Consolidation

Since I don’t get to play the WoW TCG as often as I like, I’ve decided to consolidate my decks and just focus on maintaining a half dozen or so. I can then focus on getting cards that improve just those decks and avoid having to buy a lot of boxes and rares and the like. Here are the Heroes that I’m going to focus on:

Moala Stonebinder, Draenei Shaman, Enhancement
Ressa Shadeshine, Gnome Rogue, Combat
Kauno Stonehoof, Tauren Druid, Feral
Morn Walks-the-Path, Tauren Hunter, Survival
Erondra Frostmoon, Night Elf Death Knight, Unholy
Exaura the Cryptkeeper, Undead Mage, Arcane

Of the decks, only Prometha (and maybe Erondra) is likely to be competitive in a tournament. The others are for raids and fun formats. As I build each deck I’ll make a post about it and give you an idea of what I included certain cards. Half of what makes a deck appealing is the art, and I like the art on each of these cards. The other half sticks to a theme, and the third half is about being competitive.

Return of the Peon

I think its time to dust off the ole blog.

I no longer play WoW, but I still follow what’s happening over there, and will likely give it another shot at some stage, maybe around Cataclysm.

I’m going to expand this blog to include Warmachine and Hordes, two games I’m loving painting miniatures for – and just getting into. Trust me to start up again just before the rulesets changes to MK2.

I’ve got a gallery of my efforts to date over at: http://dwarf.guruj.net/awash, and whenever I update something over there, I’ll also update it here.

Stay tuned.

Kara Fun/Mad Run

Every so often NZ Gamers goes a little loopy. At the moment they’re doing a series of Kara Fun Runs; 3 hours, few stops, all bosses. I think it started as a way to get some last remaining gear upgrades – but its become a competition. Two teams ran Kara last night, each trying to kill the bosses faster than the other team. There were some pretty impressive times.

It was also Huchin’s first time healing Kara. (First time IN Kara for that matter). He was paired up with an experienced Druid healer and between the two of them they managed to keep the team mostly upright.

For me, it was a mad, chaotic frenzy. I was clicking buttons, shift-clicking new targets, spamming Chain Heal, using Healing Wave and chugging potions. I forget how many times I went OOM – but it was sadly too often. Naturally, I got some awesome gear upgrades – from memory I got Shoulders, Gloves and Pants, plus a Ring and some off-spec gear.

From the WWS report, I’ve learnt that I do a lot of over-heal. I don’t downheal, so that is likely the cause – I tend to ‘panic’ and heal someone when they get to 1.7k damage – since I know its likely they’ll get more by the time the heal eventually casts – and a lot of bouncing chain heals tend to heal people more than they need. I also focused most of my attention of the MT and the OT – not sure if this was the plan or not.

It was a great experience, and I hope to be able to do it again. Though I’d like to be the raid heal, rather than the MT heal – that’s just nuts.

Now with 25% More Lazy!

Has it really been 2 months since I last posted?

Lets see – Huchin is now 70, and moved from Enhancement to Restoration. Man I love it. Just when I was starting to get a little sick of the grind, I respec and everything becomes fun again. I’m getting into more instances and PVPing in Battlegrounds – where I feel like I contribute.

The sad part is that I’ve left Tanarel behind. Just like how I left Plucker behind when I worked on Tanarel. I’m hoping WotLK helps reinvigorate me into playing the older characters. The new Hunter pet plans look good, and Survival looks really nice. Mage, I’m ambivalent about – if anything it would move me away from Frost as the whole AoE Farm thing isnt my style. Though already deep arcane, I may actually begin to use its spells too.

Oh – and I’ve gotten an X-51 Nether-Rocket! Now I just need 5k gold to learn how to fly it. Huchin will be spoilt!

And in that two months, NZ Gamers have absolutely blitz the Raiding scene. They are well beyond Maulgar and almost finished SSC, and 1/4 of Mount Hyjal. Those guys are going great guns – I wish I had the time to be a part of it.

High King Maulgar and the Chamber of Bad Pulls

(this was an older post that I forgot to publish)

Last weekend NZ Gamers raided Gruul’s Lair for effectively the first time. We managed to scrap together 23 decently geared characters, pug’d a 24th and ran with that. With a crisp and detailed set of instructions we let fly!

… and promptly ran away! It was our Mage-Tank’s first try at Krosh, and I dont envy him that responsbility. Several pulls later we down Krosh and Olim, then the Main Tank falls and we flee! A frustrating hour goes by, and people are starting to get antsy. Still, we persevere and in time it all clicks and we down the High King and his minions.

/cheer
/screenshot

With 30 mins until the scheduled end of the raid, we decide to poke our head into Gruul’s Lair and see what he’s been eating. Again, our GL/RL gives some clear instructions and we hover our fingers over “1″ and wait for the signal…

… which is apparently an undead priest jumping about. Rushed, we give it a shot anyways. Wipe. Second attempt goes much better, and we last until Growth 14, when we’re wiped with Gruul at 18%. Still, a success – its not a hard fight, you just have to be on your toes. Its likely much harder for the tanks and healers, but as I’m DPS I dont have to think, just move occasionally.

In other news, Tanarel gets a loan from the Bank and buys her Epic Flying Mount – WHOOSH! Flying around Netherstorm has never been so much fun. Now to pay back the loan before they take her house…

Progression

I find myself an interesting intersection of late. The guild that I am in is great – they have a focus, a plan, are relatively harmonious, and social. The GLs are open and understanding and provide great instruction in instances.

But they’re moving too fast for me.

I’m a ‘casual’ player, which means a lot of things to many people. To me, it means that I’m unwilling to devote my life to WoW. I play when I can, and dont bend RL events to suit a MMO. This is causing some internal friction because I’m mentally still learning Kara, but the guild has moved onto Serpentshrine Cavern. While I would be accepted into a raid, I dont feel like I’m geared enough to contribute as much as I should be. I’m really only averaging 250dps, and I need to be pushing 400+.

What started out as a casually raiding guild seems to have turned into a raid-focused guild. I feel left behind because I cannot commit the same amount of time as the other players.

I’ll likely stay in the guild, but give myself some smaller, non-raid, goals to work on. I need to cash up in order to work on Enchanting, and look at gearing myself up with enchants and gems before I try to get back into the raids. I’d also like to get Exalted with Scryers, but that might be a slow one as I cant get time to find groups that often.

Still the setting and completing of goals is the enjoyment, and rather than try to be like everyone else, I should focus on what makes me happy.

Progress Report

Tanarel is well and truely level 70, and feverishly working on the gold for the Epic Flying Mount. After considering what Plucker has left in the kitty, she’s about 1k short (after Varcylon pays her back). Which, considering I average about 100g everytime I do the dailies (and counting repair costs for raids) – its about 10 days until I can afford it. So closer to 3 weeks, depending on how often I can get on.

Huchin should hopefully have enough rested XP saved up for me to get him to 56 this weekend (hopefully tonight). I think he’ll be heading out to the Plaguelands as he still has the cauldron quest chain to do, and beasties to kill in the East.

I guess that leaves Winterspring as the place for the “final push” in a few weeks. I might try to find somewhere else, I’m sick of Winterspring.

Mages and Groups

I’m in no way an expert at WoW, let alone in group play (be that instances, or raids). My mage, Tanarel, got to 70 only a few weeks ago, and I’ve been fortunate enough to land myself in a casual raiding guild that is helpful and flexible.

I’ve been to Karazhan three times. The first time was just for Prince Malchezaar, the second for llhoof, Chess, Prince, Nightbane and Netherspite. The third time, I was able to see some of the starting bosses (Attumen, Maiden and Moroes) and The Wizard of Oz Opera event.

I’ve learnt something valuable in those 3 runs. The role of the mage is <b>NOT</b> to go nuts. BigRedKitty says that the role of the Beast Mastery Hunter is <i>to provide sustained range DPS</i> (to paraphrase). I would like to put forth that the role of the Mage is <i>to provide <b>controlled</b> range DPS</i>. Not the emphasis on controlled. It is very easy for a Mage to do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Not as much as say, a Warlock, but when the crits start flowing, it can mean a lot of aggro very quickly.

The single-most challenging skill I have realised I needed to learn was how to <i>not do damage</i>. As a predominantly solo player, my aim is to kill the mob before it kills me. So I let fly with Pyroblast, Frostbolt, Frostbolt, Fire Blast, Ice Nova, Frostbolt+Ice Lance. Rinse, repeat. Three or four mobs later, I drink up.

Raiding requires mana conservation, timing and awareness of threat. When I first raided, I started with my normal rotation, and quickly realised I was pulling the boss from the tank. Woah! Ice Block for the not-loss! In subsequent fights, I’ve toned it down, and resisted the urge to press “1″ with wild abandon. In my last Kara raid, I waited until the Tank had a full 4k of damage down before I even touched the keyboard.

I tell you, that 10 seconds seems like an eternity when its your job to do damage. For the longest time I felt like I wasnt contributing because in that 10 secs I could have put down close to 5k in damage. But that time is critical for the success of the raid, it allows the Tank to poke the bosses attention away from the DPS.

This information is likely not new to many people. But it was new to me. I dont PUG, I rarely do instances. Changing my play style to fit in with a group is a skill I’m working on, and I’m thankful that the “NZ Gamers” are rezzing me while I learn it.

Laziest Peon #6 – Arazzius the Cruel

Welcome back to the Laziest Peon, a series of articles where we explore the relationships between common and uncommon cards from the WoW TCG with their counter-parts in the MMO. You may have noticed that the card for this week, Arazzius the Cruel is rare. I havent already run out of interesting commons and uncommons, but this card I couldnt pass up as it represents a lovely slice of conversion pie.

Arazzius is the culmination of two quests chains; one for Horde (Cruel’s Intentions), one for Alliance (Overlord). The Horde one is LONG, something like 10 quests in all. The Alliance get it slightly easier, with their quest to kill Arazzius coming more quickly. Incidentally the flavour text comes from the Alliance quest giver. Arazzius is a decent enough card, a 4/4 for 4 is solid. Like all demons, however, he strikes a bargain in order to allow you to work with him. If he attacks, both sides are losing something. In the MMO Arazzius is a group quest, and you really need a tank and a healer because this bugger hits HARD. It is suggested that you need 3 people, I would suggest you bring more than that.

But, contrary to his ego, Arazzius is not the reason we’re here today. For both sides the death of Arazzius allows the user to pick trinket from Bladefist’s Breadth, Vengeance of the Illidari, and Regal Protectorate. Its unfortunate that only 2 of the3 trinkets were available in the March of the Legion expansion. Bladefist’s Breadth is obviously a melee tool; its MMO text reads “Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 26. Use: Increases attack power by 200 for 15 sec. (1.5 Min Cooldown)”. That’s a pretty nice buff in anyone’s books. Venegeance of the Illidari is a mirror image for spellcasters “Equip: Improves spell critical strike rating by 26. Use: Increases spell damage done by up to 120 and healing done by up to 220 for 15 sec. (1.5 Min Cooldown)”. I like that symmetry, and I think its due to that symmetry that the Regal Protectorate was left out of the TCG Lets have a look at the TCG versions though, and see what stacks up.

Bladefist’s Breadth is a 3-cost trinket available to everyone but Mage, Priest and Warlock. Makes sense, the MMO trinket boosts melee crit, which isnt much use to a spellflinger. Its text reads “When you play a weapon, ready your hero”. Doesnt look like a bonus to critical strike rating, does it? But lets look at what a bonus to a critical strike rating means in the MMO. At a basic level whenever your attack causes a critical it will do substantially more damage (around 150%). Increasing your critical strike rating increases the chance that your attack will critical. That brings us back to the TCG card, where the most obvious use of the trinket is to attack, play a second weapon (and either keep it if you have dual wield, or pitch the exhausted one if you dont), ready your hero, and attack again. In effect, its like you’ve just caused a critical.

Vengeance of the Illidari is a 5-cost trinket that is open to everyone but Hunter, Rogue and Warrior. Its text reads “When you play an ability, ready your hero.” Why do these three classes miss out on being able to wield this gem? Within the TCG they are the three classes most likely to dual wield (see the Dual Wield ability). But, the TCG has forgotten something; Shamans can also dual wield. Weapons like Axe of the Legion, Timeslicer and Warp Splinter’s Thorn mean that they are just as likely to swing like mad. But back to spellcasters, the intended target for Vengeance in the MMO. How much do Cat-form Druid’s love this card? All they do is play abilities and swing claws at heads (sure, you’re usually dead by turn 5, but it might just be worth it). What about the Mage, Priest and Warlock?  March of the Legion gave them access to Devil-Stitched Leggings, leggings that can kill 3-health or smaller allies for the price of 3-resources and an exhaust. With Vengeance out and in the mid to late game the leggings could potentially reduce a Hero’s health by 6 – which is a significant swing in health and should mean game. This is balanced by the cost of the trinket, at 5-resources, its flat out expensive. Those resources could be better spent on direct damage, destruction or an ally.

There is one final point to make about the relationship between Arazzius, his reward trinkets, and the TCG. The MMO only allows for a character to pick one of the 3 trinkets available. The TCG allows for classes that can use both trinkets to do so. I’m sure there are plenty of other weapons and abilities that can exploit a ready hero, and with Servants of the Betrayer out shortly, no doubt that list will grow. There needs to be more ways in which a Hero can be useful outside of combat, especially for squishies.

Have Kodo, Will Travel

Last night Huchin knocked up level 40. In a stellar effort the Tauren Shaman took a big stick to the trolls of Stranglethorn Vale, and bludgeoned his way into Dual Wield. After a cash injection from Plucker, Hu bought himself a brown kodo and is now slightly more mobile. In other news, Subdural Hematoma bids farewell to Tytch who leaves Azeroth for (soon to occur) child-raising-shenanigans.