WoWGrrl's World

About Valdesta/WoWGrrl

Real Life Picture of Valdesta/WoWGrrl

• Lifetime computer nerd!

• Female gamer
• World of Warcraft player since 2005, raider since 2008.
• Raiding for challenge, fun and social camaraderie
• Alt-o-holic on off-nights, with a sizable toon family.
• Author of detailed yet concise WoW Playing Guides.
• Video maker, Podcaster, etc.
• Self-employed Internet Tech Geek Grrl, specializing in Wordpress, DNS and MySQL
• Black belt, Tournament Official and Junior Dojo Instructor in Shotokan Karate

I started out in this game knowing nothing more than the manual provided, and with no Real Life friends to help me along, but have made some great Online Friends along the way.

WoWGrrl's Raiding Home Is On Zul'jin-US, Horde Side

Zul'jin is a Normal/PvE server in the Eastern Standard Timezone, with a pretty balanced population of Horde-to-Alliance characters (according to WarcraftRealms.com) When I fired up the game the first time, it was this realm I was suggested to start in, and it was this realm I have stayed in to level the majority of my characters.

In terms of Raiding Progression, Zul'jin is a competitive realm on both the Horde and Alliance sides and the top 15 guilds (according to 25m Achievement Progression on GuildOx.com) are all within the top 2000 US guilds on all realms.

If you're looking for a strong, healthy raiding realm to transfer to... Zul'jin might be a good option.

WoWGrrl Raids, But Also Plays Casually

In 2008 I made my transition from my Social Leveling/Friends guild into my first raiding guild with my best-geared toon. It was the best decision I made, and never regretted it, even when I was kicked from the first raiding guild I joined.

After 8 months of learning the Raiding ropes (including 2 months of PUG raiding guildless during the summer before Wrath of the Lich King released), I was accepted into a solid raiding guild in October 2008 and have progressed happily with this wicked team ever since.

The "casual" part of my play comes in with the fact that since I'm in a raiding guild with specific Official Raid days and attendance that is calculated, my time outside of Official Raid Time and pre-raid prep is mine, and during this time my play more closely reflects a casual player.

Sure, there are off-night raids going on that I can (and do) choose to join, but with Official Raid Days the guilt for not raiding every day has vanished, and my alts appreciate the exercise now and then.

I used to think that committing myself to an in-game schedule would be more restrictive than it's turned out to be. Turns out I can plan my life around this SOLID schedule much better than the wishy-washy one of guilds that don't have Official Raid Days and don't take attendance and reward the wrong types of raiders inadvertently.

WoWGrrl Likes To Play Well / Get Good Gear

Even though I define my non-raider toons as "casual", that doesn't mean I'm a slouch of a player! I take the time to learn my class roles in group situations and do my best to do them well and improve with every time I play, I keep the team in mind (even in a PUG) instead of my own position on the damage meters or loot charts, and I've taken the time to get toons to 400+ in just about every profession available in WoW so I can support any kind of professions need I, or a friend, might come across.

WoWGrrl Is An Alt-o-holic

Meaning, I have a family of characters that I play, instead of just focusing on one's advancement.

I do have my Raiding Main (discipline Priest) who gets ultimate priority of my time and energy, but the Mage, Shaman, Deathknight, Paladin and other toons coming up aren't neglected.

WoWGrrl Likes To Be Rich

How can I afford to have so many toons being geared up, and so many professions at such high levels?

I'm a gold-hoarder. I've never bought gold, never had to... my instincts naturally bring me towards things that make money quickly and easily and without great mounds of competition that serve to make the process slow and frustrating.

I actually wrote a guide about the processes I use within my own Toon Family to continue the flow of cash coming in, and even though it's encouraging players to look at Azeroth materials instead of Outland or Northrend ones, these are still the strategies I'm using to earn hundreds of gold of profit every single day.

It's a great lot of fun to be able to generate a cash-flow and player habit set that combine together to make gearing-up and levelling up and skilling up a breeze - buying mounts right as I hit 40, 60 and 70 while hearing others (cloth-wearers even!) around me complain about their repair bills (which I don't even pay attention to except because people ask me how much it is on occasion - but other'n that, I have lots of cash and am having fun playing the game so who cares?).

WoWGrrl Welcomes Your Comments!

I learn a lot from readiing other people's experiences and thoughts on subjects. Well thought-out and written notes to me are very appreciated and even if I don't respond directly, know that you bring a smile to my day!