Memories of TBC - Episode 3: The Friendly Hunter

New Friend?

Hey dudes - Silvite Soltis here. And today, I have another installment of Memories of TBC for you all to enjoy.

As I'm sure we all know from watching seven seasons of My Little Pony - friendship is magic. So today, that's what I'm going to be talking about - the story of how I met one of my longest in-game friends in World of Warcraft. As far as I'm aware, this is the final big event that I experienced before finally being able to step through the Dark Portal, although at this point, the lines are quite blurry, so it might have actually happened slightly after my first adventures in Outland on my priest. Either way, it's a memory that I cherish from out in the open world of Kalimdor from back in the day, so here it is.

Before getting into the story, though, I'd just like to take the time to day thanks for coming to read it. If you enjoy it, feel free to add yourself to my mailing list below, so you can get updates when I release new content like this in the future. There's a lot more coming as we head toward Classic TBC, so let's keep the hype train going!

But anyway, with that out of the way, let's get right into the story...

Memories of TBC
Episode 3: The Friendly Hunter

It was a hot and humid May day back in 2007. I'd recently come home from a Saturday morning kendo practice at school to my newest, and final, host family's house, and I wanted to relax a bit through the afternoon. My host parents were still busy with work and errands until the evening, so I had free range of the house. And you know what that means - World of Warcraft on the family laptop!

I sat down at the short coffee table in the small living room of the house, just in front of the couch. Firing up the laptop (which was leaps and bounds ahead of the ancient technology that my previous host families had tried to pass off as computers, by the way), I eagerly wondered what I should do today - take my priest around to farm gold, level my tauren druid through the mid-20s, or continue the grind on my favorite alt - Aoyamamotoko.

I chose the third option, and swiftly logged onto my purple elf lady to go continue a quest chain that I'd started a few days prior in Felwood. Though I'd hearthed back to Darnassus to gain that sweet sweet rested XP in my previous play session, I was soon back in that creepy forest and began making my way down to the middle of the zone - to an area called Jaedenar.

Jaedenar

I don't recall the specific details of the quests over here to be honest, but the general gist of it was that I had to kill a bunch of these cultists in and around the cave, then light some braziers. Easy work, I thought. But as I made my way toward that cave, I realized that this was not going to be so easy. See, there are a bunch of mobs packed in fairly close proximity in this general area. And while I should've learned how to pull mobs back to a safe distance by this point, being a warrior and all, I didn't.

These guys are no joke in large numbers

I charged toward a cultist, since that's what warriors do. However, there was a caster just a bit too close to it.  By the time I'd finished the first mob, I was at around 40% health. All of a sudden, ANOTHER cultist was on top of me - a patrol perhaps, or maybe just a random mob that I hadn't seen when I'd charged in head first.

"Oh crap," I thought, "I'm gonna die..."














I popped Retaliation, thinking that it might somehow save me from the shadowbolts that were coming at me like machine gun fire. But just as I was about to die, something else flew past me - a flurry of arrows and a giant cat! And man, that kitty looked pissed!

Regaining my composure, I clicked on the only health potion that I had left, which I'd somehow forgotten I had until that point. I looked around while smashing Mortal Strike on the closest mob and discovered just who my savior had been - a male night elf hunter by the name of Thrillseeker. Well...he'd certainly lived up to his name with this pack, that's for sure.

I thanked him for helping me as my warrior ate some random food that I'd had stored in my bags. Then, I asked whether he was doing the same quest chain I was, to which he nodded.

"Wanna group up then?"

"Sure!"

Male Night Elf Hunter

Thrillseeker and I spent about an hour in that cave that afternoon - killing cultists, lighting braziers, and even escorting that one night elf out of the cave to safety.  We died a couple of times toward the end of the quest chain, but had a blast throughout it all. While we fought, we chitchatted about why were were both playing at like 2AM server time. It turns out that he lived in California and typically played late after work, while I was in Japan on a study abroad and played when I could log on. He'd only just recently started playing the game and was on his first character, whereas I was considered a veteran by this point (despite still being a terrible nooby clicker). All in all, it was a friendly exchange and a nice change of pace from the solo experience I'd grown accustomed to over the past few months playing in the dead of Azeroth's night.

By the time we'd wrapped everything up in Felwood, we'd added each other to our friends list and agreed to do a dungeon or some more questing together at some point. At the time, I remember feeling like that would be it - that we'd just part ways and never group up again. Little did I know we'd interact much, much more over the years to come...

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


I hope you enjoyed this short story of friendship in the big wide World of Warcraft. Thrillseeker and I continued to quest and dungeon together on and off throughout the Burning Crusade leveling experience, which was obviously a lot of fun. Eventually, around the end of July when I got my priest up to level 70, I left the guild I'd been with for most of Vanilla - the Guardians of Azeroth - and joined his guild - Reservoir Dogcows of Whisperwind. This guild ended up being my home for most of the Burning Crusade, and you can still see some old raiding videos of our adventures together there over on my YouTube channel even to this day. But if it hadn't been for that one fateful day in Felwood on my warrior, I might never have found that guild. And so, many of the stories to come in this particular series would have turned out very differently.

So, thanks Thrillseeker - whether you know it or not, I owe a lot of my WoW experiences from 2007 onward to you. Thanks for saving my ass in Felwood that day!

Anyway though, that's it for today. If you enjoyed this story and would like to hear about more of my adventures from The Burning Crusade back in the day, then follow me over on Twitter, or add yourself to my mailing list below so you can get updates when new content is released. Also, consider checking out my videos over on YouTube, as all my posts get made into videos shortly after they're written here. In any case, thanks for reading, have an awesome day, and I'll catch you next time.

Take it easy!

Who is Silvite Soltis? An Updated Introduction

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here. And today, I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you about me and my content.

I started playing World of Warcraft back in 2005 and have been enjoying the game ever since. Though I've played every expansion up until BFA, Vanilla through Wrath were definitely the best in my opinion. So, when Classic was announced, I thought it'd be fun to start making content here and over on YouTube - in order to keep the hype train going.

In general, I make three types of content - top 5s, guides, and story videos in which I tell my stories from back in the day. My Top 5s range from all topics Classic - including things like classes, music tracks, and quests. However, my guides seem to be what most people enjoy - as I try to help those of us who aren't really interested in min-maxing, but just want to get going. There's a big try-hard culture in Classic, despite the game being pretty faceroll at this point, so that's really who I aim to help - the average player. Going forward into The Burning Crusade and beyond, I plan to continue making simplified guides for people, TBC-themed Top 5s, and, of course, my Memories of TBC series.

So yeah, that's a little bit about me. As a teacher by profession, and a father of two at home, I don't have a ton of time to devote to content creation and gaming, but I do try to release at least a bit of content every week. If you find that you enjoy what I do, then follow my blog here, or subscribe to my YouTube channel to help support my endeavors. In any case, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have an awesome day, and take it easy!

Top 5 - Playable Races of TBC

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here. And today I'm back with another Top 5 post!

As we all know, The Burning Crusade brought with it some amazing new features - new zones, professions, and even flying mounts. But as you might remember, one of the most anticipated additions to the game back at the time wasn't any of these changes, but rather the addition of two new races - the Blood Elves and the Draenei. The addition of these two races brought the total number of playable races in Azeroth up to 10, and also gave access to Paladins and Shamans to Horde and Alliance, respectively. It was a big change.

So, since we're all getting hyped about the eventual Classic TBC release, and we'll have 10 races to choose from with this shift, I thought it might be fun to explore what playable races I think are the coolest in The Burning Crusade. Before getting started though, make sure you add yourself to my mailing list below and consider following me over on Twitter, so you don't miss out on content like this in the future. Also, I'd just like to say that this list is entirely my opinion, and it's not really based on any race/class combinations, or anything like that, but rather looks, lore, and just the general badassness I feel when I think about these fantastic races.

So yeah, without further ado, here are my Top 5 Playable Races of TBC!

#5 -  Night Elves

Night Elves

Starting off my list here is the race that was my personal favorite back in Vanilla. The OG of WoW elves, the purple-skinned sexy dancing Kaldorei - the night elves.

As an avid fan of high fantasy, the night elves were the first race in WoW that really stuck out to me after I started playing. And though my first character was a human, I always loved the way of life of the night elf people - living out in trees, communing with nature, and of course, dancing on mailboxes.

In the Burning Crusade, the night elves don't do anything too spectacularly different than they did in Vanilla, but they are still the Alliance's only druid race. And considering the major buffs that druids got to their tanking and dpsing in TBC, it's definitely safe to say that you'll see a lot more of them in the expansion's re-release than we do now in Classic.

So yeah. night elves are pretty awesome. And for that reason, I put them up here at number 5.

#4 - Orcs 

Orc

Alright, I have to come clean - I never really liked orcs before Classic. They're big, bulky rage-monsters that I imagine smell like kodo-dung. BUT in the Burning Crusade, we get to travel to their homeworld of Draenor to learn of their origins. And man, that really makes a difference to me. Running across the plains of Nagrand, meeting Garrosh, son of the legendary Grom Hellscream, and uncovering the story of the Mag'har was one of the coolest bits of lore to me personally playing TBC back in the day. And now that I've leveled an orc shaman in Classic, it seems all that much cooler.

For players, orcs still have some of the strongest racials in the game as well - beneficial for tanking and melee dps in particular, but also PVP situations for those who enjoy that content. Furthermore, male orcs get to dance like MC Hammer, which is always entertaining to see. So, though I didn't really like these big green guys a lot when I was younger, I can definitely say that they've grown on me. And so, I've put them up here at number 4.

#3 - Dwarfs

Dwarf

"Interest ya in a pint?" Possibly my all-time favorite fantasy race, the dwarfs take my number 3 spot for the Burning Crusade. Though they don't really have any changes whatsoever in terms of lore and racials compared to Classic, the simple fact of the matter is that I love these little drunkards. They've got kick-ass beards, love beer (like me), and look so damn funny when they run.

It's pretty well-known that I'm planning on making my dwarf prot paladin my main come Classic TBC. And though we don't know exactly how Blizzard will handle the transition, I'm fairly confident that I'll have a good time running around with a 4-foot-tall holy warrior decked out in Justicar Armor come December 2021.

So yeah, dwarfs are my number 3. And I'll drink to that!

#2 - Blood Elves

Blood Elves

Alright, here we go - one of the races that I'm sure EVERYONE expected to see here. The blood elves, also known as Sin'dorei, are the first "pretty" race that the Horde got. And while many Alliance players were upset back in the day at the treachery of the former high elves, I think it's fair to say that they were just jealous...and for good reason!

The introduction of blood elves in The Burning Crusade provides the Horde with their very own Paladins - which have solid dps, great AoE tanking, awesome tank healing, and, most importantly, blessings! No longer do the dps classes of the Horde need to hold back their damage for fear of pulling aggro from the tank! It's really a dream come true.

Moreover, these beautiful elves also provide unparalleled fabulousity to the Horde as well - with their long elegant locks, deep green eyes, and silly jokes about addiction - they really raise the property value of Orgrimmar with their presence within the city limits. Plus, they have, arguably, some of the best racials in the game for TBC - with a racial silence, a mana-tap, and the ability to ride Chocobos! What's not to love?

But that's not all! Lore-wise, the Blood Elves have an epic backstory full of adversity, betrayal, and a search for their place in the world. And though we can play the protagonist faction of blood elves, led by Lor'themar Theron, there's a whole other faction of this race that's loyal to one of the main antagonists of the expansion as well - Kael'Thas's blood elf army. It's actually hard for me to think of another race in this expansion that has such depth of lore. And it's for all these reasons that I think blood elves are the 2nd coolest playable race in TBC. However, there's one more race that I think is just a bit more awesome...

Honorable Mention - Trolls

Before getting to the number 1 spot, I just want to give a quick shoutout to all the trolls. Having mained a troll priest thus far in Classic, I feel obligated to mention how much I love this race. There's basically no change for them in TBC though. And so, though I like them (and would likely have placed them as number 6 if this were a top 10 list), they just barely missed a spot. Sorry Classic Silvite...

#1 - Draenei

Draenei

Two words: Butt. Waggle.

Yes, as you might have guessed, my personal favorite race in The Burning Crusade, and all of Warcraft actually, is the squid-faced blue aliens that hail from the planet Argus. The draenei, formerly known as Eredar, are a race that has faced greater trials and tribulations than probably any other playable race in the Warcraft lore - having been the first to defy the Burning Legion and losing their home not once, but twice. But just like Chumbawamba, no matter how many times the draenei get knocked down, they get back up again. And in TBC, they end up joining the Alliance in their fight against the Burning Legion...and the Horde, of course.

Similar to the blood elves, the draenei bring a new class to the Alliance - shamans. And because of this, the two factions become more balanced than ever. This means that the Alliance gains access to the great totem buffs such as Windfury and Mana Tide - amazing boons to any raid team! And though I would definitely argue that the Horde gaining access to paladins is definitely a greater boost to their raids overall, there's one last thing that the fabulous elves just can't compete with, in my opinion...

The looks.

Throughout Classic, the Horde had access to massive towering behemoths for their characters. What's more, all of the Horde races were unique from each other - green orcs, tall lanky trolls, actual zombies, and the grass-fed tauren. Sure, they were all hunched over, but they were different. The Alliance, on the other hand, had purple elves, and then three slightly different heights of what were essentially humans - visually anyway.

But in TBC, this all changes. Finally, the Alliance gets a massive blue blob - the male draenei. And though it's cool as hell to watch these beasts do their work, it's even better when they dance. The Tunak Tunak Tun dance has got to be my personal favorite in the game.

The female draenei are great too, though. Despite their considerably smaller size, they still manage to look badass when tanking, healing, or dealing damage. Though, I must admit, my favorite part of the female draenei is probably their dance as well. Like I said...dat butt waggle.

So yeah, with an epic backstory, a big tanky type male model, hilarious jokes, awesome dances, and more, I 100% believe that the draenei are the greatest playable race in The Burning Crusade. And I can't wait to roll one come Classic TBC...

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - my top 5 playable races of The Burning Crusade. Honestly, every race has its perks - whether it's their racials, looks, or race/class combination, but as far as I'm concerned, these are the best ones. However, I'd love to know what you think? Do you just LOVE your undead? Maybe female tauren are your thing? Whatever you like, let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you'd like to see more content like this in the future, add yourself to my mailing list below as well, or follow me over on Twitter, as I post updates on content regularly over there. Also consider checking out my videos over on YouTube if you prefer that content medium, as I turn all of my posts here into videos there shortly after writing them here. In any case, thanks again for reading, have an awesome day, and as always...

Take it easy!

Healing Fury Tanks: A Simplified Guide

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here. And I'm back with another simplified guide for all of you healers out there.

Does your guild still struggle with threat? Do warlocks constantly pull Broodlord Lashlayer into the ranged group? Is your tank an iron juggernaut that hits like a wet noodle? Well, there's a solution for these issues that you might have heard of: dual-wield fury tanking.

Why Dual-Wield Fury Tank?

Basically, a warrior that foregoes the shield for an offhand weapon will generate a ton more threat, as he's hitting more often and getting hit a lot harder. This, however, makes the healers' work a lot harder, so it could cause a host of other problems. Luckily, having experienced this shift in my guild, I've learned a few tricks that can make healing these berserkers a lot easier for your team.

Before getting into it, though, remember to follow my blog by adding yourself to my mailing list below, so you know when I write more guides and other content like this. There's a lot more coming as we blaze through AQ and Naxx, and I'm sure you'll want to stay informed. But anyway, without further ado, let's get right into the tips...

Tip #1 - Healing Team and Assignments

First off is the absolute most important thing to keep in mind as your guild works toward having a dual-wield fury tank - the healing team and their assignments. In the current iteration of Classic, we're seeing an increase in the "less healers is more" mindset. And while this can have its benefits in terms of overall dps, it can be detrimental to raid survivability. So, what can be done?

First off, you need to ensure you've got balance in your healing team - around 5 priests, 5 paladins/shamans, and 2-3 druids. Your healers need to be transparent about their specs, +healing, preferred healing styles, and gear. Then, once your team knows who's got what, you have to start setting up healing assignments.

Recently, it seems that there are lots of healers relying on addons such as HealCommsClassic to basically remove the need for healing assignments. And while these addons are wonderful for helping healers avoid wasting mana on overhealing, they can cause confusion about who is healing whom. As such, it's important to have healing assignments arranged for fights, and even trash packs, where your guild plans to use a DW Fury tank.

About two months ago, I took on the job of doing healing assignments for my guild  - Exodus on Mankrik-US. And through careful consideration and lots of discussion with guild leadership, we found that having 7-8 of our healers focused on spamming the tank during boss fights, with only 3-4 other healers focusing on raid heals, was the ideal way in which to make sure the MT was always topped off - no matter how many hits he was taking. If you are doing these assignments, make sure to set up a few priests and shamans (if Horde) to keep the 25% armor buff up on the tank at all times, as it can make or break him. Your highest +healing druid should constantly keep HoTs up on the tank as well, and you should assign one priest with high +healing and improved renew to keep that HoT up on the tank at all times as well. Finally, make sure you have at least one priest (preferably not the renew priest) to keep an eye on Power Word: Shield - as this bubble can be used in an emergency to save your tank, or to reduce incoming damage like Firemaw's Shadowflame ability. Personally, I keep this job for myself, as I'm deep-discipline, baby!

Tip #2 - Use Fast Heals

Now that you've got a healing team assembled and assignments sorted, it's time for the actual healing. DW Fury tanks take a lot more damage than their shield-bearing counterparts, and generally have a bit less health as well. As such, it's important that they are constantly getting healed up to full. In order to do this, those who are assigned to tank heals MUST NEVER stop healing. That means using the fastest heals you have available as often as you can.

First and foremost, know if you have a specific job as a healer - the renew priest, the HoT druid, etc. Then, find a rank of the fastest heal that you can spam constantly for a good 90 seconds straight without going out of mana. For me, it's Flash Heal Rank 2, but you can also alternate to a higher rank for emergency situations if needed (FH R7 for me). Druids are at a bit of a loss here, as they only have Healing Touch, but priests, paladins, and shamans can all work together to make sure the tank is constantly getting a heal of 500 every 0.2 seconds or so.

Ideally, mana shouldn't be much of an issue, as the tank should be able to generate so much threat that DPS can go ham on the boss. However, if mana does become a problem, you should make sure to have pots, innervate assignments, and more at the ready. Even Superior Mana Potions can make a difference!

Tip #3 - Target of Target (and Mouseover Macros)

Alright, the third tip is a bit of a simple one, but important nonetheless. Sometimes when a tank is running DW Fury, he'll just get completely roflstomped. And while this hopefully won't happen too often, it's important to be able to continue healing the next target(s) as fast as possible. For that reason, it's important to make sure you target the boss and keep Target of Target enabled so that you can quickly swap to the new tank (or warlock, whichever is 2nd on threat).

It's also very helpful, in this situation, to make sure you're using mouseover macros like the one I mentioned in my previous "Healy Priest Tips and Tricks" guide:

/cast [@mouseover,exists]Flash Heal(Rank 2)

If you keep your mouse cursor hovering over the enemy's target like I do, you can keep spamming whoever is taking the damage at all times. Keep in mind that for fights like Vaelestrasz (where the target changes occasionally) spamming heals on the Target of Target might result in some random healing of a rogue or mage, but it's still better than risking a loss of your 2nd tank immediately after the first. So...yeah.

Tip #4 - Communication!

Finally, my last tip is one that should be very clear to anyone raiding in an MMORPG like WoW Classic: Communicate! Talk with your tanks about when you think they NEED to have a shield, or when they might be able to swap to their offhand weapon. Odds are if you speak with them, you'll get a good idea about when they take the most damage, when threat isn't a huge issue, and more.

Currently, Blackwing Lair is the most challenging raiding content available in Classic. And while typical dragon fights like Firemaw and Nefarian can be DW tanked fairly easily, others like Chromaggus are definitely more suited for the Sword-and-Board tanks. In any case, and especially going forward, discuss your tanking and healing strategies together as a guild to decide on the best approach for you. Communication will take you very far.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide, and good luck healing your fury tank. In my opinion, dual-wield tanking is one of the most interesting new methods of fighting these old bosses that I've seen in my many years of playing this game. It adds a new level of complexity to the encounter, while also making it finish much faster, if done correctly. And really, that's what the new meta seems to be all about. In any case, I hope you found this guide useful or interesting. If you liked it, or have any feedback for me, let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you'd like to see more content like this in the future, add yourself to my mailing list as well, or subscribe to my YouTube channel if you prefer video content instead. In any case, thanks for reading, have an awesome day, and catch you next time!

Take it easy!

Memories of TBC - Episode 2: Around the Cape!

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis here. And today I'm back with another installment of Memories of TBC - a reflective series of my adventures in the Burning Crusade back in 2007-2008.

Last time, I talked about how I started the first expansion to World of Warcraft by killing furbolgs in Felwood using BoE greens I bought from the auction house. Since I couldn't get the expansion for quite a while after launch, there wasn't much more for me to do - other than level alts, that is. So today, I've got an alt story for you all. If you like it, feel free to add yourself to my mailing list below this post so that you can get notified when I make more posts like it in the future, and consider spreading the word around as well - I really appreciate it!

But anyway, on with the story...

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

It was the early spring of 2007. As it was spring break, I had no classes at my Japanese high school. So even though I went in pretty much every morning anyway for kendo club, I had the afternoons off - which meant lots and lots of WoW. It was around this time that I actually hit exalted with the Timbermaw Hold, if I remember correctly, and I was itching for something else to do in game. So, I started exploring.

One day, while leveling my warrior up in the Hinterlands, I looked at my map and noticed that there was an empty zone up above it - not quite part of the newly-introduced Ghostlands, but also not part of the Hinterlands. So, having nothing better to do, I headed over there.

Now at the time, the computer I was using was a really crappy laptop that could hardly run WoW. The graphics were so bad that huge chunks of the land were jagged sheets of screen tearing. I found the eastern coast of the zone among the laggy blocks of turtles moving around at 8 frames per second and began moving north. I remember feeling surprised at how little of the coast I could actually run on - getting pushed into the water quite a few times and having to swim in the dark waters of...wherever I was at that point.

As I moved, I began to notice something strange; I was clearly moving along the coastline and my minimap displayed this, but as I progressed the world map showed me as moving through the continent! This was soon confirmed when I encountered a small night elf area in a zone called Quel'Thalas!

"Wow," I thought to myself, "I got here without the expansion after all!"

I took some screenshots (that I'm happy to say that I still have to this day), then decided to continue onward along the coast. After all, I was basically in the middle of the continent, and I was curious about what else I might find on this little adventure. I swam and swam next to the shore for what felt like an eternity - through it was probably more like 20 minutes now that I think about it. Unfortunately, the gazebo was pretty much all there was to see. Eventually, my warrior exited Quel'Thalas and The Veiled Sea and entered a zone that everyone knows well - Tirisfal Glades.

"No way." I thought to myself as I looked at the map again. But it was true. I had swam all the way through the continent and ended up on the other side. Laughing to myself, I killed a few undead murlocs along the coast - as if to virtually pinch myself and see if this had all been a dream or something. Alas, it wasn't. The developers had simply not put anything up where the map said land should be - not even mountains to block adventurers like myself. Oops!

So, not wanting to travel all the way back the way I had come, I waved farewell to a random lowbie undead guy, hit my hearthstone, and went back to the leveling grind...

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

I hope you enjoyed my brief story of exploration in this big wide World of Warcraft. Even though I didn't actually have TBC yet at this point of the expansion's life, I can still say that this memory is one that I really cherish...for some reason. Even though I'd been playing the game for nearly 2 years at that point, the sense of wonder at the big wide world was still alive, and it's fun to see that this feeling continues even now, 13 years later. In any case, there won't be  many more of these TBC-but-not-actually-TBC-yet memories going forward, as there's really only one other event that sticks out in my mind - and I'm not even sure whether that was before or after I secured the expansion.

But yeah, that's it for today. If you liked this story or found it interesting, let me know by leaving a comment down below - and by adding yourself to my mailing list. Follow me over on Twitter for updates on new content as well, and consider checking out my videos over on YouTube if you like stimulating your eyes and ears simultaneously, as I make all of these posts into videos over there soon after I write them here. Thanks for reading, have an awesome day in Azeroth, and as always...

Take it easy!