Merry Christmas!!!

I hope Santa was good to everyone. I've been slacking on the blog but I've been playing WoW more than ever. Lots of new updates and blogging for 2012 I promise. Thanks for visiting my blog this year and I look forward to the year ahead!

Dakona's Favorite 25 Pets

As a Hunter choosing your pet is like choosing a car or choosing a mate, everyone's taste is different and depending on your personality the pets you end up with are often a reflection of who you are as a person. You DPS whores won't understand, sure it's just pixels but it's also our partner in crime, our Robin, our Samwise Gamgee, our Donkey, you get the point... it's a Hunter thing.

With this last patch, the temptation of adding 10 possible new pets to our stables is pretty appealing. I personally added 4 which wasn't easy. I thought this would be a great time to post my favorite 25 pets within the world of Azeroth.

#25 - Ashtail

Barely making the cut was Ashtail. This cute little fox isn't very rare but it's skin is one of a kind. Not only is it beautiful but it also dances on command.

#24 - Echeyakee

One of only two white lions,  Echeyakee is a must for any low hunters when they hit level 15. Spawned when using an item only obtained in a quest this lion's skin can't be found again until you come across Sian-Rotam at level 53 in Winterspring. Hard not to have a soft spot for this beauty later on when reflecting on your lowbie days.



#23 - Angered Arakkoa Protector

Not a huge fan of birds but this majestic pet takes a bit of skill to acquire. After injuring a Lashh'an Wing Guard low enough in Blade's Edge Mountains, he will summon this bird at which time you can tame. I've never seen another hunter with this pet to date although I'm sure there are some out there.

#22 - Sunburst Adder

This one won't get many votes but for you fellow female hunters out there this snake is a must! There is not a single pet anywhere that radiates more pinkness and trust me after a little while this snake grows on you and you won't be able to escape it's adorable nature.







 #21 - Gezzarak the Huntress

Gezzarak isn't the prettiest girl at the party but she does play hard to get. Besides sharing my name this huntress is also one of a kind and taming her is no walk in the park. She is summoned through a quest chain in Terokkar Forest. I think every stable should have at least one warp stalker and Gezzarak is definitely worth the effort.






 #20 - Aotona

Again not much of a bird lover, I came across Aotona while searching for two other rares in Sholazar Basin. Aotona's colors stand out in a crowd and if you have a Hyacinth Macaw companion there is no better combo if you want to strut your stuff.


#19 - Madexx (Red)

Madexx comes in 5 different colors and while some people take which ever they are lucky enough to get, some prefer the one that suits them the best. For me it's the red one, not only is it the only Madexx with pink eyes it's also the one I think stands out the most.







#18 - Jadefang

Jadefang is a little tricky to get to but once you're there it's only a matter of time before he's yours. Tame him on the first go and on the second you can kill him for his miniature companion version. Jadefang is the rarest Shale Spider and the only green one.




#17 - Karkin

This crab gets points for being shiny and new but the competition with the tenacity pets in my stable are fierce due in part to rarely needing my pet to "tank" for me. So while he is extremely cute for a crab, he is worth adding to your collection but its doubtful he will see much time by  your side unless you take on a lot of solo adventures.




#16 - Oil-Stained Wolf

Acquiring this dirty mutt can be a little frustrating but perseverance does pay off and this glitch makes for one of the coolest animated pets in the game.There are some very good youtube videos on how to tame this wolf in Borean Tundra and if you're a sucker for dogs and wolves like I am, this one is a must.





#15 - Pogeyan

This is another favorite that gets bumped up a few spots but don't over look this unique pet. This is the best transition from Echeyakee when you hit level 28. Although rare you should be able to find Pogeyan without much trouble in Northern Stranglethorn. A shiny coat and glowing ember eyes, you will quickly fall in love with this kitty.

#14 - Ghostcrawler

Uh oh two crabs on the list, maybe I should see a doctor. It's hard not to love anything that is spectral and for that alone I think Ghostcrawler is worth adding to your collection. However with so many BM only pets I think there's just to many other pets that edge him out.





 #13 - Ban'thalos

Another pet who's value goes up if it wasn't restricted to the BM spec, Ban'thalos is an upgraded version of Olm the Wise. It takes a bit of an effort to figure out how to tame it but being one of the new rares you can't help but get swept up in the hype.






#12 - Karoma

This pet will always remind me of the Ancient Grimtotem Spirit Guide glitch. I think it would be my #1 if that was still the only way to get this ghost wolf. Regardless Karoma is very sharp looking and a must for all collectors.







#11 - Gondria

As a female hunter you can't ask for a better side kick than Gondria. It's purple glow is beautiful and unlike other long toothed cats this kitty has no plaque build up. Unfortunately Gondria gets bumped down a bit with the new tiger additions in patch 4.2.



#10 - Magria

Yes I know it's Gondria dressed in blue and if you want a green version then check out Ahnka. Like Madexx this is a preference thing and Magria's blue glow is my personal favorite. Perhaps the shiny and new factor plays into it barely edging out Gondria.




#9 - King Krush

Some people go crazy for Devilsaurs but me not so much. However I do have a soft spot for this one and I love that it keeps some of its size. This guy towers over me which helps it keep its tough guy image and keeps annoying Gnomes at a distance.







#8 - Arcturis

It's just not every day you see a spectral bear which makes Arcturis a true one of a kind pet. Arcturis who similar to Jadefang is not hard to find if you have the time and some patience. It's hard not to love Arcturis, as far as personalities go, it always seems to be doing something and without it I would never of had a reason to pass through Grizzly Hills.




#7 - Skoll

A lot of people think Skoll is hands down the coolest looking pet in the game and I definitely see where they are coming from. Skoll's electric animation makes him stand out in a crowded city but being a BM pet I hardly see him around anymore. If BM pets become usable in all specs I could see this pet becoming the most popular pet in Azeroth.






#6 -  Deth'tilac

I hate spiders to the bone and yet here we have Deth'tilac at #6. I don't know what it is about this spider but I am hooked. I assume it is largely due to its purple skin which appeals to my feminine side but I absolutely adorable the way it looks beside me as I'm running around Orgrimmar. I don't endorse spiders but there are 5 new ones added from the last patch that might be worth considering.





#5 - Terrorpene

Every hunter has that one pet they pull out when they want to tank something big, for me it's always my  Terrorpene. Taming this turtle in Mount Hyjal was no walk in the park but perhaps along with Skoll is one of the most remarkable looking pets in the game.







#4 - Chromaggus

I love my Chromaggus a lot, which shouldn't come as a surprise since I made a video about it. The journey to him isn't extremely hard but does ward away any casual hunters who aren't willing to put in the effort which makes him fairly rare. There are only 5 different looking core hounds available in game and none are more predominate than Chromaggus.






#3 - Skarr

Each time new pets are introduced there always seems to be that one pet that becomes the most desirable. For me in the last patch it was Skarr. I always want a cat by my side when things get real and Skarr's made a home in my top 5 and hasn't left since being tamed.



#2 - Sambas

When Cataclysm was released Sambas was immediately the pet I wanted the most and after taming him, he rarely left my side. Sambas was my main raiding pet and still one of my most trusted. Although there's no fancy animations with Sambas, the clean and sleek look is one of my personal favorites. If you're a hunter, you have to have Sambas.



#1 - Loque'nahak

Sad to say but this wasn't even close. Loque'nahak is easily my favorite pet in the entire game. I've seen some haters out there but I don't know how anyone could dislike this gorgeous creature. Again it's unfortunate this is a BM only pet but this is a pet you would see a lot more of if BM became a viable raiding spec or if this pet could be used with the other available hunter specs. Love it or hate it, this pet is probably the most sought after pet in WoW history, from hunters looking to tame it, to meanies trying to kill it.

 So that's my favorite 25 pets and of course it's all based on individual preference but  I'd love to know what other hunters favorites are. I am always looking to find new pets and if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Thanks!


I want to give a special  thanks to Daranara - Lightbringer US for the amazing signature she put together.

The Two Stragglers

Before I get into it, yes I did sorta learn MM, no I'm not good at it and no I don't like it. Not even a little.

Moving on... it's with great excitement I announce that my stable is now complete with 25 of the best pets in the game (in my opinion of course). With only two left on my list I was forunate to get them both on Tuesday only a few hours a part. The first was Ban'thalos, the BM Owl who closely beat out Olm the Wise for the only owl spot in my stable.

I spent a few hours late Monday night but came up empty, I did however find a nice camping spot between two antlers. I woke up late on Tuesday and once again logged on to hear my NPCspan going off. It flies really high so I took some advice from what I had read and dropped a freezing trap, mounted and flew straight up, waited for Ban'thalos to get in shooting range, dismounted, shot him and clicked on my Flexweave Underlay and waited for Ban'thalos to hit the trap. Once he was trapped the tame was easy cake. It took about 3 tries to get it right (first one because I wasn't in BM spec... duh).

My poor new owl will unfortunately collect dust with the rest of my BM pets but I'm definitely happy to stable her away until BM is one day relevant again. The last pet on my list was Deth'tilac and because I hate Molten Front this is one place I've been avoiding. Just before bed I did a little run though and sure enough Deth'tilac was there starring me down. Now as I've said I'm not a spider fan at all but it's hard not to admire this purple cuddle monster... yeah I know, it was hard to say cuddle there, but I'm really trying to love this spider. This tame has been solo'd by other hunters but I'm no where near that skilled and really wanted the extra help to give me the best shot. It was like 2am so there was hardly anyone around (not like it would matter much anyways), I know hardly anyone on the server so I figured it would be tough. I AOL'd my old side kick and luckily he was around and able to hop on his brothers healer. New to the guild I threw out an S.O.S in guild chat and surprisingly a guildie was up for the challenge. Now I didn't realize he loses health every time someone dies so this fight took about 15 minutes longer than it should have and I should have used a pet to continuously die instead of my poor partners. A few bumps and bruises later we did get it down below 18% or whatever it was and I was able to tame just before the spider killed me once last time.

This was defiantly the most exciting tame I've been a part of and without the help I wouldn't have been able to tame her. I named her Kerrigan which I know was my old wasp's name but I figure it works for a spider too, a bugs a bug. With no pets left to tame I'm pretty much left no choice but to work on my DPS. I am now spec'd in both survival and MM. I use survival when my DPS matters and I put some MM time in when it doesn't. I really hope I get the hang of MM sooner than later or any possible raid time might be going down the drain.

New Additions!

So apparently rare spawns are easy cake, or maybe I'm late to the party and everyone just has them already, or maybe my sever is dead, or maybe I'm the only one who gives a crap about pixels, either way I ended up with 3 of my desired new pets in less than 24 hours. A far cry from the 48 hours I had set aside which left me with a lot of Pepsi and chips untouched (which maybe is a good thing for me).

The first pet I really wanted was Magria in Mount Hyjal. Not going to lie I camped her for about 2 hours before I realized I needed to do some quests in order to actually be able to see her when she spawned. Sadly not the first time that has happen. In order to tame Magria/Ankha you need to have no armor equipped and be in BM spec. So I found it slightly amusing sitting on my mount in my birthday suit as I hovered over the area. I got lucky that Magria spawned and not Ankha, Magria has a blue tint as oppose to the green tint of Ankha. The tame was very simple and I named her Maltese after the Maltese tigers who also have a hint of blue in their coats.

The second pet I really wanted was Skarr. This meant going into Molten Front for the first time which I hate. That place is pure evil and you can't sit still for two minutes without something wanting to kill you. I did get pretty good at hopping from rock to rock. Again I can't lie, it did take several drops into the abyss until I got the hang of it. Here's one shot of my mount and I taking the long plunge.

Looks almost tranquil and relaxing a part for the expensive repair bill I racked up. I ran into a little problem on my way to camping Skarr, a gross green spider on speed kept me from getting there. After getting destroyed a few times by it I whipped out my brain and did some reading. The spider ended up being Kirix one of the new pets added and definitely not on my list of wants. However out of boredom I decided to tame it, you can only kill Dakona so many times until she snaps. I ended up finding a way to attack it, hit disengage, silencing shot and deterrence and tame beast and ended up with this...

I want to say it's kinda cool, I want to say it's cute, I want to say I love it... but I can't, it's a spider and it's icky! The only spider I am considering is Deth'tilac for two reasons, first he's one of the hardest pets to tame, or so I'm told and I love challenges and secondly and more importantly, it's purple. Anything that's purple or pink can't be bad so there is hope I will end up with a spider. For now this slimy green thing is just a temporary souvenir. With the spider out of the way I was able to set up shop for Skarr. I found a nice little spot in the middle that my NPCscan could cover both spots. I got a bite in the first hour expect it wasn't what I expected. I didn't even know about Karkin, the rare crab that spawns there as well. I'm not a fan of crabs (insert joke here) and I already have my Ghostcrawler from Abyssal Depths but this crab is rare and it does have a giant gem in it's back that appeals to any girl. Plus if is kinda cute and if you look at him closely he does say "omnomnom" over and over again. So I tamed him and named him Sebastian because it was 4am and I wasn't feeling too original. Now I can't help but hum "Under the Sea" everytime I see him.

So after 10 hours I had three new pets. At this point it feels a little too easy and I'm not exactly feeling like I'm breaking a sweat here. I ended up calling it a night and grabbing some sleep. I did 8 hours and when I woke up I logged on still groggy to find Skarr looking right at me. Also looking at me was an Alliance Warrior who had Skarr targeted but wasn't moving. I'm not sure if he was just watching or waiting for his hunter friend to join him but I didn't waste anytime finding out. I immediately hopped on to a rock close to him (I'm awesome at it by now) and hit him once, then hit silencing shot, deterrence and began taming. It was almost poetic and I was even impressed at the smoothness.

I named him Bosco after one of my favorite TV characters Maurice Boscorelli. 10 points if you knew who that was without Goggling it. I took a shot of my Alliance friend who was nice enough to watch from the sidelines without interfering.

That's about everything that happen to me this week. Not extremely exciting and I know I probably should have been spending the time learning MM but what can I say, my mind wanders. I still have two pets left to get before I'm content. I will probably try to resist the temptation this week and focus on my game, hopefully I can put it together and not embarrass myself. I just have this feeling I'm forgetting something....oh well.

Making the Cut

I'm a few days back in the game and I'm starting to get comfortable. I'm not exactly looking forward to raiding again, well at least the first few raids. I joined a guild on Monday, its the third I've joined since moving to Scilla at the beginning of Lich King. I was considering a transfer and moving elsewhere but I found a guild I knew about before I took my break. This was the only guild I felt was worth staying on the server for. There's a few members I remembered from the beginning of summer who were always top notch when I was around them. I'm hoping the rest of the guild is similar. I have been stalling all week to buy some time. I am currently learning MM a spec I have never raided with. I really hope Survival jumps back up to the best raiding spec for hunters again soon. Heck if I'm hoping for things I might as well hope BM becomes relevant again. So basically I've been doing my best to play catch up all week. I have a feeling I won't be able to hide from the guild this week, and not only will I be doing my first Fireland raids, I'll also be doing them with a new spec. Not a small order for this huntard and I'm not afraid to pout about it. My next update could very well be news of my kicking from the guild, but I guess I've survived worse in the past.

Ok well QQing aside I did have some fun this week. I guess it's no surprise the first thing I did was hunt down some of these new pets I had not gotten a chance to meet yet. All of the other hunters must have already gotten their pets because I didn't see any competition in each of my camp outs. The toughest part was making cuts from my own family of pets first. I never got a chance to post my top 25 pet list and I guess it works out since four of them were sent back into the wild this week. There are 5 new pets that tickle my fancy, which means 5 of my current pets have to go. You might say "so what? its not that big a deal" but this decision literally took a few days of mulling over and I'm not going to lie, it was sad letting a few of them go.

First to go was Kerrigan. This decision was very easy as Blizzard has nerfed the size of this wasp from super big...

.. to super small. I got this pet when I tamed Princess Huhuran, the fourth boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qira. It wasn't exactly a cake walk and she was both unique and entertaining when doing Heroics in tight quarters like Shadowfang Keep. This pet use to be very special to me and one of my favorites but that ship has long sailed as Kerrigan was relegated to just another wasp.

The second pet cut was Kiviok my Mage Slayer I got from The Nexus. This is one of the best looking pets in the game and will be the first I re-tame if we hunters are given more stable slots (which I am not crying about don't worry.. I'm not that spoiled!) This wasn't a tough decision because they aren't rare and I can get another whenever I want. I did a lot of Heroics with Kiviok earlier in the year so I definitely will miss him the most.

The third pet who didn't make the cut was Gucci who I got when I tamed the rare spawn Grunter in Blasted Lands. I'm all for rare spawns but Grunter's skin isn't unique and although scary looking doesn't stand out. I didn't play much with Gucci so he wasn't that upsetting to part with, sorry Gucci!

Also not making the cut was my Death Ravager who I had only for his buff. Just barely making the cut was Swiper, my Ashtail who danced his way into sticking around. I still have to make one more cut and it looks like Olm the Wise will be going back into the wild. Hardly a rare spawn anymore with the lack of traffic in Felwood these days. I'm not a big fan of owls but he's definitely very pretty, however with Ban'thalos on my list I don't see much point in having both.

I'm a big sucker when it comes to hunting rare spawns so I was really looking forward to the challenge and excitement of adding new pets to my family. I had two straight days set aside for camping/hunting and I did not expect what was to come...

Dakona: Back with a Vengeance!

Ok so maybe not a vengeance but more like a toe dipped in a hot bubble bath. I must admit after logging into WoW last night for the first time in months, I experienced two full minutes of camera turning around Orgrimmar as my brain tried to figured out what to do. At first glace everything seems to be the same. I got my first exciting moment when I mounted up and saw my pet was still beside me! I find this incredibly awesome, I know that may make me seem nuts to some people but I love anything Blizzard adds that gives hints of realism, even if its something little like this. That's about as much as I noticed other than my Valor Points got turned into Justice Points (kicked myself for not using those before I stopped playing), and I got some gold in my mailbox in exchange for keys or something? I assume those were the keys I used for old content like Karazhan and old Heroics like Sethekk Halls. I noticed my guild only had a few people online, even though it was 11pm I quickly realized that had changed since I was last around. I noticed my UI was a mess, lots of out of date add-ons to update. I did try a quick Heroic just to see if I could spot any changes. Took me a good five minutes to figure out why my pet wasn't attacking what I was. Finally found this new command that must of been added recently. I only spent roughly an hour in game, checking up on some pets I missed and seeing anything that looked different.

Clearly I need to catch up and will do so over the next few days. I've heard mentions that there are new rare pets out there so you know I'll be getting on that soon although if what I'm hearing is true I won't be going after any gross spiders... well maybe flame spiders cause they are kinda pretty.

 I want to thank everyone who has been checking in from time to time in my absence. After checking the blog stats I see some people have been keeping it alive. I want to also thank the blog Orcish Army Knife, they give a lot of traffic to this blog and I sure appreciate it.

I'll be getting ready this week to dive in head first so I should have an update by the weekend.

Must... fight... urges...

Summer is unfortunately over and already I feel the familiar chill of Fall. Also creeping into my thoughts of late has unsurprisingly been WoW and all its wonders. I am completely out of the loop, hearing little things here and there from some friends but no where near in the know from all the happenings within the last 4 months. Apparently soon we will finally be able to customize our wardrobe, something that appeals to me very much... remember I am the girl who refused to equip items if they didn't suit my look... to the fustration of many people. I did get a quick peek at the hunter tier 13 gear which I assume will be for upcoming content. It looks ok although the helm as usual is not cool enough to hide my pretty face for. How I miss you Cursed Vision of Sargeras...

A few steps ahead of myself obviously. I haven't exactly begun the process to get back into the game, nor am I anywhere near ready to be jumping into new content. Seems I may have lost my few connections from the last time I was active. My side kick is refusing to get back into it again and without logging on I cannot confidently say any familiar faces will be waiting for me. I was thinking about switching to a new server, but at the moment it seems nonsensical with no where really to go. So here I am at the edge, waiting for a solid wind gust to push me back in full force. I'll fight it a little longer but I miss my pets and I know they must be extremely hungry by now...

Summer retirement

I thought maybe a little break would help, and then I thought maybe playing an alt would help, but alas it looks like Dakona has finally hit her annual summer slumber. With the warm weather I see less and less time available for WoW and more time elsewhere. I still plan to finish a few projects I started but this will be my official retirement announcement. I suspect I will return once summer is over, as my predictability is usually pretty consistent. I want to thank everyone for continuing to check in from time to time and I hope to continue my blog if only to keep it alive while I'm enjoying the summer. I shall see you all soon.

Lots of love,

Dakona

An Unexpected Dilemma

Hey so I've dipped my foot in the water again. I have a little secret to share, my break actually ended a few weeks ago but upon returning I decided to level my Mage a little and ended up really enjoying it. My limitations with Dakona had reached a bit of a wall with PUGS being hit or miss and Hunters being over populated as it is on my server. Being a Mage still allows me the freedom to DPS from afar and instead of a well aimed trap, I now have the luxury of turning things into sheep. My biggest adjustment has been managing my mana, something I haven't dealt with since Hunters switched to focus. On my server Mages seem to be a little more sparse and I've been able to get into a raiding guild that actually lets me raid. If that hasn't been tempting enough, I also have begun getting raid loot and my Mage has surpassed my Hunter in gear. I feel like a teenage girl again, so much confusion and questions.

No word yet if Dakona the Huntress with become Dakona the Mage..ess? but I think that is still a little premature. With the new dungeons here Dakona has a chance to replace the last few pieces of blue gear and be raid ready should an opportunity present itself. Still the bait has been laid and it's only a matter of time before a decision must be made.

Vacation Time!

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I have been taking a little vacation for the past few weeks. This includes both in game and real life. Dakona has been taking it easy as she waits for the new 4.1 patch and all the adventures it holds within. I myself spent a week in Florida getting sunburnt and am now enjoying the "peeling" phase. 
  
However do not fret Dakona does have tons of stuff she still wants to do. I will be working on my 25 pet stable video soon, something I had planned to do a month ago. Those of you who still pop by regularly to check in, I certainly appreciate that and give me a few weeks to rest and relax and I promise to be back good as new. 
   
Hopefully you all are enjoying your spring and I look forward to rambling for you again soon! 
 
-Amber

Tips & Advice for Huntards... from a Huntard

Hey guys, I've been getting some emails from other hunters asking for tips and advice and to be fair I did make a disclaimer in one of my first blogs where I warned everyone that I was not a good resource tool as I myself am still quite high on the official noob scale. I'm very much still a hunter student and have gotten some great feedback and advice from some of the folks who stumbled across my blog ramblings over the past few months. However what I can do is share some knowledge I've learnt with you new hunters and casual hunters looking to improve. Be warned nothing about my journey would be categorized under the "proper" and "most efficient" way of doing things so take what I say with a word of caution and remember I am not an expert hunter. I get most of my information from other sites and reliable people who have smarter brains than I do and put more time into crafting their skills than I ever could. I know I haven't found them all, but I have found some good ones. I will share what I have learnt and perhaps if you're a noob like me you'll learn something. I apologize to all you non-hunters who are reading this, there's nothing that will be said after this that will interest you. I promise this will be the only "tips and advice" you will get from me for awhile.

Part One:
There's always going to be someone who knows more than you. Accept that and realize its not something you should take offense to. I've learnt that people have preconceived notions about hunters, and yes there are a lot of bad hunters out there who make it harder for us real noobs to get any breaks. If you can handle that then you'll really enjoy this class.

Like anything else in life learning to be a great hunter is a constant journey where you will improve with knowledge and experience. Even if you're not into raids and prefer the more casual laid back experience, improving your hunter skills will always benefit you and help set you slightly above the rest of the average hunters. Similar to school, reading is one of the best ways to learn and there are a lot of great sites for us hunters with advice, tips, stories etc from people who know their hunter class very well. Here are some of the sites I visit quite often to continue my hunter education.

For Hunter Info:
Warcraft Hunters Union
MMO-Champion
Huntsman's Lodge

For Pet Info:
Petopia
WoW Hunter Pets

Other Great Resources:
Wowhead
WoWWiki

As a hunter everything you'll ever need to know should be found at one of those sites. Wowhead as most people already know is the all knowing entity of WoW and I think I visit that site 50 times a day spontaneously to check out random things.

Part Two:
I'm not going to talk about leveling and getting to 85. Everyone levels differently and at their own pace. If you're a casual hunter then I would say take your time and enjoy your leveling. You learn so much about your craft in the months it takes to level through questing and dungeons. Too many times do I see hunters power leveling to 85 and then not know how to play their hunter once they get there. If you're only interested in end game stuff then get there as fast as possible but make sure you're reading and learning as you go so you have a good idea how to play your hunter when you hit 85.

Pets! If you chose hunter because you're an animal lover like me then you know how awesome it is to build your own little pet family. A lot of people don't understand how we hunters can get so attached to little pixels but hey that's why we are hunters and they are smelly Orc Shamans, or tiny football Gnomes, or whatever right? It's our right to fall in love with our side kicks and I recommend once you start to move around Azeroth, that you take some time to research what's out there or perhaps just explore and see who you come across. Picking my 25 pets for my stable was quite hard but also quite fun so enjoy it and take good care of your pets!

Part Three:
There are lots of things that other players can see about you without ever seeing you play that will tell them if you are a hunter or a huntard. Things like your enchants and gems can set you a part from the huntards. Fortunately for us there is a great resource tool at Hunter's Union where they show you the best gems and enchantments for your hunter.

Part Four:
After hitting 85 you're going to want to upgrade your gear by adding as many purples as you can. You can check out my pre-raiding gear list here. Good blues can be obtained in Heroics and with Justice Points but trust me, nothing will feel as good as adding an Epic to one of your slots. Unfortunately this will come down to getting in a raid group and if you're like me and have a hard time convincing someone to take you to a raid then you'll have to rely on what's in your control. It is very important you pick up tabards from all the Cataclysm factions before you start doing Heroics. Wearing them while doing Heroics is the fastest way I was able to get exalted for each faction and gave me access to epics and my shoulder and helm enchants. Getting exalted for the following factions will allow you to get:

Guardians of Hyjal:
Treads of Malorne

Ramkahen:
Arcanum of the Ramkahen (Revered) (Helm Enchant)

The Earthen Ring:
Signet of the Elder Council

Therazane:
Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal (Shoulder Enchant)

For those of you with a bit of gold to spend or have some professions leveled, the follow epic items are also available to you at 85.

Corded Viper Belt (Leatherworking)
Dragonkiller Tunic (Leatherworking)
Dragonscale Leg Armor (Leatherworking)
Deadly Bio-Optic Killshades (Engineering)

Justice and Valor points that are obtained through Heroics will also allow you to buy Epics. I try to do one Heroic a day even now to get my 70 Valor that is given as a daily. Valor Points as it stands right now will allow you to buy a few tier pieces as well as a great trinket in Fluid Death.

Part Five:
Gear will definitely help you in the DPS races and allow you access to raids as having a good item level score is something that will always be looked at when forming a raid. All that's left now is your performance. If you're looking to join your first raid it is important you go online and learn the fights first. You can youtube any of the fights whether it's The Bastion of Twilight, Blackwing Descent or Baradin Hold as they all require some preparation first. Once you are familiar with watching the fights it will only take a few attempts to get the hang of them and by the end of the raid you should be a grizzly veteran.

Be sure you bring flasks and food as most raid leaders do keep an eye on things like that and anything to give your DPS a boost is definitely a plus.

Flask:
Flask of the Winds

Food:
Skewered Eel

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Be sure to check out the sites I listed above as most of all my education come from one of those sites. If anyone wants to add anything they think is important they can do so in the comments. Hopefully this will be helpful to some people out there!

Checking In

No big news lately as not a lot has been going on since landing my prize in Deepholm. Dakona had a great week progression wise getting in a PUG that headed to Blackwing Descent where we managed to one shot Magmaw, Omnitron Defense System and Maloriak before getting stopped at Atramedes. I definitely have come to hate Atramedes with all my might and I swear one day I will kill him even if it takes me 10 years. Our group ended up moving to The Bastion of Twilight where we continued our good night with easy kills over Halfus Wyrmbreaker, Valiona & Theralion and Ascendant Council. We would eventually end our night after some good attempts at Cho'gall and I came away with only one piece of loot with Necklace of Strife from the Valiona & Theralion fight (which still gives me trouble) but the overall experience of getting more boss encounters in was huge for Dakona who is desperately in need of more raid time. I am defiantly hoping to repeat that luck this week by getting into another PUG but with so many hunters in the same boat as me it seems I'll have to be patience for my chances... like a grasshopper.

My Aeonaxx Kill Video

I put together a video of my Aeonaxx kill and I added some tips for anyone interested in killing him as well. Hopefully this will be helpful but remember it takes patience and time for this beauty to surface and if you can afford the time I definitely recommend going for it. I hope you enjoy the video =)

The Power of Blog

In my quest to answer why things have been so boring for me lately, I didn't once consider the power of the blog. Ever since I started the blog I've been overwhelmed with adventures. However, ignore the blog and *poof* back to ordinary. Less than 24 hours after my last blog it finally happened. Not a moment to soon as I was beginning to hear my flying mount's wings flapping when I would close my eyes to sleep every night. At about 4:00 pm as I was making my bed, the horn sounded and half expecting to see that stupid bat I gingerly walked over to my computer and my heart dropped.

 Yes I know it's a bit extreme to go numb over pixels but I definitely went numb. Fumbling around my keyboard I got close enough to Aeonaxx to jump on it and from there it was just a mad panic to kill it before it killed me. I did get paranoid about the adds, I wasn't sure if I should be killing them or just keep focusing on Aeonaxx. Turns out I didn't have to worry about the adds but I guess that could depend on your gear and your DPS capabilities. I ended up with just over 50% of my health left when I finally killed him. The whole thing was a blur and I have no idea how I had to mind to start recording it, luckily I had it all set up before hand so it was just a matter of clicking a button. I put together a little video of the fight including some shots of the mount after it's been looted. I will put that together and have that up for you guys tomorrow.

I must admit that it's been a few days since I got it and I'm definitely feeling the withdraw. I use to fall asleep every night floating in Deepholm, I'm already looking to find a new obsession to consume me, so if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Even SLOWER Week

Does anyone even come here anymore? With the lack of excitement lately I've made myself obsolete, oh noes!. After all those early blogs when stuff seemed to happen everyday, I've done a complete switch to a place where more action happens while painting a wall.

However I swear it's not due to a lack of effort. Dakona continues to plug away each day trying to shake the rust from this slump. I've been doing Heroic: Sethekk Halls everyday, still chasing that damn Raven's Lord. I then take the long flight to Howling Fjord and enter Heroic: Utgarde Pinnacle in hopes Skadi the Ruthless will drop Reins of the Blue Proto-Drake for me. And when I'm really desperate I hop inside The Stonecore and make my way to Slabhide to try my luck at a Reins of the Vitreous Stone Drake drop. Any one of these drops would make for an exciting blog update and of course I do it only for you guys but alas I've come up empty time and time again.

I will share a secret I was planning on keeping to myself until I got it, but its been three weeks now so I'm starting to think it's not going to be as easy as I hoped. I've been spending a lot of time in Deepholm lately. As a hunter it's no surprise I enjoy the boring camp of a rare spawn. However it appears Dakona has met her match. I've now officially spent more than 300 hours waiting for Aeonaxx to spawn. This is the third week I've dedicated to seeking this bugger out. My worst fear is that he has spawned when I'm inside a heroic or doing one of my daily mount runs but of course he could very well have spawned while I was at work, or maybe he hasn't spawned at!

I've actually came close to getting him, and it's been motivating and disheartening ever since. On my second day of camping I wasn't taking it as seriously as I probably should have. I had my NPCscan on and was doing some odds and ends around the house. At one particular time around 1:00 am I went downstairs to grab my laundry and something on T.V ended up catching my eye. It was about 15-20 minutes before I made my way back upstairs to my computer and this was what I saw...

I searched and searched for about 20 minutes and didn't see anything. I whispered some people in the area to see if anyone had seen someone riding it but nothing. Someone told me a horde warrior was seen in Orgrimmar a few days later on one but I cannot be sure he got this particular spawn. It was good because I had confirmation it existed, however three weeks later I would realize how rare that opportunity was. I've refused to watch Criminal Minds ever since, as it surely costed me a Reins of the Phosphorescent Stone Drake.

I will continue to plug away, not just for myself but for you 3 or 4 readers who have not given up on me. I will make you proud, I promise!

Slow Week

This week felt like it went by in slow motion and with so much going on poor Dakona was barely able to get her daily Heroic runs in let alone anything else productive. I did go to Temple of Ahn'Qiraj for the first time ever earlier in the week as I inch closer to getting all the Classic dungeons and raids finished. My Warlock buddy and I were stopped at "The Twins" the first night but while I was at work my Warlock friend and a Druid guildie killed them quite easily... or so I'm told. C'Thun was a unique experience, I've never been sucked into a stomach before, still trying to get the smell out of my cape. We wiped on the first attempt but figured it out on the second attempt and it was all quite easy and fun in the end. I also got all 4 Qiraji Resonating Crystal mounts including the red one within about 5 minutes. I was told the red one was quite rare which got me excited, until an hour later when I saw in guild chat that another guildie got it as well. It might have something to do with Blizzard upping their drop rates. The Time-Lost Proto Drake for example had its possible spawn time reduced to 3 hours. Let the battle of "Keep people away from Rift" begin.

Moving On Up!

It's been almost a week since I last checked in so I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I'd have some news. No new mounts to report although Reins of the Drake of the North Wind dropped during my Heroic Vortex Pinnacle run today off Altairus. It's the first time I had seen that mount drop and it's a shame I didn't win the roll because it's a beauty. I followed through with my Engineering leveling and after getting to 525 rushed to get my Deadly Bio-Optic Killshades which look pretty cool on me if I may say so. I even got all the extra engineering stuff I mentioned in my last entry so I feel like I definitely improved which made the expensive grind worth it. I even went back to The Storm Peaks (my favorite place) and got the recipe for Jeeves within the first few minutes of killing Library Guardians which randomly drop it. I later found out how expensive and time consuming it is to make the little bugger but I will be trying to get that finished by this weekend.

After taking the advice of some of the people who commented on my blog I have been doing Baradin Hold for three straight weeks now. Although I haven't gotten any of the T11 pieces yet I am enjoying the extra valor and raid experience it gives me each week. In a bit of a surprise I got invited to my first 10 man group on Sunday night. This included two bosses in The Bastion of Twilight and three in Blackwing Descent. It was very nerve racking being my first time as you can imagine and since invites have been rare I of course wanted to make a good impression in hopes of getting another invite sometime. The first boss we did was Halfus Wyrmbreaker which I can barely remember since it happened so fast. I don't think I did much to be honest except find myself lost most of the time and trying to shoot at what everyone else was killing. A good start saw him drop Proto-Handler's Gauntlets which I narrowly won the roll for against another hunter in the group (who deserved them a lot more than I did) and I sheepishly took them. The low point of the night came in the Valiona & Theralion fight, I had flashbacks to my Heroic Altramedes attempts which I would end up dying in the first 2 minutes even though I felt like I was doing the mechanics perfectly. Same sort of deal in this fight, I got caught by the breathe the first time, learnt that lesson quickly. Second death came during Blackout when I stacked up behind her with everyone else but somehow ended up dying nonetheless. Very frustrating and I think I would of given up my spot for someone with a brain had the raid group not been so friendly. Moving to Blackwing Descent was definitely uplifting as it didn't take long to learn the Magmaw fight and we were able to get him down without much trouble. Likewise the fight against Omnotron Defense System was fairly easy for me. All I really had to do was know when to switch targets and avoid stuff around me. Maloriak would be the boss that would eventually end our raid night on Sunday. We got very close to killing him twice, coming as close as 3% and 1%. Very frustrating but all the attempts were very good for me as my DPS got stronger with each attempt and out of all the fights this is probably the one I'm now most comfortable with. We didn't end up finishing the raid before it reset on Tuesday, I don't think my performance will get me another invite but the experience was invaluable for the next time I raid. The gloves were just a bonus so I would say all and all it was a very good week progression wise for Dakona.

This is how Dakona is looking today. Need some T11 gear I think to make her look less whimpy in her oversized boots. Hopefully I'll be able to get into another raid group like last week again soon, would really love to get a new ranged weapon and perhaps if I'm lucky get Malevolence from Halfus Wyrmbreaker.

Here is a link to my current gear: Dakona's Armory

Odds & Ends

Just a small update on Dakona's progression and she continues to chip away. I recently got enough Valor Points to finally purchase her Fluid Death which I couldn't get equipped fast enough once I finished the daily Heroic. I managed to get myself into a Baradin Hold pug and I even got loot! Only problem is I don't PvP and the Vicious Gladiator's Chain Leggings will collect dust in my bank... so close too! I decided to drop my Herbalism profession which was sad because as a lot of people know I enjoyed picking flowers. I spent 7 hours on Tuesday leveling my new profession Engineering which I decided on a whim will be totally worth it once I get my Deadly Bio-Optic Killshades which I think are uber cool. I think in the long runs the added pets and mounts will make the expensive grind worth it as well. Also adding Nitro Boosts, Synapse Springs and Flexweave Underlay should help a noob like myself get out of some sticky situations and who knows maybe I'll even get a Jeeves so I can repair my wounds in private and out of public sight.

I find myself doing a lot of older content on my down time and as you can see by my latest achievements have gone back and finished some of the ones I had missed. I do Sethekk Halls once a day as I try hopelessly to get Raven Lord which I have wanted for years. I've started trying to solo things that I see other hunters have on youtube. I recently tried Al'ar at Tempest Keep, it was pretty late so I gave up after two tries although I think it will be very doable when I give it a serious go. I'm hoping to eventually get to Kael'thas Sunstrider which I hope to be able to solo regularly without issue. I feel it is only a matter of time before you see Dakona riding around on her Ashes of Al'ar. I stopped by to do a Karazhan run with my Warlock friend, it was the first time I had done Kara since my numerous runs back in B.C with different toons. I use to love Kara and remember doing back to back runs which took anywhere from 5-7 hours combined in one sitting. I miss those days so I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. Oddly enough Fiery Warhorse's Reins dropped off of Attumen the Huntsman 5 minutes in. I told my Warlock friend we would both roll Need and let fate decide. He agreed and I predictably lost the roll. He tried to trade it to me to which I refused. I'm not a fan of being handed stuff and I did lose fair and square. After 5 minutes of arguing he finally made me accept the damn horse and revealed a few seconds later that he already had it. He thought that was funny, I didn't fine it as amusing! It's not one of my favorite mounts, I got it on my Shadow Priest back in B.C when my hunter friend Jibjab graciously passed it to me. Seems this horse is destined to follow me. I am happy to have it for my collection, I know some people are not as fortunate so I don't take it for granted. I got a picture of myself and my new horse, accompanied by my Warlock friend and a random dude who wanted to get on TMZ.

Number 25

It was a rough week for Dakona to say the least but I've learned over my life that some of the best experience you can get comes from your failures, even epic ones. So yes there were lots of tough pills to swallow this week but I do think I came out ahead in the long run. I may have put the cart before the horse so to speak but as pointed out by some, I do need to put in more work in practice before I jump into a real game. With that said I did manage to salvage the week by getting something that had been previously out of my control. Without knowing many people on my server getting help can be somewhat of a challenge at times, luckily for me I am a hunter and we usually manage on our own. Befriending a warlock and a druid can have many different benefits as I found out on Thursday. Having learned I was seeking out help to kill a few bosses in Blackwing Lair to get to my beloved Chromaggus. Two guildies Sephirothz and Williee joined me as we took on the first boss Razorgore the Untamed where reports had been that he was bugged and a ticket from a GM revealed it would be corrected in the next update. Nonetheless we gave it a go having read some people had managed to get him down even with the bug. We tried several times with different strategies but it was clear the bug would prevent us from killing him and I wasn't to disappointed having found some patient and mature people to hang out with for a few hours. I woke up Thursday morning and logged on to find Sephirothz waiting for me. Asking me what I was up to he encouraged me to come with him to Blackrock Mountain without letting on any details. When we entered Blackwing Lair I noticed right away Razorgore had been killed at some point during the night or morning. Turns out Sephirothz and Williee went back and managed to kill him and others leading the way to Chromaggus. I ran as fast and I could to Chromaggus and like a good boy he was waiting for me, albeit because he had no choice, behind a barred door.

I named him Chromie because well I'm original like that. He is definitely unique and I didn't want to take away his legendary name from him but I did want to make it more cute. Having two mouths to feed instead of one might be a challenge and expensive but his purple skin and pink tongue make it well worth it.

Hanging around Origmmar as I often do, I was quite surprised at how much attention he attracted. Keep in mind I also have a Spectral Tiger and Cub as well as a Time-Lost Flying Mount and several rare pets, none of which ever gotten as many comments and looks as Chromie did standing outside the Inn for 30 minutes while waiting for a Heroic to pop.

I created a video for you hunters out there curious about taming him. He is extremely easy to tame if you have some friends or guildies to help you kill a few bosses at Blackwing Lair. It is a level 60 raid so most fights can be done with two people but bring as many as you can and you can be in and out of there in 20 minutes with a new pet!