I logged on to my rogue and got ready to do some heroics, it was late at night and trade chat was unusually busy. I went round my buisness as usual observing the conversations that where going on. Everyone was talking about their lives and how miserable/great it was.

In all the commotion one Guy opened up to say that he attempted suicide five times in his life and went on to explain that he is still recovering from it at the moment. He also said that he was depressed.

I am one of those people who dont really open themselves up emotionally like that telling a bunvh of strangers about my problems, but I felt bad for this guy, i mean it was tough for him.

This of course is not the horrific part, what followed later on is…

About six people stepped up berating him and taunting him because of what he said:

-Your an Attention seeker…!!

-With five tries under you belt, one of thought that you would know how to do it properly by now!

-The trick is to cut your veins vertically, not horizontally!

-For the sixth time, why dont you jump off a building, there is no turning back then!

-Telling someone to commit suicide, is not bad, its called support!

This made me sick to the stomach.

To have people, insulting and coercing this individual to finish himself off was just obnoxious to say the least.

Does the safetey of Anonymity, bring forth the real persona within people? People who maliciously hurt an individual on a psychological level to the point that they would kill themselves?

On the other hand why didnt anybody else speak to support this person. Apart from myself and another player within the game we tried endlessly to convince them that to wish death upon another is just plain wrong and discusting. What is there to fear, if you have the safety of anonymity right? Maybe your not into conflict, or maybe your not interested i dont know, but mre should of spoken up.

I wonder sometimes where humanity has gone, where is the empathy for your fellow player. We are a community where like minded people who share the same interests gather. But instead of looking out for one another and offer a helping hand we condemn them because of their life experiences that are not considered normality.

Has the game conditioned players to behave this way? To become ignorant about their fellow man because all they do all day is Kill Kill Kill? I beleive not, otherwise we would all be like that. Are some more liable to succumb to that? I think so.

After about three hours of opinions flying back and forth and a war of words, the conversation ceased. I ignored a bunch of people, put others on the right trail of thought and gained some more allies in raising the awareness that is so required.

What do you think about  this situation, do you think I should of kept quiet? Or was it right for the players to behave in such a barbaric manner?

All i say is that I am dissapointed!

*Discrmination is an act of narrowmindedness, and lack of empathy is a lack of self*

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius

What goes through your mind when you think of the opposing faction ?

Is it hate ?

Distrust?

The need to squash them like little bugs?

Is there a particular race that you simply cannot stomach? A class that you envy?

Or pity?

Well I do. I have been on the Alliance faction for as long as I remember in my gaming life. The first time I logged into the game and had to select my faction and race, I have to say the Horde didn’t appeal to me in the least. Monstrous looking creatures, with fangs and bad skin tone just put me off. The distaste for the Horde races came when I did Battlegrounds. Them against us didn’t go well in most cases and all the anger that was bottled up inside kinda vented it’s self in my loathing for them. It soon escalated from distaste, to hate and then to revulsion, I just didnt like the Horde.

Carrying on with the theme, Forsaken Warlocks are my bane, I don’t like them, undead are not cool looking and warlocks, well they are just warlocks are they not? Nothing more, nothing less. Just poor Mage replicas.

But something happened that spurred me to re-think my ideologies.

I was leveling my rogue in Zul’Drak and i was at the Amphitheater of Anguish Quests. I couldn’t solo it since i was level 79 and poorly geared, so i asked in General chat for assistance. As usual no-one replied. I asked in guild and lo and behold a tank friend of mine offered to help. So I sit by the Quest giver and await his arrival. Two minutes pass by and an Undead warlock just happens to fly by with his Magic Carpet, he waves at me and dismounts.

He then proceeded to point at the quest giver and motioned me to go. (Emote OFC).

So i take the quest and jump into the arena, at the back of my mind i thought that he will propably just leave me there and watch me perish, but he didnt, he jumps in, summons his minion, awaits for me to tag the mob and helped me down him. He cheers me, I cheer back and we continued to do them all. My tank friend arrived at the second one so we took them all on. Me , a Dwarf warrior and an Undead warlock from a different faction.

We then helped him do his. This feeling of camaderie rarely occures in the WoW community, if not at all.

So that got me thinking, maybe the opposing faction isnt as brutal, heartless and obnoxious as we like to think they are, but are people who care and really have some kindness in their soul.

Special Thanks to Amrael, Forsaken Warlock, Steamwheedle Cartel (EU), for assisting me at a moment of need without second thought. You have completely made me revise my opinions regarding the Horde Faction and you are a great asset to your group.

*Also Apologies for the extreeme lateness of posts recently, Finals what can i say, post should resume at their normal pace, also im thinking of expanding this blog to cover more classes instead of it being mage specific, let me know. Oh and another thing. I need some tips in getting a new header, my one is pretty basic and im ashamed*

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius

Some linkage to the blogs that i have been reading this week:

Cannot be Tamed , answers some frequently asked questions regarding druids,

Almost Epic gives us his view on the new Cataclysm raid changes, and Matticus explains it thoroughly.

Congratulations to Gazimoff and his partial abstinence from blogging,

Larisa wonders if anyone will bother doing the 25 man’s anymore

Does the damage meter really turn us into elitists? Check this post out at the Noisy rogue!

Slice and Dice explains Guild Politics,

Critical QQ explains why fame is not desired,

Rhii in : I sheep things is enjoying the guildless time off,

Gnomageedon Laughs at Warlocks (with good reason) and explains that Breanni is up to no good.

And the Daily Blink hosts some cool periodicals which i think you should check out.

Windsoar shows us her spiffing new UI, jealous………

Thats all for now, enjoy the amazing reads……and i shall post tomorrow about something teeheehee

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius

With the release of the Celestial Steed and Lil-XT last week, many people sprinted into the opportunity in getting one, overloading the customer queue in the process to as long as, wait for it, two days. Such was the appeal for the in-game pet and mount that Blizzard netted a vast amount of revenue from this stunt.

I myself see nothing wrong with people purchasing vanity items, it doesn’t help you pawn the Lich King. It doesn’t give you 5000 arena rating and it most definitely does not one hit K.O enemies in the battlegrounds as soon as you mount. So I tell you this, what is your problem people?

Think of the mount as an original designer suit, lets say Prada, because I like the brand, you purchase it because it’s a gift for yourself, makes you feel nice and warm and fuzzy inside. Thats what the mount is for your avatar, a Prada Suit. You mount it and you look instantly cool, sleek and elegant. Elevating your status within the game that little bit higher, above the rest. Sure it’s introducing a dichotomy of classes within the game, those who have the dosh and those who haven’t. Newsflash, that is kinda like the world we live in at the moment , no? If the person purchasing it feels good, then leave them be.

-But, oh, it’s so sparkly and annoying..!!

Thats jealous talk for, I want one tooooo *cry*!

-Everyone will have one, whats the point!

Thats jealous talk for, I want one, but I cant afford it!

See where im going with this ? Its Jealousy!

So I was walking in Dalaran myself when I noticed the sparkly horses and so mesmerised was I that the Blizz Store website popped in front of me…*I swear*and there it was, the Majestic celestial steed, yours only for a small, itty, bitty, sum. So what did I do?
I bought it of course, Look how pretty it is:

The fact that it doubles as a ground and flying mount is deeply exciting. It also scales with your quickest mount in your collection, and since I already obtained the Violet Proto Drake from my word events only just recently, I have two mounts that fly at 310% speed. Wooooopeeeee, eat my celestial dust, suckersssss!!

I then proceeded to exit the website when more things started winking at me, needless to say I bought them too :S

My plushies (Alliance/Horde) should arrive soon, tomorrow I hope, I want them now, with me and in-game, because they are just sooooo adorable!

So mount up your steeds dear people, hold your heads high and Ride/Fly into the Horizon while the others lag behind you for 1.5 seconds because they are changing mounts.

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius.

I walked decisively towards the direction my ears led me to discover something that would otherwise make me go on my way and mind my own business, but an inkling in my head compelled me to go and assist her. She was being burgled this morning but two teenage yobs with their trademark sportswear and overused if not ready to fall apart trainers. She was pinned on the alley wall by one, while the other sifted through her belongings, keys, makeup, her pencil case….

I ran towards them and began yelling at them (natural response right?) , they let the girl alone for a brief second thinking i was someone with more power, police perhaps and where in a state of shock about being caught. That didn’t stop them of course in using their rather eloquent vocabulary towards me. I stood my ground and looked them in the eyes, our political correct civilization protects youngsters to be hit in any way, shape or form and I  think they knew it all to well. What one didn’t expect was the punch he received in his face and the other being pinned on the wall while I struggled to call 999 to come and pick them up. In their nervous frustration they fled, i reported the crime and the direction of their escape was given. The good news was that the girl seemed to be ok and all her belongings intact. I told her to be carefull and sent her on her way and on i went with mine…

Walking back i couldn’t help but mutter to myself  “what have you done?”.

You see in real life I abhor confrontation, i am the secretive, keep things to yourself guy. If  im walking down the street I have my headphones shoved so deep into my ears that I am indifferent to the outside world. What happened today that made me act outside of the norm? outside of my comfort zone and out of self ?

Warcraft!

I noticed a trend, i have been playing warcraft for the best part of three years, The leveling up process, the killing of mighty beings and the social aspect have shaped another kind of personality on my person, they have given me a mental pick me up shall we say and it has somehow managed to seep into my real life.

Let’s face it, you never talk in guild chat or trade like you would a normal person, you have no real people to contend with, no facial expressions, no feelings, no remorse, purely because of the fact that the person you are indeed chatting to is not a friend, not even an acquaintance. No mannerisms to hint the fact that they are disturbed by what you said and if there is, well, you can’t really see them.

You have the confident setting of your home, of anonymity to protect you, they don’t know who you are and your identity. They can’t locate your house and come and stalk you through the windows of beat you up. This is a safety mechanism for most and allows them to react differently to the social aspect of the game than that of real life.

This other way of communicating as i said has managed to crawl its way into my real world. I say what i think and express what i feel regardless of the circumstance and at the end of the day i could not care, there is only one way to be and that is to be honest with yourself and your feelings. I am more assertive, i portray my ideas instead of thinking to myself that they could be lame, or pointless, and if there is disinterest in the group somehow I make them listen. Judging by my actions above it’s because of this assertiveness that i did what i did to assist the girl. Given the same situation three years agoIwould have probably stuck my headphones back in my ears and continue on my journey pretending that such a thing had not happened, but not today!

I sense a change in myself and my being, it is somewhat cathartic in a way, it’s a work in progress for a new me, a better me with positive influences.

Has the game helped you overcome a situation you otherwise wouldn’t be able to? Has it given you strength? What influences has it granted you?

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius

PS: If you are walking down the street and seem to be in the same predicament as me, stop, think and call the police. In my case it was just two young teenagers, but things could be undeniably worse!

BE SAFE AND ALWAYS AWARE OF THINGS AROUND YOU!

I think that we as Mages have by far the best new upcoming spells in the expansion…..we are trendsetters as alway, we are unique and we are imba.

Some of you may be disgruntled by the whole concept and the new spells. Others may be super excited and the rest nonchalant about it. I belong in the second catergory, i want them naooooooo!!

Flame Orb (available at level 81): Inspired by Prince Taldaram’s abilities in Ahn’kahet and Icecrown Citadel, this spell allows the mage to cast a flaming orb that travels in front in a straight line, sending beams that cause fire damage to passing targets. Once it’s cast, the mage is free to begin casting other spells as the Flame Orb travels. While the spell will be useful to any spec, Fire mages will have talents that improve it, possibly causing the Flame Orb to explode when it reaches its destination.

You could only dream about this spell…..in battlegrounds this is gonna be so sweet. Just fire those babies and let the Pew Pew commence…..to fire this at a group battling it out in the middle of Warsong Gulch is a godsend….send it in there and watch them burn. Ghostcrawler even said that this is gonna be a cast and forget spell therefore im hoping we will be able to dish out a few of these without a cooldown penalty…i hope!

Time Warp (level 83): Grants a passive Haste effect much like Bloodlust or Heroism to party or raid members. It also temporarily increases the mage’s own movement speed. Time Warp will be exclusive with Bloodlust and Heroism, meaning you can’t benefit from both if you’ve got the Exhaustion debuff, though the movement-speed increase will still work even when under the effects of Exhaustion.

Yahoo, just what we need, we should be able to manipulate time anyway right? We are ofcourse the best class in the game so why not. To be able to provide a 30% movement speed to the raid and a haste buff will make people want us even more now in their raids. We have the ability to offer them more utility in terms of burning down a Boss and getting out of the gooey stuff on the floor, perfect all round. It sais its a passive buff so does that mean that we have it on all the time? (Let me know on that one). To all those Shamans out there QQing about how unfair it is i say one thing, ours is better because we are better,it fits with our mechanics anyway, where does Heroism or Bloodlust come from anyway? Suck it up and get over it……we did…Stealing our signature move was ok was it? HMMMM?…HEX ring a bell to you?

Wall of Fog (level 85): Creates a line of frost in front of the mage, 30 yards from end to end. Enemies who cross the line are snared and take damage. The mana cost will be designed to make Wall of Fog efficient against groups, not individuals. This spell is intended to give mages a way to help control the battlefield, whether the mage is damaging incoming enemies (Blizzard can be channeled on top of Wall of Fog) or protecting a flag in a Battleground. 10-second duration. 30-second cooldown.

Sweet Mother of the Naaru…….we get to tripwire people, they walk through it, they get snared, they receive damage and we keep them there in place with our improved blizzards, SQUEEE!! Poor rogues, not gonna be able to get around us now, unless you pass the foggy wall of DOOM..!! Throw in a few Orbs of pew pew and we are the Kings i tell you….and Queens of the Hill.

Arcane Missiles is being redesigned to become a proc-based spell. Whenever the mage does damage with any spell, there is a chance for Arcane Missiles to become available, similar to how the warrior’s Overpower works. The damage and mana cost of this spell will be reworked to make it very desirable to use when available. This change should make gameplay more dynamic for the mage, particularly at low levels.

I will be honest with you loosing my Arcane Missiles will be a huge break to my Arcane Pumping heart….i love the pew pew from there, i hope they keep Missle Barrage because i just love it so.

We are planning to remove spells that don’t have a clear purpose. Amplify Magic, Dampen Magic, Fire Ward, and Frost Ward are being removed from the game, and we may remove more.

Noooooooo, not my wards and my dampen magic, what are you thinking…..im using those all the time in the battlegrounds to save me from those fake fire using Warlocks and frosty Deathknights….give it back pleeeeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee!!!! *Snivel*….They can have the rest i dont care…..i just want them…*cry*.

The ability to conjure food and water will not become available until higher levels (likely around level 40), as we’re making changes to ensure mages generally won’t run out of mana at lower levels. Once mages learn how to conjure food and water, the conjured item will restore both health and mana.

Yes they won’t run out of mana, but what about their health? We are Squishy ya know…..Will we actually have to buy bread from the bakery? Like poor people do? *Shudder*.

Scorch will provide a damage bonus to the mage’s fire spells. Our goal is for Scorch to be part of the mage’s rotation and a useful damage-dealing ability, even if someone else is supplying the group with the spell Critical Strike debuff. Scorch will provide the mage with more specific benefits, which can also be improved through talents.

More Damage bonus? Sounds superly delicious to me already…..Scorch FTW!!

Arcane Focus will now return mana for each spell that fails to hit your target, including Arcane Missiles that fail to launch. We want Arcane mages to have several talents that play off of how much mana the character has and give the player enough tools to manage mana.

More mana management talent for us Arcane Mages, love it….we can push out our damage that little bit longer, but saying that, spells that miss, but i am hit capped, does that mean that mages at level cap wont be benefitting from this talent?

The talent Playing with Fire will reduce the cooldown of Blast Wave when hit by a melee attack, instead of its current effect.

This one for me is a double edged sword, more damage or more Blast Waves? We shall see..!

Pyromaniac will grant Haste when three or more targets are getting damaged by the effects of your damage-over-time (DoT) fire spells.

Haste is always good *Thumbs up*!

The Burnout talent will allow mages to cast spells using health when they run out of mana.

So we run out of mana, and we use our health bar as the new mana bar……AWSOME! This is exclusive to fire mages though, they are the type that wreak havoc anyway in battlegrounds so health isnt much of an issue for them. And before you say anything about Warlocks doing it before us, i would keep my mouth quiet if i where you. We never Steal anything from Warlocks, they find ways to make replicas out of our spells, thats the way it goes…they are the ones that sold their souls to the demons to be able to weild some sort of power (waaaaay below ours by the way). All because we graduated from Mage School and they simply just flunked or got kicked out because they where suicidal…Locks my Wall Of Fog awaits youuuuuu *cackle*.

Mastery Passive Talent Tree Bonuses

Arcane
Spell damage
Spell Haste
Mana Adept

Fire
Spell damage
Spell Crit
Ignite

Frost
Spell damage
Spell Crit damage
Deathfrost

Mana Adept: Arcane will deal damage based how much mana the mage has. For example, Arcane mages will do much more damage at 100% mana than at 50% mana. If they begin to get low on mana, they will likely want to use an ability or mechanic to bring their mana up to increase their damage.

More damage the more mana we have? Sounds weird but i suppose Blizzard will introduce ways for us to have our mana bar filled at most times, i hope. Maybe a better Evocation or maybe more mana out of Mana gems? It remains to be seen.

Ignite: All direct-damage fire spells will add a damage-over-time (DoT) component when cast. The flavor will be similar to how Fireball works; however, the DoT component will be much stronger.

A more powerful DOT from your fire spells will be applied to everything they touch, awsomness……!

Deathfrost: Casting Frostbolt places a buff on the mage that increases the damage for all frost, fire, and arcane spells. The only damage spell that won’t be affected by this buff is Frostbolt.

This i beleive will encourage the frost mages out there to cast something else apart from their boring rotation of frostbolt all the time for a chance of a damage boost. This could work well in synergy with the arcane missile proc or maybe even with Deep Freeze for more damage or Frostfire bolt. Sort of like the Arcane Blast Buff where we get it to 4 stacks then fire another spell, sounds promising. Im sure many frost mages out there are wondering why they are not getting a direct frost buff, but wait and see guys, the damage buff you get might be huuuuuge…..Blizzard knows what its doing……:)

Well these are my Views and news about the upcoming class changes in Cataclysm for us Mages….i am gonna say it again…i am super Excited…!

There have been some more Updates from Ghostcrawler about some of the spell Mechanics…read those here as well!

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius!

Paladins, warriors of the light, manipulating it to their very will, for protection, to smite, and to heal and assist others. They adorn the heaviest of armor and are a formidable foe.

What can we as a squshy mage do to best a daunting enemy such as them?

The answer is…..MANY!

First and foremost a paladin is a mellee class, with the exception being the holy tree.

Protection:
Protection Paladins have an immence health pool, talents that limit stun and silence timelines as well as many spells to mitigate incoming damage. On the other hand they have limited ranged attacks that enable us to do damage from a distance. They rely too much on their buffs as well as draw power from one school of magic. Oh and let us not forget the poor excuse of a manna pool they have.

The trick: Slow, stay out of mellee range, spam spellsteal to remove their beloved buffs. They play as i said a major part in boosting their performance to be left alone. Hand of freedom? Spellsteal it, and subsequently slow. Eat away at their hefty health pool and be ontop of your game. A paladin with no manna is useless and there is a strong possibility they will run out before you do. Be wise and consistent and you will win…..Eventually!

Retribution:

Amazing burst damage, some mobility, damage mitigation. Does that scare you? Dont be afraid, they are still a mellee class after all. They have a slim chance of dealing a random ranged attack when attacked (Crusader) but other than that nothing else really springs to mind. Like all the trees Retardins (lol) rely too much on their buffs and have a sub par mana pool.

The trick: kite, Kite, KITE…..slow spellsteal, bombard them with your most damaging attacks because this is going to be a very close fight. You can cut it close with this type of pally purely because of the fact that they have amazing burst capability. See them Heal? Counterspell them immediately and lock them out of their only spell source, they are literally powerless. In those four seconds blast them with all you have, and pray to the gods you outlast them.

Holy:

Quick, constant heals, hardly ever die, big mana pool, damage mitigation, excellent healers. But the good thing for us is that they hardly deal any damage (EXORCISM-LAWL), rely on buffs and only one school of magic. Movement limited as they have to remain still for a few seconds to cast their spells.

The trick: Healadins for me are the toughest version of a Paladin in terms of defeating them. It is an endurance fight and a battle of wills. The trick to beat them revolves around how quickly you can pump out the damage. You need to overwhelm them by constantly casting. The more frequent and consecutive the attacks the longer it will take them to pull off that all important heal. Counterspell when you see them casting, blow your mirror images, cast your “I win” button, arcane power and everything else you have, and pump out those arcane blasts and missiles. If all goes as planned they should go down quite quickly, use slow also for the 12% increase in damage output and hope it works. Thats all i can share with you. Healadins are tough, i am not going to lie..

If you have any tips, views or tricks in the process of deafeating paladins in any spec, shape or form, share t in the comments below…..Im intrigued..!

Until then…..

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius

He thought primarily at the location he was in, but later acknowledged it as his new home, Dalaran. The bastion of magic in Azeroth, floating above the Frozen North.

He got up and stretched his built arms wilst walking towards the diamond shaped windowsill. He perched his body and looked outward. In the distance he saw Crystalsong Forest lying below and spreading in the horizon. The ancient plantation in all its majestic glory, as far as the eye could see was laying there, solidified, dead but never the less beautiful. He gasped in the wonder at how something so surreal could be so lethal.

The light seperated as it struck the mirror edges of the trees and formed exquisite colours to the eye.

Archaius the Draenei Mage was finally welcomed into the  tight circle of the Kirin Tor. He had Proven his worth and his Alliance against the Burning Crusade in his homeland.

He peered at the water jug on the table beside him, the inanimate object stood there, lifeless. He flicked his hand and a purple hue engulfed the Jug, lifted it up and poured water into the bowl next to it. He proceeded to get washed while admiring his reflection in the water. He smiled as the Liquid touched his face, cooling him.

His long greying hair established a sense of wisdom and experience. He tied it into his staple Foxtail and it glistened like the moonlight. His complextion a glowing blue complimented it perfectly.

On a chair nearby his new attire was waiting, the Kirin Tor robe was folded, expensive and the tailoring that proceeded to make this garment was excellent. The combination of purple materials seemed to make it part of Dalaran itself. But the most eye catching aspect of this robe was the crest of Dalaran itself. It seemed to gaze into the soul, searching through, for the most minute of truths. The Eye of Dalaran above three daggers pointing downwards, a symbol that magic prevails over everything.

He positioned the robe over his head and allowed it to drop over his chunky muscular frame. It flowed downwards fitting him perfectly. The sleeves seemed to tighten along his upper arms with excellent precision. The robe fell just above his hooves, hooves that with one kick could stun, disarm and kill instantly. Behind him something seemed to move, just underneath his robe. Grabbing his spellblade Archaius made an incision on his newly crafted robe whils he felt a slight discomfort in minutely damaging the garment.

A long appendage flung out and within an instant of appearing found immediate ease, the gold ring that adorned it had runes of magic etched upon it. His tail offered him balance and dexterity and the occasional flirtatious swings.

His ankles where covered with his traditional homeland anklewraps, passed down by his father after he fell in battle. They where encrusted in gems, his signature purple colour that enhanced his abilities, they withstood alot over the generations as they posessed the power of invulnerability.

Last night he was paid a visit non other than Rhonin the Red himself, requesting him to meet this morning.

His red Flaming Hair looked like a lions mane and his face had no expression. His eyes appeard glassy in the darkenss. Archaius was reading a scroll he had recovered from his previous excursion at ShadowmoonValley, it was old, yellowed by time and the writing and runes on it appeared to glow an eerie green.

-Rhonin, to what i owe this pleasure?
Rhonin stepped forward, his face bareley noticable by the little candlelight that showered him.”I may have a Job for you Archaius, one that interests you fully!”

Archaius lifted himself from the ground and stood stoic.

-Im Listening…

Rhonin looked up at Archaius, his tiny frame was nothing compared to the muscular tall build of the wise mage. Two humans put side by side will barely make up his width and he was tall forcing Rhonin to strain in order to stare him in the eyes.

-I have a message from my scouts, Rhonin Paused, I am sorry to inform you that Minaloushe has failed in his mission.

“Failed?”, Archaius sniggered, “Then he will by all means keep trying to finish it, Minaloushe is not one to take failure lightly”.

-It seemed that the scourge army overwhelemed the small party i sent, including him, many have perished. Rhonin looked away and out to the darkeness.

Archaius’s eyes quickly dimmed and lost any vitality they had in them, he was saddened that his dear friend fell to the Scourge. As quickly as the Dimmed they flared up again, exposing an angered glare in his Amethyst coloured eyes, burning so bright where they that Rhonin’s face was fully visible.

-Explain, how did this happen! , Archaius was decisive while staring the Leader in the eyes.

“His body is to be retreived and brought to us tomorrow, for the medics to examine, i would expect you to be there, in first light.” Rhonin also seemed to grieve and with a wave of his hand he vanished, just as silently as he appeared.

Archaius was distraught and angry, his friend devoured by the plague called the scourge and the battle against the damned Lich King, that bastard Arthas.

He knelt down on one knee and closed his eyes. He would pray to the light for his lost friend, his comrade, and his brother. He prayed to the Naaru that the unfortunate High Elf’s soul was not to be sucked in to the Lich Kings will, but safely move on to the afterlife and find peace. His body glowed a golden hew, a ball of light formed before him and with words of the ancient Naaru send it towards the night sky, where it slowly lost its shine and disintegrated.

He wandered to his bedding, lay down and closed his heavy eyelids, his mind was in overdrive. The worries of the next day, Minaloushe, the Scourge, the mission, the Lich King.

Archaius gathered his elusive mind, too much passed through him that he lost the essence of time, what will he witness today, and what would Rhonin ask of him?

He took a deep breath and pulled the heavy timber door of his quarters. It was time to find out.

It seems that the Muses are out in full force and are pumping out their wisdom. The Greek Goddesses of the Olympiad have stepped down from their thrones to pass on their creativity.

Its not Calliope

Clio?

Maybe its Euterpe

or even Melpomene

Terpsichore is busy at the moment

Erato, the muse of love?

Polyhymnia the song muse? but this is a writing blog.

Urania is astrology based.

Thalia, but then again it isn’t poetry

Who could it be?

Its of course Windsoar the muse of the blog, settling over at the Jaded alt and pumping out enlightment to all the Bloggers out there who have congratulated her for her Six month blogging anniversary (6 months :0..).

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her also on her success, her amazing posts and hope that she continues to inspire.

So this Goddess blessed me with her infinite knowledge and set me a task. This is what she come up with:

*/cast Muse
You may be a mage summoning portals and strudel from thin air, but do think all that translocation is healthy? I mean, shouldn’t that strudel be toxic or something? Explain why I should eat your strudel or step through your portal and expect to be reasonably sized on the other side.*

I am going to answer this question with a little pazzang..!! (If thats even a word).

Mages are a powerful asset to anyone, we have plenty of utility when it comes to assisting others and their needs.

I remember once upon a time when i was but an apprentice in the long road of becoming a Mage. Wanting to become as strong as Khadgar Himself.

So off i went to the “Dalaran College of the Mage Arts” to pursue my destiny.

The Dalaran Mages have very high standards i will have you know, the exams where ludicrously hard, but i stuck through it , and now look at me…all imposing and stuff.

There where two classes that bothered me and caused alot of hassle, those sinister modules where Conjuration and Teleportation. I was completely hopeless when it came to it and the theory sucked. There was one positive to them though and that was the practicals, i wanted to learn.

Dabbling in the magic arts did not protect you from its dangers nevertheless.

The teleporting class started as a disaster, it required a great deal of concentration and will to even teleport myself to the room next door. It is by far the most dangerous stunt to do, i remember my first one…Vividly.

My Proffessor asked me to teleport myself to the other side of the grand lecture theater, it was a test to measure competence and to see my standing level.

So i stood up, took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I mumbled the words of power that i learnt off by heart a few days before and felt my body lighten almost immediately only to be back to its heavy feel again. Keeping my eyes closed i could hear the rest of the apprentices sniggering, that was the queue for me to mutter to myself *Stupid Archaius, you messed up again*.

I opened my eyes and looked around me, i was on the other side of the room. A cheer escaped me,

*i did it, i did it*

Then i tried to move, I looked down and to my horror and shock of what i saw made me let out a cry of despair and passed out.

Turns out i teleported straight into the desk, the bottom half of my body melded with the framework. If it wasn’t for the esteemed Mages of Dalaran working their magic in sepertaing me from the Stationary furniture i would be known untill now as:

Archaius Desklegs *Shudder*

Needless to say i exercised my methods day in and day out, time after time and managed to pass the module with flying colours. Im a complete pro now, *Looks Away*.

The portal buisness, was alot easier once the teleportation sequence was taught, all you had to do was think of the destination and say the words, at the final sentence make a tearing motion with your hand in the air to *cut* reality and open the portal. See? easy peasy. That reminds me, Lorena my friend used a portal from me when i was experimenting with my portals, i wonder where she might be.

So the answer to your first section my muse is this, translocation is healthy , if you can master it, very exausting sometimes so i refrain from using it often.

Onwards to the culinary class.

You need to be a top Culinary Mage to make *gasp* “The Studel”. Only a select few have gained the ability to master it. I must admit it took me a while to get the hang of it too.

A series of practical tests where required to pass this one and if you are going by with what i said previously, you know what is to come.

The first test was to conjure a perfectly formed muffin. Bouncy, puffy and full of taste.

What did is produce?

Something that resembled soup in a cup.

Three days of consecutive training i made the magic happen *No pun intended*.

The second test was to conjure a loaf of bread. It needed to be aromatic, moist and hot. That was easy, after all i got the hang of it right?

It happened when the bakery put up its fresh bread on for sale, the smell wafted through the air and into my nostrils. Due to the deep craving that i had at the time one just happened to appear in my hands.

Okay Okay….dont pressure me….i stole it……:S

But i produced another one shortly afterwards….i was hungray….!!

But this method is what helped me sail throught the rest of the tests. Imagine the food, picture it, the smell and the texture and *POOF*, there they where, materialized, real.

Then came the time of the Strudel, the pinaccle of my graduation as a culinary mage. I had to get it right, i shouldn’t fail.

The test was complex, it required many levels in creating the perfect strudel. The pastry in one hand, the jam in the other and of course the final process of merging them together in the final object. Very complex indeed.

The critic sampling the strudel was no other than Rhonin himself, i was such in awe at his appearance i started getting nervous.

All in all the Mages that where to graduate where fifteen, we stood in a line and conjured or strudels. Different varieties existed, Apple, strawberry, orange *Blurgh* and mine…..Grape!! *MMMM*

Rhonin went by…one by one he took a bite out of each Mage’s Strudel making grimaces that i couldn’t discern. Nice, bad, hideous? I could not tell.

It was my Turn *Gulp*

Rhonin Picked up a slice and placed it in his mouth after looking at it with……desire?

His eyes brightened as if he ate the foods of the gods, but it wasnt an expression of bliss…..He was choking!!

Vereesa, his wife, ran to the rescue and with the dexterity you could only see in the most accomplished of High Elf Rangers, quickly quelled the High Mage’s plight.

It dawned on me that i would never graduate, i would remain an apprentice for the rest of my life, that or become a Warlock, failure either way.

The results where in and i was not interested in the least, i knew i stood no chance.

-Strong competition was shown to us today by our apprentice Mages, out of the possible fifteen i am afraid only two will graduate this year from our academy. The rest need to stay and hone their skills.

*Rhonin was sooo harsh*

Graduating in second place this year is ……Garry Lotter *get it?*, congratulations!!

-First Prize goes to… Archaius…..well done, the Grape was an excellent touch to bring out the taste of the pastry, i have never felt so alive eating it.

My eyes lit up and was overwhelmed with joy, i graduated from Mage Academy and i was officially a Dalaran Mage.

That is the Story on how i made my Strudel. We had to go through that so that i could answer my muse’s question of course, im no self loathing mage you know, I do have a point to make.

I live off Strudel, it saves me alot of gold in the process, its not toxic and im living proof at how healthy it makes you ….*Flex*.

It fills you up and goes down a treat at parties, the only downside that i could think is that you could quite possibly get addicted to it. It is fat free, i conjure it that way you see, and it never spoils. It Dissapears in 15 minutes (I timed it), and if we run out I make more.

Thats why you should eat my Strudel. Its super Yummy, Rhonin approved and its….GRAPE FLAVOUR..!!

As for my portals dear muse, you can expect to reach the other side as a whole peice. I didnt spend all this time in Dalaran Academy to do half finished buisness I will have you know. Im no engineer that uses unpredictable wormholes. Portals are the original thing and wormholes are lets say the replica of a well tailored designer bag.

So if you want to be always full and content, without the excess weight hassle, be at the latest festival at any of the major cities i would strongly recommend becoming friends with a mage!!

Im offering….Be my friend…..Please???

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius…!!

Knowledge is power my friends and that is what i aim in obtaining.

i have recently hit a plateau as they say, burnout, pure boredom in the game. I feel that doing dailies, transmutes/cooldowns and the occasional PUG’s have become repetitive and lost their sparkle.

What did i do? Funny you should ask….

“Hi my name is Archaius and im an Altoholic..!!”

I rolled another toon, for kicks, i already have another two at 80 and a few others at varying levels. The one common thing in my 80′s though is that they are all casters. Mage, Druid (healer) and Hunter.

So i opted for Mellee. I thought long and hard….

Warrior?  Boring.

Paladin?  The light just isnt that bright enough.

Death Knight? God forbid, im no noob mkay? Instant Stigma not my thang kapish?

So i settled for my worst PvP ENEMY. The Elusive Rogue.

We all have a certain distaste towards that class. Im sure our fondest memories revolve around Questing in a contested zone only to have them gank us and devour us.

To be sneaked upon in the battlegrounds, only to just watch our health rapidly decrease while we where stunned, incapacitated and locked towards our impending doom.

So i took it upon myself to learn the class, be the stealthy assassin, the murderous hitman that Azeroth hears about but has not actually seen…….Because my friends, no one has actually lived long enough to tell of this tale.

The Rogue i chose is on the Alliance side (Naturally), he is a Gnome (Find them quite endearing) and he is called Sathernpansy (Who wouldnt be furious after being killed by a Gnome, even moreso if called that).

Such a lethal Cutiepie...!!

I have created him a few months back, and played with him up until the young tender level of 13, i subsequently ditched him for a while due to the fact that patch day meant, upgrading my characters that were 80. Having all these alts is hard work, but if you have a varying class base, offers alot of flexibility.

-Want a Dps?

-No sorry full, we just need Healz..!!

-Oh i happen to have one of those…!!

Fun all around.

So i wondered around in the forums, talked to my friends that own a decent enough rogue, and talked about specs and begun the journey in leveling my dear rogue.

Excess emblems meant that i could purchase some Heirloom gear for him. So i got him a pair of Daggers, the shoulders and the chest peices, and went on my way.

Most leveling guides pride themselves in getting a character from 1-80 in ten days of  “played” time. But rogues with Heirloom gear blast through the content so fast it was unbeleivable. I am now standing at level 69 with 5 days played on him.

I havent PvP’ed with him yet but i hope that i can get in there as soon as i cap. What i want is to get all my abilities and understand the mechanics behind them, how to do the whole stunlock thing, use my interrups when appropriate and destroy things. Works Perfectly fine against PvE mobs but i know from experience that PvE and PvP are two different worlds.

Killing a mob in three seconds flat excites me. The only downside is waiting for the cooldowns to be up again to get on the next one (cooldowns meaning like 10 secs or so ^^).

I have understood that Rogues rely on being stealthed to a great degree, the opening move that they use is what indicates the outcome of the battle, once they are discovered they are like a fish out of the water and easily Pew Pewed. A combat specced rogue on the other hand does not need to be stealthed to inflict their most hurtful moves, so they rely less on the stealth aspect, just like a leather wearing warrior?

STUNLOCK….I know that word makes me cringe too. But there is a way to combat this.

The Rogue basic rotation for a stunlock goes as so:

Opening Move: Cheap Shot (Stunned x seconds)

Build up of combo points using damaging moves.

Once Cheap shot Wears off, they immediately follow with Kidney shot which has a longer stun duration.

More Combo Points are built and then the,

Finishing Move : Evicerate (usually).

At this point Most clothies are dead (ouch!!)

But because we as mages are Awsomesauce we can counter it.

The trick is to Blink at Kidney shot, this wrecks the whole rotation for the rogue, turn around pompously, slow them and then slap a missle barrage in their face, pew pew pew ^^

The rogue will most likely at that point vanish, that moment i would recommend that you heal up because the next wave of damage is incoming. You could always invisibility and avoid the rogue altogether if you want, but if it happens that he doesnt let you go that easily follow through with the same battle sequence.

If you happen to have a whole bunch of poisons on your person, iceblock them away. Stay always at range because like all mellee the cardinal rule in their defeat is to KITE…!!

I hope this will give you a basic idea in combating our worst enemy. If you have any other nifty tips and tricks that you use against them please share it in the comments below for all to see.

I am hoping this to be the first of a series of installments on how you as an Arcane Mage can react against the different classes.

I am not saying im going to roll one of each class and figure out how they work…..

Or am I???

Im half way there already regardless…..(saaaaaaaad!!)

“Know thy enemy, be thy enemy, think like the enemy and prey on their weakness”

Fairwell Azerothians

Archaius!