Star Wars Guild Event: Triathlon Relay!

Welcome to the starting line for the Div 9 Triathlon Relay!

Before anything starts, you will need to figure out your teams:

• Team Jawa: Frank, Phil, Brian
• Team Tauntaun: Gordon, Jeff, Jason
• Team Orokeet: Ken, Jay, and Kevin
• Team Party Bomb: Ring Ring & Matt
• Team Lightsaber: Dan, Dave, Bob

Events:

Each team member will be tackling one event per person (in teams of 2, you will have 1 person who does the 1^st and 3^rd events), but pay attention!  Everyone will be involved, and there are major ways that you can help or hinder your team.  Keep your mind open and think as a team!

·         Event 1:  Speeder Race: You will line up on the starting line on Tatooine in your favorite speeder and receive the baton, an item that will be used to pass between the team members throughout the overall event.  You will be racing from the sandstone arch in the Northern section of the desert right outside Mos Iila, around through the arch toward the southeast, and then loop back and up through the narrow pass and back to the start (see the map below for the official route).  The person doing the first event will be in a group with the WC-A so that she can see you on her map.  You may scoot close to the corners of the route, avoid mobs, kill mobs, or whatever you need to do to get through the course the fastest!  Wait for the visual cue to start, and then off you go!

·         Event 2:  Manual Dexterity:  There is a +3 Cunning Datacron in Mos Iila, and that is the crux of our next leg of the Triathlon.  As soon as the team member who was doing the speeder challenge crosses the finish line, he/she will then trade the baton item to the team member starting the next leg of the race.  As soon as that person has it, off they go to the next start point (see the map below for the datacron route) and start to make their way across the rooftops to the datacron.  For those who have never done this datacron or would like a quick guide, check out this link (last one on the page).  The catch to this leg is that you must have ALL team members on the roof where the datacron is to continue to the final leg of the race.  You don’t all have to go the same route, but your whole team must be on the roof to continue on!

·         Event 3: Mental Challenge:  As soon as you have everyone together and grouped up, your team member may pass the baton item to the last team member.  As soon as this team member gets the item, they will whisper the WC-A that they have the baton, and then will receive a link that the WC-A will send to them via vent private chat.  You must work to figure out the answers to all 5 questions as a team, and may use the internet, but the person who has the link to the questions is the only one who can submit answers to the WC-A.  To submit an answer, do so via a private message in vent.  Once all 5 answers have been submitted and you have received the message “all 5 answers correct”, you will trade the baton to the WC-A to officially finish!

Rules:

·         Give it your all and have fun!  ^.^

·         If at any time you lose or destroy the baton item, you will have to go to the NPC "Phrague" (the stims vendor by the speeder point) to buy a new one.

·         Speed Racers:  If you veer from the path, you will be penalized by having to wait before finishing for an extra 10 seconds per infraction.

·         Each group may ask ONE question before we start, no more.  This is not “interrogate the WC-A about the event to see how we can find a loophole” time, dammit!  ^.~

·         Any judgment call will be done by the WC-A and will be done as fairly as possible.

Change Of Titles & Reasoning Behind The Awesome

Again, I haven't been writing here with any sort of regularity, which really sucks for my one reader.  xD  Anyhow, things have been going down an interesting path in the world of this paladin.  Recently, my Guild Master, Fallenjack, stepped sideways and gave me the acting title of GM for Bloodforged.  This was something that we had spoke of for a long time, so it was not a snap decision.  Initially I was not totally thrilled with it, seeing as how my GM put a hell of a lot of time and effort into the guild, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to lead as effectively as he did.  But eventually, I came around, and I am sure that I will be fine GM for our little guild.  Thank goodness Fallenjack will still be stepping into WoW to help lead our raids!

Aside from that, it seems that Bloodforged is... taking another impromptu vacation.  -.-'  On the up side, at least we all know each other enough to let each other know what is going on.  My shaman is moving to a new place (Arkansas, mecca of... ______?) and my rogue is taking a trip to Vermont to see some friends and do some other assorted things up there.  And with my 2 warriors, 1 hunter, and myself enjoying Star Wars The Old Republic, I suppose it's up to my second hunter and the crickets to get the raiding done!  Cricket DPS is viable in raids, yeah?

On the subject of SWTOR, I must say that I am thinking of making this a gamer's blog, not just a WoW blog.  Which is slightly sad because I <3 my banner art so hard, I should have the original framed and hung in my den.  In SWTOR I have focused on 2 characters, both Sith Twi'lek Inquisitors, one as a sorcerer (healer) and one an assassin (tank).  Thus far, my healer is the one I am particularly enjoying.  I'm not sure that this is due to my cautious nature and my fondness for having a meat shield in front of me, but Akanekita has been reincarnated once more as a healer!  Kyriekita went from a mage to a tank.  ...  *insert mage tank joke here* I may yet change her to a DPS assassin...  Time will tell.  All I know about her is that I want her to have some awesome pink light sabers at some point.  >:D  Pink light sabers = badass.

Oh!  So here are some interesting thoughts that I wanted to put here...

This is something I realized the other day while talking to Fallenjack (who also has been reincarnated in SWOTR as a Sith Juggernaut):  When I decide what character to play in an MMORPG, I mainly do so based on looks.  Shallow, perhaps, but that's exactly how it is for me!  I want to play a character that I like to look at!  My first character in Perfect World was a venomancer, not because I liked the caster/pet class, but because I wanted to have a fox tail and fox ears.  THAT'S IT.  In WoW, I saw the other paladins and got all starry-eyed because of their beautiful plate armor and impressive weapons.  And now in SWTOR I want to wield the spiffy double light sabers and saber staffs.  In a possible act of personal atonement for my shallowness, my secondary method of choosing a character has to do with the people I play with.  Depending on the group or partner, I will choose something that compliments their classes.  If they are all tank/DPS, I'm the healer; if we already have heals, I roll as DPS, etc.  This usually ends up with me finding new things that I enjoy, or things that frustrate the hell out of me!

If you are reading this, I want to know:  Why do you play the classes/races/characters you play?

How can you NOT want to look this awesome?!?

I can do anything I want? ... *sleeps*

After yet another long hiatus from writing here, I am back (again)!  My IRL stuffs have subsided momentarily, and all I want to do is game and sleep!

Lots of things have happened recently in WoW, and I have managed to keep up with things as best I can via mobile guild chat and my guild website.

First off, <Bloodforged> celebrated a birthday earlier this month.  We gave away a Mechano-Hog, some pets, and assorted other goodies and had a naked run through Karazahn!  It was great fun, and we downed the Prince half-naked.  How many guilds can say that?  ^.^

Nakey-time!
TOP: Fallenjack, Kayvaan, Ironbull  MIDDLE:  Kitain, Draedenne, Moonflow  BOTTOM:  Wildmoon, Sunsprite, Kita

Bloodforged is now a level 15 guild!  This is very exciting, and it just means that we are that much closer to being a level 25 guild eventually.  I have noticed, though, that people looking for another guild are usually looking for the higher level guilds, and it makes me wary that there are guild-hoppers out there that just take advantage of the guild perks without putting significant effort into the guild.  Kinda sad, because I have put lots of time and effort into my guild, and someone else can just waltz in, not give a shit, and get the same perks.  Makes me glad that we have an extensive application process!

Also, the new expansion, Mists of Pandaria, has been announced.  This is not a surprise to anyone who pays attention to MMO-Champ or any of the other WoW community sites out there.  I am a bit apprehensive about this expansion, as it seems really random.  I will have to delve into the lore behind this expansion, because as it stands right now, it really seems like someone at Blizzard just has a big panda fetish and paid off over half of their Board of Directors so that they could roll a panda.  Meh.  Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty and whatnot, but the more I look at it, the more I feel like I am playing Perfect World and not WoW.  I will reserve further judgement until I get more info, but right now, I am on the fence about MoP.

There are some big changes coming to our guild website, so stay tuned for that, and now I am off to take a nap before someone calls me and I have to do more work.  xD

Thanks to Beth'tilac and Rhyolith for these lovely gifts!

It's been a while!  I have been doing a lot of work IRL and getting things taken care of in my personal life, so WoW has taken a bit of a back seat for the moment.  However, I have managed to get some imporatnt things done in what little time I have had in the game.

I pugged a quick run in Firelands a few days ago, and am now 3/7.  I downed Beth'tilac and Lord Rhyolith with a great group who was very appreciative to have a sensible paladin who was communicative and aware.  And for our efforts, I managed to pick up a trio of new people on my RealID list as well as Volcanospike and the Ward of The Red Widow!  I am so freakin' exstatic about the Ward, and I nearly shat myself when it dropped, then held my breath as me and a Shaman rolled for it...  I literally jumped out of my computer chair and did a happy dance when I won it.  Volcanospike was a lesser victory, as the hit rating doesn't do much for me, but the haste is flippin' AMAZING.  Plus, we didn't have any casters in the raid that wanted/needed it, so it ended up in my bags.  I reforged and enchanted that bad boy and it is very nice indeed.

 

Ragnaros, next I'm coming after you for my headpiece!  >:D

Also, Bloodforged's birthday is coming up next Tuesday, and as the War Commander in charge of Activities for the guild, it is my responsibility to throw one HELL of a party.  So, using Karazahn as our backdrop, we shall cavort about.  I have amassed all manner of great gifts for our members, as well as some epic items that will be given away as prizes!  I love playing games with my guild members (who are just as competitive as I am).  ^.^  I really can't wait for that.  Pictures and such to follow from there at some point.

Aaaaand it's 2am and I need sleep.  Must find time to play Portal as well.  *lol*  ...  *passes out, snoring*

Busy Busy!

More recruitment has been happening, and we have added at least one more member to our ranks.  We welcome applicant Kayvaan, and hope that he does well with us!  Kitain has finally actually applied to the guild, and she is chomping at the bit to get some RAP (Raid Attendance Points) accrued.  ^.^

Next week will see Bloodforged in our first guild activity!  Recently we have a had a lot of stuff going on in everyone's lives, so guild stuff seemed to take a back seat for some.  Hopefully we all get a chance to unwind and relax soon!

Other than that, I have been reading over strategies for healing various raids.  My only shortcoming right now is that I don't know the fights inside and out like I should, but that is something that will come with time and EFFORT!  Speaking of effort, if any of my guildies are reading this and still need gear in various places, GET ON IT!  I'll heal for ya if you are after something specific.

Also, (and this is more of a personal reminder) I need to add another power aura or perhaps some visual reminder for when my Judgements of the Pure is not up.  I heart my 9% haste buff.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

To Those Wishing To Apply To Bloodforged:

Bloodforged is the guild that I am a member of.  We are a very tight-knit group with a definite view of what we are after.  Yes, we intend on raiding once we get our core group set.  However, this is not an easy task, as we are going about it in a way that will eliminate most of the usual shenanigans that you get from other raiding groups.  We don't go the easy route, therefore, this can be a hard guild to get into.

Really what it comes down to is: Be yourself!  This above everything helps both the applicant and the guild figure out if they are going to be a good fit.  If you represent yourself as someone you're not, that's no good.  Generally we are pretty good at figuring out when people are bullshitting, and who wants to hang around someone who lies to make themselves look good?  You are good on your own merits, don't feel like you need to impress anyone.  :)  We like to know basically where you are coming from, but that can be done without having to drop the fact that you downed heroic mode Ragnaros with Paragon every 5 minutes.

Welcome Home!

What an awesome day!  First off, our roguey troll, Kitain, has finally transferred servers and we welcomed her to the realm today.  She suprised me by showing up while I was doing my dailies and I was all like, "OMGWTBBQ!!"  Very nice to finally have her around.  We just have to fix her vent issue, and it's all good.  Secondly, another new applicant, Wildmoon, transferred servers today as well, along with a couple of her alts.  She's pretty spiffy, and I am anxious to get into some dungeons with her and see how she does.  And finally, I downed Beth'tilac and Shannox today and received my first two pieces of dropped Firelands gear!  :D  So exciting!  Oh, and our guild has earned another level!  I am very happy about all this.  ^.^

Longer post of substance later!  Must go frolic.

Firelands Trash & Guild Stuffs!

Now that I have secured a spot on the guild raid roster and I am feeling confident about my abilities, I am feeling like I'm in a good place with my character.  On my own I have gotten into Firelands trash runs and been pretty successful at being in that environment.  Unfortunately, I have maxed the reputation that I can get from trash mobs in there, so now I need to be looking to kill Shannox and Beth'tilac.

In my perusal of the interwebs for information about these fights, I have come to the conclusion that I need to start using Aura Mastery more.  I wasn't keen on using it much because I had trouble making use of the silence and interrupt immunity ability, but I underestimated the other part of Aura Mastery, which is that they improve your auras by 100%.  In Firelands, that's a LOT of fire resistance, and can definitely be put to good use.  Another thing that I need to understand better is my use of Hand of Protection.  It has its benefits, but I feel like I am not using this to its full potential.

Other things are going quite well, and I'm excited that the guild has started to recruit more people.  Last night we did a run through Zul'Aman with Ironbull, and it looks like he will definitely need some help with his UI and basics if he's going to be continuing to run with us.  However, I have high hopes for him, and he's a fun guy to play with!  We will help him out and I'm sure he will be quite the good addition to Bloodforged if he makes it through his applicant period.  ^.^  Also, it looks like our resident hunter, Sylvanist, is getting close to the point where he will be taking the Crucible!  This is super-exciting, because I know how hard our guild tests to become part of the raid team are, and I know that he will do awesome.  And finally, Moontree, get yo ass to Thrall, seriously.  :P

Here's to a relaxing weekend of fun!

Fallenjack & I riding our Raven Lords!

Position Earned!

I successfully earned my position on the Raid Roster for Bloodforged!  My final hurdle was to heal Baradin Hold (10) and to combat log it, and my GM told me that my performance was near perfect, and that I wouldn't have any issues getting into any raid that I wanted to with logs like that.  Plus, I had gone through the Crucible (healing chain pulls in Stonecore before Ozruk) and geared/enchanted/gemmed my paladin as much as I could.  I'm super happy about earning my place.

The only thing is, just as I earned my slot, my GM was pondering who else to get for heals on our roster, and is seriously thinking about getting another Holy Paladin.  I understand at this point, paladins seem to grow on trees and it would be easy to find another one.  Plus, Moontree, an applicant and a friend of ours who is transferring over to our server, also has a holy paladin that he would much rather play as opposed to his Restoration Shaman, who failed the Crucible yesterday (though to his credit, the GM literally sprung it on him, that was kinda rough).  I enjoy playing with Moon, but I would much rather see a more diverse selection of healers in our raids.

Pros of having 2 Paladins:

• 2 Beacons.  Beacon of Light is a super powerful way of healing, and to have two of them up at once is quite the sight to behold.  2 paladins can successfully heal both of their tanks and do fairly well with AOE raid heals in fights like Occuthar.
• 2 Auras.  No matter how you cut this one, this is a win-win.
• 2 Blessings.  If you don't have a druid for Mark of the Wild, having Kings and Might is also a win-win.
• Survivability.  Let's face it, a healer in plate armor is quite awesome.  Being able to take a hit and keep healing is something that most other healers can't do. 
• Spike damage, anyone?  This being our specialty, having two to deal with idiots that stand in the fire too long certainly can be beneficial.

 Cons of having 2 Paladins:

• Not enough raid heals.  One thing that is a bit of a deficiency for paladins is the fact that our multi-target healing and AOE heals are kinda weak compared to those of priests and druids.
• Decreased diversity of heals.  The utility of having other skills at your disposal is invaluable.  If your other healer is a shaman, you forsake the abilities of a druid, etc.
• Unbalanced raid composition.  If you have 2 paladins that are centralized on tank healing, then it goes without saying that your raid heals will probably suffer unless that one other player is a demi-god behind the keyboard.

I see that it would be beneficial, but it could also hurt us...  Plus, it's frustrating to have someone doing the exact same thing as you; no one wants anyone else to be going for the same gear they are!  My GM asked me, "so you just don't want to have to compete," and yeah, he is right, who wants to lose out on tier gear to someone else?  But the argument of not wanting to have to compete against someone else for gear seems petty to me.  *sigh*  I have no solid argument because I can see both sides of the coin.

Well, if he ends up getting another Holy Paladin, I'm just going to have to be known as the better one.  >:3