Throne of the Four Winds: Al'Akir

This is my notes on the Al'Akir, the final boss encounter for Throne of the Four Winds with 10-man in mind. I will continue to edit and add as I go along.

Keep In Mind:
- Think Ragnaros in Molten Core.
- Nature resistance is useful during the entire fight.
- Locks can use a portal at melee range of boss for P1 and P2, you can also put one at the proper height of air phase for P3.
- Positioning Strategy: 3 groups of 3 each, with a dps that can self-heal by themselves (like enh shaman or ret pally etc).
-- 10 yard spread btw members. Heals should spread out (hence the groups) so everyone is within range of a healer, or can heal themselves.
-- Stay away from boss when you aren't dropping Electrocute or avoiding Wind Burst, you'll get interrupted during spellcast).

Phase 1 (100-80%):
Things To Keep In Mind During This Phase:
- Everyone spread out. Chain lightning will result in a wipe due to insane damage.
Phase 2 Abilities:
- Ice Storm: Creates a blizzard that moves around platform, leaving Ice patches on the ground behind it. Deals 15000 Frost every .5 sec to everyone standing in ice patch on ground.
- Static Shock: shocks all nearby enemies, deals 1000 nature/sec which interrupts any spell casting. Lasts 5 sec. This is only cast in melee, so casters do need to stand back.
- Electrocute: Channels a bolt of electricity into target, dealing Nature DoT. This ability is useable only if unable to melee target. Ability ends once returns to melee. So remove by going into melee.
- Wind Burst: Deals 28275 - 31725 Nature to all enemies w/ knockback. 5 second cast.
-- If you are close to boss, it won't knock you off the platform.
-- Ranged must move in to avoid getting knocked off.
- Lightning Strike: Deals 19000-21000 Nature cone facing at a random target every second for 30 sec. This effect also chains off all enemies affecting causing dmg to all other enemies affected.
- Squall Line: Creates a wall of Tornadoes that circles platform. There is an obvious opening in the tornado line that players must move to (think break in Lava Wall in OS) 40K dmg/sec to those touching Squall Line. Heroic has 2 walls of tornadoes.
-- You will see gold swirls indicating the tornadoes are about to spawn.
-- If you run into the dilemma of Wind Burst with Squall Line (and there's an ice patch in between the opening), run and avoid ice patch. If you get blown off, you will be blown back up.
-- Tornadoes in Squall Line has a bit of a hit box, so you may still get caught up even if you're in the opening.
-- It can come from any direction!

Phase 2 (80-30%):
Things To Keep In Mind During This Phase:
- DPS Burn. Blood Lust and burn CD in P2 to push boss as fast as possible to P3, otherwise the Acid Rain will overwhelm healers.
Phase 2 Abilities:
- Abilities from Phase 1 in effect still: Static Shock, Electrocute, Squall Line
-- So again, watch for tornadoes
-- Move in to remove Electrocute but move out as soon as it drops to avoid spell interrupts.
- Acid Rain: Likened to a soft enrage. Deals 500 Nature per sec to all enemies. Effect increases 500 every 15 sec till Phase 3. Stacks. Save survival cooldowns toward the end of this phase.
- Stormling: Summons a Stormling add (300,000 HP for 10m) with nature dmg aura that applies Feedback to boss when slain. Deals 2375-2625 Nature every sec to all enemies w/i 20 yrds (on heroic dmg increases and stacks)
-- Feedback: Stormling's death causes feedback effect toward Al'Akir, increasing dmg received by 10% per stack, lasts 20 sec.
-- Coordinate stormling deaths for feedback on boss before healers get overwhelmed by Acid Rain.
-- For example, save up 3 or 4 Stormlings and then kill them at once to just really burn the boss... so Lust, use CDs etc.
-- Another strategy is to gather up first two, and kill first one as 3rd one spawns.. always having 1-2 adds up and kept low to kill as close to debuff time running out as possible with maximum uptime resulting in more stacks.

Phase 3 (30-0%):
Things To Keep In Mind During This Phase:
- Think Malygos Phase 3.
- Al'Akir shatters his platform and creates a zone-wide Relentless Storm which lifts all players into the air and gives them the Eye of the Storm buff as long as they are near them. This buff allows for flight and increases movement speed by 300%. *some abilities may cancel this effect.. like goblin rocket maybe.
- Split the raid into 2 groups (1: 2 heals, 4 dps; 2: 1 heal, 2 dps, 1, tank). One at the top and one at the bottom of the Eye of the Storm. Groups spread out at the same altitude (approx 15 yards), moving slightly up/down for Lightning Cloud.
-- Group 1 starts at head height. If there is Lightning Clouds, then drop down to chest level, rotating between 1 and 2.
-- Group 2 starts at groin height, and when there's lightning cloud etc, move to height of knees, rotating between knees and groin.
-- Helps manage AoE damage due to crowding, and calling out "down" or "up" in vent will help with movement coordination.
-- Everyone spread out about 5 yards from each other but at same height level (as assigned to your group).
- Don't stack to far from boss, nor too close (approx 20-30 yrds distance is ok), otherwise you will get caught in the storm. Move back to position if blown away.
- No diagonal movements. 2 mechanics make you move up or down (Lightning Rod and Lightning Cloud) and 1 that has you moving closer (Wind Burst).
- Try not to move around too much, as this may mess up positioning of others. Just move as needed.
- Heal intensive, boss must be killed before raid runs out of room in Eye of the Storm and has to double back through lightning clouds, which usually ends in death.
Phase 3 Abilities:
- Chain Lightning: Cast constantly in P3, dealing 14250-15750 Nature to random enemy target and then jumps to addtl nearby enemies. Each jump increases dmg by 30%.
- Lightning Rod: Causes random target to begin to emit lightning to nearby players after 5 secs, dealing 4750-5250 Nature/sec to all friends within 20 yrds horizontally, and 5 yrds vertically. Lasts 5 sec.
-- If you're near someone with Lightning Rod, move away.
-- Person with lightning rod stays where they are and everyone else moves.
- Lightning Cloud: Summons clouds at the altitude of a random enemy. After 5 secs, clouds erupt lightning, dealing 47500-52500 Nature per sec to all enemies at same altitude. Lasts 30 sec. Looks like a webbing of lightning.
-- When this spawns, everyone moves down (or up) just enough to avoid damage.
-- Keep clouds close together by moving as little as possible and avoid flying back through clouds if possible. 
- Wind Burst: deals more damage than in  P1, doing 38000-42000 Nature to all enemies, knocking them back.
-- Bubble/Ice Block doesn't stop this, so don't waste CDs.
-- You have a few seconds to get back into position before Relentless Storm hits. So move in FAST to avoid getting caught, heal up, and be ready for next cloud.
- Relentless Storm: Means you're caught in the Relentless Storm, and this debuff gets applied if you are too far away from boss (too high, low, or distant). You will spin uncontrollably, get knocked around, go into lightning clouds, and then die. 

Throne of the Four Winds: Conclave of Wind

These are my notes on the strategies and techniques of the first boss. This is kept with 10-man in mind. I'll probably keep editing and adding as I go along.

Keep In Mind:
- 3 Lords of Wind who must be eliminated to battle the elemental lord, Al'Akir.
- All Djinn have an energy bar that goes up to 90 over time. When it reaches 90, they cast their most powerful ability at same time and that resets energy to zero. When full power is reached they will say "The power of our winds, UNLEASHED!"
- Cant jump between platforms while they are at full strength.
- If no one is on platform, each Djinn will cast a raid wipe ability. So this could be due to knockback or death.
- Move between platforms by jumping into the wind.
- Must all die within 1 minute of each other or they will regenerate. After full energy abilities have been popped and Frost boss is down low, split up DPS to take out the Wind and Life bosses.
- Think Four Horsemen in Naxx.

ANSHAL (melee normally), LIFE:
- 1 Tank, 1 Healer (west)
- Tank him away from center.
- Have about 3 DPS here for final phase to take him out and the adds that spawn. CCing also helps (like Hungering Cold etc).
- If boss is about to cast Zephyr at full energy, DPS must go back to Frost to help absorb the Sleet Storm
- Soothing Winds: summons are of calm winds (green circle) on a random friendly target. Will heal allies with a HoT. Lasts for 30 secs. All anemies w/i area will be silenced and pacified while inside the green circle.
-- Move him out of it. And tank him around the outer circle b/c when he does full power ability, he will port to the center. If he is standing in a green circle, he will get healed up.
- Nurture: Summons a Ravenous Creeper nearby every second for 5 seconds. The Creepers have Toxic Spores.
--Toxic Spores are spores that errupt from the caster every second for 5 secs. These do an AoE w/ deadly toxin that does 500 nature dmg/sec/5sec and stacks up to 25xs.
-- DPS must come over when adds spawn to DPS them down FAST. Once adds are gone, then they go back to North platform.
- Zephyr: casted at full energy, heals all allies w/i 100yrds for 25000/sec. These targets also gain 15% increased dmg for 15 secs. This stacks.
-- Tanks may have to pop a CD for this
-- make sure no green circles are in the middle.
-- all adds must be gone before this phase happens or elese they will be healed and do insane dmg.

NEZIR (melee normally), FROST:
- Everyone Here (north), most health. Lust off the top and zerg down. This will help lessen dmg from full energy ability.
- Wind Chill: Deals 4750-5250 Frost dmg to all enemies w/i 100yrds and increases Frost dmg taken by 10% for 30 secs and stacks.
-- To alleviate healer, have healers swap from North and West Platforms. Announce over vent when u have too many stacks, top off tank, then swap. If tank on North has too many stacks, then they can't be swapped. May have to pop a CD.
-- If tank has too many stacks w/o anyway to clear the debuff (like a warrior or druid tank), then tanks must swap from North to West. Otherwise, DK can use Antimagic shell or Pally can bubble.
- Permafrost: Channels a blast of Frost at Nezir's current target, dealing 9500-105-- Frost dmg per sec in a cone toward target for 3 secs.
- Ice Patch: Deals 7125-7875 Frost dmg per sec to all enemies w/i 20 yrds, slowing movement by 10% and stacks. Lasts 3 secs. Don't stand in it.. looks like a blue sheet on the floor. Freezes u in place. Tank must move and turn to avoid standing in this.
- Sleet Storm: Cast at full energy. Deals 28500-31500 Frost/ sec to all targets w/i 100 yrds, this is divided among targets and lasts 15 secs.

ROHASH (requires no melee), WIND:
- 1 warlock or 1 healer (east) or someone who can keep themselves alive. Boss doesn't do much dmg.
- Slicing Gale: Cast instead of meleeing, Fierce winds slice through random enemy target, dealing 11875-13125 Nature dmg, increasing Nature dmg received by 5% for 30 secs. This stacks.
- Wind Blast: Spins slowly around platform, blasting area in front of the caster every second. Enemies caught w/i this area is dealth 9500-10500 Nature dmg and knocked back 200yrds, Lasts 10 sec.
- Tornado: Summons 3 tornados nearby. These tornados move around area randomly, dealing 36000-42000 Nature dmg to enemies w/i 10yrds of them, knocking back.
- Hurricane: Cast at full energy, Creates a huge vortex of wind, catching all nearby enemies and launching them into the air. Anyone caught by vortex will take 2500 Nature dmg per sec for 15 sec. At end of effect, affected targets will be dropped out of the air, resulting in addtl fall dmg.

FINALLY! Lost in the Deeps Daily in Deepholm

Deep Into Deepholm Completed: 115/125

Finally, almost two weeks since Cataclysm drops, I finally get the Lost in the Deeps daily in Deepholm. What's weird is I thought I had some kind of quest or achievement bug. I got the Deep Into Deepholm achievement, but it says that I have completed 125 quests in Deepholm. Well, clicking on it, it says I have completed 115/125, though it does say that I finished this 12/9/10.

Being a good player, I put in a ticket. I also worried and searched for the missing 10 quests with no results. In frustration, I asked other players if they got the achievement, and everyone had similar stories: they have the achievement, but with 115-117 quests. Turns out the extra couple quests are from Jewelcrafting recipe quests that drop from random mobs. One of these quests becomes a very nice trinket that tanks would be definitely interested in.

Pebbles and I take out a Gyreworm.

Bubbling with giddiness that I am not, in fact, Lost In the Deeps challenged, I picked up all the Therazane dailies and headed down to the Crumbling Depths. Going around as normal, and half-heartedly killing gyreworms and picking up my Painite Motes. I was too excited to really waste time. I found Pebbles on a ledge, green swirly light swirling down around him. Speaking with him, he happily follows behind me.

I admit, I gave it the old college try and attempted to kill a couple gyreworms. Pebbles pitched in too, and the gyreworms attacked him. Fearful of my little friend, I decided to just skip all pretense and finish the quest. I mean, I'm exalted already and I don't need the extra reputation.

Now, I have been running the dailies for eight days now. I have mastered the center ring by easily finding the small ramp to get over that rocky hump with my mount. But this time, I was either too cocky or too slow. The worm caught me.

Pyrite Stonetender, The Lost In The Deeps

Despite reports of losing Pebbles when you reach the big gyreworm that tosses you around in the front center circle, I did not lose Pebbles even though I did get Consumption. When I was dropped off near the entrance, Pebbles was there with me. Mounting on my ZG Tiger Mount, I headed to the cave entrance where Pebbles found freedom.

One Lost In The Deeps daily down, nine more to go, then I would have made the Rock Lover achievement and got the super cute Pebbles pet!

Cataclysm Heroic Dungeon: Blackrock Caverns

Trash:

• No AoE pulls. Ranged mobs can be LoS'd (Line of Sighted).
• Raz the Crazed will kill most trash so pause before pulling that crazy trash. He appears after you kill the first boss.

Rom'ogg Bonecrusher:

• Clear mobs before pulling boss.
• Outrange his AoE by running away from him.
• For boss mechanics, think Terestian Illhoof of Karazhan.
• Chains of Woe will pull party to him and trap them. Then he will cast an AoE called The Skullcracker. DPS chains and free everyone so they can run out of range before the AoE hits.
• Wound Strike does 125% weapon damage, wounds them, and reduces healing by 25% over 6 seconds.
• Quake is a slam that deals AoE damage to nearby players. Largely inescapable and will require a heal through. This will also spawn adds that needs to be picked up and killed off. Tank may have to blow some major CDs due to healer strain.

Corla, Herald of Twilight:

• For boss mechanics, think Netherspite from Karazhan but with adds.
• In heroic, there are three dormant Twilight Zealots that have channeled beams on them. These beams stack a buff called Evolution. If Evolution stacks to 100 on them, they become a Twilight Drakonid that must be picked up and tanked. 

1. DPS stands in beam in front of the zealots and will start to stack Evolution on you. When you get to around 70 or 80 stacks, hop off and it will decay in about 15 seconds. If you stand in the beam too long, allowing the stack to reach 100, you will become a Drakonid that must be killed.
2. Tank and healer can help to stand in for beams when DPS needs to hop out. Tank would stand in for the melee DPS, and the healer for the ranged DPS.
3. Aura of Acceleration will increase movement and attack speed of Drakonids.
4. Her Fear not only fears the target, but does significant shadow damage. Luckily, it's just single target and can be dispelled. However, it must be healed through. Therefore, healer should not let DPS dip too much. 

Karsh Steelbender (optional):

• Clear the mobs (Conflagrations with Quicksilvers). Pull Conflagrations (one by one) up the ramp and kill them first, then DPS the additional Quicksilvers down. Conflagrations deal significant party damage, so it is important to deal with them first.
• If you decide to skip Karsh, Raz the Crazed may not come to clear mobs for the final boss. 
• Karsh cleaves, so everyone but the tank must stay away from his front. 
• Quicksilver Armor buff on the boss will render him virtually immune to damage.

1. To take this off, tank must drag him through the molten metal in the center (pillar) which flows from the ceiling.
2. DPS stay off the grating at the outer ring as much as possible.
3. For each second that Karsh is in the pillar, he gets a stack of Superheated Quicksilver Armor (it looks like a gold shield debuff icon) which reduces Quicksilver's damage mitigation properties but will increase damage to nearby enemies and do AoE damage to party. The stacks will wear off over time so he must be dragged back through again. ***NOTE: In heroic, when the debuff falls off, adds spawn. When an add dies, it leaves a fire puddle on the floor that melts his armor and causes AoE damage. If the adds die in quick succession, the AoE rises and healer will have a hard time keeping up. One strategy is to pull him in and out of the fire before the debuff expires. Another is to let his stack rise to 14 (that is if your tank and healer can handle it).

Beauty (optional):

• Four pups that can be killed individually, but heroic pulls the entire room.
• Do not kill Runty till the very end. Killing Runty causes Beauty to enrage.
• You can CC the adds with Fear, so you can pick off the puppies. With four puppies going, there is a lot of damage going out, so you may have to blow cooldowns.
• Berserker Charge will cause her to charge the furthest player away from her.
• Flamebreak is a knockback which also does fire damage to tank and melee. Tank her against a wall or rock.
• Magma Spit deals fire damage to random player which will do DoT damage every three seconds and explodes when removed, so do not dispel!
• Terrifying Roar, which is cut and dry AoE Fear (you can break out of this with abilities you'd normally use to prevent or remove fears). Clear trash outside of room so you don't accidentally pull trash with a fear.
• Abilities can't be countered.
• Magma puddles also appear, so these must be strafed out of.

Ascendant Lord Obsidius:

• Let Raz the Crazed get rid of the mobs, but he will end up dying. Only a couple adds will remain. *Note: if you opt to not kill Karsh, then Raz may not appear. 

1. Adds are CC'able and kiteable, so 1 or 2 DPS can kite these to keep them off the tank. They don't have an aggro table, so they will  attack whoever attacked them last.
2. Channels a healing debuff on target that will reduce healing received to zero.
3. Can't be stunned, feared, and DPS'd down, but they can be rooted, snared, and slowed.
4. Adds don't do a lot of damage, so DPS can take a few hits.

• Boss does switch place with one of the adds occasionally so watch out for this. He will drop all aggro, so tank has to pick him up fast, and DPS needs to find their adds and lock them down once more.
• Key to fight is fast target switching.
• Abilities:

1. Stone Blow does melee damage and has a knockdown.
2. Thunderclap is an AoE damage to nearby players and slows movement speed.
3. Twilight Corruption is a ticking DoT that is dispellabe.

Cataclysm Heroic Dungeon: Stonecore

These are my notes on the Stonecore (heroic) dungeon encounter for Cataclysm. After all, don't we want our drake mount, justice points, valor points (for daily random), and 346 gear to get ready for raiding?

Trash:

• starter trash is a gear/skill check.
• Crowd Control (CC) is important, particularly the Earthshapers. They transform into an elemental that does massive AoE damage. Focus fire and bring them down fast.

Corborus:

• Dampening Wave - deals shadow damage, absorbs 4000 healing, and stacks up to 20 times. Dispel if possible. 
• Constantly move. Boss targets players for these attacks:

1. Crystal Barrage - 5 yard radius and lasts for about 4 seconds. These crystals will animate and attack after a few seconds and must be AoE'd down ASAP.
2. In Phase 2, boss burrows and moves to different players. Avoid the dust line, there is flying debris and knockback.

• Adds appear, DPS these down. 

 Slabhide:

• Don't stand in the fail. 
• Frontal attack (Sand Blast) so only tank should stand in the front. No tail swipe. 
• Casts Eruption on a player which creates Lava Pools, so people within 5 yards of this will be affected (think Defile on Lich King).
• Upon lift off, look for and avoid standing in the shadows. This is where stalactites will fall like giant spikes.

Ozruk:

• Knockbacks so tank near a wall so tank doesn't get knocked around.
• Spread out. Look for Ground Slam which targets a random player and triggers in 3 seconds. Move straight through and stand behind him. This is an AoE ability so everyone should do so. 
• Shatter ability launches spikes at surrounding enemies.
• Elementium Bulwark will reflect spells back to casters, so watch for this. 
• Elementium Spike Shield surrounds Ozruk and causes bleed damage to melee and tank, so pull back when this ability is up.

High Priestess Azil:

• Gravity Well (void zone) affects both adds and players. Lead adds into this.
• Force Grip will throw tank, so interrupt if possible. 
• Energy Shield (air phase) triggers a knockback and reduces damage done to her by 75%.

Level 85!

You don't want to know how long it took me to get level 85.

I'm just posting a little something because I'm super tired. I'll blog some stuff later. All I can say is "Thank God for Guild Perks!". The Fast Track guild perk really helped me during that final push. I was ready to pass out but I managed to stay up. There are lots of great quests out there, enjoy them. I did this big push mainly to be able to gear up and raid for Tuesday.

Good luck and good night! 

Drag 'Em Down - Twilight Highlands Quest

Get on your mount, hover, and hook

 Finally! The Twilight Highlands and level 84. Most quests were fairly straight forward and easy, but the quest "Drag 'Em Down" was frustrating at first (at least for me).

This particular quest has you dragging gryphons down with a hook. The terrain is uneven and filled with water. The difficult part was selecting the gryphons and managing to get them to come down. They fly erratically and the hooks don't always catch. Worse, if you are running along you might find it difficult to keep sight and range of them.
 

Success! I caught me a dwarf.

What did work for me was jumping on my flying mount and snagging them a little ways up in the air. I wasn't too high, almost hovering. I was then able to snag the gryphon and bring it down with ease. After that, you just dps the  Thundermar Gryphon Rider and you're done. I didn't bother with tabbing through mobs because you are surrounded by other mobs, and once you do get your gryphon rider, it is too far away. Someone else also suggested to me that running toward the gryphon and clicking the hook helps, but I think that was just sheer luck; that technique didn't work for me.

I hope this saves you some time and a whole lot of frustration. Good luck and happy questing!

Gnomebliteration aka Gnome Bowling!

Distracting gnomes with exotic dance

While doing "The Curse of the Tombs" quest in Uldum, I found a quest item that opens up the M.A.C. quest line. At the end, I got a very nice blue item, but I also had fun too! The last quest in the chain is called Gnomebliteration. At first I kept getting kicked off because it said I was in the wrong place. Eventually I went to the proper area for gnome bowling; just go down the path and to the Cursed Landing. There you will find lots of gnomes to bowl. Don't worry if you do end up getting kicked off, you can go back for more! One tip is to use your right-click on the mouse and the keybind with your left to speed up. All in all, a great quest line with great rewards! If it doesn't drop for you, try farming the crazed diggers.

Gnome Bowling!

Quest Reward!!!

Murder Mystery in Uldum (Cataclysm)

Whodunnit?

Currently doing the Crisis Management quest and it's like a murder mystery. All that's missing is "Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen with a Candlestick". Going around questioning guests at a party is definitely better than endlessly slaughtering mobs. I'm all for free and quick experience! How much experience? 43900!

I hate tanks, unless I'm riding in it!

I also love how there is a lot of vehicle-type quests. The trick is to use your keybinds to shoot and right-mouse for aiming. Some people will probably think "DUH!" but it doesn't hurt to share tips that many take for granted. Anyways, this questline has you getting into a tank to take down some big mobs.

Then further along, you are to get into some close quarter battles with ex-pirates. I died and then realized I should've used crowd control: Mind Soothe. Otherwise, you may get overwhelmed (unless you use a lot of AoEs or have the luxury of Discipline shields). It was worth it though, had a really nice BoE drop that would any level 85 plate DPS would covet.

Cinematic featuring me!

In the end, my life is on the line and I face certain doom. I was promised a sweet trinket, but end up out back in a shady situation. But there is an interesting (and perhaps Hollywood-ish) type ending to the story. Don't you just love plot twists? You'll have to quest this one and see.

New Armory isn't on Armory

I was updating some of my pics on here and I wanted to check my Armory link that you usually go to on the picture "Lk stands for Ladykayden". Doing a bit of digging, I discovered that the new armory is now on battle.net and it's basically the profiles for the forums. It is easier to navigate and has information at a glance. Though to be honest, it seems like a screenshot at first look.

But, everyone loves a makeover! However, I do not love the way the new forums work. Hopefully it will become more user-friendly soon. Try to find information or a certain topic and you will be hard-pressed to get what your looking for. Yes, the look is a bit more edgy, but in this case, there needs to be more function than style.

Uldum at last!

My mount matches the Oasis!

After the deep dank darkness of Deepholm in the Maelstrom, I get to quest in the warm sunny sands of Uldum!

The thing I love about Uldum is the beautiful cinematics. Yes it is essentially a desert, but it gorgeous. The experience further comes alive with great quests and intriguing (and sometimes campy) characters. Take Harrison Jones for example, who is much like a certain Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford.

Thieving Little Pluckers daily here!

Don't jump the gun to get to Uldum though. If you head over here before finishing Deepholm, you might find yourself having to grind dungeons to get to 84.

Funniest daily I found so far is called "Thieving Little Pluckers" where you smash pygmy thieves with a mallet. It's quick, it's fun, and it's worth a giggle or two. You can find this daily in the Tahret Grounds from one of the quest NPCs. Look for the squares filled with palm trees.

*Note: Exalted with  Ramkahen can get you a camel mount, so the daily is worth doing.

Pebbles the Pet!

I just finished all the quests in Deepholm and I'm 30% into level 83. One of the quest lines has Pebbles, an animated little rock elemental following you around. He does become a non-combat pet with the Rock Lover achievement. It is in the Quests - Cataclysm section of your achievements, and you get it by completing the Lost in the Deeps daily quest in Deepholm ten times.

I really want this pet so I definitely plan to do the dailies. PLUS you also get some great enchants with Honored and Exalted reputation. Anyways, I thought it was important enough to stop my insane level grinding to look it up and post it.

So, for those of you who are pet enthusiasts that come across this pet in the quest line that yes, you can get it. Enjoy!

Cataclysm Begins!

All is crazy in Orgrimmar. Spent about 2 hours waiting and preparing for the launch, and everyone is stacked on the flight trainer in readiness. After relogging, I get on the boat, and it leaves me behind! So, I'm already behind the front runners. I don't mind. I have quested all of this before and though getting Server First would be nice, I'm not really concerned with it.

However, it is crazy out here. Contesting for quest mobs and items is intense. I am very frustrated, but trying to enjoy myself. My sleep patterns are adjusted so I can stay up for maybe 24 hours. I hope I hit 85 before then. I'm expected to be ready to raid in a week!

So, I'm drinking a lot of coffee... Folgers Auto-Drip to be exact.. and if Toj doesn't like it, he can bring me some in a French Press ^^

Good luck to everyone.

My Message to Blizzard and 6th Anniversary World of Warcraft Pet (or Lack Thereof)

Was it a bug? Did we get lost in the paperwork? Forgotten to the moneymaking giant that is the Cataclysm? More importantly, where is the anniversary pet? I bring out my past pets like Hallmark ornaments, and I have fond memories of those WoW years. This year, I got a letter. It's been a while waiting it out, and still nothing. So, I made this video.

I really hope someone from Blizzard reads this... because there are a lot of sad pandas out there!

Maybe Blizzard isn't that excited about it's sixth anniversary?