Taking Pets to Another Level

When we were first given pet battles in game, I had scoured the interwebs to learn as much about the new feature as possible. Among a few handy addons I found, I came across this little gem:

Warla's Pet Search

The above website is basically an "all-in-one" site to find information on pet breeds, types, abilities and to keep an eye on your own collection of pets. It is a wonderful tool for those of us that like to battle and collect our pets.

If you've taken a quick peek at Warla's site, or have been familiar with it for some time like me, you can imagine how thrilled I am to have access to it when I read the following in Wowhead's compiled list of information about WoW's next expansion:

Medium buildings: pet stable, trading post, lumber mill, barn, and inn. Pet stable will let you breed epic pets and there is a special trainer to fight.

Yay! We get to breed our pets!!!!!!

When I read that I instantly thought about Warla's site. Why you ask? Because Warla's site lists the gender of pets as well as all the other information about battle pets.

This means that I can check the list of my personal pets, to see what genders I already have, so that I know what gender of pets I need to go get in order to be ready for breeding them.

Snapshot of my pets at Warla's Pet Search

As you can see in the above image, there is a lot of information you can find out about your pets. What we are most concerned with right now are the ones colored blue and pink in the "Breeds" column.

Blue denotes the males we have, pink the females. This is what will make all our lives easier, in a manner of speaking, when it comes to acquiring the right gender of pet.

Even more information available

In the above picture you can see what happens when you move your mouse over a pet in the "Breeds" column. A handy-dandy little window pops up that gives you more information about the pet in question. As you can see, I have the breed 11 (or S/B) of a male Alpine Foxling Kit. Now all I have to do is decide if I want to go on the search for a 13 (B/B) or 21 (S/B) breed female.

Sadly, not all of the available pets come in both male and female genders. This makes me wonder if we will be able to cross breed our pets? Or will we only be able to breed pets of the same family?

A few other questions I have are:

• In order for us to birth an epic quality pet will the breeding pets have to both be rare quality? Or will each breeding be a toss of the dice and we end up with what we end up with?


• If we mate two different breeds which will be the strongest in the outcome? Example, if I breed an S/B and a B/B will they give birth to a B/B?


• Will we be able to mate pets with different breeds to bump up the stats on the new pet? Example, if I breed a P/P and an S/S will I get a pet with really high Power and Speed?

I am sure more information on this will be given to us as we get closer to the opening of the beta. In the meantime, I'll be busy traveling the lands of Azeroth to acquire as many male and female pets I need to get pairs of them all.

Feel free to call me Noah from here on out.


:o)

Thela's new groove...

In the summer of 2012 I connected with an old school mate through Facebook. During our reconnecting conversations I found out that she played World of Warcraft, and had been for some time. I created a character on her server so we could chit chat and get together and goof off at times.

Her toons were Horde and on an RP server...wow talk about sticker shock, so to speak. I am no stranger to the Horde side. I have a few Horde bankers here and there and had created Horde toons in the past to test their waters. But, an RP server? Hmmmmm...this could be interesting.

Trying to be as RP-ie as I could I created a Tauren Death Knight and named him 'Mootamir'. My train of thought was, "Hmmm...DK Tauren...what's a good "deathie" name?....death...cemetary...funeral home...what kinds of names would I associate with a funeral home?....Mortimer...ya...that sounds deathie and creepy...OK, Tauren on an RP server...name has to have 'moo' in it....Mootimer?....no...I'm not a moo timer....Mootamir! Yep, that'll do." Hence, Moot was born.

After Moot's creation, and after I got him out of the DK starter area, I whispered my school mate and she invited me to the guild she was in. I was promptly greeted with welcomes from quite a few people, which was a nice feeling. I soon learned that my school mate's guild was a very active one, which was also nice because things had been growing pretty quiet in my regular guild and on my regular server.

It didn't take me long to level Moot to 90...at least in play time that is. In total it probably took about a month. I let Moot sit for a week or so here and there to gain rested XP.

I don't remember exactly when, but things kind of picked back up in my regular guild. Moot got very little play time for quite some time...like 6 or 7 months...maybe even more. Anywhooo, things got quiet again on my regular server and I thought I'd pop on over to Moot and see what all was going on.

To my surprise, every time I logged onto Moot there were never less than 10 people online. This was a shock. For the longest time, more than a year or two, my regular guild never had more than 4 people on at once. More often than not, it was usually just myself and one other person online.

Little by little I started playing Moot more and more. I started to get to know some of my new guildmates and join them in some activities. I also found out that my school mate was no longer in the guild and was glad/surprised they hadn't booted me when she left.

It was such a breath of fresh air to be doing things with others...something I had not done in a long time. Occasionally I would group with one or two others in my regular guild to do stuff....but on my new server I was doing things with 5-10+ others. It started to feel like I was back in the TBC/LK days....when my regular guild was at its most active.

As I became more active with Moot I saw I was starting to be in need of some financial assistance...poor guy never had more than 2k gold on him at any one time. With the new Timeless Isle (or, as some have started calling it, Loot Island) it took very little time to get Moot's gear from a sad 440- something ilvl to just under 500. I was able to start doing Flex raids with my new guild. But, I was still lacking in some necessities.

I started thinking about which of my toons I could server and faction change with to lend Moot a hand. First, I thought of Sheeturself. She was the toon I was playing most on Alliance side. But, I thought, Blizz might make me do a name change. So far it seemed like I had been flying under the radar in the sense that Blizz hadn't made me change her name already. So why rock the proverbial boat? Plus, she's one sexy Draenai. Why ruin a good thing?

Then I thought of my Warlock, Sheetahn. Nah...can't do it. I mean she's a Gnome Warlock...can it get any cuter than that?????? How 'bout Weland, my Paladin? Nah, don't really "need" two plate wearers just yet. Humphrey, my mage is fun, why not move him? He's already gotten a lot of gear from Loot Island so it won't take much to get him Flex ready. Nah. I've got TONS of Loot Island gear sitting in one of my banker's guild bank that is mail and leather. I should move a toon that can use it instead of it sitting collecting dust.

Well, that leaves just Thelandira. She's not 90 and can't use the gear yet. But, she's only 88. That means that it won't take long to get her to 90. And while doing so she can gain reputation points, through questing, for my new guild. Yay! Kill two birds with one stone.

Then, it took me about 3 weeks or so to finally decide to move her. Thela was the third toon I ever created and was the first toon I joined Nighthaven with. Was I really about to move her???? Nighthaven, and Echo Isles, has been her home since early 2007. Over the course of those three weeks or so I talked myself into moving her and right back out of it. It just felt weird...and wrong.

In the end, the decision to move her won and I started getting her ready. I cleaned out her bank of things she really didn't "need". Then, I pilfered things from my other toons and bank alts of things she would need without having to farm them up all over again. I robbed my Alliance toons of a little less than half of all their gold and sent it to Thela. Then I was off to my Battlenet account to make the move.

I was nervous as ever after reading that the move could take up to 72 hours. Yikes! The thought of stressing out over the next few days as to whether or not all her items and gold would transfer over was a bit much. Thankfully, and much to my surprise, the move took a little over an hour. YAY!  I quickly checked her bags, bank and Void Storage and was happy to see it all came with her...with the exception of Dartol's Rod of Transformation.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, you can get Stave of Fur and Claw by getting exalted with Timbermaw Hold. But...it's not the same.  :o(

My new guild, Kinsmen, welcomed Thela with open arms. She was immediately invited in and has been building bonds with her new guildmates.

I leveled her in no time to 90 and donned all her new Loot Island gear. I've not run Flex with her yet, but am sure I will in time. The few times I've run Flex with Kinsmen has been on Moot as a tank...which is fine. I enjoy tanking. Plus, I'm a little nervous raiding with Thela. I know I'll put out poor dps and don't want to be known as a "huntard". hahahahahahahaha

Long-story-short, I know...too late, Thela has a new groove, in a new guild, on a new server. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Thelandira, the Orc, of Kinsmen.

Thank you very much Kinsmen for making me feel welcomed and at home. I look forward to getting to know as many of you as I can as well as having fun times with you all.

P.S. - female Orc dance is HORRIBLE!!!!! And, I miss my idle bouncing that Thela did as a Night Elf.

Musical Monday...and more...

I haven't done a 'Musical Monday' in a while have I? Well, seeing as how I can't get this song out of my head, I thought I'd share it with you. Peter Murphy's 'Cuts You Up'.

This used to be one of my favorite songs to dance to back in the mid-to-late 90s. I was in the Navy back then and occasionally this song would be played at the bar on base, as well as the local gay bar. Most of my Navy buddies thought I was a bit "off" when I would be the only one dancing when this song was played. None of them had ever heard it before. Eventually they warmed up to it and after hearing it a few times they would join me on the dance floor whenever it came on...not that I really "needed" them on the floor with me. I was always dancing in my own little world when this song was played.

So, that's it for 'Musical Monday'...here's where the "more" begins...

First, I need to send out another "THANK YOU!" to Tycertank for choosing one of my screen shots during her August screen shot contest. In recognition of that I took the following screen shot. This is my Druid, Draiko, wearing his best Druid outfit while standing proudly admiring his new pet. Thank you Tycer!!!!

I was flying around doing pet battles a few nights ago and caught the lighting at a perfect moment. I was in Swamp of Sorrows when I took a series of screen shots.  I made an Animated GIF out of the screenies and sadly the quality diminished some from the original images. But, you should get the idea of how cool it looks. I love how the wings of my Hippogryph shadow in the sky.

While browsing though my old screen shots folder I came across the following image. I had taken it during one of the Brewfest events in game. I had had Thela drinking quite a bit and her vision was a little skewed. I happeneded to notice the name of a toon near her and decided to take a screenie of it...drunk and all. The name fit perfectly with how drunk Thela was. I really like how it came out. (If you don't know what 'Foobard' (actual spelling is supposed to be FUBAR) is don't be ashamed to ask)

If you can't see it too well, the toon's name is 'Foobard'.

I also came across the following screenie I took inside the dungeon 'The Arcatraz'. I love the kalidescope look it has.

The following screenies are of some glitches I found while out in the zone 'Uldum' one day. From a distance I could tell something wasn't quite right with the mob I was looking at but couldn't figure it out. It wasn't until I got closer, and changed angles, that I saw it was a glitch...and a funny looking one to boot.

The next ones are of the infamous 'UFO' that people have seen in various parts of Azeroth. I've actully seen this in three different zones. Uldum. Isle of Thunder. And Zangarmarsh. I got these screenies the same day I got the ones above of the glitched Neferset.

Hunter Appreciation Week - Jstmel

Jstmel was my third Hunter, but sadly never got very far. For the longest time she sat in Ironforge as a banker toon, stuck somewhere around level 12 or so. I created her with good intentions of leveling her and learning the ins and outs of the Survival spec...but failed miserably in doing so.

I was just too busy back then. I was raiding Kara with Thela. Learning how to heal on Draiko, my Druid. Leveling Sheeturself and Sheetahn. Doing mad amounts of goofing off in game...see? Just too busy. So, poor Jst got sidelined and religated as banker toon. Mind you, I really didn't "need" another banker. I had 7 others already. But, such was her fate.

It wasn't until the fall of 2007 did I begin to do anything with Jst.

That fall my real life kitty cat, Chloe, passed away. She was 14 years old and was extremely close to my heart. I had hand raised her from 2 weeks old. She was, for all intents and purposes, my child.

Her passing hit me VERY hard. It could not have come at a worse time. My last living grandparent, Pearlie (my dad's mom) had passed away two months prior. My emotions were still all wonky from Nana's passing. When Chloe passed it was like getting hit by a Mac truck all over again.

Shortly after all of this, I was in game one day and decided I wanted to go tame a kitty cat in honor of Chloe. Since the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, the Lynx style cats were ones I like the most and I decided I would go get one to be my in game kitty, Chloe.

Two problems here.

One, Thela was level 70 and already had her trusty Ghost Saber, Obadhai. Back then it was a lot of work to maintain and level your pets, so getting rid of one to replace it with another was a very big deal. Plus, Thela had had Obadhai for a long time. The bond was just too much to mess with.

Second, getting a pet and naming it Chloe wouldn't go well with Sheeturself's name. "Chloe Sheeturself"? Nah. "Sheeturself Chloe"? Nah. Just doesn't sound right.

So, Jstmel was the best option for getting a Lynx and naming it Chloe. Plus, being named after my online nickname, it only seemed proper to have Chloe be Jstmel's pet.

Problems again.

Jst was only level 12. The Lynx cats came in the following level ranges and locations:

8-10 - Eversong Woods & Ghostlands locations
14-16 - Ghostlands locations
65+ - Blade's Edge Mountains & Netherstorm locations

Hmmm...It would take FORVER to level Jst to 65+ to get one in the TBC zones. So that's no good.

It will be a long ass run as a level 12 from Ironforge to deep into Ghostlands or into Eversong Woods to get one of the 8-10 level cats. Yea, not gonna do that.

Looks like the 14-16 level range was my best option.

As quickly as I could I leveled Jst to level 16 and began her journey to the southern parts of Ghostlands to get her Lynx kitty.

The trek started off easy enough. In fact, I made it all the way to the lake in Western Plaguelands with only one death. Those damn, level 19 elite ogres, that used to be in the mountains along the path between Loch Modan and Wetlands, nabbed me. Other than that, it was easy runnings.

Western Plaguelands presented no real danger either. I swam through the lake to the northeastern mountain range and then skirted the mountains into Eastern Plaguelands. This is where things got...ummm...interesting?

The main path into EPL wasn't too bad. I think I only had one bat or demon doggie find me. I was lucky enough, however, to outrun them and make them reset and go back to wherever they came from. Shortly after this though my adventure began...or should I say romance began?

No sooner did I get within eyeshot of Corrin's Crossing did I sustain my second death. At level 16 my aggro range was HUGE in that zone and some ghoul or zombie or something came and ate me.

I wave at the Spirit Healer and make my corpse run back to my body. I rez and *poof* I'm dead again. Nod at Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, run 3 steps, dead. Wink at Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, move 4 steps, dead. Sit and chat with Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, get 5 steps away, dead....you see where this is going?

Me and the Spirit Healer spent a LOT of time together that afternoon. From the point you encounter the first Corrin's Crossing mob on the western edge of town to the last mob on the eastern edge I died some 14-16 times.

As I was making one of my corpse runs to my dead body in the center of town a friend logged in and asked what the hell I was doing there at that level. (for thost that don't know, or remember, EPL used to be a level 55+ zone) I told him what I was up to and he asks if I want an escort. I told him I would probably be out of the worst part by the time he reached me but he could come if he wanted.

So, I continue on with my new love affair with the Spirit Healer while my friend does the Flight Path Dance to me. By the time he reached me I had finally made it to the eastern edge of Corrin's Crossing and rezzed just as my friend landed on the road.

As soon as I rezzed I had to make a mad dash up the road. I timed things wrong and the patrol of 3-4 bats that used to be in that area was closing in on our location. My friend had his back to them and didn't see them until they started chasing me up the road. Thankfully he caught them in time and was able to kill them before they killed me.

The rest of the run was uneventful and we made it into Ghostlands unscathed. My friend stayed with me to watch me find a Lynx kitty and tame it. Afterwards, he flew away and I hearthed back to Ironforge with Chloe by my side.

From time to time I still log onto Jst and do some questing, or battlegrounds, to spend a little time with Chloe. It's nice to spend time with a kitty that is no longer around in real life...even if she is just pixels.

Hunter Appreciation Week - Sheeturself

As I mentioned before, I had created three Hunters back in the day so I could have a Hunter for each spec. But Sheeturself was also created, or so I thought, to be a level 19 PvP twink. I learned quickly that I was HORRIBLE at PvP...so I ended up leveling her and just having fun running around taming different pets I liked to give them funny names to combine with her name. Some name examples are:

• WillMakeU
• HeHeYouJust
• OmgYouJust
• GonnaMakeU

I never raided with Sheet and would mostly just log in on her to goof off. Sometime during the Cataclysm expansion she became the main toon I would log in on. During the duldrums that pop up towards the end of an expansion I ended up obtaining the 'Loremaster' title on Sheet. I don't know what it was, but she was my "go to" toon for pretty much anything I wanted to do. She also became my "Achievement Whore".

I was lucky enough, and privileged enough, to take her along with Bear, of BigBearButt, when he hosted his ICC 25 man achievement runs back before Mists of Pandaria was released. She was my first toon to get exalted with the Tillers. The first to get exalted with the Lorewalkers. The first (and so far only) to get exalted with the Order of the Cloud Serpents.

When Pandaria was released she was the toon I first logged in on and started doing pet battles with. She obtained many, and almost all, of the pet battle achievements I have. After a month or so of doing nothing but pet battling, she was the first toon I leveled to max, got geared and took a stab at LFR with.

Even now, almost one year after Pandaria's release, she is still the toon I log in on most...even though I have seven level 90s to choose from.

I don't know what it is about her that has made me choose her, above all my other toons, to be my "go to" toon. Maybe it's because she's a Hunter? Maybe it's her name? Maybe it's her pet's names that still make me giggle? Maybe it's her sexy transmog and matching pet? Maybe it's her Draenei waggle?

Yep...it's her Draenei waggle!

Could orange look any better?

Making Shaman all across Azeroth jealous.

Hunter Appreciation Week - Thelandira

Thelandira was the third toon I created when I first started playing WoW back in 2006 and was my first Hunter. I was new to the MMORPG world with WoW being the first of it's kind I had ever played. I tried to be thoughtful in naming her, along with her pets.

I knew I wanted a female Night Elf Hunter but wasn't sure what to name her. I hit Google up for some help and found a site of Fantasy names right away. After browsing the site for probably some good 30 minutes or so I landed on the name 'Solonor Thelandira'.

This is the name of an elven god of hunting from the D&D campaign 'Forgotten Realms'. The full description is, "...is the elven god of hunting, archery, and survival in wild and harsh places. He teaches his followers the arts of hunting; including archery, moving unseen and hiding in the wild places. He watches over the borders of wilderness and farmed land and seeks to maintain the balance between them."

How perfect is that? Granted, Solonor Thelandira was a male god. But, that wouldn't be a problem. Solonor Thelandira was too long for WoW's naming rules so I would have to shorten it. Solonor was too masculine sounding, but Thelandira wasn't. So, Thelandira it was.

I used the same Fantasy names site for naming mostly all of Thela's pets along the way...starting with her trusted Ghost Saber, Obadhai. When Thela was but a wee pup of a Hunter I had seen another Hunter with a Ghost Saber pet and knew right away I had to obtain one when I could.

I quickly leveled Thela to around level 24 so I could nab a ghost kitty. Their level range is between 19-20, but I got her a few more levels to make her task a little easier. To get a ghost kitty was no easy feat. In the northwest portion of the zone Darkshore were some ruins heavily patrolled by Naga (and still are). Within these ruins were small figurines, Cat Figurine, you had to click on that had the chance of spawning a Ghost Saber for you to tame.

I was relatively lucky on Thela in that it took less than 20 figurines to click before the kitty spawned...some of my other hunters weren't so lucky. I think I remember that Sheeturself clicked some 45 or so before getting hers (which she no longer has). All the while, you had to constantly kill Naga so you could search the ruins for the figurines. They had random spawn points throughout the entire ruins. Obadhai was, and still mostly is, her main companion over the years.

The true name is supposed to be "Obad-Hai", but we can't use the - symbol in WoW names. His description is, " is the god of nature, wildlands, freedom, hunting, and wild beasts". Fitting for a ghost kitty I think.

Thela quickly became the main toon I played. She was my first level 70 (I started playing WoW about one month before 'The Burning Crusade' expansion was released) and was my main raiding toon throughout that expansion.

Over the years I have bounced around on many alts and Thela has pretty much been sidelined. I do get around to leveling her to max level with each expansion and do enjoy logging in on her from time to time to putter around Azeroth and reminisce. She holds a special place in my heart for she was the toon that made me fall in love with the hunter class.

Even though Thela hasn't been my main for many years, all of my guildies (and some long time WoW friends) still refer to me as Thela regardless of which toon I'm playing. I think of that name as a kind of "badge of honor". Not because I'm some uber leet Hunter, but because it links me with what is, in my opinion, the best class in the game.

Thela in her "play clothes" back before we had Transmog.

Hunter Appreciation Week - The Introduction

Laeleiweyn, at World of Lae, is hosting an 'Alt Appreciation' event and this week's chosen alt is the Hunter class.

The third toon I ever created was a Hunter. This toon quickly became my favorite class to play. I loved having a permanent pet, that I could name, at my side to run around and explore with.

I ended up loving the class so much that I eventually created 3 Hunters so I could have one in each spec (back before we were given dual specs). Below I present you with my three Hunters (I have more Hunters than that but they are mostly bankers):

Thelandira - my first Hunter and main toon for quite a while as BM spec

Sheeturself - my second Hunter who was supposed to be a PvP twink as MM spec

Jstmel - my third Hunter who I made to fiddle with SV spec

Over the next few days I will discuss their history with you...well...as much of it as I can remember that is.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 31

Today's is "Dangerous".

The photo should explain it all well enough.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 30

Today's is "Cluttered".


What things usually look like after an Oondasta wipe.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 29

Today's is "Lucky".

Not sure how "lucky" I really am here. I mean, I obtained "Scotty's Lucky Coin" and transformed myself into his likeness...but...

...my sword is sticking out my butt?!?!?!?!

Am I a spritecicle or spritepod?

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 28

Today's is "Corridor".

Remember these?

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 27

Today's is "10 Minutes from Home".

This should be easy...or so I thought. My plan was to jump on one of my toons, take them to their "home" city, travel in a random direction from there for 10 minutes and then take a screenie.

HAH!

Fat chance of that happening. I jumped on my human, took him to Stormwind, put him on his flying mount, spun him around in circles (which is easy to do with a Trackball type mouse) and then sent him on his way on auto pilot.

Where was I 10 minutes later? Flying into the invisible wall along the northeastern mountain range between Eastern Plaguelands and Ghostlands.

How boring.

I hearthed back to SW and decided this time I'd run for 10 minutes in some random direction. I knew I wouldn't get too far on foot because of trees and buildings so I decided that I would strafe left or right when enountering such things. After 10 minutes of doing this I ended up dying from 'Fatigue' off the coast of Westfall.

Again, how boring.

I decided to switch toons and try from another "home" city. Time to get the Death Knight. Surely I can get someplace interesting from Ebon Hold right?

Ummmm....wrong again.

I got on his flying mount, spun him around and took off. I ended up dying from 'Fatigue' out at sea south of Booty Bay. Sigh.

Next, I figured a paid gryphon flight might be slower than my personal mount. Maybe I can get some place interesting that way. I figured I'd fly from Booty Bay to Light's Hope Chapel and would cross over someplace good to take a screenshot of.

I was wrong...again. With the new guild perk that increases flight speeds I ended up landing at Light's Hope after 9 minutes and 43 seconds.

/pulls hair out

Ok...this time it's got to work. I'm going to talk to the flight master in Light's Hope, close my eyes and just click like crazy on the screen. My mouse has to land on a flight path eventually and off I'll go. I will do this until my 10 minutes are up and take a screenie of wherever I am at.

I was on my way to Sentinel Hill, in Westfall, when the timer ran out. This was the fourth flight path I was on. The timer ran out just as I was crossing the mountain range between Searing Gorge and Blasted Lands.

So, here you go...this is where I was 10 minutes from home.

Not much better, but it will have to do.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 24 & 26

I've really hosed this up. Apparently on the 24th I thought it was the 25th and I posted the wrong topic. Then, on the 25th I started working on the post I was supposed to do for the 24th and got sidetracked and didn't complete it.

So, today, I give you the topics for the 24th and the 26th...hopefully without error.

(the 24th)

Topic is "In the Background"

Throughout WoW there is a LOT of stuff to be found in "the background". Mostly it's scenery, landscapes, NPCs and other players. My choice, however, is a conversation that takes place in the background of a boss fight.

Within The Arcatraz dungeon are two of my favorite bosses in all of WoW, 'Dalliah the Doomsayer' and 'Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates'. They stand on opposite sides of a large and somewhat triangular room. When you first enter the room you can hear the two of them bickering like an old married couple. As you begin to attack one of them the other will stand there and kind of "egg you on".

To me this is one of the funniest things ever. I'll go there every now and then to let them beat on me just so I can hear what they have to say. To this day it still makes me giggle like it did on my first encounter with them back during 'The Burning Crusades'.

(Monday the 26th)

Today's topic is "Entrance".

We have many entrances in WoW...entrances to buildings, caves, tunnels, the woods, dungeons & raids...and more I'm most likely forgetting. The following is one of the entrances I like the most and can be found in Booty Bay. It is the entrance to Boucher's Cauldron, where the Alchemy Trainer & Supplier are.

Look! It's a LOVE BEAD CURTAIN!!!!!!!!

That's so grooooovy man! I wonder if I can get any insence in here?

 In other news, I'm in the process of moving. I'm not sure if I will be around to post my screenshots for the rest of the month. While I have time today I will most likely get them taken and either schedule them to post on the appropriate days or will post them later tonight. Sorry if I'm breaking the rules here Tycer.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 25

Today's is "Culture"

World of Warcraft was my first step into the culture that is MMORPG.

I was no stranger to computer gaming. I had been actively playing

- SIMs (and all expansions)
- SIMs2 (and all expansions)
- SIMs3 (and most expansions)
- Sid Meier's Pirates
- Sid Meier's Golf
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Command & Conquer: The First Decade
- The Elder Scrolls III (Morrowind, Tribunal & Bloodmoon)
- Age of Empires
- and Civilization (III and IV)

 when Dharm bought me WoW for a Christmas present in 2006. I was immediately hooked and have been playing WoW since.

I still play a few of the above mentioned games, but I don't enjoy them nearly as much as I do when I play an MMO. Even though I'm not a real "chatty cathy", and tend to do a lot of solo playing while online, there is something to be said for seeing others online doing the same thing I am...playing a game and having fun. Sometimes I find myself just standing still watching others around me busy doing whatever it is they are doing.

I've tried a few other MMOs and have enjoyed them a lot. Even though I usually played alone I really didn't feel alone...unlike when playing my normal computer games.

If I could flip a switch and make all my normal computer games into an MMO of some sort, where the play style would still be basically the same but with other people around to chit-chat with or do things with, I would be one happy camper.

I am thankful for Dharm buying me WoW and introducing me to the MMO culture of gaming.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 23

Today's is "Yellow".

I couldn't get any more "yellow" unless I was a banana...or a lemon.

Razikiel's outfit, which is not a real transmog and just a screenie of MogIt, consists of:

Head - Robust Helm
Shoulders - Stockade Pauldrons
Chest - Glorious Breastplate
Back - Brightcloth Cloak
Waist - Glorious Belt
Legs - Glorious Legplates
Wrists - Flamebane Bracers
Hands - Flamebane Gloves
Weapons - Renataki's Soul Slicer
Feet - Glorious Sabatons
Tabard - Arathor Battle Tabard
Shirt - Bright Yellow Shirt

I'm really diggin' on that sword. Might just have to beg some friends who have Archaeology at 225 or higher to run Zul'Gurub with me to try to get it. My only toon with an Archaeology skill that high is my Paladin...but that sword could go pretty well with my Death Knight's transmog.

Although, I'd have to switch his outfits around. His yellow/gold and red outfit is normally his Blood spec outfit. But, he dual wields in his Frost spec...so a swap of mogs would be needed for the sword to work.

Killing 4 Birds with One Stone

When it comes to WoW I have a serious case of ADD. Not only do I get distracted by shinies, I have many alts that I bounce amongst. I'd like to introduce you to Humphrey, my newest level 90 toon. He is lucky number 7 when it comes to level 90 toons that I have. And might not be my last. The next expansion is still pretty far off.

Wishes he was a Druid.

So color coordinated.

Many years ago Humphrey started out as a Rogue. It was so long ago that I don't remember what race he was...but I do remember he was a Rogue. I remember this because I learned that I didn't mix well with the Rogue class and never leveled him past level 13 or so.

He ended up sitting, collecting dust as a name place-holder, in my selection of toons until Cataclysm was released. He then became a Worgen Warrior. Again, poor Humphrey didn't get very far...maybe level 20 or so. I couldn't get past the constant sniffing sound that Worgen make.

I don't remember when I turned him into a Dwarf Mage. I do remember wanting to level him so I could have my own personal portal jockey for those holiday events that send us all across Azeroth.

I didn't level as quickly as I wanted and ended up just logging in on him from time to time to do some Battlegrounds. (I'm pretty bad at PvP and would usually just run around sheeping people for fun or using Frost Nova as I followed a flag carrier)

Since the release of Pandaria I have been slowly leveling him. I finally hit the mark last night and achieved the following Acheivements:

Why, yes, yes you should have Major Payne.

Not hiding under fat Panda anymore.

Now, from the pictures you might see only 3 Achievements. The 4th, in my eyes, was beating Major Payne. It took me quite a while to put together a team that could beat him without fail. Each time I beat him I still get a great thrill and felt it only right to have Humphrey ding 90 in doing so.

The 4 dead birds are:

- beating Major Payne
- dinging level 90 from the pet battle
- gaining 'Quintessential Quintet'
- gaining '200 Daily Quests Complete'

My stone is:

- Having one more level 90 in my arsenal of alts

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 22

Today's is "A Room".

Yay! We made it! Don't cross the bridge. Just jump the railing and run in. Don't wait for anyone...just run in!!

The Deadmines is/was one of the first dungeons we would experience on a new toon. Pre-Cataclysm getting to the entrance/portal into The Deadmines was a feat in itself. There were a lot of things we had to kill along the way...provided we didn't get lost in all those tunnels. If we did get lost we had even more things to kill. There was a great sigh of relief once the entrance/portal was in sight.

Where's the tank? Let the tank get the keg and light the cannon. ONLY THE TANK! Everyone else get back!

One of the biggest things was to let the tank pick up the powder keg and light the cannon. If someone else did it was sure to be a wipe.

(in my best Chunk impersonation)  "HEYYYY YOUUUU GUYYYYSSSSSSS!!!!

Getting to the last room in The Deadmines was a thrill. Not solely because it was the last room, but, for me at least, it was the first time I remember seeing something from the real world referenced in game that jumped out and smacked me in the face.

 (If you haven't seen the movie 'The Goonies' shame on you. Go rent it now and watch it!)

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 21

Today's is "Slow".

Will you just look at how long it took me to get 75 battle pets to level 25!?!?!?!
(that's almost 7 months)

And look at how long it took me to get just one pet to 25!?!?!?!
(that's almost 1 month)

Talk about "slow"!!!!

(if you don't remember...pet battles were given to us at Mists' release back on Sept. 25th of 2012)

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 20

Today's is "Stairs".

There are TONS of stairs across the lands of Azeroth. The set of stairs pictured above, however, are the ones that stand out the most to me.

This staircase is inside the dungeon Zul'Farrak, in Tanaris.

This used to be one of the most daunting dungeons for me to run way back when...and this staircase event was the worst part of it. It was the first gauntlet-type event I had ever experienced...and died during many times. But, it was also one of the most fun fights I had ever encountered.

It's one of those "love-hate" relationships I have with this staircase.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 19

Today's is "Lost".

While playing around underneath Stormwind one day I came across some "lost" citizens. I told them how to get back to the Trade District, but apparently they didn't want to. The next time I passed by this same spot they were still standing there.

(we can't get under Stormwind anymore but I couldn't really think of any other way to portray "lost")

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 18

Today's is "Someone You Spoke To Today".

When I first logged in today there was nobody online. So, I logged out and jumped over to another server. I ended up logging in on one of my bankers first. He ended up chatting up Kixa, an Orgrimmar bank NPC in the Valley of Strength.

Try as he might, he could not engage in much of a conversation with her though. She really likes to say, "Yea, whadda ya want?" a lot. Not to mention her obsessive use of "Don't be a stranger" at the end of every attempt at a conversation.

(I think the Orc in the corner is hungry. It's scary how he's looking at my pet pig...like he's gonna chop him up any minute now with that big axe of his and make some bacon.)

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshot Challenge: Day 17

Today's is "Exercise".

Yep, I cheated again...it's video time!

Hope ya enjoyed it.

:o)

(Tycer you don't have to count this one if you don't want to. I was bored and the idea just came to me for this video...so I went with it.)

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 16

Today's is "Cooking".

Back during the Lich King expansion my Death Knight, Razikiel, was my main cooking toon. Not sure why, he wasn't the toon I played the most. But, anywhooo....he was. He is my one and only toon to have the Chef's hat.

While bored one day I decided to put together an outfit for him to wear with his cooking hat. The below picture shows what he looks like when he cooks, provided the outfit isn't stuffed away in his bank.

This isn't a transmog outift...just clothes he switches into, whenever he cooks, with the assistance of the Outfitter addon.

His outfit consists of:

Head - Chef's Hat
Chest - Shadow Council Tunic
Legs - Legwraps of the Master Conjurer
Main Hand - Spider Splatter Mace
Off Hand - Steelscale Crushfish
Wrist - Gem Studded Bracelets
Neck - Golden Necklace
Finger - Black Ice

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 15

Today's is "The Best".

I've created a small collage of screenshots containing, in my eyes, "The Best" person I know in WoW.

She is kind, considerate, friendly, smart, funny, giving, goofy, lovely, has a heart of gold...I'm running out of adjectives here...she is all-round The Best! I give you Navimie.

The top three pictures are of a day I decided to surprise Navi. I created a baby toon on Dath'remar and whispered her to come see me. I then proceeded to give her a Pocket Reaver battle pet I leveled for her. She thanked me a lot and then turned around and gave me a Purple Puffer pet she saw I was missing. How thoughtful of her!

The next two pictures are of a day where Navi and got to goof off together.

I was in Karazhan, just arriving at the Chess Event, to get some pets when I see Navi log in. I asked her if she would like to join me and she said she would. It took us a few tries to beat the event, but we finally managed. Navi was at work and kept having to go "afk". I don't know, some 40 minutes or so later we finally killed Prince Malchezaar.

Navi collected the red polearm (I think), that she is sporting in the middle picture, off of him. It matches her transmog nicely I think.

The bottom picture is from when we were in Tempest Keep: The Eye, for more pets and a chance at a mount, after our Kara run. We had started the Kael'thas fight when Navi had to "afk" again. The fight got to the part where Kael floats up into the air and does a little light show before coming back down...but he never did...come back down that is.

For whatever reason the fight broke. I stood there dancing for roughly 10-15 minutes, while Navi was still "afk", and the fight never continued. When Navi did return she told me that she had to log out. I told her it was no problem and that we broke Kael'thas anyways and couldn't continue. (You'll notice I changed my gear...ran and t-mogged it on one of Navi's "afk"s...my other outfit looked horrible!)

This was the first time I had been able to group up with Navi to do anything in game...and it was an absolute blast...afk's and all.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 14

Today's is "Trash".

Try as I might, I couldn't find any "trash" piles in the game anywhere. So, I figured I'd use the word in the sense of how we all refer to the large amount of mobs we need to kill in dungeons and raids before we can kill the boss(es).

I give you my favorite room of "trash" to kill...welcome to the Ball Room in Karazhan.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 13

Today's is "Fast".

I wasn't quite sure how I would portray "fast" in-game. There are a lot of things that can be done fast...questing, crafting, flying, old raid/dungeon running...then it dawned on me.

One of my favorite quests in Pandaria has some of those Warlock type teleporter gizmo thingies around the perimmiter of a room. The quest boss you fight uses them to bounce around the room. You can click on them as well and follow in his footsteps "fast". (The quest is "The Fall of Ga'trul" for Alliance only)

I love how my pet is following/flying with me.

On every toon I've done that quest on I make sure to stick around for a little bit and just play with the teleporter thingies. It's one example of the goofy stuff I do in game.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 12

Today's is "Macro".

I actually don't use many macros. I have a hard time remembering what they do, let alone where the hell I put them on my action bars. Sadly, I'm more of a "point & click" kinda gal.

However, there is one macro I like to use every now and then. This macro I just love for when I'm in a dungeon, or raid, and someone keeps asking for "Recount" or "DPS meter". I press my handy-dandy macro and they see what you see in the picture below.

I borrowed/stole this idea from someone a few years ago. Can't remember if it was a fellow blogger or something I saw in some forums somewhere. But, I love it and have it in a handy spot on a few toons' action bars.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshot Challenge: Day 11

Today's is "I Love Doing This".

I just love flying on my mounts upside down...or doing loopdie-loops on them...when I'm bored.

Tycertank's #WoWscreenshotaday Challenge: Day 10

Today's is "Beverage".

I give you 'Jug of Wine'.

This item we could never drink in game. However, this item caused many of us grief during the Lich King days I'm sure...at least I know it did for me.

You see, this item was needed for one of the Dalaran Cooking Dailies. It could only be found in the 'One More Glass' building. Which means this item was heavily camped on the days this was needed for the daily.

Thankfully, I don't need to go looking for this jug anymore.