Rift

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This amazing image was captured in Howling Fjord by Pindleskin of Misguilded.com.  Thank you so much for sharing it!

Six Months Down

Picture pinched from http://anonymousradioshow.wordpress.com

So, Revive & Rejuvenate has been around for six months now, and I have to say that I've enjoyed every bit of it. I wasn't sure if I'd keep writing after I started, but I'm enjoying myself so much that I can't stop now!

I started writing after I started playing again, in December 2009, with my baby druid, Leesah. I blogged as I leveled with my husband using refer-a-friend and reached level 80 on Valentine's Day, February 14.

I joined Disciples of Sneer in early March, once I thought I was geared enough to start raiding, and haven't looked back since :) Sure, I could be a Kingslayer if I'd gone a more hardcore route, but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the raiding nearly as much as I have been.

Some of my favourite posts to write include one about raiding as a performance, the Ode to my Kodo, and my valentine to Tamarind. The Noblegarden Egg Hunt was a huge highlight around easter-time, and I really enjoyed putting together some tips for taking screenshots.

I've written a few stories, posted up some screenshots and talked about addons, and the whole thing has been a very enjoyable journey!

The best part though, has been meeting so many people - bloggers I've read for a long time, new bloggers, non-bloggers, commenters and twitterers alike, thank you all for making me feel so welcome to the blogging community!

I'd especially like to thank my fellow druid bloggers, for giving me most of my readers.  You guys rock :)  Also all of the community at Blog Azeroth who helped me so much as I was starting out. I'm currently sitting at around 200 subscribers, which is more than I ever thought I would end up with, and that makes me a happy Ang.

Also a special mention must go to my very patient and lovely husband, who probably hasn't given me nearly as much teasing about pretending to be a blogger as I deserve <3

My most read posts are my Resto and Balance cheat sheets, and the Resto and Balance fresh 80 gear lists.  I also get a lot of people finding my posts on Power Auras, for Balance and Healing - I hope people have found these guides useful.

Please, if you have any suggestions on ways I can improve the site, or things you'd like me to write more about, don't hesitate to comment or email or twitter me!

It's been a fantastic ride so far! Thanks again for the warm welcome to the community, and I hope you enjoy the next six months almost as much as I will ;)

Fire Festival Shenanigans

Hello, I'm back!

Firstly I'd like to thank all the people who wrote guests posts for me during the last week while I was away.

If you missed any of them:

• Leafshine broke into my blog and left some things behind on Monday and some advice on Tuesday,
• Gazimoff talked about Mages and Druids on Thursday,
• Tarinae sent me a lovely screenshot to post on Friday, and
• Anea wrote about the ways we judge how well we or others play, on Saturday.

Phew!  If you got through all that, well done.

So what have I missed?  The Midsummer Fire Festival is in full swing - I'm so glad it goes for two weeks this year so I didn't miss out.  The first thing I did was visit Lord Ahune on my two 80s and was delighted (not to mention extremely lucky) to get [Ice Chip] on my first run on Aefa!  Now I have a big elemental and a little one!

Oh yeah and I'm sure you Frost Mages know this already, but Ahune is immune to frost. Dammit.

I've started running around and visiting the fires on Balindah, to get her the nice xp. I've been using Jaedia's guide to the festival to help me out, and there's also a great guide on Wowhead if your achievements aren't complete.

There is also an update to TourGuide for the Midsummer Fire Festival, which will lead you around to each fire in the most efficient way.

So how has your Fire Fest week been? Got your title already? Still collecting blossoms?

Well Played

Greetings!  Anea here, your friendly neighborhood altoholic!  Just checking in to make sure things aren't falling to pieces over here, since Ang is off doing who knows what involving who knows how many maps!  For today, I give you something to ponder:

What does "well played" mean to you?

Could it simply mean that you play your class/role well?  That's probably what most people think of first, when they hear that.  "Good job, well played!"  Perhaps that's more sporty, I don't know...

However, for some reason, the phrasing and idea didn't click together until just last night that it can mean many different things to different people.  Things that maybe we don't even think should "count" because they aren't high on our priority lists.  I'm sure we all would hate to think of a time when Warcraft will have run it's course and when we look back at our main(s), will we think that they've had a good run, did all that they (we) wanted to?

Because bulleted lists are fun, why don't we run through some of the possibilities:

• To have killed the Lich King
• To have completed all the instance hardemodes
• To have the best PvE gear possible
• To become Battlemaster
• To have the best PvP gear
• To reach the gold cap
• To reach 80
• To become Loremaster
• To explore all of Azeroth (and Outlands!)
• To have great RP experiences
• To enjoy the game with friends
• To lose your sanity

I could just go on and on... the possibilities are endless and really depend on you and how you prefer to play.  Of course, for those of you that read me have heard me go on and on about how I want to be Loremaster.  Yes, I have raided a bit (both in BC and Wrath) and I have a good handful of reps at exalted.  I've dipped my toe in all the pools that Azeroth has to offer, but I feel like if I had a character that had completed the Loremaster achievement, that she would have been played as well and as fully as possible.

What is your definition of "well played"?  Does it very from character to character?  Or, like me, do you have one main goal to reach, or even one that I haven't listed?

The Edge of Terrokar

 

Click the image for a full-sized 1920 by 1080px wallpaper image. 

This lovely shot of the road crossing from Terrokar Forest into Zangarmarsh was taken by Tarinae. Thanks!

Don't Hate the Mage!

Image from http://www.manaobscura.com/

Hello there! Gazimoff here looking after Ang's blog while she is away!

Let's be honest, us Mages have a bit of a bad reputation amongst the healing kind. We're known for being aggro-hungry DPS monkeys that have trouble with anything more complex than our two-button spam. We're incredibly squishy, yet utterly reckless. We've been known to reduce the most tranquil person to bouts of fists-on-keyboard rage.

It's time to put that behind us. In the spirit of mutual understanding, let's move on and work out how we can help eachother against our common enemies, the Paladins.

So what do we have to offer our Druidic allies?

1. Strudel. We know that those fights can be long and tiresome, but make friends with a Mage and you'll never go hungry again. A Mage that you know well will even make you food when you're just out questing.
2. Portals. Need to get around in a hurry? Ask a friendly Mage to lend a hand and open a portal. Bonus points if you arrive with your own portal runestone for him to use.
3. Remove Curse. Yes, we know you're fed up of removing nasty curses from people, especially when the fights are difficult enough to heal anyway. Ask your Mage friends to lend a hand with getting rid of them so that you can focus on keeping people alive.
4. Would you like fights like Deathbringer Saurfang, Patchwerk and Dreamwalker to be that little bit easier? Just ask your Mage for Amplify Magic and watch your heals get a significant boost! Don't get too used to it though - it's being removed in Cataclysm.

And for our Moonkin chums, we have even more to offer!

1. Arcane Empowerment. How does 3% extra damage sound? Arcane Mages can buff the entire raid with their mere presence alone! Yes it's available from some Hunters and Paladins as well, but ours is better!
2. Focus Magic. You like to crit big and crit often. So do we. Prove yourself as a big critter and you can earn Focus Magic from a friendly Mage. Don't be surprised if it doesn't happen with two or more Mages in the group though - we look after our own first!
3. Improved Scorch & Winter's Chill. Got no destruction Warlocks in your group? Don't worry, both Fire and Frost Mages can offer you a 5% increase to crit against whatever they're casting at. Watch your critrate soar thanks to a few handy spells.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Wow, Mages can offer us all this? I never knew! But how can I get to be friends with a Mage in the first place and get all this great stuff?" Well that, my Druids, is the easy part. What we ask for in return is so very little.

Combat Ressing. If we're dead, we're usually alt-tabbed. We might be looking at lolcats or funny videos on Youtube. We might be ordering pizza or something. Whatever it is, if you're going to give us a combat res please let us know first so we can be ready for it! That way, we don't tab back in after the wipe with the resurrection option in front of us.

1. Innervate. Please, please, once in a while throw us an innervate. If it's a really long fight, if our mana bar is so low we're running on fumes then please think of us.Wanding is *incredibly* boring.
2. The Bad Stuff. Mages like to stand still because our best spells have casting times, so we'll only move when we have to. Most of the time, we'll move out of the *really* bad stuff, but if there's only something that's slightly bad then we'll probably leave it. If we're giving you problems though then don't suffer in silence - let us know!

What do you think? Does this sound like a plan? Could we strike a deal and bury the hatchet here? Just think of the possibilities, the bosses we could defeat, the Paladins we could crush!

And maybe, just maybe, one day we could duo a Warlock.

Important Advice for Raiders

So, poking around this place it appears to me that Angelya appears to be one of those bloggers who actually attempt to post useful, informative stuff for people. Even for raiders.

Hmmm. I suppose I should try and do the same, shouldn't I? People might not notice that I'm in here and therefore not call the BlogAzeroth cops to get me thrown out.

OK. Raiders.

Hmm.

Well, the most important lesson I've learnt in all my years of raiding, is this:

Tactical briefings are everything. Knowledge is at the very heart of execution. Without knowledge, execution cannot occur. Knowledge is, if you like, the path of the raider, the narrow path of fact and understanding that leads to success and the dropping of teh phat lewts.

It if, of course, the raid leader's job to impart said knowledge, which they should have gained through a combination of experience and research. And, it's important that they set it up early - right at the start of the raid, for example - even if that's just a general tactical briefing that will aid progress and, again, knowledge, for later in the run.

For example, here, in full, is our tactical briefing before we head into Icecrown Citadel:

Learn from our wisdom, padawans.


(Another guest posting from Leafshine)

A Leafy Guest Post

I'm away, so here's Leafshine:


Soo...Angelya has gone away. And she didn't lock up her blog properly. And I got in through a nearly unlocked window*.

Isn't that fun?

And now, to help keep her blog warm and toasty and most of all GREEN, I thought I'd recycle that idea of doing a list post about those things I'm going to be doing first in Cataclysm...

1.Install the expansion. Yes, I know this is a radical, dangerous idea. But I like to live on the edge. Don't try this at home kids.
2.Level Leafy to 85. Look, I know it's obvious and all that, but levelling your main is kinda the main point, so if I don't do that, really, what's the point? I might as well just blog about WoW instead of actually playing. (Uh, which is pretty much hat I'm doing right now, but DON'T TELL ANYONE)
3. Level a Worgen feral. Hey, now I can get the full Druid experience with a Kitty/Bear dual spec to match my tree/battle chicken dual spec on Leaf. Plus, fur. Fur, like bow ties, is cool.
4. Have a little toast, make a little love. Get down tonight.
5. Uh, carry on breathing. Yes, this is an under-rated aspect of the game. Recent research by Prof Dubious Lincbayte of the University of Mumbleton has proved that nearly 100% of WoW players breathe.  I'm not going to be the one to break the mould. Are you?

I'm not very good at list posts, am I?

That's why I only do them on other people's blogs. ;-)

*With only the assistance of a crowbar, a large brick and a small drill.

Out of Office

You might notice things are a bit different around here today. That's because I'm coming up on my six-month blogaversary, so I thought I'd celebrate with a bit of a makeover! Please do tell me what you think of the changes.

I'm heading off overseas tomorrow for a week. I'm very lucky to work for a multi-national company who sends me on these trips, but at the same time I'm unlucky because over the last few years I have developed an irrational fear of flying. This is a shame, because I love everything that involves flying apart from actually doing it. Flying in WoW had me in fits of pure joy when I first reached level 70 and trained it. I adore movies where people fly, especially recently the 3D ones like Avatar and How to Train Your Dragon, but the actual act scares the bejeezus out of me.

In any case, I'll be gone for a week. I'm looking for people to help my blog look less abandoned, though... especially guest screenshots to join my gallery! I'd be ever so grateful if you'd email me a screenshots to put up during the week.

See you next Sunday!

Burnout: An Update

On Tuesday I wrote about our guild's progression break, where we spent the last two weeks bringing alts and teaching non-regular raiders the ropes in ICC-10. And er, now my guildies have discovered the blog, so hi guys, make yourselves at home :)

This Wednesday, we were back to the progression group, and blew through the first quarter and Festergut in about an hour and a half. After a bit more officer discussion (did I mention I got promoted? Well I did.  I know, I was surprised too!), it seems we are now thinking of locking the raid ID from week to week, possibly interspersing a progression week with an alt/gear-up week. Hopefully this will satisfy both the raiders who want to see some new bosses, and the casual side of the guild who wants a look into ICC without having to pug.

I'm excited, because hopefully this means we'll get to see the big nasties soon!

Unfortunately, just as we are about to have a night of real progression, I'm going away for a week's work trip so no raiding for me. You might not hear from me, but there may just be a guest post or two lurking around the place...

Today on Twitter

Twitter provides so much entertainment for me on a daily basis. It also seems that the people who aren't on Twitter are almost as famous in the Twitterverse as those who are.

Today's example:  Alas wrote this post about her new Dinosaur pet.

Tamarind followed up with one of his own.

But today, Alas wrote about the trials of having a Dinosaur called Tam as a pet (go read it, it's seriously lol-worthy). Anea re-tweeted the post link on Twitter. The conversation proceeded thusly:

Not long afterwards:

Who is this mysterious DinoTam?  Does he really wear a dinner jacket and speak with an English accent?!!

If it really is Tam, welcome to Twitter :D  Otherwise, see what you're missing out on?!?!

Thanks Alas, Anea, and Theanorak for making me giggle this morning :D And DinoTam, of course.

BA Shared Topic: Burnout

The Blog Azeroth Shared Topic for last week was about dealing with pre-expansion burnout. I know this response is a little late, but better late than never, eh?

My guild is small and casual. Many of the 10-man core team have children, so we don't start raiding until 8pm server time so that bedtime can be properly taken care of. A few others in the team live in New Zealand, so we don't tend to raid past 10pm because that's midnight for the Kiwis. We raid ICC on Wednesdays and Mondays.

That's four hours of progression raiding a week. Time is against us, for sure.

For this reason, I don't feel bad that we haven't got to the Lich King yet. Each progressive raise in the Warsong buff has helped us get a little further in our allotted time limits, but even at 20% we are only 8/12. I haven't even seen the BQL or Sindy fights yet.

It's been a little frustrating for me coming from a larger guild on the EU server I was on, where we did progression raiding 3 nights a week, sometimes more. I considered looking for another guild, but I really like the laid-back culture of this group. I always have fun raiding with them, even if we don't get as far each night as I'd like.

Our main problem is that we're losing people, and we didn't have many to start with. Because we only get the first 6 or so bosses done each week, that's a LOT of the same content over and over again. People are starting to take breaks, to lose interest. If we can get everyone together and on time we do well, but if core people are missing we have to bring in other lesser geared and inexperienced guildies, or call the whole raid off.

For the last couple of weeks, the officers have decided to take a different approach - a progression break. The raids this week have been for people who don't normally raid with the core team, to help gear them up a bit so we can bring them in for our progression runs if we need people. The rest of the spots have been a chance for the core raiders to bring their alts along.

I healed on Leesah for one of the nights but the other times I took Aefa in for a look-see. Apart from the rep-ring I don't think I picked up any gear at all, but it was fun for a bit of a change. We had some people there who hadn't seen many of the fights, as well as tanks who needed to learn the tricks, so it was still a bit of a learning curve.  The first week we downed up to Festergut and Rotface and were all very proud of ourselves. This last week we had slightly lower dps overall, and while we got Saurfang down, we struggled with the two farting nasties and just went and cleared the rest of the trash instead.

This week coming, we are back to a progression week. It will be interesting to see how it goes. If we have a really good night with our top dps there we can get 7 bosses down in one 2-hour session - we've done that before.

The raiders that aren't on WoW-breaks agree that we'd all really like to get Arthas down before Cataclysm, and I don't doubt that we have the ability, with practise, but the stars are going to have to line up for us to get that far.  If it's the 30% buff that allows us to get there in a faster time so we can have a crack at it, so be it.

How about your guild? Have you downed Arthas? Are you losing raiders to burnout?

Exploring Arathi Highlands

You may recall not too long ago I wrote about exploring Azshara. This weekend Aefa continued her exploration in Eastern Kingdoms, including Arathi Highlands, a level 30-40 zone in the north part of the continent.


A History Lesson

The Arathi Highlands were once part of the Human Empire of Arathor, ruled from the city of Strom. After the "Troll Wars" in the region, the Empire formed into several city-states, and most of the citizens of Strom moved away to other cities or north to the newly established Lordaeron. Strom was turned into the fortress of Stromgarde by those that remained.

Later, during the Second War, the highlands were overrun by the Horde and Stromgarde destroyed. The village to the northeast became the Horde's outpost of Hammerfall, named for the fallen warchief Orgrim Doomhammer.

The humans of Stromgarde rebuilt the city, only to be forced to flee when attacked by Ogres and Syndicate. The Alliance now take shelter in a chasm to the northeast of the city, known as Refuge Pointe (and not, as some people call it, Refugee Point).

A new advertisement for Basic Campfire?

Exploration

Aefa started on the north-eastern side of the Highlands, entering from Hillsbrad Foothills through the damaged gate in Thoradin's Wall. Historians are unclear as to when the wall was built, possibly during the Troll Wars, but these days it is a crumbling ruin.

Thoradin's Wall

On the south side of the road leading across the Highlands is the ruined city of Stromgarde Keep. The city is now occupied with Ogres and Syndicate Humans.

Stromgarde Keep

All areas of the Keep are hostile to members of the Horde, but one section of the Keep is still held by the Stromgarde military and the vendors there be accessed by Alliance. If I remember correctly, it used to be where the Alliance purchased their Mageweave and Heavy Mageweave Bandage manuals, although they are no longer required. Where did the Horde used to buy them?

The Alliance-held section of Stromgarde

Refuge Pointe is the Alliance camp in the area and is where the Alliance entrance to the Arathi Basin battleground can be found.

Can't see much of Refuge Pointe from this angle... 

Hammerfall is the Horde stronghold in the Highlands. The small town is surrounded by a wooden palisade.

Road to Hammerfall

The Horde's entrance to the battleground of Arathi Basin is in the mountains behind Hammerfall.

Arathi Basin entrance, Horde

In locations throughout the zone, there are stone circles guarded by elementals. These must be visited as part of a quest to free Princess Myzrael from her prison, and leads into a long chain around the zone (starts with [The Princess Trapped]).

Start point for the Princess Myzrael quest chain

Along the southern edge of the zone lies the canal that separates Arathi Highlands from Wetlands, or Lordaeron from Khaz Modan. Near where the mouth empties into the sea, the Drowned Reef has claimed a few ships, the wrecks of which lie underwater. One ship made it to land though - the Harbinger is anchored in Faldir's Cove and members of the crew there give quests for Booty Bay reputation. The cove can be reached through a tunnel on the southeast side of Stromgarde Keep.

The Harbinger

There are a number of farms around the Highlands. Some are controlled by Syndicate, but Go'Shek Farm not far from Hammerfall is controlled by the Horde.

Go'Shek Farm

Witherbark Village is the stronghold of the Trolls in the Highlands and is located in the slightly more forested area in the southeast of the zone.

Witherbark Village

The Witherbark trolls are in alliance with the Boulderfist Ogres who also live in caves around the zone. Boulderfist Hall is not far from Witherbark Village.

Boulderfist Hall

To leave the Highlands to the south, you must pass over the Thandol Span - a huge Dwarven bridge linking the Highlands with the Wetlands. There were originally two bridges here, but one was damaged badly during an attack by the Dark Iron Dwarves.

Thandol Span

There are Dark Iron Dwarves still nearby with carts of explosives - an attempt to blow up the second bridge?

Dark Iron Dwarven Sappers

In Cataclysm

Arathi Highlands is not earmarked to be changed significantly when the Cataclysm comes, but that doesn't mean the inhabitants, animal and humanoid, won't be affected.  Perhaps the Elementals at the rings of binding will disappear? Will the Horde pull out of the area or the Alliance manage to take back part of the old Keep? None of these things are expected to happen but for a zone so rich in Lore, it would be a shame for it to be ignored completely.

Do you have fond memories of traveling in Arathi Highlands? I enjoyed the quests here as Horde, although the travel three or four times between Hammerfall and Stromgarde gets old after a while, especially if you aren't level 40 yet to get your fast mount.  It would have been twice as painful when the first mount was at level 40!

Restoration talents for Cataclysm - End of Alpha

EDIT July 9: **PLEASE NOTE** These talents are no longer to be implemented.  Blizzard have decided to overhaul the talent trees completely - see the post on MMO-Champion for more information.

So yesterday, I talked about the Cataclysm Balance talents that have been revealed before the Beta test begins.

Today I'm going to discuss the changes to Restoration.  I know there are a million other Resto druid blogs who have already done this in the last couple of days, but this is actually really helping me understand what the changes are, so bare with me, please.

I'll hide the ***SPOILERS*** after the cut. Promise no more spoilers tomorrow :)

Competition, and Cataclysm Balance talents

Did you miss out on BlizzCon tickets but really really still want one?

The Twisted Nether Blogcast are giving one away! Actually, that's not really true - they are giving away the rights to buy one ticket from Hydra from Almost Evil. You still need to have the money to buy it!

All you need to do is write a haiku about TNB by June 14 (next Monday). Get to it!

~o~

Now to the juicy news - Blizzard has sent select fansites details of the new talent trees for Cataclysm for Druids, Priests, Shaman and Rogues. Note:  These are still a preview - the Beta has yet to start, so chances are they could still be significantly different to those shown here.


EDIT July 9: **PLEASE NOTE** These talents are no longer to be implemented.  Blizzard have decided to overhaul the talent trees completely - see the post on MMO-Champion for more information.

I'm going to talk about the Balance Druid changes after the break.  If you don't want to see spoilers, stop reading now! Restoration changes tomorrow!


** Spoilers after the break!! **

The Anatomy of Phish

I got this little gem in my mailbox last night. Since this sort of thing is going around a bit at the moment, I thought I'd use it as a bit of an example.

There are several reasons why this is most likely not a legitimate invitation to the Cataclysm Alpha or Beta tests.

Firstly, I don't know anyone who works for Blizzard, so there's no reason I would be getting an invitation to the Alpha.

Secondly, I haven't even opted in to the Beta in my battle.net account, so there's no reason why I would be getting a Beta invite.

The other reasons are pretty obvious as well. Why would Blizzard be sending me an in-game mail (from a character called "Fudafgh" no less) to invite me to a test? C'mon guys, you can do better than that. At least the spelling was correct, even if the grammar and layout was a bit weird.

If you get a mail (in-game or via email) that you suspect to be dodgy:

1. If you don't have one already, GET AN AUTHENTICATOR!


2. DO NOT GO TO THE WEBSITE.  Even for a look - it may well install a keylogger on your machine that can be used to record your passwords and hack your account.


3. Report the mail to Blizzard. In-game, press the "Report Spam" button. If you've received a dodgy email, forward it to hacks@blizzard.com.  There's more information about how to distinguish official emails in this page on the Blizzard Support site.


4. Laugh as you foil the Evil Person's evil plans!


5. Did you get an Authenticator yet?  Don't leave it until later, slackers!

This message was brought to you in the interests of having a giggle at a terrible attempt at phishing.

R&R Gallery

Over the last few months I've posted up quite a few screenshots at full resolution, intended for desktop wallpaper. These posts have been admired by quite a few people (much to my delight!) so I decided to collect them so they're easier to find and view.

Allow me to present to you the R&R Gallery.

You can find it using the link on the top of the sidebar to the right, or at this address:
http://reviveandrejuvenate.blogspot.com/p/gallery.html

Please feel free to download and use any of the images for your personal desktop, but keep in mind that the images are straight from the game and therefore copyright  © Blizzard Entertainment. Please don't use them for commercial purposes!

I'll be adding to the gallery over time as I take new screenshots.

I hope you find something in the gallery that you like!

Reader Roundup: June 4

It's time for another Reader Roundup!

So, what did I read lately that I enjoyed?

• *Spoiler alert* At the Fluid Druid, they posted up the changes for Resto and Balance Druids in the latest Alpha build. There's some interesting information about the new Tree of Life form and other talents.  *If you don't want to read spoilers for Cataclysm, don't click the link!*


• Looking for More had this great article about how to give advice to people who need it. This is a difficult task for anyone who like to help people, but seems to be very easy for those who like to tell others how to play their class.


• Over at the Shifting Perspectives column at wow.com, there are some awesome screenshots of what different classes would look like in Tier 5 Druid armour. If gnome druids were available, I'd be rerolling in a second!


• Allison Robert at wow.com came up with another gem with the Cynic's Guide to World of Warcraft. Brilliant!


• Kairri the Shaman talked about an article in which a kid uses the skills he learned in WoW to save his sister from a moose.  I know, it's old, but I hadn't seen it before and it made me giggle.


• Miss Medicina has decared the month of June to be Celebrate Geeky Women month. Here's to all my geek girls out there!


• Larisa linked a brilliant video called Avatar Days.  You may have already seen it linked around in other places, but if you haven't, do yourself a favour and check it out. The use of 3D models in a real-world film is captivating, even if the commentary is a little dry. 


• I got some email this week!!! I had an email from the people behind 2v2.com, a new website containing strategies for 2v2 arenas for all classes.  Since I'm not a PvPer by any means, I thought I'd link here anyway and let you guys see for yourselves. The site certainly looks comprehensive, with descriptions of each class's strategies and weaknesses, as well as class combination strategies.  Go look if you're interested in arena!


• And finally, I'd like to wish Fimlys and Nibuca congratulations on the second anniversary of the Twisted Nether Blogcast! I've been listening since the first episodes, although I did take a break in the middle while I wasn't playing. I've always enjoyed listening to the show though, especially the interviews of different bloggers. It's nice to put a voice to.. a writer, I guess. Anyway, head over to twistednether.net and wish them a happy podcast-aversary, and have a listen to the latest episode.

Capture your Achievements with Multishot

Yesterday, I was called an UberNerd by my GM. I didn't really deserve the title - I owe it all to Multishot.

A few of us had been chatting the previous night about dinging 80 through exploration - something I managed to do on Leesah.  So, I posted Leesah's exploration ding screenshot, as well as Aefa's (coz I like it), on the guild forum. Having these screenies in the first place was enough to be called a nerd, but when I revealed that I use an addon to automatically take screenshots of achievements, well then the (affectionate) name-calling really started. 

Multishot
Multishot takes automatic screen captures of events in the game.  You can set it to capture your level ups, achievements, reputation level changes, boss kills (5-man or raid bosses) and rare kills.

The options are very simple, and the default timings work just fine in my experience. The captured screenshots can be found with the rest of your screenshots in your ".../World of Warcraft/Screenshots" folder.

The boss kills shots tend to be kind of boring - you have 2 seconds after the boss dies to get your screen in some kind of decent frame for a picture. I was mostly ending up with lots of shots of farmed bosses before I turned this option off - I just don't think it's worth it.

The entry on wowinterface describes Multishot as "...a photo diary of everything you come across in Azeroth, Outland and Northend." That's pretty much the reason I use it. I like to take pictures to remind me of things, and it's nice to have a record of where you got certain achievements.

Not to mention that the achievement captures can make great blogging fodder!

Over the Rainbow

Click the image for a 1600 by 900px image.

River's Heart, Sholazar Basin.

Want to see more pretty pictures? Visit R&R's Gallery Page.

Dragon Up!

So after all that whining yesterday about not getting to heal and not getting enough time for progression:

• We got Dreamwalker and
• I healed.

Sometimes I should really just shut my mouth, honestly.

Grats Disciples :)

Edit:  Just a quick edit since a lot of people are finding this page through searching and I thought I'd better at least try to be helpful.  


We did this fight with three healers - a paladin and a shaman going into the portals and I healed the rest of the raid on the outside.  We focus-fired the Blazing Skeletons when they appeared, and generally tried to keep the other adds under control. I was really out of mana right at the end but I tried to keep at least a Rejuvenation rolling on the dragon whenever I could spare a GCD.  Fun fight :)