Mini-Post: Letters From the Mists

I have been thinking lately about doing a series of letters from my characters' points of view. I'm an avid roleplayer, and I have a few ideas for some of them, misty my little panda family. It could be an interesting way to flesh out their characters, give those who read this a bit of insight into them. Now with the Siege of Orgrimmar upon us, it could also be a good way to bring their worries to the surface and hopes for the future. This idea is still in the concept stages, but I hope it will turn out well.

All Good Things Come to an End

The last night on a server before maintenance shutdown can be very strange. I had never stayed logged on long enough to experience one myself. But tonight was different. Tomorrow, as you all know, 5.4 will be released. It isn't my first major content patch, but definitely one that had changed the game world around me so radically, I don't know what to think. I started playing not long before patch 4.1 dropped, and I think this is the one content patch I'm most excited for.

I was never a big Garrosh fan. My first meeting with the man consisted of him telling me he'd personally kill my Druid if I didn't kill the Warlock who used demon magic in Ashenvale. Not exactly the greatest of first impressions there. So I never really liked the guy, despite how awesome Vid and Rades make him in their comic. So finally being able to kill Garrosh Hellscream after scaring my poor newbie self so long ago will be gratifying. Plus after all those failed For the Alliance raids, I deserve the kill, even if it is done on my hordies.

Also, I am absolutely dreading the destruction of the Vale. I have several toons camped at our faction Shrine: one because I was snagging the last few screenshots I could of the Vale, the other left there for rp reasons. I did a roleplay walk with the girlfriend on two of our Pandaren toons (my resto shammy and her mistweaver monk) to talk about the coming storm. Since my big plot point for my shaman is that he draws his healing powers from the waters of the Vale, this will affect him greatly. I obviously won't be keeping that character trait in the game all the time, but anything outside of instances will be a no-heal situation for him. My priestess has taken to hiding in the Temple of the Jade Serpent. As cliche, all too common, and poorly done as it is on rp realms, she is pregnant (I'm hoping mine isn't so horrible because she and her husband have been together for years before they decided to have cubs over the oopsie surprise pregnancy and "OMG it's so wonderful" most players go with). She needed to get out of Orgrimmar before the war, where she can be safe.

The screenshots (which are forthcoming as this is another phone post) were almost too perfect. It was a misty, gloomy night in the Vale with just the barest annoying touch of lag from everyone flying around for screenshots. My Druid, who is a different Druid from the one Garrosh yelled at, was my screenshot whore the entire time. I even joined in for a group shot over at the entry to Mogu-Shan Palace, near the Golden Lotus quartermaster. Good times, and thanks to everyone from Wyrmrest Accord who were there!

As for my goals before 5.4 launched, I made most of them. I wasn't going to try for Ahead of the Curve: Lei Shen, so that was one I didn't care about. What I did manage, however, makes me happy. I managed to get the Barrens stuff done on my two mains and I got Eternally in the Vale before the questline disappears forever. All in all, I'm pretty happy with that. I even helped the Girlfriend get her Hordebreaker title on her Alliance main tonight. So many raids on the commanders. So many people flagged for pvp. Thankfully, I know when to Feign Death. Anyway, screenshots are coming and I'll see you all on the other side when we finally stick it to Garrosh.

A Most Creepy Journey

Hello again. Long time no read, dear readers. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this blog. There just hasn't been much worthy of a post going on lately. Except for last night. While waiting for my girlfriend to do my weekly Kara run for a mount chance, a pet chance, and wonderful transmog gears, I ran around the grounds while waiting for her to finish her Shado-Pan dailies. Instead of my Kara run, I embarked on a much more exciting journey. And infinitely more creepy.
After running around the grounds, I made my way to Morgan's Plot. You know, for shits and giggles. Lo and behold, there was a group of people beyond the inaccessible gate in the crypt. They were having a little party of sorts, and they invited me to join in. Little did I know, I was joining a party in progress in the fabled Karazhan Crypt.

Oh my God, it is every bit as scary as you'd think! The most tame part was the entry area itself, before the Pauper's Walk. The fall down the Well damn near killed me due to being a derp and not popping Deterrance before I landed on the huge pile of bones at the bottom. Of course, my girlfriend declared "pics or it didn't happen." I did her one better and summoned her in. So, we did what anyone else in our position would do. Explore and screencap! (Screencaps are coming soon for this post. Posting from my phone at the doctor's office. Screencaps are here at the bottom!)

After falling down the Well and jumping off of the bone pile, I made my way to what is possibly the most creepy part of the crypt; the pool of the Upside Down Sinners. Really, screencaps cannot do this justice. And oh God, the noises. They are terrifying! If you mute your music (the standard graveyard theme) and just listen to the ambient noises, it really is creepy. It's filled with chains, the scraping of stone on stone, the occasional whooshing and building-settling creak. But the oddest part? The heartbeat. I'm not sure what Blizz was going for with that mix of noises, but it's overall very disturbing and made me go "oh holy shit" when I heard the noises for the first time.

So, after exploring on the hunter, I grabbed my DK and brought her into the group. It seems like the perfect place for a DK to live, really. Peita even claimed a crypt for herself down there. Many thanks to an awesome Warlock on WyrA for getting us down there! I will leave him nameless for now, so he doesn't get in too much trouble.

Also, if you've got the urge to hear what the crypts sound like, go to the very end of the catacombs in the Cathedral in Stormwind. The exact same ambient noises happen down there. Just be sure to turn the music off, but turn the ambient sound up! And be sure to have headphones just for the extra creep factor!

Can't Wait for 5.3!

I read over the patch notes for the 5.3 PTR a few days ago. While the PVP and Brawler's Guild changes don't phase me because I'm not a participant in those, the upcoming content is making me absolutely drool with excitement. Especially the escalation of the war to bring Hellscream down.

It pleases me to no end that dear Vol'jin will be leading the insurrection to free us from our power-mad Mag'har overlord and his Blackrock Kor'kron cronies. I have very little love for Garrosh of late, despite how adorable Rades and Vid make him in From Draenor With Love. On WyrA, my guild, Revolution, roleplays a tiny faction of like-minded Horde who want to bring Garrosh down, but we work to keep the innocent members of the Horde, those who didn't ask for this war and all things that have come with it, safe. We plan, we plot, we send members on "missions" to undermine Hellscream and escort civilians to safety in an Argent Dawn camp. To finally have characters that can have a physical in-game way to stop Garrosh and weaken his power base is something I am all for.

The next little tidbit that made me happy - hunters can now stable up to 50 pets! No more having to pick and choose who to release when I see something pretty that I want to tame! I'm not on my hunter as much anymore, but this is such good news for us, at least for the rare-tamers and pet collectors out there. At last, my little army of Dinosaurs will be in good company with the likes of Chromaggus, Ban'thalos, the Molten Front Spiders, and many more!

What are you guys looking forward to in 5.3?