Well, after an unexpected extended downtime from my computer and WoW I am finally back. You have to love it when your hard drive decides to take a vacation from doing its job. But I finally received another hard drive and I am back up and working. Now for wow and the changes in the last patch. Myself I am kind of upset that they lowered the level for getting your 1st mount. I mean I worked my characters to the bone to get that first 40 mount and it made you feel good when you got it. You knew that you were over the hill so to speak and on the down hill to 70.
Now that everyone gets a mount at 30, what good is travel form for druids and aspect of the beast for hunters. But I do suppose they do have a place still for some people.
Finally Hit 70 in tradeskilling... Raw topaz is still selling for 27 silver each but I managed to get enough in my wanders up to the bonemire to finish off the tier. On to Tier 8. I shouldn't be too shocked at tier 7 however, almost all of the end stage crafting items sell for 20 silver + So it will be a while before I finish tier 8.
I ended up with 3200 or so wood, 800 or so roots and very, very little rocks for tier 7. Right now heading into tier 8 I have about 50 roots, 100 or so wood and enough rocks to sink a battle ship - It helps that the gemstones (Rocks) needed to make level 70 to 80 spells - the non rare ones sell for 2cp each, though I'll probably harvest while getting roots and what not, so I can fill the holes in my spell line up - There is several spells that are fairly pointless to take in ad3 as the master from the rank below it tends to be more powerful then the adept 3 (Even after SOE nerfing all the level 60-70 spells by 20-30% to make the level 70-80 spells that much more powerful)
I must say however, Tier 8 fuel is pricey. Good thing I can get my basic fuel costs back from just selling my crafting results, or by doing writs. Speaking of writs. I'm not particularly wanting to level the heck out of another guild, however my house costs me 40k status a week (I know, I could fill my house with status items but I use my 6 slot house for broker purposes and not for furnishing) So right now I have to do 4 level 70 rush orders a week to pay for my house (gives me 12k a writ) Amusing that the gold I also get for the writ gives me just enough cash to pay for the house money wise.
On the adventure front - Well, I'm at 39% on AA 139 - It's soooo slow. But then again I don't play, play, play. I am trying to finish up some quests before the next expansion comes out so I can have a nice empty adventure journal - Currently I have 5 free spaces for quests, I'm hoping to get that up to at least 40 before the expansion.
My friend and I recently joined Legolas in a troll hunt. He seemed to embody most of the traits that irritate me about hunters, even though he was an NPC. He pulled before we were ready, pulled too many and did not staying close to my Champion so I could not protect him and my minstrel friend at the same time. The instance is easily duo-able if he hadn't been such a pinhead. As it was, we barely made it to the last encounter and I was so busy trying to get aggro off him that I let my friend's minstrel be defeated.
Maybe one day we will have the patience and time to to join Legolas in that quest again.
Meanwhile I am working on other Epic Books which means I am trying to earn reputation with the Lossoth in Forochel and the rangers in Northern Angmar. I need reputation with them so I can use the stables to get there and not spend sometimes hours fighting trash mobs and running to zonelines.
I like the reputation system. I like how it it a vital part of the game system. I don't like the idea of having to spend hours grinding out quests just to get reputation enough to get there easily. Kind of a circular dynamic: I need to spend lots of time there so I can get there easier to spend more time there.
Or maybe I should just enjoy the trek across Angmar to get to the ranger's haven, or the trek across Northern Evendim and Southern Forochel to visit the Lossoth. The scenery is pretty.
I had switched Biggs form CD - A guild with a whopping 3 active accounts in it, to Eternal Oblivion - They raid around the same time I get home usually and I'm looking forward to being able to raid. Right now I'm only a rookie, I suspect that I'll be that for a while - as I'm getting tired of grinding status (Except for my house that required 40k status a week, I doubt that I'll be putting much effort into gaining status. I'll pick up what I can on raids (You usually get 1600 guild status a raid mob) and various dungeons as well as the occasional crafting writ.
Speaking of crafting I'm currently sitting at a level 69 sage - I went to knock off a few more scrolls last night to get me to 70 and a new tier of items - but when I looked topaz was at 30 sp - This is a change from the 2 copper it usually sits at. I had a whopping 2 pieces of it in inventory so I had to run out and get more. I normally buy the components when their cheap and have a running inventory of about 3000 pieces of wood, but I never bothered with topaz since I tend to accumulate so much of it.. Oh well, I'll start stocking it as well if it's going to be that high. So this sent me up to the bone mire in search of tier 7 resources so I can finally get out of tier 7 and into tier 8.
In the bone mire, I started harvesting - I noticed that the nodes that generated topaz were unusually scarce - Hopefully this will mean topaz will slowly go down in price. One thing led to another and I found myself in the halls of fate, going to knock off the one green mob that I can kill in there - I was hoping for a level 70 master - something valuable, I've been feeding my alts and I'm getting low on cash - Unfortunately after killing him I ended up with a 23gp loot item that I'll probably farm out to my swashbuckler when he gets a few levels higher (He's 57 atm) The item is the wastestalkers cowl, a scout only item.
And that concluded my time for the night. Off I Went.
Which i unhappily spent playing dragon quest VI on the ps1... Not sure if anyone cares, but the walkthrough for that sucker is 584 pages long...
But i've got a new card now - It's a nvidia 8800 something or other. It's kinda neat. I can play at super duper high quality that gives you a warning not to play on that level with about 12 frames a second, Or i can play at normal balanced level and hit a good 70 fps.
I haven't noticed a whole lot of differance between High quality and do not run this it will lock up your computer quality.
But i' back in the game, I can play again... yay!, On the bright side, my broker churned out about 30pp in sales while i was gone.. Thats a lot of rosewood at 10sp a shot.
Heh
-B-
Finding Captain Teague - A Father's Day Event May 28 2008
You've heard of the man reputed to be Captain Jack Sparrow's father? We're talking, of course, about Captain Teague. This notorious pirate has gone missing, and in honor of Father's Day we need your help to find him. Finding Captain Jack's father won't be easy ... but it may make you a legend!
Did anyone find the captain? Where was he? What was the quest like?
New Ghost Ships and Enemies ... Now Live! May 28 2008
Keep an eye out for these ill-fated vessels -- these nightmarish forces of evil and danger are sure to challenge your skills & and nerves. The undead sailors are doomed to skulk around the waters of Isla Cangrejos and Cutthroat Island in their ominous Ghost Ships: Shadow Crow, Cerberus, and Blood Scourge. Be forewarned, these dastardly creatures can be fought off, but they're no easy prey - they're battle-hardened sailors with nothing to lose. So be careful when ye enter these treacherous waters!
Has anyone run into these ghost ships? What are they like?
Sneak Peek: Meet the Crew of the Black Pearl!July 8 2008 Black Pearl Crew Member #2: Gordon Greer
Once a proud and able ensign of the British Royal Navy, after a particularly harsh lashing for a minor infraction, Greer figured he'd try life as a pirate. It couldn't be much worse than life in the Royal Navy he thought, and it was certainly more profitable. With his mind set, Greer found passage to Tortuga and signed on with the Black Pearl, proving his worth on several occasions.
Shortly after the crew of the Pearl disbanded, Greer frittered away whatever gold he had in few short days. Ultimately, his poor financial planning brought him to the doorstep of his youngest sister, June. Hat in hand, Gordon begged June for a place to stay. He told her it was, "only until me fortunes return," June however, knew better -- since this wasn't the first time her brother came calling. Tired of providing for her scandalous sibling, June reported Gordon to the Naval authorities and collected a handsome reward.
You'll meet Gordon Greer inside Fort Charles, while on your Quest to round up the Black Pearl crew. Greer is the second crewman of the Black Pearl you'll need to locate in the Black Pearl story chapter. To get Greer released, you'll need to convince (in addition to a few other tasks) Lt. Blakeley that Gordon has gone straight. Honestly, Greer will most likely return to his life of larceny - in fact, Captain Sparrow's counting on it.
But I finally received another hard drive and I am back up and working. Now for wow and the changes in the last patch. Myself I am kind of upset that they lowered the level for getting your 1st mount. I mean I worked my characters to the bone to get that first 40 mount and it made you feel good when you got it. You knew that you were over the hill so to speak and on the down hill to 70. 
