In order to become an elder you just need to do the achievements. Is it that simple? No way if you are a lvl 74 character and have only 1 week to get to 80 so you can enter Gundrak heroic. So here is what you need to do to achieve this:

• visit all the elders you can (solo, prowling, stealth, invisible) – you will hit a problem with Upgarde Pinnacle and Gundrak
• a bunch of friends willing to go the extra mile to help you out ( this includes babysitting your char for the more difficult quests and taking you in the dungeons)
• lots of time and coffee

So you will need to get to lvl 80 in 1 week. Start visiting the normal elders (not dungeons) and the ones from the dungeons where you can get without having to fight your way in. This should not take more than 1 day. In the rest 6 days you have left you will need to do 1 level per day so better start questing.

The last 4 levels will need to be done in about 3 days. Here is where the friends come into play. You will need at least 1 friend (lvl 80 offcourse) to help you with the quests marked as Group because they do give an insane amount of experience for the time it takes to complete it (like killing an 80 elite takes 1 minute and get a bucket of xp and a quest to collect some stuff takes longer and gives a drop of xp). Another thing to do are daily quests that also give some very nice xp.

So here you are on the last day of the event at 22:00 hours and still 50% of level 79. You say to yourself “I’m not going to make it but I must try or the last days when I played like a mad man will mean nothing”. So you get your mount ready and go get some more quests. At 23:30 you still need about 500k xp but you sudden realize that you have about 10 quests not turned in. A glimpse of hope starts to be seen. Go and turn then in….. 300k still needed. Your friends are about finished with their raid so you ask one of them to help with some group quests. Even if it is late he accepts.

You start dragging your friends all over the map for those hard quests, you manage to get lost on the map and to die like a fool a couple of times but you’re nearly there: 1K left.

Now comes the “fun” part: it’s 1:30, everybody is tired and can’t keep their eyes open but they stick with you and help you do 2 instances to get to the elders. During one instance you finally ding making you a very happy person and in the end you do get the tile 2 hours from the event closure.

I would like to thank Patricus, Jensomething, Belgua, Neoublie, Rijje and all the others for helping me get older and elderly.

PS: Sorry about the ninja looting for that herb. Could not think that clear after 3 days staight of WoW.

PS2: Got a whole bunch of items to sell after this (bank is full, bags are full… not even a little space for some honey tea)

Grizzly Hills is a wonderful area in Northrend and it can be quite inspiring for someone like me who likes to take things further and imagine even more.

Here is my first machinima, based on a Romanian song named “Amintire cu Haiduci” (Outlaw Memory) by Vali Sterian. Even though the song it’s in Romanian, I know this web site has many Romanian viewers so this post is mostly aimed at them :)

Amintire cu Haiduci in Grizzly Hills from Sirg on Vimeo.

For the other readers, in Romanian history, centuries ago, there were bands of highwaymen or outlaws (hajduks), somewhat like Robin Hood, who hid in the forests and mountains to strike upon the rich, usually the occupying Turks or invading Tatars, plunder their wagons and wealth to give it to the poor. Thus we have many legends and songs about famous outlaws, some which existed and others who are just fantasy. This machinima is about them, a memory of a distant past.

later edit – I have problems embeding the movie in the page, it seems the editor doesn’t allow that kind of code, so you’ll have to click the link :/

This night at about 2 am I completed this map. This is by far my favorite map from Northrend. I collected so many herbs that I can`t even count, the quests are very funny and the scenery is beautiful.

Obviously you`ll find many beats here along with the great hunter Hemet Nesingwary. For the first time ever he`ll actually do some hunting, instead of sitting in his camp bossing you around.

You`ll get to ride a mammoth,

a crocolisk, (notice the detail of the landscape, this is done using the tips here)

and for the grand finale, a Titans` creation.

In the Basin you`ll find two opposite factions. You can`t have good reputation with both at the same time, it works like the Scryer-Aldor or the 2 tribes of centaurs in Desolace. Make sure you read the quests, they have a funny way of talking. The Oracles (“big tongues” that consider you a “dryskin”) and the Frenzyheart Tribe (“puppy-men” that look like racoons) hate eachother and you`ll have a series of quests. Don`t worry, you can always switch sides. The Oracles seem friendlier and cuter so I chose them. You`ll also unlock many daily quests for the faction you`ll choose.

Into the Basin – 75/75 completed

Level: 78

Next stop: Storm Peaks.

Done with Grizzly Hills too. Pretty easy map with a smaller number of quests to complete for the Achievement “Fo’ Grizzle my Shizzle” (Snoop Dogg anyone?), only 85. In case anyone is wondering, the blue question marked quests (PvP) can be skipped and you still have about 90-92 quests to do. I didn`t do the PvP quests, I`ll probably complete them at 80 for more gold.

Grizzly Hills is a nice forest filled with wildlife, giants, dwarves, the vrykul people and trolls. I didn`t find anything special on this map but I did like the Silverbrook story (they hide a dark secret) and the daily quest that involves burning mindless troll zombies at Drak’Tharon.

You`ll get to ride a badass dragon

and a pretty wild mustang.

Level: 76

Next map: Sholazar Basin. I told you I really like forests!

First quest hub: Wintergarde Keep. I was thinking to myself “Oh crap undeads again”. I don`t want to give any spoilers but from the Keep you`ll start one of the best chains in World of Warcraft which ends with the achievement “Veteran of the Dragonblight”. At a certain point you`ll see the best cinematic ever, it gave me goosebumps. Lore addicts must not miss this chain.

“Please don`t kill me, I`m scared!”

Apart from undead, the Scarlet people, the worms and the various wildlife you`ll find dragons. Lots of them.

Dead ones.

Live ones and sexy ones.

The dragon tower is impressing as well.

The Tuskarr`s return in another village on the shore. They are quite inventive, they found a way to use Carrot on a Stick.

You`ll come across a new version of Sylvanas Windrunner which I must say looks more adapted to the lore, because the old skin was that of a Night Elf. Also she looks more of an Elven Ranger now.

Might of the Dragonblight: 115/115 completed.

Level: 74

Going the the Grizzly Hills because I am not in the mood for Zul’Drak right now. I am a druid after all, I enjoy forests more.

I chose this map to start my adventure in Northrend because…well because I took the boat from Menethil and that`s where it took me. I`m glad I started with this map. I like the bloodthirsty vikings, the large forest, the pirates. The maps in Northrend sure are huge compared to Outlands, both in width and in depth, you go in all sorts of caves, temples, crypts, hollows, etc.

Utgarde Keep is nice and easy. I also did the Nexus (nice music in there, Trance-like) and both spider instances. The feeling of large spaces is in there too, especially in Ahn’Kahet the Old Kingdom. Azjol’Nerb is very short and fast.

I met the Tuskarrs too, I plan on getting exalted with them for the penguin vanity pet. Despite the fact that a LOT of people were trying to kill the same mobs for the same quests, the respawn is fats. Two areas sucked, Ember Cluth (took me ages to put my claws on the little Proto Drakes) and Gjalerbron (the 2 Putrid big guys for the quests resawned in 100 years and the area was farmed by a lot of players). Apart from that, no complains. The quests in Skorn are nice too (cutting corpses in pieces) and the quests involving shit are back (Scare the Guano out of Them) – collecting bat poo. Seems that someone at Blizzard was really affected by 2 Girls 1 Cup LOL.

Best NPC on this map: McGoyver <Pro>. Need I say more?

The map has plenty flight points and quest hubs, make sure you don`t miss any quest. I completed the “I toured the Fjord” achievement (130 quests) but I estimate there are about 140 quests in the area so it`s unlikely you`ll have problems completing the achievement.

Level: 72. Next map, Dragonblight!

So, Lich King has hit and it’s wonderful. We all love it and it’s improved the content Blizzard has given us so far but 100% – that is fine to say for those of us who are there and are enjoying the cold reaches of Arthas’ domain, but what of those who haven’t?

After TBC hit we saw a massive influx of people to Hellfire Peninsula, abandoning their posts in Azeroth to go on a killing spree looking for some old Night Elf Daemon Hunter. The dark portal flooded with bodies intermingled with each other; both Alliance and Horde who all wanted to go and see the new realm of Draenor.

Yes, there were hitches but it gave a good standing for the upcoming 1.5 years, which for me included some of the best raiding experience I have ever had with my Alonsopolitan guild.

No one I know in game can deny TBC gave us some excellent content free from skill level. The fight with Moroes was every bit as challenging and fun as the Kael’Thas fight when you were at equal gear level to the fight. However, never did I hear someone begging to go raid MC or Naxx. With the latter returning will we see that feeling emerge in raiders, or will as has been the case previously dungeons only be wanted in the case that you can level cooking there or there is some rare quest.

At the time of writing this I am sitting in Felwood herbing while my guild emerges into Northern Azeroth, describing how good LK is to those of us who can’t be there (due to Amazon’s lack of deliveries to Glasgow.) And I wonder, will TBC be ignored now? We have no use for Shattrath and there is no gear to be found that can match the lowest blues from level 80.

I myself will miss certain encounters from this period and believe we should not be so quick to abandon the place that gave use days’ worth of fun and IMO love in the way it helped us to our place in raiding!

TBC should not be forgotten and it is up to those who loved it to not let it be trodden upon by Blizz and Northrend. I say this while being abandoned in EK due to a significant lack of Expansions within my house, but will my tune change in a few days time? It probably will, but I like to think some of us will care for TBC that little bit more than LK, after all… it was the second place we ever dinged full level, let’s just hope being the best for a third time doesn’t get old!

Since in a previous post Jen showed all of the importance of looks in WoW, I feel like I need to tell you the importance of cleanliness. So here is the story of a pretty dirty me.

I was a happy 50ish girl druid that always wandered what made all the mobs attack me even from the greatest distances. I have heard of aggro range and level differences but that did not quite explain the number of mobs that ususally decided to do some target practice with me.

Since the monsters on the same area were not enough, I even called monsters from far away places like the Lurker Below.

After a while I realised that something very wrong happened to me. I began to grow larger and had an orange glow all around me. Imagine how hard was for me to even enter a room. I had to dismount my trusty sabertooth because we were to big. (yes even my sabertooth had the same problems as me)

And eventually I began to have a stink cloud all around me. That stink started to attact a horde of undead warriors all around the land. (I am sorry to have caused all this fuss with the invasion and such).

So it was decided (against my will I might add – the guild and friends insisted, they were tired of helping me get out of troubles caused by my stink aggro) that I need to clean myself. Since I was a druid the first ideea was to use one of the moon wells that were around. Unfortunatelly my stink caused the water to come to a boil and we had to try ever harder methods like magic.

But all that was for nothing. The stink was still presend and now zombies started to appear everywhere I went. No place was safe from them. Then I remembered an old story a dwarf friend once told me. It was a story about their sacred fire of Ironforge so I decided to give it one more try.

And that did the trick. Now I look charming again as you can see from the picture below, I get a nice critical chance and I can go into Outland as a lvl 50ish druid.

So remember: from time to time do visit Ironforge and take a bath in the hot lava. You will feel much better after this.

18th October, The year 27 (human calendar):

Today was the fifth report of illness in the lower regions of the eastern kingdoms, Galatyr and I went south to meet with the lords of the area to discuss the cause, effect and treatment of the new disease among the populace of the area.

I still feel strange to be here, it was only 2 months ago that we were told to bar our gates to all but the most revered of travellers from both Westfall and Redridge to the east due to reports of strange happening in both provinces. The alliance may seem strong to those inside its home; however to those looking outwards it is seen as a crumbling state, although I dare not say it to anyone save those I trust most. This should be a time of rejoicing and happiness after the arrival of the missing king after 2 years, yet there are no celebrations: With the increase in all manners of evil activity it is with sombre duty my order sets out not to tell of greatness but of sorrow and misfortune to those who wish our coming, and eventually will cheer our departure. I feel more trapped in the keep than I ever have, as though it is now made to keep us in, and not vile creatures out.

After the king’s departure the Lords of Stormwind all but abandoned the sister states, fearful of the fate that behest both the overwhelmed Lordaeron and the now missing Dalaran. The king however does not embrace the other men as they were the kin that he should see them as, instead he shuns them and holds them at arms length. Most in my order agree with this treatment: most are pigs and wish only joy for themselves. Prince Menethil would be proud…

19th October

The meeting with the lords was to no avail. Of the 18 only 7 bothered to arrive, 8 of the missing nobles did not even send word of their condition or wishes, the 3 that did were vague and almost uncaring of their land. It was decided that the south shall be annex from the order’s duties; a move I see as both foolish and unkind. Of course the nobles insisted they still get paid their taxes in the name of Stormwind…they have no spine. The king has ordered the menace of the Defias to be ignored for the time being and all patrols along the border of the river to the south doubled. The people of Darkshire are no more cousins to us, but enemies to be mistrusted like the Orcs we are so indoctrinated to hate.

The group known as the Nightwatch –Some of whom I know to be very skilled and reputable paladins- have reported they need bolstering with supplies and men; we have been ordered to kill them on sight.

My own ears have heard rumours around the city when I am on my patrol, the festivities of hallow’s eve have been overshadowed by something the citizenry cannot see or hear but seem to be afraid of. Only time will tell what the light will give us in terms of hope, faith is not enough.

21st October

The goblins of the steamwheel cartel have been deemed unfit for commerce with as the supplies they send are found with traces of the disease that the surrounding area seems so unready to fight. Our saviour is however perhaps at hand: we have received word that the crusade in the north has been all but abandoned by the argent dawn and their numbers are to add to our own. They are experts at fighting these illnesses and their arrival brings hope to many of the citizens. Their appearance does however signal something far worse to come, why would they end their attack on lordaeron in all but the worst circumstances…are we their newest crusade?

I am ordered to reinforce the entry to Goldshire, the first defence of Stormwind. I am to take 20 men at a time when it is most important to protect the capital. I do not believe my superiors can be fully trusted, they seem very rare of late, only giving orders through letter and never seen in the king’s council. I dare not trust anyone, save myself.

22nd October

We saw them today for the first time in 2 years. It is as we have feared most, the Scourge has redoubled its efforts and with every citizen that dies their number increases. Why did we not see this, why were we not warned by those on the furthest outposts of the alliance. This is the first week in 2 years we have not heard from any of our sister states or the city in outland; Galatyr has deserted and gone to his home of Ironforge, he would not say why but I feel he fears for his family, and rightly so.

I do not know whether The dwarves have been effected by this new plague of undeath, as the attacks seem to be coming from the south….we seem to be the first hurdle.

23rd

We lost our first men today, both young and reckless they hurled themselves at yet another wave of the undead that assaulted our gates. Goldshire has been abandoned. We now sit in our wall, repelling every wave as if it is the last. They still come.

We are ordered to give every last ounce of our being into fighting the menace that has still not been explained to us. The argent dawn however are great sources of morale, their words give us hope in this time where none can be found in our souls.

There have been reports that the warlord Thrall has accepted the asylum of the lordaeron survivors under Jaina Proudmoore’s command, it is clearly not just the east that is suffering: water can also carry this affliction.

25th

The outer wall has been abandoned, we are over run. We have been ordered back into the keep to the north and to refuse entry to the dying citizens of Stormwind. They are dying and have no chance of help, even the knights of the dawn who swore to help us have deserted, fled back to the north to “fight a larger threat”, What is larger that the doom of 50,000 people?!! I hope they do not exile us to a death without rest or the light’s guidance, or it is their soul’s too that will perish with ours in the eternal dream.
The most disturbing thing stalking the streets of the city is not the dead but the warriors in black, I swear I have seem humans among the dead who are not attacked, bitten or clawed at. These men seem intelligent and armed; they do not fear the dead but embrace them and seem to hold sway over their movement. I believe these to be the new leaders of the scourge but I cannot. If I share my thoughts with anyone I will surely be killed, no man of the light can turn to darkness, and it is against his soul’s yearning to help those who do not see the light.

I feel these are my last hours before the fall of Stormwind, and I wish I could say I spend them valiantly…however I am hiding behind stone, my hammer laid upon the wall, clean and un-wanted.

They are coming…May the light be with us all.

26th

I have left my post to seek refuge in the tunnels towards Ironforge, they are many miles but it is our only hope to reach the city and hope it has lasted better than our defences stood. We have seen many strange things on our travels and heard worse…but one chills my bones more than any other.

The lich citadel of Naxxramas has mobilised and is spewing forth evil onto our lands, they attack all peoples, human, dwarf and troll alike, they do not care who they harm but what they can gain from this…they are raising an army to destroy the kingdom…and it is working.

27th

We are but 5 now, the rest, dead by my hand…bitten or worse in an attack last night…I still hear the screams as we walk…they are everywhere and all directions are filled with danger. The lake above us was a warm sight we it was reached, the relief of seeing blue not red water was a large one indeed

…

They have taken all sides and we now are outnumbered yet they do not attack, the black warriopr that accompanies them stalks their lines 60 yards from us, holding them back…

We will fail…and we will die

May the light give rest to my soul, if I shall have such a thing when I am at one with the lich.

There is no hope…there is no light…There is no salvation, only destiny…something I wish I do not have to face, alone or otherwise…in the dark or in the bathing glory of the lights true darkness.

We just received an application on our guild site. It turned up to be brilliant and the guy was accepted immediatly. Since I am still giggling when I think of it, here’s an excerpt:

I’ve been playing WoW for approx 3-4 yrs, playing various classes as mains and alts, unfortunatly i lost access to that account, it was in my Ex’s name, when we split up she wouldnt give me access to the account and changed the password and deleted my characters.(loosing the account gutted me more than loosing the girl), so ive had to restart from scratch.

I couldn’t stopped laughing while reading this! Modern breakups are not about sharing things anymore, right? Who cares who takes the refrigerator and who takes the TV set, it’s all about who’s having the warlock and who gets the hunter!!