An Embarrassment of Riches

It's been a busy and fun last couple of weeks for anyone that plays Blizzard games!  And all of this has contributed to make it a fine time to return to World of Warcraft - which is course is exactly what they intend.  So I thought I'd share some of the cool things that have recently become available.

Reaper of Souls
Things got kicked off in a big way earlier this month when the Loot 2.0 Patch dropped for Diablo III.  This brought a complete revamping of their loot and difficulty systems, and as of yesterday I believe, the shutting down of the auction houses.  Pretty much everyone I've talked to has agreed that this is absolutely the best thing to happen to the game so far.  It's suddenly returned the fun to finding cool stuff, makes finding cool stuff more likely, and that in turn brings the fun back to the game.  But even better, was that if you pre-ordered, you got an awesome treasure goblin pet in World of Warcraft! This little fella is both creepy and awesome at the same time, and is arguably the noisiest pet in my collection.  Within 30 minutes of him following you around you are either going to love him or absolutely hate him!

Hearthsteed!
Another big event that happened this past week was that after months of alphas and betas, Hearthstone has officially gone live.  I've been playing Hearthstone since the closed alpha, and absolutely love the game.  My secret mage deck is probably still my fave, but I've had good fun and decent luck with many of the heroes.  And to celebrate, once again Blizz is there with the WoW tie in.  Get three wins in either Play mode or Arena mode, and you get another awesome mount - the Hearthsteed.  This mount is as cool as its name is lame, lol.  It's best described as kind of a stone.. arcane.. flying.. horse thing.  I know right? How can you not want that.

Boost to 90!
But the big happening this week was the release of preorders for the Warlords of Draenor expansion.  If you preordered the digital deluxe edition (which I did, natch!) you got this crazy cool mount - the Dread Raven. And you got a matching pet - the Raven Hatchling.  And of course, you got a boost to 90 - one of your existing characters (or even a brand new one) boosted to the current max level in the game.  I absolutely love the new mount and pet.  And with Shimmerblade's tier 2 recolor transmog set, the entire ensemble fits together really nicely.

But the big question that's on everyone's mind that's playing the game right now is of course:

What class do I boost to 90!!?!!

What if I pick a class I don't like?  But if I boost a class that's close to 90, I feel like I wasted my boost!  I've never played mage - maybe that's what I want!  Heheh.. I heard this conversation and variations of it from many folks over the past few days.  I have to admit, I was having the same dilemma myself, until I learned the finer details of the boost program.  See, if you boost a class that is level 60 or above, not only do you get boosted to level 90, but that classes primary crafting professions are also maxed out to 600.  Until I learned that, I was seriously considering boosting a class I'd never played before - maybe shaman, or priest.  But I've had a hunter sitting at level 62 since Wrath was released.  And I know I love that hunter.  I just never got back around to leveling her.  And honestly, I enjoy the early game quite a bit in WoW, so I knew I'd have no problems getting through 1 to 60.  But from about level 70 on, it's more of a slog for me.  So suddenly this was a no brainer. Boost my level 72 hunter to 90, get leatherworking maxed to 600. Now I can make cool gear for my hunter and my rogue, and I have another class at max level that I'm running around having an absolute blast with.

However you decide to choose, there's never been a better time to get back into the game, on a variety of fronts.  And if you do decide to come back to the game, and you got your freshly minted level 90 warlock, but arent' sure what do to with her - there are two resources you absolutely should bookmark now.  The first is this fantastic Level 90 Guide from WoWhead.  It's got everything you need to know about where to go and what to do to start outfitting your toon in something a little better than those gifted greens.  And if you're looking for help on picking those talents, and putting those abilities on your bar and how to work for them, be sure and check out the class guides at Icy Veins.  Each one gives incredibly good information on talent choices and rotations, as well as glyphs, gear, and everything else you want to know to get started with your class.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm swinging off to plunder some pirate booty with my new level 90 Draenei Hunter!