Return of the Druid: Episode 2: Shaman

SWTOR Update
I rarely log on anymore. :( It's mainly because it's just an unpleasant experience. Going from WoW, which plays smoothly, to SWTOR which is a hit or miss, was getting kinda distressing. I would like to PvE in the game, but I'm just so disinterested that maybe I don't want to. It's a shame because I want to like the game, but I've been finding more shortcomings then wins. If I could get into another class, then I think I would go for it, and while I really enjoyed the play style of the Jedi Sentinel, I really don't find the story interesting. Playing Sith is always an option, but noone in my guild plays Sith so I am usually alone. I did finally finish chapter 1 on my Sith Inquisitor Assassin on a different realm. The sith storylines are just so much more interesting. Force Storm is way more OP then Forcequake (just saying). Assassin leveling has been odd at best. I've been going the tank route, just for pure survivability, and I find it a simple, Thrash, Shock, Thrash, rotation of boredom. Still, my survivability is more important than interest, and I've never been one for the "theif" lifestyle. I've read on forums that like fine wine, Assassin gets better with age, so maybe I can try the cool specs once I get there. BTW, my legacy title is Hellscream :3, befitting of a Sith in my opinion.

WoW: Zee Shaman
I had mentioned before that I was feeling indecisive about doing shaman or priest. Priest basically overwhelmed me with all its functions as a healer. This is what happens when I come from a class with a small toolbox. I tend to lump certain spells in the same category, such as Nourish (druid), Healing Wave (shaman), Heal (priest) and Holy Light (pally) all being mana efficient, yet slow casting speed and low HPS heal. When I switch between classes, laying out that kind of foundation found in Blizzard's healing plan helps with the adjustments. After assessing the heals for a priest, however, I found that had I so many spells, more than I knew what to do with.
On the other hand, Shaman is very similar to druids in just the right amount that it is easy to adjust and get into. My shaman is a goblin, which kinda bothered me at first, but over the course of playing, I found I kinda liked being small.

Gearing for PvP
So all I've been doing on my shaman is pvping. Or was. IDK what happened, but I've subsequently stopped due to some sort of unknown drama beyond my comprehension. Gearing was an interesting experience. Depending on the battleground, and length, I found you would get anywhere between 80- 500 ish honor per. Considering pieces of Season 11 are between 1250 and 2200 honor, the process itself took a bit of time. However, within a week and a half, I had a pretty decent set. Unfortunately, I've started fairly late in the PvP game, so I felt that by the time I was decently geared and getting my first amount of Conquest points towards my first Cataclysmic piece, people around me were in near full Cataclysmic sets, beating me to a bloody pulp. Yes, and I mean really beating me. I am the healer afterall. Still, the actual process of gearing was fairly quick. I was surprised I was able to hold out as long as I did, since BGs never seem to change, and I've always had little patience for them.

Pvping in General
 Thanks to some companionship during Pvp, I was able to understand a bit more how some of these BGs should work. I've always, for the sake of my sanity, stuck with the plan of, stick with a group and heal. Of course, this always lead to headaches and was not always ideal. Now, I feel a bit more understanding of what needs to be done in order to win. Except for maybe Warsong Gulch (which I had not done at all, interestingly enough) I have won one of each, and probably would be able to understand why we didn't win if we lost. Forgive me if I sound like a complete noob, but these are observations from someone who has always PvE'd first, and PvP'd never.
-Alterec Valley and Isle of Conquest are my favorite, simply because I prefer bigger groups over smaller ones for Bgs. I find that the less people there are, the easier it is to tell right away if you are going to succeed or fail, and if you are failing, it's going to be a long long fight. Unfortunately, AV and IoC can be a big pain in the ass. I'll never understand the people who think they can direct a group of 40 to victory. People tend to do what they think is right, no matter what someone is yelling at them. If these 40 people aren't, for the most part, sticking together and going forth in the right direction (ie capturing towers and graveyards or destroying the right gate) then the battle is swiftly (albeit slowly) lost. I'm not saying there shouldn't be anyone defending or wreaking havoc back at base, but the end bosses tend to be made for a fairly large group. 
-When losing becomes inevitable, then people start complaining, all the way to the last freaking second/resource point. I can and will never understand how freaking out and calling people out about how bad they are will make the loss any easier (the answer is it doesn't). Yet somehow, rain or shine, if the bg is going the wrong way, then there will be someone telling us how bad we are and how we all fail. It bothers me that people doing BGs do this simply because BGs are a team sport and one person cannot carry an entire group. MAYBE MAYBE in one of the Capture the Flag BGs, but I highly doubt it. If you get so upset because a group sport is not going well, so much so that you must make my chat miserable until the very last second, then go do arenas, where the people probably will tolerate you more, and where you have the brunt of the responsibility. Or maybe...that's why you're doing BGs in the first place. People won't do arenas with you.
-This guy.

I reported this mofo, and got such a quick response that I don't think I am the only one. He is one of two multiboxers I saw in BGs, and in Alterac Valley. The other was a bunch of DKS following a tiny gnome. While it's hilarious in theory, it's still pretty freaking ridiculous. Also, if you're going to multibox, make it less obvious by not naming all your toons the same name. God, you remind me of Grabnare.

Gearing in PvE
I also geared the little shaman in PvE, since some items are easier to get this way. 378 gear baby. Woohooo! I think my gearscore on my shaman exceeds my druid. I find that the gearscore decided on by Blizzard in terms of what is acceptable for certain heroics is a bit low. I was allowed to go do Heroic Hour of Twilight dungeons far earlier then I would feel comfortable with. Heck, I was allowed to do Heroic Cataclysm dungeons far earlier then I would've wanted. The reality is that players aren't all magically attuned to each other's gearscore, and most don't even bother to check. I tried healing a Heroic Vortex Pinnacle with a well geared shaman and decent dps, and it went okay. We wiped on the last boss because everyone decided to let themselves get Static Clinged, and I did not have the mana pool to be dispelling everyone and their mother. Still, we made it out pretty unscathed.
The second time I did a Heroic, was also Vortex Pinnacle, and I dared tread through it alone. I was slightly more geared then, but not much and my mana pool and spirit regen were still smaller then I would've preferred. Still, I felt that I was in a better position then I had been, and I should be able to handle it. I was wrong. We made it through the first two bosses okay- I was still kinda shaky since there was a lot of unnecessary damage going down. The hunter never seemed to understand what CCing was and the tank was below the acceptable iLevel to go without CC. We wiped at the end, when noone would CC the casting Tolvirs and they were healing everything. We wiped again when the hunter didn't CC again and the fight was going on for more than 5 mins. Said hunter left before the end of the battle, and when I died, I was blamed and subsequently kicked. That ended my healing bid in Heroics. I decided to just wait the long q (which surprisingly never exceeded 10 mins) and just did dps. I also jumped right into Heroic Hour of Twilights, since I was allowed (<.<) and was able to get better amounts of JP and better gear drops. After I obtained my two set bonus in T12, which cemented my mana confidence, I felt comfortable enough to heal again, and found some great groups lurking in LFD and had no problems.

Shaman: The End?
In the end, I found that I really enjoyed PvE healing on my shaman. I was getting to a point that I was looking forward to trying out the LFR finder on him. (haha who knew). I also was getting confident enough to venture into PvP on my own (albeit not by choice), and was excited that I was closing in on my first Cataclysmic piece. Still, being blindsided by...I don't even know what happened still... I felt pretty discouraged and unwanted by the new group of people I had been playing with. I haven't really logged onto my shaman since. Maybe I'm being as cowardly as I saw the person who did this to me, but I hate when game drama enters my life. If I want to continue playing Horde, I would like to stick with my shaman, but the aforementioned problem caused me to withdraw from him fast. I will probably revisit the shaman closer to MoP.

Return of the Druid for Realzies
First off, BEHOLD

I actually like it more than the purple one, believe it or not, but I ain't riding it. I REALLY want the Heart of the Aspect mount, but am hesitant to pay 25 dollars for it. That really does seem like a lot. I also got
BEHOLD

My Dark Phoenix Mount! It's amazing to think that last semester, I helped our guild get one of these and I am NOW just getting it, but I am finally getting it. It's a really great mount. It's dark and glowy and reminds me of some sort of dark rave. I love that it matches my skin tone.
So now I am 4 mounts away from my 100 mount achievement. I'm hoping for a White Tailstrider, but still no luck. I can't believe I've run Mag T over 50 times. If all else fails, I can buy the honor mounts and the emblem mammoth from Dalaran. It's just a matter of whether I feel up to running BGs or Heroics.
I'm not to keen on running BGs without any honor gear. I have a couple pieces but they are from Season 10. It would be another long trek after the shaman gearing, so I'm not sure I feel up to the challenge.
My current idea is to try and use the JP I earn as honor (although the conversion rates aren't necessarily ideal) as I reach for the VP cap each week. I think I will like to one day do the LFR on my druid, just to say I've seen the end boss of this expansion. I haven't done a 25 man in a really long time, so I'm a bit interested to see how druids stack up in this raid composition, since 25s are supposed to be our weak point at the moment. Still, the earlier said drama kinda messed up my WoW playing, but since I'm stuck here, maybe I'll eventually return.
I did get Burgy Blackheart's Handsome Hat or whatever. I camped there and logged on a few times and found him pretty quickly. Now I can be a gnome with just a switch of the hat. woo hoo.

SWTOR Again
Despite my comments earlier, and my hesitance to start an alt, outside of my Trooper, I did reroll and level my Jedi Knight. I really do love Sentinel, and running around with not one but TWO lightsabers is badass. I'll probably stick with her and my trooper as far as alts. Once I got my Legacy, I lost a bit of interest in doing Sith simply because my guild on Sith are all on hiatus thanks to school. Who knew I was so social. 

Return of the Druid: Episode 1

SWTOR first
Nothing really exciting to report. I have just been doing dailies and maybe a flashpoint here or there. Because of the World Events, I need to focus on WoW more. I've kinda decided that for now, I'll stick with just putting all my effort into one toon in SWTOR. After running around on alts last night in WoW, I thought, man I hope this doesn't happen to me in SWTOR. Hopefully it won't.
Darkmoon Faire
I'm kind of over the Darkmoon Faire. The only saving grace is that it does only happen once a month, so you don't have to do these freaking dailies all the time. That being said, would it be better if I could just get all the mounts at once and get 'er done. Not sure. All I know is that I am over it. However, after a couple of missed months, I finally got my Purple Tailstrider.
BEHOLD

Um. Yeah. It's like a hairless ostrich with similar animations to hawkstriders. I was riding around on it, and actually felt..embarrassed. And here I am, chugging away at love tokens, making friendship bracelets for leaders I don't care about, to get a pink one of these. Oh Dragonhawk mount, how much I sacrifice for you. :(
Speaking of Love
Here is me making a bracelet for my beloved Garrosh Hellscream. I just love that they put "thanks" in quotes. As I was making bracelets, and was getting the repetitive "My thanks for this Lovely Charm Bracelet," I began to wonder about Blizz's lack of imagination. Wouldn't Malfurion be a bit concerned about all these people giving his lovely night lady a bunch of bracelets. What does Varian do with all of them? Aren't the other two dwarfs on the council a bit jealous? Why would Velen want bracelets?
Then I go to turn in a bracelet to Garrosh. Simple,pure appreciation that not all things go overlooked. Because if anyone is too manly for a bracelet, it's Garrosh.

This guy got it right.

by Zombier @ deviantart

Other shenannigans
I've also been slowly working towards 50 Coins of Ancestry for the lanterns. I'll probably just suck it all up and do it all in one day. I'm also leveling a DK so I can get the Horde one for my druid. While flying through Mt. Hyjal, I saw a birdie flying that looked like the Ashes mount. (Phoenix bird)
I killed him and got a blue I could've used three tiers ago. :)

He didn't have to die. I would've used him as a mount. :)

MoP Class Reroll
Finally, I've narrowed down the choices to Shaman and Priest, I think. Although to be honest, I sometimes think MAGE because I don't think I really want to heal. I could just do Elemental Shaman, and still be able to heal. I don't really care for Shadow priest though. The decision is killing brain cells. I'll probably return to my old server, Underfailmine, since there are a few people who still play there. My friend got me into a guild that is a nice casual, friendly guild. Once I figure out what I want to do, I'll get geared. My friend wants me to pursue PvP more, but I'm not sure how that'll go. PvE healing and PvP healing are two entirely different spectrums. I'd imagine I'd prefer priest heals for PvP.
I guess, in the grand scheme of things, I have a while to figure it out. Maybe I'll just suck it up and transfer my druid. However, that might be a weird Transmog thing for me, since the only race I'd roll Horde would be a tauren, which messes up my nice transmog outfits I've cultivated for my Night elf. Maybe I'll go Thunderheart Rainment and be a totem. :)

And to close
This picture just makes me happy.

 

YES LOVE ME!

SWTOR: Return of the Druid

SWTOR: Level 50
When I find myself plagued by massive ADD in a game, it means one of two things. I am frustrated, or I am bored. For now, when it comes to endgame content, I'd say a mixture of both. Frustration because I'm not exactly sure what alt I would like to level next. Boredom because....well that word is synonymous with dailies. There is a silver lining in all this boredom. Most of my guild mates are finally hitting 50s, which means Flashpoints and Operations in the near future. Unfortunately, I should probably pay more attention to dailies because I could use the upgrades for said Flashpoints and Operations. I just wish they weren't so, same old same old.
Return to Azeroth
Yeah, I didn't stay away long. To be honest, I wasn't planning to, considering I have a  annual pass, so I might as well. Now, to be honest, I am only playing for one specific reason: mount and pet hunting. A lot of the World Events have new pets and mounts added, which has pulled me back in, as I strive to achieve 100 mounts and 150 pets. (I am extremely close to the mount goal, btw)
I had some laptop issues the other month, so WoW was wiped from my computer. Downloading it required an entire night. I still think I'm missing something. The only other thing I dread is the fact I need to reinstall and reconfigure all my addons. Consider it an obsession, but I love UI building. It's going to be a complete pain in the ass figuring out where my bars were, or what addons I was using, but I think once I take the time to do it, I'll enjoy it. The new major patch for SWTOR promises UI customization, and to be honest, I can't wait. I am so over the constrictive SWTOR UI.
Love is in the Air is the current World Event, which overlaps Lunar Festival which will wrap up this week. I forgot that Cataclysm has been out for over a year now, since the World Event boss is already up to date. It basically took us about 20 seconds to down all three bosses, which was by far the easiest boss ever. Unfortunately, the queue time as a healer was a bit longer than I liked.
Darkmoon Faire is also going on, so I'm chugging away at a Purple Tailstrider. Hopefully, that, coupled with the Pink Tailstrider for Love is in the Air will get me closer to my 100 mount goal.  
Coming back to WoW after playing SWTOR was kinda weird. I was using my BF's computer, so he had Vuhdo, which I used to heal the Chemical Co. Boss. I had a difficult time remembering which abilities I bound to which key/click, and I didn't really remember what kind of healing I needed to do. I am much more comfortable as a Consular Sage, so no bubbles, a insta-click AOE heal and hots where the name of the game. Luckily, not much healing was needed at all for the Chemical Co. Boss. Like I said, near insta-kill.
Looking towards Mists of Pandaria
The name of the game is Pandas and Pokemon war. Do I want to be on the Alliance side of all this? Absolutely not. So what do I do, since my main is not only on the Alliance side, but also on a PvP server, which I abhor as it is. Do I spend 55 dollars to move, but to where? Most of my friends list is made up of people who haven't been on in weeks or months. A couple have been days, but who knows if they'll be back on. Am I that attached to my druid that I need her when I move?
Probably not. The reality is that I left WoW because I was extremely unhappy with druids, among other things. We kept getting the short end of the stick, and it was frustrating hearing about new MoP things coming for classes, and being unexcited about any of mine. (Symbiosis has too little to be excited about, and the hybrid path is something I'd rather avoid.)
So the new thought is to reroll classes. Who would I like to play in MoP? Do I want to continue healing or is it time to just be a dpser? Do I want to restrict myself to only a few role options, or should I go as close to Hybrid as possible without being THE hybrid class? Where the hell do I roll anyways?
Why is this game such a pain in the ass? Why am I so indecisive?????
Why!?!?

Movie Update: 3 Movies and a Trailer

So really, I've been slacking off on blogging. And writing in general. Mainly the result of my long Christmas break from school (I actually do the majority of my blogging at school), as well as a bad case of bronchitis and SWTOR playing and working.

Still recovering
Bronchitis can suck it. I can't really remember the last time any type of sickness has drawn out so long. My congestion is better and my coughing has mostly subsided, which is comforting for the most part. However, I get the sense that my throat is just weak. I still cough, feel like I'm always chocking on my words, and my voice comes out squeaky, gurgly and all sorts of not normal. It's frustrating, and I have the sense of paranoia that I'll suddenly have a relapse. But for the most part, when people ask how I feel, I can honestly say, better, or good. The most frustrating thing was having people kindly ask me how I was feeling, and only being able to honestly answer by saying, well I feel like crap. I don't like being the bearer of bad news, even if they ask it for me. No one likes a downer, which is what I have been for the past two weeks.

Smartphone-holic
I got my smartphone, finally, which I'll be doing a post about. Long story short, I'm loving the apps. I can't believe how many there are. You can pretty much find something for anything, an app for any type of customization you may want. I'm glad I picked Android over iPhone, mostly because of widgets and the notifications system. That and I absolutely love my Galaxy Nexus hardware. The camera is a bit lackluster for a smartphone, especially at this point, but it was definitely not a breaking point for me. The screen is sleek and big, crystal clear, and I love its feel. It's about as thick as an iPhone, but doesn't feel that way. 4G is amazingly fast, although I find 3G pretty slow in some spots. Luckily most of my time is spent in a WiFi accessible area.


Movies Update: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Descendants, Underworld: Awakening, John Carter Trailer (Small Spoilers)
So it's officially awards season. I recently discovered that the movie theater near my house has $5 dollar days for all showings on Sunday and Tuesday, so I've been spending some time catching up on Oscar noms. Despite the expense, I still enjoy seeing films on the big screen with a nice bag of popcorn.
I've seen a lot of movies, but here are the highlights.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
It was basically what I was hoping for. Rooney Mara(Lisbeth) is currently my favorite actress to watch, and although I know she has little chance of stealing the actual award, I am still pulling for her at the Oscars.  Her performance is fearless, and although many still think the Swedish version is the best, Rooney Mara perfectly embodies how I imagined Lisbeth. Scary at first glance, with a little warmth, rarely seen, yet a companion whose faithful to those she loves. The final scene, where she sees Mikael with Erika, was absolutely heartbreaking to me.
I can gladly say the movie is faithful to the books, except for the very end. It was a weird change and I'm not entirely sure what it accomplished except a continent change, but it's not a change that is difficult to swallow, even if it's one that seems unnecessary. The movie is gritty and violent. The infamous rape seen is very hard to swallow, and I think at one point I even looked away. However, making it that real, made Lisbeth's revenge much more triumphant. The music, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, brings about the perfect ambiance for the movie, and the cinematography is absolutely haunting. Daniel Craig is deglamored, wearing his tweed coats and having a nice scruff. He still seems to pretty for Mikael for me, but I enjoyed his performance. Stellan Skarsgard was the perfect tone of caring and creepy, and I think he should've been nominated for some award. His performance was chilling. I am really excited to seeing the next two movies.

The Descendants
I actually only saw this film after George Clooney and the movie walked away with Golden Globes. To be honest, I really wanted to see Shailene Woodley, since I had seen her in an unfortunate TV show called The Secret Life of the American Teen. It was nice seeing her out of the wholesome, but I F'd up, girl personality. She is realistic and honest, and I love that she supports her father, who was obviously wronged in a situation gone bad. George Clooney is completely deglammed in the film. He needs a haircut and wears ugly Hawaiian shirts. He broods and looks sad, without being sappy or melodramatic. And his confrontation with Brian Speers was intense and emotional. I liked the strange twists and turns the story went. It avoided being cliche'd and showed the sometimes harsh realities of life. I actually really hope that George Clooney wins the Oscar.

Underworld: Awakening
Yep, I saw this "crap". To be honest, I actually enjoyed it. The unfortunate part, is that the Lycans are HORRIFICALLY and cheaply rendered. I mentioned that it was on par with old Godzilla movies, and that is how bad I saw it. It's kind of an interesting byproduct. The rest of the special affects are fancy, and the film was converted to 3D, supposedly. Most of it was in 2D. Still the actual lycans are horribly made-they kind of look like they are almost stop-motion animated.  Yeah that's how bad they looked. They also moved very stiffly, and not fluid at all. Other than that, I was fairly impressed with and interested in the backstory of the Lycans and the Vampires- it seems like the writer's took some quality time fleshing it out. Also, the movie is short, which really helps with me liking it. I know that sounds kind of odd, but if a movie is decent, but it's long, it becomes bad. A short, decent movie, can be considered enjoyable because your butt isn't cramping.

John Carter Trailer: Impressions
The big trailer I've been seeing a lot on, in pretty much every movie I have seen recently is John Carter. That name, it really sticks with you and I always get the feeling I should know him from somewhere. Well, I don't. John Carter is a character from some 11 volume book series called Barsoom. The books were published sometime in the 1910s...yeah....
Unless there is some extremely tactile advertising, or some secret super fandom cult somewhere, I am predicting this movie to fail, and fail hard. I think the only saving grace for it would be if it got incredibly good reviews, which may spur it up the box office.
The problem with this movie, being distributed by Disney, can be pinpointed to a number of things.  The trailer features a world that took the Prince of Persia and set him in the middle of Tattoine. There are floating barges, lots of rolling hills of sand, and a battle arena straight out of Star Wars: Episode II. Taylor Kitsch looks like a hotter version of Jake Gyllenhaal's Prince of Persia-he definitely sports the long, stringy hair style much better than Gyllenhaal, and he's got the rough, hot manly look. He runs around, defying gravity, killing giant monsters that leave him in blue goo. The aliens he encounters also look like they're straight from a Star Wars movie, with long green limbs and oval faces. They make bad jokes like "You are ugly, but you are also beautiful." Lynn Collins plays his beautiful, yet princess warrior love interest, who is being married off to some other dude. John Carter makes some comment about being too late once, but oh ho, not this time, so I'm assuming he's off to go get her before she marries the wrong guy. Yawn- haven't we seen this before?
Besides the "vague" yet kinda predictable trailer, I'm concerned about the star power behind the film. Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins have been in movies before, but I just don't think they will be able to bring in a strong enough audience. Taylor Kitsch is best known for being in the TV show Friday Night Lights, which, while a beloved TV show who has scored awards and nods, still was pulled off air because of lackluster ratings. I'm not sure how it worked, but they did bring the show back on DirectTV or something, and then showed episodes again on Primetime. His other known film rolls include Gambit in X-Men: Wolverine movie. As for Lynn Collins, I've seen her on the first season of True Blood, and also in the X-Men: Wolverine movie as well. Still, those credits alone will not bring in the viewers. I mean, look at Disney's other failure, Prince of Persia. I don't know if it was the hair, but Jake Gyllenhaal is more famous and his movie bombed.
The second problem might be that noone's heard of John Carter. I mean, I know I haven't. A book series from the 1910s? Really? Please, someone tell me if I've been living in a hole all my life, otherwise, I am pretty sure the audience that this movie is targeting has never heard of the series. It won't appeal to children because it looks like they're taking an adult approach, and although it may appeal to older generations, (are people from the 1910s still alive?) they usually don't bring in the big box office numbers.
Now, why do these numbers mean a lot. I read in an EW post that John Carter is reported to have a 200 million production cost. Most films these days seem to be opening near a 20 million mark, and that number in almost all cases go down. One saving grace could be international box office numbers, but with little known stars and storyline I don't know if it will deliver.
Finally, the movie is being distributed by Disney, which I found to be an interesting move. Besides the Pirates films, Disney has little success with live-action films tailored to young adult and higher audiences. Considering the failure of Prince of Persia, I am shocked that Disney would distribute such a similar looking movie. If Prince failed, why would John Carter, which looks so similar, be a success. 
The movie seems to be shot in 3D- I was impressed with the 3D trailer visually. Still, besides the fact it looks like a bad Prince of Persia meets Star Wars film, I can't say I'm excited, nor do I expect to see it do well. I'm also sick of the trailer. Stop showing the trailer in films I see! :(