WOW Notes

I actually played quite a bit this weekend, and WOW was one of the games I played.  I got all my girls through Darkmoon Faire.  I ran the race with everyone, getting nailed by new floating “Mini-Zeps” which are level 100 teeny zeppelins that sail over to you and slow you down mightily.  I just couldn’t seem to avoid them.

Since I don’t always keep up on patch notes, I noticed, but didn’t try till my last character an all new track that is at the left of the original.  Holy Moleans Rocky.  I was so unprepared for the track.  I got lost pretty quickly and was up and down the hillside and swimming through the water watching the tolls of the bell just go bong bong bong. 

I will make sure I have some Elixir of Water Walking with me next time.  Cone of shame city. I tried to just end the race by making my way back to the start but the race wasn’t having any of that. Bong bong bong!  Finally I went through the banners as they wanted me to and I could end it all. Man.

New this time around also were prizes for doing the races.  Randomly I got mostly Darkmoon Prize Tickets, but I also picked up a Stationary Carousel Gryphon Ride that you could place for three minutes (but I didn’t because…my precious…).   Good thing I have 11 characters I could run through because I really liked the possibility of getting an interesting prize and would have sent a single character through over and over to see what you could get if it were allowed (which it isn’t you only get the prize first on the run through).

I see in the PTR Patch Notes they’re bringing in a Whack-a-Mole game to the Faire and some potions, NEW FISH! and…I thought I saw cooking recipes…

Darkmoon Faire

• New Darkmoon Potions: A new set of Darkmoon potions can be purchased for one Darkmoon Prize Ticket from the Draughts and Tinctures vendor, Faldar Willowshade at the refreshments table.
• Darkmoon Fishing: The elusive Darkmoon Daggermaw can now be caught off of the shores of Darkmoon Island. Return them to Galissa Sundew at the docks for a variety of prizes.

Also highly of interest to me is the opening of the Tanaan Jungle area and missions which will get you a Shipyard for your Garrison where you could have a SUBMARINE among other ships.  So exciting!  As my niece would say: Want!

Patch Day World of Warcraft 6.1

I love a good Patch Day.   http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/17989015/61-patch-notes-2-24-2015

Although there aren’t any nice big quest lines (and there’s really no excuse for that), there are tons of things that add functionality to the game.

I am not disappointed at all that there is no flying.  The zone was designed to have treasures and puzzles and alternative activities that would be diminished by flight. 

The next Expansion should take place in some land where you’re always up in the air, always flying, and those who love to fly can zoom back and forth endlessly happy.

The next Patch should let me decorate my Garrison!  I want rugs, I want paintings, I want furniture.  I want the ability to have the buildings reflect the homelands of my characters or even let me choose the theme.

Highlights that I find interesting or worthy of comment:

Blood Elf Models:  Weren’t they already the Fairest of Them All?  Did they really need tweaking?

Twitter Integration:   I can see this being useful for some, but Like I Tweet Much.  I’m sure not connecting my Fake-O Gamer Twitter account to my real life game account.  Keep It Separate, Keep It Safe.

Toys: ….In the real world I have lots of toys.  More toys than I ought to have.  In the game they seem useless and annoying.

Garrisons:   I can’t understand why they didn’t add any Guild Functionality or even the ability to just Set Permissions so people you know can just enter without being grouped.  Or let your Alts use your stuff.  Sheesh.

I do like the New Garrison Visitors

• One of five new visitors may visit each day offering a quest to anyone that visits players with a Tier 3 Garrison.
  • Defeat a dungeon boss: Completing this daily quest awards Garrison Resources.
  • Defeat a raid boss: Completing this weekly quest awards gold and an item level 645 token with a chance for it to be an item level 655 token.
  • Bounty (intended for 2 or more players): Group up with 2 or more additional players to hunt down and defeat a powerful enemy and you’ll earn gold and a chance to get an heirloom quest item off of the creature you kill for the quest.
  • Relic: Completing these quests will reward gold and ultimately Harrison Jones as a new Follower.
  • Profession: Get your hands on more Primal Spirits, reduce surplus reagents, and buy new recipes for crafted upgrades and transmutes.
• For the Pet Battlers out there, there’s a separate chance for an additional visitor offering unique Pet Battles with a chance to award a bag containing Pet Battle items and new Battle Pets.

Harrison Jones in my Garrison!!!

I love the music of Draenor, and some other areas of the game, so I like everything that I know so far about the  New Garrison Music Box

• Players can assemble a music box allowing them to play music in their Garrisons.
• The music box can be obtained as a reward from a new quest found in your Garrison.
• New songs can be collected from throughout the world to expand your music library.

The Archaeology Follower Mission changes are my favorite part of the Follower Missions Updates

• New Profession Missions are now available on upgrading a profession building to level 3. Successfully completing these missions award an item that allows instant completion of work orders.
• Players can unlock Relic and Bounty missions for their followers by completing the corresponding Relic or Bounty quest offered by one of the random daily new visitors to the Garrison.
• New exploration missions are available to players with a skill of at least 1 in Archeology. Successfully completing these missions can award Archeology fragments, keystones, or treasure maps for a Draenor zone. Treasure maps obtained in this manner does not require quest achievement completion for the Draenor zone.
• Archeology Vendors in Stormshield and Warspear now sell an item that’ll spawn a follower exploration mission for 5 Restored Artifacts.
• New Level-100 Scouting missions to a Battlefield now awards an item that grants access to missions that award Apexis Crystals.
• New Raid missions to Blackrock Foundry are now available for a cache that awards level 665, 680, or 695 items.
• New follower missions have been added that can award gold, Apexis Crystals, Savage Blood, or Augmentation runes.
• Level 90-94 gold and Garrison Resource missions will now continue to appear even if there are no Followers that are level 90-94.
• Level-100 Garrison resource missions now award more Garrison Resources.
• Scavenger trait for Followers now increases Garrison Resources gained from a mission by 100% (down from 200%).

Darkmoon Faire (This Very Weekend!  http://youtu.be/q9eCqwzAjTY   )

• The Darkmoon Faire have added an exciting new racing event with opportunities to obtain new unique prizes!

Reagent Bank FTW and How to Get Rid of Your New Nasty Face

For my poor overloaded crafters this is a game changer. Poof and insta-bank and inventory space.  The non-crafters don’t need a reagent bank, and they gain personal bank space they never had because they were little pack mules for the “big guys”.

Sort of a House Elves situation.

The big thing I’m seeing in general/trade chat is people are horrified by their new faces.  I sure changed all mine to the un-updated models. (Shiver).

Yikes, RUN!!!!

Shrugging off the yucky face.

To get your old face back:  Game Menu/System/Advanced/Uncheck Show New Character Models

Blackwater Raiders had more people in Stormwind than I’ve seen since I first created a character there.  Nice to see.

World of Warcraft Update Tuesday

World of Warcraft is patching in the new game changes this morning.

The inventory changes are awesome.  Class changes are going to be a challenge.  I tested my Druid, Hunter, Warlock, Mage and Death Knight in Draenor.  All but the Frost Mage handled Draenor fine despite class/skill changes.  My test (Template) Shadow Priest did fine too, except she has the weakest heals ever.  Her debuffs are still great so she can handle herself.

The Frost Mage got crushed in Draenor (removal of Living Bomb, Arcane Explosion, Evocation hurt) so I’m trying to up her armor by visiting the Timeless Isle and Isle of Thunder, places I’ve never done.  She is getting crushed in those places too, on live, still having those skills.  Will have to have my spouse come to Timeless with me to get some of that gear.  Isle of Thunder…ouch, ouch. I reek at scenarios.  No question.

I’m excited for the updates anyway, I can always adapt to skill changes, and the grand land of Draenor is now weeks closer.

Since nobody really reads this I can say I predict great success for the Draenor expansion, people will love it.  I am never wrong about how a new game or update will be received.

Draenor has the best storyline I’ve seen Blizzard do.  Entering the world with Khadgar and his pals and running into those folks throughout the world really makes you feel like you’re part of something larger than yourself.  You help them, they help you. 

Some of your favorite characters from the “old world” like Fiona become your Followers.  You send them on missions, they come back with booty, they hang out in your garrison. 

It is just your garrison, but as you enter Draenor it is also the first encampment of your ragtag little group from the Tanaan Jungles.

The garrison has so much to offer, particularly at level 3.  This last character set, I just moved my Druid to 100 then went back and had all these quests to do, including some for the garrison buildings such as the Stables where I need to go out and tame a variety of Mounts.

I will say I’m not a fan of the new character models so I turned that feature off.  I think that will give Blizzard some real work, tweaking that.

The Crafting system and the Work Orders is really uninteresting.  Way too many materials are required to make anything at all.  I do like the quest lines they put in for each craft.  They really need to work on crafting. 

Otherwise, it’s all good and I will be able to grit my teeth and send characters through still detestable Pandaria now, knowing Draenor awaits them.