Simple Warcraft

At level 42 I received Death Coil for Frel. I paid for it and then completely forgot I had the dang spell. When I look in my spell-book it blended in between Curse of Weakness and Drain Life. Both of those have lime green icons too. So I never used it before last night. While reorganizing my tool bar and glancing down the list to see how I can be deadlier, my son asked me what Death Coil does. Death Coil makes Frel own opponents. Dang I have been wasting some time and I wondered what the Horde locks were doing to me. Now I know that Death Coil gives my targets a nice little hickey and I think it is a great way to start a fight. Immolate follows since all non undead should be in fear. When the fear wears off I run and cast Corruption, Curse of Agony, and finish the job with Shadowburn. And the moral of the story is, inventory your spells often.

Today I left Warsong Gulch (WSG) without a soul shard in box that holds 16. Very disappointing performance for the Alliance. But I have my Rune of Perfection. This provide me +7 to Stamina and increases my Spell Penetration by 20. Worth the pain. Still I intend to earn the Dryad’s Wrist Bindings, but I shall enter WSG to earn those via Stormwind as I want to pick up the battleground quests. The Lorekeeper’s Staff is tempting me again. I had the level 28 version before, but it is currently in the bank waiting to be disenchanted. I think I am going to wait for level 58 before I pick up a more powerful version of it. The other gear is nice but I don’t want to take the time. Frel needs to get up to 70. And there is Arathi Basin goods I want to peruse too.

My next stop is Gadgetzan where my hearth is set. There I can grind myself a few soul shards without leveling I hope. The last thing I want is to ding before I earn 2o more WSG medals. Level 50 PVP would be painful. In Gadgetzan I also get to kiss some Winter Revelers too. Hahaha! They give me holly, which turns my Felsteed into a reindeer. Cute. Scorpid Hunters, Glasshide Basilisks, Starving Blisterpaws, and Rocs make easy grinding with xp that will not promote. Hit them with the three basic dots and bash on them with my sword until they are ready to harvest a soul shard. Only problem is skipping the level 40s as they offer no xp and therefore no shards. In 20 minutes I have 16 soul shards, which fits in my Box of Souls quite nicely. Any more and it will spill into my regular bags and take up room for other gear. I luck out on my last kill and pick up a Ravager’s Shield. That should bring me a few gold from the AH.

Back to town to sell and repair. Then I catch a bird bound for Theramore. There I shall take passage on a ship bound for Menethil Harbor and connect to a flight that shall carry me to Stormwind. Then more battlegrounds. Hopefully, I can do some enchanting and tailoring while I am there too. And I might fish too.

But plans change and I realize that Frel has been hurting because she lacks First Aid skills. I find the First Aid trainer and pay for Journeyman Skills. Then I ride to the AH to buy some linen cloth and there is absolutely none to be had. So I rode to the border of Westfall and grinded gnolls for about two hours. While there I helped some lowbies fight Hogger and recruited one of them into my guild. I even gave him a green axe I picked up and some coin. Really wanted to tell him to earn it the old fashioned way, by killing mobs, but I was nice. It was a lot of fun killing gnolls though. I rarely used magic either. Chopping away with my sword, while using my pet imp as added fire power.

I ran back to Stormwind to get heavy linen bandages and then returned for more gnoll grinding. Killed gnolls until I reached 80. Then I went back to SW and learned wool bandages. Rode to the AH and there was plenty of wool to be had. Stopped when Frel reached 115, but I still need to get up to 125, so I can use the Arathi Basin bandages I bought last time I visited. Lowbies I suggest you learn First Aid. It is a good skill no matter what your class might be.

The third character that I created is named Rew. He is a level 39 Tauren Druid with Feral spec who resides on the Frostmane server. For a little change of pace I decided to put him on and visit Arathi Basin.

I tend to stay in cat form when I PVP. In cat form I can smell out the enemy and then stealth up to them. Then I pounce on my target which stuns them and with any luck I can produce enough damage to reduce them to half their health. It’s fun and quick, but there is always techniques to counter my abilities. Rew seems to get slowed a lot of times by Frost Mages. They have an ability that binds you for a few seconds in ice. I discovered that I can break that bind by changing shape, usually to Tauren so I can cast a spell or two at the offending mage.

Really got upset a bit last night. I got a phone call and it took me away from the game long enough to get booted since I was AFK. This marked me as a deserter and prevented me from re-entering. Really annoying that.

In September my son started 8th grade. His friends wanted to make new characters and wreck havok upon WOW. They picked the Anvilmar server, which surprised me since that is a PVE server. Frel joined this rowdy bunch. I don’t see many of the lads anymore. Despite this Frel has made it to Level 49 with the Affliction spec.

Since Rew cannot PVP, Frel gets the nod. Only she is located at Warsong Gulch. I am really enjoying the battlegrounds with Frel for she can ride a Felsteed now and this gets her across the valley so much quicker. I like to send her out into the battlegrounds with her pet, Succubus. The pet’s seduction ability is vital to Frel’s survival on the field. A second attacker is usually held in place by the Succubus while Frel deals with the first assailant. The usual strategy for Frel is to dot everything in site. Usually hit the target with Immolate first as Frel must remain stationary when casting this spell. Next comes Corruption followed by Curse of Weakness most of the time. The last two spells are instants allowing Frel to move and cast them. Often when I see three or more enemies I try and cast Corruption and a Curse quickly on each of them. I throw in Shadow Bolt or Searing Pain, but I must be still when casting so these may not be skipped. Occassionally, I cast Drain Soul when I need Soul Shards, but I am a sitting duck while channeling this. When an enemy comes at me I cast Fear, unless they are Undead. When I see an opponent low in health I cast Shadowburn, an instant that can finish them off quickly. I like that I can move and cast Shadowburn, but it does cost a Soul Shard, which I can get back by the target dying within two seconds. Recently, I discovered Life Tap is a good source of mana when Frel is running low, though it comes with a price in health. Drain Life can get you the health back. The best times to drain are when you Fear an opponent or they are locked into combat with a friend.

Warsong Gulch is a Capture the Flag game. First side to capture the flag three times is the winner. I enjoy this a lot. Especially if I can find some decent fighter types to be near. I support them and they tank as I dot. Frel is usally in the top three for kills and damage. I never take the flag as Frel. She is too, uh, frail to handle it, not to mention slow. And you cannot carry the flag while mounted. Frel would rather bring hell down upon the folk that try and stop her side’s flag carrier.

But why PVP? It is all about the gear. The PVP vendors have some nice equipment that can only be paid for in medals from fighting and honor from kills. My son did battlegrounds all of the time. I would watch him and I thought that this is just not for me. In September I tried it out with Frel for the first time. It was incredible fun. My opinion is PVP makes you a better player all around. When playing against a human instead of a program, one has to try different approaches. Some of these approaches can translate well when leveling. The only thing that does not happen when you PVP is earning experience, with the exception of a couple of quests.

PVP is best done when you are up in the nines. You notice Rew is 39 and Frel is 49 while PVPing. The minute they ding, I shall not spend another minute in PVP. They are not going PVP until they are at least 47 and 57 respectively. Why? Because the battlegrounds are set up by levels starting at x0 to x9. If you are a lower level in PVP you are just giving the other side honor and hurting your own cause. Death comes too quick for low levels. Honestly, when I become aware of a lowbie I hunt them down. Give me that easy kill. Honor is what spends at the PVP vendor so I am gunning for low levels. No apologies from me if you stick a level 30 against 39s. Do the math.

I want to ding 13 so I am back on. Quickly kiss a Winter Reveler before leaving for Duskwither Spire. Time to go back and finish this quest. Deactivate the first spire just in time for a mob to come attack me. While that mob attack occurs another mob respawns and then a PAT comes in to complete my kill. Still took two of them with me. And if I remembered Healing Potions I might have beat them all. I had no problems deactivating the other power sources after I rezed.

After that I needed to locate the groundskeeper who has been abandoned by the Magister and his apprentices. I agree to help by grinding the mobs in the area. I complete it in short order. Then I travel to Farstrider Retreat to give the Magister his book. Turn in the quests there and I have 11 bubbles filled on my experience bar.

Now I need to locate the Eastern Runestone. Looks like I am going right back to where I left. I go around grinding and looking and realizing that I have bad info this time. I use the Light Headed addon for quest info when I get stuck and to provide way points for my Tom Tom addon. I go to Thottbot and look at map they have. I am way off course. Got to get moving.

I find the Eastern Runestone and infuse the crystal and get swarmed by undead. I do not know how I survived. Somehow I feel the quest was nerfed. Since I am near the Ghostlands I cross the river and go look for Plagued Blood Samples.  The drop rate for this quest is really low, but it has some decent grinding so it is not so bad. I go give the blood to the apothecary and the courier is healed. Then I take on his message which directs me back to the Deadlands.

But first I want to turn in my quest from powering the runestone. The Runestone Falthias is too near and with that xp award I am 464 points away from dinging. Delivering the message should get me where I want to be today.

I find the village at Tranquillien and deliver the message. Sure enough I ding. And looks like this shall be quest giver headquarters. Here I meet Forsaken for the first time. These are undead that do not follow the Scourge and have an agenda that allies them with the Horde. I pick up several new quests, including a flight path quest. Finally, I can start doing a little air travel. So I fly back to Silvermoon City via bat.

First I go to the bank and put on my Mystic Slippers and dance a jig. I smelt some copper and visit the inn to cook Herb Fresh Eggs. I killed a lot of Dragonhawks today. Enough to make 20 servings which I sell. Then I visit the Cook Trainer and pay for my Journeyman Cook skill and learn how to make Boiled Clams and Coyote Steak. Both of these recipes are nice as they confer a well fed status on those who eat these dishes. This is why I learned to cook. I then craft myself an Ornate Tigerseye Necklace that provides +2 Spirit bonus. Only problem is I cannot wear it until I am level 15. Oh well. It is there when I level up.

I’ll clear my bags at the bank and then go back to the inn and call it a night. After kissing the Winter Revelers. You can never have enough snowflakes or mistletoe.

Every class has talents with three different trees or specs to choose from. For a Priest there is Discipline, Holy, and Shadow. Originally, when I conceived Invy I wanted to make her an uber-healer. But when my son and his chum decided they want Invy to be one of the three amigos we looked at what we were working with, a Paladin, a Mage, and a Priest. We decided that the Paladin will go Holy and my Priest shall spec Shadow.

I use a Talent Point Planner addon, called Planner, which I use to plot out Invy’s spec all the way to level 70. Her talent plan is 14/5/42 (Discipline/Holy/Shadow). Hopefully, this spec shall be a winning one. Admittedly, I did not look at any others Priest’s talents or browse any Priest guides. This could be a big mistake down the road, but one that cannot be overcome by spending some gold to re-spec. The real problem in re-specing is if you have been focusing on Shadow gear and then suddenly you go Holy. After that you need to dump your Shadow gear and go visit the AH to find new items to empower yout Holy needs.

For my first talent point I spend it on Blackout. This give Invy a 2% chance to stun a target for three seconds when she hits them with any Shadow damage. That is a long shot to work but it could save her life in a pinch. I plan to put five points in this talent so eventually Invy has a 10% chance to stun her opponent. Then it shall make the talent investment worthwhile.

I have printed screenshots of the talent screen. The number on the lower left is the plan, while the number on the right is the actual/maximum for each power.

But enough time on this. Now is time to go questing once again. But not before kissing a Winter Reveler for another Handfull of Snowflakes. I move towards the Anchorage, stopping to mine my recently found copper veins.

My next quest has Invy grinding on Murlocs. These frog folk are one of my least favorite creatures to encounter. They are tough and they tend to run for help. These runners can agro multiple mobs so you have to be prepared or your hero shall find themselves in the graveyard. They hang close together but you can find a straggler. I thought I found one, but soon had three ganged up on me. Only my shield and fast feet saved me.  Murlocs have lots of Pats and they show up at inopportune times. And they can breathe underwater so look out for them there too. One thing good about a Murloc villages is you usually find drops in them. It makes all the suffering worthwhile. Though not so much today. All it offered was quest items.

With the Murlocs finished, Invy wants to take care of those Darkwraiths and then investigate the Scorched Grove further. I did stop by Lord Saltheril’s party and clicked on my party invite. I think it allowed me to eat his food and drink. So I gathered all of his wine and food until my bags were full. Now I’ll go see if I can sell it. No dice, the merchant won’t buy it. Oh well, worth a try.

At this point Exodin, the Paladin, joined me again and we wasted the Darkwraiths with the same tactic that worked on the Wretched. He agroes and I heal and shield him. Next we go to the Scorched Grove. But then he has to leave so I am on my own. Such is WOW.

I died twice fighting Withered Green Keepers. Once was cool as we hit simultaneously and both died. I never saw that happen before. Then I realized the one I killed was named Old Whitebark. Feel better knowing he is a boss. Nice drop with the Gypsy Cloak and his pendant starts a quest. I ding 11 while questing here. Whitebark’s Memory was an interesting quest too with an unexpected boss battle. I survived and with full bags I hearth back to Silvermoon. I need to sell, repair and smelt copper. And of course I kiss a Winter Reveler.

I go to the forge first and smelt 50 copper bars. Dang I did not know I gathered that much. This gets my skill up to level 58 and that allows me to become a Journeyman Miner. So I visit the Mining Trainer and pay for it. I see that I can make a lot of copper wire now too. But I think I shall visit the Jewelcrafting Trainer before I craft anything. I visit her and I see that I can make a Heavy Copper Ring. I pay for that privilege and make three real quick. Then I discover that I know how to make Woven Copper Ring which increase Intelligence by one. Big miss there. That increases my mana so I want to wear that. But I like Stamina too. So I may dump the ring I made yesterday. I also have to buy a Jeweler’s Kit for the Heavy Copper Ring. I make three of each and I’ll let the boys tell me what they want and sell what they do not.

After the rings are crafted my skill increases to 32 opening up five new items. These are a Malachite Pendant, Prospecting, Tigerseye Band, Inlaid Malachite Ring, and Ornate Tigerseye Necklace. I pay for them on the spot. Tigerseye Band provides +2 Strength. Malachite Pendant gives the wearer +2 Agility. Ornate Tigerseye Necklace provides +2 Spirit. Inlaid Malachite Ring provides +2 Agility. Nice stuff. I have picked up a Tigerseye gem too, but I shall save it for later. Prospecting allows me to search through ore for precious gems. That can be handy. I think I like Jewelcrafting more than I anticipated.

Now I need to repair my gear and find a bank. No use adventuring with copper wire and a jewelry kit taking up bag space. I also leave my Heavy Copper Ring as I cannot wear that until I am level 12. Tasks complete, Invy is ready for questing. But first I stop at Stillwhisper Pond for a little fishing. I apply the shiny bauble as it confers +25 to my Fishing skill. This bonus last for 10 minutes. I won’t fish any longer than that if I do not have to. Ten minutes was long enough to get my skill up to 30. I shall sell the fish to the first merchant I meet.

I run over to Farstrider Retreat. Time to fight some unruly trolls. The first Amani Berserker kills me but I watch him drop also. A little satisfying there. But I need to be cautious and play smarter. Soon I discover Tor’Watha the Amani home I presume. I confirm that I am correct soon enough. Good grinding ahead. I find a boss called Spearcrafter Otembe. He provides my first green drop ever, Severing Axe of the Boar. After that an Amani Berserker dissects me. Just when I thought I figured out how to beat them too. There is a prisoner with a quest I want to see about. Turns out he is a troll also and has been poisoned by his captors. He wants me to kill the Amani chief and of course I accept. I meet Shinanigann the Warlock and ask if she wants to help. She just runs off. That happens. I’ll kill the boss some how.

While looking for the chief I see some buildings across Lake Elrender. I go and check them out. There I see more trolls, so maybe this is the place. The area is called Zeb’Watha and this is the grandest structure so far. I clear the mobs outside and luck out when one steps out of the house. I finish off the mobs in the house and find the Chief upstairs. I dispatch him and discover Amani Invasion Plans. This means I need to get back to Farstrider Retreat and warn them. I turn in quests and then I remember the prisoner.

So I run back and kill Spearcrafter Otembe again for a nice drop. Now I need to warn Fairbreeze Village of the coming troll attack. Once I deliver the news I see that Invy only needs 447 xp to ding. So I’m going to grind a bit to level up. This is one of the rare times that I kill all that I encounter. I kill my first Crazed Dragonhawk and discover they have eggs. Great. I can work on my cooking. In time I ding and then hearth back home.

I use prospecting for the first time and I get some Malachite and Tigerseye. I smelt the rest on the way to getting new spells. I must confess that I am a little concerned. Usually, a class receives a class quest at level 10. I did not see one here then or now. I may have to go back to Falconwing Square to make sure I am not missing something vital for my class. New spells for my class are Inner Fire (shield spell), Levels 2 for both Power Word: Fortitude and Power Word: Shield in the Holy realm. No other spells from Discipline or Shadow.  My Talent Point goes to Blackout. This really has helped me, especially against the Amani Berserkers.

I shop a bit and buy another small pouch. Why don’t I ever seem to get these as a drop anymore? Then I found the AH and listed the items I cannot use. Next is a purchase of mild spices which are used to cook Herb Baked Eggs. These are then sold. My cooking skill in now at 37. I need to find some recipes for critters living around here. Or kill more Crazed Dragonhawks for their eggs. I find the First Aid Trainer as my skill is now at 43. He teaches me the Heavy Linen Bandage skill.

Then I receive a package from Unguard, my son’s friend’s character. He has sent me a lot of great gear that he picked up in Rage Fire Chasm. These include Shadow Wand, which is much better than the Hoodoo Wand I picked up from the prisoner quest. It does 10-19 Shadow damage.  Next is Aboriginal Sash of the Whale, a belt with 16 armor +2 Spirit +1 Stamina. Mystic’s Bracelets provide 13 armor +1 Stamina and +2 Intellect. The Ancestral Tunic looks awesome with 25 armor +1 Stamina and +2 Intellect. Native Pants of the Owl is the next item he sent and this has 23 armor +1 Intellect and +2 Spirit. Last, yes there is more, kinda embarrassed, I have Mystic Slippers with 22 armor +2 Stamina and +2 Intellect. Though I cannot wear the slippers until I reach level 13. I kinda feel like twink now. We’ll have to see how much better I do on the quests though. Level 12 is still a bit low for Warsong Gulch. That is enough for now.

Invy is looking good.

The Outriders immediately put me on a quest to find a the body of a slain Outrider. The Wretched have made Silvermoon City a dangerous place. But danger is part of being a hero in WOW. There are no other available quests so I proceed with an open eye for any profession trainers.

Since I am playing on a Saturday morning there are more people online. When I pass others I make sure to buff them with my Power Word: Fortitude spell. If they can buff back they do and one Paladin even gave me a cheer. This is small stuff but it makes the game more fun as you interact with others.

I arrive at Falconwing Square where there are multiple quests to take on. The quest I received from the Outrunners takes me to the inn. I make this inn my home, so that my hearthstone shall bring me here when I choose to. This is important as whenever logging off the character should stay at an inn for the rest bonus. This bonus gives a boost to experience points earned while grinding the next time you play. And one of my goals is to level up quickly. At least with this character it is.

My wanderings about the square also locate the Priest Trainer and some merchants. But I do not buy, holding on to my coin for those elusive profession trainers. The first one I find is the First Aid trainer. Now as a healer you might think the First Aid profession is something to pass on. But bandages do not cost manna and some days you need to use band-aids first. Just something I have learned the hard way with my druid and warlock. Next I find the Cooking Trainer. Cooking is also important as you gain levels as there are a number of recipes that provide temporary stat boosts and they help you recover health outside of combat. I also find the Tradesman merchant. He shall be more important once I pick out my primary professions.  I cannot locate the Skinning and Mining profession trainers and decide to quest.

I go to the Dead Scar and it is here that I die for the first time. A Plagueborn Pillager kills me despite the arrival of a level 70 Blood Elf Paladin. Oh well. Always a first and I know it shall not be the last. After I resurrect I met a lvl 15 Hunter by the name of Oneco and we grouped. We grinded all across the Dead Scar looking for the rangers. We went south, but the rangers were north. Whoops. The rangers had quests for me too. This sent me back to killing more Plagueborn Pillagers. A lot easier with a level 15 hunter at my side. Help like this is always welcome. As Invy increases in level she will take the time to help others develop their characters too.

I reached  level 6 so it is back to Falconwing Square for training. Once there I am taught Power Word: Shield,  and Smite level 2. The shield is going to be a help as it absorbs damage. And causing more damage with Smite is definitely a boost to my meager attack ability. For completing a Priest quest I received the Robes of Silvermoon, my first green item. It provides 10 armor and +1 Spirit boost. It is also soulbound which means I cannot give it to someone else or sell it at the AH. I could sell it to a vendor or disenchant the robes if I choose Enchanting as a profession. But for now I am wearing these fine threads.

I went out into Silvermoon City and tried out my new abilities on some quests. And I have a lot more respect for Priests in the game now. The shield spell helps me out a lot. Now I Shadow Word: Pain the target, then hit with Smite, and turn on the armor. I took little damage. Add Mana Tap and Arcane Torrent when I fight mobs with mana and I hardly have to stop to drink to regain mana. This character is going to be more fun than I thought. After taking care of quests I decided to work on my cooking and made 30 spice bread. That turned spice bread skill from orange to yellow, which means leveling will not be automatic. So I stop and sell the bread I just made. Time to go quest some more.

This time I am going to do a bounty quest. A lot of towns and cities post signs that have these bounties. They are easier to find now that WOW added the exclamations on the mini-map and even over the bounty itself. Before you really had to keep an eye out for these. This bounty is for one of the Wretched and the name of the quest is Thaelis the Hungerer. This quest sends me back into Silvermoon City. Probably should have done this the last time I quested that way, but my bags were full and I need all of the coin I can find. So when the bags are full I sell.

Invy does not kill mana filled opponents as quickly now, if she does not have to. I hit with the spells and the shield protects her as she slowly bashes them with her mace draining the mob of their mana. This is incredibly cool. As I approach the boss I notice a lot of nearby mobs. This means I have to deal with them first. If not they might agro (attack me) when I am in the middle of a boss fight. That is a bad situation that I prefer to avoid. I also look for Pats (Patrols). Wandering mobs that can show up and agro as well. I find Thaelis, but at the same time I see a warlock getting mugged. I cast a heal on her and we group long enough to kill Thaelis. Clothies (characters limited to cloth armor) have to stick together.

So I turn in the quest for my 2s 50c which is nice at this level. Then lag hits the server really bad. Makes it difficult to sell my trash. I log out and back in to see if that might help.  It seems too.

The quests now take me to the south, where I locate the North Sanctum for a quest that sends me to the West Sanctum. Another place I intend to visit because of other quests. I help some apprentices on the road try to find their master’s book and promise to deliver it to him as well. They allowed the book to be ruined and they ask me to fib for them. On the way to the West Sanctum I discover Fairbreeze Village. I see exclamation points, so I must pick up those quests and see if any professions have trainers here. I find an inn, but no trainers. They do have pets for sell. Dragonwing hatchlings  are available but way beyond my ability to pay. Still I want one, so I shall return.

I discovered the East Sanctum which is overrun by the Scourge. These things hit a little harder and my shield goes away quicker so I cannot toy with them as I did with the lower level mobs. While questing here I ding level 8. The creatures I’m fighting are getting a little tougher so I opt to visit my friendly trainer and get some new spells. I learn Renew, which is a heal over time spell (HOT), and Fade which discourages enemies form attacking me. Adjust my toolbar with the new spells and I am off to kill some Scourge.

Returned to the Dead Scar only to die for the second time. Rats. Level 10 Darkwraiths hit me hard despite all my well laid strategies. I’ll just settle for leveling a bit before taking on these boys unless I can group. For quick leveling you never wanna waste your time on quests where you die a lot. There is an easier quest somewhere that will help you increase level. Then go back and when you are more capable of dealing with a tough mob. But make sure you resurrect in a good spot. I did not and agroed another Darkwraith immediately and died.

While trying to find a safe place to cross the Dead Scar I discovered the Runestone Falithas where I picked up a new quest. Finally made it across and went to a building that has a quest giver for a higher level. I then decided to cut back across the Dead Scar and seek out the Western Sanctum. I found the Scourged Grove and looked at my map. I think I traveled too far south so I head back to Fairbreeze Village seeking the road west out from there. It led me to Saltheril’s Haven. I found an Alchemy Trainer and an Enchanting Trainer. I meet Lord Saltheril and I can see why the Blood Elves are in trouble. The kingdom is falling apart but he only cares about throwing a good party. Kept heading down the road and found folks that had been kicked out of the Anchorage. I took the quests offered but I still want to find the Western Sanctum.

I swim the river and explore over there. I can see a building and I hope that might be the location I seek. Finally, I find the Western Sanctum. I discover and kill a Darnassian intruder from the hated Night Elves. One drop I pick up off his corpse gives me a quest. So always check your drops for this kind of quest. The sooner you now the requirements the better. I grouped with a Paladin and knocked out some grinding around the West Sanctum. Then I hearthstoned back to my inn to turn in quests and empty my bags.

When I arrived in the inn I kissed a Winter Reviler under the mistletoe and received a Handful of Snowflakes. I also decide to break my usual strategy on taking two gathering professions. My son and his friend want to make Blood Eves and join me. To make our professions work with each other I opt for Mining and Jewelcrafting. There is a Jewelcrafting Trainer at the inn and I learn apprentice skills. Then I go kill a Dwarven spy and it serves him right for what he did to the Western Sanctum.

I still want to find the main city and finally I locate the Shepherd’s Gate and enter the Walk of Elders. This is the Silvermoon City I have sought. Here I can locate a Mining Trainer and Fishing Trainer. I find the Fishing Trainer first. Fishing may be considered boring by some. But it is not a bad thing to do to while killing time. Plus certain fish are worth some good coin as magical reagents. And in certain recipes you gain bonuses from eating fish that you cook. Next I find the Mining Trainer. This is skill shall provide ingredients I need for jewelcrafting and I can also sell mined items on the AH. Now I can make some money. First thing I do now is click on my Find Minerals ability and I will go dig them up. Then I go shopping for a fishing pole,  shining baubles, and a pick. I also set my inn to this location.

Next I find Stillwhisper Pond and snitch on those lying apprentices. I am given a quest that has a bag for a reward. At this level I want some pouches so this is priority. to complete. I also dinged level 9 when I discovered this area.

Because I thought another place I needed to pickup a quest item was nearby I discovered Duskwither Spire. Really nice place with some grinding quests. The visuals here are fantastic. I did not enjoy them too long as I died. My soul went to the graveyard (gy) at Farstrider Retreat and I decided to rez here. I have a quest pickup here so I am saving time. My return to Duskwither Spire can occur when I ding level 10.

I take the good lord his party supplies and he gives me an invite top the party. Not sure what to do with it yet. But while I am there I detect my first copper vein and I take advantage of that and pull out my pick. I also punished the apprentices as I passed them on the road, I so want that bag.

With the new bag on my belt I figure I can ding level 10 at the Anchorage. Enough grinding there to certainly boost me up. Plus I grouped with Exodin a Paladin (and friend of my son) and we take on the Wretched. This was a good experience for me to learn my Priest abilities. Exodin wanted to go agro a group of mobs while I hung back and healed him. This worked excellent. I would throw shield on him first. Every now and then I might even dot the mobs. But I also had to be concerned about conserving mana. No matter what I had to make sure he could be healed. During this run I only died once and that was because we separated and I tried to take on a boss by myself.

I turn in the quests and ding 10. Next step is hearth to the Silvermoon City and go get training. First I smelt some rough copper ore into copper bars. Then I turn that copper wire into delicate copper wire which is then converted into 3 braided copper rings. One for me and the other two for my son and his friend. This increases our Spirit +1. I find the Priest Trainer in the Sunfury Spire. My new spells are Lesser Heal Level 3, Resurrection, Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain Level 2, and Touch of Weakness.

I also have access to talents. This will be addressed with the next post.

I try to visit the auction house for each server I have characters every morning. I run a scan by means of the Auctioneer addon. This looks at every auction on the server and stores the information on available items, the bid price and buyout prices. Then I do searches for bargains. Here I try to find things one of my characters can use or I look for cheap items I can relist on the Auction House (AH) for a profit.

Once I pick up purchases I then list the items I wish to sale.  Note I only list on Thursday through Sunday. The activity on the AH in the beginning of the week is slow. Those days are still scanned for bargains however. With auctioneer I can get an average price for items from the various bids. Still you need to exercise judgement. Low level gear is not going to bring you gold, but silver is still nice and it adds up. Comparing items is important for getting a grasp on the price you want to sell at. You are put to make a profit. Never undersell yourself.

When it comes to bidding always leave a buyout price. Most buyers do not want to wait for your auction to run its course. Also leave your bids up as long as you can. They just increased to 48 hours. Take advantage of that. I tend to use the lower level characters to handle the AH on most servers. They wait by the mail box and deliver items to the bank or list on the AH depending on my goal for the item. Also this should only be done for the faction AH and not the neutral AH in Booty Bay or Gadgetzan. They do not get the same activity as the faction AH achieve.

Today I am going to create a new character. The first thing in selecting a character is picking the server. I am selecting the Frostmane server as I have two Horde characters already residing at this location. Next I pick my race, a Blood Elf for the first time.  I want this character to be a female Priest. Once that is settled I choose her skin color, face, hair style, hair color, and earrings. Last I pick her name, Invy. I like to keep my names short and easy to remember. It helps other players remember you in my opinion. So with all of that done we can now enter the World of Warcraft.

Half way through my quest my backpack is full. Since I am not far from the merchant I go sell my trash. Since I am there I turn in quests and ding. I also dinged while questing so I am level 4. At even levels you gain new spells so I am off to the trainer. My Lesser Heal is improved and I receive Shadow Word: Pain which is a DOT spell or damage over time. This does 30 shadow damage over 18 seconds. So this is the first spell to hit a mob with. I am used to DOT spells from my Warlock.

The first thing we go through is a little movie that gives a basic history of the Blood Elves. This introduces their story and that is one of the attractions to me for WOW. And that is the underlying story the character lives through. I use addons, one of which affects my tool bars, so I have to adapt this interface for the new character. On a later day I shall go into addons in more detail.

I take a quick snapshot of my character with an addon called snapshot to record how she looks. And then I am off to find the quest givers, marked by golden exclamation marks above their head. The first quest is Reclaiming Sunstrider Isle. Thie requires that I kill 8 mana wyrms. My reward is going to be a belt, wyrm sash, and 30 copper(c). Since I am killing mobs (the term for the characters and creatures you encounter), this is a grinding quest. Grinding is when you kill mobs for experience to better your character or for the drops (items that you can loot).

I believe in questing as a way to level fast, which improves your character. I also like to be efficient, which means I like to grab every quest I can. As I look at the mini-map I can see no exclamation marks, but when I do I go straight to them. Stopping only to kill mana wyrms.

Starting off I have neophyte’s mace for physical attacks. But being a priest I also have spells.  Smite does Holy damage to my assailants, I can also steal mana from them by means of Mana Tap. Arcane Torrent creates silence which I imagine hinders other spells being cast. I also have Lesser Heal to remove my damage.

This first quest is an easy one with little chance of death. The nice part is that I ding as soon as I killed the 8th Mana Wyrm. Ding is the term used to signify a level increase. Once the quest is completed I turn it in. The quest giver that awards me is marked by a golden question mark now. Once I return to her she gives me my wyrm sash, coin, and experience points. Now I put on my new belt by opening my bag and left clicking on the belt. Just like that I can wear it. I also picked up an Unkempt Cloak. Wearing better gear is important as it provides armor increases, which help you survive greater challenges.

Now I can see four quests on the mini-map. I am going to pick them up. Also I am going to look for a shop so I can sell the trash drops that I do not want to keep. One of the quests is a class quest. These are quests that only priests may do. In this case it introduces me to the Priest Trainer in the Sunspire. She also teaches me new spells, which I pay for. At level 2 I receive Power Word Fortitude which increases my stamina attribute by 3 for 30 minutes. I add this new spell to my bar so I can cast it quickly and then I cast it on myself. I can also cast this on others I meet. This helps characters and they are referred to as buffs.

After running around collecting quests, some of which sent me to find other quest givers I have collected a list of five. One quest is a training quest as it wants me to use the mana tap ability on six creatures. Another is a collecting quest, in which I seek specific items to retrieve for the quest giver. The next quest is historical in nature, ordering me to read a shrine about the Blood Elf past. The other two quests are grinding types. So to be expedient I shift click on the quests and this provides me with to do list. Much easier to recall the tasks I seek to accomplish by preparing this.  Note you are limited to five on the list. I will go find the objects and seek the shrine, grinding as I go for the sake of efficiency.

I go finish the other two quests and return to the guest givers. I am awarded with copper and gear. I also receive one more quest. I’m hoping this can take me to level five. Level five characters can learn professions and that helps with making coin.  I ding level five after turning in a quest, but there is one more quest to do on Sunstrider Isle, Felendren the Banished. He is a Blood Elf that has become addicted to magic and must be killed lest he strike out against his own people. Once the quest is done I am ready to leave the starting area and go aid the Outrunners near Silvermoon City. This took two hours of play time, but I was stopping to type too. Ciao.

I’ll be waiting outside Silvermoon City for a bit.

Who you want me to kill? Oh wait I am not playing my Orc now. So I’ll be civil and put down the axe. Okay on the table and not some goblin’s head.

I am happy to finally have got this blog settled into place. For this blog I had to do all the file extracting and ftping rubbish that I did not have to do with my Simple America blog. I see that this blog editor has a few more tools. Spell checker is nice to have. Must see about adding that to the other blog. And now I have colors to play with. On the other blog I have been playing with html to fiddle with colors. There are styles too. I can be a lot prettier blog now.

But enough about that stuff. The purpose of this blog is to write about playing Warcraft. This includes all aspects from the real time strategy (RTS), multi-man online (MMO), and the collectible card game (CCG). I have played all three sets of Warcraft RTS though I have not completed Warcraft 3. This is something I must go back and complete as it will help me with roleplaying on roleplaying servers (RP). I have several characters in the MMO on both sides of the fight, Alliance and Horde. I have tried all of the races except Gnome and Blood Elf. Also tried all of the classes except a Priest. I have the least experience in the CCG. Have purchased a few sets and I am still learning how to build a good deck. Problem is the only other player I know is my son. Would not mind looking for local tournaments as there are some folks that play this games for big prizes. And by prize I mean thousands of dollars, even up to six figures for the main championship. I’m showing my ignorance here as I do not know the name of said championship. 

Most of my focus is going to be on the MMO. I have not played the game that long. My first character crossed the Mulgore in May 2007. I am not trying to represent myself as a pro gamer. Honestly, I am a gamer geek that created his first game in the third grade. A simple war game where I dropped a pencil and if it hit the dot that represented a soldier, that soldier died. Most battles were at the Alamo, though in my game the Texans usually won. Since then I have looked for more complicated games. From chess, to strategic war games, then role playing and finally computers.  I just want to write about my experience with Warcraft. Share things I have seen and done. Maybe someone can learn something to improve their game. That would make this endeavor worth all the while.