August 10, 2009

What's with the free epics?
I'm on the fence about this situation. The Trial of Champions on regular mode is incredibly easy. (Yes, since I last wrote, I've figured out the strategies so now the fights are easy.) Every boss drops epic items and you can repeat the instance countless times. So...what took weeks in heroic dungeons and Naxx is now possible in just a few days in ToC.

On the one hand, this is great. My warlock has already won three epics in ToC. I can potentially get him as well geared as my mage without ever stepping foot in Naxx. As a casual, non-guilded toon, this situation is perfect. I can run ToC multiple times and walk away with epics that would have otherwise taken me months to get. My little gnome with the mohawk isn't complaining.

On the other hand, my mage went from being well geared to mediocre geared over night. After months of running Naxx on her, I had been really happy with her gear progression. Now, after only a week or so with the new patch, people running ToC match her or have passed her.

I know I'm sounding like an elite player at this point. I hate players with the "You shouldn't get easily that which I worked hard to get" attitude. We all deserve to have fun and to experience the game -- casual or hard core. We should all have a chance at the fun stuff.

So...what's my issue with it? I think it's the number of purples that drop. In a regular lvl 80 instance, all the drops are blue until the final boss. And, as far as I remember, the final boss drops only one epic. So, why did they change that formula with ToC? By doing so, they're handing out epics right and left, cheapening their value.

Hmmm...still on the fence.

Guild
I joined a guild with my priest this past weekend. It's a guild in which there are a few members I know. Some from an old guild of mine. They're progression oriented yet casual. My first 25-man Naxx with them was on Saturday. I must admit, I was shocked by the amount of profanity they spewed. I'm not a prude...but this was excessive. I'll go on a few more runs with them to see if they're always like that. Then I'll decide whether or not to stay.

One real good thing was that I got my Valorous shoulders finally! I'm happy about getting them, despite the fact that they're no longer the best shoulders out there. They're pretty and I've looked forward to them for months. Woo hoo!