Val'kyr Hunt

So, I hope 5.3 is treating everyone well. I have to say that the most epic part so far was the Horde quest line (I have no idea what you Ally are doing) that took us to Sen'jin village to side with Vol'jin, Thrall, and Chen to overthrow Garrosh and basically take back Orgrimmar. I've never wanted to fight so hard to get the Horde back to being a proud race - not a race hell bent on destruction!

I was also super excited about the mini pets coming in this patch. So far, Vel has only collected two of the raiding with leashes pets - Menagerie Custodian and Netherspace Abyssal. I'm not worried about buying the on the auction house... I'll get them when I get them. On the other hand, I was extremely worried about getting the Unborn Val'kyr. I had been keeping up with the thread on the Warcraft Pets forum about the PTR and was worried that no one could find the "trigger" to make them spawn. Now with the patch being out a day, I think it's pretty clear that they spawn whenever they feel like it, but I think in certain places. While many users seem to have found success in Sholazar Basin and Zul'drak, I ended up catching mine in Crystalsong Forest. Below are the tips I used to catching myself an Unborn Val'kry.

As any collector, NPC Scan is my friend. One of the first things I did after the servers went live was add the NPC ID to my addon. Now, some people said that they were experiencing it going off when they would open their pet tab in WoW, but I never had an issue with it. However, on my filtered options I only show "collected" pets so that could be why. Try that if you're having an issue.

Tuesday, I spent my time flying everywhere. I must have scanned the entire continent of Northrend and saw nothing. I began to get frustrated, but I read a bit more on the forums and decided to camp a certain spots. I put Vel in Zul'drak and an alt in Sholazar Basin. I would log on and off every so often to check, but I saw nothing. I don't think this method is really that great because of her rarity mixed with CRZ and all the people looking for her.

Wednesday, I decided I would stay in certain areas. I flew Vel around Howling Fjord most of the day, because it seemed to be quiet and I always love the music in that area. I had no luck there either. I moved her to Zul'drak and stayed there for about 45 minutes of seeing nothing but little bunnies hopping around. Vel was bored, so we decided to go run Kara, TK, and SSC on alts to pass the time. After we were done, I decided I would fly back to Zul'drak to do a quick flyover then head to Grizzly Hills to camp for a while. I never made it there because I found her in Crystalsong Forest!

Sorry for the extremely crappy screenshot, but I snapped it as fast as possible before engaging in a pet battle. Luckily I was there because seconds after I was in the battle, someone flew over me. Hopefully they don't have to wait long to get their Val'kyr if that's what they were looking for.

Here was my exact location on the map: (coords - 68,49)

Of course she was poor quality, but I used a battle-stone to upgrade her. She is now fully leveled up too! I'm glad to have her join my pet battle arsenal! So maybe you can't go looking for the Val'kyr... maybe she comes looking for you? Who knows! I hope 5.3 is being good to all of you. Happy hunting!!!

I choose you, champion!

Here is another Blog Azeroth shared topic that I wasn't going to do, but after setting up MRP on my Moonguard mage, I decided that I should give it a try. Instead of an RP intro, I'm going to go with the story of Velgana up until she was changed into an Undead. I'm not going to go with digging up lore for a factual timeline; I'm just doing something fun to read. Enjoy!

"Be wary, child, of Plaguelands plain...

Be mindful, child, of the infected grain...

For if throat is parched and of infected water sip...

Forever your soul will be in cursed Scourge grip.

So heed this warning, child, and if far from mother stray...

Let light from home's hearth guide you back your way."

Velgana lived a simple life as a farm hand in the land of Lordaeron. She spent most of her days taking care of sheep, chicken, and horses. If she wasn't working, you could often find her in the woods around her home, feeding and the deer.

Every few weeks, a caravan would come into town bringing goods, grains, exotic meats, fruits, and vegetables that weren't native to the region. Everyone looked forward to this, because if the caravan wouldn't drop by, the townspeople would have to make the journey to the town of Stratholme to purchase goods. Like always, the cart stopped by Velgana's home.

Bartleby complained, "This grain shipment has been nothing but trouble!" Vel smiled as she walked over to inspect the grain. It had a strange hue with a slight odd smell, but nothing to make her worry. She paid the man and left the crates for use later on in the week. However, it seemed that overnight, whatever was in the crates began to fester and boil, giving life to the plague that they carried within.

 

The next morning the small town was in uproar. There was talk that Arthas would be coming to Stratholme soon to hold a conference with Lady Jaina Proudmoor on the severity of the plague, and how it was being spread. It was too late, the people had already ate the food, drank the water, breathe the air... there was nothing they could do but wait. It only took a few days for most people, including Velgana, to feel the effects. Most of the townspeople left for Stratholme to beg and plead for the Prince to do something. The Inn in the town was kind enough to let most of the remaining townspeople stay there for comfort. Velgana, like most began running a high fever followed by vomiting. Everyone was so sick and so scared, all they could do was hope and pray for a cure.

 

One early morning screams were heard coming from outside the Inn. Someone had came from Stratholme to bring news... news that no one wanted to hear. Arthas decided that the area was to be quarantined and the sick to be killed - Stratholme was going to be burned to the ground. The people were in uproar. Some grabbed what they could and ran for their life... as far away as they could get from the Prince's destruction. Velgana did the same, but you cannot run from death.

Bits and pieces of places she saw flashed through her mind.

Velgana awoke, looked around, and for the first time in her life, she felt nothing. She was in a cold, dark, crypt. The air smelled foul and stale. Something didn't feel right. It seems she already knew, but didn't want to accept it. 

She climbed out the crypt; each step brought her closer to the sunlight. When she emerged, she was filled with immense sadness. The world did not look like she remembered it. Glancing upon the graves of those who were previously buried and dug up, she could do nothing but sob. Everything and everyone she ever knew were probably lost.

However, she wasn't alone. Everyone around her looked the same. Dried, cracking, rotted corpses, all looking for the same explanation. She didn't feel like a monster, but she was bitter. She saw the world through different eyes, and never wanted to go back to being a farmer. From that point on, Velgana decided her life would now be an unending journey.

"Go to Undercity! Pledge your allegiance to the Banshee Queen! Together the Forsaken can take back what is rightfully ours! Power to the Forsaken!", the town crier screamed. Velgana wasted little time going there. She allied with the Forsaken, pledged her loyalty to the Banshee Queen, and began studying the art of magic... and the rest is pretty much history. :) 

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for posts that show off people's inventory, bank, and void storage. Lucky for me, on any given day, /wow usually has a post or two about it. I love to see the things people hold on to and what they have for transmogging. Since I finally made myself full Royal Satchel's for my bank and personal inventory, I decided to get to organizing... again. Usually I go through and vendor things every so often, but most of the stuff I have now are things I want to keep. I thought I would share some pictures of my WoW hoard with everyone. Here is goes...

My Inventory (Addon used is Baud Bag; Been using it since BC and it's awesome!)

I try to keep my bags empty as possible at all times. I never know what I may need to do... which usually means that I'm going to go run instances over and over which will net me a mass amount of cloth or just fish for hours at a time because I'm bored. I have my cloth for Imperial Silk at the top and at the bottom I have a few stacks of pet battle bandages and some Incantations to summon bosses on the Isle of thunder. That belt is my matching belt for my dungeon 3 set.

My last bag keeps all my junk I like to carry around with me. No, you don't need two Hearthstones, but I never deleted mine since I first started playing, so why should I now. I also like having the Inn Keeper's Daughter around too even though I've only seen her ghost once. Also no one needs to keep all that fishing equipment, but I like using different fishing poles when I'm in different moods. Other things are my D.I.S.C.O. machine, transformation items, Little Wickerman (because I'm too cool to use the campfire), my keg pony in case I want to drink, dino bones, and of course my Thunderfury!

My Bank

I would like to think that my bank is more organized than most of the ones out there. I know where most things are at... which is good, heh.

My main bag holds all my tabards that are either unobtainable or just a pain to get (grinding honor or other types of currency and holidays). I keep my Imperial Silk in there along with my pitiful Skyshard collection. The shirts at the end are the main ones that I rotate in and out of my transmogs.

Bag 1: shoulders, gloves, belts
Bag 2: staffs and one handed swords
Bag 3: holiday items, a few unobtainable trinkets, some recipes, and my duplicate battle stones
Bag 4: robes, helms, boots, and my postmaster set!
Bag 5: daggers, held in off hand items, wands, cloaks
Bag 6: Tier 11 pieces, Tier 13 set, my dungeon 1 set (I have 4 real pieces), and the rest is gear that is from MoP
Bag 7: random quest items, event items, some holiday items, and my beloved faded photograph.


My Void Storage

My only complaint with Void Storage is that I have more items that I would love to store in it. I wish we could buy another tab. I would easily pay 10k for another tab to put more stuff in... especially things that I have that are no longer available.

In there I have everything organized as sets. I have my WotLK event set, Tier 2, Tier 4, Tier 1, AQ Enigma set, Tier 6. The next two sets are what I like to call my "Burning Crusades" sets because they look like I came straight out of Shadowmoon Valley when I wear them. In the last column I have my spider robes and their matching pieces (which can be interchangeable), and my Scholomance set with Alanna's Embrace sitting by it because I haven't figured out what to match it with yet...

So yea, I call myself a WoW hoarder, but I am much more organized that I'd like to think. Space has always been, and I think it will always be an issue for me. I don't mind though... this junk is my world!

The Verdantis Effect

I am a lore nut! Some of this is the truth and the rest is just speculation about upcoming things. I have no idea how this all brewed up in my brain from one little npc then onto reading hours of lore. I link to a lot of stuff, so please bare with me. I hope your brain gets to thinking just as much as mine does. I'm calling this...

The Verdantis Effect

As any mini pet collector would do, I started off killing Nalash Verdantis every time I would see him up. I never thought twice about him or his name. One day, I was flying through Feralas when I came across a river named the Verdantis River. This stuck out in my mind because I had been killing a guy with a similar name for quite some time now. My brain started thinking and it basically led to a whole world of speculation.

So we know the Jinyu are basically some mutated murlocs. Legend claims that before the Sundering, all rivers flowed to Pandaria. Even though murlocs usually live by the coasts, could some have used this river, traveling back and forth and over time becoming some of the Jinyu we see in Pandaria today? If that's the case, did those murlocs use the name "Verdantis" (assuming there is more than one Jinyu using that name, we just don't see them) from the river in which they came? Perhaps they traveled to Kalimdor more than we'd like to think, but stopped when they saw a future for Feralas that was of death and destruction?

Feralas also contains Dire Maul which used to be the Night Elf City is Eldre'Thalas. You almost forget that inside there is a secretive Shen'dralar faction which is made up of Highborne. Everywhere outside of DM you can see a less glowing and shimmering water than the one you see in Pandaria.

The speculation is that the water in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms is water from the Well of Eternity, but could the water outside of DM be the same? If so, then I can see more of a connection to the Jinyu and the Verdantis River... and perhaps even with the Highborne.

If you did most of the quests in the Karasang Wilds, you will remember the line with Sunwalker Dezco and his wife Leza Dawnchaser. Their entire clan traveled to Pandaria to follow her "visions" seeking "the light". I think "the light" her visions were referring to is the water from the Vale. This water has now also appeared on the Isle of Thunder where the Sunreavers have taken camp at the Dawnseeker Promontory. It was a murky and swampy looking well, but it has cleaned up and now contains the glowy water.

With all the destruction that Garrosh will be doing in the Vale in 5.3, I believe it will corrupt the water and land therefore making it very susceptible to someone who was thought to be dead - Y'Shaarj. We know that the Sha are basically pieces of him scattered throughout Pandaria. There are 6 of the 7. I believe the 7th is located under Throne of Thunder where the Titan boss Ra-Den is located. Going by Blizzard's policy with death and lore, Ra-Den will be presumed "dead" in 5.3... which would mean the last piece of Y'Shaarj he was guarding would be guarded no more. Only a Titan could have held his power back, we know this from previous Old Gods and raids, now it's too late. Upon Ra-Den's death he says:

"Wait! I am... I am not your enemy. You are powerful, more powerful than he was, even... perhaps you are right... Perhaps there is still hope. But there is a yawning chasm of darkness beneath you mortals, vast, endless, and all consuming... I do not believe that you can correct this doomed course... But you have earned the right to try. Farewell."

I believe Y'Shaarj will use Garrosh as a vessel, basically putting himself together again. With the Vale being weakened, he will try to take over Pandaria and attempt force the rest of Azeroth to bow to him. So my thoughts on the last boss of the expansion will not be the death of Garrosh, but the death of an Old God. :)

From WoWwiki

Here we go, another Blog Azeroth topic. This was was a hard one:

"What is your absolute favorite profession in WoW? Why do you love it above all others and what is one feature you would add to the profession if you could?"

I'll be completely honest, I hate leveling up professions. I only do it just because I like seeing everything nice and maxed out on my main. All my alts have everything half-assed or not even learned. When I first started playing, I didn't put any thought into my professions. I picked Enchanting and Tailoring because I thought both would benefit me greatly as a spell caster/cloth wearer. I was right about one, but the other, not so much. While I had both maxed out at level 70, after that I could never keep up with enchanting. I ended up dropping it in Wrath to switch to Herbalism. I have an Alchemist alt that I can send all my herbs to if I don't want to sell that day.

While I really enjoy Tailoring (I really like collecting patterns), my all time favorite profession is Archaeology! Ever since I started playing I have been obsessed with AQ and the opening of the AQ gates. Sadly I wasn't around for that era, so all of my hopes and dreams of ever being a "Scarab Lord" were gone along with the beautiful mount. The battle tanks that you can mount in the AQ raid was just a tease too. So when I saw you could get a mount that looked just like them from Archaeology, I was jumping for joy. Surprisingly I got that mount pretty fast. It's still one of my favorites to this day. Now the Tol'vir hand took me quite a bit longer... but we won't talk about that because it makes me upset!

If I could add one feature to it, I think I might add more cosmetic items. I'm not talking about more of the junk that just sits in your inventory, and you only pull it out to impress your friends while you're sitting in the city. Maybe we could get some transmog gear from it. I would love to see them add some kind of "scourged" artifacts. Maybe they could allow us to get some "replica" models of some of the beautiful robes that were taken out of Naxx 60 and never reintroduced (I'm aware the 2nd had a look alike, but it doesn't drop anymore). I'm sure there is also some beautiful plate, leather, and mail that others would like too. I won't hold my breath on it, but it would be something I would like to see. :)

See how nicely it fits in!

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And now for something completely unrelated to the BA topic - My gosh, patch 5.3 notes! Everything I'm seeing from it is blowing me away. Seriously, I'm loving the entire Isle of Thunder and everything, but I have never wanted to destroy Garrosh more in my entire life... EVER. So who do you think will be the next Warchief for the Horde? At first I was thinking Vol'jin, but once I saw how Lor'themar took control of the situation on the Isle of Thunder, I changed my mind. Now I'm not so sure once again. I guess we'll just have to see. So excited!

Oondasta down! Good job Skywall Horde!

When I saw that a group was forming, I went to the Isle just to see the massive wipe fest. No offense, but the previous night I went grind out a few bones, and was shocked to see a massive amount on Alliance bones everywhere. He was up, but I'm sure they killed him earlier that day and those bones were from a smaller of a group that maybe tried again...? I figured if the Alliance on our server struggled with him, the Horde would too.

I got the the island and watched them pull about twice before I decided to join in. It's pretty intimidating to see such a big dinosaur come down the mountain and immediately start one-shotting people.

Anyway, I ended up getting invited into a third group  I definitely know we had 2 full raids, and our third group had about 25 in it. We pulled about four times and wiped over, and over, and over... mainly due to our error. On our last attempt, things went smoothly until about 30% or so (maybe even less). We actually did it though. So proud of the Horde... I believe mostly everyone online was there, lol. Congrats to everyone who got epic loots and wonderful things. I just received gold, but took a fun screenshot.

Bones and bones and bones!

I know a lot of people are getting frustrated with the Tiny Carp mini pets. At the beginning as I was having flashbacks of attempting to fish up a Sea Turtle mount in WotLK. I used to farm hours for it along the coasts of Borean Tundra, and I ended up getting it randomly one Saturday during the Kalu'ak Fishing tournament from a pool in Grizzly Hills.

Anyway, here are a few facts I know (from personal experience) about the carps.

- I caught all of mine at different times of day with different weather conditions happening. I don't believe this has anything to do with how they are fished up.

- My fishing skill is maxed out. I wore only my Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat (with the buff applied) and used my Kalu'ak Fishing Pole.

This next one is the most important one...

- I DID NOT fish any of the carp up from pools!

At first I was using the "fish of the day" as a guide for which pools would possibly get me the carps faster. After a few days of getting nothing, I changed my game plan. I do not have an estimate of how many casts I have, but I did get three of the four carp in a matter of two days using my method. After taking a break over the weekend (to move into my new place), I caught the stubborn remaining carp in one day.

Now here are pictures of each location where I fished up each carp.

Tiny Red Carp

Townlong Steppes

Tip: Stand on the rock in the middle of the pond while fishing to avoid mobs.

Tiny Blue Carp

Vale of Eternal Blossoms

Tiny Green Carp

Valley of the Four Winds

Tiny White Carp

Kun-Lai Summit

This carp was my last catch and definitely took the longest to get. Very rewarding to finally get him!

Please remember, what worked for me may not work for you. There are no "magical spots" that let you fish up the carp faster. If you find yourself getting burnt out, fish for about an hour or so in one location and then switch to the next. A good thing about fishing in Valley of the Four Winds and Kun-Lai Summit is that you can take advantage of killing world bosses in between fishing. Also, you may get a good bit of Sealed Crates. The contents and fish are basically free gold if you aren't using the mats to level up a profession.

Remember it's just a game and mini pet collecting was meant to be fun, not cut throat competition. Good luck to everyone on their carp journey. They truly are wonderful little mini pets.Now, grab a Kungaloosh, relax, and keep on fishing! ;)