Kilzar's Garage (Revisited)

Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of Kilzar's Garage and I'm your host Kilzar.

Let me start off by saying congratulations to Xandarr on the birth of your son Calib, and good luck to Mo on your server transfer.

I was asked to write about my experience doing Heroic Trial of the Champion (aka HToC) since no one has had more fruitless runs than I. So here we go.

I don't think anyone is more off balance than I when it comes to getting 'drops' that are upgrades. I mean, not like Xandarr who seems to be rolling for gear almost every bloody run. I ran four HToC and only killed the main boss, The Black Knight, twice. Out of all those runs I got zero upgrades. I even ran Heroic Gundrak about this same time and only got a chance to get a DPS ring that was a huge upgrade but lost out to a certain paladin.

Saying that I was getting frustrated is a understatement, I was furious when I didn't get the ring, not because the paladin got which was already much more powerful in the DPS area, but the fact that I couldn't get anything that would help my character. Every body keeps telling me to "do this instances or that instance... there is gear in there that will be a huge upgrade."

The only thing I have received in this instances are a few emblems and achievements but no gear at all. This is actually a sad joke between Xandarr and myself, because I have this problem all the time. Receiving no upgrades at all on a lot of instance runs and then BAM! one instance would drop a ton of stuff. Like when I went into KARA, which has a lot of bosses. I think I did it like four times with nothing than one day I ran through there and ended up with like three upgrades all at once.

I think the Old Gods are against me because they all know that Dwarves are the superior race and that we needed some kind of disadvantage.

Then we come to Sunday night, Xandarr and I get into a HToC run and we died a few times not anything major...

"The Champions": NOTHING

Argent Confessor Paletress and Memory of Kalithresh (which we had the hardest time with): She dropped a sweet axe. (Edge of Ruin) It is as ugly as a Draenei female on Prom Night, but it blew my current sword away. So I'm happy I finally got something worthwhile.

(At this point let me point out when you are doing instances or raids there is a rule that states you should only get one item from bosses, this rule is set up so one person doesn't try to steal all the loot.)

The Black Knight: (He always seems to be so easy) This time he dropped a awesome gun (True-aim Long Rifle) and some gloves (Gloves of the Dark Exile) and that was yet another upgrade for me.

I had to ask the party, as good manners dictate, to make sure that it was all right to get so much in one HToC run. Lucky for me we had a good group that didn't mind. And of course no other Hunters in the group needed the gun.

So if you are one of those players that keeps doing instances over and over and don't get anything, all I can say is stay at it. You will have one of those runs that makes it all seem worth it.

If there is anyone out there that has questions that needs to be answered send me a email at kilzar316@gmail.com with the subject as Kilzar's Garage or at the experiencednoob@gmail.com.

So i guess that is it for me. So just remember to have fun and not everyone can be as cool as a dwarf.



If you would like to ask questions from Kilzar please email us at theexperiencednoob@gmail.com and put "ASK KILZAR" in the subject line. The grumpy ol' dwarf will be glad to answer readers questions.

Changing Servers?

Hail to the Naaru! It seems there might be an opportunity in the future to change realms for ol' Xan. A friend of mine has made some connections and we will probably be switching from Trollbane (US) to Chromaggus (US)

The Upside is that we will FINALLY get to see some action in Naxxramas and possibly even Ulduar. FINALLY Gear Upgrades!

The Downside of this switch is we will be on a PvP server and without PvP gear really. I mean take a look at ol' Xan. Not exactly ready to take on other players, am I? Not only that but I might have to change the spelling of ol' Xan because someone else loves the name so much that they too have chosen it on that server.

Tell me what you think about the change in servers. Anyone on that server who can tell me more about it?

T. E. N. Guild takes on future instances...

An issue came up last weekend I would like to discuss and get your feedback. It has come to my attention that there is a void in instances that some guild members do not feel like doing right now, even though we are at the appropriate level.

Blackfathom Deeps 20 - 27
Razorfen Kraul 25 - 30
The Stockade 24 - 32
Gnomeregan 24 - 33
Razorfen Downs 33 - 40

I am OK with skipping these instances but we have to go back and do them before we move on from Vanilla WoW. How does that sound? The whole idea of this is to do instances 'at level' and it seems that this is becoming a bit of a challenge which I thought the experiment was all about. So I would like to take a vote on this if I can to find out what everyone thinks about skipping or holding true to the experiment and doing the instances at level.

I would even be happy to make sure instances are done at the high level mark if it would make everyone more comfortable.

Please let me know what you think?

Kilzar's Garage

"Ok i got the bolts, copper wire and ... were are those pistons at?"

Oh hi there, welcome to Kilzar's Garage. Of course I am the owner and proprietor of this establishment Kilzar. I have been asked by Xandarr to tell you about engineering. Engineering has some great items that can be made at all levels.

For starters there are useful items such as ammo. In my humble opinion you can never have enough rounds for your gun. At higher levels the best ammo available is manufactured by us engineers.

You can create your own guns, ammo, scopes and my personal favorite...explosives! Who says you can't have a blast with a few sticks of TNT! Yes, engineers can make explosives. Add to that arsenal land mines and even exploding sheep! Yes, the exploding sheep are as fun as they sound.

Then there is the head gear, there is a huge variety of head gear that can be made for any armor class. There are even goggles that helps you to see into the distance or see through peoples clothes. (Don't worry Mo, I'm working on your X-ray goggles now).

There is even a list of items that enhance your gear in some way. One item is rockets that attach to your boots to help you walk faster, there is the jumper cables that help you bring a toon back to life (we can't always wait for a healer to do there jobs), I use the gnomish army knife which acts like the jumper cables but it is also a pick, skinning knife, a blacksmith hammer and even a wrench. One of my favorite little toys is a little rocket that hooks up to your gloves (the rockets do awesome damage).

There is other items that the entire party can also use, there is the scrapbot construction kit that gives people a chance to repair and to sale there gear, there is even an item called moll-e that is a portable mail box.

But the top two items that I love are Nesingwary 4000, which is one of the top guns in the game. There has been many elites out there that have fallen to its might! My other favorite, which I am working on building now is the Mekgineer's Chopper, (for the horde you ride a similar mount known as the Mechano-hog) who would not love one of these in their 'stable?' I know when I complete mine it will be my biggest toy.

So, you might be thinking why you should become an engineer instead of a tailor, a blacksmith or even a leatherworker? It is simple, engineering is way too much fun not to be one.

So, here at Kilzar's Garage we want to thank you for stopping by and just remember if your not having fun, than you must be playing a orc.

(Now, were is that piston at?)



If you would like to ask questions from Kilzar please email us at theexperiencednoob@gmail.com and put "ASK KILZAR" in the subject line. The grumpy ol' dwarf will be glad to answer readers questions.

A Word of Advice... "Choosing a Guild"

This is a subject that has been near and dear to Xan for a long time. And it is something that I think everyone who has played the game may have an issue with or they might not quite understand the dynamic involved with choosing your guild.

A little history:

Xan started off as an alt of mine. So lets go back to my original toon, Nkaala. This poor girl hasn't seen playtime since 3.1 I think. Well The first guild I was a part of was Addiction. This was Bela's guild that she was a part of with her (now ex) husband and his WoW friends. This was a great guild and I basically joined because I didn't know the reason for guilds other than the social aspect. This guild was far superior to me and were running "end game" content while I was still in Darnassus. When Nkaala grew up, BC had been out for a while and Karazhan was the big issue. I was taught by a few members of the guild how to be a feral off-tank and I thank them for their efforts. But when Wrath came out they were off and running and I wasn't able to keep up with their speed. So I packed my bags and left the guild.

Xan bounced around like a vagabond with Kilzar. We even created our own guild which flourished for a while, but GM responsibilities made the game a chore. That guild dissolved and we continued to look.

Eventually we came back to Addiction hoping we had leveled and progressed enough to be a member and contribute as well as getting the support of the guild. Unfortunately they had progressed and were raiding again and focused on that rather than the heroics. Sadly we parted ways again.

Kilz and I decided to take a rest and try the horde with the Epic Dolls guild. FINALLY, a social guild! Heck, they even had "guild welcome wagoners" who gave you bags if you needed them as well as help if you needed it. My tauren hunter, Chilie, found a home for a while.

Kilz wanted to get back to his main and he left the server. I stayed and continued to level my hunter. Kilz searched for guilds and found one that he thought was progressing as he was. After a lot of ncouragement her got Xan out of retirement. Although I am still grateful to the Epic Dolls guild for their love and support. In fact, the guild leader Lealah got me thinking about podcasting and I thank her for allowing me (Chilie) into sampling podcasting on the Epic Dolls Guild Update podcast.

So Kilz and I were in a great guild as you all know from reading past blog posts. Until the GM of the guild was hacked. Unfortunately the guild was abandoned... well everyone was booted from the guild and the bank was wiped out. The guild never seemed to recover.

So again, as vagabonds, we searched for a guild. And we found former friends of Xan's who made a huge impression on him and we solicited our services to the guild.

I am currently a member of the guild known as with former members of Apocalypse. You remember them from my post "How do you do Instances?" Well they have reformed a smaller guild focused more on Heroics than Raids. The guild is known as All the Way to Uranus. They are small, but I would have to say.... VERY mighty! And I am happy with finally finding a guild with the same goals as ol' Xan.

T. E. N. Guild takes on RFC

WHO:




WHAT:
The experiment continues with our brave foursome tackling the first instance "at level" with their randomly generated toons

WHEN:
Friday, May 29th at 10:00 PM Pacific Time

WHERE:
Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar

HOW:
Amazingly enough the run went very smoothly. No wipes, not even a scare of anyone even coming close to death. Roadkil at one point mentioned how quiet we were all being in Skype because we all knew our roles enough to just run the instance.

Roadkil and Hexxan have run instances together before but in opposite capacities. Neither one of us had run with Smokinmo/Moomutter or a duel boxer at all until then.

Roadkil used his marks as group leader;
SKULL - Dies first, being hit by the tank
X - Dies next
"UNMARKED" - If there was one, they died third
DIAMOND - Sheep until other trash was dead (Because that is Xan's favorite color)

Luckily no other marks were needed as the highest pull was a four man pull.

WHY:
Because the game has a certain lure to it for new players. With "Experienced Noobs" like us on the case we can see just what is going on way back in "Vanilla" WoW that everyone has now done a million times.

WHAT'S NEXT:
VC or Deadmines - VC is the abbreviation because of the final boss "VanCleef" and because there is a harder instance later on known as Dire Maul.

This adventure will take place in two weeks time on June 12th, 2009. Due to Xan being out of town on business on Friday June 5th.

HOMEWORK:
The team will need to work individually on getting their toons to level 20. We will then have a go at Deadmines, the following week WC, then the following week SFK.

STAY TUNED OR JOIN US! WE COULD USE A FIFTH MEMBER.

Check out the guild link at the bottom of the blog to join our ranks in the "Experienced Noobs" guild!

I've got the fever!

OK, so I don't think I am THAT crazy but I do have to say that your good friend Xan and his travelling buddy Kilzar have hit a wall. PUGing is slowing down and so is raiding. Everyone has moved onto Ulduar and Kilzar and I haven't even seen a completion of NAXXRAMUS.

In fact, poor ol' Xan has just seen inside NAX. He got to see Grand Widow Faerlina but aggro of another nature caused him to D/C after one attempt. Kilzar was a bit luckier and saw that NAX run through to Heigan the Unclean. (What a moniker... "The Unclean".... really? Dude must have had it rough in grade school.)

Our former guild leader for "Devil's Dirty Work" got hacked a couple weeks back and the guild was disbanded. Much to our dismay. Luckily Kilzar had an alt guild for his alt toons known as the "Red Dragon Knights." Unfortunately some of our former guildmates are hesitant to make the switch to the new guild in hopes that the "Devil's Dirty Work" will rise from the ashes. We hope it does too, but in the meantime we are hopeful that we can continue to move forward to victory in raiding.

Now, as an "Experienced Noob" how does one get into a raid?

1) There is research on places such as Elitist Jerks, Maintankadin, and other websites.

2) Pray for a PUG (Pick Up Group) to pick you up using the three options of the LFG (Looking For Group) feature on the menu bar at the bottom of your interface.

3) Join a guild or form a guild with like minded individuals such as the "Red Dragon Knights."

4) Or lastly you can write a blog post looking for a guild to take on a paladin and a hunter... I mean your toon and help them in their possible weak areas such as gear. Possibly by running you through heroics or parts of NAXX in order to get you on par to be an asset to their guild.

Any one of these options is an idea for those of you who have hit that wall, but have the RAIDING FEVER and wish to see more content and become the toon you have always viewed yourself as becoming.

Good luck to you all. And if there are guilds out there looking for a hunter and a paladin who wish to advance and your guild is willing to assist, please post to this blog entry with your contact information.

Experiment Log: "Measure Twice, Cut Once"

Ok, now that we have seen a couple hiccups with the "experiment" we are going to start again. ANYONE who would like to join us is welcome to do so.

Those who are currently participating are...

Kilzar
MO
Xandarr
- OPEN -
- OPEN -

We will all need to do the rolls online together. The original five are going to meet on Trollbane server in the Red Dragon Knights guild (See bottom of blog for details) and make the rolls at around 11:00 PM Mountain Time on Friday Night May 22nd. There will be no rerolls, but I am going to make one exception...

Here are the rules:

No sugar daddies - This experiment is to experience content "at level" without any help but from your friends.

I will allow you to exclude one race OR one class function before you roll

There will only be one of any race (In the original 5, after that then the balance within the guild will stay equal)

Race rolls are: 1) Orc 2) Tauren 3) Undead 4) Troll 5) Blood Elf

Classes are rolled from highest to lowest: Tank, Healer, Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, Ranged DPS

This experiment is also there to stretch your horizons and possibly have you play a race or class you may never have picked on your own; so I would encourage you to not use Rule #2. This decision to use or not use Rule #2 will have to be in place before anyone rolls.

We are going to try a different RPPvP server because some players are having issues with that server. THE NEW SERVER IS TWISTED NETHER.

The first goal after rolling our toons is to get your toons between levels 13 - 16 so that when we meet again we can run RFC in Orgimmar.

Next will be to run RFC

Homework afterwards will be to get to 15 - 21 for WC

Next between 15 - 21 for VC (Deadmines)

Next between 18 - 25 for SFK

Then as the levels become harder to obtain we will adventure together to level up as a group until we can comfortably go into the next instance.

According to the group a time has not yet been officially determined, hoewever the options are floating between Late Friday Evening around 11:00 PM Mountain Time or Early Saturday Morning around 8:00 AM Mountain Time.

Once all has been determined and things get moving, Kilzar and I will create DK's just long enough to get enough money to start a guild. Those toons will then they will be deleted in order to avoid breaking rule #1.

PLEASE REPLY TO THIS BLOG IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US FOR A GOOD ROMP "AT LEVEL"

Cooking is Important!

Hey there! Your friendly neighborhood hunter, Kilzar here with a little tip for you.

I was reminiscing about when I first started playing the game. I sniggered about all the things I used to mess up on. One of the things I ignored most was cooking. Being able to cook any meat that you find has great rewards especially for hunters!

Food is more important than bandages (in my opinion) for healing. You get a good amount of health back, in addition there isn't a cool down on food like there is on bandages. Another huge plus to cooking is that some of your cooked food will give you a plus to some of your stats for a period of time. Who doesn't want all the advantages you can get?

Once you get higher in cooking you will be able to make feasts for your entire party. Trust me, they will love you. In addition to that, if you are a hunter you really need to cook your own meat for your pets, that way you will only have to buy fruits for certain pets.

And for you achievement players, there are a lot of cooking achievements that you can get and they are not to difficult to get if you do the cooking while you are leveling. You can get the title of "Chef" if you complete certain achievements.

I passed on fishing and cooking while I was leveling. I passed all the food to Xan's alt Nkaala while we ran around in vanilla WoW. BIG MISTAKE! So take it from me, cook early and cook often.

New Experiment ... Care to Join Me?

After listening to our friends over at Bind on Equip I have thought about doing a similar experiment for fun on our own as well.

We found a RP PvP server (The Venture Co.) and randomly roll up some of our own toons. The Venture Co was chosen because it is on the Pacific Time Zone for server and since this is going to become a late Friday night endeavor we want to make it on a server that is late enough to fit our needs. Besides 2 out of the 3 members so far live in the Pacific Time Zone.

Because Xan has played only Alliance except for an 'Alt-Main' on Perenolde Server it has been decided that we are going to do Horde as well.

The roster is filling up fast but anyone that would care to join us is welcome to do so. We are starting off with a main 5 man group, but are willing to build it up to a raid sized group.

Xan
MO
Kilzar
~OPEN~
~OPEN~

Basically we are going to follow the same rolling ideas that Bind on Equip used in their podcast.

After we have our basic starting five we will roll the group mechanics of:

1 TANK
1 HEALER
1 MELEE DPS
2 RANGED DPS

After roles have been established we will roll (/roll5) races:

1 - Orc
2 - Tauren
3 - Troll
4 - Forsaken
5 - Blood Elf

In addition we will try to also have as diverse options on professions but they must include one gathering and one manufacturing skill. (i.e. Mining/Blacksmithing)

Also, will have to talk to the group once it is formed and we will have to look into not buying equipment on the AH but rely on the party to make gear upgrades or world drops... Just a thought.

We are going to run this group a couple hours on Friday nights. Hopefully we will be able to record using Skype and post the results here.

If you would like to join our experiment please reply to this post. We would like to get this started in a couple weeks but we need to try and get two other members as soon as possible.

And the winner is...

I want to thank all of those who participated in the contest. I hope that in the future I can have many more contests to follow.

The winner of the "Noob Moment" contest was "Inacan!"

















He chose the "Footsteps of Illidan"

Congratulations to all our winners! They have their choice of the three prizes.

Second place goes to "MO" - Tabard of Frost














Third place goes to "Kilzar" - Papa Hummel's Old Fashioned Pet Biscuit

The next contest will be announced on the upcoming podcast. The prize will be a $25 gift code to J!NX. The podcast is slated to be recorded on Saturday May 16th with a special guest co-host. So stay tuned to the blog for that information.