EU+US Level 20 Resources

Yde

Worg
Join XPOFF Discord Here
Welcome!

You're in a hurry and don't have the time to look / can't find the answer for you in here?
Do you have any question at all about twinking at level 20?

Questions & Answers

Ask anything, someone will probably answer.
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If you're looking for a thread on TI and know some keywords to use in a search:

Site Search

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THREAD INDEX - Click links to go to that post

0. This post!
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Contains the above, this index and an introduction to the thread.

1. Getting started

1.1 Introduction to F2P
1.2 Introduction to Veterans
1.3 US or EU?

2. Connecting with People
2.1 F2PAddon
2.2 Voice Communication
2.3 F2P Server Communities
2.4 Merged Servers / CRZ
2.5 Veteran Guilds

3. F2P and Veteran Activities
3.1 Wargame Arenas
3.2 Skirmishes
3.3 Wargame Battlegrounds
3.4 Videos and Impressions

4. Class and PvP Guides

5. Very useful Guides and Threads

5.1 Creating and gearing a new toon
5.2 Maintaining a character
5.3 Twink Vanity
5.4 The Darkmoon Faire
5.5 Best-in-Slot Armory References

6. How to use the Twinkinfo Site Search

7. Thanks!

~•~•~•~•~​

Stuck around?

Free-to-Play WoW in the form of unlimited Starter Accounts has been around for quite a while now. A newer account type are Veteran Accounts.

Over time a lot of people have compiled some tremendously useful information about F2P twinking with and without P2P help. More recently discussions on Veteran twinking have joined this forum section.

Feel free to have a look at this post (and the next few), in which I will try to index the available information in an easily readable way and add some of my own.

I hope you have fun and will find what you are looking for here!

Good luck!
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On the terminology I'm using:

There are three types of accounts playing at level 20 in the 20-29 bracket:

F2PStarter Accounts that have never subscribed. There is a set of restrictions for these accounts (more on this later). The accounts may be unlinked or linked to other accounts, sharing for example Mounts with an active or lapsed Subscriber Account.
VetSubscriber Accounts with a lapsed subscription that have reverted to Starter Accounts. They give the player access to characters up to level 20. Veteran players can use most things obtained while subscribed (e.g. enchants, guild membership and guild heirlooms). They deal with similar restrictions to F2P (more on these later). Vets may choose to follow F2P restrictions, e.g. for Wargames.
SubActive Subscriber Accounts have access to all WoW content. Many of these players have been around since Cataclysm, following F2P restrictions.


~•~•~•~•~​

If you want me to add or edit something, please comment! This thread is a continuous Work-in-Progress and I like suggestions!
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I'm not regularly on WoW and Twinkinfo, I apologize if you have to wait on a response.

While reading threads pay attention to the date they were created or last updated! Keep in mind that unlimited Starter Accounts arrived with Cataclysm and the Mists of Pandaria (MoP) and Warlords of Draenor (WoD) expansions or even just the latest patch might have changed things quite a bit.
 
1. Getting started

There are some great introductions and threads that are a good place to start if you're new to F2P, unsure what it entails, and want to learn more about what is and isn't possible with free WoW.

I'm going to give you an overview on what F2P and Vets can and cannot do, and link important threads for further reading below. I'm going to follow this pattern in the entire thread, so if you're looking for a thread that isn't on the front page anymore, look for the links at the end of each section!



1.1 Introduction to F2P

If you're completely new to Blizzard products, download the Battle.net App here (US) or here (EU).

You can follow the link in the App to create your account, or you can create a new Starter Account
here (US) or here (EU).

If you're still unsure where you want to go, have a look at the next few posts and come back later.

What F2P can and cannot do:

Can level up to 20, where XP will be automatically locked, sending the character to XP-off BGs and Skirmishes.
Can now lock XP on the way, can participate in Wargames and queue for dungeons with locked XP, but cannot queue for BGs or Skirmishes with locked XP before reaching 20.
Cannot play current expansion content, i.e. Draenor is unreachable.
Can reach anything contained in the Battle Chest, i.e. Northrend and Pandaria are reachable.
Cannot own more than 10 gold at any time.
Cannot trade or use the Auction House.
Can earn and store plenty of gold with high vendor value items.
Cannot level primary professions over 100 (excepting racials).
Cannot level secondary skills over 100.


Used to be able to level secondary skills to 375 for Cooking and Fishing, 225 for First Aid and Archaeology. If you have an old account with professions above 100 and want to keep it that way (for example to use Boots of the Bay), do nothing that rewards profession skill! You will lose access to anything above 100!

Cannot join guilds.
Cannot send or open mail, but:
Can open mail sent by a GM and retrieve the items within.
Cannot whisper anyone who hasn't whispered first.
Can use the F2PAddon to get in touch with anyone using it as well.
Cannot use /say or custom emotes to talk to players 10 levels above own character level, they won't see anything.
Can use targeting pets with creative names and using standard emotes to circumvent this!
Cannot use voice chat or Real ID in game, but can use Real ID over the Battle.net App.
Cannot participate in Pet Battles.
Cannot use value added services like character transfers or faction changes, but:
Can get TCG items.
Can only post on a limited amount of sections of the Battle.net forums.
Can use account wide tabs, e.g. heirlooms.


While I recommend reading the threads below, there have been some changes since some of them were written:
Races: All races are available.
Classes: The Monk class is available.
Zones: Northrend and Pandaria are available, Draenor isn't.
There are more F2P communities besides Aerie Peak now.
Start out by reading the first posts of these threads, keeping in mind the changes:
Starting a Starter Account by sevenslacks7
Free to Play: 20 Twinking and You by Oxist
Free to Play FAQ and Information by iaccidentallytwink



1.2 Introduction to Veterans

Careful, this section holds some surprises, especially the profession details. Some of these still need verification.

What Vets can and cannot do:

Can level up to 20, where XP will be automatically, sending the character to XP-off BGs and Skirmishes. If levelling while subscribed, remember to lock XP at 20 if the character is to become playable as Vet!
Can
now lock XP on the way. Any below 20 twink you log into as a Vet should not get their XP unlocked anymore. Still, be careful just in case. :)
Can participate in Wargames and queue for dungeons with locked XP, but cannot queue for BGs or Skirmishes with locked XP before reaching 20.
Can play current expansion content if owner of current expansion, i.e. may reach Draenor (with help). Not buying WoD makes you eligible for free trials at intervals, so choose carefully.
Can reach anything contained in the Battle Chest, i.e. Northrend and Pandaria are reachable.
Can own more than 10 gold if possessing more at the time the subscription runs out, but:
Cannot earn any gold until enough has been spent to get below 10 gold, and:
Cannot own more than 10 gold after that.
Cannot trade or use the Auction House.
Can earn and store plenty of gold with high vendor value items, and deposit gold in their guild bank.
Can own more / bigger bags than F2P.
Can join any guild while subscribed and will stay in it once subscription has lapsed.
Can still join guilds once subscription has lapsed if they already have a character in that guild.
Cannot deposit or take items to / from the guild bank, but:
Can deposit gold to the guild bank.
Cannot send or open mail.
Can open mail sent by a GM and retrieve the items within.
Cannot whisper anyone who hasn't whispered first, but:
Can whisper anyone in their current guild and use guild chat.
Can of course also use the F2PAddon to get in touch with anyone using it.
Cannot use /say or custom emotes to talk to players 10 levels above own character level, they won't see anything.
Can use targeting pets with creative names and using standard emotes to circumvent this.
Cannot use voice chat or Real ID in game, but can use Real ID over the Battle.net App.
Cannot participate in Pet Battles.
Cannot use value added services like character transfers or faction changes, but:
Can get TCG items.
Can only post on a limited amount of sections of the Battle.net forums.
Can use account wide tabs, e.g. heirlooms.

Vets and professions:

While still subscribed, future Vet 20s can level primary professions to 225 (excepting racials) and max out secondary skills with enough gold, but:

Issue:

After the subscription ends, either the account regression itself or doing anything that awards professions skill may cause a lock out for any primary or secondary skill! The skill will still be displayed at the reached level, but crafting or using anything above (approximately) 75 will be impossible.

Cannot level any skills above 100, if starting fresh while the subscription has lapsed.


Can prospect and find but cannot retrieve Archaeology relics.

If this issue does not occur:

Can still craft profession items up to 100 and use / equip items up to 225 (excepting racials), if the skills have been leveled while subscribed. The exception are enchants; cannot apply P2P enchants to their items once the subscription has ended.

May still be able to use Archaeology (needs to be verified).

Proposed solutions:

Level professions while subbed.
Stock up on all >100 items you want to use.
Apply all enchants.
Once Vet, if you have any
professions above 100 and want to keep it that way (for example to use Boots of the Bay), do nothing that rewards profession skill! You will lose access to anything above 100!
Cross fingers?

Good luck. :/


1.3 US or EU?


Both US and EU Realms have thriving F2P communities. Changing your region / realm list isn't an issue anymore since you can connect to each region using your Battle.net app. You will learn more about the perfect place for you to go in the next post!
 
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2. Connecting with People

Playing with your friends and making new ones, having people around to help with questions and maybe even gearing, and coordinating in Wargames via voice communication are all things you might want to do.


In this post I'll try to give an overview on how to communicate in this bracket and where to start looking for a community and / or guild that fits you well.


Good luck!

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2.1 How F2P Communities Work: The F2P Addon





If you want to be able to communicate with other F2P twinks on your server (and so much more), read the following post to learn about the features of the awesome F2PAddon:
Yasueh's Macros and Addons for F2P by Yasueh


If you want to help someone figure out how to use the Addon and they have trouble with English, but do speak Spanish, here's a super helpful translation:
[ESPAÑOL] F2P Addon: uso e instalación. -- Por Yasueh by Herneith


It's possible for any player to join any community they like. Increased latency / lag is of course possible. Aerie Peak US has the largest F2P communities on both factions and there are players from both the US and EU. With a New York datacenter most people do not experience any connection issues.


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2.2 Voice Communication


Maybe you want to talk to your friends or other players in your community, guild, BG, arena or dungeon team, PvP or PvE event?


You can download and make use of voice communication softwares like Skype, Mumble, Ventrilo or RaidCall! Mumble and Ventrilo require a server to log on to, Skype and RaidCall don't. RaidCall runs on Windows only.


Most events require some coordination and will want you to use Skype.

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2.3 Battle.net and Battle Tags


This section is still under construction!


Even without a (current) subscription, you can use the Battle.net App to connect with people you've added by their Battle Tag! Here's an amazing collection of your fellow 20 twinks' Battle Tags.
Level Twenty Battle Tag List by LennywBoreanTundra

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2.4 F2P Server Communities


I've included the (probable) datacenter locations of F2P Server Communities to help people thinking about switching regions anticipate what their ping might be like. No guarantee for instances. Sources:


US realm list by datacenter
EU realm list by datacenter


With realm merging some servers have relocated to another datacenter; they seem to have merged a lot of NY with/to Chicago based servers and likewise Phoenix with/to LA. Source (US):


Shrinking of New York and Phoenix Datacenters



US


Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Aerie Peak (PvE)
New York
Horde and Alliance
Aerie Peak by Mialo




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Vashj (PvP)
Phoenix
Alliance and Horde
Vashj Strong! by Galvarino




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Moon Guard (RP)
Phoenix
Alliance
F2P Community on Moon Guard by Win
Moon Guard: Making a comeback by Squeakyjack
Streaming 3s on Moon Guard by Reflexz




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Blackwing Lair (PvP)
Chicago
Horde
BWL Baddies Update by Snowjobs




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Aggramar (PvE)
Chicago
Alliance
Aggramar Community by Farconn




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Korgath (PvP)
Los Angeles
Alliance
Korgath US Arena Server by Twinkenstein




EU


Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Twisting Nether (PvP)
Frankfurt (Germany)
Alliance
Join Twisting Nether EU! by pixie
Tn gonna have some christmasy fun! O: by Broken




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Aggramar (PvE)
Paris (France)
Horde
Join F2P Horde on Aggramar EU! by Broken




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Wildhammer (PvE)
Stockholm (Sweden)
Alliance and Horde
F2P Twinking - Join Wildhammer EU! by Matterson




Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Recruiting:
Stormscale (PvP)
Frankfurt (Germany)
Horde
For all from Stormscale EU by Kenzillax
(Community apparently inactive at the moment.)




EU - FR


Server:
Datacenter:
Faction:
Hyjal (PvE)
Paris (France)
Horde




If you want me to add a community here or update anything, please PM me. Including information about size, activites, a recruitment thread, etc. is always helpful.
Must use F2P Addon.


\\//​


2.5 Merged Servers and Cross Realm Zones


This section is still under construction! In the meantime, here are two superb threads on CRZ:




\\//​


2.6 Veteran Guilds


This section is still under construction! In the meantime, here's a helpful thread that gives you an overview on US Veteran guilds.


[US] Guild Directory for lvl 20s by Herneith
 
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4. Class and PvP Guides

While following any guides I advise that you keep in mind the possibility of patch changes, author's mistakes, etc. and think all advice and gear choices through yourself.

Some are outdated due to WoD.
Some of these are even more outdated due to MoP.
Guides up-to-date for WoD

(Write more guides, people!)


19 Twink Guides are also a good reference for classes, gear and PvP advice.

4.2 PvP Guides

Better your understanding of competitve balanced premade v premade by AlbinoCow
 
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3. F2P Activities

3.1 (Wargame) Arenas!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of F2P is being able to enjoy arenas for free. Check out the following threads to get started. :)
Billow's Intro to Arena Guide by kablam
AP Arena++ by youakim

Videos:
Swagcleavic
Salfir
Nevmind

While most arena enthusiasts still have characters on Aerie Peak, the current project is:
Korgath US Arena Server


3.2 Videos and Impressions

Still unsure about F2P activities or joining a community? Get a great first impression by watching some of the awesome videos listed here:
F2P Movies Thread by Hiidden
To get a taste I especially recommend:
AP Horde V AP Alliance Stream by Swag (includes video of the game)
Horde AP had some fun premades this weekend (a F2P video) by Purse
Video Upload of the Battle for Southshore! by Footman
(Two amazing videos of Rhaellia's incredibly fun event: The Battle for Southshore: Cross Realm WPvP Event)

Take a look at awesome screenshots to sample the F2P community life! :D
Screenshot Thread! by Shfthappens

Two more threads to get to know the TI community. :p
Know Your F2P Twink by Pookums
Know Your F2P Twink's Pet by Mightybit

Incredible activities:

The F2P Parkour Challenge thread by Poledancer
Visting Memorials. Hidden Areas and other forgotten places by Goesid
Lets Talk WPvP Events by Rhaellia

Gnomeball!

Click on the image to find out what Gnomeball is! (Before TS DR of 5.4 :()


Here's a sweet video by SallyG:

Gnomeball - YouTube
 
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3. F2P Activities

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5. Very useful Guides and Threads

5.1 Creating and gearing a new toon

Are you thinking about rolling a new toon and unsure what to choose?
Considerations on Rolling a Toon by solvogero

Have a question about professions?
Pinochet's Comprehensive Profession Guide

You might want to farm chests for BiS (or transmog) gear:
Comprehensive Guide to Farming Chests for 19-24 BoEs by Shft
Guide to Farming F2P BoEs from Chests by Aradiel
Scientific chest farming by Trialcasual
Dungeon Chest Farming by Thor

Fishing!
Where Did You Get That Hat? A Sunday Fishing Guide by [MENTION=8769]Rhaellia[/MENTION]


5.2 Maintaining a character

Wondering what F2Ps can use?
Farmed consumables by solvogero
Getting the most out of your F2P character. by Haliaeetus

Want to get better at PvP?
Beginners Guide to PvP!! by Arknoodle
19 PvP Player Tips by Kore nametooshort


5.3 Twink Vanity

Do you want to collect stuff? All of these are by solvogero!
On Pet Farming
Attainable titles
Cooking Recipes
Tabards to complete your Transmog set
"Attainable" Reputations

Do you want to change your look and transmogrify your gear?
F2P Transmog Sets by Zino


5.4 The Darkmoon Faire

Want to make the most of the Darkmoon Faire? Learn how to obtain Justice Point / PvE BoA items, mounts, pets and more!
Darkmoon Faire Guide by Rhaellia
Darkmoon Faire Mat Farming list by Sephirus
Darkmoon fortune cheat sheet by Snowjobs
Best spots to farm 250 DMF trophies by solvogero



5.5 Best-in-Slot Armoury References

The original F2P Armory Library by leotseddap lists and links players with TI-accounts and is a great reference.

Imirak
's original F2P Rankings: PVE & PVP has been continued in the (most awesome) stickied thread by lofi: F2P Rankings: Achievements, HKs, and more! is a fully colour-coded list of the top-ranked 100 world F2P twinks with links and up-to-date relevant statistics, also links downloadable spreadsheets with even more players, and is just indescribably fantastic!

Not updating BiS references at the moment due to MoP changes, inactive players, etc.

While following any guides I advise that you keep in mind the possibility of patch changes, author's mistakes, etc. and think all advice and gear choices through yourself.

For a shorter overview I've tried to collect a few examples of very well geared, active players for each class.

Keep in mind that for BiS the occasional LFH or other rare item might be missing. People might also log out in RP gear, during spec experiments, etc. Some classes can also switch between specs quite frequently, so please forgive any mistakes I made while attempting to order these. ^^ Not everyone uses Medium Armor Kits and enchants. You can research these in Pinochet's Comprehensive Profession Guide
 
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6. How to use the Twinkinfo Site Search

In the upper right corner of this site you will find a search box that you can use to search the entire forum for your keyword(s):



You can narrow it down to the F2P section by clicking onSearch Forum while you're on the main F2P Twinking forum page:



search15.png


You can use the Advanced Search to narrow it down further, but usually this won't be necessary. Let's say you want to farm materials for profession levelling during Darkmoon Faire, and are looking for a guide. Type Darkmoon Faire Farming, hit enter or click Search, and in a very short time you will have a small number of matching threads!



In this example both the Darkmoon Faire Mat Farming list and Rhaellia's awesome Darkmoon Faire Guide are worth checking out. <3
Find more on the Darkmoon Faire under: 4.5 The Darkmoon Faire

Can't find an answer? Do you have any question at all about F2P?
Questions & Answers by Yde
Ask anything, someone will probably answer. :)
 
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7. Thanks!

Good luck with F2P!


Thanks to the awesome people helping me bring this fossil into relevance for WoD:


Thank you very much to LennywBoreanTundra, Goesid, Aradiel, Kincaide, Tryptozzar, Vandiir, srs bsns, MilkProtein, Crystalpall, Turtle, [MENTION=17026]SPQR[/MENTION] - You are great. :)


Thanks to the F2P pioneers who helped me create and maintain this thread:


A huge thank you and hug to Shft! Also thanks to everyone else who helped collecting! Hugs to Omgwtfsap, Klinda, pinochet, Veinte (), Mialo, Thor, Broken and Purse.


Special thanks to Broken and Thor for fixing all the links after the forum reorganisation!


A salute to the excellent people who provided the ideas and the content for this index! Thanks to Aradiel, Arknoodle, Battlepøpe, bigdip, Broken, Ceethreepioo, C O T U S, Deadvulcano, DubbsBegins, Earlwing, Eliot, Footman, Galvarino, Goesid, Haliaeetus, Hiidden, Holypowah, iaccidentallytwink, Imirak, kablam, Kenzillax, Keyser, Kincaide, Klinda, Kochist, leotseddap, Lil, lindenkron, lofi, Matterson, Medanx, Mialo, Mightybit, Mrcer, Omgwtfsap, Oxist, pinochet, pixie, Pookums, Purse, Rhaellia, rsq, SekcMustard, Sephirus, sevenslacks7, Shane, Shft, Snowjobs, solvogero, Swag, Thor, Trialcasual, Twinkenstein, Win, Yasueh, youakim, Zetalot, Zino, Freeranged for being a one-man-BiS-reference, all the 19s guides authors, and everyone else who makes this forum so useful and fun! :)

Stealing Mialo's idea to steal my idea to steal other people's ideas by linking to them in a post in a questions thread that was essentially Medan's idea inspired by Shfthappens' idea.
 
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5. Very useful Guides and Threads

reserved
 
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6. How to use the Twinkinfo Site Search

reserved
 
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7. Thanks!

reserved
 
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Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Double post.

Doh, can't delete own posts.
 
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Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Stealing Mialo's idea to steal my idea to steal other people's ideas by linking to them in a post in a questions thread that was essentially Medan's idea inspired by Shfthappens' idea.
Dun steal my idea :'(

Purse, sticky this plox and remove all others.
 
Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Nice index, since elliot said he wasn't making the questions thread into a sticky do you think it would be good to try and get this one stickied?
 
Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Yup, Bump for sticky. I'd say This post and Yasueh's thread about the addon should remain the only stickies. I feel like we have had too many for a long time
 
Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Yep, by separating this from the Questions thread I'm trying to make it at least eligible, but only in case more people want it stickied. :) I do think it might be pretty useful. ^^

Yasueh's F2P-Addon definitely needs to remain stickied. I think Cotus' arena Skype thread should also probably be stickied. If not, what do you think about adding a section about the larger F2P US and EU server communities (that can support arenas), the largest being AP and linking the Skype thread there?
 
Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

I'd sticky this if you stopped trying to shame people for making new threads to ask their questions. Recommending PM'ing someone who you don't know before making a thread is silly. This is a forum.
 
Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

I'd sticky this if you stopped trying to shame people for making new threads to ask their questions. Recommending PM'ing someone who you don't know before making a thread is silly. This is a forum.

I'm sorry if it comes across that way! Absolutely not intended to shame people or to recommend PM'ing over posting. I agree that that looks bad, but that's a side effect from copy-pasting. I'll edit it out immediately.

Actually, even the questions thread was never intended to shame people, so I'd be really grateful if you could point out where in the original thread I made such a huge language mistake that brought across such a meaning instead of what I intended. :( I was pretty hurt when I came back from my vacation and saw the controversy.


EDIT: I hope I have now removed any and all text that could be read to imply that new posts might not be be welcomed in this forum. Please proofread.
 
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Re: F2P Information and Guides Index, Site Search, BiS Reference - Welcome :)

Salve,

I just logged in to click the Like buttons... That's a nice work... Really Impressive... wirklich beeindruckend :)...

Thank you Yde..

Thank you solvogero !

Thank you Shfthappens

Thank you Klinda

Thank you Pinochet

Thank you youakim

Thank you Mialo

Thank you Êarl - #1 Universe ... We all know... You should know...

Thank you Deadvulcano

Thank you Imirak

Thank you C O T U S

Thank you Aradiel aka Kale

Thank you Ark aka Baffi !

Thank you Yasueh !

Thank you Twinkinfo....

EDIT ...

No I am not done ...yet...

I often find myself ... pleasantly surprised ... by people like you guys... I always wanted to create a great info-thread like this one ... or a new list like solvogero... but I don't have enough time ... plus I am not a native english speaker ... and... nevermind.... Actually I am lazy... and I got to catch that turtle...

Thank you..
 
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