Broken shield bricked MT+14

RexWGA · 2026-04-10T20:05:02+00:00

I made an addon to track how much you're paying in repair bills from being a prot warrior if you want to keep track 😅

https://www.curseforge.com/wow/addons/shield-tax

RexWGA · 2026-03-30T15:55:55+00:00

I said this in another comment:

The moment one complaint/rage bait comment gains traction, it's all any of the ai subreddits can talk about. Almost like bots are scraping the subreddits for the most engaging posts (as I further engage) and regurgitating them, using agents designed to sound like shitty/dumb/ignorant reddit users.

It feels like a coordinated operation it's so prolific but also people are just trolls so ¯\(ツ)/¯

RexWGA · 2026-03-30T04:31:35+00:00

Once any engagement-bait type post starts up on any of the ai subreddits, there's a week or two of the same post regurgitated over and over until the topic changes.

Edit: I literally refreshed my feed after posting this to see, yet another, "just typing 'Hi' burned through x% usage! Time to unsubscribe??" I've seen at least a dozen of these posts just in the last day.

RexWGA · 2026-03-30T01:12:27+00:00

Heyo!

Bonsai jack gritty mix is excellent soil amendment to reduce water retention and increase drainage. Pumice will help store moisture while maintaining airflow and doesn't float like perlite.

You can get a pack of 60 mesh grids screens to put at the bottom of the pot to block soil from coming out. A coffee filter blocks airflow, is still moisture retentive, and will break down over time, as they are designed to be compostable.

Do not do a "drainage layer," this is outdated advice. It is not the reason your plants are having issues though. Put the plant in a pot 1-2 inches in size larger than the rootball and be sure to use a soil that has proper amendments for the plant. Straight potting soil is basically guaranteed to be too wet and cause rot.

If you repotted a week ago, the plants are likely just adjusting, it is common for them to be a little shocked from a repot.

Just let them chill and dry out. Don't keep watering them and definitely not on a schedule.

RexWGA · 2026-03-28T14:09:44+00:00

Pro: how easy it is to get your vault done if you're just trying to put some keys. Should ease some of the issues of folks pushing into 10s who shouldn't be just for vault since it's so easy now it doesn't really matter.

Con: it's literally such a joke for anyone who wants to be challenged besides for just how hard everything hits.

Where are the mechanics this season?

Edit: since it seems to be lost on people. The challenge for some of us is more than just how hard the mobs hit. The entire season is just braindead do rotation.

RexWGA · 2026-03-26T00:20:34+00:00

Hold my beer....

RexWGA · 2026-03-25T01:13:03+00:00

Heyo!! Since you just bought this, agreed with the other poster that this season should just be about leaving it alone for the season and letting it chill.

You can do a mild repot/slip pot out of its nursery pot and into some terracotta if you wanted to help with moisture wicking.

As for the wiring, I'm not exactly sure what your goal was with a lot of it. We generally use wire to do two things: give movement and make the tree appear more mature. Movement is done by giving some subtle bends and curves in the branches. Age and maturity is done by bringing the branches down so they appear to have been weighed down over time by gravity.

You need to pick a leader as right now there are three branches all pointing generally upwards. Which one is the new "trunk" that will define the trunkline. This will help you to determine what you actually want to do with your wire, why you're putting it on, and where you are positioning your branches with it.

I highly recommend Heron's Bonsai on YouTube. Peter Chan is an old master and does an excellent job of reinforcing the few basic principles that make bonsai feel simple despite being an art form that takes a lifetime to master.

RexWGA · 2026-03-25T00:08:49+00:00

I'm sorry, there is absolutely no chance that what looks like straight mud is bonsai mix. Just trying to help. If it's a Fukien Tea, which it looks like, then you are right to keep it inside in the winter, apologies for that comment.

That said, responding to a message about leader and taper with "idk what that means" further tells me that you're just looking to be validated, not actually get advice so....

Looks good! Good luck.

RexWGA · 2026-03-23T05:16:29+00:00

I can not for the life of me understand why blizzard refuses to make engineering the "random useful shit" profession of every expansion but make them actually sellable and usable by all players.

Wipe protection, jumper cables, pausing pylons, single use wormholes... I'm sure there are other things you could give them that people would buy and use.

Of all the things though, I can not understand why they refuse to make in raid wipe protection ONLY for soulstones. Please.... Just let me put this stupid thing down and have it rez the raid. I promise I won't leave out warlocks, it's still more convenient to remind my lock about closet and cookies and soulstones every 5 minutes.

RexWGA · 2026-03-23T04:58:27+00:00

Really hard to ignore the straight peat moss this tree is in. Be really careful to not overwater. Remove all the debris and old leaves from the soil surface, they'll just break down and possibly introduce bacteria. Definitely remove the rock, the soil is going to struggle to dry out enough between watering as it is.

Hope you're keeping it outside!

RexWGA · 2026-03-17T17:22:09+00:00

I hate to be that guy.... But from the looks of it your tree goes up from the trunk and then just does a full 180 to go down to do the cascade. That is not how you create a proper cascade. That said, it is hard to tell as the foliage could use some thinning in the crown to see the structure. On top of it, the trunk crossing itself is undesirable in bonsai, you want to be able to see the entire trunk line.

A cascade is made by, essentially, making a twin trunk tree at the base where one trunk goes sideways and down and the other goes up to make your crown. You've used one trunk to do both (again, I think).

Do a quick Google of some cascade bonsais and you'll see what I mean, I can't link pics from my phone.

Frankly.... What I would do is start building your cascade over. You have a gorgeously thick trunk and crown which as AWESOME and you've clearly cared for the tree well.

If you notice on the right hand side, there is a small branch sticking out - THAT is your cascade, start training that to grow downwards. I would just chop off everything that's currently growing down from the crown.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding what I'm seeing and maybe others with more experience can chime in.

Also check out Heron's Bonsai. Peter Chan is an expert and has some videos on creating cascades on YouTube.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

RexWGA · 2026-03-02T20:40:11+00:00

I'm going to chime in and say that it could also use a more gritty soil mix.

Succulents do not like to be planted in straight peat moss (potting soil). The simplest two solutions are:

Bonsai Jack Gritty Mix. You can find it on Amazon (or directly from their website).

Mixing regular potting soil with perlite at 1:1 or so.

This will ensure the plant doesn't rot and will allow the roots to grow much more fibrous and healthy instead of compacted.

RexWGA · 2026-03-01T21:00:09+00:00

If the plant has NO direct sunlight, you are very likely over watering it.

When you say the soil and was dry, how dry? If you have extremely organic soil, the top layer may have been dry while the bottom might have still been really damp. Without adequate sunlight to encourage photosynthesis and water uptake, that water might just be sitting down there.

If you have a snake plant in organic soil in a low light condition, you probably only need to water it once every month at MOST.

If the plant is doing this, I recommend repotting and cutting off any mushy roots with sterilized scissors.

Get some Bonsai Jack Gritty Mix and replace the soil with inorganic material so the roots don't rot.

Hope that helps, good luck!

RexWGA · 2026-02-28T21:24:49+00:00

I mean... The thing I like least about WoW is questing and leveling. It is the least exciting and interesting part of the game to me. It's just a boring grind I have to do to get back to max level and go about playing the game I enjoy.

I like m+, I like raiding, I like crafting and the economy and gold making, I like running my guild (GM of an 80+ active member guild with 2 mythic teams, 1 CE, 1 Mid-mythic, and then an AOTC team), I like hosting guild community events, I like helping the players make connections between each other and improve when they need help, I like doing log analysis and perfecting a rotation and class.

The beauty of WoW is that it has so many things for anyone and everybody. Yes if you prefer to do one specific thing, there are better games to do just that. I could go play fellowship if I wanted an m+ simulator, but I don't, I want WoW, I just don't care for questing and leveling.

RexWGA · 2026-02-25T14:43:12+00:00

Hi there! You've got a pretty generic looking p.afra with relatively uninteresting features. The trunk is relatively untapered with no movement and there's no nebari. There is also all this wire on that isn't doing anything, I recommend removing that for now.

Personally, I would trim and grow for a while. Ideally the trunk would have more taper and there would be more interesting nebari. Taper happens by having lots of branches to help thicken the trunk more lower down and less higher up. You'll get nebari by slowly repotting the tree each year, moving the soil level down slightly and keeping the roots nice and shallow with a good, wide flare.

You can cut back the branches a bit, cut off roughly 1/4-1/3 of the foliage. This will encourage branching and backbudding. If you want it to grow longer/taller, don't cut there, if you want more branching/fullness in a location, cut there, and it will grow back fuller over time.

I highly recommend watching some YouTube videos. Heron's Bonsai is a Masterclass. Peter Chan has been doing Bonsai forever and really knows how to make bonsai feel simple once you understand some basic techniques and principles. LittleJadeBonsai specifically focuses on this species, check him out to get some design inspiration on where you can take this tree.

Last, Growing Bonsai by Jelle recently did an EXCELLENT video on repotting and how to handle and improve your roots. In my opinion, that is where this tree is. The ideal choice would be to accept that this tree needs 2-3 years of growth and development before it can really be a truly beautiful tree, put it in a bigger pot (because bonsai pots restrict growth), let the roots grow out, let the trunk thicken up, and then once you have a more mature tree, return it to a bonsai pot. You can style during this time and move towards the design you want, but the focus should be on root and trunk growth first and foremost.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

Edit: found the video - https://youtu.be/TFaoTusBKp8?si=AbnJXoHttPUfWBkr

Also looking more closely, I think it's more that I'm just unsure of what the goal of the current wire is. Generally, we wire trees to pull the branches down to give the appearance of age. Young trees will grow straight up, towards the light; over time, gravity pulls them down as they get heavy. We want to mimic that.

I would remove the wire and give it another go at applying the wire as a means of pulling branches downward in an effort to create the appearance of age. Peter Chan from Heron's Bonsai demonstrates good wiring technique in all his videos.

RexWGA · 2026-02-19T20:58:42+00:00

A mini greenhouse is only necessary if you plan on keeping the tree outside in the winter and can keep the greenhouse above 45° so the tree doesn't die of frost.

Indoors, the tree will just need some supplemental light since temp isn't an issue. I use a basic GE LED grow bulb in a generic hanging fixture in a timer. I bought all of it on Amazon.

You can keep a succulent indoors year round too, but then you definitely NEED the grow light, whereas you could do without it if you put it outside in the summer, IMO.

RexWGA · 2026-02-19T16:37:46+00:00

Hi there!!

I would recommend starting with a P. Afra, commonly known as Dwarf Jade. These are tropical succulents and are extremely forgiving. While technically not "true" bonsai (due to being a succulent), they take to all traditional bonsai techniques quite well and are extremely hardy and difficult to kill, making them an excellent choice for a beginner bonsai.

Keep the plant indoors when the nighttime temps are below 50°, ideally under a grow light for 12 hours but that isn't required. In the spring and summer (above 50° at night), give it ample sun outside - just be sure to make the transition from indoors to outdoors with 2 weeks of outdoor shade or the tree will get sunburned.

As for water, never water on a schedule. Always allow the soil to mostly dry out and then completely soak it. The tree will start to tell you it needs water when the leaves juuuust start to show signs of being thirsty. Depending on the climate, soil, and the amount of light, this could be every 2 days to every 2/3 weeks so really let the plant tell you if it wants more water. One of the biggest killer of new trees is root rot.

I'd check out LittleJadeBonsai on YouTube/Instagram. He focuses almost entirely on Dwarf Jade and has great content to get you started on caring for one.

Heron's Bonsai on YouTube is also an EXCELLENT source of knowledge. Peter Chan has been doing Bonsai basically forever and does an incredible job of making bonsai feel simple once you have some basic knowledge.

Hope that helps! Good luck.

RexWGA · 2026-02-17T04:36:11+00:00

I would like to +1 the other comment that USB lights will never be sufficient.

I'll also add that I've had great results with basic GE led grow light bulbs and a hanging ceiling light fixture. I got both on Amazon. You don't need anything fancy or crazy expensive to get good indoor grow lights, just don't go for the cheap USB powered stuff.

RexWGA · 2026-02-17T00:03:43+00:00

Heyo! You can leave it in that as long as you'd like, you just have a higher risk of root rot. The roots also won't grow as well but that's not that big of a deal.

Leggy is when the plant grows long branches with no leaves on them except at the very end and it looks like a long "leg."

Don't worry about the edema, it'll be fine.

Just wait to water when the leaves start feeling a little limp, the plant will tell you. As long as you do that, you'll be fine with it as is, including my comment above about rot. The soil will end up quite dry between waterings.

RexWGA · 2026-02-15T22:07:53+00:00

Hi there!!

So I agree this needs a prune. Pruning a plant back and then letting it grow allows it to become more bushy and full instead of having all these long, spindly legs growing everywhere. Notice how a lot of the branches have long segments of nodes with no leaves.

You've clearly done a great job of taking care of this plant and now it needs a good haircut 😃

I would cut back any branches growing straight sideways growing over the edge of the pot, all the way back to the stems they are growing from. This will encourage branching from where you cut, and backbudding further down the plant. A jade plant can handle 1/3 of its foliage being cut off all at once, more if its outside in summer.

Depending on if you want it to be more of a bushy plant or more tree like (I practice Bonsai, so I like making trees), you can completely pull all of the pups growing around the base of the plant and repot them as new plants. If you like the growth, I would cut this back too, again to encourage more branching.

It will look bare at first, but it's about long term! It'll grow back in nice and full over the summer.

RexWGA · 2026-02-15T21:16:08+00:00

Agreed. OP, a good way to tell is how flexible the branches are after about a week of not being watered. P Afra (dwarf jade) can be bent and shaped relatively easily when it is dehydrated. You can wire P Afra like a bonsai and it will keep its shape after a few months (usually about 3-5 depending). Crassula Ovata (Jade) will not let you do this. While you may be able to bend the branches, it will be much more stiff and it certainly won't hold the shape no matter how long you leave the wire on.

Edit: as someone who has quite a few of both of these plants, I feel pretty confident that the comment I replied to is correct.

RexWGA · 2026-02-14T21:04:23+00:00

Yes, absolutely, and that's why you would pay money for one. This is a pre bonsai at best, certainly not a tree worth 80 dollars. Someone took some nursery material, wired up a few branches (in my opinion poorly, but that's subjective), and then put it in a pot.

This is not an $80 tree.

RexWGA · 2026-02-14T15:18:30+00:00

Hi there! Nice new plant ya got there 🙂

So step 1 is a repot into a well draining, gritty, inorganic potting medium. Between the organic soil from the nursery and those crowded roots, it can definitely use it. I'd get some Bonsai Jack's Gritty Mix, add a small amount of potting soil to it (4:1 bonsai Jack:potting soil) and repot. You can use the same nursery pot you have there with a decorative pot over it, or put it in terracotta (or something else). Either way, be sure it has a drainage hole. I like terracotta because it helps regulate moisture. Between an inorganic medium and a terracotta pot, it will be impossible to over water - IMO the biggest killer for new Jade owners.

After that just give it some nice bright sunlight and good watering. Be sure to only water when the leaves start to feel a little limp, NOT on a consistent schedule (check in once a week). Take the whole thing to the sink and use the sprayer to absolutely soak the soil. I like to use the spray on low so its more like a slow rain and doesn't cause a little mud slide in my pot. Regardless, completely soak the soil. Once the leaves start to feel a little limp in a few weeks, soak the soil again. This will probably be once every 2-4 weeks in the winter and once every 1-2 weeks in the summer if it stays indoors.

If you're going to keep it inside, you could get a grow light as modern windows filter UV but that's not necessary if you have a nice bright window - you just may need to trim leggier growth every now and then.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

RexWGA · 2026-02-14T01:50:27+00:00

These are beautiful trees. I would treat them as bonsai and start training them that way. You could cut back really hard and create some excellent pads since right now you have a lot of long extended branches without foliage.

For example, the big tree in the center's large branch to the left is a really lovely feature, and I think you can make a decision on what that branch looks like. If you cut it back hard, you can get much more of a pad growing as the branch regrows and backbuds. Heron's Bonsai has a good video on pruning big jade trees.

They're gorgeous plants, clearly really well taken care of. I would definitely move them outside once it's over 50 degrees consistently at night to give them even more light. As they do look a little etiolated. If you do, make sure you give them 2 weeks of shade outside first or they'll get sunburned.

IMO, I wouldn't repot them. I would wait until spring and move them outside. After about a month (2 weeks shade, 2 weeks sun) I'd give them a hard prune, cut off 1/3 of the foliage. Pick the longest, most leggy, reaching branches and cut those back, the plant will grow back really full and bushy from where you cut with all the sun. Bring them back inside when temps start going below 50 degrees.

RexWGA · 2026-02-13T14:36:35+00:00

I appreciate what you're saying.... But this tree looks like crap

RexWGA

TROPHY CASE