Tips to Choosing the "Right" Name: Characters

First and foremost always remember to choose a name that is not in violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/termsofuse.shtml and/or Blizzard Enternainment World of Warcraft Naming Policy http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=2042.

The proceeding is a list of "tips", "ideas", "opinions", and "suggestions" of my own making. I take no credit in the creation, copyrights, or policies of the websites linked in this document. This is not a guide! It is my full intention for this to be a reference tool document only. I assume no responsibility in the actions and/or consequences brought against, or to, any person(s) utilizing the information in this document.

As this information is in regards to World of Warcraft, please refer here initially: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/gettingstarted.html

Whenever I create a new character, I spend a good amount of my time at the Character Creation screen just trying to choose a name that just feels right. There are many different factors to consider when naming your character.Your character's name not only reflects on you as a person, but also has influence over how other players in-game relate to you as a player. I strongly advise against choosing a name for your character that you will possibly regret later on in your in-game career. For example: naming your Priest with any word tagged with the word "healer" may not be the best course. Naming your Warrior with any word tagged with the word "tank" may not be the best course. Players will know what class you are. Adding a class description to your name may be humorous, but in the end will just make you appear to be needing reminded of what class you are. Thankfully for some of us Blizzard Entertainment (WoW) has recently implemented the Paid Character Name Change service, in the event that you are unsatisfied with your current character name.
Find the pertinent information here:

Paid Character Name Change FAQ : http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21532&searchQuery=name%20change&pageNumber=1
Account Management : https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/

World of Warcraft Lore : http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/index.html

Whether you role-play, or not, I have found that researching your characters lore history can oftentimes lead to some very good possibilities for character names. Keep in mind though that any reference to, or duplication of, any NPC's names (be they in-game of WoW or any other Blizzard Entertainment game or reference material past or present) is prohibited, as it goes against the Naming Policy and Terms of Use Agreement.

The area around you:

What is in the immediate area of where you are playing? Maybe something right where you are could be the basis for a good character name. Looking around my room at this moment I see: a box of Wheat Thins, desk lamp, a puzzle of a moose that I glued after completing and put on the wall, slippers, various different books, etc. So what do we do with all that then? Perhaps some wording on the box of crackers piques your interest? Desk lamp could lead to something associated with light, possibly heading towards a name for a Paladin. Moose puzzle could enhance ideas for a Warrior (tanking /moose); Druid (animal); Rogue (puzzle); Shaman (elements in the environment); etc. Slippers could contribute to the quiet, stealthiness of a Rogue. Books, ahh books! An endless sea of possibilities. I am sure you would know how to pluck an idea for your characters name from a book, no need to go into any in-depth examples there. Remember to refer to Blizzard Entertainment's Naming Policy and Terms of Use Agreement in regards to the use of names of real life and/or fictional characters/person(s).

Now, I'm not suggesting that you name you character Puzzle, Lamp, Moose, Slippers, or Paperback. Just advising that you be aware of you surroundings. You never know when an idea may just pop out at you from seeing what is right around you.

If you are having trouble with your own creativity, and the Random Character Name Generator at the Character Creation screen is not exactly giving you what you want, I have found that researching the base word of the character/class/race/profession/playstyle of a character can prove quite beneficial.

Finding a synonym of the base word of the character/class/race/profession/playstyle:

The internet is your friend! Below are some links to websites that I believe may help you, as they have helped me in my search.

WoWwiki : http://www.wowwiki.com/Newbie_Guide/Character_Creation [WoWWiki is a wiki dedicated to cataloguing Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft Universe (with a focus, though not priority, on World of Warcraft), covering the entire Warcraft series of games, RPG reference books, strategy guides, novels, manga and other sources.]

Webster's Online Dictionary with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation : http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ [Updated definitions, thousands of images (one picture being worth a thousand words…), quotes, trade names, references, timelines, translations and any other bit of information that can help someone understand a word from as many perspectives as possible.]

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary : http://www.m-w.com/dictionary [A free, searchable on-line dictionary and thesaurus, word games, a word of the day, and many other English language and vocabulary reference tools and resources.]

Online Etymology Dictionary : http://www.etymonline.com/index.php [A map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.]

Dictionary.com : http://dictionary.reference.com/ [Dictionary.com is a multi-source dictionary search service. Also provides links to Thesaurus.com, Language Resources, Reference.com]

For example, from my own character name search:

I have a level 41 Rogue. I had a couple of lower level alt Rogues before, but never went far with them. One of those Rogue alts was named "Shadowshank". I kind of liked this name. It was effective, descriptive, without being too ridiculous. But, I eventually deleted that character. When I re-rolled my new Rogue, I figured I'd use that same name. Unfortunately, it was not available. So I tried variations. What I ended up with was "Shank". Little did I know that I was 1of 79 other Shanks in the WoW Armory! Every time someone talked to me in-game I just cringed. So thank you Paid Character Name Change service!!
I did some research on the base word "Rogue". Through much web-hopping, what I found, and changed his name to, was Skvalrig. In Swedish language it means "sneaky". Being of Swedish descent, and that word sounding/implying rougeish attributes, I thought it was both clever and unique. Plus, it has a sound association with "skally-wag", which could also be referenced to a Rogue.

So just take some time, look around for what suits YOU, and you will find that perfect name for the character that is, in essence, an extention of yourself.

In closing, I just want want to thank you for taking the time to read over this reference tool document. I hope that you found this information useful.

Be good, be safe, have FUN!

A recent vulnerability has been discovered in popular web-content delivery program Adobe Flash, and it could potentially be used to target World of Warcraft players and accounts. The newest available version of Adobe Flash, version 9.0.124.0, does not contain this vulnerability, and we recommend that everyone upgrade their Flash player as soon as possible by visiting the Adobe.com download page at the link below.

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

In addition, to avoid exploitation of this vulnerability, we have temporarily disabled the ability to post hyperlinks in our forums. Any links will need to be copied and pasted into a browser. We’ll continue to evaluate any potential security threats and take any steps necessary to ensure a safe and fun environment.

For more information on this issue, you can read the announcements from the Adobe security team concerning the threat at the links below.

http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2008/05/potential_flash_player_issue.html
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2008/05/potential_flash_player_issue_u_1.html

Learning to effectively play as the Druid class in World of Warcraft’s PvP interface is a complex process – there are numerous different ways in which you can play a Druid and when you enter PvP you automatically become one of the premier targets of any opposition because of that versatility. A good Druid PvP Guide will help anyone who needs an added boost in their gameplay mechanics learn the basics of the Druid class and how it plays with each other class.

The Basics

To start with, a good Druid PvP Guide will provide you with the information you need to master the basics of the class’s play mechanics. This means you will learn how to fundamentally control the class in any situation. The Druid PvP Guide will show you how to select your talents so that you can build a character best suited for PvP and PvP alone. Next, you will learn everything you need to know to build your strategy when you enter PvP – including what kind of gear to focus on, what your inherent weaknesses are and how to balance all of the various skills in your repertoire with each other.

Combating Opponents

Druids are inherently good in PvP because they are extremely durable. Their ability to switch forms and resist many crowd control techniques, heal in a pinch, and even to tank when it is called for make them downright hard to kill. A good Druid PvP Guide will walk you through how to harness each of these aspects and get a character that is not only extremely well suited for PvP, but suited for any PvP situation that might arise.
Druids have incredibly different strategies for each class in the game – most Druid PvP Guides will work to provide you a step by step process to defeating each class – all 9 of them. Additionally, you will often learn how to integrate your fighting strategies into a method that will work well in a group setting. For the most part, it is commonly agreed that along with the Rogue, the Druid is usually the king of 2v2 arena play, adding the most depth to any 2 person team. For that reason, with a well specced Druid and a solid Druid PvP Guide, you can develop a character that not only owns its opponents in duals, but can run a well formed, top tier 2v2 arena team and even make a great addition to a 3v3 or 5v5 team.

Regardless of your situation, a good Druid PvP Guide is a great place to start when you are considering getting into PvP with your shapeshifter. You can be among the very best with just a little bit of help.

Learn how your druid can start dominating the battlefield and achieve over 2200 honor rating in as little as 38 days at Here

Now This is Ram Racing... Almost.

Reward: Nothing

Quest Giver: Neill Ramstein

This is your first taste of riding a ram. Some things you'll need to know about the different speeds:

Fatigue: When your ram reaches 100 fatigue, it will become Exhausted and slow down considerably for 10 seconds.

Gallop: Fatigue is increased by 5 and you move at a fast pace.
Canter: Fatigue is increased by 1 and you move at a brisk pace.
Trot: Fatigue is decreased by 2 and you move at a leisurely pace.
Walk: Fatigue is decreased by 4 and you move at a slow pace.

To speed up, open your inventory and right-click on the Ram Racing Reins. The icon looks like a belt. Speed up to a Gallop and maintain this speed by right-clicking the reins every couple of seconds. Once you hold a Gallop for 8 seconds, stop clicking until you slow to a Canter. Right-click every couple of seconds to hold a Canter for 8 seconds. Stop clicking again to slow to a Trot. Hold the trot for 8 seconds and return to the quest giver.

There and Back Again

Reward: 10 Tokens

Quest Giver: Neill Ramstein

The trick here is to stay at a full Gallop. There are 3 barrels of apples on the way to Flynn Firebrew. You shouldn't need to use all of these barrels, only the first two. I've included a video below detailing the quickest route:



Bark for the Barleybrews! (Daily)

Reward: 15 Tokens

Quest Giver: Becan Barleybrew

The trick here is to stay between a Canter and a Trot. Stay at a Canter until you're at about 90 Fatigue then slow to a Trot. Repeat this until you've made it around the outer rim of Ironforge.

There and Back Again (Daily)

Reward: 0-40 Tokens

Quest Giver: Neill Ramstein

The trick here is to stay at a full Gallop. There are 3 barrels of apples on the way to Flynn Firebrew. You shouldn't need to use all of these barrels, only the first two. I've included a video below detailing the quickest route:



You receive 2 tokens for ever barrel you return. Speed is of the utmost importance if you want to make the most out of this quest. If you miss a barrel of apples, turn around quickly and tag it before continuing on. If you've watched the video and are comfortable with your technique, you can also skip the second barrel on the way back to make up time. It can also be helpful to bind the reins to a hotkey.

This is a guide to obtaining the quest item: Dartol's Rod of Transformation. The rod allows you to assume the appearance of a furbolg for three minutes.

Your Manual to Becoming - and Staying - One of Azeroth's Most Underappreciated Creatures

To know your enemy, you must become your enemy, as the saying goes. And there is no enemy more fierce and numerous than the Kalimdor furbolg. Once a proud and peaceful race, the furbolg has fallen prey to the madness twisting much of the Western Continent. Now only its vicious cunning separates it from the beasts that otherwise prowl the land. Well, that and the fact that they spawn like rabbits.

How, then, does the hapless reputation grinder defeat such a terrible foe? By killing them, is the simple and boring answer. But for those who seek to truly know the furbolg, to study the mysteries behind its sharp beady eyes - to those adventurers I dedicate this guide.

Ashenvale: What The Heck Does This Have to Do With Furbies?
Your journey begins at the Inn in Ashenvale, where the fierce huntress Raene will ask you to find her friend Teronis (or, his body, as it turns out). How do I know she's fierce? She's got two wolves. You go girl.

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: Find Teronis

Teronis is located at Lake Falathim, which is most easily approached by traveling back north-west along the road from Ashenvale. When you reach the footpath that would take you to the Zoram Strand, leave the road. You can follow that footpath, but head south when it veers north. Soon you should discover Lake Falathim. Coordinates: 19, 43.

Oh noes! Teronis bit it. Looks like you'll have to deliver the bad news to Raene. But wait... she mentioned something about a gem?

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: Find the Glowing Gem (i.e., Murloc Slaughter!)

Teronis' corpse gives you a journal (how emo) but what you really need is a [Glowing Gem]. This will drop off of one of the random murlocs in the Lake Falathim area. It took me about 20 kills to get the gem, but at level 60 that was only 20 Smites so it's all good. Mmm, clam meat.

Time to backtrack to Ashenvale and tell Raene the bad news. Raene decides to pass the buck, and directs you to a dryad up in the Hidden Moonwell. She also leaves you with the journal, which means if you're at all like me it'll be sitting in your bank for about a month. Thanks for that, Raene.

Hidden Moonwell: Go Fetch!

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: Find Shael'dryn

The hidden moonwell isn't too hard to find. Follow her directions, and head east from Ashenvale. Look for a little sitting area to your left, complete with a weird glowy elfy lamp-stone. Head north at that point, and when it looks like the flat area goes either west or east, head west. You should start seeing little elf driveway-lights in the ground heading towards the moonwell. Shael'dryn is all by her lonesome there. Coordinates: 53, 46.

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: Find the Wooden Key (i.e., Treant Slaughter!)
and the Chest
to get the Iron Shaft

Shael'dryn sends you off to find a wooden key that was (somehow) picked up by the corrupted treants near the border of felwood. I'm not positive if there are location limitations here, but when I tried the group of treants closest to the border with Felwood I didn't pick up the key. It dropped for me off a treant near the chest itself. Coordinates: 54, 35.

Once you get the key, head to the little side grove on the west side of the road heading up to Felwood. There are ruined pillars all around the grove, and the box was to my left as I entered. The [Iron Shaft] is *cough* inside the box, naturally enough. Go tell Shael'dryn the good news!

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: Find the Iron Pommel (i.e., Slime Slaughter!)

Ha, it's not over yet. Shael'dryn tasks you with finding a box once carried by Druids. But the druids are dead. And she doesn't know what happened to the box. It might be somewhere vaguely eastish in Astranaar. I guess the "needle in a haystack" quest got old for her.

Little does she know that you, ever the hardy adventurer, have this guide to... er... guide your steps. Head east from the Hidden Moonwell and wander on over towards the Barrens. You're looking for Rotting Slimes, and they're all over the place so you can wander a bit southeast of Splinter Tree Post, or follow the path to the Barrens and veer north from there. One of the slimes will drop the box, which you can then open to obtain the [Iron Pommel]. Coordinates: vaguely 76, 76.

Time to go get that pesky dryad lady off your back!

cont....

Quest Name: Raene's Cleansing
Objective: "Charge" the Rod (oy vey)

Kidding! You have one more task to complete before you can go your merry furbolgy way. After you return the pommel, Shael'dryn will give you the completed rod. But wait, something's not quite right with our rod. Why, it needs a little mojo, of course!

The rod gets charged at a hidden shrine, which you might have seen as you were wandering around looking for treants. If you look at your map, west of the path to Felwood you'll see a funny little break between the southernmost and the northernmost set of mountains. The start of the path to the shrine is located sorta in the middle of the southernmost set. Coordinates: path at 54, 50; shrine at 56, 49.

Let your rod bask in the magical glow - in other words, right-click it when you're at the shrine. Congratulations! You now have [Dartol's Rod of Transformation]! Your life as a furbolg has begun!

Astranaar: A Choice Awaits You
If you're doing the quest for your rod, you can stop as soon as you've charged it. That's it! Done! Drop the quest and be on your merry way.

If you want to push the envelope a bit, you can continue on in the sequence. The quests are all called Raene's Cleansing (helpful) but you can continue through the following steps:
return to Shael'dryn with the charged rod (step 7)
return to Raene with your charged rod (step 8)
find Krolg south of Mystral Lake (step 9)
kill Ran Bloodtooth (step 10)

As long as you DO NOT return to Raene with the head of Ran Bloodtooth and the Rod of Transformation, you're golden. Once you turn in that part of the quest, your furbolg days are over, never to return.

Oh, and Horde don't get to play this game. Sucks to be them!

Enjoy your charged rods, my friends, and remember to use your power wisely. o.O


Author's Note: I wrote this guide up as a favor to my guildies, who wanted to know how to don their own snuggly furbolg costume. Because it was originally written for a private forum, there may be some mildly inappropriate language remaining. I tried to clean up the off-color words I noticed, and apologies if any remain!

Skettis Daily Quests:


This is a guide to the skettis daily quests.

The beauty of these quests are how quickly they can be completed. I can litteraly get them done in under 7 min (and i'm a holy priest). There are two daily quests that are repeatable from Skettis. One of the quests has no prerequisites, the other does... but they are easily soloed (even for a holy priest).

The two quests are as follows:

Escape from Skettis (no prereqs)
Fires Over Skettis

Fires Over Skettis:

Prerequisites
This daily requires a couple quests be completed before you can accept it. However, they are very easy and i aced them in just a few minutes. The first quest in the chain is called "Threat from Above" and you get it from Yuula (64,42). She is standing right next to the flight point in Shattrath City.

The quest requires you to fly to 19,13 in Terokkar Forest (yes you must fly) in order to kill 20 orgres. The only trick to this quest is to watch out for an elite pat that walks along the middle of the encampment. If you stick to the outsides you will be fine. After you kill 20 of the ogres return to Yuula for the next quest in the line.

The next quest is called "To Skettis!" This quest takes you to Sky Sergeant Doryn in Skettis itself. If you are not familiar with Skettis it is a small piece of south-east Terokkar that you need a flying mount to get to. Note: you do NOT need an epic flying... just regular flying. This is just the standard 'go talk to him' quest. Upon completion of this quest you will receive the daily "Fires Over Skettis".


QUEST - Fires Over Skettis

When you accept the quest you receive Skyguard Blasting Charges. I suggest dropping this onto your hotbar for easy access. The entire mission is done on your flying mount so don't worry about moving something you think you might use. Mount up and start flying around the lake.

There are two enemies you must watch out for. You do not have to kill any enemies to be successful and killing will only make the quest take longer. If you aggro I suggest moving to the next tree.

Flying Birds - These birds fly around the tree tops. They will hamstring you and can knock you off your mount.

Arakkoa pats - They pat along the tree top walkways and will Shadowbolt you. They also have potential to knock you off your mount.

The quest involves bombing eggs that are in various places on the trees. These eggs look much more like spider eggs then bird eggs, keep that in mind. I have included links to thotbott screenshots so you can get an understanding of where they will be.

http://i.thottbot.com/ss/o/23638.jpg - In an alcove on the top of the tree
http://thottbot.com/ss23709 - On a platform near the top of the tree

When you use the Skyguard Blasting Charges it creates a small radius AOE spell that you can click. Simply click on the eggs and that will destroy them. There is no limit to the number you can destroy with one charge... but the most I have seen in one place is 4. Once you destroy 20 eggs return to Sky Sergeant Doryn. Contrants! You have finished the quest and are 12G richer and 350 rep closer to your Skettis Mount!

QUEST - Escape from Skettis

This is an escort quest. The mob you are looking for is named "Skyguard Prisoner". You will find him in one of three places: 60.75, 68.74, or 75.86. He sits in a cage that is located on the walkway that is midway up the trees. The best way to find him is create a macro that just says "/tar sky". While you are doing the other quest just hit the macro every once-in-a-while and hopefully you will find him.

Before you start the quest let me suggest a few things... First: Clear the trash before it starts. This will make this quest EASY MODE. You will need to clear all mobs on the tree ramp ways (never more then about 4) and any mobs near the base of the walkway leading to the ground. Secondly... you can share this quest with no penalty. If you see a friendly player around invite him to your group before you accept the quest and let him complete it with you. This will make you life easer (especially if you are the one invited!). Go ahead and accept the quest now.

Once the quest is accepted the prisoner will wander around for a few seconds and then start heading towards the ramp. He will eventually move across the bridge. Two Arakkoa will spawn once across the bridge and attack you and the Prisoner. They are easily dispatched (even for a holy priest). Once he gets to the bottom of the bridge he will stand there for a few seconds. He will attack any mobs (even neutral) that are within range. The mission completes at the bottom of the ramp.

Conclusion
The Skettis daily quests are easy/quick money (24G in just a few minutes). Do them in the morning while you are getting ready for work or when you come home for lunch. Once you get used to them you will get them done in no time at all. Enjoy the money and rep!