Only Ten More Points

World Event: Pirates Day - September 19th

2009-09-18T16:19:00.008+01:00

This one-day holiday only has one Achievement associated with it - [The Captain's Booty] which takes minimal effort to obtain.

Pirates' Day coincides with International Talk Like a Pirate Day on 19th September and Warcraft celebrates this with the landing of Dread Captain DeMeza and her crew in Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale. She temporarily resides on the rooftop of the buildings at [26.6,76.6].

By talking to Captain DeMeza you are offered a drink and allowed to become part of the honary crew, thus completing the Achievement.

Remember to send in some screenies of you dressed up with the crew! I look forward to seeing them!

Until the next ten points,
Bloodsail Admiral Glinda

A Bit More Insane: Finally Insane

2009-08-12T12:55:00.002+01:00

So I finally finished it and I'm not going to lie, I have this feeling of complete anticlimax at the moment. As you've probably noticed, I fell off the wagon with updating this blog. A combination of irl events (I have some work colleagues on holiday so I have more projects to see through and my best friend has been very sick) and some stressful stuff ingame (I worked very hard at something for a long time and I've basically found out in a round-about way that I really shouldn't have bothered) means I feel a bit burned out and like 'this' (Warcraft) isn't really important anymore.

I finished off the Darkmoon Faire reputation with no problem, but I was starting to struggle with those last 500 junk boxes for Ravenholdt. The combination of irl/wow stuff meant it was enough just to force myself to log in, I just could not get the inclination to go up there and farm them, I'd manage 1-2 bag fulls and then be bored out of my mind.
/end emo.

So this is where I really need to thank Gnomr who had prepared a wonderful suprise for me. I logged in and was just sitting around in a fairly lackluster manner and he told me I had to come find him and trade him. I set off dutifully, and that sneaky little gnome had farmed over 300 boxes for me! We promised I'd complete the achievement by the next day and he kept me company in whispers and on his rogue until between us we'd farmed the last few. I am really indebted to you for this one Gnomr!

While we are on the subject, other thanks are in order:
Darkerknight - for supplying me with pristine black diamonds, some lockboxes and /w entertainment.
Gnomr - for giving me that last kick into action that I needed <3
Selfia - for joining me in DM and generally being there for me.
Rosmarinus - for agreeing to come and kill stuff in Booty Bay which basically started this madness!
Faldiri - for loaning me two DMF decks to hand in.

PROGRESS:
Honored with Bloodsail Buccaneers [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Booty Bay [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Everlook [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Gadgetzan [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Ratchet [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Ravenholdt [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Darkmoon Faire [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Shen'dralar [COMPLETE]

Until the next ten points,
Glinda the Insane

A Bit More Insane: Down with the Ogres

2009-07-22T15:25:00.008+01:00

'A Bit More Insane' will log my progress on the Feat of Strength, [Insane In The Membrane].

Firstly let me apologise for going MIA! It is the 'Holiday Season' in my office which means I am currently doing the job of at least two other people while my colleagues are sunning themselves in more favourable climes! It is really cutting into my play time, many an evening are spent napping at the moment!

I also took a really fun day off to go to London with DarkKnight (and spend some of our hard earned IRL gold!). We went on the London Eye and a river cruise, had icecream in the park, had lunch and went round the Natural History Museum, dragged him off to see the Egyptian Stairway at Harrods (and promptly lost it, I don't think DK was particualrly enthused at walking in all those circles!) and then on to see my favourite musical Wicked! I was sooo exhausted especially going back to work the next day!

HOWEVER! I did find time to complete the next major step of my achievement! I stocked up on two seasons of Law & Order SVU and packed myself off to Dire Maul!

I will follow this up with a short guide to efficiently running Dire Maul North hopefully in the next week or so!

PROGRESS:
Honored with Bloodsail Buccaneers [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Booty Bay [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Everlook [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Gadgetzan [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Ratchet [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Ravenholdt [IN PROGRESS: Revered 8661/21000]
Exalted with Darkmoon Faire [IN PROGRESS: Honored 3347/12000]
Exalted with Shen'dralar [COMPLETE]

You all know how excited I get by achievement stacking! Hitting exalted with four factions at once allowed me to complete [40 Exalted Reputations] and become Glinda the Exalted!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda the Exalted

A Bit More Insane: The Booker Prize

2009-07-04T09:25:00.000+01:00

'A Bit More Insane' will log my progress on the Feat of Strength, [Insane In The Membrane]. Once I had handed in my class book, as a human I needed to collect a mere (!) seventy odd librams from mobs in Dire Maul.

Often one of the most expensive parts of this grind, I am especially grateful to Darkerknight for providing me with a full supply of Pristine Black Diamonds at a good price. It is a great relief to have finished this part, it means I can now focus on speed running Dire Maul (only killing the guards) for the Cartel.

PROGRESS:
Honored with Bloodsail Buccaneers [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Booty Bay [IN PROGRESS: Friendly 1694/6000]
Exalted with Everlook [IN PROGRESS: Friendly 1694/6000]
Exalted with Gadgetzan [IN PROGRESS: Honored 8741/12000]
Exalted with Ratchet [IN PROGRESS: Friendly 4872/6000]
Exalted with Ravenholdt [IN PROGRESS: Honored 11999/12000]
Exalted with Darkmoon Faire [IN PROGRESS: Honored 2275/12000]
Exalted with Shen'dralar [COMPLETE]

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Website Review: Achievement Tracking

2009-06-24T15:26:00.005+01:00

Just a short entry today, I've come across a site called Hoofmade which creates a cool little graphic of your last achievement which can be used on websites, or in forum signatures etc.

As a Blogspot user I am extremely envious of the Recent Achievement Plugin (created by One Rogue's Journey) for WordPress which as far as I know cannot be embedded by Blogspot users (if it can please let me know!) so Hoofmade is a welcome find!

My only gripe is that the graphic is unnecessarily "deep" thanks to the large logo in the bottom right hand corner.

WordPress users may also be interested in looking at Wow Armory Plugin over at Tim's World which also has a "Recent Achievements" section (the other parts can be disabled leaving you simply with the Achievements table I believe)

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Midsummer: 1st Day Update

2009-06-21T12:17:00.004+01:00

Well the festival has only been open 8 hours and already the bugs are coming thick and fast.

- Players cannot honor flames that they honored last year.
- Players stealing the Horde flame from Silvermoon recieve the error message "you have already completed this quest"

I hope Blizzard can fix these swiftly!

Meanwhile I have compiled a list of the WotLK bonfires set out below -

WotLK Bonfires
Borean Tundra - South West of Fizzcrank Airstrip (A) [55, 20], East of Bor'gorok Outpost (H) [51,11]
Sholazar Basin - Northern River's Heart (H) [47, 61], Southern River's Heart (A) [47, 65]
Dragonblight - Wintergarde Keep (A) [74, 43], Agmar's Hammer (H) [38,48]
Crystalsong Forest - North of Windrunner's Outlook (A) [77, 74], South of Sunreaver's Command (H) [80,53]
The Storm Peaks - West of K3 (A) [41, 87], East of K3 (H) [40,85]
Zul'Drak - North of The Argent Stand (A) [40, 61], South of The Argent Stand (H) [43,71]
Grizzly Hills - Amberpine Lodge (A) [34, 60], Conquest Hold (H) [19,61]
Howling Fjord - Fort Wildervar (A) [57, 15], West of Camp Winterhoof (H) [48,13]

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Midsummer Fire Festival - A Guide To Achievements

2009-06-21T00:02:00.001+01:00

This turned into a bit of a mammoth post (see what I did there?)! Midsummer is almost upon us! From June 21st until July 5th we'll be able to gather flowers from visiting fires all over the Warcraft world and trade them at vendors for costumes, pets and food. Additionally there is the seasonal boss Lord Ahune who drops an enchant, a pet and some cloaks as well as an awsome looking scythe weapon!

I've outlined the achievements below, let me know how you get on!
__________________________________________________________

[Ice The Frost Lord]

[Screenshot from Wowhead.com]

A lot of people will already have this achievement if they completed the Unusual Activity quest line and have [Tabard of Summer Skies] or [Tabard of Summer Flames] in their bank. The quest line starts from an Earthen Ring Elder who can be found in any capital city. Even if you did it last year, its worth going to see the Elder this year to see whether they'll let us run the line again to get the other tabard!

The quest line eventually asks to you kill Ahune. As far as I am aware, Ahune will remain a TBC level boss in Slave Pens however we have no precedent so be prepared to face a something a bit harder!

You may kill Ahune on Heroic once per day (it saves you to the instance) and then each character also has one summon available on Normal per day (remember to bring your alts!). It goes without saying but before summoning the boss you should clear the surrounding area of mobs. Mages should note that Ahune is FROST IMMUNE.

After engaging the boss, during all phases Ahune will cast a frost animation on the ground and after a short amount of time, spikes will come from the area, shooting the player into the air for a few seconds (just like Omorok the Tree Shaper in The Nexus) so it important to move away from this. He will also periodic spawn areas of "ice" around him that cause players to slip (a short stun mechanism, so DPS be aware of aggro if your tank is struggling with this).

During phase 1 he will spawn an elite with aura debuff causing frost damage every 2-3 seconds which stacks and cannot be dispelled. This add should be tanked. Several non-elite adds will spawn every few seconds with a simple frost bolt attack and these should be aoe'ed by your ranged dps. You will have to deal with this phase for about 1 minute, with roughly two elites and twenty small adds during this time. He will also cast a cyclone ability but largely this can be ignored.

Once all the adds are dead, you enter phase 2, Ahune will submerge causing his frozen core to be vulnerable. DPS should be focussed on the Frozen Core and you will have roughly 20 seconds dps time before the next elite add is spawned.

With the second wave of adds you may notice non elite air elementals also being summoned but it is simply a matter of control and shouldn't cause too many problems. Simply rinse and repeat the phases until the boss is dead. You will be able to loot [Shards of Ahune] which you may then hand back to Luma in Slave Pens for a tabard and twenty [Burning Blossom].

__________________________________________________________

[King of the Fire Festival]

The quest [A Thief's Reward ] can be collected from NPCs in most cities

(such as Ironforge, Orgrimmar and Shattrath) and it would make sense to go get this before you start your travels! The questline rewards [Crown of the Fire Festival ].

Hot Glinda Tip*: The achievement [Burning H ot Pole Dance] makes reference to needing to wear a completed Midsummer Set but all the comments I have seen only make reference to the items you can buy with [Burning Blossom]. It is worth considering that they may include the helm this year.

[Image via www.flamingfaeries.com]

____________________________________________________

[The Fires of Azeroth] [Desecration of the Horde] / [Desecration of the Alliance]

[Image via reghardware.co.uk]

The best guide I have found is actually from the Horde's perspective, and credit for this guide goes entirely to Xicon and the guide can be found in its original context here. Some small parts have been edited out here to remain concise.

Start in Dalaran (make sure your hearth is set there) and take the portal to Orgrimmar.
While in Orgrimmar, honor the bonfire at (46, 38).
Go to Razor Hill and honor the bonfire just south of it at (52, 47). Go back to Orgrimmar.
Head to the flight master and take the flight point to the Zoram Strand in Ashenvale.
Run north to Darkshore, desecrate the Alliance bonfire at (36, 46) near Auberdine. Take the boat to Darnassus
At Rut’theran Village, desecrate the Alliance bonfire (56, 92) which counts as the Darnassus bonfire. Then go to Teldrassil, desecrate the bonfire (55, 60) in Dolanaar.
Head back to Darkshore and take the boat to Azuremyst Isle.
Follow the road toward Azure Watch (skip Exodar for now) and desecrate the bonfire at (44, 52). Head through Azure Watch and follow the road north into Bloodmyst Isle.
Desecrate the bonfire at (55, 68) just a little south of Blood Watch. Now follow the road south back into Azuremyst, and take the fork that leads by the Exodar.
Desecrate the bonfire at (40, 25) in the Crystal Hall. Head into the Hall of Lights (the room with Prophet Velen) and take the spiral path up and out of the Exodar. Take the boat back to Darkshore.
Head back down to the Zoram Strand in Ashenvale and fly to Everlook, Winterspring.
Once you arrive, honor the Horde flame (60, 35) and desecrate the Alliance flame (62, 35). Then fly down to Splintertree Post.
Honor the Horde flame just outside and to the west (70, 69) and desecrate the Alliance flame just south of Astranaar (38, 55).
Either run south into the Barrens or head back to Splintertree and fly to Crossroads. Either way, honor the flame at 52, 27; just north of Crossroads. Fly to Sun Rock Retreat.
Honor the Horde flame just outside of Sun Rock (50, 60). Fly to Shadowprey Village.
Honor the Horde flame in Shadowprey (26, 70) then head north to Nijel’s Point and desecrate the Alliance flame (66, 16).
Walk south into Feralas and take the boat to Feathermoon Stronghold. The bonfire is just to the west of it (28, 44). Desecrate it, and go back to the mainland.
Follow the path toward Camp Mojache, and honor the Horde flame you come across (72, 47). Continue east into Thousand Needles.
Head toward Freewind Post, honoring the flame at (42, 53). Then fly to Brackenwall Village, Dustwallow Marsh.
Honor the Horde flame (33, 30) and follow the road toward Theramore and desecrate the Alliance flame at its gates (62, 40). Go back to Brackenwall and fly to Gadgetzan.
Honor the Horde flame on the north side of Gadgetzan and desecrate the Alliance flame on the south side. If you are hated with the goblins, be careful of the guards. Fly to Cenarion Hold in Silithus.
Honor the Horde flame to the south of the Hold (46, 44) and desecrate the Alliance flame on the north path (57, 35). Go back to the Hold and fly to Thunder Bluff.
Head south into Mulgore and honor the Horde flame near Bloodhoof Village (52, 60). Head back to Thunder Bluff and honor the flame there (21, 26).
Hearth to Dalaran.
Take the portal to Silvermoon City. Honor the flame there (71, 42).
Head out into Eversong Woods and honor the flame outside of Falconwing Square (46, 50). Head to the flight master outside of Silvermoon and fly to Tranquillien.
Head north and honor the flame near the fork to Suncrown Village (46, 26). You now have two paths you can take.

Fly to Undercity from Tranquillien.
Fly to Silvermoon and use the translocation orb to get to Undercity.

Once in Undercity, honor the flame in the Ruins of Lordaeron (as if you were leaving Undercity to go into Tirisfal, it’s right by the gates) and head out into Tirisfal Glades.
Honor the flame on the west side of Brill (57, 52) and walk east into Western Plaguelands.
Head south through the Ruins of Andorhal to the fork in the road just north of Chillwind Camp and desecrate the Alliance flame there (43, 82). Once again you now have two options.

If your hearth is cooled, you can hearth and take the portal to Undercity and fly to The Sepulcher. Honor the flame at 49, 35 and fly to Tarren Mill. Honor the flame at 58, 25.
If your hearth is not cooled, walk through Alterac Mountains and arrive in Tarren Mill, honoring the flame at 58, 25 in Hillsbrad. Then fly to the Sepulcher and honor the flame at 49, 35, then fly to Tarren Mill once more.

Now in Tarren Mill, head south to Southshore and desecrate the Alliance flame at 50,46. Head back to Tarren Mill and fly to Hammerfall.
Honor the Horde flame just south of Hammerfall (74, 41) and then head to Refuge Point to desecrate the Alliance flame (50, 44). It will be along the path north of Refuge Point.
Walk south into the Wetlands, and veer toward Menethil Harbor. Desecrate the flame at the bridge (13, 47) and follow the road east into Loch Modan.
As soon as you emerge in Loch Modan, you will come to a fork in the road – one path leads south towards Thelsamar, the other north back into a tunnel. Take the north fork and walk into Dun Morogh.
Follow the road west towards Ironforge, desecrating the Alliance flame at the crossroads at 46, 46. Head into Ironforge.
Fight your way to the Hall of Explorers and desecrate the flame at 63, 24. You can either corpse hop your way back or just resurrect at the Spirit Healer. Either way, head back into Dun Morogh and take the path east back to Loch Modan. Make sure you take the same road you came through.
Now take the south fork which takes you by Thelsamar. Desecrate the Alliance flame at 32, 40 and head south into the Badlands.
Head to Kargath and honor the Horde flame. Fly to Flame Crest in Burning Steppes.
Honor the Horde flame just southwest of Flame Crest (61, 29) then head south. Desecrate the Alliance flame near the road leading into Redridge (80, 62) then follow the path south into Redridge Mountains.
Desecrate the Alliance flame south of Lake Everstill (25, 60) and continue following the path west into Elwynn Forest.
Desecrate the Alliance flame near Goldshire (43, 63) and head northwest into Stormwind.
Fight your way to the Stockades, desecrating the flame at 37, 59. If you get into trouble, run into the Stockades and regain your health, then run out and try to escape. If all else fails, resurrect at the spirit healer. Either way, head west into Westfall. *Note: At this point you will have completed “A Thief’s Reward” which will earn you an achievement in addition to the others earned by this guide.*
Run to Sentinel Hill and desecrate the flame there (56, 53). Run south and follow the path east into Duskwood.
Head far east to Darkshire, desecrating the flame there (73, 54) before continuing east through Deadwind Pass into the Swamp of Sorrows.
Make your way to Stonard and honor the Horde flame there (46, 47). Once more, you have two choices.

Fly to Booty Bay.
Fly to Grom’gol if you are hated with Booty Bay.

Wherever you flew to, head just north of Booty Bay and desecrate the Alliance flame (33, 73) and honor the Horde flame (32, 75). Fly back to Stonard and head south into the Blasted Lands.
Desecrate the Alliance flame at Nethergarde Keep (58, 17) before heading south through the Dark Portal into Outland.

In Outland: When the word “fly” is used in this guide, it means with your flying mount. Flight points, if used at all, will be denoted by “take the flight path to…” in this segment.

Starting at the Dark Portal (right where the last guide left off), fly towards Honor Hold and desecrate the Alliance flame on the path leading east out of HH (62, 58.)
Fly north and honor the Horde flame right outside of Thrallmar (57, 42).
Either take the flight point to Swamprat Post or fly towards Telredor.
Desecrate the Alliance flame near Telredor (68, 51) and then fly west towards Zabra’jin.
Honor the Horde flame at 35, 51. Fly south into Nagrand or take the flight point to Garadar.
Follow the road west of Garadar and honor the Horde flame there (50, 34).
Fly south and desecrate the Alliance flame outside of Telaar (49, 69).
Fly east into Terrokar Forest and honor the Horde flame outside of Stonebreaker Hold (52,42). Near the Horde flame should be the Alliance flame, outside of Allerian Stronghold (54, 55).
Continue east into Shadowmoon Valley. Honor the Horde flame outside of Shadowmoon Village (33, 30) and desecrate the Alliance flame outside of Wildhammer Stronghold (39, 54).
Fly to Shattrath or take the flight point there.

Note: There MAY be a flame in Shattrath, but I have not confirmed this. Either way, it is not required for any of the achievements.

Take the flight point (do not fly, it will be far more painstaking) to Thunderlord Stronghold. Once there, honor the Horde flame outside (49, 58). Fly west near Sylvanaar to desecrate the Alliance flame (41, 66).
Fly east into Netherstorm or take the flight point to Area 52. Honor the Horde flame there (32, 68) and desecrate the Alliance flame there (31, 62).

__________________________________________________________

[Burning Hot Pole Dance]

[Image via www.ukstudentlife.com]

You will need to collect four hundred Burning Blossom in order to purchase the required items. It is also worth considering they may require you to get the helm from completing [King of the Fire Festival].

[Mantle of the Fire F estival] - 100 Burning Blossom
[Vestment of Summer] - 100 Burning Blossom
[Sandals of Summer] - 200 Burning Blossom

Once you have the items, find a ribbon pole in any capital city and dance for at least 60 seconds to get the achievement completed.

__________________________________________________________

[Torc h Jug gler]

You will need to purchase some [Juggling Torch] (5 Burning Blossoms for 5 torches) and have complete the quest [Torch Catching] in order to learn to juggle. The torches can be purchased from Midsummer Merchants & Suppliers in all capital cities.

It would be sensible to buy at least 20 torches in my opinion. Make sure you bind the torches to an easily accessible key, target the ground underneath you and spam away! I believe there is no GCD so this should be a fairly easy one!

[Image via http://www.philblackmore.co.uk]

Once you have travelled to every corner of Azeroth, rained on the Horde's parade and finished slaying the Frost Lord - you will be rewarded with [The Flame Warden] meta achievement and you're one step closer to that Violet Protodrake!

If you know of a good [The Fires of Azeroth] guide written from an Alliance Perspective, please let me know! This blog will be updated through out tomorrow as and when any WotLK changes become known :) I'll also be updating with a Lord Ahune tactic video :)

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

On The Up And Up

2009-06-16T10:19:00.003+01:00

According to www.wow-achievements.com I am now on position 37 for my server, being the darned little overachiever that I am, I want to hit 7000 points this weekend!

I've got some free time so I will be working on -
Ancient Courtyard Protector (Strand of the Ancients)
Progress: 70/100

Artillery Veteran (Strand of the Ancients)
Progress: 53/100

And if I am lucky maybe I will also complete Not Even A Scratch while working on the above.

I had some unexpected achievements come in this week. I ended up leading a 25m Naxxramas run the other night for my guild and initially I just went for really fast looting and pulls on the sly so we completed Heroic: Arachnophobia. Since that blew my cover I really pushed for more achievements and we did Spore Loser and Make Quick Werk of Him.

Got a few whispers to say thanks for making it a bit more interesting which really made it worth it. A lot of people in my guild don't like "achievements" but I think they break up the monotony of having to run the same instance week in week out. Hard-modes show that we have what it takes to work as a team, the achievement itself is incidental.

All in all it was a difficult run to lead, we had a lot of connection issues (5 of the original signs just couldn't sign in) and I really did have to call on a lot of goodwill to pull friends in for odd bosses but we cleared the place and got some good loot in the guild!

It was pretty fun to be back in the "driving seat" for a raid again, I miss it. /proud

I need to come up with some ideas for some new guides (hint hint, theres the comment box) I've got this fab new video editing software and not a single topic in mind to make a video about!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Guest Post: Group Therapy: The Pet Show @ One Copper

2009-06-16T09:56:00.005+01:00

There are a lot of great communities out there built on a shared interest of niche areas of World of Warcraft. I like to dabble in the economy and it is on such a site I got talking to Seth of One Copper who told us about his plans to write a "group therapy" column for his blog.

I really appreciated Seth picking a topic he knows I enjoy for the first column I contributed to, thank you for the warm welcome!

So without further delays - my first Guest Post!

Group Therapy - The Pet Show!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda, Mistress of Pets

Ps. Also of interest: Making Gold From Achievement Hunters: Pets

Pet Watch: Mountain Dew Battle-Bot

2009-06-10T11:56:00.009+01:00

[Image from Warcraftpets.com]

EU pet collectors had a welcome surprise yesterday with the addition of the Mountain Dew promotion Battle-Bot pet.

I won't go into how this was possible, it has already been covered extensively on mmo-champion and the wow forums but the 'bug' has now been hot fixed during the maintenance and any unlearned pets (either in the mail or in your bags) have been deleted, although it seems players that did learn the pets still have them.

Whilst you can still merge your wow and battle net accounts, and go on the mountain dew website and redeem the pet, it is no longer showing up in EU mail boxes.

Obviously there is a long debate on the official forums about whether Blizzard will remove these pets from the EU accounts of players that have redeemed them but as it is pointed out, it seems that precedent was set last year -

"Lower level characters may be seen with their own pet Mojo. On January 27 2008, a bug enabled characters of any level to obtain Mojo upon doing a /kiss emote to Prigmon. The bug was hotfixed a few hours later on the same day. Players who obtained the pet this way got to keep them."
Zuljun - Argent Dawn posting in "Attention: Battle Bots work in Europe!"

I'm no expert in this area but I personally think this situation is quite different. There is a large corporate sponsor involved who may argue that this has disrupted any possible future promotions in Europe which may hold more weight with Blizzard than Mojo did.

More concerning to me is the large number of EU players reporting that they have successfully merged US accounts to their battle net pages by accident, with level 80 characters on them, I hope this is something Blizzard addresses asap!

All in all if the EU players are allowed to keep them, it's a nice bonus towards those working on the pet collecting achievements!

Do you know anyone that got the pet? Did you miss the opportunity? What do you think Blizzard should do about it if anything at all?

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

************ UPDATE*****************
All Good Things Must Come To An End

Rolling re-starts will begin across European realms at 5am 11/06/09 to remove the Battle-Bot pets.
*sniffs and hugs Battle-Bot*

There is rumour that Pepsi plan to re-launch Mountain Dew in Europe at the end of this year, fingers crossed for another chance to get this little guy!

************ UPDATE*****************

The Loremaster - Glinda's Tips

2009-06-04T17:32:00.002+01:00

[Image via http://warcraftportal.ro/]

Before You Start
Are you working on Insane In the Membrane? If so be careful, almost all of the quests given by Goblins in Azeroth will decrease your Bloodsail Buccaneer reputation upon completion [and won't always show in the chat log!] and you could easily destroy your progress.

Break It Down
Loremaster can seem like a mammoth task. I first decided to just focus on Loremaster of Kalimdor and then I looked at each zone on the continent as a seperate entity, making sure I went to all the quest givers and checking for any items that start a quest that dropped from mobs.

I started at the top and moved down the continent in an organised manner.

I personally started with Kalimdor as I knew it was going to be the most frustrating one, and EK would be my easy reward afterwards.

Preparation
My best friend asked me if I was preparing for a military coup when he came over during my preparation for this achievement. I'm not saying cover the wall behind your computer with print out maps with all the quest givers listed *cough* but do consider looking these up on WoWhead, it will really cut down on time wasted going back and looking for random npcs.

To pull up a list of quests and a map with all the friendly quest givers in a zone - using Wowhead:
Database -> Quests -> Kalimdor -> Azuremyst Isle (or any other zone)

Just above the list there is the text "View quest givers in Azuremyst Isle", click this then "Show On Map.." and select Alliance or Horde.

To check for any "items that start a quest" mob drops - in a particular zone:
http://www.wowhead.com/?items=12&filter=cr=6;crs=1;crv=0
From the "Yes" box select Alliance or Horde then filter the results by typing in the name of the Zone you wish to check at the top of the results list.

Making It Count

Repeatable quests do not count towards the achievement (and in Azeroth, these don't always have a blue !/? so its easy to be tricked!) (however the first turn ins usually do)
Class-specific and Profession-specific quests do not count.
Draenei only quests do not count.
Event/Seasonal quests should not count. (Although the Lunar Festival ones did for me!)
PvP quests do not count.
Dungeon quests are sporadic as to whether they count or not. [Edit: but comments on WoWhead suggest than since 3.0.8 a lot more ARE counting]
Centaurs of Desolas - The quest chains from each clan do count, but the rep grind to the otherside takes time and you can complete the Loremaster without doing this.
I did not complete any AQ chain quest above what was available at Hated. (they do count)
Nor did I complete any tier 0.5 quests. (they mostly count)

On the Lookout
It sounds like a no-brainer, but remember to set your tracker filter to "Low Level Quests".

Reccomended Add-Ons
EveryQuest - This addon lists every quest in a zone and ticks them off as you complete them, it will also let you know if you've dropped any quests anywhere. It won't log what you've already completed but its useful if you go to a zone you've never been to before.

Quest Helper - This has a database which tells you the exact location of any mobs/items you need to find/kill. It will also tell you the fastest path to complete the quest and brings up a route manager on your maps. It does struggle with "phased" content when the npcs are moving around (Northrend).

Other Pages Of Note
Dz051104's post Wow: Most Easy To Miss Quests is often quoted as must-read material but I find it a bit of a chore to read through. I think the content is covered more logically by using the correct filters on Wowhead instead.

Achievement Stacking
We all know how productive I like to be, which I why I enjoy stacking achievements so much. While undertaking The Loremaster you will also achieve:

[Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms]
[Loremaster of Kalimdor]
[Loremaster of Outland]

To Hellfire and Back
Terror of Terokkar
On the Blade's Edge
Shadow of the Betrayer
Mysteries of the Marsh
Nagrand Slam
Into the Nether

[Loremaster of Northrend]

Nothing Boring About Borean
The Empire of Zul'Drak
I've Toured the Fjord
The Summit of Storm Peaks
Might of Dragonblight
Fo' Grizzle My Shizzle
Into the Basin
Icecrown: The Final Goal

[3000 Quests Completed]
By rough calculation I understand an Alliance would have to complete an absolute minimum of 2843 quests to achieve The Loremaster and as each zone has a few "extra" quests, its more than likely that you will achieve this as well.

50 Quests Completed
100 Quests Completed
250 Quests Completed
500 Quests Completed
1000 Quests Completed
1500 Quests Completed
2000 Quests Completed

[Ambassador of the Alliance] (or Horde)

Whilst you won't be able to complete this from working on Loremaster alone, you will recieve a significant chunk of reputation towards these five factions by the time you have finished.

This Is Supposed To Be Fun!
The minute you start to get frustrated with this one, stop. Go and do something else for an hour and then come back and try again. Questing is fun and this is too long an achievement for you to feel like its a slog to get through them all.

I really enjoyed questing in areas I'd never properly quested in before such as Ashenvale and Azuremyst Isle (I'm embarassed to say all my Dreanei and Night-Elf characters usually hop a boat to Eastern Kingdoms). I also found this item you could loot that gave you a charged item that summoned a cat to protect you which kept me amused for a good half hour!

Until the next ten points,
Loremaster Glinda

Twenty-Five Tabards: An Update!

2009-05-30T20:12:00.002+01:00

Further to my article Twenty-Five Tabards and my comments regarding the Argent Tournament tabards not counting towards the achievement, I have been made aware of a blue post on the Wow forums!

Eronar writes "So I'm going for 25 tabards, but it turns out that the Argent Tournament tabards don't count. Any word on whether\when these will be added to the achievement? I should have completed it by now."

And Bornakk replies "We are aware of this issue and looking to fix it in a future patch."

[Source]

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Service Annoucement: Blogspot Feeder

2009-05-27T12:28:00.003+01:00

As I'm sure you're all aware I'm very new to the Blogsphere, and apparently I made a boo. I didn't update the feedburner link from within my Blogspot settings and anyone trying to follow OTMP through Blogspot was not recieving the updates. This should now be resolved but if there are any further problems please let me know!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Making Gold From Achievement Hunters: Pets

2009-05-24T22:05:00.005+01:00

[Image via Flickr]

Pet collecting is serious business. Or should I say, it is a serious business opportunity!

There are five achievements associated with pet collecting and there is a large group of people willing to pay large sums of money to finish their collections. I briefly outline some of the pets which I think offer a decent time : profit ratio. This means that I haven’t covered pets such as the vanilla whelps, disgusting oozeling, hyacinth macaw and tbc firefly.

These pets will sell for a lot of money but unless you are extremely lucky, they’ll take you a while to grind, and you could have made the money more easily another way. When it comes to pets, do your research first.

There may already be well established sellers on both the neutral and your own AHs and it can be a tricky market to break into. I also recommend not trying to corner the whole market. Start with one or two pets in low quantities and see how it goes.

Questing
I wonder how many people throw the away Distress Beacons when they’re levelling up? Without bothering to complete the quest? It should be noted that these have a 1% drop rate in their respective zones so going back to grind them is a pain.

After completing all three escort quests you are invited to complete a further quest that rewards a [Mechanical Chicken] boe pet. I was EXTREMELY lucky in picking mine up off the AH for 25g. I later went on to grind all three of the beacons on Glinda while working on Loremaster and I sold the chicken pet for 1000g pre-Wotlk so I can only imagine its value has increased (no recent data available)

Seasonal
Darkmoon Faire
When the Darkmoon Faire rolls into town your new best friend should be Flik. He will sell you [Tree Frog Box] (unlimited supply, 1g) and [Wood Frog Box] (limited supply, seems to restock every 15 minutes, 1g). I reccomend keeping these for about a week after the Faire has departed and then you should be able to sell these easily on the AH. The tree frog can net around 15g and the wood frog anything up to 30g.

It can be worth stocking up on a few [Dark Iron Ale Mug] and putting these on the AH for a couple of days before, and during the Faire. They are used to complete the quest [Spawn of Jubjub] which rewards a BoP pet called Jubling. Most people can't be bothered running into BRD to pick these up so they can be a nice money maker especially if you're 80 and can avoid all the mobs.

Winter Veil
During Winter Veil there are four BoE pets that are contained in [Gaily Wrapped Present] (found under the Winter Veil tree in Ironforge and Orgrimmar) which is available to any 20+ character. Its worth making sure all your alts are at least this level just for this! All of these pets were selling for 75g+ last year and their value only increases throughout the year while they are not readily available.

Engineering – Crafting
I dip a toe in this market now and again when I have the mats lying around and it is extremely lucrative.

Mechanical Squirrel Box
[Schematic: Mechanical Squirrel Box] is a world drop. For low level players, this could easily be your number one money maker. I previously valued these at 15-25g but whilst researching this article I have sold 3+ per day at 30g per box this weekend.

Tranquil Mechanical Yeti
This schematic is a reward for engineers with +250 skill who complete the Are We There, Yeti questline in Winterspring. The mats for this one are rather annoying, it will probably take you some time to grind Globe of Water so if you seem some cheap on the Auction House I reccomend picking them up. I've only placed one Yeti on the market this afternoon and as yet it has not sold however I will keep this one updated.

Lifelike Toad
This schematic, [Schematic: Lifelike Mechanical Toad], like the Squirrel is also a world drop but from much higher level mobs like the four world dragons. The mats are far more forgiving than the Yeti and I have sold two so far this weekend for 175g.

Argent Tournament
The Argent Tournament pets have received a fair bit of "press" lately. But on my server, the values of these are tanking across the board. Both selling A pets to A AH and A pets to Neutral and Horde AHs, what was pulling in 3-4k last week is already down to 1.5-2.5k per pet. If you're planning on selling these I suggest you get on it straight away. People are flooding the market after doing the dailies on alts, since the patch extra tokens drop from the cash bags and Blizzard have already announced there will be more ways to collect tokens soon. I don't predict a market recovery on this one.

Re-Selling Vendor Pets & Cross-Faction Trading
Never underestimate people who are lazy or have limited playtime. They WILL pay for convenience, and it is our pleasure to supply!

Your hit list includes:
Dealer Rashaad – Netherstorm (Both)
Lil Timmy - Stormwind City (Alliance only)
Donni Anthania - Elwynn Forest (Alliance only)
Yarlyn Amberstill - Dun Morogh (Alliance only)
Sixx - The Exodar (Alliance only)
Xan'tish - Orgrimmar (Horde Only)
Halpa - Thunder Bluff (Horde Only)

And when available remember to look for Flik of the Darkmoon Faire. You'll need to research the pets these vendors hold individually, maybe they won't all bring a profit so don't just buy blindly.
These pets will usually yeild a good profit, you can expect between 5-15g.

I said I wouldn't cover pets you need to grind for but as this has a fairly high drop rate I've included it, for the Horde, take a look for the rare spawn Dalaran Spellscribe in Ambermill, Silverpine Forest, who has a 15% chance to drop the Black Tabby cat carrier. Alliance will pay upward of 800g for this one via Neutral or their own AH.

Do let me know if you have any success with the above :)
Until the next ten points,

Glinda

Pet Watch: Murkimus the Gladiator

2009-05-20T10:36:00.006+01:00

Stop press, Sateena at Warcraftpets.com has some exciting news!

For those of you who fought tirelessly in the 2009 Arena Tournament to complete 200 matches, your hard work has finally paid off! Our long-awaited pet reward, Murkimus The Gladiator, has made his in-game debut. If you haven't gotten yours yet, just check your in-game mail. This little guy was sent to all current characters of qualifying players. Unfortunately, it is BoP (not BoA as we had hoped) and will not be available to characters created in the future.

[Image via Warcraftpets.com]

I am extra excited to get home tonight! Anyone that knows this mage knows how frustrated I can get with PvP, I just don't have the mentality for it. But when it comes to pets, this mage does crazy things. So along with a magepal off we went to sign up for the Arena Tournament!

We were lucky to find a really nice guy on a hunter to complete our 3v3 team and I actually played a copy of my druid and my magepal decided to faceroll a warlock. I actually had a good time! I estimate we actually won about half our games, and we were pretty proud when we saw some pretty big chunks of rating come off some of the teams!

In anticipation of finding [Murkimus' Little Spear] in her mail, until the next ten points,

Glinda

A Bit More Insane: So long, Stromgarde Keep!

2009-05-18T17:54:00.000+01:00

'A Bit More Insane' will log my progress on the Feat of Strength, [Insane In The Membrane].

Last night I chalked up the last bit of grind-able rep with Ravenholdt by killing mobs at Stromgarde Keep in Arathi Highlands. As a human these grant me 5/6 rep per kill. I am now sitting at 11999/12000 and now I'm off to hand in my junk boxes!

So long Stromgarde Keep!

PROGRESS:
Honored with Bloodsail Buccaneers [COMPLETE]
Exalted with Booty Bay [IN PROGRESS: Hostile 1070/3000]
Exalted with Everlook [IN PROGRESS: Hostile 1070/3000]
Exalted with Gadgetzan [IN PROGRESS: Neutral 2478/3000]
Exalted with Ratchet [IN PROGRESS: Unfriendly 1248/3000]
Exalted with Ravenholdt [IN PROGRESS: Honored 11999/12000]
Exalted with Darkmoon Faire [IN PROGRESS: Honored 405/12000]
Exalted with Shen'dralar [IN PROGRESS: Revered 12000/21000]

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Halaa Battle Tokens

2009-05-17T01:50:00.001+01:00

Today's post is useful for anyone going for any of the 'get x amount of mounts' achievements and it is a guide to aquiring [Reins of the Dark War Talbuk] and [Reins of the Dark Riding Talbuk]. I had previously discarded the two war talbuks obtainable from halaa battle tokens on the assumption that because noone would go to Halaa anymore, it would be impossible to get the tokens required.

Not so!

Via a guildie I learned of a neat way to get tokens!

Ingredients:
1 Warlock of at least level 72
(anything less wouldn't give an 80 honor, and thus doesn't produce the token for anyone but the warlock)

Instructions:

Join into a group with your warlock.
Add additional warlocks and ressers as available.
Take Halaa (optional, you can sit in the graveyard without aggroing guards if the other faction has it).
Park by the graveyard for easy corpse running.
Have your warlock remove all items with durability.
Ask your warlock to /cast Hellfire until he dies, the lock and everyone in the party recieves 1x Halaa Battle Token
Rinse and repeat until everyone has 170 Halaa Battle Tokens

You will of course need to then grind 35 Halaa Research Tokens. Now these used to be swapped for 20 Oshu'gun Crystal Powder Samples but I understand from Nebalee that this has been reduced to 10 samples with patch 3.1 which will make the grind significantly easier [Edit: Tested as correct by a guildie, 10 samples = 1 token].

If you haven't gathered these mounts already, I advise that you look for a group stat! Blizz already removed the alternate way to do this for other classes with patch 3.1 and it wouldn't suprise me if /hellfire was far behind.

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Service Announcement: Feedburner

2009-05-09T11:18:00.010+01:00

I believe I have finally organised Feedburner to work! It would be great if someone could suscribe so I can see if everything is tracking properly!
Subscribe in a reader

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Twenty-Five Tabards

2009-05-08T12:17:00.000+01:00

[Twenty Five Tabards] I often see people asking how to complete this Achievement as it looks fairly simple but then people get stuck on the last few.

I'm not going to talk about tabards that are no longer obtainable or purely reputation based tabards so today's entry runs through a few of the more novel ways to get tabards.

Stack those Achievements!
I am a great fan of Achievement stacking, that is, to complete minor Achievements that give some kind of contribution towards a more complicated one. Remember that [Explore Northrend] and [The Loremaster] both give tabards amongst their rewards!

Questing
[Battle of the Crimson Watch]
If you have not completed this quest, I reccomend you do so. It rewards either [Purple Trophy Tabard of the Illidari] or [Purple Trophy Tabard of the Illidari]. And now here is the trick - Delete the tabard you have and go visit Elizabeth Ross in Dalaran, and simply choose the tabard you didn't recieve. Up goes your tabard counter.

[The Unwritten Prophecy]
And for you lucky Draenei out there, available from level 18 - the above quest rewards you with a tabard.

World Events - Midsummer
Last year we were given the opportunity to obtain a tabard from completing [Shards of Ahune] but if you remember, there were two to choose from, if we're lucky maybe they'll let us get the other this year!

PvP Tabards
Even if you really don't enjoy PvP, anyone can get the [Scout's Tabard][ for a mere 3 AB + 3 WSG marks and thats another one ticked off for minimal time investment so I'd reccomend to grit your teeth and get those wins!

Feat of Strength
If you're a Feat of Strength kinda 'gal then there is the option to complete [Hero of Shattrath] which requires you to have been exalted with both The Scryers and The Aldor (obviously at different times), each faction has its own tabard so thats an extra one to the pot. I reccomend reading WowWiki for changing Shattrath factions or consulting a website such as WoWJuJu (see link in right side bar) for calculating the numbers of reputation items you will need to swap.

TCG Tabards
If you play TCG or even just have some irl cash to splurge on this one, remember that there are EIGHT tabards you can get from redeeming UDE points at a cost of 2000 points each. I understand there are even Ebay sellers that sell ready made tabard "packages" on their listings for only a few pounds.

Argent Tournament - Don't Even Try
With the introduction of the Argent Tournament we have been given five more tabards to choose from however they do come with a hefty price tag of 50 seals. A commenter on Wowhead suggests that tabards can be sold back to the vendor for full reimbursement (of your seals), however another commenter Enyalois suggests the counter does not move when obtaining these tabards so Blizzard has us sussed there!

And finally.........
If you've missed this one you're about to do an IRL 'DOH!'. Don't forget your GUILD TABARD! If you don't have one, it can be purchased from all tabard vendors including Elizabeth Ross of Dalaran.

After I completed this Achievement I was really desperate for a keyring-style Tabard page! In the end I deleted all the standard "reputation" tabards and just kept the important ones I couldn't replace like the Olympic and Wotlk event tabards.

I hope there were some useful tips in there for some of you!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda

Children's Week

2009-05-02T09:22:00.008+01:00

I read a few of the more popular WoWEconomic blogs and remain suprised that noone reported on what turned out to be a very profitable niche market, perhaps it was because this was a "flash" market only lasting a few hours but it netted me 2,300g with minimal competition.

The Achievement which netted me this profit was of course - [Bad Example]

I knew the major money maker was going to be [Delicious Chocolate Cake] so I spent the last few weeks buying up Small Eggs and Mageroyal.

Whilst I was often able to pick up stacks of Small Eggs for 2-3g, I also bought some at 10g so my maths assumes the worst case scenario. Similarly I was able to get some Mageroyal at under 10g a stack but my maths assumes the worst case scenario of 17g.

Mageroyal (3) 2g55s00c
Small Egg (8) 8g00s00c
Simple Flour (8) 00g02s00c
Ice Cold Milk (4) 00g05s00c
Mild Spices (4) 00g00s40c
Flask of Port (1) 00g01s25c

Total cost per cake = 10g66s65c

Now I sold all the cakes on the Auction House for 35g. I was the only person doing so and with no Mageroyal or Small Eggs on the AH they sold well. I put them on at what I thought was a fair price for my time etc. I wonder what you think of this? Should I have listed higher?

PROFIT: 24g33s35c

[Tasty Cupcake] has been another good money maker. Its fairly simple ingredients coupled with the fact that Northern Eggs have become extremely cheap (I bought many stacks at 2g for 10) meant I had little investment and good returns.

Simple Flour (2) 00g00s50c
Northern Egg (1) 00g20s00c

I started making them and then reaslised this recipe made 5 cakes!

Total cost = 00g04s10c per cake

I listed these at 1g99s00c.

PROFIT: 1g94s90c per cake.

I bought several [Lovely Cakes] at a cost of 14g40s00c (2g88s00c per slice). There is a 20 minute cooldown on placing a cake so I did that for a few hours the day before looting the 5 slices. I have been selling [Lovely Cake Slice] for 6g00s00c per peice.

PROFIT: 3g12s00c per slice, 15g60s00c per cake.

In addition I bought large quantities of [Tigule and Foror's Strawberry Ice Cream], [Dalaran Doughnuts], [Dalaran Brownies] and [Red Velvet Cupcakes], all of which I listed and sold between 2-3g per peice.

I had had the odd person selling off four cakes (undercutting me), probably selling off the rest of the stack they bought for their own achievement but I have refrained from undercutting them and have still sold my cakes.

I had netted 800g between 12-3am on Friday and now sit comfortably on 2,300g. The market has now slowed considerably and there are more undercutters so I will list the odd stacks of 10 icecream but will not be overly concerned if I do not sell anymore. I sold all of the Delicious Chocolate Cakes which was my more major concern as I put considerably more money into those.

My only regrets are that I did not list Delicious Chocolate Cake for much higher as there are people selling them now for 70g, and that I slacked off buying eggs and mageroyal when I could have probably made and sold a lot more cakes. But these are lessons learned for next year!

I had suggested to various people about the possibility of advertising "Achievement Packs" in trade chat, for a fixed price containing all the cake items you would need but as it was late I decided I didn't want to stay up doing that and I don't honestly think I missed any sales due to that decision.

All in all I am very pleased with this return!

Until the next ten points,
Matron Glinda

Achieved: Turtles All the Way Down

2009-04-25T10:01:00.009+01:00

Well after reading on El's website that the Dark Herring seemed to be more prevalent post 3.1, I thought I'd try my luck and dutifully packed some sandwiches and my [Jeweled Fishing Pole] and set off to Howling Fjord in hope of catching this fish, as [One That Didn't Get Away] is still eluding me.

After two hours and a bit of ribbing from a fellow guild officer who has managed to catch two of these things, I cursed a little in guild chat only to be followed by that delightful *ping* as a completed achievement flashes up on your screen.

I blinked.

I looked again. I hadn't achieved [One That Didn't Get Away].

Instead, I found a [Sea Turtle] in my bag!

One thing I really enjoy about World of Warcraft is the effort that the quest and achievement designers make with referencing popular culture. Wikipedia covers some of the background of the term "Turtles all the way down" and it definitely makes some interesting reading, especially for fans of Hawking and Pratchett.

[Turtles All The Way Down] completed by a very happy mage!

Until the next ten points,
Glinda