Redwolf's Journal (continued)

I have no plans for it whatsoever! That's not abnormal or anything, so that's fine. I got to watch the local production of Rocky Horror Friday night. They regularly do "themes" for the yearly (?) local show, with actors dressing up one way or another. This year was a cowboy/Western theme. Overall, it was sort of a mixed experience, but a positive one. On the down side... well, I find the theming sort of unnecessary. The original rings in my mind, so seeing a layer of something else over it is a little jarring. As a show experience, the rowdy audience was a milk annoyance. And the bar lacked simple syrup, of all things, so I had to settle for a basic gin and tonic. The horror! ;) On the up side, there's quite a bit of energy to a live show that watching the movie just doesn't have - and it was my first time experiencing that. It was performed well, and generally pretty cool all around. Things have slowed down in WoW . I made a push to make sure my death

So, with 7.1 about to release, I've finished up the current Suramar content on my main. I put in time with alts, finishing out my death knight's class story and getting to the final few steps of my priest's. And... the class/order stories have made a range of impacts... The paladin story is still my favorite so far. After watching Tirion go down during the assault on the Broken Shore, the fight against the Legion feels personal. The presence of Arator makes Light's Heart a little more impactful (bearing a message from Turalyon to his son). The alliance with priests, and inducting one of their number as a paladin makes lots of lore sense. And while I wish there was more information about Lothraxion, his appearance as a general of the Army of Light is cool. Balnazzar, an established dread lord is presented as early as the Ashbringer acquisition quest and thus makes a very good opponent to take down in the final confrontation in Netherlight Temple (and that's presum

I was recently asked to make the comparison between Legion and Heart of Thorns. Straight-up, I have to say that's something of an apples vs. oranges comparison. The two base games have some fundamental differences that result in very different MMO experiences from where I sit. So... it's pretty hard to compare that. HoT has been around significantly longer. Mechanics: It improved the basic game with, more than any of the other masteries, gliding as a way to get around. That's not as liberating as actual flight, but introducing movement in that third dimension is a pretty big deal for the feel of a game. The news skills, class, and specializations didn't really make a big impact on me personally. Story Content: The HoT story and Living Story add-ons are... narratively okay, I guess. I've had issues with some of the goings on. Overall, it feels "fine" without striking me as good or bad. The primary NPC characters are a highlight, with a good range of p

Leaves are falling and the weather is cool, but not cold. It definitely feels like autumn. I look forward to the end of the election season, though there's no telling how that'll all shake out in the end. For a time, I considered third-party presidential candidates, but I reached a conclusion much akin to John Oliver's assessment . WoW goes on. I still am enjoying Legion overall. I've spent some time playing alts over the last week or two as well. My main is sitting pretty comfortably awaiting company to delve into heroics and/or mythics at some point, though relatively few guild regulars are there yet. 7.1 is set to be released next week - I'm pretty surprised by how fast that feels. They did announce is pretty early on, and I don't want to turn away content, but that's still pretty early in Legion's life cycle. I'm curious to see what's there, but with the Karazhan dungeon being mythic+ difficulty, it may be a while before I get to see an

I kind of just want to curl up in bed and ignore the world... I think a lot of that has to do with work. We recently finished up a few major, stressful projects and now it feels like everything's in a lull in comparison. I've settled into my new office (which was sort of one such project), and I think I feel more disconnected here. I used to be directly across from the other IT person, so we could overhear when someone came with a problem and easily collaborate. Now our offices are next to each other - trivial in a floor plan scheme, but it means less direct communication. Not that home life is exactly inspiring. After struggling for months on and off with the lower oven heating coil, one of the stove-top ones stopped working as well. Similarly, the dishwasher has progressed from not wanting to start unless slammed close to not completing a cycle. The latter is around 13 years old, and the former probably over 30. It might not be a bad idea to replace both appliances, but u

So let's see... WoW: Legion continues. It's nice to see many familiar guild faces out and about. I've now run all the normal-mode dungeons. Over the weekend, my main just hit revered with Legion factions and exalted with Nightfallen - a notable step that finishes out the class hall armor set. And I'm sitting at an item level of around 844 - enough that it takes a really good random upgrade roll for a new item to even merit a second glance. The normal dungeons seem pretty forgiving to me at this point, and I'll probably have to try heroics or LFR before too long. The Nightfallen storyline has been enjoyable, though continuance is now gated behind a raid quest that I can't imagine I'll be able to do for a few weeks when that wing is open in LFR mode. I've started on alts a little bit, largely dipping into things to learn professions, though the way those are tied to quests now, I can't just do that entirely from the safety of town. Amusingly for as