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A fun diversion

by Garwulf on April 20, 2010 · 20 comments

Gurubashi Arena

Those of you that have been following my blog for awhile may recall that I rolled an orc hunter last year. In addition to the joys of leveling another hunter, I did this because I wanted to experience the game from the horde perspective before Cataclysm tears Azeroth apart. Although I’ve not played him much in the past couple of months, I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed the game as an orc.

Alright, so what’s he doing right now..? He’s working on getting his Arena Grandmaster. I’ve been very casually collecting them over the past several weeks and now have only four more to go.

Should I succeed, this will mark the second time I’ve soloed the chests for the Arena Grandmaster. The other time was on my then 19 Paladin a few years back. Of course, getting the trinket was less of a hassle a few years ago, because Blizzard hadn’t introduced the Arena Master achievement, which brought with it all sorts of unwanted competition from level 80s.

If I arrive at the arena and see some 80s waiting there, I like to sit back and see what unfolds. Last week I actually got lucky when an 80 Druid and 80 DK went at it over the chest. By the time the Death Knight dropped the Druid, he only had about 500 HPs left. I jumped down hoping to finish off his last few hundred HPs, but before I could, he died from the Moonfire DoTs still on him. :lol: It was a grand show, which then left an opportunistic level 49 Orc Hunter with unhindered access to the arena loots. :D

I did a celebration dance afterwards, which ended when the DK rode back, Chains of Iced me and pounded my face in. I still had the last laugh though. ;)

My ultimate plan is to level this character to 80, but I’ve been having so much fun with him in the meantime, that I turned my experience off a few months ago. I hadn’t really planned on twinking this character, but that’s exactly what I’ve done.

Although twinking is all but dead in the PvP sense, due to experience gains via BGs (I’m on the fence over that change), there’s actually a new element of twinking that I’ve found to be pretty fun. This would be hardcore soloing.

Since we are able to turn off our experience now, it leaves us free to explore all sorts of challenging PvE content without the fear of leveling. Now some of you may say,”what’s the point in that..?

Well… fun…

That’s what this game is supposed to be about anyway. It doesn’t always have to be endgame.

However, twinking is sort of like end-game without the wait. ;)

Stay tuned for more on my 49 Orc alter ego…

Tagged as: 49 twink, arena grandmaster, gurubashi arena, orc

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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Rades April 20, 2010 at 2:20 pm

I agree, it’s all about just having fun! I was in STV randomly last night on my DK gathering herbs when I noticed it was 5 minutes till the chest drop. I have no need for the trinket but I headed there and got the chest anyways for fun. Maybe it’ll now motivate me to get the Arena Grandmaster too! (probably not but you never know)

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2 Garwulf April 21, 2010 at 11:25 am

I’ve helped many a twink farm for it and have partaken of some pretty epic battles over the chest. It’s always a blast, because you never know who’s going to be there.

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3 Agio April 20, 2010 at 4:48 pm

Fun? This is a game and you write about fun? That’s pretty ballsy of you. Next you’ll be writing about how no one is holding a gun to your head to play WoW and if you dislike changes Blizzard makes you can always quit. Definitely on the way to becoming an internet Pariah Garwulf.

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4 Garwulf April 20, 2010 at 5:38 pm

Ha Ha… seriously though… I think too many people miss the point, which is another reason I’m here. I gotta remind people how much fun this game actually can be.

It’s not important to be good at WoW, just to have fun with it. Players that scoff at others for speccing BM and using Spirit Beasts for instance, are really missing the point. More power to them if they are enjoying themselves.

For me personally, my satisfaction comes from being good at what I do, as well as enjoying myself. I’m not one to succumb to the mindless grind of heroics and dailies just for the sake of getting that much closer to my new piece of tier. It’s not to say I don’t enjoy doing them from time to time, but if I’m not feeling it, I simply won’t do them. There are people out there who would practically /wrists if they missed the raid weekly, let alone 2-3 weeks of heroics. That’s just creepy.

I’ll probably be playing my orc hunter a bit more in the coming months, as well as documenting his adventures here on the site. Things tend to slow down just before an expansion, so I think now’s a good time to expose players to some alternative forms of fun as opposed to just sitting on their Celestial Steeds in Dalaran.

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5 Agio April 20, 2010 at 6:55 pm

I agree-I certainly picked your brain plus read a great deal to see if I can make my hunter good soloing and just good all around but if I don’t have fun what’s the point? To get to the over-rated ‘end game’ in a month then complain about lack of content and how long its taking to get the new expansion-which is of course going to ruin the game or make it too easy for anyone who just got the game as opposed to paying their dues.
As for other players and defining what’s the ‘best’ spec etc and scoffing at how or what another plays, that’s nothing new and usually put forth by people who are frustrated wannabe game designers desperately hoping for an interview with Blizzard. Typically the best don’t scoff-they just play well and are quite helpful. I respect their dedication and insights.
I am new to the game and I can certainly understand how, after playing for 5 yrs and being @ Level 80 for a year or so one could get jaded but then again, you can always hop on your Celestial Steed and ride off into the close account zone before Cataclysm totallly destroys your sense of self.
It’s a good site you have…for an Orc hunter….

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6 Fawatam April 21, 2010 at 4:49 am

Twinking isn’t dead. You can turn off xp gains. The way the system is designed, the twinks are then separated into their own bgs to face off against other twinks. Twinks got their ability to turn off level gains and allow them more opportunity to twink a character and not accidentally level too far, and people who wanted to level in bgs didn’t have to face the op twinks anymore. IMO, it’s a perfect solution.

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7 Garwulf April 21, 2010 at 11:27 am

Fawatam,

Have you ever tried to get into a twink BG? It’s impossible.

There is only one battlegroup that is active, and that’s Ruin. All of the other battlegroups will have you sitting in the queue for hours on end. In fact, I’ve never ever had a no-exp BG queue pop in Vengeance… ever.

So as I said, twinking is all but dead. Apart from Ruin.

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8 lawman30 April 21, 2010 at 7:11 am

I, too, am leveling an Orc hunter before Cata so that I can see the world from the Horde side (not to mention that on my server the Horde DOMINATES WG so the sooner I get him to 80 the sooner I can log in and collect free WG marks and honor as well as VOA gear =) ). He is currently lvl 31 and in STV questing. Is it worth my time to drop in and see if anyone is there for the chest or is that ill-advised? Also, will I only be flagged once I jump into the arena? Finally, are the spawn times for the chest set and, if so, when does it spawn?

Oh and one more thing…as I am almost leveled up enough to tame a gorilla should I get one of those for soloing or keep my bear? Thanks.

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9 wrongway April 21, 2010 at 8:05 am

Personally, I say get whatever pet you enjoy the most.

Having said that… gorillas were once awesome pets because of their special ability, Thunderstomp. But they made that part of the Tenacity tree so any tank pet, your bear included, can gain it. The new special for gorillas, Pummel, interrupts spellcasting but it’s kinda “meh” to me.

Still, gorillas are fun for their style. And as Gar said, it’s meant to be fun!

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10 lawman30 April 21, 2010 at 8:47 am

I like the bears multi-mob attack for holding threat but gorillas just seem more orcish to me. =P Maybe I’ll tame one at 44 once I can talent them for Thunderstomp.

I am really digging the “other side” of the game so far. Although I don’t like the layout of any of the horde capitals, getting to take in all the lore through the eyes of an orc is pretty cool. Plus orcs just make all armor look waaaay cooler. Their size, though, does make your pet look shamefully small. Ah well..can’t have it all now, can we.

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11 Garwulf April 21, 2010 at 11:42 am

Lawman,

I say go ahead and peek in. I’ve gotten 9 trinkets so far, and out of those nine times, only 4 times have I had to battle for it. At 31 it could be a little rough, but you might get lucky. The opponents I had to duke it out with were around 48-53, but you never know who will show. It’s typically low level players 30-50, or 80s.

If it’s uncontested, then you got lucky. If you get lucky enough, then you’ll have a nice trinket for leveling along with a pretty cool achievement. :)

The chest spawns at 12, 3, 6, 9, am & pm server time (every 3 hours around the clock). You’ll see a yell in general chat while in STV when the chest is about to be placed. It takes the goblin about 2 mins to get his ass down out of the stands and into the center of the arena though. If you’re in Booty Bay when he announces the event, you likely won’t make it in time. However, if you’re within a minute or two of the coliseum, then you have a shot.

Just pop in there while you’re questing if you see the announcement. Best case scenario, no one is there. Or even better, you might be able to put the hurt on a level 19 female NE Rogue. :devil:

Jumping into the arena flags you against other players competing for the chest. If I’m not mistaken, you’re not PvP flagged as it’s an agreed upon arena type of competition, as opposed to straight ganking.

My toon’s on a PvP server, so I’m fair game 24/7. ;)

Garwulf is on a PvE server, but I know the arena tag is different than the PvP one. I just can’t recall if you go PvP if attack a player of the opposing faction.

I’d keep using the bear. Gorillas are more of a PvP pet these days, being that their special is a silence. Bears have a nice frontal AE tanking ability which is nice for gathering and pew-pew’ing down multiple mobs. Bear or Croc is best for leveling.

A gorilla would still work alright as long as you talent him with Thunderstomp. If you really want one, get one. A bear is still a better option though.

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12 lawman30 April 22, 2010 at 7:37 am

Funny story. I was hunting Bag’hera last night and the yell came up. I had just finished killing the lvl 40-41 raptors near the arena for Nesingwary and was headed north to hunt the panther so I turned around to check on the chest. It was midnight serer time. There was no one else in the arena with me. The goblin walked in and set the chest. No fiendish rogue appeared so I made a break for it. I was literally 2 seconds from having it when a lvl 80 Belf Pally comes riding in yelling “My chest! Mine!” and one shots me. =( Not only that, but the toolbag waits for me to rez and is standing by the chest. When he realizes I’m not in the mood to get my ass kicked again, he takes the plunder and runs WITHOUT GETTING THE ACHIEVEMENT FOR IT!!! I can only assume this means he had already opened the chest at least once and then he ganked a fellow hordie to do it again. Come on, man!

Anyhow…good to know about the 3 hour bit…looks like I’ll take a stab at it at 3 in the morning this coming Saturday. =P Thanks for the idead, Gar. I got a burn in my hands from the adrenaline rush as the cast bar got closer to being opened. =) Whod’ve thunk that you could have that much fun at lvl 33? =P

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13 Garwulf April 22, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Just so you’re clear… you have to loot the chest 12 times for the achievement. It takes twelve turn-ins of the green trinkets in order to get the blue one. If you’re not in a huge hurry, it’s quite manageable. You just have to be patient. Which is why i say, just check now and then when the event happens and maybe you’ll get lucky.

4 out of the last 5 times I’ve been there it’s been all 80s, but I only have 3 more to go. :)

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14 lawman30 April 23, 2010 at 6:57 am

That makes sense then. I still think the guy’s a toolbag for waiting to gank me again instead of just taking his spoils and moving on. But that’s just me.

BTW, Gar…you’re a Raiders fan, right? What goes through a Raiders fan’s mind when your team makes draft picks like the one last night or that reciever last year? It’s not that the guys your team is picking are talentless hacks, but they aren’t on ANYONE’S radar for the spot you pick them in. It drives me nuts and I’m not a Raiders fan.

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15 Garwulf April 23, 2010 at 10:19 am

Lawman,

I’m happy with our pick from last night. They need help at LB and that guy’s a player. The Raiders have so many needs, which is the problem – especially at QB.

It looks like we’re getting Roethlisberger though, which will help us out ten-fold. Only bummer is the trade may cost us our stud DB Asomougha, who’s also one of the best players on the team.

If we get some help on the O-Line in the subsequent rounds, then I think we’ll start to climb out of the basement this coming season.

But overall, I agree that Al’s 1st round draft picks have sucked ass over the past several years. Even though we were criticized for taking Janikowski in the 1st round, at least he’s panned out. Apart from him, I don’t think we’ve had a good first rounder since Gruden pressed for Charles Woodson.

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16 lawman30 April 23, 2010 at 10:36 am

You guys are back in the Roethlisberger derby? I thought that you were the one team to come out and announce you were NOT trading for the guy (although since when has that meant anything, right?). Big Ben would certainly improve your fortunes. The guy certainly seems like a fit for the uniform, though….big, burly and an apparant bad side to him. =P

My Bears don’t pick till (I think) 75 or so…can’t wait to see what kind of bruised apple we get there but Jay Cutler will be TOTALLY worth it in the end. The last time I saw a guy with that much talent play that wild it was Brett Favre before Holmgren got him under control. And we all know how he turned out, don’t we? >=)

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17 Garwulf April 23, 2010 at 11:37 am

I read late last night that the deal was all but done. Roethlisberger for Asomougha, plus some other condition involving picks. We’ll see…

Favre… yea, he turned out alright. ;)

He was part of the same draft that had the Raiders picking Todd Marinovich in the first round. >_<

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18 Shahin April 21, 2010 at 11:04 am

How can you get to loot that rinket from arena?? i never saw that in 2vs2 arena battles or even skirmish ?

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19 Garwulf April 21, 2010 at 11:23 am

It’s from the chest in the Stranglethorn Vale Gurubashi Arena. Every three hours starting at 12am server time, there is an announcement made in /general from Short John Mithril. He’s a goblin inside of the arena, who places a chest in the center of it in order to watch the bloodletting competition for it.

Inside the chest is a random pair of lvl 45 blue bracers, a green trinket (+5 stamina), and some other goodies. If you loot the chest 12 times, you can turn in the 12 green trinkets and Short John Mithril gives you the Arena Grandmaster. The trinket is of little use to characters past level 60, but there is an achievement associated with obtaining it, which is why there’s always some high level chars there.

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20 Shahin April 22, 2010 at 6:23 am

The arena in stranglethorn vale oke yes i heard of the achiev thats why i asked and its someething random you can just go in there??

ty

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