All I can say is WOW!

So the world shattered last night. The fansites were right. I didn't get my raptor from ZG or my Starcaller title. Spent my last night in Azeroth doing a last minute LK title run for guildies that hadn't made it to the prior raids. *sigh* Oh well...

Regardless, the servers were up earlier than I expected last night and regardless of the fact that I was feeling like crap, I logged in anyway. And to my surprise, all I could say was WOW! Totally impressed Blizzard...nice job!

Honestly, the game was gorgeous! Stormwind was totally amazing. I spent almost an hour there running around just looking at all the revamps they did to the textures in the game. It all made me totally grateful that Kyn (Matt) got me a new computer for my birthday that could totally handle max graphic levels!

The streets and building textures..amazing! Did anyone notice how detailed the trees are now? They actually look three dimensional. The graveyard in Stormwind is totally amazing. The wedding gazeboo thing in the Cathedral district, beautiful. I'm sure there will be a lot of crazy RP going on there. (If you're into that kind of thing)

I had logged my lock out at the doors of ZG so I did get to see parts of Norther Stranglethron. It didn't feel totally different, but the changes were just enough to make it seem like something new. I was glad to see that ZG remains the same, it's just not a raid any longer. There were no mobs inside the gates so I assume that will be added later. The layout is the same but the changes to the detail made it amazing.

Ran from Stranglethron to Westfall and play around in the tornados for awhile. Did you know they will throw you up into the air if you run in to them? But be careful, you do take fall damage. Then explored Moonbrooke. Was actually amazed to see that it is now a quest hub.

Oh, did anyone else notice they added a million flight paths? There were 3 in Westfall alone. I assume that was for the benefit of the lowbies that won't have flying yet. Was a nice addition I think.

We logged to a different server for the benifit of rolling gnomes to see their new starting area. The quests were amusing. Matt and I giggled at some of quest lines and had a good time with the new changes. Made me more than a little excited to roll that goblin!

So, with that I say a huge THANK YOU Blizzard! Can't wait for the rest of Cata.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Saying Good-Bye

So several of the more well known fan sites are predicting the release of version 4.0.3a for next week.

We all know that with that comes the events that will forever change Azeroth. I'm slowly coming to the reality that I'm not going to see that ZG raptor before that happens. It has successfully evaded me for well over 2 years of trying. So, if they are correct and the shattering happens next week, I'll make my last 2 trecks into ZG this week and I'll have to say good-bye.

With only 18 days left until release, it also means that 'Fallen' has 2 raid locks left to get our Starcaller title before people quickly loose interest and move on to leveling fun. That's probably not unrealistic for us since last week was our first attempt and we had him down to 15% when he de-spawned on us. So I think, if we try again, we'll easily have that one too.

Just a quick note from my side of the world. I hope everyone is enjoying their remaining time in the world we currently know and that all pre-Cata plans are going smoothly. I've been playing a lot less these past few weeks. Logging on for raids and the elemental attacks, nothing more. But I fully expect that to change in a couple weeks!

Have a wonderful week and a happy, healthy, safe and joyous Thanksgiving!

T Minus 27 and counting...

Where has the days gone? We're down to 27 days and a little over 9 hours before the release of Cataclysm and 27 days and 12 hours before we make our first steps into a world that is changed forever.

Well, that's not exactly true, now is it? They are planning to release the world changing event patch before Cataclysm actually hits the shelves.

So the big question becomes...when do we think that will happen?

Well, my (un)educated guess...and it's just that...nothing more than a guess is going to be November 30th. I know, I know, that's only 3 weeks away. But think about this:

1. It's the last Tuesday patch day before the release of Cataclysm.
2. The elemental invasion is currently on phase 2 of 4
3. If the invasion release follows the path it's on, phase 4 will hit on the November 22nd

That leaves one week to finish the pre-Cata events and then they drop the change on us. Don't throw things or scream at me if I am wrong. I have totally been known to be wrong on occasion. But that's just my prediction.

Regardless...we're playing Cata in less than 28 days!!!