Ugh... The level grind

Man I hate leveling... especially with the achievements in place. I'm halfway to 71, and instead of questing, I went and got exalted with Darnassus, solo'd BFD for enchanting mats and the achievement, then ran around trying to explore all of Kalimdor. I guess it doesn't help that since Lich King dropped, our Alliance, Horde ratio changed from 1:1 to 1:6 lol. Most of the Horde are already level 80, they claimed the first 80 and the first 80 for all classes on our server. Seeing how there are hardly any Alliance left, and less of us 80, they come to Borean Tundra to camp us. But what must be done, must be done.

That's why I've decided to transfer my character to a PvE server. I've always disliked PvP, I only played on them because my real life friends did. Now we're divided across three servers. I'm considering a PvE in my battlegroup, or Kelathos' RP server.

Wrath of the Lich King Review

Here is a review I wrote for Wrath of the Lich King. I wrote this after playing for eight hours straight.


You are a citizen of New Avalon. You spend your days mulling around the city, living out your life. One day, you emerge from your house to see a giant floating object to the north. You look at it for a moment, then shrug and continue your daily life. If only you knew what it meant, it might have saved your life. Hours later you are fleeing through the city, people being killed all around you. You look to your left to see a woman shot down by an arrow. You turn to your right and see a soldier. He braces himself to intercept your attackers when he gets pulled behind a house. You can no longer see him, but you hear his screams of anguish and pain. You trip over a loose rock and fall to the ground. As you roll on to your back you see a man with a covered face raising his sword. With one thrust your life is ended.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) is the second expansion to one of the best selling PC games of all time, World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft had over 11 million subscribers as of November 10th. Within three days, that number jumped by about one million just because of the expansion. That’s almost three fourths of Australia’s population. Needless to say, Blizzard has done it again.

WotLK introduces several new things to the WoW universe. Players can now go to the new continent Northrend, where they complete quests and fight monsters to try and reach the new level cap of 80. If players have a character that is at least level 55, they can make a “Death Knight” class character. Death Knights are WoW’s first Hero Class, a class which is relatively stronger than other characters. A Death Knight is a fallen hero who has pledged his soul to Arthas the Lich King. When players create a Death Knight, they start out at level 55 in a contained area where you learn the story of their defection from the Lich King.

As a new follower of the Lich King, you are sent to make a weapon and prepare for battle. This is to ease players into the new class, slowly explaining the new combat style, which is specific to Death Knights. Within minutes you are out on the battlefield, maiming and killing people. You are a soldier in the attack on New Avalon, described in the first paragraph through the eyes of one of the citizens. You fight by using the energy of various runes, which have to recharge after each use. You have three types of runes to choose from, and can hold up to six. As you progress through the Death Knight’s story, you get to experience every part of the attack, from start to finish. This is done by changing the layout of the different parts of the area as you progress. You will see players in the same part of the story as you are, but anyone too far ahead or behind will be invisible to you, along with objects and items that you currently have no use for.

As you near the end of the quests, you are ordered to execute a prisoner. When you enter the room you find out they are your friend from before you began to serve the Lich King, whose race is the same as yours. They try to break The Lich King’s hold on you, and eventually sacrifice their self to you to keep you from being killed for defying orders. You then finish up the storyline by participating in a charge on the few remaining soldiers. After fighting your way past the men, their leader does battle with the Lich King and defeats him, sending him back to Northrend and freeing you from his control. You then join up with your appropriate race’s faction, and leave.

Once you hit the level 70, you can travel to Northrend to find and defeat the Lich King once and for all. There you experience a plethora of new quests, ranging from planting bombs in tunnels to prevent monster attacks to flying around on dragons attacking enemies on the ground and in the air alike. There are also several new dungeons for you to venture through and fight in known as instances. For people who do not play WoW, an instance is only accessible by you and your party, to prevent other players from spoiling your fun.

After hitting level 80, you can now pursue Arthas himself, and attempt to banish the Lich King once and for all. In another new addition, all of the new instances have skill levels depending on how many people are in your party, with different level enemies and different items that drop. Most of the people will be after the legendary sword of the Lich King, Frostmourne. Another new addition is a completely revamped player versus player battling system, which includes new places to fight, and an area where anyone can attack anyone else at any time, regardless of faction. You can also take control of siege weapons and destroy buildings, adding an entire new aspect to battles.

WotLK takes about 8 gigs of memory to install, and the graphics and sound are greatly improved, which means some low end computers may not be able to run it, even if they could before the expansion. Northrend is very nicely detailed, as are all the new weapon and armor sets you can acquire. Despite the large improvements, graphics still look rather cartoonish, and the music isn’t quite good enough to play instead of just jamming out to your iTunes library while you play. The quests are also lacking in areas, you still run into the same “go here kill this, go there collect that” variety of quests seen throughout the rest of the game. Nevertheless you feel compelled to keep playing, knowing that there is always something fun to do.

WotLK was definitely made to please long time WoW players, as well as to attract new players. And with a meager 40 dollar price tag for the basic version and for 20 dollars more, you can get the Collector’s Edition which gives you’re character a rare pet, Frosty the baby Frost Wyrm. You will of course need the first two parts of the game to play this expansion though, so if you are just starting, expect to pay about twice as much to get all three. If you’re cheap you can always play a less expensive game such as Everquest or Guild Wars, but it’s true what they say, you get what you pay for. And WotLK is definitely worth the extra money.

LICH KING!!!

Finally! Arthas is here, and he is ready to tear you limb from limb with Frostmourne. I haven't got to play yet, I preordered because I couldn't make it to a midnight release. It should be on my doorstep the second I get home today, so I'll be sure to post a review for it here. I can't wait to hit Northrend, and to roll a Death Knight. It will be my first tanking toon so It'll be fully new to me.

My Story

Me and Kelathos are both writers, and both write Short Stories or Fanfics. Kelathos is especially great at writing fights and such. It's so gruesome it makes me cringe, and I wasn't phased by 2G1C, BME Pain Olympics, or Kids in a Sandbox. I personally excel at adventures, that is what my novel is about. I have prepared the first part of my book for you to read. Keep in mind that, yes, I am a total fanboy. Except for Twilight Princess because ugh... the Wii.

Hopefully you enjoy it, please post feedback for me.

Legend of Zelda, Return of Ganondorf

Prologue
The Return of Ganondorf takes place seven years after the Ocarina of Time ends. According to Zelda lore, at the defeat of Ganondorf in OoT creates two parallel universes, one where Ganondorf is defeated and banished, and another where Link never takes the Master Sword and Ganondorf never comes to power. This book takes place in the latter of the two, seven years after Link returns to his childhood. No one knows what happened to Ganondorf except Link and Navi. Link now works doing freelance jobs, anything from bodyguard work to being an escort. He is welcome at Hyrule Castle anytime.

Chapter 1

Six shadowy figures slowly pushed their way through the harsh sandstorm that was ravaging the already barren landscape that is the Haunted Wasteland. Their guide walked ahead of them, he seemed impervious to the howling wind and stinging sand. He wore nothing but a simple red tunic, with nothing covering his face. He was bleeding heavily, but walked without strain.

“Guide, are we almost to the excavation site?” complained one of the men, a hired guard in light armor. “I’m sick of walking.” The guided turned and looked at the man sharply, then continued to walk. The complaining man rushed up to him, ready to punish him for his insolence. The guide caught the man’s fist before the punch could be thrown. With a quick spin and a twist the man was on his knees, screaming in agony. After being begged for mercy, a soft smile came over the guide’s face and he loosened his grip. The man broke free and staggered back to the group, cradling his nearly broken wrist. The rest of the group just stared in awe at the now much more dangerous looking man.

“Let’s go, we’re almost there.” The guide said.

Chapter 2

“Where are they? They should be here by now.” The girl looked back and forth, scanning the horizon. Her aide put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Calm down princess, if you attract too much attention to yourself people may suspect the real reason you’re here.”

“I know. I thank you for telling father I need to see more of Hyrule, and for arranging for us to oversee this excavation.” She paused to scan the horizon once more then continued. “Impa, do you think Link will be happy to see me?”

“Of course he will.” Impa replied. “In fact I think he already knows you’re here.” Impa pointed to a sand dune. There was the party of hired guards, slowly staggering towards them. Link was leading them. He was staring straight at them, astonished that they were there. He turned and said something to the men and they instantly stood up straight, trying to walk without limping. The princess giggled.

Link led his party to the small dig site, when they reached the princess, they all dropped to one knee. “You may rise.” The young woman said. “You look as though you had a rough journey. Please go sit and relax.”

The men ran to the shade of a nearby rock, and within moments they were talking and laughing. When link lifted his face to meet the princess’ she gasped, seeing the cuts on his face. “Link you’re bleeding!” she exclaimed. “Come with me and we’ll clean your cuts.” She took his hand and led him to a nearby tent.

“Okay, now be still. This may sting a little.” Zelda opened a chest and took out some cloth and a bottle labeled “Biri Jelly.” She put some on the cloth and returned to Link. As soon as the damp cloth touched his skin, Link fell to the floor, writhing in agony. Darkness swallowed him as he blacked out. Link awoke several minutes later, Zelda standing over him with a shocked look on her face. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Oh Link, I’m sorry.” She exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had never been treated with Biri Jelly before.” She then let out a partially stifled giggle. “It always hurts like that the first time, doctors usually wait until a serious injury to use it. But you can’t argue with results.” Zelda said as she reached into the chest and pulled out a mirror. She showed Link his face, all the cuts were gone without a trace. She kissed him on the forehead and smiled. “There see, all better now.”

“Thanks Zelda.” Link smiled, then winced as a final surge of pain shot through him. He got up and peered out of the tent. Knowing this may be one of the few times he can be alone with her here, he took her hands and pulled her into him, gently pressing his lips against hers. This didn’t surprise her in the least. They had known each other for seven years and both wanted nothing more then to be with each other. After a moment they separated. Their eyes met for a moment, and Zelda laughed.

Link smiled and pulled her back to him, holding her close. “Zelda, we may not get another chance to do this, do you want to get out of here for awhile?” He asked her, whispering in her ear. “I would like nothing better.” She whispered back. She pulled away and thought for a moment, “But where could we go? This camp is the only place that is safe from the heat.”

Link moved to the back of the tent and drew his sword. He pierced the fabric and slid his sword down, easily tearing the thin fabric. “I know a place that isn’t too far from here, it never gets hot, and the view from there is amazing.” He motioned for her to follow as he crawled out of the tent. She quickly followed. As she emerged from the tent she rose, brushing sand off of her dress. Link peered around the corner then motioned for her to do the same. There were two of the guards standing near a rock, casually talking. Impa was standing guard outside the medical tent, completely unaware that Zelda was no longer in side. On the far end of the camp, one of the archeologists was flipping through a book, completely engrossed in it. Link reached down and grabbed a small stone. He whispered to Zelda, “I’ll cause a distraction. As soon as no one is looking, run over the dune behind us. I’ll be right behind you.”

Link threw the stone as hard as he could. It sailed through the air, and hit the archeologist square in the face. He fell backwards, cursing. He looked around and saw the two guards laughing at him. He got up, and ran over to them, accusing them of throwing the stone. They broke into a heated argument, and Impa strode over to break up the fight. Link turned to her and whispered, “Go!”

Zelda ran over the dune with Link at her heels. After they were out of sight they slowed to a brisk walk, taking the time to catch up with each other.



That's it so far, but as a little extra, here's a script for a YouTube video I'm making.


Script: Pocket Spin the Bottle
Characters:
Announcer (Voiceover)
Disclaimer
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4

Announcer: From the makers of Spin The Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven comes the newest game of Tweenage experimentation! It’s Pocket Spin The Bottle! Pocket Spin the Bottle introduces a new, smaller bottle that can easily be carried in a pocket. No more hauling around those bigger, clunky bottles.

Person 1: Hey check it out! I got Pocket Spin the Bottle!
Person 2: Wow! It’s so tiny!
Person 3: Awesome!
Person 4: Lets play!

Announcer: Now you can play anywhere! In the car, in the lunchroom, in a public bathroom! Setting it up is easy! Just take the bottle out of your pocket or the exclusive Pocket Spin the Bottle: Bottle Protector.

Disclaimer: Pocket Spin the Bottle: Bottle Protector not included.

Announcer: Place it on any level surface, you can use a table, a notebook, even the palm of your hand! Then all you have to do is spin it and let curiosity and hormones take their course.

Person 4: It’s so easy! And thanks to Pocket Spin the Bottle, So am I!
Person 1,2,3,4: Yeah!

Announcer: It’s the Pocket Spin the Bottle. And from the makers of Pocket Spin the Bottle, be on the look out for Pocket Seven Minutes in Heaven.

Preparing for Lich King

What are YOU doing to get ready for WotLK? I've personally been doing dailies like crazy, other then that I've kinda just been dicking around. Looking for vanity pets, working on mods and side projects. I'm typing this waiting for the WoW servers to come back online. Always sucks when servers are down this close to an expansion or major update. Right now I could be preparing for the expansion by researching the Death Knight, Northrend, and the like. Only problem is, even people with Beta Keys are keeping their lips shut for the most part.

I finally got on WoW late at night, logging in to frantic shouts of: "Get ot the Champion's Hall, the items are free!" Turns out, it wasn't just a well coordinated plan to be dicks to the Alliance. I knew that Blizzard would be taking all the stuff away, but why not grab a ton of awesome weapons and armor then run BGs? The funny thing is I saw people getting the end game enchantments on their stuff, now it all goes bye bye.

Welcome to the SI:7 Conference Room

Welcome to my blog! I'm Gargomel the Level 70 Human Rogue. If you play on my WoW server (Cho' gall) you may know me as Pantsofdeath. I used to despise blogging and bloggers alike, but after spending some time watching my friend Kelathos comment on The Big Bear Butt as well as some of their affiliate sites, I realise that this can be a good way to vent about things, as well as just talk to people.

So lets start out with a little bit about me:

Name: Gargomel
Faction: Alliance
Race: Human
Level: 70
Class: Rogue
Server: Cho' gall
Interests: Writing, WoW, gaming, modding (BIG Oblivion modder), and [Adult Swim]
Other PoI's: I'm currently working on my first novel, it is heavilly under wraps, but I'm sure I will be posting bits and pieces on here for your opinion and for ideas.

Now that we have the "How Do You Do's" out of the way, lets go over some rules.

Rule 1: Go ahead and cuss all you fucking want. I have no problem with it, it has become a natural part of my speech over the years that I don't even notice it.

Rule 2: No racism, sexism, or bigotry. A person's race, gender, or religion, doesn't effect their personality (In most cases, I will say it irritates me when someone uses one of these three things as an excuse for their actions.), and you shouldn't treat them like it does.

Rule 3: If you call someone something, you probably are so more then they are. I find it hilarious when people say, "You're probably just a kid, whatever." It's funny because you see five year olds come up with more mature things to say then that.

That's all I got, if more things come up I'll be sure to post them. Also, check out Kelathos' Blog.