I found Timmy

I had seen Timmy a few times in my travels but never realized what a rare spawn he is. Apparently he's one of Stormwind's secrets. I first learned this while watching G4TV when they did a special about World of Warcraft. Since then I never saw him. Until yesterday:

I was able to buy his white kitten for 60 Silver. Apparently you can sell them for 5 gold on the auction house. I think I'll keep this one though.

This Allakhazam.com link includes a picture of his route, although I liked this one better from RPG expert. It also showed his spawn point.

Marielle's Demonslayer

It occurs to me on occasion how much I suck. But then I remind myself that I'm playing a different game then everyone else. I don't care about raiding, I don't care about gear, I don't care about PVP titles, blah, blah, blah.

Well I started becoming aware of how helpful better gear is through reading and playing with my friends. This puts me at a great disadvantage since the best gear is obtained through parts of the game I'm not interested in playing (raids & PVP).

So how did a solo-PVE player like me get this nice weapon?

Many moons ago, my friend Brak sent me this weapon. (Thanks Brak!) I was no where near able to use it. So I put it in my bank. Just waiting.... well I finally hit level 52 and now she can use it. It's the best piece of equipment I've ever owned. Not only because she's my highest level character, but also, this is the first time I had a character with a rare/blue item right when she needed it (not 3, 4 or 10 levels later).

Here is Marielle with her new Demonslayer. (thottbot link) The inset is to show the glow with the demonslayer enchant I added to it. Since I don't fight many demons (I think) I might just put a regular damage enchant on it instead.

Now I find myself wanting to upgrade her armor. I'm a little fearful though because heaven help me if I pick something that's for Warriors or something and I'll have to hear tells from random players that I shouldn't be wearing it. So I have some research to do.

Here's my criteria for new armor:

• Something appropriate for a level 52 who's very slowly working her way up.
• Plate
• Good for Paladins.
• At least semi-matches.
• Available through solo means (no raiding, no PVP).

As you can imagine, I have my work cut out for me. If anyone has any ideas I'd gladly hear them.

Devilsaur Leather Hunting

Apparently Devilsaur Armor is highly desirable and players wind up farming for Devilsaur leather, often to sell for gold.

Want to try it? Here are some maps which are designed to track the path of the Devilsaurs:

• Devilsaur path
• Devilsaur Hunter
• Thottbot Link to Devilsaur Leather

Dead Man Switch

The game card is no dead man's switch.

My brother is addicted. So I bought him a game card for Christmas.

You see, I thought it was a brilliant move. If he was addicted then I was the only one who bought him something he would actually use.

If he wasn't addicted, I thought he could use it as a planned exit. It was intended to be a count down timer and a dead man's switch. i.e., stick that card in there, knowing you have 2 months to play and get those recurring payments off of your credit card. Then, in order to keep playing, you'd have to go in and tell it to start charging your card again.

Well that BACKFIRED. In TWO ways.

First: He never stopped long enough to put the card in (takes two seconds bro, go here).
Second: Look what happened when I added my card back in April:

All it did was postpone the credit card charge. So once the game card finished off, it didn't stop charging me. It just went back to charging my credit card.

So why did I buy him another game card for his birthday that just passed? Because I'm the only one that got him something he'll use. :)

(That is, of course, if he actually loads it.)

WoW in Widescreen

My brother was playing World of Warcraft on my PC one day and decided to fix some things. One of them was the video settings. You see, I bought this high-def widescreen monitor a few years ago (HP f2304) and thought I was getting the full benefit of it. One could say I assumed I was. You know where this is leading...

Here is the new setting:

Differences:

More Gargoyles for your money

Note that this is not a direct before and after. I went back into my old screenshots (this one was going to be about the Fishing Buddy mod) and recreated it with the new settings.

Before:

After:

Notice the Gargoyles in the lower right and left hand corners; they're a nice touch. On my old screen I could just see their eyes and beaks.


No Extra Picture

I didn't really get any more room on the screen - this picture (this is a direct before and after) shows an overlay of the regular settings versus the widescreen settings - I purposely darkened the area of the widescreen behind the regular screenshot. You can see there's really nothing of the environment that is added in the widescreen version.

Much More Clarity

I did notice that there is much more detail with the higher resolutions. It's clearer, crisper and the lettering is cleaner. Now when I go back to the old setting I can't bear to look at the blurriness. (The white lettering on this picture was added by me to show which is which.)

Update 8/21/2007:
Via Blue Tracker - Blizzard Post on the WoW-Europe Forums confirms there's no extra picture on the widescreen:

It's not really cropping anything, but you don't actually get extra vision at the left and right either. If that was the case it might have put widescreen players at an advantage over non-widescreen players in some circumstances.

Update 3/5/2008: A poll from wowvault: What screen resolution do you use?

MMO Magazine

One thing I found in Sprawl's Scrawl was a link to Beckett's MMO Magazine. I have previously mentioned some magazines that were useful in keeping up with WoW. This one is new. It's published bi-monthly so it would likely still suffer from a time lag as far as currency of information, but because the genre is narrower the frequency of WoW related posts might be greater. Plus it might provide useful when we are looking for another MMO to migrate to.

If you want to see more, here is their website with a sneak preview of what's inside the magazine and subscription instructions ($14.99 for 6 issues).

Sprawl's Scrawl

I've seen this Sprawl's Scrawl a number of times but never really investigated it. Well I intend to now because I like what I see here. Each post is chock full. There seems to be an in depth topic plus loads of quick links to current topics, contests, etc..., I recommend checking it out. Here's the Most Recent Issue with the WoW Trading Card game as the in depth topic.

New Burning Crusade Picture on Amazon

I noticed this new picture for the Burning Crusade on Amazon.com. I thought this might be good news that things were being updated "officially" and we might have a better estimate on a publication date. Unfortunately, it still says the release date is scheduled to be October 15, 2006, so no change; no update. Just a pretty picture.

AddOn: Fizzwidget AdSpace

Here's another Add On for World of Warcraft that I'd like to highlight. It's called Fizzwidget's Ad Spce.

With it I can see information about where a recipe can be bought (as applicable). I just have to mouse over the icon. Here's an example.



In the teal text above you can see that this recipe is "Sold by" 3 vendors. Their names and locations are provided. If you're interested, check out the ui.worldofwar.net page on Fizzwidget Ad Space.

Someone forgot to do a background check...

(You can tell I live in a Sarbanes Oxley world...) You newbs, where are your controls?! She can affect your financial reporting! This could be a significant deficiency! Nerf Auctioneer Naxxremis!

Foxtrot Farming

I've previously highlighted Foxtrot here.

Here are a few new Foxtrot comics about becoming a World of Warcraft Gold farmer and followup. Those pictures are archived... this final one isn't so it will only be available for about 2 weeks.

New to World of Warcraft

Are you new to World of Warcraft? Here are past posts from this Blog that you might find helpful:

• Getting Started: Decide Which Version of World of Warcraft to buy, Read the Game Guides


• Patches: Downloading and Types. On patch days, also check out the post of Patchy Convenience


• Customize: Learn about AddOns and Interfaces and Mods and see some of the ones I've highlighted previously here.


• Tips based on questions I hear asked a lot: Loot All, /gquit, How to unlearn professions and Reading the Grey Bar


• Keeping Current: Crossing the Streams - four posts discussing ways to keep current about World of Warcraft and some great WoW Reference Sites I wanted to highlight. Also check out the sidebar under "WoW Reference"


• Account Management: See how much free play time you've received in 2 Free Weeks so far, How to get WoW for $12.50 a Month, and How to Add a Game Card

WoW TCG (Trading Card Game)

Here is my collection of posts regarding the World of Warcraft Card Game.

These two links are more recent and have the best information:

• Upper Deck's Website
• http://www.wowcards.org/

According to the official site here's what the game will bring us:

• Amazing original art from today's top creators gives you a fresh look at the World of Warcraft universe.
• Find LootTM cards which unlock cosmetic upgrades for your online World of Warcraft character.
• Gather resource cards and redeem them online to unlock additional upgrades or other Warcraft rewards.
• Engage in frantic one-on-one battles, or team up for the most intense multi-player action you can find in a TCG.
• Unite to conquer legendary foes, like the great dragon Onyxia! (limited-edition Raid Decks sold separately).

Starter Deck Contents

33-card deck built for one of the 9 character classes

3 Epic Character Cards give your hero the proper in-game presence

2 booster packs to customize your deck

Rulebook

Prior News Items:

Card Game

• Amazing original art from today's top creators gives you a fresh look at the World of Warcraft universe
• Uniquely coded rare Loot™ Cards feature cosmetic upgrades for your World of Warcraft online character
• Play as your favorite class and race and experience all the depth of World of Warcraft in the TCG
• Compete in a robust World of Warcraft TCG Organized Play program and win amazing prizes

wowvault's package pictures

Leeroy Card - "Heroes of Azeroth"

It seems there are reports that there will indeed be a Leeroy Jenkins Upper Deck WoW trading card game

WoW Gets Geekier with Trading Card Game

The game should be out in October. As usual, there will be a starter deck pack and both Alliance and Horde themed booster packs.

Highlighted Mods

Over the past six months, I've highlighted a few of my favorite AddOns, Interfaces and Mods, although certainly not all of them. Here are links to the specific posts:

Accountant

Autodecline

Benecast

Sell-O-Matic

Updates to the list:

Fizzwidget's Adspace

Fizzwidget's Reagent Cost

RareTracker

What happens when Good Mods Die.

Jewelcrafting Notes

I got my Warcraft Weekly #8 email and saw that Blizzard now has a Jewelcrafting site under the Burning Crusade section of the website. Well I guess that means I need to break out the Jewelcrafting notes.

Blizzard Burning Crusade Announcement

Jewelcrafting, Socketable Items, and More: Crafters will be pleased to know that the expansion adds an all-new profession to the game: Jewelcrafting. With Jewelcrafting comes the advent of socketable items in World of Warcraft, which will give players additional variety in how they can customize their gear. In addition, existing professions will be enhanced to take advantage of the increased character-level limit.

Gamespot Burning Crusade Q&A

Jewel crafters can also cut gems. Let's say a star ruby drops in the world. A jewel crafter, in addition to making cool items that people will want, can cut that star ruby to make it a socketable gem. The first key to that is that I'll need to get a socketable item, which can be made by other trade skills, dropped in dungeons, that sort of thing. Socketable items, for example, can have three slots. It doesn't compete with enchanting. If I wanted to put gems in all three slots and have an enchantment, I can do that.

wowwiki.com/Jewelcrafting page

At this time, Blizzard has confirmed their plans to allow those who have not purchased the expansion to be able to use items and material created by Jewelcrafting, they state that only those having purchased the Burning Crusade will be able to learn the Jewelcrafting Profession.

Jewelcrafting. First Look." - 2 Small but Zoomed in Screen Caps

E3: Jewelcrafting in Detail (updated) - Watchingwow.com (May 18th, 2006)

The cut gems needed to create socketed jewels amongst other things are said to be mined from mineral nodes

Update August 15, 2006:

One small, interesting tidbit emerged about the new jewelcrafting profession. There will be "meta gems" that can be equipped in your helm slot whose attributes play off of the variety of gems you have socketed on your character. For example, one meta gem might give you a +4 bonus to agility for every blue gem you have equipped; another might confer some kind of bonus for every different-colored gem you have. Certainly some fuel for the min-maxers out there. Source: Gamespy Article

Blizzard Videos

Blizzard has a number of videos that you can find on their official website here. Below are a few I've compiled off of youtube.com.

World of Warcraft Cinematic Intro


Ahn'Qiraj Opens


The Burning Crusade:


Update February 2008: This intro won the Visual Effects Society's 2008 award for "Pre-Rendered Visuals in a Video Game." (pdf announcement of all awards here).


The Burning Crusade (Stills of Beasts, Locations and Blood Elves)


Darkmoon Faire

Video Stroll: Van Cleef Deadmines Video

I love the end with all the dead bodies.

Van Cleef Deadmines Video

Video Stroll: Tuesday Downtime Fun

What's to Come - Tuesday Downtime Fun

Video Stroll: We Will Rock You

I was looking for a different video and I found this - First time I've seen a gnome in a video and he didn't dance and slap...:

World of Warcraft - We Will Rock You (Music Video):


p.s. If you like that song, prepare to be mesmerized.

Video Stroll: Recruit (Switcher Parody)

You may remember the Switcher Videos, well here is a quick parody.

Recruit:

Video Stroll: Unite the Trolls

I'm a sucker for great music and melodrama.

Unite the Trolls

Video Stroll: WoW Critter Dance

Speaking of great music (and a clear lack of melodrama), this movie impressed me more for the choice of music than the content. (Darude's Sandstorm is one of my favorites.)
WoW Critter Dance:

Video Stroll: Phairytale

Trust me, it's worth the watch. (7 minutes)
Phairytale

Video Stroll: Eternal Legend

This video may be my favorite yet:


Credit goes to BlessingofKings and livejournal postings where I learned about this video.

Video Stroll: Blood Elf Dance

I have a few videos to share with you. Let's take a stroll for a few days to watch them, shall we? First up, you've probably seen the new Blood Elf Dance, but this video puts it side by side with it's inspiration:

Blood Elf Dance - Side by Side


Update February 2007:
I found this on YouTube - It's the Napoleon Dynamite Dance Scene with WoW Backup Dancers:

Pallid Horror

One day during this Scourge Invasion I ran across a Pallid Horror running out of the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind:

This is the best frontal picture I could get:

He was a little camera shy:

He was fearing everyone a lot but finally he was brought down... look at all the people it took:


Another blogger had a Pallid Horror run-in here.

2006-July Events

From the Events Calendar for July:

MidSummer Fire Festival June 21-July 5

Darkmoon Faire (Mulgore) July 10 - July 16

Call to Arms: Alterac Valley! July 7 - July 10

Call to Arms: Warsong Gulch! July 14 - July 17

Call to Arms: Arathi Basin! July 21 - July 24

During a Call to Arms, emmissaries from that Battleground will be found in the major cities, and honor/faction rewards for performing objectives in that battleground are increased.