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.

Progress

I realised last night that I had been neglecting the blog (other things have come up). I still have that LP article on Travel to write, which I hope to get to this week. In the interim, here is a progress report on my MMO toons.

Plucker – Stalled. I think I’ve done everything I want to do with her, sans getting to 375 Engineering and making that gun. I’m just not in the mood to grind out ore.
Tanarel - Paused at 60. I’m waiting for some friends to catch up. Tan hit 300 Cooking over the weekend, to go with the 302 Skinning (man that takes a LONG time to skill up), and 355 Tailor. She’s accepted the quest to learn Spellfire Tailoring, in order to make the Wrath of Spellfire set (eventually). Now to try to get a level 60 to Netherstorm to complete the quest. Tan is also now Scryer aligned, to get access to the Spellthread they have. I’ve settled on Arcane as my primary specification, with a sub-spec into Frost once I get access to Arcane Blast and Ice Lance post-60. Tan has also tried some Warsong Gulch PvP Battlegrounds, and will try to get a BG mount soonish.
Huchin - Hu had a great weekend, scoring 5 levels. He’s now level 35, and so tantalisingly close to Dual-Wield. He’s started coming into his own since he got access to Windfury Weapon, and a 1.8sec Axe from the Scarlet Monastery Library. It makes such a difference to fighting with a 2h weapon, that was too slow for me. I hope to get Huchin to 40 by the end of the week.

Laziest Peon #5 – ACT Regionals

The name’s Forang Deathrattle. Well, it wasnt always Deathrattle, you understand, that’s just something I added to make myself sound more dangerous. Us ‘locks have a certain reputation, and Forang Cuddlywuddly doesnt have the same soul-scaring effect.

Me Da was a soldier in the War and afterwards settled outside of Ratchet, to raise worthless wretch of a son (so he would say). Da said a lot of things like “Steel and thunder before meat and slumber!” – I never understood that, I love to sleep!

At a tender age of 30, Da threw me out of the house, saying he’d gotten me some job working for some guy Foreman Thazz’ril up at the Valley of Trials. I guess he expected that seeing all those young, inspired orcs joining the war machine might get me to do the same. I never liked that job – cutting lumber wasnt for me. So, while the Foreman wasnt watching, I would duck behind a tree and get myself some shut-eye. That is, until some youth would smash me noggin with a bludgeon! Man, I hated that job. So I quit.

I saw an opportunity for some quick, easy cash. Those girlies over at the Burning Blade Coven were forever getting themselves whacked on by the young Horde (apparently they stole the Foreman’s Pick – oooo EVIL). So I started acting as muscle, giving the newbies a hard time. It was a laugh. It helped that they were already scared by Thulthun, he’s one of them Felstalkers that the Burning Blade kept around to cause mischief. When things were quiet we’d play “fetch” with them bludgeoning sticks. One day, the head honcho of those cultists, Yarrog Baneshadow, offers to take me under his ‘wing’ and teach me ‘a few things’ – saying that I could go far in the Coven if I let him ‘help’ me. My weirdo-o-meter goes off the chart (bought from Ratchet) and I graciously decline by smashing my fist into his noggin and scallywag it out of that cave. Besides this speel is coming from a guy who’s been stuck in a cave for the last 5 years! I head back to Ratchet, avoiding Da and taking up with Menara Voidrender, a human, but really good at the whole demon-pact-for-power thing.

Still I guess by that tapping of your fingers you’re bored. Ok, ok I’ll stop rambling but you do know its not wise t’annoy a ‘lock right? We can give you the Pox, you know?

Time passes. Deals are made. Demons are broken. Da is happy, but hanging out in Orgrimmar waiting for something to happen was starting to bore me, so I grabs a couple of mates and head down to Gurubashi in Stranglethorn Vale where I hear some sort of tournament is taking place. Along with Thulthun, I bring Kagella Shadowmark (a brutal, bloodthirsty rogue), Broan Charges-the-Fight (one of the cleverest Tauren out there), Voss Treebender (he’s got his uses, but smells of leaves), and a clansman Bloodsoul. Broan was having lady-problems and was glad to get out of Thunder Bluff and he knew two cousins that work well together (for a price) – Bhenn Checks-the-Sky and Doshura Risestrider. All those Tauren, I hoped it didnt rain, they smell when its wet. Somehow, Magister Ashi joined the group – stealthy sod, but he got on well and looked to be helpful.

I wasnt sure how’d we fair, as I hadnt really bothered to learn some of the earth shattering gifts of my tradecraft, nor had I been to any of Onyxia’s Lair, Molten Core or Magtheridon’s Lair. Still, it would be an interesting trip, Bloodsoul is funny as hell when he drinks, and as my Da used to say “Fear is for the enemy.” So we signed up and waited for our names to be called.

First Round: Dizdemona

A fellow warlock, nice! Sure she’s Alliance, but she’s so darn cute. First battle, the demonic cutey placed an Unstable Affliction on me – I think it was something I said – and tried to follow it with a Curse of Agony. I saw that coming (Eye of Kilrogg) and nixed it. Poor Thulthun was feared and began running in circles, but Kagella and Broan held things together nicely (with Bloodsoul acting like a maniac), and despite a second Unstable Affliction (I didnt even know you could have two at once!) they rushed Dizzy and pummelled her into submission.

I think that really annoyed her, because in the second match she just got NASTY. I hadnt even heard of some of the spells she was hurling. Shred Soul? Jar Soul? How is that fair? My guys were either M.I.A. or off in the ether taking a dirt nap. Bloodsoul snuck in some early hits, but Dizzy threw on a Nemesis Skullcap and kept on tankin’. Sarmoth came out to play, but Kagella and Broan double teamed the Voidy back to the nether. That’s when things really broke down for me. With the arena filled with my mates, Dizzy opened a portal to nothing and cast Invoke the Nether! I sat down and scratched my head – where did all the guys go? I managed to find their souls and bring them back – but Dizzy cast it again! Cheeky thing, she actually giggled (in that evil gnomish laugh) as she followed up with an Unstable Affliction, which I shrugged off until it was followed by some Fel Armor. I’m ashamed to say, I cried Uncle.

Third match, the tie-breaker. Ashi, Bloodsoul, Kagella and Broan were back from the Nether and ready for revenge. Dizzy was exhausted and my guys were fresh. It was over quickly.

Second Round: Keegana Silvershield

Another Alliance? Where were all the Hordies? No matter, we’d had a rest and were ready to go. I misjudged the dwarf, she was a stubborn one and refused to go down early. We fought for ages, Bloodsoul lead the way until Parvink and Kulvo Jadefist came out and stymied the attack. Frustrated, I Immolated Keegana, hoping to burn the concentration out of her. Things were close, but then Keegana put out the call for King Magni Bronzebeard! And HE ANSWERED! Who the heck gets their KING to fight for them? Wow … I think I fainted at that stage. Still, the pesky dwarf was still on fire, and I hadnt been hit much so things were looking tight. With victory in sight, I started to dance – then Keegana smiled a smile of pure evil and cast Lay on Hands (top decked)! I cried and conceded.

Second match. Never annoy an orc, we hold grudges. Kagella, Ashi and Bloodsoul charged as soon as they could and Broan brought the pain, inspiring Kagella to once more pummel Keegana. Poor dwarf didnt even have time to blink.

Third match, played out like the first. Korthas Greybeard plonked his shielding butt down and stubbornly refused to budge. I burnt the dwarf once more, but this time she put it out with a Sacred Purification. I was ready for the Lay on Hands this time and used the Eye of Kilrogg to deny the paladin access. Things were progressing nicely, I stood in the middle of the fray throwing around Shadow Bolts and Steal Essence, even managing to put of Magni for a while. That was, until a busy little monkey called A-Me 01 brought him back, along with the Greench. I thought he was a myth! Sourpuss stole my presents until I got rid of him, but the writing was already on the wall and it said “Forang is lazy loser”.

Round Three: Gorebelly

Ok, time for some Horde on Horde, Orc on Orc action. We clasped hands at the start of the match, and joked around about something to do with a gnome, a pint of milk, and a suitcase. Dont ask, I’ve forgotten the details. I think someone forgot to tell Gorebelly the fight was on, cause in the middle of battle he starting suiting up in armour, and what’s with the affiliation for knives? He’s an Orc – use an axe! Felstriker helped keep my guys back, and the Onslaught Girdle and Band of the Ranger-General helped ol’ Gore out, but Kags had already smelt blood.

Second time around, and Gorebelly was more prepared – but he’d already started taking his armour off (someone tell the orc that its not best of 1). Mebbe he thought he wouldnt need it. With the Onslaught Girdle, Stronghold Gauntlets, and Felstriker poor Voss and Bloodsould didnt stand a chance. Gorebelly took down Voss, and then with a Victory Rush demolished Bloodsoul. (Note to self: encourage team to mourn AFTER the fight, not during.) A Mortal Strike took out more of my guys, and Gorebelly charged whomever remained, throwing himself at them with pure orcish abandon. It would have been wonderful to see, had I not been busy trying to find some tricks to bring the match back into a balance. Then Rak Skyfury showed his puny mug, and that just goaded Gorebelly some more. In desperation, I sought out the future with the Eye of Kilrogg, and only discovered that Gorebelly was due to complete either a hunt for Sunken Treasure, or go down to Stranglethorn Vale and help out some Big Game Hunters. It seems the demonic powers had left me. Eventually, Gorebelly ran straight at my face and stabbed me lots of times. It hurt.

Third, third match in a row. Boy was I bushed. Voss came out several times and ignored the Victory Rushes to lay some early smack down. Kagella came for support, but was rushed out before doing any damage. Kagella eventually ran out of support, as Gorebelly was ignoring his flaming skin and running at her teammates. Towards the middle of the match things evened out and both Gorebelly and I were on our last legs. Completing the Big Game Hunter quest, I knew Gore was looking for a Wraith Scythe. He didnt find it, and that left me with a chance. I completed The Name of the Beast and was given access to a second Immolate, which I cast straight away! A second turn in, and I found a Shadow Bolt! Eventually Gorebelly succumbed to the smell of his own burning flesh, but not before dealing me some massive internal injuries.

We shook hands after the match, and went and got drunk together.

Round Four: Phadalus the Enlightened

Space elves? When did they crash their spaceship, and learn shamanism? I thought only us Orcs (and Trolls and Tauren) knew how to shaman. Man, I really have to keep up with the gossip. I liked Phad though, he was fun, and eager to fight. Still, he wasnt paying attention and Kagella, Thulthun and Broan ran at him screaming. Still, he brought out some shiny axes (Axe of the Legion, Wraith Scythe) and his Fire Elemental Totem caused some flaming trouble until I gave Thulthun some Warlock Training and dispelled it.

Second match started well for Phad, he had Kulvo and Brother Rhone to stand in front waving a red flag. Still, Rhone was drained of his life, and Kulvo fell also. Burning was added (once more) and things looked in my favour. Then things turned sour for Phad, he tried bringing out two axes, but fumbled them and ended up chopping off his hands. Dropping the Wraith Scythe, he conceded in the face of my aggression.

Wrapup

After the final battle I took the team out for some ale in Grom’gol, while we waited for the Zeppelin back to Orgrimmar. We toasted Kagella for leading the way in many of the fights, and three cheers for Broan for supporting her. Thulthun got a naga to chew on, and Bloodsoul and I got hammered and set fire to things. Doshura was a quiet achiever, helping out to protect my delicate face and speedily remove some annoying protectors. I think Bhenn had a good time, its hard to tell – but they seem to enjoy Voss’s company, so I’ll likely ask them back. Ashi was a good little soldier, and while he wasnt able to use his stealth, his fortune-telling helped smooth out some decisions. We played hard, either winning or losing a round in under 30mins (for the most part, Keegana and Gorebelly were plain stubborn). I’m glad I learnt Immolate at the last minute, as it made a world of difference, and I’m sure having Thulthun and some Warlock Training will be good against more beat heavy matchups.

I was proud of my team. We came 4th with a score of 3 wins and 1 loss, and we did it without using any rare items, spells or massive allies.