August 2016

Is it Enough To Keep People Interested?

stargrace August 11, 2016 3 Comments

I openly admit that I am having an absolute hoot with the new pre-legion events. I love seeing just how many people are around partaking, the talk in trade and general is as active as I’ve ever seen it, and people seem to have some fairly positive views on how things are going. I can’t help but wonder – will it last. Will people continue to play right up until Legion the amount that they’re already playing. Will more return with the actual launch of legion, and with so many people decked out in ilevel 700 gear, what will keep them playing until the 30th?

I was a bit surprised that demon hunters released early. Sure it gives people a chance to get to 100 and then to get some gear but offering early content could turn out to be a bad thing, too. People burn through it and then log off dejected because they have nothing to do. Not that I’ve ever encountered this, there’s SO many different things for me to partake in – but not everyone has my play style, so grinding battle pets or reputation or going profession recipe hunting may not be what they’re interested in.

With that being said, I’m still having tons of fun. Yesterday I decided to dust my horde hunter off and ran her through the introduction scenario and a few invasions. She’s not quite at ilevel 700 yet, but she’s getting there, sitting at a respectable 698. I also got one of the fel weapons, a longbow and upgraded it once (so far) to 705. Hopefully I’ll be able to collect a few more of those.

I still have not created a demon hunter yet. I don’t really have the desire to start another new character, and I’m having a good time focusing on the ones I already have. My new priest that I made yesterday is sitting at level 27, I’ve been taking a break from leveling her through dungeons because I find it pretty tedious. It’s still a 10 minute wait to queue as a healer, and at these low levels with only three heals (and one of them an emergency heal on a one minute timer) and everyone running off in their own direction makes it a stressful ordeal. Everyone thinks they’re the tank and then blames the healer when things go wrong.

What do you think, is there enough content to keep people playing as they have been right up until Legion, or are things bound to taper off and slow down once the initial rush is over? Let me know in comments and as always happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Out with the Paladin – in With a Priest?

stargrace August 10, 2016 2 Comments

Yesterday I was convinced paladin was the class I was going to play on the horde side of Area 52. Today, that has changed to priest. Turns out I just really enjoy the class, and so I created a new one yesterday evening in the hopes of making it to 100 before Legion releases. Can I do it? Well, it’s possible. Will I? That’s yet to be seen. I did manage to get to level 11 or so before finally calling it a night, but that had less to do with playing the priest and more to do with the fact that I spent all day on the paladin doing invasions and pre-legion fun stuff (which was amazing, might I add).

In the end it’s just better for me to play something that makes me happy, even if I already have a priest on another server. None of the other classes have ever ‘spoken’ to me as much as the priest.

Thanks to some help from friends on twitter (@LadyEllindris, @Ysharros, @xgeistatwork, @CoutureGaming) I was able to set up a horde guild on Area 52. Since I spend most of my time either solo or LFG/LFR or trying to convince people from bnet to invite me along for the ride, I decided that my own guild was in order. It’s also a place any of my friends can gather on the horde side, since we already have Zero Commitment over on the alliance side (on the Dalaran server). As much as I enjoy playing Alliance, my true self has always enjoyed the Horde side of things just a little bit more.

There were tons of people in game yesterday, and a lot of the comments I read about the pre-legion experience have been positive. The massive invasions are a sight to behold, even if you don’t feel like grinding out nethershards for upgrades (which isn’t really that bad, all truth be told). I picked up a set of gear for my paladin, a 715 weapon (700 that I upgraded a few times) and of course the Felbat Pup companion pet which was really important of course.

I’m feeling excited about leveling up a new priest, though I’m concerned about how long it will take me. Especially the slog through Pandaria and Warlords, as those are two of my least favourite expansions. Still, challenge is always good and keeps me interested.

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

Lets Change Things Up A Little

stargrace August 9, 2016 3 Comments

I currently play on 3 servers in World of Warcraft. Argent Dawn (Alliance), Area 52 (Horde), and Dalaran (Alliance). On each one I like to have a “main” even if I drift off to alts over time and as I finish content. I’ve been trying to decide who I want to play where and I think I’ve finally figured it out. Subject to change of course, but for now I’m sitting with:

• Argent Dawn: Priest (holy / shadow)
• Area 52: Paladin (retribution / holy)
• Dalaran: Druid (restoration / feral)

Easy to tell what I like about each spec since they all have a healing and DPS component. How does this equal any change for me? Well, the paladin on Area 52 is a character I boosted when I first purchased Legion. I bought it ages ago when it was first announced, and I’m glad I did. I probably should have held off on boosting a character since I don’t think I even touched the paladin after I boosted her to 100 until recently, but that’s alright. I spent some time doing the shipyard quests and introduced the character to tanaan jungle. Invasions start in a few hours, and I’m hoping to pick up some more gear (at least a better weapon than the 640 I’m currently sporting) from that. I know I’m going to make a demon hunter but I’ll probably hold off in leveling the class because I know it’s just going to be a mad house of everyone else with their demon hunters. I’ll make the character, reserve the name, and then play when things have gotten a bit more quiet (if there’s such thing).

After running around tanaan jungle with the paladin I’m starting to feel a bit more confident about things. I know folks are saying that retribution spec took a bit of a hit with the latest class changes, but I feel that a lot has to do on gear dependency and lets face it my gear is quite lacking. As I upgrade things piece by piece the character gets better. As I learn my rotations and skills things get easier. I’m confident that if I just focus myself on playing the one character and don’t try to take on every class there is, I will enjoy the paladin as much as I enjoy any of my other “main” characters. A huge change for me since I’ve never played a paladin before in any great capacity.

Servers are down now for their three hour maintenance. It’ll be interesting to see how long they’re REALLY down for, and how crammed the servers are when they come back up. What will you be doing first when you log in? Let me know in comments! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself. <3

It’s Almost Time!

stargrace August 8, 2016 No Comments

It’s here, it’s here! It’s almost here..

Demon Hunters, that is.

I spent almost no time this weekend playing games, and it looks like that streak will continue, at least for a short while. 28 weeks into my pregnancy there’s not a whole lot motivating me to sit at my desk, so if I’m going to game I’ll typically set up Steam Link and play from the couch. Even that seemed like a bother this weekend, so I spent it watching the Olympic games and knitting. It wasn’t all bad!

Tomorrow the patch goes live that will bring Demon Hunters to the game. I know I’ll make one even though I always say I won’t. I know it will be crazy busy as everyone and their dogs also make the class. I think it will be fun, and it will be great to see so many people out and about doing beginner things on their characters. I’m excited. I like the positive hype that I’ve seen.

Meanwhile I’m still trying to decide who to play as my “main” for Legion. I’m debating between my priest and my druid. Sure I could (and probably will eventually) end up playing both but for the first foray into a new expansion I really do like to focus. It will probably end up being my priest because most of what I’ve “done” in game has been on that one character. I have ties to her, feel connected. The druid is a newer character for me still with very few achievements under her belt. She hasn’t maxed out archeology, cooking, or fishing. They’re not exactly “important” skills, but it’s the casual fluff that makes me interested in a game and keeps me playing hence the lure of my “most worked on” character.

Will you be making a demon hunter? Going to jump right in or give it a bit of time? Anyone need a holy / shadow alliance priest? Give me a nudge! I’m stargrace#1783 on bnet (speaking of bnet, I’ve been playing the new season of Diablo III, too. So you can find me there! I rebirthed on a witch doctor).

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