Kitty form in MoP looks to get a graphical update of armor (Horde, Alliance) most likely going to be tied to some achievement, or object, or glyph… who knows.

I have not been very active in the beta, honestly I am waiting for the level cap in the beta to be 90 and then I plan on getting my druid which I copied to max level to see how the questing flow is.

I am very excited about all the features and changes coming in the expansion. It look like account wide achievements is about a done deal and account wide mounts and pets a possibility. The new pet battle system looks like a fun thing, actually in game farmville… I dunno, probably not so much. Maybe Blizzard is trying to fin ways for couples to play together (But honey, while I am raiding you can be tending the farm and battling squirrels!)

I am very much looking forward to the 5 man competitive dungeons, achievements, and rewards. Having something like this to work on with others in the guild with a smaller player group and less time commitment could be really fun and create some niche players for sure.

I hope we don’t have too long to wait for the expansion but I am guessing Nov/Dec time frame?

When beta testing I really thought the game had promise, of course with getting to a max level of 24 during that time I just assumed the game would get more enjoyable the higher level I attained. Gear would look sweeter, the story would become more epic, the worlds and quests more interesting… now on line at level 47 the only notable thing I can think of is I am killing Wookies now. The game play is clunky, the world feels… digital, crafting is lame, and the whole experience just has not sucked me in.

The game really is a WOW clone, but an early one. The game is lacking all the nice stuff Blizzard has added over the years like LFG, Achievements, Dual Specs… and the list goes on. I don’t blame Bioware, it isn’t their fault the task to create as polished as a product that Blizzard has created with WoW is just insurmountable… Well, maybe it isn’t but you can’t do it when spending so much time and energy on voice acting… which gets old by the way, especially when you have to hear your character say the same packaged responses over and over.

Folks, no MMO is going to knock WoW off it’s perch. The investment in time and money just won’t happen, not to mention how difficult it is to get the community and addons up to speed. And think, Blizzard is working on Titan while WoW just keeps on trucking.

I have 25 days left to get to level 50. I do plan on getting my character there if I can sludge through these last 3 levels. After the 25 days left I am done with SWTOR. I just feel no motivation to even look at endgame raiding.

I am looking forward to Beta testing MoP and will definitely be writing what I can about it just as I did for Cata.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) there has not really been anything worth posting about. Currently I am 1/8 in DS Heroics with my/our success limited by difficulty getting 25 people consistently on to raid.

Currently the guild I am raiding with, Requiem is the only 25 man Horde guild on Drenden, and I believe only 1 of 2 25 man raiding guilds on Drenden when you include Alliance.

We are looking for good-exceptional raiders, all classes but could really use some good healers. Wanting folks that enjoy playing multiple specs, heals and dps preferred. We have a solid tanking core so really no opportunity there.

We raid 10pm-1am EST Tue/Thur and 9pm-1am EST Sun. If anyone is interested please check out the WEBSITE and submit an application.

The guild is full of mature players, really good people, and we have a lot of fun.

Although I have yet to do an LFR I am looking forward to taking my Alt Hunter through at some point.

A lot of people sound happy about the new found ability to down and see endgame content they previously didn’t have the time or ability to see.
A few people sound upset about making what is supposed to be a very Powerful Dragon easy to defeat essentially killing the soul and RP portion of the game.

Personally I like the job Blizzard has done here.

My guild was able to go in and kill the boss on normal in the first week. It was surprising but I know a lot of other guilds that couldn’t do it so yes it was easier than I expected but not super easy. We had seen a lot of the content in the PTR and that is what contributed to such a fast and early clear. Now we look forward to spending time clearing everything on heroic and working on the achievements for our mounts. (We killed the first boss on Heroic Tue night).

What is nice is you now have 3 levels of difficulty to please 3 different cross sections of players.

LFR – Super Easy mode for the less skilled or players without the time to commit to full time raiding.
Normal – Medium mode for those with the time and decent skill. This rewards achievements so other people in the game will know the type of player you are skill and time wise.
Heroic – Very difficult mode. This takes a large time commitment and a lot of skill. These rewards and achievements also let others in the game know your level of involvement playing.

All in all, raiding now offers something for everyone. It honestly does not bother me that the LFR offers a faceroll option to see more content in the game. It also might be a gateway for players that would never even get to participate in a raid interested in trying it on some of the harder levels. I don’t know if people wanting to move on to harder versions would have the skill needed but at the very least they would have some understanding of the fight mechanics so they could at least give it a shot if the opportunity presented itself.

Anyway, there is a pretty long thread going over at the forums about the whole thing HERE

Feel free to chime in with your opinion, I think it is good for Blizzard to get feedback of how this is effecting their player base, or at least the cross-section of it that goes and posts on the forums.

1. For a game releasing in Dec. it should be less buggy. – Elevators. I mean come on.
2. WOW with Lightsabers. WOW with my own ship. WOW where everyone is a hunter with a pet (Everyone gets a companion… or 4… they hang out on your ship and you get to pick which one to take on away missions… fun.
3. Cut scene quest dialog is cool… at first… then it wears on you, especially in Flashpoints (4 man dungeons) where you have to wait for each person to pick a response (They get like 2 minutes per response). Honestly Flashpoints will take longer than WOW 5 mans, worse if you are pugging.
4. Crafting is sweet as you can send you companion to do it, even if you are logged out!
5. Companions are sweet as they can tank for you and go sell your vendor trash while you do something else.
6. Questing is meh for the exception of your class questing which can be a pretty interesting story line. The rest are similar to any other MMO but with voice acting.

So, I enjoyed checking the game out but I am uncertain if people after the newness wears off will want to keep leveling to an uncertain endgame content if they have shiny max level characters in WOW with a newly released patch and expansion looming (Yes, even an expansion with Panda’s)

So that was my short SWTOR take, if anyone has any specific questions just ask away.

Skyrim on the other hand, even with it’s bugs, has sucked me in pretty good. The graphics, sound, and voice acting are all amazing and the story and interaction with the NPC’s, objects, and the world is very cool. I am purposefully not reading about the game online because I started looking for information and started running into hacks and what not. I am finding walking through the game in kinda a constantly learning mode refreshing. I hear of people grinding crafting, exploiting ways to level skills, etc and I have decided to ignore all that and just follow the various quests and story lines. So far I am surprised by how quickly the time can pass as I am playing. I would definitely say it’s worth buying as it is a very different experience from what is out there. It’s funny after years of just playing WOW playing a game like Skyrim with a save feature just feels like cheating.

In WOW I am still working on Heroic Rags in 25 man waiting for the patch to hit. We have made some progress as we are getting to sub 40% tries pretty cleanly now but we are having a hard time stringing together really good attempts and days with full attendance. I think everyone is really looking forward to the patch and DragonSoul.

I wish I could say my first computer was an Apple… but I am too old for that. But my first usable computer was an Apple IIc that my Mom bought me in high school that went with me to college. You know, a computer that did more than just play games and run basic scripts in a loop on a cassette tape.

R.I.P Steve, I am sure you were a large part of why I have a career in IT.

4 Teh HORDE!

My application to Requiem on Drenden was accepted I have Faction changed to take advantage of the opportunity. At $30.00 this choice is not for the faint of heart and there was some inventory adjustments and what not I had to make with my alts to try and limit the in game gold impact this is going to have on my character/s. I am leaving behind 3 other level 85 toons and my budding rogue that has maxed LW so I am definately going to spending a little more than usual in the future.

Just to let everyone know I was driven to move for 2 reasons.

1. I want to keep raiding. I want to keep raiding with the same guild and I believe Requiem will be around a while.
2. I want to raid after 10PM EST. My youngest child is asleep by 9:30PM and typically so is my wife and daughter. This will leaving me just to contend with our new kitten and she has a very small agro radius.

For now, as I said all my other toons are still Alliance in With Feeling. At $30.00 per character to Faction change I will decide later who makes the move with me down the line and who stays Alliance to play with old friends.

So far I am loving being a big cow! I have never liked the scale of the Night Elf especially on mounts. I struggled with going Troll, because of the nice little DPS perk in the Berserk racial, but I just couldn’t do it. I don’t really want to be a bat, I don’t like the dance, and I just don’t dig any of the Troll lore, especially as a Druid. If a 10 second buff to attack speed every 3 minutes makes or breaks me or a raid I need to just pack it up now.

I look forward to my actual invite to Requiem (no officers on atm) and check back for a new page redesign for my site that better reflects my new alignment.

P.S. I am bummed I lost a bunch of achievement points somewhere in the conversion but whatcha going to do… T.T

1. There is a beta test going on for Star Wars The Old Republic.
2. I am part of the beta test.

I suppose I can also say…

I am playing Wow still, doing my new dailies, raiding 3 nights a week (5 of 7 now in Firelands)… having a lot of fun.
When I am not playing wow, I am beta testing.

Now some general thoughts and realizations…

1. I can’t play 2 MMO’s with the depth of WOW, as it is I don’t experience a better part of WOW as I don’t have time for PvP at all. In essence, I am assuming at some point I will be making a choice.
2. I have been playing WOW for the better part of 5 years now. This has 2 sides. I am deeply invested in my character (having a blog should say enough) but the other side is that… well… I have been playing the same game for 5 years.

Do I know what my gaming future holds? Currently I am not certain.

IMHO, there are going to be millions that feel the same way.

Jedi of the Moon? I suppose it is possible, I guess it might depend on what the masses do.

P.S. Anyone else in the beta, feel free to whisper me… Jacemora lives in another dimension.

All my blog posts will now link there. I also plan on starting to use it for short observations, links to other things WOW, Druid, etc.Don’t put it past me to put some IRL pictures up there if I catch something crazy. I live in Florida folks, I can take pictures of the nuttiest stuff you have ever seen.

Use it if you have a quick question for me.

Follow me and use it to comment on content from my posts.

Any way, I am going to use it so if you Twitter follow me why don’t cha?

Sorry for the lack of updates but I have been playing with what time I have between work, family, and working out/running. I am working on getting fit for the next summer so I can surf a little more than this last year…. on that note, Ding 40! I turned 40 this year… and I want to get back into pre 30′s shape.

Anyhow, Cata is proving to be a lot of fun thus far. The 5 man instances, quests, cut scenes, etc. are all really cool. I will try and post kitty pro tips specifically about Heroic boss fights soon but I can give some general tips I have been using to help reduce the amount of wipes… Heroics have been pretty challenging but far from impossible wipefest when playing in guild with some skilled players. We have had a wipe or 2… or a couple more… figuring out mechanics since we did read any strategy prior… trust me when I say it is more entertaining that way.

On to some tips while I am flying to my next Archeology point…

• CC is your friend, get the Glyph of Entangling Roots… you will be happy you did. Use focus and Keybinding to make sure your mob stays put.
• Spec for Hybrid in 1 Spec. Don’t take Pulverize, Perseverance, Stampede, Predatory Strikes, Brutal Impact, or Nurturing Instinct. This spec is perfect for Kitty DPS with the fail safe in a tank death and you can use your 2nd spec for Boom, Heal, or full on bear. This is perfect but might change when raiding starts.
• Do Hyjal… go back to Vash after 85.
• Check Quartermasters for gear and build rep through tabards and dailies. It is the fastest way to get geared up for Heroics.
• Be patient. Explain instance fights to new people. Take your time.
• Reforge Crit/Haste to mastery. Reforge Hit/Expertise to Mastery once you have enough.
• Use Mongoose on your weapon until you get a really good one, then go with the new agility enchant.
• Make sure you Quest deep into Twilight Highlands and get this staff… Staff of Draconic Pacification. The CoC (New Ring of Blood) is only good for your caster or healing spec.
• Be careful with buying gems, your Meta will require more blue than red… which makes gemming tricky… think it out first.
• Try not to pug heroics… seriously, join a guild.

That’s all for now, I will try to get strategy up for each Heroic as time allows… maybe one instance a day.