Pet Talents

For my moth, which I have determined will be this one:

Haven't decided on his name though, but this will be this talent tree.

My windserpent will be this talent tree, though I'm not certain yet which one I will give up. Aeris, my red Son of Hakkar, is my eldest, while Sephiroth is my blue Soulflayer and the one I was really happy to tame, since they took out the color changing abilities of the Sons of Hakkar. I think it might be Sephiroth, since our BM hunter tamed a Soulflayer recently, but we'll see.

Now what tanking pet should I tame? I'm leaning towards a turtle, I think this one:


And here's his tanking tree. Dammit, I need names for these guys!

EDIT: I tamed my turtle, despite the fact that the expansion and maybe even the content patch before it would allow any under-level pets to jump up to 65. His name is Maturin, and currently 46!

Maybe this is why..

Could I be so blinded by hope that MM will return that I actually think the epiphany I had during last night's raid could be true? It was a CC pull outside of Shade's room, and I was half-heartedly spamming my 1:1 macro to prevent breaking of sheep via habitual usage of Multi Shot. Then it clicked: Maybe the reason why they haven't instigated the promised patch fix of Multi Shot breaking crowd control because it won't be used in the raid environment!

I'm reading to far into it, aren't I?

People are failing to catch on..

Since the opening of beta, I've been visiting the official forums periodically to see if anything new has been confirmed, such as the Exotic Pets that BM hunters are so curious about. There is, of course, doubt that MM will return to the PvE scene, mainly because of the 'weak' 51 point talent and doubt that the buffed talents for the tree will be able to be on par with Serpent Swiftness. Here's what I think a lot of people don't consider: Haste gear. It's freaking everywhere in the xpac, and what I predict will be the next tool of MM hunters.

Here's also crossing fingers that Trueshot Aura will be raid-wide like pally auras. If not, I'll be actually rather pissed and call "Hypocrites!"

No much science to post as of late. Back in lab doing the same-ol' same-ol', waiting for my faculty adviser to remember my senior project.

My obsessions cross!

They are making moths tamable in WotLK! This means my third stable slot is officially filled, once I tame up the higher levels of pet spells for my Windserpents (which I'm not even sure I'll have to do yet). This gives me two utility pets and one DPS pet, as moths are in the Ferocity tree.

I admit this confuses me... Windserpents, flying snakes that can breathe lightning, are considered utility pets (read: support), while moths are considered damage. WTF?

Now the question remains what I shall name it. Gypsy? Geometer? Sweetheart?

EDIT: Moths are in the Ferocity tree, so DPS, while Windserpents are in the Cunning tree, just for utility.

http://petopia.brashendeavors.net/html/articles/wotlktalents.php

I'm kinda cool with the the unique ability they get: Serenity Dust - The moth's wings produce a cloud of dust that increases its attack power by 10% and heals it over 15 sec. (75 Focus, Intsant, 2 min cooldown). At least it's original.

I wish they would have upped Lightning Breath a bit, but oh well.

Level 80 Spec

Here's what I'm thinking:

http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=cxbZceVbRVzMeoxuAoe

The expected points in BM and SV.
Focused Aim: Because the one week I was BM, the one thing I hated most was the fucking pushback from any damage. I HATED it.
Careful Aim: I love me my Int.
Combat Experience: Same, though those will be the first to go if I choose to move things around. Somewhat disappointed that nothing was improved through it.
Wild Quiver: I'm still uncertain about this talent. Will it be worth it, or will the proc rate be dismal that the three points are better spent else where?
Chimera Shot: Unlike a lot of people, I am optimistic about this for raiding, particularly desired by tanks. Means I'll have to put Scorpid Sting in my shot rotation though... Hmm... Timing it should be interesting, as with mana efficiency.. (Oh man, I CANNOT WAIT to figure out all of this!)

I really have no faith in Rapid Recuperation. This may change of course. So much has to be tested before anything is final.

Since it is really looking like there is the possibility of one of each hunter spec in raid, I might be the nice person and let our eldest BM hunter return to MM, and I could stay raid SV. As much as I love MM, I wouldn't mind being the SV hunter either, unless she wants to try it out. I'll let her have first say. Otherwise, this shall be my build, I think:

http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=cZcxA0McZe0cmoGfVccx0A

I'll have to see what Alu thinks.

I lied

With beta opening for Wrath of the Lich King, new talents and new abilities are now available to the public. Having discovered these, I am now insanely happy. MM HAS VIABILITY!

Yes, with all the new MM talents, it looks like we might actually have what we've always assumed the trees to be: BM hitting faster, MM hitting harder.

Things I must do once I hit 80:
Find out the best amount of haste, since it appears inevitable.
Figure out how to do a decent shot rotation with said haste - incorporating arcane and multi among all the steady and kill shots will be a challenge, especially if we are forced to be 1:1 constantly.
Figure out how to talent my Windserpents!
Consider raiding group dynamics, what with the pet buffs, etc. As a MM raider, my pet will do what exactly? What more will I bring to the group?

OMG the HAPPINESS

This might be the end

With my guild leaders officially calling it quits, the guild is taking a nose dive in terms of raiding. Since the summer slump is upon us regardless, a lot of the more casual raiders will stick around, but the more dedicated folks will move on. I have to decide which group I belong to.

On one hand, I'm getting tired of it, and I could definitely use a break. We've been in BT for 5 months now, downed Illidari Council, and gave Illidan a good smack, but that's where we've been at for awhile now. The same ol' same ol' grind is just too repetitive, and I could stand just doing nothing until xpac or we decide to go to Warhammer. The thought of not raiding in college is a novel one, and I can't really imagine having life after 10 PM free again... It could even be fun!

However, on the other hand, I really love to raid. Having all the buffs, getting together to do something as coordinated as a football game really has an appeal to it. And, like I said, I've been doing it for so long, it's just part of my routine, a part of my life that without I'd feel somewhat lost without (boy, doesn't that just scream addiction...).

So what do I do? Do I stay, and wait it out for something better to come along, or do I go out an actively find a new home? This guild was just so perfect, accepting the three of us, and let me raid as MM to boot. I have good friends here, and I enjoy the atmosphere. It will be hard to find a new group of people, especially since they would have to take me and the boyfriend, who happens to be a little undergeared compared to me. And I refuse to go BM, so they take me as SV, or they deal with a raiding MM hunter ;). It's a tough decision, and time will tell what will happen.

The Summer Slump

Any time our Main Tank and and Guild Master posts that he isn't going to make it, people assume that raid is canceled, so they don't show up nor post that they are not going to show up. For the officers that do log on dutifully, it might as well be a death spiral, since while it is entirely possible to raid without our MT (our Off Tanks are quite capable), we end up having to actually cancel raid despite our capabilities because of all the people assuming that raid is canceled. Is that irony? No, I'm sure there is a better word for it that is just not coming to mind.

This time of year is particularly hard for the casual-hardcore guilds. The holidays hit us like a truck with all the no shows, and recovering from them is particularly difficult. We downed Illidari Council the week before the fourth of July, and now we were grateful to clear through to Shade in two hours. And here I was so hopeful that we could down Illidan. We might yet, but it'll prove difficult. Too bad I have a life outside of WoW, otherwise I'd be sorely tempted to join the truly hardcore guild on my server, and help kill Muru.

I'm thinking about following a lot of the old school guild members and jumping on Warhammer when it comes out. It'll depend though, on what the leveling system is like. The boyfriend and I are big into solo game play. When he attempted Final Fantasy X, the biggest turn of for him was how everything required a group to complete - nothing was soloable as it is in WoW. That'll be the kicker. If I can't do anything by myself, I'm not interested.