Ald Demo

I admit i like to play dress up in my MMO's.  What's the point of slaying those beasts and conquering evil if you don't look good doing it?  An MMO without a wardrobe feature is like a bowl of cereal without milk.  Sure it still tastes good but when you're done there's nothing left to slurp really loudly to annoy your friends and family with.

I have three basic sets i like to rock on my Death Knight depending on which spec i happen to be playing. Sometimes i get bored and decide to wear a set normally dedicated aesthetically to one spec on another, but that rarely happens.  The set has to make sense to me and the spec i'm playing.  So here we go in no particular order.

Frost Set

• Magma Plated Helmet
• Magma Plated Pauldrons
• Magma Plated Battleplate
• Magma Plated Guantlets
• Magma Plated Legplates
• Rock Furrow Boots
• The Plaguebringer's Girdle
• Tabard of the Ebon Blade
• Hailstorm x2

• Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Helm
• Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Shoulders
• Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Chestpiece
• Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Gauntlets
• Grievous Gladiator's Dreadplate Legguards
• Grievous Gladiator's Warboots of Alacrity
• The Plaguebringer's Girdle
• Orgrimmar Tabard
• Zoid's Firelit Greatsword

Unholy Set

• Garalon's Hollow Skull
• Pauldrons of the Broken Blade
• Krakken-Heart Breastplate
• Royal Gauntlets of Silvermoon
• Crafted Dreadful Gladiator's Dreadplate Legguards
• Grievous Gladiator's Warboots of Cruelty
• Grievous Gladiator's Girdle of Prowess
• Tabard of the Guardians of Hyjal
• Brutal Gladiator's Greatsword

When someone asks me what type of art style i prefer, i can now just point to ArcheAge.  That right there is what i long for in an MMO.  It hits the perfect balance of realism and style for me without going over the top in any one direction.  Is it perfect?  Of course not, and i don't think any one style can be, but it's close to what i'd envision if i were designing an MMO.  It's like Lord of the Rings Online but with infinitely better character models.


During my first ten levels i found myself just admiring the scenery, much like i normally do with any new experience.  I just can't seem quench that exploration thirst.  This was encouraged by the lack of mob density which is another great aspect of the game.  Why must every new MMO pack as many mobs into a square yard as possible?  It's irritating not being able to weave around and do some exploring.  I understand it's for questing purposes but i find it extremely annoying.  So far i like what i see.

Incoming wall of images ~

1. Frost Fever- Disease
2. Blood Plague - Disease
3. Determination - Trinket Proc from Thok's Tail Tip
4. Outrage - Trinket Proc from Evil Eye of Galakras
5. Shadow Infusion - Stacks
6. Dark Transformation - Time Remaining
7. Soul Reaper - Proc @ 37% with Sound Effect

Weak Aura String:

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Old content may be old to most but it's still new to me.  Going back and soloing past raids gives me a glimpse of the content that i missed over the years.  It's a small glimpse not seeing all this content at current difficulty but it is what it is.  What i would've given to be able to participate in Ulduar while it was current.  It, along with Karazhan and ICC, have to be my favorite raids aesthetically.


The first time i flew up to Ulduar i was amazed.  The size and scope of the outer architecture was just astonishing.  The word epic came to mind it and didn't fail to amaze once inside.  The place was so huge it had to have a freaking train to get to a boss.  Off topic, but the first thing that came to mind when i made it to the train was Final Fantasy.  It just sort of had that futuristic fantasy steam punk vibe.

Looking forward to seeing some more old content before the expansion.  For now i get to enjoy my new Rusted Proto-Drake mount.  My collection is still small but it'll get there eventually.

Oh the joys of playing a new race and discovering new and interesting animations.  I've become so used to playing a blood elf at this point that i assumed every race had a standard pose or animation when it came to hitching a ride on an albatross on Timeless Isle.  Boy was i wrong!  I had a good chuckle for a bit when i hopped on one with my orc Shaman.  Apparently albatross have a taste for orc head.

I can't believe i'm actually considering this but SE is holding another Return Home to Campaign on 9/10 -9/17.  I say another but this is actually the first i'm hearing about any such campaign.  This is probably mostly due to the game falling off my radar for the last four plus years though.  While i of course always think about giving the game a whirl again, i never actually end up doing it.  I said by goodbyes and moved on almost five years ago now.  The itch is always there though, as with any game someone spends a ridiculous amounts of time in.

This time i'm seriously considering hopping in and running around thanks to the free week.  That's pretty much all i'll be doing though as i have no intention or interest in anything related to content post level 75. That's where the game still lives in my mind and everything after that to the current level 99 cap is of no interest.  The essence of the original game up to level 75 seems to have been destroyed and replaced with a more modern system of gear progression.  That to me is a foreign concept for this game and goes against everything it was built on.  Had this have happened early on in the game's history i would have been all for it but doing so after so many years seems like a last ditch effort to hold on to players.

I'm looking forward to just logging in and exploring the game world.  That's the aspect that i sorely miss the most.  It was huge, sometimes dangerous, and almost always lead me in the wrong direction.  Some zones required cooperation from multiple players to even cross.  I'm talking pressure plates to open doors or even levers that required players on opposite ends of zones to hit.  It was absolutely maddening at times but so much more fun in the long run.

A chocobo ride through The Sancuary of Zi'Tah is worth the price of admission just for the atmosphere and music alone.  I think i'm going to scratch that nostalgia itch in a few weeks.