Today we move our spotlight over to Ferre. She is one of the elite Iron Challengers we have… she has hit max level on FIVE Iron characters: an Iron Druid (Ferrenys) from Cataclysm, Mists and Warlords and also an Iron Priest (Ferreskye) from Mists and Warlords. She’s the only person (so far) to have two max level Irons in Warlords. She was gracious enough to answer all of our questions (many, MANY thanks for that)!
Q&A with Ferre
WC: What can you tell us about the player behind the characters?
Ferre: I’m female, a retired scientist & consultant living in the Pacific Northwest.
WC: How long have you been playing WoW?
Ferre: I’ve been playing since January 2005, a couple months after the launch of vanilla WoW. I got my 10-year subscriber orc figure from Blizzard last fall – hard to believe it’s been that long.
WC: How long have you been playing the Iron Man challenge and how did you get started?
Ferre: My first Iron (Ferrestella) started on Valentine’s Day in 2012. I was devastated when I lost her at 61 to a naga in Zangarmarsh. But I was definitely hooked on the Ironman Challenge – leveling high enough for druid flight in Outland felt amazing. So I kept going.
I’d read about the challenge… somewhere? I’m not even sure where, but I convinced a couple of friends to try it too. It turned out not to be right for them, but I’ve been playing irons ever since. Not too many months later, I decided (for a variety of reasons) to stop raiding Firelands. The iron play style was compelling enough that it was worth most of my focus.
WC: You have TWO Level 100 Irons, a Druid that has THREE Iron titles (cata, mists, warlords) and a Priest that has two Iron titles (mists, warlords). I’m pretty sure this puts you up there in true Iron Elite status. What do you remember when you hit max level FIVE TIMES with your characters?
Ferre: The most memorable is definitely when my druid Ferrenys dinged 90 on 2/18/2013. I’d planned it to happen at a turn-in for a Love is in the Air valentine’s holiday quest in Darnassus, and invited friends. Six or seven of them were there with me in the Temple of the Moon to celebrate (she was the 2nd lvl 90 iron). It really summed up a lot of what I love about the challenge – it’s a personal thing that you do alone, but it’s also a community of friends.
Getting the same druid to 100 – finishing by completing Birchus’ quest chain in Gorgrond – was as much relief as exhilaration. She’d been questing in Draenor since lvl 98 and it was starting to get hard to find quests I could do safely. It was a very similar feeling when my priest hit 100, also doing that quest chain – and it was harder for her since it took longer for her to kill things than it had for the druid.
Actually I have another druid who hit lvl 90 during Mists as well. That one was for backup, in case something unfortunate happened to my other druid once Warlords launched. It was also my relearning how to play after I’d been away from WoW for 7 months due to medical issues. She’s still 90, but I’ll level her slowly as time allows.
WC: Did you intentionally pick a Druid & Priest to level as an Iron Man vs. the more popular Hunter and why?
Ferre: My first character in vanilla WoW was a NE druid. After a few years raiding with a mage as my main, I transferred her and raided with her as Resto from ICC to Firelands. I probably have more druids than any other class – I just enjoy their versatility. And I learned more about being a druid – using all my forms and skills – by playing Iron druids than any other way.
I tried a monk, but it didn’t feel quite right. I’d played shadow priests from time to time, mostly solo alts, so I thought it would be worth a try. And I have to give a nod to Lyssan for proving that it was very possible to have a successful Ironman priest.
I’ve never played many hunters. I recently got a regular hunter to 100 after she’d languished in the early 80s for years. I don’t dislike them – I enjoyed that latest leveling experience, but I don’t pretend that I’m terribly good at it. So I’ve just never tried an Iron hunter.
WC: What are you planning to level next?
Ferre: I’m leveling a rogue this time (currently 33). One of the things I loved about the druids (and missed on the priest) was the ability to stealth/prowl. Yes, it makes questing easier/quicker since you don’t have to kill your way in and out of some situations. And it’s just fun. i’ve leveled regular rogues and am really looking forward to seeing how far I can get with the Iron.
I do have a lvl 34 Iron mage, but she was started back in Cata, when she had a much better set of skills. As it is, mages have retained a great sets of defensive and utility skills, but little dps. So it’s all about cc and kiting your target while avoiding taking many direct hits (no shield & cloth armor). I figured I’d have a batter chance with the rogue.
WC: What is your fondest Iron Man memory?
Ferre: Hitting 90 on Ferrenys (see my description of the party we had in Darnassus to celebrate it). Some of the people who showed up for that are still my guild mates, others were people who’d tried their own Ironmans but decided it wasn’t for them, including my husband’s hunter. One reason I chose Darnassus for the final quest turn-in was that it was a place that friends could get to easily on their low-level characters.
WC: What was one of the worst or embarrassing ways you’ve died as an Iron Man?
Ferre: My two monk attempts died in pretty embarrassing ways. The first one was one-shotted by a Nesingwary camp guard on the first day those guys were made lvl 90. She had tab-targetting something that was chasing her into the camp and yeah… dead. My second monk died of greed. I was exploring Northrend at 69 by flying around. Occasionally I’d see a treasure chest that looked unguarded enough to stop for it. Well, I misjudged respawns once – which is all it took to be dead in Zul-Drak.(At 69, yeah i know… that why i say it was just greed and stupidity.)