Wow... PEGGLE?!

Ok, so I know this isn't exactly moonkin related... but I just had to share it!

Are you one of those gamers who just has WAAAAAY to much free time? Did you fly circles around Shattrath? Do you find yourself picnicking or dancing on the bank stairs in Dalaran or showing off your mount in Kraseus' Landing with nothing else to do?

Or maybe your guild refers to strat-explanation as "Story Time with (insert your own raidleaderhere)!" (Ok, or maybe that's just us...)

Well... if that sounds like you, you ought to check out the new Popcaps wow addon, Peggle for WoW!

Ok, I know I know. What's so cool about a game within a game? Why would you want to do that? I don't know. But I do know that peggle is disgustingly fun, and a great way to pass 15m where you really just have nothing better to do. Fishing for your turtle mount? Peggle while you cast!

Anyway, there's an amusing little write-up on it over at The Escapist, as well as a direct link to the game (as well as wow-bejeweled!) over at PopCap! Enjoy!

Flame Leviathan?

Well, after waiting most of the day, we were finally able to log into Emerald Dream around 9:30pm EST. I was suitably impressed when the servers remained stable long enough for us to get two 10-mans going (sadly, we were short about 6 people for a 25), and despite an accidental miss-start (whoops!), we were able to begin the first event.

And I just have to say... that was so much freaking FUN! I haven't enjoyed a raid encounter as much as I enjoyed the time up to Flame Leviathan and the ensuing boss fight since... Vanilla WoW.

The dual-aspect of teamwork required for the vehicles was a blast, and I've since learned that I am one damn fine shot with an anti-air missile! Somehow, despite not knowing what in the bloody-feathered moonkin hell we were doing, we managed to down him on our first attempt, and get "Shutout" as well.

Sadly, the two giant lava-rock-golem type trash mobs at the start of Ignis' room wiped us, and due to server issues, once dead, you could not re-enter the instance. D'oh!

However, after seeing how amazing the instance looks right from the start, as well as how incredibly fun the first encounter was, I and the rest of the guild can't wait to get back in there and continue. It's gonna be great!

3.1 and Ulduar Releases on 3/14

As many of you know, there's been much skepticism about when 3.1 and Ulduar would be coming out; well, according to Zarhym, it should be going live tomorrow.

This will also herald in the end of season 5 for arenas; enjoy your Frost Wyrms if you are so lucky!

Last but not least... Extended Maintenance!

We will be performing extended maintenance on the below realms beginning at 1:00 a.m. PDT, April 14. Maintenance for all US and Oceanic realms not listed below will begin at 3:00 a.m. PDT, April 14. We expect all realms to be playable again by approximately 11:00 a.m. PDT.

Antonidas
Anub'arak
Blackwater Raiders
Bladefist
Borean Tundra
Cairne
Cenarion Circle
Cenarius
Darrowmere
Drak'Tharon
Drenden
Echo Isles
Farstriders
Fenris
Garrosh
Hydraxis
Hyjal
Korialstrasz
Lightbringer
Maiev
Misha
Mok'Nathal
Moon Guard
Nazgrel
Nesingwary
Nordrassil
Quel'dorei
Ravenholdt
Rivendare
Shandris
Shu'halo
Sisters of Elune
The Forgotten Coast
Tortheldrin
Uther
Vashj
Winterfhoof
Wyrmrest Accord

Enjoy the patch, you've got about 4 hours to finish off your achievements! Good luck, and see you in Ulduar!

Syrilrian of the Nightfall!

So, as you know we've been working on getting the Glory of the Raider achievement. Well, last night we finished what we set out to do!

Last night, after over 200 attempts and at least 20 hours worth of work, we finally got our sexy Of the Nightfall titles for completing the Twilight Zone achievement!

Due to the complete bloody randomness of
Gonna Go When the Volcano Blows, we have 5-6 people who are still *just* shy of their proto drakes. We did however get four of them! So long as 3.1 holds off another week, we'll be able to get almost all of the 10man group their 310% speed mounts. Wahooo!

Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on fraps, but perhaps when we go back to farm for the drake, I'll get a video of that up.


For those interested, our composition was:

Holy/Prot Pally

Enh/Ele Shaman
Unholy Death Knight
Survival Hunter
Shadow Priest
Fury Warrior
Boomkin
Rogue

Absent "R" You? Well, quit it!

I dunno about you, but I'm ready for 3.1; something about an upcoming patch makes putting raids together harder and harder, the closer the patch and it's new content gets.

People just seem to... lose interest in the current content. Which sort of brings me to a problem that's been pissing me off, of late.

I've been noticing an issue more and more; I call it "Only If I Need It" syndrome. Everyone has them in their guild. Everyone knows people like this. They're the ones who show up ready for a raid at the start of content, but as soon as they've got what they want for their toon, they're nowhere to be seen, regardless of whether or not anyone ELSE in the guild/group is still looking for something.

They're the people who are steadfastly on an alt if you need one more for a raid.... until that alt hits 80. And then it's, "I'll go! ...If I can go on my alt!" Or the ones who will *gladly* help work toward an achievement or title... until they've got everything they need, and then it's "Well... I don't really need anything else. Can you bring someone else?" or "Can I come on my alt instead?"

I don't know about you, but man does that piss me off.

I have 1 level 80 character. She's geared nearly to best in slot and hasn't really been looking for much of anything for the last 4 months. And yet... you can be damned sure that I'll be there or offer to come if there's a 25man raid scheduled, or if it's a 10man (organized in our guild by the members at will), you can bet I'll be willing to come if I'm needed. No, I don't need anything from Naxx anymore. But yes, I'll still go because we just had a healer hit 80 and he needs some gear... or because one of our ret paladins was asked to make his enhancement shaman his main to utilize as many buffs as we can, and he needs to spend some time in Naxx etc for that.

Now... all in all, that whole situation wouldn't bother me *quite* as much as it is, except that it seems to be coupled with another little disease called, "Oh... I must've forgot." This insidious malady often presents with symptoms such as, accepting or signing up for a raid invite and not showing up, or getting there 1-2 hours late.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT'S IN ANY WAY OKAY?!

Newsflash, people. It's NOT.

If you accept a raid invite, or sign up to be there, you are making a commitment to not just the raid leader (who then gets to scramble desperately for a replacement when you flake out), but to the 24 other people who also committed their time and efforts to the run!

Yes, World of Warcraft is just a game. And you can bet that Real Life always comes first... but come on. If for some reason you can't make a raid, email someone. Post on your guild's forums. If you're like my guild and many members are RL or very close net-friends and share phone numbers, for pete's sake CALL and let someone know to pass on the message! Show a little respect for your guild tag and the people who wear it.

I often find myself wishing these types of people would be g-kicked, but sadly they are necessary to keeping many guilds operational. There's only so many people you can boot for petty and irresponsible behavior like that, especially if the applications aren't flooding in by the 10's.

So cut it out, people. Seriously. Mkay?

3.1 and Ulduar just can't come fast enough, at this point.