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Robin Torres

Los Angeles - http://cosmicgeek.blogspot.com

Robin Torres juggles multiple alts across multiple servers, two cats, one preschooler, one loot-addicted husband and a yarn dependency.

WoW, Casually: Deciding to raid as a parent

by Robin Torres on Nov 9th 2009 (54 minutes ago)

Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win.

I finally hit 80 on my druid, Freja and since I am in The Spousal Unit's raiding guild, I was immediately able to put on some nice purples to help gear myself up. But gear myself up for what? Raiding has become much more accessible to those of us with limited playtime, but do I really want to go there?

Raiding involves more than just a contiguous block of time during which you can participate in a large group activity. Raids need and expect quite a lot from its members – more than just showing up and downing a few objectives, like you can in AV. If you, like me, are the primary caregiver in your household and have many other pursuits vying for your time, you need to consider many factors before making the decision to wade into the endgame.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, (Casual) WoW, Casually

WoW launcher and downloader causing validation errors [Updated]

by Robin Torres on Nov 9th 2009 (2 hours ago)

I and many tipsters have encountered some issues tonight when trying to launch the game.

Here's what we know:

The Launcher is downloading something small.
It is taking much longer than the 2 minutes estimated.
Sometimes the download fails.
Once the "something" has been downloaded, some are getting "unable to validate game version".
Constant attempts to log in appear to make the error go away.
There is no indication of what has been downloaded.

Here's what we don't know: What was downloaded.

We will update you as soon as we know anything.

Please note: There is no indication patch 3.3 is dropping. NONE.

Update 8:55pm: Blizzard says that the downloading issues are due to "prime time" and gives some advice in this link, mostly suggesting to wait.

Update 8:44pm: Blizzard is calling this a "Tools Patch" and saying that "Safe Mode with Networking" is solving some people's problems. Obviously the issues are not fixed.

Update 8:30pm: Blizzard says they have fixed the issues. Anyone still having problems should take the steps outlined in this link.

Filed under: Patches, Blizzard, News items

Drama Mamas: Couples counseling

by Robin Torres on Nov 6th 2009 (3 days ago)

Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.

Usually couples counseling is for the problems that come with being a couple, not dealing with them. But this week we encounter two situations that involve drama caused by someone else's romance. One may (or may not) be a case of wedding envy. The other letter concerns the awkward public displays of affection from a couple separated by distance, but not by a need to exhibit. On to the counseling...

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Social Conventions, Virtual selves, Features, Drama Mamas

It Came from the Blog: Day of the Dead gallery

by Robin Torres on Nov 6th 2009 (3 days ago)

It Came from the Blog got together Monday night for a last minute Day of the Dead Dance Party. We danced, we got dead pets and we traveled to all the old world Horde graveyards.

Paragus and others made some Bread of the Dead for all to share. Rossor (Matthew Rossi) joined us as well for some dancing and tank discussions.

I am still working on the video, but here is a gallery of stills from the dance party:

Gallery: IcftB: Day of the Dead Dance Party

We'll definitely have a PIlgrim's Bounty event and I'm hoping to fit in a DK Battleground party as well. Join us!

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, Galleries, It Came from the Blog

Updatedx3: Urgent maintenance complete

by Robin Torres on Nov 4th 2009 (5 days ago)

Blizzard has announced that they are conducting urgent maintenance on several realms. ~~Though the~~ ~~official Warcraft twitter account~~ ~~announced it would only go on until noon PST~~ (the tweet was about account maintenance), the in-game and forum messages state that they do not know how long the maintenance will take. They expect to have more information by 12:30 p.m. PST / 3:30 p.m. EST.

The list of affected realms is after the break (which includes Zangarmarsh, the It came from the Blog server).

We will keep you informed as the status changes.

3:25 p.m. PST: All realms are (supposedly) online and playable.
Update 3 p.m. PST: More info at 3:30 PST.
Update: More info at 1:30 p.m. PST.

Filed under: Realm News, Realm Status, Blizzard, News items

It came from the Blog: Day of the Dead Dance Party

by Robin Torres on Nov 2nd 2009 (7 days ago)

Stop the presses! Hold your Hawkstriders! It came from the Blog is having a last minute Day of the Dead Dance Party tonight! And everyone is invited:

Where: Falconwing Square on Zangarmarsh (US) realm
When: Midnight EST (10pm Server time, 9pm PST)
Who: Any level Horde character
How: Ask Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker for an invite to the guild
What: We'll be making a video of dancing with Catrina and transforming (so don't do the achievement before the rest of us) as well as completing The Grateful Dead quest.

If you have time to log on before the event and make some pocket money, learn cooking and bake some bread, please do. But we'll have extra cash and bread for those who don't. Of course, you'll only be able to complete The Grateful Dead quest outside of Silvermoon if you are a Blood Elf, but we will travel to other graveyards for other races, time permitting. Or you could just make a baby Blood Elf for this event only -- for those of you not dead set against it. (See what I did there?)

Most questions about It came from the Blog are answered in our FAQ. If you have others, please ask in the comments.

Hope to see you there!

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, It Came from the Blog

It Came from the Blog: Hallow's End and Kodo Run galleries

by Robin Torres on Oct 31st 2009 (9 days ago)

Last week, the gang from It came from the Blog participated in several Hallow's End activities. We put out the fires in Falconwing Square, pranked Southshore and went Trick or Treating through the Eastern Kingdoms. Levels were dinged (and those that received them were called Dingalings), Achievements were achieved and a dwarf dressed as a troll was rescued.

Here are some screenshots of the fun:

Gallery: It came from the Blog: Hallow's End 2009

Also, at the beginning of October, It came from the Blog went on an Epic Harvest Brewfestival Ride to honor a hero in Ashenvale. The pictures from this event are long overdue and here they are:

Gallery: Epic Harvest Brewfestival Kodo Ride

Look for more It Came from the Blog activities in November and throughout the in-game holidays.

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, It Came from the Blog

Drama Mamas: Of crime and crossdressing

by Robin Torres on Oct 28th 2009 (12 days ago)

Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.

Pictured above is just some of the torture devices on the prison ship Success. The writer of our first letter is not looking to send a guild "criminal" on a tortuous journey across the globe to a penal colony, but he is looking to exact a harsher punishment than the one already meted out. Our second petitioner is tortured about being considered weird for playing the opposite gender. We won't torture you with any further delays before letting you at the drama.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Features, Drama Mamas

Reminder: ICftB Trick or Treat event today

by Robin Torres on Oct 24th 2009 (16 days ago)

Don't forget to join It came from the Blog for some Hallow's End fun today!

When: 4:30pm EDT (2:30pm Server Time, 1:30pm PDT) Today
Where: Meet at Falconwing Square on Zangarmarsh (U.S.)
Who: Any Horde character, any level. There will also be a second part of the event for epic mounted, flightpathed characters.
What: Various Hallow's End activities in the Eastern Kingdoms.
How: Ask Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker for an invite to the guild.

We will be doing some all level activities for the greater portion of the event and will finish up Trick or Treats in the Eastern Kingdoms with the epic mounted/flightpathed (yes, they will mostly be death knights) players.

Have any questions that are not answered here? Please see our FAQ.

We hope you'll join us!

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Let's go Trick or Treating!

by Robin Torres on Oct 19th 2009 (21 days ago)

The Inns of the Eastern Kingdoms are filled with candy, free for the taking. So, obviously, it is time for It came from the Blog to go Trick or Treating. Here are the particulars:

When: 4:30pm EDT (2:30pm Server Time, 1:30pm PDT) Saturday, October 24th
Where: Meet at Falconwing Square on Zangarmarsh (U.S.)
Who: Any Horde character, any level. There will also be a second part of the event for epic mounted, flightpathed characters.
What: Various Hallow's End activities in the Eastern Kingdoms.
How: Ask Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker for an invite to the guild.

The first (and major) part of this event is open to all levels. The second part will consist of finishing up the Eastern Kingdoms Achievement that the Lowbies have a hard time getting to.

All are invited (and encouraged) to attend. If you have any questions like "Why are you Horde biased?" and "When are you coming to my server?", the short answer to both is "We aren't" and the long answers can be found in our FAQ.

We hope you'll join us!

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, It Came from the Blog

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