Quick (Hunter) Pet Post

Just released over on MMO-Champion, Ghostcrawler! Too cool. Well played Blizzard, well played.

So there's this guy and supposedly a spectral crab coming our way in Cataclysm. They both fall into the "Spirit Beast" category and they're both gorgeous. Hopefully their spawn points are a bit more spread out instead of just being in one, camp-able place like Arcturis. If not, I more than likely won't get this guy until our NEXT expansion...thank you my dear, sweet, high population server /silly sarcasm.

That's all for now, hopefully I'll have something more to share tomorrow : )

Bang Bang Bang!

*Coughs*

Please excuse all of the dust and the multitudes of lazy peons. As you can see, I've been doing a bit of construction on my blog. If you could, please bear with me while I get all the bells and whistles onto their proper shelves. Go ahead and make yourself comfy if you'd like though, I think I have some ear plugs and a reading lamp around here somewhere...



More posts to be coming soon!

Utility, or Just a Buff Bot?

Inspired by the shared topic over on Blog Azeroth, started up by Shop of Runeforge Gossip.

In this day and age of extreme homogenization one begins to wonder "Which classes/specs should I bring to my raid?" With the most recent of changes within WoW it seems now that the variety requirement isn't as steep as it once was. Don't have X buff because you're missing Y class? No problem! Class Z now also offers X buff! So how do you choose who to take in a raid if buffs are so easily covered these days?

I've always been more of a "bring the player, not the class" kind of a person, so long as a certain class wasn't stacked too heavily (after all, four Paladins in a 10 man, no matter what the specs, becomes a bit over bearing loot-wise). With the possibility of strict 10 man only guilds on the horizon though, and more difficult raids at that, many raid leaders are now beginning to look more at what specifically would qualify Z class over X in terms of utility, since now both classes offer the same buffs.

So what should you bring, and why? Well, here's my little narrow scope on what I know.

Shamans
While our survivability may not be the greatest (ask any Shaman who's attempted to live through the AoE fest that is the first few pulls in ICC...any other melee class can survive quite a few hits while the Enhancement Shaman will die in 3-4 explosions unless a healer is dedicated to them) our utility is pretty stellar, in my biased opinion.

- Hex: Need CC? We got it! While we may not be as practiced as our Mage friends with this talent, it is there.
- Heroism/Bloodlust: This has been our staple benefit to raids the world over for years now. While a certain other class may also bring a similar buff, no one is as practiced in popping this type of spell as we are. Shaman haste is more tasty than any other!
- Totems: How we bring buffs to the raid. While certain totems may be improved for certain specs, over all we can switch out our totems to fit any situation.
- Support Heals: While in a DPS spec (especially Enhancement) our healing spells may not be the greatest, but sometimes a raid aware Shaman can help the raid healers save the day. There's been more than one occasion at the end of a long fight where I've had to pop off a chain heal or two to my fellow melee-ers simply because we had lost one too many healers, enabling the team a few more precious seconds to beat up that beasty.
- Wolves: The Enhancement specialty. These guys don't just up the Enhance's DPS, but they also help to heal us. As long as these guys are out, the healers' mana is not being spent on us. They also have a taunt for those "just in case" moments.
- Super sexy.


Druids
Notorious for their survivability despite their leathery gear, a druid is an excellent addition to any raid.

- Cyclone/Bash/Maim: Druids have multiple ways of CCing a mob, but each spec excels with a different form of CC.
- The Almighty Battle Rez: Did your MT die because his healer decided to pick their nose for a moment? No problem! A druid can easily bring them back to life, provided this ability isn't already on cool down because of the noob hunter who decided to stand in the fire.
- Innervate: A healer's best friend. Especially with the new mana restrictions, having a few druids (different specs, of course) in a raid will be a precious thing to have.
- Bear Form: Sometimes a kitty-gone-bear can save a kill if a tank dies! While still a bit squishy due to lack of armor talents, a cat can still take a hit if he/she pops into bear form.
- Insect Swarm: This doesn't have too much of a raid benefit, other than DPS, but seriously...BUGS! Don't make a Boomkin mad, they will swarm you with BEES!!!
- The pimps of all classes.


Warlocks
Them in their cute little clothie armor...they may be a bit on the squishy side, but they're a bit more resilient than you think. Different specs can also potentially bring in certain stuns if such a fight requires it.

- Soul Stones: This can help save a healers life after they lost it, or simply make a run back after a wipe a whole lot shorter.
- Banish: While this may only work on Elemental/Demon types, this form of CC can be awfully useful.
- Healthstones: When used properly by the raid body, this is a healer's friend!
- Ritual of Summoning: Need to get that new DPS that you just pulled into the raid to you in a hot minute? No problem!
- They look wicked doing what they do.


Hunters
The kings of kiting. The masters of beasts. A hunter specced as Survival is not guaranteed to survive, though. Despite that little fact, Hunters have become an amazing utility class.

- Pets: With the new raid wide buffs that pets give out, a Hunter can easily switch between his/her kids to ensure that your raid has what it needs.
- Burst DPS: Instant shots and excellent burst DPS make hunters excellent for random kill-a-mob-during-a-boss fight. Though, even just on bosses, these guys bring great damage to the table.
- CC: While a Hunter may not be able to turn a mob into a horny toad or a sweet little sheep/turtle/piggy/penguin, they do have a few CCish abilities. Marksmen can Silence with their Silencing shot and Survivalists can put something to sleep with their Wyvern Sting.
- Can you really argue with someone who totes around a gun/bow?


Priests
I wish I could give this class love! I just haven't had the privilege of raiding on my Priest yet, thus I feel that I can't give this class the justice it deserves. I assure you though, you'd do well with at least one talented Priest in your raid somewhere. Shadow is deliciously evil, Holy's got them raid heals on lock-down, and Disco brings in those oh-so-sexy bubbles.


Ultimately, when it comes to setting up a raid, it will still be "bring the player, not the class". While some of the more hardcore types will be able to hand choose their raids a bit more to ensure that they have the max amount of utility/buffs, the rest of us will end up relying on what we have, what we know, and a little bit of good ol' fashioned RNG luck.

Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - Get 'em Fido!

Welcome to another edition of Hoarders! This week I've decided that I'm going to be doing an article on rare Hunter pets in celebration of Hunters now being able to have up to twenty five different combat pets. Now, you may have been expecting this series to consist of only items, but this simply is not the case! Be sure to keep tuning in, for I shall cover pets (combat and non combat), mounts, and random collectible items that you may randomly find off of various mobs around Azeroth and Outlands.

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All too soon my Hunter's stables shall be over flowing with creatures that have tusks, claws, and fangs. I plan on making an attempt to tame some of the more rare and unique creatures in the game, and I'd like to share with where you can find these beauties yourself. Let's get started then, shall we?

First, I'd like to begin with what I already have. While not all of these pets are necessarily rare, they seem to be at least semi-unique over on my server.

Brody - A white lion with a mane.
Not really incredibly rare, but he is a bit problematic to get seeing as though he is spawned from one of two quests. I was lucky enough to have a good friend of my to ask me one day if I would like him prior to me having to level all the way up to my 50s to be able to take a crack at Sian-Rotam. So, I ran my little level 20-something self all the way through Stranglethorn Vale (with the help of a kind soul who took pity on me getting killed by mobs every 10 feet or so), and managed to get over to the Barrens. Once I arrived my friend hopped over to his horde character and promptly spawned Echeyakee for me. A few excited moments later, he was mine! I really love all of the male lion skins, but he is by far my favorite.

River - A ghostly white leopard. Not a spirit beast.
This one you don't see all too often. This is another recommendation to me by the same friend who helped me obtain my beloved Brody. He actually came out to help me search for the cat figurines that spawn this interesting pet on his Dwarf Hunter (treasure finding ftw!), and within a half hour or so I was taming my dear little River. Here's more information on how to find this leopard.

 
~Random Fact~ Yes, she is named after River Tam for you Firefly fans out there. My guild for the past year has been <Battle of Serenity>. Yes, I'm a total geek.

Tyson - A black devilsaur.
No, he's not rare, but he's still cool looking! I got this guy out in Netherstorm, but he's also obtainable in Un'Goro Crater. He's named after a friend of mine, and the temper kinda fits : P

Gingervitus - A red worg.
Again, she's by no means rare, but I had to have a ginger wolf! For I am a ginger myself. Good reasoning, don't you think? Easily obtainable in Burning Steppes.

Jambi - A leopard spirit beast.
This is currently my pride and joy of my small collection. Loque'nahak is a rare spawn out in Sholazar Basin. He has a semi lengthy time spawn and have several different spawn points within the basin. To catch this beasty, I highly suggest reading the comments over on that wowhead link that I just gave. As with any spirit beast, your best weapon is information. This guy is highly sought after for both Hunters and those after the Northern Exposure achievement, and is located in a very high traffic area thanks to the farm-ability of the area. I actually got extremely lucky with this guy. After finally admiring defeat while hunting for the bear spirit beast (more on him later), I began to level my Hunter in the basin. One morning I logged on to take a quick cruise around this guy's spawn points just before the servers went down for maintenance, and there he was! NPC Scan screamed at me, and after a few false pulls that almost killed my little Draenei butt, he was mine. If you've never experienced the incredible rush you get when you finally nab something this rare, I recommend it.

Okay, enough talking about the kids that I have, now to talk about the ones that I want! This list is a bit long, but I'll try to stick to the rare(er) ones!

Arcturis - A bear spirit beast.
He is certainly not for tanking, but man, he is mighty purty! Prior to getting Jambi, I had actually spent a good amount of time camping this bugger in Grizzly Hills. After one shift of 12 straight hours of no spawn (for he only has one spawn point), much grief from various level 80s threatening to steal him from me, and being rather tired, I called it quits and continued to level on. Someday soon he shall be mine!

Skoll - A blue saber worg spirit beast with lightning.
This guy is incredibly gorgeous. I have yet to try and farm for him, but I'm looking forward to the day that I tame him. Oh yes, he is far too pretty for his own good! You can try your luck at finding him at his various spawn points in Storm Peaks.

Gondria - A purplish ghostly tiger spirit beast.
This is another spirit beast that I have yet to attempt to farm. She is one spirit beast that I originally didn't care much for, but she's definitely grown on me. Gondria has multiple spawn points over in Zul'Drak. For those of you who follow WoW Insider, you may have seen this epic post about some wonderful guildies who spent about 7 hours kiting this amazing spirit beast around until their guild Hunter got online to tame her. Pretty cool stuff, Batman :  )

Aotona - A blue parrot.
Oh Aotona, what a beauty you are! (Oh my...I'm beginning to sound like the Crocodile Hunter...) She's another one of Sholazar Basin's handful of rare spawns. She has several spawn points, and like Loque'nahak, is a requirement for the Northern Exposure achievement. On my server I have perhaps seen one tamed Aotona, so you can see why I'd love to have this bird in my collection!

King Krush - A green devilsaur.
Same model as my Tyson that I already have, but instead of being black he's green! He's the third rare tamable spawn out in Sholazar Basin, and like the other two, he has multiple spawn points and is on the kill list for Northern Exposure. I can't really recall ever seeing this guy being sported around any of the main hubs, thus again, a must have!

Uhk'loc - An all white gorilla.
This is the only all white, tamable gorilla currently in game. Honestly I'm a bit torn between this guy's model, and the dark grey version. Naturally though, I'll more than likely end up getting the rare guy! Just because that's how I roll. Uhk'loc is currently hiding out somewhere in Un'Goro Crater.

Tallstriders - They're...well, ostriches?
In general these guys aren't rare. They're all over Kalimdor in fact, but...there is not one, nor two, but THREE different rare colors for these guys. Honestly, I'm torn as to which one to get! The pink one - can be found out in Mulgore, the purple one - can be found in Terokkar Forest, or the turquoise one - can be found out at Darkshore. Tough choice really, but I'm leaning towards the purple, with pink coming in at a close second!

Nuramoc - A purple chimaera.
This guy I've actually managed to kill a few times (while I'm on anything but my Hunter I tend to kill anything that pops up on NPC Scan...), but he's really a rare spawn out in Netherstorm. I'm not a huge chimaera fan, but this dude looks kinda cool, plus he's rare. Therefor, he's cool in my book!

Scion of Quetz'lun - A white spiked wind serpent.
He's pretty neat looking I must say, for a wind serpent. I'm not too partial to wind serpents myself, but this guy may just be worth going after. You can try your luck at finding him over in Zul'Drak.

Firefly - It's a yellow bug!
These guys aren't rare...in fact they're everywhere if you simply head out to Zangarmarsh. I really just wanted to end my "currently available" list on a geeky note! Once I tame one, you can be sure her name will be Serenity. <3

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For now I consider this list to be finished, but I may very well do a Cataclysm edition (Get 'em Fido 2.0 or something to that nature) in a few months time. If you'd like a complete list of all of the currently available pets, and for a sneak peak at those that shall become available when Cataclysm rocks our world, head on over to Petopia to check 'em out!

Happy hunting hoarders!


Edit: I meant to dedicate this post to a good friend of mine who had passed away a few months ago. He's the one who helped me acquire both Brody and River, as well as point me in the direction of the Tallstriders. Today is his birthday, so happy birthday Weezie! You're loved and missed by everyone who knew you over on Aggramar. We love you buddy. <3

Pet Chart

This fantastical chart was sent to me by a dear Hunter friend of mine, and considering my newest edition of Hoarders, I thought I'd post it here as well for a reference. This is for all you readers who happen to be, like me, a bit confused on the new raid buffs that each different pet type may give and how to adjust within any given raid setting.

Zee, whoever you may be, thank you for creating this wonderful chart for all us Hunters!

Insane!

"Originally Posted by Lylirra (Source)

It's a question you've been asking us for a little while now. And, based on all the posts, emails, petitions, and letters we received following the announcement that the Insane in the Membrane achievement would no longer be in available in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we started to wonder if maybe we had gone a bit loco.

So, we went back to the drawing board. After carefully reviewing all the feedback and discussing the matter amongst ourselves, we're now happy to report that we will be making the following changes to the Feat of Strength:

• Exalted reputation with Shen'dralar will no longer be required. As this is the only reputation that will be unobtainable in Cataclysm, we've simply decided to remove it as a requirement.
  
  For those who already earned Exalted reputation with this faction, don't worry -- we haven't forgotten about your accomplishments. In a future patch, we'll be adding in a separate Feat of Strength to recognize your deep love of Dire Maul.

• Bloodsail Buccaneer faction reputation will remain in-game. Also, to ensure that this change does not negatively affect Cataclysm quest progression in Stranglethorn Vale, Booty Bay Bruisers will now provide reputation up through Exalted.

This will ensure that players will still be able to attain Insane in the Membrane and "The Insane" title in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Please note, however, that these changes will not take effect until The Shattering in patch 4.0.3a -- excluding the separate "Exalted with Shen'dralar" feat, which will be introduced in a future, but currently-undetermined patch.

And, of course, those who are already Insane in the Membrane will retain their title and current Feat of Strength. Shine on, you crazy diamonds."

So, I still have a chance to get Insane in the Membrane?!?! And I can potentially get exalted with the pirates and Steamwheedle? /UBERHAPPYDANCE!!!

Saz the Insane...has a nice, albeit ridiculous, ring to it. 

Ravenholdt will still be a pain in the bottom (gotta get my Rogue leveled!), as will Darkmoon Faire, buuuut...I still have a chance! 

This day is a happy one!!!

Another Project Update Post

It's been a busy week thus far for me in the land of the internet, one that will hopefully be fruitful. Even so, I've really been struggling with trying to throttle back on the post overload. Besides my personal RL projects that I have going on, here's a short list of the WoW/Blog related projects and their standings.

Existing Projects
- Project OA: Still hanging out near the waste basket. The possibility of this project getting completed is depleting daily.
- Project Jenesee: Aka Body and Soul. Still benched. If all goes well this week though, I may have a way to get some progression on her and her storyline.
- Guides: I probably won't be putting out too many more of these unless I'm specifically asked. Most of these are done for a little Warlock friend of mine, and they're more or less done by request. If you'd like a guide written up by me, by all means ask and I'd be happy to spend some time working on that for you!
- The Scepter Quest: Again, if all goes well this week, I may have a way to get back onto my WoW account and complete this quest line! If that does indeed happen, expect to see a few posts on my progression through that epic event.
- Milly: Assuming that schedules line up, we may actually see her project come to life in the next month or so.

New Projects
- Hoarders: Azeroth Edition: This is my new blog project, and I'm very excited about it! Expect to see weekly* installments for this topic.


For convenience sake I'll be putting up links to the "big" articles/guides that I write up, and they shall be located under either "Hoarders: Azeroth Edition" or "Saz's Guides". Both of these sections will remain located in the left hand column of this blog. Now that I have a new layout, they can be found to the right ; )

*Weekly posts shall be made assuming that I manage to get my paws on a stable internet connection. If I fail in that attempt, you can expect to see them at least bi-weekly.


As far as other postings are concerned, I will probably continue to add in random rambling posts and opinion posts when I get the itch. Someday I will have a more organized site that will contain an area for Saz babble, another for my guides and articles, and another for even guest posts! For now though, I will try to sort things to the best of my abilities to make this place a bit easier for you all to navigate.

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Updates regarding myself and that which is Azeroth.

Well, last night I ordered myself an external hard drive. Yeah, I'm going to be laggy as all get out still, but at least I should be able to get my account back up and running. I'm reeeeally hoping that running WoW off an external hard drive will work. If it does (please, oh please do!) I'll be able to finish up the Scepter Adventure, obtain the Bloodsail Admiral title, grind out a few more reputations before they poof, farm some new pets on my Hunter, and be able to work on Jenesee. I've been running on a trial account to talk with my online friends, but it just isn't the same...

The upside of bothering with the trial account (these are really quite horrible to play on, I've decided) is that I've gotten a chance to gander at some of the new changes. Leveling from 1-20 is incredibly quick and easy compared to how it used to be. Starting out as a Hunter now comes with a pet, you can get cat form as a Druid at level 8, and Warriors are far less boring now at a little level. One downside that I've come across: I'm all about leveling semi-hybrid with my specs...the new system stops you from that. Luckily the spec bonuses more or less make up for that. There's been a few other negative changes that I've heard about, such as the level at which you now learn how to conjure water with as a Mage (upside, apparently they give you the ability to teleport to ALL cities at a rather low level, as opposed to the old system of 'seek and learn' at various levels). Hunter focus isn't all that bad at a low level...I can see management being slightly problematic at level 80, but it shouldn't be too horrible.

Overall, from what I've seen so far 4.0.1 is pretty slick. Still a bit sad that it's too large for my current hard drive, but what can you do? The elemental invasion event is kinda cool, though I did get nuked pretty bad by some fire elementals on my trial feral Druid and the earthquakes, while charming at first, are beginning to become as obnoxious as "The ice crystal has melted!" spam that happened a few years ago.


Anywho, that's about all I have to say for now! Sorry again for the lack of shiny pictures, expect more of those in the next few posts!

Gotta Make That Money, Honey!

Perhaps you're a brand new player to the game of World of Warcraft, or maybe you're a more experienced player who's rolling a new character on a new realm. Either way you're going to need cash. There are some fairly easy ways for you to make gold without having to purchase gold illegally or having to strip on top of a mailbox in Stormwind. You may ask "How?" I shall certainly tell you.

1) Begging - This may work for some, but if you really plan on running around like a noob begging for gold in any of the major cities, be prepared to be shut down. A lot. This form of "earning" gold isn't appreciated by the majority of the WoW population by any means, and it's definitely something I highly discourage.

2) Questing - By far the easiest way to make gold. Not all quest givers will reward you with cash, but in the event that they instead give you gear, I want you to pay close attention. In the event that said quest giver doesn't have any upgrades for you, I want you to choose the item with the highest vendor payout. If you hover your mouse of the items, it should give you a cash value on the items. Once you choose and receive your item, vendor it!

3) Looting - Another incredibly easy way to make gold. Loot everything. Every mob you encounter should never be left laying there glittering. If your bags are full, go through and delete anything that is of lower value than the item(s) on the mob. Trash items, no matter how low in value, add up very quickly.

4) Running Randoms - Queuing up for randoms at lower levels will benefit you in several ways; it'll yield experience, a blue item from a bag on completion of the instance (whether or not this item is useful to your spec remains to be seen), and it'll give you some gold. The trash mobs in randoms almost always drop coin if they're humanoid,  and the trash that the trash mobs drop usually can bring in a nice bit of silver or gold as well. Hitting up the queue while you do your quest grind can be incredibly productive, so I suggest that you do it!

5) Greens/Blues/Epics - Lately I've taken to hitting "greed" on any and all gear that drops in randoms. If the item is useless to me, I vendor it. Now, you can do a few things with the gear that you can come across: you can disenchant the items and use/auction off the materials gained, you can auction off the items themselves if they're BoE (Bind on Equip), or you can simply vendor the item. These days I find that the last option is by far the easiest even though the first two options may have a slightly higher return.

There are of course many other ways to help you make gold. Professions, using the auction house to sell your goods, and completing dailies are other ways to rake in rather large lumps of gold, but usually take up a little more time. For the beginner, I definitely recommend sticking with the five tips (well four, seeing as though #1 isn't really a legitimate tip, nor is it something I condone)  I have listed above until you're a bit more game savvy. When you finally get to that point, start looking into these next three options.

1) Once you feel a bit more comfortable with how things work, begin investing in your professions. A way to make/save gold is to pair a crafting profession with a gathering profession. Skinning + Leather Working, Mining + Jewel Crafting/Engineering/Black Smithing, and Herbalism + Inscription/Alchemy are all great pairs. I'm also a huge fan of Enchanting + Tailoring, since you typically gain tailoring items off of mobs while you level, and then you can simply disenchant the gear you create to level your enchanting skill. In the end though, it is ultimately up to you which two primary professions you choose. Secondary professions (Cooking, Fishing, and First Aid) can also help you bring in some cash through the auction house, so putting in the time and gold to level these professions can also benefit you money-wise in the long run. For more on how to level up your chosen professions, check out this site.

2) Don't ever underestimate the daily quest. Yes, they become boring, but they're usually simple and rather quick. If you don't have gold because you're too lazy to do your dailies, please don't complain to your guildmates. It's not their job to earn your gold, it's yours.

3) Lastly, the almighty auction house! Known more famously as the AH. Now, I am by no means AH savvy, nor am I a huge numbers person or really any sort of expert in this department of WoW. What I can tell you is this: if you want to make quick money from the food you've gathered/cooked, from the materials you've gained, or from the items you've crafted, the AH is the way to go. Sure, you could spam Trade all day, but ultimately you'll probably just end up with more Chuck Norris jokes than you will sales. For those of you wishing to learn how to dominate the auction market, I definitely suggest following the Gold Capped articles over on WoW Insider.


With time, patience, and some good ol' hard work, you should be able to gather enough gold to ensure that your character(s) will remain in decent gear and always have a mount to prance about on. Just remember that most of the things we want are almost never free, but so long as we strive to work for something, we shall profit.


World of Saz 2011

Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - Let's Play Catch!

Today Dawn Moore over on WoW Insider did a post asking "What little details do you hope make it into Cataclysm?" Now, I'm an avid WoW Insider reader, but prior to today, I've never commented on the posts. Why? Simply because I'm a bit shy outside of the little bubbles that I've created for myself. Today I stepped outside of my bubbles to comment on this particular post. Why did I do such a crazy thing? Well...she talked about collecting rocks.

Anyone who's known me for a while knows full well that I'm a bit of a pack rat. Honestly, if Hoarding: Buried Alive was to be aired in the land of Azeroth, my poor shaman and my alts would be featured in this series. My shaman would also undoubtedly be featured on Animal Planet's Confessions: Animal Hoarding. Because of this obsession with collecting, I felt the need to comment on how I think us collectors really need a closet and/or junk drawer. I also suggested that we get a new "toss-able" item called Dirty Balled-Up Socks...because really, wouldn't it be fun to toss dirty socks at people during a raid?

Now, the whole point of this post is to start up a new project. This idea was actually given to me by someone to replied to my comment on Dawn's topic. Someone by the name of Kylenne stated "I see a "Hoarders: Azeroth Edition" in your future." I'm not sure who this person is, but I dig their style.

So here you go, the first installment of what should be several of Hoarders: Azeroth Edition (yes, I completely love the title they gave). Many thanks to Kylenne, whoever you may be, for the idea and something to work on!

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Today I'd like to talk about what I refer to as "toss-ables." These are little items, sometimes stackable, that you can literally play catch with in WoW. They're incredibly fun, and great for those guild get togethers or waiting around for a raid to begin.

Happy Fun Rock - I love the Happy Fun Rock. The first time I experienced Happy Fun Rock was in Ulduar, waiting for a raid to begin. One of the druids in my guild at the time said over vent "Catch Saz!" and there it was in my bags. We then proceeded to play catch with it for several minutes. Needless to say, the Happy Fun Rock certainly made me, well, happy! You can find this fun little pebble in Dire Maul.

Heavy Leather Ball - Created by a leather worker and quite stackable, these little bad boys had caused an extended obsession in my guild back in BC and early WotLK. Our guild bank was always stacked with them in BC, I seemingly could never keep these buggers out of my bags, and they created great fun during those late night Naxx raids. How can you go wrong with leather balls, honestly?

Voodoo Skull - This item is as creepy as they come. Even just having this in your bags makes this item feel a bit taboo. The Voodoo Skull makes to be an excellent item for Halloween parties. Back in 2009 my guild actually hosted a small Halloween get together, and one of my guildmates came up with a game much like Hot Potato, but instead of a potato it contained the Voodoo Skull. The rules followed that of the RL game of Hot Potato, and whoever was left standing at the end received a prize. This particular game (along with the costume contest) was a great hit! Try your luck at getting this item in Zul'Aman.

Haunted Memento - The Haunted Memento is no longer obtainable, but it is throw-able! When you have this spooky little item in your bags, you become haunted by a spirit that follows you around much like how a non combat pet would. I definitely suggest only playing catch with this item with trusted friends.

Rotund Relic - I'm not familiar with this particular item. Apparently it can be pick pocketed from various mobs in Northrend. Sadly before today I hadn't even been aware of its existence.  I suppose I'm just not equipped with the types of friends who lob womanly figured relics at my head...

Ethereal Essence Sphere - Another item that I'm sadly not familiar with. It's obtained through the Ethereal Soul-Trader pet who in turn is obtained via the Trading Card Game loot cards, and is a conjured item.

Paper Flying Machine - This item is obtainable via the Trading Card Game loot cards. Like the Ethereal Essence Spheres, it's considered a conjured item and sadly I have no personal fun memories of this item (yet).

Paper Zeppelin - Last, but certainly not least, we have the Paper Zeppelin. You can buy the kits for this item at the toy shop in Dalaran. It's considered a conjured item and does not stack. This item can become quite...fun. One night during a ToC raid we were waiting around for DC's (gotta love rough server nights) a few folks in the raid just so happened to have some kits in their bags, and they all decided that it would be fun to toss their Zeppelins at one of our raid members. Said raid member then decided that he was going to kite his growing flock of Zeppelins around the ToC arena. Needless to say, if you could suffer damage from these things being destroyed in your bags (yay mini explosions!), he would have had some severe death by zeppelinage.

One word: Epic.

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So there you have it, the first installment of Hoarders. If I missed any items that are throw-able, please let me know and I'll happily add it to the list.

Stay tuned for more collectible stuff!

WoW-Related Web Serieses (Seri?)

So, I ended up pumping out those guides a bit faster than expected. This leaves me with having to actually write the last two articles I have in mind, and needless to say...I have some hardcore writer's block. I blame not having the stimulation of being in game on WoW.

Since I have some major writer's block (aka the lazies), I've been Youtube trolling. Okay, maybe not so much trolling but uh, I've been doing a lot of video watching. Besides watching the newest videos on my favorite subscriptions, I've really been getting into the Big Crits series. I'm not quite sure 100% what actually draws me to this series yet. Is it because it's about the inner workings of a guild, and it's giving me a different viewpoint on how others do things? Is it because they're over on horde side Sen'jin, my original stomping grounds? Or is it simply because it's run by an enhancement shaman? I really can't put my finger on it, but the more I watch, the more I enjoy.

Later on this evening I may even re-watch The Guild. If you play WoW...or play any MMO really...and haven't watched the series, I highly recommend doing so once you get a chance. It's quirky, it's awkward at times, and it's pretty accurate and entertaining all around.

Hmm, I seem to have lost my track of thought. Perhaps more babblings later.