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.

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…

The Exploration Achievements I have been working on the past few weekday mornings; I would just run while I did other things in real life.  I started as far north as I could and just worked my way down; this was immensely helpful since I wanted to skill up my herbalism.  I would also try to start in the lower level zones and move as soon as my skill allowed me to.  My plan didn’t work as well as I had hoped – I ended up still being underskilled by the time I finished wandering Azshara and Winterspring for exploration achievements.  I’ll have to head back and take a look around.

It was really nice exploring these places – there are a LOT of unmarked graves.  I also love how the entrances to Timbermaw Hold and Onyxia’s Lair both feature the head of a bear and dragon (respectively).  These zones are really quite gorgeous, I’ll be sad to see them go.

I was also able to finish off the quests that reward you with a pet, something I’ve been meaning to do forever.

Image Courtesy of Warcraftpets.com

The Sprite Darter one was a little exhausting, since you had to travel to the other continent to finish it, but it was well worth it to see that little guy flutter behind me.  The Alliance quest for this starts in Feralas, near Grimtotem Post.  Kindal Moonweaver starts this, by having you save at least six Sprite Darters from Grimtotem post.  You unlock the cage and pretty much aggro all the mobs in the area.  There is a time limit, but as soon as six get away you can run back and turn it in.  She then has you kill a certain amount of each Grimtotem tauren, which can be found in the camp where you freed said Sprite Darters and also to the North.  After handing THAT in, she send you to Darnassus to let Tyrande know of your good deeds.

The quest chain ends there, but you have to  return to Kindal to start the second half.  It turns out she found a few eggs, and has you head to Mirage Raceway to speak to another druid about what to do with one of them.  If you want to complete this chain quickly, I would pick up 2 Elixirs of Fortitude from the Auction House while you’re in Darnassus; the NPC at the Mirage Raceway asks for these and would just make the experience move faster with them at hand.  He then sends you to Aerie Peak in the Hinderlands to speak to a Dwarf, who then asks you for Silvermane Stalker Flanks (found on the eastern side of the zone).  After you hand the meat to him, voila! Your own Sprite Darter Pet.

For a better look at the quest chain, I’d head to this article.

If you’re Horde, the easiest way to get this pet is to kill Sprite Darters in Feralas; since in patch 3.1 the mini-pet drops from them.

The Worg and Smolderweb ones were pretty easy, being a level 80 death knight.  There were a few moments where I got a little nervous, seeing as I pulled an entire room.  But I didn’t die and collected the monsters pretty easily.

Images courtesy of warcraftpets.com

The quests are collected from Kibler, a neutral Goblin in Flame Crest. You have to enter Lower Blackrock Spire and make your way through, collected Smolderweb eggs (fifteen) and grabbing on Worg pup, which pretty much pulls the room.

There are better outlines out there to look at, this is the one I used.

As a bonus, when I was heading across the Barrens to finish that acheivement, I ran into Takk the Leaper, a rare raptor that drops this little guy:

Image courtesy of Warcraftpets.com

Takk the Leaper drops this 100% of the time, but because he is a rare mob, this little guy is very hard to find!  I was tempted to sell him off, but decided that my own collection was better served keeping him around.

All in all, a very fruitful achievement run!

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.

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

AZEROTH DUNGEON ELDERS

Wildmane the Elder

This Elder is found in Zul’Farrak, Tanaris, Kalimdor.  You’ll find her near the pool where you summon Gahz’rilla.  At level 80, I was able to just run in and run through.  What makes this so easy is that Zul’Farrak is an outdoor dungeon, so mount up!  You shouldn’t have to kill a single mob (unless you want to decimate the place).

Starsong the Elder

Starsong is found in the Sunken Temple, Swamp of Sorrows, Eastern Kingdoms.  Once you enter the instance, take an immediate left up the stairs (which takes you to the Green Dragons).  You’ll have to kill a few mobs, but then once you enter the large room, take another hard left and you’ll find her.

Splitrock the Elder

This Elder is found in Maurudon, Desolace, Kalimdor.  There should be a portal that takes you to the Princess – that’s the portal to take.  It’s a large instance once you’re in and I was lucky enough to group with someone to find her.  But here’s a map I found that should help you find the little dwarf.  Getting out of the dungeon is the hardest part, so make sure you either have a mage with you or your hearth is up.

Stonefort the Elder

Stonefort can be located within Lower Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Mountain, Eastern Kingdoms.  Once you enter the instance, go up the ramp with the double stairs, take a right through the door, jump off the ledge and go through the tunnel on the left. The tunnel zig-zags a bit and opens out to Hordemar City (and some floating text will tell you as such).  Head straight across the first rope bridge and you should see a large pillar of moonlight!

Morndeep the Elder

You can find this dwarf Elder in Blackrock Depths, Blackrock Mountain, Eastern Kingdoms.  He’ll be in the Ring of Law, in the very center of it.  Here’s another map if you’re unfamiliar with this instance, although the Ring of Law is insanely close to the entrance – just run straight.  A word of caution – standing in the Ring of Law can start an event, so run in, complete the quest, run out!  Otherwise the doors will close and you’ll be forced…

…to compete.

Farwhisper the Elder

Elder Farwhisper is found in Stratholme, Eastern Plaguelands, Eastern Kingdoms.  He’ll be found in Festival Lane, right near where the Unforgiven spawns.  You can go through the service entrance, hug the wall then bang a right (you’ll see him by then) or you can meander through the city like I did.  Just be careful and try not to get too cocky – a high level who isn’t paying attention is still a dead high level.  You may have to kill the Unforgiven if you do not have the key, which is a pretty easy fight.

Well you’ve done it!  You’ve found the Old World Elders. Now you better jump on Looking for Group and find some people willing to enter some higher level dungeons… Here we go!

NORTHREND DUNGEONS

Jarten the Elder

Jarten is found inside Utgarde Keep, Howling Fjord, Northrend.  You only have to kill one boss to get to him (the first boss, Prince Keleseth) but once you clear that, you should find Jarten in an alcove before you go up the stairs.

Igasho the Elder

This Elder is inside the Nexus, Borean Tundra, Northrend.  You don’t have to kill any bosses to find Igasho – he’s located right before the large elemental boss, Ormorok the Tree-Shaper.  You’ll need to clear some mobs to get there, although I have heard of sneaky rogues and invisible Mages getting past it.  I am not so sneaky, so I grouped up.  We ended up murdering Ormorok as well, for fun.  Murder is fun kids!

Nurgen the Elder

In order to get to Nurgen, you have to kill not one, but two bosses to find him in Azol’Nerub, Dragonblight.  After you kill the two bosses, you’ll jump down the large hole that takes you to Anu’barak.  You’ll find him sitting on a rock, wondering how he fell down that enormous hole.  Of course, at this point you might as well finish the dungeon and leave that way, but you can always hearth out.

Kilias the Elder

Another Elder that requires two boss kills in Drak’theron Keep, Grizzly Hills.  You’ll have to kill Trollgore and Novos the Summoner to get to Kilias, and the Elder is to the left of King Dred’s pen.

Yuruak the Elder

Yuruak is in the Halls of Stone, Storm Peaks, and you thankfully don’t have to kill any bosses to get to him.  Once you enter the instance, head west towards where you’ll find Krystallus.  The Elder should be midway between the rock tunnel and the boss.  Not too bad!

Ghogan’Gada the Elder

What a mouthful.  You’ll have to kill three bosses inside Utgarde Pinnacle to get to this Elder.  You’ll find him right under the stairs after you kill Skadi the Ruthless.

Ohanzee the Elder

Last but not least, Ohanzee, who can be found in Gun’drak, Zul’Drak.  You can only get to this Elder when the dungeon is set on Heroic, making it exhausting.  Fortunately, we had someone in our group that had already completed the dungeon, so we were able to take the back entrance into the dungeon and only kill trash.  He can be found in Eck’s cave.  If you go through the back entrance, you’ll go down the stairs, kill the trolls in the center arena, then go through a small sewer-like opening into the cave.  You’ll have to kill a few Gorlocks to get to the elder, which have a nasty spew ability, but otherwise, it shouldn’t be too hard.

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So all in all, it shouldn’t be too difficult.  A level 70 anything can solo the old world content, while you must have a group to hit up the Northrend dungeons.  On a more personal note, I just need the Drak’theron Elder to finish the achievement!  Then I’ll get the title…  Guess I better go jump on LFG.

Good luck!

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.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS

The Rocket’s Red Glare

Here you have to shoot off 10 Red rocket clusters in less than 25 seconds.  First of all, all red rocket clusters are sold by Lunar Festival Vendors, which can be found in all the major cities AND Moonglade. Engineers can also make them.  Just throw the clusters you buy onto an action bar and spam it!  I can’t remember if you have to right click on the cluster launchers or what, but in any case, it shouldn’t be overly difficult.

Frenzied Firecracker

Similar to the aforementioned achievement, here you have to shoot of 10 festival firecrackers 30 seconds or less.  Same tip as before, action bar/spam!  Frenzied firecrackers are purchased from Lunar Festival vendors.  Be careful where you launch them, if you hit people of the opposing faction you’ll get hit by guards, or it can aggro mobs.

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MEDIUM ACHIEVEMENTS

(from easiest to hardest)

Elders of the Eastern Kingdoms
Elders of Kalimdor
Elders of the Alliance
Elders of the Horde
Elders of Northrend
Elders of the Dungeons

Now here’s where it gets tricky.  Most of the achievements are directly related to you finding Elders all over Azeroth.  Now Elders are various NPCs standing in glowing circles of light that, when spoken to, award you with “Coins of Ancestory.”  WoWWiki has an EXCELLENT guide to hitting up all the Elders in the main world, along with a main list cataloging every elder.

Unfortunately, the guide is not updated for 2009, which include the Northrend dungeons and Elders.  That’s okay though!  The guide does list where you can find them.

Now, here are some things to keep in mind.  Three of the Elders (the Elders of the Alliance/Horde achievement) are located in main cities, so being a high level will definitely help here.  They seem to be located pretty close to safe entrances, so make sure you have a fast moving mount.

The dungeon Elders are where you’re going to run into some trouble.  For old world dungeons, the only trouble I could see running into is Strathholme, since you need a key to enter the dungeon.  Might want to start doing the questline that gives you the key ahead of time.  You’re also going to be entering the Halls of Stone and Utgarde Pinnicle, all of which need to be at least level 75.  Get ta questin’.

Now what’s nice about getting the Elders is reputation.  Every time you meet an Elder, he rewards you with +75 to each Alliance/Horde faction, so you’ll get a fair amount of reputation if you follow the guide to the letter.  You also receive a coin for each one, which leads me to this:

50 Coins of Ancestory

This shouldn’t be too hard if you’re trying to find all the Elders, since you get a coin for each one.  You’ll get this automatically without even trying, if you follow the guide that is.

Lunar Festival Finery

You need to purchase one kind of Lunar Festival Dress or Lunar Festival Pantsuit to get this achievement.  They cost 5 coins of ancestory.

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HARD ACHIEVEMENTS

Elune’s Blessing

This is the last achievement in order to get the title and it’s not TOO difficult.  I mean, you need a group to accomplish this.  You must defeat OMEN, the two headed Raid encounter in Moonglade.  A fairly geared group should be able to handle this fine, you just have to watch out for his Cleave and AOE attack that’ll hit pretty hard.  I’ve never attempted to kill him before, but there are great tips here.  If you’re in Moonglade and you see a group attempting it, join up!  Power in numbers folks.

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Not a ton of achievements, unlike Winter Veil, and most of these achievements are successful by yourself, except for the higher level dungeons in Northrend.  You’ll need to group up for that.  But if you happen to get a group going to collect all the Elders, you’ll get through it in no time. Good luck to you, hopeful Elders.

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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!

First of all, you’re probably wonder where you have to go to even start this!  You can find Winter Veil NPCs (along with Greatfather Winter himself) in Ironforge and Ogrimmar, right near their respective entrances.  From there, you’ll see a bunch of quests available, most of which are steps towards getting your achievements.  I’ve listed all the Winter Veil achievements below, scaling from easy to hard:
EASY ACHIEVEMENTS

Scrooge! – COMPLETE

Easy easy easy.  You just have to purchase a snowball and throw it at either King Magni Bronzebeard (Alliance, Ironforge) or Cairne Bloodhoof (Alliance, Thunder Bluff). Get it out of the way and do it first.

He Knows If You’ve Been Naughty

This achievement has you opening a present from Greatfather Winter.  Really easy, though you can’t complete it until 25th to January 2nd.  Still easy though, every player gets one.

Crashin’ and Thrashin’

Once December 25th hits, one of your presents will be a Crashin’ Thrashin’ racer and to get this achievement you have to crash the toy 25 times with other players.

A Frosty Shake – COMPLETE

By completing the “Stolen Winter Veil Treats” quest, you get a Winter Veil Disguise kit that makes you look like a snowman.  Just wear it, jump over to Dalaran and dance with another snowman!

COMPLETION NOTE: There are a ton of snowmen wandering around Dalaran.  Don’t forget to bring a snowball to activate the Disguise kit!

MEDIUM ACHIEVEMENTS

On Metzen – COMPLETE

This quest has you saving the Reindeer Metzen from the Dark Iron Dwarves.  He can be found in Tanaris for the Horde and Searing Gorge for the Alliance.  You just have to talk to the Reindeer, sprinkle some dust on him and voila!  You get the Achivement completion once you hand in the quest.  You also get some Preserved Holly, which you’ll need later.

COMPLETION NOTE: The Alliance Metzen can be found in the top right hand corner of the map, for the Alliance.

Simply Abominable – COMPLETE

You have to complete the “Stolen Winter Veil Treats” questline, which has you going to Alterac Valley to kill the Abominable Greech (a giant yeti).  I completed this yesterday with relative ease, though there are a LOT of players camped around there and as of now, he’s a rare spawn.  I would recommend grouping up and start huntin’!

COMPLETION NOTE: The spawn rate has been upped dramatically with at least three Greeches spawning right after each other.  Pick a spot and circle it.  Did this without even grouping.

Let it Snow – COMPLETE

You have to throw a Handful of Snowflakes (which you get when you /kiss on a Winter Reveler) onto the following class/race combinations:

Orc Death Knight
Tauren Shaman
Undead Rogue
Gnome Mage
Blood Elf Warlock
Human Warrior
Night Elf Druid
Troll Hunter
Dwarf Paladin
Draenei Priest

You can probably find any of the combinations from your faction in Ogrimmar or Ironforge and find the rest in the battlegrounds or where you kill the Abominable Greech, since both factions hang out there.

COMPLETION NOTE: I did most of this in battlegrounds and in Ironforge.  Shouldn’t be too easy – I would recommend putting it on an actionbar so you can quickly hit it before they try to kill you.

Bro’s Before Ho-ho-ho’s – COMPLETE

This quest has you finding these “Brother” NPCs spread out all over the world and using mistletoe on them.  You can find a guide to the brothers here:

Alliance
Horde

The mistletoe is found by doing a “/kiss” on Winter Revelers and it’s a rare drop, so better save some up.  You also can only “/kiss” one per hour (you get a debuff) and the debuff only counts when you’re logged in, but the Revelers are found in all the inns.

COMPLETION NOTE: That guide is extremely helpful.  I was able to save up my mistletoe so I could do it in one go-round.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS

Tis the Season

For this, you have to wear a full Winter Veil clothing set and eat Graccu’s Mince Meat Fruitcake.  The clothing set is made up of Red Clothes/Green Clothes (which is a tailoring recipe you can purchase from the Winter Veil Quartermaster), Winter Boots (made by a leatherworker, same purchase location) and a Red/Green hat, which is a rare drop off bosses.  From what I’ve found, you can get the hats off select bosses in Northrend (The Nexus, Ahn’Kahet and Occulus), but they are no longer found in soloable dungeons.  I would recommend running the Nexus, since you can hit that boss without hitting the others.  Plus it’s the lowest level dungeon, so you can easily farm it with a strong group.

The Mince Meat Fruitcake is a present for completing the Metzen quest and is mailed to you.  You can also find it in a package mailed to you after completing “Treats for Greatfather Winter.” So all in all, this might take a little time/effort to put together.

Fa-la-la-la-la-Ogrila

Remember that Preserved Holly I mentioned before?  Well you’re gonna need it for this one.  You have to complete the achievement “Bomb them Again!” while you have Preserved Holly on your flying mount.  In order to even get this quest, you have to complete the Ogrila chain, which contains many five-man quests.  I doubt you’ll be able to solo this, but there are a ton of Death Knights looking to do this, so finding a group shouldn’t be a problem.  Preserved Holly and Fresh Holly (which does the same effect) can be found off quests and Revelers.

With a Little Helper From My Friends – COMPLETE

This one I’m dreading… you have to get 50 honorable kills as a “Little Helper.”  In front of Ironforge and Ogrimmar are machines that turn you into “Little Helpers” and you have the buff for 30 minutes.  The problem is that it does not persist through death, so if you die, you lose the buff and you’ll either have to drop out of the battleground or finish it up.  In either case, kind of a pain.

COMPLETION NOTE: I finished this up with no problem!  I ran Strand of the Ancients during a peak time and was able to get 25 honorable kills without dying.  Tag and stay towards the back (like a coward).  The other 25 I got from running one game of Alterac Valley.  Luckily, there was a huge skirmish and I was able to throw a Death and Decay (a DK AOE) and get credit for tons of kills in less than five minutes. Stay away from Battlegrounds that require 1 vs 1 combat, like Warsong, Arathi and Eye of the Storm.

The Winter Veil Gourmet

For me, this achievement sucks too.  You have to make the three Winter Veil exclusive treats – Gingerbread Cookie, Egg Nog, Hot Apple Cider.  Making the first two are simple, but the Hot Apple Cider requires 325 cooking, and I’m at, oh yeah, 37.  So I have a mighty long grind ahead for me.  You can buy these at the Winter Veil quartermaster, don’t get ripped off and buy them for 20-30g on the Auction House.  The small eggs needed for the first two can be found on low level birds in the 5-10 and 15-20 racial starting areas, so once again, don’t waste your money on AH.

EDIT: If you’re a DK like me, you probably have a low cooking skill.  I found this great guide here that will help you level up in no time.

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So personally, I’ll be doing all the easy, quest related stuff first.  I only have a limited time to play now-a-days, so I’d rather get the quest-related achievements first before I put my time into getting cooking skilled up or running “The Nexus” over and over.  So I’d recommend doing the same.  That way, if you’re still playing next year, you can easy complete the rest of the achievements!

With a bit of committment, this shouldn’t be too hard.  Happy Winter Veil!