The Calm

Calm before the Storm.

Click the image for a 1600 by 900px wallpaper image. If you'd like the 1920 by 1080px original instead, email me.

Ps. I am still here, just super busy. I'll get back to blogging sooner or later!

Good News, Everyone!

I have to say, that out of all the informational juice that flowed out of BlizzCon this weekend as a result of the trampling fan-feet, the news I was most excited about was this (paraphrased from the post at WowInsider):

Cataclysm is going to be available for download before the release date, and become available to play at Midnight, PST on December 7th.

This makes me a very happy Ang for two reasons.

Firstly, it is unlikely that Aussie game stores would be actually selling their copies of Cata before or at midnight on the 7th (that's unconfirmed, by the way - I haven't ordered a copy at all yet). At Wrath release, the European store I was lined up at midnight did actually release them at midnight, but the much smaller Aussie/Kiwi/SEA market tends to get shafted when it comes to release dates.

The other reason is that, in buying and downloading the expansion directly from the Blizzard store, it sounds like we will be able to pay the American price for it. Hooray for the strong Aussie dollar, and for not having to pay whatever ridiculously inflated price it will be here!

So if all goes to plan, and Mr Morhaime is good on his word, and if the Aussie game distributors don't kick up a fuss and somehow force us to pay full price to download the game, we can come home from work on the 7th and start playing our pre-installed Cataclysm at 6pm AEST (that's 7 for you DST types).

Roll on December!! /excitement

Meet Guppy

Yes, this is on live.

How is this possible, you may ask?

Simply type this into your chat window:

/run PetRename("name goes here")

Big thanks to Grimmtooth for pointing this one out!!

Hallow's End 2010 - Tricks and Treats for Alliance

Hallow's End is upon us!

Today it's time to take a look at the Alliance's route through Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, to get those parts of the [Tricks and Treats of Azeroth] achievement.

I've made a list of the locations of the Alliance buckets, and arranged them roughly in an efficient order. These lists have been done before in a few places, but they are mostly aimed at level 70s or 80s who already have all the flight points. I've tried to make it lowbie-friendly, by including the level range for each zone.  You might like to risk running through high-level areas, or if you're short on time or on a PvP server, skip them.

Don't forget, once an hour you can Trick or Treat an innkeeper for a chance to receive items for other achievements like the wands, masks or tooth picks! Just talk to the innkeeper and the Trick or Treat option should be there.

Small disclaimer:  This may or may not be the most efficient route - if you can suggest an improvement please let me know!

For each instruction, take a taxi if you are able. Otherwise, you'll have to ride! Don't forget to pick up flight points along the way if you don't have them!

← Go to the Horde tour

Alliance Candy Bucket Tour

Start in Stormwind, Trade District.

Ride to Elwynn Forest (1-10), Goldshire. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

Ride to Westfall (10-20), Sentinel Hill.

Fly/ride to Duskwood (18-30), Darkshire.

Fly/ride to Redridge Mountains (15-25), Lakeshire.

Fly back to Darkshire, then ride to Stranglethorn Vale (30-45), Booty Bay (or fly directly if you can).

Take the boat to The Barrens (10-25), Ratchet, then back again.

Fly to Stormwind, then take the tram to Ironforge, The Commons.

Ride to Dun Morogh (1-10), Kharanos. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

Ride to Loch Modan (10-20), Thelsamar, or ride back to Ironforge and fly to Thelsamar.

Fly/ride to Wetlands (20-30), Menethil Harbor.

Fly/ride through Wetlands and Arathi Highlands (30-40) to Hillsbrad Foothills (20-30), Southshore. If you are able to water walk you may prefer to ride over the water to Southshore directly.

While in Southshore, pick up the quests for [Rotten Hallow] from Sergeant Hartman. One of the quests is done in Southshore, but the other involves a trip to the eastern side of the Undercity, outside the ruins.  The giant wickerman is protected by a few PvP guards, you can't miss it.

Fly/ride through the pass behind Durnholde Keep to Hinterlands (45-50), Aerie Peak.

Fly/ride through the pass to Western Plaguelands and on to Eastern Plaguelands (53-60), Light's Hope Chapel.

Fly back to Menethil Harbor, then take the ship to Auberdine but don't pick up the bucket yet, take another ship to Exodar, Seat of the Naaru.

Fly/ride to Azuremist Isle (1-10), Azure Watch. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

Fly/ride to Bloodmist Isle (10-20), Blood Watch.

Fly back to Exodar, take the boat back to Auberdine, then another boat to Darnassus, Craftsman's Terrace.

Ride to Teldrassil (1-10), Dolanaar.

Ride back to Darnassus, take the boat to Darkshore (10-20), Auberdine.

Fly/ride to Ashenvale (18-30), Astranaar.

You can ride through the Talondeep Path to Stonetalon Mountains (15-27), Stonetalon Peak if you are high enough level to get past the mobs at either end. Otherwise you'll have to ride the long way via the Barrens, or you could just fly directly, if you are able.

Fly/ride to Desolace (30-40), Nigel's Point.

Fly/run south through Desolace to Feralas (40-50), Feathermoon Stronghold.

Fly back to Astranaar, then ride through Felwood (48-55) and through the Timbermaw Hold to Winterspring (53-60), Everlook (or fly directly). If riding, getting through Timbermaw Hold will involve some corpse-running for lowbies.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Fly to Auberdine, then take a ship to Stormwind then another one to Theramore Isle.  Alternatively you can just fly directly to Theramore.

Fly/ride to Dustwallow Marsh (35-45), Mudsprocket.

Fly/ride through the Barrens and Thousand Needles to Tanaris (40-50), Gadgetzan.

Fly/ride to Silithus (55-60), Cenarion Hold.  If riding, drop in at Marshal's Refuge in Un'goro Crater (48-55) to pick up the flight point.

And that's the end!

If you're high enough level, you might like to continue to take care of [Tricks and Treats of Outland].

Best of luck!

Hallow's End 2010 - Tricks and Treats for Hordies

Hallow's End is upon us!

This is one of my favourite holidays in the game, what with the Headless Horseman haunting Scarlet Monastery and throwing pumpkin heads at each other, plus the chance to get The Hallowed title if you didn't already have it.

Of course the reason the Horde have for celebration is the Forksaken breaking away from the Scourge, but the nations of the Alliance have been celebrating Hallow's End for much longer, and so they get to join in the fun as well.

Most of the achievements associated with Hallow's End are fairly straightforward, but the most time consuming is the tour of the Candy Buckets. Most of the inns across Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Outlands and Northrend have Candy Buckets in them, which reward handfuls of candy.

The Candy Buckets also reward some very nice experience for those still leveling, and hard coin for those at level 80, so the tour really is worth doing. You don't even have to rush it, because Hallow's End runs until October 31st!

Not only are the rewards worth it, but it is a great opportunity for a last look over these zones before Deathwing rises and blasts most of them into little pieces.

I've made a list of the locations of the Horde buckets, and arranged them roughly in an efficient order. These lists have been done before in a few places, but they are mostly aimed at level 70s or 80s who already have all the flight points. I've tried to make it lowbie-friendly, by including the level range for each zone.  You might like to risk running through high-level areas, or if you're short on time or on a PvP server, skip them.

Don't forget, once an hour you can Trick or Treat an innkeeper for a chance to receive items for other achievements like the wands, masks or tooth picks! Just talk to the innkeeper and the Trick or Treat option should be there.

Small disclaimer:  This may or may not be the most efficient route - if you can suggest an improvement please let me know!

For each instruction, take a taxi if you are able. Otherwise, you'll have to ride! Don't forget to pick up flight points along the way if you don't have them!

Go to the Alliance tour → 

Horde Candy Bucket Tour

Start in Orgrimmar, Valley of Strength.

Ride to Durotar (1-10), Razor Hill. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

Ride to The Barrens (10-25), Crossroads.

Fly/Ride to The Barrens, Ratchet.

Fly to Crossroads then ride to The Barrens, Camp Taurajo (or just fly directly).

Ride to Mulgore (1-10), Bloodhoof Village.

Ride to Thunder Bluff, Lower Rise.

Fly to Camp Taurajo then ride to Dustwallow Marsh (35-45), Brackenwall Village (or just fly directly).

Fly/ride to Dustwallow Marsh, Mudsprocket.

Fly to Camp Taurajo then ride to Thousand Needles (25-35), Freewind Post (or just fly directly).

Fly/ride to Tanaris (40-50), Gadgetzan.

Fly/ride to Silithus (55-60), Cenarion Hold.  If riding, drop in at Marshal's Refuge in Un'goro Crater (48-55) to pick up the flight point.

Fly to Freewind Post, then ride to Feralas (40-50), Camp Mojache (or fly directly).

Fly/ride to Desolace (30-40), Shadowprey Village.

Fly/ride to Stonetalon Mountains (15-27), Sun Rock Retreat.

Fly to Crossroads then ride to Ashenvale (18-30), Splintertree Post (or fly directly).

Ride through Felwood (48-55) and through the Timbermaw Hold to Winterspring (53-60), Everlook (or fly directly). If riding, getting through Timbermaw Hold will involve some corpse-running for lowbies.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Fly to Orgrimmar, then take the zeppelin to Undercity.  Don't go into the city yet - ride to Tirisfal Glades (1-10), Brill first. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

On your way back to the Undercity, swing around to the west to pick up the quests for the [Rotten Hallow] achievement from Darkcaller Yanka.

Ride back to Undercity, but don't go into the city again - use the teleportation orb in the Ruins to go to Silvermoon City.

There are two buckets in Silvermoon.  The first is in the Royal Exchange, and the second is on the west side of the city in the Bazaar. Look for buildings with curtains in the doorways.

Leave the city and ride to the east, to Eversong Woods (1-10), Falconwing Square. You can do [The Saviour of Hallow's End] here if the Headless Horseman is about!

Ride south to Eversong Woods, Fairbreeze Village.

Either ride back to the flight point outside Silvermoon and fly, or just ride to Ghostlands (10-20), Tranquillien.

Next is Eastern Plaguelands (53-60), Light's Hope Chapel. The easiest way is to fly directly from Ghostlands, but if you can't do that you can either ride into EPL from Ghostlands, or fly to Undercity and ride there through Western Plaguelands. If you're not high enough level to beat your way through, it's really worth skipping this one.

Fly to Undercity, Trade Quarter.

Fly/ride to Silverpine Forest (10-20), The Sepulcher (or fly directly).

Fly/ride to Hillsbrad Foothills (20-30), Tarren Mill. Don't forget to visit Southshore to do the quests for [Rotten Hallow].

Fly/ride via the pass behind Durnholde Keep to the Hinterlands (45-50), Revantusk Village.

Fly back to Tarren Mill, then ride to Arathi Highlands (30-40), Hammerfall (or fly directly).

Next is Badlands (35-45), Kargath. If you can't fly there, this involves a long run south through Wetlands (20-30) and Loch Modan (10-20) and across to the other side of Badlands.

From here, if you already have the flight point to Stonard, you can fly there directly, followed by Grom'gol Base Camp and Booty Bay. If not, you'll have to take the long way.

Fly to Undercity, take a zeppelin to Orgrimmar, then take the other zeppelin to Stranglethorn Vale (30-45), Grom'gol Base Camp.

Fly/ride to Stranglethorn Vale, Booty Bay.

Fly to Grom'gol then ride through Duskwood (18-30) and Deadwind Pass to Swamp of Sorrows (35-45), Stonard.

And that's the end of the story!

If you're high enough level, you might like to continue to take care of [Tricks and Treats of Outland].

Best of luck!

Patch Time!

Honey, I'm home!!

Okay so the place kind of exploded while I was away.  The patch hitting means that, thanks to my Gem changes post, I had the highest number of visitors I've ever had. Now that I'm back it's kind of gone back down to near normal, but I hope the new visitors found something useful here and will come back again! Make yourselves at home :)

Thank you very much to the people who sent me guest screenies of their favourite places to put up while I was away, including Rades, Tarinae, Anslym and Vidyala! 

Patch 4.0.0 is currently installing on my computer - it's a slow one, isn't it? In the meantime, I've been catching up on what to expect once I finally get to log in. First things first, although many of my addons have been updated, I will be turning them all off and rebuilding from scratch I think.

May I just send out a huge thank you to all the Druid bloggers who have been following and writing guides for the changes. Druids all over the world appreciate your efforts - you guys are awesome!

If you're looking for a few good guides on how things have changed for your Resto or Balance Druid, may I recommend:

• Keeva's 4.0 guide for Resto Druids on Tree Bark Jacket


• Restoration Druid has been talking about the changes in nice bite-sized chunks


• RestoDude has an awesome Resto guide as well.


• Lissanna and Beruthiel have answered a lot of Resto and Moonkin questions


• Graylo and Battlechicken both have great guides for Moonkin for 4.0.

Please note I have now updated my cheat sheets for Resto and Balance.  

For kitties, check out Primal Precision's post here.

The Inconspicuous Bear has some leveling tips for Bears, and plenty of other Bearish information.

Good lord, there's a lot to re-learn.

Vidyala's Favourites

Hi everyone! I'm still away for a few more days, but today I have a few more guest screenshots to share. I hope you're all coping alright with the Patch changes...

From Vidyala:

About a year ago, my night elf druid, Shaedre, set out to explore the world. I was on an RP server at the time so I turned it into a bit of a "thing" and documented the whole journey. She's the kind of gal who always has frogs tumbling out of her pockets and animals tagging along behind her, so for every zone I took a picture of her with a suitable pet and/or outfit. 

 Moonglade

Un'Goro Crater

Stonetalon Mountains

Anslym's Favourite: Ruby Dragonshrine

Ruby Dragonshrine, by Anslym

"The Ruby Dragonshire is my favourite place in WoW because of all the lore behind it.  The titans empowered the Red Dragonqueen Alexstrasza - Life Binder as ruler over all Dragons on Azeroth.  She has the power to give and take life, she is possibly the most powerful entity on Azeroth. Travelling to the shrine and being in it makes me feel safe, as if she is looking out for me.  After battling the undead and the harsh winds its nice to step into an oasis of warmth in the middle of the Dragonblight.  In my fanfiction (pending) each of my characters will experience the dragonshire and each of them will have different reaction to what they see there.  Oh and in case you were wondering I do like the Ruby Sanctum as well."

Changes in Desolace

Today we have a few guest screenshots from Tarinae.

She says:

Desolace, while not my favorite place now, is one of the zones I am looking forward to most in Cata.

Make sure you keep an eye on  A Healadin's Tear to see shots from after the Cataclysm has taken place.

Scrabblescrew's Camp

Near Thunderaxe Fortress

Kodo Graveyard

Rades' Favourite: Dire Maul

Dire Maul, by Rades

BA Shared Topic: What's in a Name?

Before I start today I just wanted to say hi!  Hi to all those people coming here for the first time from guild websites, other blogs (thanks for the links!!) or by searching for gem information. Make yourselves at home!  I am just about to go away for a week so don't be surprised if there's not much happening if the patch does happen to drop on Tuesday, but try not to trash the place while I'm gone, eh?

But now, to the subject at hand! This week's Blog Azeroth Shared Topic, as suggested by Llani from Pocket Heals:

How did you decide upon the name for your character(s)? Did you delve into Norse, Greek, or Roman mythology? Did you choose a name from one of your family members? Did you mash the "Random" name generator button in vain until you stumbled upon something you liked? Is your name a play on aspects of your class, using spells or other traits? Did you play around with syllables, vowels, and consonants until you found something that you loved? How long did it take you to come up with your name? Do all of your characters share the same 'theme' or naming convention?

Has your character name become your online persona, or maybe the other way around?

Choosing a name is one of the most difficult parts of starting a new character, in any game. I have been known to sit there for ages after choosing all the attributes in a new character, just trying to choose a name!

I'd been known to pick odd names in past games but when I started playing WoW I knew that the name was going to be important. As an MMO, I was going to be playing with other people and those other people would refer to me by my character name, so I knew I didn't want my name to be something like Furrypants.

It was only much later I started seeing names like "Imapalalulz" and "xxarthasxx" and so on.  I wonder if those people are slightly embarrassed later once they start being called by that name.  I was in an ICC pug recently with someone called "Imcoolmom". When someone asked him something on vent he said sheepishly, "Oh, call me <whatever his real name was>, please."

In general I've always tried to name my Wow characters by names that are close to real names, or names that might sound suitable for the race of the character.

My first Night Elf druid was called Aoifen. I wanted Aoife, but Aoifen did well enough. I didn't play her for all that long before I decided to try something new and started my Human Priest, Angelya.  As you can probably tell, she went on to become my main and my online persona within my EU guild, where I was usually called "Ang".  I decided to keep the name once I started blogging, even though I don't play my priest any more.

My other character's names have had varying difficulties to come up with - most races can fall back on a baby name website, but races such as Orcs and Trolls need some special fantasy consideration. It took me ages to come up with the name for my Orc huntress:  Shagroth.  I still wasn't happy with it, it sounded too LOTR to me, but the other names I came up with were already used.

Other names of various characters include Morshanna, Eleanor, Gladiys, Halvaar (my only male character - a huge Draenei Pally <3 ).

You can probably guess the origins of my current tribe: Leesah = Lisa, Aefa = Eva and Balindah = Belinda. A bit boring, to be honest! People do seem to have a bit of trouble with pronouncing Leesah for some reason. A few people have called me Lee-sha over vent.  It annoys me when people can't read names well enough to pronounce them - if you can't work it out, ask :)

Do you have any tips for naming your characters in WoW, or any other game? Resources, name generators, mythology websites, sources of inspiration, etc.

I usually use baby naming websites - just Google "baby names" and you will get a stack of them!  If you search for "fantasy names" there are plenty of those as well, so all you need to do is look at a bunch of names and write down the ones that appeal to you.  It's a lot like the process we're going through to short-list names for our real baby, to be honest.  But I won't be naming a daughter "Lisa", in case people think I'm naming her after my main!

Have you got a favourite naming website?  Or do you name your characters on a theme?

Gem conversions for 4.0.1

With Patch 4.0.1 due out in the next week or so, one of the major things that will be changing is the stats on not only gear, but gear enhancements such as enchants and gems. I have looked at gems only in this post - enchants are a whole other kettle of squid.

Gems in our gear and inventory should automagically convert to their new forms once patch 4.0.1 is installed. The table below shows how those conversions are taking place at the moment on the PTR. They've shuffled around some colours and descriptors to remove duplicates, and in doing so removed a lot of the obsolete recipes.

But what does it mean? At present there will be twelve new types of gem introduced. It's possible that the "old" recipes will convert to the new ones, or we will be able to train them again from the Jewelcrafting trainer. It's also possible they might make us buy them from the epic vendor, but that seems unlikely.

What happens to our Jewelcrafting Tokens anyway? I can't find any source information as to whether they are going away after the patch, but they certainly won't be able to buy anything useful after we start leveling up to 85, so it seems to be a good idea to wait until closer to the Cata release date buy up Dragon's Eyes or other epic gems before the Cata release, for leveling up JC and putting into gear as we level.

By the by, after the patch we will no longer be able to buy epic gems with honor (Source: MMO-Champion).

Please note I do not have access to the PTR, so I am not able to check that all of these gem combinations are correct. If any PTR Jewelcrafters read this and are able to help me out to confirm the info in this post, I'd appreciate it.

I have based the gem list on the following assumptions:

• Spellpower becomes Intellect
• MP5 becomes Spirit
• Attack Power becomes Agility for Druids, Hunters, Rogues and Shaman (?)
• Attack Power becomes Strength for Warriors, Paladins and Death Knights
• Armor Penetration becomes Critical Strike Rating
• Defense becomes Dodge

I also could not find equivalent gems for a few current ones - I've marked them with a question mark.  If anyone can enlighten me as to whether they are just going to disappear or what they are converting to on the PTR, please do.

The formatting is a little icky but Blogger isn't great at tables... I'll go through and update the links at some stage but I wanted to get this out there first.

As usual, if you can add any information or correct me, please let me know. I hope you find this useful!

Gem

Current Stats

Action

Will Convert To

New Stats

Red

Bold Cardinal Ruby	+20 Strength	no change	Bold Cardinal Ruby
Bright Cardinal Ruby	+40 Attack Power	removed	Bold Cardinal Ruby or Delicate Cardinal Ruby	20 Agility or 20 Strength
Delicate Cardinal Ruby	+20 Agility	no change	Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Flashing Cardinal Ruby	+20 Parry Rating	no change	Flashing Cardinal Ruby
Fractured Cardinal Ruby	+20 Armor Penetration Rating	removed	Smooth King's Amber	20 Crit Rating
Precise Cardinal Ruby	+20 Expertise Rating	no change	Precise Cardinal Ruby
Runed Cardinal Ruby	+23 Spell Power	removed	Brilliant Cardinal Ruby	20 Intellect
Subtle Cardinal Ruby	+20 Dodge Rating	removed	Subtle King's Amber	20 Dodge Rating
Brilliant Cardinal Ruby		*NEW*	Brilliant Cardinal Ruby	20 Intellect

Orange

Accurate Ametrine	+10 Expertise Rating	removed	Accurate Dreadstone
	+10 Hit Rating
Champion's Ametrine	+10 Strength	altered	Champion's Ametrine	10 Strength
	+10 Defense Rating			10 Dodge
Deadly Ametrine	+10 Agility	no change	Deady Ametrine
	+10 Critical Strike Rating
Deft Ametrine	+10 Agility	no change	Deft Ametrine
	+10 Haste Rating
Durable Ametrine	+12 Spell Power	removed	Wilful Ametrine	10 Intellect
	+10 Resilience Rating			10 Resilience Rating
Empowered Ametrine	+20 Attack Power	removed	Lucent Ametrine or Resplendent Ametrine	10 Agility or 10 Strength
	+10 Resilience Rating			10 Resilience Rating
Etched Ametrine	+10 Strength	removed	Etched Dreadstone	10 Strength
	+10 Hit Rating			10 Hit Rating
Fierce Ametrine	+10 Strength	no change	Fierce Ametrine
	+10 Haste Rating
Glimmering Ametrine	+10 Parry Rating	removed	Stalwart Ametrine	10 Dodge Rating
	+10 Defense Rating			10 Parry Rating
Glinting Ametrine	+10 Agility	removed	Glinting Dreadstone	10 Agility
	+10 Hit Rating			10 Hit Rating
Inscribed Ametrine	+10 Strength	no change	Inscribed Ametrine
	+10 Critical Strike Rating
Lucent Ametrine	+10 Agility	no change	Lucent Ametrine
	+10 Resilience Rating
Luminous Ametrine	+12 Spell Power	removed	Brilliant Cardinal Ruby	20 Intellect
	+10 Intellect
Potent Ametrine	+12 Spell Power	altered	Potent Ametrine	10 Intellect
	+10 Critical Strike Rating			10 Crit Strike Rating
Pristine Ametrine	+20 Attack Power	removed	Glinting Dreadstone or Etched Dreadstone	10 Agility or 10 Strength
	+10 Hit Rating			10 Hit Rating
Reckless Ametrine	+12 Spell Power	altered	Reckless Ametrine	10 Intellect
	+10 Haste Rating			10 Haste Rating
Resolute Ametrine	+10 Expertise Rating	alter	Resolute Ametrine	10 Expertise
	+10 Defense Rating			10 Dodge
Resplendent Ametrine	+10 Strength	no change	Resplendent Ametrine
	+10 Resilience Rating
Stalwart Ametrine	+10 Dodge Rating	altered	Stalwart Ametrine	10 Dodge Rating
	+10 Defense Rating			10 Parry Rating
Stark Ametrine	+20 Attack Power	removed	Deft Ametrine or Fierce Ametrine	10 Agility or 10 Strength
	+10 Haste Rating			10 Haste Rating
Veiled Ametrine	+12 Spell Power	removed	Veiled Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+10 Hit Rating			10 Hit Rating
Wicked Ametrine	+20 Attack Power	removed	Deady Ametrine or Inscribed Ametrine	10 Agility or 10 Strength
	+10 Critical Strike Rating			10 Crit Strike Rating
Wilful Ametrine		*NEW*	Wilful Ametrine	10 Intellect
				10 Resilience Rating

Yellow

Brilliant King's Amber	+20 Intellect	removed	Brilliant Cardinal Ruby	20 Intellect
Mystic King's Amber	+20 Resilience Rating	no change	Mystic King's Amber
Quick King's Amber	+20 Haste Rating	no change	Quick King's Amber
Rigid King's Amber	+20 Hit Rating	removed	Rigid Majestic Zircon	20 Hit Rating
Smooth King's Amber	+20 Critical Strike Rating	no change	Smooth King's Amber
Thick King's Amber	+20 Defense Rating	removed	Subtle King's Amber	20 Dodge Rating
Subtle King's Amber		*NEW*	Subtle King's Amber	20 Dodge Rating

Green

Dazzling Eye of Zul	+10 Intellect	removed	Purified Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			10 Spirit
Enduring Eye of Zul	+10 Defense Rating	removed	Regal Eye of Zul	10 Dodge Rating
	+15 Stamina			15 Stamina
Energized Eye of Zul	+10 Haste Rating	altered	Energised Eye of Zul	10 Haste Rating
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			10 Spirit
Forceful Eye of Zul	+10 Haste Rating	no change	Forceful Eye of Zul
	+15 Stamina
Intricate Eye of Zul	+10 Haste Rating	removed	Energised Eye of Zul	10 Haste Rating
	+10 Spirit			10 Spirit
Jagged Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating	no change	Jagged Eye of Zul
	+15 Stamina
Lambent Eye of Zul	+10 Hit Rating	removed	Lightning Eye of Zul	10 Hit Rating
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			10 Haste
Misty Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating	no change	Misty Eye of Zul
	+10 Spirit
Opaque Eye of Zul	+10 Resilience Rating	removed	Turbid Eye of Zul	+10 Resilience Rating
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			+10 Spirit
Radiant Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating	no change	Radiant Eye of Zul
	+13 Spell Penetration
Seer's Eye of Zul	+10 Intellect	removed	Purified Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+10 Spirit			10 Spirit
Shattered Eye of Zul	+10 Haste Rating	no change	Shattered Eye of Zul
	+13 Spell Penetration
Shining Eye of Zul	+10 Hit Rating	removed	Lightning Eye of Zul	10 Hit Rating
	+10 Spirit			10 Haste
Steady Eye of Zul	+10 Resilience Rating	no change	Steady Eye of Zul
	+15 Stamina
Sundered Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating	removed	Misty Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			+10 Spirit
Tense Eye of Zul	+10 Hit Rating	removed	Radiant Eye of Zul	10 Critical Strike Rating
	+13 Spell Penetration			13 Spell Penetration
Timeless Eye of Zul	+10 Intellect	removed	Timeless Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+15 Stamina			15 Stamina
Turbid Eye of Zul	+10 Resilience Rating	no change	Turbid Eye of Zul
	+10 Spirit
Vivid Eye of Zul	+10 Hit Rating	removed	Nimble Eye of Zul	10 Hit Rating
	+15 Stamina			10 Dodge Rating
Lightning Eye of Zul		*NEW*	Lightning Eye of Zul	10 Hit Rating
				10 Haste
Nimble Eye of Zul		*NEW*	Nimble Eye of Zul	10 Hit Rating
				10 Dodge Rating
Regal Eye of Zul		*NEW*	Regal Eye of Zul	10 Dodge Rating
				15 Stamina

Blue

Lustrous Majestic Zircon	+10 Mana every 5 seconds	removed	Sparkling Majestic Zircon	20 Spirit
Solid Majestic Zircon	+30 Stamina	no change	Solid Majestic Zircon
Sparkling Majestic Zircon	+20 Spirit	no change	Sparkling Majestic Zircon
Stormy Majestic Zircon	+25 Spell Penetration	no change	Stormy Majestic Zircon
Rigid Majestic Zircon		*NEW*	Rigid Majestic Zircon	20 Hit Rating

Purple

Balanced Dreadstone	+20 Attack Power	removed	Shifting Dreadstone or Sovereign Dreadstone	10 Agility or 10 Strength
	+15 Stamina			15 Stamina
Defender's Dreadstone	+10 Parry Rating	no change	Defender's Dreadstone
	+15 Stamina
Glowing Dreadstone	+12 Spell Power	removed	Timeless Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+15 Stamina			15 Stamina
Guardian's Dreadstone	+10 Expertise Rating	no change	Guardian's Dreadstone
	+15 Stamina
Infused Dreadstone	+20 Attack Power	removed	?
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds
Mysterious Dreadstone	+12 Spell Power	altered	Mysterious Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+13 Spell Penetration			13 Spell Penetration
Puissant Dreadstone	+10 Armor Penetration Rating	removed	Jagged Eye of Zul	+10 Critical Strike Rating
	+15 Stamina			+15 Stamina
Purified Dreadstone	+12 Spell Power	altered	Purified Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+10 Spirit			10 Spirit
Regal Dreadstone	+10 Dodge Rating	removed	Regal Eye of Zul	10 Dodge Rating
	+15 Stamina			15 Stamina
Royal Dreadstone	+12 Spell Power	removed	Purified Dreadstone	10 Intellect
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds			10 Spirit
Shifting Dreadstone	+10 Agility	no change	Shifting Dreadstone
	+15 Stamina
Sovereign Dreadstone	+10 Strength	no change	Sovereign Dreadstone
	+15 Stamina
Tenuous Dreadstone	+10 Agility	removed	?
	+5 Mana every 5 seconds
Accurate Dreadstone		*NEW*	Accurate Dreadstone	10 Expertise
				10 Hit Rating
Etched Dreadstone		*NEW*	Etched Dreadstone	10 Strength
				10 Hit Rating
Glinting Dreadstone		*NEW*	Glinting Dreadstone	10 Agility
				10 Hit Rating
Timeless Dreadstone		*NEW*	Timeless Dreadstone	10 Intellect
				15 Stamina
Veiled Dreadstone		*NEW*	Veiled Dreadstone	10 Intellect
				10 Hit Rating

Dragon's Eyes - Jewelcrafter Only

red	Bold Dragon's Eye	+34 Strength	no change	Bold Dragon's Eye
red	Bright Dragon's Eye	+68 Attack Power	removed	Bold Dragon's Eye or Delicate Dragon's Eye	34 Strength or 34 Agility
yellow	Brilliant Dragon's Eye	+34 Intellect	no change	Brilliant Dragon's Eye
red	Delicate Dragon's Eye	+34 Agility	no change	Delicate Dragon's Eye
red	Flashing Dragon's Eye	+34 Parry Rating	no change	Flashing Dragon's Eye
red	Fractured Dragon's Eye	+34 Armor Penetration Rating	removed	Smooth Dragon's Eye	34 Critical Strike Rating
blue	Lustrous Dragon's Eye	+20 Mana every 5 seconds	removed	Sparkling Dragon's Eye	34 Spirit
yellow	Mystic Dragon's Eye	+34 Resilience Rating	no change	Mystic Dragon's Eye
red	Precise Dragon's Eye	+34 Expertise Rating	no change	Precise Dragon's Eye
yellow	Quick Dragon's Eye	+34 Haste Rating	no change	Quick Dragon's Eye
yellow	Rigid Dragon's Eye	+34 Hit Rating	no change	Rigid Dragon's Eye
red	Runed Dragon's Eye	+39 Spell Power	removed	Brilliant Dragon's Eye	34 Intellect
yellow	Smooth Dragon's Eye	+34 Critical Strike Rating	no change	Smooth Dragon's Eye
blue	Solid Dragon's Eye	+51 Stamina	no change	Solid Dragon's Eye
blue	Sparkling Dragon's Eye	+34 Spirit	no change	Sparkling Dragon's Eye
blue	Stormy Dragon's Eye	+43 Spell Penetration	no change	Stormy Dragon's Eye
red	Subtle Dragon's Eye	+34 Dodge Rating	no change	Subtle Dragon's Eye
yellow	Thick Dragon's Eye	+34 Defense Rating	removed	Subtle Dragon's Eye	34 Dodge Rating
blue	Nightmare Tear	+10All Stats	no change	Nightmare Tear

Further Resources

• www.wow-gem.com
• Wowhead - List of current level 80 epic gems
• Wowhead - List of level 80 epic gems in Cataclysm (and patch 4.0.1)

Your Favourite Place

So... the time is approaching.  The Cataclysm, they say, is coming.

Most of Azeroth as we know it will be changed. Quite a few people have already documented the zones through screenshots, but where is it in the old world that is your favourite place to quest, to explore or just to spend time in?

I'm going away next week, so I'd love it if, over the next few days, you'd go out and take a screenie or two of your favourite place and email them to me! I'll schedule them to post during next week. If you could get them to me by this Friday night (Oct 8th) my time I'd appreciate it - I won't have much access to the interwebs while on the road apart from my phone, which isn't much good at blogging.

I don't mind what format, how many or how big the images are when you send them.  I can't do video though - sorry! If you send a full-size shot, I may well add it to my Gallery page - it depends on how many I get!

For inspiration or tips, you might like to visit my Tips for Screenshots post.

I'm really looking forward to hearing about your favourite places! Thanks in advance :)

Reader Roundup: September

After a no-news lull, the blogosphere has been awash with information and speculation this last couple of weeks.

Something is stirring, that's for sure.  The Cataclysm is coming.

First there was the November 2 unofficial prediction on MMO-Champion, which was then pushed into December.  Then there's this interesting observation noticed by a commenter on WowInsider but brought to our attention by Wowhead. Can it be? Is December 7 the planned release date?

Either way, patch 4.0.1 is still being tested and will probably drop very soon - MMO-Champion predicts October 5 or 12, which is this coming week or the next!

The main thing that this means, of course, is that we have very little time to spend as Trees before they are taken away as a permanent form :(

The other changes we can expect have been reported on by some very organised people.  Thank you so much to these bloggers, for all their hard work!

• For Resto Druids, Keeva has the information we need to know once the patch hits. Her 4.0 Guide is very thorough and well worth studying if you're planning on healing.


• For Balance, Sunfyre has put together a list of information about Rotation, Glyphs, Tips and Tricks.


• For Ferals, WowInsider has a rundown of what to expect in 4.0.1.


• Generally speaking, Icedragon has covered the major things that will be different when the patch hits. It's a slightly older post but still covers the relevant changes.


• One more thing to be aware of:  The bonuses for wearing leather gear will kick in with this patch!  This will give us +5% Intellect if we're wearing all leather pieces (and 5% Agility in Cat form, 5% Stamina in Bear Form). Don't forget that after the patch, Spell Power comes from Int so this bonus is nothing to be sneezed at! Have a think about any cloth pieces you might be wearing - can you replace them with leather before the patch drops? (Thanks to Sunfyre for reminding us)

There is also going to be a Druid Round Table at Raid Warning Podcast this weekend, featuring many well-known Druid bloggers. No, I wasn't invited, but my lil blog is hardly well-known ;)  Keeva, Lissanna and Qieth at least (I'm sure there are more attending!), have asked for people to submit questions for discussion.

In completely unrelated news, the nice people over at Nourish! blog have featured Vidyala's Cinnamon Cookies recipe on their blog today! Thanks guys! 

If anyone has any more patch 4.0.1 Druid or general gameplay resources that I haven't linked here, please comment and let me know!