break time

I got the achievement What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been and got my Barney colored 310% flyer...and haven't logged in to thte game since.

So, maybe this is the way it will be. I went ahead and canceled the auto-billing feature on my account and it will expire on the 6th of October. Unless I really start to miss it, which hasn't happened yet, I will be taking a break. I may come back to play Cataclysm or if the Winter boredom sets in.

It's time for a break. That's really all I have to post.

at the crossroads

...not the one in the Barrens.

I'm at a crossroads in the game. I just don't know what I want to do with my playtime. I have been playing a little undead priest to see what it's like to a) not be a Tauren b) play a clothie. I have not been playing on Vashj. I'm back in school and working 40+ hours a week at my real job, raising a family and trying to spend time with family and friends.

So, what that really means is I cannot dedicate myself to progression raiding or anything more than casual raiding really. I do enjoy running dungeons and heroic dungeons as well. The problem is Limited Warranty rarely has enough people on to do them without PUGging them and I really dislike PUGging unless I am really desperate. So, most days I just do a few dailies and run a few BGs or log on to the baby priest to have a little fun.

I have been talking with Greatjohn after he transferred to Bound on Staghelm and have explored the possibility of transferring over there to help be a support player for their progression raiding guild. Things like farming mats, running alts through dungeons and filling on raids that they are no longer doing on progression nights. I'm not sur ethis is what I want to do yet, but I have made some inquiries.

The other option is just quitting for a while and see if my interest gets renewed when Cataclysm comes around. I know I probably sound like a broken record and I have said much of this in the past, but it hasn't really gotten any better. Who the hell knows what I will do, I'm actually kinda confused and frustrated by my current play time.

thought on RP...

I don't think I could actually get into full RP play - or be on an RP realm that enforced any of the 'rules', but I guess I do RP in my own way. What I mean by that is this, each of my toons has a little bit of backstory that I keep in my head. I know that it causes them to behave in certain ways, that are different based on which one I am playing.

I have not gone into the deep details of each one, just a basic idea of there individual personalities. I have no real idea who they are descended from, of whether they have brothers or sisters, none of that type of thing. I mostly play Taurens and I kinda view them as more identifying with the tribe than with a specific mother/father unit. I usually associate them with the Stonehoof tribe, mostly just because not a lot is written about them and there is nothing terribly special about my toons backgrounds.

Okole - a Shaman, is very much like the weather. He is specced for Resto and Elemental. As Resto he is a healing presence, but it doesn't come naturally. I feel kinda chaotic when I'm healing with him. As Elemental, he tends to attack anything that is necessary to accomplish the goals that are put before him and sometimes that extends to the surronding mobs as well. He loves achievement and titles.

Bumwaller - a Druid, is aware of the nature around him. Currently specced for Feral tanking, previously has been Resto and Balance both. He tends to only kill what is necessary, nothing else. Swoops in with flight form does what needs to be done and get back out. Doesn't look for a fight, but doens't back down if one comes along. Only has one title - Guardian of Cenarius, and that pretty much sums it up.

Gugalana - a Death Knight, is my newest toon and still kinda bitter about his position in life. He knows he is not really in alignment with nature and has done some horrible things, which he now regrets. However, he is still pretty angry and takes it out on pretty much everything he sees. NPCs, mobs, snakes, squirrels, you name it. He had lots of animosity to deal with and is not doing a great job of it.

That's the basics - not super fleshed out, but the attitudes I take when I play those toons. How about the rest of you?

More Blizzcon stuff

By now I'm sure anyone who is reading this little blog has already seen all the major blog coverage of the new features and changes for World of Warcraft. I'm not going to even attempt to recap all of that, head to wow.com or mmo-champion to get all the juicy details.

What I have seen that I like:
- Shakeup in the 'old world' makes leveling interesting again
- Heroic Shadowfang Keep sounds like a blast
- Worgen as playable class, they have an interesting backstory and can be Druids
- Guild leveling sounds interesting
- Path of the Titans/Archeology sounds like an interesting mini-quest game
- Flying mounts in the 'old world'

Things I'm not so jazzed about:
- Goblins

Things I am still not sure about:
- Removing Attack Power, Spellpower, etc from gear and using 'base' stats
- Troll Druids
- Worgen and Goblin Death Knights

EDIT - Just heard that Troll and Worgen Druids get there own unique feral forms! I like that.

Lots of changes

Reposting this from WoWHead -

• MP5 = GONE! Replaced with spirit, which will now be mana regen only—and non healers will have ZERO need for it.
• Spell Power = GONE! Replaced with Intellect, which now grants mana AND spell power.
• Attack Power = GONE! Agility now gives 2 ap for rogues, hunters, shamans, and druids!
• Defense = GONE! Tanks now receive ALL their anti-crit from talents!
• Armor Penetration = GONE! Replaced with "Masteries" through the talent trees!
• Block Value = GONE! Blocks will now be a REAL mitigation stat, preventing a % of incoming damage!
• Soul Shards = GONE! Will be replaced with a functionality more like DK runes, where you can use a "Soul Burn" spell once per shard per battle—and Soul Burn will increase the effectiveness of your NEXT spell a la Amplify Curse. Fears might become Instant, Searing Pains might have free crits, Death Coils might have increased Horrify duration, etc.
• Hunter Mana = GONE! Will be replaced with "Focus", which is similar to rogue energy, but regens faster when you use Steady Shot.
• Hunter Ammo = GONE! Replaced with an item, not a consumable!

WOW!

I mean, damn, I like it being simplified - but good golly. That is a lot of changes.

Blizzcon Time

It's that time of year again - BLIZZCON! I am not going and I am not buying the live stream, I'm just going to be watching the popular websites and checking the tweets from various people I know who are there.

Will we get confirmation of all the Cataclysm rumors? Will we get an announcement of the new MMO they are working on? Playable versions of SC2 and Diablo3?

Soon we will know the answers to all these questions and more...stay tuned.

W T F ?

So - I just say this post...http://www.wow.com/2009/08/14/new-race-class-combinations-datamined/

uhhh - new race/class combinations are speculated

• Human Hunter
• Orc Mage
• Night Elf Mage
• Blood Elf Warrior
• Dwarf Shaman
• Undead Hunter
• Tauren Paladin
• Tauren Priest
• Gnome Priest
• Troll Druid

I'm not yet sure if I like the idea, but my first inclination is that I do. I have never been a huge lore junkie, and this represents the evolving World of Warcraft. Why wouldn't some of those races learn to be new classes? Maybe we have learned from each other in the Horde and Alliance. Maybe we shared techniques and skills with the other classes and learned to adapt our race to thsoe new skills.

Most of what is listed - if true - actually can kinda make sense, except maybe the Tauren Paladin. I just don't see the Tauren buying into the power of The Light.

Now, I tend to play the Tauren and it is the inspiration for the name of the blog, and I am intrigued by the idea of a Tauren Shadowpriest as an option. I have never played a 'clothie' and maybe that could be an excuse to do it. The idea of leveling another toon does not inspire me, however.

Blizzcon is coming next week and I expect we will see this either confirmed or denied at that time. Hmmm.