How many is too much?

As my warlock inches closer to 78, it occurs to me that six characters at level 80 might be too much.

No, really.

I was dreaming about getting soul shards off of target dummies, and how I'd get duds that wouldn't go in my soul pouch because they didn't have actual souls, or they were too low of a level...or even too high of a level!

Top that off with wondering when I'll ever get a chance to dps anyway, when my "main" is a healer...so what's the point in having so many characters at max level?

Oh well, I'm doing it anyway. I've got the heirloom shoulders and chest to boost me on my way, so I might as well see how fast I can go. Even if she does sit at 80 and collect dust.

Fear the ToC!

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

I was, the first time I realized we'd have to joust in the new 5-man instance, Trial of the Champion. I hate the jousting mechanic, and I have yet to unlock all the Argent Tournament dailies simply because jousting annoys me too much to pay for the dubious pleasure of participating.

But, like so many things in life, jousting is made better by having friends. Or, at least by having a meat sack distracting the riders while you get clear to charge the NPCs. (My friend John, who insisted I mention him here, makes a good meat sack. hahaha Well, what else are you going to do with a gnome warrior?)

So, strap on your lance, hop on a horse, and be thankful you're only doing this for half of the first fight! You can switch horses in mid-fight if your horse gets low on health. Just remember to keep your shield up at all times, and charge as much as possible, because that takes the most health away from your opponent. While charge is on cooldown it's a good idea to knock their shields off, but you don't have to make that your priority. When you get to the named mobs, have someone stand on any that have fallen so that they don't make a dash toward new mounts and prolong the fight!

While your jousting the named mobs, keep in mind your strategy. Are you going to fight them as you dismount? Or are you going to make a mad dash toward the door to reset the encounter? (You only have to joust once, thank goodness. Once you've beaten that part you're done, even if you wipe.) Both have disadvantages, especially for squishy members of your party. I've been killed a few times while running for the door. Either way, you'll want to try your best to dismount your opponents close together! If you're running for the door, dismount them near the door so you can run for it faster and have less chance of getting killed. If you're standing your ground, make sure your tank can grab all three right away. These guys munch clothies in about two hits, even if you're decently geared. (I haven't been oneshot by them, but I haven't brought in a fresh 80 yet, either.) Bring someone who can cleanse poisons, interrupt the healer, and if you get the hunter make sure they don't make a pincushion of your healer while you're focused on something else. Those arrows hit HARD, especially on heroic.

The second encounter is fun. You get three sets of three trash packs. Watch out, they MC! Kill the lightwells when they pop up, and kill the priestesses first. If you have a priest in your party, they can mass dispel the monk effect on heroic. Also, all three types of trash mobs can be stunned, unlike the bosses you face.

You'll face either Paletress or Eadric. Paletress is fun, if you enjoy the nostalgia of old bosses but don't want to deal with any of their old and annoying abilities. She will call a shadow of the past, a boss from the nightmares of your memory, to terrorize you while she sits back and hits you with her holy spells. Healers have to be on the ball, since her smite hits for an annoying amount and badly timed holy fire can kill someone if they're feared. Did I mention the fears? Apparently your character is still deeply afraid of Hogger, or Onyxia, or one of any bosses she'll summon from the depths of your subconscious to battle you. You'll thank your friendly neighborhood tremor totem, if have the luck to have a shaman along.

Eadric is a lot less interesting to heal through. When he emotes, turn your back on him. (On my healer, I just keep my character turned the other way.) When he throws his hammer, remove the stun if you have someone in the party who can. If not, the target will get pretty banged up! I've heard of clothies getting oneshot by his hammer, but so far I haven't seen that happen for myself. Other than that, he's a pretty simple fight.

After you've fought over the contents of the chest, it's time for the return of the Black Knight. (Or, it might be the first time you face him, like it was for me.) You have to kill him three times. He's got some fancy versions of DK abilities. The first time he'll have a ghoul. The second time he'll hit you with Army of the Dead and the occasional ground effect to dance out of. The third time...is where I usually run into trouble healing. He does fairly steady damage to everyone in the party, and a great deal of damage to one member of the party. It can be hard to keep up on, so DPS needs to burn into him with everything they've got in the third phase. At least there's no adds!

At any point in the fights, you can run back into the instance. The graveyard is nice and close, and since it's in Icecrown you'll be able to fly back. Every boss drop is a Naxx or better quality epic, even on regular, so if you've got well geared friends you can gear up an alt or a fresh-faced main pretty quickly. I wouldn't recommend bringing a whole group in blues into the instance, however. It's tuned for people who have been at least grinding Naxx, and I've even run into problems and had wipes with people who have been doing Ulduar a while. (Okay, we may have been underestimating the fights a little, since it's just a 5-man...but still!)

ToC is fun, and it's pretty fast. It's NOT your usual instance, though. It's tough. It reminds me of MgT, when that first came out and the trash mobs would roflstomp your face with their glowy purple bubbles and their annoying glaive throws. Thankfully it's not nearly the same time investment as MgT was. It's over and done with in about 15 minutes, making it the easiest and fastest loot in the game, if you've got the group for it.

/roll for blame

It's been a while since I updated this. First I had issues with my eyesight, then roommate troubles, and finally the relationship I've been in for the last 10 years came to an end. It's been rough, and I've had a hard time finding motivation to write in my blog. I feel like I've been completely pwned by real life, and that has sapped all of my energy.

I'm going to make every effort to return to this, however. I enjoy my little corner of the WoW blog arena. So, I'm going to ramble about some of my oldest friends in the game, and how I got where I am.

See, I'm terribly shy. IRL I have sneaking suspicions I have social anxiety disorder, from what I've read about it. That is reflected somewhat in game, mostly in that I go out of my way not to initiate prolonged social contact. I'll throw out the occasional one-liners in trade or in a group attempting the door boss, but that's the extent of it. I have never joined LFG on my own accord. I don't PuG unless someone I know asks me to join the group.

So, how's a girl like me get into a raiding guild? Well...it took a while. I did it one person at a time. First, by going along with my ex when he would find a group, and then making friends with those people and so on and so forth. And, my first step in raiding was the guild The Night Crew. They're a bawdy bunch, and they believe that a raid without beer just isn't a raid. They taught me the basics, like the first rule of healing. "Stay with your tank." If my tank is around the corner, I have to be AT the corner, or he just might die and take the rest of us with him! I'd spent many an instance just hanging back, waiting for the tank to get in range...

We were a Kara raiding guild, but with half our members at least tipsy or sleep deprived (late night means calling the raid at 2 am most nights) a lot of mistakes happened. Nobody took this raiding thing exactly seriously...we were friends who wanted to do something online together. In order to keep things drama free, to keep friendships despite dumb mistakes and stuff, they started rolling for blame long before I joined their group. It kept the momentum going, and nobody had to suffer through the humiliation of a screaming tirade a la the Onyxia Wipe video.

Through NC, I met the guild leader of Honored Exiles, and a few other members of the guild. Nervously, I applied to this group that dared to move beyond the halls of Kara to TK and SSC. I followed my ex to Dont Panic for a few months on my main, but I'd found a home in HE, despite my shyness. They were good people, and good players, and there were other women around to talk to without the whole guild imploding in drama. (I'm referring to my attempt at a guild on an RP server. I think now that the RP part was at least 75% of the problem...the other 25% being one girl in particular who is still wondering why all her guilds implode in a huge mass of drama.)

Still, the guys in NC are some of my favorite people on earth. I can't stay up to raid with them often, since I'm on a more normal sleep schedule these days, but whenever I get the chance to I love every minute. They make me feel good about myself. They're generous, they're fun, and I owe them everything I am in game these days.

I was having an absolutely rotten day yesterday, and I was just about to give up when I was invited to a regular ToC with them. I dusted off my shaman and went with them, getting a couple of upgrades, and just having fun. ToC lead to heroics, which lead to 10-man OS on my paladin, which lead to Naxx, and since the other tank on the run already had Ulduar gear (he runs with my HE group most weeks) I ended up with a lot of gear, a lot of confidence in my tanking ability, and a complete turn-around of my day. I went to bed feeling good about myself, instead of next to tears.

I'm so glad those guys have been a part of my life, even if it's only a virtual life. They've had an impact on my real life as well.

No matter how much people say "It's just a game," there are real people behind the avatars. You affect them. You have an effect on their lives.

Never burn your bridges behind you. Even if something is "in the past" it can still have value to your future.

Don't underestimate the value of a good friend, even if you've never met.

And always, always, ALWAYS blame Ciandros when you can't roll for blame.