Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Ctrl Alt WoW Episode 170 - Don't Worry, Be Happy - Says Mo

Ctrl Alt WoW Episode 170 - Insert Clever Title Here


Aprillian, Ashayo, Virshna and Jeppy discuss another week of playing World of Warcraft, Blizzard's great MMORPG. Contest Ongoing send an email to ctrlaltwow@gmail.com telling us how you play WoW, either as an altaholic or dealing with it in your family life to being placed in a drawing for a month free of WoW or a $10 iTunes Gift Card or an Authenticator, they are back in the store.



What We've Been Doing:

Aprillian
I rolled a gnome!
Thank you to Matt at Outlandish Podcast which can be found at http://www.outlandishpodcast.com/. They do a great job on Parodies based on World of Warcraft. Their entire library of parodies can be found at:
http://www.outlandishpodcast.com/parodies.html

I love my Dranei Pally:


http://aprillianer.blogspot.com/2010/06/culling-culling.html
Aprillian & Vrishna
Deadmines!

Housework vs Running toons through DM
Vrishna


Ashayo

Raiding
=====
Crazy Train - Marrowgar, Deathwhisper, Rotting Frost Giant, Gunship, Saurfang (won off-spec chest), Festergut, Rotface.
Dreamwalker - 4 healers, not enough dps ; switching it up to 3 healers. Getting to about 90%


DwP - Working on Lich King, but the gods keep putting road blocks in our way.

Heroics
======

Outland heroics - Ramparts, Blood Furnace, Shattered Halls, Old Hillsbrad
Need to get more rep to buy heroic keys

Pud - HoR - Temp healing , wipe on last wave. Got it done, but healer offhand didn't drop :(

Ran Oculus Heroic on Asheal with Molly's hunter and got the speed achievement. No drake though.

Misc
====

Jekle hit revered with Kirin Tor - just from JC dailies. He's bought all thc JC patterns anyone ever wants, and still has over 120 tokens. Should've converted to dragon's eye and sold before the price dropped.

VoA 25 pug on Asheal - no lootz

Pants on Head - Tempest Keep. Had to pug in a few extras to get the last boss down. Kael'thas Sunstrider last phase was a bugger with 12 - lots of mind control and fear and stun - and we were too proud to use the weapons with special abilities

Ran Molly thru SFK on her little pally.


Gear
====
Pudendal - After thinking last week it'd be ages before I had enough Frost Emblems - T10 shoulders
Pudendal - Bought 5 primordial saronite and had tanking boots made. Down to 800g on ah, can probably buy cheaper direct




Jeppy
Rocket Man!
Emails
Jede where are you?
Email #1

My name is Garygygax (Ally side -Nagrand) and I'm an Altaholic.

This is where you say "Hi Gary".

...Anyway. Hey Ctrl-Alt-WoW Crew,

Love the podcast.

How I WoW. Well I've been playing WoW on and off since Vanilla. But my first end game toons have been in Wrath (never been able to grind the distance before - lol.)

I love raiding but I don't get the time to do it much because my wife, who has played in the past but is not playing now, wants to spend time with me in the evenings... go figure right? As a result I end up pugging most of my raids and they tend to go even better than most RDF groups! (no they don't, they go much worse) (much much much worse /palm).

So I've been hatching a nefarious plan to woo my wife back to wow. This has led me to RAF, not to mention that badass rocket. I have a few questions about it I was hoping you could answer in your infinite multi-boxing RAF blitzing wisdom.

Here's the setup. My wife's old account is languishing somewhere deep in Blizzs' data banks unpaid for. She has some old toons there and so do I. So I was thinking maybe I'll transfer some to my current account, then she can have a dabble with her old toons and might get the taste for it again. So I'm reading up on account transfers and I see that toons can only be transferred between accounts held by the same person, not even between family members. So this means that I will not be able to transfer these old toons to my current account, the old account being under my wife's name. Ok then to plan B, (unless I've missed something?)

This brings me to RAF. So reading up on RAF it seems you have to use a different email address from your main account, otherwise it's not so much Recruit-a-Friend as "Recruit-a-multiboxer" or "Yeah-I'll-buy-yer-damn-game-again-now-gimmie-that-rocket."

Soooo if I've got it right. I need to pretend to be someone else in order to make a RAF account? How does that work? I just make a dummy email addy? Seems a little OTT. I'm still gonna end up using my real credit card. Also if I do it this way and I want to transfer toons to my account at a later time I'll be in the same predicament again? So is it as simple as; you can't have it both ways?

Sorry for the long rambling question and the noobinoobishness of not knowing such things and thanks in advance.

May all your hits be crits

Garygygax 80 hunter
Funshinebear 80 disco priest
and my plethora of alts on Nagrand Oceanic and other servers


PS. Why is every good podcaster, except Jeppy, Horde Side?


Email #A from Mattdiox

Oh How Forsaken

Holy Eggplant parmigiana it's Mattdiox again!

It's Walk Alone Gaming XD How hard is that? Well it is a pretty odd name.
Anyway, thanks for the strange plug.
We update once a month but talk very little about WoW. Mostly just mentioning it and making fun of it.
We still would love to have any of you guys on the show so let us know.
Thanks for the tips.

I also have another question for you all.
Which is more important for a discipline priest: Spell power or intellect?

Lot's of love and potatoes Mattdiox.
(I am still willing to send you a potato)


Email #B from Ma Kee Ling

hey ctrlaltwow crew, makiling here

i just listened to you last show and i'm glad jeppy is back and feeling better.

i cant help but notice that whenever aprillin and vrishna talk about leveling new toons, its always aprillian who has the heirloom items. what about vrishna and his toons?

my week in wow involved "new" raiding. earlier this week i got into a voa 25 pug on my mage, but was surprised to see that the leader wanted to push through with only 21 players. sure enough our dps was not enough to kill the frozen orbs, and the raid pretty much disintegrated after our first wipe. i was so frustrated and determined to just level my alliance toons.

my druid hit 58 yesterday, and i was finally able to quest in outland. but since i specced her feral tank, and had no money for dual spec i was killing orcs in hellfire as a bear. it was so frustratingly slow, and the novelty of seeing the inside of the alliance town and the equivalent quests wasnt enough to keep me interested in questing, so i decided to just queue for randoms. but i found out that at this level, fewer people are doing randoms, and in my impatience i decided to log back into my mage to do some rep grinding with the ogrila.

but as i was logging into dalaran, i saw someone looking for dps for an AQ40 run. i have not done that achievement, so i joined in and saw that the group was composed of around 25 people. we went down to silithus and into the raid instance, and we pretty much plowed through the bosses. i was able to get the green battle tank, and although the red one dropped, i didnt win that roll. cthun was a surprisingly quick encounter, but i can just imagine how hard he must have been, back in the day.

when i got back to org, someone was looking for a healer for the weekly, which was malygos in our server, so i logged into my priest. i was looking forward to this raid for my priest because he was the only boss left for her to do to get the "Champion of the Frozen Wastes" title. we had a few "kingslayer noobs" in our pug, but the raid leader was patient enough to teach the encounter. we wiped once in phase 3, but they made me solo heal that phase in our second try to have more dps, and we got the boss down! i was abl eto get the title, the frosties for the weekly, and my own key to the focusing iris after turning in the quest in wyrmrest temple.

i was really satisfied with that run, but as i was turning in the quest in dalaran, my guildies started looking for players for an ulduar 10 hard mode run. i got in as a healer, not knowing how the hard modes worked, but i was in there with another player in icc 25 gear who hadn't even been to ulduar. i knew the raid leader was going to be patient with him, and true enough we got not 1, not 2, but 6 bosses and their hardmodes in less than 2 hours! it was really awesome! granted, they were wearing mostly icc 10 and 25 gear, but i can now see how it is possible to do drake runs with a really skilled group augmented with the really powerful gear. i had to quit at freya because i was falling asleep at my keyboard, but went to sleep with the really awesome raid runs in my mind.

the raids were so awesome, it got me to the point where i was more into raiding than leveling. i know i might not be able to do this again anytime soon, but i'm just glad the game gives me these options for fun.

thats it from me for now, for the raids!

twitter.com/makiling_mage


Email #2 from Xandarr

Hello everyone!

I have to say that getting back to where I have long drives and am able to listen to podcasts again is a great blessing! You are in my rotation and get played almost first every time. I used to listen all the time, as you may recall, and even had a small appearance on one of your podcasts (Episode 111) when Glanthur was around. I will have to say I do like the new line-up with Virshna and Jeppy. Although now you all say "For The Horde" in your sign off and that is a dirty rotten shame.

I had a quick question about your email contest and the possibility of winning the 1 month of WoW. Can that gift also be used for realm transfers? I might try to keep emailing y'all until I get 2 months of WoW and do a RaF of my own. It will be hard to justify keeping it after that 2 months but at least I would get the rocket, right?

It has been a while since I have written and would like to give "MO" a run for his money on the MO-MO-Moments! Shall we consider "X Marks the Spot?" I am really getting into the ALT scene with several alts building up.

Xandarr lvl 80 Prot Pally Crushridge-US ALLIANCE
Gobber lvl 20 Fury/Arms Warr Crushridge-US ALLIANCE
Xxandar lvl 23 Shad Priest Crushridge-US ALLIANCE
Xanddar lvl 21 Assn Rogue Crushridge-US ALLIANCE
Niightshade lvl 25 Marks Hunter Crushridge-US ALLIANCE

(Shall remain anonymous) DK ALLIANCE

Nvmahpnus lvl 11 BM Hunter (PoH Member) Jubei'Thos-OC HORDE

I can hear Aprillian now... "one of us... one of us..." Yes, it has been fun to level up some toons in the hopes of having some more flexibility with my play time and possibly even seeing inside a raid past boss #1! *GASP*

The level 80 I do have seems to have the right 'gear score' to get invited to raids, but it seems that no one wants me. Either I am not getting the right timing or I just have really bad luck. I keep trying though and run the random dungeon to get my 'frosties' and then hang around in Raid Queue to try and get a nibble and if after a while I don't get a nibble then it is on to one of my alts to run through their blue XP. Besides doing a RaF, any tips on going through XP and leveling quickly? I usually run quests with the Random Dungeon Finder queue running constantly. HOORAY BLIZZARD on a well done addition to the game. (Now if only the Raid system was that effective)

Well I hope that every week I can drop you all a line and let you know how the leveling is coming with my own "X Marks The Spot" feature. Until next time, love your show...

FOR THE ALLIANCE!!!
--
Xandarr
http://twitter.com/Xandarr2112
http://theexperiencednoob.blogspot.com/



Email #C from Acaldraa

Hey Ctrl Alt Wow crew,
Acaldraa here with an achievement and a few shout-outs. This week has been a short one for me with exam prep and all but I did manage to get into ICC 10 and snag 2 upgrade, 1 BOE set of legs and and achv! I finally got my Exalted for the Ashen Verdict and picked up my shinny new ring. So make that 3 upgrades! In other news, last nights Craft Fair was pretty epic and loads of fun! A big shout out to Shojobeat and Mkallah for the help in getting me the mats for 450 JC for my main. Also, massive shout-out to Tetsemi for giving me ALL the mats for 1-375 enchanting on my DK alt. Thanks a lot guys if you're listening!
Also, this week I have been thinking about starting a Youtube channel with instructional videos.
Exams starting tomorrow so pretty nervous about that but will be all done by noon on the 9th...


Wish me luck!

Acaldraa of the Ashen Verdict
Blood Elf Paladin of Alea Iacta Est

PS- Thank you..... Aprillian! Thanks so much for the whelp! I am selling it :P The gold before the expansion is something I am way into! Next time we run, I am paying for your repairs and consumables! I defiantly owe you one! Thanks again! Also, didn't mean to drop abruptly but I gots studying to do! One more final left!



Email # D

Hello Ctrl Alt Wow


First of all I want to address the defender of names Vrishna. My name is spelled P-u-m-l (that's a small L pronounced like pummel). No problems Ctrl Alt Wow its an easy mistake with Gmail fonts. The mispronouncing of my name just added to the Hilarity of the podcast. Episode 169 kept me laughing so much, I missed a time commitment at my job. This resulted in me receiving a disciplinary action. I'm not worried about it because your show keeps entertained when I'm out on the street. Thank you for reading my email and including me into the show. I had no intention on entering the contest. I was surprise when I was picked as the winner. I would like to choose the pet as my prize. I was just happy that I can contribute to the show. Just one question in closing. When Ashayo was suggesting that i choose a bowl of bananas for my prize, would that be a fresh of bowl bananas or Apprillian's bowl of bananas. Thanks again Aprillian , Ashayo, El Jeppy and Vrishna for putting on a great show.



PUML lvl 69 Paladin AIE- Earthen Ring


Email #3 from Marlox

What's up Aprillian, Vrishna, Ashayo and El Jeppy,

Let me start off by saying that I love the show. I listen to a number of different WoW podcasts and stumbled onto yours about a month ago. It quickly jumped to the top of my queue because of your awesome personalities, the fun and interesting content, and the chunk it takes out of my days at work. =) Keep up the awesome podcasts!

With that out of the way, I think I need some advice / motivation. I've been playing WoW off and on for a little over a year now. I got into it last Spring with the encouragement of my friends and cousin. I gave it a shot and loved it. I started leveling a blood elf pally and stuck with him through the early summer, leveling him up to 42. It was at that point that I got bored with the class. I decided to re-roll a undead priest. Again, I was excited to start leveling a new class. The same thing happened, however, and I got bored with the class at level 46. When fall rolled around, school started back up and I didn't have as much time to play. I messed around with a hunter and a rogue. I got the hunter to 26 and the rogue to 45 before I got bored of each. In the winter I took up a druid. Guess what happened...lost interest at level 40. Recently, I RAFed with my cousin (I rolled a warrior), figuring it would speed up the leveling and allow me to keep interest. Well we got to 52, and then he decided to transfer his main to the realm we were playing on. Problem was, the character he transferred had the same name as the one he was RAFing with me. He decided to delete lowbie to transfer his main, figuring I could handle the remaining 8 levels on my own (he did ask before he did this and I said it was okay because I honestly believed I could handle it on my own). Well, 2 levels later, I don't have much desire to keep playing the warrior. I'm now working on warlock, currently level 14.

So I guess my question is...what is wrong with me? Do I have commitment issues? Is it normal for people to get bored in the 40s and 50s, but is just something that everyone else except me can seem to just suck up and get through? Have I just not found the right class for me yet? I love watching videos of high level toons in instances and PVP with all their sweet gear and sincerely want to have an awesome 80 of my own, but I just can't seem to get there. So what do you think I should do, oh mighty CtrlAltWow gods? Help a brother out, please!

For the Horde...well til level 54 at least,
Marlox

US-Terokkar

PS - If one of you is going to buy a new account and think you're up to the challenge of RAFing / motivating me to 80, I wouldn't be opposed. =)

Email #4 from Daya

Dear April,

Thank you for the charming podcast. Heard your talk about how one of your accounts was hacked. It is a certainty that a bot was used, standard MO for gold farmers. I mean who the else visits Azshara? Blizzard will probably ban the account in a sweep so I suggest keeping a careful transcript of your conversations with them about the status of the account and your suspicions if you want to keep it. Hell if you want the account I would suggest offering the gold back to them and have a GM take it away from you. Sorry this is hard to swallow!

On an entirely different subject

May I suggest another pleasure for you or your listeners. One you may have just have dismissed with a cold shudder down the spine. With one of your 80's, try a little pvp and when and if you enjoy it try some arena. I tried it recently with some trepidation. With the ranking system you start with a high rating and get beaten down to your level (assuming you are anything like me) and you then start to play opponents of your level. So kicking taken, you find your own grade of people to play against. As you now match them you start to win and lose battles on a more consistent basis, and not just die horribly every time. This is the beauty of the of the ladder system. Whilst I would love a 1500 rating it's not going to happen but hell, I enjoy playing at my level and can accept the game for what it is. It also gives me an appreciation of the skill needed to get even a modest rating.

Arena is fun even if you are not an awesome pvper. Warcraft offers many different ways to play - it is worth exploring all of them.

All the best,

Daya of EU Doomhammer, Heal/DPS switcher for the Eternal Phoenix guild.
Healer for 'Not That Good' 2v2 Arena Team with the Orphee the warrior.

Email #E from Bidcar

Greetings CtrlAltWow crew,

Bidkar, mage etc. here.

I finished up my Alliance druid/priest duo. Both are 60 and waiting for attention after my RAF runs out. I started up a warlock/warlock alliance duo, and a hunter/hunter alliance duo. I was just curious how they would play. I'm planning on taking them to 30 or so, then use my "grant-a-level" ability to take a warlock and hunter to 60.

I also started a mage/priest horde duo on a pvp server. I hate pvp but yet I miss pvp. The perils of starting on a pvp server initially I reckon. You hate it, yet you love it. The pve servers seem to lack the randomness that pvp servers bring.

I have also reconciled the selling of the mount in my mind. I rationalized it out Blizzard is a god in the game and what they say goes. Period. I still won't buy one, not because I disagree with them any longer, but because I only like things I can actually earn in-game. I did not pick up the free robot last summer for the same reason. That's just me, I don't begrudge others their fun.

I am still leary of and looking forward to the changes that are coming, to that I will freely admit to. I don't really care for Wrath anymore, that's why I have retreated into the Old World and Outland. Wrath was fun the first time through, okay the second time through, third time through I was bored to death. My toons stop at 70 now and level on cooking and fishing dailies. I think if I stay away for awhile, it will be okay again. I just hope that Blizzard doesn't think they hit perfection with Wrath and continue on with tons of vehicle quests and awkward mechanics in Cataclysm. I am still planning on buying the expansion. I don't mean to sound negative, I am just very apprehensive.

For the Horde and the Alliance listeners and hosts!

Bidkar and his many alts

Shout Outs & Thank You
Mo Mo Moments

Hello all,
hope everyone has had a fine week in and out of game.

I am writing this email on a Tuesday, at work (dont tell anyone ok :) and it is not just any Tuesday. It is maintenance day of course and for the main server I am on, feathermoon, we were informed by blizzard that the server will be down for the entire day pretty much! (play dramatic music here)
What am I to do?!
Where should I go?!
Should I call the emergency services!?
Blizzard really needs to have a hotline for these scenarios.

I am hoping some of the other servers will be up by the time I am home from working out after work but it is still a major concern.

Are you on a server which will be down for the entire day?

For my wow news the past week, well it is still minimal I am sorry to say. I was in some raids and our ICC25 was a fail again as this time the pug players were fail and were not understanding the mechanics but hopefully they learned. (it was so bad that we did not down any boss! :( )

On additional sad news, I have not been able to do much RAF!!! (more dramatic music) I am so sorry for be debbiedowner or modowner but it was a quiet week for wow for me.

Part of the reason was the raids that just took up so much time from me on some days which lead me to play Civilization.
I love that game, I can play that game for hours, days, years and not get tired of it.

Oh but wait, on more sad news, we had a few guildies basically taking a wow break because of real life reasons. Our guild Icc10 progression group is now in an unknown state. I also told my guild that I will be logging on later each day as I will be attempting to workout.

So before I really depress all of you, I will conclude this email and will do my best to send a cheery one next week.
Thank you as always and listening to you all talk and read everyones emails is truly one of the highlights of my week and I do appreciate all of you.
Thank you and FOR the be happy dont worry!



--
Mo

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