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Where Are They Now? 2012 personalities, including the blind player and his 'guide dog'
At last, our look back at five years of WoW personality interviews rolls around to the duo everyone's been asking about: Hexu and Davidian, the British soldier blinded in Iraq and his redoubtable "guide dog" guildmate who steered him through full participation in current raid content. Their story exploded across the internet after we interviewed Davidian here on WoW Insider, and Blizzard recognized the dynamic duo with in-game helms with flavor text alluding to their inspiring bond of friendship. Hexu and Davidian are both still playing World of Warcraft -- but the duo is together no more. As of the new year, the ever-energetic Hexu has been raiding on a new rogue, Dirtypawz, in Unqualified on Stormrage (EU). "I know!" he replies to my unspoken exclamation of surprise and sadness. "It was just that people were only raid logging, and it got boring -- but it was all amicable and cool. I still speak to people in Die Safe. I just wanted to do more than raid three nights a week." Hexu/Dirtypawz says a "very nice bloke" named Vatic is serving as his current raiding "guide dog" helper. "The people in the guild are all nice people," he adds, "and there [are] always things going on." We'll visit with Hexu/Dirtypawz next month about how he's settling in and dig into his tips for the many sight-disabled players who've written to us during the past year trying to reach him for advice. Meanwhile, Davidian reports that the year since we interviewed him has been packed with recognition and encouragement. "The publicity was just unreal," he says. "Even to this day, I get people coming to our server just to say how much the story inspired them and restored their faith in the gaming community. The biggest thing of all, though, was the fact that it made its way to Blizzard, and myself and Ben got signed copies of the collectors edition of Cataclysm signed by at least 50 members of the Blizzard team, and [we] received in-game pets also. Then to top it off, having in-game items with our names on them was just outstanding -- I mean, to be immortal in a game that we love to play is just, well words couldn't possibly describe it." All good people connecting to play a game that's close to our hearts ... Keep reading for more updates about people who love World of Warcraft, from our interviews during 2012.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Candy Run 2012
Boo! Yeah, It came from the Blog is Trick or Treating again and yeah, we're going to have fun as usual. No, Deathwing won't be joining us this year, since he's dead. But we don't need to die in a dragon-induced inferno in order to have a good time or even get the meta. Here are the details: When: Tuesday, Oct 30 at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT, 8:30 p.m. server time) Where: Meet at Brill on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: Any Horde character level 10 and above, but you'll have more fun if you have a character with all the old world flightpaths. What: Candy How: Just ask Tizzi or any member of It came from the Blog for an invite. Even if you normally play Alliance, we hope you will make an exception and join the dark side in order to Trick or Treat with us. We have cookies.* We hope to see you there! *Cookies are not included in this event. Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. Al ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
A peek inside The Insiders with WoW Insider
Just like this headline, there's a lot to get inside of in this particular feature -- in particular, the WoW Insider family of guilds, which loosely connect our website with readers and fans in game. While a handful of WoW Insider staffers have ended up in the same raiding guild after this many years, most are just like you and me, following friends, family or changing raiding opportunities to different realms and different guilds. There is a place, though, where WI writers, editors and readers come together to enjoy in-game holidays, meet and greet events where readers can chat with WI staffers, and a year-round home for casual players: the WI family of guilds on Zangarmarsh (US-Horde). This loose collective comprises It Came from the Blog, an open group for anyone who'd like to run holiday events with a gang of other WI readers; My Other Guild is Full, an overflow guild for alts; and The Insiders, a casual guild of players who enjoyed the atmosphere in ICftB so much that they stuck around with their mains. In the thick of all that activity is Kijani, a once-alt who's become an officer with The Insiders, helping an enthusiastic team of other "blog lords" build a group that's offering more and more to its huge group of members. "Kijiani exemplifies what is great about the members of The Insiders (as well as It came from the Blog)," says WoW Insider's Robin Torres, who leads It Came from the Blog special events. "He helps make guildchat and group activities fun. While he is enthusiastic, he's also relaxed. I'm happy he's representing such a wonderful guild."
It came from the Blog: Casual raiding for all in The Insiders
If you are into casual but organized raiding or would like to try out raiding in a comfortable, non-judgmental atmosphere, The Insiders on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) may be the guild for you. The Insiders is the sister guild of It came from the Blog, WoW Insider's event guild. Every month, It came from the Blog holds an event to which all are welcome. These activities are for the widest level ranges possible, depending on what we're doing. Some players enjoy the events and want to hang out with WoW Insider readers on a regular basis, so they can join The Insiders -- a casual, max-level guild. The only players not allowed to join are funsuckers and those who can't follow the very simple rules, which include keeping the guild chat to PG-13 and no drama. Unlike It came from the Blog, not everyone can invite. But there are usually enough players online so that someone has the ability to let you in on the fun. The Insiders have historically been a leveling guild, full of alts of people whose mains are on other servers. But they have been adding more and more scheduled raid nights, mostly for older content. This week, for example, they have four nights of Firelands raiding scheduled, a Sarth 3D fun run and a guild Raid Finder night. So if you want to join WoW Insider readers in some non-stressful raiding, come join the gang. It may be the perfect antidote to the restlessness caused by the pre-expansion lull. If you just want to join us for our monthly events, stay tuned for the next It came from the Blog announcement -- which will be some time next week. Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PVE-H) in It came from the Blog. Any rank can invite, so /whisper Roblinator or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
It came from the Blog: Lunar Lunacy 2012 snapshots
Last week, the It came from the Blog family of guilds celebrated our second annual Lunar Lunacy. We gathered in Orgrimmar at the Lunar Festival area near the flight path. The minimum level to participate was 10, so that we could organize a raid in order to make good use of guild perks. With participants from level 12 to 85, we got the following achievements: Elders of the Alliance Members of The Insiders (our sister max-level guild) summoned us with Have Group, Will Travel to the enemy cities and used Mass Resurrection as needed. Elders of the Horde Mage ports took us where we needed to go for this achievement. Elune's Blessing We defeated Omen and basked in the afterglow. Some players also got the Frenzied Firecracker and Rocket's Red Glare achievements while we were organizing the raid. Then those of us with all of the sub-Cataclysm Azerothian flight paths completed the Elders of Eastern Kingdoms achievement by following the Overachiever's Guide to the Lunar Festival, only abandoning one non-flying person along the way. (Sorry, Pricecut!)
Reminder: It came from the Blog Pilgrim's Bounty event tomorrow
Don't forget to join the <It came from the Blog> family of guilds for Pilgrim's Bounty tomorrow. We will be gathering in front of Silvermoon for the pre-event party early. Here are the details: When: Saturday, Nov. 27, at 12:30 p.m. EST (9:30 a.m. PST, 10:30 a.m. realm time) for the pre-event mixer and 1 p.m. EST for the actual event Where: The entrance to Silvermoon City on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: Any level Horde character is welcome. You may want to have some cash on your character for the purpose of purchasing souvenirs, cooking training or other event-related items. How: Ask Robinella or any member of <Blogling> for an invite if you are not already in one of our guilds What: Food fight! ... among other things. We will be traveling around to complete several achievements and quests together. Coordination will be done in a global event chat channel and also in the live stream. Please join us! Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of Blog Lurker or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
It came from the Blog: Hallow's End 2010 snapshots
Last Saturday, the <It came from the Blog> family of guilds held our annual Hallow's End event. We gathered in Razor Hill for our pre-event mixer. Anyone who wanted to join was invited to <Blogling> and we carried on our chat in a chat channel for all of our guilds to participate in. We then put out fires, which took just a few seconds, as there were so many of us there. Then we traveled to Orgrimmar to go trick-or-treating. Once there, we abandoned the lowbies and those of us with the flightpaths of Kalimdor went trick-or-treating around the continent. The fun was captured in the gallery below. We will have another event this month -- probably Pilgrim's Bounty. And we will continue to have at least one event a month, even if we have to make up an in-game holiday to go with it. %Gallery-106769% Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of Blog Lurker or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Hallow's End
This Saturday, the <It came from the Blog> family of guilds will be hosting our annual Hallow's End event, which will be in two parts. The first part will be for all levels, and we'll do the daily fire quests. The second part will be for those with all of the flight paths in Azeroth so that we can trick or treat all of Kalimdor. We may do more trick or treating if we have time. Of course, we'll have the pre-event mixer as usual, so I guess that makes three parts. Here are the particulars: When: Saturday, Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. PDT, 10:30 a.m. realm time) for the pre-event mixer and 1 p.m. for the first part of the event Where: Razor Hill on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: A Horde character of any level. If you wish to do the trick or treating, please bring a character that has all of the flight paths in Kalimdor, such as a death knight. What: Dailies and trick or treating How: Ask Robinella or any member of <Blogling> for an invite to our event guild. All Blogling members can invite. If you are already in one of our guilds, there will be instructions in the message of the day. I will also be streaming the event, as usual. More details, tips and rules are after the break.
