Looks like we're going to be hooked back in (WoW).

[Mark]

That stage is pretty hard.  The trick is to use the pumpkin grenade to damage the boss (I beat it for me and Tina on our mains and was working on it for an alt when Blizz pulled the plug).

Also, the vines are very powerful because they can actually pull up the gravestones the warden drops and start bonking people with them.

[wushuwannabe]

I'll try that. I will miss you in WoW, but let me know when you reactivate so I know to look out for you

[Mark]

Yeah, I gotta say those late night chats were very nostalgic and pretty made me forget that I was doing boring grinding.  I'll definitely be happy to come back when time (and baby) permits.  I'll coordinate with you if you get burnt out and quit for a while before that. 

By the way, did you ever get SC2?  There are a couple pretty fun coop maps they just released.  Tina and I have been having a blast, especially with Starjewelled.

PS:  Regarding Plants vs Zombies again:  In case I'm taking this for granted - you'll need 2 rows of sunflowers to provide the income necessary to support plant development.  He does a move that periodically kills plants in a random area, so be ready to watch for that and rebuild when you can.  In my typical array, each row has 2 sunflowers, 2 spitters, 1 freezer, and however many vines I can afford (space out the vines - they are too expensive to lose several to the AOE at once).

[wushuwannabe]

Definitely, I'll let you know if/when I decide to let my subscription run out so that we can join back in at the same time.

I haven't gotten SC2 yet. I've been playing Bladestorm on the PS3 when I'm not playing WoW, and after that I have Assassin's Creed Brotherhood lined up. And I have this demented notion that I want to wait until all the expansions are released for SC2 before diving into the game, but I suspect that won't be until 3 or 4 years into the future. Soooo, still undecided. And waiting till my game "queue" goes down.

That is really helpful on Plants vs. Zombies. I've been making only 1 row of sunflowers, so I'll try it with 2 next time.

[Alchemeron]

Everyone I know that's played it has agreed that Assbro is pretty much the best game in the series.

[wushuwannabe]

Anybody excited about the Panda expansion? I've been finding it difficult to build up the desire to re-enter Warcraft. In fact I'd probably go as far to say that the main lure of the game at this time would just be the social aspect.

[Haine]

I'm not really excited about the new expansion or Panda's really. Ideally they'd just turn out more end game content for myself and the guild to enjoy - that's why we still play.

[Mark]

I'm getting pretty burnt out too.  The announcements with the Pandarian expansion didn't interest me much.  It seems like a desperate reach because they are running out of ideas.  I think that's the result of having scheduled "expansions" for time/money milestones and not because there is content driving it. 

They are going to have a "raid finder" now.  As much as I love the LFG system, it really killed a huge chunk of the social aspect of the game.  You used to actually interact with people on your server and could develop friends and sometimes enemies.  LFG is super efficient, but rarely does any kind of social interaction happen during runs.  It's near dead silence because once you are done, you never see or hear from these people again.  It's an MMO yet I feel like it's becoming a more isolated game with every iteration. 

[wushuwannabe]

Agreed 100%. I too really enjoyed the days of: "LFG xxx, have tank and healer. PST!" The LFG finder does make getting into groups more efficient, but at the same time it reduced the need for interaction with other players, and to a very large degree the necessity for guilds. I don't group with the same people because I don't know anyone, and it's rare to end up grouping with the same people by chance. And how about those great times where people would announce that they were going to raid Tarren Mill? And a whole mess of people would PVP, gawd that was fun. That never happens anymore.

I was seriously tempted to get back into WoW since you went back, but considering the fact that you're on only maybe 1 hour a night, and I'd be just as spontaneous, our chances of being on at the same time are pretty slim. And the thought of solo-ing WoW with zero social interaction just isn't very appealing. If I'm gonna solo, I'm gonna solo Transformers War for Cybertron or Assassin's Creed.

[Haine]

ah the good old days of vanilla wow. I spent forever setting up groups to clear LBRS and UBRS so I could complete my wildheart set. What's really sad is how some servers just started to die in TBC.

[Mark]

I was seriously tempted to get back into WoW since you went back, but considering the fact that you're on only maybe 1 hour a night, and I'd be just as spontaneous, our chances of being on at the same time are pretty slim. And the thought of solo-ing WoW with zero social interaction just isn't very appealing. If I'm gonna solo, I'm gonna solo Transformers War for Cybertron or Assassin's Creed.

No worries.  At this point I think our time is up in like 2 weeks.  We won't be coming back for a while.  I have 2 more 60-day time cards sitting on my shelf but I don't really see a future where I want to use them yet.  My sister and her boyfriend pretty much bailed on the server where we created alts to play with them.  And the guild itself had a massive falling out while we were away so 95% of the time nobody is on but us.  I'm still having fun, but I'm definitely not addicted in any way, shape, or form.

Perhaps that is a good thing.

ah the good old days of vanilla wow. I spent forever setting up groups to clear LBRS and UBRS so I could complete my wildheart set. What's really sad is how some servers just started to die in TBC

I think one of the dumbest (or smartest I guess if you are looking for short-term financial gains) things Blizzard did was charge for expansions for an MMO.  People are already paying a set monthly fee.  That money should go towards new content all inclusive.  Having paid expansions separates user bases.  It's such a blatant money grab that actually splits the userbase.  Granted the content is fairly substantial, but it would be better if they just came out with something new on a lesser scale every month to keep things fresh.  Nothing sadder than seeing the state of the servers a few months before the immiment release of a new expansion. 

As far as vanilla, yeah those were the good ol' days.  Scholomance, Stratholme (live and dead), Black Rock Spire.  Getting FR gear for 40-man Molten Core.  Classes and specs that were unique and interesting.  PVP that was done for fun and not another loot chore.  I forgot the name of the Priest set, but I remember collecting all the parts.