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!

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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.

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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!

Memories of Vanilla #6 - Heading North

Hey dudes! Welcome back to Memories of Vanilla.

Last time, I told the story of how Stitches welcomed me to Duskwood. It was good times, but now we're really going to start flying forward.

It was around this time, or maybe a bit before this, that school had started again in real life, so my time to play World of Warcraft at my friend Leika's house was getting more and more limited. Being the bro that he was though, he said he'd help me out.

See, Leika's about four years older than me, so he was already working and earning his own money from a full-time job at this point while I was still a sophomore in high school. While I was studying, he was working and looking up new parts for his PC on Newegg. I'm not sure exactly when, but at
some point in the early fall, he had enough money to basically completely rebuild his PC. And so, as bros do, he took the parts from his old PC, got a new case, and built me a computer of my own.

It's worth mentioning that it wasn't my first PC. I actually forgot that I had a computer before this, but it was more than a piece of crap - 4GB hard drive, maybe 256mb of ram if I remember correctly, and an on-board graphics card that could barely run Windows 98 games. I'm also fairly certain that I'd killed it by this point, although I don't remember for sure what happened to it.

My Original PC

And so, when I got my new computer from Leika, I was stoked. I'd finally be able to play WoW at home!

Now, this was still before Blizzard allowed character transfers, even between one's own accounts if I remember correctly, so my priest was still on his account. Luckily though, I got home from school between 3-4PM most days, and he wouldn't get home from work until around 5 or 6, so I got a lot of gaming time in during the gap. Eventually though, I would get kicked off and have to go do something else.

Sven, the Questgiver

However, since I could play more, I began leveling much faster. I clearly remember that I was still in Duskwood when I got the computer, and quickly wrapped up the Raven Hill quests soon after. One quest, however, tasked me with going to a place called Menethil Harbor in the Wetlands. Confused, I opened my map and searched, eventually finding the Wetlands just north of Ironforge.

Now, since I was on my own at this point, drinking Mountain Dew at my own computer in the basement, I couldn't just ask Leika for help. I had to figure this out. Luckily, I had already been to Ironforge and Loch Modan before this, having completed a quest in Elwynn Forest that took me there, so I hopped on a gryphon, went afk (as you do), and came back about 10 minutes later as I was landing in Thelsamar.

Thus began my next epic journey: finding the right gate into the Wetlands.

Travelling north, I entered a gateway that took me into a snowy area - Dun Morogh - and followed the path for a while before realizing my mistake. Turning around, I made my way back into Loch Modan and ran around the north tower until I found the right gate. Sighing, I made my way through and down the twisty-turny path into the crocolisk-invested zone.

The Wetlands

I followed the path for what seemed like ages - after all, the harbor was on the westernmost point of the zone and I had entered at the south-eastern end of the path - before finally coming to a crossroads. Now, my gut told me to turn right and follow the path, but I thought that I should be a bit more careful, lest I end up going the wrong way again like I just had. Looking around, I noticed a signpost nearby. Scrolling my mouse over it, I found my answer.

<-----Menethil Harbor
-----> Arathi Highlands

Ok, so it's a good thing I didn't listen to my gut on that one.

Menethil Harbor - I Made It!

Continuing down the everlasting path, I eventually came to the bridge that marked the entrance to Menethil Harbor. With another sigh, I ran straight over to the flight master, got the flight path, and vowed to never make that trip on foot again.

I finished up the Morbent Fel quest shortly after that, doing the quests required of it in the Wetlands (albeit with several deaths to the ghosts in the shipwrecks to the north), flying back down to Duskwood, and taking him out with a party without significant trouble. But to this day, I still remember that epic journey north - the split paths that I faced and the feeling of achievement, and relief, when I finally reached my destination.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Memories of Vanilla. If you did, leave a comment telling about your own memories of traversing the World of Warcraft back in the day. I'd love to hear your story. Also remember to check back for more content, as I plan to continue this series until World of Warcraft: Classic finally launches next summer. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter and check out my YouTube channel.

Until the next installment, take it easy!

Memories of Vanilla #2 - Elwynn Forest

What's up dudes!

Silvite Soltis back again to continue reminiscing about the good old days of Vanilla WoW. Last time, I told of how my brother and I created our characters and explored the world that is Northshire Abbey. Well today, I want to continue the journey.

I don't actually remember too much about completing the vineyard quests - only that I died a few times doing them before my turn on the game was finished and my brother took over for a second turn. So, while I waited for him to finish, I played some Super Mario 3 with our friend. I didn't want to spoil anything. Eventually though, I got my 2nd turn on the game and finally got up to the Garrick Padfoot quest that marked the end of Northshire.

That was a fun experience for a noob. The first time I pulled him, I didn't think to take out the two Defias bodyguard guys next to him. 3 tough enemies versus 1 nooby priest - it wasn't pretty. My brother laughed at me, as he'd done the quest with no issues apparently. Still, I learned pretty quick and tried to kill one bodyguard the next time and run from the others. Again, I died like a scrub.

After getting back to my body again, and fighting my way through the enemies that had respawned along the path, I found a group of people standing over by his shack, about to attack him. Luckily, they saw me approach and I was invited to a group. Great success! This time we easily beat the three enemies, with me using lesser heal probably way too much for the damage that was coming out. When we all collected his head, they said "Thanks".

I had no idea how to reply, so I just ran back to the abbey. Turning to my friend, who was playing NES with my brother at this point, I asked how to talk. He laughed at my ignorance, told me how, and BOOM - I had a way to communicate with others.

The world was opening up more and more.

I turned in the quests, checked my trainer for new spells (even though I was only level 5 and the new ones weren't available until level 6), and faced the wall out of the starting zone. Running along the path, I looked at all the surrounding sights - trees of the forest, cows and wolves running around, and a patrolling salesman walking along the road. I was entranced. Before long, I came to a small town, complete with only 2 or 3 buildings, but several people running to and fro. I had reached Goldshire.

Honestly, I don't remember much about exactly what I did in Goldshire at this point, but I know that I didn't know how to change my Hearthstone location, so later I would teleport all the way back to Northshire. One thing I do remember clearly, however, was the fact that there were profession trainers for blacksmithing and mining around one of the buildings. Curious, I asked my friend what these things were, again getting some laughter.

He explained that those were professions trainers and that you could train two of them. He told me that, as a priest, I shouldn't pick up mining or blacksmithing, but go with tailoring and enchanting because I could sew my own equipment and enchant it to be better - or disenchant old or useless items I didn't need. This is what he was doing on his mage, so I figured he knew what he was talking about and trained those two professions right away.

This is where my first day of WoW ended as far as I can remember. Eventually, I would drop enchanting, as I couldn't really figure out what the hell to do to get items to disenchant (in other words, I sucked), but I picked up skinning which remained my second skill for years to come.

Anyway, my journey through Elwynn forest continued for a few weeks - yes weeks. Since I didn't have a computer or a copy of World of Warcraft for myself, I could only level while over at my friend's house. Even then, my brother and I took turns if we were both over, so it took a long time. But it was an adventure all the way. I remember constantly looking forward to the dreaded orchard that my friend had told me about the first time I'd seen him play, but never getting a quest for it. Eventually I found out it was part of a mage class quest, so no wonder I never got the quest!

Again, my memories of Elwynn back in the day are fuzzy at this point, but there's one last memory that's still super-clear (for some reason). No, it's not the infamous Hogger quest or the murloc camp with the guards' corpses over by the Eastvale Logging Camp. I remember those from repetition later on, but not really from my first time. No the last real quest I remember doing before moving on to Westfall was the level 9 quest to kill Princess - the prized pig that was stealing the Stonefields vegetables. After getting the quest, I wandered back and forth between the Stonefield and Maclure farms, scouring the area for the right pig but never finding her. After wasting about 15 minutes, my friend asked me what I was doing running around in circles. When I told him I was looking for Princess, he chuckled and told me that he'd done the same thing. Then he said to read the quest text carefully.

A bit embarrassed at being so thick, I opened the quest log to find that I'd been searching all over the wrong farms all along. I had to go to the Brackwell pumpkin patch on the other side of the zone. Oops.

Well after a good 10 minutes of running around, I finally found the farm that I hadn't discovered yet. And there she was - a level 9 hostile pig with 2 other pigs patrolling the field. I was level 8 or 9 at this point, but I was still total crap when it came to multiple mobs at once. Still, I gave it a shot.

And I died.

So I ran back to my body to rez for what must have been the 10th time by this point, waited for health and mana, then hit /y...

"ANYONE DOING PRINCESS MUST DIE?"

Luckily, someone was nearby and must have noticed my red text because I got a group invite to a group with 3 others in it. As two of them made their way over from Goldshire, I watched Princess as she paced back and forth.

With 4 people, we made quick work of her and her entourage. As I looted her collar, I had a sensational feeling about this game and the comradery that it fostered among the players. Up until then, I'd mostly played single-player RPGs and never had the kinds of experiences I was having in this game. It really felt like a live and vibrant world.

Of Warcraft.

Anyway, that's basically the last memory I have of my first run through Elwynn Forest. I know there were a lot more things that happened, but I really can't tell much in detail. I got a purple robe from my class quest, fought Hogger, and killed some wildlife and Defias dudes around the zone, but it's all a blur at this point.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of my story. If you did, feel free to leave a comment with your own starter zone stories. I'll be sure to read each one. In the next installment, I'll tell you all a bit about my adventures in Westfall killing boars with no livers, dying in Moonbrook, and my first WoW friend. But until then, take it easy!

Classic vs. Current - A Reflection

Hey all. It's Silvite Soltis back again. And today I want to talk a little bit about why I prefer Classic World of Warcraft to the current game, as well as explain why I've been playing Final Fantasy XIV while waiting for WoW Classic's release.

As you know if you read my first post, I've been playing World of Warcraft since the summer of 2005, just after Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley were introduced into the game. Back then, the game was such an adventure, and playing on my friend's account at the time, it took a LONG time for me to get to level cap. Eventually, he got a 2nd account, transferred my priest using a new inter-account transfer service, then gave me the account, allowing me to finally reach level 60 about a year later.

Exploring with Friends, 2006

My adventures in Azeroth took ages. Every dungeon was an adventure. Every quest, epic. And every trip exploring the world, a journey. From the beginning through BC and WotLK, I felt a real sense of achievement whenever I killed a boss, finished a dungeon, or completed a long questline.

However, nowadays, that feeling is gone.

Overcoming Challenges as a Team, 2009

Though raiding in Legion was quite enjoyable, the current game doesn't hold the same sense of achievement that it once did. Leveling up, completing dungeons, and getting new gear is just so easy now that it just feels like a chore. I think honestly that's the reason why I haven't been able to bring myself to purchase BFA - Legion felt like a ratrace just to keep getting more and more by doing the same things again and again. And from what I've heard, Battle for Azeroth has doubled down on that.

That's why I was so excited when WoW Classic was announced no more than a month after I'd unsubscribed from the game in 2017. I'd finally be able to get that feeling of satisfaction back. My work in game would finally feel like it was being rewarded.

Sure, I won't have a ton of time to invest like I did as a teenager. And sure, it'll be harder to get decked out in gear, but I'll know what I need to get and how to get it. There will be clear goals and not just a ratrace for the highest item level. Quests will be challenging again. And I won't feel like I'm constantly spinning a roulette.

Actually, it's because of this reason that I've been enjoying Final Fantasy XIV a lot recently. Though similar in a lot of ways to Blizzard's behemoth, FFXIV utilizes a clever system to keep me interested - I can only get some items once per week, such as the chestpiece tokens (shafts) and weapon tokens (crystalloids) from Alphascape. Being the casual raider I am, it feels good to complete a raid or two every week, get the item, then come back for more the next week to try and complete the set. And when I finally got the 7 Alphascape Crystalloids this past Tuesday to get my 390 weapon, I felt accomplished - having put in the work for 7 weeks to earn that final item.

Silvite Soltis with Full Omnicron Set & Scaevan Magitek Codex, 10/2018

That combined with my ability to play around with my house in game, level up multiple jobs on the same character (thus not needing to replay content constantly), and do it all casually in my free time after my kids have slept have made FFXIV the perfect game to enjoy while waiting for WoW Classic.

Anyway, that's about all I've got for today. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on why I'm so excited for World of Warcraft: Classic and why the current game really isn't my cup of tea. Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you back here for the next installment!

Introductions

Hello Internet and World of Warcraft fans. My name is Silvite Soltis and today I'm here to begin a blogging journey with you about my absolute HYPE for Classic World of Warcraft. Before getting into my expectations for WoW Classic and my insane imagination running wild with what I'll actually do when it releases, I think it's only appropriate to introduce myself a bit.

I started playing WoW at a friend's house back in 2005 when I was 15 years old. I remember considering the warlock class, but being pushed by my friend to roll with a priest because I'd be able to heal myself and that it'd be THE TITS (side note, it wasn't. But I do love the priest class to this day, so thanks dude).

Shadow Priest DPS, 2006.

Well, fast forward about 13.5 years to now. I'm married, have two kids, and live on the other side of the freaking planet in the middle of nowhere (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to be precise). Not exactly what I expected to have happen in my life, but definitely better than bumming around smashing 12-packs of Mountain Dew daily in my mom's basement like I was back then. So...win?

Anyway, I've had a love-hate relationship with World of Warcraft for a few years now - going from extremes of hardcore raiding back in late TBC and throughout WotLK to super-casual through Cata, MoP and WoD, back to fairly hardcore in early Legion, to finally unsubbing just before Antorus released. I also dabbled a bit on private servers during my downtime in MoP and WoD, but nothing has really scratched my itch like the announcement of WoW Classic.

Reliving the Experience, 2014

So now, I'm looking forward to really sinking my teeth into World of Warcraft Classic as soon as it releases. But despite my hype, I worry for my home and family life. Even back on a private server in 2014, I still had my own apartment and no family to take care of yet. I had limited responsibilities and life was really chill. Now, there are responsibilities for my responsibilities and it seems like I need 30 hours a day to take care of everything.

Put simply, I don't know if I'll have the time to really commit to my passion.

But I won't give up. I've waited too long for this.

I'll level a character.

I'll get into the raiding scene.

And I'll make new WoW memories.

And I'll share those experiences with you all here.

Thanks for reading through this introductory post. There will be more to come soon. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you all back here next time for the next installment!