If you don’t remember, the Gun Lovin’ Dwarf Chick was one of the top Hunter blogs in the community not so long ago.  She was even part of my inspiration in creating my own Bow Lovin’ Dwarf Chick.

If you knew where to find her, you may have read some of her musings since GLDC was officially shut down, but now she’s returned from her many various adventures and is back at Gun Lovin’ Dwarf Chick ready to shoot stuff and write about it.  So make sure you stay up to date!

Gun Lovin’ Dwarf Chick!

“Ha!  How many times must I tell you, you’ve got a give, my friend!” Brajana gave a hearty laugh as she gathered her winnings from the table.  “How about another game?” She took a large swig of mediocre Kungaloosh and looked around the table at her companions.

They weren’t really companions – after the initial glory brought on from the final defeat of Arthas, the Lich King, it was not long until her group of real companions disbanded.  Some went in search of more adventures, some were satisfied with their victory and settled down closer to home, and others just seemed to disappear.  Brajana remained in Northrend, aimless and alone.  She’d done the odd job here and there, but after a lifetime of training to defeat the evil that plagued the Horde, nothing really seemed worthwhile anymore.  More often than not she could be found in The Filthy Animal surrounded by empty bottles of whatever they’d serve her and looking for a cheap thrill through a game of dice.

Her gambling partners seemed to decide they couldn’t afford to give her anymore of their hard earned gold and vacated the table.  But just as Brajana raised her hand to beckon the barmaid, someone new sat down at her table.

She blinked, trying to straighten her slightly spinning view.

“Tza’jin, you should not be here.  Your place is in Sen’jin.” Brajana told her uncle and mentor.  She did not want him to see her like this – barely able to sit straight let alone hold her bow as steady as he’d trained her to.

“It be ya place too, Brajana.  De time has come.  We be returnin’ to de Isles, an’ we be needen’ all de help we can get.”

All of a sudden, Brajana felt more sober than she’d been in weeks.  Memories of her childhood home washed over her, of the stories she’d heard of Zalazane and his Voodoo.  She nodded to Tza’jin and stood, whistled for Fiddlesticks and strapped her bow across her back.

Blizzard has prided itself on being a company that doesn’t release a product until it’s ready.  I’ve always been respectful of that, and I think it has a lot to do with their success.  If you release a product on time but unfinished, you lose some credibility.

But have they taken simply too much time preparing for the release of Cataclysm?

I’ve been a pretty big fan of the Wrath of the Lich King philosophy of 10/25 mans and hard modes, a clever way to allow everyone a chance to see all of the story-driven content, while still giving the more hardcore players a chance to feel special.  I would have loved to be able to see all the content in The Burning Crusade, but that was not in the cards for someone with a relaxed play style like me.  Now I’ve been able to kill the Lich King, even if it was only with 9 other people on regular mode.  Unfortunately, a downside to this mechanism is that you don’t get the same epic feeling when killing an old boss in a new way.

I look back on my post about Anticipation for WotLK, and my view was almost completely the opposite.  I didn’t want Wrath to come out because The Burning Crusade was still keeping me quite occupied! Now, I feel like this expansion has let my interests wander.

It’s been so long since Icecrown Citadel was released that pretty much everyone who was going to kill the Lich King has killed the Lich King, in one way or another.  There are plenty of people who are still working on hard modes, but a lot of us have decided that instead of seeing the same old bosses several nights a week for 9 months straight, it’s a good time to play some other games.  And while there is no harm in that, the longer Blizzard leaves us to play other games, the less chance there is for us to be brought back in for Cataclysm.  By letting us realize, “Hey, there’s a whole other world out here!” and “Quitting WoW isn’t that bad, actually.” They’ve lost a lot of loyalty.  I have no doubt that a lot of people will return to the game for Cataclysm, but I think the longer Blizzard waits to release it, the less committed the players will be to sticking around.

I never had any intention of not playing World of Warcraft this summer, it just happened.  I’d realize I just hadn’t logged in in weeks; I’d actually forgotten about the game.  And in a way, that kind of “quitting” is much worse for Blizzard than a forced quit, when someone still wants to play but has to stop.  My list of other games to play is growing so much that I almost dread having to commit my gaming time to playing Cataclysm when it’s released.

What I’m trying to say is: Blizzard better knock this expansion out of the park if they hope to regain the devotion they had during the prime of Wrath of the Lich King.

With how slow things are getting in the game right now while everyone is impatiently awaiting the Cataclysm, it’s the perfect time to bolster your guild’s cohesiveness with some fun guild events!  You can check out the list of fun guild events I wrote last year, or try this new one I’m adding to it: 

Themed Screenshot Contests

 This contest is perfect for this time of the season, because even your guildies who have temporarily suspended their accounts could participate if they’ve saved up some decent screenshots, and it can keep your guild forums active during downtime.

 What you need to do is come up with some sort of theme appropriate to your guild.  Some ideas are:

• Best guild moment (maybe an important achievement or boss kill)
• Best guildie mistell (because we all SS them for blackmail purposes, right?)
• Screenshot of a suggested “guild headquarters/hideout” (good opportunity to explore all the cool hidden places that might be gone soon!)
• Screenshot of “Guildiewhodiesalot” dead in some awkward/funny position or situation

 If you get some solid interest, I suggest turning this into a monthly contest!  Schedule the first 3 weeks of the month for submitting screenshots and allow the last week for voting.  Of course, prizes are great motivators.  Depending on your situation I might suggest a game timecard, a pet/mount from the Blizzard Pet Store or the right to redesign the guild tabard for the next month.

It’s that time again!  That time when the current content starts to feel a bit stale, and all anyone can think about is the new expansion that is just barely over the horizon.  Also, summer.  I hear there’s sunshine and fun to be had outside, or something.  *shrug*   

So what’s a blogger to do?  I could write about all the breaking news from the Cataclysm Beta that’s been coming out, but I am actually trying to avoid spoilers and wait to see it all myself when the time comes.  I could rehash all my random dungeon adventures, but after a while they seem to all become the same story.

The blogging desire is still within me.  Quite often I’ll sit down with a blank text box open and just try to type something.  But there is very little inspiring to write about right now!  I’m determined not to give up, and I don’t consider my blog abandoned, but I am just waiting for that divine intervention to start flowing through my fingertips.

Until then, I will try to post at least once a week.  It might not be particularly inspired or helpful, but maybe it’ll give me a chance to keep my writing muscles in shape, and even give you a nice break from all the “ZOMG LOOK AT THIS STUFF IN THE BETA!”

Today, I will post Twitter-sized updates on various aspects of my life:

Raiding: Got to 10/12 in H ICC before our 10-man guild dwindled to a 3-man. Other games and activities have put us on a summer/pre-Cata hiatus.

Brajana: With no one to conquer raids with, my hunter is taking her own personal hiatus. Probably won’t see Ruby Sanctum at all!

Kaeira: My Prot Paly hit 80! Geared up and making it through Heroics. I make a fine tank, if I do say so myself! Still scared of raids though…

New Alts: Finally got a rogue past level 12! Hoppi the gnome (20) has been my new focus, in a friend’s guild where people actually still play.

Other games: Got a bit carried away with Steam’s sales. I’ve got a list of games to keep me busy such as Mass Effect 1&2, Torchlight, World of Goo!

Real life: Started a new job a few weeks ago. Adjusting to the un-unemployed life slowly… less recreation time, but the paycheque makes up for it.