My long-overdue update on both WoW Ula characters is this: Both are currently at cap. Retail Ula played many hours solo, mainly completing weekly quests and doing command table adventures, to finally reach Renown Level 40. Then Classic Ula took over, mostly running dungeons with a slightly attenuated Crag Boar Rebellion group, with the occasional quest line thrown in, to reach character level 60.
As to be expected, Retail Ula is a bit more tricked out than Classic Ula.
Ula is geared with her covenant set, plus a couple of transmogs to replace pieces she couldn’t bring herself to wear (such as Night Fae shoulders). Her stylish offhand is the Requium Chime, and her main-hand weapon is the Wand of Arboreal Artifice. Her overall item level is 196, so obviously not a raider, though I was able to obtain a couple of level 200 trinkets playing solo PVE. But after reaching Renown cap and – for the first time – dying Ula’s trademark dark hair (pale lilac) in boredom, there just wasn’t enough in the game for me to keep playing regularly. I don’t enjoy the Maw and I became frustrated with Torghast pretty quickly. To top it off, the Queen’s Conservatory in my covenant sanctum (which I was looking forward to) was dreadfully slow to evolve and didn’t seem to offer any enticing rewards. That became especially evident when I realized that the beautiful Enchanted Shadeleaf Runestag is available to everyone at Renown 40.
Ula, on the other hand, is equipped with mismatched bits of gear she’s managed to craft through tailoring or win in dungeon roles and she’s still driving the entry-level mechanostrider.
Ula’s chest piece is Arachnidian Robes of the Owl, a nice looking min-level 52 piece which sorely needs upgrading. The clashing blue shoulders are the Boreal Mantle, a blue item, but also a mere level 52. Don’t get me started on the Kindling Stave – level 48. The only gear I’m proud of is the striking Chief Architect’s Monocle. It’s a min-level 50 piece that coordinates well with Ula’s sidebun ribbons and grants her a look of intrigue.
Speaking of Classic Ula, she actually isn’t Classic Ula anymore. She’s now TBC Ula, as of the day just past prepatch day, May 19.
And after much hand-wringing about redoing talents, and consulting with other Boars, I’ve opted to keep her in Frost spec. This, despite the general guidance that Fire provides maximum DPS and Frost “is widely considered a PVP-only spec.” My situation is a bit unique because we currently have a group of four, and we’re running regular 5-man dungeons. I don’t want to lose or reduce the effectiveness of my AOE by ditching Frost now. Frost also allows me to solo pretty effectively using improved Frost Nova. (Sad) soloing will be necessary to gather tailoring mats and for questing in TBC.
Happily, with the arrival of the TBC prepatch we mages now have, in the Frost tree, one of our most important spec talents, Icy Veins. Its haste boost and non-interrupt will help my DPS output, even as a lowly frost mage. I’m also adding some Arcane into my spec mix this time (Classic Ula was full Frost) to pick up Arcane Concentration for the 10% chance to enter Clearcasting = a mana-free next spell. Mana management in Classic has been a pain. That should help some.
As for menial tasks, TBC Ula still has a lot on her charger. She’s working on kitting everyone out with mooncloth bags, and she has all of those gear upgrades to concentrate on. She also still can’t afford an epic mount, which will become more embarrassing over time. And so she carries on.
Ulalu 