Surefooted - Moved from Tier 4 to Tier 2. No longer increases hit chance.
Focused Aim - No longer effects Aimed Shot. Now also increases your chance to hit by 1/2/3%.
Great, now I have to spec into it.
Black Arrow - Fires a Black Arrow at the target, slowing the target's movement speed by 70%. While the movement speed effect holds, the damage done by your ranged shots are increased by 15% on the target. Lasts for 6 sec. 6% base mana, Instant, 35 yard range, 12 second cooldown.
Don't care.
Aimed Shot - Mana cost reduced from 16% to 12% of base mana. Now instant cast. Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 10 seconds. Ranged damage increase reduced for all ranks.
Not speccing into it.
Marked for Death - Now increases your damage done by your shots and the damage done by your pet's special abilities by 1/2/3/4/5% (down from 2/4/6/8/10%) on marked targets.
Yea! Another nerf!
I don't know why I bother getting pissed. Hopefully everything will settle down... yeah, right...
As of now, this spec.
There are now words right now to describe how pissed I am that I have to take that useless talent known as Readiness in order to get Trueshot. WTF am I going to use it on besides Rapid Fire?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Guess what came in the mail today!
My Blizzard Authenticator! Yay! No more scary "what if all my epix are gone?!" worries!
Where is everybody?
Was Sunday a gamer's holiday of some sort that I didn't know about?
We had a grand total of 17 raiders on last night - needless to say not enough to work on Sunwell like we should've. It's particularly tough on people that want Sunmotes and trash drops (please drop some Leatherworking patterns please oh please oh please). We have at least three raiders that want Sunmotes, either for the haste ring or for gloves. Most of them have bought some already, so it's justifyable that they would want the guild to supply the remaining. The problem is that we have a grand total of seven Sunmotes right now. So how should we divide them?
Our old excuse was to tell the raiders that we won't be handing out Sunmotes until we run SW consistantly. That sorta became fact last week, though this whole "cancelling-raids-because-of-random-lack-of-raiders" thing is not helping matters either. Our new excuse is to holdout on giving the Sunmotes until we have X amount (most likely 15-20 or so). It's a pain though, since raiders are going out to buy their own Sunmotes for easily 1000g a pop, so they do deserve the upgrades for their gear. Sigh, too bad a SV hunter's gear is so finely balanced - I have to switch out at least two items before I can even consider those gloves, not to meantion getting another peice of T6 in order to maintain that lovely lovely set bonus.
As for attendence, I don't see how people have an excuse from at least not posting MIA. I just moved into the dorm for my fourth and final undergraduate year (hence my quiet postings for the last several days) but I still managed to show up to raid last night, abet I had many boxes still hanging around...
We had a grand total of 17 raiders on last night - needless to say not enough to work on Sunwell like we should've. It's particularly tough on people that want Sunmotes and trash drops (please drop some Leatherworking patterns please oh please oh please). We have at least three raiders that want Sunmotes, either for the haste ring or for gloves. Most of them have bought some already, so it's justifyable that they would want the guild to supply the remaining. The problem is that we have a grand total of seven Sunmotes right now. So how should we divide them?
Our old excuse was to tell the raiders that we won't be handing out Sunmotes until we run SW consistantly. That sorta became fact last week, though this whole "cancelling-raids-because-of-random-lack-of-raiders" thing is not helping matters either. Our new excuse is to holdout on giving the Sunmotes until we have X amount (most likely 15-20 or so). It's a pain though, since raiders are going out to buy their own Sunmotes for easily 1000g a pop, so they do deserve the upgrades for their gear. Sigh, too bad a SV hunter's gear is so finely balanced - I have to switch out at least two items before I can even consider those gloves, not to meantion getting another peice of T6 in order to maintain that lovely lovely set bonus.
As for attendence, I don't see how people have an excuse from at least not posting MIA. I just moved into the dorm for my fourth and final undergraduate year (hence my quiet postings for the last several days) but I still managed to show up to raid last night, abet I had many boxes still hanging around...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Haste vs. Armor Ignore
We finally had a BoE item pattern drop tonight, the design for Hard Khorium Band.
I am currently wearing Angelista's Revenge, which has 126 of the "best stat for hunters evar" that is armor ignore.
The Hard Khorium Band has 28 haste, which is 1.78%, along with 1 more agility.
Hmm.. debate, debate, particularly considering those mats (5 Sunmotes, bloody hell!).
I am currently wearing Angelista's Revenge, which has 126 of the "best stat for hunters evar" that is armor ignore.
The Hard Khorium Band has 28 haste, which is 1.78%, along with 1 more agility.
Hmm.. debate, debate, particularly considering those mats (5 Sunmotes, bloody hell!).
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sylvanas Through The Ages
This is the model of Sylvanas Windrunner in Vanilla WoW:
It's the Night Elf skeleton model, so it's decidedly un-Horde, but if you forgive the annoying girly jumping that the NEs are prone to do when standing, it's a decent look for the Banshee Queen. (And it also allowed some awesome fan art, like this and my particular favorite, this.)
A Beta patch awhile back introduced a new model for Sylvanas:
I like to think of this as her Psycho Barbie look. She now has a Blood Elf frame, complete with Valley Girl posture and blond 80s hair. Common, if you are going to make the Dark Lady a BE, then at least give her blue hair, or something more sinister!
Thankfully, the last push brought a more satisfying look to Sylvanas:
Now that's an Undead Ranger I can stand behind! Not only is her gear undeniably sexy (Hell, I'm a woman, and even I want to see Neg in that, particularly those shoulders - hello! those feathers just SCREAM Tauren!), but she now has the "I'm pissed-off royalty and I will hurt you" look that make Banshee Queens so lovable.
This model should stay!
It's the Night Elf skeleton model, so it's decidedly un-Horde, but if you forgive the annoying girly jumping that the NEs are prone to do when standing, it's a decent look for the Banshee Queen. (And it also allowed some awesome fan art, like this and my particular favorite, this.)
A Beta patch awhile back introduced a new model for Sylvanas:
I like to think of this as her Psycho Barbie look. She now has a Blood Elf frame, complete with Valley Girl posture and blond 80s hair. Common, if you are going to make the Dark Lady a BE, then at least give her blue hair, or something more sinister!
Thankfully, the last push brought a more satisfying look to Sylvanas:
Now that's an Undead Ranger I can stand behind! Not only is her gear undeniably sexy (Hell, I'm a woman, and even I want to see Neg in that, particularly those shoulders - hello! those feathers just SCREAM Tauren!), but she now has the "I'm pissed-off royalty and I will hurt you" look that make Banshee Queens so lovable.
This model should stay!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Upcoming Hunter Changes
From Koraa:
"I have some good news, and some bad news. First, the bad news. Unfortunately we won't be able to do the Aspect of the Viper change I discussed yesterday (passive instead of requiring you to attack the target) at this time because of technical limitations and its potential to shake up our current balance goals. However, we will evaluate it as an option for a future patch.
Now, the good news.
- Aimed Shot - This shot will now be instant cast, its damage/effect/cooldown will remain unchanged.
- Scatter shot - This will now be an 11-point Survival talent.
- Readiness - This will now be the 21-point Marksmanship talent.
- Trap Mastery - This will now be the 41-point Survival talent. Granted, not very sexy for a 41-pointer but we'll do some changes there in a future patch (after WOLK ships).
- Surefooted is swapping places with T.N.T. (so Surefooted is now in tier 2)"
Okay, so they are looking at AotV more. Good, I like that. Given, they are playing to the outcries of PvP hunters, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
Instant cast Aimed Shot? Huh? Where did that come from? Very very interesting... I might actually respec into it now.
Scatter? A SV talent? WTF... OHHHHH.. I see what you are doin' thar, Blizzard! You are trying to make SV the new PvP tree! What with all the Trap Mastery business as well, I can't say I'm not surprised.
And Surefooted on the second tier of SV... it's only 1% hit now, but interesting indeed...
Now, WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FIX TO MASTER MARKSMAN AND MORTAL SHOTS?!
Cause, right now, it's just too silly to be real.
"I have some good news, and some bad news. First, the bad news. Unfortunately we won't be able to do the Aspect of the Viper change I discussed yesterday (passive instead of requiring you to attack the target) at this time because of technical limitations and its potential to shake up our current balance goals. However, we will evaluate it as an option for a future patch.
Now, the good news.
- Aimed Shot - This shot will now be instant cast, its damage/effect/cooldown will remain unchanged.
- Scatter shot - This will now be an 11-point Survival talent.
- Readiness - This will now be the 21-point Marksmanship talent.
- Trap Mastery - This will now be the 41-point Survival talent. Granted, not very sexy for a 41-pointer but we'll do some changes there in a future patch (after WOLK ships).
- Surefooted is swapping places with T.N.T. (so Surefooted is now in tier 2)"
Okay, so they are looking at AotV more. Good, I like that. Given, they are playing to the outcries of PvP hunters, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
Instant cast Aimed Shot? Huh? Where did that come from? Very very interesting... I might actually respec into it now.
Scatter? A SV talent? WTF... OHHHHH.. I see what you are doin' thar, Blizzard! You are trying to make SV the new PvP tree! What with all the Trap Mastery business as well, I can't say I'm not surprised.
And Surefooted on the second tier of SV... it's only 1% hit now, but interesting indeed...
Now, WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FIX TO MASTER MARKSMAN AND MORTAL SHOTS?!
Cause, right now, it's just too silly to be real.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Bankage
Since Pike insisted, here's the mess:
I don't really keep things in rows, rather, like my bags, I arrange things in groups. Starting from the top left and going clockwise:
Badges of Justice - As soon as I get 15, I spend them on gems to see on the AH. Sadly, prices are falling and they are no longer selling like they use to... Pre-expansion economy is beginning to set in.
Bulk raiding elixirs - Major Mageblood and Major Agility
Spare Oils
Spare Healing Potion Injectors
Bulk Fel Mana Potions
Bulk Scrolls of Agility V - Please, oh please, let Inscription make these stack up to at least 20...
Spare drums - Drums of Battle and Drums of War
Spare Depleted Crystal Foci
Bag One: Random old world/new world trinkets and summon pieces, including Barov Peasant Collar, Orb of Deception, and my good ol' Royal Seal of Elde'Thalas, the first trinket I recall ever being of real use. Mounts are also in this bag, but sadly, I have none of real notoriety.
Bag Two: All the non-combat pets that I don't carry with me.
Bag Three: PvP badges from world events and battlegrounds, along with things like Nightbane's Urn, Preserved Holly, and Proxy of Nozdormu (along with spare Silithid Carapace Fragments) from back when I had delusions of getting Brood of Nozdormu rep.
Bag Four: Old pre-BC items, including Rhok and Lok, Ancient Sinew Wrapped Lamina, and the Black Dragonscale Armor set. Also in here is the Crimson Lotus and the letter that my then boyfriend (now fiance) set along with it: "A pretty flower for a pretty lady. Love you". Since it was one of those rare, all-too-sweet things that guys like my man do on occasion, it had to be preserved.
Bag Five: My scant tabard collection, PvP gear that I never wear, and gear that I potentially might wear again, depending on stat needs.
Bag Six: Current gear, including Netherscale Ammo Pouch, shadow resist gear, and Forest Prowler's Helm, which I will wear again once I get a piece of T6 out of Sunwell.
Bag Seven: Random spare gems (mostly for the PvP gear that I'll never use), spare pet food, and Super Healing Pots to make injectors with.
Now you're asking, Hey Neg, aren't you a Leatherworker? Where's all your leather? And hey, where are your mats period? I don't even see a single Felweed!
Meet Leatherbag:
She stores all of my leather goods, both pre-BC and after.
As for herbs and primals, that's where Da Mule comes in:
Everything I'll need, including my set of Twill clothing, just on the off chance that I should loose everything, I won't go naked :)
I don't really keep things in rows, rather, like my bags, I arrange things in groups. Starting from the top left and going clockwise:
Badges of Justice - As soon as I get 15, I spend them on gems to see on the AH. Sadly, prices are falling and they are no longer selling like they use to... Pre-expansion economy is beginning to set in.
Bulk raiding elixirs - Major Mageblood and Major Agility
Spare Oils
Spare Healing Potion Injectors
Bulk Fel Mana Potions
Bulk Scrolls of Agility V - Please, oh please, let Inscription make these stack up to at least 20...
Spare drums - Drums of Battle and Drums of War
Spare Depleted Crystal Foci
Bag One: Random old world/new world trinkets and summon pieces, including Barov Peasant Collar, Orb of Deception, and my good ol' Royal Seal of Elde'Thalas, the first trinket I recall ever being of real use. Mounts are also in this bag, but sadly, I have none of real notoriety.
Bag Two: All the non-combat pets that I don't carry with me.
Bag Three: PvP badges from world events and battlegrounds, along with things like Nightbane's Urn, Preserved Holly, and Proxy of Nozdormu (along with spare Silithid Carapace Fragments) from back when I had delusions of getting Brood of Nozdormu rep.
Bag Four: Old pre-BC items, including Rhok and Lok, Ancient Sinew Wrapped Lamina, and the Black Dragonscale Armor set. Also in here is the Crimson Lotus and the letter that my then boyfriend (now fiance) set along with it: "A pretty flower for a pretty lady. Love you". Since it was one of those rare, all-too-sweet things that guys like my man do on occasion, it had to be preserved.
Bag Five: My scant tabard collection, PvP gear that I never wear, and gear that I potentially might wear again, depending on stat needs.
Bag Six: Current gear, including Netherscale Ammo Pouch, shadow resist gear, and Forest Prowler's Helm, which I will wear again once I get a piece of T6 out of Sunwell.
Bag Seven: Random spare gems (mostly for the PvP gear that I'll never use), spare pet food, and Super Healing Pots to make injectors with.
Now you're asking, Hey Neg, aren't you a Leatherworker? Where's all your leather? And hey, where are your mats period? I don't even see a single Felweed!
Meet Leatherbag:
She stores all of my leather goods, both pre-BC and after.
As for herbs and primals, that's where Da Mule comes in:
Everything I'll need, including my set of Twill clothing, just on the off chance that I should loose everything, I won't go naked :)
The Great Hyjal Debate
So tonight, instead of going into Sunwell for some fun trash lewts and practice on Kalecgos, the officers decided to clear Hyjal. Oh, joy....
We first entered Mount Hyjal in January. It was on the tail end of the time before patch 2.4, where attunements to Hyjal and Black Temple were removed, so we were very proud of ourselves for downing Vashj and Kael in order to get keyed. Archimonde died in April - not the fastest clear, but satisfactory for us. That was also the month that I received all the loot I remotely needed out of that instance.
We have notoriously bad loot luck. We've seen Tempest of Chaos once, Bristleblitz Striker once, and Leggings of Channeled Elements twice. We have very unhappy casters. Most gloves and helms go to offspec, though there are still a couple of individuals that insist on going back because their helm token didn't drop. And so here we are.
I remember thinking how cool the Battle for Mount Hyjal was as a raid instance. No pulls, just wave after wave of incoming enemies. It made me feel like being in a real war, fighting ghouls one on one, working as a team to down the dozens of mobs that were trying to kill us. We were on the defense for once, not the offense, and that spice was sweet to taste after the monotonous pull-kill-pull-kill of TK/SSC trash.
The novelty of Mount Hyjal lasted all of two weeks.
Now it is just a grind to get through the bosses, distribute loot to people that only half-heartedly need it. I find ways to make it more interesting for myself, but it's difficult.
Nothing like tanking the Frost Wyrm.
Chain trapping infernals FTW.
It's just SO BORING. We really don't need anything in the instance, so where is the point when we stop? We already clear Black Temple in two days, why are we even in here when we could be clearing into Sunwell? At what average gear point does it matter whether or not one of our druid tanks has his helm? It's a headache I never appreciate having, and I'm fairly confident that this instance will be to me what Molten Core was to many people: The instance I never want to return to.
We first entered Mount Hyjal in January. It was on the tail end of the time before patch 2.4, where attunements to Hyjal and Black Temple were removed, so we were very proud of ourselves for downing Vashj and Kael in order to get keyed. Archimonde died in April - not the fastest clear, but satisfactory for us. That was also the month that I received all the loot I remotely needed out of that instance.
We have notoriously bad loot luck. We've seen Tempest of Chaos once, Bristleblitz Striker once, and Leggings of Channeled Elements twice. We have very unhappy casters. Most gloves and helms go to offspec, though there are still a couple of individuals that insist on going back because their helm token didn't drop. And so here we are.
I remember thinking how cool the Battle for Mount Hyjal was as a raid instance. No pulls, just wave after wave of incoming enemies. It made me feel like being in a real war, fighting ghouls one on one, working as a team to down the dozens of mobs that were trying to kill us. We were on the defense for once, not the offense, and that spice was sweet to taste after the monotonous pull-kill-pull-kill of TK/SSC trash.
The novelty of Mount Hyjal lasted all of two weeks.
Now it is just a grind to get through the bosses, distribute loot to people that only half-heartedly need it. I find ways to make it more interesting for myself, but it's difficult.
Nothing like tanking the Frost Wyrm.
Chain trapping infernals FTW.It's just SO BORING. We really don't need anything in the instance, so where is the point when we stop? We already clear Black Temple in two days, why are we even in here when we could be clearing into Sunwell? At what average gear point does it matter whether or not one of our druid tanks has his helm? It's a headache I never appreciate having, and I'm fairly confident that this instance will be to me what Molten Core was to many people: The instance I never want to return to.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Hey wait a minute...
Doesn't this blog title look just a little familiar?? I might as well add it to the list then :)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I Grind
I was revered with the Timbermaw before the expansion, but since a shiney new title comes with being exalted with them, I decided to grind it out. It didn't take long at all, considering they doubled rep, but damn, I would have shot myself if I have had to do it when turn-ins were at 10 per instead of 5. I cleared out the Deadwood furbies in north Felwood many many many times, and got a nice chunk of Runecloth and blues to go along with it.
So you're talkin' with, as Thrall says, a true hero of the Horde, and the proud owner of Guardian of the Timbermaw. You're all so jealous, I know ;).
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Shiney!
It went to our eldest rogue, but it was actually a toss up, both are really great players.
Off to Sunwell Trash, where two healing gloves dropped, and a priest healing schematic.
Stupid fears... Stuck behind a hedge FTL!
*cough*
"Tranquilizing Shot: No longer removes Frenzy effects"
I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, Blizzard. Are you really removing the entire basis of the shot? Seriously? Excuse me, but wasn't that a spell that hunters learned off of a book drop from Lucifron, in order to down Magmadar? That shot, right? I'm not confusing it for another shot that might do exactly what its name suggests?
Blizzard, allow me to be your WTF voice.
W T F
I know, I know, this little nerf to an old shot is meaningless in the grand scheme of the latest beta patch, in which the Omniscient Hunter Class Designers decided to redesign a half-dozen old talents. I feel that this change just sums up exactly what that patch did: It took a bunch of talents that hunters were just fine and dandy with, and changed them into something unrecognizable from their original form.
Now, I can't see a reason for removing the Frenzy dispell from Tranq Shot, but I have a hazy idea, as silly as it sounds, for why all of a sudden we are loosing RAP increasing talents: Careful Aim. It does sound silly, the fact that they are revamping multiple talents over just one other talent, but for the life of me, I can't figure out any other reason why they would remove the percentage increase of ranged attack power unless they are scaling hunter gear for two-stats that increase RAP. The lack of a push-back to Auto Shot and the fact that hunters now have two stats that will increase AP porportionally were increases to DPS, but do they really figure that removing 14% of our attack power (at least) and crit percentage will balance out the damage and mana problems? I really want to know what the hell they are thinking.
I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, Blizzard. Are you really removing the entire basis of the shot? Seriously? Excuse me, but wasn't that a spell that hunters learned off of a book drop from Lucifron, in order to down Magmadar? That shot, right? I'm not confusing it for another shot that might do exactly what its name suggests?
Blizzard, allow me to be your WTF voice.
W T F
I know, I know, this little nerf to an old shot is meaningless in the grand scheme of the latest beta patch, in which the Omniscient Hunter Class Designers decided to redesign a half-dozen old talents. I feel that this change just sums up exactly what that patch did: It took a bunch of talents that hunters were just fine and dandy with, and changed them into something unrecognizable from their original form.
Now, I can't see a reason for removing the Frenzy dispell from Tranq Shot, but I have a hazy idea, as silly as it sounds, for why all of a sudden we are loosing RAP increasing talents: Careful Aim. It does sound silly, the fact that they are revamping multiple talents over just one other talent, but for the life of me, I can't figure out any other reason why they would remove the percentage increase of ranged attack power unless they are scaling hunter gear for two-stats that increase RAP. The lack of a push-back to Auto Shot and the fact that hunters now have two stats that will increase AP porportionally were increases to DPS, but do they really figure that removing 14% of our attack power (at least) and crit percentage will balance out the damage and mana problems? I really want to know what the hell they are thinking.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sex, Sexism, and the World of Warcraft
One blogger (I can't remember whom) commented on how many blogs by women gamers advertise that being a girl is an important aspect of their game play, but never actually blog about what makes being a female gamer so noteworthy. I agree with this, though I see why they advertise as they do: It's still a relative rarity for a woman to be a gamer. For the most part, however, there is no difference in the gaming experience between the sexes. There are men and women at every level of game play, individuals that can kite Fel Reavers to A'dal and individuals that don't even know what a shot rotation is. There are people that can farm for 10 hours straight and others that lead progressive guilds through endgame content. And they are of both sexes.
Azeroth is still an man's world. I don't emphasis the fact that I am female so often, here or in the game (unless I'm confused for a guy, such as a "Thank you, sir" to which I simply correct them by saying *ma'm), but it always comes up, and sometimes it's the point of a conversation. I suppose these sort of things come up more frequently than I actually acknowledge, because I've been playing for three years and it's become a fact of life. I took notice last night when one of our shaman told me in party "Hey Neg, did you know that women on average speak more than three times as much as men do?" Regardless of whether this little factoid was true or not, I essentially told him, not really surprised, since women tend to validate things, but so what? His response was: "Nag nag nag nag nag."
What am I, the Source of All Information on the Female Gender? I suppose this may be the common ground scenario, where it's okay to ask these sort of questions because we're all gamers here, and who better to ask questions regarding the opposite sex than that conversation-friendly female officer? But it's just SO MUCH.
Once I casually let slip that I've always been considered "one of the guys": I grew up a tomboy, I never had a gaggle of girlfriends, it was always my guy friends that I hung out with, mainly because there never were any hidden agendas or complications arising that girls were always fond of creating. The response from the guild towards this slip of the tongue? "So, does that mean you have a penis?" /facepalm Jokes ensued after that, which for the most part I ignored to the point that I actually forgot where it originated, but the point remains the same - I have to be emphasized as a girl, separate from the guys.
If I say anything that could even remotely be taken for a sexual innuendo, it's not just taken, it's snatched and ripped to pieces. I don't even notice how regular it is anymore, but the frustration of having a normal conversation turned into a joke-trading orgy eventually gets to you. At one point last night I just snapped and yelled in Officer Chat "Why does it always have to be about sex?!" And, of course, I was berated for not being able to take a joke.
Jokes are fine. Jokes are swell. Jokes that never deviate from the topic of "Neg Is Woman" get really really tiring after the eight thousandth time. I'll get back into the rhythm of ignoring them soon enough, swatting the NakedNeg.com jokes away with a bored "OMG" over Vent, but they are still there, and they will never leave. I know the jokes are truly in jest, that I am respected as a player and an officer, and that I'm good at taking the jokes with relative stride (Oh, I have plans for NakedNeg.com, believe you me ;) ), but like so much of today's culture, what is different will always be emphasized over what is the same. Such is life.
Azeroth is still an man's world. I don't emphasis the fact that I am female so often, here or in the game (unless I'm confused for a guy, such as a "Thank you, sir" to which I simply correct them by saying *ma'm), but it always comes up, and sometimes it's the point of a conversation. I suppose these sort of things come up more frequently than I actually acknowledge, because I've been playing for three years and it's become a fact of life. I took notice last night when one of our shaman told me in party "Hey Neg, did you know that women on average speak more than three times as much as men do?" Regardless of whether this little factoid was true or not, I essentially told him, not really surprised, since women tend to validate things, but so what? His response was: "Nag nag nag nag nag."
What am I, the Source of All Information on the Female Gender? I suppose this may be the common ground scenario, where it's okay to ask these sort of questions because we're all gamers here, and who better to ask questions regarding the opposite sex than that conversation-friendly female officer? But it's just SO MUCH.
Once I casually let slip that I've always been considered "one of the guys": I grew up a tomboy, I never had a gaggle of girlfriends, it was always my guy friends that I hung out with, mainly because there never were any hidden agendas or complications arising that girls were always fond of creating. The response from the guild towards this slip of the tongue? "So, does that mean you have a penis?" /facepalm Jokes ensued after that, which for the most part I ignored to the point that I actually forgot where it originated, but the point remains the same - I have to be emphasized as a girl, separate from the guys.
If I say anything that could even remotely be taken for a sexual innuendo, it's not just taken, it's snatched and ripped to pieces. I don't even notice how regular it is anymore, but the frustration of having a normal conversation turned into a joke-trading orgy eventually gets to you. At one point last night I just snapped and yelled in Officer Chat "Why does it always have to be about sex?!" And, of course, I was berated for not being able to take a joke.
Jokes are fine. Jokes are swell. Jokes that never deviate from the topic of "Neg Is Woman" get really really tiring after the eight thousandth time. I'll get back into the rhythm of ignoring them soon enough, swatting the NakedNeg.com jokes away with a bored "OMG" over Vent, but they are still there, and they will never leave. I know the jokes are truly in jest, that I am respected as a player and an officer, and that I'm good at taking the jokes with relative stride (Oh, I have plans for NakedNeg.com, believe you me ;) ), but like so much of today's culture, what is different will always be emphasized over what is the same. Such is life.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Another fan-art post
Bit of a lee in news, what with 3.0 around the corner. Kalec is slowly but surely going down (about 50% on both dragon and demon as of last night, and we finally made at least two attempts that had a full tank rotation completed), and tonight we'll have another shot at him. Trash loot has been abysmally lacking...
So have a bit of fan art instead! I did this just before the Burning Crusade came out, in that annoying down time after 2.0 and before the release.
Name that armor set, go!
So have a bit of fan art instead! I did this just before the Burning Crusade came out, in that annoying down time after 2.0 and before the release.
Name that armor set, go!
Novemer 13, eh?
Blizzard supplied the release date today for Wrath of the Lich King (via WoW Head), which means I mark my calender for a midnight meeting with my local Game Stop. It falls on a Thursday, which is great for me, since I don't have classes on Friday or Monday. Four non-stop days of Wrath.... mmmmm.....
Conveniently, I had just pre-ordered it the other day (no Collectors Edition for me, as cute as the frostwyrm whelp is) and had it shipped to the store. With other UChicago WoW players in my dorm, we shall taxi up to Game Stop!
Speaking of WoW Head, I decided to give up my site-loyalty to Thotbot and become a pure-Wowheader. This was based on the decision to run the Wowhead Client, all because I was curious about the drop rate of Captured Firefly (I love the discussion on probablity in the comments section, by the way. It makes the nerd in me extremely happy.). The great irony, of course, is that the little bugger dropped for me on the twelfth kill!
Conveniently, I had just pre-ordered it the other day (no Collectors Edition for me, as cute as the frostwyrm whelp is) and had it shipped to the store. With other UChicago WoW players in my dorm, we shall taxi up to Game Stop!
Speaking of WoW Head, I decided to give up my site-loyalty to Thotbot and become a pure-Wowheader. This was based on the decision to run the Wowhead Client, all because I was curious about the drop rate of Captured Firefly (I love the discussion on probablity in the comments section, by the way. It makes the nerd in me extremely happy.). The great irony, of course, is that the little bugger dropped for me on the twelfth kill!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Damn you, Core Armor Kit
We decided to 7-man MC tonight, on a fair whim. The pattern did not drop (ARGGGGG), nor did anything really notable, besides five pieces of Prophecy (and not one priest in the group). I grabbed the Giantstalker Helm and Chest, despite the fact that I vendored them long ago. I also snagged Band of Sulfuras, since I destroyed everything that I had from Rag pre-BC, and I wanted the achievement :).
Friday, September 12, 2008
Changing up the 80 spec
I mused over Rilgon's choices in the BM and SV tree for a while, debating them, before coming up with a raiding spec I liked. The new Beta patch helped make some decisions, for certain.
SV: Moving Survival Instincts to the second tier made it impossible to not get, but I could not give up Hawk Eye. If end game raiding has taught me anything, it's that mobility has to be an option. Everyone MUST be spread out for an encounter, so I see Hawk Eye literally as a Survival talent. Dead hunters do no damage, and being one of the two classes with the longest range, we should be out there on the outskirts in order to make room for the rest of the raid. There shouldn't be a reason we have to risk dying in order to do damage. We're not shadow priests!
MM: Right now, I see conflicting information on the cooldown of Chimera Shot. The talent trees on WoWHead and MMOChampion list the cooldown as 10 secs, while the spell ranks on WotLKWiki list (but not on the talent list) is as 6 seconds. Since I am more inclined to consider the WotLKWiki as a simple editing mistake, Chimera Shot does not share a CD with Arcane Shot, and I will still use both in my rotation and hence spec into Imp. Arcane.
(I'm still slightly confused on the whole Kill Shot thing. So, it's no longer an execute, as of today it has no knockback and is essentially dealing twice the damage of Steady Shot, has a 35 second CD, and has an extended range? PvP only, like Multi-Shot, I guess? /shrug)
BM: Yeah, 50% added to Aspect of the Hawk was great, 30% is more lack-luster and doesn't really motivate me to spend 4 points to get it, however nice Imp. Rez Pet is. Right now, the whole issue with Aspect of the Viper is scaring the crap outta me, in addition to that evil evil thing known as Potion Sickness, so hunter mana issues are really up in the air. I hope something happens for our benefit, and soon.
That last point that I always seem to have floating around went into Focused Aim, though I suppose you could say I just moved the two points from Focused Aim into Survival Instincts.
SV: Moving Survival Instincts to the second tier made it impossible to not get, but I could not give up Hawk Eye. If end game raiding has taught me anything, it's that mobility has to be an option. Everyone MUST be spread out for an encounter, so I see Hawk Eye literally as a Survival talent. Dead hunters do no damage, and being one of the two classes with the longest range, we should be out there on the outskirts in order to make room for the rest of the raid. There shouldn't be a reason we have to risk dying in order to do damage. We're not shadow priests!
MM: Right now, I see conflicting information on the cooldown of Chimera Shot. The talent trees on WoWHead and MMOChampion list the cooldown as 10 secs, while the spell ranks on WotLKWiki list (but not on the talent list) is as 6 seconds. Since I am more inclined to consider the WotLKWiki as a simple editing mistake, Chimera Shot does not share a CD with Arcane Shot, and I will still use both in my rotation and hence spec into Imp. Arcane.
(I'm still slightly confused on the whole Kill Shot thing. So, it's no longer an execute, as of today it has no knockback and is essentially dealing twice the damage of Steady Shot, has a 35 second CD, and has an extended range? PvP only, like Multi-Shot, I guess? /shrug)
BM: Yeah, 50% added to Aspect of the Hawk was great, 30% is more lack-luster and doesn't really motivate me to spend 4 points to get it, however nice Imp. Rez Pet is. Right now, the whole issue with Aspect of the Viper is scaring the crap outta me, in addition to that evil evil thing known as Potion Sickness, so hunter mana issues are really up in the air. I hope something happens for our benefit, and soon.
That last point that I always seem to have floating around went into Focused Aim, though I suppose you could say I just moved the two points from Focused Aim into Survival Instincts.
Kalec, why must your human self die so easily?
Well, our first night of poking the big blue dragon was a great learning experience. We managed about 60% on both the dragon and the demon bashing on his human form on our best attempt. Tank and portal rotations were tried and are being mastered.
Our main problems: Keeping the demon off the human Kalec, and keeping tanks alive. Everything else fell into place fairly easily, it's just practice practice practice. And we have two more nights to work on it.
I gotta say though, I'm glad I'm not a tank or a healer for this fight, cause they are quite intensive roles. I pop into my portal, DPS, pop out of my portal, DPS, and stay alive like a good Survival hunter.
Our main problems: Keeping the demon off the human Kalec, and keeping tanks alive. Everything else fell into place fairly easily, it's just practice practice practice. And we have two more nights to work on it.
I gotta say though, I'm glad I'm not a tank or a healer for this fight, cause they are quite intensive roles. I pop into my portal, DPS, pop out of my portal, DPS, and stay alive like a good Survival hunter.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Gloves
Here are the important stats on Gronnstalker's Gloves:
35 Agil
21 Int
10 Agil gem
15 Crit rating (13+2 socket bonus)
62 AP
140 ignored armor
They are about equal to Gauntlets of Rapidity, which extra crit and AP are fairly balanced with the armor ignore on the T6.
The two crafted gloves that drop from patterns in Sunwell are Fletcher's Gloves of the Phoenix:
30 Agil
25 Int
20 Agil (10+10 gems, ignoring socket bonus)
34 Haste rating
76 AP
and Gloves of Immortal Dusk:
30 Agil
20 Agil (10+10 gems)
33 Crit rating (30+3 socket bonus)
90 AP
154 ignored armor.
Okay, it comes down the how much value is the haste, since the leather gloves beat out the mail in Crit and AP. I'm leaning towards the leather, since I'm still not stacking haste due to poor drop rate. I'll have to get rid of Don Alejandro's Money Belt first though, because the thought of having two items without Intellect on them makes my mana pool cry.
Too bad my likelihood of seeing Kil'Jaeden is slim to nothing, because Thalassian Ranger Gauntlets (like most things of Thalassian nature) are beautiful.
35 Agil
21 Int
10 Agil gem
15 Crit rating (13+2 socket bonus)
62 AP
140 ignored armor
They are about equal to Gauntlets of Rapidity, which extra crit and AP are fairly balanced with the armor ignore on the T6.
The two crafted gloves that drop from patterns in Sunwell are Fletcher's Gloves of the Phoenix:
30 Agil
25 Int
20 Agil (10+10 gems, ignoring socket bonus)
34 Haste rating
76 AP
and Gloves of Immortal Dusk:
30 Agil
20 Agil (10+10 gems)
33 Crit rating (30+3 socket bonus)
90 AP
154 ignored armor.
Okay, it comes down the how much value is the haste, since the leather gloves beat out the mail in Crit and AP. I'm leaning towards the leather, since I'm still not stacking haste due to poor drop rate. I'll have to get rid of Don Alejandro's Money Belt first though, because the thought of having two items without Intellect on them makes my mana pool cry.
Too bad my likelihood of seeing Kil'Jaeden is slim to nothing, because Thalassian Ranger Gauntlets (like most things of Thalassian nature) are beautiful.
Musing over Careful Aim
I really like this talent, but should we be wary about it's beauty?
Careful Aim gives us a second stat that gives us 1:1 RAP, making both Intelligence and Agility sought after. This will increase the mana pool for certain, since we will be just as likely to gem for Int as we do for Agil. Think of it this way: Gem for 20 Agil, get 20 RAP and .24 % crit and gem for 20 Int, get 20 RAP, 300 mana and a dash of mp5. This may vary, of course, what with raid buffs being changed, so the mana pool may not be as scary as we think it is now.
But what will this do to gear? Will we see a higher Int with a lower base AP and perhaps higher hit/crit/haste? How high will our RAP soar, how deep will our mana pool plunge?
It will be so much fun to find out :D.
Careful Aim gives us a second stat that gives us 1:1 RAP, making both Intelligence and Agility sought after. This will increase the mana pool for certain, since we will be just as likely to gem for Int as we do for Agil. Think of it this way: Gem for 20 Agil, get 20 RAP and .24 % crit and gem for 20 Int, get 20 RAP, 300 mana and a dash of mp5. This may vary, of course, what with raid buffs being changed, so the mana pool may not be as scary as we think it is now.
But what will this do to gear? Will we see a higher Int with a lower base AP and perhaps higher hit/crit/haste? How high will our RAP soar, how deep will our mana pool plunge?
It will be so much fun to find out :D.
Beautiful Black Temple week
We cleared out the rest of Black Temple tonight, one-shotting Mother, two-shotting Council... and four-shotting Illidan. Three of those four times we made it past Phase 2, which is extremely encouraging. We finally downed the big guy 10 minutes after the scheduled raid ending time... and with three people alive. It was exceedingly disgusting how poor it was, but he died anyway.
Oh, and I got a shiney:
Four-piece bonus, baby! Wooooot!
The chest and shoulders will be staying with me for awhile, but I will trade out the helm for the one I have sitting in the bank, and I'm still debating making the gloves, which are supposedly the best in the game for hunters (no Intellect, I debate....). But all of that takes Sunwell gear, which we fully intend on taking the three-day plunge this week :D.
Oh, and I got a shiney:
Four-piece bonus, baby! Wooooot!
The chest and shoulders will be staying with me for awhile, but I will trade out the helm for the one I have sitting in the bank, and I'm still debating making the gloves, which are supposedly the best in the game for hunters (no Intellect, I debate....). But all of that takes Sunwell gear, which we fully intend on taking the three-day plunge this week :D.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Seeing red again..
We did really well in BT tonight, clearing 6 bosses. Nothing terribly noticeable dropped (fuck you, Boneweave Girdle), however, it was a night of increased rage on my part for other raiding hunters.
Groups were set up tonight such that I was placed with our regular BM hunter, the one that doesn't listen. He requested the in group shaman to lay down Grace of Air so he could check his agility, then he said "Woot, 1040 agil!" And I'm thinking, "Oh, no he didn't." Turns out the bastard had specced SV for the raid - my survival spec even. Now, I really don't care what he raids as. He could raid PvP specced for all I care. But you never fucking spec into Expose Weakness when there is another hunter in raid that has it. EVER. It's a fucking waste of talent points. And it pissed me off something terrible the fact that he didn't tell me he was going to try SV for the night so I could respec to accommodate him. COMMUNICATION: Is is too much to ask for?!
So I hearthed out, ported to Org, and specced MM for the night, killing him on damage that I actually tried on (not sure what happened on Teron, but my MM dmg is subpar anyway due to my comp, I fully admit that). My rage died out as the night progressed and we one-shotted every boss. But oh how I seethed and ranted on Vent in bind to another officer.
The great MM hunter that apped and ran with us for a Hyjal run decided to stop raiding all together, which is a bummer, considering he was so good. I suppose it means less competition for MM raiding in Wrath... We had another hunter app, but his lolspiritbond BM spec and gem choice was questionable, leaving me to wonder how he even got his T6 chest. We have a hunter member in guild that's looking to become raider, but his gear is terrible, he doesn't use a 3:2 macro as he should, and he raids with a wolf. We're essentially telling him what to do, which I dislike, especially in T6 content. He was a pally main, then switched after taking a leave of absence. He switched mains awhile back, but told me he wasn't saving his badges for the badge bow until he was sure he was raiding... A guy who decides his hunter is now is main, is forgoing getting the best attainable bow outside of endgame... until he's sure he's raiding? Srsly?
I have a headache. AFK
Groups were set up tonight such that I was placed with our regular BM hunter, the one that doesn't listen. He requested the in group shaman to lay down Grace of Air so he could check his agility, then he said "Woot, 1040 agil!" And I'm thinking, "Oh, no he didn't." Turns out the bastard had specced SV for the raid - my survival spec even. Now, I really don't care what he raids as. He could raid PvP specced for all I care. But you never fucking spec into Expose Weakness when there is another hunter in raid that has it. EVER. It's a fucking waste of talent points. And it pissed me off something terrible the fact that he didn't tell me he was going to try SV for the night so I could respec to accommodate him. COMMUNICATION: Is is too much to ask for?!
So I hearthed out, ported to Org, and specced MM for the night, killing him on damage that I actually tried on (not sure what happened on Teron, but my MM dmg is subpar anyway due to my comp, I fully admit that). My rage died out as the night progressed and we one-shotted every boss. But oh how I seethed and ranted on Vent in bind to another officer.
The great MM hunter that apped and ran with us for a Hyjal run decided to stop raiding all together, which is a bummer, considering he was so good. I suppose it means less competition for MM raiding in Wrath... We had another hunter app, but his lolspiritbond BM spec and gem choice was questionable, leaving me to wonder how he even got his T6 chest. We have a hunter member in guild that's looking to become raider, but his gear is terrible, he doesn't use a 3:2 macro as he should, and he raids with a wolf. We're essentially telling him what to do, which I dislike, especially in T6 content. He was a pally main, then switched after taking a leave of absence. He switched mains awhile back, but told me he wasn't saving his badges for the badge bow until he was sure he was raiding... A guy who decides his hunter is now is main, is forgoing getting the best attainable bow outside of endgame... until he's sure he's raiding? Srsly?
I have a headache. AFK
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mods
It's another slow week. We downed Archimonde on our last attempt last night, successfully clearing both Black Temple and Hyjal. It was rather embarrassing though - we've had Archimonde on farm for well over four months now, and it took us four hours to down him. It's an unforgiving fight, and it definitely separates the raiders from the noobs.
So I figure this is time to list the mods I use as filler :).
The mods the guild requires for raiding are Omen and Deadly Bossmods. Recount is optional, but I highly recommend it as a streamlined meter.
As is evident by my screenshots, I do not use a custom interface. Why? Well, mainly because I hate having to fix it with every patch. That in itself is not worth the time and energy it takes just to have a more streamlined UI. I know it's bad, I know it's ugly, but I'm used to it, just like I'm used to raiding on my ever-increasingly crappy Dell laptop (2 FPS on Illidan - I want to shoot myself). Thankfully, come next month, the laptop will be upgraded. I have yet to find a UI that I have any desire to install.
As a hunter, I use zHunter mod, which in all honesty, is one of the most complete mods I could ever ask for. Of this mod, I use the Aspect Bar, the Pet Bar, Trap Bar, Auto Strip, Auto Daze, and Misdirect. The Aspect Bar I keep collapsed underneath the party icons. Pet and Trap bar I have expanded into 3x3 or 2x3 bars and keep them on either side of my main action bar. Auto Strip is up by my portrait. I keep a focus macro for Misdirect, such that when ever I cast it on my focus target, the mod will yell (or any other form of announcement) who I MDed. I also use Kharthus's Hunter Timers, a little mod I picked up while working on my demons to time my Wing Clip, and just became adapted to every day use.
For my shot rotations, among other debuff warnings, I use Power Auras. Here is my set up.
For professions, I use Ackis Recipie List. It's a great little mod that tells you what recipes you are missing and what percentage of all recipes for that profession you have. I'm only missing 11 Leatherworking patterns! Woot!
As a guild leader, I also use a home-made mod used by our guild, the top Horde-side guild on the server, and evidently some European guilds. It's a queue mod, which when spammed in guild chat, allows players to whisper me to queue them up for a raiding position. It allows us to see who is available to raid, who shows up late, and who is waiting as back up. It's only hassle is the occasional MTs to me through whisper, and vice versa. It also comes with a Alt-addon, which when the guild notes are set up properly, adds the name of the mains next to the name of their alt in chat, making conversation that much easier.
_______________________
EDIT: 2/5/09 Updated for Wrath.
So I figure this is time to list the mods I use as filler :).
The mods the guild requires for raiding are Omen and Deadly Bossmods. Recount is optional, but I highly recommend it as a streamlined meter.
As is evident by my screenshots, I do not use a custom interface. Why? Well, mainly because I hate having to fix it with every patch. That in itself is not worth the time and energy it takes just to have a more streamlined UI. I know it's bad, I know it's ugly, but I'm used to it, just like I'm used to raiding on my ever-increasingly crappy Dell laptop (2 FPS on Illidan - I want to shoot myself). Thankfully, come next month, the laptop will be upgraded. I have yet to find a UI that I have any desire to install.
As a hunter, I use zHunter mod, which in all honesty, is one of the most complete mods I could ever ask for. Of this mod, I use the Aspect Bar, the Pet Bar, Trap Bar, Auto Strip, Auto Daze, and Misdirect. The Aspect Bar I keep collapsed underneath the party icons. Pet and Trap bar I have expanded into 3x3 or 2x3 bars and keep them on either side of my main action bar. Auto Strip is up by my portrait. I keep a focus macro for Misdirect, such that when ever I cast it on my focus target, the mod will yell (or any other form of announcement) who I MDed. I also use Kharthus's Hunter Timers, a little mod I picked up while working on my demons to time my Wing Clip, and just became adapted to every day use.
For my shot rotations, among other debuff warnings, I use Power Auras. Here is my set up.
For professions, I use Ackis Recipie List. It's a great little mod that tells you what recipes you are missing and what percentage of all recipes for that profession you have. I'm only missing 11 Leatherworking patterns! Woot!
As a guild leader, I also use a home-made mod used by our guild, the top Horde-side guild on the server, and evidently some European guilds. It's a queue mod, which when spammed in guild chat, allows players to whisper me to queue them up for a raiding position. It allows us to see who is available to raid, who shows up late, and who is waiting as back up. It's only hassle is the occasional MTs to me through whisper, and vice versa. It also comes with a Alt-addon, which when the guild notes are set up properly, adds the name of the mains next to the name of their alt in chat, making conversation that much easier.
_______________________
EDIT: 2/5/09 Updated for Wrath.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Hmm.. what sort of stalker will we be this time?
The first tier gear was released. I like what I see, though that +40 hit only on one piece leaves something to be desired.
Can't say I'm overly fond of the appearance either - rather bland in my opinion, but I suppose the first sets always are. At least the helm isn't hideous beyond appreciation, but it's still rather bad.
Can't say I'm overly fond of the appearance either - rather bland in my opinion, but I suppose the first sets always are. At least the helm isn't hideous beyond appreciation, but it's still rather bad.
Inside joke (sorta)
You can never remember where the best jokes start, and so is the case for this one. It was a BT run, and for some forgetful reason one of the raid leaders starts peddling the website "nakedneg.com". Jokes ensue, including the observation that the webhost domain is currently available (and I'm thinking "Crap, will this be like HornyManatee.com?"), if you join the guild you get a free yearly subscription, etc. Despite many /eyerolls and /facepalms on my part, the joke is still alive and well.
Ironicaly, this gave me an excuse to do some fanart in response:
Yes, yes, this is Naked Neg, ever so modest and ever so pissed at her guildees. I was tempted to have her holding Halberd of Desolutation while saying "Don't make me shove this up your @$$!!" but I think that would have been too much :P
Ironicaly, this gave me an excuse to do some fanart in response:
Yes, yes, this is Naked Neg, ever so modest and ever so pissed at her guildees. I was tempted to have her holding Halberd of Desolutation while saying "Don't make me shove this up your @$$!!" but I think that would have been too much :P
Saturday, September 6, 2008
New layout
Been tinkering with the blog look. As you can see I have a new header - my favorite place in Outlands. As soon as I saw the pool at Twilight Ridge, I fell in love with it. High up, you can see all of Nagrand. Rarely anyone comes here, save some druids every now and then, and some farmers (like me) hoping that maybe today the drop rate for Cobra Scales won't be so bad.
My new favorite non-combat pet is with me, and yes, I did roll a Draenei for a grand total of three minutes to buy the three moth eggs only available from the Alliance vendor.
It's purdy :).
My new favorite non-combat pet is with me, and yes, I did roll a Draenei for a grand total of three minutes to buy the three moth eggs only available from the Alliance vendor.
It's purdy :).
Friday, September 5, 2008
"Finally, some BM hunter love"
The amount of anger that I have for this comment is overwhelming.
I was looking around at some of the screenshots on WoWhead of Cursed Vision of Sargeras, and became curious about some of the images of Thori'dal.
I've ranted about it's 2.7 speed before, but this comment just got my blood boiling. Finally, FINALLY some BM hunter love.... What the FUCK do you call that whole 20% passive haste talent? A peck on the cheek? A tender hug? The fact that BM hunters were given the ability to do amazing DPS without trying, with any level of gear, any weapon, that's not love? IS THAT NOT LOVE? If the bow was 3.0, would it not be love? Would BM damage no longer be great? No, it would still be topping the meters, just as it is talented to do, just as it did with Bristleblitz Striker and all the other 3.0 bows BM hunters have to choose from, because the slow bows will still outdps the faster weapons with T6 gear.
Please forgive me. I want to love this bow, I really do. I know the slow range weapons are leaving the picture again, what with haste being everyone's friend in Wrath, so my loyalties to MM bow speed are short lived. But it infrurates me like nothing else that players that raid BM want more more more more more MORE.
I'm going to go spec MM for the weekend and kill stuff. And enjoy it.
I was looking around at some of the screenshots on WoWhead of Cursed Vision of Sargeras, and became curious about some of the images of Thori'dal.
I've ranted about it's 2.7 speed before, but this comment just got my blood boiling. Finally, FINALLY some BM hunter love.... What the FUCK do you call that whole 20% passive haste talent? A peck on the cheek? A tender hug? The fact that BM hunters were given the ability to do amazing DPS without trying, with any level of gear, any weapon, that's not love? IS THAT NOT LOVE? If the bow was 3.0, would it not be love? Would BM damage no longer be great? No, it would still be topping the meters, just as it is talented to do, just as it did with Bristleblitz Striker and all the other 3.0 bows BM hunters have to choose from, because the slow bows will still outdps the faster weapons with T6 gear.
Please forgive me. I want to love this bow, I really do. I know the slow range weapons are leaving the picture again, what with haste being everyone's friend in Wrath, so my loyalties to MM bow speed are short lived. But it infrurates me like nothing else that players that raid BM want more more more more more MORE.
I'm going to go spec MM for the weekend and kill stuff. And enjoy it.
Satisfaction
Two hours. The second attempt that we made it past Phase 2, which over 2/3 of the raid had only seen for the second time . Our MT even DIED at 11%, but with just enough time for the Warlock tank to pick him up for Demon form.
Da loot? Cursed Vision of Sargeras (to a rogue)
Healing cloak
Protector Chest (to the MT)
Two Conqueror Chests
Happiness!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
What I sacrifice for science...
Worn out from preparing for my experiment that started today, I backed out of raiding last night. Turns out they did really well, clearing all the way up to Illidan.
Madness of the Betrayer dropped again. Not surprised. It went to our Fury warrior (and GM), so it was okay. What I'm more bitter about is that none of the gear that I want didn't drop for the other hunter in the raid, who could actually use the upgrades.
A MM hunter applied to the guild. His gear is great, as is his damage (about 200 more than mine, no surprise with SV verses MM in similar gear). It would be a beautiful thing to run a three hunter spec, feral druid, and shaman group... I'd hate to make him respec to BM just to suit raid make-up though, and since we raid typically caster heavy, that might be the case.
Madness of the Betrayer dropped again. Not surprised. It went to our Fury warrior (and GM), so it was okay. What I'm more bitter about is that none of the gear that I want didn't drop for the other hunter in the raid, who could actually use the upgrades.
A MM hunter applied to the guild. His gear is great, as is his damage (about 200 more than mine, no surprise with SV verses MM in similar gear). It would be a beautiful thing to run a three hunter spec, feral druid, and shaman group... I'd hate to make him respec to BM just to suit raid make-up though, and since we raid typically caster heavy, that might be the case.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Humilty is a good thing
A concept of relative fascination for me is how people may excel in one facet of the game, and totally fail in others.
I am totally and completely unable to deal with the constructs on the Teron Gorefiend fight. Every time the fight begins, I hope and hope that luck is on my side, and I don't get the Shadow O' Death. I have tried playing the Fun Flash Game, but it doesn't reflect my normal play style, making it difficult to adjust. For example, I strafe normally, so being unable to use 'Q' and 'E' in the game actually forces me to think about how to move. This rare thought-process makes me nervous, so it's more difficult for me to concentrate about what I need to do regarding the constructs. I know I need to do the whole "5-4-3-3-3-3-3-3" bit, but spamming a button is already sad reality for me, and when I need to spam a button, it's typically not 3. I've caught myself more than once spamming my 3:2 steady-auto macro on accident instead of Ice Lance. And, of course, the bulk of my problem is just mental frustration: I'm terrible at it because I've already mentally assured myself that I can't do it. Once that skull pops overhead, I become a nervous wreck; my heart races, and I fumble over my keys. Once I even broke into (silent) tears, because if another girl hadn't helped me cover my constructs, I would have wiped the raid. I just can't do it, and I know it. It's a personal failure that I hate, and would love to overcome.
On the other hand, I simply don't know how people can't stay alive on the Illidari Council fight. It does help that I have the equivilent HP of a warlock, but more often than not, they are some of the first to die. It's so simple to strafe out of the Blizzard or fire, pop a healthstone or health pot, or even bandage myself, then keep going. If the rogue is on me, pop a health stone after a couple of ticks. If the situation really need it, pop Drums of Restoration for it's weak heals and mana. It's just so easy to stay alive.. for me. I caught myself nearly yelling at the people who couldn't stay alive when a little voice inside my head said "But Neg, you fail at constructs." Then I realized I really couldn't say anything.
I'm good at hunter. I'm good at staying alive. I'm terrible at keeping multiple people alive or killing multiple targets that need to die. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
I am totally and completely unable to deal with the constructs on the Teron Gorefiend fight. Every time the fight begins, I hope and hope that luck is on my side, and I don't get the Shadow O' Death. I have tried playing the Fun Flash Game, but it doesn't reflect my normal play style, making it difficult to adjust. For example, I strafe normally, so being unable to use 'Q' and 'E' in the game actually forces me to think about how to move. This rare thought-process makes me nervous, so it's more difficult for me to concentrate about what I need to do regarding the constructs. I know I need to do the whole "5-4-3-3-3-3-3-3" bit, but spamming a button is already sad reality for me, and when I need to spam a button, it's typically not 3. I've caught myself more than once spamming my 3:2 steady-auto macro on accident instead of Ice Lance. And, of course, the bulk of my problem is just mental frustration: I'm terrible at it because I've already mentally assured myself that I can't do it. Once that skull pops overhead, I become a nervous wreck; my heart races, and I fumble over my keys. Once I even broke into (silent) tears, because if another girl hadn't helped me cover my constructs, I would have wiped the raid. I just can't do it, and I know it. It's a personal failure that I hate, and would love to overcome.
On the other hand, I simply don't know how people can't stay alive on the Illidari Council fight. It does help that I have the equivilent HP of a warlock, but more often than not, they are some of the first to die. It's so simple to strafe out of the Blizzard or fire, pop a healthstone or health pot, or even bandage myself, then keep going. If the rogue is on me, pop a health stone after a couple of ticks. If the situation really need it, pop Drums of Restoration for it's weak heals and mana. It's just so easy to stay alive.. for me. I caught myself nearly yelling at the people who couldn't stay alive when a little voice inside my head said "But Neg, you fail at constructs." Then I realized I really couldn't say anything.
I'm good at hunter. I'm good at staying alive. I'm terrible at keeping multiple people alive or killing multiple targets that need to die. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
This accomplishes a dream I have had since The Burning Crusade was released: Illidan's head on a plate.
I wish this was a guild effort, but it's not. We sold both our Archimonde and our Illidan to other guilds in exchange for helms and chests. One of our mages got his helm from Archi the other night, and tonight, we saw Illidan die.
The instance was sold to a Sunwell guild, and for the most part, the raid was comprised of alts of their mains, in addition to three healers and six DPS from our guild. The MT and OTs were offspeced for the fight, but because they knew the fight so well, it didn't matter. Probably half of the raiders in there were mains.
It took three hours, and twelve attempts. Most ended in Phase 2, the usual tanking and healing issues withstanding. One attempt we managed to 11%, and my heart was beating so fast, I couldn't begin to describe it. I don't think I have ever been as close to retching over WoW as that attempt. Sadly, it was a wipe, but we kept at it. The last attempt, I even DCed, and at that point, I think my heart stopped for four seconds.
But he died, oh, he died. And the bastard dropped three fucking Vanquishers. Since the guild paid us two chests, it was grats to the only druid and mage in the raid from our guild. I'm glad the druid got his chest - gearing a tank is always welcome. The mage... not so much... When we were getting invites from the raid leader, the mage was crying about how much he needed the chest upgrade. And I hate that. I don't care what your gear is like - we all want t6 chest, we all would welcome the tier bonus. Don't you dare assume that you will be rewarded the chest just because you are in raid. Sadly, there was no other choice.
And no, the bow didn't drop, which was a bummer, because I was the only hunter in raid :). It would have been nice for mana-issue bosses, and leveling to 80.
New goal in life: Do it with my guild!
Monday, September 1, 2008
They really should make these epic...
... because the amount of joy I feel when Scroll of Agility V drops from a random mob is disproportionate to its Common White labeling.
The Loot Council System
Since it is a holiday, and we are taking a break from raiding for the weekend (damn the luck.. /grumblegrumblegrumble), I figure this would be a good time to outline what my guild uses for a loot distribution system.
We initiated the Loot Council system back when we had downed Vashj and were still working on Kael. Our system at the time was Zero-Sum DKP, a system that works well in theory. The issues came up when people failed to show up for specific content, or they kept passing on decent upgrades because they were saving DKP for something really big. While it's okay if a couple people do it, it's a huge problem when the people with the most DKP refuse to spend it on moderate upgrades and just hoard it in favor of a chest piece off of Vashj, or off-hand from Kael. The rich just got richer, and the poor poorer, in this case. A good DKP system has a healthy rotation going of people having the largest amount of DKP for their class/specification, so that everyone has a shot at having first dibs on an item. So while the three hunters in raid had a fairly decent rotation going, the hunters+rogues+warriors+enhance shammies group was screwed by one or two individuals that had a ton of DKP.
Personally, the DKP system always felt like a gamble as well, which is part of the problem. If I bid on this really nice ring from Hydross, how can I be sure that The Most Beautiful of Beautiful Trinkets won't drop from Leo? I took that gamble once. When the ring from Hydross did drop, I bid, then passed to the feral druid that also wanted it. Turns out Leo did drop his beloved Tsunami Talisman, and because I passed to the druid, I now had first dibs on it. Such is luck, but I hate relying on it.
So the officers at the time decided to institute the Loot Council system, bringing in four raiders as officers for the sole purpose of determining who gets what loot. I was surprised at being chosen, since I was fairly new to the guild. My response to the Guild Master asking me if I would consider being a LC member was "If you think I am able." And, at the time, I really don't think I was prepared.
We established some guidelines on how we would judge loot distribution:
Sometimes, but not always, the decision is trumped by the Wish List. Every three weeks, raiders are allowed to make a claim on the item they want the most. We do this to give the raiders some control over their loot. There is also a trust factor involved, where we must trust the raiders to know what is the best for their class. We use the WL for some ease at decision making, while sticking to some guidelines: the WL is not final, and someone should not get more of their WL items than another.
A good example of this was the Madness of the Betrayer that dropped this week. It was the rogue's WL item, not mine, so it was weighted in favor of him (and his low hit) despite that he already received six WL items and the item was better for a hunter.
The Loot Council system is rough and tumble, and takes a bit to get into the flow of things. We found that between 5-7 people on the council is best, any more and it gets hairy. A separate channel is also ideal, so loot matters can be kept apart from the other raid issues. We also found that not having all the officers on the LC keeps the raid running smoothly, so the raid leaders may continue on with trash while the people that want the loot are still deciding.
All in all, it's a good system, once properly situated. I'm so comfortable with it now, it'll be rough going back to anything DKP-based :)
____________________________________________________________
Update
My guild has been using Loot Council for over half a year now, and it has been going very well. We will be instituting Wish Lists again with Ulduar, as the we found that the early content updates come so fast and furious and the bosses cleared so quickly that there was no point to starting the list.
There is a significant amount of trust involved, and if your guild has no problems with discontent among the raiding core, than this never becomes an issue. I'm afraid I cannot offer advice if there are trust issues arising - we have a large, diverse officer pool that keeps problems such as bias in check.
I must emphasize one thing: All officers/LC members must participate in votes, particularly ones of great uncertainty. Otherwise, the fairness of the LC becomes compromised.
I have also noticed that, for the most part, the raiders themselves determine who gets the loot. When multiple people bid on an item, the people that notice that it is only a minor upgrade frequently pass to the people for whom it is a significant upgrade. Weak rotations form for class specific loot (weapons, mainly) where raiders acknowledge the amount of loot they have received and willingly pass if they have received multiple items recently. We do not encourage 'not bidding', however, as some players may try to play the system and not bid on upgrades in order to make it look like it is "their turn" to receive an item. (Officers/LC members should know the gear quality of their raiders so you know when a raider is purposely passing on an items, and keep that in mind as a 'Performance' aspect of loot decisions.) We want people to bid, then if they choose to, pass. Raiders cannot "pass to X" (pass on an item if it means X will get it), only pass entirely.
We initiated the Loot Council system back when we had downed Vashj and were still working on Kael. Our system at the time was Zero-Sum DKP, a system that works well in theory. The issues came up when people failed to show up for specific content, or they kept passing on decent upgrades because they were saving DKP for something really big. While it's okay if a couple people do it, it's a huge problem when the people with the most DKP refuse to spend it on moderate upgrades and just hoard it in favor of a chest piece off of Vashj, or off-hand from Kael. The rich just got richer, and the poor poorer, in this case. A good DKP system has a healthy rotation going of people having the largest amount of DKP for their class/specification, so that everyone has a shot at having first dibs on an item. So while the three hunters in raid had a fairly decent rotation going, the hunters+rogues+warriors+enhance shammies group was screwed by one or two individuals that had a ton of DKP.
Personally, the DKP system always felt like a gamble as well, which is part of the problem. If I bid on this really nice ring from Hydross, how can I be sure that The Most Beautiful of Beautiful Trinkets won't drop from Leo? I took that gamble once. When the ring from Hydross did drop, I bid, then passed to the feral druid that also wanted it. Turns out Leo did drop his beloved Tsunami Talisman, and because I passed to the druid, I now had first dibs on it. Such is luck, but I hate relying on it.
So the officers at the time decided to institute the Loot Council system, bringing in four raiders as officers for the sole purpose of determining who gets what loot. I was surprised at being chosen, since I was fairly new to the guild. My response to the Guild Master asking me if I would consider being a LC member was "If you think I am able." And, at the time, I really don't think I was prepared.
We established some guidelines on how we would judge loot distribution:
- Attendance - Loot had to be in play in order to be useful
- Performance - If you are doing a shoddy job, regardless of your gear, the loot is half-wasted
- How the loot most benefits the raid - As raiders, we are not out for personal benefit: We are here to improve the raid as a whole to push further into content. By distributing an item to a certain individual, it should improve the quality of the raid, not necessarily the individual alone.
- Time of last serious upgrade - This is a weak rotation of gear. If someone has been in raid for awhile, but lacks in the first two areas above, and so has been passed over for gear on more than one occasion, every now and then he needs a shiny bone to chew on. Typically it is an item that drops frequently, and most of the people that need it already have it.
- Wish List - More about this later
Sometimes, but not always, the decision is trumped by the Wish List. Every three weeks, raiders are allowed to make a claim on the item they want the most. We do this to give the raiders some control over their loot. There is also a trust factor involved, where we must trust the raiders to know what is the best for their class. We use the WL for some ease at decision making, while sticking to some guidelines: the WL is not final, and someone should not get more of their WL items than another.
A good example of this was the Madness of the Betrayer that dropped this week. It was the rogue's WL item, not mine, so it was weighted in favor of him (and his low hit) despite that he already received six WL items and the item was better for a hunter.
The Loot Council system is rough and tumble, and takes a bit to get into the flow of things. We found that between 5-7 people on the council is best, any more and it gets hairy. A separate channel is also ideal, so loot matters can be kept apart from the other raid issues. We also found that not having all the officers on the LC keeps the raid running smoothly, so the raid leaders may continue on with trash while the people that want the loot are still deciding.
All in all, it's a good system, once properly situated. I'm so comfortable with it now, it'll be rough going back to anything DKP-based :)
____________________________________________________________
Update
My guild has been using Loot Council for over half a year now, and it has been going very well. We will be instituting Wish Lists again with Ulduar, as the we found that the early content updates come so fast and furious and the bosses cleared so quickly that there was no point to starting the list.
There is a significant amount of trust involved, and if your guild has no problems with discontent among the raiding core, than this never becomes an issue. I'm afraid I cannot offer advice if there are trust issues arising - we have a large, diverse officer pool that keeps problems such as bias in check.
I must emphasize one thing: All officers/LC members must participate in votes, particularly ones of great uncertainty. Otherwise, the fairness of the LC becomes compromised.
I have also noticed that, for the most part, the raiders themselves determine who gets the loot. When multiple people bid on an item, the people that notice that it is only a minor upgrade frequently pass to the people for whom it is a significant upgrade. Weak rotations form for class specific loot (weapons, mainly) where raiders acknowledge the amount of loot they have received and willingly pass if they have received multiple items recently. We do not encourage 'not bidding', however, as some players may try to play the system and not bid on upgrades in order to make it look like it is "their turn" to receive an item. (Officers/LC members should know the gear quality of their raiders so you know when a raider is purposely passing on an items, and keep that in mind as a 'Performance' aspect of loot decisions.) We want people to bid, then if they choose to, pass. Raiders cannot "pass to X" (pass on an item if it means X will get it), only pass entirely.
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