Exciting Times!!

Coperiana and Laheth are both 70!

We did some neat things... Got some fun stuff... Made some new friends...

Swoot!

There and Almost There

My wife has hit 70 with her main. I'm at 69, and have a little more than 2 bubbles left.

I'll let her talk about her 70, or I'll take some pretty screenshots and make a big hullaballoo about it once I hit the cap as well.

Burning the Bloody Hills... the begining

So we are starting another new game in Burning Wheel... Exciting times! It is a combination of generic B horror films, Castlevania, and classic Romanian culture surrounding the real Count. We are calling the area in game the Bloody Hills. All based on the in game local history of the Red King and the battles fought in the area to try and take over... However, the legend goes that if you conquer the castle, you claim the kingdom. Entire armies have gone in trying... None have been heard from again.

This is actually the first game where me and Gauntlet actually play husband and wife. We have always tried to keep the personal stuff out of games so we don't make our friends uncomfortable or change the feel of the game... Slightly different group of players and we stated upfront that this is what we wanted to do. I hope it works out well since we are hoping this will be a long running game.

Random Updates while Building

World of Warcraft

• Vandren (and Sutcha) got new stuff - Vandren's outfit was updated to be pretty close to his level, thanks to my wonderful wife and her (now level 60!) hunter Sonnik. Also, Vandren hit 24.
• Ashcraft ran around with Belgore the Voidwalker and hit 22.
• The Paladin Triplets are playing in Un'goro Crater, and are between 48 and 49 now.
• Untraining a leatherworking specialty costs 100 gold!? Crazy.
• Strael is getting close to 40... so very close. A few more sessions and he should get his mount, which will alleviate some of the issues with playing as him (Aspect of the Cheetah spoiled me).
• I'm not allowed to make a dwarf, because my character slots on our preferred server are full. Which is probably a good thing, since I'd be making a class I already have 1 or 2 of (Because he'd have to be a hunter or a paladin, more likely a hunter). Maybe when I hit 70 I'll drop one of my two rogues who sit at 21 and hold things in their banks, inventory, and mailboxes for everybody else.
  

Other Stuff

• We're getting a 360! Yay!
• Earth Defense Force 2017 is a hilarious game.
• I love adventure games. And I appreciate those who continue to make them.
• For the next book I read, I have to decide between a Mercedes Lackey/Piers Anthony book, the next Wild Cards volume, or re-reading some more Discworld stuff. Tough decision.
• My build is done - back to work.
  

Tusk the Tank

Last night my wife and I (running as Coperiana and Laheth) put together a pick-up-group to take down Durn the Hungerer and Major Jerk. Our three other members were a Priest (Holy) Mage (Frost), a Paladin (Not sure, but not protection Holy) and a Rogue (probably something to do with DPS).

Our first attempt was premature - one person asked if everybody was ready, another said yes, and they ran at him, without being blessed or waiting for anybody else. Also, Gava'xi the Bandaged Jerk came by and stabbed the hell out of my wife after he broke free from his ice trap I dropped when I first saw him coming.

Our second attempt was having the Paladin tank... when it got dicey he bubbled and then the rogue went splat, followed by everybody else.

Our third attempt was hilarious and worked - we buffed, we waited for him to come to us (away from all aggressive creatures), and then we had Tusk the Handsome Boar attack him and tank him. He never lost aggro, and he had a priest and restoration druid and mend pet healing him constantly.


I've never been more proud of him :)


Edits: My lovely wife remembered what the people in the party were. Color me attentive :)

Group Specific Talent Builds Follow-up (And More!)

So... sorry I didn't get back to the comparison like I said I was going to. I had a lot to do at work, and that segued nicely into my mini-vacation surrounding PAX which involved very little playing World of Warcraft, and more hanging out with people and other stuff.

Although, I did end up going back and respeccing my Starrlia to follow a more standard protection build, to see if a couple of my choices (Improved Devotion Aura for one) were missed too terribly much. Verdict thus far? Very little difference between my playing, although our Retadin takes hits a bit more, and I proc Reckoning a bit more.

I'll try and give a write-up of some PAX-related stuff too, but I'll give the short of it now:
- Jonathan Coulton was excellent to see in concert.
- Halo 3 is very shiny and I wants it.
- DS is super-best convention gear.
- The WoW TCG is fun.
- Proper hydration is important.

Group-Specific Talent Builds

So, my best friend was checking out our paladins in the armory, and he brought up some questions about our builds which led to a few thoughts I'd like to share.

First up, he didn't have any questions about my wife's Holy Paladin build, but he wondered about some of the choices myself and our other friend had for our Protection (me!) and Retribution (friend!) builds, and the honest answer was a combination of "we built without a distinct plan", and "we built our builds only to play with each other - not for soloing or general group play".

Now, my thoughts I'd like to mull over are: Is it better to have a proven build for each of us, and are our builds as they are effective for ourselves and each other?

1) Is it better to have a proven build for each of us?
There are a few reasons why I prefer our current builds - we all share the same drops (so having us pigeonholed makes it much easier to decide who gets what, itemization-wise), we never solo* so we can each sacrifice things we don't need in favor of maximizing our specializations, so it seems like the things those proven builds are for don't entirely apply.

*(except when the other two are off gathering materials, which is why I lag a little behind in the experience)

2) Are our builds as they are effective for ourselves and each other?
This will probably involve some comparison, and since I'm just waiting for a build to finish, I'll come back and tackle this later.

Character Updates

At some point I should really say stuff other than what's going down with our characters, but that point isn't here yet. So, on to it!

Strael has done much in the aid of Desolace, and is now seeking to tame the wilds of Stranglethorn Vale, though his services have also been requested in the Arathi Highlands. Level 35. His goal beyond aiding those who ask it of him is to get himself a pretty pony.

Starrlia, Starrlea, and Starrlya were joined by their unholy compatriot Violate recently, and managed to get through most of Zul'farrak without any other aid. All but Gahz'rilla and Sergeant Bly done.

Sonnik continues to advance on her inexorable path to 70. Level 53. Also, she picked up a kitty cat who was once called a king, and he now serves as her Backup.

Status: Azeroth

Laheth has gone and grabbed his new pet, a pretty kitty now dubbed Daybreak that he snuck into ZG by his lonesome for (although he needed to form a raid of 2 to be able to enter). I've got pictures to share of all the others he tamed to learn skills for the new pet, but I'd rather do that in it's own post.

Vandren got some playtime recently as well when a group of us decide that our Blood Elves (and one undead - the healer, humorously enough) needed to run Shadowfang Keep. We tore through it, wiping only once at the beginning when we hadn't gotten into our stride, and then falling to Arugal when he noticed us before we were ready. It was a blast. I think everybody levelled at least once. Even Sutcha the boar did.

The Paladin Triplets (Starrlya/Starrlia/Starrlea) ran around the Hinterlands last night, and a few were spotted in Tanaris and Feralas the night before that... they're prepping themselves for a Zul'furrak run in the (hopefully) near future.

And the rest in brief - Strael (Belf pally) is now retribution, and needs better gear. Sonnik (Wife's Belf hunter) is nearing the end of Un'goro Crater, and will shortly need to find more suitable hunting grounds. And I think all the others have been cooling their heels.

Petopia (and Mania) to the Rescue!

So, after pondering what I would do at 70, I stopped pondering, thanks in no small part to Mania (of Petopia fame).

See, here's what happened: I'm at work, doing work-stuff (Non-Disclosure Agreements prevent me from saying anything beyond that I work on video games) and reading Mania's Ongoing Saga of Kaet, and I realize that what I want to do with Laheth is improve his pets.
So, I'm going to go grab a creepy boar from the Eastern Plaguelands to grab Charge Rank 6 and Gore Rank 8 for Tusk, and then I'm going to go grab a Rip-Blade Ravager for Gore Rank 9, and then I think he's pretty much set.

Then it's on to either upgrading my level 50-something kitty Nocturne, or maybe grabbing a new shiny kitty of a higher level and whoever else I need to get the mad kitty skillz.


Thanks Mania, for speaking about your wee dwarven lass!