The first minute or so of this thing GETS ME EVERY SINGLE TIME. Just, ugh. It’s feels all around and it’s worse if you’ve played Warcraft III.
“No king rules forever, my son.”
Just… ugh… no, these aren’t tears, I have allergies…
All posts by Pike
Outlands Leveling Is Weird, AKA Loremaster Is A Pain
I’ve recently been working on and off on the Loremaster achievement. I’ve kind of been opting to do it by way of my alts: as they level, I’ve been having them max out the quests in whatever zone they’re currently in. Between the three baby alts I’m currently leveling, I should be able to hit every zone in Outlands.
Granted, I’d forgotten that Outlands, as much as I love it, is a pain to level in. Flight paths are few and far between– the flight master’s map looks positively barren compared to what we get now– but even worse, each zone has like 90 quests in it and many of those quests are really hidden, because they’re either started by rare drops or they start in a completely different zone or something like that.
My current nemesis is Blade’s Edge. My poor druid has racked up something like 70 quests in the area but there’s, like, 17 more to go for the achievement. But they are nowhere to be found! All the quest hubs are cleaned out. All the quest lines have been finished. I don’t see any loose story threads anywhere.
So where are all these other quests? I’ve got to get my druid to 70 and then hit up Ogri’la, maybe? Who knows!
I’m considering downloading an addon to help me keep track of this stuff. It’s all just proving to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. And Outland sure has a lot more quests than I remember it having. Sheesh!
Hey Readers, I Baked You a Cake
…okay, I mean, I didn’t really bake you a cake. But. It’s the thought that counts, right?
I have nothing new to report in World of Warcraft because I am busy playing the heck out of Diablo 3. I’m pleased to report that this game is the most fun I’ve had in quite some time, and since it’s a Blizzard game, it’s also fiendishly addictive so it’s all I’ve been playing.
I really love my wizard a great deal. I’ve tried to get into the other classes and find them less fun, for whatever reason. There’s just something about being a little bundle of arcane energy and exploding everything that’s really refreshing.
You guys won’t mind if I talk about stuff that isn’t WoW, right? All three of you readers who are actually still here?
Good Games That Are Good: Super Mario Bros. 2
Ah yes, Super Mario Bros 2. The Star Trek V of Mario. That weird game that was originally something different entirely: a non-Mario game called Doki Doki Panic. Those of you who have played it know what I’m talking about, and there are many accessories to play this games as monitors or headsets that are easy to get from sites like HotRate online and others. Those of you who haven’t, well… it’s a game that involves going around throwing beets at things.
The really fascinating thing about this game, when I was a kid and first played it, is that it’s filled with little secrets. For example, you can throw a magical potion on the ground to make a door. This door takes you to an alternate version of your current location for a few seconds, where you usually do things like collect a couple of coins. For more fun games just go here and try this 7s to burn online slot.
Here’s the catch – you can take the magical potion wherever you want (so long as you don’t drop it), and occasionally you’ll find some really unexpected stuff in that alternate universe. Like warps to levels much farther along than you are currently.
Anyways, this was all very fascinating to me. More so than any other classic Mario game, SMB 2 felt like the world was full of really weird hidden mysteries. Sure, the original SMB had the hidden warp pipes in 1-2 and SMB 3 had the whistles, but something about stumbling on warp vases in that dark alternate universe was really mysterious. It may be the weakest of the original NES Mario “trio”, but it sure made up for it with the hidden surprises factor.
Also you could play as Toad.
Which is awesome.
Holiday Ends – Stuff n’ Things
Quick and Easy Back to School Shopping Tips
Here are the most common tips and tricks to make your back to school shopping an on-budget breeze.
1. Remember priorities
It’s easy to get caught up in everything your child could want or need for school. Remember that your priority as a parent is to buy what is on their school list and to send them to school in clothing and shoes that fit, everything else is a bonus.
It is not worth it to go into credit card debt for locker mirrors, the trendiest, brand-name shoes, or school supplies your kids simply don’t need. Before you go out and shop, set a spending goal that will cover the priorities and whatever bonus spending you can afford.
Don’t forget to include sports fees, doctor costs for physicals or immunizations, classroom parties, or any other items associated with school. I fully suggest checking out these cougar paper deals.
2. Compare online
Compare prices online before you leave your house. Wal-mart and Target fight over back to school dollars as well as many office supply stores. If you need pricey items like that scientific calculator, check Ebay, Craigslist, and Amazon too.
3. Print out coupons
If you know you will be going to Old Navy for clothes and Target for pencils, do a quick search online for store coupons. Retailmenot.com is a great place to look for online shopping while Savings.com is good for in-store shopping and sales information.
4. Group shop
All the kids in my neighborhood go to the same elementary. If you know other parents of children in the same grade, perhaps suggest splitting the list and sharing the load.
If might seem too much to comparison shop 40 items for your two children, but if you can get a group together, perhaps each parent can handle finding the best deal on only five items.
5. Keep your receipts
Perhaps you bought the wrong type of school paper, or those shoes start pinching your son’s feet. Make sure you can make an easy, no argument return by keeping your receipts.
6. Consider other stores
The Dollar Store, Dollar Tree, and Five Below might not come to mind when you are thinking of school supplies, but competition in these low-priced stores is fierce. These stores are also typically located next to a Target or Walmart.
Stop in here first and see what they have before going to other locations. If you find something cheaper elsewhere, you will be right next door and will have your receipt.
The Dollar Store and others are also a good place to buy very inexpensive little birthday presents needed for class parties and other invites throughout the year.
7. Stock-up
If you find an amazing deal on something your children need throughout the year, stock-up! Maybe there is a great deal on granola bar packs at the Dollar Store, or watercolors that your daughter loves.
Stock-up for a months worth of snacks or hours of painting time (and an easy birthday party gift) while you are out. Just remember your budget and stock up if only a truly great deal.
Five Awesome TBC Stat Sticks For Your Upcoming Survival Transmog
So Survival is gonna be a melee spec in Legion, eh? Well, I don’t really plan on respec’ing, but I am glad I’ve got all my old favorite stat sticks squirreled away just in case.
What’s that? You want to know which ones I’m talking about? Alrighty then: Pike’s list of her Five Favorite TBC Stat Sticks.
Sonic Spear
Sonic Spear was the first item on pretty much any fresh 70 hunter’s list, and for good reason: it was just about the best thing you could get until you were halfway through Karazhan. Having one of these suckers meant you were serious about getting into heroics and raiding, and it just looked super cool to boot – especially when enchanted.
Terokk’s Quill
The “alternate” Sonic Spear, Terokk’s Quill was especially great for Survival hunters with all of its agility. This is because back then Survival hunters had a raid buff called Expose Weakness which scaled based off of the hunter’s agility, so you wanted to stack it. Oh, and like Sonic Spear, it looks super awesome.
Legacy
A true Rite of Passage for any hunter beginning raiding, Legacy was one heckuva weapon. It was tough to even see it, because it only dropped from one Opera event (picked at random every week) and then only 22% of the time. But once it did, you’d be wearing this thing for a long time to come and with its distinctive design you could show off in town that hey, you were doing raids and stuff!
Halberd of Desolation
A drop from the first boss of Black Temple, Halberd of Desolation was a true sign that you were playing with the Big Kids. The fact that you had to be in a BT-ready guild to get it, combined with its appearance and super cool glowy affects, meant that having one would earn you the envy of all the little baby hunters in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
Shivering Felspine
Shivering Felspine is dropped very rarely by Sunwell trash, which made it another highly coveted high-level item. Its design matched many of the Sunwell gear drops quite nicely, and back in those pre-transmog days it was neat to have a weapon that matched your set.
So there you go. Five really cool stat sticks to start farming now if you want a neat retro transmog for your melee hunter. Or maybe you’re like me and have got ’em all in your bank already. Hey, I knew being a packrat would be good for something!
I Was Gonna Delete These Characters, But…
So the other day I figured I’d do some Spring (uh, Autumn) cleaning and delete a couple of old characters that I haven’t played in years.
Then I made the mistake of logging in on them to see if they had anything cool.
Hunters with intellect gear!
Hunters with quivers and arrows!
But what really got me were the pets. The above troll hunter had a snow leopard from Dun Morogh, so presumably I ran her up through Stranglethorn Vale at level ten all the way up to Ironforge. I also had a tauren hunter, similarly low-level, with an owl. From Teldrassil.
Teldrassil!
Now I suddenly find myself loathe to delete these two characters. I’ll probably never play them again, no. And yet they remind me of a time long, long ago, when hunters had mana and arrows and when I’d take each one on a weird little journey to find the most unusual pets for them.
Do you have any characters like that, who you don’t want to delete?
I Kind Of Think I’m Done With FFXIV
Yep. I think I’m pretty much done with A Realm Reborn. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s pretty fun. It’s very good looking. There are a lot of things that it does better than WoW. But when it comes down to it, well… I’d still rather be playing WoW. Or Diablo 3. (I’ve kind of been playing a LOT of Diablo 3 as of late.)
So yeah. It’s certainly not something I’d be averse to trying again in the future, especially when I have more time. But for now… I think I’d rather be in Azeroth. Or Sanctuary. (Mostly Sanctuary. Can’t lie.)
Playable Triple Triad was a really nice touch, though. Now, if only I was any good at it…
#wowconfessions
So this #wowconfessions hashtag was making the rounds on Twitter for a bit this morning. My two token contributions were:
- I still get lost in the Exodar and have to hearthstone out
and
- In all my time spent playing this game, I have only ever leveled two classes to max. (One druid and three different hunters.)
Honestly I could probably think of more confessions, given a bit of time. But those were my two big ones.
What are your WoW Confessions? Confess them to me, my child. Then go, and sin no more.
Four Reasons Why I’m Still Playing WoW
These days it feels kind of… well, not really embarrassing, but weird to admit that I still play it. It’s like saying “I still write checks” or “I still have a VCR” or something. Isn’t WoW that game that everyone’s moved on from by now? Aren’t all the hip and happening gamers playing FFXIV and Dota 2 and Hearthstone and all that other stuff?
And yet eleven years after its release, I’m still here in WoW. Why? Well, I imagine everyone has a different answer to this question, but for me, it comes down to four main reasons:
1.) WoW Token
For me, this is definitely the biggie. If I still had to cash out real money for this game, there’s a good chance I would be either on hiatus right now or heading to hiatus very soon. But since I can make enough gold to pay for my subscription just by doing garrison stuff every day… why not stay subscribed?
2.) WoW is a Theme Park Game
In a way, WoW reminds me a lot of those games that were big in the late 90s. Stuff like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. The gimmick in those games were that there were a bunch of mini-worlds inside a big overworld, and you could go to whichever mini-world you wanted to go to.
WoW is similar. It’s been around for so long and there’s so much to do at this point that it just feels like its own mini theme park. Even if you don’t raid, there’s stuff to do. It’s a lot of entertainment for free (if you’re using the WoW Token).
3.) I Like the Lore and World
It’s probably a little silly but it’s actually one of the things that keeps me invested in the game. If I didn’t find the lore and characters as interesting as I do, I don’t know if I’d still be playing.
And, finally…
4.) It’s Just Comforting
Because I know all the little nooks and crannies of this game, I can sit down at the end of a long stressful day and shoot stuff without thinking or worrying. It’s pretty nice to have a ready-to-play comfort game.
So yeah. It’s 2015 and I’m still playin’ WoW. Hey, I’ve also still got a CD player in my car and I still wear a watch. It’s all good.