Tuesday 26 February 2013

Tsulong & Lei Shi videos

Pushing through four new bosses during the same lockout is definitely our record!


Sunday 24 February 2013

HoF & ToES videos

Here are some recent Menagerie raid videos from Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring.




Saturday 16 February 2013

Screenshots on a Saturday

Fallen soldiers taste the steel of death, the daylight dawning
Sun will shine upon the lives of burning hearts of ice
As you break through the boundaries of life, this feeling of despair
And they die in their sleep for the world that will not care
You feel lost in this labyrinth of pain, this sickening dismay
There's a voice inside that's calling another wasted day
(DragonForce - Soldiers of the Wastelands)


























Tuesday 12 February 2013

Those times I wish WoW was "just a game"

I have no idea if I am yet in the state of producing any kind of intellectual text that is not completely overrun by emotion and comparable to drunken Facebook messages that should never have been posted, but I just have to do something. I have to try to get at least a few sentences out, because that contributes to me eventually feeling better.

I'll start by saying that WoW does not feel good at the moment. WoW is not my haven right now. Logging into the game is not the moment I forget about things, but the moment I get close to something I have remembered all along. It's like a drug addiction and I cannot decide whether to wean myself once and for all, or whether to reduce the dose slowly. And what that dose is exactly, I don't even know. Another question I keep asking myself is if I should let the sha infest me for as long as I become immune to it, or at least numb, or if I should try to push it away.

Truth is that WoW is not just a game. While I now wish I didn't always stick my heart in absolutely everything I do, that is exactly what makes WoW as it is. It's a game people play with their hearts. They've grown up with WoW and experienced life-changing events as a person who plays World of Warcraft. That's not to say I'm happy with how I feel, because it's bloody hurts. But that's life, and that's WoW. WoW is the only game I am willing to play even when it doesn't make me happy, and I don't even know why that is. Maybe it's special, maybe I'm just tied to it. Quitting WoW was never an option. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference if I did, maybe some people's WoW days would just shape back into what they were before they knew me. But I don't play World of Warcraft because it's a good game. I play it because it's my game, because it's permanently a part of me, whether I want it or not.

Good loa do I feel bad, though. There's no denying that. I absolutely hate feeling this way, but I also see melancholy as something beautiful. I'm emo like that, yes. Or just too much of a Finn. I can't help but wonder what things will be like from now on. Maybe now I can complete Loremaster of Outland and take some pleasure in it. Maybe now I won't feel like interfering someone else's domain. Or maybe I will find myself sitting on that bridge in Howling Fjord just staring at Skorn, because that view makes my soul rest. But what do you do when absolutely everything reminds you of something in particular? Do you just colour new content with new memories, or is it just a matter of getting used to it? Time gilds memories, does it not?

Nicasia's transmog in the spotlight

I'm no fashion blogger, but I've stuck to my main character Nicasia's transmog for quite a while now. I'm still not bored of it, so I figured I'd share it. It was the result of a sudden impulse, not the most serious one either, yet I am quite happy with the result.

My goal with her mog was to show as little skin as possible - quite unusual for a female draenei, eh? And to make it black. It had to be black. The belt is not entirely fitting, but I've loved it since WotLK. It was the first thing I bought with my emblems of... frost, valor, what were they again that bought you 264 gear? Although I do miss her signature look, the "frost shaman" that goes with her backstory, I am sticking to the following for now - probably until I get a 1-hander and a shield.

Earthfury Helmet
Ironaya's Discarded Mantle
Cloak of the Brood Lord
Chestguard of the Lasher
Gloves of Taut Grip
Waistband of Despair
Leggings of Dubious Charms
Stillwater Boots
Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker

Something to always be noted with Nicasia is that she does not show her hair. Not unless it's an intimate situation, and well, she doesn't end up in those very often. So now I would love nothing more than a black mail hood.

Wednesday 6 February 2013

What gear means to me

Item level this and that, don't you just hear that everywhere? I must admit I do keep close track of my item levels as well, and I would like to take a moment to explain why that is.

Most of all, gear means access to me - in more ways than just one. Having good gear gives you a VIP pass past all sorts of queues. While it's been long since I bothered pugging anything at all (excluding LFR), I am now looking into the opportunity of achieving the impossible via OpenRaid.eu, and I do feel that my item level is going to make a difference on that path. And whilst, very much thanks to the looking for raid system, there are well-geared people, who are more or less hopeless when it comes to playing the game, it becomes very important to realise that good gear does not equal good performance. Just like bad gear doesn't equal bad performance. Yet gear does set limits. Gear is the canvas you paint with your skill. To me, this represents access, as I find soloing content a very enjoyable way to spend time on the game.

In addition to that, gear can also be a personal achievement. It tells others I've been there and done that - hopefully also earned those pieces somehow. I don't really raid with anyone else but guild mates, and I am usually the loot master. I'm not really too fussed about winning as much stuff as possible. If the item's stats are better for someone else that needs it, I have no problem giving it to them, as long as I can trust that they will continue to put their effort in raiding with the group. After all, the point is not to acquire as much for yourself as you can, but make decisions that benefit the group as a whole. How I feel about raiding and loot is similar to - and please do forgive me for this allegory, it just happens to be perfect - relationships and sex. I wouldn't get into a relationship for sex, but it's a nice extra that comes with it.

What does gear mean to you? How important do you consider it?

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Last stage of Dragonwrath! & other dragons

If I had stuck to my original schedule, I would have finished my Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest quest line months before the release of Mists of Pandaria. Sadly I spent ages attempting to collect cinder, but was too lazy to get 1000 of it until yesterday. Thanks to a very nice guild run in great company, I am now on the last stage of the questline called Heart of Flame. At the last stage I must siphon 250 smouldering essence from dead Firelands bosses with the power of Runestaff of Nordrassil, and steal Ragnaros' heart. After this task, which will, knowing me, probably take months, it is time for my very own staff party.






Earlier that day we also got around to killing Sinestra in the Bastion of Twilight.