Merciless Ahune of the Festival!

I was originally going to title this 'Ahune the Frost Lord, Merciless Gladiator and Fire Festival', then realized that was long and boring, though precise.

This at least makes you go.. 'huh?'

As everyone knows, Arena Season 4 hit yesterday. This means that Arena Season 2 gear is available for honor and BG marks. This means the PvP that I was doing as Kathe finally paid off in the form of the Merciless Gladiator Dragonhide Shoulders and Gloves to replace what I was wearing... namely the Shoulderpads of Assassination and the Verdant Gloves.

I am considering getting a few more PvP pieces... since Druid Tanks can use Resilience in place of pure Defense here and there, unlike warriors and paladins who need Defense for parry and block. My question is... how much resilience is too much resilience? How much defense do I want? It's easier for me to PvP than it is for me to get the insane number of badges I'd need to upgrade my gear.

I have the nifty little code that you can use to find out if you're still uncrittable... but since not every beginner bear is running around in PvP gear tanking... there's a drawback. What is it? Does anyone know? That wasn't rhetorical. Answer me. Please.

(Incidentally, I haven't checked on my uncrittableness, since I'm not specced for tanking right now, and that will make a difference... it also explains my armory at the moment. I'm ashamed. I logged out in my pitiful PvP gear. *cry*)

The festival boss, Lord Ahune, is a daily killable quest in regular Slave Pens. And you can also do him on Heroic for the chance at better loot, which is only reasonable. Maybe it's just us, but that fight is a giant pain in the ass. We tried it once on Heroic with a great tank, a great healer and great DPS. And didn't make it through the first Phase 1. But even on regular, we're averaging 3/5 kills. The healer dies. The tank dies. A DPS dies. Usually we start to lose control during the third Phase 1. The healer is OOM so the tank dies. The elite then goes to eat the healer OR the DPS. A few times, we've survived without a tank or healer in that third phase (<3 warlocks) but ... yowza.

I'm going to keep trying, at least on regular. Kikidas already has the Frostscythe but what we're really after is Deathfrost. Rumor has it that it's a guaranteed drop on heroic. I shall keep trying as long as he's alive!

And for the last... the Fire Festival Burning Blossoms of hate and agony... er, heh. Boon is on vacation for the week. Which is unfortunate because he really wants a few things from the Fire Festival that you can only get by turning in massive quantities of Burning Blossoms. His #1 desire: Brazier of Dancing Flame, followed by the Vestment of Summer and the Sandals of Summer.

I'm pretty sure that I can get those for him. I spent about two and a half hours last night honoring and desecrating flames all across Azeroth and Outlands. This, by the way, is a good way to spend some quality time reading a book while on auto-run. It is also a good way to get some fast easy cash. Fast and easy if there isn't someone guarding said flame that you are trying to desecrate. That would suck. Luckily, no one was a) around or b) interested in messing with a level 70 holy paladin. And that would have taken 20% longer... if I didn't have Crusader Aura. So, travel with a paladin if you can!

If you are interested in doing this insanity, please print off or otherwise have handy the list found at Kaliope's blog. It made it a ton easier to know what towns, where, had a flame for me to visit. Incidentally, the list is in ALMOST 'follow exactly' order (keeping in mind you have to bounce from horde list to alliance list in that follow order.). A little pre-planning before you head out to know where you're going to ride to and fly to will save you a ton of avoidable 'backtracking' time.

Incidentally... I feel bad for the poor Horde. As I was running through the vast emptiness of the Barrens... I realized it would suck to have to have leveled through the Barrens. I also realized that three of the fires the Horde would have to desecrate can only be reached by traveling on an Alliance boat - Dolanaar in Teldrassil and Blood Watch and Azure Watch over by the Exodar.

This is balanced by the hell ride without close flight paths that was Razor Hill in Durotar, Sun's Retreat in Stonetalon, Crossroads in the Barrens, TheTownInTheMiddleOfNowhere in 1k Needles and BloodyHoofSomething in Mulgor.

Since you can't visit the fires a second time, I have to find another way to make blossoms for Boon. The daily quest 'Striking Back' (this is a chain quest, by the way, I recommend starting said chain in Darnassus (or Shattrath). Makes getting to the Zoram Strand much easier.) He's already done the Fire Throwing quests. We shall see. If anyone has any other suggestions on how to get the hell blossoms.. er, Burning Blossoms, lemme know please.