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Post by Xeraphia on Apr 24, 2016 0:30:46 GMT -5
*wave*
Several years ago, I came across the Ironman Challenge and was immediately drawn in. However, for whatever reason, I only gave it a couple of serious tries, and all Hunters. My best was my first: a 64 that died in Zangarmarsh after a poorly planned AFK, two years ago. I am still bitter about it. But I digress.
Last month, a guilide and I were talking about the challenge and it came up that Shamans never made it to the end. So naturally, me and my big mouth, we said we would roll a Shaman. Phaxiera was born earlier this week (because that is what finals week are for, amirite), and to my surprise, she is level 30 already.
To be honest, I am pretty confused myself about how I got here. I know nothing about Shamans –actually, to be even more honest, I know nothing except Beastmasters, despite having played the game for six years. I hate leveling alts, and so I don’t know the questing zones past Ashenvale. The level squish forced me out of my few comfortable questing zones (more on this later) and I found myself going blinded into quests –and making it out alive.
When I was 23, I thought to myself that I would open a thread if I make it to 25. Now I feel I am overdue.
Things I have learned so far: - Shamans are not Hunters. - Shamans are squishy. - Shamans are terrible kiters. Eartbind Totem + Frost Shock are not the kiting miracle I was hoping they would be. - Shaman’s DPS feels like poking an armadillo with a used toothpick. - Still, two-hand maces trump a one-hand mace + shield. - Shamans are not Hunters. - Bloodmyst Isle was designed by someone very miserable with their career and who took it out on us, poor innocent gaming souls. This person deserves a consolatory bottle of wine. They are not mean, just unhappy. - You want to roll a Shaman, make it a Draenei. - You call still kill Rare mobs (I was surprised. Lord Sinslayer hates me. This, I am not surprised about. I would hate someone who killed me four times in one evening, too). - Shamans are not Hunters. - Six years into WoW, hearing a Murloc will still make your heart sink and summon a vivid image of your toon’s corpse. - The next worse thing is hearing a Gnoll. - Shamans do not have a HoT when unspecced, save for the Water Stream Totem which feels like it is spitting and I am on fire. That is a terrifying thought. I want a pocket Druid. - Did I mention Shamans were not Hunters?
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Post by Xeraphia on Apr 24, 2016 0:31:07 GMT -5
Leveling an Iron Shaman has been very different than what I usually do with Hunters, that is staying in level-appropriate zones (even skipping the end of a zone to jump on to the next for harder quests and higher XP) and simply following the questlines of Kalimdor. I dislike the Eastern Kingdoms in general, and I know them even less than I know Kalimdor. But that did not work out with the Shaman.
Azuremyst was a breeze, no issue whatsoever there. I still milked it, anticipating I would need a margin in Bloodmyst. Boy was I wrong. You need a LOT more than a simple margin in Bloodmyst. After a couple of difficult quests and a scare or two, I decided to stop pushing my luck and headed for Darkshore instead. That was definitely the right thing to do, and I milked Northern Darkshore until I was 22 or so, before coming back to Bloodmyst.
Still, Bloodmyst was not easy at this point, despite a healthy level difference. It just went from impossible to doable-but-stay-on-your-toes-Oh-my-poor-heart-I’m-pretty-sure-this-white-hair-was-not-there-this-morning. It seems like this zone is hard no matter what.
By then I kinda got the picture of how to handle the Iron Shaman, and started bouncing back and forth between Kalimdor and EK, levering one zone against the one of the same level in the other continent and padding my XP bar with exploration and zone-starter quests. It was time-consuming, but it paid off.
I found the most comfortable level difference was 5. The mobs are green but the quests still yellow. I expect to need to push it up soon, though. But for now it proved to be the right balance: Phaxiera dinged 30 in the Wetlands yesterday.
She is now resting in Duskwood. I think I will clean up Duskwood and Ashenvale, and then… Well I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Don’t say “If”. Just… don’t.
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dvoret
Cadet
6 fail iron attempts now, from level 46-85. SO tired of Loch Modan :)
Posts: 49
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Post by dvoret on Apr 24, 2016 5:28:19 GMT -5
Nicely written! Love that "doable-but-stay-on-your-toes . . ." bit So, quick question. Is it written in stone that Dranei have to do Bloodmyst? Maybe they should trundle their hooves over to Teldrassil or some other more amiable zone?
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Post by Panda on Apr 24, 2016 6:38:30 GMT -5
Great start Xeraphia. I am having the same experience with Shaman. I need to jump around all the time and keep the mobs and quests at the low end. Otherwise I get overwhelmed to easily.
Keep up the journey log, I am interested in your adventures on the other continent. Squirrlegirl is sticking to the Eastern Kingdoms.
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Post by Xeraphia on Apr 24, 2016 15:30:28 GMT -5
Nicely written! Love that "doable-but-stay-on-your-toes . . ." bit Such a compliment! Thank you No, Draenei definitely do not *have to* do Bloodmyst, and now that I have done it, I strongly advise against it. Teldrassil is much easier, with just the zone with the Harpies being a little hairy. Teldrassil also has several rare mobs that are virtually always up for quick and easy XP. If I have to roll a Draenei again, that is what I would do. I did Bloodmyst anyway for two reasons: a) I haven't leveled a baby toon in forever and I wanted to have this immersive feeling again, and b) I hate starting something and not finishing it. In retrospect, those are two very silly thoughts for the Ironman Challenge. Sometimes you lose track of what you are trying to do. They are fine and valid for a baby toon all by itself, to revisit game lore and dive deep in it. Definitely something to shake off from now on. @ Squirrel: That willl be interesting! I'll be staying in Kalimdor as much as I can. We will ship that bottle of rum back and forth...
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Post by Xeraphia on Apr 24, 2016 23:44:26 GMT -5
So Phax dinged 31 in Duskwood. Nice and easy, even a little boring. Duskwood is crawling with stealthed Worgens, but once you are aware and keeping an eye out for them, it is fine. I skipped the quest The Fate of Morbent Fel. I don’t remember what it was, but I have bad memories about this one. Raven Hill Cemetery as a zone is tough, the ghouls just will NOT die despite a five-six levels difference. I also had a nasty scare after I aggroed two ghouls at the same time and a bear respawned behind me before the first of the ghouls fell. Let’s just say I thought that was it. And, well, obviously, Stitches. I will let the fine denizens of Duskwood deal with him. I am a hero, I am not suicidal.
I had to go all the way to Darnassus to find a level 30 two-hand axe… I don’t know if I didn’t look properly in Stormwind, or…?
Other things about Shammies I am noting down as I remember/discover them: - Water Walking rocks. - Chain Lightning looks way too dangerous to use. - Don’t let yourself drop below 50% HP. You don’t know when you will get CC’d or when something will spawn on top of you. Shamans don’t have the margin to react should this happen. - Just because Ghost Wolf *looks* stealthed does not mean you are stealthed. I repeat, Ghost Wolf IS NOT A STEALTH. - Wind Sheering a caster mob will make it come into melee range, which (counter intuitively) is of benefit, since it allows you to Primal Strike the heck out of it, instead of casting the life out if it. Too bad it doesn’t work with archers. - Speaking of Primal Strike, it remains your largest DPS hit with the longest cooldown in game. - BUT it deals a WHOLE 122 point damage. 122! Oh. Em. Gee. (At level 31) - When fighting a Shaman-type mob, it is very important you do not make a fool out of yourself by trying to whack down your own totem while the mob’s totem is happily shooting fireballs at you.
My Adventure Journal wants to send me to Desolace. I laughed and I closed it and I said “No.” What a little joker. Instead, I made cocoa and went back to Ashenvale, despite being 10 levels above the zone. The first quests were ridiculously low on XP, especially counting that the mobs gave none, but once I reached the Astranaar hub, the world fell into balance again. Easy kills with decent quest XP. Not optimal, but comfortable, and just what I needed on a pajamas Sunday night.
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Towny
Challenger
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Post by Towny on Apr 26, 2016 17:29:18 GMT -5
Good luck with your challenge. Have you considered Northern Stranglethorn? there are all the Nessingwary grind quests which are quite nicely grouped and easy to do, just give a wide berth to the two Horde camps Bambala and Grom'gol and you should be fine.
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Post by Xeraphia on Apr 26, 2016 23:43:52 GMT -5
Northern Stranglethorn is my next stop, I have already picked up the safari quests =) Phaxiera dinged 32 in Ashenvale, but Desolace is still terrifying and there is no way in Azeroth I will quest in Stonetalon Mountains on an Irontoon, let alone a Shaman...
At 31, Astranaar and Stardust Spire are still worth doing. Dal Bloodclaw (Quest: Too Far Gone) almost got my skin, and Chief Engineer Sploder (Quest: Sploder's Head) was tough. Once I hit 32, the quest hub of Forest Song became completely uninteresting, really not worth the time and the effort.
With level 32, comes new gear AND A HAT. I'm more excited about this hat than about anything else, right now.
Off to Stranglethorn! (So much for staying in Kalimdor...)
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Post by Xeraphia on May 2, 2016 22:53:38 GMT -5
After several days of rest (understand = finals), Phaxiera picked up her axe and headed to Northern Stranglethorn. It was nerve-wracking. The safari quests were dangerous. Kurzen Compound was dangerous. The Ogre camps were dangerous. The Troll ruins were dangerous. The alligators were dangerous. Everything that breathes in this jungle is out to kill you in six blows -one blow for every difference of level that I foolishly thought was making me safe. I'm not too sure how, but Phax emerged out of it alive, completely shaken but alive. And now at 35. With still no new gear or weapon for another 10 levels. The quests from Cape of Stranglethorn and Booty Bay involve mobs that are way too powerful (level 33-35). I am thinking of doing all the exploring and area-starter quests that I can, to pad the gap to 36, and then I'll advise. Maybe give Desolace a try. If anyone's got a better idea, I'm all ears
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Post by Xeraphia on May 3, 2016 21:14:33 GMT -5
Well... Spoke too fast. The jungle of Stranglethorne did kill Phaxiera, 10% away from 36. She got jumped by two stealthed panthers who simply chomped her up in the blink of an eye, before she could cast a single heal. It is frustrating in the sense that she survived a lot, lot worse, and encounters that should have been her last but that she managed to overcome. But -Irontooning is like horseback riding, and I am already back in the saddle before I give myself time to think about it too much. A new Phaxiera@Eonar has entered the challenge, currently at level 10. And this one will not be going to Bloodmyst The Iron Shaman is dead. Long live the Iron Shaman!
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dvoret
Cadet
6 fail iron attempts now, from level 46-85. SO tired of Loch Modan :)
Posts: 49
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Post by dvoret on May 3, 2016 21:29:18 GMT -5
Sorry to hear of Phaxiera's premature death. Best of luck with the next attempt!
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Towny
Challenger
Posts: 299
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Post by Towny on May 4, 2016 19:14:51 GMT -5
Good luck with your next challenger!
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Post by Xeraphia on May 5, 2016 11:36:58 GMT -5
Thanks! This time around, I completely skipped Bloodmyst and went straight from Azuremyst to Darkshore, with a little leg up from the Children Week and Darkmoone Faire quests. Jackpot Phax is now 17 (Yes I, er... wasted some time) and still working her way through Darkshore, but she's had zero issue so far. Fingers crossed Never again, Bloodmyst. Never again.
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Post by Ironworgen on May 5, 2016 12:52:45 GMT -5
People always complain about the difficulty of Bloodmyst Isle, but it's really not, provided you have a little bit of caution (and it seems to me that most Irons do not).
The higher level quests seem a bit tougher than other areas of the same level to me. The Cryo Core can be risky, and I would wait until much later to tackle the final dragon on the mountain top.
Bloodmyst has lots of non-combat quests which make for some easy experience if you are comfortable with the zone.
If you are doing any quest without a few extra levels, then you are not respecting the challenge, and death is just around the corner.
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Post by Xeraphia on May 5, 2016 13:36:34 GMT -5
My previous Challenger, I was 22 when I did Bloodmyst and still had a lot of trouble. I wouldn't touch the Cryo-Core with a ten-foot pole without a healthy margin (which I had). I agree with the non-combat quest abundance, but the combat quests are simply too much trouble and risk for the reward IMO. And the mobs. Just. Won't. Die. They just don't.
I find Darkshore to be much more comfortable and rewarding, especially with Shadowclaw and Lord Sinslayer always up to be farmed every time you happen to run by (and you run by there A LOT). Also, until 20 or so, you can quest in Darkshore at level-appropriate without risk, which you cannot do in Bloodmyst (not on my Shaman, at least): easier kills, higher XP, yellow mobs and quests.
(Now that I've said four times how Darkshore is risk-free, watch me get killed in Darkshore)
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