2009 Warcraft Meme

Please leave a link to your meme post in the comments here. Please tag 5 other folks to complete the meme and copy these instructions and the questions into your blog with your answers.

What did you do in the World of Warcraft in 2009 that you’d never done before?
What was your favorite new place that you visited?
What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
What was your biggest failure?
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
What do you wish you’d done less of?
What was your favorite WoW blog or podcast?
Tell us a valuable WoW lesson you learned in 2009.

What did you do in the World of Warcraft in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Bought an Authenticator for one, and the ever persistent stress and worry of keyloggers getting into my acocunt has been alleviated.  Worth more than the $6.50 I shelled out for it.

Taking down all of ZG solo as Ret was also a personal highlight for me.  I have quite the little passion for tackling old content solo.  Now, Molten Core and Karazhan have tasted a bit of my steel as well.

What was your favorite new place that you visited?

Grizzly Hills had the best WoW feel to it, though both the entry Northrend Harbors were pretty damn cool too.  Hoping to see a little more intricate work on the cities and towns with Cataclysm.  I know I technically hit these in 2008, bu there weren’t really any ‘new’ areas I hadn’t been in yet.  Ulduar could count, but I both lvoed and hated that raid.

What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Personally, I would like to see raid times from my guild that better fit my schedule.  You can’t base 25 people’s best interests aroudn one player, so it won’t happen, but I miss running 25-mans with my guild.  I work just abotu every weekend, and they start their 25-man runs about 2 hours after I get home.

They recently moved back the 10-man start times, which is good for me, so at least I have a chance to run those.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Hmmm..tough to tell.  I have acumulated close to 125k gold this year, though I am only sitting on about 43k now after some recent off-spec Protection gear upgrading.  I also tend to buy optimal upgrades for any toons I level, as well as the expensive vendor items foudn throughout the game.  Lots of money spent crafting gear, too.

Getting my ZG Raptor was a huge personal goal achieved.  Just need to get the Tiger now.

Even though it’s not in-game related, this blog and it’s predecessor are doing quite well, too!

Also, with this blog, I have added a minor supplement to our household income, which has been great.  So now, playing WoW with blog objectives in mind, whether that be writing guides or outlining Ret Paladin specs, has added a fun, new facet to my gaming experience.

What was your biggest failure?

Failure?  Inability to solo MC as Ret.  Does that count?  I’m very happy with how I’ve progressed in game.  I would love to invest less time in the game, but certain aspects of it require some dedicated attention.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I was very excited with the 3.3 changes all around.  The LFD tool is just about as groundbreaking as you can get for the casual hardcore player.  It also really helps those with multiple alts.  Bravo Blizz on that.  I’m a fan.

I’m also pumped about the cross faction heirloom gear exchange.  Can’t wait for Cataclysm to come out so I can start my Tauren Paladin!

What do you wish you’d done less of?

I never really waste time when I am on.  I am always doing something productive, be it gathering, dailies, or running dungeons/raids. 

In game, I can get to bitching pretty quickly about people impeding my solo routines for dailies and the like.  Guess I could learn to be a little more patient!

What was your favorite WoW blog or podcast?

Not a fan of podcasts.  I’m a reader, pure and simple.  Give me my news, interviews, and discussions via that medium.

I love WoW blogs.  The sad thing is the number of dead WoW blogs out there…outdated, ignored, and basically waiting to slip quietly into the world wide oblivion.

Here are some of those that I truly like reading though:

• Casual Hardcore by Kyrilean
• Ardent Defender by Galo
• The Big Bear Butt by BigBearButt
• Can Tank Will Travel by Ironshield
• WoWGrrl by WoWGrrl

Tell us a valuable WoW lesson you learned in 2009.

Let’s see.  Lessons learned?  Sometimes the youngest of players can be more mature and play with more skill than older ones.

That and WoW is not everlasting.  Seen some good guildies leave the game this year.