Professor Putricide...you, sir, are a tough nut to crack.
I've gotten THIS close to downing this guy about 8 or 9 times now, and my god...it just makes you want to rip your hair out. I've never encountered anything quite so frustrating. Seriously, we had him down to his last 100k of health last night when the last raid member went down.
When we did the fight with my last guild, we couldn't get him past phase 2. Phase 1 and 2 were hard enough because we could never kill the adds fast enough. Things would start getting a little shaky and BOOM! The green slime would kill off a caster then everything just went downhill. I used to think, damn if we could just get to phase 3 (where adds stop spawning), this will be a piece of cake.
Oh how wrong I was...how naive and foolish of me...
It turns out phase 3 is an absolute nightmare. This is an intense DPS race and I guess we just didn't have enough of it. We have about 1 min to kill him off before the tank explodes (quite literally) and wipes out half the raid. And if even one person dies from this explosion, the professor gains 300k+ health. So even if half the raid survives one explosion, the professor has just healed himself AND they only have a few seconds until the off-tank will explode as well. Oh AND the professor has a buff that makes him stronger and stronger. Oh AND the room starts getting flooded with slime. Slime slime slime slime slime everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
How can I describe the heartbreaking agony of seeing that bastard's HP tick down to 1% only to die before you can score that one last critical strike that would've killed him? How can I put into words how everyone feels after we repeat this 4 or 5 times?
Morale is very very low on nights we do Putricide.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A career move
I've had herbalism and alchemy on my main (rogue) for almost a year now. She was my very first toon and I happened to read somewhere that herbalism/alchemy was a good money-maker, so I went with it. In hindsight, skinning/LW may have been more useful as a rogue but alchemy actually worked out quite well for me. I never made much money with selling potions and elixirs, but once I learned epic gem transmutes I was making good money off of those. Plus with mixology my flasks lasted 2 hours and doubled the AP bonus, giving me an edge in raids as well.
The problem was herbalism. Besides being able to pick a couple frost lotus here and there for my flasks and maybe using lifebloom in dire situations, it was practically useless! I don't pvp a lot so I didn't really need that extra survivability, and as time went by I hardly ever went herb-gathering. Why bother when you can get cheap stacks of herbs at the auction house?
For a while now I've been thinking about switching herbalism out for a more "hardcore" profession. Looking through the armory, anyone who belongs in a serious raid progression guild seems to have 2 crafting professions since they give much more useful bonuses. Enchanting, JC, BS, LW, tailoring all seemed to be popular choices. For a rogue, though, the most common choices were enchanting/LW or LW/JC.
I actually wanted to start JC, since I could cut my own transmuted epic gems and sell them for even more profit. But my pally alt was already at 400 JC so I didn't feel like sinking another 2k gold into that profession. So I went with enchanting. I picked my last herb about a week ago and dropped herbalism altogether, and began levelling enchanting.
The amazing part is how easy (and how expensive) it is to level a profession when you have lots of gold. I basically cleaned out the AH of all the enchanting mats that were available, as well as any cheap green items I could disenchant for mats. When the AH was empty I farmed low-level instances for shards and did easy quests for items to DE. The next day I'd buy out every single dust and shard up for auction and farm some more instances.
So after about a week my enchanting is at 420. I've put about 5k gold into power-levelling it, and now I have +40 attack power on each of my rings! And I'm actually making a small amount of gold from selling enchantment scrolls too. I don't know if I'll ever recover my 5k gold but hey, now I can apply for a hardcore raiding guild without being laughed at for having a gathering profession.
My new goal is to get that mechano-hog, although everyone keeps telling me to save my money for cataclysm. I'll have to level my alchemy by buying all the herbs I need, which I imagine will be quite costly. Sigh. Time to go level an herbalism alt...
The problem was herbalism. Besides being able to pick a couple frost lotus here and there for my flasks and maybe using lifebloom in dire situations, it was practically useless! I don't pvp a lot so I didn't really need that extra survivability, and as time went by I hardly ever went herb-gathering. Why bother when you can get cheap stacks of herbs at the auction house?
For a while now I've been thinking about switching herbalism out for a more "hardcore" profession. Looking through the armory, anyone who belongs in a serious raid progression guild seems to have 2 crafting professions since they give much more useful bonuses. Enchanting, JC, BS, LW, tailoring all seemed to be popular choices. For a rogue, though, the most common choices were enchanting/LW or LW/JC.
I actually wanted to start JC, since I could cut my own transmuted epic gems and sell them for even more profit. But my pally alt was already at 400 JC so I didn't feel like sinking another 2k gold into that profession. So I went with enchanting. I picked my last herb about a week ago and dropped herbalism altogether, and began levelling enchanting.
The amazing part is how easy (and how expensive) it is to level a profession when you have lots of gold. I basically cleaned out the AH of all the enchanting mats that were available, as well as any cheap green items I could disenchant for mats. When the AH was empty I farmed low-level instances for shards and did easy quests for items to DE. The next day I'd buy out every single dust and shard up for auction and farm some more instances.
So after about a week my enchanting is at 420. I've put about 5k gold into power-levelling it, and now I have +40 attack power on each of my rings! And I'm actually making a small amount of gold from selling enchantment scrolls too. I don't know if I'll ever recover my 5k gold but hey, now I can apply for a hardcore raiding guild without being laughed at for having a gathering profession.
My new goal is to get that mechano-hog, although everyone keeps telling me to save my money for cataclysm. I'll have to level my alchemy by buying all the herbs I need, which I imagine will be quite costly. Sigh. Time to go level an herbalism alt...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Feats of strength
I hear a lot of rumors that some of the classic WoW dungeons will be removed in cataclysm. Kind of like how Naxxramas was "moved" and revamped in Northrend, except some dungeons may not be available at all. I hear lots of people say on trade chat, "LFM Black Temple run, get your achi before it gets taken out in cataclysm!"
Now I don't know if Black Temple will get taken out or not, but even if it did I don't really want to do BT. My old guild (the ex-ex-guild, the fail guild) tried that with a few 80s and a few 70s, and wiped miserably at the Illidari council. For some reason I just didn't find that dungeon to be very fun. I think maybe it was because it was just a little too overwhelming to find your way around that place. And the mobs weren't quite as easy as I thought. When you're ICC epic'ed out you tend to feel rather invincible and nearly being killed by a boss in a level 70 dungeon hurts your ego a bit.
I do know that Wailing Caverns might be taken out. I read on the official WoW site that the player's actions in WC (rescuing Naralex) will change the Barrens into a lush teeming jungle or something. Well, one would suppose that maybe WC will no longer be a dungeon then since you've already accomplished the objective?
Anyways, I've decided to try and clear all the old-school dungeons before cataclysm comes out. While I was levelling up I never got to do most of them. When I turned 80 I did go back and solo most of the lower level ones. A couple nights ago my bf and I did WC together, which was pretty fun. I remember back at level 17 spending 3 hours to clear that place with a full group, only to DC right before the Naralex part. Heh, this time around it took 30 minutes, most of it spent running.
Last night we decided to try Zul'Gurub. I knew even though it was for level 60s, it was a 20man raid dungeon so I'd need some help. My bf came along and our rogue/priest combo made it all the way to Hakkar without any incidents - I even got the rare razzashi raptor mount from Bloodlord Mandokir!!! This is one sweet-looking mount!
At Hakkar we ran into some problems...he mind controls the person with the highest threat, apparently. So I kept getting mind controlled, run off and kill the priest, then the boss would reset because no one would be left to hold aggro on him. After 3 wipes or so we enlisted the help of our friend, an 80 DK. The 3 of us downed Hakkar in about 2 minutes!
I think this week we'll try Scholomance and Stratholme. I've always wanted to complete the tier 1 set (shadowcraft) just for shits and giggles, and I know they drop in those places. Hehe, won't my guildies be surprised when I show up for ICC in full tier 1...
Now I don't know if Black Temple will get taken out or not, but even if it did I don't really want to do BT. My old guild (the ex-ex-guild, the fail guild) tried that with a few 80s and a few 70s, and wiped miserably at the Illidari council. For some reason I just didn't find that dungeon to be very fun. I think maybe it was because it was just a little too overwhelming to find your way around that place. And the mobs weren't quite as easy as I thought. When you're ICC epic'ed out you tend to feel rather invincible and nearly being killed by a boss in a level 70 dungeon hurts your ego a bit.
I do know that Wailing Caverns might be taken out. I read on the official WoW site that the player's actions in WC (rescuing Naralex) will change the Barrens into a lush teeming jungle or something. Well, one would suppose that maybe WC will no longer be a dungeon then since you've already accomplished the objective?
Anyways, I've decided to try and clear all the old-school dungeons before cataclysm comes out. While I was levelling up I never got to do most of them. When I turned 80 I did go back and solo most of the lower level ones. A couple nights ago my bf and I did WC together, which was pretty fun. I remember back at level 17 spending 3 hours to clear that place with a full group, only to DC right before the Naralex part. Heh, this time around it took 30 minutes, most of it spent running.
Last night we decided to try Zul'Gurub. I knew even though it was for level 60s, it was a 20man raid dungeon so I'd need some help. My bf came along and our rogue/priest combo made it all the way to Hakkar without any incidents - I even got the rare razzashi raptor mount from Bloodlord Mandokir!!! This is one sweet-looking mount!
At Hakkar we ran into some problems...he mind controls the person with the highest threat, apparently. So I kept getting mind controlled, run off and kill the priest, then the boss would reset because no one would be left to hold aggro on him. After 3 wipes or so we enlisted the help of our friend, an 80 DK. The 3 of us downed Hakkar in about 2 minutes!
I think this week we'll try Scholomance and Stratholme. I've always wanted to complete the tier 1 set (shadowcraft) just for shits and giggles, and I know they drop in those places. Hehe, won't my guildies be surprised when I show up for ICC in full tier 1...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
If I had a million dollars
I'd take a month off work and play WoW. Obviously I wouldn't quit my day job - a million isn't quite enough to retire on these days. But gosh, I sure would like to be able to play WoW for days on end without being bothered with work and bedtimes and such.
I now have 4 alts, all fully decked out in heirloom gear and collecting dust in the barrens somewhere. I started all these chars with the intention of trying something new - healing, tanking, caster DPS, etc...and trying new, different professions and level in places I've never quested in.
The thing is, I only get like 2-3 hours per night to play. I log in with my main and it takes at least 2 hours (and sometimes much more) to do my daily random dungeon, do some daily quests, scan the auction house for some deals, do wintergrasp, maybe do a quick PuG or two...and this is on nights I don't raid with the guild. If there's an ICC scheduled, forget about it. I don't even have time to collect my 2 daily frost badges.
So by the time I'm done with my main it's already dangerously close to bedtime. I might log in with one of my alts and attempt to do a quest or two, but of course it's hard to make any progress in 15 minutes of WoW time. I could stay up till 1am and risk going to work the next morning half-asleep but alas, even I know that would be too irresponsible and detrimental to both my career and my relationship. Besides, I just can't function that way anymore (ah the good old days when I could stay up till 3 in the morning playing the sims and still show up for a 9am class).
Oh all the games I'd play if I just had one month to myself to do nothing else - no work, no bedtime, no chores...just one bad-ass quad-core processor gaming PC, a case of diet soda and me. Starcraft II is coming out soon and I'll cry if I can't make time for it.
I now have 4 alts, all fully decked out in heirloom gear and collecting dust in the barrens somewhere. I started all these chars with the intention of trying something new - healing, tanking, caster DPS, etc...and trying new, different professions and level in places I've never quested in.
The thing is, I only get like 2-3 hours per night to play. I log in with my main and it takes at least 2 hours (and sometimes much more) to do my daily random dungeon, do some daily quests, scan the auction house for some deals, do wintergrasp, maybe do a quick PuG or two...and this is on nights I don't raid with the guild. If there's an ICC scheduled, forget about it. I don't even have time to collect my 2 daily frost badges.
So by the time I'm done with my main it's already dangerously close to bedtime. I might log in with one of my alts and attempt to do a quest or two, but of course it's hard to make any progress in 15 minutes of WoW time. I could stay up till 1am and risk going to work the next morning half-asleep but alas, even I know that would be too irresponsible and detrimental to both my career and my relationship. Besides, I just can't function that way anymore (ah the good old days when I could stay up till 3 in the morning playing the sims and still show up for a 9am class).
Oh all the games I'd play if I just had one month to myself to do nothing else - no work, no bedtime, no chores...just one bad-ass quad-core processor gaming PC, a case of diet soda and me. Starcraft II is coming out soon and I'll cry if I can't make time for it.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
These pants won't do at all!
I really miss the days when pretty much any item I got from a dungeon was a big upgrade. Like when I first got to northrend and started doing dungeons (before the random dungeon finder I avoided groups like the plague). Pretty much any old +agi leather piece that dropped was bound to be an upgrade from a crappy green quest reward.
But now, I'm getting to the point where I can't just equip any old piece that drops, even if it has better stats. I need to worry about stacking the RIGHT stats, not just agility, agility, agility like I used to (I used to stack stam way back when I was a real noob). Expertise caps, hit caps, poison hit caps, armor penetration and haste, crit rating...it's exhausting keeping track of them all. And trying to juggle all your gear so that you're not over-capping stats means even if a higher ilvl item drops, I can't just equip it! Because then oh no!!! Now I'm under the expertise cap and way overcapped on hit! Do I go spend ~800g to re-gem my gear and tweak my stats, or hold out on upgrading my pants until that exact piece that I desperately need drops another time?
Being a hardcore 80 has its drawbacks! It's nice to go to my level 12 alts and not have to worry about this stuff...OHMYGOD a green item I can equip! Hooray!
But now, I'm getting to the point where I can't just equip any old piece that drops, even if it has better stats. I need to worry about stacking the RIGHT stats, not just agility, agility, agility like I used to (I used to stack stam way back when I was a real noob). Expertise caps, hit caps, poison hit caps, armor penetration and haste, crit rating...it's exhausting keeping track of them all. And trying to juggle all your gear so that you're not over-capping stats means even if a higher ilvl item drops, I can't just equip it! Because then oh no!!! Now I'm under the expertise cap and way overcapped on hit! Do I go spend ~800g to re-gem my gear and tweak my stats, or hold out on upgrading my pants until that exact piece that I desperately need drops another time?
Being a hardcore 80 has its drawbacks! It's nice to go to my level 12 alts and not have to worry about this stuff...OHMYGOD a green item I can equip! Hooray!
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