Ah love takin’ pictures and posin’ fer some too but y’see it takes a wee bit o’ pokin’ aboot tae get the results ye want.

What we have here is a rare creature on this blog:  a post about blogging itself.  Not going too far, of course, it’s about something in particular I like to use on my blog (as do many others), namely images.

Images, pictures, portraits, doodles, sketches or representations - whichever type or flavour you pick it will generally enhance your posts.  I have always been a very image-centric person - I like art, animation and video as well as creating websites and ‘graphics’.  It was only natural for me, then, to add a lot of art and imagery to my blog when I began it, though it took a little while to get the kind of pictures I wanted.

Why use images?

Although bolding some of your sentences, adding headings, italics and using various ·lists as well as plenty of  s p a c e s can give structure to your posts I find that it is images which can make me stop and really look at a post.  I could insert a cheesy line about a picture saying a thousand words but, to be honest, I believe that the way I (and perhaps blogs in general) use them is more in line with adding pepper to soup - it enhances the ‘flavour’ of the surrounding text and makes it tastier to eat.  Read.  Devour?

Images can also be used as visual clues - when I write a post about my shaman I usually include a picture of him - same for my druid, rogue and hunter.  A lot of people use this method if they have multiple authors so it’s no big leap to utilise it if you’re a frequent, chronic sufferer of the dreaded altitis.  Using Aurik as a model I hope I can illustrate reasonably simply how I make shiny images for my blog assuming basic knowledge of image editing.

Before I begin I will note that this isnae a ‘how to make shiny images of awesome dhoom’, a guide on how to upload / capture pictures and it also definitely isnae the only way to do things.  It’s  simple few tips / short guide about how to make some half-decent, quick images for your blog - in my opinion, unless your blog is centred around the images you use then making them should not take longer than writing the post. *grin*

There are two types of images I will cover: Screenshots and WoWModelViewer based images.  I don’t really like non-game images in my WoW blog so I’m afraid that’s all yer getting from me.

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This post details the druid epic flight form quest.  If you do not wish to be spoiled for it then please look away now!

I can’t seem to get my blog to cut in feed-readers so I’m going to add a nice, big, shiny picture so that you can hopefully remain unspoiled if that is your wish.

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Ishnu-alah, stranger…

It’s been a long and circuitous route but my baby druid finally hit 70 three days ago. She’s also almost met my old druid’s stats 10 minutes after hitting 70 simply due to the [Strength of the Clefthoof] set, a couple of pieces of Merciless Gladiator gear and knowing which quests to target for tanking gear - such as that which gives [Umberhowl's Collar].

I got the mats together for a [Belt of Natural Power] and [Shadowprowler's Chestguard]and am working on my leatherworking level so I can craft [Boots of Natural Grace].  Oh and maybe I can buy a [Cloak of the Craft] and some [Swiftstrike Shoulders] if I suddenly find a gold tree.  The wonder of having a ’suger daddy’ main, eh?  And all of this whilst grinding my way into some nice SSO rep and golds for my epic flying form.

0 - Kara in 2 Days

So, I’ve gotten myself some decent gear together with minimal instancing.  The only gear I’ve gotten which was not crafted, quested or … honored? is my [Burnoose of Shifting Ages] (yes I know it’s a warrior cloak but it had more armor and defense than my current one) and [Dragonhide Gloves] (which require a couple of Durn/BM runs).  I’m not a huge fan of running with pugs and not a lot of people in the guild are running normal instances these days so I didn’t want to spend a lot of time looking for gear in them.  The only one I will be doing until I’m sick of it is Steamvaults for my [Earthwarden].

If you have enough gold / resources and a will to pvp whilst levelling then you can easily hit Kara-ready tanking stats soon after hitting 70.  I did the daily pvp quest every day from level 60 and usually one other game.  My dps was terrible but I took some healing kit and helped by adding a few heals here and there - this got me my shoulders.  I then spent one whole day pvp-ing to get enough to get my helm at level 69.  Even if you did this at 70 it’s still only one day.

Belt, neck, one ring and clefthoof set were crafted.  Wrist, idol and one trinket were quest and the other trinket, ring, and the gloves were bought / rep items.

So, really, it’s entirely possible to hit Kara right after hitting 70 but it does require some preparation.  Of course, I’d totally recommend doing plenty of tanking prior to hitting 70 so you’ve had experience as this is as important as just having decent gear.

Kara, really?

Yep! Though I’m not sure our raid lead agreed at first either. Oddly, this week one of the groups hadn’t finished Prince / Netherspite - they wanted to go again to finish it but didn’t have a full group.  Tanks are always short in our guild so I offered myself.  I rattled off my stats to our druid lead and he approved me to OT - he would MT Prince since his gear is, obviously, a lot better than mine.   So, off we go, get Prince down and… our druid lead had to leave.

I got to MT Netherspite two days after hitting 70.  /cheer. I know Netherspite can be tanked by a non-geared tank but I was tanking him between phases too so we could go all out on dps (low dps group).

Now, tanking one of the easier bosses in Kara (tanking wise) doesn’t mean, necessarily, you can tank all of Kara easily.  However, you could easily main tank the earlier bosses (for a guild newly starting Kara) and definately off-tank anything.  Druids are one of the easiest classes to do this with - like the tailoring casters you can hit Kara with gear which will last you a long time.  Hell, if I’d tried harder I could easily have even gotten a more druidy cape ([Thoriumweave Cloak]) and Earthwarden already.

The one big downside to this is that my kitty gear is pretty lame, still.  I’ve been concentrating almost entirely on my tanking gear and have only picked up kitty upgrades as they’ve come along.  My run in Kara yesterday, though, grabbed me some [Skulker's Greaves] so I’m on my way to getting my kitty gear on par with my tanking gear.

Netherspite

The Netherspite fight has special meaning to me.  On Mharai, my first druid, I was invited to off-tank Kara 5 minutes after getting attuned.  I hadn’t expected to go, hadn’t read tactics, had no buffs except food buffs.  I had my druid mentor with me (one of the best druids I’ve ever met) and we stood and practiced beam jumping.  It was just so much damn fun, I was doing something which was more than just ‘tank and spank’ and was getting to be the ‘main tank’ during that time.

It’s always been one of my goals since those first few Kara runs to main tank Kara and, hopefully, it won’t be long until I can fulfill that wish.

OMG DMG!

One of the odd things about going from being DPS / Healer for so long is getting used to taking damage again.   On the first pull I had this moment of “OHSHIT so much dmg!”. Then, of course, I was heal spammed.  I wasn’t actually losing that much  health but I was tanking three mobs who were higher and hitting harder than anything I’ve tanked on Jhai up until now.  It feels nice to be the focus of heals by design rather than getting them because I’m a rogue who likes to attract a little bit of special attention from the trash mobs in Mount Hyjal.  *ahem*

1. What is Starting Over?
2. Reasons and Implications
3. Practicalities
4. What now?

What Now?

You done it. You’re starting anew on another server but… nothing’s the same. Maybe you’re lucky and it is ‘the same’ or luckier still - it’s better. It may be all you hoped for, the spark which fires up your passion for the game again but, maybe, it’ll be a disappointment. I can’t add much here, most of this is personal and there are too many factors which can make a difference for any one person but there are a few pieces of advice I’d give.

Even if it isn’t a disappointment straight away be aware that you may feel, whilst readjusting, that you wish you hadn’t made the change. Keep your mind open, though! It takes a while to build your social networks up again and you may find things eventually turning out a lot better than they felt at first. You need to actively get out there and build up new networks, contacts and friends - they won’t come to you and until you do this, you may find it hard to compare the old to the new fairly.

Take a step back, breathe, evaluate. Is it really as bad as it seems? Is it just because everything is new? Is it any better or worse than what you left behind? Consider that before running back to your old server / characters.

Do not delete characters! Although they can usually be recovered they will often be left with un-gemmed / enchanted gear. Why not leave them, let them rest just in case you decide, one day, to go back? If you transferred a character remember that you can always go back in a months time if things don’t work out!

It takes time to get back to where you were - I’m only now, after half a year, getting settled with my new server, new role, new people. I miss my old friends, my old characters, but not so much that I have to go back to them. I sometimes ‘visit’ my old character and server - pop on to say hello to anyone who happens to be online at the same time - and catch up on what’s been happening but I have no urge, now, to go back and build things up again on that server.

Good luck to anyone who makes the leap and starts over, I hope my last few posts can be even a little helpful!

1. What is Starting Over?
2. Reasons and Implications
3. Practicalities
4. What now?

3. Practicalities

Ok, so you’re decided. You’re going to server transfer / roll a new character on a different server etc. etc. and so forth. You’re all set but.. where do you go? The last post talked a bit about what to expect from different server types but what are the basic practical limits? Your first decision, server-wise should be: Normal, PVP, RP, RP-PVP? Each of these realm types is different from the other and will greatly affect how you play. Blizzard has a little page describing what differences you can expect to find between the realm types.

Secondly, you should have a look through the realm forums to see what you can expect if you’ve decided on a realm or to decide which realm you might fancy rolling on / transferring to. Be sure to check out the population of a server as if a realm has a high population it may not be eligible for transfer!

Thirdly, if you’re transferring a character you can usually find a guilds list on your new (to be) realm forum - if you want to get into one right away once you’ve moved you can usually post applications prior to transfer!

Guilds not your thing? You maybe want to get down and try your hands at some of that ‘rp’ stuff? The RP realm forums are usually brimming with the latest events and goings on of the realm and usually full of helpful ‘how to get started’ links.

It may be worth checking if there are any free transfer windows up to realms from your own and seeing if any of those suit your taste. Doing it by this method means you may be able to take multiple alts with you as well!

You might want to do content whilst not joining a guild? Why not take a leaf from Anna’s book and taka look for some raiding alliances on the servers you’re considering moving too?

What about all of my epix pixels?

More so for those who are transferring than re-rolling, there are a few things you need to do first.

• You will need to empty your mail-box and finish up any auctions you have going.
• You must not be a guild leader or Arena Captain when you transfer and so will have to disband or hand over the reigns.
• You will need to have 10,000 gold or less if you are level 70
• You can only move PVE>PVE/RP or PVP/RP-PVP>Any.

Blizz’s F.A.Q on the transfer process can be found here.

You will have everything which is in your bags and bank with you. If you have a bit more gold than the allowed limit it may be worth checking out the economy of your new realm-to-be. Are they behind in progress and would appreciate you buying a few patterns/vortexes etc. and reselling them once you get there? Or perhaps you can buy up things which you know will likely sell anyway to give yourself a boost back to your old cash-levels like some nice gems or BoE blues / purples, maybe even void crystals or large prismatic shards which stack.

Personally I could, at the time, only transfer one character and so also went through all of my alts and removed anything of decent value to take with me. Bag and bank space is at a premium so you may have to say goodbye to some things. When chucking stuff out you should weigh up it’s personal worth to you (sentimental value etc.) versus how easy it may be to obtain - For example leaving behind a [Piccolo of the Flaming Fire] because even though it’s fun and you absolutely love setting it off in front of the Ironforge Bank you will, probably, be able to get another relatively easily.

Say your goodbyes! Make a post on the realm forum if you’ve been active there, tell your friends, and, for goodness sake, don’t transfer without mentioning it to your guild if you’re part of one! Try not to be over dramatic or take the chance to be mean etc. as if you ever decide to come back you don’t want to be on bad terms with people. Also, as mentioned in the previous post, a bad reputation will often follow you!

Wait!

Unfortunately there can sometimes be quite a lag between pressing ‘Transfer’ and actually getting to your new realm. If everything is sorted and you’ve met all the conditions you should be on your new home within 24 hours. I was lucky in that my transfer was instant but sometimes, especially when using free transfer windows, the wait may be much longer.

Now What?

….Ohcrap, what did I just do? What was I thinking!? WHY!? WAAAAH! If you are experiencing any of these then hold on just a little while longer as post four deals with the ‘What Now?’ aspect of Starting Over!

My brain is a bit dead at the moment due to cold-full-ness so if you think I’ve missed anything give me a poke and I’ll add it. /hug!

1. What is Starting Over
2. Reasons and Implications
3. Practicalities
4. What now?

2. Reasons and Implications

First things first. Why do you feel the need to start over?

• New lease of wow life
• Different faction / realm type
• Friends moving server / leaving wow
• Bored with current character
• Falling out
• Bad Rep

All of the above are reasons I’ve seen for people starting afresh either on a new character on a new realm or moving between realms. The need to experience something new is certainly an attitude I can understand - I have altitis, I like to see the world in a different way, through a new character’s eyes but not all reasons are necessarily good ones for starting over.

Is it worth it?

You’re leaving everything behind. It’s all just pixels but remember how you ground ore for three months to get your epic mount? Remember that pug group where you finally got the Necklace of Infinite healy-goodness and made good friends with the tank / healer / that cool dworf rogue *ahem*? You’re going to be leaving behind all of the good things as well as the bad so judge carefully how much something irritating you is worth giving up all of the good things for. Starting over with a new character means giving up more than transferring but both will lose something in the move.

You may, of course, not be leaving behind much - maybe you just got to 55 and decided, blah, this isn’t the character / faction / server for me in which case it may not be such a wrench but you should consider that you may still be doing it for the wrong reason - some classes have a period which is a little dull. As a rogue, for me, this happened from around level 58-64. There just didn’t seem to be much new and I felt a little powerless at times. Come 64, for some reason, things started to pick up and I was happy being a rogue again. In other words, don’t decide to move too quickly - give it time and analyse whether it is the character itself or WoW / the server / the faction which is irritating you.

If you are thinking of leaving your server for one of the ‘social‘ reasons you should ask yourself if it’s really a good idea to leave. If you’re being picked on, griefed or otherwise having trouble then I can understand why you might want to leave but there may also be people who help you, are your friends, and will work with you to resolve the issue(s).

Friends leaving is always hard to take and was certainly why I moved, eventually, but I think even then you should consider if you are playing for them or yourself? Are you both looking for the same goals in WoW? Do you actually spend a lot of play time with them or is WoW just a fancy IM client? Their needs may not be the same as yours and transferring to follow them might not be the best choice to take!

You may not be moving to play with a friend - in fact you may be leaving some behind. Be sure to mention well in advance to them, let them know and have time to say your goodbyes. Make sure you’re not moving away from anyone who you enjoy playing the game with so much that not having them around will make things dull - often you only realise this after the fact, sadly.

If you’re looking for a new lease to your wow-life then maybe you could think about rolling an alt, taking up a new profession or maxing a skill / rep before taking the big step - you might find something which piques your interest and doesn’t involve going back to basics again.

Moving to a different server-type is a tricky one and I’d advise you to do plenty research before you do. I know, in particular, some RP-realm-ites can be quite untrusting of people moving from pvp and normal realms due to issues with them not understanding how to act within those realms. There’s also the basis in pve guilds moving to rp realms as they figure there will be less competition. If this is your basis for moving then I’d certainly tell you to think hard about it. Moving from PvP to PvE is an odd change as suddenly things become a lot less dangerous. Yes, it’s nice to not have to look over your shoulder all the time but it can also, sometimes, be a bit dull. Going the other way is a hard decision, too, as you cannot go back to a PvP realm from a PvE one.

Implications

You may know no-one or just a few people, you won’t have your old network of acquaintances who you can rely on to help you, you don’t know if that guy selling Mongoose in the trade channel is a scammer, either.

‘Local Knowledge‘ as stated, is the key to success in a new environment. For example, when I switched realm to Bloodhoof I was introduced to their ‘unofficial’ looting system - pass on any blues. I didn’t and still kinda don’t get this if you’re not with a guild group as, to me, it seems as though it’ll make a ninja’s job easier but every group I was in seemed to resort to using this method of loot distribution and ignoring the games’ own need/greed one. This was never used on Eonar or Sporeggar and if I hadn’t become used to it very quickly I might have become known as a ninja-looter! (luckily my friend on Bloodhoof explained things to me beforehand). Even though all servers have the same world within them, the people shape it differently and the game can be so very different dependant on the people within it.

Moving to a lower progress server has multiple issues associated with it. Even if you’re only interested in pvp or lower-end pve you may find life a little bit harder on such realms - unlike some busier realms you may not be able to snag excess patterns and, with the recent change of vortexes / primal nethers to BoE, you’re more likely to have been able to craft these items if you stay on the high population server.

However, if you’re looking for peace and quiet and not having to share grinding spots, perhaps you just don’t want to have to muscle past thirty bank alts in Orgrimmar, then moving to one of the lower population servers may well be the thing for you. Remember, though, that Blizzard does like to even out the server populations and may, in time, open a transfer window to the low-population realm you’ve chosen.

Moving to a higher progress server, in search of greener pastures, will also come with its own problems. Gear may be easier to get but often lower level items and basic ingredients come at higher prices (a general rule and not always true). Your lack of experience might mean it’s hard for you to get into a guild which is doing the higher content you crave but, if they’re worth joining they’ll likely give you a chance if you’ve strove to be the best you could for that content you did experience.

If you’re one of the gits running away to another server to hide from people and a lifetime of scams then understand that you will most likely be found and your whole realm will know about it. There are plenty of ways for people to ‘follow’ you and a similar number of examples on the forums where past scammers have been ‘outed’ on their new realm - sometimes before they’ve even logged in - this is especially true where a guild leader / officer has ninja’d the guild bank and done a quick server transfer.

Summin’ Up

I know a lot of this may seem biased against you moving but please understand that it is not meant to be so! I think moving my rogue was one of the best choices I have ever made and would never want to take back the experience I gained re-rolling with my druid. I simply want to convey the importance of thinking through your new start as I’ve seen so many people make the decision and then regret it later. More on that in part IV, though, hehe.

Homework..

The next post, part III, will deal with the practicalities of moving but I’ll end this one with a small thing you should do or, at least, think about. Pros vs. Cons list. The technique is as old as a very old thing but works! List what you’ll be missing and what you’ll be gaining - weighing them based on importance to you - and consider if, really, what you’ll be giving up is worth what you’re going to gain. This is a simple way to weigh things up and may tell you if you’re basing your decision too much on one small thing at the expense of the whole.

Sometimes ye just need tae git’ yer hied doon and get oot o’ town. Other times ye might just fancy a change o’ scenery - whatever it is make sure yer no just hidin’ fae a problem as that only makes it worse.

Quite a few days back I stared a small post and, as usual, it slowly accreted into a much larger post. It seems I wanted to share a lot about the experience of starting over in WoW - something which has, in a way, defined my WoW time - and perhaps ease others in the process by writing down my thoughts about the issue and adding a sprinkle of advice. I’ll go over what Starting Over really means, the reasons, the implications and the actualities. I hope it’ll help someone who’s thinking of starting over or who has done so and is not sure where to go next. If not I’ll at least have gotten the urge for essay-writing out of my system. So, say hello to /hug’s first multi-part post/guide thing.

1. What is Starting Over?
2. Reasons and Implications
3. Practicalities
4. What now?

1. What is Starting Over?

Starting over. It happens for a lot of reasons - maybe you wanted a change, maybe you left the game for a bit and came back, maybe you have a bad rep on your old server (deservedly or not), maybe some arsehole decided it would be funny to constantly corpse-camp you and you had enough of it. It can be a breath of fresh air, a daunting task, or both at the same time.

I’ve done it twice, now, sort of and both times it has been quite an upheaval for me. A quick rundown on how things happened for me, first, because I love having an excuse to tell you all stories. You can skip this if you want.

/cue flashback

I started, as a little Roguelet, on Eonar one summer. Uni started back, though, when I hit level 58 and I decided that, for my studies, would be best if I stopped playing WoW. TBC came out and I wasn’t going to play but a friend sold me a spare copy cheap (she had ordered two in case one didn’t come in time…) and a few more friends mentioned they were going to all reroll characters on a new server - Sporeggar. I started a druid, found I liked the class, and rocketed to 70. Most of them were slow levellers, though, and drifted away to their old characters and so I found myself playing solo for the most part - though I made a few good friends and my other half was still playing. We had great fun but, eventually, real life interceded and I had to take a month or two break from WoW once again.

When I returned everything had changed and I decided I wanted to play with at least someone I actually knew in real life. My best friend had an alliance character on Bloodhoof so I decided - Hey, I could transfer my rogue, level him and play with a friend again. Brilliant! So I did. Once again I was on a new server where I knew nobody - I was accepted into my friend’s guild and made welcome by the awesome bunch of people therein. It’s my home now, I’m kinda settled there and know more people than I think I did on either of my old servers. I miss a few people and I miss playing on an rp(pvp) server, I don’t miss Eonar that much, sadly, as I barely knew anyone there.

/end flashback

So, I’ve had a couple of ’start overs’ - Both rolling a new character on a new server and transferring an old one - sometimes with breaks in between and sometimes not. Starting over often includes leaving close friends and basically pulling yourself out of your comfort zone, it’s taking yourself out of a familiar situation in a way more complete than rolling an alt. It is a break which is akin, perhaps, to moving to a new town or out of home to go to Uni/College and something which can definitely effect how you experience the game.

What this isn’t going to go into is moving guilds (as a topic in itself) - it is similar in some ways - moving out of your comfort zone etc. but others have done far better are more informative posts than I could hope to. If you’re interested in them you might want to look at Matticus’ post here for a start on that topic.

A quick intro and not much meat, yet, but keep an eye for the next post which should be coming shortly.

Ok, so I did a post about which ones I loved so now it’s the ones I dislike. I don’t usually like doing ‘negative’ posts but most have reasons beyond ‘just didn’t like’ or are odd choices, at first glance, given what I do like.

I’m not going to give an order to these as I dislike them all for differing reasons and some I only even dislike on certain characters. Here, then are the instances which I usually avoid!

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Ah wis sittin’ the other day, in the Stonefire Tavern, havin’ a pint and reminiscin’ aboot all mah adventurin’. So, ahm sittin’ there an’ talkin’ away when Firebrew’s lassie, Gwenna, asks me whit wis mah favourite place that ah’d been adventurin’ tae? Well, that goat me thinkin…

Post idea stolen from Larísa, go check out her take on it here.

I had intended do do a few more ‘lite’ posts but unfortunately real life has sort of hit me with a bag of brick in the last week so I’ve not been able to sit down and think about anything for very long. Things are slowly returning to normal, though, and I figured I’d sit down and do this post - a reminiscing one which I’ve been meaning to do for a while.

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