World of Warcraft

[Validar]

Hey everyone.

Just wondering if anyone has tried out this time-wasting, really fun MMO game yet.

I have a paladin on the game so far. Let me know if you're playing, as I am very new to the game.

Thanks,
Steven

[Daraden Stormbeard]

I had been playing for a while. Actually it's where I got the inspiration for Daraden. I stopped playing mostly due to time, money and the fact that I still am actively playing City of Heroes.

I can tell you a little bit more about it, but I'm by no means an expert. Depending on your level and server (or if you're going to be creating another character) I might be persuaded to rejoin for a while and we can team up if you want.

[Validar]

Hey Scott -

Have been learning more and more and just installed the regular version this morn as the trial version just about ran out.

I can always start a new char or continue this one and help you level up equivalently very quickly. Tatyanah is a Lvl 14 human paladin and am playing on the server Korialstrasz.

Curious to see what's different on the full game (besides better communications with people). Love the gryphon rides and the potential to get mounts. Lots to look forward to. Have only opened up two regions so far, the first one (Elwynn Forests) and Westfall. But have quests to 2 other regions now.

How high a level did you get to? And what were you playing? A dwarf I might assume? It would be very cool to play together with someone long term rather than a person or two you link up with that session.

Glad to hear from you. Hope all is going well with yourself and the family.

[Daraden Stormbeard]

I played for about three months and then had to stop for the aforementioned reasons. I tried out several different races, both horde and alliance, and classes and Daraden was my highest (around level 12 or so). I think characters can change realms (via transfers), but I'd have to activate my account again (see your PM for more info).

I played so many characters, making new ones never is a problem for me. Since your paladin is level 14 though, you might not want to start over, unless you want to try something new as well as have a character to level up when we're both on. Of course, moving Daraden and his wolf, Darkfang to your realm would be an option too. Either way, or both, would work for me.

[Validar]

Understand the reasons. This game can be a time-sucker for sure and having to pay for it monthly is not the most fun either.

I have looked around at where an undead char starts, just because I was curious, and bombed some zombies with magic for awhile, but have really only played the one character.

Personally, I would rather just keep going with the same char as having to redo all those same quests is not overly appealing.

I also do believe that you can transfer realms, so that is an option. It would be fine to have Daraden move to thsi realm and go on from there. I would be willing to make a new char as well, but not my first choice. As I am still learning the paladin, I would make a new one or play this one most likely.

Let me know if it would work out for you and what day and time would be possible?

[Daraden Stormbeard]

Check your messages.

[Validar]

Well, just for everyone's FYI benefit, in case there is someone who would like to join us:

Scott and I have decided to start adventuring together in the World of Warcraft MMO game. Looks like weekend mornings will be our gathering time, specifically on Sundays, with the occassional Saturday maybe thrown in.

We'll be chartering a Guild: the Order of the Azure Gryphons.

If anyone wants to join or even to try it out, we can send you a Trial DL offer and if you like it, you get 10 days FREE. If you sign up to play, the person sending the offer gets 1 month FREE. Anyone interested can join the guild and get those advantages.

I do know you need about 1000 RAM as my desktop only has 512 and runs way too slow. (Not to be a problem soon as I am getting a new computer for our anniversary.) And you need a DSL or Cable modem for the speed.

Let either of us know if interested.
Thanks!

[fanchergw]

I actually played my way through a couple trial memberships back last summer / fall. Tried half a dozen character on both sides. It was fun and frustrating, but I'm really not a fan of MMOs. Plus, I can't afford the monthly cost for a real membership, what with all my other bad habits...

Have fun!

Gordon

[Validar]

Hey Gordon -

Trial membership is a good way to go as it doesn't cost anything and only really limits your interaction with other people somewhat.

It is fun and can be frustrating and seems to be much easier when not going alone, in my own personal experience. I have been frustrated when you are questing and get mobbed by three or four monsters which you could take individually but who wipe you out otherwise as a mob.

The trick is enjoying the type of game. I like the social aspect of MMOs the most probably. The banding together and working as a team. I guess that's why there are so many different kinds of games. I prefer strategy games over anything and am not very interested in first person 'shooting' games, for the most part.

The cost is a question as well, but more the time involved. So far I have yet to pay anything, as I ran my trial first, then got the game as a present which gave me a month of time and then next month should be free due to the deal with Scott re-signing up.

Thanks, we should have some good times. Looking forward to this Sat and Sun morns to see how this game works with a dedicated group (or at least duo).

TTYL

[Validar]

Hello all,

The Order of the Azure Gryphons has been busy. The two leaders, Tatyanah (steven) and Kyerna (scott) have adventured the last two weekends together. Tatyanah is now a Level 19 Paladin and Kyerna is a Level 18 Mage. My best guess is this equates to about level 5 or 6 in D&D terms.

We have acquired our official guild tabard now, thanks to a profitable (and fortunate) day doing guild business in Stormwind.

However, the Deadmines have officially kicked our behinds. After spending a bunch of time hacking our way through seemingly endless Defias gang members and reaching the main area of the Deadmines dungeon (called the instance), we had to recruit some assistance to defeat this big nasty ogre henchman (a level 18 Elite). We cheered when we finally managed it after dying repeatedly, but it took the help of a Gnome sorceror to do so. We were then promptly ambushed by more elites in the Defias gang and killed again (good thing that recovering from dying is easy and that as a paladin Tatyanah has RESURRECTION now).

The guild leaders thought we were close to being finished. What an error in judgement THAT was!

After recruiting 3 more party members, when the gnome got frustrated and left, we proceeded to manage to fight our way through to some massive bronze doors and open them to very nasty goblin warriors. We got wasted, equipment got damaged and the two members of the Order of the Gryphon returned to Goldshire to repair their equipment. They never made it back into the Deadmines as the Defias gang had reinforced the place.

We did accomplish a lot otherwise though and with some help from fellow guild-member Rhiann, defeated most of the enemies in Westfall for the Sentinel Hill garrison. Undaunted, the pair have since flewn on to the Redridge Mountain area to prepare for their next foray into the Deadmines. Clearly we need more experience, more equipment, more powers and more people before defeating the place, especially the dreaded Van Cleef, who the Order has been charged with the returning of his head.

Below is a screen shot of Tatyanah posing near some recently killed Gnolls in Redridge. You can see the guild tabard: dark blue background, with two silvery-white gryphons and a border of gold.

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[Validar]

And here is the Leader of the Order of the Azure Gryphons, inflight from Redridge to Westfall, flying over the dread lands of Duskwood...

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[Validar]

Despite Kyerna not being available so much this weekend, the Order of the Azure Gryphons was active. Still licking their wounds from the Deadmines debacle the previous week, the pair worked on some adventures elsewhere. First they completed the quests for the sailor's ghost at the old lighthouse in Westfall (not without quite a bit of frustration from a horde of murlocs at a sunken ship). I hate murlocs.

Here is the shot of the duo about to begin their quests, both wearing their new guild tabard:

Kyerna and Tatyanah ready for adventure.

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[Validar]

While the Westfall quests were fairly straightforward, kill several murlocs, plus their leader, the trip to the Redridge mountains was more difficult. Kyerna and Tatyanah fought against gnolls and orcs (which are big, mean, and nasty in this game). It was hard to imagine orcs as bigger and tougher than gnolls. Keep thinking of them as ogres, but fought one of them and they are even bigger, even uglier and even nastier!

Managed to finally complete a reconnaisance quest there and did some scouting to the north.

With the guild membership dwindling to only 5 members, Tyrane, the Night Elf having left most recently, the group was pleased to be approached by the young Warlock Cheresa while in Redridge. She joined the guild and her and Kyerna completed a quest in the dread Duskwood area. Armed with new powers and abilities, the guild members are gathering their might.

Here is a shot of Tatyanah and Kyerna before the gates of Blackrock Pass. On the other side is enemy territory and other than a peek, we are not ready to go in there yet.

The portal to the Burning Steppes

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[Validar]

With Kyerna mostly unavailable, the Order's leader completed some of her own quests, including a scavenger hunt in Everstill Lake (avoid the level 25 elite lake monster!) and some more gnoll bashing. This also included an extensive exploration of eastern Redridge. Tatyanah managed to locate the keep and tower that the Blackrock orcs have taken on their invasion and even managed to fight her way across the suspension bridge to the keep. Faced with a Shadowmancer and the orc leader himself, who has a considerable bounty on his head, Tatyanah decided to do a swan dive off the suspension bridge into the river below. Quite surprisingly this did not even result in any injury.

She also located the Tower of Ilfagar, which it turns out that Kyerna has a personal mission to scout from the mages in Elwynn Forest.

About to leave redridge temporarily to complete more quests in the dwarven lands of Loch Modan, Tatyanah was approached by a group to assault the Deadmines once again. Initially not interested, she relented and joined the group cobbled together for this particular mission.

Surprisingly, Tatyanah was the most experienced of this group and that may be why she was recruited. The others were mostly level 18 and 19 and Tatyanah was level 21 at this time. The group was led by the Dwarven fighter, Brewman, and included two Dranaei, a priest and a warrior, plus a green-haired gnome mage, named Reema.

Here is a shot of the intrepid group after the priest was removed from the adventure (computer crash):

Invading the Deadmines

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[Validar]

The main reason Tatyanah agreed to enter the mines again so soon, was the prospect of having an actual healer in the group. The last time, she was needed to be the healer and a tank at the same time and the two functions do not go hand in hand.

Still despite the loss of their healer the group pressed on, with remarkable success. Brewman was a bit impulsive (we say he pulled several 'Rhiann's') and that may have cost us the chance to succeed ultimately. He had to be rescued a few times, but with two warriors as front-line fighter, Tatyanah was able to be a second-line fighter and manage to heal and use some of her special abilties at times. Once she got coordinated with Reema and quite using her Consecration ability to thwart Reema's "sheeping of the enemy", they all worked well together. With one or two things going their way, the group would certainly have been successful in the quest to clear the Deadmines.

Unfortunately, Brewman had all of his equipment damaged from the constant poundng he took and after one more push against a large patrol of Defias, everyone else had taken too much damage and the group reluctantly retreated. Still they fought thorugh the forge area and Tatyanah managed to recover a special piece of equipment for the Gnome engineer, Shoni, who Tatyanah met in Stormwind City.

Brewman and Reema both joined the guild and hopefully will join us again for another attempt at the Deadmines in two weeks time, when Kyerna is able to join the quest.

Here is a shot of the group going into action:

Fighting into the forge against Goblin Elites!

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[fanchergw]

Hey Steven,

Looks like you and Scott are having a lot of fun with this. I wish you continued success.

Gordon

[Validar]

Thanks, Gordon.

We are having a good time (probably at the expense of posting here somewhat). I love the visual aspect of the game and the social parts. Making alliances and such is a lot of fun and trying to build a team to complete missions is a welcome challenge.

Hope we're not boring anyone, but figured anyone not interested would just ignore it.

If you want to join in, you are welcome as is anyone else on the forums.

Steven

[Validar]

Azure Gryphons -

The Guild has been busy in the last two months. Many foes have been vanquished and many wonders experienced.

The group has ventured off continent and into many dangerous dungeons now. In the Western Continent, it is controlled by the Horde, for the most part except for some of the north is taken by the Night Elves and the crash-landed Draenei.

Here is Tatyanah exploring some of the Night Elf lands. They do not use Gryphons there, rather relying on Hippogryphs.

Flying over Darkshore on Hippogryph

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[Validar]

Travelling to other continents and islands is mostly done by ship, although Mages can learn to teleport to the capital cities in time.

Here is Tatyanah on her way to Dustwallow Marsh and the Alliance city of Theramore. Some of the very best quests have been completed in this area. I am quite disappointed that I didn't get a screen shot of the sea monster assault on Theramore harbor.

The city assembled a team of archers and Tatyanah operated a series of mortars to defeat the creature. It was epic and very cool with the night battle and the newly lit Lighthouse filling the sky (that's what drew the monster and why they hadn't been using it).

Afterwards, the city shot of a nice fireworks display.

Here is the Marshall of the Azure Gryphons at the helm of one of the transport ships that travel between Menethil Harbor and Theramore.

Would like one of these for my own!

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[Validar]

Some of the enemies that seemed so nasty long ago are not much of a threat these days.

Kyerna and Tatyanah spent quite a bit of time struggling against the BlackRock Orcs which had invaded south into RedRidge. There were some interesting fights, but they were just the beginning and soon the Guild will drive forward into the northern lands and fight the orcs where they live.

Here is a shot of Tatyanah and Kyerna fighting around the tower and castle the captured in Eastern Redridge.

If you look closely, you can see that they pair are discussing the merits of a pair of shoulderguards that Kyerna looted from a dead orc, while fighting. Kyerna is off screen in this shot unfortunately.

Fighting BlackRock Orcs

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We also fought more Ogres. This is a shot of some of the lesser ogres. The ones in the Highlands which the pair just combatted the past weekend are much larger, much nastier and much uglier.

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[Validar]

The Wetlands had sone interesting quests and the main members of the Guild, Tatyanah, Kyerna and Siberion (an ALT of Scott's), a Daraenei Hunter, who now has a pet gorrilla, were mostly done solo.

Here is Tatyanah fighting some of the infected swamp dwellers, at the behest of the great swamp being. Hip deep in swamp muck, the paladin still manages to look good while doing it.

Slogging through the Wetlands

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The Guild has expanded even more. And while many characters have joined and quickly left for various reasons, there are two others who have joined the Azure Gryphons and stuck around. One is the young Warlock, named Cheresa. Tatyanah and her have teamed up at times and here is a shot of the two after fighting a swarm of Worgens. Cheresa is hard to see with the chat text obscuring her pic, and Tatyanah is the one on the fence. There are eight of the Worgens in the pic and they had all attacked at once! Tatyanah was using Verigan's Fist at the time, a great weapon and the source of an epic quest for the paladin. She still has the hammer, but has found several better swords since then.

This was done in Darkwood, where the Twilight Grove houses the patrolling Ysondre, one of the 4 Dragons of Night. At this point it is better to let sleeping dragons lie, and upon inspection, we quickly left her alone for now, despite the taint of something gone wrong in the Emerald Dream.

[Validar]

The Guild has their first honorary member: BoltoFire. He is a Draenei Shaman and he has the greatest laugh around. (I know that all male Draenei's probably sound the same, but it just sort of sticks with him now!)

He has inspired both Scott and I to try out shamans as well. Mine is Kasylia and she is only level 3 so far.

Bolt has run about 6 or so dungeons with us now, including this past weekends' run through all four parts of the Scarlet Monastery. That was a group that simply rolled though the enemy. What fun!

Here is one of the first dungeons we experienced together: Black Fathom Deeps.

This shot us preparing to take on the nasty Hydra Leader Aku'Mal. She didn't stand a chance...

Summoning Holy Power!

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[Validar]

Many times a first foray into a dungeon is not successful. We had invaded the Scarlet Monastery some weeks ago with a different party. While we were able to defeat the enemies in the library, the Cathedral proved too daunting of a task.

Similarly, the Guild tried to get through the Undead-tainted Quillboar of RazorFen Downs and did not succeed the first time. The second time, with a better group which included our freind Bolt, the Guild was successful.

Here is a look at the first invasion of the Scarlet Monastery. Quite ironically, Magdiosa also joined us for the second run and may be interested in joining the Azure Gryphons.

Into the Scarlet Cathedral

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[Validar]

As mentioned earlier, Theramore and the Duskwallow marsh had some of the greatest quests so far for interest, uniqueness and the pure COOL factor. One was the aforementioned mortar bombardment of the sea monster attacking Theramore Harbor.

Another happened in the place called Witch Hill in the swamps north of Thermore city. There a quest to defeat some of the swamp spirits lead to a deeper mystery. Oddly a voice in the swamp kept calling out through the defeated and freed spirits. Near the end of the quests, Tatyanah was give a magic torch and was told to go stand at the end of the dock, plant the torch and wait.

Ominous, no?

Well, she did as instructed and after a few moments, there was a huge black demonic form coallescing!

I snapped a quick screen shot which is a bit premature, but I hit that thing with every power I had. It was a level 36 demon and that was higher level than Tayanah at the time. As a paladin, it actually was an easy fight thanks to her normal powers and the exorcism ability. Almost anti-climactic, but still awesome.

Go away, Demon!

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Another cool and unusual quest was the undersea salvage operation.

After stealing some dive equipment and having an NPC repair it, Tayanah ventured forth on a quest at the bottom of the sea floor.

This quest eventually led to information that the high-level prisoner that the Defias have kidnapped is likely the King. Not only that but one of the ranking officials in Stormwind is behind it. I think all evidence points to Lady Katrina.

Good thing this magic armor doesn't rust

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[Validar]

Another quest was to scout the island of Alcaz off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, by air.

The city provided a gryphon and a full reconnaissance was made. Unfortunately, there are naga involved and big nasty hydra and dragon-lings. Plus there was a huge giant red dragon. It startled me so much when it flew by that it took me a second to get the screen shot and now it is far in the distance. It was gigantic up close!

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Down south in the Marsh is a neutral town inhabited mostly by goblins and one big, dumb ogre. Tatyanah has managed to make friends with the inhabitants of Mudsproket and has started killing some of their enemies. One of the quests for the leader of the goblintown was to kill the pack leader of the Raptors. Tatyanah was unable to complete the task as yet, but has racked up an impressive number of raptor kills.

Here is the results of one such battle...

How many raptors can you count?

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[Validar]

I have been lax at taking screen shots lately. However, the last one was upon reaching level 40. Lots of great things happen for a paladin at level 40. They are taught how to utililze Plate armor instead of simply Mail. They get a slew of new abilities and powers and they get a FREE warhorse.

Most people get a simple riding horse or some other race-specific mount, like an Elekk or Sabrecat or War Ram. And they have to pay 100 gold for it and how to learn to ride it! So quite the financial boon that Paladins receive.

The warhorse has been great and after further training is even faster than most warhorses. Unlike the Gryphons, the warhorse is available at all times, except indoors of course, so makes for quick overland travelling.

Charge!

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[Validar]

It has been several months since the last update, but Tatyanah and the Order of the Azure Gryphons continue their epic adventures. Lots has changed since July. The order is up to 54 members. Tatyanah and Siberion have made their initial forays into Outland, venturing through the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands, taking the fight to the Legion.

In July as part of the Midsummer Festival, Tatyanah spent a great amount of time Honoring the Flame in Alliance territory and also Desecrating the Flame at Horde outposts and bases. That took her to the lands of the Draenei (of which Siberion is member of that race) and the islands of Bloodmyst and Azuremyst. Here she had the opportunity to ride one of the native Draenei mounts, called an Elekk.

Doing the Kessel Run in under 15 minutes!

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I also found some shots of the great battle against the sea monster,Tethyr, that terrorized Theramore. Here are 2 pics that show the extremely massive creature as well as the mortars that are needed to drive the beast off. It is way to big for swords and spells to kill such a thing. In the second pic, you can see it firing its repulsor beam at some of the Theramore archers. They are there to help draw its attention. Hopefully you can complete your assault before the brave men and women are all dead!

Tethyr tries to destroy Theramore

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[Validar]

One of Tatyanah's epic quests was known as the Hand, the Heart and the Star. She had to acquire 3 ancient items of extreme power. One was held by the troll leader in Stranglethorn Vale, The Star was a huge gem that was stolen by a group of Ogres to the north and the last bit needed was the Heart of an ancient Sea Giant. The trolls were no too difficult to kill, but there were so many that the battles were very drawn out. Similarly, the Ogres were not especially threatening and Tatyanah was able to invade their frozen domain and take the Star from the Ogre Leaders lifeless hands, as seen below:

Frozen, but victorious!

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The Heart was no simple task however, as the item was not simply stolen by an evil enemy. The ancient Sea Giant was not easy to reach and had to be summoned to the surface. It was learned that the Murlocs off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, where Theramore is located, protected the altar that could summon the Sea Giant. One only had to have enough special magical sea kelp that the Murloc Oracles cultivated to be able to bring the ancient creature up from the depths.

The trick was finding enough of this stuff. It is apparently a taxing process to find or raise this kelp as each Oracle only had a minimal amount. It became necessary to completly devastate the three islands that the Murlocs inhabited, including waiting for several groups to return to shore. Of course, slaughtering Murlocs is a good thing, but oh so annoying. I hate Murlocs...

FInally the gruesome task complete and the altar suitably coated in kelp, Tatyanah waited and it was not long before the Sea Giant arrived. He was not happy to be summoned by a human, and he went to the attack, but he was not fighting just anyone, rather the Marshall of the Order of the Azure Gryphons! The first shot is a scale shot to show just how big this guy is. That hammer head alone looks to be about 25 feet long!

Hello, tall, green and ugly!

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In this next shot, the Sea Giant is about to go down (as you can see his green health bar is running out). Tatyanah is just hitting him with a Judgement of Righteousness, a holy hammer that starts as a Seal of Righteousness which adds some holy power to each hit. When a Paladin breaks any Seal, the target is Judged and a greater effect occurs, in this case all the holy power released at once. You can also see in the top towards the left and near the mini-map that Tatyanah is well fed for this fight. The Midsummer Festival had many rewards including food that is extra nourishing. While waiting for the Giant to arrive she had snacked on Elderberry pie, sausage, bread and some s'mores. Have to be ready to take on a walking building! She had not yet been taught Hammer of Wrath which is an excellent finishing power for a Paladin, so this fight was a bit more drawn out than it would be now.

Holy Hammer time!

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[Validar]

Onyxia is a enemy that makes most of the things the Gryphons have fought pale by comparison. She is more than a match for any individual and anyone seeking to invade the great red dragon's lair would be advised to find 39 more like-minded friends first!

The two main officers of the Azure Gryphons are both undertaking the means to assault Onyxia in her lair. It requires a 'key' in the form of a Drakefire Amulet to simulate being a dragon to be able to bypass that magical defenses there. Getting one of these amulets made is no simple task. Siberion and Tatyanah have strived to start this process and it has taken them to the Burning Steppes and Blackrock Mountain. They have learned of many mysteries and while not yet able to defeat that massive enemy outpost, have made several forays into the mountain. Tatyanah has spoken with the captured Marshall and returned word of the enemy back to the Alliance. Next the Gryphons will free the Marshall and confront what appears to be an enemy in Stormwind's midst. It is Tatyanah's conjecture that Lady Katrana, one of the advisors to the boy king is actually a dragon herself and there will soon be a massive battle inside the Stormwind Castle itself!

Before that, Tatyanah had taken to locating Onyxia's Lair as part of another mission. Here she is confronting one of Onyxia's whelps, while a Blood Elf, Kaydynce of the Horde guild Unchained Beasts looks on. Tatyanah slew the dragon and completed her mission.

Dragon, Dragon, bring your *** out here now!

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[Validar]

There is plenty of solo adventures (in fact most of your time is solo, in general), but getting into a group and invading a dungeon is a lot of fun. The troll city of Zul'Farrak is a place that the Azure Gryphons have gotten to know pretty well. This particular foray was successful in killing all the enemies of the place, including the ancient Hydra Ghaz'rilla. BoltofFire, the Draenei Shaman friend of the Order, managed to acquire the two parts of the trolls sacred mallet which allowed the summoning of the Hyrda. It was a tough fight, but ultimately the Gryphons and thier allies were too powerful.

This shot shows the group at the top of one of the Temples looking as the Troll Horde gathers below. It would grow to a much greater number before the troll attack came and the battle on the steps was truly glorious! Here you can see that Tatyanah and Kyerna were on this mission with Bolt and another ex-member of the Gryphons, Graynight a Night Elf. The other member was Feyeld, a Hunter that the group had several encounters with and will not be joining again either. Truly an auspicious grouping. Graynight was instrumental in establishing the Gryphons treasury, but then decided that the Orders goals did not meet his own and he attempted to take back his donation. He also was rather greedy in his dsire for treasure and in some cases took things that belonged to others or even that he would not use himself. He was warned about his action, put on probation and when his request was denied, he issued threats against the Order, but ultimately did not try to enact any of them. Still the group was successful, despite two bad apples.

Battle on the Temple Steps...

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More pics and updates to come, but running out of time this morn. Look for Siberion and Tatyanah fighting the drakes in the Burning Steppes and a view of the Dark Portal, as the Azure Gryphons take the fight to the Legion themselves!

[Validar]

The Burning Steppes is one of the 'big boy' locations in the game. It contains Black Rock Mountain and the Black Rock Spire, as well as the Molten Core dungeon. The first enemies you see are nastier dragon hatchlings, as well as some nasty larger dragons. There are also dragonkin, which have humanoid torsos and lizard bodies (like a centaur variation).

Siberion the Draenei Hunter had a pet gorilla for a long time named Khong. Unfortunately for Khong, he has been replaced by an even tougher ape pet. But here we see Khong engaging a Dragon Hatchling, which is exchanging fire (pun intended) with Siberion who is off-screen. Tatyanah is also hitting it with a Judgement (and by it's blue effect is probably a Judgement of Wisdom, to gain mana back when the target is hit).
In the background you can see one of the larger dragons as well as barely make out the dragonkin at their camp.

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This next shot was taken some time later in a different foray into the Burning Steppes. This was done solely by Tatyanah and it conjures up a mental picture of a great Steven Wright joke: "What if there were no gravity. Then when birds died, they'd just stay up there." Here is a dead Hatchling, floating in mid-air, apparently defying gravity in death.

No gravity?

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What actually happened was that Tatyanah was doing a quest with some gizmo that captured the life essence of the Hatchlings. When the little things died, you could use the item to suck out their essence which formed in a gem. She was so fast in this one and the timing just right that as the Hatchling died, it fell onto it's own crystal and when it was looted, the dragon just stayed in place!

There are many death shots that end up in weird places and situations that you cannot help by laugh at. One happened to a group member in one dungeon when the wall exploded on him and no one could get to his body to resurrect him!

[Validar]

Being a paladin, Tatyanah is naturally well-skilled to take on undead and demons. Naturally this is also an area that she has concentrated upon as well. The abilities to Exorcize and call upon Holy Wrath make most undead and demons fall much faster. So it was only a matter of time before our Azure Marshall turned her attention to the Plaguelands and teamed up with the Argent Dawn, a group that merges Horde and Alliance together to fight against their common foe, the Scourge.

Here Tatyanah is fighting against undead in one of the many graveyards in the Western Plaguelands.

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And here is part of a series of strikes against some of the minor undead lords and their sickening Cauldrons of Doom. Tatyanah managed to fight to each cauldron and defeat the undead. She then took some chemical agents provided by the Argent Dawn alchemist and changed the plague cauldrons against them, which drastically altered the fight there in the Western Plaguelands.

Here the belching cauldron is already turning from the green ick that it spewed forth to something that the undead would not find appealing at all.

Second hand smoke is deadly.

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Dacthor is a fighter that Tatyanah befriended some time ago. Recently he joined the Azure Gryphons and here Tatyanah is helping Dacthor with a quest to honor the tomb of Uther Lightbringer. This required escorting the Draenie priest through an undead infested graveyard to the tomb. Tatyanah had been here several times before, but this time they are honored by the spirit of General Lightbringer, a paladin of considerable reknown.

The father of all paladins

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[Validar]

Tatyanah has encountered many of the dungeons on the main continents by now, both with other members of the Order, with other groups and even solo in some cases. This was a very small group that went into Uldaman, the ancient dwarven stronghold held by the Dark Iron Dwarves. It started out with just Draconius, a warlock that has helped the Gryphons a few times, and Tatyanah. But eventually the battle against the main enemies required a bit more assistance. Draconius called upon his friend and guildmate MoeMoe to assist.

Here the trio is activating the great golem defender, which also activates all the smaller stone statues ringing the room. Tatyanah's job was to keep the large golem busy until the others could defeat the statues and then work together to take out the big guy. This was one of the first times that Tatyanah had to play the role of "tank", main fighter, and "healer" at the same time. The group was surprisingly successful and the fight went smoother than expected.

Play time!

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Several recent shots have shown her in her new golden helm and shoulder pieces. These were provided to her for the work she has done in battlegrounds against the Horde directly. She has fought in Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley and even recently has ventured into the Eye of the Storm battleground. This is her first picture in the new equipment after receiving it from the Armory behind her.

Epic battle gear...

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Black Rock Depths is a massive place and after over a half-dozen forays, Tatyanah was amongst a group that fought all the way to the Emperor and killed him. Here three of this group pose in the Throne Room, with the little gnome on the throne! They inadvertantly killed the Dwarven King's daughter who was not captured by the dark emperor, but was workign with him willingly. The dwarf king was not too pleased about that!

Royal court

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[Validar]

The holidays in World of Warcraft always are a reason to celebrate. There are often quests and events or other things to keep you busy for short periods of time. In October was the Dwarven Brewfest. Here Tatyanah learned to ride a ram and worked briefly for a beer company telling everyone in Iron Forge how wonderful the brew was. You also got free beer and the opportunity to get a special pet. It is a Worpletinger, which is a rabbit with big fangs and antlers and only you and drunk people can see it!

Another of the events was the regular attacks by the Dark Iron dwarves who kept trying to take the beer kegs away. They would attempt to bore up from the ground with theire mobile boring machines and attack in HUGE swarms. Unfortunately the only way to stop them was to drink a beer and fling the empty mug at them. When enough were stopped the group won. It was interesting in that you could barely see by the end, from being so drunk from the sheer number of beers needed (maybe 75 at a time). You also slur your words in the game, so it's hard to understand you and mainly it was flinging mugs at blurry dark objects at the end. Still the group was successful deveral times.

Here, Sherra the rogue and Tatyanah are teaming up at the encampment near iron Forge, readying for an expected Dark Iron Dawrf invasion. This armor that she wore, was quite revealing for the amount of protection it afforded. Gotta hand it to magick! I guess all that beer makes it less likely to notice the cold in Dun Morogh as well. Sherra is dressed mainly in Defias made leather armor. She has since replaced that as well, as better gear is found.

Girls, swords and booze...

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[Validar]

Eventually Tatyanah was compelled to begin adventuring in the lands beyond the Dark Portal now that it has been re-opened. In the heart of the Blasted Lands, the Horde and Alliance unite (sometimes) to fight a common foe, much like they do with the Argent Dawn far to the north. Here Tatyanah has come upon the Dark Portal for the first time. Nearby are the encampments of the armies.

An awesome discovery

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An impressive image of the Azure Marshall about to step through the portal and into the Outlands. Tatyanah's attention remains on the main continents for the most part, but she has taken several trips to the Outlands to fight the Scourge and their minions and allies.

Staring into space.

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Once there, you arrive at Hellfire Peninsula and shortly you can make your way to Honor Hold, the main Alliance base in the area. An honor guard is presented to Tatyanah, as she makes herself ready to join in the fight.

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(This is the end of this session of info and adventure recaps. Many more to come, including the assault on Maraudon with Kyerna, Hallow's Eve events, the dread zombie invasion, the Scourge citadel attacks, acquiring a new spirit Charger and the battle to kill the dragin Onyxia!)

[Validar]

Maraudon is a place that the satyrs have taken over and it is also filled with demonic creatures and other nasties. Tatyanah and Kyerna have invaded the place and come out successful. Tatyanah has also soloed the dungeon, as the creatures are very susceptible to a paladin's special abilities.

The dungeon is split into two halves, the Ambershard side (commonly referred to as the orange side) and the Shadowshard side (or the purple side). Here is a shot of Tatyanah ready to attack some satyrs and their demonic minions.

Prepare to die, demon-spawn!

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Here is one of the hydra-like beasts that infests the Falls area once you get past the demonic enemies. Very damp down there!

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It can be a long drop from the cliffs into the waters below. Here is a shot of the fearless leader leaping into the waters below, framed by the falls behind her. She is using a sledge-mace which is a very powerful magickal weapon, which glows with the power it possesses.

Geronimo!

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Kyerna had a quest to rescue an ancient centaur leader, Zaetar, from the demonic possession that had taken him over. Here it shows the pair as the centaur's spirit communicates to Kyerna about the good we had accomplished. The fight had it's moments as the centaur's corrputed spirit continued to summon little woodland treant creatures to fight us off, but they were ultimately no match for the power of the Azure Gryphon duo.

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The fight inside Maraudan eventually led to the creature that created and ruled over the corruption that despoiled the centaur place. PrincessTheradras would have to be slain. It would be a shame to have to kill such a beautiful princess despite the evil she had brought. Here Tatyanah is posing before the final four guards that the Princess had in place. These golem-like creatures were pretty tough, but not tough enough.

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Unfortunatley the screen shot managed to cut off part of the Princess' face. I am sure you will agree that she is much to pretty to gaze up fully anyway. Nevertheless, here is Theradras in all her putrid, puss-filled, glory. (about to be exterminated!)

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Here the princess has been killed and Zaetar has regained rule of the ancient Maraudan. Already you can see more flowers starting to grow and everything is returning to the way it was before Theradras took it over. The corruption of the earth and see of Maraudon eliminated, Tatyanah would be on to even bigger and nastier enemies very soon.

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[GM Mad]

Well, I've finally succumbed to this and started playing WoW. Started off with the free trial and then got an extra free month as Validar had an extra game disc, so essentially a 6 week trial.

I'm having fun with it. Yeah, it can be frustrating at times too. Its just a matter of learning what quests you can do alone and those that you need help with. Once you learn that, its not that hard. Plus I have the advantage of having guild assistance as needed.

I've got 4 characters going now. The first is Stephanie, a simple human warrior. She did the brunt of me getting to know the game. With help she's reached level 13.

Next came Liliathelion and she was more to my own individual tastes. She's a night elf huntress, so is good with bows and can have a pet. She's 24th level right now and has been adventuring with other Guild members on weekends. Here she is on the back of her mount:

Lilia on her kitty stead.

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The 3rd character is Aria and she's 7th level dwarven Paladin. She's probably the character I've done the least with thus far.

The last character and the one I'm the most proud of is Argent and she's a human mage. Why I'm so proud is that she's advanced to almost 12th level without any guild help! She's taking advantage of the things Steph found out the first time through the human land quests.

[Laurel]

Anybody going to play Vanilla in August?

[GM Mad]

Admittedly, I do not have any great fondness for vanilla like some people do. I didn't play that early, so that era was never endgame for me. I leveled characters through the world before the changes in Cataclysm, so I know what it is like.

Do you guys play the current game? A few us here on the forum do and have a guild.

[Laurel]

I started playing WoW at the tail end of Lich King, but didn't really play hard core until Cata. I raid led at the end of MoP and all through WoD but stepped down from that capacity to a casual healer for Legion. I quit right before the final raid released for Legion because I was pregnant with my daughter and haven't really looked back due to time and finanacial restrictions. Depsite the fact that vanilla holds no nostalgic value for me, I have friends for whom it does (and i'm a heart, I played the game for the people). I'm at least willing to sub up and give it a good 3 month go Honestly, the idea of the game having a cap on it appeals to me. Also Sylvanus is not my warchief.

[Laurel]

I'm planning on resubbing at the beginning of August so maybe for the two weeks before vanilla comes out I can hang out with you guys

[GM Mad]

I started around the middle of Lich King and am still playing. For the most part we are Alliance, but some of us do have Horde toons and a guild on a different server. We did raid as a guild from Firelands to around Siege and then a little bit near the middle of Legion. I think Dragon Soul was the only raid we completed for the Guild Achievement while it was current.

Right now we have enough people to do mythics, but really only at one time during the week and we've missed the last several weeks now. So have a core group of about 5 with another who comes on often enough.

There are some players in Operation Graystone that do or have played WOW. Kaylessa/Lucyus player played at the end of Lich King and into Mists and hasn't since. Daraden who posted earlier in this thread is Vernar's player. He was active through Mists as well, as I recall. He's returned, but mainly just comes on once and a while to play with his son. Lots of familiar names in these guilds who are toons played on the forum.

Here are the armory links to our guilds:

This is the primary guild talked about in this thread

This is the horde guild. It was started by me and Vernar and a few others have tasted the waters over the years.

Before they relaxed how many toons you could have on one server, Vernar and I also had a second Alliance Guild.

I'll Email you my battle tag. Once you're on I can then invite you into our social group in Battlenet.

[Laurel]

I look forward to lvling a toon in your guild for a few weeks and doing some low lvl pvp/questing/dungeons. I should probably finish out my loremaster by finally finishing the BC content but I don't know if I can do that in two weeks and my goal is to relax I've played both sides although all of my raiding from end of MoP and onward was on Horde. (although I did have a bg rated ally in Legion)