Fire Festival Transmogrifications

In honour of the Fire Festival (and inspired by Kamelia) I’ve been playing around with the various outfits worn by my most commonly played characters. Each one is wearing one piece of Fire Festival specific clothing either from the set or the tabards you get from slaying Ahune.

Priest

• Shirt: Amber Filigreed Doublet
• Tabard: Tabard of the Summer Skies
• Chest: Chronoscryer Robe
• Weapon: The Lifebinder

Mage

• Helm: Crown of the Fire Festival
• Chest: Robe of Solomon
• Weapon: Frostfire Remembrance

Warlock

• Staff: Archmage’s Staff
• Chest: Vestment of Summer
• Shirt: Golden Filigreed Doublet
• Helm: Nightvale Cowl

Shaman

• Shoulders: Mantle of the Fire Festival
• Chest: Masterwork Breastplate
• Belt: Blood Knight Girdle
• Trousers: Scourge Lieutenant’s Breeches
• Shoes: Griftah’s Authentic Troll Shoes
• Weapons: Golden Saronite Dragon and Antonidas’ Aegis of Rapt Concentration

The Dorrie Report

Well short of a miracle I suspect my little Warlock won’t be completing the Green Fire quest before the patch. The blame for this is entirely my own as I’ve been a bit magpie-ish in recent weeks. I went through a bubble of “must read every Agatha Christie/Ngaio Marsh and similar crime novel I can lay my hands on” then there was my temporary insanity regarding Dragon Age Fan Fiction and even a spot of soup making. In short, anything apart from playing WoW.

Even when I have been playing, I’ve been more interested in farming those toys I’m missing from the soon to be implemented Toybox than I have been leveling poor little Dorrie. The sad thing is, it was all going so swimmingly until around level 50 but I just can’t get my head around the gutted Un’goro Crater or the changes to Winterspring even though Cataclysm was years ago. So the current state of play is level 53 with approximately two weeks to go. Given that I’m currently “resting” I do have enough time on my hands to get her to 90 or at least exceedingly close but whether or not I have the real desire to do so, I’m not so sure.

Dorrie and the Quest for Green Fire

As the next patch draws closer I’m ever so slightly in panic mode. There is one thing I’d love to do before every changes once again and that’s level my little Warlock to 90 and give the Green Fire quest a shot. So in the next month can I get a level 39 Gnome to 90 plus acquire enough gear and then learn to play her well enough to get shiny green flames? I suspect not but there is no harm in trying.

Also if you didn’t read the Dorrie books whilst growing up, keep an eye out for them because they are wonderful. Thanks to them I spent my childhood wishing I could ride a broomstick and have my very own cauldron.

Dorrie the not so little Witch

I went through a brief phase of Warcraft burn-out but am slowly rediscovering my love of the game thanks to my little Warlock. I suspect I might have to redesign her face post Warlords but I’m having tremendous fun dotting things to death.

My plan was to follow in the footsteps of my original character, also a Warlock, at least as much as I remember where I quested back in 2005. Darkshore has long been one of my favourite zones, one I’ve skirted through post Cataclysm but according to my achievements never completed and that journey is proving surprisingly tough.

The devastation wrought on my much beloved zone along with the corpses of favoured quest givers has left me growling at my screen, wishing I could slaughter those responsible over and over again.

From those first few quests in which you find yourself hunting for survivors in the surf, finding your arrival is often only seconds too late, the zone sucks you in with it’s storytelling. Plus even now, in it’s broken, burnt and battered state, there is a beauty to it.

Dorrie is now level 20, proud owner of a slightly singed Demonic horse and looking forward to her next challenge. I’m semi tempted to have a go at soloing Shadowfang Keep to get her first scythe from the Warlock quest. I imagine this is doable with the capable assistance of her faithful Voidwalker and should be fun to try. Ultimately, her aims are green fire, a proper witch hat and one of those scary Demons with lots of arms. It will be interesting to see if she gets there, especially as I don’t intend purchasing flying skills on her.

A Wandering Warlock Enters

To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die. Hallowed Ground by Thomas Campbell

So the Godmother suggested a thing which resonated me with. For reasons I haven’t quite managed to pin down yet, I don’t like the idea of a boosted character. I think that a part of my issue is that characters gain personality and history from their possessions as they progress from level 1 to 90 but it goes deeper than that.

To go back to the beginning in the truest sense required me to roll a Warlock of some sort which tied in a with a project of my own that I’d considered but not started. Dorrie the little Witch is the hero of a series of children’s books which I adored as a little girl. It’s a combination of the illustrations and that sense of untidiness, of trying hard in an adult world where the rules seem to flex so you’re always on the wrong side of them and of course her constant companion, Gink the cat which sucked me in.

So Dorrie the little Warlock was born. Her transmogrifications will of course involve pointy hats and her leveling might be more of a meandering journey than a straight forward path from A to B but I’m sure she might manage to restore my flagging WoW spirits. Following in the footsteps of those who have gone before, I will try and emulate (as much as I can remember) my original Warlock’s road across Azeroth. I know Darkshore was definitely on the list and so was Redridge but other than that, I’ll have to piece together what I can from the screenshots which remain. I might even not bother purchasing flying on her to experiment with having to ride everywhere and after all, Felsteeds are creatures of beauty. The goal isn’t necessarily 90 but to explore, to wander and rediscover that sense of wonder. 

A Web of Warlocks

I’ve been toying with the idea of leveling a warlock but I couldn’t quite decide on the race. So naturally I took the question to twitter where Gnome, Dwarf and Worgen were suggested. Feeling indecisive, I thought I’d make one of each and go with whoever spawned with the best Imp name since that was clearly the most important aspect of being a Warlock.

Gnome

Worgen

Dwarf

In the end Dwarf won out, partly because I’ve always wanted a character with plaits which spin whilst casting and partly because it turns out I prefer Imp names which end in the letter L.

So I’ll be slowly leveling Cobweb the Dwarf and her accompaniment of Imps through a battleground near you!