I R Disappoint

Today I am going to make a list of things that have disappointed me over the past month or so. My mood has greatly soured over the past day and now my poor blog gets to feel the wrath of it. There might be some spoilers for a few tv shows, but I'll spare you the Dark Knight stuff. And yes I liked the movie but I was still disappointed... Maybe I'll share it wayy down on the bottom.


SWTOR: My first victim.
I was given 7 free days of game time to try our 1.3. While I had fun doing a couple storylines, I wasn't overall impressed. My biggest disappointment in Swtor is the Legacy system. I don't like that I have to spend credits on some of the more wanted perks. I don't like that its ridiculous amount, even though credits aren't that hard to come. I don't like that, despite this, nothing has changed. No more subscription for me.

Game of Thrones will feature book 3, A Storm of Swords, in two seasons instead of one. 
As the cast list grows and grows, the storylines become more complex and drawn out. So yeah, it's no surprised that A Storm of Swords is getting two seasons. But at this rate, I'm going to be like in my 30s by the time the seasons finish. And whose to say that other books won't get split up. From the looks of it, A Dance with Dragons is like three times the size of A Game of Thrones. I only mention my concern/disappointment because I worry about the shows longevity. As the show gets more expensive to make (them dragons and dire wolves be growing) I worry it will become more of a burden to make and they may stop making it.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII may have been canceled. But we don't really know.
The only game (besides a possible Kingdom Hearts 3) I've been looking forward to console and Ps3 -wise was FF Versus XIII. The characters intrigued me, the battle system, what little I knew, made me wanna try it. I loved the gothic feel they were going for. But we haven't heard anything in a while, and the game has been obviously missing at game cons and showcases. Square only seems interested in pushing out more Lightning games, which doesn't appeal to me at all. I hated FFXIII. Aside from the fact that it was damn beautiful, I thought the characters were boring or annoying (cough Vanille cough), the battle system wasn't for me, and I didn't much care for the story. I instead long for the days of old Squaresoft and the amazing RPGS they used to release. To make matters worse, they haven't even really said yay or nay to FF Versus XIII, so we don't even know for sure if its done for. But most sources point to yes. Square's having some sort of party/announcement thing soon so I'm sure we'll be put out of our misery soon enough.
Speaking of disappointment...the one recent game I would buy of theirs, Theatrythm Final Fantasy is Nintendo 3DS exclusive. Considering I wouldn't even play any of the games in 3D makes the console a waste of money for me...but that game looks soo much funnnn.

Spoilers below for True Blood and The Dark Knight Rises

SWTOR: Girls Night Out

Been trying to get farther in my Trooper storyline during my free 7 days given to me by Bioware to tryout Patch 1.3. So far, I'm  not entirely impressed, by anything, but that's for another episode. I have been enjoying what little Trooper story I've been able to get through. I received some mail from Jaxo, a female military member, who I had some mission with a while ago. The quest ended up being this little gem that I had a ball with. She basically, along with 3 other military members, took me out for some drinks. One of them got so drunk...I think she was hitting on me.

Oh yeah...she was really drunk...I am damn good looking though.

Personal or Vague? The Single Player MMO Experience

It's almost an oxymoron: MMORPG.  A genre defined by the social aspect of Massively Multiplayer, but also the personal aspect of Role-Playing. You want to be your own, make your own story, feel like you own something. But you also want to play with a bunch of people. And while, yes, interactions with others will further this experience, you have to remember that by accepting to play with others you are sharing you story with them.
Then we have SWTOR.
We enjoy a personal story, develop our own decisions and defend our own choices. Or we just hit the space bar and press random numbers unless they have Light/Dark side choices. Then we may or may not make calculated decisions. Or flip a coin, like my boyfriend sometimes does. This is the SWTOR MMORPG experience.
I find it really difficult to know I am sharing this experience with everyone out there. How do you create a personal one when everyone is doing the same thing. Everyone is the leader of the most prestigious trooper group, Havoc Squad, or the Barens'thor (apologies for the butchery of that spelling) of the Jedi, a position not given out for years. We are all the Emperor's Wrath or Cipher Nine. We are all special.
We all create (albeit pre-plotted) relationships with certain NPCs, and some of these we romance and even marry. Yet the reality is, that we share these with everyone else. Not only am I married to Kira Corsen, but so is my guildie, that person over there I ran by, and my brother.
Perhaps I'm being a tad possessive. But hey, this is "my" story after all. Shouldn't I be. Like my druid. I am extremely possessive of MY druid. I would never give away my account, even if you paid me a bajillion dollars, because it is MY druid (...if it was a bajillion dollars I might cave though). My boyfriend doesn't even play MY druid. He runs stuff on my Sage plenty of times, but MY druid is MY druid. MINE! (mine! mine! mine!)
But that's the difference between SWTOR/Bioware storytelling and other MMO's I've played.
In WoW, we are all the "adventurers," who rise above the oh so powerful NPCs and slay internet dragons. Sure we're all "Destroyer's End" or "Bane of the Fallen King," but we aren't really given ownership of those stories. In canon, a "group of adventurers" take them out. Vague, slightly anonymous.
In SWTOR, it's a different story. A single person is singled out and does a single feat. They are given a singular title, given singular praise, and the illusion that they are in fact, a singular hero. But the reality is, that everyone around you is also enjoying this singular story. And while that is the magic of Bioware and their storytelling, I can't help but wonder if this reason explains my inability to become attached to my characters.
Don't get me wrong. The storylines in SWTOR are awesome. It's probably the reason I'm still playing. At this moment, I am completely engulfed in the Sith Warrior storyline and it's NPCs, Vette and Malavai Quinn (how do I love thee? let me count the ways). And I hope to eventually try out the Imperial Agent and maybe finish the Sith Inquisitor storyline. But the reality is that all these enjoyments are far from the MMO enjoyments I usually experience. Dungeons, raiding, group play. PvP even. I don't do these things and I usually don't want to. I've started to look at SWTOR as a single player RPG more so than an MMO. And while, in the short end, that is a good thing, in the long run, it's a bad thing. After I finish the storylines, I'll probably quit until new content rears its head. Then I'll take a month or so to try it out before I leave again. Such a strange relationship this will be.  
A singular experience is important in many cases for any MMO. It's what keeps us coming back for more. We become attached to our characters, create ownership and possession of them, and want to continue our stories as them. Whether we fulfill this through gearing, gaining achievements, completing quests or raids is entirely up to us. But that personal experience is eclipsed by the pre-plotted out storyline that we all partake in. In its attempts to make it as personal as possible, SWTOR has at the same time, created a small box that I wish to live in as my own, without the outside interferences of knowing that I am, after all, not that special. 

SWTOR: a new adventure

I've always been a notorious altoholic. Partially from some form of ADD I'm sure. I usually will still always have a main, but I do have "flavor of the week" syndrome as well. Not surprisingly, it takes me a while to find a class I like, but once I find one, I'm hooked. Took me a year to finally hit my stride as a druid (my first toon was a paladin) in WoW; I started as a Cleric but ended up a Mage in Rift. And now, in Swtor, I went from Sage to Commando, back to Sage. I never really know what I'll like, but there are some criteria that I usually consider part of my checklist.

-Hybrid: can they dps and do some form of healing. Usually, I go for a hybrid healing class, a criteria I picked up after falling in love with healing on my druid and subsequent alts in WoW. In an interesting deviation, I picked up Mage in Rift, mainly because I loved Chloromancer, the only healing tree the mage has. I did start a Cleric shortly after but left Rift before I got very far. Hybrid was what I was looking to be when I started Swtor, and because healing was always my first choice, Sage/Sorcerer seemed like the way to go. I wasn't too happy with the healing, which felt like a hybrid disc priest/shaman (I say shaman because one of the mechanics reminds me of Tidal Waves). I was also bored stiff with the story and characters. That's one of a few reasons I switched to Commando, but I disliked the healing on them even more and missed my lightsaber, so I went back Sage. I sucked it up, found that the story picked up after chapter 1 and enjoyed throwing rocks at people. I currently dps on my Sage, even though I really don't play her too often, Balance is a fun spec though.

-Range Dps: I do not melee. For a number of reasons, some decent, some silly. But in general, I prefer to stay out of the middle fray. Especially in Swtor, where my fps and lag is already struggling, I just can't be so close to all the action. It's ironic because my favorite and preferred method to so dailies and quests is in feral on my druid, but part of it might be my bear survivability, and fire kitty staff.

-Power Source: I'm not one to struggle with power sources. I easily understood ammo as a trooper and enjoyed having near infinite capabilities to heal. But power sources like energy, for a rogue or feral druid, and those that need to be built up, similar to a warriors, tend to annoy me. As time progresses, and you reach higher levels, these issues tend to go away, but I never really make it that far.

So how did I, with all of these ideas in mind, fall in love with a Sith Marauder?

I'm playing a melee, dps only class with Rage as a power source. Something's not right here.

Maybe it's the storyline, which has so far been absolutely interesting. And not because it actually is. Being a tool for someone isn't so fun. For some reason though, being the apprentice of a Sith Lord with a huge spy network is pretty intense. And he's such a jerk but it only nurses my hatred for him, which will ultimately lead to his downfall... which let's face it, is pretty much the storyline for any Sith Lord and his apprentice.

Also, for the first time, I am absolutely in love with my romance interest, Malavai Quinn. It's probably his rugged good looks, most definitely his accent, and I love how he calls me "my lord." He's so passionate about the Empire, that it does worry me, but I hope as things progress, there are some interesting twists in store. LOVE ME! lol.

It's nice to be excited about something again. While WoW is fun and all, it's in that weird slump between expansions where things have died down. I'm still being dragged through lfr and have the second half to go. But more on that later.

When I hit 50, my lord is getting two purple lightsabers. Hell yah!

Of Rakghouls and Lightsabers and 1.2

SWTOR

So 1.2 has been out for a bit. I played a bit more right before it came out so I could obtain a few items they were taking out. Stuff is pretty expensive if you don't constantly run boring dailies everyday so I barely made the amount I needed. I bought a white lightsaber crystal just to have, since I love the purple color more. I bought a couple of those beauties, one for my sage and one for a future jedi. Finally I splurged on a 2 million credit mount and bought those giant speeders that look like mini Asteroid ships. I bought the most expensive one because I loved the yellow/gold and blue colors on it-they look pretty vivid in game.

I literally barely pulled this off 15 minutes before servers shut down, and I had the loving help of my boyfriend.

Post 1.2

Patch 1.2 is apparently one of the biggest patch contents released in a MMO. It should bring SWTOR to how it was supposed to be at launch if EA hadn't pushed the game out early. While it promised to have a huge amount of content and bring the game to its full potential, I have to wonder if it was, atleast for me, a little too late. While I have been logging on a decent amount, which is more than my previous... never, the lasting potential is questionable. In fact, as I sit here now, it's been a good two days since I logged on. And that's including the incentive of the world event, the Rakghoul Plague going on. I was not impressed with the legacy system. I don't understand why I have to pay credits to unlock things. The legacy equipment is confusing and ineffective. The Corellia dailies are just that... dailies. The new pvp warzone is nice, but still doesn't fix the problems with balance and class. I did the new flashpoint, Lost Island, and while it was fun, I don't really care to do it again. I don't raid so I can't add commentary to that. Maybe I'm being to hard on Bioware, comparing it to the behemoth that is WoW. But that's all I have to compare it to, and that's the only other game vying for my attention.

Scourge Plague

On the heels of 1.2, Bioware released its first world event, the Rakghoul Plague. Think all that scourge nonsense before WotLK, add Rakghouls and lightsabers, and you have the world event. You can even get infected, infect others, and blow up just like in WoW.

While I felt like the lore behind it was well placed and the build up well executed, after a few days of playing around in the sands of Tatoinne and standing in the fleet trying to infect people, I tired of it quickly. While I liked the addition of different dailies each day, and the prizes that could be won (vanity pets and green/black lightsabers), I lost incentive to do dailies after I got enough currency to buy the pet. Lightsaber crystals are a confusing commodity to me. While yes, customization is great, and most crystals are boe, so you can sell them, the reality is that I only have one lightsaber so what's the point in getting so many different colors. I'm not General Grievous here, although that would be really cool. And my Sentinel isn't high enough to use any of the crystals (and at this point, I don't think she ever will be).

On the brink

So here I stand, contemplating my subscription. While I liked having the subscription available, and I'm getting a free month as a reward from Bioware, I don't see much potential for a long term relationship. Maybe I'll come back to check out new content, but leveling is old and although I'd love to experience some of the class storylines, I never seem to get very far.

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!?!?

SWTOR Update: Lazy-man Edition

My blogspot is full of unposted blogs about all my SWTOR adventures. There's one about some interesting lore I've come across. There's also my struggle to find a Legacy name. Then there's a more complete detailed story about why I switched classes and how I find Sage Healing. (the short version?  <3<3<3<3<3<3) Finally, I think there's one about the different Flashpoints I've done and my thoughts. But instead you just get this giant super post where I copy'd and paste'd a good portion of all those posts together, before editing them in and adding some tie in sentences. This may be my biggest post to date! :)

Ding! GRATS MON!
I reached level 50 about 3 days ago, and it was a bit anti-climatic. Your Class storyline and level don't necessarily line up or go hand in hand, so even after I hit 50, I still had to hack away at a few more Class quests before I felt real achievement and closure. While I love the game play of the Jedi Sage, and have recently just discovered DPS Sage (>.< AWESOME), I was extremely disinterested in my companions, the storyline, and the ending. But in an interesting twist, that disinterest, and dissatisfaction makes me want more. Playing a character who I am more personally tied to, via the actions and choices I make, etc, might actually have made me more attached to her. I have only played her for a month and a half, and I feel close to the same attachment as I do with Covington/Aenerys, who I played for 3 years.

Companions: The Epic Love Story (Possible Spoilers)
Speaking of disinterest...
Words cannot describe my biggest disappointment with SWTOR: Female Romance Companions. The fact that companion romances have been slimmed down to one per a class is already frustrating, but making the companion romance option a disagreeable bafoon doesn't help much either. Then there's the disappointment of having a companion who I would more then willingly romance, but I can't. Meanwhile the men get interesting female companions, and some of them not even human. Doesn't seem quite fair. Why can't I romance Zenith? At least with Khem Val, who I love for Sith Inquisitor, I can understand him being a Dashade, and altogether more alien then humanoid. But Zenith is a Twi'lek. I should be allowed to romance him. I also don't quite understand the personality of Felix, and how it is at all attractive to the character I have cultivated through the Consular storyline.
"'SUP JEDI!"
Okay, I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically how I was introduced to him. When he's in combat, he's also really excited, saying things like "Did you see that? I hope you saw that." Then, when I click on him, he'll say, "Look, I know the armors nice, but the staring is creepy." Considering my companion interactions with him include him throwing himself at me within two companion missions, and telling me I'm enchanting and interesting, but then having him quip those lines, just pisses me off. And confused. But mostly annoyed.   
Even though I was simply not amused by him, I thought I'd try romancing him after I got him a more attractive customization look. Yep, make a guy pretty and everything that comes out of his mouth is prettier too, or at least not too bad. Unfortunately for me, I made a wrong decision and the budding romance ended very quickly, faster then I could hit ESC. At first, it distressed me that I messed up, and pinpointed a more troubling problem for me that the romance storyline was so linear; the relationship could not be complex in any manner. Considering I was a Jedi, I am forbidden to romance, so I thought it strange that the answers to jump into a romance with Felix were very straight forward. Shouldn't I be allowed some time, or uncertainty. I was hoping I could step back and say no, with the option of maybe changing my mind. You know...drama...romance...complexity. No. I wasn't getting soap opera. I guess I shouldn't expect things to be too complex-not everyone is looking for a long drawn out, dramatic romance like me. But the linearity of it all made it feel impersonal to me.
In the end, I watched movies on youtube about what I had missed in the romance department with Felix, and I was not disappointed; in fact I was quite relieved it worked out this way. My character is very professional and closely adheres to the Jedi code. So seeing my character fall out of her set character to flirt with a homeboy Lieutenant would've been too inconsistent for me. The videos I watched weren't necessarily what I would've said (but I mean, there are only THREE options, couldn't be that much different) nor did the character look like mine. But the voice was the same, as would've been what I would've said. And it was like watching a completely different person then the one I had cultivated.

Changing Classes
It's been a while since I blogged about SWTOR in general. I mentioned before that I switched classes after gaining my legacy title, but didn't really explain why. Most of the switching had to do with combat style. Over the course of some time leveling a Consular, I realized that the decision was a good one. I'm still leveling as a healer, but dpsing feels smooth. Commando felt clunky to me because I was unable to find a way to make things flow, rotation or situational. While I did enjoy the healing and the handling of the power source (Ammo) and it's regen mechanics, I was beginning to find leveling slowing down exponentially. Battles were taking too long, unless I simply AOE'd everything down. I also simply died a lot. But as you go into higher level content, the mobs get harder. You no longer face just a few weak mobs, or one weak and one strong. Now there are groups of two strongs, three or more weaks with strongs. Elites are no longer saved for the final level of bonus quests, but a normal mob group. While the leveling difficulty curve has been ideal and refreshing, I found myself dying exponentially and my companion no longer a decent battle partner.
Consular healing is a lot more suited to leveling for me. The shields help me toss out some damage before I need to heal. In this way, Elite battles no longer take 10 minutes, but a couple. I also received my tank early in the game, and although harder to gear, he is much more reliable. I also have a good 1 min CC, which helps with the extremely crazy crowd control I've started to engage in. Force regen can sometimes be a problem if unforeseen circumstances come around. Extra mob groups pull or the fight is much longer then expected, and I can easily find myself in a bind.
I really enjoy the animations for the casting of all the spells, from simple two-fingers-in-front-of-the-forehead, or picking up chunks of ground or droids and tossing them out. I recently respec'd into Telekinetics, and discovered the joys of pulling up two chunks of ground. The simple extra detail to the animation by having me use both hands is a gift. My super aoe heal definitely brings the term "BE CLEANSED IN FIRE!" with it (Man, I miss macros). Overall, I am very happy with my class change, if only for the playstyle.

Choosing a Legacy Name: Ranting Edition
So I thought choosing a name and a character look was hard. And a class in general. Then I got my Legacy surname. Yeah, f*** this crap. Talk about spending 20 minutes figuring out what I wanted to choose for a name for ALL my characters on the server I'm on. Whoever thought of this needs to go die. I don't want all my toons, including my Sith toons to be related to each other. I am not another Skywalker. No Twincest here.  Yes, you can hide it, but I don't like having everyone secretly tied to one another.
Anyways, so I eventually went with Winter as my Legacy name. For one, it's not a horrible last name. Leda Winter. Not bad. Second, it does sound cool with The ---- Legacy. The Winter Legacy. Not bad either. I wasn't really gonna go for a well known name, or some kind of clever name for only one of the characters (ie. Peach Cobbler. Yeah they do exist). I wanted something that was easily used by everyone. I do like the name because its a small hint at A Song of Fire and Ice, for my toon Daenerys. Winter is coming. ho ho ho....Speaking of which, someone named Targaryen whispered me saying, Daenerys, I am your father. I think I /facepalm'd five times. I also saw someone named Khaleesi and really just wanted to be like "IN YOUR FACE!"
Haha...
Speaking of stealing people's names,  my boyfriend took Strife as a Legacy name. And no he does not have Cloud as a character name. So I bet whoever Cloud is, is going to get to his Legacy achievement, and want to go kill my boyfriend. Maybe he'll reroll Sith just to slaughter him. hahahahaa....it totally makes me laugh.

Lore and Flashpoints: Possible Spoilers
The very first Flashpoint for both factions, The Black Talon (Sith) and The Esseles (Rep) where what I call story driven Flashpoints. They have a specific storyline that pushes the Flashpoint forward. As far as I can tell, these two are the only ones, where story is a key factor in progression. These are different from other Flashpoints, which still have stories, but aren't progressed through the Flashpoint with cut scenes. Most of them consist of a.) going to Satele and getting back story, then b.) completing said Flashpoint, then returning to Satele who says "woot..." and ends the story with a little update. This is what Flashpoints are. While this doesn't bother me much, I was disappointed because I thoroughly enjoyed the Black Talon and the Esseles. Having an actual storyline, that progresses throughout the Flashpoint was a lot of fun. And racked up Social Points. :) 
Well, this all changed when my guild and I did the two Flashpoints: Taral V and Maelstrom Prison. I have to admit, these two Flashpoints, while not story-driven like the first two, were a ton of fun and pushed the entire story forward in a way I wasn't expecting. I was so excited at seeing what had just unfolded that it made me fall in love with the game all over again. I admit that some things lately have been strenuous. The leveling is a lot different then I have had to deal with in a long time. And I admit that sometimes, I wish I was Sith just because, they win PvP 80% of the time, or because I want cool looking gear instead of these dumb head pieces, or I wish my companions weren't so uninteresting or annoying. But these Flashpoints took the cake for me, and I can't wait for the rest of you to enjoy them (if you haven't).

Major SPOILERS (mainly KOTOR goodness; Don't read until you've done Flashpoints: Taral 5 and Maelstrom Prison)

Counterproductive

Current story of my life.
I've been sick for a week or so now. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that it's, well, bronchitis.
Last Thursday, I had early signs of a slight cold, mostly in the sinus region. Except for one day, I continued my hectic work schedule.
On Sunday, my slight cold turned into uncontrollable coughing, and on Monday, I woke up with my ear bleeding, thanks to a small blood vessel popping from all the coughing. Yesterday I went to the doctor's, seeking some drugs solace. She diagnosed me with bronchitis and ordered some prescriptions cough syrup and antibacterial pills.
I was excited to get the cough syrup because the coughing is by far the worst part of this entire deal. My entire chest is achy and my throat is sore and swollen. And sometimes, I go into these uncontrollable coughing fits that rack up my entire body for minutes on end. So finding some relief was my entire hope.
Last night, I was flat out miserable. While the coughing during the day manages to stay under control, as soon as I hit the pillow, I can't stop coughing. Even if I manage to fall asleep, I tend to jolt myself awake every 30 mins or so, coughing like crazy. The only time I seem to find relief is when I am sitting up. And trying to sleep sitting up fails horribly.
My doctor also forbade me from going to work for a couple days. Not only am I contagious, but I'm also susceptible to other sicknesses, and considering my line of work, I don't want to get sick.
But sitting home all day, isn't very productive. It could be.
SWTOR
I've been working on my Sage, but for some reason, my leveling speed has incredibly slowed down. Yesterday, I literally played all day, in Balmorra, yet, I only accrued about a level and a half. Meanwhile, many of my fellow guildies have been catching up with me. I feel so unproductive!
It didn't help that I switched classes halfway through, from Commando Trooper to Sage Consular. To be honest, the main reason I decided to switch was that I wasn't very happy without a lightsaber. Yeah, I really wanted a lightsaber. Big guns were good and fun for a while, but nothing beats a lightsaber. Leveling is much more easier on my Sage, mainly because having a tank companion earlier helped me take on the harder quests.
The healing is a bit more, normal, for me, then Commando. I like having the shields and Rejuvenate. Focus is much more normalized in regen, and reminds me more of mana, which may be another thing that feels more comforting. I also like Telekinetic for leveling. Many people have compared it to an Elemental Shaman, and I agree.
Hopefully
Real life gets better. I wonder if being sick just makes me level slower, even though I feel like I am going as fast as I can. Hopefully, I can get my framerate better so I feel like everything is running smoother. No matter how many tips and stuff SWTOR Devs keep offering, it's still not quite running right. 

So you want to be a Trooper! (pew pew pew)

Here's a quick overview of the class I am currently playing in SWTOR. I have been leveling Medic Commando, so this is mostly from that viewpoint.
Troopers are a hybrid class. Their storyline involves being part of the Havoc Squad, an elite trooper squad within the Republic. That's all I'm going to say for now. The storyline is the best part.

Power: Troopers use Ammo as their main resource. Ammo is an interesting power source. The more Ammo you have, the higher your regeneration. At full Ammo, your regeneration is about 0.6 per a second. Here's a full look at regen rates.
Betwen 8 and 12 ammo: 0.60 ammo per second
Betwen 3 and 7 ammo: 0.36 ammo per second
Betwen 0 and 2 ammo: 0.24 ammo per second

When you hit 10, you get to choose between two Advance Classes. While both AC's offer DPS specs, your choice affects whether you'll be able to heal or tank.
Vanguard: The Tank AC. I don't know much about this AC. I believe the dps spec in this tree focuses more on closer combat. The Tank spec relies on activating shields to fend off damage.
Commando: The Healing AC. This is also a full on range DPS class spec too. This is Leda's AC. Medic Commando's excel in single target healing, as well as longevity thanks to our unique system of Ammo and regen. We are limited as healers by two things-we do not have an in-combat rez (think Rebirth), and we do not have a powerful AOE. Our largest AOE is a 3 person one. Still. Commando's excel where they are strong. With proper Ammo management, Commando's are competent healers.

Weapons and Armor
A trooper uses Heavy Armor, with primary stats of Aim and Endurance. This does not change when you pick Commando or Vanguard, but the stat priority might change (tanks probably want Endurance more)
Troopers use big guns. Woot! GUNS!!!!
Okay. Vanguards use Blaster Rifles.
Commandos get to use Assault Cannons.

Hammer Shot
This is the ability you need to know. It is free of cost, and allows you to regen your ammo, but continually do damage or heal. It's important to work this into your rotation so you can be giving a constant dps or heal.
As a Commando, at level 14 you will get Combat Support Cell, that changes your Hammer Shot to heal if targeting a player. It's the green beam. :) You use Hammer Shot, and eventually Medical Probe, to charge your weapons. When you hit 30, you use Supercharge Cells, which increase heals and Ammo regen, as well as enhance your healing spells. It's like Tree Form, except a little less powerful but all the same awesome.

Strengths

•  Heavy Armor: allows you to take more hits then normal. Aim is our primary dps/healing stat increasing ranged damage. Endurance is Stamina and Health Regen.
• Strong AOE: I have found that I can easily, at level 25, take out a group of mobs with just two AOE moves. Simple, effective, easy and fast. I can't do that on my Consular. 
• Ammo: I love Ammo. I think it is a really neat power source. The regen mechanic works well, and if your manage it properly, you can never run out of Ammo.
• Companions: We share gear with the first two companions we get, allowing us to easily hand down our gear instead of having to worry about making sure to find or purchase different gear for them. I find this a positive.

Weakness

• Companions: Unless you're a tank, the companion choices in the beginning are kind of meh. As a Commando medic, I would've preferred a Tank right away, but instead got a range dps and a healer. It's not much of a problem, but I wish it was different. If you let your companion run in first to hold onto threat, you risk him being gunned down quickly, while if you end up getting aggro from all the mobs, especially Strong mobs, it feels like
• Lack of AOE Heals: We only have one AOE heal, Kolto Bomb, and it's not nearly that strong, nor does it cover a lot of players. It's also an area spell, so hope everyone is next to each other, or use it on Melee. If Commandos are more tank healers, then I think this won't be a big deal, since Kolto Bomb can be talented to help stave off damage, making it effective for Tank/Melee combos in Operations. But for Flashpoints, it can be a hit or miss. 
• Early Levels: In the beginning it feels like you gain abilities slowly, and you're basically just Explosive Round-ing your way through combat for a while. Hammer Shots, while effective in management,is a weak attack. Of course, once you get AOE dps and the like, you'll start bum rushing your way through mobs. 

Leveling Experience (1-25)
Leveling feels a tad slow because you don't have many attacks in the beginning. While Explosive Round is pretty neat- it knocks down weak mobs in a small radius around the target, it's kind of boring. The only other move you have is Hammer Shot, which is fairly weak.
Once you get your AOE moves-Pulse Cannon, Mortar Volley, and Hail of Bolts (Commando)-leveling becomes a bit easier. While longer fights require you maintain a steady amount of Ammo, you can blow through your Ammo in short fights because you have Recharge and Reload (basically free water and food) to recover quickly afterwards.
For Elite mobs, it's pretty easy to solo them with the right tactics. I mainly send Aric (DPS Companion) in and load the heals onto him. It might take a bit of time, but it's easily doable.

I hope this helps for anyone starting out as a Trooper. I'll probably post some thing about Medic Commandos as I learn how to heal. It's been fun learning something different then the usual. I purposely avoided the HoT healing class (Sawbones Scoundrel Smuggler) so that I could do something different. My next class to post will be the Sith Inquisitor, which is basically a Jedi Consular. But with lightning. Thus cooler. Mwahahahahha.....

Holiday Update: SWTOR Edition

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you are all having a good one.
I've been really busy, clocking in 40 hours of work this week, and spending that extra free time running around doing holiday things, as well as traveling to a galaxy far far away. That's right people,
SWTOR is FINALLY HERE!
I absolutely love this game. It's everything I want from a MMO: Great lore, quality single player experience and opportunities to do MMO stuff too. Call me a product of the WoW casual age. But it's a game worth checking out.
I can't believe the details in this game. Storylines, little tidbits that allude to KotR. Space Missions are epic and fun!
Class Selection
So I had played a couple beta weekends, and from reading, I had the sense I wanted to be a Sith Inquisitor. I still do. Zap! Anyways, but we're playing Republic, so I ended rolling the equivalent, Jedi Consular. It was fun, and I liked throwing rocks and pieces of buildings at people. For the length of the beta weekends, I focused on these two classes.
Then I was given Early Access on the first day, in the second batch of email waves. I was originally going to play a Jedi Consular, and that is who I stuck with until level 10. Then I saw some Trooper shooting green lazer beams at me, and discovered they could heal to, so off I went to roll a Trooper. There were a few reasons for my class switch. First, was the storyline. I wasn't really into the Consular storyline. It's an interesting story, but I found the Trooper storyline far more interesting. Second was the companion choices. I kind of wanted to romance someone, and I found Aric to be more interesting then the Consular choices. I kind of liked that he acted like a jerk in the beginning. Yeah go figure. I'm THAT girl at heart. Finally, I liked the prospect of shooting big guns far more appealing then throwing bits of rock at people. And thus, Leda was born. I will eventually return to my Consular. Despite my misgivings, nothing beats wielding a lighsaber. Flat out amazing.
Character Creation
So despite the vast amount of character customizations available for all classes, ALL my characters look the same. Yep. I don't really want to be an alien, so I opt for human. I like being thin. lol. And I love this one hairstyle. There are no long hair hairstyles, which is a disappointment. I love long hair. So I opt for this pretty up-do with curls on the side. I use the same head, because the other heads are kind funky looking. I tend to choose between two different eyebrow choices. The only real difference is the eye and hair color.
It's kind of depressing. I wish I was more inclined to add some spice to my life. But considering the role looking at your character plays-I mean they are present in every cutscene, I can't completely blame myself. I also, for the first time, prefer to roll female toons instead of males. I find flirting with girls weird as a male. Maybe when they offer same-sex relationships, I'll feel less odd about it.
Leveling 1-25
I've only been able to reach level 25 on my toon. Leveling has been an overall enjoyable experience, with some frustrations here or there. The number one problem for me has been queue times. Bioware put us on a server that is usually Full, so I spend at least 25 mins during high traffic times, the times I can usually play, in a queue. Lately, the queues have been better, but I'm not entirely sure what Bioware has done to alleviate the problem. Did they add more instances, or are people just changing servers.
Sometimes, I find myself overwhelmed by Strong mobs, and my companion isn't much help. The AI is kind of meh. If I hope to keep them alive the entire fight, I have to make sure they aren't standing in fire and have to keep a good heal on them. That being said, they do allow me to solo Elite mobs, and as a healer, I can just pour heals onto them while they tank. They do a decent amount of damage and tank pretty well. I haven't used a healer yet, so I'm not sure how well the heals are. I've read somewhere that companions are about half a real player. The half that is missing is the half that gets out of fire.
The leveling speed itself is sloooowwwwww. It's not a bad thing. There are so many areas and planets to discover, I am okay with this pace. However, it probably feels slower thanks to WoW's super leveling on crack.
Crew Skills
Crew skills are amazing. It seems kind of slow in the beginning, with a 1+ minutes to create items. But once you have more then one slave companion, you can send them out to do your crew skills while you continue doing your thing. It's an amazing system. No more standing in Org crafting for 20 mins. They do it for you.  Absolutely genius. Where has this been all my gaming life?
Flashpoints
Flashpoints are fun. The boss fights have just the right amount of challenge to them. I like that some of the flashpoints are heavy story-wise. Although groups once again rely on the trinity (tank/heal/dps) I still find the entire experience epic, not normalized. Again, lightsabers change everything.   
Bugs
There have been some weird bugs. My lazer on my ship is bugged out so I can't complete the first space mission. I think they fixed it, but I have not tried it since I failed like 5 times.
My companions do some really weird crap ie-lie on the floor, a lot. Guild chat will randomly stop working. But still, overall a very clean, smooth launch. Except for the long queue times. Those suck. :(
Blog-ee Stuff
So obviously, WoW has been put on hold. I was willing to raid, as long as I was informed of times and people showed up, but raiding never happened. Our SWTOR guild has slowly been growing. I think a majority of people will be getting the game sometime after Christmas, so I am looking forward to being reunited with everyone again. I've still been messing around with Transmog, so I'll probably keep adding outfits when i have time. But to be honest, every single free moment has been spent leveling in SWTOR.
Love this game. You should all go play it.

Quick Updates

Finals
It's finals time, which means I'm not around. My free time is usually spent not studying, and raiding. 
Anyways...
Transmog
Since 4.3 hit I have been OBSESSED with transmogrification. I'm still desperately trying to figure out an outfit I really like for my Cursed Vision of Sargeras, which has ended up with me and headaches for many nights. I really should just pick some dumb rogue look-alike set and go for it. I did do an Ulduar 25 run the other night and was lucky enough to win The Lifebinder. Speaking of getting phat loots...
Dragon Soul
I got a bunch of gear raiding last night. My t13 hands dropped from the new BH boss and I won the roll for the One-handed mace, Vagaries of Time from the first boss of DS. The one who looks like Stonecore's boss...Ozruk...yeah...
It's a neat looking mace, with gears turning. Yeah. I've noticed a theme with the weapons, in particular. They either, look like we ripped a piece off of Deathwing and decided we'd use it as a weapon. Or, they have a Bronze Dragonflight flare to it. So I'm hoping to make with a Bronze Dragonflight theme to go along with it.
Early Access
I am SUPER EXCITED because early access for SWTOR starts next week. And guess who pre-ordered hers the first day and put in the code ASAP. ME! :D So hopefully I get a super early. 12/20/11 12/13/11!

Oh yeah! the whole reason for this post.
I updated my transmog page to include resources and separate pages for my outfits. I will be adding more soon! I hope you enjoy it!

super uber update rant extravaganza

oh Tyrael's mount, you elude me.
I have been really dragging (read digging) my heels about the annual pass. I really really want the mount. But lately, I just don't feel like devoting 15 dollars of my monthly pay check to the Blizzard's cash cow. Yes, I will be obtaining a free Diablo 3 copy, but I was thinking about buying the collector's edition anyways. And then there's the looming giant of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which, after a weekend of beta testing, I near wholeheartedly agree "... that people seem to find it hard to go back to other MMOs once they play The Old Republic." 
800,000 +....er...-
It does not surprise me that WoW has lost a significant amount of subscriptions in this last quarter. Considering it's the holiday season, games are raining down on us, and some of them are highly anticipated. I know multiple people who are leaving WoW for a few months while they bask in COD, Skyrim, and other games. Then with SWTOR looming overhead, I bet Blizzard might be squirming. I think the annual pass was an attempt to try and slow down the inevitable subscription downhill that Blizzard will eventually meet, as do all games. I mean, WoW is almost 7 years old. That's amazing in itself.
I have notoriously taken a lot of "breaks" from WoW. I always feel defeated when I return, tail between my legs, mainly because I miss my class, the friends I play with, or get just damn bored. Something that has been changing is the time I take in between return and break. It's getting smaller. I've only been "back" for a couple months and I'm already considering leaving again. Even with the promise of new content coming soon, I'm just not buying the same song and dance anymore. I was incredibly excited about Mists of Pandaria, but now all I do is watch SWTOR movies and wait for the next beta weekend eagerly.
What's your game?
Information overload has really affected how I feel about druids, and being one. The more I learn about the plans of evil Blizzard, the more I find myself walking away from druids. And I'm so dedicated to being a druid that becoming a "switcher" isn't appealing anymore. And I'm an altoholic. I hate MoP and 4.3 so badly.
The Trinity does not allow for Hybrids. 
Even as a druid, I'm really not buying this hybrid path. I am completely miffed that while other classes got cool new moves and exciting, OP talents in the MoP previews, we were given "hybrid" talents that really don't help us in our desired role. I can't understand how this is going to help a class in a game that's entire battle system is based around the "trinity"-Tank, Heals, DPS. It's entirely situational, and unless Blizz gives us opportunities (all the time), druids are looking at an interesting future. And it is a future I am not okay with.
There are other problems too, with druids being a "hybrid class" We're a hybrid class that needs to be in a narrowing, restrictive form, to play another role. Unless Blizzard has a plan to remedy this problem, I can't really see this working out at all. Of course, that being said, there's plenty of time until 5.0, so lots of time to figure out this stumping block.
4.3 can suck it
The other annoyance is the 4.3 changes looming over me. The nice thing is that by the time 4.3 comes out, I can jump ship into the warm arms of The Old Republic...
My GM, whose this lovable dude (and I am not saying this because he reads this ...hi Ish!), keeps telling me that everything is going to be okay.
I DO NOT THINK IT WILL BE OKAY!
Numbers don't lie. Blizzard's refusal to release or show any sign of helping druids continues to dishearten me. I don't know how long I can keep telling myself "It can all still change," before I sound like an ignorant idiot.
And it's not just the WG nerf. It's the glyph thing too. I hate that they keep trying to make us "choose" glyphs, but they give us no real viable options. How does that give us a choice?
Facing the truth
If I can't even be excited about my class, than how can I be excited about this game. It's tiring being so devoted to a game, and I don't mean just game time. I mean watching Blizzard's moves, and feeling like they affect me personally is getting to be too much.
I'm also just over the lore. That was the major draw for me, but at this point, I'm just irritated with it. Thrall annoys the hell out of me, Aggra can go die in Deathwing's flames, and the new Jaina story is something I really could careless about to speculate. Garrosh has lost my interest simply because I am sick of watching Blizzard drag his character through the scapegoat mud. I will always be a loyal Horde fan because of him, but I can do without watching him spiral downward.
So maybe it's time to move on. I am at another point where I want to step away from WoW again. There is very little I can say about how long it will be. Even without SWTOR or other games to keep me interested, I still don't log on. some good side affects from not logging on include going to bed earlier and not procrastinating on homework. And by the time I'm officially on Winter Break, I will have SWTOR in my hands.
Black Friday Plans
I've been working retail for over 5 years now. This will be my 6th Black Friday (x_x). I'm never really after the big deals: TVs or Computers. I can't. First, don't need them, but even if I wanted them, I'm working, usually in the morning. I do however, stock up on TV on DVD and movies. This year, I'll add music to the list.
The best thing about Black Friday for me is grabbing the TV on DVD that I want. These DVDs usually go for 40 dollars and upward, and every year I can expect to grab what I want for 7-15 dollars a piece. I'm excited to finally get Vampire Diaries 2 and Mad Men 4 for only 20 dollars total together. I'm probably going to travel to Walmart and Best Buy to see what's in their bargain bins as far as DVDs and CDs. I know Target has Lungs by Flo+ the Machine for 6 bucks or something which I am excited about.  The best thing to do on Black Friday is to look.
Games wise, I would love to ad the Diablo II battle chest to my collection, but I have not seen it on sale anywhere. I'm looking for the best Skyrim deal since I'm thinking this will be the game I'll go for if I finally leave WoW in the dust.
Also, once I get off of work, I'm racing home to log onto SWTOR. Can't wait for Beta Test this weekend. I think they also lifted the NDA too. Can't wait to read all the information pouring in. I am so excited for this game, and am 100% behind it.
So...new blog title? Force-casting? :)
Happy holidays everyone!

the past is depressing, but at least the future looks bright.

Is it Friday yet?
It's been a rough week and a half. A week ago from last Saturday, my grandma fell and broke her hip. It really isn't that bad at first glance, but being that she is 88 years old, and already full of old people problems, it was a horrific domino effect in her health. To be honest, I'm surprised that my grandma has lasted this long. She has always been very frail, specifically mentally. My uncle passed away a little over 2 years ago, and it has been rough on everyone, but I think mostly for her. Ever since then, her health has rapidly deteriorated, and her mental state has been the biggest fall.
Being in the hospital caused a lot of problems for her. Her anxiety has been erratic, and, while she's lashing out at people, her heart rate spikes. But that wasn't the first problem.
Before she could have surgery, they had to get the blood thinner medication she is on, out of her system. Then, they had to get her heart under control, since the extra stress was making it even weaker. Finally, her kidneys decided to start failing, so they had to put her on dialysis. Eventually, her kidneys began to function properly, but her constant anxiety, for being stuck in the hospital for so long, bedridden, kept keeping her heart rate spiked, keeping her from surgery.
It was an endless circle of problems. With some help from anxiety meds, we were able to get her into an incredibly calm state, and on Thursday, 5 days after she was admitted, she finally was able to have surgery.
The surgery went smoothly, but it was a 20 min surgery that ended up taking an hour and a half long.
It's Tuesday now. My grandma will hopefully be moved to a physical therapy facility by tomorrow, however, her anxiety is a constant problem. Health wise, she is considered a miracle case. Her kidneys are working without dialysis, and her heart rate is under control. She is no longer taking pain medication, and she is starting to take medication by pill form which is crucial to her getting out.
My grandma aside, the toughest thing is seeing my mom come home every night and start crying. She is the sole guardian of my grandparents, and although they are living in a great assisted living home, she still has to take them to every doctor's appointment and make all the tough decisions. My brother is currently in Florida, so I've been trying to be as supportive as possible. Unfortunately, this all  happened last week, during midterms. I completely failed one, and did so-so on another. I am extremely tired, and have been in and out of work.
The good news is that my failed test will not result in a failed grade because I've done well on other big projects. I am hoping to at least grab a C in this class. No high expectations here.  
On the bright side...
I am going to my first Blizzcon this weekend ! :D yay!
I'm really excited, even though I have no idea what to expect. I haven't gone to a convention in over a year (usually I pull off a Comic Con every year) so I am ready for this one. I was pretty sad I missed out on Comic Con this year. A lot of my favorite TV shows and actors were there, but I was not. :(
I'm interested to see what a convention based solely around one company will be like. i have gone to Anime Expo and Comic Con a lot, but there was always soooooo much to do. My boyfriend was wondering if I'd go to any lore or class panels, but I'm afraid it might involve me just being angry and fed up.
I am surprised that Blizzard has not commented on the Wild Growth nerf freak out by the community druids, and as patch notes get updated and changed, Resto druids have seen nothing. It's a very sad and painful thing to watch. I really don't feel like rerolling again.
I am really excited to see the Foo Fighters in concert! Yay! Blizzcon!
:D
In Game Shenanigans 
I've been leveling a rogue on the Horde side...for some reason. I'm not sure. The goblin starting area has Thrall in it, in all his new model glory. Unfortunately, his new model was bugged during the fight against Trade Prince. Epic, tiny (he had that shrinking debuff the whole time) fail. Glad I could do all the work. Aggra was also yelling at me to help Thrall, and I just wanted to punch her, like I normally do. :)
I never, in my life thought I would hate Thrall so much.
Although, I am still a huge Horde fan. I really want a Horde lanyard from Blizzcon. Before, I wouldn't even think of showing any WoW out of game pride. But now all I can think about is, man I want that lanyard. The more I play Alliance, the more I want to play Horde. For the Horde!!!!!
We haven't raided much this week because of real life problems. I'm okay with that. Although school is my main focus, the back of my mind is constantly the thought of what will happen when SWTOR comes out. Will I jump ship? Can I afford to have two subs going on? Will I even want to? Will SWTOR hold my attention longer than Rift? God I hope so. Since I am buying the Limited Edition. ><
Is it December yet?