Blue Shift...

In the end, these things are worth the effort :D

Making an effort for my in-game characters, even the lowly ones, has become important to me.

Having been given the ability to make myself distinctive in-game, I want to take the opportunity to embrace the possibilities. Drop rates are not about the effort it takes to farm, simply the time it will take to complete. A basic design is only a starting point, a means to an end, a method to begin creating an outfit that can change in it's construction from moment to moment. Finding the right item results in a sense of satisfaction I don't remember ever getting from winning a drop or upgrading a piece of gear. Those things are chores, part of the gameplay. This is about enjoyment, about achievement of a different kind.

I can now properly express myself with the items I place my characters in. People can see, even if I'm not L85, that I have taken time and effort to dress my Night Elf in a particular fashion. Unconsciously this becomes an extension of the type of player I have become, and this pleases me. I take care over my appearance for a reason: I'm not here to impress you or to show off, I'm simply making a statement about what I think can be done with the raw materials I have been provided with. Yes Ellie, it would have been simpler to just change my hair colour, but this hunter was born with blue and I suspect will remain that way for some time. I have a desire to create my characters in  a certain way and then find ways to slot them into the game world. This seems a great way to start this character's life in Azeroth.

In the end, this has worked out better than even I thought was possible. The staff is pretty much anonymous because I know I'm going to lose it come Panda Time, the gun a focal point because of the significance it will gain. I tweaked both gloves and cloak to make the palette a bit more muted and frankly I'd have farmed for a week to get these black trousers, so good are they as a base mogging piece, one I suspect I will come back to again and again. I'm even considering grabbing them on my other hunter before they vanish with Scholo's old model for the utility.

Taking care of appearances has become a significant part of life in Azeroth. I look forward to finding excuses to build new outfits for quite some time to come.

• Blue Dragonscale Shoulders
• Ebonhold Cloak
• Icy Scale Chestguard & Belt
• Bata Staff
• Nexus Strider Greaves
• Bloodsail Legguards
• Defender's Gauntlets
• Nesingwary 4000

... For My Own Back.

The Story So Far... no, still not changing the hair colour ^^

A portion of the New Hunter outfit, as you can see from K's Armoury, is already in place. Next time I choose crafted items, remind me to ACTUALLY CHECK how easy it is to get the items required before I commit to production:

Simple enough... oh HANG ON...

Dragonscale's a thing now, you know. Not only have certain patterns vanished (with the wings of Sunken Temple which had the mobs that dropped it) but dragons of a certain colour have pretty much vanished from the game world. No more Reds outside Grim Batol, for instance. More importantly, there's no more Blues in Azshara (used to really enjoy that farm as well :/) so the only way to farm these scales is the Chromatic Dragons/mobs that exist in UBRS or BWL. Needless to say, I had a fair few stashed away, and it's not like the stuff farmed in UBRS is without value (far from it) The Icy Scale stuff took ninety minutes with P and G's Engineering Skillz.

The Bow's a drop from Scholo, by the way. I've seen just about every item EXCEPT THE DAMN TROUSERS from the mobs in the farm thus far (the mail is by far the lowest % rate). I even discovered there's a rare shirt that drops from Dr Krastinov that I never even knew existed. Every day is indeed a school day, if you want this cloth we'll need to add it to the Endangered Items list that's going to vanish when Scholo gets the Panda Remodel...

Today I think I need to decide what weapons I will be using with this outfit... I've added a Seer's Cape to the mix already, a bargain 45s purchase from the AH last night... :D

More news from our Mogging Outfit Desk later in the day :D

[EDIT: 9.30 AM BST: The Legs are MINE. HO YUS!]

Radical Departures

Last night, I did something I've never done before in game. I decided, for no other reason than I can now dress my characters in outfits entirely of my own creation, to design an outfit for my (now L81) Hunter Gatherer. I did this ahead of wanting to level her, or pad out her achievements, or indeed get her a better range of pets than the three she currently uses. I would say therefore that Mogging has officially Become A Part of My Gaming Plan.

Full sized outfit realisation using the marvel that is Mog It

I've also set myself a bit of a challenge. Those mail legs, Bloodmail Legguards, are a ridiculously low drop from Scholomance. Everything else is either a) crafted b) a decent % drop or c) a quest reward. Legs are 3% on a good day. THREE PERCENT. I have no idea why I do this to myself but I do, and I'm going to farm for these bloody things until they drop because I want to make this outfit happen. All of this so I can make something that matches my character's hair, I ask you... ^^

Things matter to people for different reasons. Sometimes it stops being about what is sensible and rational and the personal nature of desires makes you do downright stupid stuff just... well, just because. However, and this is important, I won't lose sleep if I don't get this outfit done by the weekend, I won't spend weeks stuck in Scholo refusing to do anything else until these legs appear... but I will do it. In my own time, and not at the expense of anything that's actually important.

What this does make me realise is just what Blizzard COULD do for Moggers. The appearance of the Black Bunny Ears in the Noblegarden event shows me that someone understands that there is a market for certain items. Black Items generally are an absolute godsend for co-ordination. Could it be that at some point in the future, in one of those Pavilions at the Darkmoon Faire, that we'll see a Blac-Suited NPC selling nothing but Black Accessories with stats for Moggers...?

It would certainly be a radical departure. If it did happen, I think it would indicate that Blizzard are listening to the rapidly growing numbers of people who play as Moggers with as much importance as they play the Game itself...

Oh and for those of you that like to know:

• Blue Dragonscale Shoulders
• Icy Scale Breastplate
• Icy Scale Belt
• Outrunners Gloves
• Unfortunate Treads
• Bloodmail Legguards

A Work in Progress...

Goblins, being their normal conscientious and hard-working selves on Beta.

I took a night off yesterday.

Despite the fact nothing much is actually going on (either in Beta or in game) it's been pretty full-on for me the last couple of weeks. It appears the Panda Guide's getting some decent press (being  mentioned in the same sentence as Elitist Jerks is a thing ^^)  and it's made me realise that yes, people do actually read what I have to say. That's probably a bigger significance in the general scheme of things. I can command an audience. This is normally the point I do something stupid and stuff it up IRL, so I thought it might be an idea to step back briefly and consider my position.

I'm almost done with the first part of my Bucket List: Alchemist is at 448 and once I've knocked off the last 50 points in Mining on the Nouveau HunterGatherer I'll be back into current content AGAIN. Then it's levelling time (three alts to do before I'm finished) and I find myself thinking back to the last days of Wrath and TBC. There's a really rather different feel than was prevalent back then, but there's the constant assessment as to how long I have to wait for the transitional events to begin, because once they are live there's no escaping the inevitable. Then we really will be 'between expansions' and not inhabiting this odd Game Hinterland, where current content is nerfed and there's only the hint of the future to come. This disassociated place is enough of a disincentive (at least coupled with That Beta Fiasco) to make certain people pack up their toys and leave. For those of us, for whom Just Raiding is never the entire story, it's just another part of what becomes a perpetual work in progress...

However even that can begin to wear, after a while. People lose the incentive to do stuff outside what they perceive is vital to their enjoyment. Numbers in Guild begin to dwindle, and it's been the case that when I've logged at least twice in the last week it's just been me online. If I needed to poke Blizzard to get a wiggle on with stuff, then I'd be doing it now. Parts of the beta are borked and really need to be addressed. We could really do with something new to incentivise people in game, while Blizzard are at it. The time for foreshadowing is here, and with no interim raid a la Ruby Sanctum to pull people back in...

Working on current timelines, we should expect to see a patch to the beta being datamined today and applied tomorrow. I think it needs to be major, because time moves very slowly sometimes in MMO Land and I sense that some of the natives are beginning to get restless... and not all of them are content to level their twelfth alt to pass the time.

[BETA] Grey Vendor Update!

Most profitable grey item yet :D

Back on Beta after Easter Holidays in the UK. Needless to say, it's a war zone :(

Dead Bodies all over the Jade Forest...

Pink boxes are gone, dead bodies are everywhere, and quest phasing is most definitely broken, and as both of my outstanding quests involve fighting Pandas in phase it won't be happening until there's a reset or things are fixed. I will instead go exploring shortly, but wanted to report back a) that we have a new Grey Vendor item (see above) and that b) there is still no indicator of  raw materials, Spirits in Intestines or new recipes on Trainers.

Let's hope that changes this week with a new build. For now, I'll be off to explore... :D

As Predicted...

... I'm out of the Mog Madness, I think probably because I made outfits I liked without considering what the Judges were after. No matter, I'm rather pleased I'm not in the last five because, frankly, TOO MUCH PRESSURE. For the final time then, here's the gear:

• Tempered Titansteel Helm 
• Doomplate Shoulderguards
• Syrannis' Mystic Sheen
• Breastplate of Many Graces
• Rich Purple Silk Shirt
• Symbolic Gauntlets
• Symbolic Belt
• Augustus' Legguards
• Symbolic Greaves
• Hammer of Righteous Might

All the best to the remaining five contestants, and may the best Mogger win :D

The Pandaren Preparation Programme :: Part Seven

Part Seven :: In Conclusion...

No Guide is ever totally comprehensive. What I've tried to accomplish over the last week is a simple and easily-understandable plan of action, based on the fact this will be the Fourth Expansion I've personally prepared for. As in most things, you'll be surprised how much easier your life can be if you spend a bit of time doing stuff beforehand.

There are two final pieces of advice I would like to impart, and I think they're probably more important than anything else I have suggested thus far:

1. ENJOY DOING THIS.

Frankly, I have a great time faffing, pottering, bimbling... call it what you like, but I get as much enjoyment from this side of the game as I do from Raiding, or 5 Mans, or anything else. I know some people don't, and if you are one of those, then really this Guide will have nothing for you. The key to doing anything successfully (at least in my eyes) is having some fun along the way: there's a World of other opinions out there, the Internets are full of intelligent and helpful people who also have tons of great advice to take on board. Find what suits you best, and make sure you enjoy yourself in the process!

2. STOP IF YOU DON'T.

This is not a job, whatever some people might say to the contrary. You shouldn't feel obliged to prepare, it should not be a chore. When it is, it's time to go do something else.


Thank you for reading folks, and I hope it has been an enjoyable experience. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to start levelling a Miner/Herbalist while I keep working on clearing those other pesky alts... :D