Ramparts

So we ran Ramparts tonight with a group from our guild. Really odd thing, since we had people playing alts, but I think I got lucky because the Rogue that was going with us had to play his alt Shaman for heals...which freed up the awesome Rogue gear drops for me! I managed to get Bracers of Finesse, Shifting Sash of Midnight, and Sure-Step Boots from the actual quest turn in. Not a bad haul for the evening. And the belt (eeeeeeee, the belt the belt!) is my very first actual piece of socketed gear!! I got two beeeeeeeyutiful shiny red baubles to go in it and I'm so excited! I even picked up a couple of other items to Disenchant and I can start throwing some Enchants around again.

I didn't think the run went that badly, except for two things. One, Martin's video card overheated (still not entirely sure why, we think it was power supply) and started beeping and flickering his monitor. Made it hard to finish, since he was tanking. Second, the last boss, Vazruden and his mount, was a hard fight. The first time we wiped and the healer, who didn't seem to have healed anybody during the fight, tried to take him on by himself. It went poorly. The second time, though, we managed to get our shit together and take his ass down. Score belt. Awwww, yeah.

The Grind

I spent most of yesterday running around Un'Goro trying to find small thorium veins so that I could work my way up to rich thorium veins so that I could work my way up to all of the fel iron that I keep seeing just lying around in Hellfire, taunting me with its money-making potential. I'm starting to see why Martin says they're going to address mining not scaling well with the new leveling speeds. I would have thought that the metals I needed would, naturally, show up around the level-appropriate areas that I'm exploring. Thing is, I'm in Outland, which is level-appropriate (61), and all I have are 300-level metals I can't get. So now I have to make mining trips back to Azeroth. Long, tedius, running-around trips that annoy the crap out of me that have the sole purpose of getting me to 300.

On the other trade note, I'm starting to think that Disenchanting for just mats really is more profitable. Especially since I can't sell my metals because Martin needs them for jewelcrafting. Unfortunately I still have to skill it up, or I can't DE the higher level greens/blues/epics. So many hard choices!

494,000 XP???

Usually I don't pay attention to that little XP bar until it's almost full. Then I'll take a glance at it to see how far I have left to go. Last night, however, I noticed that, after all of my (admittedly mostly entertaining) questing in Hellfire Peninsula, that I was only about halfway through 60. I glanced at the bar and saw 494,000....whaaaaat? The XP needed between 59 and 60 was only, like, 175,000. Martin had said they'd made it much easier to level between 20 and 60, but apparently I didn't realize just how much so. Man, the push for 70 is going to be brutal at this rate.

Also, rare elites that need a full fuggin' group to take them and who just pop up randomly in the midst of a bunch of peaceful (ish) Helboars...hurt my brain. Fulgorge must've come around on us about five times last night. Martin and I couldn't take him and we tried again when Wot got there, but no go. Too bad, too, because he apparently drops some nice BoE blues. Unfortunately, he squishied us.

Do the Fel Reaver Stomp

I had my first close encounter with a Fel Reaver last night. I'm told it happens to everybody, but when it was said it sounded a lot like what you tell an impotent guy to make him feel better. Martin and I were killing orcs and managed to get ganged and killed. The second I get back and rezzed, a Fel Reaver stomps directly on my head. Squash, like a grape.

I don't even HAVE 6592 health!

Outland! Now with more Blood Elf!

So we finally made 58. I thought Martin was going to pop he was so excited. He actually seemed giddy about it. I believe the direct quote was "I'm back, bitches!". We made the dash to Outland directly after dinging in Eastern Plaguelands, talking Wot, the Warlock, into reluctantly coming with us. I don't think he digs Outland much before flying mount-time.

I picked up my first piece of Outland gear, which does far outstrip what I had previously been wearing. I also picked up my first items to be Disenchanted and got my first Lesser Planar Essence. Personally though, after a look around Outland to see that it's basically the same as the rest of the place, I'm more excited about 60 and finally getting my epic chicken. Giblet II, here I come! Ok, so I'm only 360g towards it, but I'll make it. I just skilled to small thorium, after all. After I supply Martin's jewel crafting, I'm free to go on selling on the AH and making that cash.

One thing I did like in Outland? The view.