Guild Chat

Each guild has its own personality, you can see it not just in their tabards but in how they relate to one another in their speech. With some of the new features Blizzard has added guilds whose chat consisted of nothing more than "Anyone want to do a heroic?" or "Can anyone craft X?" have become a virtual ghost town. My own guild has such a diverse make up that our guild chat is one of the things I love best about it. We have some members as young as 10 (yes they play with their parents), all the way up to individuals who count their grandchildren into the double digits. This leads to some pretty diverse conversations.

Recently I mentioned how I have some guild mates who are a tad obsessed with non combat pets. (For those of you who are wondering yes I did complete United Nations.) This leads to many hours spent doing nothing more than hanging out in damp caves awaiting the spawn of rare shale spiders or hunting foxes in Tol Barad. (I would know little about these obsessions. No, I don't want to discuss my own hours farming little known reputations or looking for some elusive stone drake in Deepholm thank you very much.) It is our chatter that allows us all to think we are still sane, or at least all slipping into insanity together.

During the day time college students who are between classes, home schooled students, stay at home moms and our over seas contingent (both military and civilian) generally control chat. This means topics can  fluctuate wildly from what works best for the teething infant to foreign currency and shipping rates. Most often though it is full of silly role play in which guild members ambush each other while doing dailys. Druids accused of stealing nodes have been known to leave hawk chalk on their victims heads while flying away with the spoils.  Unknown rogues may go riffling through unprotected pockets while the unsuspecting are surveying the latest offerings at the auction house only to announce that "they can't afford to purchase anything with only pocket lint and an empty wallet."

Later in the afternoon we get a little more "high brow" as one of our guild members is well known for spouting off little known facts he has discovered while reading or watching the history channel. Often introducing his topic with things like "I will be tank tonight for whoever can tell me who was the first President of the United States."  That particular one brought about the conversation of how the United States formed ITS government which lead into what is going on in our world today and how some nations are attempting to reform their governments.

Most often though we fall into discussions of food. I swear we all have gained at least 10 pounds from guild chat alone. At times it is worse than the food network. It has gotten so bad we had to outlawed the topic during raids to prevent distractions.  Have you ever had a conversation where you described a country using nothing but food? I have....

So what about all of you? Is your guild chat something you enjoy or is it just white noise you never even notice? Does it even exist anymore in the modern age of the Dungeon Finding Tool? Do you miss it? Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of role play to bring it back....at least for us.

BBQed

Sadly it wasn't on Dar but on one of my alts. I did manage to pull myself together enough to get a screen shot. It happens so fast that you really don't get a chance to do much more than realize that your screen is going red, Deathwing is coming, he is unbelievably huge and BOOM your dead. So far I know only two others that have gotten hit. One, my mount farming partner, logged onto his Hunter in the Plaguelands to get one of the new pets and got it, not even realizing what happened, it was only the achievement popping up in Guild Chat that told the rest of us. Then later he missed out on getting it AGAIN on another alt by walking into a building, our healing lead who he was questing with got it because SHE was standing out side the building.

I will admit, the aftermath is pretty amazing.

Holy Grails

I was recently reading a book in which the main character was assisting Sir Galahad in his quest for the Holy Grail only to discover that rather than it being a physical object it was in fact an IDEA. The Grail was different things to different people and it is actually the journey to FIND the Grail that brings about the real impact. This got me to thinking, "What are your "Holy Grails" in World of Warcraft or do you even have one?"

Collectors seem to be the ones with "Holy Grails" more often than not, or at the very least lasting ones. Raiders will have "sort term ones", that elusive "best in slot" item every one is after that just won't drop seems to be quickly replaced when the next upgrade presents itself. Collectors however seem to hold on to their "Holy Grails, expansion after expansion. Farming, farming and farming some more in hopes of finally obtain that illusive object.

For my mount farming partner his "Holy Grail" has been the Hyacinth Macaw. He has been attempting to get that brightly colored bird since Vanilla with no success. With Cata's release date now looking like early November he is getting rather desperate. Auction house prices on our server run anywhere from 25 to 50k for the silly thing and he has only recently discovered the wonders of the triple digit bank account so purchasing one is out of the question (He still is paying me back for the loan to get his 100 mount achievement.) When another one of our guildies (who also happens to be a pet collector) managed to pick one up for a few thousand I thought he was going to eat his head set in envy. I was rather proud of him when he managed to congratulate him on the great find in a civil tone and still heal him during the raid.

The Plate Wearer in the family went through a similar experience with his "Holy Grail". My husband always wanted the Corrupted Ashbringer. Lets be honest, I don't think there was a Paladin or Warrior around during Vanilla and Burning Crusade who didn't want the Corrupted Ashbringer. The funny thing was WHY he wanted it....Not because of the stats, not because of how it looked, NO, why did my beloved spouse want this green glowing weapon? Because when you would go into Scarlet Monastery (one of his favorite haunts for running lowbies) all of the Npc's would bow down to you).....yes, he is an ego maniac....I love him anyway....sigh. The BEST part was when we went to Howling Fjord and did a quest where you retrieved a "Sacred Artifact", delivering it to back to a certain Paladin who likes to run around poorly disguised. When my poor spouse realized that he had actually had the PURIFIED Ashbringer in his possession (if only by association) I thought he was going to go through his computer screen. I think the only thing that made it bearable was the fact that: 1. it was going to one of his Paladin idols and 2. he couldn't use it ANYWAY.

I have another friend whose "Holy Grail" is to be a part of a World First, or the very least a Server First. In his quest to achieve this he has bounced from sever to server, guild to guild always looking for that elusive golden cup that will provide his desire. As he is young and relatively unfettered it gives him more freedom to pursue this objective.  However he is repeatedly surprised at the negative fallout that often occurs as the result of his single minded focus on his personal goals. Why are "friends" upset that he is unwilling to consider THEIR desires before his own? It is a completely foreign concept to him's mind as he chases after his Grail, unable to understand how it is the way he is choosing to pursue his Grail that is causing it to stay forever out of his reach, closing the very doors he so desperately wishes to open.

For myself it is not an object but a title with Ravenholdt Manor that stands as my "Holy Grail."  However the closest I can get is the "Insane in the Membrane" achievement, so I have been slowly picking away at that. Only Darkmoon Faire stands in my way now, meaning I am farming herbs, to create cards, to craft Darkmoon faire decks, for endless turn ins, as that is the only way left for me to gain reputation with the faction. In the back of my mind is the slight panic that I will not be able to complete this before my goal time of Cata. Real life can do that to you.

At times the task, as with Sir Galahad's, can seem insurmountable. I just have to decide how much to do I really want this? The thing with "Holy Grails" is that part of it is luck, part of it is determination and part of it is separating fact from myth. Knowing what needs to be done to achieve your goals rather than just chasing windmills or bemoaning the fact that your desires are out of reach is key.

The other thing to consider is that few of those goals are ever achieved alone. Like Galahad your quest is best accomplished in the company of friends and companions. They will lift your spirits, give you the tools you need to reach your destination and at times offer a shoulder to cry on when it all falls apart. What is even better is that when success is yours, how much greater when shared with friends? How many hunters have you known who have desired a specific Spirit Beast? Farmed it for HOURS, and then had a guildie, or friend say "Hey! It's here! I got it, come get it, I have it tagged for you!" Or for our healing lead it was numerous runs through Magister's Terrace for the Phoenix Hatchling.

Once you have achieved your "Holy Grail" how did you feel? Does that item, achievement, whatever still mean as much or was is it the memories, the journey, the feelings it evokes that truly have come to be what matter most? On the reverse, has that item that you thought would be so fulfilling come to be nothing more than an empty cup? An empty vessel whose promise was so much more than actual reality? Now it does nothing more than gather dust, or perhaps has even been cast aside, that which was once the focus of all your attention, is now nothing more than trash cluttering up your bank and bags.

Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall Event

The Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall Events went live yesterday. My intent was to blog about them YESTERDAY. However circumstances conspired to thwart my intentions.

First of all it was the beginning of the school year for the minions which meant that I spent the entire day running around like a chicken with its head cut off. (For some reason our school district does not believe that Kindergartners should be bused for the first day of school.) This means you must transport them both to and from school, then stand around while they are IN school, avoiding any OTHER children you happen to have in the same building. (My first grader is of course directly across the hall from his brother which I am sure will be great during parent teacher conferences, not so wonderful while playing dodge-um.) My Middle schooler got released from school 30 minutes before his younger siblings only to return home and find it empty, so he sat next door informing our amused neighbor and her daughters about what a horrible mother I was because I forgot that HE had a different schedule than his brothers so I had gone out for a movie while THEY were at school. (Don't I wish.)

Once all the Minions had returned home I sat down for MY home work. (Yeah, first day of school and they EACH brought home a STACK of papers for ME to fill out.) My oldest even had one marked "Parent's Homework assignment Due Friday."  Lovely. You would think by now they would have finished with all the forms but apparently the government has come up with some new ones they want us to sign. By the time I waded through all of those it and the rest of our evening routine of supper, family time, bedtime routine, etc. My eye was watching the clock like a hawk.

The kids were in bed (sort of, we kept having to chase them back from time to time) and we FINALLY got to log on. It WAS a Tuesday night which for us usually meant doing the weekly raid. Thankfully it was something quick, Sartharion Must Die! So I headed over to my mail box, picked up the quest and headed out planning to finish Operation Gnomeregan then head to bed. Yeah, me and every OTHER person in Elder'Thalas. This meant that the quest givers were swamped, causing some of the quests to bug out completely. I ended up posponing it after spending a good hour looking at this:

Hopefully with all the kiddies in school and another good majority of people at work I can finish this event quickly and quietly. I have to admit though I am kinda disappointed. I don't know....I guess I was kinda expecting something...More? Maybe something more in line with the Argent Tournament or the Pre-Wrath Event. It just feels like the Gnomes and Trolls got short changed (no pun intended.) Perhaps it is because we have been hearing about this for so LONG and now it is getting swept aside by all the Cata hoopla.

Feat of Strength: Avast Ye, Admiral!

Avast Ye, Admiral is one of the better known Feats of Strength though it is sometimes called "Bloodsail Buccaneers". One of the nice things about it is that it DOESN'T require you to get all the way to exalted with the faction. The other is that you actually get quite a bit of fun "Role Play" or "Costume" gear out of it. The largest PROBLEM is that it is VERY easy to lose reputation with the faction and this prohibits you from using numerous flight paths which can become troublesome. Now come Cataclysm this hardship will not be as much of an issue.

The only way to GAIN reputation is to kill Booty Bay Faction members but you get the greatest return by killing the Booty Bay Bruisers, all other members will only net you 5 rep each where the Bruisers grant you 25. While you can solo grind, the quickest way to do this is achievement is to get a group together by spamming trade. What I like to do is get a group, inform them to focus on the Bruisers and try to leave the quest givers, Auction house, flight masters and Inn Keepers alone if they want to remain a part of the raid group and get easy rep. I will then announce in General that a raid is going to be farming Bloodsail Rep for the next few hours. While people may not like it I have found it greatly reduces the harsh feelings and general discontent that can happen as a result of this type of thing. Especially if you get some idiots that insist on killing inn keepers, flight masters and quest givers just to be jerks. Remove them from the group and suddenly the rules seem more reasonable when they are no longer able to find any mobs.

By doing this you can obtain the achievement in a matter of hours rather than WEEKS of solo grinding with out all the harsh feelings. Once you reach just over Neutral with the Bloodsail Pretty Boy Duncan will send you to Fleet Master Firallon to pick up a bag full of goodies. This includes a Shirt, Belt, Pants, and Boots. Just a little more grinding will get you to Friendly and the real quest that gives the achievement its name. Avast Ye, Admiral. Now for this you WILL want to announce you are going to be doing the quest because it REQUIRES you to kill quest givers, which annoys lowbies. Kill the Baron and his right hand Tauren and you get yourself a Title and a fancy hat.

Now if you are NOT planning on working on the Insane in the Membrane Achievement and would like to make use of all those convenient Goblin flight paths there IS a way you can quickly get back all that goblin reputation you lost with out losing your new title, though you WILL lose your hard won Bloodsail reputation.

Just outside Bootbay on a nearby hill is the Bloodsail Traitor. He has a quest for you called "Traitor to the Bloodsail" which has you turn in two stacks of Silk cloth and 4 Red dye to deceive the Baron into thinking you have been killing Bloodsail pirates. Another option is to head over to Rachet and speak with Mupsi Shacklefridd, she has a similar quest called "Mending Old Wounds" which only requires two stacks of linen cloth and 4 empty vials. Many prefer this since it is often cheaper and easier to farm. The other options are Rumsen Fizzlebrack in Tanaris with "War at Sea" who wants Mageweave cloth and Strong Flux. As well as Bronn Fitzwrench in Winterspring who is after Runecloth and Coal with "Making Amends". Each of these deal with the specific factions of the zone they are located in. And will take about 168 linen and 336 empty vials, 84 silk and 168 Red Dye, 42 Mageweave and Strong Flux, and 22 Runecloth and 44 Coal to get you back to Neutral with the Steamwheedle Cartel. Or 34 turn ins for each faction if you do them equally.  Just check the cost and  ease of farming for you then calculate accordingly.

The other option is to head over to Dire Maul North and do Free Knot which grants 350 reputation for ALL of the Steamwheedle Factions EQUALLY without hurting your Bloodsail reputation. I could usually do five clears an hour before I had to sit around and wait due to the "to many instances" debuff. If you focus only on the guards you have a high chance of getting a key almost every run. Take the time to do some full clears and you may also pick up some other goodies like Librams or Pristine Black Diamonds which can be sold to those crazy people going after the Insane in the Membrane achievement.

Good luck to all you future Admirals!