OLRG: We got this…(and this is going to be a long one)

Sno-cone anyone?

ACT I: THE WANTING

Dear Blizzard: I realize this is very low on your to-do list, what with the time machine you’re building and all (did you contact H.P. Lovecraft? He might be able to give you some tips.), but if possible, could you please go back to old content and “fix” it? Many of your players are restless, so restless in fact that some of your star players and fans are now permanently off the team. And no, I’m not talking about Landon Donovan. (Sheesh, what drama! What a story! And I don’t even follow soccer…why don’t I pay attention to the world?)

Here’s what we want:

1. Old content is accessible by any character who is higher than level – meaning if I bring my paladin who’s never been to ICC she can stroll in at heroic or normal.

2. Make it cross-faction. Hearing Tyledres sigh because my stupid OLRG are mostly Alliance and not Horde is breaking my heart. Hey, a Death Knight is a Death Knight. Arthas didn’t see faction or race when choosing his undead legion, so why should Blizzard? That actually is a pretty good idea: make Death Knights cross-faction.

Scarlletta and Matty hanging at the AH

3. Change the loot: if it’s moggable (why do I feel annoyed by making up words this morning?), then let the rolls roll, baby. Lupe ended up with a pretty mace and sword yesterday. If there is one thing that fail tank has got going on, it’s that she is a looker.

Sincerely,

Mataoka of the Awesomesauce 

Okay – onward. Tome and I first ventured in and then our buddies joined us, and we had no issues. Thanks to one and all for joining us, and Navi – one rule of OLRG is we never self-denegrate. We do not look at item level, gear, dps/heals, ever. It’s like going out with a bunch of friends for appetizers and cocktails. What a buzzkill if someone said, “Those potato skins have 500 calories! Don’t enjoy them! Stop laughing! You’re showing the bacon bits in your teeth!” (Actually CD Rogue’s mother used to do that all the time: we’d be at a family dinner at a nice restaurant and she would look over what I ordered and tell me how fatty it was. Fun.) We didn’t the Full House achieve because of player error: mine. I didn’t read the directions and went blazing in and killed all the adds. Duh! It was cool to get a refresher course on Ice Crown, and I don’t see any issues with cleaning up those ten-man achieves. The only one that may be is a numbers game with Portal Jockey, and I know we’ll have to do two runs to do the vampire lady biting one. You know what was on last night? Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, a truly awesome movie. I would like to read the book sometime, but my book club keeps choosing things more akin to an Oprah book club. Okay – random – back on task.

ACT II: THE BITCHING

I will confess that our run yesterday cleared up some…annoyances? I saw a hunter putting together a Flex group for SoO 1, and since Sajja still can’t get her off-hand, I offered to heal. On the last boss, Sha of Pride (dialogue is brilliant in this fight: the blame game, arrogance, those inner voices we all have manifested in a game), we began to wipe, and the priest healer told everyone to dispel. I said that players could only dispel if they had the Gift of the Titans. They disagreed. I said at least that was my experience on normal, to which the priest said HEROIC. Not worth arguing about, (why is it every time you say you’re not arguing, but just offering insight, people say you’re arguing when they simply do not agree with you?) I said hey, no problem, look it up when you have a chance, and let’s move on. I’ll do it your way. But they couldn’t let it go. I was called a scrub, and then I left the group, and the druid healer felt compelled to whisper me and inform me ‘your so bad.’ Due to my own pit-bull nature, I looked up the link about dispels in that fight, and send a courteous letter to the 12-year-old behind the computer screen, saying for his future reference (he had wanted us to mass dispel, and even the priest told him that was a bad idea) he might want to know this mechanic. Since I am fairly certain most of the group is illiterate, my spell of knowledge will fall flat. Story of my life. But on a walk, I pondered with CD Rogue why is it those minor slings and arrows sting us the most? Why is it difficult to keep things in perspective? Why does what a mean little shit whisper to me piss me off, or even an older mean little shit? My mom says I am a classic “right -fighter,” and she has a point. I need to learn that when I’m right, that’s enough.

Never did get my bloody off-hand cricket cage. Thanks Blizzard. *Eye roll.*

OH BUT YES – Old Ladies: I do love you. Now that Lupe is able to do the heroic version, let’s get back in there and knock a few of those achieves out. 

ACT III: ERROR SPEECH

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Body language, tone, and context is everything. One of my side projects includes listening to error speech. Far and away, Forsaken females are a testy lot, coming a close second are Draenei females. Night Elf and Blood Elf females always sound fairly calm in the clutch. Here are two unedited examples, taken during my field research:

And my Night Elf hunter, Keilei:

ACT IV: BLOCKED

When we briefly get to meet in a suitable time-zone, Navi and I both lament about our current lack of writing inspiration. I really enjoy sites that discuss writing and the writing process in detail, and I even posted on my own professional blog recently.

Some sites that help:
Writers write: http://writerswrite.co.za/10-amazingly-simple-tips-to-get-you-back-on-the-writing-track

Writing Prompts That Don’t Suck: http://awesomewritingprompts.tumblr.com

Oh, and of course, Tumblr overall is grand fun. It’s not a distraction, it’s endorphins!

Sometimes you just need to get out of your routine, get a fresh perspective, and don’t worry. Just write.

And remember, only boring people get bored: