Into the Emerald Dream

EDIT: Sorry guys, until I reactivate the blog, comments are locked. This will keep me from having to police the comments for spam until then. If you need to contact me, please use 4haelz AT gmail DOT com. ♥

If you notice the blog template has changed, that is not a sign that 4Haelz is coming back, but rather that the other template was broken and I still have some pride with what I leave behind.

I know I have said for a while that once things slowed down, I would start reporting on the beta and testing things.

Unfortunately, it won't happen.

4 Haelz is closing. My time with WoW is over. Maybe temporarily, most likely permanently.

If it was just boredom with the current game, that could easily be overcome through my access to the beta. But I haven't logged into Cataclysm except twice since I got it. It holds no appeal.

I just recently got a job as a TSS (Therapeutic Staff Support), working with kids who have behavior and/or mental problems. Besides this, there are many different aspects of life I want to explore, including improving my art (two of the pieces in my gallery have Mature Content filters on them; i.e. NSFW) so I can perhaps take on more commissions such as what I do for BRK, actually sit down to write the book ideas I've had forever, whether or not they go anywhere publicly, and volunteer more at the animal shelter until (and probably after) I can afford to have my own dog. I also need to find another job, as my TSS position is only part time. I just recently purchased car insurance on my own policy for the first time, and paid to have the title of my car (that I am terrified will now break down spontaneously) into my own name.

I'm becoming an adult (or something similar), and frankly it is as terrifying as it is exciting. I just don't have the time, or inclination, to play WoW, and stringing you guys along saying how I'll get to it just isn't fair to either of us. Not fair to you because you wait for it, and not fair to me because then I'm forcing myself to play a game due to expectations I created.

My account has actually been canceled for nearly a month and a half, and I haven't been playing for longer. I wrestled with closing the blog, because I have possibly enjoyed writing in here as much as I had playing the game. When I received the beta, I had hoped it would rekindle things so I wouldn't have to close it. Then my guild collapsed, my friends transferred, and my boyfriend quit WoW immediately after I did. I felt the pull less and less.

It is sad for me, really. I played this game for nearly three and a half years without any account cancellations or real breaks. In that time I made a lot of friends, a few enemies, a couple creepy stalkers, and managed to become a trusted source of information and advice (who occasionally screwed up). I will really miss it.

I'll still be around on Twitter as @Bellbell, I'll still have my 4haelz AT gmail DOT com e-mail. You ever feel like chatting, hit me up. I've said before; I'm pretty friendly, and at the moment I just moved to the middle of the woods. I'm gonna attempt to be regular again about updating my RL blog, but that sounds super boring to you guys, I'm sure. My home life is unfortunately not a high flying adventure, QQ.

Who knows, maybe this isn't forever. Maybe I'll get the itch again and I'll have the time to scratch it, and Bellwether will romp through the plains of Azeroth. But, until that day, I will hibernate in the Emerald Dream, as all Druids eventually do.

Love you guys.

Beta: Sorry About the Teasing

In all honesty, I have not had any time to play the Beta. I've got some screenshots to share with you, and I'll hopefully be able to log in soon and get some real testing of the new tree done for you (and some frustrated grumblings as I try to walk in it, as well). I can't promise it will be soon, as I have a lot of real life, important, sometime urgent, things to sort out (a temporary move, apartment hunting, getting my first real, career-oriented job, purchasing car insurance for the first time on my own policy...), I will do my best. I'm as curious as you guys, so if there's anything specific you want me to look at, let me know.

So, in the meantime, here are your screenshots!











And hey, if you like Spirit Beasts and/or Hunters, check out the shirts BRK is selling (again, my design).

Beta: First Impressions

While I haven't had too much time to play the beta due to the arrival of my step siblings from Ireland and general scrambling for employment, I do have some good news. Though my computer cannot handle running video at the same time as beta, I do have a Resto Druid friend who will be recording various things for me to post on the blog.

As well, BRK and a few of his friends, including me, will be heading into five mans as soon as our schedules align, and I'll be able to give a little bit of a better idea on how healing feels under pressure.

Everything is a little different in WoW now, even things on the scale of Stormwind Bank (which is really pretty but a little glitchy inside). The new water graphics look good, but also kind of inconsistent with the rest of the graphics. It may just take some getting used to.


I've done a little questing as a Resto Druid, and it isn't any easier or any more difficult than it has been before, except for the introduction of Insect Swarm to all builds. Yes, I have leveled as Resto since level 60 and I'm not changing for this expansion.

I also ran around and did a few levels of Worgen and Goblin. This has to be my favorite point of incompleteness so far:


If the stars align soon and we're able to go five man running on a relatively stable server, I'll have more information for you. Until then!

Guess What?

Druid Goodies

I know this blog has been really sparse lately, but I have been super busy. Fear not, however, as I have not completely neglected you all, and soon I may have a super surprise for you. But right now I have a different surprise, no less super!

I've mentioned before that I'm BRK's Executive Assistant. And as part of my job, I created this cute design:



Which BRK then put on a shirt, added a tagline, and threw up for sale. I'm super excited about it, and you should be, too!

If interested, head to BRK's website and check them out. He'll ship them anywhere in the world you can get mail, so don't think it's limited to just US kids. But, remember, these shirts are only available until July 19th, one week from today, so don't think about it too long!

Contest Winner and Technical Problems

I'm so sorry this announcement came late. I have an excuse, but first: The winner!

This took forever. You guys had such amazing suggestions and it took me quite a while to sort through. But, in the end, the winner was Bittersweet, suggested by commenter Grizadams.

So, Grizadams, if you wish to collect your prize, send me an e-mail at 4haelz AT gmail DOT com (remember to spell it h-a-e-l-z) and specify whether you want me to mail you the card (with a stamp and everything) or you want me to just scratch it off and type the code out for you!

Now, for the reason this is so late:

A week ago, in the middle of a raid, my WoW randomly dropped from ~20 fps to 4 fps, and never got higher than 12 fps again. After checking my firewalls, shutting down all auxiliary programs, running virus scans, finding out my WoW repair wouldn't even connect to the server, shutting off addons...well, nothing worked. I finally had to uninstall and reinstall WoW, and delete all my addons. I'm in the process of redoing my Healbot bindings through muscle memory, and it's just...such a pain.

So, yeah, that was what I was doing this weekend.

Congratulations to Grizadams! And thank you to everyone who participated.

Omigosh Contest Time!

Some of you may have not read/were too excited about his return to bother with such trivial details/etc., but I am BRK's personal assistant. What does this mean? Well, besides jokes about having finally tamed a druid, it means I do his grunt work.

At the moment there isn't much grunt work so I do as much as my salary; that is to say, nothing.

However, I'm needing some help on something of my own, and I have something to give you for it!

You see, not long before BRK told me in secret to start spreading rumors about his return, I was ordered to get on my hunter and fly out to Storm Peaks by the awesome Druid Sonicoom. Apparently, there was a Skoll! And I tamed him and I was so pleased (he will tell you that I was so over-excited I forgot to put down a Freezing Trap and that I nearly died and we had to play an aggro game but anyway).

Now, the problem is...what do I name it? And I had a thought...

I'll ask you guys. 'Cause you're super awesome and I have never done a contest before.

So here's the rules and information!

1) Leave a comment with your entry for Skoll's name
2) Only one suggestion per person.
3) It needs to follow a theme. My hunter's name is "Sugarcake" and all my pets are some sugary treat or addition.
4) I do not repeat pet names. My previous pets have been named: Sprinkles (wolf), Frosting (bear), Coconut (warpstalker), Blueberries (blue plainstrider), Strawberries (silithid), Mint (chimaera), Marmalade (moth), Zebracake (hyena), Licorice (JORMUNGAR), Tart (raptor), Gumdrop (crocolisk, named by BRK himself!).
5) Read the other comments before posting. Do not repeat a suggestion! Think of something else or be faster, sorry!

The person who gives me the name I like best (yeah, you can't really impartially judge this sort of thing) will win a Slashdance loot card! I can scratch it and give you the code or mail it, your preference.

Good luck, have fun, and wrack those noggins!

EDIT: Forgot to say - you have until Thursday at 11:59 PM EST! I'll announce my favorite, and the winner, Friday.

UPDATE: Commenting closed, and now I have the difficult job of choosing the winner. Answer will be up tonight!