cmshowcase2021

Tuesday, after reset

My main has been sitting at the top of the gear charts for weeks. My alt, a Warlock I rolled mostly for the cosmetics, has been parked in a Midnight zone at level 90 with gear that looks like a yard sale. Venomous Abyss opens its doors this week for the guild’s alt run, and I promised to bring something. Plan: one week, no panic.

First look at the character sheet was bleak. Two pieces from levelling, a ring I do not recognise, a weapon that still has a quest-reward glow. Item level far below anything a raid leader would accept without a sigh.

Delves turned out to be the best idea of the week. I ran a few on my break, solo, with the follower I had barely touched. Each one dropped something useful, and the best part is that nobody was waiting for me. I came home with two upgrades and a pile of crests I had no plan for yet.

Lesson: do not spend crests on the first thing that glows. I nearly upgraded a belt I would have replaced by Friday.

Wednesday night, crafting orders

I looked at the missing slots and placed crafting orders for two of them. Somebody in the server picked up the first within minutes, which still feels like magic to me. The second sat there for a while, so I checked the materials I had offered and sweetened it with a few extras. It was done by morning.

Between orders and delve drops, the alt looked like an actual adventurer instead of a lost tourist.

I also reread my spec’s talent tree, which I had last touched during levelling. Two talents did nothing for raids, and one vital defensive was missing entirely. Ten minutes of tweaking probably gained me more than any single piece of gear, and it cost nothing at all. Note to self: talent screens deserve a visit every patch, not every season.

Here is the part where I admit a limit. A few friends in the guild had told me about paying for a run now and then, and one of them said that for an alt a WoW Boost can be a reasonable shortcut when your evenings are full. I did not do it this week, because I wanted the practice, but I understand why people lean that way. If your main already eats five nights, an alt has to fit into whatever hours are left.

I wrote down what I would rather do myself and what I would happily hand off. Delves and crafting stay mine. A long Mythic+ push on a character I rarely play is the item on the other list.

Thursday afternoon, group finder experiments

On a whim I applied to a few low Mythic+ keys with the Warlock, just to see what the pool felt like. The first group declined without a word. The second took me, then lost its healer on the third pull and dissolved. The third finished in time, and the tank typed a lone thumbs up at the end. Three tries, one success, which is about what I expected for a character with a modest item level and a short note in the application.

I have started writing my item level and a single sentence about what I bring into every application. It costs ten seconds and I swear it changes the replies.

Before the raid I sat down with the upgrade window and finally spent the crests. The weapon got the most, because it is the piece that scales everything else. Then a trinket, then the chest. I left the rest alone. Seeing the item level creep upward in small steps felt oddly better than any single big drop.

Friday, a warm-up in The Voidspire

I joined a pickup run of The Voidspire, the previous raid, to see how the Warlock actually felt at her new item level. Verdict: she can keep up. Not heroic numbers, but no one asked me to apologise. I also learned that my rotation was fifteen minutes out of date, which a training dummy fixed in an afternoon.

A tank in the group offered tips about positioning on the final boss, which I am filing under things I would never have found on my own.

We cleared a decent chunk of the new raid. The bosses are eight in total, and the first few teach you the shape of the place quickly. I died to something I had been warned about in chat, which is fair. By the end my alt had picked up one meaningful upgrade and the guild had a few extra laughs.

The best moment was a quiet one: the raid leader said my name in a roll call without checking my item level first.

Sunday, what I would do again

• Delves first, always. They are the fastest route from yard sale to wearable.
• Crafting orders for the awkward slots instead of waiting for luck.
• One practice raid before the real one.
• Crests saved for the weapon, not scattered.

Next week the alt goes back in the bag. But she is now a character I would be glad to see on a roster, and that was the entire goal.