Over the past few months I have been busy looking for a way to move this site permanently to wordpress. The new home of this blog is now at taurenarmy.com
I still have to work out some of the features, but it should be ready for use.
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Wow, haven't wrote anything here since the expansion came out. What can I say it is an amazing expansion. There was so much to do as soon as I got the expansion the first day. I didn't stand in line for it but I had it delivered release day.
I played for a few hours the first day, overwhelmed by all that I needed to do. I picked my druid to level first. I played feral at first and got prety far, then close to level 80 (I think around 78) I began to switch between feral and resto for instances and leveling. In the end I stuck with resto and once I got to 80 after about two weeks from release, I began to do instances more.
Our guild started raiding almost as soon as the first few 80's began to apear on the servers the first week of relese and it didnt take long for all the raiders to level up and begin to do guild raids (way ahead of our expected schedule).
We cleared the 10 and 25 man content prety fast and had began to explore some of the raiding achievements. Naxxramas was easy for most of us since the general fight strategies where the same as the old 40 man version and some of us had experienced those raids before. Obsidium Sanctum and Vault of Archavon where jokes compared to the difficult content that we dealth with in Sunwell. Malygos was a chalange with the whole vehicle combat style but in the end proved to be easy and entertaining.
Beyond that we are now at a point where we are trying to tackle the difficult raiding achievement encounters. Thats where the guild is split. Some people care about the achievement based raiding, while a majority of people could care less. This probably happened because a moajority of those player are burned out from rushing through content to raid. With the prospect of another long raid Ulduar, many of those players will return.
Regarding raiding as a resto Druid in Wrath, it has been amazing. At first I had big mana problems. With changes to mana potions and some druid mechanics, I found myself using innervate early so that I can use it again close to the end of long fights. Having a full raid setup with all the good buffs helps. As my gear got better I didnt have to worry as much.
I havent played my other Tauren characters much and I also havent played the Death Knight class much since I have been busy with Real Life responsibilities. I do plan on slowly makin my way through each Tauren class and exploring the changes in wrath.
Right now the guild is attempting to complete one of the harder raiding achievements, killing Sartharion with all his dragon adds alive. Whish us luck.
Something that may or may not be common knowledge is that Tauren are barred from riding numerous mounts! This has been a constant irritancy of mine and as long as I’ve played WoW I’ve played Tauren so my bland mount selection is a very large pain in my furry butt!
The reasoning for this restriction dates back to the days of World of WarCraft’s alpha and beta testing. All races could get mounts except for us cows, instead we had something called Plainsrunning. Plainsrunning had a cast time to initiate, was sometimes difficult to control but overall allowed a Tauren to move at the speed of a mount with running strides and a sparkly butt. This was largely unpopular.
When World of Warcraft was officially released Tauren were quickly given the Kodo mount. The faction ones aren’t anything spectacular to look at. Their colors are earth-toned and dull, even at epic riding skill. Kodo aren’t so bad, many do like them but I can honestly say I’ve personally never been a fan. The PvP and Brewfest Kodo are a little more interesting and likely more popular. But I find Kodo to be too large and constantly in the way.
Besides Tauren, all races have the ability to purchase other racial mounts at exalted reputation. An exception being that the Mechanostriders for Alliance are available only to Dwarves and Gnomes. Although I’m having trouble digging up patch information on the subject, Orgrimmar Wolves were eventually made available to Tauren after a large amount of complaining from Tauren players.
Another reason that Blizzard often preaches is that Tauren are far too large to ride much of anything. Being that this is a video game and hundreds of things are possible that should be physically impossible I find it kind of odd that a Tauren’s weight is one of the shreds of reality to this FANTASY game that Blizzard developers cling to. If a Tauren approaches a vendor of the racial mounts they are barred from riding the vendor will imply that they are too fat and should go away. However, this reason is completely rendered void by the existence of boss drop mounts of identical creatures that are useable by Tauren. The size issue is simply solved by scaling the model size. What a quick fix! (Yet for some reason impossible for Blizzard to implement.)
A speculated reason for Tauren not being allowed to ride certain mounts is related to graphics. Clipping walls and getting stuck happens twice as often to Tauren players because of our size. I honestly find it kind of silly that this even occurs. You’d think when Blizzard designed their game world they would have made certain ALL races would have no issues with interacting with the environment but this apparently was not the case. Tauren have an incredibly difficult time maneuvering around Undercity and they get caught on several doorways throughout the world. There are even huts with loot, chests or mobs that Tauren cannot properly get into unless they are a druid, shaman or carrying Noggenfogger or Savory Deviate Delight and can thus shrink themselves. Tauren often get stuck climbing Orcish towers as well; such as the ones found in Alterac Valley. Of course this graphic related reason is completely rendered void once again by the fact that Tauren can already ride all the mounts in the game (available to their faction), even if it only includes rare boss drops!
I know I am extremely frustrated when I log into WoW and see several players zipping around Shattrath City on the Albino Drake knowing I can only obtain 44 mounts through vendors, reputation grinding, a lot of gold and battleground farming! That number doesn’t include any loot card mounts from the TCG, boss drops, holiday mounts or crafted mounts. Nor am I including the Arena awarded Nether Drakes and since Tauren cannot be Paladins or Warlocks I’m not including those mounts, either.
Some like to argue the point that Tauren will be able to meet the Achievement in the expansion, so why complain? Can you honestly tell me that if you were in our hooves you wouldn’t feel jipped? Why do Tauren have to work twice as hard, spend twice as much gold and wait (presumably) twice as long to complete the Achievement while everyone else gets the Achievement completed and their Albino Drake right now before Wrath of the Lich King and with a minimal amount of gold spent (since Apprentice riding mounts only cost 8g a piece)?
If you are upset by this undeserved slight against Tauren, please lend your voice to one of the many threads popping up on the official Suggestion Forum at WorldofWarcraft.com!
The reasoning for this restriction dates back to the days of World of WarCraft’s alpha and beta testing. All races could get mounts except for us cows, instead we had something called Plainsrunning. Plainsrunning had a cast time to initiate, was sometimes difficult to control but overall allowed a Tauren to move at the speed of a mount with running strides and a sparkly butt. This was largely unpopular.
When World of Warcraft was officially released Tauren were quickly given the Kodo mount. The faction ones aren’t anything spectacular to look at. Their colors are earth-toned and dull, even at epic riding skill. Kodo aren’t so bad, many do like them but I can honestly say I’ve personally never been a fan. The PvP and Brewfest Kodo are a little more interesting and likely more popular. But I find Kodo to be too large and constantly in the way.
Besides Tauren, all races have the ability to purchase other racial mounts at exalted reputation. An exception being that the Mechanostriders for Alliance are available only to Dwarves and Gnomes. Although I’m having trouble digging up patch information on the subject, Orgrimmar Wolves were eventually made available to Tauren after a large amount of complaining from Tauren players.
So what can Tauren ride? Tauren can ride all the mounts available to the Horde in Outland. They can ride their Kodos and Orgrimmar Wolves. They can ride the PvP Wolf, Kodo and even Raptor. Tauren can also ride any .01% chance boss dropped mount which ironically includes Baron Rivendere’s skeletal horse Deathcharger and the White Hawkstrider in Magister’s Terrace.
What can’t Tauren ride? Tauren cannot ride the Darkspear Raptors, the Foresaken Skeletal Horses and the Silvermoon Hawkstriders. They also cannot ride the PvP Hawkstrider or Skeletal Horse. In total, that is 20 mounts that are unavailable to Tauren!
Another reason that Blizzard often preaches is that Tauren are far too large to ride much of anything. Being that this is a video game and hundreds of things are possible that should be physically impossible I find it kind of odd that a Tauren’s weight is one of the shreds of reality to this FANTASY game that Blizzard developers cling to. If a Tauren approaches a vendor of the racial mounts they are barred from riding the vendor will imply that they are too fat and should go away. However, this reason is completely rendered void by the existence of boss drop mounts of identical creatures that are useable by Tauren. The size issue is simply solved by scaling the model size. What a quick fix! (Yet for some reason impossible for Blizzard to implement.)
A speculated reason for Tauren not being allowed to ride certain mounts is related to graphics. Clipping walls and getting stuck happens twice as often to Tauren players because of our size. I honestly find it kind of silly that this even occurs. You’d think when Blizzard designed their game world they would have made certain ALL races would have no issues with interacting with the environment but this apparently was not the case. Tauren have an incredibly difficult time maneuvering around Undercity and they get caught on several doorways throughout the world. There are even huts with loot, chests or mobs that Tauren cannot properly get into unless they are a druid, shaman or carrying Noggenfogger or Savory Deviate Delight and can thus shrink themselves. Tauren often get stuck climbing Orcish towers as well; such as the ones found in Alterac Valley. Of course this graphic related reason is completely rendered void once again by the fact that Tauren can already ride all the mounts in the game (available to their faction), even if it only includes rare boss drops!
With the release of patch 3.0.2 and the new Achievement system this has caused a lot of waves in the Tauren community. There is an Achievement called 'Leading the Cavalry' which requires the player to collect 50 unique mounts to obtain an Albino Drake as a reward. This Achievement originally required the collection of 75 mounts but was virtually impossible for Tauren to complete. It is said that the Achievement was dropped to 50 for the sake of Tauren, but it is still an incredibly unfair goal for them. All races besides Tauren can currently accomplish this Achievement without the expansion with ease.
I know I am extremely frustrated when I log into WoW and see several players zipping around Shattrath City on the Albino Drake knowing I can only obtain 44 mounts through vendors, reputation grinding, a lot of gold and battleground farming! That number doesn’t include any loot card mounts from the TCG, boss drops, holiday mounts or crafted mounts. Nor am I including the Arena awarded Nether Drakes and since Tauren cannot be Paladins or Warlocks I’m not including those mounts, either.
Some like to argue the point that Tauren will be able to meet the Achievement in the expansion, so why complain? Can you honestly tell me that if you were in our hooves you wouldn’t feel jipped? Why do Tauren have to work twice as hard, spend twice as much gold and wait (presumably) twice as long to complete the Achievement while everyone else gets the Achievement completed and their Albino Drake right now before Wrath of the Lich King and with a minimal amount of gold spent (since Apprentice riding mounts only cost 8g a piece)?
If you are upset by this undeserved slight against Tauren, please lend your voice to one of the many threads popping up on the official Suggestion Forum at WorldofWarcraft.com!
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Sorry my first post isn't an introductory one! I'll make a post about me and my characters soon!
-Wyngaed
Hmmmm...... its been amazing. The release of patch 3.0.2 has made it so much easier for raiding guilds. Chupathingy is currently in Sunwell at Kil'jaeden the Deceiver. Our last venture into Sunwell went okay, just barely getting some experience on Kalecgos. But after 3.0.2 patch we have been able to work on content we couldn't before. Our new skills from expansion are awkward and require some practice to get used to including some class mechanics changes. The nerfs to boss health in raids definitely helps. It allowed Chupa to smash through Black Temple, freeing our raiding schedule the rest of the week. We stepped into Sunwell giving Kalecgos and Sathrovarr the Corrupter a few attempts, downing him on the second attempt.
Then going on to Brutallus, killing him after a few attempts. We had some difficulty on Felmyst but got her down the next raid night. Eradar Twins proved to be the most difficult encounter and it took us a few more raid nights to finally get them down. Muru as well took some time. We downed Muru a few nights ago for the first time last Thursday and got a few hours practice on Kil'jaeden. I never thought we would be able to get to Kil'jaeden pre Expansion. Being able to clear Black Temple faster has definetly helped us do more in Sunwell.
As for my raiding role, as a resto druid I have found healing to be about the same as pre 3.0.2. Lifebloom costs more, and Rejuv is nice with the Glyph. I even changed my talents around to play with a fast Healing touch Glyph, tyring to make myself use healing touch more when I need direct non healing over time (HOT) heals. This is especially useful when my ring, necklace or trinket proc prevents me from overriding my own HOT because of the existence of a higher healing HOT on the target.As for my project of leveling one of each Tauren class, well... at the moment its on hold. Oushi my latest character is level 40 and I realize that I don't enjoy playing a Shaman. That may all change at a higher level. As for Ozeb and Thalus, all I have done is raid some old world raids and mess around with the new talents. Catching new pets has been fun on Ozeb.
Currently my focus is to get Akki ready for the expansion, leveling my Cooking and Fishing has been my priority. Also practicing and understanding the Druid changes, especially to Resto and Feral Tanking.
I leave you with this picture of one of our Kil'jaeden attempt.
Got a taste of Hallows End today. I did this even on Thalus last year and I enjoyed it. This year they added more quests and a couple of new items. I got The Horseman's Helm last year and this year I got The Horseman's Blade that summons Pumpkin Soldiers.They added a couple of new quests and a new title that requires you to complete those quests plus many other little things. WOW Insider has a detailed guide.
Below is a picture of me, my pet Sinister Squashling and army of Pumpkin Soldiers.
3.0.2 patch released today. Lots of changes that can make your play style different. For Akki it means that I need to work out a good restoration and feral build for the remaining time until the expansion is released. Primarily I need to find a nice build that can keep me raiding resto without any problems.
Currently I am thinking of playing around with a 8/0/53 build and the only change I can think of is maybe going into Living Seed instead of Natural Perfection. For my feral tanking build I chose 0/48/13 ignoring Berserk for the time being since there are to many essential feral skills in the restoration tree.
I dont plan to play Ozeb or Thalus much besides preparing them for leveling in Wrath of the Litch King, so for Ozeb I chose a heavy pet build for soloing and farming 53/8/0 and for Thalus I am going to stay prot because I usualy use him as a backup tank for pick up group raids with a 5/3/53 build.
Oushi I am not sure about since I am still learning the core abilities of a Shaman and I have put a hold on leveling for the time being.
Currently I am thinking of playing around with a 8/0/53 build and the only change I can think of is maybe going into Living Seed instead of Natural Perfection. For my feral tanking build I chose 0/48/13 ignoring Berserk for the time being since there are to many essential feral skills in the restoration tree.
I dont plan to play Ozeb or Thalus much besides preparing them for leveling in Wrath of the Litch King, so for Ozeb I chose a heavy pet build for soloing and farming 53/8/0 and for Thalus I am going to stay prot because I usualy use him as a backup tank for pick up group raids with a 5/3/53 build.
Oushi I am not sure about since I am still learning the core abilities of a Shaman and I have put a hold on leveling for the time being.
Please welcome Wyngaed a fellow guild member who also is working on leveling a tauren of each class available but hers are all female. She will be adding her experience and contributing to this blog.
She will be talking about other talent specs since she plays a balance druid and a Arms warrior along with other Tauren Classes she is leveling.
She will be talking about other talent specs since she plays a balance druid and a Arms warrior along with other Tauren Classes she is leveling.
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