Before we get started, a riddle.  What do you get when you combine the Cubs’ curse, toilet humor, and a Thundercats reference?

The answer?  My interview on Twisted Nether!  Go listen now!

Anyhow, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Part Time Druid is largely a Wrath-free zone.  I’m not in the beta, and there are other, better sites to get your dose of news and analysis about the beta.  Now, if someone were kind enough to drop a beta key in my lap, that might change.

But I digress.  One of the things that has everyone in a tizzy is the introduction of the first new class since the inception of WoW, the Death Knight.  No, I’m not going to get into the role of the DK, or how OP they are going to be, or what tradeskills will work best with the new class.  No.  I only really want to talk about one thing.

Death Knights start at level 55.  At first, it was suggested that you would need a level 55 ON the server you intend to make the DK, and you could only have one per server.  Now I hear that you just need a 55 anywhere, and you can make a DK at 55.  (I wonder, though, does this include PvP?  Being a carebear, could I roll a 55 DK on Warsong if I so chose?)

Anyhow, I am very excited by Blizzard’s decision, and I think it was the right one.  If they had decided that new DKs would start at level 1 like everyone else, that would have favored the more “hard core” amongst us in a big way.  I still remember how after just a few days of BC I saw level 50-60 Draenei Shammys running around.  At first I was jealous, then I started to wonder how they relieved themselves.  Anyway…  The point is it would take a LONG TIME, without the 55 boost, to get a DK to the end game.  Especially since the level cap will be raised to 80.

So my question is, why are only DKs getting such a leg up?  Why couldn’t an established player make ANY character and start them at 55?

One argument that I’ve heard relating to this is that such a change would literally kill the old world content, and be detrimental to new people to the game as they try to level up.  Honestly, though, isn’t that already the case?  When someone who has one or more 70s levels an alt, do they spend their time helping out new players, and teaching them how to survive in Azeroth?  Or do they blow through the lower levels as quickly as they possibly can, either alone, multi-boxed, or with guildmates?

I think we all know the answer to that question.  They try to set leveling records, and get their new toons up to speed as quickly as possible.  So I don’t accept that it would “kill the old content” and hinder new players.

So are there other reasons they wouldn’t do this?  I suppose you could argue that it would be too easy to make strong farming or tradeskill toons.  I can buy that, but I also have an answer.  Limit it.  Limit it just like they are with Death Knights.  I’d be happy if they only allowed me ONE level 55 alt.  Hell, I’d be thrilled with one free level 55, as I always seem to hit a roadblock around 40!

I’ve even dreamt up an interesting way to implement it.  Make it a quest.

“Recovering Lost Allies”

It would be a quest in the Caverns of Time.  The quest involves saving a hero from ages past, maybe someone who died at the Battle of Mount Hyjal.  This someone just happens to be level 55.  Maybe it’s part of a long chain, you have to gather this, kill this boss, blah blah blah.  In the end, though, you pull a hero from the past into the present.  This would activate a special slot on the character creation screen, with a shadowy, unrecognizable character.  You fill in the relevant details, and boom!  Level 55 Paladin or Druid or whatever.

I would figure this would require you to have a level 70 character.  Maybe some Keepers of Time rep, too…Honored or Revered.  I would also limit this as either a ONE TIME quest, or perhaps make it so it was repeatable every 3 months.

Honestly though, think about how hard it is now to get a character from 1-70 if you decide you want to finally get a Pally to end game?  Sure, maybe not all that tough for some of you, but the part-time players out there know it takes a LONG time.  Now imagine trying to get from 1-80.  Ugh, it makes me cringe!  Blizz is already boosting leveling from 60-70 to go along with the boost from 20-60 from 2.3.  Why not just cut some corners, and let me start at 55!

Oh, and Blizzard, if you want to implement this, I’m more than willing to be a guinea pig.  And, as long as I have your attention, where’s my beta key?

My apologies to Fimlys of Asleep at the WoW, and to his guild.  Many thanks for being so welcoming, and I enjoyed my time with you.

But…

It just wasn’t meant to be.  If you remember, dear readers, I contemplated moving to Fim’s server full-time for a number of reasons.  Draenor is a West Coast server, so it would be more compatible with my play times, for one.  There are also more than a couple bloggers that are playing over there as well, including Lady Jess and Awlbiste. So in early June I moved my highest level alt, a level 52 Shadow Priest over there.

I had some good times over there, sure, and Fim’s guild was more than welcoming.  They are also progressing nicely, running Kara quite a bit and even stepping into ZA and some 25 man content.

It just wasn’t meant to be, though.

I’m a part-time player, hence the blog title, and splitting my part-time play-time in two was just not going well.  I only play about half as much as most people, and then try to split that half into quarters spread across two servers and 3 characters…well…you get the picture.  I found myself mostly ignoring my priest over there, and my priest also happened to be my highest level alt.  Aside from that, the priest is a high level enchanter and tailor, and I don’t have a replacement back on my “home” server.  I’m already tired of vendoring high level greens.

So a decision had to be made.  For this to work, all my characters must be together.  It was time for me either to go whole hog or go back home.  Sure, we their play-times aren’t 100% compatible with mine, but I love my guild.  It’s a great group of people, and in case you haven’t noticed I even got to raid the Black Temple recently.  The decision seemed all too easy.

So it was that I tucked my shadow priestly tail between my legs and went back home.  I completed the transfer back to Whisperwind with my priest this morning.  I do have a couple low level alts still on Draenor, though.  And one of them has a fantastic name for a Gnome Warrior (Halftime) and a fully tricked out, enchanted to the hilt set of white gear.  He’s one bad-ass level 10 warrior.   Maybe I’ll just play him from time to time to still hang out with Fim’s awesome guild and the other bloggers.

Anyhow, sorry I couldn’t stay, but thanks for being so kind.  Just don’t ignore me if I ask for a run through the Deadmines sometime soon! 

Well, I’ve spent a good deal of time lately mostly ignoring my main.  Things had slowed down in my guild, and I wasn’t raiding regularly as I was missing out on the signups.  I spent some time working on my Hunter, who is now reasonably geared in mostly T4 level epics.  I tell ya one thing, he sure can blow through his dailies much faster than my T5 level Resto Druid.  Sometimes I wonder if I should level HIM when Wrath hits.  But, that’s neither here nor there.

I’ve also gotten my Shadow Priest up to 62, and also worked on his trade skills.  He has tailoring at around 365 and his enchanting is up to about 320.  Two very nice trades to have, and I’m glad I picked them up.

But, as you surely know, I was in Black Temple Saturday night.  It’s time to start working on my main again.

One of the reasons he had fallen by the wayside a bit is that he’s more and more difficult to improve.  It seems the further you go in terms of gear, the more difficult it is to reach that next level.  Well, now that I’m officially in T6 content, the time to refocus is here.

For starters, I’m looking at all the badge gear that’s available, to try and find the best bang for my buck.  The healing leather chest is a nice upgrade, but not game-changing.  There is a nice ring, along with a decent pair of gloves, but neither screams out to me.  I already have the awesome pants that are available.

For pure, huge upgrade, there is really only one choice:  The Gavel of Naaru Blessings. I’ve been carrying the Shard of the Virtuous for, like, ever. I just can’t seem to get lucky with any of the other drops, like off the Prince for instance. I also have not taken Lady V down, and she carried a nice healy mace. I think I finally realized that the Gavel is just the way to go.

It’s high time I start farming badges.  It’s going to take some time to get to 150, though, and I hope I can stick with the program.  I’m sitting at 56 as of now, and the last two days have made sure to do the heroic daily.

The good thing about that is that yesterday it happened to be Shattered Halls.  I’ve never finished SH.  I  have actually only TRIED once — it was long ago, it was a pug, and we didn’t get past the gauntlet.  So it was nice to see content I hadn’t seen before, and I also made sure to pick up the quests there as well.  I still needed the Honor Hold revered head enchant, and I’ve needed it for a long time.  I just haven’t had the heart to beg for heroic HH instance runs.  Heart be damned, I’m going to be begging.

Well-geared Resto Druid LFG — anything that gives badges!

They said it couldn’t be done.  Well, I guess “they” is a little nebulous.  The fact is I thought it couldn’t be done.  PTD in the Black Temple?  The Unholiest of Unholies?  Yeah right.  Well, as I said recently, I was signed up to do just that last night.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a raid invite as the one I got last night for BT.

Our alliance recently decided to change focus from strictly T4 and T5 raiding to more a mix of T5 and T6.  We’ve done the first couple of bosses in MH, and this week we started on Black Temple.  They went Wednesday night (a night this Part Timer can’t make) and downed Najentus.  So last night was a continuation, and we would be starting with Supremus.  Let’s get started with the rundown.

The area around the Black Temple is one I generally avoid.  Too many random nasties about, and I don’t like random nasty deaths.  About the only time I’m in the area is to do the Armament daily from the Isle of QD.  So most of the area was unfamiliar to me.  Heck, I didn’t even know HOW you got in BT.  It turns out you go through a hole in the side of the temple.  Pretty cool.  Here is a shot of the first thing you see.

Yeah, pretty standard looking cave area.  But this is the Black Temple, baby!  I even DISCOVERED it!  Excluding QD, I haven’t discovered anything since SSC about 4 months ago.  I was a little geeked up already.

Anyhow, as this was a continuation, we just ran through a few areas that had been cleared.  Here is a pic of where they say the first boss was located.

On we went, and finally started clearing trash before the second boss, Supremus.  I’m sure you’ve all seen trash before, so I won’t bore you.  There are some dragon dudes, some worker dudes, some other dudes.  We wiped once by pulling in the wrong place and getting oodles of adds.

After awhile, the trash was cleared, and I got to take some vanity pics while we set up for the fight.

First, PTD the Tree in BT, with dead mobs behind!

Next, a shot of the big bad himself, Supremus.

That’s one big, bad elemental dude. Scary. It turns out he hits for a LOT too!  We started at 8 PM server, and were scheduled to go to 12 AM, a four hour raid.  (A four hour raid. [Gilligan's Island Theme Plays])  Now, I won’t bore you with all the fight details, but I’ll try to sum up.

There are two phases for Supremus.  In phase one it’s a basic tank and spank.  Basically you need two tanks for the fight, one holding the aggro, and the other there to avoid this big, nasty hateful strike that does some 14k or so damage.  The healers’ job is to keep both tanks as close to topped as possible.  If either goes down, it gets ugly fast.

In phase two, Supremus basically randomly picks raid members to, well, pick on.  He targets one player and charges at them.  He charges pretty slow, so you can kite him around.  He does this for a few seconds before switching to another target.  What this means is during this phase everyone is pretty well spread out, and prepared to run if they are the target.  I found that for druids, Cheetah form is the bomb in this encounter.  Special thanks to Matticus for letting me know I could USE cheetah in this battle.  It made getting away from Supremus a piece of cake.  Also during the second phase, volcanoes pop up all over that do huge AOE damage.  If one pops by you, you better move, and fast.

That’s it.  The fight switches back and forth between those two phases at timed intervals.  One of the keys is the switch from phase two back to phase one.  At that point the tanks have to pick him back up FAST and the healers have to get back in position FAST and let loose the healing.  This is the real struggle of this fight, IMO.  Most of phase one and two are pretty easy when you know what to do, it’s the transition that can kill a raid.

Any how, 4 hours later, 10 attempts, and one re-clearing of trash later, Supremus was down.  Sadly, I was down too, but I took a pic anyway.  At fifteen minutes, Supremus enrages, and we killed him at 15 minutes and 1 second.  Wow!  At that point we were also down to one tank, one healer, and about 9 or 10 DPS.  It was CLOOOOOSE, but we got him!

And here is our celebratory pic, after myself and others were rezzed, of course!

And that about wraps it up! We are now 2/9 in BT, and it feels great. I’m so glad I was able to go, and I felt like an important cog in our success. The loot was a DPS neck and DPS leather chest. I actually considered the chest for off-spec, but didn’t take it. I’ll leave you with two other interesting pics I got. One is of the top of the stairs after Supremus, and a familiar looking statue. The pic after that is the room right behind him, which I did not go further into. It looks cool, though!

One other note before the pics.  You can raid casually. Your friendly neighborhood PTD is living proof.  You have to finagle to get it done, but you can.  I only raid ONE night a week, and I’ve now seen almost all of SSC and some of the Black Temple now too.  Don’t think that just because you’re a casual player you can’t raid.  Anyhow, enjoy the next two pics, and thanks for reading! You stay classy, World of Warcraft!

I thought I’d go ahead and chime in on one of  Blog Azeroth‘s latest shared topics.  This comes from Breana of Gun Lovin’ Dwarf Chick:

What content or goals did you think you would never see, and what have you done? What has surprised you the most? Where do you see yourself in 6 months, after the launch of Lich?

I’ll start with the first part of the question.

What content or goals did you think you would never see, and what have you done?

In all honesty, I never thought I would see very much in terms of 25 man content.  I was always scattered in the way I played the game, and for a long time didn’t devote enough time to any one character to get them ready to raid.  You can see the evidence of this in the fact that I have played since release and still only have two 70s.  I server hopped quite a bit in the beginning, and in retrospect I wish I had just started on Whisperwind, like I should have.  Oh well.

One other thing that helped me along was Blizzard removing attunements.  I don’t know if I would have ever seen SSC if you still had to get attuned, as I have a tendency to carry around those kind of quest chains and not get them done.  Pre-BC, I only ever got attuned to Molten Core.  I never did finish my attunements for Onyxia, BWL or anything else.  My time is at a premium, and I prefer not to spend it running hither and to trying to complete some willy-nilly quest for attunement.

Thanks Blizzard, for removing attunements.

Because of this, I have seen every boss in SSC, and downed all but the Lady V herself.  Well, I never thought I’d get there.

What has surprised you the most?

This weekend I will reach another goal I thought I’d never reach.  Saturday night I’ll be stepping into the Black Temple.  While SSC was always considered well out of reach, I never even considered I’d step into Black Temple, at least not at 70.  I always figured it was a place maybe I’d visit when I had leveled beyond it, but certainly not now.  Frankly, I can’t wait to see what the place looks like.  I really have no idea.  I’ve only watched a video of the Supremus fight, as this is a continuation run and the first boss is already down.  It should be a LOT of fun, and keep your eyes peeled for pics and a rundown sometime next week.

I have no real long-term expectations, but I hope I can at least see a boss or two in BT go down.  Before Wrath.

One other thing that has really surprised me is how well my blog has been going.  When I started out, I was happy that I got over 20 subscribers, and 50 or so hits a day.  Now there are many, many more people who take the time to read my blog, and I’m very thankful for that.  It has been a great outlet for me to invest further in WoW without compromising family time.

Where do you see yourself in 6 months, after the launch of Lich?

I hope that I will have been able to focus on getting one character through the leveling process.  This isn’t to say I expect to be level 80 six months from now, but I hope that I can make a decision as to how I will attack the expansion and the new level cap and work hard at it.  I missed out on a lot in my guild with BC because they were all leveling in outlands while I was in the old world, leveling up an alt druid.  By the time I got to the outlands, a lot of them were well beyond the instances I needed to run.

I don’t want that to happen in Wrath.  With my schedule, I can’t be on the bleeding edge of leveling within my guild, but I think if I focus I can at least stay close.  I just have to decide, will it be my Druid, Hunter, or even my Priest?  The Hunter is potentially the best “leveler” while the Druid would give me the versatility I love.  It’ll be tough to decide.

So there you have it.  I NEVER thought I’d see BT, much less SSC, and I never thought so many people would be interested in reading what I have to say.  Thanks so much for reading!