Teech from Cenarion Circle penned a brief note on the forums today about the utter agony of farming Timbermaw Hold reputation at level 70. It seems like a lot of people are revisiting this particular rep grind in the interest of obtaining "The Diplomat" title and Achievement in Wrath, for which you need to be Exalted with Sporereggar, the Timbermaw, and the Mag'har/Kurenai. I'm giving some thought to doing it myself because I've already gotten to exalted with Sporereggar and the Mag'har on my main, but Timbermaw is...something else entirely. As a matter of fact, Timbermaw makes no sense. I can understand getting a Diplomat title for being an Alliance or Horde liasion to the embattled peoples of Outland no matter how bad their sense of tabard design, but someone's going to have to explain to me how committing genocide on behalf of a pissed-off subgroup of bears in loincloths does anything to advance the cause of diplomacy in Azeroth.

Why are we so willing to believe the story being peddled by the first furbolg we see in Felwood? For all we know there's nothing wrong with the other furbolg tribes that some micro-lending couldn't cure. And let's face, it, there are other factions in the game for whom both the Alliance and Horde would be much better served by maintaining close diplomatic ties. Take the Consortium, for example. They ask you to lay waste to their colleagues all the time, but at least everyone concerned makes a buck off of it. What do the Timbermaw have to offer but a tunnel that you can fly over? Isn't the national interest of the Horde or Alliance better served by pursuing ties to factions with lots of money or weapons, or at least a massive grudge against things we already hate, rather than involving ourselves in some pointless internecine spat among NPC's whose death animation makes me squirm?

Yeah, I might just be mad I have to kill so many of them. I'll grant that the dubious honor of most legendarily awful rep grind of all time still seems to belong to the Wintersaber Trainers (although the Cenarion Circle is also getting a lot of grief in the thread), but at least the Trainers' rep isn't linked to an amusingly ironic new title. Now if you'll pardon me, I have to go slaughter another several dozen bear men in the interests of social justice for...I'm not sure. Other bears who claim it's the right thing to do. But I get something out of it anyhow, and that makes me an ambassadorial hero.

Though everyone talks about it a lot, raiding or even grouping isn't the only way to achieve something in the World of Warcraft. There's something for everyone.

While I do raid, there's a lot of solo content that I really feel proud of completing. At the top of my list is mastering the Shartuul's Transporter event. For quite awhile it would just stomp me into the ground, until one day I found my groove and was able to get through to the end. It took a handful of the Charged Crystal Focuses(foci?) for the 'special' abilities, but I did it. From there, I did the event as often as I could, until I could get through it without using any Foci. Now? Easy as pie. The event is basically free potions and potential epics for me now. Assuming it doesn't bug out. Spawn, you stupid eyeball! Spawn!

I've also been working on rep for a Wintersaber, but even after the buffs to reputation gains on that grind, I have a hard time staying interested. I've been doing it in little bit and pieces, and I really look forward to when I finally get a pink kitty.

So I'm curious, what are your solo accomplishments? That little(or big) thing you met head on and mastered on your own?

The folks over at Ten Ton Hammer have released a reputation guide focusing on getting yourself a Wintersaber. While this is nothing new to the game, I was thinking about all those new players that have joined the fold in recent years. Perhaps you haven't gotten a chance to experience some of the older rep grinds. For those of us who have been playing for a while and are fond of prestige mounts, you might remember the Wintersaber fondly. Good news is that the reputation with Wintersaber Riders is being revamped on Tuesday, so it will be easier to try your hand at getting yourself a big white (or are they purple?) kitty.

At its essence the Wintersaber is another Alliance epic mount, attainable as a faction reward from doing quests for the Wintersaber Riders in Winterspring. Yes, people actually used to go to Winterspring for something other than Mountain Silversage and the Midsummer Fire Festival. The Ten Ton guide gives you nice simple tips for how to get to exalted so that you too can ride the winter(saber.)

I've never cared for grinding, myself. I just can't do it. I'm easily distracted and I quickly get bored of repetitive tasks. (Don't ask me how I ever managed to kill enough Furbolg to pick up that +15 agiity enchant from the Timbermaw way back when -- I'm really not sure how I managed to kill that many of the same creature in a row without starting to tear out my hair.) However, some people relish in the grinding game, like our own BigRedKitty's friend TJ. BRK seems to have an ongoing challenge with TJ to complete some of the toughest grinds in the game. After conquoring the firefly pet they've moved on to the Wintersaber mount. I've got to say -- I tried that grind for about a day before moving on with my life. However, I have no doubt that TJ will rise to the challenge, because after picking up that firefly, this is nuthin'. What about all of you? Are you grinders who would find these challenges no problem -- or more like me, who wouldn't last seconds?