To say It's been a while since I dabbled in the Warcraft Universe would be a hell of a understatement. In the space of my last post, I'm now married, Living in my own house with my beautiful wife and enjoying our time together even more than I ever have. We are settling in really well, we finally got our sofa today so after three weeks of sitting on chairs our friend kindly lent us we can now relax and enjoy proper chilled out evenings together.
As you may of guessed we also have our internet up and running, To start with we wanted to go with EE but with a three week installation time and a lazy Copper wire feeding us sub optimal speeds for our area we decided to go with virgin. Have not looked back since. Next up was a computer, yay!
We wanted to have something to suit both mine and the wife's needs. A capable computer for both editing videos and playing video games. PC Specialist was our chosen company and we got our beautiful machine within 3 days of placing our order. I highly recommend them to any one looking for a new system.
I'm also back on the Warcraft band wagon. Playing a Windwalker monk and loving it. I do have to admit, it took me a while to appreciate the new class mechanics but its an absolute blast. I've grown out of having to play the top DPS class. Enjoy the limited time I get to play and Enjoy it I shall! The WW style is so great and it flows incredibly well, Wish I could say the same for my writing techniques. >.<
Everything is a huge learning curve again which is great, but I feel so far behind everyone its crazy. Hopefully 7.2.5 will bring in more catch up mechanics for those behind. The Mythic dungeons are a great addition to the game and I have to admit, I do not raid half as much or if at all, so it fits my timings perfectly. That and climbing ladders on diablo.
So my guild is still around but was collecting dust for a few months now. Only a few of us play and a few returning but we look to have a 1 night a week raiding period for a full clear and a few dungeons here in there. Casual and as cool as a set of cucumbers. Its great to be back.
Hello again everyone! As promised I have written up a very basic healing guide for the next three bosses within the second wing of Highmaul. I want to keep these short and sweet. Less dribble and just the facts you need as a Mistweaver. Thank you for the kind words from my last post! Lets get the ball rolling for another super basic guide!
Note: These guides do not teach you how to play your class or tell you exactly what spells to use. Just a few tips here and there for good measure.
Tectus -
If targeted by Crystalline barrage run away from the raid (to the right)
If you have any Earthen Pillars spawning on you, Move. (to the left)
Tanks take heavy consistent damage throughout. Use spells like soothing mixed with surging.
Raid will take large damage on every Tectonic Upheaval. Use a mixture of uplifts and chi brews to help balance it out.
Use revival on second Upheaval so it could be up for the last one.
Spells like chi torpedo coupled with celerity for the extra roll help great for the movement of this fight.
I take chi burst here as I like its raid healing for Upheaval/melee group dealing with red stuff.
Statue on melee.
Twin Ogron -
First off, fire is bad, move from it. Zen med and defuse magic negate its damage.
Avoid Pol's charge, spread on pulverize.
Tank A takes damage from whirlwind, save hamster ball for that. (Life Cocoon)
Watch out for interruption shout. If you have a paladin, get them to use devo aura here. (Mana tea wont be interrupted anyway)
Keep the statue by the ranged. Single target the melee (My raid never had many of them dudes)
Ko'ragh - Super simple guide.
Fire debuff can be dispelled, if you like to cheese, soon as the first raid wide fire debuff is up, use revival. (will be up for last one)
If the boss is charging move away (behind someone else)
help stun adds with leg sweep when needed.
Tanks and the player catching the orbs will take heavy damage, Save cocoon for those three.
Dont stand by or near any of the bad stuff (ice, fire, arcane)
Use surging/soothing on tanks (watch for range) and use uplift as a main chi spender here. Lots of AoE damage from people unable to avoid all the avoidable damage.
There you go folks! Second basic guide complete! I will add some widgets in for the spells for new people looking to know more about the spells, but it's Friday, It's been a busy week and I have a cold now so I want to mong out! Until next time folks! Take care! - Vaylen.
Hello ladies and gents! It's been a crazy week with my new job which is tiring me out so much I find it tough getting on Warcraft for a good few hours as well as balancing IRL things. Luckily I finished work early today so its time to get down with this funky stuff and explore more of the in depth world of Azeroth. In this episode we take a break from spending our time chasing rainbows and go in to the dark and remote locations of some of my most haunted spots in Warcrat. Expect to find ghosts, limbs and horrors waiting for our arrival! This will be a great fun so as always, grab your finest brew and torch, You will need it!
So the time has come to put away our sun block and steer away from the weather chasing for now. I wanted to have a different theme to this exploration post so I thought outside of the box a little. We have had a look at some of the more beautiful places around Azeroth. From the freezing lakes of Winterspring to the boiling hot deserts of Uldum.. all of which were amazing, but we have not been to the deepest parts of Azeroth, to the locations forced to be forgotten due to its spooky history. Tonight we take a look at these locations and try and unearth some of their mystery.
Dawning Wood Catacombs
Deep in Alliance territory lies a forest south of the main city and across one of many lakes coursing through Eastern Kingdoms. Past this river lies the misty and silent Duskwood. This Location sets the tone perfectly for were we are heading out too! Under the Raven hill cemetery to the west homes some of the lost souls lost through out history and now plays a part in the recreation of the undead creatures roaming around the area.
Not much is known of this location but members of the alliance are fortunate enough to follow a great quest chain that will eventually lead you through this place of death. The structure is separated into two parts, the eastern entrance pushes you through the rooms filled with Skeletons and spirits roaming the halls, the second part then takes you through the rooms packed with ghouls.
It's in this second hall you will find the main culprit for the reincarnations of his brethren, He or she is harnessing power from death itself to cause more agony to those living in the surrounding villages and settlements, Raven hill being the closest. Once you pass this hall you will then go in to what seems like a room full of tombs bodies.. A little creepy!
Following the stairs towards the end of the corridor you will finally be out of harms way, but during this walk, peer left and right and you will see more tombs with imprints on them, its still unsure what they mean, more research will be needed! But nonetheless a great place for you to explore!
The Tomb of Invincible
As you may know I'm a sucker for some good ol' Lich king lore, this small location sets the tone that accompanies my recent post on the voices that can be heard within the throne room of Undercity. Here you can listen to the events of what plagued this city way before the present day. Arthas during his days of a young boy had a brilliant horse named invincible, his best friend. During a small ride through the hill lands in the middle of a harsh winter, close to the city walls his beloved horse fell as it lost its grip while trying to jump a fallen tree. The Horse was injured and Arthas knew, even at his age that the horse could not suffer any more pain so he grabbed what courage he had and put the creature in a forever lasting slumber. He placed his blade were the horses heart would be, and push with all his strength. At his request Arthas wanted to bury his steed at the same farm in which he was born on. Balnir Farmstead was one of the most well known stables that produced some of the best mares in all of the land.
At his grave site there is a tablet on the stone that reads the following:
Invincible Beloved steed of prince Arthas Menethil, Loyal and great in heart of life, may you find peace in death. Pure streams and green pastures, devoted friend.
As events unfold, Arthas now returned as the lich king, he came to this very spot to resurrect his fallen companion so that they can live together again, and torment more unwary souls. To me this event was the starting point to his corruption and the start to one hell of a story!
The Corrupted Ashbringer
Now, I know what you're thinking.. Vaylen! Why a weapon?! Why write some dribble about a sword and not a location we can visit ourselves?! Let me explain why I wanted to implement this remarkable weapon. For a start it has one hell of a story line within its self, more than any other location I have mentioned recently. What also makes this weapon special is because back in the day, these types of items were incredibly rare, if you had one you was considered a god of your realm. Now days blizzard have made legendary items far to easy to obtain, but this one.. this one has something special about it. This weapon made you feel incredible and I just wish blizzard implemented something like this again!
This weapon could originally be seen in Naxxramas wielded by Alexandros Mograine, believed to be one of the leading figures in the scarlet crusade. He was also known as the ashbringer for the weapon he carried (before it was corrupted), Unfortunately, due to greed and the lust for power his son Renault killed him and brought him back to life as a death knight for Kel'thuzad who clearly had control over the boy. Equipping this incredible weapon while in the Scarlet monastery also triggered an event that unlocked more to the story.. But it does not end there..
Whispers could be heard as the item struck a foe, the voice is said to be Alexandros Mograine himself! Of course the item is no longer in the game but with the use of sound scripts you can hear them from anywhere for yourself. I do warn you though, its spooky as hell, so stand by Undercity, with your lights low and enjoy the awesomeness! Here is the dialog you can hear and below each sentence is the exact script you copy in to your chat box and hit enter.
- I was pure once. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_01.wav") - fought for righteousness . /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_02.wav") - I was called Ashbringer. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_03.wav") - Betrayed by my order. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_04.wav") - Destroyed by Kel'Thuzad. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_05.wav") - Suffer pain to serve. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_06.wav") - My son watched me die. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_07.wav") - Crusades fed his rage. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_08.wav") - Truth is unknown to him. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_09.wav") - Scarlet crusade is pure no longer. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_10.wav") - Balnazzar's crusade corrupted my son. /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_11.wav") - KILL THEM ALL! /script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_12.wav")
The sound effects are so spooky and and I swear you can hear Kel'thuzad murmuring in the back ground... Very strange indeed but something you have to listen too! nothing beats listening to a bit of history. As I said before I really hope blizzard work on these kind of items that hold such a huge story line in themselves... Lets keep our fingers crossed!
So that's it from this episode folks, wanted to keep this one short and sweet! Next Friday we will have another exploration post as well as the announcment of the winner for my 30k Blog views competition but until then, stay safe and happy hunting! - Vaylen.
“A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. The consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.” - Swami Sivinada.
So maybe the thought of making a monk has crossed your mind, maybe you have wondered were the monk lore really connects with the current Warcraft lore and rightly so. I have been wanting to create a post dedicated to the monk class for some time now and with the new expansion on the horizon, many people are looking for a fresh start, with new challenges to take on, as well as something refreshing to learn, The monk class is a fantastic option to try out for all those reasons. I have had my fair dabble in each class over the years I have played this game and out of all of those years, the most recent one with the release of Mists Of Pandaria, The monk class has easily been the most enjoyable and fun to learn. I have always been a huge fan of the Monk culture and their lifestyle, so the monk class was something I was really excited to test out. without the monk class being introduced, My little blog would not be were it is today. So grab your finest brew, sit back and relax as we take a little walk through the mysterious ways of the monk. What does monk mean? It is believed that a monk is a person who practices the arts of religious asceticism, Living in solitude for most of their life span. Either it be serving other people and beings by providing enlightenment, or living life within normal society but living their life in prayer and contemplation. The concept of the monk can been seen through a number of religious communities such as: Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Jainism and Methodism. The term "monk" is used to cover the generic stereotype of the person from that culture, Monk can also mean Hermit, Friar or cenobite, but in a modern age we use the generic name, Monk to cover all aspects of the culture.
We think of monks as solemn individuals who train and practice on their arts through training and resourcefulness, passed down through generations and taught for a life time and this would be correct for one of the religions. This is the way of Buddhism. The Buddhist Monks, also known as the "community of excellent ones" live a extremely basic life yet have a very methodical approach to it. In most monk cultures, vows of liberation are taken and stuck too through their life time in order to develop their own personal discipline. They are trained in fighting with a unique style of self defense, teaching their bodies to work in super natural ways. This does take a life time of dedication, Their outlook on life, the ability to balance two opposites in perfect harmony makes them extraordinary people and similarities can be noticeable between these monks, as well as the ones within WoW. Origins Of The Monk "When the pandaren were subjugated by the mogu centuries ago, it was the monks that brought hope to a seemingly dim future. Restricted from using weapons by their slave masters, these pandaren instead focused on harnessing their chi and learning weaponless combat. When the opportunity for revolution struck, they were well-trained to throw off the yoke of oppression." - WoWWiki.
Drawing by Lynxia
Much like the real Buddhism monks, they'are culturally studious and refine their lifestyle within their own company and practices. The Pandaren are the greatest of monks, their teachings and understanding of their culture has been passed through the other races through out Azeroth. Their philosophies have really shaped the world we are drawn in to. Monks though have also been known to be apart of the Scarlet crusade well before the events of Mists for how long for, I'm unsure, but there is also a monk some of you may be aware of and that's Malygos. That's right folks, The former Dragon aspect of the Blue dragon flight, in his human form is in actual fact, a monk. Monks can also be traced back to the Runemasters who are still within the world of warcraft today. They merge brute strength with arcane magics. Covering their bodies with mythic tattoos and often imbuing them with energies to increase the hand to hand combat. While the Rune master are known for not wearing much armor, they do this to prevent hindrances and to inscribe their runes to demonstrate their subtlety and finesse. The Rune master is a free spirit, more at home within the deep vegetation of a forest than a city and can be found around thousand needles and Feralas. They are considered to be close to nature, but not like Druids or Shamans but in their own unique way. These traditions date back to the age of the titans, way before any shamanistic teachings. Dwarves also shared the same heritage but all too soon forgot their teachings and the art was lost. However, with the expedition to Kalimdor with Janie Proudmoore, they encountered tauren who re learnt the art and offered what little they could of the Rune master abilities, even though the dwarves and tauren were never neutral with each other, they always shared an interested in the ways of the runemaster. See if you can match up their similarities between the Runemasters and the Monks!
Way of the monk
So with a rich history and an abundance of lore behind them, you may be asking, Why should I play a monk? What makes them different from any other class, especially leather type classes? These are questions I can not answer for people specifically as much as I try but I will go over and highlight what draws us to the monk, what makes them valuable and what you can expect from them.
Mobility
I don't know if this is just me, but having the freedom to move around as much as possible at an insane speed is something that keeps this class fun. I wanted to mention Mobility first because their use of it is unlike any other class. Of course you have your blinks, shadow steps and heroic leaps, but they don't have flying serpent kicks and rolls now do they! Blizzard did an incredible job with the monks mobility because none of them need a target or a spot to be located before you use the spell, this gives the class a unique fluidity that every other class lacks.
Uniqueness
Monks are naturally compared to rogues and druids, each class uses energy as a resource, but monks have another resource to maintain and that's chi. No matter what spec you're playing in, chi is vital in all of the playstyles. As a Windwalker (dps) it gives you a reason to use energy to gain chi, to then be used on killing blows, it's far from clunky and is one of the most fluid specs I have played. It gives us something else to use and not just tunnel vision the energy bar like other classes, or watch our rage when in tanking form, monks retain their energy and chi even while in Brewmaster (tank) that allows your to use brews and insane absorbs to reduce the amount of punishment your raid takes. Something I think blizzard implemented perfectly, Keeping the class unique and refreshing. Mistweavers (Healer) Also gain the use of Chi, making the balance between mana usage and mana regeneration rather unique and keeping your party/raid in perfect harmony of each other and out of harms way.
Combat style
As a monk, you wont feel the need show off your weapon skills so much, instead your animations focus around your punches and kicks, the spell effects are simply great especially the particle density with our aoe spells. Our abilities are clean, and also fluid enough to make the simplest of fights, more entertaining. There is nothing like doing a ton of back flips in a fight and rolling out of fire! Our stances are awesome too! If your a dps, you will be in the stance of the fierce tiger, Stance of the wise serpent if healing is more your thing and then finally Stance of the sturdy Ox while tanking. A nice change from battle/defensive stance.
Below is a video of the Windwalker monk in action, Myself killing Garrosh normal making great use of our mobility and a good chance to see some of our spells.
So if you have not already guessed, Monks are well suited to all roles in a party, Making us the newest of hybrids and I really do think we are one of the better ones. Each roll will be always worth a raiding spot, Next I will go over the strengths of each spec of the monks. Mistweaver - Their ability to spread out heals is incredible although it can not really be controlled it can be an incredible way to get the whole raid up when needed. Many fights now have predictable damage so using their abilities at specific moments is what makes a good Mistweaver, a better one. Also they have the greatest healing asset, the ability to move while healing. A mixture of hots and direct healing spells work in perfect harmony together making the monks special mobility great for Mistweavers. They also have a unique way to regain mana thanks to Mana tea. I hear crit is the best mana regen stat to go for so make use of it!
Windwalker - The Windwalkers mobility is even better in this spec thanks to flying serpent kick making fights with alot of movement rather easy. We also have some of the better damage mitigation spells the game has to offer, such as defuse magic, zen meditation and touch of karma making us a rather tough leather dps. The monks rotation and use of chi and energy make it so we can focus more on whats going on in the fight and not really to demanding on the tightness of the rotation helping us focus on movement and switching etc. What also makes the Windwalker special is our aoe/cleave damage, some of the best if not the best in game. Depending on talents we can still use our normal rotation while in aoe situations making it super fun, yet super simple. Also make great use of our clone ability, its a huge help for aoe conditions.
Brewmaster - In my opinion, the best tanking class I have ever played. MoP was made around the new tanking system active mitigation, and monks have it in bucket loads! They can shrug of a ton of damage, have great mobility and thanks to Ox statue, able to place absorbs on the whole raid, so beautiful. They also have some of the best damage thanks to keg smash and the ability to aoe while doing their single target rotation much like Windwalkers (with the specific talent) They also have some incredible raid cooldowns at their disposal making them a worthy main/co tank to have in your raid.
This was just a small insight in to the things you can expect from a monk, take your pick, either way you're always a valuable asset and will have a ton of fun during the process!
Solo play
So if raiding is not your type of thing, but soloing old raids and quests are, then the monk is equipped with the perfect tools for the job. I have soloed raids with a number of minutes due to their mobility and pure strength. As a Windwalker or a Brewmaster I think we are one of the best solo/boosting classes. Our self healing is one of our strongest features as well as abilities like touch of karma and healing sphere, we wont take any damage but be able to heal up as much as we wish. We also have a huge amount of stuns making it easy to stop attackers when things get tough. Brewmasters as I said before have crazy dps, plus their able to mitigate so much damage while being the most mobile of the tanks, making boosting a breeze.
How about leveling?
The same thing goes for leveling, our mobility is great for things like quests, we also have the ability to gain a new quest every 10 levels were you will transfer your soul to the peak of serenity to gain a 50% exp gain for an hour making leveling that much easier.
The Monk Community
I tend to mention this a fair bit during my posts and twitter, but I can't express it enough. During my 8 years of playing, I have had my good times and bad times, just like every other player, but this last year has been so unique and refreshing too me, it really has re lit the spark between me and Warcraft. Thanks to a number of people, we have our own Monk podcast, our own website to go to for advice, guides, random chatter, that's free of the things you see on other sites. *shudders at WoW forums* and players who enjoy the game for what it is, enjoy the monk.. not for it being crazy OP or terrible, but for it being fun. If you have ideas, the community will hear you out, embrace your opinions and make you feel welcome. One of the least elitist communities I have known. We also have an active amount of bloggers, so if reading other peoples opinions and random chit chat is your thing, or if you're interested in starting one yourself, what a great place to start.
So there you have it! If you're looking to start a new character for the next expansion and was maybe thinking of a monk, I hope this little post highlighted a few doubts and unanswered questions. Monks are incredibly fun to play and I urge everyone to try one. If you have any other questions, please contact me! Info is in the *Contact* page. - Vaylen.
Greetings my fellow friends, raiders and bloggers alike! Another year is closing the doors behind us and 2014 is now here. 2013 was a real bumpy ride with some ups and downs and I wanted to share my experience with you. My blog has taken some gradual changes overtime, Starting from the Alliance side, now Horde, From Gnome too Troll... talk about a drastic change! A number of guilds I was lucky enough to raid with, blogs and podcast's I have taken part in and visiting Sweden a number of times to meet my guild mates who have become my closest friends. Some of these I wish to share with you guys, so sit back, Grab your finest brew and lets take a little trip down memory lane.
So this was were it all began, a simple gnome, tanking heroic raids with the servers (was) top guild. Was not to sure what to blog about and in some sense, still don't! However with the first stepping stone out the way and actually proceeding with the idea of blogging my adventures, it soon became something much larger. A few more posts were starting to appear around the interwebs such as my nostalgic posts of old dungeons/raids and stories of past adventures when I was a new player, too basic guides on how to tank some of the fights throughout Mists (Normal/heroic). Knowing other people shared the same interests as me and was keen to read more was the real factor for me to continue. I love going back in the history books and writing out such events, World Of Warcraft will always have great memories for every player and I just wanted to share those with you!
As the weeks went by, A monk podcast was born, from a number of great players. This was when my interest in blogging really changed. I was rather knew still to this sort of thing, but I also knew it was something I really wanted to explore and understand..
The show of monks, for monks within the World Of Warcraft. A fantastic show that I still enjoy listening too. The first episode that was released around the same month I created my blog and to me it just felt perfect to really reach out to them, speak to the members and become apart of this community. As all wow players know we share the same bond, we have all had our bad patches within the game were even logging on was effort, but with my blog, and this podcast it really rekindled my love for both writing and Playing WoW. Listening to their discussions on the Monk class, raid encounters and such really gave me the idea to write my own short guides as well as tips and tricks on specific encounters. The members of the Podcast stand out all on their own and I really wanted to speak about each one of them.
Chaithi - Raider leader and lead host of The podcast. A humorous chap and a vast knowledge of the Windwalker Monk in particular. His witty comments, podcast skills are great and I really think this chap will help make the monk community shine.
Sunnier - Heroic raider and co host, A fantastic Brewmaster monk. Her knowledge and Ideas behind the class are brilliant, Her blog is as well known as us British folk's love for tea. The go to spot for Brewmaster guides and related topics (trinket comparisons) as well as mentioned on Icy Veins. Unfortunately Sunnier left the podcasting team but will always be remembered!
Naoyuki - The brother from another mother, the other half the Mistweaver Collab, A really great guy who I have spoke to a number of times. A brilliant Mistweaver with a love for the same music as me! That's always a good start! His understanding of the class, again is incredible. :P I just think he needs to create a Vaylen Monk shirt now!
Daikatsu - The Healing Extraordinaire! and the other half of the healing Collab, The only chap I listen to when I want the answers to Weaving. His knowledge of his spec is like the others, awesome. With a Methodical approach to each idea the devs through at him about Mistweavers he will always seem to give you the right answers. A writer for Blizz master and to me, another important part to help push the monk community out there. /salute.
Ayr - Good ol' Windwalker from Japan! The Kung-foo Master! Ayr's understanding of class mechanics is second to none, I have learnt so much when making the switch from Brewmaster to Windwalker from just listening to his tips and tricks on the podcast, the way he explains things was really what pushed me to try out WW more full time and drop the tanking. Thank you good sir for your rather long winded explanations of things, Wouldn't be the same without you there buddy!
KptnCrunch - The new Brewmaster in town! After Sunniers departure a new Brewmaster was needed to take her place, This chap stood up to the task and is doing an awesome job. A really Great player who's currently progressing on to Garrosh Heroic. Also co writer for Simcraft, with great understanding of his class, Im looking forward to hearing more ideas from him! GG!
So as you can see, a great bunch of people to listen too, their ideas are fantastic and really do make this Podcast shine. For me their Podcast was what really pushed me to continue my work and become apart of the monk community. This then lead on to one of the most memorable moments for me this year. Too be featured on their show! This was when I was raiding a fair bit on my Brewmaster so naturally I wanted to be apart of it. Video below is the full episode of the Brewmaster Roundtable! Despite the nerves and being the only British player there and knowing my accent was standing out like a sore thumb, I pressed on and really enjoyed it!
After this, I was lucky enough to have Sunnier feature on my blog, with a question and answers section on Teir 15, her ideas and thoughts behind the expansion and other mentions such as favorite dungeons, raids and encounters etc. I was so happy that she wanted to take part in it, I was always a huge fan of her blog: Sunniersartofwar.com it was an honor to ask such questions and get great feedback! Thank you Sunnier!
You still here guys? Great! Just a few more points I want to highlight to wrap up this Year, so just in case, grabs some more brew, sit back, relax and enjoy some more stories.
With ideas at this time flying through my brain on what to blog about next, I took the idea of a play through/lets play series I saw online and Started my own level 20 - 90 healing guide as a Shaman. In each post I mentioned the spells I had learnt, dungeons I had ran with a little touch of the lore all the way through the levels. This helped me really reach out to the other communities and had a number of great Shaman healers offer advice and such, and I think this is were my blog really took off. This then lead to my 85-90 leveling guide, one of the more popular posts on my blog.
Being able to share my experiences as a new player to the Restoration Shaman, others could learn from me too. In the space of a month, and by the end of the leveling process my views had grown tenfold, this was a great thing for me because it then enabled me to write some other guides and it become such a joy when people were contacting me in game and such, asking for advice and me even asking others for advice too! A great feeling and one that I will continue to strive for!
Then came the giveaways! Not really expecting anything but nonetheless I tried them out and boy was I shocked by the response. As I have said before, I always have had a passion for two things, Writing and helping others. A way I could reward people in reading my blog was to give away some TCG cards. Fortunately, I'm a huge collector of the Loot cards and books so giving back to the community was a great feeling for me.
So blizzcon 2013 was coming, the tension on the new expansion was brewing.. I was lucky enough to do a commentary of the whole thing with the Monk Mediation folk and it was a great time! Despite my lack of english on the forums and got the Twitch stream temporarily locked down, We were back up and running, and discussing the future of WoW. We had some really great discussions and a little nerd time with Daikatsu about the lore involved and such. Was great fun! Would love to do it again, just be a little bit more careful what I say in the Forums. :P /Naughty British troll.
Because Of WoW..
With such a crazy year, I have just one more thing to mention and share with you guys.. My trips to Sweden to visit some guild mates who have now become life time friends of mine. If You don't wish to see any IRL pictures of backdrops and my ugly face then please scroll down to my little thank you to you guys! :3
As I was saying! This was my first holiday away on my own, as well as my first holiday in 12 years.. Not much of a jet setter am I?! :P anyway, 3 visits later, I have had some great memories of that place and of the people I have met there! My home of homes, the guild of guilds, who unfortunately disbanded.. Forced Intent.. I love these guys and this really was a *Because of WoW* Story. Below are some of the pictures of each visit. A truly beautiful place and incredible people!
The short little British guy making his way out to Sweden was one of the best ideas ever! Plenty of drinking, gaming and partying! The most recent trip I took My girlfriend along to meet them and as predicted, she loved it! We hope to make Sweden our home in the future, so hopefully a lot of great blogging moments to come!
I just want to take the last part of this post to say a quick thank you to everyone who has supported me through out my little journey. I have met some incredible people and with your support, I hope to keep doing this for as long as possible! Writing is my passion, and hopefully in a few years be doing it for my job, but hey enough about me... A quick thank you to those who have helped me so far!
- The guys from Monk meditation for your work on the podcast and great banter on Twitter. /salute.
- My life long friends from Forced Intent over in Sweden, you guys are everything to me! /salute.
- The monk community for all your great feedback, words of wisdom and help. /salute.
- Tauren Think Tank podcast for making every week, more enjoyable. /salute.
- Most incredible Girlfriend and Best friend a brit could ask for. Without her support, I would not be were I am today. /Hug.
- Team EQ, the guild I now call home, your banter is awesome and I love you guys!
- Ragnaros EU, For putting up with me. /cheer.
This year, I have a ton install for you! More guides, WOD server first race to 100, Tactics, Garrison guides, short stories, the balance of gaming and healthy living and more!
Thank you all again, I hope you all have a prosperous 2014 - Vaylen.
