About
Runyarusco (roon-yah-roo-skoh)
With a free 14-day trial in hand and the assurance I’d be able to play with one of my best friends, I created Runyarusco on Garona during the summer of 2006, just after finishing college. I didn’t have any prior experience with any sort of MMORPG, but hit 60 mid August; soon after, I joined my friend Oreblade’s progression guild, <Awen>.
Here’s where the blog title comes from—Runyarusco was always a feral druid. As <Awen> charged through AQ40 and made brief forays into Naxxramas, Runy played the diligent (perhaps “stubborn” is a better word for it) healer/tank. Pre Burning Crusade, when the feral tree was abysmally lacking, a quick feral druid with a Heart of the Wild powered mana pool and decent gear could keep up on meters just by down-ranking Healing Touch, much like a Dreamstate druid might do today. And that’s how I earned my raid spot. Although I detested that part of raiding, the bonus was that I could heal on the fly, switch into cat gear and keep up on damage with the lazy rogues, or slip into tank gear and keep a few mobs busy.
Playing as a fully Restoration specced druid didn’t actually happen until a few months ago, and it’s been that particular build that’s powered me through much of SSC, TK, Mt. Hyjal and Black Temple. It’s only been recently, with the addition of a few more healing recruits, that I’ve been able to return to my raiding feral build. When <Singularity> was short on reliable healers, I throw on my healing gear and provide much needed “wood” jokes as I shuffle around. When we have a raid was full of healers with too few DPS classes, I functioned as an offtank for trash and metamorphose into cat form for a DPS boost–it’s what I enjoy most. While I’ve never forayed very far into the Balance tree, I believe that my extensive experience as both a tank and a healer has made me a better player.
Wait, aren’t you in <Singularity>? What happened to <Awen>?
I was in <Awen> for about a year and a half and made quite a few friends–that’s what happens when you play with people five days a week. Unfortunately, just before Burning Crusade released, our guild master boldly decided to take advantage of the free transfers off the heavily populated Garona to Baelgun. Fueled by the prospect of zero queue times, easier farming, and lesser competition for quest mobs once BC went live, the entire guild transferred. Formally third on Garona, we were forced to start over and draw recruits from an increasingly small player pool and simultaneously compete with other like-minded progression guilds. A myriad array of real life issues and sudden disappearances made a serious dent in our group of core raiders, and following the initial nerf to feral druids back in February, our guild leader had me level my night elf warrior, Rueful, to be a new full-time tank. In the process of leveling that toon, I met one of the best warriors I’ve played with to date: Lycentia. He’s currently <Singularity>’s main tank and my real life love/partner-in-crime.
For some time, then, I exclusively played my warrior through Gruul and Magtheridon’s Lairs, Serpentshrine Cavern, and Tempest Keep before attendance issues and a flagging officer core finally nailed the coffin-lid on <Awen>. The remaining group of folks who’d been friends through the thick of it all finally parted ways last September and found progression guilds elsewhere. I played briefly with Raeik (a good real life friend) on Scarlet Crusade (also where Phaelia claims residency) where I was able to pick up my druid again, but ultimately started itching for the competitive edge of what some folks call “hardcore raiding”.
In an attempt to better coordinate schedules and actually play together once more, I transferred my toons to Doomhammer and joined the guild Lycentia had found: <Singularity>. Runyarusco sailed through the application process as a Restoration druid, and I consider myself fortunate enough to have tackled Mount Hyjal, Black Temple and Sunwell with a (mostly) great group of a people.
The Player
What else do you really want to know? I enjoy makeouts, high fives, and challenging games of Tetris.
No, seriously. I majored in creative writing and have a strong background in both marine and microbiology, but unfortunately that’s a fairly unique skillset that isn’t very interesting to most employers. I worked as a technical writer for a major bioprocessing corporation for over a year until my contract ended, and now, I write professionally implement new corporate language for a nationally known insurance company. Originally I’m from New England, but I recently moved to the midwest to live with Lycentia and our particularly naughty kitten, Lucerin.
Other than adventuring in the World of Warcraft, I actually enjoy knitting, cooking, reading, writing, SCUBA diving, photography, pretending to be a ninja, and sailing (among other things). I miss the ocean.
