Letters from Birdfall

Account Security, or "How To Keep Your Gold, Gear, and Sanity"

2008-07-24T14:55:00.009-04:00

Something I've been wanting to talk about for a while has been how to keep your account from being hacked. We've discussed it before with some basic tips from my computer guys, but I think it's time for a refresher course.

Layer 1: Strong Password

Pretty soon, I'm gonna try to change my regular password to something a little bit ridiculous. Something I'll have to look up every time I need it. It will include:

No proper names or words.
Lots of random symbols like semicolons and brackets.
Both upper and lowercase letters.
Numbers.
14 characters long.

I recommend making your strong password and using it for everything you do. To keep track of it, put it in a .txt file deep in your My Documents folders (surrounded by other files) with an innocuous name like "Britain" or "catshampoo."

Heck, even use a really old book's ISBN number or the store code on a game box (my copy of Evil Genius still has the sticker on it and sits right beside my monitor). Nothing more innocuous than a couple of books or games piled up on your desk. (Just make sure it's nothing someone would borrow without asking. >_> That'd be awkward.)

Layer 2: AntiVirus and Firewall

I had to have my husband explain the difference. >_>

Basically, they serve the same function in a different way: AntiVirus programs identify possible malicious programs. Firewalls protect by blocking things from getting onto your private network.

We just have a Firewall because my husband knows how to set it up, but it's strongest to have both.

Layer 3: Obscure Question

You know how you get a question like "What was your mother's maiden name?" and that sort of thing in case you need to prove you're you?

Yeah, make it something only you know. I had a guildie lose his account because he got it from a guy who didn't give him the question/answer (the guy got my guildie's new password with that and changed it on him, and Blizzard does not allow account sharing so no action could be taken). They worked it out, but it could have been very bad.

Another girl got her account hacked in spite of the new Authenticator security tool because someone figured out her answer and used it to deactivate the Authenticator over the phone.

I don't know how you can change your account question/answer at this time. :*(

Layer 4: Authenticator (Optional)

At the Blizzard Store, they sell small devices for $6.50. You buy one, you put its serial number on your account (Account Management -> Add Authenticator), and every time you want to log in you get an extra little "password" screen that asks you for a randomly generated code from the Authenticator (which has a battery life of "several years" according to Blizzard).

From what I can tell, each authenticator has its own style of codes recognized on your account by its registered serial number.

BUT you can use it on lots of different accounts. So if you're married, and you each have an account, you only need to get one for both of you.

WoWInsider Authenticator Post
Official Authenticator FAQ
Authenticator at Blizzard Store

I think I want to get one, personally. It would be a little annoying to input every time, but I've put enough effort and love into my account that I'd like the extra security.

Final Layer: You

All of this will be pointless if you don't watch what you click on. Keyloggers are only dangerous if you download them. Keep your surfing to known and trusted sites, never download anything with a .exe unless it's a trusted addon from Curse or some other reputable addon site, and never ever ever click on a link in an email that you didn't ask for (even if it's from a friend).

My husband and I recently got an email from his father about this new shopping site and how awesome it is. In the email, there was html and it called us "Dear Friends." Several warning signals:

My father-in-law never emails. He calls.
If he did email, that's about all he can do on a computer. He knows NOTHING of html.
He would never call us "Friends." It's too impersonal.
He always signs his emails with his nickname, but he didn't this time.

He called us two days later to warn us he had a virus on his computer and it had sent out an email to his mailing list. We had already recognized it as fake and deleted it without clicking on the link, but most people don't look at email from family in a suspicious manner. So keep an eye out.

Also, some web browsers are more vulnerable than others. Oddly, Opera is one of the safest web browsers around just because so few people use it that hackers don't consider it worth their time. (If you prefer mainstream, Firefox is safer than IE. I use Firefox.)

And, lastly, don't share your password. Blizzard will never ever ever ask you for it outside the official login panels, and if anyone else promises riches if you just "log in" to your account through their site, they're just stealing your data. This also goes for sharing your account info among friends. If you want to let Pete Pwner take your warlock for a spin, fine, but change your password afterward. This is not "Oh I don't trust him anymore" -- it's common sense. Who's to say he didn't write your info down on a slip of paper by his computer and forget about it until your mutual acquaintance Mr. Moron picks it up? Don't leave a major hole in your security just because you want to show that you trust someone. It's noble but daft.

A story: Friend A shared his account info with Friend B. Friend A wakes up one morning to find his acccount was hacked, his things sold, and his character transferred. He freaks and reports the hack. Turns out that Friend B logged onto his account while drunk and did everything. Blizzard banned Friend B for account hacking. So, kids, this isn't just to protect yourself. It protects your friends too.

Change your password if someone gives you their account. Do NOT keep the same password. I have had guildmates kicked from their characters in the middle of a raid because the previous owner decided (a year later) that they wanted the account back. I have had another guild member have to start a new account because the previous owner of his first account logged on to his 70 and took everything, and Blizzard wouldn't consider it a hacking attempt and give the items back because it was a "shared account" issue (sharing is against the terms of service and can get you banned). If you consider the account yours, make it yours with a new pass. I'm begging you!!

If you get hacked anyway.

Open a ticket with a GM and tell him or her the situation. They should guide you through the process of getting your stuff back. From my experience, if it's a straight hack and no "shared account" issues, you'll get your stuff back in a few weeks but won't be able to play in the meantime.

Killing Alts, or "Why It's a Suicidal Idea"

2008-07-24T08:13:00.003-04:00

As we all know from the comic Imanoob by Staphora, griefing a low level when you, yourself, are a low level can be a very bad idea.

Take, for example, when a warlock jumped my husband's level 32 on a boat last night. It took a little while for travel, but eventually I got to Booty Bay and made my husband feel better:

The guy never saw it coming. First the Death, then I ran around for a while, he rezzed, and I got a Pain on him right before the guards killed me. So he died right after I did.

I rezzed and waited near his corpse only to see him jump on a ship leaving for Ratchet. I whispered a friend who'd offered to help, and he flew from Thunder Bluff to Ratchet just in time to find the guy at the flight master.

One well-placed dagger later, and the guy was, again, dead.

We loitered for a bit, but he didn't show back up. We think he took a spirit rez.

Netherwhelp, or "I'm Going For It!... If My Mom Lets Me"

2008-07-23T12:43:00.006-04:00

I've whined about the Netherwhelp being a collector's edition pet and used by morons who can't spell, but I've looked into how to get one and decided it's worth the effort. Especially because people say that all of your characters get one -- every character you ever create.

So I asked my mom to get me one for my birthday.

A World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector's Edition with an unused pet code, that is. I read on the forums that a) the market is glutted with BC:CE and b) people with the regular BC expansion pack have called support and updated their account to reflect the CE, and they've gotten their Netherwhelps in the in-game mail a few days later.

I looked on Amazon, and there are some factory-sealed editions going for $43 ($75 retail). If you're lucky on Ebay, you can get it for closer to $20 not including shipping (Hippogryph Hatchlings run in the $40+ range--I know because... well, I have to wait for my druid to hit 70 to give you that news, don't I?).

I'm perfectly willing to do this and confirm that it works for you dear readers, though it will be a hardship living with all those ultra-cute snugglies for the sake of the blog. I'll edit this post with a big red "confirmed" when it does and tell you exactly what I did for it. Unfortunately, confirmation probably won't happen until November, because that's when my birthday is.

If you've upgraded your BC account to a Collector's Edition in the past, or are going to do it soon, please reply with your story. The more confirmations we can get, the better. ^_^ Ty!

Mount Excavation, or "How I Farm for Dreams and Status"

2008-07-22T19:53:00.004-04:00

As you should know by now, my main motivation in the game is to look pretty. For this, I need a gorgeous mount that matches my character's "theme" (I've been wanting a phoenix for Dusty since level 20, when BC came out), but amazing mounts often require a team willing to put in the time. Which is where most people get tripped up.

Although I'm a lucky girl and have wonderful family willing to farm Kael'thas once a week with me at 80, I realized the potential for my guild if everyone got that one mount they've been dreaming of since they first heard of it. For one thing, we're a family raid guild on a small server, fighting to be taken seriously as raiders (from Kara to Hyjal in a year). Having lots of gorgeous rare mounts would seriously amp up our "rep" on Zuluhed.

So I'm going to tell you how I set things up and let you see if you want to do something similar with your guild.

Mount Excavation Team

Mounts: Anything that needs a group and has a low drop rate. Zulian Tiger (drop about once a year), Razzashi Raptor (ditto), Ashes of A'lar (ditto), Raven Lord (can be farmed daily), White Hawkstrider (daily), and more will be added for Wrath.
Signing: Guild members sign for the mount they want. First Choice, Second Choice, or Support.
Rolling: You can tweak this if you want. My version is pretty informal because I trust the people in my guild not to leave after they get what they want, but in a competitive environment you may want to set up a sort of DKP system so people who farm more regularly have an edge. Currently, anyone with the mount on First Choice can roll (though they're asked to pass if they're new to the farming runs and someone else has been going longer). After that, Second Choice and Alts have their shot.
Grouping: Because of the low drop rate on some of these mounts (those farmed once a week can take a year or more to drop), it's wisest to form as many small groups as possible and limit the number of people farming the mount as First Choice to 1-2 per group. This way, your guild can get plural rare mounts in the same year. (Also, always put someone trustworthy in charge of each group if the environment is competitive.)
Time/Day: Once you have all the details worked out, pick a time and day to go at it. (The raid mounts require more planning in advance so that people aren't left out.)

It also helps guildies get to know each other and fosters good will. And, I think I already mentioned, makes your guild look and feel cool.

^_^

Key Bindings, or "Another Dull Technical Post"

2008-07-21T16:00:00.009-04:00

So I'm finally doing it. I'm overhauling my key bindings. It's big, and it's dumb, and it makes me tired just thinking about it, but it'll help me in the long run. At the very least, it ought to clean up my interface.

Lucky for you, I don't know what key bindings are available, so I'm going to make a big fat list that you can use when you want to manage your OWN key bindings.

Key bindings: In the list you get when you hit ESC, "Key Bindings" is one of the options. Enter, and a plethora of confusing bars with keys and "Unbound" stare back at you. Key bindings are what bind your spells and abilities to your keyboard. You can change them. The only problem is that you have to remember what you changed them to when you reinstall your game.

Mouse bindings: If you're serious about PVP in particular, I suggest getting a mouse with extra buttons (mine has the scroll wheel and two buttons on the side). I use one of these buttons for my auto-run and it's the best thing ever. The other is good for a "panic" button -- abilities you use when you're in big trouble.

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On Changing Key Bindings

You want your most time-reliant spells on the easiest keys to reach. For me, this means keys within easy reach of my left hand while I use the mouse to move my character. Other people advise putting your movement keys close to your right hand and having both hands on the keyboard (though it takes time to move back to your mouse to look around).

Do whatever seems best for you. The idea is to make it as easy as possible to reach as many abilities as you can for instant reaction.

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Movement Keys: Move and Steer, Move left/right/forward/back, Strafe, Autorun, Autofollow, Pitch, Toggle Run/Walk. Pretty obvious. Most of them have more than one keybinding, so I suggest getting rid of the ones you don't use (or know about).

Keys I would keep bound to something:

Jump (default spacebar)
Sit (default X) - For fun.
Autorun (default NumLock)
Forward/Backward/Left/Right (double defaults)

Defaults I unbound due to non-use:

Move and Steer (default mouse wheel) - Hold the button down and you run, and you change directions when you move your mouse. It's a lot of holding for me. I prefer clicking autorun on and off.
Strafe (default Q and E) - Move left or right while still facing forward. Some people find it useful. If you're using your mouse to move and still want strafe capabilities, I might suggest changing your left and right arrow buttons to strafe with.
Pitch (default Insert and Delete) - Move up or down in the air or water.

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Chat Functions: Open chat, scroll chat up or down, scroll combat log up or down, toggle combat log. Most of these keys are useful as they are, but some are in prime positions that you might want to rebind to a more urgent spell.

Keys I would keep bound to something:

Open Chat (default Enter)
Open Chat Slash (default /)
Chat Reply (default R) - I plan on changing this key because it's in a great "urgent spell" location, or just removing it and sticking to /r to reply. More work, but better response time.
Chat Re-Reply (default Shift-R) - Plan on changing this to go with the new "reply" key.

Defaults I unbound due to non-use and occasional annoyances:

Anything that scrolls. Anything combat text related. I can click on the tab and arrows to scroll just fine, thanks.

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Action Bars & Multi Action Bars (2 separate sections): This is where things get hairy. I suggest writing down which key bindings you want to keep from the other sections before you delve in here. It's very easy to accidentally bind all of your most useful keys to your action bar without thinking, unbinding keys you use all the time, so the action bar requires the most planning. You can also download addons that make action bars smaller, cleaner, and which actually give you more action bars.

Unbound keys I bound:

Basically, bind anything in any order that makes your life simpler. I'm going to use my number pad for buffing, etc, and bind my top number row and the Q-P row for my spells. Rebinding your keys is a good time to move spells around that you don't use or that are situational.
Toggle Actionbar Lock - I find it useful to be able to bind and unbind my bars at will. I leave them bound from Interface options (if you don't, they'll be unbound whenever you log in) and just unbind them when I need to switch a few things out. (Nice for bombing dailies.)

Default keys I found annoying:

Action Pages (default shift-1, shift-2, shift-3, shift-4, shift-5, shift-6) - How many times have you been trying to do two things at once and suddenly your action bar changes? Those are Action Pages. I unbound mine.

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Targeting: Target pretty much anything using these buttons. Party members, self, previous friendly or hostile target, pets, assist, etc.

Keys I would keep bound to something:

Target Nearest Enemy (default Tab) - This is how I target my enemies. (I always end up clicking on my big Tauren husband if I use the mouse.)
Pet Attack (default Shift-T) - Just for people with pets.
Target Party Members (F1-f5) - Best for healers or if you're going in for an assist. Still, there are addons that make it easier to target who needs to be targeted, especially for raids.
Focus Target & Target Focus (no defaults) - Great to set a focus for complicated macros on certain spells, especially in arenas. (Example: Focus a healer to quickly silence their heals with a silencing macro.)
Most of these buttons are up to the player. They can be very effective if used right and very confusing if used wrong.

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Interface Panel Functions: Toggle Character Pane, Bags, Keyring, Spellbook, Quest Log, Action Pages, etc. These are the icons at the bottom right of your screen. You use them constantly, but they aren't vital in a quick-decision, live-or-die situation, so I don't see much need for toggling panes or logs that you can just click on. Or that randomly open when you forget to hit "Enter" before you type.

Keys I would keep bound to something:

Open All Bags (default shift-B)
Toggle Game Menu (default Esc)

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Misc. Functions: Minimap, Sound, Screenshot, etc. Anything you don't use, unbind. I take a lot of screenshots (print scrn), so I keep that bound. Everything else can be adjusted through the sound panel or buttons.

Camera Functions: I only use the zoom in and out, although the other functions might be useful if you used keys to move instead of your mouse and wanted to look around quickly without shifting your hand away from the keyboard.

Raid Targeting: Only pertinent to raid or instance leaders. Puts that little picture icon above the monster's or a player's head for visual reference.

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That's pretty much it. :) I'm gonna go manage my bars now. Yay! (Have you ever noticed that these "tutorial" posts are always me writing down stuff I need to know to do something? Bwahaha, I disguise my notes on stuff as informing you. So sneaky.)

Fishing Tourney, or "Fish to Make Fishing Easier"

2008-07-19T00:14:00.005-04:00

We've already discussed the basics of fishing.

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Every Sunday between 14:00 (2pm) and 16:00 (4pm) server time, Speckled Tastyfish are available to be fished up in the pools all along the coast of Stranglethorn Vale. You should have a fishing skill equivalent of 255 or more (baubles and aquadynamic attractors can help with that).

Set your hearthstone to the Booty Bay inn. If you can, nag a friend to come along and protect you if you're on a PVP server (some people do play dirty, or just come along to hassle fishers).

You don't have to accept the quest before you start fishing to win the tournament.

It's a race to catch 40 Speckled Tastyfish and turn them in to Riggle Bassbait before anyone else does. Prizes include a fishing pole with +35 fishing skill OR a trinket that essentially gives you aquatic form (turns you into a fish).

Other possible goodies include three rare fish (available during contest hours) that can be turned in to this guy for:

Brownell's Blue Striped Racer = +5 Fishing Boots
Dezian Queenfish = +5 Fishing Pole Enchant
Keefer's Angelfish = Cute +5 Fishing Hat

And if you really want to go overboard with the fishing theme, like my husband's best friend did, there are other fishing items you can scrounge up:

Fishing Chairs - available for $80-$100 on ebay, no fishing increase
Glove Enchant - +2 fishing to hands
Cpt Rumsey's Lager - +10 fishing for 3 min

The Up Side of Death, or "How a Mean Druid Made Me 285g"

2008-06-24T16:27:00.007-04:00

So I was nabbing the Gadgetzan bonfires on my 38 druid (2 right beside the one town) for Fire Festival. And so was a level 70 druid named Bps, who decided that I got to die.

A mite miffed, I rezzed inside the city walls and ran just outside to the flight master. I clicked him, looked at my destinations, and suddenly thought "I should check the Neutral Auction House while I'm here." Which I usually think of after I take off.

Now, lately, there's been a guy listing alliance pets at regular intervals on the Neutral AH. On a PVP server, this is pertinent because you can't create alliance characters if you're horde and go buy yourself some cute pets and do fun Neutral AH things to get them cheap. And on PVP servers, most alliance couldn't care less about getting horde some cute kitties or bunnies.

But this guy saw that the market was ripe and went for it, and I imagine he's made hundreds of gold at it by now (over 1g profit for each pet he sells, and he constantly refreshes his stock in the AH).

So I took my little level 38 over to check on the off-chance that he might have a cute rare pet up I could re-sell for an exorbitant amount.

And he did. 15 gold for a white kitten.

I ended up making a quick sale of it to a friend for 300g (he asked what amount I was listing it for, thought about it, and asked me to C.O.D. it).

So thank you, meanie-face "Brb" or whatever your name was. You made me a ton of cash by delaying me half a minute.

Fire Festival, or "Pretty Clothes That Set You On Fire -- Literally"

2008-06-21T05:17:00.059-04:00

June 21 - July 5

Fire Blossoms are your currency to buy things, so don't toss them on the bonfire until you know you don't want anything. (These disappear once the event is over, so you can't hold onto them for next year.)

Midsummer Merchants - Where you buy items with your flowers. Will be in the city hub.

City Hubs

Stormwind [38, 61] Right by the Stockade.
Darnassus [56, 92] Rut'theran Village, by flight master
Ironforge [64, 25] Outside the Explorer's League
Orgrimmar Valley of Wisdom, outside Thrall's Fortress
Thunder Bluff, Spirit Rise
Undercity Ruins of Lordaeron, throne room

Fun Secrets

Too low level? Think this has nothing for you? Think again! If you use the Ribbon Pole (available outside any festival tent), you get a buff for 10% experience increase! Buff caps at 60 minutes. Get the buff, go questing, and get it again when it runs out.

Also, the little bonfires (Honor & Desecrate) give experience! So grab them when you pass by to supplement your questing.

Quests

Incense for the Scorchlings - They give you an item of incense. Take it outside a major city and give it to a scorchling. [Eversong Woods - 46,50 ; Trisfal Glades - 57,51 ; Durotar - 52,47 ; The Barrens - 52,28 ; Mulgore - 51,59] One-time only.

Playing with Fire - Speak to a master flame eater in a city hub (locations listed above). Followups are dailies.

Torch Tossing [Daily] - Your basic timed Whack-A-Mole. Stand right beside the blue bonfire (too far and the torch you're throwing doesn't work), preferably the max distance from the quest giver toward the braziers while still staying close to the fire. Target the marked brazier (will have a mark like a hunter's mark). They switch every 3 seconds, which means if you don't toss the torch the moment the brazier is marked, you'll miss it. It also has a very slight cooldown which means if your tossing gets off for the first one, you'll be off for all the rest. I recommend hotkeying the torch to your best key (temporarily, of course) and starting on the next mark you see, b/c any that's already up will change before you toss. 5 blossoms reward.
Torch Catching [Daily] - Tricky. You stand by the bonfire and click the torch. Then you have to look up and follow it (some suggest looking down and following the shadow, but I can't find one) and try to get directly under it to catch it. The good news is that this isn't timed. The bad news is that you have to do it 4 times in a row (in one go) and it injures you when you miss it. Still, if you can do it and have the dedication, more power to you. I think I'll be skipping this one. I'm abysmal at it.

Honor the Flame [5 blossoms reward] & Desecrate This Fire! [10 blossoms reward] - This is like Lunar Festival where you go to every town, of both factions, and they give you currency items. Wowhead and Wowwiki ought to have a location of all the Flame Keepers available in a few days, and you can track their bonfires by tracking them. For opposite faction towns, I walked up to the fire just outside each town on my 70, desecrated it, and left (PVErs, note that desecrating flags you for PVP). No hassle, though in Outlands you should make sure to get it from the far side. I've checked the following towns and found bonfires at each:

Alliance: Sentinel Hill, Goldshire, Darkshire, Astranaar, Auberdine, Lakeshire, Allarian Stronghold, Honor Hold, Sylvanaar, etc.
Horde: Brill, Razor Hill, Sepulcher, Stonebreaker Hold, Thrallmar, Shadowmoon Village, Thunderlord Stronghold, etc.
Neutral: Area 52, Booty Bay, Gadgetzan.
DIDN'T find bonfire: Grom'gol, Shattrath.
A list is up at Wowwiki.

Due to my travels, it seems that every world zone will have a bonfire at each town with an inn. If there is a major Neutral town and just outposts for factions, the two bonfires will be close to the single Neutral town and there will be none at the outposts.

Unusual Activity - 15,20 Ashenvale. Kill until the note drops, use your totem, turn the note in, get followup An Innocent Disguise. Head north up the shore to Ashenvale 9, 12 and use the disguise to spy. Use the totem to finish the quest and get Inform the Elder where you turn it in a city hub (locations listed above). She will then open up the following quests:

Striking Back [Daily] - Summon and kill something. Hellfire one is 67 non-elite. Easy enough.
Ahune, the Frost Lord - Sends you to Luma Skymother outside Slave Pens (in Zangarmarsh).

Luma Skymother's Ice Shards - 20 blossoms reward [blossoms/tabard quest is one time only]. Head into Slave Pens (normal or heroic) and kill the (Midsummer-only) optional boss, Lord Ahune. Luma is just inside Slave Pens, but I think the quest starts when you kill him and loot the Ice Shards (only drop the once). Similar to Headless Horseman in that each party member can summon him once per day (so a party of 5 can do him 5 times a day unless they switch members out). He drops a pet and some epics that people might be interested in.

Lord Ahune - On Normal mode. Have a tank on the rock elemental elite. Kill the non-elite mobs. Ignore Ahune until his "defenses lower" and he stops spawning adds. Then go all out on him until he comes up and summons adds again. Repeat until death. Drops 3 cloaks, 1 enchanting pattern, and a cool-looking scythe.

Stealing Flames - 25 blossoms reward EACH (4 flames to steal)! 100 total! Head into the 4 major cities of the opposing faction and loot their festival bonfire. Keep general and trade channels open to find a raid group going to do this. 70 druids and rogues might be able to solo it because of stealth. Turn in at Festival Talespinner/Loremaster in Org or Ironforge. Aside from the blossoms, you get a nice fiery crown. Must be level 50 to turn it in, but the stolen flames don't disappear from your inventory after the festival is over, so you can keep them to turn in next year if you want to.

I was able to take the Darnassus flame solo, but I was lucky b/c no 70s were around to bother me (level 65 non-elite guards). A team is much safer, and easier because you have to open the fire for a few seconds and anything hitting you breaks it. I couldn't have done it without my AOE fear (stealthers might have an edge).

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Rewards

So far, I'm only interested in a few things. I'll list everything eventually, but start with the most exciting. :)

I easily got 100 blooms for the vestments with a level 38 druid.

Brazier of Dancing Flames [350] - (BEST ITEM EVER!) Set it down, a fiery Draenei woman dances. /dance with her, you turn into her. /kiss and she curtsies. VERY AWESOME, especially for those of us who wish we could play a Draenei main. Here's a YouTube clip. And a photo of me up above (got it 12:29pm June 21, probably first on my server).
Sandals [200] & Vestments [100] - When you dance, they catch you on fire. The sandals catch your feet (one large flame around your legs, like you're standing in fire), the robes catch your hands (I find this to be a much prettier effect).
Mantle - Really dumb-looking shoulders. It's a pair of pots with fire coming out of them on your shoulders.

Cenarion Circle Rep, or "How to Become an Herb Bag Goddess"

2008-06-17T08:03:00.020-04:00

The best herb bags (20-slot & 24-slot) before Mycah's Botanical Bag are gained from being Friendly and Revered with Cenarion Circle, an old world faction.

Since I started tailoring recently, I decided to grind for them, but it's actually harder once the mob is grey. If you can start the grind while it still gives you experience, such as at 55, you'll get a lot more bang for your buck (10 per). Right now, I'm gaining 2 reputation off each regular mob.

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Raids to Run

Ahn'Qiraj ~ 2000 rep per run

Things to Kill

Twilight Prophet - 60 Elite. Has 2 regular mobs as guards. Gives the most rep: 30 or 6 if grey. ALSO drops 7-10 Encrypted Text pages, which is how many you need for a 500 rep turn in, so never EVER pass one of these up.

Twilight Cultists - All the non-elites walking around the circled camps on the map. Gives 10 rep or 2 rep if grey.

Anything wandering around Silithus with a Twilight name.

Things to Gather

Encrypted Text - Drop off all mobs. Turn in 10 for 500 rep. Can buy off AH.

Twilight Cultist Gear

Cowl, Mantle, Robe - Drop off all mobs. Can buy off AH. Used (and destroyed) at Wind Stones, so you need multiple sets.
Twilight Medallion of Station - Repeatable quest Dukes of the Council. Bring her 3 Abyssal Crests (see Lesser Wind Stone below) and 1 Large Brilliant Shard. Repeat for more medallions.
Twilight Ring of Lordship - Rare spawn (non-elite) has high drop rate. Repeatable quest Lords of the Council. Bring her 3 Abyssal Signets (requires Medallion to summon boss to drop 1, see below for boss strat) and 5 Large Brilliant Shards.

You can trade or buy these with friends or off AH, too.

Things to Summon

The bigger the Wind Stone, the more gear you need to summon its boss. Once you do, the gear you used is eaten up, it disappears from your inventory (if you have more than one set, the process will suck up a set from your bags, not the one you're wearing). You have a moment to change back into your regular gear (5-10 seconds) before the bad guy attacks.

Lesser Wind Stone

Equip: Robe, Mantle, and Cowl (chest, shoulders, head).
Summons level 60 non-elite elemental. Clear area around him first. Easily soloed.
Receive 1 Abyssal Crest. Turn in 3 for 150 rep. Can sell on AH or give to a friend grinding rep.

Wind Stone

Equip: Robe, Mantle, Cowl, Medallion (neck).
Summons 62 elite elemental Duke. Completable solo at 70 with potions, bandages, and serious buffing. Might want a healer to help. Lower levels should have a few friends along.
Receive 1 Abyssal Signet. Turn in 3 for 500 rep. Can sell on AH or give to a friend grinding rep.

Greater Wind Stone

Equip: Robe, Mantle, Cowl, Medallion, Ring (finger).
Summons raid boss. These have been nerfed but still require a group. Minimum of five competent, well-geared 60s or three 70s.
Receive 1 Abyssal Septer. Turn in 3 for 1000 rep. Can sell on AH or give to a friend grinding rep.

Quests

Almost all of the quests in Silithus give Cenarion Circle rep.

Suggested Route

Head to the camp just west of Cenarion Circle town (see map up top). Grind mobs until you have a set of robe, shoulders, head. Summon an elemental boss at the Lesser Wind Stone. Get a feel for how that goes.

Start riding from camp to camp, looking for the rare named spawn (Twilight Lord Everun) AND the elite patrol that drops 7-10 rep pages (patrol spawns either in the north, walking from one western camp to the other, or in the south, heading up to the southern edge of the hive and back down to the camp).

After killing the patrol, stay and kill everything in the nearest camp for about twenty minutes, summoning and killing elementals at LWStones when you get the appropriate items to summon.

Then travel to the other camps to try and find respawns of rare guy and patrol. At least one should be back.

When your bags get full, go turn in your encrypted texts x10 and abyssal crests x3 (dropped from summoned elementals) for big chunks of rep.

Saving Gold, or "Dustfire's Plan for Buying Things"

2008-06-10T12:47:00.008-04:00

We've already discussed making gold, but now we're going to talk about how to save for the things you want.

It's a basic fact that mounts and riding skills in the game are expensive. In fact, over a character's lifetime, if he or she wants all the available types of riding speed, it will cost 6,700g (NOT including mount prices, which tend to run 110g before 70).

And that's per character. Add a beloved alt into the mix, and you have some serious cashflow issues.

This is my advice:

Make an alt. It could be your bank alt or a savings alt, but the idea is that you won't touch this character's money.
Start sending this character the cash you can spare -- make it a % of your character's money, and do it on a regular basis. (Bank characters should be sending the majority of their profits to this savings, just keeping enough to manage their own auctions.)
Level 70s without time to do dailies should try to squeeze in 2 dailies a week and send the resulting 20g to their savings character. (There's a very nice bombing quest that requires no effort at all on the Isle of Quel'danis.)
If you can, get in the habit of doing the easiest daily every day. That's 70g a week without a lot of effort. (People often think they have to do all the dailies once they start, but limiting yourself can free a lot of your play time for more important things.)
If you have trouble keeping your money untouched, get a trustworthy friend or relative to keep it for you. (If this person has their own money issues, don't send it to them.) My brother's brother-in-law is sending his savings to the GL, who is my husband's best friend and would never bilk anyone out of their gold.

Therefore, even if you don't have a lot of play time available, you can still manage your money in an intelligent way and save for the things you want.

/bow

Helping Priests, or "I Stole Your Mob, What?"

2008-05-30T17:55:00.002-04:00

Little known fact about damage over time spells such as Pain for priests -- they take a few seconds to tick, which means melee classes who want to help a priest out usually end up stealing the mob away.

And you can't really get mad at the melee because it's an honest mistake.

The more you know. /rainbow

Bye Bye Bear-Bear, or "/tantrum"

2008-05-26T09:25:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I'm not actually throwing a tantrum, but Blizzard is taking the Amani War Bear out of the game when the expansion comes out. People get to keep the ones they have, but level 80 makes the grind for bear mounts too "unsporting" or something, since they're a 100% drop rate in a timed instance event.

We've had tale of a polar bear mount in the expansion, but the Amani War Bear is an enslaved druid. Which is just plain more awesome.

Sign my petition and ignore the jerks I'm sure have replied trying to make fun of and discourage me. They're why I never revisit any forum post I make.

Children's Week 2008, or "The Outlands Pets"

2008-05-01T15:02:00.010-04:00

May 1-7

Please refer to the 2007 posts on alliance and horde for how to do the pre-60 quests: Turtle, Pig, Rat, or 5g.

------------------------

Level 60 required.

Doing the horde version for now -- the Alliance version has a cute draenei orphan and different destinations. Next year I'll focus only on the Alliance version since I don't have an ally above 60.

Start in easternmost part of Lower City at the Orphan Matron, who will give you the orphan whistle.

Call your orphan (Blood Elf for horde, Draenei for alliance). Both are ADORABLE little girls. I wish I could just keep my orphan year-long.

The Outlands Children's Week quests are much much easier than the pre-60 ones. There's less running and flying due to Outlands being smaller, and the people doing the quests are more likely to have epic or flying mounts.

Alliance and Horde both have to go to the Dark Portal, which you probably came through to reach Outlands (if you didn't, it's the easternmost point of Hellfire Peninsula). Some have said they have trouble getting the quest complete here: make sure she's put away, get to the bottom of the stairs and take her out, then go up the stairs. She'll react in the middle of the staircase. If she doesn't, keep running around, put her back and take her out again, try different things. If that doesn't work, drop all the quests, destroy the whistle, and go get a new one.

Alliance goes to Auchindoun's Ring of Observance in Terrokar. Just fly or ride south of Shattrath until you hit the center of the burnt-out area.

Horde gets to go to Sporegarr, which is in the far western part of Zangarmarsh, to see her friend Hch'uu. (If you don't have flight paths here, there's one at Cenarion Refuge in the east and Zul'jin in the west.)

Speak to Hch'uu to finish the quest.

The Alliance orphan wants to visit her friend Jheel at Aeris Landing in Nagrand. Aeris Landing is the Consortium outpost where you pick up monthly jewel bags.

Next for Horde is the Throne of Elements in Nagrand, one of my favorite spots in the whole game for beauty. If you have the Garadar flight path, swim north across the lake and you'll hit the spot. She'll run up to the fire elemental and get zapped, which is adorable.

---------------------------------

Next Phase

Alliance goes to Exodar and keep going down until you get to the basement. There's a Naaru there she wants to see.

Horde heads to Silvermoon City and down, just to the east of the entrance. There should be a bunch of taurens on a balcony. Bring out the little girl and she'll try to impress them.

Both factions get to Tanaris and head to the Caverns of Time (the mountains at far east, center). The events here are the same. Go see the dragon in the middle. Something interesting will happen. Then go get the quartermaster and buy your kid a toy dragon.

Return to Shattrath and turn the kid in for something not quite as adorable as your orphan:

Pets

[Sleepy Willy] Not as cute, but has great novelty value because he'll zap and kill little level 1 critturs (like rabbits or frogs). He's one of the very few interactive small pets.

[Elekk Training Collar] As my friend said, an "UNBEARABLY cute" miniature elekk named Peanut.

[Egbert's Egg] Gives you Egbert, a gawky, COMPLETELY SPASTIC half-hatched pink hawkstrider. He'll race around you in random directions.

Tait & Sanaria, or "A Cautionary Tale"

2008-04-30T17:00:00.012-04:00

Every good story begins with two people meeting.

In this case, a dashing hero down on his luck, just trying to make ends meet...

And a beautiful mostly-naked girl, willing to make his dreams come true...

But like most beautiful, powerful, almost-nude women who offer strange men the money to cure their woes, there was something fishy about Sanaria. She seemed a little too persistent about getting our hero out of the city.

I thought to myself "Why would she store her gold outside Orgrimmar with the bank right here?"

So I followed the pair, ducking behind bushes and edging around walls. My infallible instincts told me something was up.

She led him to the middle of nowhere....

And all of a sudden, WHAM! She pyroblasts him! And he's left fighting a vicious scorpion, alone and terrified, thinking of his wife, fourteen mistresses, and thirty-two children. Who on Azeroth will feed them when he's gone?

He falls, and she stands laughing over his corpse.

I am witness ... to MURDER.

The moral of the story, poor readers? Never trust a beautiful nude woman when she promises free riches. It can only end in tragedy.

-------------------------

None of this was staged.

The Dumblist, or "When Friend and Ignore Don't Quite Fit"

2008-04-27T19:40:00.008-04:00

There are plenty of addons for tracking the people you hate -- GankList and VanasKOS (my addon of choice) for example -- and Blizzard finally put notes onto your friends to keep track of where you met them, but what about keeping track of that percentage of the population that seems so prevalent when you need a PUG?

Where's our Dumblist?

I had the supreme joy of heading to Orgrimmar this bustling Sunday night to make a few Auction House purchases. I ran into a good guildie friend in front of the bank, as you tend to do with a guild larger than 1, and stood around for a moment listening to the mature banter being /yelled about ("how original" says one -- "says the guy with the stupid name" replies the offended -- "this is my bank character" is the witty comeback).

Then comes an orc. An everyday orc, and obviously lost because he opens a trade window with me and tries to give me several greens, two rare-quality gems, and some other junk I didn't notice because gems are pretty. And I start to wonder if I'll actually accept the trade if he just gives the stuff to me -- he's obviously looking for someone else, maybe one of my clones, but definitely not me. And if I accept the trade, he'll be embarrassed and have to ask for the stuff back when the real person he was supposed to give it to gets there.

So I'm pondering all of this in light of my love for the way gems sparkle and he whispers me: "80 g ok>" (spelling preserved).

I blink and, ignoring the fact that I was seriously considering taking his stuff if he was stupid enough to hit trade, said: "I didn't agree to this." And closed the trade window.

He comes quickly back with "60 g" and reopens the trade window and starts putting the items back into in it.

I close it. "That's considered rude."

I then recount the affair to my guild. My friend, beside me, replies to me in guild: "I got it for 60g. Can I borrow some cash?"

I think he was joking. >_> Not about being offered the same deal, but about taking it.

--------------------------------

Do you have anyone you've really wanted to dumblist? Those that aren't quite horrible enough to be ignored and nowhere near competent enough to be friended, so they're stuck in a noteless limbo that leaves you wondering "How will I ever remember how dumb this person is?"

Me, I just write blog posts about them and keep screenshots of their names. You know, in case anyone is really really curious.

Primals, or "Your Guide to Enchant Candy"

2008-04-24T15:23:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when you kill things in Outlands, you find motes in your bags.

Motes drop off of elementals. The type of elemental you're killing (shadow, water, fire, etc) has a decent chance to drop its type of mote.

Combine 10 motes to make one Primal.

--------------------------------

Primal Shadow: Used for items and enchants that affect shadow damage.
What Drop Shadow Motes? Grind in Hellfire (60), Nagrand (65), or Netherstorm (69).

Primal Life: Most used for healer enchants and craftables, including Golden Spellthread.
What Drop Life Motes? Grind in Zangarmarsh* (64)

Primal Earth: Used for defensive enchants and armor (such as for tanks), most valuable when transmuted by an alchemist into Primal Fire.
What Drop Earth Motes? Profession grind by mining Fel Iron. Grind in Nagrand (65-70)*, Shadowmoon Valley (68), Netherstorm (68).

Primal Fire: The most sought-after primal, most loved by mages trying to tailor their +fire damage epic set. Used in +spell damage and fire-related enchants.
What Drop Fire Motes? Profession grind by mining Fel Iron. Grind in Blades Edge Mountains (68), Nagrand* (70), Hellfire Penninsula (70). Most of these can only be reached by flying.

Primal Water: Used in spellpower and frost-related enchants and armor.
What Drops Water Motes? Profession grind by fishing. Grind in Nagrand (65), Terrokar Forest (Skettis)* (70).

Primal Air: Most useful in agility-related enchants and armor.
What Drops Motes of Air? Grind in Nagrand (64-70) or Shadowmoon Valley*.

Primal Mana: Highly desired for caster epics and enchants, especially Mystic and Runic Spellthread.
What Drops Motes of Mana? Grind in Netherstorm (67), Isle of Quel'Danas (70).

Primal Might: Created by alchemists by combining one of each following primal: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mana. Used in heavy-duty epic craftables.

Primal Nether: Used in heavy-duty epic craftables. Attainable through running heroic instances, at a badge vendor, or off the AH.

* My favorite farming spot.

---------------------------

Farming Suggestions

Nagrand is your best bet for most elementals: the elemental plateau is only reachable by flight, but has a plethora of fire, earth, and air elementals just for farming. (Fire is just hard to get if you can't fly.)

In south-central Nagrand: you find shadow elementals, and earth and air elementals are everywhere in Nagrand but a good spot is south of the shadow elementals so that you can keep grinding all three.

Water elementals are all over the lakes of Nagrand.

The only place for life motes is to grind the bog lords and their friends in Zangarmarsh, which actually gives you lots of Sporeggarr reputation (cute pet at exalted).

Motes of mana fall off of all kinds of things in Netherstorm and are now available from erratic sentries when you do your daily Quel'Danas quests. Sometimes if no one else is around, I kill extra sentries for the motes and average a primal every 3-5 days. Still, Netherstorm is less likely to run out of mobs to grind for motes, just watch out for mana drain abilities -- melee classes should be especially strong farming these motes.

---------------------------

Never vendor motes. Always give them to your guild bank, a friend who needs primals, or auction them. Never ever vendor. (I'm looking at you, Z. You vendored MANA! /glare)

Unaided, or "When Alliance and Horde are Friends -- But Not Yours"

2008-04-22T14:18:00.003-04:00

On a PVP server, if you see horde surrounding an alliance person who's killed you, you think they're fighting and you'll have the upper hand.

So you go in and you attack, and you watch as the horde just stands there while you battle for your life.

And you think: WTF?!

(Or some nicer variation, like "What the Poo?")

We've discussed this from Alliance side, when a level 70 rogue refused to stop his friends from killing my group over and over again.

What is the etiquette when your friend on the other side is fighting in PvP? If you stay out of it, the horde gets ticked off. If you kill your friend, the friend gets ticked off.

Is logging the only acceptable response?

In my humble opinion, the proper response is stopping the fight and letting the people on your side know if you can't help them. If your friend refuses to stop, you kill them. If your faction refuses to stop, you leave them to their fate and possibly /ignore, based on how much of a jerk they are.

The worst situation, I think, is if the friend is a ganker whom the person attacking hates. If you don't ally yourself with your faction, why are you ON that faction? Switch, moron.

Thoughts? Personally, I've come up against this twice already, people not helping me fight folks who have, in the past, killed me unfairly, and I want to gouge out their eyeballs. I always /ignore b/c, really, anyone who allies themselves with a jerk ganker must be a jerk ganker themselves. And is therefore not worth my time.

Family Camping Trip, or "We Are Like Ants At Your Picnic"

2008-04-18T18:03:00.003-04:00

Dramatization, Sort Of

Dustfire: Yay, I'm killing nagas and getting quest drops!
Nesme (Human Warrior): I have season 3 gear and a 2000+ 3v3 team rating! You do not get to kill this naga!
Dustfire: I am mortally wounded!
Nesme: Hahaha! I can kill cloth-wearers in worse pvp gear than me!
Dustfire: I shall sneak away and heal myself, then return while he is at a disadvantage! [CHARGE!] Oh, I am mortally wounded again!
Equilibrio (Druid Family-In-Law): I shall come heal you! I have great mana!
Dustfire: I cannot find him again. [bites lip] Well, let's quest.
Equilibrio: Why are you not getting hurt?! Give me something to do! [Gets hit] Found him! [heals] He has a friend! We shall kill her too.
Dustfire: Ha! Take that, vile healer! Take that, poo-face warrior! We are victorious! I spit on the ground where lie your broken bodies! BWAHAHAHA!
Equilibrio: Oop, here they are again. Let's kill!
Dustfire: Killing with massive JOY! [dies]
Equilibrio: [dies] A vile hunter came and saved them.
Shenoah: I am brave and true and love my wife! I shall aid you!
Dustfire: I love you! Thank you for helping me! [smooch smooch smooch smooch smooch]
Equilibrio: I'm going to be sick. >_>
Azuel (Friend Warlock): You are brave, my friends! Do you desire another ally to wreak havoc on these upstart alliance and protect the innocent questers of Azeroth?
Dustfire: [stops smooching husband] Yes, thank you! Teehee!
Equilibrio: I'm a bear! ROAR! Someone get hurt so I can heal. Hey, you random people, come here and let me heal and buff you.
Random People: Hurray! Long live Equilibrio!
Shenoah: They've rezzed! Let us destroy them with impunity for daring to mess with one of our women!
[Massacre of Nesme and Lul-something, who are on the same pooooowerful 3v3 team. Other alliance run by. Occasionally, we help them kill their nagas.]
Dustfire: Let us sit here for a long long time!
Dredskies: [rides up, sits 12 times on Nesme's corpse, then leaves, having said nothing]
Dustfire: [half an hour later -- bored] Let us move ahead and hope they assume we've left.
[In five minutes, Nesme tries to ride by on his pretty orange kitty.]
Shenoah: Frostshock! War Stomp!
Azuel: Curse!
Equilibrio: Moonfire!
Dustfire: Death!
[Great rejoicing and laughter. Ten minutes after that, Lul-something tries to ride by.]
Shenoah: Here! Destroy her!
Lul-something: /rofl /rofl /rofl /rofl
Dustfire: We are victorious!
Shenoah: Lul's body has disappeared. The coward runs! [takes Dustfire's hand] You are vindicated, dear wife.
Dustfire: My HERO!
Equilibrio & Azuel: We helped. >_>

-------------------

I like to think that Nesme and Lul-something were asking for backup in guild chat but everyone in their guild sucks so nobody would help them. See, when you mess with a family guild, we might not be individually strong, but we back each other up with numbers. Like ants at a picnic.

Leatherworking, or "Raid Leaders Only Want Me For My Drums"

2008-04-18T11:42:00.003-04:00

Converted from AlmostGaming leatherworking guide. They offer guides with the minimum material requirements.

Needed

Light Leather: 325
Medium Leather: 440
Heavy Leather: 385
Cured Heavy Hide: 10
Iron Buckle: 5
Thick Leather: 650
Turtle Scale: 112
Heavy Silken Thread: 2
Wildvine: 4
Cured Thick Hide: 2
Rugged Leather: 340
Knothide Scrap: 25
Knothide Leather: 530
Fel Scales: 30
Rune Thread: 135
Heavy Knothide Leather: 60
Primal Might: 15
Arcane Dust: 65
Small Prismatic: 20

Make

1-45 Light Armor Kit
46-55 Hand-Stitched Leather Cloak
56-100 Embossed Leathergloves
101-120 Fine Leather Belts
121-135 Dark Leather Boots
136-155 Dark Leather Pants
156-165 Hillman Leather Gloves
166-180 Heavy Armor Kits
181-190 Barbaric Shoulders
191-195 Barbaric Harnesses
196-205 Dusky Bracers
206-220 Thick Armor Kits
221-225 Nightscape Headbands
226-227 Turtle Scale Breastplates (Feralas Quest)
228-229 Turtle Scale Gloves (Feralas Quest)
230 Nightscape Tunics (Feralas Quest)
231-232 Nightscape Headbands (Feralas Quest)
233 Turtle Scale Bracers (Feralas Quest)
234-235 Turtle Scale Helms (Feralas Quest)
236-237 Nightscape Pants (Feralas Quest)
238-239 Nightscape Boots (Feralas Quest)
240 Wild Leather Vest
241 Wild Leather Helmet
242-250 Nightscape Pants
251-265 Nightscape Boots
266-285 Wicked Leather Bracers
286-300 Wicked Leather Headbands
301-305 Knothide Leather
306-310 Knothide Armor Kit
311-320 Wild Draenish Gloves
321-330 Thick Draenish Boots
331-340 Thick Draenish Vest
341-355 Scaled Draenic Boots
356-365 Riding Crop (Caverns of Time)
366-370 Drums of Battle (Sha'tar Exalted)
371-375 Drums of Panic (Keepers of Time Exalted)

Insensitivity, or "Applauding Making Girls Cry"

2008-04-13T17:20:00.006-04:00

We've already discussed how the official Warcraft forums are a cesspool. Today, after asking for a bit of advice with my Role Playing endeavors, I stumbled on a post from a guy who had a fight with his sister.

This is what happened: She asked him to send an email to a friend using her email. As a joke, he added the line "You suck" to the end of the email. What he didn't realize was that it was going to an extremely sensitive girl who didn't realize it was a joke and cried. A lot.

His sister, when she found out, removed Warcraft and all his non-work-related bookmarks from his computer as retaliation and "screamed" at him.

The guy got some heat for suggesting he'd do physical violence to his sister if she didn't let it go. In the end, the thread became an argument over whether he was right or the sister was right and who wronged who first and the dynamics of sibling relationships.

My Conclusions

The mistake was an honest one. He didn't realize how hard the friend would take it and, by all accounts, he's a guy (which often, and definitely in this case, means "doesn't realize GIRLS AREN'T GUYS") and he realizes what he did was a mistake.

The sister was justified in getting angry and defending her friend. What she did to his computer wasn't permanent or vicious, just petty and annoying. He might never remember what the url was for that porn site he liked so much, but I think he'll live.

What bothered me the most:

The guy tried to justify his side of things based on his sister overreacting when she screamed at him, rather than taking responsibility for a joke gone wrong and apologizing to the girl he hurt.
The people replying to his post who took his side made fun of "weak teenage girls" and one said the joke was still funny even if she cried. As a sensitive female, this upset me more than anything. If I wasn't married or if I didn't have great male relatives, I would seriously be hating men right now.

The cruel, insensitive people are the reason Warcraft sometimes SUCKS. They're also the main type of person you'll find on the forums. They're the guys who used to beat up the nice guys in high school, or who thought Columbine was funny. They're the ones who ruin other people's gameplay for fun.

I guess what I'm saying is... today I saw real chauvinism, guys who think girls in pain are amusing. And it got to me.

/sigh There's a reason my husband banned me from reading the Zuluhed forums. Maybe I should take that up for all forums?

Fishing, or "Patience Gets You Cooking Supplies"

2008-04-08T12:24:00.011-04:00

Fishing is one of three secondary professions, meaning it does not count as one of your two main professions. It's also very different than any other profession in how it skills up.

In fishing, you must equip a fishing pole and hotkey the fishing skill. Press it, and it casts your line into the water.

When the bobber bobs and splashes, click on it and you will catch a fish. (I recommend auto-loot.)

You can level your fishing 1-375 in any pool of water anywhere.
When just starting, use lures to increase your chance to catch.
Skill points gained are fewer and farther between the higher your skill gets. So leveling fishing is a time investment. (Because of this, I recommend just one character as your fisherman.)
Some areas are unfishable if your skill is too low.
You will pass pools of fish and/or wreckage while leveling -- they are like mining or herb nodes -- if you cast your lure in these pools, you will always catch what is in the pool node until it runs out (respawn timer just like other nodes). There is also a chance of catching chests, which might have this.

Leveling

Level skill to 150 using any fishing trainer.

Expert Fishing: Get guide from Old Man Heming in Booty Bay.

Artisan Fishing: Start with Grimnur Stonebrand (A-IF) or Lumak (H-Org). They send you to Nat Pagle (Dustwallow Marsh) who gives you the quest for Artisan fishing: Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme.

[Feralas 62,51] Feralas Ahi
[Swamp of Sorrows 90,72] Misty Reed Mahi Mahi
[Desolace 25,77] Sar'theris Striker
[Stranglethorn Vale 33,32] Savage Coast Blue Sailfin

Master Fishing: Get Guide from Juno Dufrain in Cenarion Refuge (Zangarmarsh).

Why fish?

Fishing is the best way to level cooking.
Rare small pets: Magical Crawdad, Snarly (green), Toothy (yellow), Muckbreath (brown), Chuck (dark green).
Fishing daily.
Chance to catch some interesting things, like Deviate Fish.
Soothing water noise. :)

Other Resources

Check out WoW Insider's fishing posts, and try bookofwarcraft.com's fishing guide (tells which fish will make you the most money on the AH).

-----------

I enjoy fishing. In the down time when your group isn't doing anything but you still want to progress a little, it's a nice break.