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If Blizzard Made Me An NPC
Because fantasy games need more Canadian content.
PVP is no joke. Most people know this, given the amount of folks who actively avoid getting involved with it if at all possible. I dabble in the digital violence now and then, but I prefer to watch those skilled at it while they do their thing. Two such individuals are PVP icons Bajheera and Swifty. As recognition for their contribution to the World of Warcraft community, Blizzard will be giving them their own NPCs in Warlords of Draenor – Jackson Bajheera and John Swifty.
It made me consider the question – if Blizzard turned my character into an NPC for Warlords of Draenor, what kind of NPC would they make him – not what I would make him. The NPC would reflect the character’s in-game activity. Auction House vendor? Pet Battle Trainer?
I had a couple of thoughts. Maybe he could be a quest hub NPC, but that role is already taken.
If you smell what we’re cooking.
There’s not really one thing I do in-game. I can’t pigeonhole my playstyle. I quest and PVP, I run dungeons and scenarios. I play the Auction House and pet battles. I do everything but raid, and that’s due to a mix of inexperience and having a computer that probably would drop a big poo as soon as the boss was pulled.
So my NPC would probably be a rare spawn mob. He’d walk alone, but he could show up anywhere. Silver dragon elite, and his drop table would be extensive and random. You’d loot “Rokk’s Box” and there could be anything in it – from gold (reflecting the AH and gold farming aspect) to dungeon/pvp gear (that would reflect the iLevel of the applicable unlocked dungeon given the level/zone he’s found in). He could also drop a rare battle pet which would be a miniature version of himself called Smackdown.
It’d definitely be a hoot to go one-on-one with the Main Monk in WoD. I think a therapist could clarify if that would make me suicidal or just “a little off.”
What kind of NPC do you think your character would be?
Patch 6.0.2 Tomorrow
Yep. Everything changes tomorrow.
Patch 6.0.2: The Iron Tide is scheduled to crash into Azeroth on Tuesday, October 14. Featuring new content heralding the Iron Horde incursion, updates to the skills and abilities for every class, and a host of gameplay adjustments, this overture to Warlords of Draenor is coming at you armed to the teeth.
Treacherous Developments
The Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands has turned blood red. Hundreds of strange-looking orcs are violently pouring into Azeroth, killing everything that stands in their path. Nethergarde and Okril’lon have already fallen, and while the Horde and the Alliance moved as quickly as they could to get reinforcements to their people, they are too late. The Iron Horde invasion has begun.
In this desperate hour, King Wrynn and Warchief Vol’jin have called upon their greatest champions to join the front lines in the Blasted Lands and do whatever they can to stop the Iron Horde . . . before the rest of Azeroth falls before them.Word of this surprise attack sends players rushing to the Blasted Lands to reckon with the barbarous infiltration. After the fall of a high ranking Iron Horde general named Gar’mak Bladetwist, you’ll report what you’ve witnessed in the Blasted Lands to King Wrynn or Warchief Vol’jin. It’s apparent to both the Horde and the Alliance that this is only the first salvo in a much larger conflict, and the only way to win is to take the fight directly to the Iron Horde . . . by journeying through the Dark Portal into Draenor.
The Infiltration of Blackrock Spire
An advance party of Iron Horde forces has barged right out of the Blasted Lands and pushed all the way to Blackrock Mountain, where they found refuge and supplies in Upper Blackrock Spire. There can be only one response: the Alliance and the Horde of Azeroth must face this iron incursion head on.
Available to level-90 characters for a limited time, this specially revamped five-player version of Upper Blackrock Spire sets the stage for the coming counterstrike against the Iron Horde. Here, you will face Orebender Gor’ashan, Kyrak, and Commander Tharbek as you begin to take the fight to the enemy and sharpen the skills—and swords—you’ll need to succeed on an unwelcoming alien world.Prepare yourself. Draenor is waiting.
I had a few things I wanted to accomplish before 6.0 but some will have to wait post-patch:
– Exalted with the Anglers so I can snag the very unsexy (but very water walking) Azure Water Strider (Done)
– Get the Brawler title without having a rage seizure. (With the Brawler’s Guild going away tomorrow, this won’t happen. I lost count at how many times I’ve died fighting the Rank 7 GG Engineers.)
– Sock away 100,000 gold so I’m ready for whatever money-sink Warlords has for me. (Between 6.0 and WoD, I may get close.)
– Raid at least once. Probably end up doing a LFR because abuse is fun. (May still reach this for WoD.)
– Pick up the Battle Pets roaming the lands of Pandaria. (Probably get this before WoD.)
Preparing for Leveling in WoD
In just over a month, November 13th to be exact, Warlords of Draenor will be going live. Once again, we begin the slog to level cap. Since most of us have multiple alts, that grind will be hammered out multiple times. Oh joy.
Good times.
I’m none too thrilled about leveling, and even less that I’ll be doing it at least twice. But as far as my first run to 100 goes, I’m planning on taking steps to ensure that the start of the grind is as painless as possible.
How are you getting ready for the push to 100?
Best Mount for Warlords of Draenor
I’m not exactly what you’d call a mount collector. Oh sure, I picked up most of the easy faction mounts to grab a few achievement points back in the day. But these days, I’m not about to camp a rare mob for hours just for bragging rights. If I’m going out of my way to get a mount, it better be for more than just eye candy.
Take the Traveler’s Tundra Mammoth for example. It’s got vendors you can sell to, buy a Tome of the Clear Mind to change glyphs, and carry multiple players on (if you so choose). I still have it hotkeyed on my action bar. I don’t ride it, but if I need Tomes at least it’s handy.
Not that handy when you’re trying to find a parking spot at the mall.
I’d been hearing chatter from the Warlords of Draenor beta, regarding mounts. It’s common knowledge that there is no flying in WoD. This information comes as a complete shock to no one. Blizzard never allows flying for a patch or two, before eventually making it available at level cap.
However there is a mount that has been suggested as one of the better ones until flying becomes available. Since many of the questing hubs and zones are separated by water (or so I’m told since I’m kinda beta-light), having a mount that can cross water should help to speed up the leveling process.
That means it’s time to grab the Reins of the Azure Water Strider.
Bringing sexy back.
The catch (har har) is that you need to have Exalted reputation with MoP’s favorite fishermen, The Anglers. According to my math (and by match I mean I plugged in a name for the rep calculator in Wowjutsu) it would take approximately 21 days to go from zero to Exalted. This is assuming you only do the three daily quests available.
Fun fact: You need at least a single level in fishing to get this started.
There’s a questline in Dread Waste that can also get you started. If you are a freshly boosted 90, or didn’t bother starting quests there, you’ll have to unlock it to grab a few thousand rep.
Aside from the three daily quests (1500 rep a day), there’s three other things you can do to speed up the rep gathering.
1) Daily Dungeons – Set the Anglers as your bonus rep, and run the daily Dungeon and Scenario. That’s good for about 500 rep between the two.
2) Hozen Peace Pipe – Farm or buy this bad boy for a one-time buff of 1000 rep for every MoP reputation.
3) Magic Fish – Every day, you have the chance to fish up a, well, a fish. It’s marked as a quest, sending you to Nat Pagle to hand in. You get rep with him (but who cares because screw that guy) and 300 with the Anglers.
Bonus: Commendation with the Anglers – At Revered, you can buy a Bind on Account commendation for the Anglers from Nat Pagle. It gives every character on your account a 100% buff to Angler rep. That makes the final push from Revered to Exalted a little easier. Actually, 100% easier.
My Ambassador is currently sitting at Revered, and I’ve picked up the rep buff commendation. Hopefully I can knock out Exalted and grab the bug mount before Patch 6.0 hits sometime this month. The patch brings class changes, and I’ve got enough on my plate without having to worry about what does what with my class.
Patch 6.0 Monks in Warlords of Draenor
This month brings forth the mighty patch 6.0, and sweeping changes to pretty much every class in the game. Players will have about six weeks to figure out what has been changed, and how to make it work for their playstyle. Many players may be switching mains this month.
Naturally there’s a few classes I’m curious about. I want to see what’s new, what’s old, and what the Hell I can expect. As usual, Preach stepped up and laid it out for me as far as my newest class favorite, the Monk.
Windwalker
Mistweaver
Brewmaster
Rokk Talk 