Rise of the Zandalari

Patch 4.1: Rise of the Zandalari has arrived on US servers and will be on EU servers tomorrow. You can read the patch notes in detail over at Wowhead.

I'm no expert on any of the Druid changes anymore since I'm no longer raiding or, indeed, healing much lately but I have updated the cheat sheets (Resto and Balance) for reference and will update the gear lists to include the new gear from Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman as soon as they are updated on Wowhead.

Edit: The Resto Gear and Balance Gear Lists now include the new items!

I am quite looking forward to seeing what they've done with ZG and ZA, even though it is "recycled" content. ZA is one of my favourite raids ever and while I'm sad to see it gone as a raid, its nice that it has returned to relevancy.

As to the other changes brought by the patch for Druids, others have covered them well already.

• Jasyla has written about the changes for Resto Druids, including new specs at Cannot Be Tamed.
• Lissanna covers the changes at Restokin as well.
• For Moonkin, Graylo reviews the changes and also discusses recycled content.
• Bears are looked after by Reesi at the Inconspicuous Bear,
• And for kitties, head to The Fluid Druid.

One thing I haven't heard for sure though, is whether Mojo will still be available!

Time To Hunt Egg

Happy Noblegarden!

Here in Australia the day is already almost over, but the Great Blog Noblegarden Egg Hunt II is about to begin!

There is an egg hidden on R&R. It's pretty easy to find so I won't give any clues just yet.

If you'd like to take part in the hunt and have a chance to win some great prizes, Kamalia's blog has a full list of participating blogs. You have until midnight UTC on Thursday April 28th to send in your list of egg locations!

Big thanks to all the bloggers hiding eggs this year, and to Kamalia for doing the organising.

Good luck, hunters!

Aoifen's Journey

Blizzard have certainly had their share of complaints about the changes made to the levelling game for Cataclysm - a fair number of people seem to have voted with their feet and decided the game is no longer for them, and that's fine if they're not enjoying it. I have to say though that lately, I have been enjoying the game more than ever.

My baby Druid on Azuremyst, Aoifen, has just made it to level 58. Sadly this marks the end of her journey through the Shattered World for now, but what a journey it has been.

Aoifen hasn't taken part in that many dungeons yet, as I can't really commit large chunks of time at the moment, but each of the revamped zones she has quested in have been amazing. Sure, the "fetch me 10 rats" quests are still there, but they are usually part of a much larger zone-wide storyline that keeps you wanting to play the whole way through the zone. Many of the quests have made me laugh out loud with their jokes or whimsy, while others are very serious so that you feel like you're really helping to save lives or progress world events. The linear progression through zones didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I do wonder if my casual playstyle is now exactly the kind of demographic the Shattered Azeroth was designed for. In any case, I enjoyed myself and that's what counts, right?

Now, if only they would do something to ease the monotony of Outlands...

Here is a collection of some of my favourite bits of Aoifen's journey to the Dark Portal. Click to make bigger!

First things first - Aoifen meets Deathwing for the first time.

Helped the Effers to a feast,

Listened to tall tales around a campfire in the Badlands (and punched that Dragon in the face),

Hitched a ride with Fiona and her Paladins in the Eastern Plaguelands,

and wondered about Keeshan's state of mind in the Burning Steppes.

Onwards...

Great Blog Noblegarden Egg Hunt 2011

It's on again! The GBNEH was so much fun last year that it just needed to be done again! This year it is being organised and hosted by Kamalia from Kamalia et Alia, since she knew I was busy with my Sproutling.

For all the details on how to take part, go and visit Kamalia's blog. 

All Bloggers and non-Bloggers are encouraged to take part, all you have to do is hide an egg on your site and/or hunt for the eggs!

This year the prizes include a comic from the very talented Liala of Disciplinary Action, or a sketch of your character by the amazing Fyreuni of Daily Quests for two lucky runners-up.

Happy Hiding and Hunting!

Almost Hunting Season

The Bunnies are busy at work!

Remember the Great Blog Noblegarden Egg Hunt?  Well it's about to happen again. Can you beat Rades and Poneria this year?

Watch this space for more information!

The Plaguelands

Click the image for a 1920 by 1080px wallpaper image hosted on scrntag.com.

Lake Mereldar and Light's Shield Tower, Eastern Plaguelands.

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