March 2016

Overpowered Lowbie Monk Tanks

stargrace March 24, 2016 0Comment

After reaching level 33 with my troll warrior, I suddenly decided that I wanted to try out a monk instead. See, I have an alliance monk, but it was one of those boosted characters that I rarely played so even though she’s level 92 I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Compared to my other characters she feels like she’s made of tissue paper. I die on practically every WoD quest.

I decided to make a Tauren this time around. Getting to level 12 was pretty easy – and then I had a thought. I wanted to catch up to the other 33 monk I’ve been playing with and I wondered if I could go and solo Ragefire Chasm. Once again my character was wearing heirloom (pants, shirt, shoulders, hat, charms, necklace, cloak, weapon) but would that be enough? I was pretty certain that my warrior would not have been able to solo it at that level, I could barely hold my own at level 33. Maybe monks were different. I decided to go down the tank spec, one I’ve never played before. I’ve always WANTED to tank, I keep saying I am eager to learn and then when it comes time to queue for dungeons I completely freeze.

I was still too low level to pick up the quests, but that was alright. I’d do a run or two to get some levels and then snag them – IF I could complete the zone.

Turns out I could. Easily. I went from 13 to 19 in a matter of minutes, I think I cleared the place twice. I was excited to hit 20 because monks get a daily buff that grats 50% more experience from kills and quests. I filled my bags with some green loot to sell on the AH and by the time I hit 19 I had already fallen in love with the class. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Ragefire Chasm was a breeze – could Wailing Caverns go just as smooth?

It was a bit more difficult, but by then I had a heal that I could use on myself and it was just a matter of spamming some attacks, regenerating some chi, and healing myself if the damage got to be too much. The zone was certainly harder than Ragefire, but just like the first dungeon I was able to solo it with no deaths.

Since I had my 50% bonus buff, I actually went from level 19 to 25 in one run of the dungeon.

Nice.

Now I’m debating Blackfathom Deeps. So far the monk tank is incredibly fun – even though I’m sure it can’t last. Playing through the game this way is exciting, and it’s a break for me from doing the usual garrison runs every single day. It’s exactly what I need to renew my interest.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Lowbie Shenanigans in World of Warcraft

stargrace March 22, 2016 1Comment

I’ve been playing both alliance and horde for most of WoD, between two servers. Over the weekend I decided to create a brand new horde character on the server where I had no horde, and level up by doing quests and exploring the post-cataclysm world, something I had not done for many years.

My troll warrior, Moglette, is outfitted in heirloom for the slots where I have the gear (I think I’m missing some of the more uncommon items, like rings) and in a duo set out to explore the lands. On a whim we decided to try dungeons, just to see if they could be done as a duo when there was no healer present. My warrior is down the DPS line, with tank as a back up. The duo consists of a monk playing alongside my warrior, and they decided to go tank for now too. So one DPS, one tank, and lots of mean mobs, starting with Ragefire Chasm.

The dungeon was so easy, and so rewarding, that by the time we had completed it we set out for Wailing Caverns. That was completed in a duo pretty easily too and we got some black fang gloves that sold for a whopping 4,000 gold! At level 20 playing a new faction that didn’t have any cash, this was a big huge bonus. I immediately upgraded bags.

After Wailing Caverns it was time to head to Ashenvale, completing quests along the way. Basically I skipped the barrens because I leveled through them too quickly. Ashenvale quests are… frustrating. I didn’t have fun working through this zone at all. I continued my way up the coast and eventually ended up at Blackfathom Deeps. All of these dungeons have been revamped since I was in them last, and so it was as if I was doing them all for the first time. I had fond memories of the old versions, but the new ones are not that bad.

Next up was Scarlet Halls, which is completely different than what I remembered, and the first dungeon where we had a death or two in the duo. Mobs hurt without a healer, and the bosses had mechanics that couldn’t simply be ignored by brute force. I did get a few levels there and my little Moglette is sitting at a pretty respectable level 31. I picked mining and blacksmithing as my professions, along with the usual fishing / first aid / cooking / archaeology.

It has been pretty fun so far and I’m eager to see more of Azeroth this way – without rushing, without power leveling, without buying in to level 90 (or 100).

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!