Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Impressive!

Today I was herb-farming in Hillsbrad and stumbled across a level 24 Blood Elf Hunter taking on a level 30 Giant Yeti. I reigned in my horse and observed as, bit by bit, she took him down. A very impressive feat, I thought, for somebody who, say, didn't even have Feign Death yet. I'm still not sure how she did it, although it seemed to involve a lot of bouncing around, a lot of shifting aggro between her and her pet, and at least one healing potion.

By the end of the epic battle it was getting to the point where either side could have been the winner. I think the blood elf probably would have won anyway, but just to be safe I quickly fired off a shot, critting and easily disposing of the yeti. I wanted to let her know how impressed I was... /congrats, perhaps? But she pulled a /bonk on me and ran away. So I responded with a /giggle on went on my way as well.

Dear level 24 Blood Elf Hunter on Silver Hand, and all other awesome resourceful hunters everywhere: you guys remind me why I love this class so much. Because playing a hunter is like playing with a big bag of magic tricks-- it's fun, it's supposed to be. Please keep on performing epic feats of survivability and have fun with your class!

Monday, August 27, 2007

On PvP Servers

I've been wanting to make a post regarding my thoughts on PvP servers for a while now, and now, while my other computer is busy running a file system check, sounds like a good time.

I really, really want to like PvP servers. They add an element of excitement to the game that is lacking on normal servers. I like the idea of them in principle-- "in principle" being the key words.

The main problem, for me, is that the my idea of an ideal PvP server, and most other peoples' idea of an ideal PvP server, seem to conflict.

For an example, I will tell of some of my adventures yesterday. I was logged onto a tauren alt, questing in and around Tarren Mill in the Hillsbrad Foothills, which is arguably one of the most contested areas in the game. In my hour and a half of playing, most of which consisted of hunting bears and mountain lions for some quests, I was ganked... 8, 9 times? I lost count around there. One of those was a decently fair fight-- I say decently because the other person was four or five levels higher than me-- but it was still a fun enjoyable little skirmish and I dished out some damage before dying. The other 7 or 8 times I was ganked, it was by somebody who was level ?? and was able to one- or two-shot me.

To me, PvP servers would be ridiculously fun if most of the PvP went on like the first fight I described-- by people at decently similar levels. But in my experience, most of the PvP is high-levels ganking low-levels, when the low levels are trying to quest or something. That, to me, is not fun. It is just annoying.

Now I don't claim to be an expert on this subject; maybe it gets better later on, or maybe it's just like this in certain zones (like Hillsbrad and STV). And obviously a lot of people enjoy PvP servers, and I don't blame them. But my style of play is one where I like being able to go to Booty Bay and think "Wow, what an interesting place full of interesting characters", and not "Oh joy. Booty Bay. I wonder how long I can survive this time before I'm one-shotted, maybe I can last more than a minute and set a new record."

So there you have it-- why I'm not a big fan of PvP servers. I will continue to play on many of them because it's where most of my friends play, and because (as far as the aforementioned tauren character is concerned) I'm a part of some great guilds. But when given the choice... I think I'll stick to my normal/RP servers.

Closing Note #1: I am yet to try an RP-PvP server, I would definitely like to look into that.

Closing Note #2: Some interesting stuff does indeed happen PvP-wise. For example, the level ?? guy who went around and killed all the low-levels he found... except for me. And then he proceeded to help me kill a monster to finish a quest. I don't know why he chose to help me instead of gank me. I like to think that maybe he is a fan of Dostoyevsky's novels, after which my pet Alyosha was named. Much more likely, I was the only girl there, and/or he was planning on killing me later and I just left before he could. Either way, it was interesting and sort of fun.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

My Love/Hate Relationship with Battlegrounds (A Confession)

I will start by saying that, in general, I'm not a huge fan of PvP. I'd rather be playing on a normal server with my PvP flag safely off than, well... the alternatives. I'd rather be /waving at and /dancing with members of the opposite faction, instead than ganking them. Yeah, I'm a carebear, that's how I roll!

But I have this thing for battlegrounds. Anytime one of my characters gets to a level that ends in 8 or 9, I'm off to Warsong Gulch or Arathi Basin.

Now sometimes I feel like a masochist for this. Battlegrounds can be (and usually are) excruciatingly irritating for me... often filled with rude people and twinks. Now I don't have a big problem with twinks, they're playing the game the way they want to and I can certainly see the appeal of twinking... but it does make things hard for us "normal players" in battlegrounds. If the other side is full of twinks, and your side isn't, well, things just aren't fun.

So yeah. Often times I sit there getting my tail handed to me over and over by twinks, or our team refuses to work together, or a variety of things happen and I wonder "Why oh why am I doing battlegrounds? I hate this!" Then after the match I go right back up to the battlemaster and do it over again.

Why?

Because when things do come together... when your team does work well together and maintain and execute a tight plan... when it's not just entirely twinks and you find yourself locked in good solid battle with another guy... when the game is a close, close match and you happen to pull it off... it sure feels good.

I'm not a twink and I wouldn't call myself a PvPer. I just occasionally find myself gripped by this random addiction to battlegrounds. My fairly new tauren hunter Lunapike has been rocketing down the questing/leveling path but I've held her at level 19 for what must be a week by now because I can't bear to level her, I'm having far too much fun. The 10-19 Warsong Gulch bracket is painful and irritating to play, and it makes me want to kick my computer over, but it's fun.

And there you have it, that's my confession. Battlegrounds, I hate you, but I love you. And try as I might, I can't get over you.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Alliance vs. Horde?

A lot of people have huge preferences when it comes to what faction they play on. They will only play on one particular faction, they have many reasons for it, and those who play on the other faction are "nooblets".

...so it's okay to like them both, right?

Cause that would be me. I really have no preference. I like various aspects of each faction and I would very happily play either. What faction I choose to play on a particular server mostly has to do with what faction my friends/guild are.

Going a little more in depth though, here are some things that I've noticed: (note: these are all my personal observances and they are probably different for you!)

Races: I'd like to start by saying that I actually like all the races in the game. Some people out there have races they love to hate (gnomes and the elves come to mind), but I like them all. However, in general, I find the horde races to be more interesting. If I had to pick my three favorite races in the game it would probably be... Tauren, Troll, Night Elf, in that order. Two horde races up top. I really love everything about the Tauren-- their lore, their starting area, their philosophy, their physical "look", and their special move Warstomp. Trolls are a close second, I can't tell you exactly why I find them so intriguing, but I do... they're just fun! Night Elves I like mostly because I am enamored with their lore and backstory. I like playing them too, but... when it comes down to it I'd rather play a Tauren or Troll.

So, when it comes down to what races I like best... horde wins.

Locations: There are a lot of really unique locations in the game and I like many of them. However, I am going to admit right here and now that I am madly in love with Stormwind. Best place in the game. I love the layout and the way it looks, I love all the big statues out in front, I love the sweeping choral music that plays. I also love Goldshire, if you can get past all the... kids that hang out there. Hehe. You know what else I love? Darnassus. I didn't used to be a big Darnassus fan, because I found it to be confusing to navigate, but it's really grown on me recently. It's way out of the way but I go there sometimes just for the heck of it.

Horde has some great locations too. Thunder Bluff and Mulgore come to mind-- I really find Thunder Bluff to be unique and memorable and I'd call it my "home city" hordeside. And I love the lore of the Undercity, even though the city itself isn't really my style.

But in the end Alliance is the clear winner for me in this category. They get Stormwind, Darnassus, Ironforge, the ridiculously cute Goldshire and a lot of memorable places in general in the Eastern Kingdoms. As much as I love Thunder Bluff, in the end Durotar/Orgrimmar is just too blindingly orange for me, the Undercity/Tirisfal is a little too spooky, and Silvermoon, while gorgeous, ends up being rather dull. Alliance wins!

(That said, I have to admit, I harbor a severe phobia of Exodar. I once wandered around there for about a half hour trying to find the exit. I shudder just thinking about it and I pretty much refuse to go there.)

Maturity Level/People: Hehe, this is probably the one some of you have been waiting for. A big argument I hear a lot is that "I play [insert faction here] because the players are so much more mature than the other side". Well... I think it probably depends on what server you're on and what type of server you're on because that's really the only difference that I've noticed. I've seen a bit more of the testosterone aspect on PvP servers (both factions) and a bit more introspection and "artsyness" on RP servers (both factions) but the difference isn't particularly huge. (I'm afraid I haven't spent enough time on a normal PvE server or an RP-PvP server to share my thoughts on those yet.) People have been rude to me on both factions and people have been nice to me on both factions and in the end I really think it comes down to the individual people on each individual server, rather than faction. Horde/Alliance tie.

Final Score: Horde - 1 1/2, Alliance - 1 1/2. I like them both equally well, they both have their strong points and weak points and I am more than willing to play either. I might revisit this at a later date with some more categories and such, but until then... Pike's out!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Helping Out

The other day I was logged into my Night Elf Tawyn, headed north up the road in Stranglethorn Vale to see if I could finish up a quest when I saw a level 10 Blood Elf ahead of me, running up the road as well. He waved at me, and I, being the sort to return kindness with kindness, reciprocated the gesture.

Not long after that, the poor guy was mauled to death by one of the tigers in the area.

I paused for a bit and sure enough he was back within a few minutes, doggedly continuing on down the road. Of course, it was only a matter of seconds before he was killed again.

A passing troll priest rezzed the guy, and this time I decided to do something myself as well. Namely, I hopped off my horse and began running along the road with the blood elf, pulling aggro off of him and disposing of the many monsters in this area that were eager to pounce on a level 10.

It was a long run, but up we went through Stranglethorn Vale, into Duskwood and through part of Westfall, with my trusty owl Tux and I successfully protecting him from countless deaths. Eventually, after many /thanks and /welcomes and /cheers all around, we got to Elwynn Forest, where he paused by the road and told me to /wait, and logged out.

A few seconds later I received a whisper from a level 65 human mage. He informed me that he was the blood elf, rode up to me and gave me a cash tip of some sixty-odd silver, and then promptly proceeded to pull out the Murky pet, his BlizzCon Murloc costume, and the picnic grill and hold a dance party in the middle of Goldshire, all the while singing "I am Murloc" at the top of his lungs.

Sometimes I love being the silly carebear player that I am!

(P.S. in case anyone was curious, the sole reason he wanted to go to to Elwynn on his Blood Elf was apparently just to amuse Goldshire. That is to say, he'd log into his alliance character, yell "BLOOD ELF!" and then log into the blood elf and run around as a lowbie and bug people. ...heehee, yeah.)

Bwahaha. New Blog. (The Official Information Post)

So instead of constantly boring my friends on my personal journal (It's over at LiveJournal) with the random things that happened to me on World of WarCraft, I've decided to start posting them here.

I guess a couple notes to start out with will be an adequate first post:

1.) The title... "Aspect of the Hare"... refers to two things. Firstly it refers to the "Aspects" that can be taken on by the hunter class to boost performance. Now, of course, there is no Aspect of the Hare in the game. But the hare is sort of my personal animal mascot... it has been for over ten years now, back when I first started showing up online on Redwall roleplaying boards. So yes, 'tis a nod to that.

2.) While we're on the subject, I love hunters. It's actually somewhat painful for me to play most other classes-- though 'locks, mages, and druids are all decently fun-- but gosh, I'm a hunter. Half the time when I roll a new char I make it a hunter because I just don't get tired of playing them. ^^

3.) I'm a bit of a nooblet. I didn't start playing WoW until May 2007. So I'm not as chock-full of wisdom and experience as most other WoW-bloggers you'll find. But that's okay. This blog is mostly sort of a personal journal for WoW-things, rather than a commentary or teaching tool. However if you manage to find this journal to be a satisfactory commentary or teaching tool, that's great too!

4.) I play WoW exclusively on Kubuntu Linux. Turns out you don't need Windows or a Mac to play video games. ;] You just need a wee bit of computer knowledge and the ability to follow some simple directions. If you're curious, I'll point you in the direction of my other blog (specifically this post) and then direct you over to GetGnuLinux and MakeTheMove where you can get more information.

5.) Finally... if you have somehow stumbled across this blog and choose to read it for some reason... keep in mind that, as I said in point #3, this isn't really supposed to be an in-depth commentary on World of WarCraft or anything... mostly it's a personal journal chronicling my adventures in Azeroth which is open for anybody to read if they're curious. I'm a casual as opposed to hardcore WarCrafter and having fun and exploring the game world is far more important to me than having the awesome gear. (Case in point: I play mainly on a roleplaying server.) So be kind to me ^^