God of War 3 has been on the store shelves for a while now and I still haven't played it. You know why? I just don't have the time. I only have 2-3 spare hours on any weekday, all of which are spent playing WoW.
I mean, you log in thinking you're only going to do your daily heroic and sign out, but then you check your AH alt, start doing some dailies, check trade chat for any fun PuGs going on...and before you know it you've spent 3 hours straight playing wow.
Anyways, my original point is that I really want to play God of War 3. It looks so good. 1 and 2 were AMAZING games. I don't even really like button-smashing action games normally but GoW took the whole genre to new heights. Stunning graphics and sounds, smooth gameplay, clever puzzles, nice storyline...but most importantly, the controls are so brutally satisfying. Pressing the right combos mean you can rip the head right off of something, and the way the camera zooms in and follows your every bone-snapping, blood-spraying, organ-slashing movements...it's gaming nirvana. Only once every few years do you see a game like GoW, that takes a done-to-death genre and makes an awesome game that you just don't want to put down. Even when you beat it, you wanna beat it again...on hard mode.
I'll probably break down and buy GoW soon...it just means I'll have to split my time between two things somehow. And I still haven't played Final Fantasy 13 (I've played every single FF game except FF11 so...). Somehow I will fit all this into my life. Goodbye, weekends!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The inevitable
Wow...so I checked my old guild's status on wowarmory.com (I practically live on that site btw...is that sad or what? It's pretty much facebook for your wow character). Practically half the people have left the guild and scattered into other guilds.
I heard through the grapevine that they're "merging" with another guild. They're planning on making the original guild a "levelling guild" and then when people are geared enough they'll be invited to the "raiding guild" - ie the one they're merging with, and be able to raid ICC.
I scoffed pretty hard upon hearing this. I forsee that in a month or so there just won't be anyone left in the old guild. Who wants to stick around knowing that they've been "benched", so to speak? Plus, ICC isn't just about gear. Based on what I know about the general skill level of some of the colossal idiots I used to raid with, I know some of them couldn't survive in ICC with full tier 10 gear. The huntard with the empty gem sockets and no enchants, the warrior who used to taunt off the tank for funsies, the pally who couldn't do the one task he was asked to do (dispel), the mage who liked to stand in the fire...the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, some of them were decent players, but they've already moved onto different guilds now (and are probably raiding ICC).
Oh god, I sound like an elitist jerk now. Hey, it's ok to suck at the game...as long as you're not bringing other people down with you. That's when drama starts. And NO ONE likes guild drama.
I heard through the grapevine that they're "merging" with another guild. They're planning on making the original guild a "levelling guild" and then when people are geared enough they'll be invited to the "raiding guild" - ie the one they're merging with, and be able to raid ICC.
I scoffed pretty hard upon hearing this. I forsee that in a month or so there just won't be anyone left in the old guild. Who wants to stick around knowing that they've been "benched", so to speak? Plus, ICC isn't just about gear. Based on what I know about the general skill level of some of the colossal idiots I used to raid with, I know some of them couldn't survive in ICC with full tier 10 gear. The huntard with the empty gem sockets and no enchants, the warrior who used to taunt off the tank for funsies, the pally who couldn't do the one task he was asked to do (dispel), the mage who liked to stand in the fire...the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, some of them were decent players, but they've already moved onto different guilds now (and are probably raiding ICC).
Oh god, I sound like an elitist jerk now. Hey, it's ok to suck at the game...as long as you're not bringing other people down with you. That's when drama starts. And NO ONE likes guild drama.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
PvP vs. PvE
Heh, the word "versus" is used three times in that title. Technically it reads: Player versus player versus Player versus Environment. Confusing!
Anyways, up until recently I've avoided any sort of PvP conflict like the plague. Perhaps I still have traumatic memories of being ganked for hours at Tarren Mill, but I hate PvP. It's too stressful for me - players don't act in any sort of predictable way like mobs do. They don't go after the tanks, they go after the healers (a very smart strategy...you'd think the mobs would figure that out too). Players fight smart, they can drink potions, they move around a lot as opposed to most mobs who are completely stationary (another good strategy...why stand there while I stab away?) And the worst part of all, mobs don't /spit and /laugh at you after killing you. Grrr.
Obviously, avoiding PvP entirely is impossible. Especially when you play on a pvp server like I do...but I've done a pretty impressive job of avoiding confrontation whenever possible. Many a time I've gotten a glimpse of an ally (even if they're a few levels below me) and ran out of there as fast as I could on my mount, and didn't even dare returen to the same zone for an hour.
Battlegrounds are a bit better than the random world pvp (ie, gankfest). At least the level brackets prevent blatantly unfair situations and there's sort of a "goal" besides just killing other players. I do admit the occasional Alterac Valley is kind of fun because there are so many people per side. I just follow the crowd and when I see an easy kill - like when I see a stunned clothie at half health or a 6-on-1 fight - I jump in, put in a few hits and move on. Shameful, yes, I know. But it's the only way I can pvp without getting an anxiety attack.
Some people say it's weird I don't pvp given that I play on a heavily populated pvp server, AND I happen to be a rogue - the king of all pvp classes. But raiding has always appealed to me much more than pvp (and probably always will). Recently, however, I've been "forced" to start pvp. My fiance (who practically does nothing but pvp) has been saying that once he hits 80, we'll start doing arenas. I've secretly dreaded the day he turned 80...which he did a few days ago. And so it begins...
We've started doing wintergrasp together, which actually I really enjoy and look forward to now. It's like Alterac Valley...on crack. There are like 100 players! I've only played offense (I heard no one ever wins defense on my server) which rocks - you've got like 100 players at the fortress waiting for the siege vehicles, right? Usually a few ally players venture out (because they're idiots I guess??) and immediately get slaughtered by the bloodthirsty people waiting for them. Then when the walls go down, it's a total fucking madhouse - everyone is off grabbing as many kills as possible. I go after any clothie I can find, mutilate, kidney shot, mutilate, and BOOM they're dead. Then a DK will death grip me and kick my ass, but I rez, run in, and repeat this whole chaotic process again.
I was planning on spending my emblems for heirloom gear to start an alt, but I spent it all on pvp gear instead. I figure if I'm going to be doing this, might as well do it right. Besides, um, I suck at pvp. Trying to do arenas in my pve gear (as awesome as it is) would be suicide.
Best case scenario: we do arenas, we end up doing pretty well, we're both happy.
Worst case scenario: we suck at arenas, I go back to raiding full-time, my fiance finds another partner. We're both happy.
Anyways, up until recently I've avoided any sort of PvP conflict like the plague. Perhaps I still have traumatic memories of being ganked for hours at Tarren Mill, but I hate PvP. It's too stressful for me - players don't act in any sort of predictable way like mobs do. They don't go after the tanks, they go after the healers (a very smart strategy...you'd think the mobs would figure that out too). Players fight smart, they can drink potions, they move around a lot as opposed to most mobs who are completely stationary (another good strategy...why stand there while I stab away?) And the worst part of all, mobs don't /spit and /laugh at you after killing you. Grrr.
Obviously, avoiding PvP entirely is impossible. Especially when you play on a pvp server like I do...but I've done a pretty impressive job of avoiding confrontation whenever possible. Many a time I've gotten a glimpse of an ally (even if they're a few levels below me) and ran out of there as fast as I could on my mount, and didn't even dare returen to the same zone for an hour.
Battlegrounds are a bit better than the random world pvp (ie, gankfest). At least the level brackets prevent blatantly unfair situations and there's sort of a "goal" besides just killing other players. I do admit the occasional Alterac Valley is kind of fun because there are so many people per side. I just follow the crowd and when I see an easy kill - like when I see a stunned clothie at half health or a 6-on-1 fight - I jump in, put in a few hits and move on. Shameful, yes, I know. But it's the only way I can pvp without getting an anxiety attack.
Some people say it's weird I don't pvp given that I play on a heavily populated pvp server, AND I happen to be a rogue - the king of all pvp classes. But raiding has always appealed to me much more than pvp (and probably always will). Recently, however, I've been "forced" to start pvp. My fiance (who practically does nothing but pvp) has been saying that once he hits 80, we'll start doing arenas. I've secretly dreaded the day he turned 80...which he did a few days ago. And so it begins...
We've started doing wintergrasp together, which actually I really enjoy and look forward to now. It's like Alterac Valley...on crack. There are like 100 players! I've only played offense (I heard no one ever wins defense on my server) which rocks - you've got like 100 players at the fortress waiting for the siege vehicles, right? Usually a few ally players venture out (because they're idiots I guess??) and immediately get slaughtered by the bloodthirsty people waiting for them. Then when the walls go down, it's a total fucking madhouse - everyone is off grabbing as many kills as possible. I go after any clothie I can find, mutilate, kidney shot, mutilate, and BOOM they're dead. Then a DK will death grip me and kick my ass, but I rez, run in, and repeat this whole chaotic process again.
I was planning on spending my emblems for heirloom gear to start an alt, but I spent it all on pvp gear instead. I figure if I'm going to be doing this, might as well do it right. Besides, um, I suck at pvp. Trying to do arenas in my pve gear (as awesome as it is) would be suicide.
Best case scenario: we do arenas, we end up doing pretty well, we're both happy.
Worst case scenario: we suck at arenas, I go back to raiding full-time, my fiance finds another partner. We're both happy.
Friday, March 19, 2010
There's a pecking order here
Or should I say, a healing order.
Last night I found myself back in Ulduar with the new guild. I wasn't quite sure why they wanted to do Ulduar because the gear really wouldn't be useful to anyone, but they explained that they wanted to clear the room with Freya and collect all the frost lotus that respawn every 30 min. Genius!
We made it past Flame Leviathan - it was a piece of cake, and I even got the achievement for not repairing the vehicles. I don't think they even downed the towers before FL...pretty impressive. We got XT-002, Kologarn, Freya, Hodir, Auriaya, and Thorim in quick succession, all on the first try! Mimiron was not so easy, but we only gave it a couple tries before people were tired and had to go to bed. I think we would've definitely downed that sucker if we'd kept going though.
The only problem was I kept dying. Quite often. I got the light bomb during XT-002 and went down. Then Kologarn gripped me within the first 10 seconds of the fight and I died. And then I managed to stay alive for all the other bosses, but I think I died at least 3-4 more times on the trash pulls.
When I get hit for 25k by some exploding trash or I get caught in an AoE at half health, ok I probably deserve to die for jumping in without thinking. But when I died during XT-002 and Kologarn, I can honestly say it was not my fault. I have no control over those "special attacks", and all that can be done is to heal the bejesus out of me...which no one seemed to be doing.
Yes, I know the healer can only heal so many people and all, but this was never a problem in the old guild, because I was always top healing priority after the tanks. Everyone always made sure I was topped off at full, always had HoTs on me, always the first to get a battle rez if people went down. Not to toot my own horn here, but I was usually doing more DPS than anyone else, sometimes doing twice as much as the next guy. So yeah, keeping me alive was important.
I guess I can't really blame the new guild for healing the "veteran" members over me. Especially when I jump into fire like an idiot most of the time with low armor and low health. And maybe it was just bad luck that I happened to get the light bomb or got stone-gripped. And I guess healers need to play with you for a bit to really get a sense of what type of player you are, and know how much or how little healing you require (I require lots!).
Well, tonight is ICC and I hope I get a spot. I was putting some pretty good numbers up on the recount charts, even if I was dying left and right. No longer at the #1 spot all the time, but hey I've got something to work towards.
Last night I found myself back in Ulduar with the new guild. I wasn't quite sure why they wanted to do Ulduar because the gear really wouldn't be useful to anyone, but they explained that they wanted to clear the room with Freya and collect all the frost lotus that respawn every 30 min. Genius!
We made it past Flame Leviathan - it was a piece of cake, and I even got the achievement for not repairing the vehicles. I don't think they even downed the towers before FL...pretty impressive. We got XT-002, Kologarn, Freya, Hodir, Auriaya, and Thorim in quick succession, all on the first try! Mimiron was not so easy, but we only gave it a couple tries before people were tired and had to go to bed. I think we would've definitely downed that sucker if we'd kept going though.
The only problem was I kept dying. Quite often. I got the light bomb during XT-002 and went down. Then Kologarn gripped me within the first 10 seconds of the fight and I died. And then I managed to stay alive for all the other bosses, but I think I died at least 3-4 more times on the trash pulls.
When I get hit for 25k by some exploding trash or I get caught in an AoE at half health, ok I probably deserve to die for jumping in without thinking. But when I died during XT-002 and Kologarn, I can honestly say it was not my fault. I have no control over those "special attacks", and all that can be done is to heal the bejesus out of me...which no one seemed to be doing.
Yes, I know the healer can only heal so many people and all, but this was never a problem in the old guild, because I was always top healing priority after the tanks. Everyone always made sure I was topped off at full, always had HoTs on me, always the first to get a battle rez if people went down. Not to toot my own horn here, but I was usually doing more DPS than anyone else, sometimes doing twice as much as the next guy. So yeah, keeping me alive was important.
I guess I can't really blame the new guild for healing the "veteran" members over me. Especially when I jump into fire like an idiot most of the time with low armor and low health. And maybe it was just bad luck that I happened to get the light bomb or got stone-gripped. And I guess healers need to play with you for a bit to really get a sense of what type of player you are, and know how much or how little healing you require (I require lots!).
Well, tonight is ICC and I hope I get a spot. I was putting some pretty good numbers up on the recount charts, even if I was dying left and right. No longer at the #1 spot all the time, but hey I've got something to work towards.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Are they really ninjas?
I've been pugging a LOT lately. Every Tuesday I make it a point to run vault 10 and 25 just in the hopes of getting the tier 10 gloves or legs. I've yet to see a single rogue piece drop though, but at the least I score badges out of the run. I also try to pug ToC 25 - although last week I won the roll for the 1.80 speed dagger (gouge of the frigid heart! Won it over another rogue who rolled 93 by rolling 98!) and this week I won a kickass belt, so I may not need any more gear from ToC. We'll see though.
Anyways, we're doing ToC25, right? After the twin val'kyr are defeated, the raid leader (who had been a real asshole in vent the whole time so I muted him) says roll on the gear. I won the dagger, then the second item was death's choice, some hot caster trinket which everyone wants, apparently. Well, he looted that, the crusader orb, and the trophy of the crusade and left the raid. People were squawking and QQing about how he was a ninja.
Then last night I did ICC 25. We had a great group and I was hoping to make it past Putricide and all that, but after Saurfang the raid leader loots Deathbringer's Will and left the raid. Again people were QQing all over trade chat about what a ninja he was.
And here's my opinion: is it really ninja'ing? I mean, the raid leader is the guy who had to spam trade chat for 30 min to get 25 people together for a raid, he had to keep track of all the spots that were filled, he had to inspect everyone's gear to make sure they didn't suck, he had to organize the vent, he had to loot and give out the raid warning for people to roll...I mean that's a lot of annoyance. I won't say it's hard work, really, but it's annoying to have to do all those things. I tried to organize a 10 man raid once and that was hard enough. I really feel like the person who did all the annoying things to get a 25 man raid going, deserves a nice prize at the end of it. So people shouldn't be QQing about what a ninja he is - if you want that item, make your own raid and ninja it yourself!
Of course I might be the one QQing if the raid leader ninjaed some sweet rogue item from the raid, but given that none of the items taken were of any use to me, it's easy for me to stand back and say these things. But honestly, what do you expect when you give someone 100% of the rights to loot everything? Sometimes life ain't fair.
Anyways, we're doing ToC25, right? After the twin val'kyr are defeated, the raid leader (who had been a real asshole in vent the whole time so I muted him) says roll on the gear. I won the dagger, then the second item was death's choice, some hot caster trinket which everyone wants, apparently. Well, he looted that, the crusader orb, and the trophy of the crusade and left the raid. People were squawking and QQing about how he was a ninja.
Then last night I did ICC 25. We had a great group and I was hoping to make it past Putricide and all that, but after Saurfang the raid leader loots Deathbringer's Will and left the raid. Again people were QQing all over trade chat about what a ninja he was.
And here's my opinion: is it really ninja'ing? I mean, the raid leader is the guy who had to spam trade chat for 30 min to get 25 people together for a raid, he had to keep track of all the spots that were filled, he had to inspect everyone's gear to make sure they didn't suck, he had to organize the vent, he had to loot and give out the raid warning for people to roll...I mean that's a lot of annoyance. I won't say it's hard work, really, but it's annoying to have to do all those things. I tried to organize a 10 man raid once and that was hard enough. I really feel like the person who did all the annoying things to get a 25 man raid going, deserves a nice prize at the end of it. So people shouldn't be QQing about what a ninja he is - if you want that item, make your own raid and ninja it yourself!
Of course I might be the one QQing if the raid leader ninjaed some sweet rogue item from the raid, but given that none of the items taken were of any use to me, it's easy for me to stand back and say these things. But honestly, what do you expect when you give someone 100% of the rights to loot everything? Sometimes life ain't fair.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Breaking up is hard to do
I'd been saying for a while I'd do it, and I finally did it last night! I left my old guild and joined a new one!
There was really no point in my being in that guild anymore because I simply wasn't having any fun with them. I used to raid with them every night and I had fun doing it, but I don't know...doing Ulduar and ToC over and over again got old after a while. I knew I was ready for ICC or some 25 mans and I knew the guild wasn't ready (nor would they be for a while...). And if there had been signs of progress then I might have held out, but we were clearly going backwards, not forwards. The geared people were leaving and moving on, and those that weren't geared were clearly doing nothing about it. There is really only so many times I can wipe on beasts of northrend before I just stop going, period. Especially when I've cleared it with a pug and know that with the right people it's not hard to do.
I whispered my GM and let him know, and the whole experience was a little bizzare. I felt like I was breaking up with someone more than anything. Here's a shortened transcript of our conversation:
Me: So I think I'm leaving the guild.
GM: What? Why?
Me: It's not you guys, it's me...
GM: Is it because we can't clear ToC?
Me: No, it's not the guild's fault, you guys are really cool...it's just that I'm overgeared for the raids we do and I'm ready for ICC.
GM: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah, I'm really sorry. You're a good GM.
GM: Is there another guild?
Me: I might join another one...not sure yet.
GM: Well you'll still keep in touch, right?
Me: Of course, pst me if you ever need anything.
Hehe, sounds like a very cliche breakup from a sitcom or something...
Anyways, after this exchange I hit /gquit and an ex-guildie messaged me saying "people can't believe you actually left the guild!" I felt bad, now they're going to have an even harder time filling slots for raids. Plus they helped me out a lot before by taking me along on raids I wasn't geared for and offering a lot of good advice. But all in all I think I've more than repaid my debt by being a good guildie, showing up to raids every night and keeping a stiff upper lip (at least to the guild) most of the time. Plus for the last month or so I've been doing raids that really don't benefit me at all - experience or gear-wise.
I messaged one of the guys from the guild I pugged ICC with last week and he sent me an invite right away, so now I'm officially in guild #4...first two don't count though, never did anything with them. So this would be my second real raiding guild. Their raid schedule looks a little more manageable too (3 nights a week instead of 6). I hope I make a good impression on people tonight!
There was really no point in my being in that guild anymore because I simply wasn't having any fun with them. I used to raid with them every night and I had fun doing it, but I don't know...doing Ulduar and ToC over and over again got old after a while. I knew I was ready for ICC or some 25 mans and I knew the guild wasn't ready (nor would they be for a while...). And if there had been signs of progress then I might have held out, but we were clearly going backwards, not forwards. The geared people were leaving and moving on, and those that weren't geared were clearly doing nothing about it. There is really only so many times I can wipe on beasts of northrend before I just stop going, period. Especially when I've cleared it with a pug and know that with the right people it's not hard to do.
I whispered my GM and let him know, and the whole experience was a little bizzare. I felt like I was breaking up with someone more than anything. Here's a shortened transcript of our conversation:
Me: So I think I'm leaving the guild.
GM: What? Why?
Me: It's not you guys, it's me...
GM: Is it because we can't clear ToC?
Me: No, it's not the guild's fault, you guys are really cool...it's just that I'm overgeared for the raids we do and I'm ready for ICC.
GM: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah, I'm really sorry. You're a good GM.
GM: Is there another guild?
Me: I might join another one...not sure yet.
GM: Well you'll still keep in touch, right?
Me: Of course, pst me if you ever need anything.
Hehe, sounds like a very cliche breakup from a sitcom or something...
Anyways, after this exchange I hit /gquit and an ex-guildie messaged me saying "people can't believe you actually left the guild!" I felt bad, now they're going to have an even harder time filling slots for raids. Plus they helped me out a lot before by taking me along on raids I wasn't geared for and offering a lot of good advice. But all in all I think I've more than repaid my debt by being a good guildie, showing up to raids every night and keeping a stiff upper lip (at least to the guild) most of the time. Plus for the last month or so I've been doing raids that really don't benefit me at all - experience or gear-wise.
I messaged one of the guys from the guild I pugged ICC with last week and he sent me an invite right away, so now I'm officially in guild #4...first two don't count though, never did anything with them. So this would be my second real raiding guild. Their raid schedule looks a little more manageable too (3 nights a week instead of 6). I hope I make a good impression on people tonight!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Fun times in normal mode!
So I'm helping my fiance gear up these days. He's not quite at 80 yet and I keep telling him the best gear and best xp comes from dungeons. And as a healer, he should really be learning how to play in a group instead of soloing all the time.
He's actually taking my advice as of late - but people in random dungeons are assholes sometimes. God knows I've seen enough of them - cocky attitudes, DPS facepulling, tanks blaming heals, heals blaming tank, the list goes on and on. As a way to help him out I've been queueing with him as a party for normal northrend dungeons with my geared 80 rogue.
Last night in Drak-Tharon Keep we entered that little room right before Trollgore. The pally tank seemed to be waiting for me to go, so I popped tricks of the trade on the pally, ran in and pulled everything in the room with fan of knives. Within seconds I see the tank die...oops. Then apparently I pulled Trollgore too somehow, and he runs down the stairs at us.
I thought, "dang, this will be embarrassing if we wipe." Luckily we made it without anyone else dying and Trollgore went down pretty quick along with his minions. As my sweetie pie was rezzing the tank I noticed the sword icon next to his name...oops. Apparently there were 2 pallies in the party...one of them was DPS. I'd been directing all my threat to the wrong guy :P
See, if I'd done that as a non-80 people would've cussed me out and kicked me from the group from the get-go. Apparently when an 80 does it, though, no one minds? The moral is to make sure the tank is actually the tank!
He's actually taking my advice as of late - but people in random dungeons are assholes sometimes. God knows I've seen enough of them - cocky attitudes, DPS facepulling, tanks blaming heals, heals blaming tank, the list goes on and on. As a way to help him out I've been queueing with him as a party for normal northrend dungeons with my geared 80 rogue.
Last night in Drak-Tharon Keep we entered that little room right before Trollgore. The pally tank seemed to be waiting for me to go, so I popped tricks of the trade on the pally, ran in and pulled everything in the room with fan of knives. Within seconds I see the tank die...oops. Then apparently I pulled Trollgore too somehow, and he runs down the stairs at us.
I thought, "dang, this will be embarrassing if we wipe." Luckily we made it without anyone else dying and Trollgore went down pretty quick along with his minions. As my sweetie pie was rezzing the tank I noticed the sword icon next to his name...oops. Apparently there were 2 pallies in the party...one of them was DPS. I'd been directing all my threat to the wrong guy :P
See, if I'd done that as a non-80 people would've cussed me out and kicked me from the group from the get-go. Apparently when an 80 does it, though, no one minds? The moral is to make sure the tank is actually the tank!
Huntards
There's a hunter in my guild who seriously gets invited to every single raid we do -a while ago I noticed that his DPS was absolute crap. He was doing like 1.7k in Ulduar while I was topping 7k on the same fight. I looked at his gear and nearly pooped bricks. He was wearing a ilvl 146 green item, had no gems or enchants on most of his stuff, and was wearing a +spellpower ring???
Like, are you shitting me here? I mean, come on. Even the barest minimum dirt-cheap enchants and gems are better than nothing. This is the kind of guy that the GM needs to pull aside and coach and tell him how to gear up, and not invite to any raids until he gets proper gear and gets all his shit enchanted and gemmed.
Good gear isn't even that hard to come by these days. Go run 5-man ToC or ICC dungeons for a couple days and you'll be in full epics. Why is he wearing a green cape???
Maybe this is why our guild fails raids (and fails in general as of late). Because the GM or any officer doesn't bother to look at what gear people are using. When we wipe he doesn't look at what might actually be the root causes. Instead he rages at everyone to learn the fights. Why should I be getting yelled at when I'm doing triple the DPS of some fail-ass huntard who's doing nothing but dragging everyone down?
Ugh, anyways, this is why I pug. At least in a pug I know if someone's doing shit DPS he'll get kicked and I'm not forced to play with them. At least I know we have SOME chance of downing a boss. This is why I pugged 3 raids last night!
Like, are you shitting me here? I mean, come on. Even the barest minimum dirt-cheap enchants and gems are better than nothing. This is the kind of guy that the GM needs to pull aside and coach and tell him how to gear up, and not invite to any raids until he gets proper gear and gets all his shit enchanted and gemmed.
Good gear isn't even that hard to come by these days. Go run 5-man ToC or ICC dungeons for a couple days and you'll be in full epics. Why is he wearing a green cape???
Maybe this is why our guild fails raids (and fails in general as of late). Because the GM or any officer doesn't bother to look at what gear people are using. When we wipe he doesn't look at what might actually be the root causes. Instead he rages at everyone to learn the fights. Why should I be getting yelled at when I'm doing triple the DPS of some fail-ass huntard who's doing nothing but dragging everyone down?
Ugh, anyways, this is why I pug. At least in a pug I know if someone's doing shit DPS he'll get kicked and I'm not forced to play with them. At least I know we have SOME chance of downing a boss. This is why I pugged 3 raids last night!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Finally some ICC action...and my guild is falling apart
As the title suggests, I finally got some ICC action. Not just rep-grinding, but some actual boss fights!
On Friday night I log in and the first thing I see in trade chat is "LF 1 more melee DPS for ICC10". I messaged him right away and scored an invite! Turns out it's a full guild run except for me. They were all pretty well geared (5-5.5k), plus it was a guild run so I had high hopes for it. And those guys did not disappoint.
Lord Marrowgar was a total breeze - these guys were really on top of it. No one died and we downed him on the first try! One thing I discovered is that it's actually a lot easier to avoid the coldflame trails if you're moving around as little as possible. Try to stay a bit further away from the boss if you can (unless he charges you, in which case just run like hell), that way you can see where the coldflame is going and just sidestep it. In pugs I've seen so many people just flipping out and running for their lives whenever Marrowgar starts bonestorm and end up getting hit by 2-3 coldflames. Not effective, people. Try a more zen-approach here.
The cloak dropped and no one was rolling for it so I said, what the heck and rolled. They were nice enough to give it to me even though it was a guild run and they could've easily said "we're DEing this, sorry" and I wouldn't have even made a fuss. I was just happy to down Marrowgar and get +250rep and 2 frost badges! With that rep I was finally friendly with Ashen Verdict and I got my ring!
We got to Lady Deathwhisper - again, downed on the first try with no deaths. I didn't really know the fight but I saw adds coming up so I DPSed them down, and went on the boss whenever I could. When her mana shield went down her aggro table was really weird - she kept coming after me. I had to vanish, ToT and feint constantly but we made it. 2 bosses down!
Gunship battle was SO MUCH FUN! I got to be in the guns, and that was a breeze. Basically mash 11111 then 2 then 111111 then 2, rinse and repeat. Occasionally go on the adds, but other than that, who doesn't love a little first-person shooter action?
Saurfang was not quite what I expected - I kept hearing that it was a complicated fight, but when I told them I didn't know what to do they just chuckled and said, "You get right behind the boss and DPS the hell out of him the whole time. Don't move, don't do anything other than whoop his ass." I said, "well I can do that." Adds kept spawning and he did some AoE damage but for the most part, yeah I just stood right behind the mofo and gave him a taste of my 6.5k epic DPS (lol). We wiped anyways, and on the second try I got the "mark" and they all shouted "RUN TO THE GUNSHIP!! GET IN THE GUN AND STAY THERE!!!!" so I did that and avoided dying. We wiped again (clearly due to lack of DPS), but on the third try we got him. I got the achievement (Storming the Citadel)!!!
We went on to the next part and wiped a couple times on Rotface before we called it quits. They were talking about trying again the next night so I eagerly said I'd be there. Saturday night rolled around and they actually did invite me back and we downed Festergut (we wiped a bunch of times on Rotface) and when Gutbuster dropped, they graciously let me have it! I had to leave afterwards, but I ran into a couple of the guildies in a PuG Sunday and they told me they got Rotface eventually.
Wow, what a long rambling recount of my weekend...my point is, that this guild seemed to be mostly adults (they were talking about beer a lot - like, good microbrew beer, not the shit college kids drink). They seemed to be well-coordinated. People seemed to listen to instructions. They were prepared, they were geared, they were pro. Compared to my current guild...we can't even down ToC at the moment. And with the old guild master taking a break, it seems like we can't even get 10 people together to attempt a raid these days.
At the end of the run on Saturday I again offered to DPS for them whenever they were short 1 person. One of them extended a guild invite and I smiled and told them maybe. I think I'll try to chat up the GM tonight and see if they're recruting - wowarmory shows that they're short on rogues so I've got my fingers crossed.
On Friday night I log in and the first thing I see in trade chat is "LF 1 more melee DPS for ICC10". I messaged him right away and scored an invite! Turns out it's a full guild run except for me. They were all pretty well geared (5-5.5k), plus it was a guild run so I had high hopes for it. And those guys did not disappoint.
Lord Marrowgar was a total breeze - these guys were really on top of it. No one died and we downed him on the first try! One thing I discovered is that it's actually a lot easier to avoid the coldflame trails if you're moving around as little as possible. Try to stay a bit further away from the boss if you can (unless he charges you, in which case just run like hell), that way you can see where the coldflame is going and just sidestep it. In pugs I've seen so many people just flipping out and running for their lives whenever Marrowgar starts bonestorm and end up getting hit by 2-3 coldflames. Not effective, people. Try a more zen-approach here.
The cloak dropped and no one was rolling for it so I said, what the heck and rolled. They were nice enough to give it to me even though it was a guild run and they could've easily said "we're DEing this, sorry" and I wouldn't have even made a fuss. I was just happy to down Marrowgar and get +250rep and 2 frost badges! With that rep I was finally friendly with Ashen Verdict and I got my ring!
We got to Lady Deathwhisper - again, downed on the first try with no deaths. I didn't really know the fight but I saw adds coming up so I DPSed them down, and went on the boss whenever I could. When her mana shield went down her aggro table was really weird - she kept coming after me. I had to vanish, ToT and feint constantly but we made it. 2 bosses down!
Gunship battle was SO MUCH FUN! I got to be in the guns, and that was a breeze. Basically mash 11111 then 2 then 111111 then 2, rinse and repeat. Occasionally go on the adds, but other than that, who doesn't love a little first-person shooter action?
Saurfang was not quite what I expected - I kept hearing that it was a complicated fight, but when I told them I didn't know what to do they just chuckled and said, "You get right behind the boss and DPS the hell out of him the whole time. Don't move, don't do anything other than whoop his ass." I said, "well I can do that." Adds kept spawning and he did some AoE damage but for the most part, yeah I just stood right behind the mofo and gave him a taste of my 6.5k epic DPS (lol). We wiped anyways, and on the second try I got the "mark" and they all shouted "RUN TO THE GUNSHIP!! GET IN THE GUN AND STAY THERE!!!!" so I did that and avoided dying. We wiped again (clearly due to lack of DPS), but on the third try we got him. I got the achievement (Storming the Citadel)!!!
We went on to the next part and wiped a couple times on Rotface before we called it quits. They were talking about trying again the next night so I eagerly said I'd be there. Saturday night rolled around and they actually did invite me back and we downed Festergut (we wiped a bunch of times on Rotface) and when Gutbuster dropped, they graciously let me have it! I had to leave afterwards, but I ran into a couple of the guildies in a PuG Sunday and they told me they got Rotface eventually.
Wow, what a long rambling recount of my weekend...my point is, that this guild seemed to be mostly adults (they were talking about beer a lot - like, good microbrew beer, not the shit college kids drink). They seemed to be well-coordinated. People seemed to listen to instructions. They were prepared, they were geared, they were pro. Compared to my current guild...we can't even down ToC at the moment. And with the old guild master taking a break, it seems like we can't even get 10 people together to attempt a raid these days.
At the end of the run on Saturday I again offered to DPS for them whenever they were short 1 person. One of them extended a guild invite and I smiled and told them maybe. I think I'll try to chat up the GM tonight and see if they're recruting - wowarmory shows that they're short on rogues so I've got my fingers crossed.
Friday, March 5, 2010
That Arthas is a beast
It's been a couple months (I think) since the ICC heroic dungeons were released...I remember when it first came out the huge step-up in difficulty was like, WHOA. And of course the gear that dropped was also like, WHOA! The first one I ever did was FoS and the Heartshiver dagger dropped and I was squealing with joy for like an hour! I mean, it was an upgrade from the Librarian's paper cutter for god's sake...
I did heroic HoR only once, before the new patch made it impossible to hide behind the Lich King. Since the new patch came out, I've tried heroic HoR 3 or 4 times but never successfully completed it. The Lich King escape was just so brutal - the first 2 waves are alright, but then you start struggling a little and the LK is coming closer and closer...absolutely terrifying. Some groups didn't even make it past Falric and Marwyn.
But last night I was lucky enough to get in with a pretty elite group! I actually got into HoR earlier that night but we wiped just before Marwyn and had all left. I got into another random dungeon and ta-da! It was Halls of Reflection once more.
The tank wasn't that geared (5k GS), but man, everyone else in there...5.7k GS healer, 5.5k GS hunter and DK...myself at 5.2k. It was pretty amazing how fast the mobs went down. DK would just death grip things left and right (to save the "undergeared" tank some headache I assume), the hunter was doing twice my DPS. And that healer was just plain epic. Throwing giant crit heals all over the place without even making a dent in his mana pool. We managed not only to escape the lich king, but to get the achievement as well (for escaping in 6 min!!!).
My proudest moment was during the last 2 waves of adds. The tank and DK were both busy tanking the abominations, and I saw the witch doctor casting shadow bolts at the heals. So I stunlocked that mofo in true rogue fashion. As long as you keep interrupting the casts they basically do no damage! Kidney shot FTW!
I did heroic HoR only once, before the new patch made it impossible to hide behind the Lich King. Since the new patch came out, I've tried heroic HoR 3 or 4 times but never successfully completed it. The Lich King escape was just so brutal - the first 2 waves are alright, but then you start struggling a little and the LK is coming closer and closer...absolutely terrifying. Some groups didn't even make it past Falric and Marwyn.
But last night I was lucky enough to get in with a pretty elite group! I actually got into HoR earlier that night but we wiped just before Marwyn and had all left. I got into another random dungeon and ta-da! It was Halls of Reflection once more.
The tank wasn't that geared (5k GS), but man, everyone else in there...5.7k GS healer, 5.5k GS hunter and DK...myself at 5.2k. It was pretty amazing how fast the mobs went down. DK would just death grip things left and right (to save the "undergeared" tank some headache I assume), the hunter was doing twice my DPS. And that healer was just plain epic. Throwing giant crit heals all over the place without even making a dent in his mana pool. We managed not only to escape the lich king, but to get the achievement as well (for escaping in 6 min!!!).
My proudest moment was during the last 2 waves of adds. The tank and DK were both busy tanking the abominations, and I saw the witch doctor casting shadow bolts at the heals. So I stunlocked that mofo in true rogue fashion. As long as you keep interrupting the casts they basically do no damage! Kidney shot FTW!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Some girly WoW ideas
Trolls should be able to wear shoes. I hate that we're always barefoot! What are we, hobbits now?
We should be able to name our pets. My Wolpertinger has the exact same name as someone's else's Wolpertinger: Wolpertinger. Why can't I just call mine "fluffybunny?"
More hair color choices please. Current color palette just isn't cutting it.
Hats (masks, headbands, hoods etc) should be prettier in general. I've yet to find a headpiece that I liked enough to actually "show" on the character. Have you seen the new rogue tier10 headpiece? WTF is that all about??? *Barf*
We should be able to name our pets. My Wolpertinger has the exact same name as someone's else's Wolpertinger: Wolpertinger. Why can't I just call mine "fluffybunny?"
More hair color choices please. Current color palette just isn't cutting it.
Hats (masks, headbands, hoods etc) should be prettier in general. I've yet to find a headpiece that I liked enough to actually "show" on the character. Have you seen the new rogue tier10 headpiece? WTF is that all about??? *Barf*
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
More wipefest
Again our guild wrapped up about 2.5 hours of raiding with 0 victories, and about 20 wipes. I blame our guild master entirely, because he was absent for the raid. Apparently had more important priorities than leading his loyal guildies to victory! Wha???
We attempted Freya, which actually didn't go too badly. The adds spawned much faster than I thought they would, and pretty much overwhelmed our undergeared tank. We almost got her healing buff below 50 stacks, but that was the best we could do. After 5-6 wipes people had had enough of Freya. We moved onto the a different part of Ulduar, where we wiped on the first trash pull...twice.
After that we were all sick of Ulduar, and decided to attempt EoE. Again, we wiped several times before even getting Maly to phase 2. We gave up eventually and I tried to do a quick pug before the raid reset, but the VoA 10m group I got in was total FAIL. I don't think our tank knew what he was supposed to do. And seriously, attempting Toravon with a GS of 4200??? Are you kidding me?
Every single day I hear people QQ that there are not enough tanks. Everyone else has to wait 15 in the random dungeon queue whereas tanks get in instantly due to the shortage. But I swear, every wipe we had last night was because the tanks were 1.) undergeared, 2.) had no clue about the fight, and 3.) didn't know how to manage aggro for shit. Being undergeared isn't related to skill, and I guess if you've never done the fight before you're more or less clueless, but #3...managing threat, that's inexcusable. Your job is to draw the most threat and make things attack you. If you can't make that happen, I'm sorry but you're just a shitty tank. Especially if I'm popping every single threat-reduction ability I have and hunters are MD-ing you left and right, and you still can't hold threat, then you just FAIL as a tank.
I QQ too that there aren't enough tanks, but it's gotten to the point where any old crappy tank think they can go into a raid with half a brain and 4k GS and expect to survive. Even worse if they blame it on other people, and people accept that kind of bullshit. Just because there aren't enough tanks doesn't mean everyone else has to just take whatever they can get and gimp their DPS or direct all heals to the tank and let the raid eat insane amounts of AoE damage. I mean come on, you can't even hold threat on trash??? That's just pathetic.
We attempted Freya, which actually didn't go too badly. The adds spawned much faster than I thought they would, and pretty much overwhelmed our undergeared tank. We almost got her healing buff below 50 stacks, but that was the best we could do. After 5-6 wipes people had had enough of Freya. We moved onto the a different part of Ulduar, where we wiped on the first trash pull...twice.
After that we were all sick of Ulduar, and decided to attempt EoE. Again, we wiped several times before even getting Maly to phase 2. We gave up eventually and I tried to do a quick pug before the raid reset, but the VoA 10m group I got in was total FAIL. I don't think our tank knew what he was supposed to do. And seriously, attempting Toravon with a GS of 4200??? Are you kidding me?
Every single day I hear people QQ that there are not enough tanks. Everyone else has to wait 15 in the random dungeon queue whereas tanks get in instantly due to the shortage. But I swear, every wipe we had last night was because the tanks were 1.) undergeared, 2.) had no clue about the fight, and 3.) didn't know how to manage aggro for shit. Being undergeared isn't related to skill, and I guess if you've never done the fight before you're more or less clueless, but #3...managing threat, that's inexcusable. Your job is to draw the most threat and make things attack you. If you can't make that happen, I'm sorry but you're just a shitty tank. Especially if I'm popping every single threat-reduction ability I have and hunters are MD-ing you left and right, and you still can't hold threat, then you just FAIL as a tank.
I QQ too that there aren't enough tanks, but it's gotten to the point where any old crappy tank think they can go into a raid with half a brain and 4k GS and expect to survive. Even worse if they blame it on other people, and people accept that kind of bullshit. Just because there aren't enough tanks doesn't mean everyone else has to just take whatever they can get and gimp their DPS or direct all heals to the tank and let the raid eat insane amounts of AoE damage. I mean come on, you can't even hold threat on trash??? That's just pathetic.
Monday, March 1, 2010
SPAWN MORE OVERLORDS
Oh man, I suddenly have a hankering to play Starcraft again. That game was so good. Like, freaking knock you out of your socks good. Mechanics, graphics, balance, everything was A+.
That satisfaction when you see your zerglings mow through SCVs...or when your Valkyries shoot down the transport right before it can land...or executing the perfect reaver drop...
Or when you send over a Carrier into a battle you're already winning and see the "GG" message pop up...
When is Starcraft 2 coming out???
That satisfaction when you see your zerglings mow through SCVs...or when your Valkyries shoot down the transport right before it can land...or executing the perfect reaver drop...
Or when you send over a Carrier into a battle you're already winning and see the "GG" message pop up...
When is Starcraft 2 coming out???
A Case of the Mondays
Heh, Mondays have become exciting days for me recently. Ever since our GM flipped out and declared "NO PUGGING", the only days I can sneak in a 10man PuG are on Mondays. Since the raids reset on Tuesday, I don't have to worry about being saved to anything.
Plus on Tuesdays there's a new weekly raid quest to look forward to (5 frost badges!). Wednesdays are "lazy days" for the guild (ie no guild raids scheduled) so I get to PuG 25mans all night. Usually I get something nice from VoA 25 (at least some badges) and last week I scored a sweet new weapon from 25m ToC!
I also got a first glimpse into ICC the other night - it was a fail group trying to do a rep run. It took two hours to farm about 1500 rep, so I'm not even at friendly with Ashen Verdict. Whenever we wiped a healer would leave and we'd spend 20 min trying to PuG someone else. But hey, at least I got to see what ICC looks like! Those big skeleton patrols hit like a freight truck, btw - I accidentally got in front of a cleave and it hit me for 13k...curse you leather armor! Anyways, that adds ICC to the list of raids I can pug for now.
Sigh. More and more I find myself juggling work and chores and personal life to fit my raid schedule. It's fun even though I know it's all just pixels and wasted time. But I am a little sad that I no longer have time to make a lasagna from scratch or to watch my favorite TV shows, or to sit across from my finace at the dinner table to enjoy a meal.
If only there were a few more hours in the day...
Plus on Tuesdays there's a new weekly raid quest to look forward to (5 frost badges!). Wednesdays are "lazy days" for the guild (ie no guild raids scheduled) so I get to PuG 25mans all night. Usually I get something nice from VoA 25 (at least some badges) and last week I scored a sweet new weapon from 25m ToC!
I also got a first glimpse into ICC the other night - it was a fail group trying to do a rep run. It took two hours to farm about 1500 rep, so I'm not even at friendly with Ashen Verdict. Whenever we wiped a healer would leave and we'd spend 20 min trying to PuG someone else. But hey, at least I got to see what ICC looks like! Those big skeleton patrols hit like a freight truck, btw - I accidentally got in front of a cleave and it hit me for 13k...curse you leather armor! Anyways, that adds ICC to the list of raids I can pug for now.
Sigh. More and more I find myself juggling work and chores and personal life to fit my raid schedule. It's fun even though I know it's all just pixels and wasted time. But I am a little sad that I no longer have time to make a lasagna from scratch or to watch my favorite TV shows, or to sit across from my finace at the dinner table to enjoy a meal.
If only there were a few more hours in the day...
The Ulduar Saga
My guild has been trying to clear Ulduar for about...oh, almost two months now. We seem to be stuck in a rut, to be perfectly honest.
When I first joined the guild I was level 78 or 79. The minute I dinged 80 they took me along on raids. We did OS, Vault, and started clearing Naxx 10. Within like two weeks we had cleared Naxx. I thought, "Wow, this is awesome! My guild rocks!"
Heh, then we began on Ulduar...we snuck in some Ony and OS here and there, but for the most part we've been focusing on Ulduar. It's been mainly Ignis and Assembly of Iron that's been hindering our progress. The other bosses we could take down with no trouble, but those two...basically whenever there was anything other than tank-and-spank going on, people couldn't get it right (myself included). Inexperienced tanks, healers not paying attention, DPS standing in fire, etc etc.
Anyways, yesterday we had a small victory - we downed Assembly of Iron! We'd done it before I believe, but usually right before the raid reset and the next week we'd be back to square one. But last night we finally got to see the Conservatory of Life!
For the first time since I've joined this guild the raid leader (also guild master) said, "guys, I don't know the fights in this place." We aggroed some big tree thingy, wiped, then decided to call it a night. But still, I think everyone felt pretty pumped. Being in a new area with a new boss we haven't attempted 40 times before, and having to learn a brand new fight instead of wiping over and over on something you know how to do...it's pretty exciting! Our GM said he'd even extend the raid lockout so we don't have to go back to Assembly of Iron (ever agagin, hopefully).
We're aiming for a full clear of Ulduar this week. Then hopefully we'll move onto ToC, which I know everyone is antsy to get to. Hopefully the raid attendance will go up too, with everyone wanting to get their hands on ToC gear. As for me I've got my fingers crossed for something to get my expertise rating up!
When I first joined the guild I was level 78 or 79. The minute I dinged 80 they took me along on raids. We did OS, Vault, and started clearing Naxx 10. Within like two weeks we had cleared Naxx. I thought, "Wow, this is awesome! My guild rocks!"
Heh, then we began on Ulduar...we snuck in some Ony and OS here and there, but for the most part we've been focusing on Ulduar. It's been mainly Ignis and Assembly of Iron that's been hindering our progress. The other bosses we could take down with no trouble, but those two...basically whenever there was anything other than tank-and-spank going on, people couldn't get it right (myself included). Inexperienced tanks, healers not paying attention, DPS standing in fire, etc etc.
Anyways, yesterday we had a small victory - we downed Assembly of Iron! We'd done it before I believe, but usually right before the raid reset and the next week we'd be back to square one. But last night we finally got to see the Conservatory of Life!
For the first time since I've joined this guild the raid leader (also guild master) said, "guys, I don't know the fights in this place." We aggroed some big tree thingy, wiped, then decided to call it a night. But still, I think everyone felt pretty pumped. Being in a new area with a new boss we haven't attempted 40 times before, and having to learn a brand new fight instead of wiping over and over on something you know how to do...it's pretty exciting! Our GM said he'd even extend the raid lockout so we don't have to go back to Assembly of Iron (ever agagin, hopefully).
We're aiming for a full clear of Ulduar this week. Then hopefully we'll move onto ToC, which I know everyone is antsy to get to. Hopefully the raid attendance will go up too, with everyone wanting to get their hands on ToC gear. As for me I've got my fingers crossed for something to get my expertise rating up!
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