As I said I would in my Blackwing Lair post, here are my thoughts on the Zul’Gurub raid re-released on the 15th April. Since the launch, my guild mates and I have been consistently clearing the raid for the spoils within.
The raid is easy, too easy in fact. Designed for 20 people, my guild easily clear it with around 15 players with no notable increase in difficulty. Some of the content can even be done with just 1 or 2 people. Personally, there is no new loot that is best in slot (BiS) for me, but, for a while, I did have one of two items as a temporary upgrade to what I had. The main objective for me has been to acquire two Primal Hakkari Idol’s in order to buff (improve) my helmet and leg slot items with Death’s Embrace. Another objective has been to reach exhaulted with the Zandalar Tribe so that I can purchase a Zandalar Signet of Might to improve my shoulder slot item. All of these things I am happy to say I have achieved as have most of my fellow guild members.
Other notable items are the Warblade of the Hakkari sword set and Thekal’s Grasp fist weapon set. While these items are not the best for me, I would still like them for vanity purposes and it would be fun to use them, perhaps in a PvP or dungeon setting. At the moment I have one of each and will continue to keep an eye out for the others.
Other than the items mentioned above, I, like just about anyone who plays World of Warcraft, would love to have either Swift Razzashi Raptor or Swift Zulian Tiger. Both of these are incredibly rare, so much so that for my guild only one Swift Zulian Tiger has dropped from High Priest Thekal and was awarded to fellow guild member Defel as seen below. You can see when it dropped during the raid in the above video around 28 minutes 30 seconds in and is linked in the video description.
Overall I am once again disappointed at how easy this content is. To be fair Zul’Gurub is designed to help newly leveled characters obtain good enough loot so that they can raid Blackwing Lair. I also appreciate most people playing Classic Word of Warcraft are well prepared this time around and that there is much more resources available today than there was 15 or so years ago. I just hope that future content, namely Ahn’Qiraj and Naxxramas, will offer some challenge.
Also, with the launch of Zul’Gurub, there is another world buff to collect before each raid. I have never been a fan of word buffs and wish all buffs would be removed as soon as you step inside a raid instance. This would remove the need of spending hours each week obtaining the buffs and would make each raid slightly harder. Thankfully, I have had a lot of time on my hands these past months, so it’s not so much of a big deal. Ordinarily however I would attend raids with only some of the buffs which in turn would make me look weak in comparison to fellow guild members and spoil some of my fun.
With just 1 more month of the Snooker Nation season Jason and I are playing, with only 4 games in hand, each match is more vital than ever before. At the end of May I have a two game advantage which means I will need to win 2 of the next 4 games to guarantee victory whereas Jason will need to win all 4. If I win 1 game and Jason 3, it will come down to frames won difference.
This is perhaps the best Snooker Nation match Jason has ever played. I don’t think he missed a single shot and won 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11 while securing 3 century breaks including an impressive maximum break of 147 in the 3rd frame, 128 in the 5th and 135 in the 8th frame. To be fair, I didn’t play especially bad and got a century of my own of 133 in the 4th frame.
Compared to the previous match, this was the polar opposite for Jason who missed shot after shot which ultimately cost him the match by losing 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11. I didn’t play especially well but did secure 2 century breaks, 130 in the 1st frame and 100 in the 9th and final frame. Jason did at least get a century of his own of 104 in the 4th frame, but I get the feeling this a match he will not want to remember.
This was not a good match for either of us. Both Jason and I missed a lot of easy shots and made some terrible mistakes. Ultimately however, Jason won 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11. There was just 1 century break of 122 in the 3rd frame belonging to me.
Once again both Jason and I played poorly which is strange statement to make as I did score a maximum break of 147 in the 5th frame. This however was the only century of the evening and the only ‘clean’ frame with the others being scrappy at best. I did however win 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11, not that either of us deserved to win. With just over 1 month to go of our second Snooker Nation season, we have only 5 games in hand with me leading 13-10. With this in mind Jason can only afford to let me win 1 more game if he has any chance of winning the season, and even then he will need to beat me on frames won difference.
Yet another poor match but Jason did play a bit better than the last couple of matches. This time he won 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11. There were 3 century breaks in total, Jason had 101 in the 3rd frame while I had 108 in the 5th frame and 101 in the 7th frame. Could this be the start of a 5 match win streak needed to win Snooker Nation season 2?
| Played | Won | Frames Won | Centuries | Highest Break | |
| Copper | 24 | 13 | 117 | 30 | 147 x 3 |
| Jason | 24 | 11 | 111 | 31 | 147 x 2 |
Last December I wrote about the Classic World of Warcraft Onyxia Lair raid, since then however I have neglected to write about other raids such as Blackwing Lair. Ever since Blackwing Lair was launched in Classic World of Warcraft my guild has cleared it of all of the bosses and distributed the loot. With the exception of the last two bosses in the first week and from being on standby a subsequent week, I have been present for all guild raids. As such I have been lucky enough to have been awarded 8 pieces of loot so far which is around 1 piece of loot every 2 weeks, my favourite being Claw of the Black Drake, which actually needs replacing as soon as possible, either with Chromatically Tempered Sword or Vis’kag the Bloodletter if I can get a better offhand weapon.
Blackwing Lair also contains most of the tier 2 set items which for me is the Bloodfang Armour set. So far I have 6 out of 8 set items and will be overjoyed if I am able to complete the set which will give me a powerful set bonus, at least for sword rogues such as myself.
When I played Vanilla World of Warcraft, around 15 or so years ago, I don’t recall ever attending a Blackwing Lair raid and, while in later expansions I frequently cleared the raid to obtain loot for vanity, I didn’t know what to expect. Here is a video of my guild and I clearing Blackwing Lair back in April. I have time stamped each boss in the description for those who are interested in a certain encounter.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed at how easy the raid is. I imagine it was much harder during Vanilla when the raid was first released, but, even so, most of the time it seems very forgiving when mistakes are being made.
Blackwing Lair is currently where most of the best items can be obtained and as such I shall try to continually attend raids my guild organize, even in the unlikely event I am awarded every item I want in there, it is still a great place to help others get the items they need for future, hopefully more difficult, content.
I shall endeavour to write about my experiences and opinions about the other raids Classic World of Warcraft currently has to offer, Molten Core and the somewhat recently released Zul’Gurub.
Not too long ago I aquired a SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) emulator and, as well as Street Fighter II, I have been using it to play Super Mario Bros. This has in turn inspired a trip down memory lane.
One of the first video games I ever played was Super Mario Bros on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Some of my earliest memories is staying with my father and playing this game for the first time. The idea that you could control the movements of a character on the television was magical, at least to 4 or 5 year old me.
Later, aged 7, I needed an operation in hospital. Obviously this wasn’t a pleasant experience but there was a room on the children’s ward that had an NES and indeed Super Mario Bros. One of the older kids showed everyone a secret he discovered on the first level of the game, where you could get an extra life. The idea that the game had hidden secrets to be discovered amazed me and I later found out that the game was full of them.
Not long after my stay in hospital, I was given a second hand NES with a small collection of games including Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Double Dragon II and III among a few others.
For readers who are not aware of this iconic game which was first released in 1985, I created a sample of the game play using the SNES emulator.
The SNES emulator is actually emulating a game called Super Mario All Stars which included Super Mario Bros and was released in 1993. As far as I am aware, this is the first instance of a game being remade and includes improved graphics and soundtrack.
When playing legitimately, by that I mean by not using any of the games exploits or cheats, I have managed to reach level 3 of world 8 with 882,600 points (Last updated 29/05/2020). This is by no means an impressive accolade but I want it documented should I wish to try and beat my record.
It’s nice to play something different than World of Warcraft or Snooker Nation. While I doubt I will sink too much time playing Super Mario Bros, I do hope to play a more variety of old and new games in the future.
I have had yet another excellent month of Classic WoW. I have continued to dabble in PvP (Player vs Player) to maintain rank 7 (Knight-Lieutenant) by getting around 50,000 honour points a week which is very little and takes maybe 2 or 3 hours to accomplish.
My guild and I continue to clear the Molten Core and Blackwing Lair raids and as a result I have been awarded two pieces of loot which I can cross off my wish list below.
Prestor’s Talisman of Connivery
Cloak of Firemaw
Bloodfang Chestpiece
Bloodfang Bracers
Bloodfang Belt
Band of Accuria
Master Dragonslayer’s Ring
Drake Fang Talisman
Chromatically Tempered Sword (Main hand weapon)
Maladath, Runed Blade of the Black Flight (Off hand weapon)
In addition, I have also been awarded Taut Dragonhide Belt without incurring GP (Gear Points). In my opinion this is more suitable for a feral druid, however, none of the druids wanted the belt and I think it is pretty good for my rogue until I get Bloodfang Belt and even then may continue to be useful in PvP.
Last week, the right hand Bindings of the Windseeker used to create the Classic WoW iconic legendary Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker dropped from Garr in Molten Core. Of all the years playing World of Warcraft I think this comes close to one of my favourite moments. I now look forward to seeing the left hand bindings drop and helping our main tank, Eremir, create the sword.
My guild and I have also been clearing the recently released Zul’Gurub raid and, while there is nothing there on my wish list, I have been fortunate enough to have been given the items I require, namely Primal Hakkari Idol and Punctured Voodoo Doll to enchant both my head and leg item with Death’s Embrace. I will need to continue to raid Zul’Gurub to obtain exhaulted reputation with the Zandalar Tribe who will in turn sell me a Zandalar Signet of Might which will enchant my shoulder item.
I am pleased to have reached exhaulted reputation with Timbermaw Hold. What I most enjoyed about this experience is when you report to the Dwarf King Magni Bronzebeard in Ironforge he yells “Let it be known that Mithril – Alliance Rogue – has earned the undying respect of Ironforge and the Alliance as a whole. She has engaged in great diplomacy with Timbermaw Hold and performed valiant actions for them on our behalf. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Three cheers for Mithril – a true hero of the Alliance!”
It seemed to take forever, but I am also happy to be able to cross off getting 300 bow skill from my goals list. I have added getting exhaulted reputation with Zandalar Tribe which should be very easy.
Gain exhaulted with Timbermaw Hold
Gain exhaulted with Argent Dawn
Gain exhaulted with Zandalar Tribe
Get 300 skill in fishing
Get 300 skill in bow
Get 300 skill in gun
Finally and perhaps more importantly, on the 29th April, the officers in my guild, Inspire, decided to promote me to the rank of Veteran. This rank gives me access to an exclusive veteran channel on the guild discord server and will give me the occasional opportunity to help the officers steer the guild when decisions need to be made. To many, this may seem trivial, but to me shows that my efforts have been recognized and that my guild mates enjoy playing Classic WoW with me and want me to be a core part of the guild. I am really proud of how far I have come since my Playing Alone post written back in September and I am proud to be a part of the Inspire community.
In my WoW: Arathi Basin post I said that I would endeavour to write about the Warsong Gulch battleground. Warsong Gulch is the first battleground to be released in WoW (World of Warcraft) 15 or so years ago. Because of this, Warsong Gulch has some of my first PvP (Player vs Player) memories as a level 30 – 40 druid where I needed to make my way to the Ashenvale battleground entrance (There were no battle masters at first) to queue for 20 – 40 minutes at a time to get a game. Here is the original video Blizzard Entertainment created for Warsong Gulch.
Warsong Gulch is a very simple 10 vs 10 capture the flag game, the first team to capture 3 flags, wins. To do this a team must take the enemy flag from the enemy base where they started and take it to their own base. If an enemy has your flag, you can return it to your base by killing them and clicking on the flag before another enemy player. I have won and lost countless games of Warsong Gulch and have established that there are numerous ways to win the game but, in my opinion, the most effective way is to try and control the middle of the battleground. Doing this makes it easier to react to either defend an ally who has the flag or kill an enemy who has your own while making it more difficult for your opponents.
I have already shown off in my WoW: April Update post, but I would like to share another good Warsong Gulch score sheet of mine.
Here is a video I made of a Warsong Gulch match. I feel as though my video editing skills are slowly getting better but the actual capture and/or rendering of the video could be improved. Something for me to think about when I create more videos for my blog.
Like with Arathi Basin, there is a PvP faction, Silverwing Sentinels for the Alliance and Warsong Outriders for the horde. Silverwing Sentinels is by far my most favourite faction and have my favourite tabard. It’s not easy for a casual player, but I will attempt to play enough matches in order to reach exhaulted reputation and earn the tabard over a long period of time.
This month both Jason and I scored a maximum break of 147 and, with a lot more time on our hands, we squeezed in 7 matches. We have agreed however that we shouldn’t play more than once a week moving forward as we both found that playing too often took the fun out of the game. I have ended the April with a 3 match lead which is pretty big given that there are only two months left of our second Snooker Nation season.
A nice start for me this month winning 6 frames to 4 in a best of 11, putting me ahead on matches won. I got lucky this match as at one stage I was down 4 frames to 1 but somehow managed to win 5 frames in a row to claim victory. There were three century breaks, 101 in the 3rd and 133 in the 5th frame belonging to Jason, I myself secured a break of 136 in the 8th frame.
Winning this match 6 frames to 5 in a best of 11 gives me a 2 match win streak. There were 4 century breaks in total, I got 122 in the 1st frame which incidentally could have been my 3rd maximum break of 147 if I hadn’t of messed up the positioning on the final green ball. I also got 131 in the 11th and final frame. Jason bagged 2 centuries of his own, 114 in the 4th and 109 in the 8th frame.
Jason ends my win streak beating me 6 frames to 4 in a best of 11 and, perhaps more importantly, scores a break of 147 in the 4th frame, the maximum break possible in a game of snooker. This is after 438 hours of Snooker Nation playtime and is an excellent achievement which I captured in the video below. Jason also scored 111 in the 7 frame which further demonstrates how well he played this week.
After the domination Jason showed in our last match, including scoring a maximum break of 147, I am relieved to have won this match 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11. There were numerous opportunities for me to score century breaks but I was not able to capitalize. As a result Jason scored the only century for the evening of 115 in the 3rd frame.
I felt a little bad after this match. At times I was somewhat lucky with the balls but from the offset Jason had all the bad luck, resulting in me winning 6 frames to 2 in a best of 11 with the only century break of 139 in the 7th frame. We agreed that we have been playing far too much Snooker Nation lately. With this extra time on our hands we have been playing more than we normally would which is taking the fun out of it. Perhaps it’s time we looked at playing a different game as well as Snooker Nation while we, more so I, have all this spare time.
This was a far more enjoyable match, we both played really well and it could have gone either way. In the end I was victorious winning 6 frames to 4 in a best of 11. There were 4 century breaks between us, Jason got a massive 141 in the 2nd frame and 119 in the 8th. I am chuffed to get a 147 in the 3rd frame which makes 3 maximum 147 breaks in my Snooker Nation career. I also scored a break of 106 in the 9th frame.
After winning 3 matches in a row, Jason once again breaks my win streak winning 6 frames to 3 in a best of 11. I am slightly annoyed with myself because the shots I missed were by a large margin. Usually, when missing, the ball will rattle around the pocket but most of my misses this week were not even remotely close. There were 3 centuries, Jason scored 104 in the 5th frame and 128 in the 8th frame where as I got a massive 142 in the 7 frame.
| Played | Won | Frames Won | Centuries | Highest Break | |
| Copper | 19 | 11 | 96 | 23 | 147 x 2 |
| Jason | 19 | 8 | 87 | 26 | 147 |
I think I have had an excellent month of Classic World of Warcraft. As indicated in my previous post WoW: Arathi Basin, I have been PvPing a fair amount and have reached rank 7 (Knight-Lieutenant). I plan to continue to PvP but only to maintain my rank or perhaps slowly increase it. I will endeavour to write about the other two battlegrounds, Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley in due course. For now, I want to share a moment of pride after winning a Warsong Gulch battle yesterday with 20 killing blows, 1 death, 44 honourable kills and 2 flag returns. I really showed those Russians!
Having consistently cleared Blackwing Lair, Molten Core and Onyxia’s Lair raids with my guild, I have been fortunate enough to have been awarded a number of new items and as such can cross out Bloodfang Spaulders, Vis’kag the Bloodletter and Striker’s Mark from my wish list below:
Prestor’s Talisman of Connivery
Bloodfang Spaulders
Cloak of Firemaw
Bloodfang Chestpiece
Bloodfang Bracers
Bloodfang Belt
Band of Accuria
Master Dragonslayer’s Ring
Drake Fang Talisman
Chromatically Tempered Sword (Main hand weapon)
OR
Vis’kag the Bloodletter (Optional, 2nd best main hand)
Maladath, Runed Blade of the Black Flight (Off hand weapon)
OR
Brutality Blade (Optional, 2nd best offhand weapon)
Striker’s Mark
While it is not best in slot (BiS) I have been given Nightslayer Chestpiece which is a lot better than what I had and I only paid half GP (Gear Points) for it after sharing my views on the GP values of items which are no longer BiS with my guild officers. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of items going to waste as outlined in my WoW Loot Systems post but it is also good to know that the officers in my guild are genuinely open to suggestions and, if they so choose, act upon them when appropriate.
In addition to these items I also acquired a Claw of the Black Drake fist weapon. Although I wish to use swords, I have really enjoyed using this weapon as it hits pretty hard. For now I think this is a better weapon for my PvP (Player vs Player) escapades, but will stay true to swords and try to replace it, preferably with Chromatically Tempered Sword or Maladath, Runed Blade of the Black Flight as listed above (I have gone off Brutality Blade).
Last month I set myself some goals, only one of which I can cross off but I have made some excellent progress with most of the others:
Gain exhaulted with Timbermaw Hold
Gain exhaulted with Argent Dawn
Gain exhaulted with Stormpike Guard
Get 300 skill in fishing
Get 300 skill in bow
Get 300 skill in gun
Moving forward I hope to cross off more from my lists, In addition a new raid, Zul’Gurub, will be released tomorrow which I am hoping will be a lot of fun and will give me more goals and objectives to pursue.
As part of my Classic World of Warcraft journey I have been trying to PvP (Player vs Player). All three battlegrounds for Classic World of Warcraft are now available which include Arathi Basin.
Arathi Basin is located in the Arathi Highlands zone of Eastern Kingdoms and is a 15 vs 15 king of the hill type of battle. The Alliance and the Horde battle for control of 5 bases (Stables, Gold Mine, Lumber Mill, Blacksmith and Farm) which provide resources for the war effort. The team which reaches 2000 resources first wins the match. For the Alliance there is The League of Arathor NPC (non playable character) faction and for the Horde The Defilers.
I have a copy of the original Arathi Basin PvP trailer produced by Blizzard Entertainment in or around 2004 and have uploaded it to youtube.
There are many strategies to win an Arathi Basin match. Some believe holding the Blacksmith located in the middle of the map holds the key. Others believe playing a defensive match once your team has captured 3 bases is best. My favourite way to to win Arathi Basin to to play offensively, even when your team has more bases. This usually forces the opposing team to defend, even when you have the advantage. As they say, ‘the best defense is a good offence’.
Over the years I have won and lost countless Arathi Basin games. I have found that there is no single superior strategy to win. Simply hold more bases than your opponent for more than half of the duration of the game and you will win. React quickly as a team, defend and fight for the flag of each base, use crowed control (stunning/immobilizing enemy players) and you will most likely win. Here is a recording of me playing a game with my Rogue. As a side note, this is my first ever public Youtube video.
Moving forward, I plan on continuing to casually PvP and maybe even reach exhaulted status with The League of Arathor. I will also endeavour to write about the other two Classic WoW battlegrounds, Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley. Classic WoW PvP has been a very different experience than Vanilla WoW which is something I also feel compelled to write about.
March has been an exceptionally good month for me in Snooker Nation, winning 3 of the 4 matches played and also scoring my second maximum break of 147. Jason managed to claw a match back at the end of the month making us equal in matches won. I am however technically in the lead on frame difference, which is a much better position than I was at the beginning of February, being down 4 matches to 1.
This has been one of the best Snooker Nation matches I have ever played. Not only did I win 6 frames to 2 in a best of 11, but I also walked away with 4 centuries, including maximum break of 147 in the 4th frame. It’s the second time I have scored a maximum break, the first time being last September. The other centuries were 119 in the 1st frame, 131 in the 3rd and 110 in the 8th and final frame. Jason also scored a century break of his own of 126 in the 7th frame making it 5 centuries in 8 frames between us.
My win streak continues winning 6 frames to 5 in a best of 11. There were two century breaks this week, 100 in the 2nd frame and 102 in the 4th frame, both belonging to me. With this win I take the lead on frame difference. I just hope my luck doesn’t run out just as I start to get ahead.
Another victory sees me take the lead on matches won for the first time this season. This time I won 6 frames to 4 in a best of 11 with another two centuries under my belt. 102 in the 1st frame and 101 in the 10th and final frame. My win streak has been ongoing for a while now, hopefully it will last and I can build up a comfortable lead.
Jason was able to end my win streak, beating me 6 frames to 5 in a best of 11. At one stage I was winning 5 frames to 3 so it was good show of Jason to win 3 frames in a row to claim victory and put us back level on matches won this season. There were two century breaks, 121 in the 7th frame belonging to me and a massive 141 in the 8th frame belonging to Jason which equals his highest break so far this season.
| Played | Won | Frames Won | Centuries | Highest Break | |
| Copper | 12 | 6 | 59 | 16 | 147 |
| Jason | 12 | 6 | 57 | 15 | 141 |