As many of you are likely aware, the Lunar Festival offers up a fantastic opportunity to gain reputation points with a particular faction at a pretty fast rate by visiting with various Elders spread throughout the continents.

Since I started playing WoW again after a 2+ year hiatus, I’ve wanted to get a skeletal horse mount for my Blood Elf huntress. I’ve focused almost exclusively on finding ways to increase my reputation with the Undercity, doing all available quests outside of instances/dungeons. By the time I hit level 60 not all that long ago, I’d managed to wind up at about 16k into Revered.

However, I’d found my progress stalled by the lack of desire to farm enough Runecloth to boost me into Exalted at 75 rep points for every stack of 20.

So, when my dear friend and veteran WoW player told me about an upcoming event that would give me a great boost in reputation points, I was obviously excited.

Once the Lunar Festival began, I quickly set about visiting all of the Elders I could on Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. At level 60 I realize I don’t have much, if any, chance in Hades of trekking into Northrend for additional Elder visits.

With Kalimdor complete, except for instances, I went to the Eastern Kingdoms and started travelling there. I quickly realized I wasn’t going to get enough rep to hit Exalted without finding some of the Elders that resided within instances or Alliance areas, and in a mild panic I did something very stupid.

For someone who has never run into an instance since the very early days of WoW (Wailing Caverns anyone?), and had never run any instances at all since picking the game back up post-Burning Crusade… does it surprise anyone else at all how bad an idea I found it to run headlong into the Sunken Temple without so much as a wisp of a plan?

Prior to the Lunar Festival, I hadn’t died in 20+ levels, if not 30+. Enter a festival celebrated by peaceful Druids featuring fireworks and pretty gowns, and *BAM!* Eight deaths in one night, roughly a period of 2 hours.

Why I ever thought an instance would be a breeze I could just Aspect of Cheetah through with nary a scratch, just like how I’ve been able to breeze through open zones, fails me.

She died. Her pet died. Over and over. I felt like such a n00b. If my huntress could have, she would have turned around to glare at me through the screen and promptly walk out of view, refusing to allow me to guide her any further. Or ever again.

I wish the Sunken Temple was the only moment of ineptitude from last night, but alas… I wasn’t done yet. No, I decided to check out the troll city of Zul’Gurub in Stranglethorn Vale. And by check out, I mean run blindly in past the still very green Gold Elite troll guards, promptly getting knocked off my mount and quickly slaughtered.

It was embarrassing, but this is the experience from which I play the game. I’m a very casual gamer, and very much the soloer. I’ve grouped with maybe 2-3 people ever in WoW since coming back.

My lack of experience shone last night, and I realize my ignorance could very well define me as a Huntard.

If that’s the case, I will live with that title. For now. Let it be known, however, that I will no longer be running into unfamiliar areas of the game without first trying to learn a little more about it, and with much greater caution. It’s painfully clear I still have a lot to learn about the hunter class.

Hopefully the difference between myself and a true Huntard will be found in my desire to better learn how to play my class so that I come to realize both my limitations and where my abilities can excell.

Whatever the case, I still want my danged Warhorse, and I’m less than 1 bubble away. Currently I’m investigating quests in the Eastern Plaguelands that will net me Undercity reputation. Of course, I died again tonight while doing so, but I blame that on the game and my computer. It crashed just as I was about to finish the final quest I had for a 250 rep bonus.

When I logged back in, I was dead. Bleah.

I’m heading back in right now, pending the queue. Wish me luck, or wish me harm… I want that danged horse.