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.

Class Specific Outfits (minus druids)

Hunter

Alliance Hunter

Helm: Helm of Soothing Currents : Black Temple (High Warlord Naj'entus)
Shoulders: Rift Stalker Mantle : Tier 5 Token from Tempest Keep (Void Reaver)
Chest: Lord's Breastplate : Random drop; level 48
Hands: Rift Stalker Gauntlets : Tier 5 Token from Serpentshrine Caverns (Leotheras the Blind)
Belt: Tol'vir Hereditary Girdle: Drops from Cyrus the Black, rare in Uldum.
Legs: Frozen Forest Kilt : Ormorok the Tree-Shaper, in The Nexus
Feet: Savage Gladiator Greaves :  Drops from Anub'Shiah in Blackrock Depths (honestly, any black toed boots will do.)
Weapon: Brutal Gladiator's Longbow : Legacy PvP Weapon vendor in Stormwind/Orgrimmar.

Helm: Wyrmstalker's Headguard- Dragon Soul-Raid Finder (Token from Warmaster Blackhorn)
Shoulders: Wyrmstalker's Spaulders -Dragon Soul-Raid Finder (Token from Hagara the Stormbinder)
Chest: Mail of the Geyser -Legacy Justice Point Vendor in Dalaran (iLevel 264)
Hands: Spiritwalker's Gauntlets - Black Temple (Shade of Akama)
Belt: Naturalist's Preserving Cinch - Black Temple (Supremus)
Legs: Frozen Forest Kilt - Heroic Nexus (Ormorok the Tree-Shaper)
Feet: Boots of Oceanic Fury - Black Temple (High Warlord Naj'entus)
Ranged: Felglacier Bolter - Heroic Pit of Saron (Krick & Ick)

Warrior

The Unburnt

 
Helm: Jaw of Repudiation - Valor Point Vendor
Shoulders: Destroyer Shoulderguards - Tier 5 Token from Tempest Keep (Void Reaver)
Chest: Lifeforge Breastplate - BoE drop from Ulduar (Ignis the Furnace Master)
Gloves: Gauntlets of the Molten Giant - Tier 12 Cataclysm Justice Point Vendor
Belt: Girdle of Unyielding Trust - WotLK 226 ilevel Justice Point Vendor in Dalaran.
Pants: Legguards of the Molten Giant - Tier 12 Cataclysm Justice Point Vendor
Feet: Hellfrozen Bonegrinders - Blacksmithing Crafting 264 ilevel (Recipe from ICC Vendor)

Transmog Post: The Unburnt

 I've been a bit obsessed with George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it's TV show Game of Thrones. My favorite character is Daenerys, Mother of Dragons and the last of the Targaryen Dynasty. Half my toons are named after her and her family members.

One of her title is The Unburnt, which I thought would make a really cool RP type name for a DK. A Death Knight preserved by the fires of the Dragon Queen, similar to what happened (and which we don't know about...biggest kept secret on Azeroth...) to Bolvar Fordragon. Anyways, I started making an outfit based on fire, which was pretty easy considering Firelands, but in general, I never made an outfit I liked under this pretense.
This changed, however, when I started my warrior. While toying with gear that I liked, I found the perfect outfit that fulfilled what I was looking for. Although my warrior isn't called The Unburnt, I still think the outfit is pretty nice.

Helm: Jaw of Repudiation - Valor Point Vendor
Shoulders: Destroyer Shoulderguards - Tier 5 Token from Tempest Keep (Void Reaver)
Chest: Lifeforge Breastplate - BoE drop from Ulduar (Ignis the Furnace Master)
Gloves: Gauntlets of the Molten Giant - Tier 12 Cataclysm Justice Point Vendor
Belt: Girdle of Unyielding Trust - WotLK 226 ilevel Justice Point Vendor in Dalaran.
Pants: Legguards of the Molten Giant - Tier 12 Cataclysm Justice Point Vendor
Feet: Hellfrozen Bonegrinders - Blacksmithing Crafting 264 ilevel (Recipe from ICC Vendor)

The chest piece was a fluke. I lucked out on the AH one day. I like how its different and matches both the helm and the legs. I know the helm is supposed to be Deathwing-like, but I think it fits well.

Transmog Post: Blues and Purples

I have two new outfits to share, one druid and one hunter. I've been working on the hunter outfit for some time.
Hunter's got the blues (and golds)
The cool thing about wearing mail is that hunters can use some shaman looking pieces, so instead of being confined to scaley looking pants, I was able to create a very girly look with a long mail skirt. The main piece this outfit is centered on is the Frozen Forest Kilt, along with the Helm of Soothing Currents, which is based off the shaman tier 6 helm. While I hoped to get the matching recolored shoulders, The Wavemender's Mantle, I haven't had any luck yet. Luckily the T5 Hunter shoulders are a perfect match in terms of color and style. Don't ask how that weapon fits with the outfit...I just like it. >.<

Helm: Helm of Soothing Currents : Black Temple (High Warlord Naj'entus)
Shoulders: Rift Stalker Mantle : Tier 5 Token from Tempest Keep (Void Reaver)
Chest: Lord's Breastplate : Random drop; level 48
Hands: Rift Stalker Gauntlets : Tier 5 Token from Serpentshrine Caverns (Leotheras the Blind)
Belt: Tol'vir Hereditary Girdle: Drops from Cyrus the Black, rare in Uldum.
Legs: Frozen Forest Kilt : Ormorok the Tree-Shaper, in The Nexus
Feet: Savage Gladiator Greaves :  Drops from Anub'Shiah in Blackrock Depths (honestly, any black toed boots will do.)
Weapon: Brutal Gladiator's Longbow : Legacy PvP Weapon vendor in Stormwind/Orgrimmar.

The Dark Druid
So, as mentioned before, I was able to snag a beautiful Phosphorus Stone Drake on my beloved druid. It's my favorite of all the stone drakes, with its perfect shades of purple and grey. So, in honor of my new favorite mount, I pulled together a nice purple/black rogue-ish outfit.
There's a pretty long history behind this outfit. It's basically been in the making since I was able to snag my own Cursed Vision of Sargeras. I was going for a black, ninja/rogue like outfit during most of my efforts, but usually settled with just wearing it with some of my druid outfits simply because it's cool. I've always been partial to Mantle of Shadowy Embrace, because I like its mixture of black and dark purple, but the piece itself isn't part of a set, so I had to come up with that on my own. The only other full purple set is a recolor of the Shadowcraft armor (heirloom/replica), and I didn't like the legs of it. I was soon able to find a Proto-Hide Leggings off the AH, an Ulduar BoE drop, and was delighted that it fight in perfectly with what I was looking for. I'm very happy with the final product, although I would like to eventually find a more suitable staff.  

Helm: Cursed Vision of Sargeras : Black Temple (Illidan)
Shoulders: Mantle of Shadowy Embrace : Keli'dan the Breaker, H Blood Furnace
Chest: Vest of Vengeance : Keli'dan the Breaker, Normal Blood Furnace
Hands: Deft Handguards : Quagmirran, Normal Slave Pens
Waist: Shifting Sash of Midnight : Reinforced Fel Iron Chest: Normal Hellfire Ramparts
Legs: Proto-Hide Leggings : Ulduar Trash Drop
Feet: Rapscallion Boots : Karazhan (Shade of Aran)
Weapon: Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love: Icecrown Citadel 10 man (The Lich King)
Here's a shot of this outfit with my new drake :D

(I still need the feet :( )

Oh hai awesome sauce

I just need to say...my boyfriend is one amazing, resilient man.
And did I mention that one of the things I am looking forward to in Mists of Pandaria is account wide mounts...

Oh yeah...

  Yep... this did just happen...
:)
More details in my next post...now back to bed. -_- zzz

Cataclysm Reflection

I have to admit- which is hard for me because a lot of people I know aren't necessarily on the same boat as me- but I am really excited for Mists of Pandaria. There's something so exciting about new content in WoW that gets me giddy. I did not feel this way at all for Cataclysm. In fact, I was flat out dreading it. I was extremely content in my WotLK happy-land, and most of my favorite memories happened in that expansion. Fast forward to the end of Cataclysm, and I've traveled servers, lost guilds, switched alts, PvP'd, quit, joined other MMOs, all to end up back here, where I eagerly await MoP. Cataclysm can soon become a faint memory...a forgotten, badly digested meal. And yet, it's effects on me are endless. I'm entering MoP on a realm, nearly by myself, with a class I am very worried about. The silver lining is that I get Tree form back.
So Cataclysm, what happened? How did I end up here? And how am I still playing?
Hopping of all sorts.
Cataclysm started out good. We were cruising through Tier 11 content fast and were well on our ways to finishing normal in a timely fashion. Then suddenly, a lot of people had real life hit them, and the guild disappeared. I was a bit shocked by how fast things changed, but it had happened in WotLK, and I had somehow dealt with it.
But when I look back on it, I had a horribly long journey into finding a new guild after <Taint> fell apart. I sat around with the skeleton crew for a few months, before trying out 25 man casual raiding (short...there's no such thing), then 25 man hardcore raiding (too...bleh), before finally landing in a 10 man casual/hardcore guild. This was the guild I felt mostly at home with, had my greatest raiding experience in, and am probably most devoted to. Even today, while not in WoW, I keep in touch and have followed them to other games. So the entire idea of searching for a new WoW guild after them seemed nearly impossible. It looked long and tedious, and I honestly didn't think I would find a place or people that I felt as comfortable with as I did them.
I stopped playing right in the middle of T11, before that ZA/ZG patch came out. A couple of my old guildies tried out Rift, so I followed them as well. It was fun, but we all lost interest after a bit.
Some of my real life friends convinced me to try out a new realm that they played on in WoW, and I raided a majority of Tier 12 with them. It was a different experience, but we still progressed well. Had LAN parties. I had my frustrations, but thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. Still, time went on, and SWTOR was around the corner, so I left shortly after T13 was released. I really liked SWTOR, and spent a lot of time playing it. But something also wasn't right.The game lost its sparkle for me shortly after I hit 50 on a toon. I tried making alts, and at one point, got really into one, but once I hit a certain chapter in the story, the newness faded fast. I returned to WoW, simply because my druid will always be that comforting blanket I can't live without. Ultimately, I ended up with a friend on Icecrown. I'm pretty satisfied here, although I'm still stuck playing Alliance. Icecrown is well populated realm that's PVE, and after the news about Garrosh, I'm pretty sure this is where I will stay into MoP.
What can I do for you?
Perhaps the most serious problem I felt was how druids, particularly restoration, was being handled throughout Cataclysm. We struggled in Tier 11, were amazing in Tier 12, then nerfed back to Tier 13. While I have yet to really feel these changes, I look at what is in store for us MoP and seriously worry about where we are going as Trees. But hey, we are going to be trees again you know. The biggest problem I see with us isn't that we are being nerfed, buffed, nerfed or anything of the sorts- I just don't feel like we are given a clear goal- we're constantly in this grey area, where we are okay at everything, but not really particularly good at anything. And while that's not terrible, it has its downsides when we seriously lack utility or uniqueness. Sure, we're the "HoT" class, but how effective is that really? It can be, but its not why we're picked up as a class. It's not for Rebirth, since someone else can do that now. Our healing output is subpar at best. Our AoE heals have been nerfed back to Tier11 status, which isn't good. Looking into MoP, there are some signs of hope. In our talents, we get a possible utility buff, and Nature's Swiftness was buffed a bit. I haven't seen any vast improvements, and Healing Mushrooms (technically our ONLY new healing spell) is subpar at best. We are being loaded down with GCDs (both Lifebloom and Healing Mushrooms require 3) and I'm kinda worried about how our toolbox is shaping out. But I'm clinging to the belief that there is some hope before I through in the towel and switch classes. There was a time where I was going to- I thought I'd go hunter and do DPS, but I always came back to my druid. It's like with a sports team. I'm not a bandwagon fan; I'm a true fan. Been in it forever, through the bad and good. And sometimes I feel like I will be there through it all, because despite everything, my druid is still my main, my favorite class.
One is the loneliest number
The biggest downfall of Cataclysm was that I lost a lot of friends. To real life, boredom or disinterest.
I didn't really lose them- the wonders of Facebook. But, in general, I am alone on my server, trekking my way around. You can't really blame people; between expansion time is the quietest time in guilds all around, and with other games like Diablo 3 and SWTOR out, there's plenty of other choices to take into consideration. It's certainly not their fault that I'm the only person in the world that found stuff to do on WoW. But sometimes, those empty guild chats and quiet friends lists can be discouraging.
Luckily, a huge thing Cataclysm taught me was that, although at times limiting, I can trekk through an MMO as a solo player just fine. Whether it be earning gold, leveling new toons, or simply preparing for the new expansion, I've found plenty to keep me busy, especially as of late. You learn to take things in stride, even when you feel lonely. And leaning towards appealing to the casual gamer, something Blizzard seems to have shifted their focus on, has plenty of benefits for the solo gamer as well. Unfortunately, I don't feel that Cataclysm was made that way, so the transition might've been a bit hopeless in this expansion. Yet this direction is taking full shape in Mists of Pandaria, and I am definitely looking forward to it.
Final Thoughts
So how do I feel about Cataclysm? Well, to be honest, especially compared to WotLK, I hated it. It was...if I will, a "Cataclysm" for me and my Wow playing. I left the game a lot (once for Rift, once for SWTOR, and one kinda time for Diablo 3) and didn't regret it. I lost a lot of interest in raiding, leveling became so easy it was a bore, and the community seemed to become more distant, yet restless at the same time.
I felt incredibly alienated as a resto-druid player. The ups and downs of our changes in each tier was discouraging at best. I still sometimes feel that they have no idea what to do with us. We didn't have the right utility, we didn't have the good enough output (and when we did, people QQ'd and we got nerfed). We keep getting told our toolbox is good enough (which it could be yes), but over and over, it seems that that belief is flawed.  
Raiding and healing has become a stale activity. I particularly don't care for raiding anymore. Finding a guild is difficult, especially one I want to raid with, and the LFR experience is nothing I want to experience anytime soon.
Still, like I've said before, I'll stick it out. There are some fun, albeit shallow, things to look forward to in MoP, and I realized that if focus on the solo experience, and the smaller group content, and the Pet Battle System, I'll be fine. For how long though, remains to be seen.

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.