Leveling 1-10

It's been a long time since I played a character at level 1. When Burning Crusade first came out, I tried out the Blood Elf starting zone and got hooked on playing a mage all the way to 70 - and that was the last time I bothered with low level stuff. When I read the BlogAzeroth shared topic for this week, I honestly couldn't remember what it was like to level from 1-10... especially not for Druids, the class this blog is ostensibly about. So I decided to try leveling a new Druid from 1-10 this evening in order to refresh my memory.

Well, I made it to level 5...

There are lots of little nitpicking things that make starting levels un-fun. Just one offensive spell, slow movement, no bag space, and so on. But for me, there one main thing that made the experience unbearable: cliffs. When one is bumbling along at the speed of an injured duck, and one can't get out of an ominously-lit ravine because one keeps running into steep cliffs, it really sucks the fun out of one's evening. Flying mounts were the best thing ever added to the game. When I get immersed in a fantasy world of high adventure, the last thing I want is to be stymied by a stupid wall and have to run all the way around.

I can understand not wanting everyone to have flying mounts right off the bat. They're a nice reward to look forward to for achieving a certain level. What I'd propose for starting levels is an ability to jump up terrain. Much like that quest in the middle of Icecrown, low-level characters would have to aim at certain spots and re-aim their jump target in order to scale mountains and cliffs. That way there's still some effort involved, but it's a lot more fun than cursing at the computer and doubling back across a large portion of a zone.

If that feature were made available, maybe I'd level my poor little druid from 5-10.

Does a Bear Spit in the Ocean?

The Oregon Coast blows me away, with its sheer cliffs and stark shorelines, especially after growing up with the imported sand and noisy crowds of cheap touristy beaches outside Northeast cities.

 Rawr I'm a Beachbear!

Snakes in the Woods!

I helped lead an annual citizen science survey of reptiles and amphibians. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of young boys involved in the survey - and a few little girls. It was fun to share in their glee at creepy crawly critters. Their sheer awe at every Garter snake was contagious.

Common garter snake (and some strangers' hands)

Wow, did they get excited when it was one of them who spotted a snake first! But of course that didn't happen often, since they made so much noise that most snakes slithered away before being seen. The kids spotted 2 Garter snakes, the adults spotted 6, and the official reptile expert spotted and caught a rubber boa.

 Rubber boa

I was excited about the rubber boa since I'd never seen one before. I hadn't even realized that there were boas in this region. They're very shy snakes, compared to the garter snakes that can often be seen basking in the open. Rubber boas have stubby, non-tapered tails, so it can be difficult to tell which end you're looking at if you see them on the ground.

Which way is forwards?

Overcoming Warlock Addiction

Lots of folks feel dependent on having a warlock to tank Keleseth for the Blood Princes fight. Well, my guild only has one warlock, and he didn't sign up for my 10 man. No one in our group had done the fight without a warlock, so we had to figure out how to be flexible with our roles to make it work.Our group consisted of:

Bear

Prot Pally

Resto Shaman

Holy Priest

Moonkin

Enhance Shaman

Fury Warrior

Frost DK

Shadow Priest

Setup 1: Moonkin tank, 2 healers

The moonkin was dying WAY too fast. It was also difficult to keep aggro on several Dark Nucleii at a time.

Setup 2: Moonkin tank, 3 healers

Our shadow priest switched to healing, and the holy priest helped gather orbs for the moonkin, but we still couldn't keep the moonkin up.

Setup 3: Spriest tank, 2 healers

Maybe with all her dots, the Shadow priest would make a better Keleseth tank. That does make it easier for her to manage Dark Nucleii, but she still takes too much damage from Keleseth. 

Setup 4: Bearkin tank, 2 healers

We discuss having the moonkin put on his ToC level tanking gear and try tanking Keleseth as a bear instead. Maybe he can manage Dark Nucleii with feral faerie fire? But before we actually make a pull with this setup, we conclude it won't work as well as:

Setup 5: Spriest tank, 3 healers

I convince the reluctant shaman to put on his (ungemmed) ICC level healing gear. The shadow priest manages LOTS of Dark Nucleii, and healers are able to keep her alive. This setup gets the boss down on the first try. Hooray, we have overcome our warlock addiction!

Bear Leadership

Part of my motivation for joining Conquest was the fact that they have such strong leadership, so that I wouldn't have to bear the burden of leading raids. I was sick of trying to motivate a pack of people into doing their very best and making the most of raid time. But recently one of the officers left the guild (to my great relief - his attitude was enough to make me consider leaving), creating an opening to lead a 10 man group. Up until Sunday I hadn't wanted to go back to leading raids - but when the option was there, I suddenly really wanted to.

I really enjoy running with Bossy Pally for 10 mans. But I didn't want to take over those, because she's a good leader and it would feel weird 'taking over' from her. On the other hand, taking over a group formerly led by a loudly obnoxious misogynist - so that both guild 10s are led by women? That's more appealing. Maybe I'm doing this to show my feminist colors; to demonstrate the basic fact that women are good gamers and good leaders. Or maybe I just miss bossing people around more than I thought I did. My first Conquest raid is tomorrow night, and I'm working hard to be super prepared and impress everyone. I hope I still got it!

Horde Memorial

 

Today marks four months that I've been Alliance after four years of playing Horde (other than that one short mishap at the beginning). For the most part, I hardly notice being the opposing faction - cosmetic and lore differences are insignificant now that my focus has shifted to fairly serious raiding - but part of me will always be attached to Tauren. I sifted through many accidental screenshots to find some good ones that pay tribute to my Horde days.
 

Taking over the Alliance Ship

from Borean Tundra to Stormwind and Goldshire

 

Bear Cavalry

I spent days farming Dire Maul

to get Ogre suits for my whole guild

Playing with a ghost kitty

All-Druid Culling of Stratholme

Ever since I tried out the polar bear skin, I've been hooked!

Top 3 ICC Fights for a Bear

Here are my personal favorites:

3. Professor Putricide
Okay, I don't actually get to be a bear for the majority of the fight... but bumbling around as an adorably hideous abomination is fun! I only wish that there was a loud slurping emote sound when the abomination drinks the slime pools. It's fun to see how much I can slap the boss and oozes while still keeping up with slime pools.


2. Dreamwalker
Once again abominations are involved! I'm the designated "abom" tank so I get to spend the whole fight running around picking up those big guys before they eat dps or healers. I enjoy wave fights a lot because it takes so much more effort and quick reflexes to pick up and maneuver adds than to stand there staring at a boss crotch the whole fight.



1. Gunship
Rocket-butt-bear! Need I say more?