to run the entire instances for the other key fragments so hopefully it will be easier for me to get them. Ultraviolete has graciously offered to craft the Gyro-Balanced Khorium Destroyer for me so I've been busy buying the mats which have already cost me around 400 gold. Ultraviolete has the Primal Nether which is a huge help so now I just need to collect the Primal Airs and Primal Fires and I'll be all set. I think I may farm these since I need so many, buying them at the AH would cost me dearly and leave me broke and destitute. This will be my first epic item so I want to get the remaining mats as soon as possible. Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho it's off to farm I go!

Stand Back Or I'll Gore Ya'!

2007-12-19T19:56:00.000-06:00

There's not much going on at the moment but the other day I did manage to get a group together to finish the Gorefiend's Armor quest line and at the end I finally got the Stalker's Helmet of Second Sight which is at least a small upgrade to the helm I was previously wearing. This thing is as ugly as homemade sin ("Hey, look at me, I'm a human battering ram!") but it's better than what I had so whatcha gonna do right? I purchased three uncut Nightseye gems and since my attack power is so woefully low I believe I'll get them cut into Balanced Nightseye then I'll get +8 attack power and +6 Stamina for each gem I socket and since I plan to do all three with the same gem that should help a bit, plus I put a Heavy Knothide Armor Kit on it to give me another +10 to stamina. Eventually once I get revered status with Cenarion Expedition I'll throw on the Glyph of Ferocity and I'll be all set. I'm still waiting to go back to Shadow Labs to get my first key fragment for Kara and truthfully I'll probably wait until after Christmas to concentrate on this unless I just happen to stumble into a group. That said I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Boss, The Key, The Key!

2007-12-14T07:30:00.000-06:00

The other night Aerislan ran me through the first 3 quests to get keyed for Kara. As most of you know it's basically just running around and talking to a few people so that part was quick and painless. Now it's time to head back to Shadow Labs and get the first key fragment. I could have gotten the first key fragment when I got the Sonic Spear but I hadn't done the starter quests so I was out of luck. If I knew about this ahead of time I would have run the first 3 quests prior to going into Shadow Labs but I was invited on the spur of the moment so I just didn't have the time. That said it will be fun to run it again with some of my new guild mates but I do need to get busy practicing my chain trapping techniques. I have gotten better with my timing and such but doing this with a lone Clefthoof Bull is quite different than doing it in an instance where it really counts. I'm hopeful we will be able to get a group together this weekend for Shadow Labs but if not I'm sure I'll be able to find something to do like heroics. I looked at a reputation calculator and found out that I'll need to run heroic Underbog 4.2 times to get revered status with Cenarion Expedition so that doesn't sound too bad. I want to get the Glyph of Ferocity and the Warden's Arrows plus I want to get the Nethercleft Leg Armor recipe. There's a lot to do but at least I have a plan and that's half the battle.

Bon Voyage!

2007-12-12T07:28:00.000-06:00

Well I finally did it. I pulled the trigger and moved from my first home on Staghelm to my new home on Turalyon. This was a very difficult decision that I've languished over for weeks but last night was the straw that broke the camels back. I was trying to get into a PuG to run a heroic instance but once again it didn't happen and it was at that point that I realized something had to be done if I ever wanted to progress, so the move was made. I want to thank my old guild-mates for all they did for me especially in the early days we did indeed have a lot of fun. So here's to Trenja, Mixoionia, and Othiliad, I salute you and you will be missed. Now I'd like to thank Aerislan, Ailira, and others for making me feel so welcomed in Reigning Fury. It's my hope that in time, as I progress, I will be able to contribute to the cause and help make Reigning Fury a stronger guild. Oh and a very special thanks goes out to Aerislan for the very nice Welcome Wagon gift he bestowed upon me.

The Jury Is Still Out!

2007-12-10T07:48:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if I like this template better than the Rounders template I was using so I'm going to let this one marinate a bit longer before I decide, so at least for now this one will remain. You'll notice that I changed the background color from dark blue to black. Do you guys like the black background better? In other news I ran Mana Tombs last night for the first time to help a fellow guildie. It was fun but I suffered three rather grizzly deaths in the process. The good news is that I got some much needed rep love with the Consortium, I feel so warm and fuzzy inside. I also wanted to secure a new leatherworking recipe, the Bag of Many Hides so I went out to the Barrier Hills and killed those stinking filthy Ogres (I affectionately call them Pookies). Within about 20 minutes or so I scored the recipe and now I can craft the 24 slot leatherworking bag, this will come in handy for sure and I think they sell in the AH for some decent coin as well. I actually saw some up for 400-500 gold which I believe is ridiculously overpriced but I'm sure I could sell them for 75-100 gold based on what Allakhazam says. I've been busy grinding for rep out in Kurenai so I can get the illusive Exalted status because I want to get a Cobalt War Talbuk. I also need to starting grinding for rep with Honor Hold and Cenarion Expedition as there are several things I want to obtain from the Quartermasters once I hit Revered status. It seems like there's always so much to do and not enough time to get everything done. I found out about Warcrafter from BigRedKitty and I think it's pretty darn cool so check it out. And on that note in case you didn't know BRK has closed his blog and started his own website and you can check it out here. I pity the fool that doesn't check it out.

News Flash!

2007-12-06T20:52:00.000-06:00

For those of you who stop by on a regular basis I have a question for you. Does this new template look better than the rounders template I've been using? At least my header picture is centered now. Please let me know what you think.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words!

2007-12-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

OK it's not worth a thousand words but maybe it's worth a few huh? As you can see I now have a picture for my header and much to my chagrin it's not centered. I'm very anal about this sort of thing so I need to either fix it or take it off. I tried resizing the image and it helped but as you can see it didn't totally correct the alignment problem. Can someone out there offer some advice on how to get the picture centered? On the game front I ran The Slave Pens last night with a nice group and it went quite well, we completed the instance with no deaths whatsoever which was quite refreshing. I discovered that I need to run heroic instances to get the Primal Nethers so I didn't get any with this run but it was fun regardless. Thanks to Othiliad, Dreamaide, and Provider for a nice run. In other news, my reputation is severely lacking to say the least. I'm truly ashamed to admit that I'm not exalted anywhere and I'm only revered in Kurenai. I really need to concentrate on getting revered with Honor Hold and Cenarion Expedition so it looks like I"ll need to be running Shattered Halls and Steamvaults. It would be really nice if I could get rep in these areas as easy as I can in Kurenai. Sighs...

Primal Scream!

2007-12-05T07:16:00.000-06:00

I started looking at the mats I'll need to craft the Ebon Netherscale set and I discovered that I'll need 3 Primal Nethers not to mention the fact that I need like a zillion Primal Fires and Primal Shadows. Needless to say I was a bit agitated by this discovery. C'mon Blizz give a hard working man a break already. I mean isn't already hard enough to get nice armor? It certainly has been for me because I'm not in a raiding guild and I have to run solo most of the time unless I get into a PuG, as a result I still don't have one piece of epic armor. That said it appears that I'll be going into instances to get the Primal Nethers or the Badges of Justice. PuG's look out, here I come, again! I guess I could go into the BG's until the end of time and maybe get one piece of armor before the Earth implodes. I also could move to a raiding guild which is starting to look more attractive all the time. If I don't move then I must continue to fight the good fight and see where it leads. Hopefully the long and winding road will lead me to bling of "epic" proportions.

Stick A Fork In It, I'm Done!

2007-12-04T20:23:00.000-06:00

Last night I took the plunge and started using my beloved clefthoof leather to raise my skill to 375 and I've done it! There was much rejoicing when I saw that my skill had at long last made it to 375. I jumped around like a giddy schoolgirl that just scored a prom date with the star quarterback. OK maybe that's a bit much but I was exceedingly well pleased nonetheless. It turns out Peashooter was correct with his crafting assessment. This is what I did to get the remaining 9 points. I made 2 pairs of the Heavy Clefthoof Boots which were in yellow and I got 2 points. Then I made one Heavy Clefthoof Vest which was in orange and of course I got 1 more point taking me to 369. I then went back and made another pair of boots and I got another point taking me to 370. I tried to make another pair of boots but I didn't receive a point so I made 2 pairs of Heavy Clefthoof Leggings and I got 2 more points taking me to 372. I had enough mats to make 3 more pairs of boots so I rolled the dice and made 3 more. I was hoping to get 1 or 2 more points but I got 3 points taking me to 375. I started the day with 276 pieces of leather but I only used 257 pieces which was very surprising to me as I thought it would take more than 300 pieces to get the job done. So in the end I got 8 points crafting yellow items and 1 point from crafting the orange item. After I finished I flew out and had a visit with Peter Galen in Azshara and trained everything that was available including the Ebon Netherscale armor. I definitely see more farming in my future as I prepare to craft the phat purps for the first time.

Farming Fanatic!

2007-12-03T07:22:00.000-06:00

I know you must be tired of hearing me talk about my leatherworking woes but there's really not much more to report due to the fact that I've done nothing but farm clefthoof leather every day and it's really starting to get old. I've actually been in a catatonic state all weekend. I'm now up to 260 pieces which is nice but it's still not enough. It looks like I'll need at least another 100 pieces. Right now I can spend 240 pieces and get 6 guaranteed points if the vest stays in orange and I believe that it will. That would get my skill to 372 and from there I can craft yellow items for the last 3 points. I could also opt to roll the dice and craft the boots and leggings until they both turn green. This will get me 9 points but in the end I will most likely end up using more leather perhaps an additional 100 pieces. I hate to waste it as hard as I've worked for it so I'll probably end up crafting the vests until they turn yellow, that way I know I'll get 6 or 7 guaranteed points and then the rest should be easy from there. I'll sure be happy once I've got this done. It's time to move on to something else like farming more mats to craft the Ebon Netherscale set. Now I get to spend even more money I don't have. Woohoo!

Visions of Clefthoof Bulls Dancing In My Head!

2007-11-30T19:49:00.000-06:00

I thought I was going to go back to the BG's and crank out some more honor but once I saw how much honor I need for one piece of armor I decided to go back to my original plan and farm Thick Clefthoof Leather so I can get my leatherworking skill to 375. Once I get something in my head it's really hard for me to deviate from it. I keep pushing until I complete the task at hand. That said I made my first riding crop yesterday and fortunately that raised my skill one point so now I'm sitting at 366. Last last night the riding crop sold in AH so I've made my money back plus a few bucks (and there was much rejoicing). I've been farming leather like a man possessed killing the Clefthoof Bulls like a rabid Gnome on steroids. It's gotten so bad that last night I couldn't sleep so I counted Clefthoof Bulls jumping over a fence. Believe me it wasn't a pretty sight. Fortunately I haven't had seen too many leatherworking junkies in my favorite hunting spot so I've been able to amass 125 pieces in 2 days time, not too shabby. The problem is I'm most likely going to need another 300-350 pieces to accomplish my goal. OK so here's a couple of questions for you guys and gals. I can make a pair of Heavy Clefthoof Boots that requires 20 pieces of leather, this item is in "yellow" which means I won't get a skill point every time I make it. I can also make the Heavy Clefthoof Vest, this item is in "orange" which means I'll get a point every time I make it but it takes 40 pieces of leather to make one piece. How do I use my hard-earned leather to get the most out of it? Do I use twice as much leather and make the vests to get one point each until they turn yellow? Or do I roll the dice and make the boots until they turn green and see how many points I get? I'm thinking if I do the later I'll have a 3:5 ratio and get 3 points for every 5 pieces I make. I don't want to burn 20 pieces of leather for nothing and yet I don't want to spend 40 pieces for one point either.

/Ponders...

Mob Rules!

2007-11-27T07:59:00.000-06:00

I've never really been that excited about PvP. When I go there it looks like a bunch of crazed maniacs tanked up on crack running around hacking and slashing at each other indiscriminately. It's complete and total chaos and it scares me profusely. I don't know if it's just me but a Tauren can just breath on me and I fall over dead. I do have to account for the fact that I suck at PvP to begin with so that probably has something to do with it. Having said that I hooked up with a new friend Dalor last night and we went into the dark reaches of Alterac Valley where I scored 53 kills. From there we moved on to Arathi Basin. We actually won the first battle in Arathi which I believe was my first win. I'm starting to see the addictive nature in me sneaking out, this PvP stuff could actually be fun. Just when I think I'm going to concentrate on getting my leatherworking to 375 something else jumps up and grabs my attention. I must confess that my main objective for getting involved with PvP is to get better gear but I'm starting to see a new side to PvP which is working together as a team to complete an objective. Watching my arrows glide through the air and hit their mark ain't half bad either. It's a nice stress reliever after a hard day at work. PvP FTW!

Got Clefthoof?!

2007-11-26T07:39:00.000-06:00

Before you say anything I know I've made several posts regarding my disdain for leatherworking and in truth it's been difficult for me, mostly because I didn't have a plan to follow. My bad for not doing the research. That said I have some positive news for a change. I was able to train some new recipes and buy a few more from a Quartermaster and I've managed to get my leatherworking skill up to 365. Woohoo! In the process I crafted some [Heavy Knothide Armor Kits] and applied them to several pieces of armor. As a result my stamina is now 40 points higher and my health has at long last broken the 8000 barrier. I also equipped the [Felstalker Breastplate] that I've had banked for a couple of months and now I'm wearing the complete Felstalker set. It's taken a kings ransom to get to this point but in the final analysis it's been worth it. These last 10 points are going to be time consuming as I'm going to need massive amounts of Clefthoof leather, probably in excess of 300 pieces. I plan to farm the Clefthoof leather every day until I have enough to raise the skill one point. If I can do this I'll be at 375 in 10 days barring any unforeseen circumstances. That said problems do arise so I'm going to give myself 15-20 days to get the job done. Then I'll need to locate some recipes for the Ebon Netherscale armor. Does anyone know where I can get these recipes? Looks like I'll be giving leatherworking some major love from now on.

/edit

It looks like I go to the trainer in Azshara to get the Ebon Netherscale recipes.

Flooring Is Fun-da-mental, Not!

2007-11-12T20:04:00.000-06:00

I've been out-of-pocket recently getting new ceramic tile installed in my house and let me tell you, it's a lot of work. It's not fun and it will make you a mental case. I had to come back to my "real" job to get some rest. At any rate I haven't done anything earth shattering in WoW since the infamous Shadow Labs run. I've been blowing through some quests out in Netherstorm and while there I've been farming motes of mana to sell at the AH so I can earn some bank. Let me just reiterate again that I really do despise leatherworking. It is pure unadulterated evil. Anyway I went out to Tanaris last night to farm scorpid scales so I could raise my skill a bit, I managed to get 13 scales plus I bought a few more and then I was finally able to craft three items. Couple that with the two Dragonscale Breastplates I made and I managed to raise my skill 5 more points to a whopping 270. Does anyone know a better/faster way to raise leatherworking? I really can't even imagine getting my skill up to 375. Hell will freeze over before that happens, and you can take that to the bank. Leatherworking is a "Bad Mr. Kitty" and I don't want to play with it any longer.

/throws a temper tantrum on the new floor.

Oh how I miss those delightful herbs! The floors are quite nice though.

Sonic Boom!

2007-11-05T07:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday evening I got an invite from a friend to run Shadow Labs and since I had only been in there once before I jumped at the chance to join. I was hoping against all hope that the group would hold together long enough to get to Murmur but I wasn't really expecting to get that far. We lost one party member and another one voluntarily dropped later on to make room for another warrior so we could secure more DPS which payed big dividends later on. Anyway we cleared the first boss Ambassador Hellmaw on the second try before we had the second warrior in our group. I kicked him a few times and pulled a few usable arrows from his lifeless body before I headed out. Next we moved on to the second boss Blackheart the Inciter and we had him down on the second attempt as well. With this boss I was fortunate enough to get the [Cloak of the Inciter] which was a decent upgrade for me. From there we pressed on to the third boss Grandmaster Vorpil he gave us a bit of trouble but once again we had him down on the second attempt. Finally we moved on to the final boss, the rather ill-tempered Murmur. He gave us fits to say the least but again on the second attempt he went down in a heap and there was massive quantities of rejoicing. My anticipation grew to a fevered pitch as we moved in to loot the body. Was he going to drop the illusive spear? Then I saw it, "The Precious" [Sonic Spear] appeared and I went down in a heap clutching my chest and gasping for breath. After CPR was administered successfully I was able to crawl back into my chair and I asked if I could "need" the spear. The other party members were very gracious in letting me need it, I am in their debt big time. I couldn't believe that I got it on my first try. The odds were definitely not in my favor. Big props go out to Passthewine for the invite and for his healing services as well. It pays to be in the right place at the right time. Last night was the single biggest payout for me since I've started playing the game and it's a night that I won't soon forget. Oh yeah I almost forgot, I completed the "Into the Heart of the Labyrinth" quest and got the [Auchenai Boots] which is better suited for a Shaman but it was still a minor upgrade for me.

Chain Trapping Chump!

2007-10-30T19:47:00.000-05:00

I've been hanging around Blade's Edge Mountains farming Nether Dragonscales (the drop rate has really sucked) and practicing my chain trapping skillz and believe me I need the practice. I can remember a time not too long ago when I was tripping over my own traps and trapping myself. Can you imagine my embarrassment? Even my pet Redmaine appeared to be snickering at me. It never fails, every time I stroll through Stormwind I hear some snide remarks reminding me of how I got hypothermia from freeze trapping myself too within an inch of my life. Oh the shame of it all! And I call myself a Hunter? Pa-leeze! Anyway it looks like I've finally got my timing and distances down which is good but I've been trapping outside so it's not too difficult to get this figured out in the great outdoors. So now that I've passed Chain Trapping 101 (barely) I need to step it up and go into an instance and practice chain trapping in a enclosed environment where it will be much more challenging. Once I get that down then I'll be fairly confident that I can contribute to a group without trapping myself and freezing my butt off.

Twinkies For Two!

2007-10-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

OK I'll admit that I have never been into PvP unless of course there's something to gain from it like better gear or rank for instance. (Blizzard can you please bring back the old rank structure?) I mean once you get all "uber-twinked" what else is there left to do besides BG's and duels 24-7? I've never really seen the point in it I guess. That said I've been so bored and A.D.D. recently that my son a.k.a."Tartersauce" actually has me considering doing the unthinkable. It's so hard for me to say the word twink I can't even imagine becoming one. The very thought of it sends chills up and down my spine. You know it's a cold day in Hell when I give this endeavor a second thought. Hopefully I'll come to my senses and see that a twink has a limited lifespan, at least for me. However if I remain in this "Purple Haze" much longer I'll most likely roll a twink Hunter and see what I can do with him.

/shudders

/sighs

I can't believe I'm entertaining this at all.

A Tale Of Two Servers!

2007-10-25T07:18:00.000-05:00

I decided to create a new hunter on the Turalyon server so I could hang with Aerislan and his guildmates. I must say they have their act together over there. The GM and the officers have the guild running like a fine-tuned Lamborghini (which is my dream car) and the people I've met thus far are great. This has made my decision to move Galamar even more difficult. I want to be a part of the team and eventually be good enough to join a raid party, but at the same time I don't want to abandon my current guild. That old song from The Clash comes to mind. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" It's a tough decision so I'm just going take my time and let it marinate for awhile and see what happens. Either way it's all good so I'm not going to stress over it. In the meantime I'll just play my new hunter Kataras. He's all primed and ready for some truly gruesome deaths.

How can any self-respecting person not appreciate this fine work of art? This is the Mona Lisa of vehicular modes of transport.

Houston We Have A Problem!

2007-10-19T07:58:00.000-05:00

I had a rough day yesterday so when I got home I was looking forward to unwinding by exterminating creatures throughout the Outland with extreme prejudice. Much to my chagrin we had a cable outage and everything was down. I rebooted the DVR's and the modem but this didn't work and after speaking with two reps at the cable company it was discovered that there were outages in several different areas including mine. What was I to do? The tragic loss of my Internet service was almost too much to bear. As I lied in bed my body began to twitch and convulse and I broke out in a cold sweat as my body began to display the first signs of WoW withdrawal. I tried to sooth the withdrawal symptoms with beverages and pizza but in the end this only made things worse. I was down for the count, no doubt about it. I had no idea how long the outage would last so I asked my wife to knock me out so I wouldn't have to endure the pain any longer. I was expecting drugs but alas Nurse Ratched threw down the Gauntlet and gave me a big dose of ass-whooping. She packs quite a wallop too. When I awoke this morning with a raging headache and one eye swollen shut I received a phone call from the cable company and they informed me that service had been restored. Whew, what a relief. I shouted for joy and spit out a few teeth in the process. I can't imagine suffering through another night of no cable or Internet service much less a whole weekend. If that were to happen the big muscular men in white suits would be coming for me. Can you say rubber room? Hey as long as the room has cable and high-speed Internet service I'm good to go.

To Move Or Not To Move. That Is The Question!

2007-10-17T08:10:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about moving Galamar to a different guild/server for a couple of weeks now. I've recently been given an opportunity to move to the Turalyon server and join my buddy Aerislan and his merry band of raiders (I hope he doesn't mind the shameless plug). I'm torn by this decision because my son who also plays doesn't want me to switch servers plus I've been with the same guild for 2 years so there are some loyalty issues to think about as well. At the same time I realize that Galamar has reached critical mass and something has to be done if I wish to continue playing him. I'm not ready to raid yet because I need more practice with crowd control and chain trapping not to mention the fact that I need to "gear-up" in prepartion for Kara so having Aerislan and others to help out and instruct me in the ways of the "Force" would be a major plus. So I can stay where I am and really never advance or I can move and have the opportunity to do the things I desire to do. This is a big decision and one that I don't take lightly. Any gems of wisdom are welcomed.

Fishing For Fun And Profit!

2007-10-15T19:26:00.000-05:00

Sunday I decided to go out to Booty Bay and enter the weekly fishing contest for the first time. Once I got there I promptly purchased the expert fisherman's book and gained expert fisherman's status. With my new title safely secured I purchased a few shiny baubles and headed around the coast hoping to catch the elusive rares. When I arrived I knew it was going to be a long day, there were people running back and forth down the beach like a pack of rabid Murlocks. Holes were fished out before I could cast my line in one time. I thought long and hard about aggro'ing the pirates down to the beach to slaughter the unsuspecting low level characters but in the end I let them do it themselves. I rejoiced when I saw them swimming for their pathetic little lives and getting their melons cut off by the pirates. What? C'mon, at least that gave me a few minutes to fish in peace. Since there were so many people fishing around me sometimes just for fun I ran inland and bashed the Bloodsail Buccaneers in the head with my fishing pole. Then just to add insult to injury, umm I mean death, I let my trusty pet Redmaine have some fun too. It wasn't pretty but he really loves those afternoon treats so I couldn't deny him, plus in the process I got some rep with Booty Bay. Once a winner was declared I hung around for another hour to raise my fishing skill and to see if I could land a rare. I didn't snag a rare but I caught quite a few fish that I sold for just over 2 gold, I'm rich! And Redmaine came back licking his chops and sporting an extra 30 pounds. He really loves the taste of humans. I'm glad I'm a Night Elf.

That Boy Ain't Right!

2007-10-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

I've been loitering around Nagrand lately farming clefthoof leather and motes around my favorite hunting area. I was a bit giddy last night because the drop rate was exceptionally good, I got 5 pieces of clefthoof leather in my first 6 kills. I already had 10 pieces from the previous night and before long I had a nice stack of 20 to sell. I needed a few more motes to make a primal so I hung around and killed the Elementals (what a grind that was) and more Clefthoof Bulls. The drop rate slowed a bit but I was able to get 12 more pieces before I left. All in all I considered the hunt to be a success and I headed for Stormwind. Once there I opened my packs and began looking through them for the 20 pieces. "What?" "No, this can't be?" "Where the Hell is my leather?" I sat on the floor of the AH and began to sling the contents of my packs all over the room, I looked like a little spoiled 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. My anxiety grew as I dumped the last pack on the ground and discovered that the leather was AWOL. I thought about it for a second and realized that this was my doing. I had accidentally threw it away to clear pack space. I meant to throw away the leather scraps but instead I threw away the clefthoof leather and with it I lost about 65 gold and a big clump of my hair. I definitely ain't right!

Moral of the story:Never, ever leave home without your American Express card and adequate pack space.

The Herbs Were My Friends!

2007-10-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

Oh how I miss the days of picking those delightful pollen producing plants and then carting them off to market and selling them for a tidy profit. Those lovely herbs didn't make me rich but they were a steady source of income that I could really use right now. So one day, in Hunter Camp, I get this great idea. I'll drop herbalism and take up leatherworking that way I'll be able to learn a true trade skill, make some nice epic gear, and sell a few blue items along the way to supplement my cash flow. Umm, can I just say right here and now that I made one Hell of a big mistake? C'mon how hard is it to pick plants for cash? It's so easy even a caveman could do it. I started with herbalism and had it to 375 long before I hit 70. I didn't have to spend anything but time to raise the skill. Time, do you hear me? Just time, and not 100,000 gold pieces. And now look at me, a down-and-out, broke and destitute Night Elf Hunter wearing Tier Nada armor trying to scrape up enough cash just so I can buy a few mats to raise the stinking skill a few points. And if that's not bad enough I can't even give away the Dragonscale Gauntlets that I've made. I'm by no means a financial planner but even I can see that there's something horribly wrong with this picture. I think I read somewhere that leatherworkers have the second highest suicide rate in all of Azeroth (enchanters owning the top spot) and now I can certainly understand why. Leatherworking is bad, very bad. It scares my wife and she wants her herb garden back. Oh how I miss the herbs, the herbs were my friends.

Super Troopers!

2007-10-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't WoW related but I love this video. Besides this is my blog, so there! If you're a Star Wars fanatic like me you'll enjoy this.

It's Alive!

2007-10-09T07:08:00.000-05:00

/Tesla Coil engaged!

After some encouragement from my son, aka Othiliad and other sources that shall remain nameless...Aerislan, opps did I say that? I've decided to resurrect this blog. A good point was made that I've been writing this blog primarily for me as an outlet to chronicle my experiences in WoW. (I hope that doesn't sound too selfish) and that it really doesn't matter how many people respond. I let that marinate for awhile and then I came to the same conclusion. I do however appreciate responses and I'm happy that people stop by even if they don't respond. That said there's really not much to report as I haven't been playing much over the last few days. I've done a few of the Brewfest quests and I have a whopping 99 tickets, only 501 more to go and I can buy a Ram, woohoo! I saw that at least one of the Brewfest quests is a daily quest which is nice but I could only do it three times yesterday for a total of 9 tickets. At this rate I'll never be able to amass 600 tickets before the end of the event. Does anyone know how to get tickets quickly? I'm getting bloody stinking, stumbling drunk everyday. And for what? A lousy 9 tickets per day? C'mon pay up already you greedy drunk dwarves!

The End Of The Road!

2007-10-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about this all day and I've decided to suspend this blog indefinitely. This blog has been up since August 8th and it's just never taken off the way I envisioned, I was hoping for more suggestions and comments. I've enjoyed writing it but if no one is going to read it or respond then there's really no point in continuing to publish it. I appreciate the three people that responded and I wish them well. Hey lockup and hit the lights on your way out, OK?

/Signing off...

Hang In There Baby!

2007-10-04T07:26:00.000-05:00

/wakes up in a funky mood

/quasi-depressing rant engaged

Lately I've been feeling like I'm not getting anywhere with Galamar. This is nothing new I've been feeling this way for weeks now. I can't stay focused no matter what I do and I seem to be running around in circles with no direction. In truth, I'm bored. I'm getting absolutely nowhere with the evil leatherworking skill, it's only 260 and I need to get it to 350 so I can wear the Felstalker Breastplate and get the +hit bonus. At this rate it could take me months to hit 350. I see other hunters running around with all the epic armor and killer weapons and I realize that I'm never going to be equipped that well. It's just not in the cards for someone that's forced to run solo most of the time and I've grown weary of running solo. I'm not a skilled enough hunter to hold my own in an instance, this has already been proven on more than one ocassion. That said how can I expect to contribute in a group or raid like Kara and be invited back? I'd be booted from a Kara raid in a millisecond and rightfully so. And I don't really expect to see Kara because I can't even get keyed for it. This is not intended to be a pity-party-post (I know it looks that way) I'm just stating the hard facts and unless something changes very soon I'm either going to leave the game entirely or take a very long break. So to all three of my regular readers out there please accept my apologies in advance for this less than uplifting post. I'm hanging on by a thread baby!

/quasi-depressing rant disengaged

/funky mood improving slightly

Leatherworking Is Evil!

2007-10-02T12:44:00.000-05:00

The details of my leatherworking woes are quite inconsequential! That said I started looking in earnest at the mats I'll need to create the Ebon Netherscale Armor set and I must say I'm astounded. The Auction House prices are absolutely ridiculous. I'm gonna need at least 2500 gold to make the 3 piece set not to mention I need the recipes which could cost me a bloody fortune and that's if I can even find them. I mean at this rate I'm gonna have to leave my beautiful evil lair and live under a bridge somewhere just so I can pay for the mats. I know I could go out and farm the mats but that takes an enormous amount of time. I can farm for over an hour and still not have enough mats to make one stinkin' piece of armor. And if that wasn't bad enough my leatherworking skill is only 258 and it's gonna cost me a kings ransom to raise it to 375. Yes leatherworking is EVIL! It's the devil incarnate. If I wasn't already committed to it I'd go back to my "hippie" ways and pick up herbalism again, at least that skill made me a little bank. I'll be dead before I see the skill raised to 375.

/Newspaper headline
/Stormwind Sentinnel reporting:

A once prominent and well respected hunter known as Galamar was found dead outside his run-down shack on the outskirts of Stormwind City. Sources say he was found lying face down in a pile of salt and leather scraps. The Stormwind Guard doesn't suspect foul play and has said they believe that he expired from exhaustion and dehydration due to overwork. Neighbors reported that he apparently was trying to gain master leatherworker status and was routinely seen working through the night. Galamar was at one time a very well known and popular figure in and around Stormwind City. He started his downward spiral when he changed career paths and took up leatherworking. See related story, "The Fall from Grace" on page 2. There will be a small funeral pyre service tomorrow at dusk. The public is welcomed to attend.

Crowd Control Collapse!

2007-10-01T07:10:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I got an opportunity to run Shattered Halls for the first time. My primary purposes were to gain reputation for Honor Hold (as I would like to get revered there sometime this decade) and to experience the instance for the first time. In the process I got the [Skyfire Hawk-Bow] and then I snagged the [Gauntlets of Desolation] from the last boss. This is where my ability to successfully provide crowd control failed miserably. I was asked to control the adds while the others killed the last boss. I had never been there before and I didn't know what to expect but before long the adds starting running past me at break-neck speed leaving me dazed and confused. I did my best to take them down as quickly as possible but they just kept on coming and within a couple of minutes we all lay dead.

/flashback on

I can't be certain as it was a very chaotic scene but I'm pretty sure I saw Warchief Kargath Bladefist using our heads as bowling balls and our appendages as pins. It was a horrifying sight to see his minions running around setting up our bloody arms and legs for him to knock down with our squishy melons.

/flashback off

Anyway I felt responsible for the wipe and once again I was unable to do what was asked of me. Undaunted we went back and this time the raid leader asked me to concentrate my fire on the boss and to let my pet lend a hand with the adds. This sounded like a good idea to me, I certainly didn't want to be responsible for another wipe. This strategy worked and we were able to take Kargath Bladefist down. I was pleased with our success but I was very displeased with my performance. Once again I have proven my point that I am no better than an average hunter at best. Next time I go there I will know what to expect and I believe that I could do a better job with crowd control. That said I need a lot of practice and I can't really expect to be invited back to any instance until I can improve my skills. There's definitely more to being a good hunter than meets the eye.

Can You Say Fel Reaver?

2007-09-28T07:26:00.000-05:00

Will you be mine... could you be mine...won't you be my pet? I've heard that Fel Reavers are going to be introduced as trainable pets in patch 2.3. Is this true or is it just an elaborate hoax? BRK is saying that we are indeed going to be able to train Fel Reavers in the next patch. BRK you're pulling our big ol' mechanical leg aren't you? I don't know about you other hunter aficionados but if this were to be true I would definitely be training one. I do have a few questions though. How are we going to mend them? Are we going to have to haul around toolboxes? Do we have to stock 10W-30 oil to keep them lubricated? What are we going to feed them? Do we get to feed them humanoids? Now that would be interesting. I believe this is all a big hoax. I mean seriously, a Fel Reaver?

Hawkbane Anyone?

2007-09-27T07:07:00.000-05:00

I have read about a few hunters who have alledgedly located and successfully trained the elusive Hawkbane. Being somewhat adventurous I decided to mount up and fly over to the cave to see if I could locate and train him myself. I set down in a safe "LZ" and began to make my way towards the cave entrance. As I got closer my anticipation grew as I started seeing a few level 70 sabercats on the prowl in the lush green grass leading up to the cave. I started mowing them down one at a time inching ever closer to the cave entrance. Finally the last cat was down and I made my way inside. My excitement grew at a feverish pace as I worked my way through the cold damp cave killing the cats indiscriminately as I crept toward my prize. Finally, at last, I made my way to the back of the cave and then...You got it, there was no Hawkbane in sight. Dejected, my head held low I kicked a few rocks and made my way back to the cave entrance killing a few more cats along the way to vent my frustration. It appears that Hawkbane is glitched or he's been removed, either way he's not in my stable and that makes me a little sad.

I Can't Get No Reputation!

2007-09-25T07:16:00.000-05:00

And I tried. And I tried. And I tried. And I tried, but No..No..No! If you look at Galamar's reputation you'll see that I really can't get no reputation. His reputation looks like what a level 15 would have. I recently compared Galamar's reputation to my level 50 Draenei Shaman and there's absolutely no comparsion. I don't know what Blizzard did to change how reputation is calculated with the release of Burning Crusade but reputation should have been calculated in this fashion from the very beginning. Galamar will forever be reputationally challenged, he will be an outcast even in his hometown. How can this be? What can be done? Just recently he went riding through Stormwind and was met by an angry crowd of locals that began throwing fruits and vegetables at him, even the kids got into the act. It was a very humiliating experience. Can anyone help Galamar overcome this shame? Or must he spend the remainder of his days in the remote region of the Barrens?

/Hangs his head in shame

Galamar's Rep

Kaedin's Rep

Focus Depleted!

2007-09-24T07:21:00.001-05:00

Since I've hit 70 I must admit I've been in a serious ADD mode. I've been running around in circles like a chicken with its head cut off, I just can't seem to stay focused. I need to get my leatherworking skill up, I need to make some cash so I can support my leatherworking addiction, I need to grind for reputation, I need to do daily quests, and the list goes on and on. There's just not enough play hours in the day to get everything done. Couple this with my ADD problems and you can see the predicament I'm in. I must develop a strategy and stick to it or I'm not going to get anywhere. So, my plan shall be as follows. First I'll do some daily quests in Nagrand, then I'll grind for a little Kurenai rep and then I'll kill some Clefthoof Bulls and collect some fine clefthoof leather which will make me some fairly decent coin. If I can stick to this plan (which is highly suspect) in a couple of weeks I should have a decent amount of cash stockpiled to feed my leatherworking addiction. I've got to get my leatherworking skill maxed as soon as possible so I can make the ebon netherscale set. This "off the rack" armor is crimping my style baby!

Hellbent For Leather!

2007-09-21T07:14:00.000-05:00

OK I've decided to keep playing Galamar. You really didn't think I'd abandon him did you? Anyway after a rather exhaustive introspection of myself and what I want I've decided to turn from my "hippie" ways and lose herbalism in favor of leatherworking. I did this for a few reasons. First, my allergies are killing me and I just can't pick those stupid plants any longer. Secondly, I want to do something different to break up the monotony and actually learn a trade skill. Thirdly I want to be able to craft some nice Tier 3 equivalent mail armor once I max out the skill. In the long run it may be the only way I get my phat purps. The downside to this is that it's going to take quite a bit of time and money to get the skill maxed out. Just this morning I went to the AH to buy some light leather and there wasn't one stinking piece there so I had to run out to Elwynn Forest and slaughter those poor little wolves just to get enough light leather to get started. I think I read that BRK spent around 2,000 gold to get the skill maxed out. If this is the case then I've got a long way to go. I guess I'll be a farmer and a leather junkie for the foreseeable future. I can just smell the fine Elwynnian leather curing in the sulty Stormwind sun.

PUG FTW!

2007-09-20T19:32:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about Galamar and what I've done with him thus far and I must say I consider myself to be a below average hunter. Largely because up until recently I really had no idea how to play a hunter in an instance much less a raid and I really had no clue about crowd control or chain trapping. I'm part of a small guild made up mostly of friends and family which has its advantages, and I've enjoyed it. However when it comes to running an instance I'm forced to look for the evil PuG and sometimes it takes a long time to get one together. Not to mention a PuG can be like the proverbial "box of chocolates". But who am I to talk? Don't get me wrong I've met some great folks in a PuG but it would be so nice to have a group of people that I could consistently run with and learn from like the good ol' days, when I ran with my guildmates Trenja and Mixoionia. I know things run much smoother when people know each others play style and everyone knows what's expected of them. The other night when I completed Steamvaults I felt very inadequate. I was able to trap but not that effectively, and I wasn't managing the adds very well either. I seem to have some target acquisition deficiencies. Does anyone have a GPS laser-guided targeting system I can borrow? I certainly don't want to cause a wipe in an instance like Shadow Labs, it's just not my bag baby! Maybe I need to put Galamar on the shelf and play some other character for awhile. Of course that really doesn't solve anything now does it? Is this really the "end-game" for Galamar?

/Cheesy Soap Opera music begins to play

/Stay Tuned!

Excellent!

2007-09-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

Well I've dropped several hundred gold over the last few days getting better gear and enchants and I think I'm finally dressed for success. I also threw the [Clefthide Leg Armor] on the [Scales of the Beast] for good measure. It's time to hit Shadow Labs for the first time in search of some epic armor and of course the illusive [Sonic Spear]. This past Sunday evening I completed Mana Tombs and got the [Consortium Mantle of Phasing] as a quest reward and then last night I completed Steamvaults and received the [Earthwarden's Coif] as a quest reward. This is a very nice helm but it certainly doesn't match my fashion sense. I look like a floppy eared Japanese Kamikaze pilot, but it will do until I can score an epic helm. I'm going to tweak my socketed gear to ensure I get the most out of the gems and then for the most part I'm done purchasing gear. It's time for me to get some epic love. Party on Garth!

Mail Call!

2007-09-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

/Listen Up!

I read BRK's most recent article on WoW Insider and personally I found it to be a good read despite a few "ass clowns" that posted derogatory comments and refused to be civil. What planet do these "beings" come from?

/engage rage
/fire up assdar. Yeah that's right, it's radar for ass clowns.

I sure would like to meet these "ass clowns" on the street, or better yet in a dark alley somewhere, but that's a story for another day. There shalt be plenty of time to rain down fire on those who have no class or respect for others.

/disengage rage

Anyway where was I? Oh yes, so I saw where he suggested the [Scales of the Beast] leggings. I had seen these on the AH several times before and I passed on them but last night they came up again so I snagged them and they look marvelous. Much to BRK's dismay I did get the [Pauldrons of Surging Mana] largely because of the armor level and stamina boost and because there really hasn't been anything better on the AH recently. Last night I went to the Mana Tombs in Auchindoun for the first time and in the process I picked up a quest that will give me some shiny new shoulder armor the [Consortium Mantle of Phasing] I know these aren't the best but it's a start and they look nice too. Like it or not I seem to be a slave to fashion. I plan on getting the +35 agility enchant on my [Crystalforged War Axe] and then I'll be ready to take off a few heads.

/Semper Fi
/Salutes

Something Smells Rank!

2007-09-13T19:48:00.000-05:00

/Attention!
/Sound Off!
I don't know if you've been told. Not having rank is mighty old!

I know this is old news but I've been thinking about it recently and I really don't like the fact that battleground ranks were taken out of the honor system. See the excerpt below from WoW.

What happened to my battleground reputations, honor, and rank earned in the old system?

A new title system displays your highest rank achieved under the old honor system, but ranks do not play a part in the new honor system. The battleground reputations carry over to the new system, and still increase through participation in the various battlegrounds, but the current rewards are now only available through the new honor system. However, you can obtain a special title if you obtain exalted reputation with each battleground faction. This title may be displayed through the new title display system.

I know this may seem trivial to some, perhaps to a lot of you but I would like to see ranks come back into the game. It gave us something else to shoot for, and I for one like having goals that I can achieve. If I would have known Blizzard was going to remove the ranks I would have played non-stop in the BG's until the release of BC, I'm a lowly private for crying out loud. Come on Blizzard give us a little love here. Let us once again revel in our rank.

/sniffs underarms

/At Ease!

Seventy is Sweet!

2007-09-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday night I finally reached level 70 and I must say it feels great. I've been playing off and on since 2005 and in truth I should have made it to 70 much sooner but life took a few unexpected turns that took me away from the game several times. That said the person (Trenja) that introduced me to WoW was online Saturday night and was able to share in my celebration which was very nice. My wife and son were also present when the big "ding" came so everyone got to join in, and let me tell you there was much rejoicing in my home at approximately 10:45 P.M. Saturday night. As soon as I hit 70 I flew out to Shadowmoon Valley and got my Gryphon. It was a hard decision but I finally decided to take the Ebon Gryphon mainly because my son and two other guildies were threatening disembowelment if I didn't. Hey what choice did I have, right? The Ebon Gryphon is different and that's what I like most about it. I must say it's a blast to fly anywhere I want to, I was able to find places I'd never seen before which was very cool. Now I've got to buckle down and start concentrating on getting better gear which means I'll be raiding quite a bit from now on. I've heard it said that the game begins at 70 and while I don't completely agree with that assessment there is some truth to it. There is still much to be accomplished and there are many places that I've yet to see. There's definitely life after 70.

The BRK Bandwagon Rolls On!

2007-09-07T20:16:00.000-05:00

/steps up on the soapbox

/clears throat

/BRK shameless plug enabled

Well I've officially jumped head-long onto the BRK Bandwagon and there's no turning back. Before I started reading BRK's blog I couldn't trap a rooster in a hen house, but now thanks to BRK and his extensive 12 step program I've actually been able to lay down traps with all the skill and grace of Grizzly Adams which in-and-of-itself is quite remarkable. There's much more to learn but one day I hope to walk across the stage in my Felstalker armor and receive my diploma from the BRK School of Hunter Tactics and Taxidermy. (sniff,sniff) What a joyous occassion that will be. But seriously folks if you're a hunter and even if you're not you owe it to yourself to visit bigredkitty his humor and insights regarding the game and the hunter class in general are second to none. But beware, you will be assimilated into the BRK BM collective. Resistance is futile!

/trips and falls off the soapbox

/gets up and tries to look cool like nothing happened

/BRK shameless plug disabled, for now!

Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Moe!

2007-09-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

Catch a gryphon by its toe? As I approach level 70 I need to decide which flying mount I want, and for me, "Mr. Indecisive" this is no small task. I believe all three of them look nice(although I see more snowy ones) but I just can't decide which one looks the best, so I'm going to "poll" the audience for assistance. Please use the poll to vote for which one you think looks the best, and feel free to leave any comments as well. Thanks!

The Great Axe Debate!

2007-09-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

Well I did make it to level 69 last night and with that accomplishment comes the ability to wield the Crystalforged War Axe. That is where the great debate begins. Currently I have the Honed Voidaxe equipped which has served me well. I really like the adds to both agility and stamina, not to mention the fact that it looks really cool too. Now to the big question. Is the Crystalforged War Axe a better overall weapon than the Honed Voidaxe? Would it be worth it to enchant the Crystalforged War Axe with +25 agility, or maybe throw Mongoose on it? Those enchants, especially Mongoose are extremely expensive and to be honest I'm not sure the weapon is nice enough to earn such an honor. I'm thinking I would rather wait and put Mongoose on an epic weapon, one that I will keep for a long time.
Since I haven't equipped the Crystalforged War Axe I could just sell it on AH and be content with what I have until I get an epic axe. Let the numbers fly all you real men of mathematical genius.

Stormtrooper Convention!

2007-09-05T07:23:00.000-05:00

I look marvelous in the Stormtrooper gear, don't you agree? I'm just kidding it's not me, but I really would love to get my hands on that gear. I had an opportunity to go to a Star Wars exhibit this past weekend. It was the first of it's kind and it was awesome. I got to see many of the props that were used in the movies including Luke's landspeeder, I had a great time to say the least. If you're a Star Wars fanatic like myself then you owe it to yourself to visit this exhibit if it comes to a city near you.

On the WoW front I'm still level 68, it seems like I've been stuck on this level for way too long. This is most likely due to the fact that I didn't play for a few days while I was out of town. I should hit 69 either tonight or tomorrow night and then I get to use some gear I've been stockpiling in the bank. It's not epic gear of course, but it's better than what I currently have equipped. Baby steps, right?

Show Me The Gear!

2007-08-31T07:52:00.000-05:00

Since I can't really seem to get gear any other way (sighs!) I've now resigned myself to being another auction house junkie! Don't misunderstand me, there's nothing inherently wrong with the auction house, this morning I dropped about 100 gold in there. I know for you "uber" rich kids that's a mere pittance but I've worked extremely hard to get a decent amount of coin so there will be no "noob" calling within these hallowed halls.

/prepares to rant

/rant engaged

I've grown to hate the term "noob" or "newb" if you prefer, it's so childish and disrespectful. To me there is a huge difference between a "new" person in the game and a total ass clown. I have zero tolerance for ass clowns and I condemn them to a extremely painful death of your choosing. Perhaps Diet Coke of Evil can be of some assistance with the ass clowns?! So let me be perfectly clear. Everyone was new once so cut them a freakin' break and stop being so immature. If they're being an ass clown then I hearby give you permission to nuke them and turn them into silly puddy. Please let's distinguish between "new" and "ass clown" shall we?

/rant disengaged
/redirect

That said it would be really nice to get even one purple item drop. Is that really too much to ask? Will I have to drop a skill and train leatherworking to get some nice gear? Nope, that won't work cause I'll have to "hock" the farm to get the skill up to 375 and buy the mats. It looks like I will be cast into the "Eternal Gorge of Mediocrity" forever!

Props to Bengali and Trenja!

2007-08-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

The other day I was wondering around Nagrand looking for something quest related (which I don't believe I ever found) when I ran across some nice folks doing the last part of "The Ring of Blood" quest one of which was Bengali a level 70 Druid extraordinaire. Bengali asked me to join their merry band of warriors and I of course accepted. A couple of rather grizzly deaths ensued but we were able to complete the quest and kill the boss on the 3rd try. After a few celabatory cheers and pats on the back everyone mounted up and went on their way. Bengali said if I ever needed help with the quest to give him a shout so I promptly added him to my friends list.--Fast forward to the next day--Myself and a few others needed some help getting the last part of a chain quest done. I noticed that Bengali was on so I asked him if he could assist, and he was all too happy to take time out to help us. We were able to complete the quest with his assistance without any deaths and of course there was much rejoicing! Then he went above and beyond the call of duty and helped us complete two more quests. Bengali is the type of person that I really enjoy playing with, not so much because he helped me out but because of his in-game personality. It's a real pleasure to play with him and others like him. He's a shining example for others to follow, myself included. On that note I would also like to recognize my guildmate Trenja, aka Feran who has always put others before himself to lend a helping hand, his unselfishness is truly unparallelled. Without his tireless assistance I would not be where I am today in the game. So BIG PROPS go out to Bengali,Trenja and others like them who make this game worth playing.

Holy Mackerel!

2007-08-23T07:44:00.000-05:00

To be honest I have never thought too much about secondary skills except for First Aid of course. They never really seemed to hold much value to me. That said I decided to try my hand at fishing so I ran over to the fishing trainer in Stormwind and purchased a fishing pole. I was pumped as I cast my line into the Stormwind canal for the first time. I was ready to land the "big one", after all everyone needs a good fish story to tell, right? Well let me say up front that I will never be a bassmaster. Try as I might almost every fish wiggled off my hook and swam for safety. It seemed like it took an eternity to get 10 points. Every manner of fish species danced off my hook and waved their little fins goodbye. I could hear the fishing trainers snickering behind me so I promptly sent my trusty pet Redmaine to take them out with extreme prejudice. You gotta love Kill Command. The screams were deafening as Redmaine tore them to shreads and slung them all over the dock like rag dolls. The good news is I now have plenty of bait and supplies at my disposal. Hey maybe I can get my fishing skill all the way up to 20 before I hit 70.

Bam!

2007-08-20T19:50:00.000-05:00

Last night I was kinda tired of the same 'ol thing so I decided to try something new. That's right, I went to Old Town and purchased a brand new set of shiny copper cookware and started my quest to be the best chef in the land. I was able to get my cooking skill up to 130 in short order (pun intended). Once I get a bit more adept at cooking I'll be hosting a cookout in Old Town Square complete with some of my favorite dishes from around Azeroth. Mmm, I can smell the Westfall Stew wafting through the breeze as we speak. I've even heard whispers that I may get my own cooking show. I think I'll name the show "Galamar's Good Gruel to Go!".

My, Precious!

2007-08-18T11:29:00.001-05:00

After a nano-second of deliberation I decided to wander off into the depths (or would that be the heights?) of the Blade's Edge Mountains and train a level 65 Lynx. I decided to name him Redmaine, and as you can see from the pic below I believe the name is appropriate. That said sooner or later I must cease and desist with all this spontaneous pet training and settle on one main pet. When it comes to pets I'm about as fickle as they come. At this rate all my previous pets are gonna have a rather large bounty on my head for leaving them in the dust. I do like the looks of Redmaine so he may achieve "main pet" status. Although? No I can't do it, I can't abandon another pet for Hawkbane can I? An eerie voice echoes through Terokkar Forest, "Yes you can, you must get the Precious!"

Bad Mr. Kitty!

2007-08-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

"It's a tough job, but we get by one level at a time". I think I made an error in judgment when I abandoned my level 65 Frostsaber Stalker in favor of a level 60 Pride Watcher. I feel like Shallow Hal. Sighs, I'm so superficial. I was so consumed with getting the new kitty I didn't consider the consequences. Now I can't hunt where I was hunting in Nagrand because "Mr. Kitty" isn't high enough to handle it thus my play style has been dramatically altered, and not for the better. Must I go backwards? I think not, but in truth I have no one to blame but myself and life in the Outland goes on albeit at a snails pace. Hmm.. maybe I'll dump my gorilla and go train a level 65 Lynx.

Put a Sock-et In It!

2007-08-15T22:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, I admit it I'm behind the times. I just recently stumbled across some gear that could be socketed and I must say I'm like a man possessed. I'm a socket junkie looking for my next fix. I simply must get more gear that I can put gems into. I recently discovered the importance of hit rating and up until 63rd level I had a hit rating of 0. I hang my head in shame, but in all fairness I haven't seen too many people, if any with socketed gear before 60th level so I don't feel too ashamed. My hit rating is now a respectable 70 with more to come. I recently did some window/instance shopping and found some lovely boots and gloves, not too expensive that would look oh so nice with those sockets full of gems with pluses to hit rating, stamina, and agility.

Victory!

2007-08-15T07:36:00.000-05:00

Victory is mine! In my last post you may have noticed I asked the question, "Will I ever complete Hellfire Ramparts?" Well last night it happened and aside from a few deaths everything went remarkably well. Nazan, the dragonkin that has continually spit fire on me and turned me into a molten mass of elven goo went down in a heap of searing flesh and scales relatively easily. There was much rejoicing, and singing, and dancing and...and...well you get the idea. Unfortunately Hellreaver didn't drop so I'll be facing the "Eternal Gorge of Peril" until I see Hellreaver removed from the chest unto my hands. (A choir of Ahhhh's rings out) Will you join me in my quest for the Hellreaver good Sir Knight?

Hunk-A Hunk-A Burning Love!

2007-08-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

Can I get some love here? Does anyone elses group fall apart in the middle of an instance? It seems like if everyone dies once or twice it's over, stick a fork in it we're done. I can literally count on one hand (okay maybe two hands) the instances that I've completed. Will I ever be able to complete Hellfire Ramparts? Can I manage to get in a group that's undaunted by death and has the single-minded unquenching desire to kill every stinkin' boss in the instance? I've grown quite accustomed to not getting all the way through an instance, it's the norm to be sure. So I'm putting out a APB for anyone that's knows of a good group of people that won't go down without a fight. Let me feel the love people.

Rant Numéro Uno!

2007-08-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

Can you say, "Immature"? Why in the Hell do some people in the game seem to thrive on being complete idiots? It seems all they want to do is call people names, tell them how stupid they are, or steal kills and that's just the tip of the iceberg. What kind of "mental midgets" (no disrespect intended for the small people out there) are we dealing with? I was never taught to treat people badly and I don't think it's too much to ask to be treated decently in the game, or in our daily lives for that matter. I don't care who you are, young or old this behavior shouldn't be tolerated. Isn't anyone taught how to treat people with respect and decency anymore? If it were up to me I would give them one chance to correct their behavior and then if they didn't I'd handout a lifetime ban. Swift and decisive punishment is what we need. A lot of us come home from a hard day at work and want to sit down and enjoy the game and decompress for awhile. The last thing we want to deal with is the jerks that have nothing better to do than pass out insults and interrupt our game play with ridiculous antics.

The Secret of My Success!

2007-08-13T20:25:00.000-05:00

I recently re-spec'd my hunters talent tree and now I'm running the template so graciously provided by Big Red Kitty. Come with me now and look at how I spec'd Beast Mastery with a side of Marksmanship, hold the Survival please. The other 5 points I receive will be going into Mortal Shots. I plan on staying with this configuration until the expansion is released. I'm sure it will need to be re-tooled once again at that point. Please feel free to critique this template and tell me what you think. Beware, negative comments have a funny way of getting back to Big Red Kitty and I can't be held responsible for the outcome. :-)

Beast Mastery

Marksmanship

The Inaugural Post!

2007-08-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

My first post is dedicated to BigRedKitty (BRK) who's blog has inspired me to reach for the stars and go where I haven't gone before, The Black Morass? Please give a rousing ovation to BRK for his rather insightful, informative and humorous blog. 4 out of 5 hunters agree that it's the best in the land.

When it comes to WoW I'm definitely not the "be-all" to "end-all" source of unlimited information so please don't expect me to wave my "magic wand" and pull an Orc out of my hat, or dazzle you with my mathematical prowess as it pertains to WoW. The good news is that I'm learning more everyday. This blog is designed for casual players to "chime-in" with their thoughts and or suggestions regarding the hunter class in WoW. That said all character classes are welcomed to join. You may have to listen to an occassional "rant" on my part as well. I hope that's not too much of an imposition, if so then please feel free to plug your ears and start singing Ethel Merman show tunes. I especially enjoy her smash hit, "There's no business like show business".