Last night's effort took 11 attempts (data based on the number of Seafood Magnifiques I had left). Varied tactics were tried and we made progress each time—except for I think about four attempts where someone/thing screwed up and we decided to wipe immediately.

My task was to kite the skeletons in phase one and interrupt the blast nova in phase two. A mistake I made early on was putting too much damage on the skeletons, as they took too long to die. And one fight I just could not get their attention away from another person. Frustrating. The other times went smoothly enough, plus or minus. Having a hunter freeze trap in the center of the room was helpful.

Anyway, we got 'im down and the last attempt went pretty smoothly!

I forgot to snap a pic, so here's one from the internets!

Image courtesy WoWHead

Regarding that, this post from Blizzard:

These will be Jewelcrafter recipes and we're not actually completely decided on whether there will be a recipe for each colour, or whether the creation of one will produce one of the four colours at random. 

As I think you already know, the black one will be a little different. It's a flying mount and it'll be created by combining the other four mount colours together. 

We're estimating that the cost of creating these mounts will be very expensive. ;)

So, that's why I'm leveling Abvilsk, my shaman jewelcrafter. Not so much to make money from making mounts for others (though I suppose that may be possible? Or providing materials for others?) but the primary reason is I want every one of those mounts. By which I mean, I don't just want the black one, but the black one plus the each of the other colors.

I figure the best way to effect that plan is to be a jewelcrafter.

As a bonus, I'm learning about shamans and being melee DPS!

Have a look-see...

Despite the fact that I have the Mountain of Mounts achievement, I'm still avidly collecting mounts. And now, with MoP, this behavior will only more rabidly increase since the mounts are OMG cool!

In fact, it was all my mounts that prompted me to get into addons again. (That, and the fact that my new shiny has more RAM than the OS can address means I have plenty of room for addons now.) I installed the GoGo Mount addon, which I adore.

All it does is randomize which mount comes up when you issue a Mount command. Plus it knows whether you can only summon a non-flying mount, and you can pick favorite mount(s) for specific zones. Quite keen.

Using it has reminded me of mounts I've long since forgotten, and that's no way to be!

MoP + GoGo Mount = awesome.

Point one is terribly wrong, I think. I know people who PvP and they're very nice. kaelspriest must've had too many bad experiences.

Anyway, the other points are closer to the correct side of the circle than outside it...

kaelspriest Apr 3rd 2012 3:20PM

I don't like PvP.

1) I don't like the culture of hostility. My experience of people who like to PvP, overall, is that they are *jerks.* Not all of them. Perhaps not even a majority are actively jerkish, although most seem to tolerate it. But it's enough to completely ruin my experience in battlegrounds and on PvP servers. And I'm not talking about the opposing faction - I'm talking about *my own side.* The sheer volume of viciously insulting chat in PvP areas is enough to make me never want to do it.

2) I'm gay. I don't like being called a f*g/got. Or a p*ssy. I don't like being called gay as if that's a bad thing. I don't like being called a girl as if that's a bad thing. I'm also extremely upset by the n-word and other racist language just on principle. And the PvP community is full of all of that - not just in the jerkish behaviour I covered in (1) but also just thrown around casually. I'm not all that thin-skinned about it - I actually enjoy interacting in trade chat, because even though there are some people who troll with derogatory language, there are also a lot of decent, intelligent people who will call it out. But that balance isn't present in PvP environments.

3) I'm primarily a healer. I like healing. I do not like being CCd. I do not like CCing. I do not like being interrupted. I do not like spending time trying to avoid being interrupted. It is impossible to simply go into an organized PvP environment and do what I like to do - I spend ~80% of my time doing things I don't like to do.

4) I don't always want to fight. I don't even particularly want to fight NPCs most of the time - I'm a champion at avoiding combat (probably because I'm a healer). When I want to do something, I want to do it, not fight someone/something else for the opportunity to do it. People who want to encourage open world PvP seem to operate under the assumption that everyone should want to fight, all the time, and should be willing to endure all manner of inconvenience (see: removal of HGWT, no flying until 90) in order to arrange it so that everyone is in a position to be forcibly engaged in PvP combat at any time.

5) I like being able to talk to the people I'm playing with. All of them.

6) I think PvP is bad for the game. It limits possibilities for everything from class balance (shamans can't be buffed because it would make them more OP in PvP!) to travel technologies (we can't have HGWT or flying because it's bad for world PvP!!)

7) I don't think MMOs are the right platform for PvP competition. MMO PvP is inherently, permanently unfair, and the more depth there is to a game's PvE gameplay, the less balanced it can be for PvP. Strategy games (Starcraft II rocks!) and shooters are much better PvP platforms, and I wish people who wanted to PvP seriously would go play games that are actually suited for it.

I especially agree with number six. PvP ruins things for the rest of us because it demands that all classes be balanced in ways that they wouldn't otherwise need to be. Because of PvP, everything needs to be reigned in.

Keen, eh? That would be really fun to tool around in while doing Vashj'ir quests, yes?

Here's all the gear. Thanks to WoW Fashion for the set!

I'm doin' it! Chart Ablithdorael's progress here.

And if that sounds like I stuck Ab in front of a randomly-generated name, to go with the randomly-generated looks, you would be shockingly* prescient. 

*(not shockingly)

Do you need an infinite amount of Frostweave Cloth? Do you have a high-level character with a AoE attack? Yes? You're in business!

Teleport to Dalaran, then fly north to Icecrown at 70,61. Land at that spot and begin AoEing! You want the Vicious Geists, as they carry the Frostweave. If you can tag a couple vicious geists on the periphery and get them to come to you without your moving, so much the better!

Stand in one place and the geists will come to you! It's like pressing a button and having Frostweave Cloth just tumble into your bags.

Using this method, one may acquire a stack of Frostweave Cloth in five minutes, I kid you not. Or three in 15 minutes!

I tried this with an undead hunter (of course a hunter). Undead because that way I wouldn't be tempted to get help from my guild. And the only people who'd even know I was there would be RealID friends. Yay!

Unfortunately, I got 'er to level four before being killed—by being distracted by texting someone about the Ironman Challenge. Ah, irony. So, I deleted that character.

Then I rolled a blood elf hunter and...wait a minute...

If I really wanted to Ironman it out, what I should do is roll a mage! Since you can't pick talents you can't get a water elemental or anyone to tank. And there's no self-heal! No nothing! Hmm. Maybe. OR a rogue, on account I don't know rogues. 

Anyway, I'm totally down with this fun diversion!

The point that most concerns me about roles is this: "Hybrid tax."

Here's my definition of it: The hybrid tax means that if you play a hybrid class (one able to peform multiple roles), you give up a degree of effectiveness at a particular role in exchange for being able to perform another role. For example, a paladin's DPS would be "taxed" and not be as good as a rogue's, because the paladin is a hybrid class: able to DPS, heal, and tank, whereas the rogue can only DPS. To make up for this discrepancy in available roles (and thus utility in the game at large), the paladin's DPS is artificially suppressed, or the rogue's is boosted, depending on your perspective, to ensure the rogue has a place, a reason to be brought along.

They're both melee classes, and they're both operating in the DPS role. What's the difference? It's that if the paladin and rogue are both able to perform as well in the same role, there's "no reason" for someone to pick rogue, they might as well pick paladin and be able to do more than one thing and be invited to more things.

Why relegate yourself to just one thing and not get invited if you don't have to? The why is the benefit of the tax—you get more out of your role by being dedicated at it. Pick a rogue over a paladin because the rogue will do better at his role, DPSing.

I support the hybrid tax because of how things are now.

I would prefer that every class be able to perform multiple roles. Everyone should be hybrid, no one should be dedicated. This would eliminate the tax altogether and everything would be hunky-dory, leaving us to quibble over whether druids or priests should heal better, or whether melee or ranged should have higher DPS.

You know, the important topics.

But that's not how things are. Instead, there are classes that are only able to perform one role. Nearest to my heart is of course the mage, who can only DPS. Others include the hunter, rogue, and warlock who, also, can only DPS.

While it's not unfair that these classes cannot also perform other roles, I think the game would be better if they could. I would love to explore being able to heal with my mage (one explanation I like is that mages would heal by turning back time on people to a point before they were injured, using chronomancy spells—a theme that's already going to be supported when Mists of Pandaria releases that includes chronomancy talents).

Role

I think it's critical to clarify what a "role" is and isn't, and thus whether your character is a hybrid class or not. There's a simple test:

If you have the option to select more than one role in the dungeon finder, your character is a hybrid class.

That's pretty much it right there. I believe that being able to perform a limited function in a particular battle does not constitute a role. For example, being able to stun someone in combat, or remove oneself from danger, is not a role. It can be a valuable trick, and depending on the fight and the makeup of the group it can be just about vital, depending on how things shake out in that situation. Again using mages as an example, being able to cast Polymorph is not a role because not only is it only rarely used it's not usable all the time, even if it was called upon.

Tricks during particular fights is far too limited a scope to rise to the level of importance as an entire class role. 

What do I want?

I want multiple roles for everyone, for every class to have the opportunity to do more than one thing so the idea of a hybrid tax is ridiculous. Warlocks should DPS and use their demons to tank. Same as with hunters. Mages should DPS and heal, as described. There's no reason to expand even on that, having mages tank by summoning elementals, or warlocks heal by transfusing demon-boosted blood.

Is the hybrid tax unfair? I think it is to those who have to pay it. I think it's not to those who get the benefit from it—but would be if it was taken away. It's a question of where the unfairness should be placed: onto the classes that have choice or the classes that don't?

Right now, it's on the classes that have choice, and I think that's where the unfairness has to be, given how things are. The hybrid classes are rich enough to pay the tax. The beneficiaries are too poor.

The best solution is to not have the unfairness in the first place. Hybridize all classes. Allow multiple roles for everyone.

In lieu of dyes, we can search for things to transmogrify our things into and out of. But to do that requires an unspeakably vast knowledge of the gear in WoW—or a handy-dandy site to help you find a medium-length purple cloak with a gold border.

I found some!

World of Wardrobes

This was the first one I found and it still remains my favorite go-to place. Good, simple, interface that gets the job done. It has a great index of everything I've looked for in terms of clothing, and more. Plus the creator is on Twitter and is very nice!

WoW Roleplay Gear

Next up is a good site for displaying sets of clothes. I perused this site quite a bit, just going on a general tour looking at what all's available and looking for ideas. It was the first place I saw an occupation category and that's pretty clever. It's a good guide, and a good source for ideas.

Go Mog Yourself

This site doesn't have a grand guide to all possible items but instead profiles a specific outfit and tells you how to go about getting those specific pieces. I like this site because it's nice to see what people are doing when they mix and match various items to create their own look.

Disenchanting Azeroth

This site has a wonderful resource: A guide to all weapons. If you're looking for the perfect staff to go with your outfit, or sword, or whatnot, you simply must go here. For example, take a look at this image:
 

Pretty cool, right? And on the site are instructions for how to get to each one. I also love how they're organized according to how many similar models there are of each item. There are lots of staves like those in the lower right, but there's only one specific staff for those on the upper tier. Handy if you want to ensure your character's look is rare or unique.

Wowhead Transmogrification Tool

Last—but certainly not least—is Wowhead's tool that is quite keen. It begins with a basic set of items then you can filter that selection to quickly find just what you need. A very handy starting off point and it's easy to use. You definitely want to give it a whirl.