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| I've got my whole life ahead of me!! |
I'm full of eager anticipation for the journey that lies ahead. I cannot wait to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to be a successful hunter. I sincerely hope that I will represent my race well in the days to come. Today was a relatively tame initiation: I enlisted in just a couple of missions around Sunstrider Isle; leveled up once; and got a new weapon! Here I am, at the beginning of an optimistic journey:
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| Leveling Up is probably my favorite thing ever! |
Today, I joined forces with a few friends to take down a few tasks: Xamari, Licha and Maurician all were worthy allies in our day's adventures. Licha showed us how to get from Sunstrider Isle to Silvermoon City- and from there we were able to orb to Undercity, then we walked to Brill where we participated in some special "Hallows End" festivities. Xamari, Maurician and I did not have the "elf-power" to extinguish the fires of the Horseman today; but we did help each other on a couple of other quests. One light-hearted moment from the day was when I put a Halloween hand on Xamari and turned her into a skeleton- she didn't know what hit her! In my bag of treats, I also got some handy toothpicks, and I got the "sparkling smile" achievement- an award I have been waiting to get for quite some time... On the down side, while we were out on a mission- I died for the first time! I must say, there is nothing quite so humiliating as running as fast as you can from the graveyard back to the battlefield while you know that your friends are fighting for their lives, and for the sake of the mission. I learned from this experience, and vowed not to let it happen again (not to take for granted the foes I will face along the way of my journey.) Overall, and apart from dying, it was a successful day- I leveled up a few more times, some of us ended up with pumpkin heads, some with skeletons for bodies; but overall I think the important thing that we learned was the importance of working together to achieve a task... You can do a lot in this world on your own, but when you have the help and support of others- the sky is the limit!!
Day Three:
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| Just doing what I do. |
Day Four:
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| Would YOU feel clean swimming in THIS?!? |
Day Five:
Now that I've rested in the Court of the Sun, I finally feel energized and ready to take on some tasks! First, I will head into Fastriders' Square and meet my Hunter Trainer. I know, my readers might be thinking- what kind of training does such a mighty hunter as yourself require? This is a question I absolutely cannot afford to ask! Part of being a mighty hunter is always staying hungry, always improving. My prey will grow and adapt, and so must I! Does a great athlete stop training the day he becomes "the best"? No! Neither then, shall I stop my training! In addition to this training, a great hunter requires the best equipment available- so I bought myself a new bow; a Hornwood Recurve Bow, to be exact. The difference is palpable, and I can go forth with a renewed confidence in my abilities. Those who stand in my way barely stand a chance! After this substantial equipping, I decided to take on a task... Unfortunately, it was one that did not require a weapon. I was given the opportunity to go speak to some Orc orphan children- to be a good influence on them I suppose, a good example, a role model. I went and told them stories of the hunt, stories of the road and of meeting strange travelers in far off lands. I think it went well. Who knows? One day one of those children might become a mighty hunter or huntress himself or herself. I learned another important lesson from this experience: often times, the tongue is quicker and more potent than the bow.
Day Six:
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| Just doing my part to keep the home fires 'a burnin! |
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| Friends... how many of us have them? |
Next, I bumped into my friend Maurician in the Living Wood, and we chatted for a little while. You might be wondering what two blood elves talk about in casual conversation.... The answer is that we never have casual conversation, only awesome conversation! On a serious note, it takes a few days of wandering out in the wilderness on a good old hunt to really appreciate how lucky one is to have the friends he has... This life is so much more enjoyable because I have people to share it with!
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| Xamari and Eloj preparing to attack a quest together! |
And speaking of people to share my life with, after bumping into Maurician I actually traveled to a new place- the Ghost Lands- to meet up with Xamari! It's great to have a familiar face by your side when you are far from home, and this was no exception. Xamari got me through some difficult quests in this strange new land- full of beasts I had yet to encounter back on my home turf. While some of the beasts were frightening, and the novelty of it all was intimidating, I must say that overall it was exhilerating to begin to grasp the sheer volumes of creatures in this world that I have yet to encounter. It makes me want to get out more! So my excursion with Xamari was relatively fruitful, and by the end of it I was ready to call it a day- a very action-packed day, at that!
Day Seven:
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| Flying>Walking... x1000000 |
The days are going by more quickly now. I think partially it is because of the sheer volume of the quests I am taking on; but also because I am growing more accustomed to life as a hunter. The days seem to go faster, the higher level I become! Anyhow, today I had the opportunity to go to Silvermoon City on a quest... However, instead of walking from the ghost lands- I was able to fly there! I must say, now that I know I am able to fly back and forth in between various places I have to believe that my productivity is going to increase substantially!
Day Eight:
Today's entry is not going to be about me at all... I have done plenty of journaling about my thoughts, but today's journal I will dedicate to my devoted pet... Dragonhawk! I have talked previously about the value of loyal friends- that having those friends is in large part what makes this life enjoyable. Well, I have found the same thing to be true for my beloved Dragonhawk. Perhaps even moreso than the most loyal of friends, Dragonhawk is the most loyal pet I have ever seen or heard tale of. For one thing, he follows me everywhere- even when I don't ask him to do so. I can be the most neglectful owner in the world- preoccupied with my hunting duties, no doubt- and even then, everytime I turn around, he is there! When I am in the line of fire, it is Dragonhawk who throws himself in front of me and takes the brunt of the damage, while I finish off the kill. Honestly, he even helps me in my hunting and killing beasts more than I care to admit... He is a powerful, beautiful, self-sacrificial animal and I am lucky to have him with me. There is something about an Elf and his best friend- being on the road, on the hunt, and on an adventure together forges a bond even stronger than it normally would be. Put simply, this journey would not be complete without my Dragonhawk!!
Day Nine:
Today I will be talking about my hunting techniques and approaches. My main strength as a hunter is with range weaponry, so I typically stay at a distance from my prey and shoot with my bow. While this may seem simplistic, there are a few different strategies I have taken that seem to bring about success in the majority of cases... The first thing I learned when hunting is not to fire shots into a crowd. When you fire at a beast, it is prone to turn and run straight at you- however when you fire at multiple beasts, they ALL are prone to turn and run at you. This is a big problem. I'm not as strong with melee (or close range) attacks, so ideally I don't want a beast to have time to reach me. I can fight off one of them though; it's a group attack that could (and has) prove(n) fatal. Another thing to take into consideration is that an archer has a blind side- I usually like to shoot at beasts with my back up against a nice hillside or rock formation... This way I know that another animal isn't sneaking up on me as I am focused on my prey.
These considerations are especially important when considering how I use my faithful pet, Dragonhawk. He usually acts as a buffer between me and my prey- to keep the beast from charging at me. So in consideration of all of the things above, he is more useful when I am only attacking one beast at a time, and when I know another beast is not going to sneak up on me while my faithful protector is away.
Specific to my talents, there is even a bit more strategy that goes into hunting. I developed the skills to shoot a variety of types of shots with my bow- each having a different effect.... The ordering of these shots can make the difference between perishing or surviving (for both myself, Dragonhawk, and the beast.) The first technique I use is a hunter-technique that marks out a specific target... This increases the amount of damage that I am able to do with a ranged weapon. Next, I command Dragonhawk to attack the target. I wait for him to start causing damage, so that he has the attention of the creature (and I have never seen a creature that could do significant damage to my faithful friend.) This way, when I begin shooting at the beast, it won't immediately start charging me- it will continue parrying with Dragonhawk. As for the ordering of my shots: first, I fire a shot that is designed to throw the beast into a daze and significantly slow it down. Next, I might fire a shot that either disables the beast from attacking (temporarily) or I might shoot a shot that takes off damage over time (this is what I would use for bigger beasts and monsters.) Finally, I would repeatedly fire my standard bow shot, repeatedly. If the beast starts getting close- depending on its size, I might choose to melee with it and completely slaughter the poor thing, or if it is a bigger creature and more intimidating, I would probably try to fire my "slow-down" shot once again, and get some distance so that I can continue to use my ranged weapon.
These things may seem like trivial details, but I think the average elf would be surprised at how useful it is. For any aspiring hunters out there, I would recommend- if not this strategy, at the very least having a plan of action when you embark on a hunt. You need to know how you are going to attack, how you are going to position yourself, and any strategies that you might use ahead of time- because in the heat of the moment, it is easy to completely panic and forget what you are doing.
Day Ten:
Today was a day of setbacks... I have been exploring the Ghostlands, picking up quests and trying to level up as much as I can. I have realized that there are bigger fish in the sea, and it is time to step up to the plate and face some of these challenges. However, I am realizing that this is going to take some hard work; some blood and some sweat. Today, I seemingly died over and over (and over, and over again.) I can't think of anything more humiliating than running back from the graveyard (I can't resurrect in the Graveyard now that I am above level 10) to the exact same spot, only to get killed again. It is very frustrating! However, the only thing that is to be done is to persevere through it, and come out stronger for my struggles. That is the approach I am choosing to take, and I am just anxiously anticipating the day that these monsters cower in fear of me!
Day Eleven:
Today I participated in more Hallows End activities. This time, I had some help and we FINALLY extinguished the fires and defeated the Horseman! I became dubbed the "Savior of Hallows End," and got a candy that made me grow super-sized and super-strong! After such a frustrating day yesterday, it was very refreshing to take a break and have some light-hearted, yet productive fun. Just what I needed on a day like today!
Day Twelve:
Back to business today... I'm getting close to level 20- so close I can taste it! It's time for one or two final, hard pushes and I should be there! First though, I went through an area where I was encountering a very significant amount of Spindling Spiders- and as brave as I know that I am, and as valiant and strong; I still can't help but back away as quickly as possible from those disgusting creatures! Typically, I take joy in the hunt- in part out of respect for the creatures I am hunting. I feel no such joy in killing this spiders- only disgust.
Once I got through the spiders, I completed a couple of quests to get to level 19, and decided to head back to Silvermoon City- I need to begin my journey to Orgrimmar to meet up with my friends and classmates I will be battling with tonight. I can only hope that along the way, I will level up to level 20!
However, in getting to Silvermoon City, I had some time to spare and still needed about a half of a level to get up to level 20. Additionally, I grew bored of walking around the safety of the city walls... I'm used to beasts jumping out at me around every turn, so I decided to go out for one last hunt! I spent some time exploring the surrounding area, checking out some places I've never been before and got a good deal of experience points. Finally, I had time for one last quest- and it did just the trick. I leveled up to Level 20!!
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| I sincerely hope there is no led in this Zeppelin! |
Now, it's off to Orgrimmar, by way of Undercity, by way of Silvermoon City. The journey was long and hard, but I finally made it onto the Zeppelin to Orgrimmar and it was smooth sailing!
Finally, in Orgrimmar, I made my way to the Valley of Wisdom to wait for my friends. I feel a sense of anticipation for tonight's action; I am excited to see what the night holds. As I sit and wait, I reflect on the journey- now that I am at it's end. In reality, this end is just the beginning of my greater journey- now that I am at level 20, a whole new world awaits me- full of new challenges, new opportunities to learn and grow- and most importantly, new adventures. I feel like I can truly say that I have grown from this experience. I've developed friendships, I've learned about hunting, and I've learned about myself. I have become stronger, smarter and probably most of all more perseverant from the journey to Level 20, and to Orgrimmar.
I look forward to what lies ahead.
-Blood Elf Hunter for life!
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