From Escada with Love

Escada

2009-07-29T13:33:00.002-05:00

I have come to learn that I cannot write a blog solely about WoW, or one certain subject. I have been toying around with deleting this blog altogether but cannot bring myself to do it. I've been on WoW burnout lately, and I've been dabbling in the closed-beta testing for a new game, Aion. It is time for a change and I am taking my blog with me, along with Escada. The name has stuck with me. ^^ So, it's time to introduce another Escada, below is my character in Aion. The game has definitely been a lot of fun, and I have already become part of a decent sized legion, we are hoping we can stay together for launch. Real life issues have also been effecting the time I spend on the computer in general, but now I am falling back into a comfortable groove, and imporving my social life a bit, I have a nice happy medium for once and it feels good! So here is to a new life for this blog! See you next time!

Slight Delay...

2009-05-01T17:25:00.002-05:00

I know I had stated in my last post that I wanted to get my blog going in a new direction. I am afraid I won't be able to do that right now. College is winding down and I don't have the time to sit down and write a nice full blog post like I want to. So, I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about my new idea, but I will be postponing the start of it until after this semester is over. :) See you all then!

A New Direction

2009-04-20T09:29:00.002-05:00

So I've been thinking about my blog and what I really want to do with it.
I'm not big on hunter theory and number crunching, I'm not out there to be the best dps of all, I just do what I do.
On that note, Escada's favorite thing she did after the release of Wrath was explore! Along those lines, I also think that my blog name fits quite well for this idea. Each week, I want to try and showcase a zone, providing screenshots and interesting little tidbits about the zone. It will be from Escada with love. :)
I will still include random ramblings here and there, but the main focus will be on the zones of the World of Warcraft. I have been reading some postings about being a blogger, and they suggest doing what you enjoy, and well, exploring the world was it! So, here's to a new direction, we will see where this goes!

The State of Things

2009-04-03T08:32:00.000-05:00

It has been much too long since last I posted. Real life has been keeping me pretty busy...and I have also discovered the fun of "the alt".

I've been spending most of my time playing a little blood elf priest named Reyn. It seems that a few players have been scrambling thinking about what they are going to do lately in game. I personally just wanted to try something different. Escada has always been my main and always will be...but she's a little lonely at the top, she needs a friend. :) That's where Reyn comes in. I always had thought about what it would be like to play a character in the role of a healer or a tank. So, I've chosen to try my hand at healing a little bit. So far at a whopping level 26 it has been a lot of fun! Instance runs are the best, and give me practice. I hope to continue with Reyn and get a second level 80 under my belt.
I am sure I will take my sweet time getting there though, I don't have all the time in the world to play between work and college, but I'll fit it in there. :)

As for Escada, she'll probably come back out of hiatus when patch 3.1 arrives...or maybe sooner. She has left Thenta Makur for personal reasons and was picked up by a new guild. We will see how that goes. Right now the guild is pretty new, and is trying to get 3 of each class. They also plan on raiding. ( /gasp! raiding!!) I've never really raided before, I am a pretty casual player when it comes to that and don't have huge blocks of time to sit down and do it. We'll have to see where it goes. All I know is that I am excited about the new people and fresh start.

Warp Love

2009-02-12T12:56:00.000-06:00

As we know, there are two colors of warp stalkers in the game that can be tamed by hunters. The white warp stalkers of Terrokar, and the teal and purple warps of Netherstorm. But am I the only one who thinks the warps aren't getting any love? Where is the warp stalker love Blizz??

While browsing Petopia the other day I noticed there was a new warp stalker skin posted, I clicked on it only to find out that it is not tamable. And on top of that it was removed from the game as of patch 2.1! We are talking about the Daggetail Lizard; a beautiful red warp stalker that calls the far reaches of the Blade's Edge Mountains it's home. This is an example of yet another warp stalker skin that cannot be tamed.

Another lovely warp stalker, the Phase Hunter, comes from the depths of the Arcatraz and is part of a boss fight. He is a mossy green color with electric blue stripes. I really do like this skin a lot, and wish it was tamable but yet again....no luck.

The most recent and more well-known case was of Gezzark the Huntress, a black warp stalker with striking lime green stripes. She was part of a quest in Terrokar forest, and could only be tamed when summoned. As of patch 3.0.8 she is also no longer tamable. I had been hoping to get her but then learnt that she was bugged, so I didn't bother to go after her, however after the patch she know works fine and the hunters that did tame her now have a lovely rare black warp stalker. /cry...I should have just gotten her bugs and all.

I am hoping that Blizzard decides to smile upon the warp stalker family and make more of them tamable in the future. It is also worth noting that the warp stalker family is the only one with two skins available to tame. They are a tenacity pet with arguably one of the coolest abilities there is (warp)! Pleeasse Blizzard show some warp love. :)

Images courtesy of: Petopia

Dear 3.0.9.9.551; Escada <3's you!!

2009-02-10T13:29:00.000-06:00

Kindred Spirits (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet damage at max rank.
Serpent's Swiftness (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet attack speed at max rank.

Well this is it folks...the buff to beast mastery that we have been waiting for. (At least the little teaser one before 3.1) Anyway, I am excited for sure. Motomo will be getting some love and be kicking some more butt out there. Hopefully that will give us just enough edge to be accepted back into the hunter fold again. :) Here's to crossing our fingers and toes for the wait until maintenance is over.

Hunter: and the Art of the Spec

2009-01-30T08:21:00.000-06:00

Escada has been a beastmastery hunter for as long as I can remember. At level 10 I received a talent point to spend, and boy was that ever a decision! :) I picked the beastmastery tree after much deliberating and never looked back. I didn't pick the spec because it was the best at the time; hell I didn't know much about my class at all at that time, I just learned as I went along.

I did notice that I really enjoyed having a strong pet that could hold its own against almost anything. My pet even outlived me sometimes in instances...a little embarassing but it did really happen. My pets are my protectors. We

With the drop of patch 3.0.8, our world was rocked. At first I don't think I paid that much attention to what was going on with hunters, I had actually been looking forward to the patch for other reasons. But reality started to sink in. I ran an instance and my dps was next to the healers. Granted the other dps were higher level than me and better geared but I still felt bad. Then the survival flood came in...everybody was buzzing about survival and that wave didn't take me out with it. I was determined to stay a bm..I had just gotten Endymion and to retire him to the stables in the name of survival made me feel horrible.

I got pretty depressed about the whole situation. I was worried that groups would only want survival hunters now..and nobody would want me. (wrong I know but the thoughts were spinning in my brain). And so I started doing some research reading blogs and forums out there about how hunter dps was doing. I parked at some test dummies and tried out macros and new shot rotations...just toying with everything. I vowed that I would make Escada the best bm hunter she could be once she got to 80 and that is still the plan. In a way the patch was a blessing in disguise. I had read blogs before but I had never delved so deep into the numbers of it all before, and made sure what the caps were on certain ratings and things. I have become a bit more technical about things, and know my class better then I ever have.

A Chance Encounter

2009-01-19T17:04:00.001-06:00

Yes!! I am still alive and haven't fallen completely off the face of the earth. :)

I've been spending most of my winter break making a mad dash to 80, leveling like a mad woman. It has been fun but I have pit stopped at 78 to slide back into college mode and level when I get the time. Today I got home from work made some lunch and logged on to talk to some friends and see who had control of Wintergrasp. Alliance did. (sigh) Well there is always mining in Sholazar Basin! I've gotten my mining up and have been making some nice money, and what better place than the Basin to stop by for some easy node finding.

Another thought crossed my mind as I was chugging along on my slow flyer. Why not just scan the spawn points for Loque'nahak? I was never one of the hunters that wanted a spirit beast from the start. I have been very happy with my wolf and my warp stalker and never really felt the need to find another pet. When I quested in Zul'Drak I helped out Har'koa and in turn Har'koa helped me....a very cool npc indeed! This sparked some interest in the spirit beast for the first time. I flew out not expecting anything but put Motomo in the stable just in case. I went about business hitting each of the spawn points, and holy crap there he was! I had to do a double take, and I also noticed that there was a night elf druid in my company as well.

Thankfully the druid did not interfere and I dove down right away, laid a freezing trap and frantically hit tame. It was unlike any feeling I've ever experienced in game before...and I am sort of embarrassed to admit it. My hands were shaking and heart pounding and I had just tamed this crazy sought after pet. I have come to realize now just how special the spirit beast really is, and it really feels like a great achievement for a hunter. I never could really understand why everyone was so excited and ecstatic about this beast but now I understand. It took me awhile but I am on the spirit beast bandwagon! :) He is a beautiful pet and a powerful one at that! I also realize that I was really lucky to find him...very very lucky. So fellow hunters on Daggerspine if I see Loque I will be sure to let you know!

Wrath has arrived!

2008-11-17T16:48:00.000-06:00

And yes I am late off the zeppelin here with my post. Anyway, I picked up my copy last week and installed and had some good jolly fun leveling my my bf in Howling Fjord. But y'know what? He levels too fast lol. I will always be like "ooh! look at that" "hey did you see that?" and noone ever notices these little things. I can't really stop to smell the evergreens or watch the Shoveltusks fight, before he is already halfway across the zone to hand in a quest, so I kindly told him "Deary, you go on ahead and level up so you can port me to Dalaran." ;) Kidding.

Anyway, it was a nice thing to do on opening night but after this I will be lagging out behind the rest of my guildies soon enough, well most of them anyway. I don't think power leveling is a bad thing, just isn't my style. After buying myself a portal to Dalaran (because I just couldn't wait until I was 71, lol) I was truely amazed with how beautiful the design of the city is. A big step up from Shatt, even if Dalaran shares many of the same concepts. Makes me want to go to the lounge with a Chocolate Celebration Cake and a bottle of Pinot Noir and just hang out and enjoy the scenery. Ahh yes I think that is what I will be doing, and if nobody want to join me for cake I guess I will have to just eat the whole thing myself.

On a side note for all of those who are looking to be stylish and up to date with the newest fashions do pay a visit to Karandonna. She has some lovely shirts, a bit pricey, but worth it is you like the look. :)

What is it about hunters?

2008-10-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

Wow Insider inspired this blog with their post a few days ago, you can read it here. Being a girl gamer I was very suprised at the female players and their preferences.
It showed that women largely preferred to play alliance druids and hunters. What is it about hunter that is so alluring? Why do a large majority of female players choose to play hunter? Well hunters are a powerful class, they can put down some of the best dps in the game. There are a wide variety of races that can be hunters as well, so the ladies of wow have a nice selection to pick from. That is definitely important! ;) I play a blood elf, they are hands down my favorite race in wow. Blood Elves are small, quick, and have attitude, and I also like their design. Night Elves were a close second place for me and I have since created a cute little ally night elf hunter alt named Desmonde on Darkspear. :) Hunters are versatile in their choice of weapon as well, ranged weapons can be longbow, crossbow, or gun. Melee weapons can be swords, daggers, axes, fist weapons, etc... a very large list of options indeed!

The allure of hunter for me was the pet. Leveling up was hard without a pet, the I was missing an integral part of my class. When I first got a pet it was a shock, leveling was a lot easier now! But with hunter as my first character leveling all the way up to 70 (soon to be 80!) was hard, even though hunter is said to be one of the easiest classes to level. Nevertheless I would never replace Escada for another main, I love fighting with my all time favorite animal in real life at my side, and a black one at that. :) I love the wide range of pets a hunter can have and that they can also have more than one, and even name them. For me, my pet is an irreplaceable part of Escada's make-up. I hate it when Motomo dies in fights...very irritating. Mend pet only goes so far sometimes, and if my boyfriend is healing an instance we are running he always does his best to keep Motomo alive, and if not I get a hasty /sorry. :) (/hug <3)

So why do you play a hunter?

The patch has arrived!...

2008-10-18T15:43:00.000-05:00

....And now I don't know what to do, I am so overwhelmed. Patch 3.0.2 has finally hit; my guildies and I (that's our arena team above) have been waiting for this for a loong time, especially me being a hunter :) Everything is so different now, and I mean everything! Choosing a tree was easy, but choosing what pet I wanted was not, I had debated over that for a loong time and eventually settled on a choice. I went and tamed a fuzzy brown chimaera from Azshara and took him on out to Nagrand. My pet already is showing some personality. I have dubbed him the "cautious" attacker...he starts and stops and continues to do this until he is his range to shoot froststorm breath. *sighs* Takes him forever to get his act together, although the animation of the froststorm breath looks pretty nice I must say. I remember reading about chimaeras having the little start and stop thing going on way back in beta but I wasn't expecting it to still be around. But I am sure it will get fixed. Until then my exotic buddy will be in my stable.

I missed Aimed Shot so badly in battlegrounds that I specced back to be able to have it. Trying to down healers without Aimed Shot make me feel pretty useless as a hunter, I feel like I am shooting against a brick wall. So I'm pretty much the same hunter I was before the patch except once I hit 71 in a bit I will have an exotic waiting for me in the stables. My wolf is still my favorite pet and I don't think that will ever change. And now since pets have trees I feel that my wolf is even more powerful which makes him even more of a keeper in my book. I just feel more comfortable playing Escada with her trusty wolf at her side. And in this big time of change in the game at least one thing should stay the same for a bit right? No matter what Motomo will be the first pet to ding 80, he has definitely earned it. I almost miss the loyalty system and all of that stuff, now it just seems so easy..and now pets auto-level under you as well. I know I will come to like this as it will mean less work on my part..but it still seems odd to me right now. I am now looking forward to Wrath so I can can get back out there and level!

Instance Checklist

2008-09-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

As I leveled up I learnt a thing or two about partying, whether it was getting stuck without arrows during an instance or broken armor..I've experienced my fair share of embarrassing moments so I am going to put together a list of things a hunter should to to prepare for any instance, you just never know what might happen! :)

1. Make sure you have ammo!
Always!...I once got stuck in an instance without any arrows and I was pretty useless duel wielding my swords lol. So always stock up on your ammo dears.

2. Repair your armor and weapons.
No matter how little the cost could be..repair your armor and wepons. I did Blood Furnace once and our group ended up wiping quite a bit and after a while your armor starts to break down, I was pretty close to having broken bow, which meant I wouldn't be able to use it at all....for my hunter...a scary thought, especially with boss fights still looming!

3. Stock up on your food and water supplies, and don't forget food for your pet!
Make sure you have the resources to fuel up after fights and replenish things quickly..no one is going to want to sit around waiting for you, the dps, to get your mana and health up. If you have enough food and water with you, you also won't have to ask anyone else for any during the instance..a definite plus. Also, your pet will probably die more then you as well, so make sure you have enough food for your friend to keep them happy and doing as much damage as possible for a smoother run, and you also won't have to fret about them abandoning you if you let them go too long in crabby mode. Believe me I have watched that little square with the face turn red and chills have run through me "Don't leave me Motomo! I need you!" Even if I was not in any danger of losing him since it would take a long time to lose your pet when they are fully loyal to you at level 6, I still feel a bit bad about leaving my worg go hungry during a big fight. ;)

4. Turn your taunt off!
This is very important in instances. You do not want your pet drawing aggro from the tank, he has enough on his plate without having to chase your pet around. If the tank doesn't mind taunt being on that is great, let them tell you to put it back on, but as a general rule of thumb I turn taunt off when I walk in the instance.

5. Trap well.
This took me some practice but I think I've got it down now lol. Freezing trap is a lovely cc option if done right, its not just trap it once and you're good. Nada. Usually in an instance the blue square is the trap mark for hunters, but some tanks may mark differently. Your primary goal when the fight starts is to get the first hit in on that target..don't let the tank or anyone else beat you to it! Lay your trap in a place where it will not be in the way of the main fight, and lay it before the pull. I personally use arcane shot to draw them to me. Your lovely pet is smart enough not to attack the target you just trapped so you're home free for now. To deselect that trapped target I hit the 'esc' key until his picture is gone from my screen. (Make sure you do that or you will auto-shot and break your own trap). Now your job is to kill the rest of the pull while watching your trap cool down. Once it is up lay one right away. I prefer to lay one behind me the monster will come toward me since I hit him first and if the trap is laid behind me or in his path of advance in any direction he won't have a chance of hitting you. Except if you make it run through the main fight of course, don't run miles away from your trapped guy to the other side of the room to fight...then your trapped target will just run through it and run the most likely get caught in the flurry and become a nuisance. After you have trapped for the second time just go back to shooting at the main targets of the tank, or if need be, pull things off the healer. You can keep this system going for as long as needed until the tank is ready to fight your frozen buddy.

6. Be cautious of your surroundings.
You are a hunter after all and you can track, so don't get too close to mobs if your party is not ready to fight them, stay close and don't wander off to take in the scenery! You don't want to pull 6 or 7 guys on you at once so stay alert. Getting into that sticky situation can also cause wipes for the group at times which can make for some unhappy fellow party members. :D So be smart.

7. Listen to directions.
This is probably the most important thing of all. Do your best to follow the directions if you do not already know the fight. And don't be afraid to ask if you don't know it. This will make for less headaches for everybody and a smoother run overall.

So that is my list for now, I'm sure I will learn more tricks of the trade in future runs. Hope these help for greater party experiences! :)

Girl IRL

2008-09-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

So, you play WoW, and you're a girl in the game does your gameplay change? I have read a few accounts of girl players being picked on and looked down on because of their gender. That really irritates me... girls have just as much right to play as guys do and it shouldn't matter. Yes some players are more comfortable and skilled with their character then others, I'm no pro hunter by any means, but gender should not be a factor.

As for my experience in WoW I have recieved nothing but warm welcomes and a helping hand when I've needed it most. I mean sure being a girl character helps (look! a damsel in distress...ahem...I'll save you!) but I do make it a point to talk to the people I meet that have helped me out (or vice versa) and make a bit of conversation. I usually always ask if they are a guy or girl, and when they find out I'm a girl I haven't gotten any flack.

The real test came when I joined a group for Ring of Blood in Nagrand and....voice chat was on. I said something (gasp) there was a slight pause (the shock! the disbelief! a girl in our midst!!) lol. But then it was back to business, we got through it and were down to the second to last fight and I noticed I had a problem..I had missed a quest turn-in somewhere and was behind. I said something about it (while cursing myself out with the mic turned off..lol) and it wasn't a big deal (much to my suprise). And a few pulls later someone else had the same problem and we did it over again. Ah well you live and learn. It was fun.

So in short...yeah there will probably be the jerks out there that can't get their mind around a girl playing the game, but I have yet to run into one yet and if I do he will get a piece of my mind on the gender thing if that comes into play (my guildies most likely won't hesitate to say something either ;) ). So ladies do your thing and if you are worried about being a girl in to game don't worry, you will most likely make friends and not enemies.

The birth of a 70

2008-09-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

Well Escada is now level 70 and I feel like a noob again lol. Mainly because I am new to everything that comes along with level 70..you've got this character that has reasched the cap..so now what do you do? Well I have decided to level up my first aid for one since I have been very lax on any professions at all...and at high levels first aid will be important I hear, and I also am going to level up mining so I can try and make some money instead of depending on quest reward and auction house postings. Hunters are fast so I should be able to mine those nodes with ease. =] Onward!! When wotlk comes along I will be ready.

But I am very excited, because last night I did my first arena matches!!! My fellow arena team memebers were Mannerheim the undead rogue (the friend of the bf) and Yupanqui the tauren druid (the bf). Together we make up the Seven Merrill Three. It was intense and we went 1 and 9 but I didn't care, it was soo much fun and exhilarating. I also don't have any gear that is nearly halfway decent besides my Valanos Longbow and 4 pieces of the Stalker's Chain Battlegear...so alas I am not the most well equiped to do this arena thing against team in ful set 3 or possibly even some set 4. But we got better every match and we won the last one, so we ended on a great high note. Mannerheim was suprised we won any at all with the state of gear we were in and the people we were up against.

There has been further talk of switching to a Hunter/Mage/Warlock team. So we will see what awaits us in the future!

Where it all started...

2008-08-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog! I am glad to say that I have been inspired by many a hunter blog (Mania's Arcania and Aspect of the Hare to be exact) and have decided to create my own. I am not a beta tester, just a normal player so this will just be a blog about the world as it is right now ;) So lets get started!

I began playing wow about a year and a couple months ago, courtesy of my boyfriend. I would go over to his house and he would be playing and I would get irritated because it was taking away from our time together. (I'm sure some girls out there can relate to this). But I often wondered just what I was missing and became curious. Eventually he just told me to try it, and I said "No way I'm going to find my own game I want to play" So I began my foray into the world of mmorpgs and gaming in general. Alas it ended up being Guild Wars that won out, my boyfriend even decided to try it out with me. We did and the graphics were absolutely amazing! So beautiful crisp and clear and the character customization was fun. But then my boyfriend got tired of it and he started telling me about the different things that wow had to offer and how it was more interactive and not just your own world when you went out of town to explore. This got my attention. So I dumped Guild Wars and decided to take the plunge. After agonizing over the character creation screen for probably about a good hour I finally made my choice. A female blood elf hunter named Escada. And the rest is history.

It was hard leveling at first and it took me forever to get anywhere because I never really had much time to play between school, work, and my parents' nagging at me about how stupid gaming was, wow was a tight squeeze. But I definitely don't regret starting, it has been a very enjoyable experience and I have made many friends from around the globe. I am a member of the guild Thenta Makur with its whopping 7 members, lol. Four of them are people I know and hang out with so that makes it even more fun! So anyway that is my introduction, more to come soon.