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What an amazing week we have had leading up to this week’s special episode. This week we welcome the winner of the 2009 Children’s Week Child’s Play Charity Auction, Dave, along with our extra crunchy super-star guest, TotalBiscuit. Straight from his 4 year anniversary over at WC Radio with his show, Blue Plz, TB takes off the gloves and enjoys a rousing romp through a few of this weeks topics around the interwebz. TB also shares with listeners the recipe for his soon to be infamous caffeine laden concoction.

Also in this episode, TB lays out an open bet with any add-on developer willing to take a risk and push the limits of the new, and gives a pro-tip when answering a listener e-mail about how to find the right gear when leveling.

Getting to this episode is going to be challenging since we are going through some website changes. You can listen to it here, or via the embedded play on our website. And, if you happened to miss last week’s show, you can grab it here. Please bare with us while we undergo these exciting new changes to the website and show. We appreciate your patience, and we can’t wait for you to see it all very soon!

Links to items discussed this week:

• New Druid Bear Forms
  
• wowhead.com’s loot search feature
• Kalaban’s Loot List
• Avoiding Cookie Cutter Gear
• Mountain Dew Promotion is Underway

We have an EXCITING SUMMER shaping up!
Check out the Rawrcast Calendar
for the complete line-up!

It seemed like it took forever, but I finally reached 80! There were quite a few things that slowed, and at some points nearly stopped my leveling this time around. But, all told, I intentionally took my time leveling, enjoying the story lines and learning more about the lore along the way.

For the most part my T6 equivalent gear has not been replaced, and I have picked up a complete set of feral gear from quest rewards and leatherworking craftables. I also picked up a plethora of achievements along the way. So, now what?

Preparing for Raiding
Currently I am a healer in a raiding guild, so my primary focus will be getting up to speed with my gear by running heroics and topping out the rep needed for the gear I have selected with the primary factions.

Researching gear ahead of time is a wise use of time while leveling. There are many valuable resource sites available to aid in gear selection.

• MaxDPS
• WoWwiki
• Kaliban’s Class Loot Lists
• MMO Champ

Doing a little legwork gives a clear path for rep grinds and prioritizes gear needed. I usually lay out a little spreadsheet in docs.google.com for easy access which lays out the slots/item/rep/materials needed to fill the upgrades I am looking for.

So, now that I know what gear I am looking for, now it is time for…

Heroic Onslaught
Pick-up groups, guild runs, and 10-man Naxx as often as resets allow. We all know that gear drops don’t usually come as easy as we hope, so take the opprotunity during these runs to get to know your guildies, friends and server-co-habitants – establish relationships and expand your circle of friends.

Dailies!
Doing daily quests consistently will increase your rep with the necessary factions quicker that just sporting their handy-dandy reputation tabard. And, it puts much needed cash in your backpack! Handling the same handful of quests in an efficient pattern around Northrend will come faster and faster each day as doing the quest becomes second nature, and as your gear level increases.

Stockpile
Beyond 10-man Naxx, raiding consumables will be necessary on a very consistent basis. Stock up by farming materials during off-nights and watching the auction house for good buys. Shop Smart, Shop S-mart!

Happy Hunting!

Of the 70 or so players in our guild, we now have close to ten level 80′s, and counting. Since we are only a little over a week into this expansion, it leads me to wonder – how on in the world of Azeroth is this content going to keep us occupied for the next few years if everyone is blowing through questing and instances like the idea of leveling in itself is some sort of competition?

Even more important, there are more fascinating aspects of the game that I hope people aren’t bypassing while they have their eye focused on 80.

Lore
The story lines in the quests leading to and from each zone and sub-zone are amazing. I have referenced this fact before, but the further I get along, the more intrigued I am by the stories coming full circle, and obscure references to stories not mentioned since the original game.

Scenery
It is worth noting that nearly half of the manual that came with the WOTLK expansion pack was a listing of credits for artists who worked on the game. And, equally impressive is the amazing artwork within the game. I often times find myself staring at the sky or the waterfalls, underwater worlds or the character movements of NPCs and truly gasp with amazement at the work put into this game. It really is becoming a world within a world.

Pugging
I know most people hate the very idea of pugging, but I believe that grouping outside of the guild is a great way to meet new people and introduce existing friends to new ones. Someone that is racing to 80 by AOE farming or instance hacking isn’t adding any value to their gaming experience outside of their personal goal.

I know that the WoW-experience is different for everyone, and that anyone paying a monthly subscription is entitled to their on level of play. But, I believe to truly enjoy all aspects of the game is equally important as the larger goal of reaching level 80.

With the Death Knight on the back burner for the time being, I am hitting Howling Fjord hard and heavy. The questing is so very well planned in the Wrath of the Lich King, and the stories are amazing. The zones have many sub-zones this time around with quest-hubs with chains anywhere from 5-20 quests deep. And, with the linear chains lead to each of the various sub-zones. All are very well thought out in efforts to avoid overcrowding in various areas.

So, with these amazing stories comes little lessons in lore and happenstance along the way. Today’s adventure in northern Howling Fjord lead me to Gjalerbron, where after slaying Queen Angerboda for the quest The Slumbering King, the Lich King yells:

which equates to the fact that I will see Ymiron again. And now, having done the quest line leading up to that moment, I understand why he is angry. But, I have to do some reaserch on why he is so sleepy.

Winding down the zone I was able to get into a party for Utgarde Keep, one of the two instances within Howing Fjord. The story about the Keep’s existence, and how it relates to the zone is very evident. And, much to my amazement, the first boss was the good ol’ Death Knight teacher-guy from back in Eastern Plaguelands – none other than Prince Keleseth. Knowing that he is a hard and fast member of the scourage, which I am working to exterminate throughout Northrend, I was happy to take part in kicking his ass.

Overall, Utgarde Keep was a great first WOTLK dungeon experience. The story lines were great, and the imagery and interaction was amazing.

I swear, if I see another Deathnyte, Deadbourne, Nitedeath, Deadnite, or any other lame combination of the words dead, death, night, born, or dark…. I will shove my fishing pole up someone’s Deathcharger. It amazes me that people who are in this ultra-story of an MMO can’t do any better than Deadnub when it comes to picking a name for their Death Knight.

Maybe I am some sort of anal wierdo when it comes to picking a name, but I figure that since most of the time people end up referring to each other by our character’s name there should be more to it than the obvious. I would equate it to the idea that every new child in the is coincidentally named Bob, or some variation of Bob. There is Bob in this family, Robert in this other, Bobby is the neighbor, then this guy Bawb works in the bank, and Rawbert at the store. How strange and generic would that be? Calling all Death Knights dark or dead something-or-other is pretty much the same thing in my mind.

Be imaginative people! Read some lore, discover the ideas and history of the toon you are about to invest a crap-load of time playing! Sheesh!