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all good things

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the end of the Purple Poxers. This was an amazingly fun and interesting experiment and I want to thank the other Purples for the chance to be part of the group.

To Nas, Dax, Ess, and Mr. Ess, thank you. You'll always be Purple Poxers to me. Watch out for that hole, next time you're going to the Wailing Caverns...

pre-vacation update

I'm heading off on vacation tomorrow, so I figured I'd give the ol' neglected blog a brief update before we go. That way I'll have a set of goals in front of me when I get back, rather than having to make it up as I go...

Waradwen: Wara's largely in a holding pattern these days, waiting for Wrath. Due to some /afk issues, I haven't had the blocks of time to commit to raiding, which really sucks. Running around with the Murlocks has been totally fun and awesome, and I'm hoping that I can schedule more time to be with them when we get back from vacation. I think we've got enough people to poke our heads into some 25-man content, but I'm not sure if we're balanced enough. Hmm...something to ponder.

Gear-wise, Wara's pretty well set for the content he's seeing. I've resigned myself to the fact that he's not going to be decked out in T6, and that's okay. He's almost entirely dressed in purples at this point, when he's wearing his inappropriate-for-a-boomkin cloak. I really need to get some better legs, though, and am even contemplating PvPing for the Season 2 version. As much as I dislike the idea of using PvP to get gear for PvE, those are pretty nice. Hmm.

Waradwenne: Nothing new to report since last time. We had to cancel our group this past week for some family issues and I'm gone for next week, but after that we're ready to keep tearing up the Old World. 'dwenne's fishing is up to 225, so we're planning to go run around and do the quest from ol' Nat next session. That should be fun.

Rotaan: The Dwarf is up to level 47 and is building up that tasty, tasty rested XP. He's been rather peripatetic lately, not being able to decide on a zone to level in and bouncing between Tanaris, Stranglethorn Vale, and the Hinterlands. He stuck his nose into the Blasted Lands this past weekend and liked it, although most of the mobs were just over his head. No pun intended. The goal for him is to keep leveling, making the most of the rested XP available. He's going to do some PvP before he hits 50, too, so he can build up enough marks to get a [Black Battlestrider] at 60. Sweet.

Everybody else: Same plan as Rotaan, essentially. Leveling as much as the rested XP allows. By the time I get back from vacation, I think that everybody should be at the max amount of rested XP, so I'm hoping to get on a cycle where I level one toon one night until he's out of rest, then switch to the next. We'll see how long that plan lasts. :-D

a poxer looks at 40 (part two)

As alluded to earlier, the Purple Poxers hit 40 last night following a run through RFD and two runs through the Scarlet Monestary's Cathedral (and some fire fest fun, to get Daxe and I over the hump). So, what makes this group tick? Why have we meshed so nicely and powered our way through dungeon after dungeon, week after week? The other Purple Poxer bloggers have already written their views, so I might as well add in my two cents' worth. Several of these ideas are probably redundant, and naturally many of them feed into one another, but here's my unorganized list of success factors:

1. Awesome group dynamics. We all thought about our toons for a little bit before selecting them and are reaping the rewards now. We have a pally tank, who is amazing for collecting and managing groups of mobs. We have uber-DPS coming from our fire mage. My Orc warlock doesn't bring as much DPS as I might like (I just installed Recount and am dismayed by my damage done), but I bring some decent pain. Our druid can do nice damage in cat form, then is available for emergency heals if needed. Last, but not least, our priest healer is teh awesum. There's no other word for it. We also do a lot of different *types* of damage, so if one mob is particularly resistant to fire damage we can hit him with arcane and frost and physical damage. Rawr.

2. Dedication to the group and the experiment. We've all taken this pretty seriously and essentially are taking almost a raider's eye to our prep work. We have a pretty well-defined idea of what we want to accomplish each night and subsequent "homework" assignments (set hearth in UC and meet in Camp T, for example). This mindset allows us to be focused and productive for the time that we're together, and usually that results in big wins for the Purple Poxers. Woo!

3. Maturity. No n00bs, no asshats, nobody bragging about how l33t their DPS is or how huge their epeen is. I think this goes for all of the Poxers, but I know for certain that it's true for the Purples.

4. Luck. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this group and I think we've had a lot of breaks go our way. We managed to find one night a week for our shared adventures and have had very few weeks when we couldn't meet.

5. Limitation. I think that playing one night a week has actually helped our overall success. We haven't tried to overschedule (doing damage to our /afk lives) and haven't gotten ourselves sick of the toons (or each other) by trying to do too much. Plus, the forced slow pace has allowed us to really reap the benefits of the rested XP. I think I get a level's worth of XP for each session, so that certainly helps to push us along.

6. We haven't really been challenged yet. Let's face it. These dungeons are not the most difficult fights. It's not like we're burning through the Black Temple every week. That said, we're regularly cruising through instances that are "set" for three or four levels above where we are and constantly running into artificial barriers, like quests we can't start for two more levels or gear we won't be able to wear for another several weeks...

I'm both proud and pleased that we've come this far and am really looking forward to what adventures the next 40 levels bring. We're making plans for Zul'Farak now, but I know I'm casting the occasional thought towards Hellfire Peninsula, and beyond.

Other views of 40:
Ess
Daxe
Harisan

Other thoughts on Pox power:
Ess
Daxe
Harisan


Oh, and before I forget: Hey, Blizzard! Need a group of play-testers for your new (or old) content? We'll try out all the dungeons for you! We'd just need, let's see, five beta keys? That's not so much to ask, right?

a poxer looks at 40

More to come later. In the meantime, don't miss Daxe's awesome shot of the whole group.

uldaman pictures

Last Tuesday night was a Poxic Party in the Badlands! We started with a little pole dancing...

And then it was off to Uldaman! Running through the zone this time was far easier than the last time we tried it. Sure, we still aggroed some of those invisible cats ("Orc warlock? Nom nom nom!") but I think we all survived the experience.

About halfway through, dancing and cavorting. There's not a lot of exciting news to report about the dungeon...it was really the same song, different verse. We came, we saw, we conquered.

Say cheese, after killing that last boss! Oh, and the follow-up quest? You cannot has. You's too little.

Later, after turning in the quests that were available to us, we decided to waste the level 45 giant who wanders around the Badlands. Woo!

The plan for tonight is to run RFD again, so Madj and I can finish the escort quest, then decide if we want to burn through Ulda again or go farm the Cathedral for what's-her-butt's hat. Sorry, chapeau.

SM/RFD gear goals for 'dwenne

In an attempt to help focus our Poxing adventures, I'm making a list of gear that I'd like over the next four levels. What 'dwenne currently has is listed on the first line and the reasonable, available options are listed underneath. Let's assume that at the end of this thought experiment that I'm level 40...

Head: [Enchanter's Cowl]
- [Whitemane's Chapeau] (SM-Cath)
- [Spellpower Goggles Extreme] (Engineering 225; currently 186)

Shoulders: [Berylline Pads]
- [Mantle of Doan] (SM-Lib)
- [Inquisitor's Shawl] (SM-Cath)

Back: [Long Silken Cloak]
- [Silky Spider Cape] (RFD)

Chest: [Robe of Power]
- [Robes of the Lich] (RFD)

Wrists: [Elder's Bracers of the Eagle] (+5 Int, +4 Sta)

Hands: [Durable Gloves of the Owl] (+6 Int, +6 Spi)
- [Shadoweave Gloves] (Tailoring)
- [Dreamweave Gloves] (Tailoring)

Waist: [Belt of Arugal]
- [Deathmage Sash] (RFD)

Legs: [Black Mageweave Leggings]
- [Shadoweave Pants] (Tailoring)

Feet: [Spidersilk Boots]

Weapons: [Hypnotic Blade] and [Omega Orb]
- [Prophetic Cane] (Quest reward from SM)

he's their champion?

Another Tuesday night means another Purple Poxing on a dungeon. Hurray! Last night, our heroes found themselves in the Scarlet Monestary's Armory, ready to do battle with The Scarlet Champion, Herod. Final score: Purple Poxers: 3, Scarlet Crusade: 1 (and really that was an own-goal).

The always-resourceful Daxe brought some tasty treats for us to enjoy.

[Insert your own ball joke here]

Viewing the Scarlet Champion for the first time.

Afterwards, we decided to die and run from the graveyard rather than hearth and run from the Undercity or fight our way through the respawns. This is as close as I'll ever get to naked Ess. /drool

Oh, noes! Naked ghosts!

At least I remembered to leave my tabard on. What a nightmarish image this would have been otherwise, eh?

Um, yeah, so we killed them all a few more times. In the meantime, I caught this nice picture of 'dwenne illuminated by her wand. Blizzard has done some really cool things with light and shadows that I'm just now coming to appreciate.

Ignore the fighting for a moment. How cute is the mechanical squirrel? I had never looked at him quite so closely before.

Herod? Dead. Trainee #1? Dead. Trainee #37? Oh, he's dead, too. In fact, they're all dead, here!

Next week, we're hunting some more quillboar, with a few skeletons thrown in, for good measure. And some nice clothy loots, perhaps?

peripatetic long weekend

A few notes on the long weekend...

Waradwen: I am just about sick of doing dailies, which is almost all I've done with good old Wara lately. I haven't been able to get the time together to do any raiding the past few weeks and consequently haven't been spending much time boomkining around. The good news is that I'm up over 1100 gold and have my full raid kit together, so any money I make between now and next raid goes towards Swift Flight Form. One of these days...

Waradwenne: Poxing night is tonight and am I pleased as punch. We're in the Scarlet Monestary again tonight, planning to tear up the Library and get Daxe his dagger, then dip our wee toesies into the Armory. Next week we're going to switch things around a little and go tackle Razorfen Downs, which should be a lot of fun. Like most of these instances, I've only run RFD once and am looking forward to the full experience. My previous RFD experience was essentially: "Watch these guys tear it up and try not to get killed." Heh.

Engineering training is going nicely, although it's costing a pretty penny. Thanks to a helpful benefactor, I'm up to 130 and made a handful of small seaforium charges. I even got to open a locked box the other day with one, which was very exciting.

Rotaan: The gaseous dwarf is up to level 32 after a lot of play time this weekend. I still haven't taken him tanking yet, which I really need to do. I'm simultaneously nervous and excited about the possibility of tanking. Gnomer and RFK are beckoning me, though, to plumb their depths...

Over the course of the weekend, I outpaced Rotaan's crafting skills. Until now, I've been able to make gear that's too good for his level, but not anymore. I'm stuck making the green iron armor for a little while longer. Oh well. It's a nice set. I can also now mine mithril, which is pretty exciting. Whenever I read the word, I hear Gimli's voice in my ears. Haha. I'm such a dork.

Rotag: The last toon I spent some time with this weekend is Rotag, my Draenei pally tank. Well, will be tank, one day. After realizing how much fun engineering is with Waradwenne, I decided that it would be a good skill for him to have. Rotaan can feed him some armor and weapons, and Rotag can keep his eyes locked on those beautiful tanking goggles (which will probably be obsolete by the time he gets there, but who cares?

pretty purple pox pictures

I'm too far behind in posting to give you all full recaps, I fear, but here are some pictures from our last few weeks of adventures. I hope you enjoy them!

From the first time we poked our heads into the Scarlet Monestary a few weeks back: Look! The mobs are red! Well, orangish-red, at least...

Good ol' Azshir the Sleepless. I think I'll have that necklace, thank you very much.

Oh noes! A wipe!

Eat hot death, Ironspine! And we'll take that chestpiece while we're at it!

How do the Forsaken sleep in these things?

Running around the next week. How fierce is Harisan with that sword? Rawr!

Uh-oh. Resistance is futile!

I said...

Running off into the sunset.

Back to the Kraul for some guano.

Overwhelmed! Well, almost...

How cute is that felpuppy?

Window shopping. I don't think I'm wearing this outfit without the tabard!

Back into the Library. Eat it, Locksey!

Firedancer!

Doan!

Dead.

'dwenne and her pets. Aren't they cute?

How's this dress? Shexy, yes?

We hit that Library so hard it got fogged over!

Night, night!

alternative post

I can't believe how behind I am in posting. Well, not behind, as there aren't deadlines or schedules or what have you, other than self-imposed. Feh.

Waradwen: I've been playing a lot of my alts lately. I've done a little raiding with Wara in Karazhan, but not much else with him. Some dailies, I guess, and am pushing exalted with the Shattered Sun, so that's nice. I'm tired of the dailies and usually only do a few each day to support my modest raiding habits.

Waradwenne: Awesome fun with the Poxers, as usual. The past few weeks we have torn up the Scarlet Monestary Graveyard and done a bunch of running around, filling out class quests. I have lots of screenshots that I will someday get posted, but probably not before tomorrow's adventures. I have my felpuppy now and we're anxious to start pushing deeper into the Library. We got through half of the Library a few weeks ago but were pretty overpowered by the large groups of mobs post-Locksey. This week they're going down. Woo! And Arcanist Doan is going to drop his robes! Umm. That didn't sound right.

I've also swapped 'dwenne's professions around. She had been doing mining to make some money, but since I don't play her much other than on Pox Nights I never did much leveling. So I dropped mining and picked up engineering, which is pretty awesome. Not having a rogue (or other engineer) we've been passing all of the locked chests, and I'm looking forward to my first seaforium charge. Heheheheh. Plus, there's some really cool headgear coming up soon...

Rotaan: Most of my game time lately has been with Rotaan and I'm starting (starting) to get a feel for playing a warrior. I'm getting better about remembering which move to use when, etc., and am having a heck of a lot of fun with him. Rotaan's up to level 26 and I'm currently leveling him as an Arms warrior. I started with Fury but am having more success with a big, two-hand weapon, so Arms seems to fit better. I'm having some trouble figuring out just where to be leveling, as this is my first real Alliance character, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I spent a couple nights banging my head against the Wetlands before discovering Redridge Mountains which was so much more appropriate for my skills. I'm back to Wetlands now and am starting to plot where to go next...maybe somewhere on Kalimdor? That'd be fun to see as an Alliance toon.

I'm also looking forward to (but am very nervous about) tanking my first instance with Rotaan. I ran Deadmines with an overpowered guild group a few weeks ago (whence the Rolling Pin of Doom) but not as the tank. I think that's the next thing I really need to do. I just picked up a ton of Gnomer quests late last night, so maybe...no. That's probably not a best choice for first tanking experience. I never did the Deadmines quests, so I should probably go back and pick those up. Easy XP, baby.

Miscellany: Sidhe Devils are awesome. I had one of the most fun evenings just farting around on Friday night thanks to my awesome new guildies, as well as an older friendship that I'm getting to develop more lately. Oh, and the tastiness of a few Honey Moon Summer Ales. (Not my favorite beer ever, but certainly decent and enjoyable.)

OPP: the second P is for Purple Poxers

The missing P is a typo.

Another week, another dungeon down. Last night the Purple Poxers tore up Razorfang Kraul, making us an undefeated 5-0 against dungeons this season. As is becoming usual, we had no deaths. We did, however, break a sweat at one point when we aggroed an entire room of level 26 and 27 elites, but even they couldn't bring us down (although Daxe ran out of mana towards the very end). Let's see some of the highlights!

Here we are, about to take out the first boss of the instance, Aggem Thorncurse.

And here he is, 30 seconds later, dead.

Next? Why it's boss number 2, Death Speaker Jargba. It's hard to tell in this picture, but I'm dancing on his corpse, to avenge the bullying he and his thugs used to do to poor Cait.

Another boss...

This was just after killing the giant pig boss. Somebody skinned him before I could grab the picture, but you can see the hole where he used to be.

Oh! Look who makes an appearance! The Blind Hunter!

You should've stayed home, man.

And the last boss, about to go down.

Here's the most frustrating part of this instance. Although we were clearing it handily, we were still too low a level to do some of the quests! Srsly!

Ah, our most difficult fight. See all of the mobs in this room? We're about to be attacked by them all. (Plus, isn't that a nice shot of Daxe's rear? Meow!)

Of course, we survived. Them? Not so much.

After tearing through the escort quest and discovering that the tuber collection quest was bugged (it wouldn't let any of us open the tubers! Maybe we were too low a level, eh?), we decided to try to get Harisan the nice helm that the second boss drops. No luck the second kill, but on the third? Jackpot!

Time to hearth and do some training!

See you guys next week, when we start reclaiming Gnomeregan from the troggs!