Guildmates and You!

So if you're playing WoW(and I assume you either are currently playing or have played it at some point since you're reading this blog) then you have probably been in a guild at some point. It doesn't matter the type of guild, whether it be a leveling, a social, a raiding, a PvP, or even a guild that does all of it. I believe that being in a guild of some kind is a huge part of experiencing the game and those that have never been in one are missing out on a huge part of the game. My guild is a mainly PvE guild as we are focused on PvE content but we're not a bunch of care bears, the horde we camped until they cried politely explained the errors of being a horde on a PvP server the other night can testify. Why am I listing my guild credentials you may ask? Well because today's topic is going to be about Guilds and what they can mean for their members.

Remininscing about the last few years Part: One

Recently it was announced that the friends and family alpha has finally begun which means that soon enough the beta will start and we will be inundated with tons of information about the new expansion and all of its smexy goodness. I was thinking of that and drooling over soon to be released beta info (which probably wont start for a month or so...I think) when I realized that suddenly everything is going to change!

I know, I know...welcome to months ago when they first announced the expansion which was going to change Azeroth. It's one thing to say that a year and some change from now something is going to happen but when you say in a few weeks something is really going to happen that people like me start taking notice. I've been playing WoW for 5 years so I've spent a lot of time in Azeroth either leveling, pvping, farming, or just running around the continents. For anyone who doesn't know (and if you're reading this I am going to assume that you either play WoW or have some knowledge about the game) the new expansion that is being released this year, Cataclysm, is going to revolve around a huge world event that will cause the landscape of the game to change. Volcanoes will erupt, lands will flood, plague filled lands will be cleansed, new zones will be opened, lore characters will change, factions will grow more factious.

So why the blog topic you may ask. Well...when you've played as long as I have, Azeroth is like a kid brother or sister and the cataclysm is like watching said sibling go to their first dance or start driving. It's watching a caterpillar that you've been following turn into a butterfly before your eyes. It's like a generic metaphor for something changing. So I've decided to post about some of my experiences in the old world as Azeroth is known as now. With so many changes to Azeroth, I'll go ahead and split this into two posts so people don't have to sit through a wall of text.

Cataclysm is making me pee my pants in excitement

Seriously though...I am looking through the screenshots that MMO-Champion posted and I am having to keep from screaming out loud in excitement!!!!! The redone zones look awesome! WPL...made my jaw drop when I saw it. The bulwark looks like more then just a bunch of sticks dug into the ground, dalson's tear and felstone field look so different without the plague, and then there is Andorhal...just WOW! Uther's tomb looks so dignified and stately, just like the tomb of a great alliance hero should look. Man I can't wait to see what else is posted! I seriously wish I wasn't in school at the moment so I could squeal like a school girl at all the amazing stuff being posted!!!!

For whom the totem tolls

So...Rhommel is finally 80!!!! ZOMG! I know it's about time that I finally posted something about my shaman since I've been so busy with school, wow, job seeking, considering selling stuff on ebay, planning landscaping stuff for our backyard, proving that .9999 does in fact equal 1, solving crime part-time, coming up with excuses for not posting sooner, etc. I believe it took me about a month or so to level from 1 to 80 and looking back on it, there was never any period where I was bored or lost interest in my shaman. He has been fun since day one. Well it has been a rough few weeks while I was grinding out the levels on my little enhancement shaman and I am glad that now I can grind out gear on him to get him to be the ultimate killing machine that I know he can be.

So now I have to figure out:
1. What stats I should aim for first. What I mean by this is what finding out what hit rating I need, what expertise I need, what is my stat priority once these two stats are reached.
2. What should my spec be for maximized damage and what glyphs should I be using for that spec.
3. What is my rotation at 80.
4. What gear do I need and where can I get it.

I should hopefully be done with that list and post it sometime this weekend once I'm sure of the information out there so keep an eye out for it.

On other but just as awesome news...MMO-Champion has started releasing info about the beta including a talent calculator! So far only a few classes have been updated with new and awesome talents but resto shaman and druids have a few sexy goodies waiting for them, spriests and boomkins also have some awesome talents listed. Sadly mages and paladins don't have anything updated yet but I am sure that will be corrected soon enough!