Well, we’ve had some ups and downs this year, haven’t we? I’ve been quiet for God only knows how long (and, really, I do apologize for that; in the new year, I hope to be blogging so much that you’ll all get sick of me after awhile), I’ve actually obtained a new computer (yay!), but, in the process, lost my graphics programs (boo). However, today marks the close of 2011, and it seems only fitting to do a year in review post, doesn’t it? After all, tomorrow begins the new year.

So, shamelessly borrowing this from Miss Anexxia, today I give you Thyanel’s MMO year in review!

What were you most excited about in the past year?
Too many things to count. Chief amongst them, however, was probably SWTOR. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this game for what honestly seemed like forever, so to finally have the release date and joining the entire fandom in the countdown for it was nothing short of entertaining for me.

Troll druids, and goblin/worgen ladies were also very high up there on the list, and to actually see these things become a reality in World of Warcraft was probably the most fun I’ve had in that game. I was beyond excited to try out the worgen starting area and the redesigned questing zones, and I was most certainly not disappointed.

What was the best thing you bought?
I can’t think of anything major in World of Warcraft, but I can think of numerous things otherwise. Oddly, they’re both mount-related, though. Last night, I finally had enough credits to my name to spring for Vordane’s first speeder and training. I don’t know how I’m going to manage come 40 for the new one, but I suspect I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In Lord of the Rings online, after driving myself insane trying to get the correct amount of tokens given to us during the various seasonal festivals and failing the race once or twice, I finally was able to obtain a Yule Festival Glittering Pony for Anthyllis, my hobbit minstrel. I love this pony so much that I have no intention of riding anything else ever again, and I’m currently in the process of re-dying most of her wardrobe so she can match it.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Characters at the various level caps would be nice. I have yet to get a character anywhere near level cap in LotRO, despite it being out for ages, and I’m eager to get Anthyllis further out into the world and on to Isengard.

Also, once I get back to it and am no longer feeling burnt out, more roleplay for Adaret would be fantastic. The girl has been stuck in the closet for far too long.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably having enough money to get Vordane her speeder in SWTOR. I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to do it. Also having enough gold in LotRO to even think about getting a nice little hobbit hole for Anthyllis.

What was your biggest failure?
Not listening to myself, I think. I wasn’t willing to admit to myself that I was feeling a bit burnt out on World of Warcraft at the beginning of December. I love the game still, but I needed a break. It wasn’t until SWTOR came out and I started playing it that I realized the burnout was there, I just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
WoW: logging in pretty much daily and ignoring the burnout
LotRO: Hiding from the RPing folks on Landroval. They aren’t scary, I just need to tell myself that.
SWTOR: Queues. Oh, god, waiting in queues is terrible. Also getting stuck in Taris and stuck watching an elevator slowly moving up and down wasn’t very fun.

What did you do in your MMOs in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Apart from, at the very end, being able to run them in ridiculously high quality thanks to a new computer, probably explore like a fiend. There’s so much to see and do in all of my games, so much so that I never really got a chance to sit and just explore every inch of every world/zone that was there.

What’s your favorite new place that you’ve visited?
WoW: Mount Hyjal. I love that zone. That and Uldum. Two of my favorite zones because of everything ever in both of them.
LotRO: N/A; anywhere I’m able to get to, I’ve actually been before. It’s still pretty cool seeing Weathertop, though.
SWTOR: Probably Dromund Kaas. You get to see Coruscant, albiet a future version of Coruscant, in pretty much every single Star Wars thing ever. Dromund Kaas, nothing. So it’s pretty cool to see the home of the Empire.

What’s your favorite blog or podcast?
I don’t want to pick and choose and offend anybody, but all the bloggers I’ve met and all the blogs I read for any of my MMOs are amazing. We’re all a great bunch of people.

Before this year, though, I hadn’t really touched podcasting before. I’m now a big fan of A Casual Stroll to Mordor, though, on the LotRO front.

Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2011.
Have several.

- Admitting burnout isn’t a bad thing.
- Slicing is an awesome way to bring in the money.
- Every community is going to find something to bitch about; take it in stride.
- Not everything wants to be your friend. In fact, most of them will eat you.
- If all else fails, remember that shooting things in the face is a wonderful way to relieve stress at the end of the day.