Training (guest post!!)

Once again courtesy of the talented Dahakha!

-----

Training. Hadakha sighed as he struggled to repair the wounds being inflicted on the pacified, desensitized deer in the enclosure before him. The savannah lion that was currently trying to dis - ooooo that will need more than just a regrowth - trying to disembowel the deer looked simultaneously confused and increasingly angry as the meal it was trying to bring down refused to die. He stifled a chuckle at the waves of frustration emanating off of the lion then cursed as he felt the deer weaken drastically. Scowling in concentration, he accelerated his casting. Swiftmend. Nourish. Rejuvenate. Healing Touch......Dammit!

He turned away in disgust as the lion's triumphant roar echoed through the air. Akabeko stood there, arms crossed, a disappointed frown on her face.

"What?! I kept it alive for at least ten minutes!"

Her frown deepened. "Then why did it die now? You should have had it under control if you'd been healing it for that long. What happened?"

Hadakha shrugged. "There was too much damage too quickly. I did all I could."

Now her eyes narrowed. Hadakha suddenly felt uncertain. It was not a trait he was familiar with. Years of covert, dangerous work for the Cenarion Circle had given him the utmost confidence in his abilities, yet this druid - this veteran of many battles, who had faced down some of the greatest threats Azeroth had known for centuries - was making him ask questions of himself. When he had accepted this mission, he had imagined that he would be the one teaching her, assessing her, questioning her. Yet it seemed that he had not known as much as he had thought.....he cracked his knuckles guiltily, grimacing as memories of those exact words came to him from the mouths of many an archdruid over the years.

"No." Akabeko was looking at him strangely. Then she shook her head and the frown was back. "You forgot Lifebloom. Again. At the end, it would have given you enough of a cushion to finish that Healing Touch. You would have had it stabilised."

Bugger. No wonder it had been a struggle for the last few minutes. He bowed his head in apology. "I will do better tomorrow." But Akabeko shook her head.

"No, I will be busy tomorrow. I have.....plans......to make. But that doesn't mean you can't practice on your own. When you can keep the deer stabilised for, let's say, an hour...", at that Hadakha's eyebrows rose in consternation, "...then you can try keeping two deer alive at once." Cocking her head to one side, she mused, "I still don't understand how you could be so strong and yet haven't grasped the basics of team healing....."

"My previous guilds were more survivalist than cooperative, I guess. I never had to look after anyone but myself."

"Hmmph. Well. As you will discover, keeping your comrades alive is a lot more difficult than keeping yourself alive. Once you grasp the basics," gesturing to the enclosure from which happy lion sounds were drifting, "then we can start the real training! Hubwahahahaaaaaa!" Hadakha shuffled back a step. "Sorry, I have had revenge on my mind a lot lately...."

As he turned to walk away, Akabeko called after him. "Hadakha? Something has been bugging me lately. I just have this weird idea that......well, have we met before?"

Hadakha's thoughts went back to his brother's funeral, the place he had first seen her. That was the main weakness of his mission cover, that she might have noticed him then. Just have to play it down, avoid the topic as much as possible.

He shrugged. "No."

#MMONBI You don't have to crap up your posts

Previously: Getting started, community building, roundup

One of the recurring bits of advice from seasoned bloggers is the importance of graphics to relieve a wall of text. That's not bad advice, but if you exercise it incorrectly you do a disservice to your post!

On my site, I make an effort to use primarily screenshots - not only that, but screenshots that I personally have taken. I loathe using pictures from other sources in my posts because it makes it feel less like my work. Which doesn't mean I won't do it or that you shouldn't - it just means more work to properly credit the source. There's also the pesky reality that the original picture could be moved or taken down. Sometimes I will save and reupload the picture so it's hosted by my picasa album, but source the page I got it from.

But I'm getting away from my point, which is consistency and relevance. I said I like to use screenshots, which means that using non-game images like photographs and graphics happens only when necessary. It breaks the overall consistency of my blog, but sometimes you really need a picture of yourself in a Spongebob costume! (high five if you recall that) Then there's relevance. I could google the word "relevance" and pick the first clip art picture that comes up, but it would have NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS POST. I would be trying to force an unrelated picture into my post solely for the sake of having one. It would be completely at odds with the other images I keep on my blog. Frankly, in my opinion, doing this looks generic and unsophisticated.

Unless you can make random clip art your schtick, at least try to pick images that have something to do with your overall blog content and theme. If you use images that aren't yours, credit the source. Explain the purpose of the image, either with a caption or by putting it near an appropriate paragraph. Don't just put images willy-nilly in your posts because you feel like you need to have them. And for everyone's sake stay away from clip art unless it's absolutely necessary!

So this is probably more of a rant than actual advice. I'm sorry if you do this in your blog posts and it sounds like I'm complaining at you. I was reading a post earlier today that had some completely random pictures pulled from google and they destroyed the message. At first I thought they were ads! Then I spent way too long trying to figure out what they had to do with the paragraph they were closest to. Way too much work! Don't let your imagery detract from your blog posts!

#MMONBI Post Roundup and Generalities

Previously: Writing and Community Building
Next time: Using Screenshots

If you aren't periodically checking on the excellent advice being given in the Newbie Blogger Initiative, you're missing out on great information! Even seasoned bloggers can learn something since there is information on a wide range of topics related to blogging. I've rounded up some of my favorite interesting or helpful ones here.

Inspiration: tips on getting started and sticking to it
Why You Should Blog (the pros outweigh the cons)
What should you write and how should you write it? (all around perfect post)
Just D... ("When you write...you gain perspective")
Top 4 Tips (short and sweet)
Hobnobbing (blogging is a social activity)
What's In a Name? (great brainstorming list)
(Drink) Read, Think, Write, Edit
What's in a Name? (personal information online)
Stats (you may look but don't obsess)
Writer's Block (take a break, change the subject)

Technical: bits and bobs to improve your site and its posts
Writing for the Web (people don't read, they scan)
8 Step Checklist: Finishing Your Blog Setup (wordpress-centric)
Protect your Blog! (all about Creative Commons Licenses)
Avoid Barriers to Commenting on Blogger (make it easy for commenters!)
Tags and Categories (get organized, get optimized)
The Google Reader Blogroll (fancy list bundling)
Blog Lists and RSS
Keeping Up (organize news sources)
Screenshots make your blog interesting (great examples!)
Wordpress Plugins
Pros and Cons of Self Hosting
Picture manipulation tools and copyright
Learn How to Podcast

Next is a shoutout for WoW Headlines, a website/iPhone app that seeks to provide a news list from WoW-related blogs. The $0.99 app can be filtered for class-specific news and also comes with a Blue Tracker and Realm Status feature. If you want to get your blog on the list or recommend others, email info@wowheadlines.com. The current list of blogs are at the bottom of each class page.

Last is a picture of the solar eclipse (vocab point: 金環日食) that I took this morning. I woke up a little later than usual, but they were showing a moon-tracker on the morning news and I managed to throw on sandals and grab my camera in time to catch the almost-peak. There were loads of people standing outside the apartment buildings, staring directly at the sun. I kept getting messages about needing special plastic in order to safely view it, but let's be real. I tried squinting, looking at it and away quickly, and peeking through my camera lens. Not the best of ideas, but my eyes seem to still be working. This picture looks quite dark, but it's only in order to capture the arc of the sun!

#NBIMMO Blog Setup and Community Building

Previously: Why and What to Post

While your first posts are percolating in your head, let's think about a name and hosting. Names are incredibly important to me - I agonize over them for days before I can finally create whatever I was trying to name. Hopefully you don't have this affliction. Names can be simple, descriptive, punny, or random. They don't have to be immediately obvious, but straightforward works too! Your content can help influence the title - guides would want a plain title, fiction would merit something more flowery. See if you can encompass the goal of your blog in the title - something like "The Best DPS Evar" sounds more likely to have DPS theorycrafting than fanfiction about Thrall.

Got your name? Let's go register. If you're new and unsure (or a cheapskate) you probably don't want to plunk down cash on webhosting. Fortunately, there are solid blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger that offer free hosting. I've also read blogs hosted on tumblr, but can't say too much on these. My feedreader is about half WP and Blogger.

Okay, the blog is made and you're ready to customize! With the popularity of feed readers, I often suspect that the only time people see your actual site is their first visit, when they comment, and any time they want more information: a specific post, your profile, or your contact info. Make your blog representative of your personality, but also make it accessible. Choose a premade background or upload your own. Create or commission a header for your title - screenshot, drawn art, or fancy text works!

Remember that different screen resolutions will affect the appearance. For instance, my background doesn't quite reach the edges of my widescreen but is heavily cropped on my work computers. I have it set so it doesn't scroll with the page for a less busy appearance. The max width of the important bits is 900px, because I know some people who still use 640x800 screen resolutions, and width scrolling is a pain.

Blogger helpfully suggested page element colors based on my background's "palette," and I went with dark text on light background for max legibility. I've read that light text on a dark background can cause more eyestrain, but since I get most of my posts in google reader's black and white interface it doesn't much matter. Whatever your color scheme, be sure to test the visibility of your text!

Now it's time to add widgets. Being comprehensive without cluttering up the page is our design goal. You have the option of tabs and sidebars, so see how you like one, the other, or both. (Or even double side bars all the way across the page.) Here are some things to put near the top: your email/twitter contact info, a link to your RSS feed or email subscription, a search bar, an about page, and archives. Other things you might like to include are: a picture roll, armory/achievement widgets, an organized page of your major posts, a Creative Commons license, a tag list or wordcloud, and a blogroll. Blog Azeroth is an incredible resource for this stuff - I added a contact page because of the advice there, and you can find CC and achievement widget howtos as well.

Optional: Feedburner is a neat little service that creates a permanent feed for your blog, meaning you can change your URL and subscribers won't need to update a thing! It also opens a special page where readers can automatically add the feed to their preferred reader, which is convenient. There's also a stats page, although I usually use Blogger's Stats or Google Analytics if I feel like stroking my epeen. Just, for love of the Earthmother, don't truncate your feed. If you do, I may give up on reading your blog on principle, or stick your URL into fulltextrssfeed out of spite. Also a secret desire to keep reading. Follow your own feed to see how posts translate into your reader - everything from colors to formatting can look wonky when taken out of the context of your blog!

If you choose to use advertising on your blog, that's cool, but as a personal favor to me please put it above or below your posts. Ads in the middle of a post are very distracting!

Before seriously networking, I recommend that you publish at least three posts on your blog. A generic introduction is ok, or jump right in with your deepest of thoughts, but give potential readers something to see! There's no way to know what will appeal to different readers, but an example of your aim and style will give them an idea. I always seem to get more comments on throwaway word vomit than well-researched compendiums...hmm...

Now it's time to get out there and make friends! I must emphasize the fact that the WoW blogging community is full of sweethearts. We are a helpful and friendly bunch, and we love to cuddle and coo over newbie bloggers. (Metaphor too creepy? Let Auntie Aka pinch your widdle cheek!!)

Hop on over to Blog Azeroth, register, and post in the New Authors forum! Use the template...or else. Then, fire off an email to the TNB Wiki to get on their lists. Finally, message Beru to be featured on an upcoming Welcome Wagon!  Okay, your name is out there. All that's left is to make some friends! (And keep posting. Never stop posting!)

If you already have some blogger buddies in the community, ask them to promote you on their blogs or blogrolls. I get the impression that it's generally frowned upon to message a stranger blogger and ask them to include you on their blogroll. However, interacting with them may earn you a place! Populating your own blogroll is a good way to start - free advertising for blogs you read is never bad, and if you refer traffic their way they may be more inclined to check out your blog and link back! I've chosen to import my Google Reader feed as my blogroll, and it was so massive I ended up cutting it to the top 10 most recent. Other bloggers show titles only in alphabetical order, sometimes grouped into topics like RP, guide, comics, etc. Pick whichever you like!

Comment on blogs. If there's an option to sign in or include your URL, do so. Linking your blog with no other comment is kind of spammy. If their post inspired you to write a response, by all means link that in your comment. Otherwise, include your link in the designated box (it will usually show up in your nickname or even show your most recent post) and leave a nice comment. Even something as simple as "Great post!" can make a blogger smile.

Write fan mail. If you write into a podcast, your comment and signature info will often be read on the air! Writing to bloggers will make them feel good and hopefully prompt them to read or comment on your blog. I've gotten requests for proofreading and advertising, and it is very flattering to be asked for help!

If you want a less formal way to interact with other bloggers, try out twitter. It's not mandatory - I know at least one well-known blogger who manages just fine without it, but the added element of short, snappy communication is quite useful. Ask questions, offer comments, and see a more personal side of your favorite writers. Promote their stuff by retweeting, and they may do the same! Consider an automated service like twitterfeed to advertise your new posts.

Your posts are out there and people are reading them. You may get comments! They may not always be to your liking. Gird your virtual loins and respond, moderate or close comments to stem the flow, or simply avoid posting about stuff that typically attracts controversy. (This blog caters to casuals and noobs raauugghh!) Some bloggers don't respond to comments at all, or may only respond to a few. Others respond to each and every one, no matter how many (or few, boohoo!). Respond however you like, and remember that since your blog is your space, it is entirely up to you how you deal with comments. Moderating or closing comments is not a bad thing. Maintain your space in whatever way makes you most comfortable.

Keep writing! Keep posting! Legions of adoring fans are just waiting to read it!

Next time: Roundup, Using Screenshots

#NBIMMO Why and What to Post

Blogging tips and help for new and prospective bloggers! What a great idea! I hesitated to add my own 2 cents, but the nature of blogging is to talk at length whether anyone is listening or not, so...

The point of the Newbie Blogger Initiative, hosted by Syp of Bio Break, is to encourage those thinking about or just starting a blog to do so with style! I think something like this would have helped me to get started, what, a year and a half ago? Dang, it's been a long time. Since I write about WoW, some of this advice will be specific to the game, but hopefully it can be generally useful to anyone interested in blogging!

When I first considered blogging, my thought process was something along the lines of "Man, I have a lot of thoughts about WoW but no one in my immediate circle cares about them! Who will listen to all my feels?" The answer is: the internet will listen! Tell us what you think! What do you care about? Before you pick your site name and register it, you may still struggle with what will become the content of your blog. Fiction? Random thoughts? Artwork like screenshots or drawings? Guides to DPS, transmog, or quests? Anything is okay, even a mix. Especially a mix! Guides take a lot of time and energy to produce, but they don't generate much conversation (unless you make a mistake). I follow guide-style blogs for news and info about my class, but in the end I mostly skim them until I need the information. More personal blogs are what keep me refreshing my reader at work.

Perhaps the most important thing is to write what you want, because you want to, and not because you want internet fame and oodles of money. Sharp writing and savvy networking may bring at least the first, if not the second, but that's not a good reason to start a blog. Write because you have thoughts, stories, opinions, or other creations that you want to publish and point to and say "I made that." Your readership may be small and slow in coming, but if love of creating is what's driving you, you won't care. And one day, young lowbie, you too may be featured on WoW Insider. Or not. But don't get discouraged!!

let's talk about holidays

Content is anything you want it to be. I've read poetry, fiction, and prose, looked at artwork, and listened to original music. If it moves you, write about it! A lot of the motivation to post comes from thoughts that start small but grow into information to be shared. Obscure lore observations, beautiful screenshots, and funny personal experiences all make for good posts. Readers want to learn something new, or find common ground with the writer, or appreciate a good piece of art. What do you want to share?

Find your voice - be it fun and relaxed or polished and formal. How do you feel about emoticons and lolsp34k? Post screenshots, with or without comment. Showcase your personality and style. I was going to say be yourself, but more importantly you should be the you that you want to present to the world. For some that means writing in character, for others a professional detachment, and for others a conversational lightheartedness. Include personal information if you'd like - your readers care about the person behind the URL. Watch your language - or don't. Your choice of slang or expletive contributes to the overall atmosphere of your blog and affects its appeal for different people. Realize that offensive language can, well, offend some readers, and colloquialisms can alienate non-native speakers. (Not that it's stopped me!)

NBI content unedited

Polish your writing. Organize your thoughts with an outline. Add addenda and notes in the margins and arrange everything coherently when you construct the post. Even if you want to publish without editing your ideas, use spell check. Write your post, sit on it for at least a few hours, and reread it for consistency and flow. Consult a dictionary or thesaurus if you need to keep using the same word or can't think of the right one. Get a beta reader to help you look for misspellings, awkward phrasing, or confusing narratives. For fiction, be consistent with verb tense and perspective, and relieve long dialogues with descriptions of each character so the reader doesn't get lost.

Develop a quirk. What makes people remember you? Some bloggers are known for fun quirks like quotations, title themes, or colorful setups. Others are famous for their unique writing style or incredible insight. Still others like myself are just uncontrollably awesome undeniably strange. You can intentionally cultivate something like this or just see where your blogging adventures take you!

yes that's a crying alot

Keep a memo of post ideas that occur to you as you read news or other blogs, play the game, or zone out at work. Take ideas from memes or the Blog Azeroth Shared Topic. Write about current events or deeds from long ago. Write on scraps of paper until you can organize your thoughts at the keyboard. Post tweetable snippets or bearwalls or somewhere in the middle. To me, around 500 words is the perfect amount of post, but that doesn't stop me from reading - or writing - more!

Include screenshots or graphics if you have them and if they're relevant. Crop them to the important bits, and if you have the intestinal fortitude, spruce them up with a (free) image editing software. Graphics can help break up an imposingly long post. You can also keep your paragraphs short and break up sections with headers, or use bold and italics to highlight important points.

If you're inspired by a quest, a news piece, or another post, link to it! The different color of a link creates a unique emphasis, so choose your linked words well! Cite your sources. Those cited may get pingbacks and thus see your commentary, and readers can go to the original content that sparked your brainwave.

scheduling topics

Post regularly to keep your name in people's minds. Pace your posting - even if you churn out multiple posts in one frenzied sitting, polish them and schedule them over a period of days or weeks. Publish hot topic items as close as possible to the issue's debate, holiday information when the holiday is being celebrated, and fill the rest with your less time-sensitive musings. If you are creating a series, post them consecutively and provide links to the rest of your series. Try to keep gaps in an ongoing story short.

Publish or die! Do whatever works to keep you posting - set deadlines or weekly minimums, make a friend pester you to post something, set alarms on your phone or computer to blare horns when it's Friday and you haven't written a thing. Set aside time to write. Give yourself homework. Take the time to arrange those screenshots just so in your post or finally jot down that story that's been wriggling around in your head. Make writing a part of your routine so that it doesn't seem like a chore. A lot of blogs go dark after just a few weeks, so find your motivation and stick to it! We are looking forward to hearing from you :)

Next time: Blog Setup and Community Building, Roundup, Using Screenshots

Wait up, bandwagon! I'm coming!!

So, I'm not a great beta tester. This might piss some people off, that I'm not going around trying to get myself stuck in invisible holes or bug out a quest NPC, but really I just wanted to get to know my future pandaren lady. What's her story? What does she like? Who are her friends? Being able to inspect her appearance and play her opening story helps me to plan her eventual plot. Plus, I think we've talked about this, I love starting zones! There's something comforting about those introductory quests, the solitude of the area, and the nostalgic appreciation of all those character "firsts."

I wasn't able to successfully download the beta until the problematic Ji Firepaw quest text had already been changed. Really, there's no difference. I mean, he still reminds me of Homer Simpson, if Homer Simpson were capable of formulating a plan of action. The good thing about it taking me so long to finally get playing is that there have already been a host of good responses. Check them out: the original piece at Apple Cider Mage, her response to the change, Peregrina's well-written two cents, and Morrighan's impassioned post.

I'm glad they took out that difference in quest text. Unsolicited commentary on my appearance has always been a prickly subject. Having grown up constantly bombarded by the message that I'm too short, too fat, too greasy, too mannish, too everything, any commentary on that will be fraught with past traumas. It's not that I don't want compliments. I just don't want ones that indicate you're too uncreative to think of anything other than the tired and blatantly obvious. Before you get all contrary and start yammering about how "you don't even want me to COMPLIMENT YOU? You must be the saddest killjoy in all of No Funnington," let me remind you that there are a TON of other ways to compliment someone without potentially weirding them out with a comment on their looks!

If Ji were hosting a pandaren beauty contest and told me I was a hot piece of pandameat, I would be like "Yes!! Just wait until the swimsuit portion, LADIES." But I'm not going to him to be evaluated on my prize-winning ducklips face; I'm reporting for duty to help my people. I want his reaction to reflect my obvious ability to help. "Damn, girl, you look like you could hoist me over your head!" Hell yeah I can! I'm ripped! (wrapped in a protective layer of padding!)

Imagine recommending this blog to someone. "Follow red cow rise; Aka's a total babe." Be that as it may, it doesn't really relate to the content. "Follow red cow rise; Aka's a great writer and funny as hell." Accurate, and more importantly, relevant!

Here, I've gone and done some more potential situations for you:

GYM: "Cute face!"  ==>  "Wow, you're really strong/flexible/fast!"
KARAOKE: "You're sexy!"  ==>  "Your voice is incredible!" "You pick the best songs!"
COOKING: "Nice butt!"  ==>  "This soup is amazing!"
FASHION: "Those are some Great New York Boobs!"  ==>  "That outfit is fierce as hell!"

Let's All Learn Chinese

Mists of Pandaria draws heavily on Chinese culture and language to create Pandaria and the races that populate it. Because of that, we are being inundated with fun and excited new words inspired by or taken directly from Mandarin and written in pinyin for English speakers. If my experience growing up in the US is any indication, most people probably don't know how to properly pronounce pinyin. The important thing to remember is that although it uses English letters to represent Mandarin written without characters, it doesn't use the same pronunciation rules as English! I don't pretend to be very good at Chinese - I took two semesters in college and had to quit in the 3rd when I started bombing Japanese tests, but hopefully this small guide to basic pronunciation will help players as they meet their new Pandaren pengyou!

I'm going to shamelessly take pronunciation guides from this very comprehensive page that includes not only the actual IPA symbols for the romanized letters, but also the nonstandard approximation "phonics" that makes phonics turn into "fonix."There are also pronunciation equivalents using English vocabulary on the Wikipedia page. The two guides don't always agree on the IPA for each vowel, so I've made do as best I can. Please feel free to submit any comments or suggestions for better pronunciation!

The good news is that the following initial consonants are pronounced about the same as they are in English (brackets indicate the IPA symbol):

  b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, y, ch, sh

[ b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w,  j,  tʃ,  ʃ  ]

Then there are the other initial consonants.

c [tsʰ]: cats
j [tɕ]: itchy ("the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth")
q [tɕʰ]: cheer ("the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth")
r [ʐ]: (Like "j" and "r" together, as in "pleasure". A retroflex sound; the tongue is similar to the normal "r" but is curled further back in the mouth)
x [ɕ]: she ("the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth")
z [ds]: lids (wiki lists this as cats)
zh [tʂ]: merger

And now the extensive list of vowels, dipthongs, and ending consonants.

a [a]: father
ai [ai]: my
an [an]: fond
ang [aŋ]: car + song
au [au]: how
e [ə]: about
ei [ei]: pay
en [ɛn]: taken
eng [əŋ]: hung
er [ɑɹ]: are
i [i]: bee (when after b, d, j, l, m, n, p, q, t, x)
   [ɨ]: (like a swallowed buzzing when after z, c and s)
   [ɝ]: (like an "r" after ch, sh, zh and r)
ia [ja]: yah
ian [jɛn]: yen
iang [jaŋ]: y + can + song
iao [jau]: yow
ie [jɛ]: yes
in [in]: seen
ing [iŋ]: seen + song
iong [joŋ]: yawn + song
iu [io]: yo-yo
o [uɔ]: wet + bore
ong [oŋ]: own + song
u [u]: too (after most letters)
    [y]: similar to cute (after j, q, x and y)
    [ü]: similar to French eu (after n and l)
ua [wa]: wash
uai [wai]: why
uan [wan]: wand (after most letters)
          [wɛn]: went (after j, q, x, y)
uang [waŋ]: wand + song
ue [yɛ]: "oo-weh" (written üe after n and l)
ui [wei]: way
un [ʊen]: book + went (after most letters)
        [yn]: win (after j, q and x)
uo [uɔ]: wet + bore

Phew! That was exhausting. Ready to practice out loud? You can hear the swallowed "i" sounds when she pronounces z, c, s, ch, sh, zh, and r. Listen and repeat:


If you want to apply this to actual things in Mists, you should first read WoW Insider's very good article on the new elementals and the origin of their names. Much of the information was submitted by a Chinese-speaking fan, so there is a lot of interesting native-speaker insight into the word choice.

Next, I'd like to direct your attention to the name of the new race. Pandaren is a combination of panda (actually xiong mao 熊貓) and ren (人), ren being the word for person/people. Making pandaren...panda people! So next time you say that they aren't panda people...well, I'm not saying, I'm just saying...


Now, let's apply what we've learned to some character and place names from the Pandaren starting zone. (Mild spoilers for closeup pictures of NPC/place names and titles.)

The trouble with audio

All Things Azeroth is always advertising for the website audible. My initial reaction was excitement - books! I love books! Me and books, we're tight like sisters. Then I realized that since I have serious trouble concentrating on audio, it would be entirely wasted on me.

I'm not entirely sure what the problem is. I do have some problems hearing purely on the volume level, but more often I find that even if I can hear the sound, I have trouble understanding the meaning. The yearly work health check says my hearing is just fine, so it must just be a part of my brain that says "Yeah that sound, I don't think I'll pay attention to it."

In person, I will watch a person's mouth if I'm having trouble understanding. I can't actually read lips, but making myself focus on the source of the sound makes it easier to concentrate on it. When it comes to audio-only conversations, I basically have to stop everything I'm doing to be able to participate. WoW podcasters often mention that they are playing WoW while recording, but for me that would be disastrous! The few podcasts I have participated in have been in complete isolation, with DND on all my chat programs and WoW turned off.

Passive listening, like podcasts, requires slightly less effort. I can do mindless activities like cleaning up, cooking, or farming while focusing on a prerecorded conversation. (To this day, going to Burning Steppes makes me think of Girls Gone WoW.) My biggest bane is vent, which is such a bummer! Using vent for raids has become increasingly hard for me. When the RL starts to helpfully explain the strat, my brain tunes right out. If I didn't read strats or have experience with the fights, I would be completely screwed! When healing assignments are given out, I always ask for confirmation in the healer channel. It's kind of a running gag that I frequently tab out to check facebook. I do sometimes tab out, usually to check my feedreader during breaks, but my flighty impression comes mostly from the fact that my pathetic ears betraaaaay meeee! The longer a day I've had, the harder it is to buckle down and focus on aural input.

During a boss fight is just fine, because I'm concentrating so hard on the fight. Taking verbal cues like "brez Spanky" or "green platform next" fits right in with reacting to the trumpets and gongs of DBM. But as soon as the fight ends (or I die...) my brain goes right back to la la land!

Have you ever had trouble focusing on audio? What do you do to help yourself pay attention? What are things that help you focus in general?

WoW Groove

Don't be alarmed; this isn't an I'm quitting post! Quite the opposite, actually! Lately, with extremely decreased time for gaming, coupled with a struggling raid roster and lessened drive towards solo pursuits, I've been wondering if I'm heading into my final days in Azeroth. Of course, I've got the year sub and beta entry, so it's not like the end is that soon. At times, my desire to keep the blog interesting and current was the big (only) motivator to log in and come up with...something.

Before I really got my shit together and decided that I wanted to cook for myself and exercise more - both of which require skipping out on Monday and Wednesday raids - I was on WoW all the time. I would come home and throw my bag on a chair and get right into Azeroth for dailies and whatever grind I was working on, followed by the raid. Even after the raid I would stay on until finally admitting it was past my bedtime and grudgingly logging out.

When I think about it now, what I did to create my new habits was go cold turkey. In order to convince myself that meatspace pursuits were as important as WoW ones, I began to keep a meatspace todo list as meticulously as I did my achievement goals. On nights I wanted to go to the gym, I didn't let myself log in before or after I went out, to ensure I wouldn't get sucked into a raid or stay up late. That meant that eventually I was only able to log in on Thursday and the weekends, and even those frequently got filled up with other pursuits.

Weirdly, the less and less I played, the less I wanted to play. I would log in and raid on Thursday, and afterwards I wouldn't be able to think of anything to do! I thought I was getting burned out, but I think it means that I've kicked the habit. Well, you can't really do that, but I have replaced the habit with other, better ones! The elusive balance that I've been looking for is revealing itself to me. I realized this on the first night of LiitA, when I finished a Lunar Festival goal, did my Darkmoon dailies, and raided before I logged off to do other things. It was extremely satisfying, really fun, and it wasn't hard at all to think, "I'm done, time to quit."

I think I'm ready to reintegrate short WoW tasks back into my daily todo list, alongside dishwashing and weightlifting. And when I don't have time, I won't log in and I won't regret it! I got my mojo back!!

Protips for Pugs

[I wrote this ages ago - you can tell because Aka is still located in Dalaran at this point. For whatever reason, it kept getting pushed back for publishing. Now with the advent of LFR, I'm curious as to whether or not the sort of behavior described here will continue.]

I realize that there are a plethora of bad pug stories out there, and I'm sure I'll share some of mine with you at some point. This, however, is commentary on pug raid philosophy and behavior.

The scene: Dalaran. Akabeko is changing specs and gear in preparation for DM rep runs. Suddenly, over the trade loudspeakers she hears "LFM The Black Temple". Well, it just so happens that she is very nearly revered with Ashtongue Deathsworn and would love some more rep. (She picked up all of the Thunderheart tier tokens in one fell swoop on a previous run) "how many in group?" she whispers, to gauge interest and wait time. Instead of an answer she gets an invite. There are now four people in the group.

Well, I got time to kill. While they continue to recruit I clean my bags, check auctions, make a few purchases, and turn in some rep quests in DM. Nearly an hour later we have enough and head out to Shadowmoon.

Protip 1: If you join a pug raid, and especially if it is an old world raid, be prepared to wait. You absolutely cannot expect to join and immediately zone in and start pulling. If you find yourself impatiently whining "lets gooo" or "can we hurry?/" stop, because ur doin it rong. Consider advertising the achievement/rep/gear, getting a drink, leveling a profession, or chatting in guild.. It`s gonna be a while.

We try summoning at BT. Despite being surrounded by people, I can`t get anyone to help click. Mysteriously, I am summoned twice. People zone in. Out of 25, 3 or 4 are still scattered elsewhere around the world, but we have enough to start pulling, and frankly I value my rep over their presence.

Protip 2: Many good raids will summon. Unfortunately, not all raids are good. Especially in pugs, the likelihood of you being left behind is very high. It is always in your best interests to keep up with the group, especially when getting the the raid.

As it turns out, even the RL doesn't know where we are going, or even which bosses to kill (except for Warglaives and tier. OMG does this boss drop tier?! wheres the tier?! are we goign to the warglaives yet?!?!?!)

Protip 3: You don't necessarily have to have experience, but you better damn sure have a plan. Delegate an experienced raider to navigate, or look up a map yourself. DO NOT zone in and then complain "are we there yet?!" when you have no clue and cbf getting one.

We down a boss and the rolls are all over the place with needs and greeds. Immediately, players are up in arms about who is allowed to roll on what. The raid leader is finally harassed into providing some loot rules: Need for vanity/need, greed for anything else. It's what I prefer; strangely, I don't like letting at-level players roll on tier gear during an achievement run.

Protip 4: Get concrete loot rules. If none are forthcoming, don't let others shame you out of rolling on items you want or need.

A surprising number of people admit to being new to raids - period. I usually expect more WotLK raiders who are new to BC or Vanilla content rather than true beginners. In many cases this isn't a problem - the content is overgeared enough that it has a gentle learning curve, and many times you only need the barest of explanations since the mob dies faster than the strat can be implemented. Well, until we get to Reliquary of Souls. In my opinion it's a very cool fight, but alas it requires some brainpower, and pugs are constantly disappointing my faith in humanity. We pull gauntlet mobs down to the boss at the encounter begins. We wipe. An old BC raider explains the strat. We try again and wipe.

Protip 5: If at first you don't succeed, ffs listen to the strat and adjust accordingly.

I put several people on ignore for unexpected offensive outbursts regarding the boss's appearance/gender.

Protip 6: You don't have to be a saint, but not being a jackass is a good way to get invited again, rather than slapped on the ignore/DO NOT GROUP list.

After several wipes with no discernible improvements, people are jumping ship. I, too, am longing to return to DM, where the pulls are intentional and successful. At first the RL says we can return to trade to refill the group, but there are only 10 left and I am straight up tired of carrying the heals. The RL starts nerdraging - "if you join a raid you see it to the end" "wtf you cant just leave!!1" etc. I find it very telling that they are one of the true beginners to raiding. Especially when it comes to pugs, this rationale won't work. Even in guild/alliance raids a good RL knows to call it a night when complete lack of progress is wasting time and killing morale.

Protip 7: When it comes to pugs, have low expectations. It sounds shitty, but sometimes a random group of people with varying degrees of competence cannot come together to successfully execute an encounter. Know when to cut your losses and be glad for whatever XP, rep, loot, or achievement you were able to get. 

There will always be other pugs.