Gratuitous Post of Yourself (GPOY)

Time for a gratuitous Beko post! I mostly disappeared under a rock in August, but now that the weather is (slowly!) cooling off and I no longer feel physically compelled to watch the next episode of TNG (just kidding, and now I am also engrossed in BSG) I have been getting back into my WoW groove.

I actually started doing my dailies again, which means I finally finished up my Molten Front chunk of achievements and got my sweet new mount! I really wish you didn't have to do so many intro dailies just to get to the final stage each day. I just wanna help my birdie buddies! (By the by, did you know that if you jump off the edge near the Talon druids, they will catch you and fly you to the other side? Don't ask how I know this!)

ALTS

I am nearly finished leveling JC on my paladin, although it is someone hampered by the mountain of items I craft and then need to DE, AH, or straight up vendor. Now I'm scrounging for more blue WOTLK gems to push myself into Cata levels. I saved a lot of grief by having some honor lying around which I used to by patterns from Wintergrasp - although I did have to wait days for it to change hands. On my bank alt, I'm trying to keep up with my humble bag and pet business, which is a slow and steady sort of race. Especially when every other month or so some asshole crashes the netherweave bags market! I also have been wanting to play my mage, but since I'm so behind on the Goblin Journal entries, I'm holding off.

TRANSMOGRIFABULOUS

What an interesting and long-awaited development! It's definitely teamed up with Void Storage to cause me plenty of heartache. A guildie asked me what I would do with Beko's outfit; to be honest, I have no idea! I do have a fair amount of sets in my banks, lovingly collected and assembled into the most fashionable of druid leathers. But which to wear? Whatever I don't wear will likely go into storage along with my rare tabards and priceless artifacts. But, knowing me, I'll want to change my look more often, since I'll still be wearing my actual gear anyway. Then again, will I be able to appreciate the current tier's look if I cover it up with T3? DECISIONS. Even more troubling is the wealth of nontier gear sets available to me. There are so many blogs providing good resources and lists for gear. Too many options!!

The one thing I don't understand is the ban on legendaries. I get that legendaries are freaking hard to get. But so is grinding old gear! Most of my MC rep grind was done alongside gear and legendary chasers - we both spent a bajillion hours grinding various drops. I even helped them with other parts of questlines! So why can I show off my Cenarion duds, and the guy with Thunderfury has to leave it in the bank?

TIER 13

Speaking of tier gear. So I know that the inspiration this time around is "wear your new Cataclysm class spell." Unless of course you're a warrior in which case it's "look like a total fucking badass because YOU ARE DEATHWING." It's not that I think the spell being translated into gear is a bad idea, and in fact it could be a very awesome idea, but when you're compared to THE DESTROYER himself it comes up a little short. Warriors get to look like they ripped off Deathwing's armor plates and bolted them to their bodies, and druids look like they just got dug out of a lakebed in Zangarmarsh. I don't know. Tell me how to like this new tier!

HORSES...NOW WITH MORE ARMOR!

Worgen are getting some horses to ride! I guess that means they don't have to do that awkward hunched over running business anymore. I think you know how I feel about mounts, so I have no problem with this addition. I am a little disappointed in the model they used, however. Sure, worgen are former humans, but couldn't their horses be even a little different? Maybe I can finally get my worgen past level 13 and get her a mount too.

RAIDS

So it looks like I will still be missing Wednesday night, the first day of our weekly raiding schedule, due to scheduling conflicts. That sucks a lot, but at least I think I'll be able to make it to Thursday, Sunday, and Monday if everything works out. Having missed so many raid nights for the past few months has left me feeling a little overwhelmed with my character progression. Although I did take the time to make myself a gear list, I haven't been paying very close attention to it, so even when I finished my dailies grind I had to be reminded to check for gear upgrades. Bad Beko, no cookie. :( At least we are very close to downing Rags (having 2-shot Majordomo, which felt a little cheap to me) so hopefully I can be present for that.

The new raids, however, hnnnggg. The pictures look so ominous and amazing. I really love that we are returning to Northrend, especially since all of the changes to the world took place on Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Despite, you know, Northrend being part of Azeroth. A few bosses have pretty good backstory, as well. In Firelands I felt genuinely interested in Alysrazor, Staghelm, and Ragnaros, and all the other bosses were just fiery pixels with sweet loot. Reading the stories for the the new raid, however, I feel like a higher percentage have a good story or reason to be involved. I'm looking forward to doing the new heroics as well! (Nozdormu wants us to destroy a "mysterious dragon known as Murozond"? GEE WHATEVER COULD THAT MEAN)

One thing that feels unfinished, however is a final encounter with Neptulon in some capacity or another. So far, we have taken care of the air and fire elemental lords, and made an ally of the earth. We need some conclusion with water! Especially since the last time we saw him, he was being carried off for who knows what nefarious purposes! Maybe the Neptulon conclusion can be the awkward little raid that will be smushed in the downtime between Dragon Soul and the next expansion.

DARKMOON FAIRE

OMG. YOU GUYS. First off, I expect a bottle of champagne and some complimentary minipets the moment I get to the Faire, due to my exceptional relationship with Darkmoon. I'm so so glad they decided to expand this fun little flavor event. The Faire always seemed like this random, forgotten event that cropped up every once in a while and was important to the small percentage of people who either want to go Insane or get their fleeting BiS trinket. Now, there will hopefully be more intriguing and consistent reasons to visit, and it's fun carny atmosphere can last all year round!