One Year Mark!

It's been exactly one year since I started this blog. It's been an interesting year. I've travelled across three different servers, joined multiple guilds, become a raider, gotten epics, and gone through Molten Core and Blackwing Lair.

It's interesting, looking back at the old posts. My first post (after the introductory post) was about what a paladin is, and the idea of a "5th man" class. It's somewhat ironic to see that post as the old paladin is being changed into something that more easily stands inside the tank-healer-dps trinity.

It's also interesting to see how my attitudes towards paladins in raids have changed. At the beginning, I'm very much inline with the conventional wisdom that paladins need to be healbots, standing back and spamming Flash of Light. And somewhere along the line that changed, to the point where I'm rather militant that a paladin--regardless of spec--should be on the front lines, swinging her hammer in between tossing heals.

I think I've learned a fair bit about other issues as well. High-end guilds in WoW are governed by this strange interplay of game mechanics clashing with human nature, and it's been extremely interesting and enlightening to see how the two interact and what results.

Anyways, thank you to everyone who's read or commented on the blog. It's been great to have such illuminating conversations with everyone.

Thanks to Scumdogs of Eitrigg, who introduced me to the joys of raiding, even as I was a casual noob. :)
Thanks to Wandering Alliance of Eitrigg, who showed me how much fun being a paladin in raids could be, if only I was willing to stand on the front lines.
Thanks to Asperity of Skywall, even though I did not get to join you, thanks for showing me what a very successful high-end guild was like.
Thanks to the Winter Court of Skywall, for showing me how hard it was to recruit and start up my own guild, and how truely important basic logistics are.

Special thanks to Excommunicated of Skywall, my current guild, for being what a raid guild should be, pushing hard and killing bosses with a minimum of drama, even though it would be very easy to stop and wait for the expansion.

Special thanks to Defender of the Crown of Bronzebeard. Thanks for shepherding me through the first part of WoW, thanks for letting me go to find my own way in this crazy WoW endgame, and thanks for always welcoming me warmly whenever I ventured back.

Here's to another interesting year!