It Came from the Blog is now recruiting. We are a fun guild that is looking for casual members. We are always happy to help... when we're not on our mains on our regular servers. If you are interested, PST.
I always feel bad for the guilds who are so hungry for members, they will invite anyone who sends them a tell. Yet, here I am making the same offer. If you are interested in hanging out on Zangarmarsh (U.S.) with WoW Insider writers, participating in monthly events and wearing a prize-winning tabard, then you are cordially invited to join us in the Horde guild: It Came from the Blog.
Some of us will be on from time to time, but if you want to be assured of a guild invite, please join us this weekend (Edited for accuracy):
When: 3pm PDT, Saturday, April 19th
Where: Zangarmarsh (U.S.)
Faction: Horde
How: Send Robiness a tell for invites
Check out the good times we had last year. While we have even more fun planned for our re-emergence, we would love to hear your suggestions and requests. Leave them in the comments here or email them to me at Robin.Torres AT weblogsinc DOT com. I hope to see you Saturday!
I'm currently working through Zangarmarsh on my Hunter, and this weekend I spent a lot of time grinding two completely different kinds of mobs. The Withered Bog Lords in northern Zangarmarsh were cake for my Hunter -- they weren't exactly gentle with my pet, but he was able to eat the damage, and I could have grinded right away on them all day. At the exact opposite end of the grinding scale, however, were those stupid Umbrafen Eels -- not only were they under water (always annoying), but they've got this on-hit electrical damage thing that just drove me nuts. I stayed to play with the Bog Lords for a long time, racking up the XP, but as soon as I was done with the Eels, I got out of the water and stayed out.
Fighting these two back to back got me thinking: what's the easiest/hardest mob to grind on? Some mobs (like the tigers in Stranglethorn or the bears/spiders in Ashenvale) are super easy to grind -- they have no special abilities, they're spaced out, and they go down fast. But others -- most gnolls, in my experience, and lots of casters -- are just annoying as all get out; they run around, pull others, heal up when they're almost dead, and give you lots of headaches while taking them down. Those are the mobs you don't sit around and grind on -- they're the ones you avoid completely after you've done whatever quest requires you to kill them.
What are your favorite or least favorite mobs to just grind on in the game?
Last week, Insider Trader began the journey from 300 to 375 jewelcrafting skill. While we were able to avoid using recipes that required faction reputation or that had to be farmed, the cheapest methods to 375 from about 365 may require a bit more effort to obtain.
If you are like so many other craftsmen, stuck with 375 seeming far away and expensive, then carry on through the break to examine ways to not only maximize your skills, but to attempt to make a profit while doing so, rather than running on a loss.
Featuring several distinct ways to reach 375, you will find that you have many choices to suit your own needs, your guild's needs, and your server's market. In addition, I've put together some links for further reading that you should find helpful.
Each week, Insider Trader takes you behind the scenes of the bustling sub-culture of professional craftsmen, examining the profitable, the tragically lacking, and the methods behind the madness. For more guides to maximizing your chosen profession, check out the final stretches for Leatherworkers and Alchemists alike, as well as part one of Jewelcrafting's final stretch. For a complete list of profession guides, feel free to peruse our directory.
Player Cosmokramer of the Vanquish guild on Kul Tiras realm was slogging through the fens of Zangarmarsh when he spied this waterfall. Being a gnome, he knew it he had to take his opportunities to bathe where he could get them.
Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. This means you. I'm not kidding, yours is not the exception. No, really. Sigh.
One of the first things I checked out on the PTR was the new fishing daily quests. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I actually enjoy fishing in WoW and have been increasingly interested in this quest ever since it came to my attention via the official forums. Now that the 2.4 test realm has been up for a few days, I've been able to do three of the new, randomly rotating quests which start from Old Man Barlo just outside of Shattrath City.
The first quest I discovered, and the one that I've seen the most so far, is called "Shrimpin' Ain't Easy". It requires you to fly to Zangarmarsh and fish up a few Bloated Barbed Gill Trout. You can catch these by fishing in any of the lakes in the zone. Once you reel one in, you can open it like any other package in the game to collect a few shrimp and gray items. One fish can hold multiple shrimp and this quest can be completed pretty quickly, assuming that you don't encounter any bugs. Currently, I often encounter a bug where I'm unable to catch any fish (aside from the special fishing pools, which don't yield the quest fish) in Zangarmarsh while on this quest. Abandoning and retaking it has fixed the problem every time so far.
What was going on in World of Warcraft this time last year? Back in the Day looks into the past of WoW Insider and brings back posts notable, controversial and sometimes humorous reflecting the state of the game one year ago this week.
For the week of January 20 - 26, 2007:
The Burning Crusade had gone live just the week before and the race to have the first level 60 Draenei and Blood Elf was on. In less than four days posts were flying across message boards to claim the title of being the first. This feat is either impressive or pathetic depending on your point of view. Either way, the thrill is gone since the pre-60 increased leveling rate introduced in Patch 2.3 made it easier than ever to level up a new toon in no time at all.
For the first, Draenei Priests felt it was unfair to be cut off from Gift of the Naaru due to their spec choice while priests of other races didn't think it was right for blueberries to get a heal in Shadowform when no one else did. Blizzard didn't back down on this and kept the ability disabled for Draenei Priests shifting into the dark side.
Last time, we went over Blizzard's initial attempts at implementing outdoor PvP and found that while the implementation of World PvP objectives in the Eastern Plaguelands and Silithus were teh suck far from stellar, they provided key learnings upon which future zones were built. The battle rages on in The Burning Crusade where four out of the seven zones in Outlands have World PvP objectives. Some work better than others, having quests that lead players to the objectives, while some are just plain confusing.
Similar to the World PvP objectives in Azeroth, all four provide zone-wide buffs for your faction when completed. The buffs in all the zones provide an unimaginative 5% increase to damage, with the exception of the Blessing of Auchindoun, which also adds a 5% increase to experience gain and allows Spirit Shards to drop from Auchindoun instance bosses. The World PvP in Outlands are situated in the hearts of the zones, almost central to the maps, making each objective harder to ignore. As the world beckons for war, let's examine what each specific zone has to offer and how best to achieve each objective.
It's easy to grind through a zone, focusing purely on leveling up, and completely overlook some of the lovely scenery around you. This shot, sent in by reader aleluia from Bladefist (EU), shows off some of the local wildlife of Zangarmarsh. When's the last time you stopped to appreciate the brilliant colors of the local wildlife instead of just thinking about how many of them you needed to kill before you could level?
Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Saintstryfe sends in this shot showing off the boarder between Hellfire Peninsula and Zangarmarsh in Outland. On one side, the harsh, baked red soil of Hellfire -- on the other the lush blue/green landscape of Zangarmarsh. Outland must have some interesting weather patterns to cause such a drastic shift in the environment. Any Outland meteorologists care to explain this climate change for us? (Global warming?)
Do you have any incredible scenery just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Lalunas from Bronze Dragonflight (EU) sends in this shot taken from the end of the Underbog instance (in Coilfang Reservoir in Zangarmarsh). Lalunas tells us, "I really haven´t explored that instance until now recently, and I have to admit that this is probably my favourite looking instance." I can't say I agree -- but that could just be because I'm haunted by a recent attempt at Heroic Underbog with am off-spec tank. What do you think, dear readers? Is Underbog the best scenery there is to be found?
Do you have any incredible scenery just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Reader Lak from Cho'Gall writes in with an important question: where do you leave your Flying Machine when you go AFK? Inns in most civilized parts of the world provide watering troughs for your mounts and a place to safely tie them so they don't run off while you're inside resting (or, come on, we all know it, over-indulging in the Egg Nog.) But what do you do with your shiny new Flying Machine? Are you expected to leave it out in the open, exposed to the elements? The horror!
Do you have any puzzling in-game moments you'd like to share with the rest of us? Because we'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
If you venture to the western edge of Zangarmarsh, on the far side of Marshlight Lake, you'll encounter this unusual monument. A portal, not so unlike the Dark Portal we entered the world through -- though this other portal is clearly in some state of disrepair. WoWwiki informs us that this is one of the dimensional gateways Magtheridon used to summon demons from the Twisting Nether, at least until Illidan shut down the gateway. Thanks to Hunterbert of Chou Hadra on Alonsus for sharing this snippet of history with us!
Do you have a screenshot that captures a moment in Azerothinan (or Outlandian) history? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!
Normally I flee screaming at the sight of Murlocs in a group. After all, if you see one, you know there must be two or three more hiding nearby, waiting to pounce on you if you approach. By this logic, if you see three Murlocs in plain sight, there must be an additional six to nine hiding in the bushes -- more than enough to overwhelm the most powerful of players. But these guys are so cute! How could you possibly run from them? Kyuketsuki of Malygos, who sent this shot in, was apparently one of the lucky ones who managed to attend BlizzCon 07 and BlizzCon 05, as evidenced by the Murloc suit and the Murky pet. The other two critters? They're part of a devious quest chain in Zabra'jin, Zangarmarsh, which aims to introduce Murlocs to the currently Murloc-free Outland.
Taken a screenshot that highlights the ordinary in an extraordinary way? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!
Reader Petre of Cenarius sends us this shot of a flight over Zangarmarsh. Sure, people fly across Zangarmash all the time -- across the realms, there's never a time when the Zangarmarsh sky is completely devoid of travelers. So what makes this shot special? The rider being in Shadowform, combined with the particular angle of the sun, makes for a very cool effect. (As usual -- everything in the game looks better in Shadowform.)
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world!
Reader Pete sends us this screenshot take in flight between Zangarmarsh and Nagrand. I honestly have to wonder if Pete's tweaked the colors on this image a bit, because the color scheme is very washed out -- reminiscent of neither Nagrand or Zangarmarsh. The particular angle of the sun, maybe?
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world!
I'm currently working through Zangarmarsh on my Hunter, and this weekend I spent a lot of time grinding two completely different kinds of mobs. The
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