Tanking adventures

Yes there is more...

Hello, back with a new tank and more adventures and I love it, or we will see. I rolled a Belf Warrior. 1st impressions? Not bad really, I love the torrent silence and rage thing. Kinda OP as a warrior. Since the last time I played a warrior (to lvl 36) they have fixed rage up alot. I'm not always rage starved.

I hit level 15, bought an AH shield and que'd up to start my journey as a warrior tank. I'm spec'd as Arms currently til I can dual spec and this allows me a bit of versatility, in my mind anyway.

I que'd and was almost immediately thrown into Deadmines. The first boss was already dead, the 'lock was dead (this was a common thing I would find out) and the pally healer was spec'd ret and had a grey shield and str gear...OH JOY!

Aside from the 'lock that wanted to pull everything (which I didn't mind, I don't want to stress over Deadmines and a bored wow player waiting for cata come out) but the grey geared healer fixed the 'lock from pulling to much as he let the lock die A L O T! and the rogue made sure he knew that he didn't like the 'lock pulling stuff.  Deadmines went by fast and I leveled fast. Oh and I got the shield which the healer rolled against me on.

WC and RFC-

Got into my next group fast as well. I joined an almost finished Deadmines group again, downed the bosses and had the group say "great job tanking, do you wanna run more?" Well, all that flattery how can I resist.

RFC up first, Fast and kinda fun. I really like the idea of having quests at the start of the instance. The only really bad thing is having to go back to the front of the instance to turn them in.

WC is SO long! We lost a few of out other group and had a Tauren pally join. Oh my are they big and clunky. War stop is cool and at level 18 they are almost warriors. He knew his way around and we didn't get lost in there. I did fall over that jump you need to make twice, I feel like an asshat but I do it with every toon.

We killed every boss in WC which is SOOOO long if I haven't said it before, the healer, a Troll Druid compliment me on my tanking. This really makes me wonder how bad tanks out there really are. I guess my experiences as a tank help me, as a warrior thou, I'm not great. Hell, maybe not even good.

Over all, I leveled from 15 to 20 in about 2 hours. I was rocking my Tabard of Silvermoon and gaining rep which is cool and I got my mount after I left WC, which btw is REALLY long.

Guides

I have been waiting for a bit more info to come in but I have put together a guide of links for gear, enchants, consumables, and more.

I will update this more and more as time goes by. Please take a minute and check it out and if you can find any further info please let me know.

Guides

A World Shattered!

A new land, a new tank and a long awaited look at the world-

Well I logged on today on my banker just to see how things were and I was amazed. I seen pictures of Org but I had no idea it was that different. Its a cross between the Argent Daily area and old Org. The graphics are very nice, so vibrant. I am impressed and on that topic my impressions:

I will say the no portal thing is a PITA but I will wait til Cata starts before I really judge. We only have a few more weeks left in Dal so after that you won't really need the portals.

Guards are BAD to the bone now. 116k HP's per guard and a few are higher, I seen a NELF get smacked and 2 shotted on the way into Org. That was pretty funny.

A new tank is in the works!

Meet Vasey:

I rolled a Belf Warrior just to see how it was and I must admit, its kinda fun. Much more so than I thought. I really like the new flight paths added and the torrent rage you get is OP. I can't wait to see how tanking goes.

Tanking-

I did get down to business and tank on Chasey. I had the talent reset and did my build up. I like the Divine Plea giving 3 holy power. For the first times since 4.0x launched I had a bit of mana concern. Not an issue at all but I sat to drink.  Aggro was no issue at all. I didn't notice any extra damage with the "nerf" to the mastery reduction. I have been running lots of heroics due to the fact I don't have my JP capped yet.

With the reset in points I'll be making my off set Ret for the first time in a LONG time.

On the move-

I am looking so forward to cataclysm. On a sad note, I moved my hunter to a new realm. I enjoy the hunter and it was sitting idle so he left the only server he had ever know to move to Hyjal and others will follow. With my change in schedule I have a more PST time zone life right now. I have found a really enjoyable guild with fun people. Lets hope it works out.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

WoW is 6 years old and Quotes to live by.

WOW is 6, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and on this anniversary we get an offical blog with a ton of feed back:
World of Warcraft’s 6th Anniversary!

by Blizzard Entertainment // Nov 17, 2010 3:00:00 AM UTC 766
World of Warcraft turns six on November 23rd, 2010! It’s been a truly incredible six years, and we’d like to thank you all for joining us on this momentous occasion. To celebrate, players that log into the game between the dates of November 30th and December 14th will receive a feat of strength added to their Achievements. We look forward to another great year ahead and many more to come!


http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/1136962#blog

Now some reading material that is useful:

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Mark Twain

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

Random Thoughts

4.0.3 is out!

I logged on today for the first time in about a week. I've been sick and my guild has decided to stop raiding til Cata.

The pre cata event has started and its much better than the pre wrath event, at lease IMO. No everyone is getting turned into a zombie and infecting the city. That was PITA towards the end. Now Blizz is just kind of forcing us to fight this invasion by removing mail boxes, bankers, vendors...etc. I can see as the gear is gobbled up (see what I did there, turkey day is coming soon lol) no one will do this invasion event any longer. I guess we will see.

Here is a loot list and more description on the bosses.

Tanking it
I logged on to Chasey and decided to try this out, beside I want to hit JP cap pre cata if I can. I started with the very pretty Crown Princess Theradras, she is beautiful isn't she folks? I had a DPS/Threat set on and still have about 52k and roughly 99% unhittable in this set up. I died! I used every cooldown I had and I still died, so this says a few things, I can't solo this boss and the healer was pretty bad. Why do I say such a thing?

I jumped on Khasey, my newly crowned DK80 and I tanked her with out issue. Yes I know the fight but that really means nothing on this boss, I have 32k buffed HP and I lived...LOL

I did however get [Reins of the Blue Drake]I have always wanted that mount.

Vengeance is bad
I'm not really in love with this mechanic. If you aren't getting hit you aren't generating threat like you need to in a raid environment. I' a pretty decent tank...I THINK... but we were doing HLDW and having a taunt immune boss, you need to use every trick in the book to get threat back and if you aren't getting hit you don't have damage output to grab it back. I went for a ton of the fight w/o aggro on her and until she hit me we had DPS jumping ahead of me alot of the fight. I've seen a few other instances of Vengeance not really allowing you to get a good aggro lead. I can see a few misses by the boss on you at the start of a fight cause you to struggle to hold aggro for a while.

Pally threat is OP
We did Hsauerfang last week and my GL and DK tank was tanking this with me. It was really tough to tank for the simple fact I was generating soooooo much threat I had to stop attacking completely. No attacks at all. He outgears me and is really a good tank too. As far as DK's go I haven't seen many better. We wiped once due to the aggro I drew. Yes I said sorry and tried harder to not attack.

A good guide
I found a really good guide on the instance from Cata and a few great tips to level fast. I thought I'd share this with you all.
Here it is! With a few tips to boot, I got this site/info from Maintankadin.com but I really can't find the thread any longer, I'd link it but I can't find it so sorry. I'm not stealing info only sharing :D

No-lifer tips:
• Crank Up the AC – Warm, stuffy environments accelerate mental fatigue.
• Cold Water – Splash some on your face and the pulse area of your wrists. Drinking an ice-cold glass of water can also help to wake you up.
• Chew Sugar-Free Peppermint Gum – It won’t rot your teeth and it will generate just enough physical activity to keep you awake. Strong peppermint flavors seem to work best.
• Turn On All the Lights – Darkness promotes sleepiness. Turn on every light in the room.
• Pull Down on Your Earlobes – This may sound strange, but pulling down on your earlobes can help you stay awake and alert when you’re feeling drowsy. Just try it.
• Nutritious Low Carb Snacks – Low carb fruits such as raspberries, apples, oranges, and grapefruits are great energy boosters. Heaping scoops of spicy salsa on a few small crackers is another goodie. Stay away from meats, breads and dairy products.
• Read up on all dungeon tactics.

If I don't post before, everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you Vets!

On the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, in the eleventh hour, the armistice was signed halting fighting in WWI. The great war was finally over, the treaty of "the war to end all wars" had been signed.

Today we honor U.S. service men and women who have severed, fought and protected our homeland and freedom. Please take a few minutes to say THANK YOU! Being a vet myself I have a bit of an understanding of the sacrifice that is made on a day to day basis.

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

Woodrow Wilson, 1911

Game ease or better players?

For those of us who care!

With 4.0.1 hitting I have noticed something. We are M U C H further along than in combat ratings, threat generation, build advice and gems/enchant guide already out. Take a look at the following:

Combat rating started on Sep 19th. That's almost overwhelming.
Digrens gems/enchanting guide started on Oct 5th.
Prot pallys field manual started on Oct 14th.
Thecks MATLAB and if you are ever in the mood for huge pounding headache (I say that with the most respect possible) there is always Theck and his complete and constantly updated guide on all things threat from talent, gems, and even food buffs.

I was not around for the release of The Burning Crusade but I was playing when Wrath hit. I do not remember the amount of info being ready before Wrath, yes there was info but I don't think to this extent. We had little mystery about how Wrath was going to be. No the raids were not on par with TBC but boss mechanics were know, videos were out and due to the extensive amount of skill it took to raid Sunwell and even BT in TBC Wrath seemed like cake. Not because it was easier but because we were ready, more well read, had more info and it was like going for the Major Leagues to AAA ball in a metaphorical sense.

I can see coming up the huge adjustment the average player. I do not use casual player because a casual player can be competent and with the boredom of the even most hard core player in Wrath, many of the really good raiders are done and now just waiting. So, I instead put average there. The guy or lady who is naturally good enough get into a decent guild but not a superstar and is the kind of player who doesn't put out the DPS they could, the kind that says "why do I need to read to play a game" kind of player.

For those of us who care, Cataclysm is going to be difficult at the start when we have another adjustment but it seems classes are more balanced in abilities if not slightly OP at this point. For those of us who care, we already have read what we are going to expect, even if not on Beta. For those of us who care 4.0.3 and beyond will not be a mystery, we will know our class and that is because others spend precious time to give us access to this info. For those of us who care the game is easier due to better players knowing game mechanics before hand. You don't need to be "PRO" to care about wanting to be a success at anything you do including a hobby or a game.

For those of us who care is it game ease or better players? I choose both and send out a big thank you to those guys like Theck, Digren, Towelliee, Whitetooth, Jere, Emptyrepublic, Rhida, anyone who puts time in to make a blog, run a forum or ask questions and many many many others. Thank you for making the game easier and all of us who care....better players.

The new community site

I really like the look of the new site and some of its functions. Late to the game? maybe but still very cool. I don't really know how the 2 are going to coincide with each other. By this I mean the wow forums/armory and the new battlenet viewer and forums. The good thing is it takes some of the anonymity of the Internet away by putting your other toons and name there. But will it be used?
Here is Chasey's :

It has some cool functions like Character Audit if you go advanced it will lay out your gems, enchants and a more broad showing of gear (advanced pictured). It also lets you flip thru your toons really fast. A bit of a note thou, not all features are working and if you haven't logged to that toon it will black them out and not show features. The only thing I don't like and I look on to change it but haven't seen anything is the pose. My human toon is covered by the shield.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/

Random thoughts

Play style~
Most have settled in nicely. The stupid questions are gone from trade. Gems/mats have come down in price. We are now holding for Dec 7th and the release of Cata.

What a wild ride Wrath has been. From a reused intro raid that was more than doable in TBC gear to a filler raid that had no trash and made you stand in the same room. Don't get me wrong, Wrath was not all bad, it had great points and some not so great.

Wrath Babies- its a term I've heard used a bit now and then. Its defined in the Urban Dictionary as:

A World of Warcraft player who began playing the game during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion (13-Nov-2008 to 07-Dec-2010). This type of player is characterized by a lack of experience in difficult content and a sense of entitlement to epics without putting forth any actual time or effort. Most likely to quit shortly after the launch of Cataclysm. The following behavior may also qualify someone as a wrath baby: - Leaves a group after one wipe. - Has never used crowd control and probably doesn't even have it on their action bars. - Complains about the GearScore of group members, unless his own GearScore happens to be lower. - Checks GearScore and/or achievement before inviting people into a PUG, especially for simple runs. - Cannot find an instance portal even when given directions. - Thinks that Sunwell Plateau should be easymode at level 80. - Favorite class is Death Knight. - Uses AoE during every pull. - Starts running heroics immediately after reaching max level.

Or:

In World of Warcraft, refers to a player that plays with the Wrath of the Lich King attitude - AoE everything, what is threat, what is Crowd Control, and expects epics to be handed to them on a silver platter for free.

That is so spot on. There is a serious rope Blizz wants to walk with players have the correct gear to run the current content without farming the old stuff to gear others but I think Wrath may have taken "FREE EPIX" to a new level. Lets hope Cata fixes that.

I think I'm cursed~

No not the  add-on site. I took a break from raiding with starting school and my schedule being way to hectic to devote the time. My guild and its leaders have done a awesome job keeping raiding, bringing in decent people and holding the guild together. BRAVO to the officers and members of Jinx and best of all they let me stay and do my thing. I appreciate that.

Now to the curse...
I have been back for a few weeks I think. Showing every time I can. I still have class on Thursday nite so thats a no go. The raids I've been to have been wipe fests, working on just cleaning up content and learning your class. They have been tolerant but the deaths keep adding up. Well on my two days I didn't make it we downed HLDW and HPP...I have spent so many hours with those fights and I don't show and what happens...they go get them. Good for us and them but booo for me and not being there when it mattered.

Briefly~

Khasey, My DK hit 80. Gear is going to be an issue. I refuse to put out alot of money in gear this close to patch and alas....I am not on a server that has a huge crafter base. My plan is to get her geared enough that she won't be two shot in Cata and easy the leveling so I can have a crafter. So maybe a week or two of heroics will put me nicely in what I need. Oh....do any of you realize how crazy it is to be a tank in a heroic and have at mage have more HP's than you? It doesn't make you feel warm and fuzzy.

The Gem market has come back down to its regular level and hit around the 100g mark. Gems were nice money makers there for a bit.

I will say thou, undercutters are brutal lately. Brief observation thou...
How not to rune the market... Lets say you have a red gem on the AH and its listed at the market price. Then some brilliant donkey comes by and lists his red gem for 20g cheaper trying to make a quick sell which is what the WoW AH usually is. If that gem doesn't sell right away the next guy trying to make quick gold will under cut him.I seen this on my server and literlly it killed the market for red gems overnite. I listed my gems for 139g (I was the cheapest by 5s) went for a drink, came back and there 2 listed for 20g cheaper. I have watched the trend and it really has never recovered from that point. Yes it did float up a bit but 100g to 120g has been average since that point on.

Tanking Adventures DK edition

News Flash; Cata is coming soon...
I'm being silly.
I know everyone knows this but I wanted to have a DK to level 80 before it hit. Being kind of bored, na, very bored I decided to level my 75 DK. Much to my surprise mining is so good at giving XP I did a whole level mining.

I was going to say in my Tanking Adventures that with Cata coming and everyone getting used to the new class mechanics that there is almost a calm before the storm attitude. Doing my daily dungeon to get my JP has been smooth, fast and fun. I have had no issues, until yesterday...

I que'd as DPS, I was mining and just wanted to get my points, have no stress and grab some XP. No such luck, almost 15 minutes and I had my fill. I que'd as tank, switched specs and my que pooped. I shook my head and wondered out loud to myself, what is wrong with me and gave a giggle.

I zone into HoS, I wasn't at full healt so I sat to eat and the lock pulls. Yep, but he did stun the mobs so I guess he did us all a favor by at least stunning them so I could grab aggro. Right before those fully died, the warrior charges and grabs the next mob, pulling the two Golums behind. I managed to grab them all, not happy and rethinking to myself "why didn't I wait for the DPS que again.  The healer needed mana at this point and BTW no buffs were handed out. We get set and again, MR. Lock pulls the next 3 pack at that same time, in party chat Mr. Warrior says, we are all here for the same thing to get XP so lets move this along faster. I grabbed what I could due to the fact that this pull if not done with bit of caution you can get two 3 pulls and a two giants. I back up and at that point after send the lock a tell "if you want to tank, please que as such next time" I get a party chat response of, "YOU ARE A CONTROL FREAK, LETS MOVE ALONG" and proceeds to pull the next 3 pack. Then the warrior pulls the next giant. I gather all these guys and say, PLEASE do not pull, if you pull from now on you will be tanking.

We are not even past the 1st hallway and I want to leave. At that point the 3 pat that comes around the stairs gets the mage who has failed to move up. I gather the caster and lay D&D down. The melee come towards the healer, I get them and have it under control.

I get "Tank, could you please try harder on aggro" from the Mr. Lock and at that time the Warrior says, "I'm going to tank" then switches specs.

I feel relieved and a bit butt hurt but it will pass. Off goes the warrior, half health and at the AoE pack and grabs the 2 golums too. Mobs go everywhere then die. He charges into the next AoE pack and the mage dies. This is going to be brutal. After we kill the stone boss and head down the hall the Warrior take a right, pulls all 3 packs. Its not pretty and I switch presence and pop a few CD's the tank is dead, the lock is dead and so is the mage. Healer is at almost dead and I'm at full health but its too much. We wipe!

I couldn't contain myself, I say in party...."that was a well planned pull and a HUGE time saver", Yes yes I know I shouldn't have. The tank responds with "if you were tanking we still be standing there". "Yes", I say, "but we'd be alive and the mobs wouldn't".

The gauntlet was brutal and the mage died. At the end I get a tell from the healer "you did a much better job tanking than this guy". I say "TY".

Mind you in all this I don't pull slow. I'm a tad cautious on the DK cause I'm not totally comfortable. But in no way am I slow.

We finish w/o anymore wipes, before we drop group the lock says to the warrior thank you for stepping up and doing such a good job. I just laughed.

I am very close to hitting level so I que once more, in comes Mr. Rezsickshammy. Not his name but he still has the debuff and its fresh an new. I ask about it he says, "don't worry about it, just tank". The healer sends me a tell saying, "what and asshat this guys is". He did an incredible 310 DPS, oh wait...he hit 810 DPS with blood lust. He did manage to pull every boss with wolf's regardless of the healer having mana or not.

I have since rethought the feeling the class and being on cruze mode...LOL

Isn't pugging wonderful?