Breakfast Topic: I found a tol'vir rare... oh, no
by Mathew McCurley 
Feb 22nd 2012 at 8:00AM
This phenomenon known as the tol'vir rare find is an anomaly. Two quickly made their appearance for me, then vanished, forever leaving me to a storeroom full of Canopic Jars and Sketches of Desert Palaces. It's getting quite full in there. But not this faithful day. This day would be different.
Finally, the impossible happened -- another tol'vir rare. I'm freaking out, man. It's the monkey paw! And the worst part about this blessed miracle is that I can't go to sleep until I solve it.
Have you ever experienced the pain of the double-edged sword in World of Warcraft? Have you ever been the victim of something lucky that turned into an obsession?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
razion Feb 22nd 2012 8:18AM
I definitely have an example in the Battered Hilt.
For a long time during Wrath, back when I was a bearal druid, I was heavily conscious of my threat-generation (thankfully, feral tanking was my off-spec, or I might have been more distraught about it). I was stuck with a two-handed weapon from Ulduar, and RNG was not kind to me in ToC. This bad luck continued up through raiding in ICC. As a result, I was continuously farming the Battered Hilt in the five-man dungeons. As ICC went on and gear got better, I began soloing trash with quite some efficiency, to the point where I could nearly solo the dungeons in their entirety on my own.
After about a month or two (or three... or seven) of farming, eventually some of my guildies caught on. It was around that time when I finished high school and graduated. To my surprise, my guild had gone around behind my back to whip up a surprise gift for me to celebrate my graduation. A particularly sweet couple in my guild racked up the funds through their own mysterious sources and managed to somehow get their hands on a Battered Hilt. They presented it to me as a gift.
Frankly, it was sweet of them. I have never before, nor really since, gotten such a thoughtful gift. ... So, obviously, I now spend every waking moment I have available obtaining the Battered Hilt on all of my characters.
I'm sure in the spirit of things, they gave it to me so I would have time for other things besides farming rare drops, but I can't really bring myself to be without it on any characters after they went out of their way and went to so much trouble to get it for me.
Kinda funny how that works out.
cromahr Feb 22nd 2012 8:22AM
Thats a wonderful story, and it really WAS nice of your guildies! Kudos to them!
I loved the battered hilt and the questline, and did it several times... fortunately, I had enough financial resources to buy it, sometimes getting them rather cheap off of guildies, and I had the different versions on my warrior, mage, lock, pally and druid. Then, my g/f ran an instance with my DK and actually saw it drop... and won. And yes, that way, another char got it, and I loved doing the questline every time...
cromahr Feb 22nd 2012 8:19AM
I USED to be obsessed with archeology...it was fun to lvl, and to read the "back story" of the finds, but I eventually gave up... I was so hoping for the sword, staff, even the nelf trinket, and no, I didnt expect it to be "free epix" or anything, but at the point where I found what felt like the 78th boot heel, belt buckle or petrified hand, I simply didn't wanna put up with it anymore.
The other obsession was some serious hoping for loot drops, in some cases upgrades that I really really wanted for their stats, or cool procs, or really cool design, in other cases I was hoping for gear drops for transmog sets, and so many times, I felt totally sure it was gonna happen, only to see yet another loot window without any item I wanted =)
ravenpoe8 Feb 22nd 2012 8:21AM
Battered Hilt. Won the roll the first and only time it dropped for me, and was thrown unawares into the epic quest line.
BipolarBoomkin Feb 22nd 2012 8:41AM
Tiny Crimson Whelpling
It's been a zone drop since 4.0, and it occasionally shows up in the "Satchel of Exotic Mysteries" ... and I've been hunting it for more than a month now. Every bag opened is a disappointment mitigated by a bottle and some coins. Entire days are eaten by hungry Ebon Whelps in the Wetlands. Hopes are dashed when a Dragonmaw Whelpstealer nets my next kill. I stopped counting at 10,000 kills. I must be close to at least 12,000 now.
I'm getting desperate. I -hate- trade chat with a passion, but this obsession with finding one little pet is driving me to it. ... and all this for an alt.
Save me. I've gone insane.
Prelimar Feb 22nd 2012 10:04AM
this, this, this.
i feel your pain. : (
wow Feb 22nd 2012 9:00AM
Took me eleven months to get Rare #21 in Archaeology after Rare #20. I solved every week, without fail. Profession needs work :P
I run a Circuit of Disappointment, every week, hoping to pick up the odds and ends in game I'd like to own. Currently, am failing to get the trinket that turns you into an Arakkoa and Anzu the Bird Mount. Twas ever thus... ^^
Chetti Feb 22nd 2012 10:20AM
Hey! up until yesterday I had the "egg of disappointment" ritual. I'd go out to Shalozzar, get my egg from the oracles, 3 days later open it to find some yolks or a pet, and head back out to get another one. I FINALLY got the drake yesterday. Need something new "of disappointment". I guess I can call my daily run through heroic sethekk halls my 'run of disappointment'.
Joakim Feb 22nd 2012 9:04AM
I seem to get more and more bogged down in "mission: Nearly Impossible". As of now, my daily routine once the Molten Front dailies are done is:
*Archeology (until another Desert Palace or Mummified Organ bores me out)
* The mount from Magister's Terrace (good thing I have a tailor and enchanter ... )
*Archeology (until another Desert Palace or Mummified Organ bores me out)
* Baron Rivendares mount
*Archeology (until another Desert Palace or Mummified Organ bores me out)
* Anzus mount
*Archeology (until another Desert Palace or Mummified Organ bores me out)
... and if I'm not found in a corner mumbling incoherent sentences like "spleen, kidneys, heart, lungs, intestines ... what about the intestines ... maybe they chopped them up ... would it ... amygdala, wtf Where Is IT!!?" - I fly around the world loving tiny animals.
On the positive side: I've found Zinrock _and_ Tyrandes Favourite Doll. Now for the Vial of the Sands ... Maybe I have forgotten an organ? Maybe the cat people of Uldum hare more than one stomach? And bladders! Kitty litter box, whole of Uldum is full of sand ... Must. Stay. Focused.
Oh! Look! Another sand castle ...
/cry
Jorges Feb 22nd 2012 9:13AM
Fiery Warhorse's Reins http://www.wowhead.com/item=30480
Dropped on my first Karazhan run ever, back in BC. And won it with a 20!. Didn't even knew it existed, much less that it was so extremely rare. I've only seen another one in my server, and it is on the other faction. I've been trying to get another one since LK launched, but no luck. So I've come to accept that I own one of the rarest mounts around and it won't happen again.
Btw, I hate when people thinks that it is the Halloween mount. It is not, I'm riding a vampire horse on fire!
ysani Feb 22nd 2012 9:17AM
I boosted a friend's druid alt in Molten Core on my Death Knight
The left binding dropped
JUST after I completed Thunderfury on my main (hunter) ... Not sure if I should feel lucky or cry thinking of going to Molten Core for another year...
neder Feb 22nd 2012 9:30AM
Just yesterday :D
I was making company to a guildie, who was farming the Dalaran fountain coins achievments. I ended up missing only Thrall's gold and Muradin's silver to finish mines and stayed till 2 a.m, before it went completely mental. I ll fish them today, if rng gods are good to me (never are).
Lipstick Feb 22nd 2012 9:31AM
Not even close to the same thing, but the Raven Lord Mount.
My boyfriend and I use to run the place every day, together for it. One day, it dropped.. and as he was having a particularly bad day, I told him he could have it.
For weeks after that we ran it together. No 2nd mount.
A few months later he and I hit the snag about something unrelated to wow and broke up.
Every single day, like a woman on a Mission ... I ran the place solo determined to earn the mount I'd given away. That Raven Lord had become that infamous U2 boxed, set that he'd stuffed with David Matthews CD's .. (+2 nerds for those who know the reference).
Still no raven lord.
Finally, months after I finally gave up, a guildee of mine who knew the story began poking me every few days to go run it again. The other night I didn't wanna go any more but he somehow talked me into it.
Bam, just like that ... there she was. {Clearly a guy, but I call her sally... as in raven lord mustang sally}
I guess in wow, like in life -- you just can't get over a break up, or a missed chance at a mount ... without the help of your friends.
/cue sappy music.
Luotian Feb 22nd 2012 11:27AM
Now I'll have Beatles in my head the rest of the day XD. Thanks a lot.
Dragoniel Feb 22nd 2012 9:39AM
Anzu.
Raven Lord.
Ever since the beginning of Wrath I am soloing Sethekk Halls daily, without fail. Every day I am online. I changed 3 mains during that time and I saw the difficulty levels drop from quest and pretty much non-soloable dungeon with a qualified druid in it, to requirement of a druid, then just a very difficult place to solo (on a mage that time) to finally being able to kill Anzu before the first transition.
I have it on my druid, you know. Got it back then when there was still a quest for this thing. Never again, however. Over 300 tries or more - nothing. I don't even really expect it anymore, it's more of a habit these days. Power on the machine, log in and head to dark portal.
Dragoniel Feb 22nd 2012 9:44AM
Oh yeah, and you know what? My friend, always amused by my attempts, but not really interested in mounts (he is collecting pets), randomly went for it the other day, just for the lulz.
Sure enough, got it on his first try.
Literally.
I suicided. In game.
Silversol Feb 22nd 2012 9:53AM
I've been doing Troll Patrol every day for the *awesome* trinket.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=43555
Darkprophet Feb 22nd 2012 10:17AM
So my wife has pretty much had the same problem as you. She's been grinding Archeology since day 1. Spent countless hours and hours and hours between dungeon runs...she's at 18/20 and is about ready to pull her hair out...
Now go back two weeks ago when I decided to finally start doing archeology. I did some on my Shaman originally and got fed up with it quickly after getting 1 rare after getting my skill up to the 250ish range. But now I'm on my Paladin who's an alchemist and I want my mount...
I start doing Archeology on a Saturday morning and within 2 hours I get 4 rares. My skill isn't even 100 yet. Sunday I get another rare already up to 5. Our guildie is about ready to pop out of my screen and kill me cause she's been grinding away and only has 2. Over the course of the roughly two week period leading up to last weekend I steadily added more and more rares. The RNG loving me...my wife thinking that arsenic would be a good additive to my food.
Last Saturday our friend was over, who pretty much quit when Cata came out, and I was explaining to him my stroke of absolute luck when I solved on Night Elf Artifact for #9 and Voila! #10 is the next one to solve. My wife...seething with hate...anger...jealousy...walks over and hands me her authenticator saying "You are not solving #10 until you get me to #20 and the last two better be Tol'Vir".
Sunday morning comes and I think "What the heck" so I jump on her toon, start doing archeology and within half an hour I solve a Tol'Vir she already had and the next one... The Monkey's Paw... my next 4 dig sites that pop up...all Tol'Vir and I get two of their little items to make solving go faster. I told my wife this and she gives me a "You have got to be kidding me look" and when she realizes I wasn't kidding her she says "I don't care as long as I get my 20".
I haven't had to the time to go back yet to solve it and start working on finding #20.
hwacha Feb 23rd 2012 2:53PM
This is...
i just... I don't....
*cry*
thebl4ckd0g Feb 22nd 2012 10:16AM
I still am after the severed hand pet. People get mad at me when I tell them I already have the bug mount and the alchemy recipe from the canopic jar. I don't care. I love pets, and a severed hand pet reminds me of thing from adam's family. :D
Also would love to get Tyrande's doll just so I finish Night Elves - and the sword from trolls just b/c...one guy in my guild got it as one of his first 5 troll solves. :|