Was It Worth It?

Since the test realms recently went up, I knew Blizzard's plans to modify the skill requirements for disenchanting were not far off. I decided it was time to shard some of my unused blues and epics taking up scarce bank space. Only one problem: My character didn't have Enchanting as a profession.

I've always been one to not mess with what works. My current professions, Herbalism and Alchemy, were a steady flow of money to fund my purchases and repair bills. I felt that ditching either of them for Enchanting would disrupt my momentum, even if it was just for an hour's worth of sharding. But instead of listening to my usual voice of reason, I decided it was time to take a gamble...

Immediately after untraining Herbalism, I felt the pain of having to farm hours for herbs I would just trash, but I looked forward to seeing bags full of shards to make the re-farming more bearable.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting shafted- 4 Nexus Crystals, 4 Large Brilliant Shards, and some dusts. Oh, and did I mention my server's current auction house prices are 80% (or less) of what they used to be? After I re-trained Herbalism, the magnitude of my previous action hit full force- I just gave up my weekend to farming... in return for a few shards.

What could I have been doing while I was running around for those five-plus hours, picking Peacebloom and Kingsblood, and later, the oft-farmed (and thus impossible to find) Gromsblood and Dreamfoil? I could have been making money at Tyr's Hand. I could have been farming instances with guildmates. Heck, I could have been out having a life (alright, this is a bit of a stretch). Point being, the entire time I was picking flowers, I had my palm on my forehead thinking, "What did I do...?"

Under better economic circumstances, and with a little better luck, maybe my reaction wouldn't have been so negative. But, after everything was made right (I'm once again at 300 Herbalism), seeing the half-bag worth of shards makes me feel like I traded my Ferarri for a spraypainted gold Honda.

Herbalism had its retribution on me, and the experience was sour indeed. I'm remembering better than ever why I live by the adage "If it ain't broke, don't untrain it."

If you were in my shoes- your profession wasn't Enchanting, you had a bag full of items you never used, and the patch was right around the corner- would you bite the bullet for the shards?

PTR Access Issues Amount, Blizzard Peculiarly Absent

Since the launch of the PTR's last Tuesday, the Test Realm forum has seen numerous posts of praise, complaints, bugs, and QQ. However, today takes the cake as one of the most chaotic days seen in any PTR yet- centering on bugs that do not allow you to get past the Character Select screen, or copy your character to the PTR.

According to pages threads complaining about the online-yet-inaccessible state of the PTRs, players are attempting to log in to online servers, just to be kicked back to the Character Select screen. Ouch.

Just to make things worse, the character copy service has been bogged down the majority of the time since the PTR's launch. Since there are no pre-made characters being offered for this test, character copying should be under high stress until the influx dies down. Just another headache to those wanting to test the new content.

Amidst all of this, the community is concerned as to why Blizzard CM's are eerily quiet this weekend, despite numerous threads of unplayability (regarding the two issues stated above). The last discernable blue message was by Justinkk on 11/17, since which the login problems have persisted.

This being a test server and all, bugs are expected (if not welcomed- we'd rather catch them on a non-final product), and these character copy and login issues are bound to be resolved in short order. Unfortunately, with little contact from Blizzard and no end of the tunnel in sight, one must wonder how long it will take this to be remedied (or at least recognized in an blue sticky).

Advice for the weekend: If you can't access the PTR in 2-3 tries, just save your time and try during the week.

Breakfast Topic: Your Day as an Instance Boss

This forum post got me thinking: If I were a final boss to some instance, what would be my daily routine between groups of folks coming to beat loot out of me like a pinata? Let's forget about code, and think of bosses as your average joe evildoer. Since I'm partial to Blackwing Lair, I'll assume the role of Nefarion. I think my day would go a little like this:

10AM - Being a late riser, I lazily roll out of bed, take a steamy shower, and toss on the only outfit I own (curse Blizzard's stinginess with boss wardrobes).

11AM - While munching on some late breakfast, I peruse the Azeroth Weekly from my open-air balcony. There sure is a lot of red haze today.

12PM - Being evil, I decide this is a good time to alter my loot tables to all Druid gear.

4PM - My fellow colleagues and I have our daily pep-talk, and chide each other for falling for the same tricks each week. I relay my sadistic loot-table stacking idea, at which point the other bosses concur and stash Druid-only gear. We watch some ESPN on goblin-crafted holographic screens until the first raiders start zoning in.

7PM - Most raids are already under-way. I prepare myself for my first grand appearance in Vael's room. Where's that frickin' red scepter again?

10PM - The raids are quickly approaching my room. I get psyched and hope for the best, but I have once again underestimated their sheer steamroller-like power. Curses!

10:30PM - Curses! They're here! Maybe if I sit still and... flag friendly... they won't talk to... HEY! NO! Don't talk to me! I don't want to... urgh... fine, fine. Let the games begin!

10:45PM - The world turns blacker... blacker... I shout, "This cannot be! I am the Master here! You mortals are nothing to my kind! DO YOU HEAR? NOTHING!"... and fall to the ground. My killers then shove and jostle around, kneeling over my corpse, picking items and gold from my belly. So that's where my wallet was!

11:00PM - After a snappy recovery, I awaken in my bed, lamenting my defeat. I deplore my bad luck and inability to change tactics, despite being an evil, revenge-bent mastermind. I ponder how much longer the trust fund left by my father will fund my lair, the wages of my subordinates, and the constant losses of gold and items. Uh-oh, I'm getting a text from Rend. Something about a UBRS PuG. Well, at least I don't have to fight anyone there. I wish I was getting paid for this.

Bosses must have the patience of monks. They get a pretty redundant job, consistently lose against all kinds of players, and give up tons of gold per week. Yet somewhere in there, they manage to farm truckloads of loot to distribute to their defeaters. They say they're out to destroy society as we know it, but when you think about it, they do their job for you, the player.

Which begs the question: what would your favorite boss' day-to-day activities be?