Well, everyone’s got tae have a wee sideline in sellin’ somethin’ or other tae make them money, aye?  Or, if no that, then maybe a wee hobby that they happen tae use fer enhancin’ their gear or makin’ fun wee gadgets wi’?  Seems a lot o’ us spend the time perfectin’ these arts and dreamin’ up weird and wonderful new ways tae use our skills and, well, ah thought ah would put some o’ mine doon oan paper afore someone else claims ‘em!

I’m a huge fan of professions - in fact I enjoy them as much as any other aspect of the game and would probably find WoW a little less fun if the crafting aspect were removed.   Given I’m an altaholic with a love of professions you could guess I’ve tried them all and you’d be right - even if I did give up on blacksmithing before maxing it out… /guilt.

My favourite professions are leatherworking, jewelcrafting, alchemy and enchanting - the first because I like to make my own gear and all of my level 70 toons are leather-wearers and the other three because I like having professions from which others can benefit greatly besides myself.  So, what do I wish my favoured professions could do?

Leatherworking

I’d love to see more of the silly stuff in leatherworking - [Heavy Leather Ball]’s and [Gordok Ogre Suit]’s for example.  It wouldn’t be a huge stretch, for example, to add other costumes which change your appearance by using bits of the creatures you skin (or that others skin, if you’re a double profession-er) - dragonscales and leather for a dragon outfit, wolf or bear fur for costumes of the respective creatures - just fun recipes used to level on or as a silly pattern dropped in an instance, the results of which you could pull out in a raid or whilst standing at the mailbox.

I’ve also always felt it was unfair that tailors get the majority of ’shirt’ slot items and rp style outfits.  Give us leather [Tuxedo Pants]!

Jewelcrafting

Jewelcrafting already has a lot of nice things but, to be honest, I was actually disappointed to see that it would be blacksmiths and not jewelcrafters who could add an extra gem slot to items (though I do feel blacksmiths need something like this so I don’t begrudge them it!).  Still, it would be nice if they added this ability for jewelcrafters for necklaces and rings only, even as a jewelcrafting only thing.  Although the epic gems in TBC were nice I couldn’t use any of them on my rogue and the craftable necks / rings weren’t all that great for most classes and far more replaceable than any other profession’s crafted items.  This, of course, doesn’t include the Sunwell craftables which were pretty much inaccessible to most people.

The trinkets were nice but I upgraded my blue one before the end of Kara and the upgraded one wasn’t available until the last few months of TBC.  A wider range of melee trinkets focussing on different stats or even more with non-combat usage would be nice - as would a basic set of pvp trinkets for those what like that sort of thing.

Other than that I have to say there’s not much else I could ask of jewelcrafting - it’s a pretty nifty profession and much more well rounded than the ‘traditional’ crafting professions of pre-TBC.

Alchemy

Oils for weapons were mostly concentrated in the hands of the enchanters in The Burning Crusade so I’d like to see more added back for alchemists - perhaps special ‘resistance’ oils which would allow you to give up weapon-based dps (from poisons, WF, etc.) instead of one piece of gear in a resist set?  Maybe some which ar temporary versions of full enchants (along with the glows) such as beastslayer, demonslaying, etc. which wouldn’t overlap too much with enchanter’s mana / spellpower oils or blacksmith’s stones.

I would also love it if alchemy could create more potion versions of most of the non combat spells some classes have - i.e. a potion of levitate to go alongside the current water-walking, detect invisibility and underwater breathing potions.

Enchanting

As with jewelcrafting, the main thing I wanted for enchanting was given to another profession - scrolls that can be ‘enchanted’ and then sold but the ability to make such scrolls was given to inscribers.  I can undertsand why they’d give this to inscribers but, at the same time, is it fair for enchanters to have to rely on another profession so much if they want to be able to sell their wares?  Maybe it is, given that enchanting is a gathering and crafting profession in one.

Anyway… The thing most people love about enchants is that they can be shiny or cool.  It might be interesting if, for example, cloak enchants could add a glow to cloaks - maybe make them fiery or icy.  Boot enchants could make a person leave ‘footprints’ dependant on their enchant - a little trail of grass / flowers for Vitality, cat pawprints if you have Cat’s Swiftness.

Herbalism

I know most people wouldn’t care for this but… wouldn’t it be cool if herbalists could make some of the posies and bouquets that the flower-sellers have?  Perhaps even ones with on-use effects like the [Bouquet of Red Roses]?  Just a random thought as I realise herbalism is a gathering rather than crafting profession, hehe.

Fun + Epix = Win

I know these are mostly cosmetic things but, to be honest, the fun of a profession is often in the silly and fun looking things it can create in my opinion.   I believe that Blizzard been trying quite hard to make professions valuable and worthwhile for more than just ‘epix crafted lewts’ since Burning Crusade and hope to see the trend continued in Wrath.

This /hug post brought to you by the Blog Azeroth Shared Topic of the Week!

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I know, late to the finish line for the BA topic as usual but better late than never, eh?

I’ve played a variety of classes - some to 70 and some not - and have experienced a wide range of play-styles amongst them.   There are two classes, though, which draw me in completely: Druid and Shaman.  I’ve always been a bit of a nature-lovin’ hippy at heart - I don’t kill critters and I’ve hugged lots of trees.  I like the ‘nature’ of the classes (harhar) and how they play but for very different reasons.

Druids

Versatile, Graceful, Strong, Fast

Druids are the jack-of-all-trades - even unspecced they can fulfil any role in a pinch and fully specialised are a force to  be reckoned with.

Doing anything as a druid has always felt slightly graceful to me, in that I feel there is a nice flow to my actions - one leads to the next which brings you to the next.  There are so many buttons and so many ways to do things that one has a plethora of choice and can turn any situation around like some sort of choreographed dance.

Druids are also strong -  when the goin’ gets tough they hunker down and can outlast a flurry of blows under a thick fur hide or protected by barkskin.  In leather gear they’re no pushovers and even our caster form has a big, feathery shell to protect them!

The nature of hots and other instant abilities makes this class feel very ‘fast’ paced for me - though I guess that might just be lack of practice!

Shamans

Solid, Strong, Powerful, Flexible

Whilst I think of druids as versatile - able to take on another role in a pinch - I think of shamans as flexible.  Why? Well, I’ve spent a lot of my time as a resto shaman in any other group except the healer group - I buff the melee or casters most often and, although I may not have the buffed totems that enhance or elemental do, I am still able to provide some measure of benefit to almost any group I join.  I can tweak my totem set-up and tailor it to the needs of my party - flexibility within my chosen role.

Shamans are healers in mail.  Not as tough as paladins maybe but they have a shield and can take a few bumps and bruises in a dire situation - they also tend to have reasonably high health pools and generally survive better than their squishier leather and cloth counterparts.  I’m a big fan of survivability so this aspect of shamans is greatly appealing to me.  The fact I can add an Earth Shield to that and make a warrior get so bored of lesser healing wave spam that he walks away has always tickled me.

Resto is my chosen spec and, despite being a little focussed on one particular spell, I do feel it is a powerful one - not only in terms of ‘efficiency, hps, etc.’ but when my chain heal connects it hits reaonably big.  As much as I do like being a resto druid from time to time I admit that it can be a little disconcerting having to wait for all the little numbers to add up…

But what about rogues, etc.?

As much as I do love my rogue and enjoy playing him, and although his ‘personality’ is more in line with my own, I don’t feel I am, deep inside, a roguey type.  Maybe the hugging sorta gives that away?  I like happy, cheerful and strong - which is why of all races I chose a dwarf for my rogue.  I can be happier playing a dwarf rogue than any other race but as much as I loved my big swords I’d hang them up in a moment for a good sturdy staff or hefty, healy mace.

Overall

I think that both druids and shamans are the best fit classes for me - playing both gives me the ability to help others and be a strong solo player - druid gives me the ability to play a complex, graceful class with many twists and turns to it and shaman gives me a nice, earthy, solid and dependable healer to help my teammates with.

Through the hard times and the good.

I have to celebrate you baby…

- Fatboy Slim, Praise You

Wow, just wow.  Wow.  Did I say WOW yet?

WOW.

Welcome to your 100th post edition of /hug!

I can’t believe I’m at 100 posts and I can only offer immense thanks to those who drop by, read and comment once in a while!

I started this blog back on the 5th of February.  I had no real goals regarding writing about a particular aspect of wow but simply said: “This is a blog about me, WoW and what I like about it.” I wanted to share, I wanted to become a better writer and I wanted to play with making pretty pictures.  It took me a little while to get into my stride, to be able to write posts shorter than a small novella and to figure out how to make those shiny images sit correctly on the page, though.

Blogging about wow has increased my love of the game - I investigate things more now, I get linked to things concerning aspects of the game I never realised.  I’ve made some new friends via blogging and learned an awful lot.  I can’t thank the Blog Azeroth community enough - not only for bringing me to all of those bloggers, but also for giving me awesome post fodder.

So, what are you getting for this special (to me, anyway) post? This is a post about growth, about goals and personal achievements and the biggest ‘growth’ factor in WoW is our characters.  Whether we have one or five we have all made that journey from level one up.  Thus, I went searching through my archives and dug up some old-school screenshots of my characters when they started their journeys.

I hope a few others will do this too -  find the earliest possible screenshots of your now super-cool 70’s! Kind of like your mother embarassing you in front of your friends with your baby photos, mwuhahaha!  So, 100th post and Sunday Screenies all in one.  /score

Oh and I forgot in my last post (I pre-write them) to say a big HELLO to Leafy! He’s taken refuge from G-Drama to come visit Softi and I on Bloodhoof.  /hugs  I think Softi and I both scared our guildies with all the squeeing…

A little spin on one of the current shared topics from Blog Azeroth.  Now, I’m sure I’ve covered what concerns I have with other players and their thoughts on rogues as well as mentioning some things that rogues can do which others don’t realise so I’m going to rant on another little bugbear of mine - misconceptions about dwarves!

First, though…

• We are not all holy-loving, shiny or knee-cap melting priests.
• Neither are we all bloody hunters!
• Nor are we all Paladins.
• In case you didn’t get the theme here, we’re definately not all warriors, either.

So, before you ask for a blessing, particular aspect, tankage or haelz… please check your dwarf is not, in fact, a rogue! *Ahem*

I’ve had all of the above happen to me a few times - people don’t seem to realise dwarves come in rogue-flavour.  That aside, though, there are some other common misconceptions about dwarves in general which people should remember not to insinuate when grouped with a dwarf.

• We do not smell badly.
• Our women do not have beards.  Well, except one.
• We are not short, everyone else is disproportinately tall (except gnomes, who’re too short).
• You may not punt us, we are not gnomes.
• We are not fat, we are big-boned.  No, really.
• We’re not all drunkards.  We just like a wee drink (or five) now and then.

I love being a dwarf, I enjoy being part of what is becoming an increasingly small community.  Although we may not have the same sort of thing going as some class-communies (I’m looking at the druids, here!) I’ve always found dwarves have more of a kin-ship than any other race I’ve played.  Dwarves playing with each other will often greet one another enthusiastically, we will dance and drink together and female dwarves are coveted rarities.  I think this comes from the fact there are so few of us in comparison to most other races - especially now that all priests can have fear-ward.

If I’ve missed mentioning any other dwarven bloggers here give me a poke for linkage! Dwarves must stick together in the face of what is becoming an overwhelmingly racist attitude against our kind!

For Khaz Modan!! /charge.

Ye has yer ups and yer doons and it’s guid tae share them wi’ yer pals so ah’m gonnae tell you a few o’ the moments that ah remember well fae the past few years.

It’s been a while but it seems it’s time for another Blog Azeroth shared topic!  Not going to number them as I can’t really choose an ‘order’.

Lightwalkers Al’ar FK

My first first kill.  I’d never had that sort of momentous moment before.  Feeling like part of the group and that “I helped achieve that!” was amazing - even more so as it was my first time in Tempest Keep and I was terribly under-geared and under-confidant.  I think this was the moment I really started to enjoy raiding began to strive towards the next first kill! Oh and I totally had to steal the front-center spot for the picture. *ahem*

Bloodrazor
When I was levelling Aurik for the first time (pre-tbc) I’d been ogling a certain beautiful big sword in the Auction House.  I’d heard it was pretty nice for a sword rogue but I knew I’d never get it - the price for it was extortionate.  So, when I woke up one morning to find it in my mail box? Very, very happy rogue.  My other half had been grinding in Western Plaguelands and it had dropped from some undead thing or other and promptly popped it into the post for me.  I still have it - I can’t bear the thought of selling it.

Flight Form

Fly up.  Click flight form off.  Drop.  Hit flight form before hitting ground.  Repeat for one hour, gleefully giggling.  Need I say more? (Remember when horde druids were black crows too? hehehe)

Stuck Warlocks
When on one of my first forays into Karazhan two orc warlocks got stuck in the staircase and we had to rescue them.  There was so much silliness over teamspeak and comments about seeing up each others dresses and so on.  Every guild has their fun moments even on serious raids and this showed me that raiding was not all ’srs bsnss’.

Seeing Shattrath for the First Time

The first time I walked into Terrokkar, stepped over the hill and beyond saw a city nestled into the hills, arched walkways extending into it’s core,  broken but not shattered,  It took my breath away.  I’d seen some concept art and possibly some vague screenshots but nothing had prepared me for seeing that beautiful landscape for the first time in-game.

Realisation
The day I realised… “I’m in Black Temple…” I never, ever thought I’d be there.  I always wanted to be - I loved the idea of pitting myself against Illidan, of breaking into his bastion in Outlands.  The Akama storyline is one I have enjoyed playing through a lot.  And I was here…

PvP in Ashenvale
My first ever pvp experience.  I was in Ashenvale, at whatever level people go to Ashenvale. Myself and my other half noticed local defense lighting up like a Christmas tree. “Maestra’s Post is under attack” etc.  We were intrigued - we were on a normal server and had never seen any world pvp before so we waited around until the Hordies hit Astranaaaaaaaaaaar.  Being only little rogues and hunters we went splat when we decided we’d help the sentinels out but, when a few levels 60’s began to show up, the battle got a bit more even.  It was fun and gave me a taste for occassional pvp.  I still prefer world pvp to battleground pvp.

First Time Through the Dark Portal

I stood there, grinning and walked (yes, I toggled walk on!) through the huge, looming gate.  I had re-rolled on TBC launch and resisted the temptation to try and get a port or summon to Outlands.  I entered a complex world, battered and was confronted with a large-scale battle immediately! (which, like every other nub, I tried to walk past and got squished).

First Mount
Everyone remembers their first mount, right?  Well, I do.  I spent about half an hour running around and jumping about on my freshly minted lamb ram! I doubly remember this as I spent all of my gold - so that I didn’t even have enough gold to fly anywhere afterwords…  Oops.

Dying to Dots
The number of times on my druid where I was the last party member surviving and tanked a boss into he ground and then died from some sort of debuff just after my glorious victory lap… Although this is not a specific single time I count it as a top ten memory as it has me in stitches every time it happens.  Recently, in Mount Hyjal, I got caught in a rain of fire just as Azgalor boss died, with no CloS up.  There were no healers left alive (first kill, unlucky dooms and other stuff) so as I leapt about and cheered over not dying (I’d died at the very start of the Kaz fight, whilst helping to distract him) I fell over dead due to the dot and was promptly mocked. /sadface

Wow has given me some awesome times and memories - most of them involving the people I play with and which would make little sense out of context.  For all those fun moments I thank those people who, without which, I wouldn’t be having so much fun.

Hug one, hug all. Does it really matter who’s got whit as long as yer still enjoying yersel? Does it make ye happier to deny someone else somethin’? Ah really cannae understand this whole thing…

You’d think, the way some of my guildies and some others are talking, that when 2.4 comes out they are going to have all their epics perma-removed and given to newly dinged 70’s. In fact, it’s worse, their e-peen is going to be cut off and tossed to the murlocs!

I usually stay away from topics like this, I even tend to try and ignore them in g-chat as they’re something that’s likely to bug me and both sides have pretty strong feelings. But, to hell with it, I’ll write it all down here where no-one can interrupt me while I write.

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Haud’ on tight, we’re goin fer a ride on the back o’ a dragon. This is the life, wheee!

I got my Netherdrake a week or two back but never really got around to mentioning it (it’s my second character to get one so I guess it’s not quite as exciting). Anyways, I have a habit of taking pictures when I find myself randomly in an area with nice lighting or somesuch and the above I took one morning whilst doing my dailies. I liked the screenie so much I made a very simple desktop (click on the pic for that). Nothing amazing as I really wanted a plain background which was softer than my old one. Shame that I couldn’t zoom out further to catch the tail…

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Cannae be daein’ wi’ adventurin’ or slayin’ on an empty stomach an without my bag full o’ bit an’ pieces which give me a wee bit o’ an advantage.

So, Onionpeels over at Blog Azeroth suggested jotting down what we take for raids and I thought I’d do a little writeup on what I take as it sounded kind of fun. As a rogue I don’t have any reagents to bring (thankfully) but that doesn’t mean I don’t bring bags full of consumables to a raid!

When I started raiding I had one raid bag. I put everything I needed into it so I wouldn’t forget when the time came to go somewhere. Slowly, as I added more items to my repetoire and started doing a wider variety of bosses my little stash grew and now takes up almost two full bags, not including the extra stamina gear and trinkets I carry with me just in case!

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Ah, well, y’see mah name has a long a proud history, handed doon by ma faithers, faither’s great uncles cousin!

This is a question which comes up a lot online. People want to know why you chose that particular name, what it means to you, what you hoped to convey by choosing it and measure it up against their own perceptions of it.Now, I bet you’re thinking “I know where your name comes from, Aurik! That’s easy! It’s just a basatardisation of a certain villian’s name, amirite?! Of course not (you knew that was coming hehe). I… never liked Bond films, I’d never seen Goldfinger and it wasn’t until someone asked me if that’s why I chose the name that I realised there was even a connection. Nope. However, I chose it for, likely, the same reason. It sounds like gold! For those of you not familiar with chemistry the symbol for gold is Au (from the latin, aurum according to wikipedia). I had a dwarf, his hair was golden-yellow. It had to be a name which was ‘gold-ish’! My other half, whilst creating a female dwarf hunter at the same time, suggested Aurik and it stuck. Personally I pronounce it “Aww-rick” but most of my guildies from other parts in Europe pronounce it (probably more correctly) as “A-oo-rick”. Read more

Ach my mind is away wi’ the faeries half the time and ah cannae remember tae pit’ poisons on withoot keepin’ a wee note or five.

Another topic suggested by the Blog Azeroth community!

What addons can you not live without?

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