My picks for the Pink Pigtail Inn list of 2010

Larísa is once again looking for input for her annual roundup of what was good and interesting in WoW - if you haven't seen it yet, the post is here. I always love these; finally an awards "show" that I can care about!  

1. Best raid instance 

Unfortunately there isn't really much to choose from in this category, is there? We pretty much raided Icecrown Citadel all year round. It was good for a while, but it was annoying and tedious for even longer. 

2. Least successful raid instance 

Again, this one is pretty easy. Like I said last year when I nominated the Eye of Eternity, the least successful instances aren't actually those that people complain about, it's those that they don't even care to go into. There was only one such raid that fit that bill this year: the Ruby Sanctum. I think it's a bit of a shame actually because Halion wasn't a terrible boss. He just felt kind of out of place, both in terms of lore and in terms of difficulty. Then again, a small part of me is tempted to nominate Naxxramas. People raided Karazhan right until WOTLK came around, but who bothered to visit Kel'thuzad anymore this year? 

3. Most longed for instance 

I'm finding it hard to pick anything here because we spent all year longing for Cataclysm. I don't think anyone really longed for Ruby Sanctum to come out (and if they did, they were probably disappointed quite quickly). I suppose some of us were longing for the Ulduar days, but Ulduar already won this category last year. Personally I think I mostly longed for the Black Temple, remembering what it was like for raiding to truly hold my interest until the very end of an expansion.  

4. Silliest gold sink 

I already nominated them last year but since they didn't win I can do so again... Mechano-Hogs! Not only are they ludicrously expensive, their sound effects are annoying as hell. I can listen to cars driving outside my window all day, thanks, I don't need that to invade my fantasy world... Of course now it's even worse because with the introduction of goblins to the Horde, poor people can get access to noisy vehicles too. /sigh  

5. Biggest addition to the game  

I don't think the dungeon finder counts because it was already introduced last year and it just doesn't feel new to me anymore. So I would say the 4.0 revamp of all classes and their talent trees.  

6. Best quest 

Have there even been any new quests this year other than the breadcrumb quest for Ruby Sanctum? I think I'll have to abstain from that one because all I can think of right now are the shiny new Cataclysm quests.  

7. Ugliest tabard  

I'll probably have to agree with someone else's nomination of the Loremaster's Colors here. The idea with the exclamation mark was nice and all, but the end result just looks ugly. 

8. Favorite non combat pet 

On a side note, I was rather baffled when immediately upon release of the Shattering, half the blogs I read updated with nothing but squeeing about some new non-combat pets. O...kay? The whole world has changed and that's the thing everyone's most excited about? Am I the only female player who doesn't really care about them? I mean, they look kind of cute but I never even remember to keep any of them out anyway... My personal favourite this year would have to be a tie between the Netherwhelp and Lurky because a guildie gifted me a BC collector's code, which meant a lot to me. But since those two are not from one, but two expansions ago by now, I'll vote for the Curious Wolvar Pup instead. Nothing beats a pet with a story. I was rather disappointed that Blizzard never reset the Dalaran orphan quest this year so I couldn't get the Oracle Hatchling as well.  

9. Biggest community controversy 

You know, I couldn't actually think of something for this category right away, until I saw someone else bring up Real ID on the forums. Oh right, that thing where I was in the very small minority that wasn't terribly upset; that would explain why I forgot about it... definitely caused the biggest hubbub though. 

10. Most charming Blizzard employee 

I haven't really been keeping up with what the blues say and do, so I can't comment on this one.  

11. Best podcast 

Blue Plz! is the only one I listen to with any regularity, but the Obscurecast seems pretty nice as well.  

12. Biggest blog facelift 

Murloc Parliament, without a doubt! I'm not sure if everyone even remembers who she was before...  

13. Most memorable blog post 

I've read a lot of good posts this year but can't think of a single best one to pick.  

14. Most noticed blogger breakthrough 

Syl from Raging Monkeys. Yes, I know she's got co-bloggers... but it was mostly her that I noticed commenting on other people's blogs when they'd only just started up and I've seriously never seen a blog skyrocket in popularity so quickly. That's what I call successful networking!  

15. Most solid content provider 

I'd like to nominate Klepsacovic from Troll Racials are Overpowered for this one. Sometimes he strays into crazy rambling territory, but he does update more frequently and more reliably than anyone else I read. That's worth a lot, especially on a quiet Sunday afternoon.  

16. Most hugged blogger 

Again I take inspiration from another blogger and cast my vote with Pike from Aspect of the Hare. The outpouring of support when she brought up having financial problems recently was quite impressive. Though not as impressive as that in response to her favourite pet's model getting changed... Hunters. They like to stick together.  

17. Hottest blogosphere topic 

The whole feminism debate. There was some good and thought-provoking stuff in there, but it went on for so long and got so heated after a while that I just wanted it to go away eventually. "Frostheimgate" or whatever you want to call it would probably make a pretty decent runner-up though. And if bronze medals were to be given out as well, I'd give one to the whole "harrassing bad roleplayers" affair early in the year.  

18. Best writer 

Tamarind won last year... can I nominate his co-writer Chastity then? If not I'll go with Rades from Orcish Army Knife. I can't wait to see Larísa's own picks, she always has interesting thoughts on them as well.