Valar Guild

September 9, 2018 Sunday Meeting

5pm EDT (UTC/GMT - 5)
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place

Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.

Attending (and spoke): (5)
    Discord: Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Ioreth, Lenwe, Pallando

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:  
    Tolkien Site:
        Review
    Games Site:
        Mass update has begun. Check your email!
Gaming:
    General gaming report by Eonwe and others
Tolkien:
    Fall of Gondolin
    Topic: Game: Each of us will pick a character from Lord of the Rings, and describe that character until one of the others can guess who we're describing.
After-meeting:
    The riddle game will be starting up again on the Forum.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
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Before-meeting
(times are in Central from Varda's Discord, so add one hour for Eastern)

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:03 PM
Arien still away, Varda might be late or missing. If I'm the only active one... I'll hold out for 30 minutes or so before monologuing the meeting.
And by late or missing I mean she's sent an email stating she'll be late, or miss the meeting entirely.
Not that she's missing.
For all ye lurkers, Aiya!
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:07 PM
Heya.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:07 PM
Aiya!
You up for hosting? :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:08 PM
Of course, hehe.
Varda did e-mail, said she might not make it on time due to some real life stuff.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:09 PM
That's what I meant, if it was unclear :wink:
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:10 PM
Eh, I read you wrong.
For some reason I read that as "Varda didn't e-mail".
Anyway, we're on the same page.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:11 PM
Good :smiley:
LenweToday at 4:11 PM
Aiya Eonwe and Ar-Pharazon :smiley:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:11 PM
Aiya Lenwe!
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:12 PM
Heya Lenwë.
We'll begin the meeting in just one more minute.
OK, here we go.
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Elen Sila Lumenn Omentielvo!
Membership:
Varda is out doing stuff in the world outside of the computer.
Looks like we have Eonwë, Lenwë, and Pharazon here active for the meeting. Anyone else here that wants to put in their hello for the roll?
OK, on with the meeting then :}
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Web:
Tolkien Site:
    Review of "Critical Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien" by Lenwe-(V) on his own site which he is sharing with us. He has kindly given permission to put a copy on the Valar Guild Site.
- Directly from the News Page as posted by Varda :}

Games Site:
    The Games Site Mass-Update e-mails will be going out soon, hopefully tonight.
Once they're out, you can send me your gaming info by replying to the e-mail, or through Discord.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:22 PM
Fun thing about Discord, we can send you messages even when you're offline :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:22 PM
As always, please respond  by September 30th.
And aye Phar :}
If you're going to respond here, please do it in a private message,.
Whether here or through e-mail,  make sure you tell me your Guild Name, particularly if it's not your display name.
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Gaming:
Lord of the Rings Online:
LotRO Beacon Issue 76 is out : https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/lotro-beacon-issue-76
    The Lord of the Rings Online
    The LOTRO Beacon: Issue 76
It's the last weekend for the Farmer's Faire, so if you haven't done what you need to do, you're out of time.
Next event per Varda on the News will be Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariner September 16th through the 19th
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:28 PM
Ah, is that for pirate day?
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:29 PM
Also of note, or may be not, is NantWorks has invested in Daybreak, which publishes LotRO for Standing Stone Games.
I'll let someone who spends more time on LotRO answer that one :}
It sounds like a reasonable guess, I just don't know for sure.
Here's the link to the press release if anyone is interested: https://www.daybreakgames.com/press/daybreak-games-nantworks-joint-venture
    Daybreak Game Company
    NANTWORKS MAKES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN DAYBREAK GAME COMPANY  AND...
    NantG Mobile to Co-Develop Next Generation Game Publishing Platform
    LA Times Center and NantG Mobile to Establish E-Sports Leagues Across Multiple Games Beginning with Z1 Battle Royale, the Revitalized H1Z1 Battle Royale Game

World of Warcraft:
Now available, Uldir in Normal and Heroic difficulties, World Bosses, PvP Season 1, Mythic Keystone Season 1, and Warfronts.
The Announcements for more info:
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22461362/the-gates-are-open-and-new-challenges-await
    World of Warcraft
    The Gates Are Open and New Challenges Await! - WoW
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22461364/warfronts-are-rolling-in-will-you-weather-the-storm
    World of Warcraft
    Warfronts Are Rolling In – Will You Weather the Storm? - WoW
This week's PvP Brawl: Warsong Scramble.
Check out the hotfixes for this week.: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21973195/hotfixes-september-7-2018
    World of Warcraft
    Hotfixes: September 7, 2018 - WoW
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:32 PM
Been raiding and doing the pvp stuff this week, but unfortunately I can't access the warfronts yet; that requires unlocking world quests and I'm lacking a certain faction rep from not having quested in Stormsong yet. So beware of the conditions!
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:33 PM
In other News, Bofur beat me to 120, hehe.

Starcraft 2:
IorethToday at 4:33 PM
Warfronts is fun. There are a mess of rare bosses and they have been dropping 350+ gear.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:34 PM
Hmhm, I'll need to wrap up Tiragarde and start Stormsong quickly. Though I think there's still a week left before horde claims Arathi.
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:34 PM
Patch 4.6.0 is out:  https://starcraft2.com/en-us/news/22467379
    StarCraft II
    Wage war across the galaxy with three unique and powerful races. StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment for the PC and Mac.

In other News, Bofur beat me to 120, hehe.
In WoW, that is..
Hmm, I guess if the text is red that means it wasn't sent.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:35 PM
In that case, I did too; had to rush to 120 at the start of the week to be able to raid :wink:
Hmm?
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:36 PM
That news about Bofur beating me to 120 was supposed to be while I was still under WoW news.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:36 PM
Ah.
Bit of a delay then.
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:36 PM
But it showed in red, and now it's posted under SC2.

Other other Gaming News, Wildstar and its creator Carbine studios are apparently going bye-bye.
I couldn't find anything official on the actual website, but enough gaming outlets are reporting it that I have no reason to doubt it.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:37 PM
I heard good thing about that game when it first came out, but never really looked at it.
*things
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:39 PM
I would've figured posting something on their own website or communication venues would been a first, or simoultaneous, step with telling it to some third party site, but whatever.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:39 PM

Oh, also for SC2: Chapter 2 of the war chest opened up this week, with a new chapter of the comic as well. The grind resumes!

Eonwe ValarToday at 4:39 PM
It did look interesting, but I barely have time for one MMO, and I'm glad I paid for a lifetime subscription on my second, hehe.
It = Wildstar
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Tolkien:
Any other gaming news before we move to Tolkien?
Now's the time to send me Tolkien topics as well.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:43 PM
Well, I've got a small Tolkien mention instead...
Pre-ordered the Fall of Gondolin this week, should arrive on October 18 :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:44 PM
Cool :}
With that, we'll officially transition to...
Tolkien:
Do we know if we're expecting anything much different from the Silmarillion version in that?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:47 PM
Well, the Unfinished Tales and Book of Lost Tales versions have various sections/versions of the story that are far more detailed than the Silmarillion version. I hope to see them represented.
UT gives a lot of details on Tuor's journey to Gondolin, including the 7 gates (or 3 or 4 of them, I think) while BoLT gives a lot of battle details, though outdated, with mechanical dragons and multitudes of balrogs.
Should be interesting to see them integrated somehow.
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:50 PM
Aye.
OK, everyone here, say Manwë.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:51 PM
Manwë.
IorethToday at 4:52 PM
Manwë
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:52 PM
OK, so let's try something a little different.
Three of us will be enough for that :}

Each of us will pick a character from Lord of the Rings, and describe that character until one of the others can guess who we're describing.
So don't pick details that'll make it blatantly obvious at the beginning :}
Let's do it this way,..
Give a detail, then count about 10-15 seconds before posting the next detail. If someone'se going to get it based on what we've got, that ought to be enough time.
We'll do one round, so that if it doesn't work out we won't have to struggle for too long :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:56 PM
hehe
LenweToday at 4:56 PM
(Manwe)
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:56 PM
Oh good, we have four now :}
OK, we'll go Eonwe, Ioreth, Lenwe, Pharazon.
Everyone ready?
IorethToday at 4:58 PM
yup
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:58 PM
Sure.
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:58 PM
OK,.. and got someone in mind. Here we go!

Hobbit
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:59 PM
Can we just.. guess randomly? :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 4:59 PM
Try to actually have a good person in mind :}
Hmm, you make a good point. Let's say 1 guess per clue.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:00 PM
So if you wanted to, you could guess one of the about 20 or so Hobbits based on that clue, and kudos if you get it right :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:00 PM
Pippin!
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:00 PM
Or you can wait for more clues to narrow it.
And no :}
Conspirator.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:01 PM
Fredegar Bolger.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:02 PM
Good guess, no :}
My next clue will probably make it too easy...
Eavesdropper.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:04 PM
The one who stopped clipping his shears too soon? :wink:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:04 PM
No questions, only answers :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:05 PM
Samwise Gamgee, then!
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:05 PM
Correct :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:05 PM
Though I'd like to give others a turn too, hmm...
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:05 PM
So that's the idea of the game. Ioreth, are you ready to give it a go?
LenweToday at 5:05 PM
As I'm rummaging through LotR trying to find a good one...

IorethToday at 5:06 PM
Mine will probably be easy, but I'm not doing one-word hints
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:07 PM
It doesn't have to be one word, just try to break it up so there's only one clue at a time.
This is someone we're trying new, so it won't be perfect on the first go :}
IorethToday at 5:07 PM
A city at war is no place to be if you are an adult, but if you are a pre-teen boy it can be caos, still, he prooved just how useful a child can be.
LenweToday at 5:08 PM
Pippin?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:08 PM
I'm thinking... Bergil.
IorethToday at 5:09 PM
aw, no fair!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:09 PM
Though I'm not sure how useful he was :wink:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:09 PM
I thought it was a good choice of clue and of a person :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:09 PM
Indeed!
IorethToday at 5:09 PM
Links in with Ioreth quite nicely - one of the few non-priciple characters I know
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:09 PM
Hmm, indeed!
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:10 PM
Aye, make people remember those "little guys" :}
IorethToday at 5:10 PM
even if they are not hobbits
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:10 PM
Indeed :}

Lenwë, are you ready?
LenweToday at 5:11 PM
Okay. An elf
Has not had dealings with the Dwarves since the dark days
A guard
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:13 PM
Haldir
LenweToday at 5:13 PM
:smiley: I need more cryptic clues
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:13 PM
:smile:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:13 PM
No, that second one was actually really good, hehe.
It got me trying to remember who'd I'd read saying that :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:14 PM
It did sound familiar!
Must be in the voice :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:14 PM
Those are the kinds of clues I think would make this a real fun game :}
Yours and Ioreth's :}
They don't all have to be like that, but throwing those in and making people dig in their minds for the character is great.
LenweToday at 5:16 PM
Cool :smiley:

Eonwe ValarToday at 5:16 PM
OK Phar, your turn :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:16 PM
Human.
My next clue might be useless, or it might quickstart the imagination...
but I aim to model my upcoming Kul Tiran in WoW after this character.
LenweToday at 5:18 PM
Aragorn?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:18 PM
No.
He has a last name :smiley:
His job is taking care of a Pony.
To be more precise, he owns a pony that has been in his family for generations.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:21 PM
The pony has been in his family for generations? That's a long-lived pony.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:21 PM
Quite :smiley:
IorethToday at 5:21 PM
aye
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:22 PM
Alright, let's make it easier.. he forgot a letter :smiley:
I see Lenwe typing :wink:
LenweToday at 5:24 PM
Ah, Butterbur :smiley: Though I just now realized the meaning of the pony clue :wink:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:24 PM
Correct!
IorethToday at 5:24 PM
that's right, I couldn't remember the name
LenweToday at 5:24 PM
I was thinking..."Nob? But what's his last name..."
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:25 PM
Yeah, the "take care of" was a bit off perhaps.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:25 PM
I'm going to have to look up about that pony now, hehehe.
Must've got it from an Elf!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:25 PM
It was a prancing one, Eonwe :wink:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:25 PM
Do'h fair enough :}
lol
I hope everyone had as much fun as I did :}
IorethToday at 5:26 PM
for some reason I thought it was a human
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:27 PM
Barliman was a human.
LenweToday at 5:27 PM
That was a really good clue
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:28 PM
Cryptic can be fun :smiley:

Eonwe ValarToday at 5:28 PM
OK ladies and gentlemen, with that we shall bring today's meeting to a close :}
Bangs gavel
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Aftermeeting:
If you enjoyed that game, maybe we can try it again next week if I'm able, or whoever's chairing can try it :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:29 PM
Sure, plenty of characters to go through :smiley:
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:30 PM
Don't forget about the GSMU mails going out soon.
Random question real quick:
We used to have a riddle game going on the Forum. Would any of you be interested in giving that a go again?
LenweToday at 5:31 PM
That would be great
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:32 PM
I can't guarantee I'll be very creative, but it does sound like fun!
Would be nice to get a bit of life back in the forum, too.
I remember the old riddle game :smiley:
LenweToday at 5:33 PM
Marigold and Erkenbrand used to give each other Tolkien-esque riddles all the time, I bet they'd come
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:33 PM
Aye, it  was fun :}
Sounds good then. I'll see if I can't get a thread going then. Rules are the thread goes until we reach an unsolvable riddle :}
I just need to figure out where our old riddle threads are...
I think we might've had a few too many games going at once at the time, we'll have to keep it narrowed and rotate so no one gets burned out.
Hmm, Phar, do you remember if we had a separate riddle thread or if we just ended up co-opting a trivia thread along the way? lol
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:39 PM
That is a good question. I'll help look.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:40 PM
I could've sworn it had its own thread, because I could've sworn we had a short set of rules for it to keep things simple.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:41 PM
Searching for "riddle" seems to put me in the silmarillion trivia thread.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:42 PM
Aye.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:43 PM
as well as the lotr thread
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:45 PM
I guess we coopted the Trivia thread then, heh.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:45 PM
http://valarguild.proboards.com/thread/826/tolkien-trivia-round-lotr-thread?page=7 seems to have the first of Ancalagon's riddles?
    Tolkien Trivia Round 2!! LotR Thread | Valar Guild
    OK Guys, here it is, Round 2 of Tolkien Trivia! This is going to be slightly different. Instead of a conglomeration of lore, we're going to divide the lore section into different threads. This one
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:45 PM
Could've sworn  we had a separate thread at some point.
Aye, Ancalagon was the guy who got us started on that road.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:46 PM
..I'm in awe of my own riddle from 11 years ago..
Can't imagine being that creative now.
Eonwe ValarToday at 5:47 PM
Hehehe
Oh well,  I'm just thinking some simple guidelines anyway, like "Make sure your riddle has an actual answer" and "use clues that actually point to your answer" ;}
I'll try to come up with something to get us started, so keep an eye on the Forum for the new Riddle Game thread.
(not this moment, of course, but keep an eye out for it :})
For now, I must be off for the evening. Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun :}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:51 PM
Namarie :smiley:

Personal gaming report!
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3 flashgames coming up:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:13 PM
http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/rookie_bowman is the first game! A platformer, though controls feel a bit slow. It starts with the hunt for a bow, and then gets worse, as you have to use the bow to make it out of the cave system :smiley:
    Rookie Bowman - OneMoreLevel.com
IorethToday at 6:14 PM
:frowning: it doesn't speak chrome...
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:15 PM
Oh? It works on firefox, anyway.... are you running flash and all that stuff?
IorethToday at 6:15 PM
It says: [code]The webpage at https://uploads.ungrounded.net/alternate/1250000/1250246_alternate_63999_r3.zip/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.[/code]
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:16 PM
Strange. It's working for me right now.
Nothing about a zip file.
REgardless, you might be able to find the game elsewhere.
IorethToday at 6:17 PM
I can try firefox
bah, then I get a https not secure error... sigh
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:21 PM
Oh well. Website for next 2 games should be more secure :smiley:
https://www.kongregate.com/games/JoyBits/doodle-god-blitz is the second game! Found it again after it came up for one of this week's kongregate badges of the day, turns out I'd not actually gotten it yet. So instead I got the whole thing unlocked over a few days :wink:
    Kongregate
    Doodle God Blitz
    The Power of Creation in Your HandsDoodle God is Back amp Better Than Ever!
    The original flash version of Doodle God was launched in 2010.
One in a series where you combine elements to discover new things, and combine those further until you have everything.
This one's even bigger than its predecessors, with 4 chapters, puzzles and quests, and a globe where a lot of the things you discover are represented.
This one also features paid elements, and hints you can spend real money on, but none of that is necessary.
And if you're stuck, there's always online walkthroughs to be found :wink:

https://www.kongregate.com/games/Geovizz/infinity-inc is the last one! Platformer: Find a clone gun, use clones of yourself to trigger traps, hold down doors and make your way through the factory and courtyard.
    Kongregate
    Infinity Inc
    Sci-fi puzzle-platformer game. Find a clone gun, create your own clones and overcome deathly traps by destroying them!
Die as much as you want, but it's not that difficult once you figure out how to use your clones :smiley:

IorethToday at 6:52 PM
Yup, they worked
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:52 PM
great :smiley:
Pallando-ValarToday at 7:10 PM
Hiiiiiiii
Sorry, was out doing errands today myself
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:11 PM
Aiya!
Pallando-ValarToday at 7:11 PM
#ripeve, otherwise nothing to report
Excited for frozen synapse 2 to hit
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:13 PM
looks back through news what did I miss about eve?
Pallando-ValarToday at 7:14 PM
Ccp was bout by pearl abyss, the company behind black desert online
Imo, that means one way or another eve will be dead in 1-3 years, either through neglect or PA pushing mtx/p2w
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:15 PM
Ah.
Right, I knew it sounded familiar. It was mentioned in the harbor channel.
Pallando-ValarToday at 7:16 PM
(BDO is notoriously p2w, and PA has promised to not add a specific mtx and then added it 2 months later anyways)
Yeah
Obviously this means it's time for me to form my own studio to make definitely - not - eve2
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:27 PM
heh
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Blizzard gaming:
Starcraft II:
Working on the next part of the war chest, already got the first tier of 5 unlocked. Going pretty well!
Hearthstone:
Still pushing xp. Brawl this week, Too Many Portals: Pick a class, get a few spells and a ton of portals to summon random minions :smiley: Randomness is always nice... if you manage to win anyway.
Got a new legendary from a classic pack, Tinkmaster Overspark. The collection grows!
Heroes of the Storm:
Level 299 now, so 2 levels gained. Next level will be an epic loot chest, and probably a new portrait frame color :smiley:
Had my first practice with Ragnaros hero in the brawl, which was about controlling temples to shoot down the enemy core.
I think at least one of the levels came from Dehaka, not sure about the other...
shaping up to be a fun hero though
WoW:
Level 120 now! And a lot of ilevel upgrades along the way, putting me at 334 now, definitely good enough for normal raiding. Started raiding on thursday as dps at only 318, but tanked quite well tonight at that 334. Still feels a bit squishy, but at only 21 ilevels below the standard raid reward level, there isn't that much room to overgear myself.
Among the upgrades were two Darkmoon decks I plucked from the AH, one of which was actually giving me trouble during the old raids we did later on, killing amalgamations in the Spine of Deathwing fight simply from proccing from a taunt... will need to unequip it next week.
Have been questing in Tiragarde a bit more, but after reaching 120 that kinda got pushed aside, which is why I've not yet started Stormsong, and as a result do not have the reputation required to unlock world quests, or the warfront. Hoping to correct that this week.
When I did reach 120, I pushed hard into getting ilevel upgrades from a lot of sources... besides those darkmoon decks, I also maxed out my skinning ranks and upgraded my leatherworking from 1 to 115, including all the 3-star rank recipes for marks of honor (luckily I'd saved up over 500 of em in Legion), and then put some serious time into battlegrounds, the weekly battleground brawl, and even some rated battleground groups which didn't have a rating minimum.
As a result, I've completed the conquest cap for this reset, which is something I intend to repeat every week a new appearance is up for reward.
And gotten a whole bunch of other pvp gear along the way as well.
Combined with a few pieces from the Uldir raid, where we have now killed 6 out of 8 bosses on normal difficulty, got me to that 334.
And finally, did some expeditions as well! I'm on schedule for completing the 40000 azerite for this week for the 2500 ap reward, which is also something I intend to repeat every week. Got enough different islands done to unlock the next war effort advancement perk as well. No unique pets or mounts or anything like that yet, though, for expedition rewards. Just ap and dubloons.
Oh, and for gearing up I also poked a bunch of 5-man instances for the first time, on heroic difficulty. Seeing the Zandalar dungeons was quite interesting, though I'm not sure how they fit into the story as I'm only playing alliance story right now.
And that's my report for this week!

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 8:34 PM
namarie!

VardaToday at 8:48 PM
Hello. Finally made it home. Bit late. cough
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