Meeting Minutes 10-26-2025

Sunday, October 26, 2025

5:00pm Eastern Time

Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place

Before-Meeting

[2:15 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:15 AMEönwë Valar: Got a new contender for Odyn: God-King Murky. No way he doesn't deserve props for taking on elite Naga 3-5 times his size and hundreds of times his magical prowess.

[2:21 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:21 AMEönwë Valar: Kinda concerned about soloing potential because we've got 2 more phases/raids, gear apparently caps out at 740, and they're scaling bosses to be tougher in higher raids, meaning our only form of damage progression will be 1 point at a time hoping it'll be gained fast enough to keep up with bosses.

[3:17 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:17 AMEönwë Valar: At 739ilvl and 109 points in the final trait, I think I might just be able to say I have Xavius in Normal diff on farm.

[3:18 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:18 AMEönwë Valar: Might be about time to try Heroic diff.

[4:37 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 4:37 AMEönwë Valar: Ugh, always something. Get in a Heroic Nighthold group to try and get Eye of Guldan for Balance of Power. Does it drop? Of course not.

[5:15 AM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 5:15 AMEönwë Valar: Ugh, there's some achievements in Legion Remix for cosmetic items by armor type?

[2:19 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:19 PMSandalf13: Aiya All! Sorry I am late...HAD to finish cleaning up the front yard. Might see some snow tomorrow. Best to be as ready as possible before the event.

[2:21 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:21 PMVarda: I was about to re-check the time zone, a bit confused.

[2:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:22 PMVarda: Saw no one else and in a different state.

Meeting Begins

Membership

[2:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:22 PMSandalf13: I am too....but I am catching up. I was in DALLAS for a business confab on Friday, one day only. Left Thornton at 0400 to catch a 0630 flight...good meeting, and enjoyed some good Texas food Friday evening. Returned home yesterday at a much more reasonable time.

[2:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:22 PMSandalf13: I will shift to the private conversation page....

[2:24 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:24 PMVarda: Anyway, hello to Faramir, Eowyn, and Fangorn who are in the room with me, some even in LotRO. : )

[2:25 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:25 PMVarda: Eonwe said he might not be able to come today.

Web

[2:27 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:27 PMVarda: Nothing new for the Tolkien Site this past week, partly because I've been traveling.

Gaming

[2:27 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:27 PMVarda: Thank you to Eonwe for putting this news up for us:

World of Warcraft:

[2:28 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:28 PMVarda: This week's bonus event: Battlegrounds.

[2:28 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:28 PMVarda: This week's PvP Brawl: Deepwind Dunk.

[2:28 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:28 PMVarda: The final touches for Turboboost are also accessible on the regular servers.

[2:29 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:29 PMVarda: Now live: the next part of Legion Remix: Rise of the Nightfallen.

[2:30 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:30 PMVarda: Blizzard's making changes to how Combat Addons will be able to function. Check out what they're doing.

[2:30 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:30 PMVarda: Check out WoW Weekly for anything not mentioned above.

Diablo IV:

[2:32 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:32 PMVarda: Check out this week's patch notes.

Overwatch 2:

StarCraft 2:

[2:33 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:33 PMVarda: Eowyn, Floppa, Fangorn, Varda. Faramir gamed this past week.

Lord of the Rings Online:

[2:34 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:34 PMVarda: Lord of the Rings Online gamers in kin this past week:

[2:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:35 PMVarda: LotRO code: 5 univ morale pots Code: BACKUPPOTION Thru Oct 30

Elder Scrolls:

[2:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:35 PMVarda: Falco is considering playing Elder Scrolls. Anyone else into that?

[2:36 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:36 PMVarda: He has been very active in LotRO.

[2:36 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:36 PMVarda: Any other gaming, membership, suggestions?

Tolkien

[2:38 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:38 PMVarda: Could we consider Traveling to be a theme in Lord of the Rings? Could this be combined not just with the physical activity for goals, but also something that aided mental travel/growth?

[2:44 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:44 PMSandalf13: What a fascinating topic! And yes: I certainly believe that the traveling undertaken by the Fellowship (and others) was fully intended to be an exercise in mental and emotional growth and development. OVer and over again Tolkien talks about the increasing wisdom of the Hobbits (in particular), and since they are supposed to be the protagonists for us in the LoTR, I cannot believe that Tolkien meant anything other than the journey being a study (for us) in how we can grow mentally through adversity.

[2:46 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:46 PMVarda: Gandalf and the other Istari intended this battle to strengthen the Free Peoples as well as fight Sauron. By the end of the journey, hobbits could take on and defeat the occupation of the Shire.

[2:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:47 PMSandalf13: Exactly what I was thinking when I thought of the Hobbits. Even Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas grew emotionally during their journeys, as did Boromir, who at the end "grew" to the level of understanding his failures and eventual success and accomplishments.

[2:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:48 PMVarda: Aragorn had to complete the intended journey to become high king and marry his elf princess, forge alliances, gain an excellent steward, and repair his kingdom after the war.

[2:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:48 PMSandalf13: Gandalf too, grew emotionally, largely through his fight with the Balrog, and his subsequent "resurrection," or revivification.

[2:49 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:49 PMSandalf13: Elrond didn't travel too much, just at the end.

[2:50 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:50 PMSandalf13: I think that Galadriel grew emotionally tremendously through the tale, even though she too did not travel too much. There it was: The One Ring being FREELY offered to her...her dream of a lifetime...and she grew enough to reject it at the end.

[2:50 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:50 PMVarda: That test gave her the chance to return to Valinor. Major for her and all the others.

[2:51 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:51 PMSandalf13: Yup. I still remember the 18 year old me reading the LoTR for the first time, and underlining every line in that entire section in Galadriel's garden. Even before I fully grew to understand the depth and immensity of Tolkien's work, I knew that that writing was about as good as one could get...ever.

[2:52 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:52 PMVarda: Now I want to open the book to it. : )

[2:52 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:52 PMVarda: And there's another character whose journey gave great growth: Eowyn. : )

[2:53 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:53 PMSandalf13: I also remember how broken up I was when I read about how Frodo found Aragorn upon the hill in Cerin Amroth, and he looked more to Frodo like an Elf than a Man, and how when they walked away, Tolkien wrote that Aragorn never saw that hill agaib. I thought for sure that meant that Aragorn would die somewhere/somehow along the journey. I was upset, to say the least.

[2:53 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:53 PMVarda: Fangorn, ancient as he was, also grew, thanks to hobbits sort of waking him

[2:54 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:54 PMSandalf13: Fortunately for all of us, it didn't happen...still sad, though, that Aragorn never had the time to return to Lorien. He was too busy being a good King, I suspect.

[2:55 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:55 PMVarda: I wonder... Arwen might have wanted to make the trip at some time and he might have gone with her.

[2:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:57 PMSandalf13: Perhaps. I just had a new thought: The Fourth Age was the age of Men, and the Elves more-or-less left Middle-earth completely. Remember how in the beginning of the book, long before any of the history of Elves and Men was presented, Sam sadly commented that he thought he once saw Elves heading west, leaving us, it seemed to him, forever.

[2:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:57 PMVarda: It was near Rohan, and Eomer often rode to war alongside Aragorn, with their respective armies.

[2:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:57 PMTreebeard: Fangorn didn't have a classification for "Hobbit" in his memory at first sight of Merry and Pippin.

[2:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:57 PMTreebeard: Hobbits didn't seem to get around much.

[2:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:57 PMVarda: True! They had to suggest an insert into the poem.

[2:58 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:58 PMVarda: Not noticed! They sent hobbit archers to the King's war in the north, but were not in the tales.

[2:58 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:58 PMVarda: And aye, homebodies after they found their homes in the west.

[2:58 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:58 PMSandalf13: And none of them ever returned...no, they never returned, and their tale is still untold...just like old Charlie on the MTA (Kingston Brothers).

[2:59 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:59 PMVarda: The exception that proves the rule?

[2:59 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:59 PMSandalf13: I am referring to the Hobbits....yes, Glorfindel certainly did return, but like you said, he was an exception....and a good one, too.

[2:59 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:59 PMTreebeard: The Tooks had family tales of those times.

[3:00 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:00 PMVarda: A good reason to check the histories and tales of all the inhabitants before writing a history!

[3:00 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:00 PMVarda: A hobbit export: golf : ) No credit!

[3:01 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:01 PMSandalf13: And pipeweed? No one else seemed to know about it!

[3:01 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:01 PMTreebeard: Yep, I understand. They probably had a more reasonable name for the game.

[3:01 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:01 PMVarda: The rangers and a wizard or two picked it up. I wonder if Saruman was selling it?

[3:02 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:02 PMVarda: Golfimbul was the name of the goblin. His name was shortened.

[3:03 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:03 PMVarda: Aye, he did have pipeweed stamped with the names from the Shire even

[3:03 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:03 PMSandalf13: I think Saruman just wanted to know what was so special about it.

[3:04 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:04 PMVarda: Saruman might have been creating a shortage to give himself money/power in the hobbit lands for later. He may have been trying to addict more humans to it.

[3:04 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:04 PMSandalf13: Most fanfiction suggests that the Dunedain of the North, like Aragorn, developed a liking for pipeweed...not surprising.

[3:04 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:04 PMVarda: Saruman was in progress to take over the Shire.

[3:05 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:05 PMVarda: The Rangers did indeed smoke pipeweed in the books, not just fan fic

[3:05 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:05 PMVarda: The hobbits affected them, too long a time together.

[3:06 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:06 PMVarda: The movies, TV, fan fic does mix into our memories, aye. : )

[3:06 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:06 PMVarda: The Rangers had only one civilization area to take care of after their war. Mainly hobbits, Bree somewhat

[3:06 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:06 PMTreebeard: Bilbo and Gandalf blew smoke rings while lounging on the porch.

After-Meeting

[3:07 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:07 PMVarda: Free chat or grab your meals ahead of the hobbits.

[3:08 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:08 PMTreebeard: There goes the last of the musing for smoke and pipe tales...

[3:08 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:08 PMVarda: Ahh - we had an hour of chat before during After-meeting, on a Tolkien topic following the Ring.

[3:09 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:09 PMSandalf13: The Rangers naturally guarded their own, "hidden" towns, and no doubt worked with Elladan and Elrohir, along with other Elvers, I suspect, to help keep the mountain pass above Imladris open.

[3:10 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:10 PMTreebeard: I am headed back to StarCraft two games with Cenedra after the break. Namarie!

[3:10 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:10 PMVarda: The twins did ride a lot with the Rangers, due to their hatred of orcs after their mother was attacked.

[3:14 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:14 PMArien Valar: ooops you are hanging behind over there

[3:14 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:14 PMArien Valar: sorry didn t think of that

[3:17 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:17 PMSandalf13: Aiya Arien! We were just talking about you, sort of, in a general way....a very good way, too!

[3:18 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:18 PMVarda: The Arien gavel is always welcome. : )

[3:19 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:19 PMArien Valar: ah hehe i wrote a story a few years ago underlining the guardianship of the rangers to keep the mountains saife

[3:19 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:19 PMArien Valar: https://valarguild.org/tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/Arien/stories/Shadowsearch.htm Shadow Search Pre-LotR fan fiction. Gimli, Halbarad. Fifteen years before the Council of Elrond, a company of ten dwarves search for two missing dwarves.

[3:19 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:19 PMSandalf13: I will read this over dinner this evening.

[3:20 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:20 PMSandalf13: In the meantime, I really need to run, literally. I will return later after a short run and a chicken from Costco. Namarie for now~!

[3:24 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:24 PMVarda: Sounds like LotRO, where we have chicken runs, as a chicken trying to reach a goal. : )

[3:24 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:24 PMVarda: It's quite the fighting piece, with our old friend Frali from the forum story in there!

[3:46 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:46 PMArien Valar: i tried to mix action and humour and some foreshadowing of things to come

[3:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:47 PMArien Valar: right then .. l shall retire as well i think .. long day and early start

[3:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:47 PMArien Valar: Namarie for now ! [3:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:48 PMCenedra: Namarie!

[3:49 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:49 PMEönwë Valar: Heya all. Sorry I missed the meeting. Just popping in to say Heya as I'm about to be off as well.

[3:51 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:51 PMEönwë Valar: Hope everyone has a good night.

[6:01 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:01 PMVarda: Happy reading and commenting : )

[6:03 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:03 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Well, let's start by saying we're back in normal time here in Europe. I'm still way too late by that standard, but it explains why Arien was late, at least

[6:04 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:04 PMAr-Pharazon-V: As for Elder Scrolls, I've played Morrowind and a bit of Oblivion. Getting more into the series as a whole is on my way way future wishlist, but the MMO is probably not feasible

[6:06 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:06 PMAr-Pharazon-V: If I'm interested in the story, however, I'm sure there's some playlists up on youtube with hundreds of videos

[6:19 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:19 PMAr-Pharazon-V: I don't know if I have much more to say about the traveling, but looking at the pipeweed tangent does have me thinking.

[6:20 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:20 PMAr-Pharazon-V: It is both displayed as a good thing, between Gandalf and Bilbo, as a form of relaxation, and a sign of home, both at Isengard and in Minas Tirith...

[6:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:22 PMAr-Pharazon-V: but the way Saruman handles it, as a link to the Shire and his take-over, perhaps monopolizing and making people addicted as Varda said, definitely has bad connotations.

[6:23 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:23 PMAr-Pharazon-V: It's tied into the whole industrialization business, which is kinda funny in itself, since the way tobacco is distributed, at least in our world, definitely ties into the pollution from industry, ash, tar, smoke, etc, even if it wasn't as unhealthy in the Shire.

[6:23 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:23 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Something to ponder on in a future meeting, perhaps

[6:25 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:25 PMAr-Pharazon-V: It's fun to imagine a Ranger hiding in the woods, keeping an eye out, only to give himself away from all the coughing because of the pipe-weed smoking he's been doing.

[6:31 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:31 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Gut? Nothing much going on over here.

[6:32 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:32 PMSandalf13: So. I guess am glad to hear that.

[6:32 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:32 PMSandalf13: Snuggling in tonight...might have some snow here tomorrow. We shall see.

[6:32 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:32 PMAr-Pharazon-V: We had a bit of storm here in the last few days.

[6:32 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:32 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Nah, way too early for snow here.

[6:33 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:33 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Just rain and wind. Mucho wind.

[6:34 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:34 PMSandalf13: Ah, Thinking about your comment above, Tolkien was very sensitive to industrialization, and the negative effects that it had on the natural environment that he so loved. I recall reading in one of his biographies how he loved living in Sarehole, outside of Birmingham, I believe, before it underwent 20th Century industrialization. He lamented the loss of so much beauty.

[6:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:35 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Indeed, that is a big factor in the Scouring.

[6:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:35 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And also in Saruman's cutting of Fangorn to fuel his army.

[6:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:35 PMSandalf13: Then there is the famous story of the tree that he loved, that was chopped down for no good reason, except the construction of a road near his home in Oxford.

[6:36 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:36 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Certainly an inspiration for the Ents.

[6:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:47 PMAr-Pharazon-V: So did you catch the chicken?

[6:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:47 PMSandalf13: Yes I did, and it was a very tasty chicken, I might add.

[6:47 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:47 PMSandalf13: Also had some curry soup for dinner...from Costco...very good.

[6:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:48 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Curry soup sounds like an interesting combination.

[6:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:48 PMSandalf13: Well...one does find a lot of chicken in Indian cooking, yes?

[6:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:48 PMSandalf13: Maybe not such an odd combination after all!

[6:49 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:49 PMAr-Pharazon-V: No, I mean more the combination of the curry as a soup.

[6:49 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:49 PMSandalf13: Ah. Now I see, said the blind man.

[6:50 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:50 PMSandalf13: The soup has lots of garbanzo beans in it (also known as chickpeas) so it has a lot of good protein. The beans are in a tasty lentil soup base flavored with curry seasonings. It comes in a pouch that is microwavable, so it is perfect for someone like me.

[6:51 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 6:51 PMSandalf13: I have only seen this at Costco, so I bought a few boxes after I tasted the first pouch. I hope they continue to carry it.

[7:15 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 7:15 PMSandalf13: So, Namarie! I hope have a wondeful week ahead, full of good things and purpose. Take care, and see you soon !?!

[7:16 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 7:16 PMSandalf13: Don't stay up TOO late, ya' hear?

[7:16 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 7:16 PMSandalf13: My fingers got away from me at first...he he

[10:00 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:00 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report:

[10:06 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:06 PMAr-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, several of my favorite puzzle games were badges this week. The one I can never resist playing (or linking) though is Kongregate - Unpuzzle

[10:07 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:07 PMAr-Pharazon-V: A relaxed puzzle game, the first of 4 in a series, where you have to dismantle a jigsaw by removing a piece at a time in a cardinal direction. Many mechanics join the fun as we go along like arrows, locked tiles, rotationals, and others.

[10:09 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:09 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Slightly marred by the fact that there is a new layout on the website which has apparently caused the ad at the bottom to partially obscure the lowest row of pieces, but I've not seen any level where you can't work around it.

[10:15 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:15 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 148 on the reward track now. More gold! Almost enough for another skin.

[10:17 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:17 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Second week of the quest event for the expansion, with the main weekly quest being to summon minions. There are a few conditions that make a minion count for multiple, but I didn't need that as I got to the endgoal just by doing my other quests. It seems the daily quests are now not so much daily as a new one gets added the moment you finish one, but for all I know that could just be once a day.

[10:18 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:18 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Regardless, we're well on track to finish the event in week 3 with the third weekly quest, to play cards.

[10:18 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:18 PMAr-Pharazon-V: A condition on that one appears to be an extra point for cards played in the pre-release tavern brawl, so I'm assuming that one's next

[10:20 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:20 PMAr-Pharazon-V: The current brawl, however, is another classic: the Haunted Carousel. There are 4 haunted dreadsteeds (little horses that resummon themselves on death), 2 on each board, and between those and the minions the players place, the whole board slightly rotates, switching one minion on each side.

[10:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:22 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Something I realized early on is that it's more important to have quantity than quality in minions, as having more minions on your side works in your favor in the rotation. In fact, if the opponent has few but strong minions, they'll just rotate to your side all the faster

[10:22 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:22 PMAr-Pharazon-V: With that, I've been playing the Death Knight class, which focuses on flooding the board with minions, and made sure to keep as few minions on the other side alive as possible.

[10:23 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:23 PMAr-Pharazon-V: In fact, while the rotation direction changes per game, in games where it goes counterclockwise, you can summon your class ability ghoul, which starts on the right side of the board and dies at the end of your turn - just as it rotates to your enemy, depriving them of a minion. It's almost mean

[10:24 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:24 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Let's just say I won the majority of my battles.

[10:26 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:26 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: No new collection level, but over halfway to the next one, thanks to a lot of minis leveling by experience. It seems I wasn't kidding about the incoming flood with almost all of my minis within a breath of the 90k needed for this level, as said flood is now in full force and will probably last for a week or two more.

[10:29 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:29 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Hallow's End is still going, with slightly less than a week to go I think, and a bunch of the bugged challenges were either fixed or compensated for: The horseman acquisition challenges were fixed to retroactively count the stars you've already gotten before the event, and the daily login was shortened to 7 days with greatly increased rewards so that it was still possible to complete. They even gave 20 thousand tickets for free!

[10:31 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:31 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Because of this, I've almost fully completed the reward track, with just the final horseman star and final legendary core reward to go, and the last few daily logins will get me the rest of the way. It also helped that I completed all the pvp battles, dungeon battles, and Darkshire missions that I needed, as well as total use of some of the Darkshire mechanics.

[10:31 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:31 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And another login reward track is set to start when this event ends, so yay

[10:33 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:33 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Been getting some more valor points as well from the Molten Core raid, and decided to valor up Tirion's entire army one slot at a time rather than distribute them evenly across all armies, and intend to do the same for a more generalized leader for each of the other families as well. Since slots are tied to the leader and not the minion you place in it, that should make it easier to continue the heroic sigil campaign.

[10:34 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:34 PMAr-Pharazon-V: For quality upgrades, there were many!

[10:34 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:34 PMAr-Pharazon-V: I got enough stars to level the leaders Jaina and Maiev to epic, as well as the Harvest Golem mini, and got the third talents for Jaina and the Golem. Maiev's should pop up tomorrow.

[10:35 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:35 PMAr-Pharazon-V: As for the minis that leveled up from the 90k experience track to the final 200k track:

[10:36 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:36 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Dire Batlings, Witch Doctor, the leader Cairne Bloodhoof, Skeletons, Murloc Tidehunters, Faerie Dragon, Ancient of War, the leaders Thaurissan, Sneed and Ysera; the Bat Rider, the Gargoyle, the leaders Arthas, Jaina (yes, she got 3 levels this week) and Tirion; and the worgen.

[10:37 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:37 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And a bunch more minis moved closer to that edge as well.

[10:38 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:38 PMAr-Pharazon-V: All this should make dungeons even easier, and help with the sigil campaign as well

[10:40 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:40 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Some might call me crazy for leveling them all equally, focusing on the lowest mini whenever possible, rather than focusing up a few, but the payout of seeing them all go up at once is so satisfying

[10:42 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:42 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Bit more raiding, bit more upgrades. The lifted crest cap helps. I also finally got the cosmetic cloak from one of the bosses, as one of the last few people in our group.

[10:43 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:43 PMAr-Pharazon-V: We haven't brought down the last 2 bosses on heroic yet, but will soon be focusing on them through shortcuts, since we've already got a lot of the reputation buffs.

[10:45 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:45 PMAr-Pharazon-V: One of the quests we got through reputation was one to kill a specific boss which counted retroactively, rewarding slivers and making the boss able to drop more, which can be used to buy quite the arsenal of cosmetic weapons. Which I started doing, and will continue to do each time I get one from the kill! I'm sure this will provide a reason for me to kill him weekly in future expansions just to get all the cosmetic weapons

[10:46 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:46 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Weekly is battlegrounds, which goes pretty well. Sometimes need a few attempts, but they're pretty fast, and less frustrating than the arena.

[10:46 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:46 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Hallow's End event still going. Have not yet gotten key or mount, but I did finish the transmog set for the Horseman's outfit, getting the boots as last piece tonight.

[10:48 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:48 PMAr-Pharazon-V: For delves, I've completed this season's Delver's Journey, unlocking a toy to transmorph you into Brann himself, complete with voice lines that activate during combat, as wel as a decal for an older delver's mount.

[10:49 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:49 PMAr-Pharazon-V: I also thought I'd gotten all the undercoins I needed, getting all the new customizations for said delver's mount, a visor appearance, and 4 transmog ensembles. Came up a bit short for the weapon arsenal though, so I guess I miscalculated. But as long as I continue to do 3 tier 11 delves a week, which I probably need for the gilded crests anyway, I'll get there soon enough. 2 or 3 weeks I'm guessing.

[10:50 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:50 PMAr-Pharazon-V: For the flickergate achievement, the other days of the week I'm doing a tier 1 delve now, as they are guaranteed to appear in any bountiful delve, even at the lowest tier. That takes me about 5 minutes per delve, and that would be even less if I didn't insist on completing the delve after getting the gate

[10:51 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:51 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Theoretically I might even be able to do the same delve over and over again if I just left and reset it every time I got the gate, but where's the fun in that?

[10:54 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:54 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And finally, the Legion Remix! Calyaxa's now gone from 50 to the last level of 80, and gotten several hundred ilevels, all the way up to the baseline of 584, and slowly upgrading her pieces after that even more. She's a bit behind on infinite knowledge still, having been focusing on researches rather than story questing, but has now gotten the first Pillar of Creation, the Tidestone, is almost done with the main quests in Azsuna, and has also gotten the reward pet for that zone, the Fledgling Warden's Companion.

[10:54 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:54 PMAr-Pharazon-V: She's also gotten a new mount for reaching 80, the Felscorned War Wyrm, the reward mount for the warrior class.

[10:55 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:55 PMAr-Pharazon-V: I also finally noticed the Flight Master's Whistle in her backpack to use and unlock a way to get to waypoints instantly on a cooldown, but frankly, flying mounts work well enough.

[10:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:57 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And reaching 80 also got me the Double Agent achievement for maxing out a character in each faction! Apparently none of my other horde characters had reached that milestone yet, as my previous horde timerunner had only reached 70 after the new expansion had already come out.

[10:57 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 10:57 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Or well, I think it was during pre-patch. In any case, 70 no longer counted at that time.

[11:00 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 11:00 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Calyaxa's now almost done with this section of the class campaign as well, having done the world quests and gotten the demonic runes acquired, and just needs a specific dungeon and a scenario or two to finish up to the next update.

[11:02 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 11:02 PMAr-Pharazon-V: On her artifact, as I said, she's a bit short on knowledge, so doesn't get the power that quickly yet, but she has now finished the first major ability tree, and ready to start on the next. While not using the major abilities from the rest, at least the passive stat bonuses should help nicely.

[11:02 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 11:02 PMAr-Pharazon-V: Next week, hopefully finishing up Azsuna and starting to blaze through the rest of the zones

[11:02 PM]Sunday, October 26, 2025 11:02 PMAr-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!

[12:59 AM]Monday, October 27, 2025 12:59 AMEönwë Valar: In the saga of the Green Flame Ashbringer: I've completed Balance of Power. I've completed the Mythic +15 timeworn dungeon. I don't have any of the associated artifact tints, despite some people saying they have them and others saying they don't.

[3:50 AM]Monday, October 27, 2025 3:50 AMEönwë Valar: Wow, the Wondrous Wisdomball is just like modern AI.

[7:39 AM]Monday, October 27, 2025 7:39 AMAr-Pharazon-V: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they will say both yes and no.

[7:39 AM]Monday, October 27, 2025 7:39 AMAr-Pharazon-V: They're also never late.

Valar Guild Meeting Minutes