The Angels of Avalon Blog

The Sunday Instance: I'm Not Dead!

2011-01-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

It turns out I could head off to Trollbane to join Ryan and Jon, Staghelm to occasionally play with Ryan and Amibeth or a third server to play with BK. Dot came back to WoW during her break but she and Liz have been absorbed by their college duties. So instead of trying to start on multiple different servers to play with everyone and inevitably burn out, I'm going to stick it out here on Antonidas (dooming myself to daily mocking by Ryan).

I welcome others to come on and partake of the guild bank and resources and I hope to entice some people back for Sunday instance runs. This Sunday at 2:00 (E.S.T.) will be the (new) Deadmines. (New Dungeon Guide linked).

What level characters end up going through will depend on the number of people, assuming it's just a couple people it should be a real quick run that gets a completion achievement for the characters.

The Sunday Instance: Retro guilds Are all the Rage(fire)!

2010-12-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

Where: Ragefire (Meet outside Ogrimar)

When: Sunday 2:00p.m.

So I thought I'd put this out there and see who bites. Believe it or not there's an achievement for Ragefire in the Guild achievements for the Alliance. So, after much death, I plan to enter and get the achievement on Sunday in a "guild group". Anyone who intends to be there can suggest other plans (for where or when), this just seemed like a fun thing a single person or small group could do.

I'll be posting one of these for next Sunday as well. Dot and I should both be on for that one and what we do will be determined by who we can get to join us. Keep it in mind!

Don't Call it a Comeback.

2010-12-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

So Cataclysm has hit and I'm adding a post to see if there was interest in doing some guild stuff. They've added guild achievements, changed the 1-60 zones and generally made the world spiffier. I find myself missing the old gang so I was hoping maybe others were too. Feel free to reply to this or get in touch in any form you like if you're feeling nostalgic.

Brewfest!

2009-09-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

It's another year, and another Brewfest! Jon and I were discussing trying to take on Coren Direbrew at some point. Anyone who can, and wants to, should please let us know! Word of warning: He is level 80. Either way, Drink up!

World of ...what?

2009-07-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

How's the summer vacation going for everyone?

I know we haven't been able to synchronize schedules much, but I was just thinking that we do have this level 72 Warlock in our guild now that we might be able to put to work if it's ever just one of us who is out for the week. He's DPS right now, and I'm not sure if he's up for having his voidwalker tank (depends on his spec), but if we need a tank, then maybe somebody's death knight could step up. Or maybe Jon would be willing to respec now that he's at the same level as us.

The bottom line is that I think we have enough options now to run instances even if all 6 of us aren't present. I can understand not wanting to run the new instances so people don't miss out on the new content, but we could probably run through some older ones, maybe on Heroic mode, or for reputation or something. What are other people's thoughts on this?

Go North, Young Man, Go North.

2009-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Both Dot and Ryan can't make it next Sunday so everyone is left to their own devices. For those who haven't I would suggest taking the boat from Menethil Harbor (from the dock where the ship to Darkshire used to leave). It will take you straight to the Howling Fjord and the quests nearby will quickly lead you to the Utgarde Keep quests. In particular, if you pick up Fresh Legs from the scout to the left after leaving the keep and crossing the small stream that will lead you toa little dwarf just outside Utgarde that has two quests for the dungeoun. This is also a great thing to do just to get a look at the area, which is pretty fantastic.

Have a good week all.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

2009-04-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

First: another free re-spec! All talent points have been refunded again with the 3.1.1 patch.

Second: who's on for our very last BC instance, Magister's Terrace? Wooooo! (Okay, I suppose we could come back at level 80 and try out Kara. So MaT is our last BC 5-man. Fine.)

Looks like there's just one quest to pick up. If you're Aldor, see Adyen the Lightwarden on Aldor Rise in Shattrath and pick up Crisis at the Sunwell. Scryers see Dathris Sunstriker on Scryer's Tier for Duty Calls.

You too could be in the News!

2009-04-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

Or at least a Newsletter. I recently started getting Azeroth Advisor and thought I'd link it for those who wanted to check it out. It sends out personalized newsletters for the characters you play based on an info grabbing app you download. I still haven't fully decided whether I'm going to stick with it or not but it's definitely cool enough to take a look at.

Important Note: They do not give out your email but they do email you a bunch with "new" newsletters so you might want to give them an email that's not your main or make a rule to put them in a specific folder.

This Sunday: Shattered Halls

2009-04-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today, in fact. Actually in 2 minutes, as of the time I'm writing this. The plan is to go through Shattered Halls. Looks like most of the quest pickups are in Honor Hold, with one being in Area 52 in the Netherstorm.

See you there!

Sunday Instance: Out to Lunch

2009-04-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

No instance run next Sunday as neither Ryan or Dot will be available. Have a good Easter everyone!

The Sunday Instance: How to do Morass.

2009-04-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

So this Sunday is "Opening the Dark Portal" in the Black Morass. If everything goes well it should actually be pretty short I'd guess a 30 minutes to get us set up and to the instance and about 30-45 minutes to run it. If we don't wipe. To that end here's the Strategy guide. This sounds like a pretty intense instance as it's just one big fight with wave after wave of enemies.

Millhouse helped us squish this giant bug!

2009-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Angels root out trouble in the Botanica...

2009-03-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

We (don't) fear change!

2009-03-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've just added another new person to the guild. Jon Paul's girlfriend, Allison, has joined us. If you get online and notice someone new just take a gander at the notes page (it will tell you who it is) and say "Hi!" to one of the new people. I know that Ryan and Dot already know Allison, Jon Paul and Will and I know that BK has met Jon Paul. These are all wonderful people though so don't be afraid to chat them up.

For everyone who's new I will be sending out some invites to the blog shortly. If you ever feel like it you'll be able to post of respond here. We use this in place of our former guild website both because it fits our casual style more and allowing everyone to post to the front page helps keep the site active.

So, welcome everyone and hope to see you online,
Nate

Congratulations, your mind has been expended.

2009-03-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

So Blizzard has put out some details about the next patch (thanks for the tip BK). There's a lot to see including a new equipment manager and Dual Speccing. For those interested in the ultra 1337 dual spec option it will cost 1000g and it looks like you'll need a second set of Glyphs for the new spec.

Also of note is lots of class changes and (both BK and I are betting) talent point refunds for everyone*. So if you were looking to try out a new spec or two (see what I did there?) then this might be the time to do it.

*Don't quote me on that.

Crafting the Stone/Jewels with some Style

2009-03-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

So Chivalry just made it to 300 Jewelcrafting and while it's still not to Wrath levels (or even BC max) it's far enough to make Gems to
socket into equipment. As soon as I'm able to do some more mining I'll be adding them to the Guild Bank (check back on Sunday, they should be in by then) and as you level up your gear talk to me and I should be able to socket the new stuff. You can also just in game mail me with what color gems you need and I'll send some back that are class appropriate (stats may depend on what materials I have on hand but you can request specific stats as well).

Four to go

2009-03-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Only 4 more instances in Outland to go! They are:

That's the order they're listed in the WowWiki in terms of difficulty, but at this point, I think we can pretty much do them in any order. We should probably save Magisters' Terrace for the "big finale," though, as that's the fight against Kael'thas, and is apparently almost "Heroic" in difficulty.

Also, I will be in San Francisco next Sunday, so I won't be able to run with you guys.

Steamvaults

2009-03-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

I believe the next instance up in the queue is the Steamvault branch of Coilfang Reservoir. These are the associated quests:

[70] The Warlord's Hideout Given by Watcher Jhang at the entrance to Coilfang Reservoir.
[70] Orders from Lady Vashj Starts with a random drop of the same name inside the instance.
[70] Underworld Loam Given by David Wayne within Terokkar Forest.
[70] The Second and Third Fragments Given by Khadgar at the Terrace of Light in Shattrath City, this is step 6 in a quest chain to obtain the Master's Key that starts with Archmage Alturus at the entrance to Karazhan in Deadwind Pass. The Second Key Fragment is found in this instance. It can be located in the water just in front of the first boss Hydromancer Thespia.

So it looks like Underworld Loam and The Second and Third Fragments are the only quests that can't be picked up in or near the entrance to the instance.

World of Warcraft

2009-02-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hey, so there's this cool game called "World of Warcraft" that I think we should try out this Sunday! Let me know if anyone is interested. Maybe we can meet in-game at around 1pm. The "Mechanar" area sounds like it might be fun. Let me know what you think!

Ta Da!!!!

2009-02-17T18:55:00.001-08:00

Mechanar in two weeks?

2009-01-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

I believe Nate suggested Coilfang next--the Steamvault wing we haven't done yet--but I just noticed that there's one Steamvault quest that is dependent on having done Mechanar first. Questgiver David Wayne won't give you the Underworld Loam quest for Steamvault until you've completed Fresh from the Mechanar.

The complication is that you need a flying mount to get into Mechanar. Now, something that Ryan had mentioned is wanting to take a Sunday to do some group quests, either instead of or in addition to a short instance. Maybe next Sunday we could do some group questing with an eye to giving our 69s that last extra nudge to the magic 70? We could also whip right through the first part of SLabs to steal Dot's codex and get her back on the Wayne chain :-)

What does everyone think?

Edit: Mechanar has only two quests. One is the aforementioned quest from Mr. Wayne. The other is How to Break Into the Arcatraz, the next-to-last quest in a long chain that leads to the Arcatraz key, which we're going to need anyway. Might be good to take care of this quest chain on Sunday.

Celebrating the Moon!

2009-01-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Lunar Festival is upon us! I considered several photos for this and decided I was best with a picture actually made in WoW (fyi that's Felnar, my priest,). Here's a guide to the festival. Enjoy!

The Master's Key: Entry Into Karazhan

2009-01-24T06:24:00.000-08:00

Here's the stat guide for the Entry into Karazhan quest chain. Several of us are already on the quest chain but I thought a post was in order.

You... and Your Shaaaadow.

2009-01-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

Shadow Labryrinth instance guide is here. Entry in to Karazhan is a quest chain that will be illuminated in the following post on The Master's Key. The Soul Devices can be acquired off of the Spy mistress at Shattrath (that doesn't abreviate well) or probably shared. I believe the other two can be picked up outside the instance but don't quote me on that. Everyone should have a key to the Shadow Labrynth door, it was in the chest at the end of the previous instance we ran.

The Sunday Instance: Murmur's Dance.

2009-01-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

This Sunday the target is Shadow Labrynth. It'll be the first instance in the Master's key line that keys people for Karazhan. If we wish to enter only one person needs to be keyed so it's not a must. I'll put up a master's key guide for any who haven't done the quest line and a guide for Shadow Labrynth as well. The plan is Sunday at 1 as usual. I hope everyone can make it, we can try to reschedule if anyone needs us to.

The Guild Vault

2009-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

The Guild Vault is constantly pushing capacity, which is great, but I've been throwing crafted goods in there from time to time that seem to go unnoticed. There is a reasonable selection of high-level food items that provide additional spell power, spirit, stamina, or strength, depending on your class' needs. Also, I've been adding Heavy Knothide Leather patch kits that provide a +10 Stamina enchantment to most clothing. I'm bringing this up because if this stuff isn't consumed in the near future, it will all be useless for our mains, and will just end up clogging the vault.

On a related note, if anyone has any requests for materials or other items, please let us all know. For example, if anyone comes across any Motes of Earth, Fire, or Air (or any other kind, really), I could use them for leveling my leatherworking. Thanks!

Fighting Blind

2009-01-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is a particularly nice WoW machinima so I thought I'd embed it for people. Unlike most Percula (the maker) uses the character models from WoW but reanimates them entirely.

The Craft of War: BLIND from percula on Vimeo.

My First 70!

2009-01-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

This was going to be a Sethekk halls pic but apparently Dot and I forgot to snap one. So it goes. Here, at least, is a screen snapped during the run and one I very much like. :)

What's Lore got to do with it?

2009-01-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Project Lore is about as geeky as it gets but I thought it was worth a link. It's a WoW strategy site that features videos of instance run throughs. It's actually surprisingly good quality filming and occasionally pretty funny.

File Photo: Eye Lose!

2009-01-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

Us at Auchenai Crypts. Woot!

How to improve your Sethekk hauls!

2009-01-09T05:14:00.000-08:00

Here's the strategy guide for Sethekk Halls. Both lited quests are available outside the instance. I haven't really looked at the bosses but this should actually be slightly easier then Durnehold.

How to be a Steam roller!

2009-01-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

Here's your weekly dose of Strategy goodness. That will run down the quests. There are two in or near the instance, one in Terrokar Forest and one that is actually a long chain that I'm not familiar with but will take a look at before we go. I'm also going to link this one for a quick view of the bosses. That should be more then enough strategy guide goodness.

The Sunday Instance: Who's at Vault?

2009-01-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

*UPDATE*
So after consulting with Ryan it looks like it would behoove us to do Sethekk Halls then Shadow Labyrinth before doing Steam Vaults. This would allow The Master's Key to be aquired which allows entrance into Karazhan. While it's not positive we'll need the key it seems if we're already going to do these instances we might as well do them in an order that allows this quest to be completed.

To sum up. We'll be running Sethekk halls Sunday. Whew. I'll put up a guide soon

Original Post...

So the next instance by difficulty is apparently Steamvault. This is actually in Zangermarsh at Coilfang Reservoir. I hope everyone can make it. :)

File Photo: A More Human Solution

2009-01-06T04:50:00.001-08:00

Latest instance photo! I like Apostate's disguise the best.

An Escapist Strategy Guide

2009-01-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Here's the strat guide for Durnholde. It's a simple one that pretty much just runs through the mobs and bosses we'll meet. You can find a longer one at WoWWiki but it seemed rather scattered and I thought this would be perfect reference if we end up wiping in the instance.

The Sunday Instance: Everything Old Is New Again

2009-01-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone! Dot and I are back and ready to instance like it 2-0-0-9! The next instance on my little list (sorted by level) is Escape From Durnehold.

This one is a little different then the past ones, it's in "The Caverns Of Time" and will take us back to a 'historic moment' in Warcraft. I'll post a guide in a few minutes.

See You Next Year!

2008-12-21T11:49:00.001-08:00

Dot and I are taking off to Austria! We'll be back on the 1st and Looking-For-Group on the 4th so I hope we see you all then. We wish everyone a super holiday and a wonderful New Years.

New Achievement: MacGyver

2008-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, that didn't take as much time as I thought it might. Got my engineering up, assembled my mats, and voila!...an Easy-Bake Helicopter :-D

The AoA Blog Dings Level 3

2008-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've added a few new features to the blog. Both Ryan and BK added labels to their posts so I added labels to all the old posts and a label section on the right side. While you're looking at that you'll notice the Slideshow above it. It contains a bunch of the photos posted so far. Lastly, if you scroll down a little you can see a Links section on the right.

I'm really happy that Ryan and BK posted stuff up (thanks guys) and I shouldn't forget to give credit to our first non-me poster Dot (<3). Everyone should feel free to post with or without labels as they're super easy to add later. I believe you all should be able to edit the links too if you want to expand that list for ease of use. I'll have to add photos to the slideshow myself but generally if you post any pics of us you can expect them to show up there at some point.

PS. Feel free to add labels to old posts if you have trouble finding them or whatever. And for the more worried among us, yes, the holiday colors are temporary

Area Man Dings 70, Takes to the Skies

2008-12-20T06:35:00.000-08:00

Woooo, it's [Swift Purple Gryphon] time! Now to raise my engineering skill so I can make a helicopter....

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday before I head up to the frozen Borean Tundra that is Connecticut! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

File Photo: There's Work to be Done

2008-12-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

I think Cora had her mind on business in this one. The rest of us are screwing around and dancing but she's keepin' us movin'. :D

Not Our Guild But "The Guild"

2008-12-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

So a couple of you have probably heard of "The Guild" but for those that haven't it's a little series about a guild of MMO gamers (based loosely on WoW for copyright reasons). It's told in 'webisodes' which are available free online. The star, Felicia Day, might be recognizable from Buffy or from Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" which is also worth a gander.

Guild cast Photo

Metzen: The most famous reindeer of all!

2008-12-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

So the Winter Veil Festival is her and with it Winter Veil quests and Achievements . Here's a little mini guide for those who want it all. Doesn't look easy. Personal favorite Achievement "Bros. before Ho Ho Ho's."

File Photo: King For A Minute

2008-12-16T05:59:00.001-08:00

This is an old one with us in Blackrock Depths. The little dwarf girl by Apostate is Tyrbrand.

Tender clam meat anyone?

2008-12-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

I could explain this but it's better if you just see it...

Patch Notes: Who's got spirit???

2008-12-12T14:06:00.000-08:00

Patch notes are out and there's some nice changes in them! Here's some of the highlights...

Players may now create death knights on any realm once they reach level 55.
Racial restrictions on mounts have now been lifted. Night elves on mechanostriders? Tauren on raptors? You’re not seeing things.
Tapping: All player spells which cause a creature to become aggressive to you will now also immediately cause the creature to be tapped.
We have added over 60 new graveyards to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.
The run speed in spirit form has been increased by 50%. Night Elves in Wisp form will now move at 75% speed.

DEATH KNIGHTS

Raise Dead has now been split into two spells:

DRUIDS

Starfall will now be cancelled by any shapeshifting.
Growl: Range increased to 30 yards.

MAGES

Arcane Blast: This ability has been significantly changed. Arcane Blast now increases the damage of the next Arcane spell by 15%. However, using Arcane Blast itself does not consume the charge itself. Each time you cast Arcane Blast, the damage of Arcane spells is increased by 15% and the mana cost of Arcane Blast is increased by 200%. This effect stacks up to 3 times and lasts 10 seconds or until any Arcane damage spell except Arcane Blast is cast.
Slow Fall is now castable on others.

PRIESTS

Levitate is now castable on others.
Shadowform: You can now shift into Shadowform while mounted or sitting.
Vampiric Embrace- Mana cost of this spell has been removed.

SHAMAN

New Talent: Shamanism-Your Lightning Bolt spell gains an additional 2/4/6/8/10% and your Lava Burst gains an additional 4/8/12/16/20% of your bonus damage effects.
Elemental Shields: This talent has been removed. It has now been merged with Elemental Warding.
Elemental Warding: Now reduces all damage taken by 2/4/6%. Changed from only reducing Nature, Fire and Frost by 4/7/10%.

WARRIORS

Taunt: Range increased to 30 yards.
Fury:Titan's Grip: The hit chance penalty has been removed.

Auchenai Crypts Tips,Tricks and Strats

2008-12-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

Okay mostly just strats. Here's a strategy guide for the instance tomorrow. I haven't looked through it really but it only lists two quests.

Wrathgate video shows Arthas is not a crook!

2008-12-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

I thought this was kind of neat and kind of random so I wanted to link it. It's a new video from Blizzard entitled "Wrathgate." Not sure if this is supposed to be some sort of preview for something or what but here it is...

File Photo: Strike a pose!

2008-12-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone remember where this was? It was back when Boann had better style, that much is sure... Gotta love the skulls and Apostate's flex action!

File Photo: AoA vs. the Giant Squid

2008-12-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Underbog (I believe) after taking down the boss. I'll be putting up some more shots of us over the next week since I've got a backlog. I'm still looking for screenies from people for a project thingy I want to do. It probably won't come together until after Dot and I get back in January so be on the lookout for good stuff to screenshot between now and then.

The Sunday (?) Instance

2008-12-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Dot and I are hoping to do the instance on Saturday this week. This weekend will be our last chance as we will not be available to instance again on Sunday until Jan. 4th. I'll contact people by email but feel free to leave any concerns or questions as comments on this post.

Details:

Saturday the 13th
12:30 p.m. (That's 9:30 a.m. Liz's time but if we go any later we'll run into problems picking Dot's mom up from the airport.)
Auchenai Crypts. (That's the next on the list, I'm open to suggestions though)

Welcome to the Angels of Avalon Blog!

2008-12-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

So, occasionally it has been asked how others can contribute to the front page of the guild website and since there has been very little traffic there (after all there are only 6 guild members and we all know each other in real life) the website has "gone dark" except for an occasional post by me. For our first year anniversary I wanted to do something to reinvigorate the guild online and really let everyone in on the posting action. I'll keep the guild website around until we work up a comfort level with the blog or decide it doesn't suit our needs. Until then, I believe I've invited everyone in as authors so enjoy and contact me with any questions.