The Outdated Crests

While Cataclysm is still some time away, it hasn’t made me stop and think about some changes I’d like to see made and the biggest one (that isn’t mentioned) is purely aesthetic.

I would like an update to the Alliance and Horde crests.

With two new races coming to the Alliance and Horde (Worgen and Goblins respectively), it’s time to update these badboys to represent the additions.  It’s been a few years since Draenei and Blood Elves have joined the two sides and yet there is no indication of this on the crests.

I mean look at this!  This is the current Alliance faction quest.  I love the idea of this, the detail – the Main lion representing the Humans, with the Anvil of Ironforge, gears of Gnomeregon and Arrows of Darnassus.  But where are the crystals of Argus (Draenei)?  And whatever the worgen’s sign will be. I’m praying for a top hat.

The horde crest is in need of an update too.  Where is the red of the Blood Elves?  And lets face it, there NEEDS to be a more apparently replacement for the Forsaken instead of just the bones.  I’m sure there will be many a coin purse (or maybe more pipes and gears) to represent Goblin ingenuity.

I just think these images are a little oudated.  A lot has changed to all factions since the game first started in 2004.  The Wrathgate event in Northrend ALONE tested alliances and I would love to see some of these changes added to these crests.

On a more selfish note, I play a Draenei.  Along with the fact that our flightpoints from Exodar do not connect to the main world (c’mon, you did it for the blood elves!) I do not feel any real connection to the Alliance.  It’s like it’s in name only.  I do have a lot of “affection” for the Blueberries, I would just like to see my faction pride.

To-Do Before the Expansion

With the announcement of Cataclysm, I made myself a mental checklist of things I wanted to complete before the expansion hit. I’m aware that it probably won’t be dropping a year from now, but I am a procrastinator, so I know I wouldn’t be getting to it until the day before it launches.

I’ll get more into what’s awesome about “Cataclysm” in another post, suffice to say that the changes to “Old World” Azeroth are MYRIAD. We’re talking a complete upheaval of the world we know; new zone layouts, new quests, a new way to play the game.

Blizzard hasn’t gone over how some of these changes will work; which quests are staying and which are going by the wayside and we definitely don’t know how old world achievements will be handled. In any case, I wanted to complete a few exploration achievements and finish all the pet quests.

In short, I wanted to complete:

1. Exploration Achievements (Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Outlands and Northrend)
2. Quests that rewards Mini-pets (Smolderweb Hatchling, Worg Pup and Sprite Darter Hatchling)

To see my thoughts on these achievements and questlines that rewards mini-pets, continue reading…

An Official Welcome (and a brief history)

Welcome to Hooved Vengeance, a World of Warcraft blog from the point of view of a Draenei Death Knight. I am your host, Elder Igorek, and I plan on bringing you as many tips, tricks, stories and guides as I can. Please do not expect to see any math because I detest math. I loathe it. Math and I used to have a fufilling relationship based on a mutual bridge of trust and respect, but the passion is now gone and we no longer speak.

I will, however, do my best to bring my thoughts on the latest news of Azeroth, how I got achievements and titles and maybe even some stories. Ve shall see.

Seeing as we’re getting to know each other, I should talk about my history. Take out a pen and pad, there will be a quiz at the end.

A good friend of mine (Caulfield) was kind enough to give me a free 10-day subscription to the game and I made my first character, a Tauren Shaman by the name of Duulos. I played and was instantly addicted (and it didn’t hurt that Caulfield let me play around with his mage, blasting creatures with unholy fire). I couldn’t afford to purchase the game at the time, so I held off.

That summer, the game was given to me as a present for surviving a pretty horrible car accident. I played off and on, but really got into it the summer of 2006, when I rolled my first Dwarven Hunter, Bergmal, who quickly became my main. I was a huntard most of my Dwarven career, but the blog “Big Red Kitty” fell into my lap and I no longer wanted to be a trapless newb.

I never took it completely seriously, but I started to run instances, learn how to talent correctly, etc. etc. I read strategies, listened to tips and got him up to 70, just in time for Wrath of the Lich King to launch.

I decided, on a whim, to try out the Death Knight class, knowing full well that I’d come back to Bergmal once I finished the starting zone. I became Igorek, the stoic inscriptionist/death knight and I never looked back.

Poor Bergmal.

I do not run raids. I work a full-time job, have several side projects and live with my girlfriend; I simply don’t have the time to do it. I do try my best to play the best to my ability, gaining as many achievements as I can, getting the best gear available to me and learning the best possible rotation. In heroics I’m usually the top of my DPS charts (unless someone seriously outgears me, which isn’t hard). I love collecting small pets and mounts, even if they never see the light of day.

As of this writing, I am currently specced Blood for DPS, though for most of my career I was Unholy. I hated dropping the latter for the former, but now that I’ve seen the incredible crits, I do not look back.

For a long time, I posted on the (unfortunately) now defunct “Bird’s Nest” gaming blog, where I talked up Warcraft tips and guides. I have brought over most of my favorite articles (the “Tis the Season” entries specifically) for your perusal. We have a few more holidays coming up, I’ll be sure to have some guides for that.

I am very casual in my playstyle, but I’m a gamer at heart.

The main reason I love the Death Knight is pure and simple; I can run into almost any situation and survive. I do not disagree that DKs are slightly overpowered (a massive QQ that I wrote “slightly” I’m sure), but I love that I do not have to eat or drink to continue fighting. While my comrades sit and feed, gaining mana, I stand and wait for instructions. I intervene when a villain runs at my healer. I take damage if the tank goes down.

I am Elder Igorek, and this is my Hooved Vengeance.

Tis the Season: Love is in the Air (Day One tips)

Hey guys!  As of 6am, Love is in the Air has gone live and I spent two hours this morning messing around with it.  Here are some tips for you.

• For Nation of Adoration, you need “Gifts of Adoration” from all three cities.   You must talk to CITIZENS to get this once your “adored” buff is up, not guards.  I didn’t realize this.
• When you’re trying to get smashed and throw rose petals on Sraaz/Jeremiah Payson, you have to /kiss THEN throw Rose petals once you’re completely smashed.  That specific order.  Also, this is the easiest one to take care of immediately, so you might as well get it out of the way.
• There are more female NPCs than male NPCS in Darnassus, so I’d throw on Cologne then.
• In Ironforge, there are more Male than female NPCS.  Toss on some cologne.
• Stormwind is pretty split, so you can jump back and forth
• The first five parts of the major Love is in the Air quest takes place in Stormwind, so that’s where you’ll be able to find the most people who need Mended hearts.  On the other side, Darnassas and Ironforge were somewhat empty, the former far more than the latter.
• Also with people who need their hearts “mended” – you’ll be able to see the debuff when you click on them.
• Personally, I’ve been hanging out in every city and making stacks of “Gifts Collections” to hand off when I need a certain item.  I’m probably going to hold onto these until Sunday when I realize what I’m missing.
• This holiday is seriously confusing.

Good luck guys!  More tips when I have them.

Tis the Season: Love is in the Air

On February 11th through the 16th, Love is in the Air hits Azeroth.  This is, of course, the Azerothian equivalent to Valentine’s Day, and boy howdy is there a lot to do.  In between gathering gifts for significant others (or plenty of wine and beer for Single’s Appreciation Day), you may want to jump on and work on the 14 Achievements!

Once all achievements are collected, of course, you receive a title ([your name] the Love Fool) and you’re one step closer to that sweet purple dragon mount.

Before I get into the achievements, let’s actually talk about how this holiday works.  It’s more complicated than Winter Veil and Lunar Festival, so it’s worth explaining.

Tis the Season: The Dungeon Elders

The Lunar Festival has come!  Bring out the fireworks!  Go grab some dumplings!  It’s time to celebrate!

You’re probably going after that title like the world is ending, and I’m here to help you out.  As you may (or may not) know, I wrote up a much longer, more in-depth look at the holiday and some tips to complete it.  But I massively underestimated one thing:

The Elders of the Dungeons achievement is hella hard.

I mean, it’s not that hard, just involved, and you really have to commit some time to it, if only to navigate.  So we’re going to go through all the Dungeon Elders and try to find them.  Let’s go from the lowest level Elder to the highest.  C’mon

Tis the Season: The Lunar Festival

The Lunar Festival is a holiday hosted by the Druids of Azeroth to celebrate the new year (or the Earth Chinese New Year).  It’s a fun holiday with a lot of cool trinkets and activities, but that’s not why I’m talking about it.  YES, IT’S ACHIEVEMENT TIME!

The holiday lasts a hell of a long time – from January 24th to February 12th.  There are quite a few achievements you’re going to have to take care of to accomplish this holiday’s meta-achievement “To Honor One’s Elders.”  Finishing this off awards you the title “Elder [insert name here]” and one step closer to getting that sweet Proto-drake flying mount.  Well what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

As per usual, I’ll be listing off the easier achievements to accomplish, followed by the more difficult ones to finish off.

Tis the Season: Winter Veil

EDIT: I’ve throw in some additional tips (COMPLETION NOTES) and I will be checking off the ones I complete, so check back regularly!

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December 15th has hit and that can only mean one thing for Warcraft – Winter Veil is here!  Winter Veil is the in-game Christmas event that lets players deck the halls with boughs of holly, and it’s even more fun this year.  With the expansion came the achievement system (similar to XBOX 360’s system), and if you complete all of the Winter Veil achievements, you earn yourself a fun little title ( [Name] the Merrymaker)!  Also, completing all holiday achievements gives you access to this bad boy flying mount:

The Elusive Proto-Drake, in Purple flavor

So you’re probably wondering, what do I have to do to get this achievement?  What’s the best way to do it?  Well, look beyond the cut!