Although I generally do not get very serious or informative about technical game issues, dps standards or cookie cutter specs, I did read some very interesting posts by Ghost Crawler over at MMO this morning which I felt worthy of attention here.
Being a strong member of that 90% average player base, I found GC's posts to be both unique and informative from several standpoints. Perhaps the most noticeable one is that the read was class agnostic, often difficult especially when discussing the talent trees. Other interesting notes about his posts include his comments towards cookie-cutter builds...
"I have deviated from these sacred builds often on my own characters because I found that I don't rely on certain abilities or mechanics as much as the build assumes I should. Now maybe my dps (healing, etc.) would improve if I could manage to do that, but in the interim using a build that is bad for me just because it's the anointed one doesn't make sense. A- dps with the "bad" build is superior to C+ dps with the "good" build."
and dps maxing:
"Min-maxxing is fun. It's part of the game. Sometimes (more rarely than is claimed) it's even necessary for progression. Just keep it in perspective. It's probably not going to doom your attempt if you pick up a fun talent instead of a 1% dps increase. If the Saturday pug won't take you because you lack the anointed talent, you're probably better off not running with them."
All said and done, the post is worth the time to read.
25 September 2010
23 September 2010
Weekly round-up: The Rogue Child
Oneshadow, a NE Rogue, is Sols' youngest child. Now, Sol has tried raiseing up rogues before, but they never seemed to quite bond with him. Several attempts actually, on both Ally and Horde factions. All met their demise by level ten. So, just what are the differences now where an intentional bank/ah alt child suddenly starts maturing with both vigor and relatively successful ease? I don't think that there is any single definitive answer, but if pressed for one I would have to say that starting to learn this class' playstyle and abilities has been nothing short of "fun".
I would also have to attribute Oneshadow's sudden claim to be noticed and reckoned with, as genetically influenced. With nearly three years of war (craft) play and more races and classes attempted than I can remember, perhaps the rogue childs' high level of independant nature just suddenly seemed to fill the mode and needs rather well. ( I have heard it said that rogues will hire out to just about anyone! )
As it stands at the moment, Oneshadow has in the past four days gained eight ages, currently sitting at level 18. He has traveled far and wide with various ups quests, (go talk to this or that person, deliver such and such), and quietly stealthed up on mobs 1-2 levels higher with ease (more successful than not). His latest flurry of excitement came from learning to sap, pick-pocket, then backstab. Followed quickly by gouge and another backstab. The extra loot from the pick-pocketing is small for now, but at the end of the day it turns out to be a nice tidy little sum of notice. Before this discovery, he used to stealth up and go straight for the backstab, which usually ended up as a miss. Perhaps due to the distance thing. So when he tried for the sap first instead and found he did'nt have to get quite as close, the backstab came off most every time. The inclusion of the pick-pocket followed quickly afterward. All this is "fun" stuff. Grab some extra loot and kill the target to boot for more loot.
Oneshadow is slightly going against the grain for now. Duel-wielding daggers along with speccing assassination. Yes, I have read that he really should be swinging about a pair of one-handed swords for greater dps. But since his dagger skills are already established, they remain his mainstay weapons of choice when questing against mobs his level and slightly higher. The dps issue/info did not go un-noticed though. When it came to my attention, Oneshadow quickly went and got weapons training in everything which was available to him, EVERYTHING! His bags now hold an assortment of weapons available for use. He could only find one fair 1H sword so far, but came up with an equally fair cross-bow and gun. (along with a better throwing knife). Still needs some maces and axes to round out his weapons training. All these need to be skilled up to level as yet, but he travels a lot so there are plenty of areas where he can take time to work on them. On this, his first day of becoming skilled in all weapons, he equipped the sword and used his gun to pull. Kind of like combo points, skill point for gun going off and several points for using the sword along side the off hand dagger. He'll start working in the crossbow as well, and eventually maces and axes as he comes into them. Hmmmm? A little something for whatever comes along weapon toolbox? Could (will) be interesting.
One other little surprise tactic he unexpectedly learned; when things get out of hand such as multiple mobs joining the fight in progress and death is staring him in the face, SHADOWMELD! He discovered that if he don't de-select his target, go shadowmeld, the extra mobs go their way while the original target maintains whatever combo points were on him at the time. It is a be patient move. Wait until health is up, go stealth again, and finish off the original target. Works like a charm! He just only needs to be mindful of not letting his health go to the point where the mobs kill him anyway. (alright, it took a couple of deaths to perfect this one!) Oh, and being able to stealth in to a quest target without wading through all the mobs first is another big happy advantage.
That's about it for this weekly round-up of goings on within Sol's family. Sol is still vacationing somewhere, even though the kids have found him quite helpful from his money bag for bringing their professions up to skill level. (spoiled brats!) Gotta love them though.
Out of curiousity, has anyone else tried skilling up all available weapons on their rogue? How did it work out for you? Did you find it advantagous while leveling to switch out weapons for different quests-bg's- or whatever? Don't be bashful! Let me know your experiences, or escapades!
I would also have to attribute Oneshadow's sudden claim to be noticed and reckoned with, as genetically influenced. With nearly three years of war (craft) play and more races and classes attempted than I can remember, perhaps the rogue childs' high level of independant nature just suddenly seemed to fill the mode and needs rather well. ( I have heard it said that rogues will hire out to just about anyone! )
As it stands at the moment, Oneshadow has in the past four days gained eight ages, currently sitting at level 18. He has traveled far and wide with various ups quests, (go talk to this or that person, deliver such and such), and quietly stealthed up on mobs 1-2 levels higher with ease (more successful than not). His latest flurry of excitement came from learning to sap, pick-pocket, then backstab. Followed quickly by gouge and another backstab. The extra loot from the pick-pocketing is small for now, but at the end of the day it turns out to be a nice tidy little sum of notice. Before this discovery, he used to stealth up and go straight for the backstab, which usually ended up as a miss. Perhaps due to the distance thing. So when he tried for the sap first instead and found he did'nt have to get quite as close, the backstab came off most every time. The inclusion of the pick-pocket followed quickly afterward. All this is "fun" stuff. Grab some extra loot and kill the target to boot for more loot.
Oneshadow is slightly going against the grain for now. Duel-wielding daggers along with speccing assassination. Yes, I have read that he really should be swinging about a pair of one-handed swords for greater dps. But since his dagger skills are already established, they remain his mainstay weapons of choice when questing against mobs his level and slightly higher. The dps issue/info did not go un-noticed though. When it came to my attention, Oneshadow quickly went and got weapons training in everything which was available to him, EVERYTHING! His bags now hold an assortment of weapons available for use. He could only find one fair 1H sword so far, but came up with an equally fair cross-bow and gun. (along with a better throwing knife). Still needs some maces and axes to round out his weapons training. All these need to be skilled up to level as yet, but he travels a lot so there are plenty of areas where he can take time to work on them. On this, his first day of becoming skilled in all weapons, he equipped the sword and used his gun to pull. Kind of like combo points, skill point for gun going off and several points for using the sword along side the off hand dagger. He'll start working in the crossbow as well, and eventually maces and axes as he comes into them. Hmmmm? A little something for whatever comes along weapon toolbox? Could (will) be interesting.
One other little surprise tactic he unexpectedly learned; when things get out of hand such as multiple mobs joining the fight in progress and death is staring him in the face, SHADOWMELD! He discovered that if he don't de-select his target, go shadowmeld, the extra mobs go their way while the original target maintains whatever combo points were on him at the time. It is a be patient move. Wait until health is up, go stealth again, and finish off the original target. Works like a charm! He just only needs to be mindful of not letting his health go to the point where the mobs kill him anyway. (alright, it took a couple of deaths to perfect this one!) Oh, and being able to stealth in to a quest target without wading through all the mobs first is another big happy advantage.
That's about it for this weekly round-up of goings on within Sol's family. Sol is still vacationing somewhere, even though the kids have found him quite helpful from his money bag for bringing their professions up to skill level. (spoiled brats!) Gotta love them though.
Out of curiousity, has anyone else tried skilling up all available weapons on their rogue? How did it work out for you? Did you find it advantagous while leveling to switch out weapons for different quests-bg's- or whatever? Don't be bashful! Let me know your experiences, or escapades!
21 September 2010
Times are Slow...
Sol got lazy, or tired perhaps. Lately he's only been showing up long enough to do a gem transmute, and maybe the two local dailys. Beyond that, he heads back to his perch at the inn and turns the reins over to the kids.
So for the past week or so, the kids have been enjoying their romp through the Eastern Kingdoms. All three have leveled several times and with the exception of the shaman, have brung their professons up to par for their level. Bubblegumtwo (ele shaman), is in that awkward period of mid-forties. Bouncing between the Hinterlands and Dustwallow Marsh while trying to decide where the next best zone of opportunity lies for him. His jewel crafting has also kind of stalled out, so he needs to make some serious decisions rather soon.
Netherone (aff lock), is fairing better. Having gained three levels (now 33), with his blacksmithing maxed untill he can reach 35 to go further. He only needs a handful of smithing points to also gain weapon-smith specialization. If he got off his butt and tried out the RDF, he could probably knock out those 2 levels fairly quickly. He should also be stocking up some honor points with BG's, but like most kids, he seldom listens to the voice of reasonable knowledge.
Kaimara (frost mage), has been surprizeingly nimble in her leveling, gaining four levels rather quickly and somewhat efficiently. Her enchanting is a little slow, although not seriously lacking, and her tailoring is up to level. Her sudden adeptness at taking out mobs is rather interesting and fun at the moment. She also recently learned how to escape from those ?? ganker/corpse-campers, a lesson which will be quite useful in her world. Kaimara did attempt her first battleground several weeks ago and should really spend a bit more time there. Like her brothers though, she has effectively avoided the RDF thus far, behaviour which could stand some correction. Her two older brothers haven't exactly been the best of role models in those two areas.
Then there's Oneshadow (the rogue child). Truely a rogue in every way, he does'nt follow in the footsteps of any of his elder siblings. Mostly just hangs out, supplying extra bank space and running auction house errands. Lately though, his boots have begun itching. He now travels about doing his gathering of ore, herbs and cloth. It's has not proven to be all that beneficial for his siblings though since he is so much younger, and he is happy with just gathering without the added stress of a crafting profession. So he's hit the questing trail and actually managed to grow a level or two of late. Daddy might just have to spot him some cash for AH ore stock so he can up his smelting and be a bit more useful. Having been so lazy and reluctant, he finds himself able to smelt ore a bit higher than he is able to gather at the moment. At level 14, he does need to grow up a bit. Even his cousins over on Mediev are older and more advanced.
Such is the way and goings on for Sol. He's just kinda kicked back and enjoying the sights of his kids romping about, leaving trails of death and destruction in their wake. He has found it quite interesting to re-visit many of those old world quests through the eyes of his kids, while the sudden memories of just how irritating those level grinds really were in his time give him heartburn. Just as in life though, his kids have things so much easier. They have his experience and knowledge to work with (along with his gold!), so getting around the zones and able to manuver the in's and out's more efficiently has greatly improved their quality of life.
How about your kids? Are they also enjoying the benefits of your labours? Or are they just collecting dust until their whole world erupts with change?
So for the past week or so, the kids have been enjoying their romp through the Eastern Kingdoms. All three have leveled several times and with the exception of the shaman, have brung their professons up to par for their level. Bubblegumtwo (ele shaman), is in that awkward period of mid-forties. Bouncing between the Hinterlands and Dustwallow Marsh while trying to decide where the next best zone of opportunity lies for him. His jewel crafting has also kind of stalled out, so he needs to make some serious decisions rather soon.
Netherone (aff lock), is fairing better. Having gained three levels (now 33), with his blacksmithing maxed untill he can reach 35 to go further. He only needs a handful of smithing points to also gain weapon-smith specialization. If he got off his butt and tried out the RDF, he could probably knock out those 2 levels fairly quickly. He should also be stocking up some honor points with BG's, but like most kids, he seldom listens to the voice of reasonable knowledge.
Kaimara (frost mage), has been surprizeingly nimble in her leveling, gaining four levels rather quickly and somewhat efficiently. Her enchanting is a little slow, although not seriously lacking, and her tailoring is up to level. Her sudden adeptness at taking out mobs is rather interesting and fun at the moment. She also recently learned how to escape from those ?? ganker/corpse-campers, a lesson which will be quite useful in her world. Kaimara did attempt her first battleground several weeks ago and should really spend a bit more time there. Like her brothers though, she has effectively avoided the RDF thus far, behaviour which could stand some correction. Her two older brothers haven't exactly been the best of role models in those two areas.
Then there's Oneshadow (the rogue child). Truely a rogue in every way, he does'nt follow in the footsteps of any of his elder siblings. Mostly just hangs out, supplying extra bank space and running auction house errands. Lately though, his boots have begun itching. He now travels about doing his gathering of ore, herbs and cloth. It's has not proven to be all that beneficial for his siblings though since he is so much younger, and he is happy with just gathering without the added stress of a crafting profession. So he's hit the questing trail and actually managed to grow a level or two of late. Daddy might just have to spot him some cash for AH ore stock so he can up his smelting and be a bit more useful. Having been so lazy and reluctant, he finds himself able to smelt ore a bit higher than he is able to gather at the moment. At level 14, he does need to grow up a bit. Even his cousins over on Mediev are older and more advanced.
Such is the way and goings on for Sol. He's just kinda kicked back and enjoying the sights of his kids romping about, leaving trails of death and destruction in their wake. He has found it quite interesting to re-visit many of those old world quests through the eyes of his kids, while the sudden memories of just how irritating those level grinds really were in his time give him heartburn. Just as in life though, his kids have things so much easier. They have his experience and knowledge to work with (along with his gold!), so getting around the zones and able to manuver the in's and out's more efficiently has greatly improved their quality of life.
How about your kids? Are they also enjoying the benefits of your labours? Or are they just collecting dust until their whole world erupts with change?
18 September 2010
Shattered Halls
During my usual nightly reading, I happened to wander over to the Armory to look through my achievements lists. I've been trying to solo many of the older dungeons and instances I didn't do way back when. There is an underlying method to this madness though. Only a small part involves just seeing game content I missed, the larger part has to do with beginning to learn my off-spec feral bear tank.
The over-all plan isn't really set in stone, since I am making efforts to learn as much as possible on my own, within my playstyle. Perhaps not the best approach since there really is a ton of information available across the nets on how to be a good/great tank. And yes, I have read much of it for it will have it's usefulness over time. But reading 'how to' and actually 'doing' whatever, remains two very different worlds.
My approach for now is to just let Sol jump into the instance with his main balance spec. After all, it is the stronger spec atm and he does handle it fairly well enough. Sol don't do any pre-fight research on these instances since he is level-capped and most likely able to just walk through them anyway. He takes his time in doing so though, making sure he does total clears, no missed trash or skipping about. Everything and every mob has it's value in knowledge gained. He always does multiple mob pulls and works the crowd for the experience. Getting to know who all comes along with the initial target pull and what is needed to keep the crowd in a decent AoE zone placement so he don't inadvertantly pull a bunch more. Which has happened a time or two :)
Then there's the learning part of how to bring the casters into the crowd so the AoE reaches them as well. This usually involves moving the crowd to them. Casters are so reluctant towards movement. ( I can't imagine why) Kind of a strange thing here...first he pulls the crowd towards him to seperate them from additional mobs. But then he may have to take the crowd back closer to the wayward casters. So additional care is needed in the decision of wheather or not to include all or part of the casters, maybe let one or two wait until the main crowd is down. Which means, he has to be able to take damage from them. Just something else to keep in mind when considering how his bear will deal with these situations.
I think my point here is, in having Sol boomkin the instance first, this is my way of researching the fight and developing some stratagies. He gets to know the layout of the instance and the trash progression towards each boss. He learns about zones which are safe to openly nuke in, and where he needs to be extra aware of possible adds. He gets a feel for each boss and their abilities. He also learns when his magic spells are about worthless. (thank Elune for shapeshift!)
All this brings Sol back to the post title, Shattered Halls. You may have been wondering how that fit in. Well, yesterday Sol did the quest line for the key to the Halls, and of coarse, jumped right in. What a mess that turned out to be! Very different from all the other instances he's solo'ed. Sol actually bit the dusty floor several times, ok, maybe 8 or 10 times, lost count. Stubborn though, kept at it until completed, and forked over the 50 gold for repairs. Sol did really enjoy the instance though. Lots of different trash abilities, mobs a bit closer knit to each other along with other surprise packages. Each death he endured brung about several minutes of comptemplation of how to proceed. It would seem to Sol that Shattered Halls required much more thought than any of the other instances he's done. This is all good. He will use this as a personal benchmark when he actually starts tanking for a group. It'll be a while yet, but as far as I can see, Outland isn't overly affected from the Cataclysm, rather stable. So when he's ready for groups, Shattered Halls will serve the purpose quite nicely.
The over-all plan isn't really set in stone, since I am making efforts to learn as much as possible on my own, within my playstyle. Perhaps not the best approach since there really is a ton of information available across the nets on how to be a good/great tank. And yes, I have read much of it for it will have it's usefulness over time. But reading 'how to' and actually 'doing' whatever, remains two very different worlds.
My approach for now is to just let Sol jump into the instance with his main balance spec. After all, it is the stronger spec atm and he does handle it fairly well enough. Sol don't do any pre-fight research on these instances since he is level-capped and most likely able to just walk through them anyway. He takes his time in doing so though, making sure he does total clears, no missed trash or skipping about. Everything and every mob has it's value in knowledge gained. He always does multiple mob pulls and works the crowd for the experience. Getting to know who all comes along with the initial target pull and what is needed to keep the crowd in a decent AoE zone placement so he don't inadvertantly pull a bunch more. Which has happened a time or two :)
Then there's the learning part of how to bring the casters into the crowd so the AoE reaches them as well. This usually involves moving the crowd to them. Casters are so reluctant towards movement. ( I can't imagine why) Kind of a strange thing here...first he pulls the crowd towards him to seperate them from additional mobs. But then he may have to take the crowd back closer to the wayward casters. So additional care is needed in the decision of wheather or not to include all or part of the casters, maybe let one or two wait until the main crowd is down. Which means, he has to be able to take damage from them. Just something else to keep in mind when considering how his bear will deal with these situations.
I think my point here is, in having Sol boomkin the instance first, this is my way of researching the fight and developing some stratagies. He gets to know the layout of the instance and the trash progression towards each boss. He learns about zones which are safe to openly nuke in, and where he needs to be extra aware of possible adds. He gets a feel for each boss and their abilities. He also learns when his magic spells are about worthless. (thank Elune for shapeshift!)
All this brings Sol back to the post title, Shattered Halls. You may have been wondering how that fit in. Well, yesterday Sol did the quest line for the key to the Halls, and of coarse, jumped right in. What a mess that turned out to be! Very different from all the other instances he's solo'ed. Sol actually bit the dusty floor several times, ok, maybe 8 or 10 times, lost count. Stubborn though, kept at it until completed, and forked over the 50 gold for repairs. Sol did really enjoy the instance though. Lots of different trash abilities, mobs a bit closer knit to each other along with other surprise packages. Each death he endured brung about several minutes of comptemplation of how to proceed. It would seem to Sol that Shattered Halls required much more thought than any of the other instances he's done. This is all good. He will use this as a personal benchmark when he actually starts tanking for a group. It'll be a while yet, but as far as I can see, Outland isn't overly affected from the Cataclysm, rather stable. So when he's ready for groups, Shattered Halls will serve the purpose quite nicely.
16 September 2010
The Thinking Druid...seriously!?!
Although it does not appear to be so, Sol does have his moments of serious thought about the conditions of his world. For several months now, the impending cataclysmic events have found Sol drowning in a sea of information, while cussing the reality that he forgot to pack his water breathing potions for the trip. Should have even taken along a few water walking elixiers as well.
Even with the literal e-reams of information pages available, the waters about Sol are rather murky and visibility is limited. What's this again? Int being swapped for spell power? Hit on gear going bye-bye? Mana becoming an issue again? My rotation is going to be flashed in the action bars for me? How long before I proc eclipse...how many wraths you say?
You get the general idea here. A whole bunch of changes to soak up. And the ebb and flow of that sea of information just keeps doing just that...flowing back and forth with needing to do this or that just to maintain a portion of our nuke abilities and remain a viable unique asset within a group. To sum up one general thought swirling about in that sea...Sol will get a couple new toys to play with, and just have to deal with the balance of the mess.
For certain, the theory-crafters will come up with a viable, working rotation in spite of what comes out in the wash. Thank Elune for that. Also for certain, there'll be a wave of gear-gemming-enchanting info eventually available. These will become the life preservers tossed out to the massively average pool of players trying to become better in a world of war (craft).
As near as Sol can figure out, the balanced druid seems to be getting more nerfs and probmatic areas than anything else. Hopefully, the waters will clear and calm themselves before the tide comes in. Sol is going to miss those days of Wrath when he could nuke down just about anything, whenever he chose to with whatever spell he chose to use. Eclipse? What was that? When Sol pulled a target, it would be dead long before an eclipse would proc, well before it could even reach him. About the only time he saw eclipse was when he would pull multiple mobs (5+) and toss in a couple of AoE's to take the whole mess down at the same time. Let's get real here for a moment...the average balance druid leveling and questing will probably never proc an eclipse, no matter how fancy Blizz has made it out to be. And those new toys druids get, well they pretty much don't appear that quickly. Sol remembers reading about them somewhere around levels 82 and 85. Perhaps some of this has changed, hopefully. Sol has been a little slack in his reading of late due to the dazed and confused state of his world under Deathwings' assualt.
Is there hope out there, somewhere? Will Sol's delicate balance between arcane and nature be his survivable asset after all? One can but tread water, wait and see. And hope that those invaluable theory-crafters continue to keep those life-preservers coming.
Even with the literal e-reams of information pages available, the waters about Sol are rather murky and visibility is limited. What's this again? Int being swapped for spell power? Hit on gear going bye-bye? Mana becoming an issue again? My rotation is going to be flashed in the action bars for me? How long before I proc eclipse...how many wraths you say?
You get the general idea here. A whole bunch of changes to soak up. And the ebb and flow of that sea of information just keeps doing just that...flowing back and forth with needing to do this or that just to maintain a portion of our nuke abilities and remain a viable unique asset within a group. To sum up one general thought swirling about in that sea...Sol will get a couple new toys to play with, and just have to deal with the balance of the mess.
For certain, the theory-crafters will come up with a viable, working rotation in spite of what comes out in the wash. Thank Elune for that. Also for certain, there'll be a wave of gear-gemming-enchanting info eventually available. These will become the life preservers tossed out to the massively average pool of players trying to become better in a world of war (craft).
As near as Sol can figure out, the balanced druid seems to be getting more nerfs and probmatic areas than anything else. Hopefully, the waters will clear and calm themselves before the tide comes in. Sol is going to miss those days of Wrath when he could nuke down just about anything, whenever he chose to with whatever spell he chose to use. Eclipse? What was that? When Sol pulled a target, it would be dead long before an eclipse would proc, well before it could even reach him. About the only time he saw eclipse was when he would pull multiple mobs (5+) and toss in a couple of AoE's to take the whole mess down at the same time. Let's get real here for a moment...the average balance druid leveling and questing will probably never proc an eclipse, no matter how fancy Blizz has made it out to be. And those new toys druids get, well they pretty much don't appear that quickly. Sol remembers reading about them somewhere around levels 82 and 85. Perhaps some of this has changed, hopefully. Sol has been a little slack in his reading of late due to the dazed and confused state of his world under Deathwings' assualt.
Is there hope out there, somewhere? Will Sol's delicate balance between arcane and nature be his survivable asset after all? One can but tread water, wait and see. And hope that those invaluable theory-crafters continue to keep those life-preservers coming.
12 September 2010
OMG! 4.0 already?
Note: For an in-depth posting about this patch, visit Ice over at Druid Main.
So, I open up google reader this night and Ice's post jumps out of the page at me. I feel so not ready for this. It seems like I've only barely gotten a grip on how to best play Sol, and now this. Don't get me quite wrong though, I am excited. But with having to learn how to do so many new things with playstyle, rotation and such, I am sure I'll be quite lost for several days. :)
Anyway, Ice did post some rather useful advice, well worth reading. Now then, just where did I put all my notes about those new talent trees???
So, I open up google reader this night and Ice's post jumps out of the page at me. I feel so not ready for this. It seems like I've only barely gotten a grip on how to best play Sol, and now this. Don't get me quite wrong though, I am excited. But with having to learn how to do so many new things with playstyle, rotation and such, I am sure I'll be quite lost for several days. :)
Anyway, Ice did post some rather useful advice, well worth reading. Now then, just where did I put all my notes about those new talent trees???
09 September 2010
Sol's recent pics
(click pics to...you know)
I really enjoy going solo (or attempting to) on quest kill targets that are a significant challenge. You know the ones. The elites or bosses, or simply those who happen to have 5 times the HP (health) you are running around with. Take this little wicked lady for instance, Sirana Iceshirek. It actually took me several attempts on two different days to bring her down. Three attempts/deaths came the first day when Sol decided to back off and re-think his stratagy. Several days later Sol found himself in the area and went for her again. The first attempt did'nt last long before she stomped him. On the second go around though, Sol finally got his act together and she went down quick. What a difference it makes when you take time to plan a rotation/attack, making sure you utilize all or at least most of your available assets.
And as much as I generally don't care for battlegrounds, I do enjoy some time away in Wintergrasp. I was away from there for a bit of time when I no longer needed the honor points, but started back up again with the intention of putting together my off-spec tanking gear set. I've found that the usual 'crowd' has changed quite a bit, many new players whose names I don't recognise. I've also found that Wintergrasp is no longer owned by the Horde 95% of the time. I think this may be down to about 80%, and during those Alliance wins, there is also a smattering of wins for defending the fortress, maintaining control in the follow-up battle. All this makes battle deaths that much sweeter, and Sol does get his share of deaths :) Allies still remain out-numbered, though not quite as outrageous as before. Perhaps due to many players just waiting around for the next expansion to go live. Besides, no matter what the numbers or deaths endured, Sol always leaves behind a trail of damage done, even if he spent time on a tower cannon.
And from Blizzard's official community site, we have seen the pics of the new Worgen bear/cat forms. Finally, something that actually looks a bit sinister and mean! I really did like these for a change. There are also some pics of the trolls bear/cat forms at the site.
One last pic for today. I fell in love with the staff Murmer left behind after his sudden demise. Talk about huge! I just had to have a SS of it for memory sake.
And from Blizzard's official community site, we have seen the pics of the new Worgen bear/cat forms. Finally, something that actually looks a bit sinister and mean! I really did like these for a change. There are also some pics of the trolls bear/cat forms at the site.
One last pic for today. I fell in love with the staff Murmer left behind after his sudden demise. Talk about huge! I just had to have a SS of it for memory sake.
See everyone later, and have fun making war!
~Sol~
06 September 2010
Cataclysm-and why I don't...
Eons have passed since I last crunched numbers. Although I was quite good at it back then, I discovered that I really did not enjoy doing it. (and I do mean 'way back then') This is perhaps one of the main reasons why you won't ever see me posting about the new dynamics for moonkins and the effects all the changes are having on our rotations and dps. (Oh, and that eons back thing, well I had changed my major into the arts)
Now, there are plenty of theorycrafters out there in cyber-space who are quite good and can offer you all the current information you might be seeking about Cataclysm and the changes to your class. Even I have come to rely upon several whom I think are quite knowledgeable, and reliable. I'll even provide a short listing at the end of this post for you.
Like it or not, Cataclysm is still in beta form and will most likely remain that way for at least another two months. Of everything I've read thus far, the expectations for release are about mid-November. That leaves a lot of game time for the majority of players to enjoy, perhaps doing many of the things which may cease to exist come the expansion. And that is what I've been doing for about the past month now. Sorta-kinda-like your average Druid just running around experianceing old content he missed along the way. Sure, Sol could be working on some better gear and perhaps a new staff, he could be working on improving his pvp abilities (which I'm sure are a disgrace to fellow boomkins), but with all the new changes coming why not just sit back and enjoy the game? No matter what, the inevitable will come.
Sol is not alone in this journey, so to speak. I've read a pretty fair number of blogs where players are doing very simular things with their mains and alts. More often now, I am coming across new 'bucket lists' of things to do before Cata arrives. Sol don't really have a list of things to do, he just sorta falls into anything that happens to pop up during his travels. This is a quite enjoyable method for Sol, usually filled with some unknown surprise here and there. In the back of his mind, he remembers along the way to consider his kids (alts), picking up some heirlooms/BoA gear here and there, stockpiling some mats for their professions (to a point), and trying to fill up his rather small money bag. The gear and pvp experience will come in time, but there is much of the old world which will cease to exist and Sol would really like to know some of it before then. Besides, he still has to work on a tanking set of gear as well, so there are plenty of things to do.
I do tend to ramble on sometimes, it just sort of happens. The point here though is that Sol is not experiencing any of those summertime blues or lack of interest in playing. He is not so elite or pompous to claim 'having done everything', just because of some kingslayer title. Eventually Sol will get to that point I guess, hopefully remaining as humble about things as he is now. So I guess Sol's thinking about Cataclysm falls somewhere in the 'wait and see' neighborhood. The rest of the game is here now, is live, and quite enjoyable to play.
Here's the list I mentioned earlier, just some of the regulars I rely on:
Lissanna Relevart Graylo TMR
Enjoy the game now!
Now, there are plenty of theorycrafters out there in cyber-space who are quite good and can offer you all the current information you might be seeking about Cataclysm and the changes to your class. Even I have come to rely upon several whom I think are quite knowledgeable, and reliable. I'll even provide a short listing at the end of this post for you.
Like it or not, Cataclysm is still in beta form and will most likely remain that way for at least another two months. Of everything I've read thus far, the expectations for release are about mid-November. That leaves a lot of game time for the majority of players to enjoy, perhaps doing many of the things which may cease to exist come the expansion. And that is what I've been doing for about the past month now. Sorta-kinda-like your average Druid just running around experianceing old content he missed along the way. Sure, Sol could be working on some better gear and perhaps a new staff, he could be working on improving his pvp abilities (which I'm sure are a disgrace to fellow boomkins), but with all the new changes coming why not just sit back and enjoy the game? No matter what, the inevitable will come.
Sol is not alone in this journey, so to speak. I've read a pretty fair number of blogs where players are doing very simular things with their mains and alts. More often now, I am coming across new 'bucket lists' of things to do before Cata arrives. Sol don't really have a list of things to do, he just sorta falls into anything that happens to pop up during his travels. This is a quite enjoyable method for Sol, usually filled with some unknown surprise here and there. In the back of his mind, he remembers along the way to consider his kids (alts), picking up some heirlooms/BoA gear here and there, stockpiling some mats for their professions (to a point), and trying to fill up his rather small money bag. The gear and pvp experience will come in time, but there is much of the old world which will cease to exist and Sol would really like to know some of it before then. Besides, he still has to work on a tanking set of gear as well, so there are plenty of things to do.
I do tend to ramble on sometimes, it just sort of happens. The point here though is that Sol is not experiencing any of those summertime blues or lack of interest in playing. He is not so elite or pompous to claim 'having done everything', just because of some kingslayer title. Eventually Sol will get to that point I guess, hopefully remaining as humble about things as he is now. So I guess Sol's thinking about Cataclysm falls somewhere in the 'wait and see' neighborhood. The rest of the game is here now, is live, and quite enjoyable to play.
Here's the list I mentioned earlier, just some of the regulars I rely on:
Lissanna Relevart Graylo TMR
Enjoy the game now!
05 September 2010
Asshats/Gankers...Forums
Yeah, the game is filled with them, we all know that. Just about anyone who has /2 turned on most likely gets a large dose of it daily. It is even more prevelant within certain forums (the infamous WOW community forums). Still, one can occasionally find the rare bit of information or burning question answered within that community, so weeding through all the asshatery and hateful trolls becomes a necessay evil to endure.
For example, some occasional worthwhile tidbits can be found in the Guild Relations Forum (GRF). Even if you're not a guild leader, sometimes a guild member can come across a solution/answer to a question they have. The GRF really isn't as bad as most of the other forums, it is generally self-policeing and trolls/asshats are kept to a minimum.
Then there is what I consider 'pulse' reading. This is where you scan the individual realm forums (usually your own), to kind of keep an informed pulse on the community you play within. It actually does help in gaining a bit of background knowledge into the mentality and personality of the more out-spoken players in your realm. As I'm sure other players do, I have two different realms which I play, so I'll browze those two realms from time to time.
Within my main PVP realm, I came across a particular poster which caught my attention with his subject matter, "The Greatest Ganking Guide Ever". Not just one posting advocating daily sessions of ganking lowbies, but he also included (part 2 and part3) for ganking sessions. His general opinion is: "Look here lowbies, here's the deal.....if you can't stand to be ganked, camped, griefed, or otherwise have your questing inturrupted, move to a Carebear server (pve server)" He also advocated grief-ganking (corpse-camping) for some of his sessions. The whole point here, is that he selectively seeks out lowbies, players which are considerably lower level than himself. (welcome to WoW World PvP). One commenter, only one, had the guts to tell this poster that he was a disgrace to his faction and offered to pay for his server transfer.
The interesting part in all this for me, aside from all the foolish mentality to laugh about, was that the poster actually offered one bit of reasonable thought as to how his ganking sessions were a benefit for lowbies. Reasonable, I suppose, if you're into hard-core world PVP. Here is his thought:
"You will NEVER be of any use at higher levels if you can't stand to be ganked, you'll never learn every single skill, what it does, how it counters, and how to time it perfectly with something else to keep yourself alive and get yourself out of bad situations."
Somehow, after all the times and levels Sol has been ganked, corpse-camped and one-shotted, the above thought seems to have escaped me. Even though it does make some logical sense in a round-about way. There is one thing though that Sol did learn through all this, and that was the stubborn persistance to get even.
There really is a couple of other decent reads over there, even though I don't advocate posting in the community forums. I do like the info one can find in the Achievements Forum. It does help if you're trying to get something in particular done. Then there is Beta Forums. Always interesting to see what's going on and being said about the coming Cataclysm. You have to have beta to log-in for commenting, but you can read anything else there just for whatever.
For example, some occasional worthwhile tidbits can be found in the Guild Relations Forum (GRF). Even if you're not a guild leader, sometimes a guild member can come across a solution/answer to a question they have. The GRF really isn't as bad as most of the other forums, it is generally self-policeing and trolls/asshats are kept to a minimum.
Then there is what I consider 'pulse' reading. This is where you scan the individual realm forums (usually your own), to kind of keep an informed pulse on the community you play within. It actually does help in gaining a bit of background knowledge into the mentality and personality of the more out-spoken players in your realm. As I'm sure other players do, I have two different realms which I play, so I'll browze those two realms from time to time.
Within my main PVP realm, I came across a particular poster which caught my attention with his subject matter, "The Greatest Ganking Guide Ever". Not just one posting advocating daily sessions of ganking lowbies, but he also included (part 2 and part3) for ganking sessions. His general opinion is: "Look here lowbies, here's the deal.....if you can't stand to be ganked, camped, griefed, or otherwise have your questing inturrupted, move to a Carebear server (pve server)" He also advocated grief-ganking (corpse-camping) for some of his sessions. The whole point here, is that he selectively seeks out lowbies, players which are considerably lower level than himself. (welcome to WoW World PvP). One commenter, only one, had the guts to tell this poster that he was a disgrace to his faction and offered to pay for his server transfer.
The interesting part in all this for me, aside from all the foolish mentality to laugh about, was that the poster actually offered one bit of reasonable thought as to how his ganking sessions were a benefit for lowbies. Reasonable, I suppose, if you're into hard-core world PVP. Here is his thought:
"You will NEVER be of any use at higher levels if you can't stand to be ganked, you'll never learn every single skill, what it does, how it counters, and how to time it perfectly with something else to keep yourself alive and get yourself out of bad situations."
Somehow, after all the times and levels Sol has been ganked, corpse-camped and one-shotted, the above thought seems to have escaped me. Even though it does make some logical sense in a round-about way. There is one thing though that Sol did learn through all this, and that was the stubborn persistance to get even.
There really is a couple of other decent reads over there, even though I don't advocate posting in the community forums. I do like the info one can find in the Achievements Forum. It does help if you're trying to get something in particular done. Then there is Beta Forums. Always interesting to see what's going on and being said about the coming Cataclysm. You have to have beta to log-in for commenting, but you can read anything else there just for whatever.
04 September 2010
Death to the Moonkin
Everyone enjoys relating their adventures and accomplishments in World of Warcraft, including Sol. At times, these high points consumed either a great amount of play time and/or expertise in playstyle. Whatever the accomplishment, it should be proudly announced and even talked about from the successors perspective. After all, it's YOUR accomplishment, YOUR success. It don't matter if amidst the 11 million or so other characters perhaps 30 or 40% of them also succeeded in doing whatever. The fact remains that YOU succeeded. The glory now belongs to YOU! And if you happen to be within Sols' world at the time, even if he don't know you, (which he probably don't), you've recieved his whisper of "Gratz!" as well.
Today though, Sol desires to talk about another little discussed statistic amidst his achievements, the one called Deaths. Not the funny ones like falling off the ledge, inadvertantly running into mobs hiding around a corner, or that sneaky dragon-??-elite that suddenly appears and proceeds to chew you up for an appitizer. Nope, today belongs to those more common everyday type world deaths from the opposite faction.
From Sol's current stat listings we have the following: 1,138 total deaths. Let's see, subtract the BG's, dungeons, falling-drowning-fire-lava deaths-duels, that leaves 1,026 deaths. Now here is where the math gets a bit confusing. "Deaths from other players"--826. Hmmmm? 200 unaccounted for deaths? /shrugs
Sol does get killed a lot, a whole bunch of times actually, from the Horde. He recalls being consistantly ganked throughout his leveling to 80. And so, the 1,026 figure seems about right to him.
So, what is it about these particular deaths that is worth talking about? I mean, so what? Everybody goes through spells where the opposite faction is out for your blood. Right? Sol is no different I guess, he dies just the same and rezs just the same. Maybe a little more or less than others, who knows. At this point though, Sol is going to toss the preverbial monkey wrench into this mess, and the name of that monkey wrench is "Honor". We can now subtract another 1,024 deaths from the list of ganker joys. That leaves a mere two (2) honorable deaths. These deaths are noteable to Sol, he remembers them well, although sometimes the why escapes him.
We must make note here that the 1,024 deaths came from 30 or so yards behind Sol, unexpected, and generally multiple times by the same enemy. (Guess once just wasn't enough for them) Sol don't see any real Honor in those. If you wish to be honorable in your killing, you go against your enemy head on. That is the difference in Sol's two memorable deaths.
The first came from the familure ?? level player who dropped down in front of me, bowed graciously, then one-shot killed me. Patted me on the back and sobbed before I could release, then went about his/her business. My attacker probably did'nt get any official honor points, but gained my respect for at least coming at me from the front offering a slight chance for honorable battle.
Number two was a bit more ingenious. I was fishing (farming) a small creek in the Basin and this guy on his drake dropped down and hovered in front of me. No signs of aggression, so I gave him a wave, he waves back, and continues to just hover there and watch me. Then I notice some little orange text come up in the chat pane. *insert player name- "comptemplates your early demise". I no sooner got this read and boom! Sudden death. One-shot, quick and painless. Still a bit sneaky in his tacticsl, but I gave him a point for coming from the front side.
For whatever reasons may be, these two deaths stand out in my considerably less than normal memory banks. What odd deaths to you recall? What stands out in your memory of general world pvp deaths?
Today though, Sol desires to talk about another little discussed statistic amidst his achievements, the one called Deaths. Not the funny ones like falling off the ledge, inadvertantly running into mobs hiding around a corner, or that sneaky dragon-??-elite that suddenly appears and proceeds to chew you up for an appitizer. Nope, today belongs to those more common everyday type world deaths from the opposite faction.
From Sol's current stat listings we have the following: 1,138 total deaths. Let's see, subtract the BG's, dungeons, falling-drowning-fire-lava deaths-duels, that leaves 1,026 deaths. Now here is where the math gets a bit confusing. "Deaths from other players"--826. Hmmmm? 200 unaccounted for deaths? /shrugs
Sol does get killed a lot, a whole bunch of times actually, from the Horde. He recalls being consistantly ganked throughout his leveling to 80. And so, the 1,026 figure seems about right to him.
So, what is it about these particular deaths that is worth talking about? I mean, so what? Everybody goes through spells where the opposite faction is out for your blood. Right? Sol is no different I guess, he dies just the same and rezs just the same. Maybe a little more or less than others, who knows. At this point though, Sol is going to toss the preverbial monkey wrench into this mess, and the name of that monkey wrench is "Honor". We can now subtract another 1,024 deaths from the list of ganker joys. That leaves a mere two (2) honorable deaths. These deaths are noteable to Sol, he remembers them well, although sometimes the why escapes him.
We must make note here that the 1,024 deaths came from 30 or so yards behind Sol, unexpected, and generally multiple times by the same enemy. (Guess once just wasn't enough for them) Sol don't see any real Honor in those. If you wish to be honorable in your killing, you go against your enemy head on. That is the difference in Sol's two memorable deaths.
The first came from the familure ?? level player who dropped down in front of me, bowed graciously, then one-shot killed me. Patted me on the back and sobbed before I could release, then went about his/her business. My attacker probably did'nt get any official honor points, but gained my respect for at least coming at me from the front offering a slight chance for honorable battle.
Number two was a bit more ingenious. I was fishing (farming) a small creek in the Basin and this guy on his drake dropped down and hovered in front of me. No signs of aggression, so I gave him a wave, he waves back, and continues to just hover there and watch me. Then I notice some little orange text come up in the chat pane. *insert player name- "comptemplates your early demise". I no sooner got this read and boom! Sudden death. One-shot, quick and painless. Still a bit sneaky in his tacticsl, but I gave him a point for coming from the front side.
For whatever reasons may be, these two deaths stand out in my considerably less than normal memory banks. What odd deaths to you recall? What stands out in your memory of general world pvp deaths?
02 September 2010
Soloing Instances
Being level capped for the moment, I like back-tracking a bit and going into previous instances solo. Although I usually have some sort of reason to do so, sometimes it's just for the experience and maybe an achievement. Today was one of those days where I had sorta kinda had a plan. Kara. Never been there and wanted to give it a go. I needed a key though, so it was off to Shattrath to run the key fragments quest chain. No problem, could'nt be any worse than most quest lines.
The first two fragments were easy enough to get, even though I had to run a seperate instance to get a key for the instance to get the first fragment. Minor side-track, but easily done. The second fragment was even easier, did'nt have to kill a single thing til I opened the arcane jar. (good stealth kitty) So far...so good. The problem came with the third fragment though. Turns out it was hidden within Tempest Keep, raid group required for entrance. *insert unsavory words of choice here* I solo things. It is a personal accomplishment I look forward to. The last thing I want to do is to attempt getting a group together for one lousy key fragment. I don't need the boss kills, I can live without the achievement, I just want the damn key fragment.
This is where I have strong disagreement with Blizzard's ways. It is my belief that if a level capped player wishes to solo older instances, Blizzard should not stand in their way of doing or attempting to do so, by requiring them to be in a group. Sure, make them run quest lines for keys and such. Or even add some odd quest to the line-up to allow a solo player to enter. These are 'old world' instances, pre-Wrath. I fail to see why a level capped player should be stopped from attempting to solo such instances. Yes, I know that there are ways around this nuisance, but finding someone willing to group long enough just to get you in to solo is next to impossible, at least on my server. Perhaps this is just the price I have to pay for soloing 80 levels with Sol. Perhaps I'll just have to bite the bullet and come into the reality that there are just some things past that I will not be able to experience.
What do you think of this? Should a level capped player be able to enter instances pre-Wrath solo? These are all old content, not really useable at level cap, (unless you pass it on to an alt maybe), so does it really make any difference to require a group?
Oh well, that's my little rant for the week. With Kara out of the picture for now, I'm off to try something else. I really do need to spend some time practicing my off-spec tanking, solo at first of coarse. Wouldn't want to get anybody else killed in the process :) Still need to get back into WG also and build up some sort tanking gear set. Hmmmm...bag space for extra set of gear to carry. /shrugs That's another story for another time.
The first two fragments were easy enough to get, even though I had to run a seperate instance to get a key for the instance to get the first fragment. Minor side-track, but easily done. The second fragment was even easier, did'nt have to kill a single thing til I opened the arcane jar. (good stealth kitty) So far...so good. The problem came with the third fragment though. Turns out it was hidden within Tempest Keep, raid group required for entrance. *insert unsavory words of choice here* I solo things. It is a personal accomplishment I look forward to. The last thing I want to do is to attempt getting a group together for one lousy key fragment. I don't need the boss kills, I can live without the achievement, I just want the damn key fragment.
This is where I have strong disagreement with Blizzard's ways. It is my belief that if a level capped player wishes to solo older instances, Blizzard should not stand in their way of doing or attempting to do so, by requiring them to be in a group. Sure, make them run quest lines for keys and such. Or even add some odd quest to the line-up to allow a solo player to enter. These are 'old world' instances, pre-Wrath. I fail to see why a level capped player should be stopped from attempting to solo such instances. Yes, I know that there are ways around this nuisance, but finding someone willing to group long enough just to get you in to solo is next to impossible, at least on my server. Perhaps this is just the price I have to pay for soloing 80 levels with Sol. Perhaps I'll just have to bite the bullet and come into the reality that there are just some things past that I will not be able to experience.
What do you think of this? Should a level capped player be able to enter instances pre-Wrath solo? These are all old content, not really useable at level cap, (unless you pass it on to an alt maybe), so does it really make any difference to require a group?
Oh well, that's my little rant for the week. With Kara out of the picture for now, I'm off to try something else. I really do need to spend some time practicing my off-spec tanking, solo at first of coarse. Wouldn't want to get anybody else killed in the process :) Still need to get back into WG also and build up some sort tanking gear set. Hmmmm...bag space for extra set of gear to carry. /shrugs That's another story for another time.
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