Back to Legion after Battle for Azeroth

Opening one of the "Leylines" in Suramar

I said I might want to go back and get flying in World of Warcraft (WoW) Legion, and I've now done that, but it opened up so much more that I now want to see.  Legion has gone from one of my worst experiences during the expansion to a great after expansion experience.

I said that typically I've been buying expansions well after release but when I look back, it seems that wasn't true for Legion.  I honestly don't remember anything in this paragraph but through this blog (yeah!), Blizzard transaction history and Amazon order history I could put it together.  During 2015 and 2016 I had enough gold to buy tokens and so that was how I played WoW.  Amazon at the time was offering $10 off prepurchased games, so that was how I bought Legion at release.  The funny thing is that if I waited, I am sure I would have enjoyed my time much more.

So I spent a crazy amount of time in Suramar and, looking back at my posts (hurray again!), I enjoyed the quests more than I remembered.  I mainly remember the irritating 'Masquerade' mechanic that turned everyone into an elf and made you watch for people with circles over their heads (the way they indicated people who could see that you were stealthed).  In order to complete the quest chain you had to be exalted with Suramar so I spent a lot of time getting that done.  Making it even longer, the only place you could teleport to was on the edge of the city and you had to get to where you need to be, avoiding being 'revealed' and down to another level before you could even start the quests.  It's so much easy now with being over-powered, with flying, and even with a convenient portal right in the center of the city (more on that in another post).

So at that point, after being unhappy that dungeons were required I get to pretty much the end of the quest chain and it requires a raid.  At that point I quit.  I'm sure the raid would have been quick, but it was not something I wanted to do so I did other things (for three years!).

Now, when went back, I had a difficult time finding Shal'aran even though I spend so much time there (though that was 3.5 years ago and, as seat of insurrection, it is supposed to be hidden).  I saw the quest indicator so I traveled all around thinking it was outside and then finally went to the hub and it was right there.  I was a little concerned because it was a raid and travelled in and there was a red 'Shade of Xavios' right near the door.  I killed it in a few seconds and thought there must be more but went in and the item to get me past this 3.5 year roadblock was just a few steps away!  I think the whole thing took about a minute.

After that I had to get the 'Leylines' (picture above), a little tougher because I couldn't fly but it was pretty quick, and soon enough (just a few hours) I finished the Pathfinding Part 1 achievement that had taken me so long.

That seems to be a good stopping point, so I'll continue this in my next post.

Blapril post #12

More Battle for Azeroth Leveling

Kantro ready to finish his leveling at the Zuldazar camp

Recently, Blizzard announced that they will be extending the 100% bonus experience buff for World of Warcraft (WoW) until the Shadowlands expansion pre-patch.  They also announced on the same day that there will be a 100% bonus reputation buff for Battle for Azeroth (BfA) and Legion from April 21st until May 18th.  This matches nicely with my desire to finish the Legion flying achievement later in the month but puts less urgency (something I was already feeling) to level my characters.

That said I have made some progress in BfA.  I started with Kantro, my warrior, because he is a miner and can gather for two of the other characters (Kantra for jewelcrafting and Kantrina for Engineering).  I remembered starting in Drustvar with Kanter and decided to start there with him as well.  In two days I pretty much used up his rested experience bonus at level 116 and I decided to switch.  At that point I both switched to Kantra, my priest, and lost most of my momentum.  I spent another day later getting him to level 118 (when his rested experience ran out again) and then another completing the Drustvar quest line.  This got me almost to level 119.  

I had two other quests, one for the Tortollan Seekers and another for mining (Ritualistic Preparations) which gave me multiple nice short goals that could be completed together, one of my favorite things.  I was able to use flying to pick up some flight points in Stormsong Valley (where the Tortollan Seekers quest was located), mine anything I saw and turn in the Tortollan Seekers quest.  I flew him back to Boralus and complete the mining quest which advanced him to 119 along the way.  Generally if felt like a nice, pretty easy road and I'll take some time soon to do enough War campaign quests in Zuldazar to get him to 120 and open up the World Quests that I probably won't do unless it helps with crafting.

Kantra, in contrast, seemed much more of a struggle.  I think part of it was because she is a priest and even as a Shadow priest, she is much more likely to die.  While with Kanter, my hunter, and Kantro it was unusual for me to get overwhelmed, it seemed to happen much more often with Kantra.  Also, leveling in Tiragarde Sound only got her to a little over half way through 117, so it was a slower process.  I'd say some is fewer quests, but there are also multiple unrelated lines that require more travel and are more disjointed.

With my other characters, I leveled Kantrina to level 111 just so she could get the Mage portal and teleport spells.  She doesn't need them but I like them for completion and I'm likely to forget until I want them at some point.  Kantree, my Druid, is also at 111 and I'll probably level him last.  It'll be interesting to see how they go.  Leveling a Mage tends to be more like leveling a priest (though not as difficult) while leveling a druid is easier.  Kanter is just leveling Cooking and Alchemy when it's convenient, and completing easy Emissary quests for reputation.

I've definitely slowed but other than a little bit of frustration+ on Kantra, it has been fun and it seems worth another month of subscription.  I could try to earn gold so buy a token but I'd rather spend the subscription and not have to bother.

Speaking of slowing down, I've slowed down on posting as well.  I'll probably target two a week for the last three weeks which will gain me a silver award.  I'll be happy if I can keep making two posts a week, since that's a good long term goal for me (as long as I'm still playing).  Blapril is at it's half way point.  Thanks to everyone who is participating and motivating each other.

Blapril post #11

Life in Pandemia

Line to get in the local grocery store

Part of Blapril is a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic so I thought I'd share some of how it has impacted me.

Like many people, I am working from home and my children are home from school.  Besides one digestive issue with my autistic daughter, we have stayed healthy.  It is interesting how this impacts my thoughts about healthcare even though we have been directly impacted.  Besides being autistic my daughter has other issues which cause her to get dehydrated quickly.  When she got sick my wife and I were both considering when is the point that it is worth taking her in to the hospital, where they are overworked and where she might get exposed to COVID-19 or something else.  Fortunately, she was better the next day.

My whole family is a little stir-crazy.  It is difficult not being able to do what we normally do.  Work is difficult for me and I've spent more time on conference calls on my cell phone than I could have imagined.  That said, I'm employed, my employer is an 'essential' manufacturer and though some people have been furloughed due to lower demand, generally our company is ok.  Others are not nearly so fortunate.  I have been picking up meals more often than usually and more often from locally businesses to support them.  We even got our Easter meal that way and have been enjoying it for the last three days.  I have tried to let people at the stores know I am grateful that they are there to help us.

I hope you all stay healthy!  My thoughts and prayers go to Mr. Peril and his family and others impacted by this illness.  Stay home and keep yourself and others safe!

Blapril post #10

Getting to Know Kanter

Mercy

Happy Easter!  This is getting to know you week for Blapril so I thought I'd take a break from my World of Warcraft posts to say a little about myself.

I am 55 years old at the time of this post (2020), married, and have three daughters, ages 11, 15, and 17.  I guess I'm older than the average blogger, but there are certainly others in my age range.  I am a Christian.  My 17 daughter is profoundly autistic and, for the most part, non-verbal.  She is also a joy to be with and very affectionate with me and my wife.  I am always grateful for my family and they definitely shapes my life, including the gaming I do.

Sammy

While I'm reluctant to post pictures of my family, pet pictures are expected.  If you really want to see a picture of me, my twitter account (@kckoury) has a photo.  At the top is our border collie, Mercy.  She is a sweet dog, but doesn't act like a typical border collie.  She won't play fetch and mainly wants to be loved on.  We also have a cat, Sammy, pictured here with a crown my 11 year old made for him.  He is getting old (at least 17, but could be older) so he spends a lot of time sleeping.

I'll focus on how I spend my time now, in the pandemic, and my gaming life in my next two posts.

Blapril post #9

Darkmoon Faire

View from Darkmoon Faire Roller Coaster

I mentioned earlier that a guildmate helped me with a World of Warcraft (WoW) Legion dungeon that had an Engineering related quest for my mage.  During the quest I received two Darkmoon Faire drops and since Darkmoon Faire is this week I decided to travel to the faire to turn them in.

Since I hadn't been in years, I had to find the portal in Goldshire but a hawker showed me the way.  The Darkmoon faire quests rewarded 10 tickets each.  Most rewards were either 90 or 180 tickets so those will have to wait.  I did the profession quests that reward 5 levels for each of your professions after a pretty simple quest.  I also rode the roller coaster (see above) that provides a 10% experience and reputation buff.  Not a lot in addition the 100% experience buff but I thought I should at least try it.

I didn't bother with the other faire games.  I've also put off leveling Alchemy because I need to gather more herbs and I'd rather use the time with the experience buff leveling my characters.

Tomorrow starts 'Getting to Know You Week' in Blapril.  I'll use that as an opportunity to change topics.

Blapril post #8

MMO Motivation

Hunter's Lodge in World of Warcraft Legion

After leveling four characters through World of Warcraft (WoW) Legion, it shouldn't be too surprising that I've lost some of my motivation.  Yesterday I was tired and decided I didn't want to play WoW.  This evening, I got a level done but didn't feel like doing much more.  As I mentioned in my last post, I should be able to do different zones on all but one of the characters but I just went through Battle for Azeroth (BfA) not too long ago and I'm not nearly as motivated as I was when I had the different class quests to look forward to in Legion.

Different people have different motivations for playing MMOs and I can only speak to mine.  In terms of Bartle types, I am EASK.  PVP doesn't motivate me at all.  Exploration is my biggest motivation which is why seeing new things, like the new class areas in Legion are so motivating.   If there isn't anything new, it becomes difficult for me to stay motivated.  Sometimes I can be motivated by creating things (see my earlier Vial of the Sands post) but achievements, and social activities, though they help, are not usually enough to keep me going.  

After Burning Crusade I decided that if I was not going to have the time or be motivated through a full expansion, I might as well wait.  There is excitement it getting a game or expansion when it is first out.  I bought World of Warcraft at Gamestop on the first day when it went on sale (I think it was 10 pm).  However, I discovered I would always be behind and, although I raided in Vanilla and Burning Crusade, I didn't think I had time for it any more so being in the raiding end game with other players wasn't something I felt I could do.  I could wait, pay less, and not feel rushed to get through the new content.  I am still motivated by the excitement and the fear of missing out (FOMO) and I even feel it now with Animal Crossing, but I know it isn't a game that I'll stick with and I can't see paying $60 for something I won't play that much.

I am quite motivated by taking advantage of bonuses.  Right now I might be tempted to see if I could solo those dungeons that blocked me and seeing Argos, an area in Legion I missed.  I would also like to see the Demon Hunter starting quests even thought I don't particularly want to play one.  However, I know I am getting the bonus to experience until April 20th and I want to take full advantage of it.  I'm even more likely to not play at all than play Kanter who won't be getting that experience.  It may not make sense but human's don't always make sense.

Writing motivates me as well.  It is nice to be able to describe and understand how I'm playing and enjoying these games and hopefully others will be interested enough to read what I have to say.  This will probably last me through the end of April and Blapril, but I don't have any confidence it will last after that.


Blapril post #7

Back to Battle for Azeroth

Warrior in front of Boralus Inn

Yesterday my Druid got to level 110 in World of Warcraft (WoW) and is now ready to start Battle for Azeroth (BfA).  I have reached my objective of getting four of my alts through Legion:

• Kantra - Priest - Tailor, Jewelcrafter,
• Kantrina - Mage - Engineer, Enchanter,
• Kantro - Warrior - Miner, Blacksmith,
• Kantree - Druid - Skinner, Leatherworker.

I list their crafting trades because that is a significant motivation for me.  I hate to waste things and I'd rather be able to make them myself.  Kanter, my hunter, is an herbalist and alchemist.  I actually created Kantro because Kanter got the Broken Blade of the Heroes in Vanilla and I wanted someone who could craft and use it.  The only profession I don't have ready for BfA now is Inscription, but I've never had much use for it (I do have a level 80 Death Knight with Inscription, but I don't think I'll be leveling her any time soon).

That said, there isn't anything I really want to craft.  But, since I want to be able to craft and my Mage and Priest need a miner to be able to get ore for their professions, I decided to level my Warrior first.  

As I mentioned previously, I never got flying in Legion because of the Dungeon/Raid wall, but I have it in BfA and that is making leveling much easier.  Kantro is level 114 and still is rested for the remainder of the level.  I'm only about half way through Drustvar so I'll probably get to level 120 either within the one zone or just a little bit into a second zone.

So far, even though I've done these quests before, it's been a little while and it doesn't seem too repetitive.  With four characters and three zones, I shouldn't have to do too much duplication.  I might even level one more in Zandalar (the Horde BfA zone) for variety.

Blapril post #6