Breakfast Topic: How do you feel after spending time with archaeology?
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Right now, I'm taking a break from archaeology. I spent the days between the U.S. holidays of Memorial Day and Labor Day digging from two to six hours, flying up and down Kalimdor, in an attempt to get the Vial of the Sands. I felt someone within my guild should have it. While I had other guild members doing archaeology, they weren't dedicated -- no, the proper term is "crazy" -- enough to spend hours doing this. By the end of August, I didn't care about the items that got me 100 or 200 gold when vendored (Cat Statue with Emerald Eyes and Silver Scroll Case). I just wanted the recipe. Finally, after my fifth canopic jar, there it was. I had all the mats ready, and the day I got it, I could become a dragon.
I almost never use the mount. If someone wants a ride, I transform and we go once or twice around town. But as my permanent ride? No. It's too big and awkward for my tastes.
So was it worth it? Yes, yes it was, but I have been thinking about the archaeology rewards. One of my guild members spent a great deal of time digging in Northrend and has all the purple rewards from that continent. Most people I know do archaeology until they get the Pterrodax Hatchling and the Fossilized Raptor and then quit. They can't stand the grind anymore. I've got the dressing gown and the ring, which have gone to an alt, and I keep The Innkeeper's Daughter in the bank. It was funny at first, but then it just got annoying to have her follow me and then drop over dead when I stopped running.
It seems as if archaeology is a love it or hate it profession. When I ask guild members how they are doing with it, most have given up. They don't like flying all over a continent for a reward they aren't sure of. Even people who I know are completionists have not embraced archaeology as they did cooking or first aid. It seems to rank lower than fishing on the like scale.
We know change to the profession is coming. It's been announced we'll be able to specialize in one culture and dig up only artifacts in that culture. I would have liked that for Tol'vir. It would have made the low drop rate on the recipe akin to running Stratholme for that blasted horse. I can deal with that. It was the need to fly all over Kalimdor that made me feel I was being really stupid for trying to get this.
How has the profession treated you? Do you have everything or did you quit right after you got the raptor mount? Do you think the amount of time you have to spend equals the rewards? Have you even picked it up, or have the horror stories of the long grind caused you to say nope? Do you have a favorite item you've received from archaeology? (Personally, I'm waiting for void storage so I can get these things out of my bags ...)
