WoW – Page 74 – A Pixel Nomad

Trying to Embrace Dailies

I dislike dailies. They make me feel obligated to log in for a bunch of chores that are not much fun and by the time I’m done them it’s usually time to log off. Lately I’ve been trying to embrace these dailies to see if I can look past them to the rest of WoD, because the rest is pretty fun.

Yesterday PR was due to spawn on our server. This is a named encounter that can spawn in 5 locations, and has a respawn timer of 46-92 hours. All information subject to change, this is just what I overheard while sitting in the raid. I waited a few hours while I worked on a crochet project, but the creature never spawned. By the time I had logged back in later in the evening, the crowd had dispersed, the mob having finally spawned for those who were patient enough to wait around for over three days. No thanks, not my cup of tea.

This morning I’m sitting in a queue for Ashran so I can try to complete the group daily. Unfortunately the queue lasts a long time, it’s limited by your faction. 100 players from each faction get in at a time. I’m not sure how long I’ve been waiting yet, but there’s a lot of complaints about the length. In the mean time I have other chores that I can work on. I managed to raise my cooking and fishing both to 700, and have been working on other achievements. I haven’t started playing any of my alts yet, which is a surprise. Normally I’m bouncing all over and not completing anything on anyone.

So can I look past my dislike of dailies to enjoy the actual expansion? So far I’m doing alright, but whether or not it will last is another story.

Molten Core Completed

I wanted to run Molten Core (the anniversary version) at least once to get the 640 ilevel helm and the corehound mount. I had heard that it was a soul sucking raid with no loot from any of the numerous bosses except the final one, and that I should expect to spend a few hours there.

Everyone who told me that was right.

Needless to say, I won’t be going back, not even for my alts. I don’t know who designed the revamped raid, but it felt like an insult to nostalgia instead of a tribute. My priest is now at 620 ilevel which is pretty low, and it’s no wonder as I have barely played since WoD released. I had fun the first few days but then the garrison grind caught up to me and I fizzled out much like I did with Pandaria and the dailies from that expansion. By the time I’m done my garrison chores, I just don’t have the time (or the energy) to play, so I log out.

At least I got a neat mount out of it, right?

What’s Your Favourite Type of Crafting?

I love crafting. It doesn’t matter what game I play, chances are I’m going to get involved. That doesn’t mean I like every type of crafting though. One of my least favourite crafting methods is the one you find in World of Warcraft, where you click one button to combine, and wait around until everything in your inventory is used up. It feels very hands free, and it’s meant to be that way. The ‘hard’ part involves collecting the resources, usually through combat (if you’re going to collect it yourself) and adventuring.

My absolutely favourite way to craft, was in Vanguard. Crafting was its own sphere, and did not rely on adventuring at all. You could do work orders where you were given the supplies you needed and only had to purchase the vendor sold components, and this was the ideal way to level, saving your hard earned harvests for actual useful items. It was difficult, complicated, and you would take pride in your creations. Through the use of powders and dusts you could customize every piece a bunch of different ways, and of course you could make pieces more rare than others. One of the best things about this system for me personally was that it wasn’t timed, like it is in EQ2. In EQ2 I feel like I have to constantly sit at the craft bench and not step away to answer the phone or go get the door, because my craft will fail. It’s a timed mechanic, and while I enjoy the process of crafting, I dislike being so tied to the desk as I craft. Sometimes I need to step away.

Crafting in WildStar is complex, but I feel it leans too much on the side of RNG rather than skill. I don’t like having to compete with RNG, because I typically (always) lose. ArcheAge crafting matches that of World of Warcraft, where it’s just a finger click to combine items in your inventory, so long as you have the materials available. There is a bit of RNG as you have a chance to “auto upgrade” an item as you craft it, but the system isn’t complex by any means.

So what are your favourite methods of crafting? Would you prefer to buy from crafters and not create your own items? Players who choose to harvest and sell those goods to crafters can make a nice amount of money in a balanced game, spending the money they earn from selling craft components back on crafters for their finished goods. Of course if you’re like me you have to DO ALL THE THINGS and so you’re both a crafter and an adventurer.

100 and Onwards

Weekend chores kept me from doing as much gaming over the weekend as I would have liked, but I still managed to inch my way to level 100 on my main in World of Warcraft. The leveling was incredibly fast, I was expecting it to be much slower. It dragged a bit from 92-95 and then flew the rest of the way. As soon as I reached 100 I went to the proving grounds as you’re unable to queue for some things without first, well, you know. Proving yourself. I thought I would have issues because I wanted to queue for dungeons as a healer but all of the gear I have been getting is for DPS, but I beat the silver healing scenario without too many issues (mana by the end of the 8th wave was pretty low, but no one died) and I’m pretty close to 610 ilevel (I think I’m at 608 right now). I got a 665 ilevel cloak at level 100 that was bind on equip from a random mob in the world, so that really helped.

Of course reaching 100 had other perks too. My garrison can now be fully upgraded, or at least it could if I had the resources. Like everyone else out there I’m still trying to collect enough for my upgrades, which of course doesn’t come easily when I’m constantly shifting my buildings around. My first follower is about to hit 100, and I’m hoping I figure out how you gear them up. Thanks to the salvage yard I have all sorts of tokens to upgrade their gear and weapons to 615, but at this point I don’t even know how to do that.

I’m really enjoying WoD so far, and it seems like Blizzard has a hit on their hands. So many friends have returned and even though I know it’s a temporary thing, it has been a LONG time since I have seen so many of my friends all enjoying themselves in the same game.

Warlords, Dragons, and Sackboys, Oh my!

Like a lot of my friends lately, I have found myself (most often than not) logging into World of Warcraft since Warlords went live. While I typically enjoy new expansion releases, this one in particular has pulled me in with their combination of cinematics, quests, and of course garrisons. Each day I log in to complete any garrison missions that I have left running over night, and pick up all of my work orders. On my main my garrison buildings include:

T2 grand hall
T2 mine
T2 trading post
T1 fishing hut
T1 tailoring emporium
T1 enchanter’s study
T1 stables

I haven’t been in as much a rush to unlock things because I’ve been leveling up, but I do tend to get distracted by the shinies. I’ve picked up quite a few battle pets, worked on archeology (which is where one of my latest pets came from) and of course have been having a blast just wandering through each zone. One of the things that really appeals to me is just how much stuff is out there randomly in the world. Besides the bonus quests you can wander into, I love that there are clickies scattered about randomly. I never know what I’m going to stumble into, and I love that.

Of course it wouldn’t be enough just to have Warlords launch, two other games that are going to be taking my time include the latest Dragon Age, and of course – Little Big Planet 3. I can’t wait to start playing that on my PS4.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, it’s great to be a gamer.