Memories of Vanilla #30 - You Done Attunement, Right?

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here back with another installment of Memories of Vanilla - my reflective series of my Warcraft adventures back in 2005-2007.

Last time, I told about how I came to the decision to try and acquire a full set of Dreadmist gear, as well as how some of my adventuring went in pursuit of that goal. Needless to say, I was still a huge noob back then - so today I'd like to tell another nooby story that happened around that time.

I hope you enjoy. If you do, remember to leave a comment below telling me if you had a similar experience back in the day. But anyway, let's get right into the story...


------------------------------------------

Molten Giants in the Core

Back in early 2006, I remember watching Leika as his mage took on huge giants made of rock and magma. There was something intoxicating about what he was doing - talking with a clamor of voices in Ventrilo, spamming his Frostbolt icon, and running with a massive group of Alliance soldiers through the pits of this fiery cave - I was enthralled.

Well, fast forward to the summer, and I was ready! I was finally going to enter the Molten Core for myself.

One evening, shortly after hitting level 60 and somewhere in the middle of my quest to obtain a full set of Dreadmist gear, Leika called me on the phone and asked if I wanted to go to MC with his guild that night.

Oh boy, did I ever!

Naturally, I agreed and proceeded to stock up on mana potions, the only consumable I really knew about, before logging out to do other things before it started. I don't remember how I spent the time until the raid to be honest - probably played Aoyamamotoko or something - but eventually, it was time...

8:00PM - the summer sun still shone through the basement windows as I logged into Silvite and messaged Leika for an invite. Within seconds, it came - and I found myself in a group with around 30 other people. Other than my random experiences in Alterac Valley, this was the biggest group I'd ever been in. I was pumped up!

Molten Core Entrance

And then it hit me - I had no idea where Molten Core was or how to get there...

Sheepishly, I messaged Leika to ask where I should go. He lol'd (typical) and just told me to wait for a summon. They'd take care of me so long as I followed my healing assignments. This helped me to relax a little, but I was still really anxious to get inside and start fighting those baddies I'd seen before.

How Noobs Get Places...

Eventually, a window popped up: "[Player] wants to summon you." This was it! I clicked 'yes' and was transported to Blackrock Mountain - a place I only recognized from the few UBRS runs I'd done previously. Stoked, I /waved at everyone before watching them gather by some elf in a room. This is where something odd started happening...

One by one, my teammates started disappearing from that small room. I wondered why, but figured it would be best not to say anything for now. Eventually, only a handful of us remained - all in various guilds and looking just as confused. Leika whispered me, asking why I hadn't zoned in...and this is when I noticed where everyone else was - Molten Core.

Confused, I asked him how they'd gotten in - as they'd all simply disappeared from the room. Apparently, all I had to do was talk to the elf guy and he'd teleport me. I sighed, and walked over to the NPC, but all I could do was accept a quest...

"Attunement to the Core"

Attunement to the Core

Leika's response was, as expected, 'ROFL!' In my noobishness, I had never found out that I actually needed to attune for the raid. At this point, the raid leader asked us why we were all still standing outside. Apologizing, I said that I apparently hadn't done the attunement yet, but would get it done as soon as I could, hoping to somehow save my spot.

I, along with the others standing around outside, were told to get attuned first, then kicked from the raid group. So much for my dreams of slaying lava giants...




------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed the misadventure that was my first attempt at raiding in vanilla. It's one of those experiences that really helped me to grow as a player and one that, while negative at the time, I always look back on fondly now. After being kicked from the group, a few of us unattuned players did make a group and run the attunement quest in BRD, but by the time we actually finished it, the raid was long finished (yeah, we sucked). So I never actually got into MC that night, or ever again, in vanilla.

Luckily, I'll have another chance to do it right from August 27th. And I'm going to cherish every bit of it this time!

Anyway, that's it for today. If you enjoyed this story and would like to see more in the future, follow my blog by adding yourself to my email list below. Also, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel, as I eventually make videos of all of these stories over there as well. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates when new content is released, and consider supporting me on Patreon as well! Every dollar helps a lot in building up my content collection, and I truly appreciate it.

But yeah, that's enough shameless self-promotion for today. Thanks for reading. And as always, take it easy! :)

Memories of Vanilla #29 - 60 Goals

Dreadmist Raiment

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis back today with another Memories of Vanilla post for you!

Last time, I told the story of how I FINALLY hit level 60 in World of Warcraft - grinding zombies and cultists over in the Eastern Plaguelands. And while that was a big milestone for me, it really left me with one burning question:

Now what?

So join me, as I recount the story of how I decided on a goal for my freshly capped shadow priest, as well as some of the adventures that happened as I tried to achieve it! If you like this story, remember to follow my blog for more by adding yourself to my email list below. And, of course, check out my videos over on YouTube, as I put all of this content in a more engaging style over there as well.

But without further ado, let's get right into the story!

---------------------

I hit level 60 in the early summer of 2006, basically a full year after I'd started playing the game. However, I quickly noticed that I had no idea what to do. Leika had told me of the dungeons and raids - of Stratholme and Molten Core in particular - so I figured that it would probably be a good idea to run those.

Stratholme

And so, shortly after hitting level 60, I began running the only max-level dungeons I really knew about - Stratholme, Scholomance, and UBRS. Finding groups was pretty easy since everyone always wanted a priest - especially in the dungeons with lots of undead (shackle is OP), but other than "get blues" I didn't really have a goal.

One day, however, this all changed. I don't remember exactly where it was or what I was doing, but I came across a warlock fully decked out in the full tier 0 set - the Dreadmist Raiment. Instantly, I was hooked and convinced myself that I HAD to have it as well. After all, it just looked so...shadow-priesty!

Jandice Barov

So, I chatted with Leika, did some Thottbot searches, and began my long scavenger hunt-like adventure. Along the way, I picked up some great items, like the Starfire Tiara from UBRS and some pieces of the Devout set - you know, the set I SHOULD have been aiming for - but progress was slow.

Eventually, I managed to get a few pieces of the set - gloves, belt, boots, and helm. But I distinctly remember one item constantly eluding me - the shoulders. I must have run Scholomance to farm Jandice Barov at least a dozen times, but each time the shoulders remained out of reach. I was about to give up - after all, the summer was quickly coming to an end and I would be leaving for my year abroad soon, but one day I got a call from Leika saying he was setting up a Scholo group and they needed a healer. I sighed, but agreed to come heal as soon as I got home (I was out at the store with my mom at the time). About 20 minutes later, I was seated at my computer with Silvite in flight up to the Western Plaguelands.

The dungeon was pretty easy to be honest. Since the game had already been out for a while, most of us were pretty well geared (especially Leika), so it didn't take long for us to make it down to Jandice. Our onslaught began, and quickly she fell to our combined might. And there, sparkling on her corpse, I found them - the Dreadmist Mantle.

Needless to say, I got my shoulders...

Dreadmist Mantle

---------------------

I hope you enjoyed this short story of my initial goals as a level 60 shadow priest back in the day. Really, I think it's because I had no idea what I was doing that I ended up trying for a completely random set, but it gave my experience that much more meaning. Sure, I wouldn't be able to upgrade them, but to me, it was all about looking badass. And though I never completed the set back in the day (missed out on the robes), it was still a great adventure trying to.

Anyway, that's it for today. If you enjoyed this story and would like to see more in the future, remember to follow my blog by adding yourself to my mailing list below. Also, consider checking out my video content over on YouTube. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates when more content is released, and consider supporting me on Patreon if you'd like some additional perks! There's still quite a bit coming, but until next time...

Take it easy!

Memories of Vanilla #28 - Ding!

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here and today I'm back with a very important Memories story for you.

Ding, 60!

Back in the day, it took ages to get to max level in World of Warcraft. Like...months could go from the time you first created a character until you finally hit level 60. It was a grand adventure, and the feeling of accomplishment upon seeing that final yellow swirl glow around your character was one of the most amazing feelings in all of gaming, in my opinion.

Well after 27 episodes of leveling and adventuring through Azeroth, it's finally time to tell this particular story. Yes, today I'm going to share the story of how I finally hit level 60 in World of Warcraft. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the feels!

----------------------------

It was the early summer of 2006. School had just let out and I had a decent amount of things on my plate - working part-time, preparing documents and things for my upcoming foreign exchange, and, of course, lots of World of Warcraft time. It had been nearly a year since I'd first stepped foot into Azeroth and I was determined to finally get to 60 and get into raiding before I headed out across the world.

And so, one evening, after finishing up work and taking a much-needed shower, I logged in and looked at my experience bar - just over halfway through level 58. I had nothing to do the next morning. It was time. I was finally going to hit level 60...

The Noxious Glade

The grind began. Having talked with Leika about it before going to work that day, I flew up to Light's Hope Chapel to make my way over to my grinding spot just past the Browman Mill - the Noxious Glade. This area was perfect for my priest, as I could shackle any extra undead I accidentally pulled, mind control the cultists in the area, and collect lots of Scourgestones from the enemies to increase my Argent Dawn reputation along the way. Plus, they dropped lots of cloth for my tailoring, so it was really the ideal place to go.

The grind began. At this point, I was tapped out of quests and I also knew that running dungeons at this point would be mostly futile - as the experience from mobs wasn't really worth forcing my priest into groups. For hours, I ran in a loop around the undead-filled wasteland - mowing down skeletons, ghouls, and cultists as efficiently as I could - all the while watching as my experience bar slowly filled up.

Dread Weaver (My Final Pre-60 Mob)

Around 10:30PM, I hit level 59. My rested experience was all but spent, and I started to doubt if I'd be able to make my goal, but nevertheless I persevered - slaying wave after wave of the scourge forces. Hours passed; cans of Mountain Dew littered the area around my feet; and my eyes and hands grew wearier and wearier.

But it was worth it. It was just after 7:30AM when I killed that final skeletal mage. A yellow aura surrounded my dark-purple shadow priest and I sighed. It was finished. I had reached level 60!

I picked up the phone and immediately called Leika, who was less than thrilled that I woke him up so early on a day he didn't have work. But when I told him I'd capped, he jumped onto his computer.

"Dude, let's go do Stratholme!"

"YEAH!" I agreed. I was super-hyped since it would be my first dungeon as a max level character. I was finally going to be able to enjoy the endgame of World of Warcraft!

Stratholme

When he logged in, I asked him to set up the group while I took a shower since I needed another one after pulling an all-nighter. He agreed and I left for about 20 minutes, sending Silvite off on a flight path back to Light's Hope after grabbing some new spells. However, when I returned to my PC, he'd only been able to find a hunter to join us. Feeling the exhaustion set in, I wearily typed a message to my groupmates:

"Actually guys, I'm super tired from pulling an all-nighter. Leika, let's do this later... I'm gonna hit the sack..."

"Sure thing bud. Good night!" he replied.

I went upstairs, opened my bedroom door, and immediately passed out - with a huge grin on my face.

----------------------------

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Memories of Vanilla. This particular story is especially nostalgic for me, as you can probably imagine, as it was such a long time coming. Hitting level 60 was such a momentous occasion that to this day, I can't think of anything else in WoW that comes close to the feeling I experienced back then. Sure, Sarth +3 10 man and heroic Lich King 25 were big, but that first time hitting level 60 was just that much sweeter. And it's a memory of a time long past that I'll treasure forever.

But anyway, that's it for today. If you enjoyed this story, let me know by adding yourself to my email list and leaving a comment below. Also, follow me on Facebook and Twitter for content updates, and check out my videos over on YouTube for more! Finally, if you really enjoy my content like this, consider becoming one of my patrons over on Patreon as well, so that I can keep doing what I love in the future. I really appreciate the support. But for now, and as always, take it easy!