Well, apparently my good computer is being shipped back as we speak.....which is great because playing on my old computer has been someone painful. My old computer is 5 plus years old and just doesnt cut it when you have been playing on a new machine. Dalaran is pretty much unbearable for the first minute or so while stuff loads at the speed of snail. The textures are also very boring as I have to play on the lowest graphics settings and no sounds to be able to do anything worth while.
During this time, I have actually done a few raids and several instances. They were actually surprising playable, even in 25 mans. The only hiccup I had in 25s was last night in VoA 25 when I choose a wonderful time to lag and got one shotted by the first nova. I was raised as a ghoul and lasted the rest of the fight that way.
Most of my time has been spent either playing the auction house or leveling a few alts since it is cause much less stress on my Dinosaur of a machine. The Glyph Business has been going very well as I usually pull in around 1k a day with a decent amount of competition. My bank toon is over 47k now and nearing the 50k mark.
Leveling has consisted of my Death Knight and Warlock, but mostly my DK. Death Knights really are facerolltastic for leveling. I think people could literally autoattack themselves to level 80 even if they had no clue what they were doing. I want to level my Lock to give me a dedicated ranged DPS, but I am having a hard time getting myself to level more toons.
I am one instance away from getting my Champion of the Frozen Wastes title......Heroic Occulus. I should have gotten it long ago, but really put it off. The first time I went in there, we did just fine on every boss until the last one.....then wiped a bunch of times. I have not been in there since.
I am now also just 6 pets away from the 75 pet achievement. I should be continuing with the Argent Tournament Dailies as there are still two Alliance ones I need, but I became very burnt out on the after earning my Crusader title. I am glad they are at least adding some new ones in the next patch. I think that the part of those dailies that killed it for me was the jousting. Not that it was hard (as I found it very easy), but because it was boring. I did not feel like jousting at the tournament grounds and I certainly didnt feel like flying across the zone to joust some baddies.
Dailies have been pretty much a no-go for me altogether actually. I usually try to do the fishing daily each day, but beyond that it is very wishy washy. I may do a cooking daily from time to time. I do the Heroic Daily if someone suckers me into it....that is about it.
I am actually quite eagerly awaiting the next patch. The change to emblems is going to make it so I have incentive to run Heroics again. Heroics are probably my favorite part of the instance game as it is, but there has been very little reason for me to run them.
Well, that is a briefish run down on what has been going down in WoW world for me (is that redundant?). How have things been going for you?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Carrot on a Stick
This is not about the in game item that you get from a quest in Zul'Farrak. Carrot on a Stick is what WoW does so very well. There is always that one (or more) things out of reach that keep you going in the game. It could be anything. A piece of gear, a vanity pet, or even taking down a raid boss.
The thing about the carrot on a stick is that there will always be a new one dangled in front of you no matter what level of player you are. New raid bosses and gear for raiders, new mounts and gear for PvPers, more dailies for people who are into that kind of thing. It will pretty much never end.
That said, is it really that bad? Blizzard gets what they want in subscription fees, and we get what we want.....a game we enjoy playing. When you beat a game, there is a sense of satisfaction....but there is also a tinge of sadness. If you had an enjoyable experience, you will probably play it over. Part of the beauty of WoW is that you can play it over any way you want. There are no limitations to what you can do depending on how much time you have.
Yesterday, I finally got one of those carrots on a stick. The Royal Crest of Lordaeron. It was not really an upgrade over my Titansteel Shieldwall, but I WANTED IT. I was sick of looking at the same shield since the day I turned 80. I ran CoS despite being exalted with the Northrend Factions for that shield. I got many people their mounts for that shield. Then it finally dropped....and I am already looking ahead to the next carrot.
My next carrots are of course the emblem change that will allow me to upgrade several pieces of gear and still let me run Heroics, which are still very fun to me. The other carrot is yet another shield....The Northern Barrier. I have yet to see it on the AH, but will pay a pretty penny for it when I do. Money is really no object at this point for me.
The carrot will dangle constantly. For some people this is an annoyance. For others it is a good thing. You will get to play that game you love in the way you love for much much longer if a new carrot appears to replace the old. I say enjoy the carrots while they last. This game will not be around forever and one day, you will have to find a different kind of carrot to follow.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Auction House: Be Aggressive
There are several different types of auction house personalities in WoW. You can be the person who gives up easily after posting a few times, the undercutter, the clueless person, or any combination.
No matter what you do on the Auction House, if you want to make money, do it aggressively. This means that you will have to spend a bit of time to make money. If you don't want to spend an hour or so, then agressive AH sales are not for you.
When you post auctions, you usually dont want to put them up for 48 hours and just sit. I recommend taking down your auctions at least once a day and reposting them. This maximizes your profit as it lets you undercut the undercutters. I usually post after I get off of work, and sometime before I go to work.
Being agressive doesnt mean flood the market. Putting up small numbers of a more diverse range of things will usually net you a better profit. Example: If you are doing glyphs as your moneymaker, do not post 10 at a time. Usually between 3-5 is sufficient. This will usually give you enough to accomodate all of your customers until the next round of undercutting comes around.
Another tip for aspiring auctioneers. Do not take it personal. The worst thing you can do is get pissed that you were undercut and start undercutting by several gold (depending on the worth of the item). The name of the game is profit. You will make much more by undercutting by less. If you are the lowest priced item, you will sell.
When it comes to being aggressive, keep it in the auction house. There are few things more annoying in WoW as people who spam trade chat that they have X items in the auctionhouse. Even the most noobish of players are business saavy enough to go the auctionhouse when they need something. If they cant find it there, they will usually ask in trade chat.
Not all professions are created equal. Due to auctionhouse deposits, sometimes it is more profitable to spam trade chat. Although, as the saying goes, "Time is money", and time is the only currency you cant get back.
If you really want to make money off of the auctionhouse, you have to trade aggressively and undercut your competitiors. Or find a niche market that has significantly less comptetition. If you are in the Glyph, Jewelcrafting, and gathering markets, you will need to play hard on the AH to make that gold.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Warrior Tanking 101: Charge
What is the one ability Warriors have that other tanks would kill for? The answer is charge. Charge is an very interesting mechanic and fun to boot. It can be of great use in many situations. Just like with any ability, there is a time to use it, and a time not to.
Pulling Mobs: I am actually a big fan of the charge pull. It gets you in there before any overzealous dps can start their AOE spam, and it also generates you a bunch of rage to use your abilities. Just like in any tanking situation, you need to be aware of your surroundings when doing this. Lack of situational awareness can get your group killed. Make sure you survey what mobs are in the area. If they seem like they may get body pulled when you charge, then shoot or heroic throw would probably be a better option.
Saving Asses: An offshoot of our charge ability is Intervene. When you intervene somebody, you charge to them and take some hits that they would have otherwise taken, possibly saving their asses. As a bonus, the person you intervene has their threat lowered. Remeber this if there is ever a DPS riding you ass on the threat meters. When you intervene, make sure to have a taunt ready to pull that mob back into line.
Intercept....not just for PvP anymore: One of the biggest problems with intercept was that you had to be in Zerker Stance to use it. With Warbringer, that is no longer the case. You can charge after an enemy and stun them just as you would with your regular charge. This can be very helpful for tracking down that fleeing mob that is just aching to pull another group back to you.
Dont Drink and Charge: You should definately use common sense when charging. Dont do anything stupid that has the chance to wipe the rest of your group. Good use of the charge family abilities will make you look like a pro. Bad use will make you look like a complete noob. Master the charge and you are on your way to being a better Warrior tank.
Pulling Mobs: I am actually a big fan of the charge pull. It gets you in there before any overzealous dps can start their AOE spam, and it also generates you a bunch of rage to use your abilities. Just like in any tanking situation, you need to be aware of your surroundings when doing this. Lack of situational awareness can get your group killed. Make sure you survey what mobs are in the area. If they seem like they may get body pulled when you charge, then shoot or heroic throw would probably be a better option.
Saving Asses: An offshoot of our charge ability is Intervene. When you intervene somebody, you charge to them and take some hits that they would have otherwise taken, possibly saving their asses. As a bonus, the person you intervene has their threat lowered. Remeber this if there is ever a DPS riding you ass on the threat meters. When you intervene, make sure to have a taunt ready to pull that mob back into line.
Intercept....not just for PvP anymore: One of the biggest problems with intercept was that you had to be in Zerker Stance to use it. With Warbringer, that is no longer the case. You can charge after an enemy and stun them just as you would with your regular charge. This can be very helpful for tracking down that fleeing mob that is just aching to pull another group back to you.
Dont Drink and Charge: You should definately use common sense when charging. Dont do anything stupid that has the chance to wipe the rest of your group. Good use of the charge family abilities will make you look like a pro. Bad use will make you look like a complete noob. Master the charge and you are on your way to being a better Warrior tank.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Fire Festival:Alt friendly.....mostly
Another week for the achievement whores and there is a lot of stuff to do. You dont have to be a big bad 80 to do these achivements and quests either.
The quests to honor and desecrate flames will give you experience depending on your level. You can make a ton of money, gain a level or two, and even score yourself a new pet if you are going for that achievement.
At level 80, the quests reward 6 and 13 gold each....obviously no xp. At level 70 they were rewarding around 6k and 13k xp. At 75 they will give you around 10k and 20k each. So, grab those alts and run around the world and have fun.
The non-alt friendly part. Desecrating flames will flag you for PvP. And you will die....possibly a lot. On my Warrior, I got about 6 HKs on people who thought they could gank me. On my fiancee's druid I got killed at the first desecration point.
Enjoy your holliday and good luck getting your 310 percent mount.
The quests to honor and desecrate flames will give you experience depending on your level. You can make a ton of money, gain a level or two, and even score yourself a new pet if you are going for that achievement.
At level 80, the quests reward 6 and 13 gold each....obviously no xp. At level 70 they were rewarding around 6k and 13k xp. At 75 they will give you around 10k and 20k each. So, grab those alts and run around the world and have fun.
The non-alt friendly part. Desecrating flames will flag you for PvP. And you will die....possibly a lot. On my Warrior, I got about 6 HKs on people who thought they could gank me. On my fiancee's druid I got killed at the first desecration point.
Enjoy your holliday and good luck getting your 310 percent mount.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Inscription: Like Stealing Candy from a Baby.
There are many reasons why inscription is so profitable. Obviously, the sheer amount of glyphs are one reason. The fact that materials are cheap to come by is another.
I don't farm my herbs from inscription despite having epic flying on my Paladin (who is my herbalist). I would actually be losing money if I were to farm it rather than buy it. Let me explain.
Farming herbs takes time. Lots of time. You will get a few frost lotus here and there which is nice, but wont really make up for the lost profit. On average, the high level northrend herbs give me 5-6 ink of the sea and 1-2 Snowfall Ink per stack.
I buy stacks of icethorn and adders tongue for pretty cheap. I scoop up icethorn priced under 17 gold a stack and adder's tongue when it is under 15 gold a stack. After I mill one stack I have enough ink of the sea to make 5-6 glyphs which will sell for 5-20 gold. I then sell the ink of the sea on the auction house for more than I payed for the stack of herbs. With this method, it is as if the auction house is paying ME to take the herbs.
It is not uncommon for me to end up with 50-60 Snowfall ink from 40 stacks of herbs. The first 40 ink pay for the herbs....then next 10-20 are pure profit. Not to mention what I am making off of the glyphs.
I could never farm 40 stacks of herbs in an hour. As the goblins say, time is money.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
First time I have said this.....
WoW really is going hardcore casual. Just reading over some of the recent "ptr patchnotes" on MMO Champion and I came across this.
- Emblem System Changes
- Both the 10 and 25 player instances of the Crusaders' Coliseum drop a new Emblem of Triumph.
- Any dungeons that previously dropped Emblems of Heroism or Valor, such as Naxxramas or Heroic Halls of Stone, will now drop Emblems of Conquest instead. Emblems of Conquest can still be converted to Valor or Heroism.
- The heroic dungeon daily quest will now reward 2 Emblems of Triumph and the normal daily dungeon quest will reward 1 Emblem of Triumph.
- The existing achievements to collect 1, 25, 50, etc. Emblems of Heroism, Valor, and Conquest have been converted to Feats of Strength since Heroism and Valor Emblems are no longer attainable.
- New achievements have been added to collect various amounts of any combination of emblems
What is this all about? Everyone gets full 8.5 gear? It will be nice for a gearing standpoint, but why would a lot of people even want to run harder raids anymore. Things will be so easy to get thru heroics and Naxx 10.
On one hand, this will make Heroics and 10 mans much more popular again. The bad thing is that the regular gear that comes from them will become completly obsolete.
What are your thoughts on this change?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Main Tank Mentality
There is a certain attitude that you should have as a main tank. If you are unsure of yourself, it will show to the people around you. There are many things that you can do to make yourself stand out as a "Main" Tank type. Being a main tank doesnt always have to mean being THE main tank.
Just because someone else is tanking the boss this fight does not make you any less of a main tank. Off-tank is a role for a given fight. Main tank is a way of thinking and doing things. In order to be a Main Tank, the people around you have to believe in you as the Main Tank.
Main tank does not mean that you are the number one go-to tank in a raiding guild. I have seen a few "main tanks" that were not very good at all.
There are serveral things that you can do to prove yourself as a Main tank.
1) Take Charge: And Im not talking about Warbringer (though as a Warrior tank you better darn well have it). If you are running something, be a leader. Explain fights if need be, mark targets if you arent just AOEing everything down, and dictate the pace of the instance. It doesnt matter if you are in Ulduar or in Sunken Temple (if you are in Ulduar, and not the raid leader, dont go crazy). People will notice that you are well prepared and will enjoy running with you. The less your dps have to think, the easier the run will be.
2) Be confident: Nobody wants to run an instance with a tank who is not confident in their abilities. If you are hesitant, you are much more likely to make mistake. A confident tank can and will adapt to situations that occur outside the normal script of things. Part of being confident is not the ability to perform under pressure and not panic. If you panic, your thought process may well go out the window and the entire encounter will go south. Staying calm and cool in the face of adversity will help you develope as a main tank.
3) Don't be afraid to take the blame: Don't be the guy who hides in the corner after you caused a wipe. Come out and say it. If you know that you caused a wipe, and the people around you know the YOU KNOW what you did, then they are going to trust you even further. If you cause a wipe and deny it, you are just going to piss people off. If you admit your mistake and make the corrections needed, you will be acting as a true Main Tank.
4) Know your stuff: You should know the standard tanking rotation for your class. Your job as a tank is to put out enough threat to keep the dps from getting smashed to bits. It is also your job to stay alive. You should know what cooldowns you have available to you and what situations you should be using them in. If you died in a fight and had defensive cooldowns that were not used, it may well be your fault.
5) Tank your shit: This one is pretty simple, and I believe that it is the Holy Grail of tanking. Thou shalt tank your shit. Mobs should not be running here, there, and everywhere. You have tools to keep mobs on you. Use them. If mobs are running around and killing everyone, it is your fault if you have the ability to stop it. There are occasions when you will want to let that one mob go smash the overzealous Warlock in the face. That is another story. If it is assigned to you, handle it.
Obviously, there are other things that go into being a Main Tank type, but this a good start for any of you aspiring tanks out there. There is so much information out there, that you should not be going into tanking blind. If you are reading this blog, then you obviously are aware of these sources and this probably doesnt apply to you 0_o.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Alts, Beautiful Alts
With my good computer out of service for a few weeks while Gateway replaces the hard drive, I am back on my old crappy computer that my fiancee plays on when we have the time to play together.
The machine if 5 years old, and Dalaran is a pain to get around in. During this time of technical difficulty, it has really made me appreciate having so many alts. My alts are not the little lowbie alts. They are all either in Outlands/Northrend, or they are my bank alt.
I love doing raids, but it is a big pain on my old comp. I got into an Ulduar 25 PuG the other day and DCed in middle of the XT encounter. It just couldnt take all those people and the large number of adds that spawn during the heart phase.
So, I have been leveling my Deathknight and my Warlock. My Warlock is about 4 bubbles from dinging 72. He was my main PvP toon in BC, and is actually quite easy to level with. I just tag about 5-8 mobs and let my dots kill them.
Leveling a DK is absolutely insane. They are completly overpowered for grinding up the level ladder. There is pretty much zero down-time. I am leveling as Unholy at the moment. I will have to look more into raid builds as I get closer to 80. He is up to level 66, and half way to 77. The shocking thing is how much quicker they made leveling in Outlands. I finished off Hellfire and have a good chunk of quests left in Zangarmarsh still. I will probably hit 68 a few quests into Nagrand and then head off to Northrend for some shiny new gear.
Missing out on my good computer, I have also put a lot of emphasis on my Glyph Industry. I about 6 days worth of trading, I have gone from 28,900 gold to 36,500 gold. I did put up any auctions on Saturday as I did not have time. I am usually posting my glyphs twice a day, and it generally takes 45 minutes to an hour to cancel them all and the repost.
As I stated in my last post, I have been keeping a close eye on my competitors. I put them in my friends list on all of my toons, wait for them to log off, and then swoop onto my bank alt to undercut all of their auctions. I have been making 1k plus per day doing this.
I am probably going to much around on my DK some more tonight. By tommorow I may be stepping foot into Northrend.
A side note for all of you Altoholics out there. Pick up the BoA shoulders for every toon that you can. The extra ten percent XP is awesome. Think of it this way. If you level a toon from level 1 to level 80, you will be saving about 8 levels worth of time somewhere in there.
The machine if 5 years old, and Dalaran is a pain to get around in. During this time of technical difficulty, it has really made me appreciate having so many alts. My alts are not the little lowbie alts. They are all either in Outlands/Northrend, or they are my bank alt.
I love doing raids, but it is a big pain on my old comp. I got into an Ulduar 25 PuG the other day and DCed in middle of the XT encounter. It just couldnt take all those people and the large number of adds that spawn during the heart phase.
So, I have been leveling my Deathknight and my Warlock. My Warlock is about 4 bubbles from dinging 72. He was my main PvP toon in BC, and is actually quite easy to level with. I just tag about 5-8 mobs and let my dots kill them.
Leveling a DK is absolutely insane. They are completly overpowered for grinding up the level ladder. There is pretty much zero down-time. I am leveling as Unholy at the moment. I will have to look more into raid builds as I get closer to 80. He is up to level 66, and half way to 77. The shocking thing is how much quicker they made leveling in Outlands. I finished off Hellfire and have a good chunk of quests left in Zangarmarsh still. I will probably hit 68 a few quests into Nagrand and then head off to Northrend for some shiny new gear.
Missing out on my good computer, I have also put a lot of emphasis on my Glyph Industry. I about 6 days worth of trading, I have gone from 28,900 gold to 36,500 gold. I did put up any auctions on Saturday as I did not have time. I am usually posting my glyphs twice a day, and it generally takes 45 minutes to an hour to cancel them all and the repost.
As I stated in my last post, I have been keeping a close eye on my competitors. I put them in my friends list on all of my toons, wait for them to log off, and then swoop onto my bank alt to undercut all of their auctions. I have been making 1k plus per day doing this.
I am probably going to much around on my DK some more tonight. By tommorow I may be stepping foot into Northrend.
A side note for all of you Altoholics out there. Pick up the BoA shoulders for every toon that you can. The extra ten percent XP is awesome. Think of it this way. If you level a toon from level 1 to level 80, you will be saving about 8 levels worth of time somewhere in there.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Keep Your Enemies Closer
This is part of an old saying, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". I have been following this old saying while doing my glyph business.
If you are going to be running a business in WoW, you should know who your biggest competitors are in any particular market. You should also know their habits.
One thing that I have started doing is putting my competition on my friends list. Not because I like them, but because I can see when they are on.
Most of your competitors will most likely be bank alts parked in one city. If they are on, they are most likely putting up auctions. If you see them on, check you auctions to see if they are undercutting you.
You can also make them play into your hands if you know how they react to situations. One of the sellers on my server puts up one glyph at a time and gets pissed if you undercut him by one silver. He will then take his down and try to sell his one glyph for 3-5 gold more. Someone buys his, and then yours start to get bought up. He loses profit because of being vindictive.
So, keep your enemies very close and enjoy the profits.
If you are going to be running a business in WoW, you should know who your biggest competitors are in any particular market. You should also know their habits.
One thing that I have started doing is putting my competition on my friends list. Not because I like them, but because I can see when they are on.
Most of your competitors will most likely be bank alts parked in one city. If they are on, they are most likely putting up auctions. If you see them on, check you auctions to see if they are undercutting you.
You can also make them play into your hands if you know how they react to situations. One of the sellers on my server puts up one glyph at a time and gets pissed if you undercut him by one silver. He will then take his down and try to sell his one glyph for 3-5 gold more. Someone buys his, and then yours start to get bought up. He loses profit because of being vindictive.
So, keep your enemies very close and enjoy the profits.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Hardware Malfunction
Dont you love when everything seems to happen at once. I have been saving up for my wedding as well as blizzcon (already got tickets and hotel, saving spending money), and the hard drive on my good computer decided to crap the bed.
I am typing this from my 5 plus year old computer :( I can play WoW on it still, just not up to the standard I am used to. I will hopefully get my other computer fixed tommorow, then I will be able to enjoy my gaming time.
Until then, I guess its Auction Housing (with crappy addons) and leveling a few alts.
Anyways, as far as in-game stuff goes, I have done all of one raid this entire week. The rest of the time has been spent mosly on my glyph business.
Have a good weekend everyone. I hope your computer doesnt decide to crap out as well.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Leading Pugs (Part 2): Getting it Started
Most people leading a pug don't set it up in hopes of failing. They normally want to have the most efficient run possible. Quick and painless. When they are spamming LFG, you rarely see "LF more fail players for Naxx 10. Must have never cleared past Anub. Green, ungemmed, unenchanted gear a plus, PST!"
As a raid leader, there are several things you can do to help insure that the run will be at least somewhat successful. The first one is very simple. As the player how much of Naxx they have done ON THAT CHARACTER.
Some people will tell you that they have fully cleared the instance. What they dont tell you is that they did it on their main, and this is their scrubby fresh level 80 hunter with 120 hit and doing 1100 dps.
This leads to the next part......ARMORY is your friend. You can find a lot of information out on Armory. You can check out their gear and raiding achivements, which at least gives you something to go on.
Gear should never be a lone determining factor in letting someone into your run. That said, you should not ignore it either. If someone is wearing 75 percent greens, it shows that they made absolutely no effort to gear up before hitting the raids. They would rather have free epics spoon fed to them.
Green gear should not be an automatic no. There are several green pieces that are pretty decent....they should hopefully have more blue gear or even a few epics (since you can craft so many of them). Gear doesnt make the player, but it will show the amount of effort they put into gearing.
When you are making a raid, you are usually looking for some nice balance. A ten man raid with 7 DKs can certainly work, but is not at all balanced for buffs (or ranged dps for that matter). They say you should bring the player, not the class, but different classes give different buffs. If I am making a raid, I usually like to have a very nice balance including at least one Paladin, Priest, and Shaman. These are not essential, but they have the buffs to make your job that much easier.
When you are putting your group together, if you are planning on using ventrilo, verify that everyone you are inviting has that capability. It is annoying when you are trying to explain something and that one player is not there and does something dumb.
Once you send out all of your invites, make the rules of the run known. Most of them will be wondering about Loot Rules. Get these out of the way up front. Also, let them know if there is going performance rules. This could be as simple as "Anyone doing below 2k dps will be kicked from the raid". You do not have to do this, but it can keep DPS on their toes and keep them from facerolling their way through.
Everything that you are expecting from the participants in your raid should probably be related in the LFM message. "LF 2 dps and 1 healer for Naxx 10. Must be decently geared and know the fights. DPS must be able to do over 2k dps. AFKs will be kept to a minimum. Too many will get you kicked. PST for invite."
If you follow these rules, you may save yourself a few headaches, and will be well on your way to a nice raid.
As a raid leader, there are several things you can do to help insure that the run will be at least somewhat successful. The first one is very simple. As the player how much of Naxx they have done ON THAT CHARACTER.
Some people will tell you that they have fully cleared the instance. What they dont tell you is that they did it on their main, and this is their scrubby fresh level 80 hunter with 120 hit and doing 1100 dps.
This leads to the next part......ARMORY is your friend. You can find a lot of information out on Armory. You can check out their gear and raiding achivements, which at least gives you something to go on.
Gear should never be a lone determining factor in letting someone into your run. That said, you should not ignore it either. If someone is wearing 75 percent greens, it shows that they made absolutely no effort to gear up before hitting the raids. They would rather have free epics spoon fed to them.
Green gear should not be an automatic no. There are several green pieces that are pretty decent....they should hopefully have more blue gear or even a few epics (since you can craft so many of them). Gear doesnt make the player, but it will show the amount of effort they put into gearing.
When you are making a raid, you are usually looking for some nice balance. A ten man raid with 7 DKs can certainly work, but is not at all balanced for buffs (or ranged dps for that matter). They say you should bring the player, not the class, but different classes give different buffs. If I am making a raid, I usually like to have a very nice balance including at least one Paladin, Priest, and Shaman. These are not essential, but they have the buffs to make your job that much easier.
When you are putting your group together, if you are planning on using ventrilo, verify that everyone you are inviting has that capability. It is annoying when you are trying to explain something and that one player is not there and does something dumb.
Once you send out all of your invites, make the rules of the run known. Most of them will be wondering about Loot Rules. Get these out of the way up front. Also, let them know if there is going performance rules. This could be as simple as "Anyone doing below 2k dps will be kicked from the raid". You do not have to do this, but it can keep DPS on their toes and keep them from facerolling their way through.
Everything that you are expecting from the participants in your raid should probably be related in the LFM message. "LF 2 dps and 1 healer for Naxx 10. Must be decently geared and know the fights. DPS must be able to do over 2k dps. AFKs will be kept to a minimum. Too many will get you kicked. PST for invite."
If you follow these rules, you may save yourself a few headaches, and will be well on your way to a nice raid.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Auction House: It ain't personal
So. As I have been doing for the last week or so, I was cancelling all of my glyph auctions and reposting them at a different price. While doing this, I got a little whisper from Mr. Douchebag on Ignore by most of the server.
Him: "You undercut me by 1 silver?"
Me: "Yep. I want to make money, but don't want to tank the market."
Him: "Well I guess Im going to have to cancel mine a repost them."
Me: "That business for you :)"
Him: "There is still plenty of profit to be made at much lower prices."
Me: "Good luck."
You must be getting someones goat real good if they actually message you. The auctionhouse is just another game. It is a cutthroat game, and the weak will get pushed out. The crybabies will also get bullied out eventually. This guy only posts one glyph at a time. He can not be selling that much. Last night I made about 1700 gold. His 60 or less glyphs did not really affect me at all. I undercut many of his, and in several cases his one glyph already sold, leaving me to make much more.
I hope I frustrate him right out of bussiness. The auction house is kill or be killed. If someone is out-hustling you, you either need to step it up or get out. It isnt personal....I have pixels to feed :)
I got another interesting message last night. I got a letter in the mail from some rogue who said "Nobody is going to pay 9 gold for glyph X. I will give you 3 for it. Send me a tell if you want to do bussiness."
To which I reply "I already sold three of those tonight at my price. If you dont like it, make your own. Thanks."
Pick your spots to undercut and choose your battles. You will weed out the tards eventually.
Him: "You undercut me by 1 silver?"
Me: "Yep. I want to make money, but don't want to tank the market."
Him: "Well I guess Im going to have to cancel mine a repost them."
Me: "That business for you :)"
Him: "There is still plenty of profit to be made at much lower prices."
Me: "Good luck."
You must be getting someones goat real good if they actually message you. The auctionhouse is just another game. It is a cutthroat game, and the weak will get pushed out. The crybabies will also get bullied out eventually. This guy only posts one glyph at a time. He can not be selling that much. Last night I made about 1700 gold. His 60 or less glyphs did not really affect me at all. I undercut many of his, and in several cases his one glyph already sold, leaving me to make much more.
I hope I frustrate him right out of bussiness. The auction house is kill or be killed. If someone is out-hustling you, you either need to step it up or get out. It isnt personal....I have pixels to feed :)
I got another interesting message last night. I got a letter in the mail from some rogue who said "Nobody is going to pay 9 gold for glyph X. I will give you 3 for it. Send me a tell if you want to do bussiness."
To which I reply "I already sold three of those tonight at my price. If you dont like it, make your own. Thanks."
Pick your spots to undercut and choose your battles. You will weed out the tards eventually.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Raid Etiquette: Bowing Out Gracefully
Bowing out gracefully and raid are not often heard in the same sentence. Usually, if someone leaves, it is a /kick for screwing up too much or someone leaving in an emo rage over some loot drama.
Sometimes, it is better to bow out gracefully than to bring down the raid with you. Your gear may be to blame in some situations, or you may be falling asleep at the keyboard. You could just be having one of those days where you are completly distracted.
Obviously, in guild runs there is usually a fair bit of tolerance for having a bad day. They may even be willing to stick with you until the end. This is where bowing out gracefully comes in.
If you are just not with it, talk to your raid leader and let him know you are having a hard time for whatever reason (tired, personal issues, drunk, wife or child aggro). If you can, stay until you can find a suitable replacement. YOU should be looking for someone to take your place. When you find the person, let your raid leader know. If you can spare a sec or two, help summon your replacement. This is bowing out gracefully, and people will understand. You save face and will be back another day. You also saved possible resentment from your fellow raiders.
An example of bowing out somewhat gracefully happened in a VoA 25 pug I was in the other night. There was a Ret Pally doing about 1500 dps and a DK doing about 1200 dps. It was made know at the start of the raid that anyone unable to do at least 2.5k dps would be asked to leave. After a wipe on the first pull, the raid leader announced that these two people would have to be replaced. The Paladin did not respond. The DK replied "I know my DPS is low. I am sorry. You can replace me." He then left the raid group. The Paladin just sat there until he was booted.
Leaving the raid on your own terms is always nice (even if it is somewhat forced). You will also be much more respected than the A-Hole who get kicked and follows by pulling the boss onto the raid.
If you have a having a hard time of it, replace yourself before someone replaces you. Bowing out may get you another chance. Getting replaced may not.
Sometimes, it is better to bow out gracefully than to bring down the raid with you. Your gear may be to blame in some situations, or you may be falling asleep at the keyboard. You could just be having one of those days where you are completly distracted.
Obviously, in guild runs there is usually a fair bit of tolerance for having a bad day. They may even be willing to stick with you until the end. This is where bowing out gracefully comes in.
If you are just not with it, talk to your raid leader and let him know you are having a hard time for whatever reason (tired, personal issues, drunk, wife or child aggro). If you can, stay until you can find a suitable replacement. YOU should be looking for someone to take your place. When you find the person, let your raid leader know. If you can spare a sec or two, help summon your replacement. This is bowing out gracefully, and people will understand. You save face and will be back another day. You also saved possible resentment from your fellow raiders.
An example of bowing out somewhat gracefully happened in a VoA 25 pug I was in the other night. There was a Ret Pally doing about 1500 dps and a DK doing about 1200 dps. It was made know at the start of the raid that anyone unable to do at least 2.5k dps would be asked to leave. After a wipe on the first pull, the raid leader announced that these two people would have to be replaced. The Paladin did not respond. The DK replied "I know my DPS is low. I am sorry. You can replace me." He then left the raid group. The Paladin just sat there until he was booted.
Leaving the raid on your own terms is always nice (even if it is somewhat forced). You will also be much more respected than the A-Hole who get kicked and follows by pulling the boss onto the raid.
If you have a having a hard time of it, replace yourself before someone replaces you. Bowing out may get you another chance. Getting replaced may not.
Weekend Update
Not a whole lot went on over the weekend. I only got into one raid (VoA 25) which didnt drop me any useful loot.
I did however get into PvP a bit. I decided I needed a new libram for my ret pally, and a pretty good one is available at 1250 rating. I grabbed my sister (Holy Pally) and we got to it. We were wearing all PvE gear....so we named our team No resilience Lulz.
Obviously, things did not go that well at first. I think we lost our first 7-8 games. She is very unexperienced in PvP as far as arenas go and was still getting some of the tricks down.
By the end of our session, we finished at about 11-20 which wasnt too terrible all things considered. I wish I had some decent PvP gear, but I dont want to spend all of my free time in BGs.
The glyph selling business has been going ridiculously well as I made about another 2k over the weekend. I am putting 500 plus glyphs up at a time. Putting tons up is really the only way to make money. If you put up a few, they may sell, and you will have a bit of gold trickling in, but much less than you could be making.
I also found a very useful macro for cancelling you Glyph Auctions. /run local i=1;local n=1;while n ~= nil do n=GetAuctionItemInfo("owner",i) ;if n~=nil and strfind(n,"^Gly ph of") then CancelAuction(i) end i=i+1 end
This will cancel all of your glyph auctions so that you can repost them at lower prices.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Opposite of a WTF Raid
Last night I was running around on my Druid making some glyphs when I noticed a few members of the second most progressed raiding guild on my server starting up a Naxx 10. I sent a whisper and got an invite.
Some interesting things over the run.
Before long, the group was filled. The loot rules were simple. They left it on Need/Greed, if you wanted it, need, if not, pass. The raid leader would then shard what wasnt wanted for his guild bank. The raid leader was a druid tank wearing pretty much 100 percent Ulduar 26 gear...a bit overpowered for Naxx.
We zone in and go to work. We pull at break neck pace, rarely having to stop at all. We take down the spider wing quick enough to get the timed achivement. We dont have a death on any boss. We then head over the construct wing and one shot everything as well. We had our first boss death on Gluth. Towards the end of the fight, the DK kiting the zombies got killed followed shortly by his healer. I made like a tree and split. Gluth went down before they could mush me. I got my T 7 legs off of Gluth which now gives me my 4 set bonus. We finished the wing by one shotting Thaddius.
We then went and made quick work of the millitary and plague quarters, one shotting each boss in their turn. We headed up to Saph and one shotted him as well. Amazingly, we seemed to have a cloth and plate drop on all but maybe two bosses up to that point. Very little leather and maybe a single piece of mail.
We ended up having our only two wipes of the night at KT. The first time, melee was standing to close to the tank and 3 of the got iceblocked. The second time, our main tank literally fell asleep and died to a void zone. We took him down the third time with 9 people as one of the Rogues "DCed". I got the Hammer of the Astral Plane for my efforts.
Some interesting things over the run.
- I was the top healer
- The bear tank was the top damage doing about 2800 dps over the run....OP anyone?
- The bear tank tanked everything. The only time that the DK switched to tank spec was on Thaddius and Patchwerk. The Druid tanked all the adds and bosses on every other fight. He also solo tanked Gluth.
- Rogues dont seem to know that whirlwinds are bad. The majority of deaths over the run came from rogues getting killed by the whirlwinding mobs in the Millitary Quarter
- Before our wipes on KT, I only died once.......to Noth's curse after he went down. DOH.
Overall, it was a fun and quick run. Now if I could just get my fiancee to not be mad that I was up until 0430 AM finishing it :(
Thursday, June 4, 2009
WTF Raids
Some raids are not just fail raids. They are WTF raids. They may go well for the most part, but they still leave you scratching your head. Last night I got into a Naxx 10 run for my sister's guild. First off, their dps was terrible.
Then we went to Loatheb and wiped a bunch of times due to a a dumb method of using the spores. The tank wanted the spores to be taunted on top the group to explode intead of groups moving to the spores. Afterwards, my sister told me that the Druid healer called me "annoying " for "trying to take over the raid". Which means I was trying to help these people who have trouble clearing Spider Wing. That is the last time they get my help.
When I came into the run to help dps, they had wiped several times on Heigan. We one shotted him when I got there. I did the most DPS on Heigan despite the fact that I am a melee DPS. Teh Warlocks were way behind me.
Then we went to Loatheb and wiped a bunch of times due to a a dumb method of using the spores. The tank wanted the spores to be taunted on top the group to explode intead of groups moving to the spores. Afterwards, my sister told me that the Druid healer called me "annoying " for "trying to take over the raid". Which means I was trying to help these people who have trouble clearing Spider Wing. That is the last time they get my help.
Today I got into a pug naxx 10 on my warrior because I was bored. Somehow, we managed to wipe one time on each of the bosses in the spider wing. It was retarded. After that we decided to move to Abom to which I though "fail boat here we come". Surprisingly we one shotted every boss in that wing. I ended up leaving because the RL called for a 10 minute break and I dont have time for long breaks.
Then later I tried to get into a VoA 25 on my pally. A Someone was asking for dps for VoA. I send a tell, nothing. There are 14 people in the group. Over 10 minutes I whisper the guy about 15 times. No response. He finally fills up and goes on his way. What a douchebag. It is only polite to respond to someone when they whisper you. No need to be a complete and utter douche about it.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Favorite and Least Favorite Classes
Sometimes you get things right the first time you create a character. You love that character and have tons of fun playing it. Sometimes you have to reroll a few times before you actually find that special toon.
For me, my favorite toon to play is my warrior. Darraxus was the first character I ever made, and the only one I had for a while. Until a few months into BC, I only had one alt who was level 17 at the time. Now my entire server list is full of characters.
There are a lot of things I love about playing my warrior. To me, warriors always seemed like the hard ass mercenary archetype. They are just as at home leading a battle or smashing heads with a giant two handed weapon.
For some reason I always gravitate towards warrior type characters in any fantasy type setting. The same held true in EQ and EQ 2, Asherons Call 2, DAoC, and even in SWG where I spent alot of time raising my teras-kasi and melee weapon skills. I like the fact that they can use any weapon in the game and wear heavy plate armor. I also love shields.
Shields are probably the one main thing that identifies a prot warrior in WoW (gear wise at least). Back in BC, you knew a prot warrior was badass if you saw him rocking Kaz'rogal's Hardened Heart or the Bulwark. In the first parts of Wrath, the serious raiders either had the shield off of Patchwerk, KT, or Maly 10. Now there are all kinds of ugly ones with faces on them from Ulduar.
As far as skills go, the coolest thing a warrior has in his arsenal is charge. I love being able to rush into battle like a dwarf gone mad. It looks cool and gives you a chance to start up well before the dps go to town. I can also be very dangerous when mis-used. Giant patrol face pulls and outrunning your healers are potential problems.
On the flip side of things, possibly my least favorite class is the priest. They were THE healer back before BC and have always been good healers. Trying to level one was just so very underwhelming for me. There was never that one moment where I said 'Man this class is cool'. I have probably rolled and erased around 5 different priests during my WoW life.
It could just be how boring the low levels are. Perhaps it gets better later. I always just felt incredibly squishy. I did not really enjoy the rotation of SWP and smite over and over. I also didnt like how often I had to stop for mana.
I know that Priests are very usefull as both a healing and dps class. I have even thought it would be very cool to level a discipline priest because I like their mitgation as opposed to the raw healing of other classes (or even Holy spec priests). I just cant bring myself to do it. If I were ever to level yet another healer, it would probably be a Shaman with their pew pew chain heals.
What are your favorite and least favorite classes?
For me, my favorite toon to play is my warrior. Darraxus was the first character I ever made, and the only one I had for a while. Until a few months into BC, I only had one alt who was level 17 at the time. Now my entire server list is full of characters.
There are a lot of things I love about playing my warrior. To me, warriors always seemed like the hard ass mercenary archetype. They are just as at home leading a battle or smashing heads with a giant two handed weapon.
For some reason I always gravitate towards warrior type characters in any fantasy type setting. The same held true in EQ and EQ 2, Asherons Call 2, DAoC, and even in SWG where I spent alot of time raising my teras-kasi and melee weapon skills. I like the fact that they can use any weapon in the game and wear heavy plate armor. I also love shields.
Shields are probably the one main thing that identifies a prot warrior in WoW (gear wise at least). Back in BC, you knew a prot warrior was badass if you saw him rocking Kaz'rogal's Hardened Heart or the Bulwark. In the first parts of Wrath, the serious raiders either had the shield off of Patchwerk, KT, or Maly 10. Now there are all kinds of ugly ones with faces on them from Ulduar.
As far as skills go, the coolest thing a warrior has in his arsenal is charge. I love being able to rush into battle like a dwarf gone mad. It looks cool and gives you a chance to start up well before the dps go to town. I can also be very dangerous when mis-used. Giant patrol face pulls and outrunning your healers are potential problems.
On the flip side of things, possibly my least favorite class is the priest. They were THE healer back before BC and have always been good healers. Trying to level one was just so very underwhelming for me. There was never that one moment where I said 'Man this class is cool'. I have probably rolled and erased around 5 different priests during my WoW life.
It could just be how boring the low levels are. Perhaps it gets better later. I always just felt incredibly squishy. I did not really enjoy the rotation of SWP and smite over and over. I also didnt like how often I had to stop for mana.
I know that Priests are very usefull as both a healing and dps class. I have even thought it would be very cool to level a discipline priest because I like their mitgation as opposed to the raw healing of other classes (or even Holy spec priests). I just cant bring myself to do it. If I were ever to level yet another healer, it would probably be a Shaman with their pew pew chain heals.
What are your favorite and least favorite classes?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Paladin Schmaladin: Worked Up Over Nothing?
So, the Ferraro saga has taken may twists and turns lately. Ferraro is not who they said they are and actually claims to have had seven different people working on the site (though WoW.com refutes this claim).
For those of you who do not know, Ferraro was a Paladin blog with great guids for all specs. The guides are still there in case you are interested in checking them out. All of the other stuff has been taken down. No more cutsie wootsie stuff or Lost reviews. If you went there for the pictures of a girl, that is gone too since that is not Ferraro.
If you want to see the real "Ferraro", she can be found at TechDarling. She has issued a video about the whole stolen identity thing.
So, what are people so mad about? If you are mad that you have been "betrayed", then get over it. Regardless of the fact that Ferraro may or may not have been a girl, and definately was not the one pictured, should not take away from the fact that there was a lot of good information on that site. If you went there for something besides gaining knowledge of your class or a funny story here and there, then shame on you. There is plenty of porn on the web if you were trying to get your jollies.
The internet is not a place to trust people. If you trust everyone on the internet, you will always be waiting for you 1 million dollars from the Nigerian prince or wonder how someone is using your credit card number to buy stuff at a walmart in Wisconsin. Take the site for what it was. It was entertainment and it was informative Paladin stuff. Let go of your hurt feelings and realize that this person was trying to get people to view their site any way possible. Was it a bit underhanded? Perhaps, but they knew what kind of large audience they could get drooling over there by posting as a young lady who works for Blizzard.
If your biggest disapointement is that it was not Sarah Townsend actually writing the site, then get over it. There are bigger things in life the be outraged by. Someone lying on the internet is not news. I think somebody telling the truth on the internet is a much bigger deal.
I guess I am of the same thought as Gevlon in this situation. If you always trust people you dont know you will be in for a lifetime of hurt and disapointment. Toughen up.
I also have a confession to make. It may shock you that I am not actually a Dwarf or a Warrior. I dont have a red flat top. Contrary to popular belief, I do not have giant skulls on my shoulders either. :)
If anyone should be upset in this whole situation, it is the girl who had her identity stolen. Everyone else should just get over it and move on.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Flame Leviathan: Speculated as fail, actually fun
When they said that the first boss encounter in Ulduar was going to be a vehicle battle, most people rolled their eyes. Vehicle use was more or less introduced with WoTLK and had some fairly buggy or annoying quests. The one in Howling Fjorde where you ride the flying machine against gargoyles and the one in Zul Drak when you ride the Storm Giant come to mind.
They seemed very clunky, and it made it seem like Flame Leviathan was going to be an epic amount of fail.....but it wasnt.
They seemed very clunky, and it made it seem like Flame Leviathan was going to be an epic amount of fail.....but it wasnt.
Flame Leviathan is one of the most fun encounters I have done so far in WoW. You get to drive around in big tanks or motorcycles, shoot gnomes onto the boss, and generally much around. It is an easy fight, but man blowing things up is fun.
You get to do metric tons of damage, even if you are a tank or a healer. The beauty of this fight is that you can try everything. It is easy to learn the vehicle controls and there are no too many options as to confuse you.
So, here is a cheers to blizzard on a fun encounter that you dont have to wipe on 20 times to figure it out. It is easy like Naxx, but a whole hell of a lot more enjoyable.
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