A band of fire

Rag, is a fiery being

And he casts, a fiery ring

Voss, with his tanking ire

He stepped into the band of fire

Voss stepped in to a burning band of fire

The tank went down, and the sons went wild

The raid burned, burned, burned, in a band of fire

A band of fire

Voss stepped in to a burning band of fire

The tank went down, and the sons went wild

The raid burned, burned, burned, in a band of fire

A band of fire

The traps, they burn your feet

Your heals, they must be leet

Smash, lands on your head

Move, or you’ll be dead

Voss stepped in to a burning band of fire

The tank went down, and the sons went wild

The raid burned burned burned, in a band of fire

A band of fire

My Raiding UI

This isn't the post I was planning, but it's what I've got available today.  This is a fairly basic UI layout I think, and it does have some double information, specifically ICE HUD and the standard portrait info.  I use ForteXorcist for multi-mob DOT tracking, and Power Auras to track DOTs on my current target.  I added scrolling damage text so I could get an idea of how hard I'm hitting, but I'm pretty sure that's going to be coming off soon - it's just too confusing.

There's really no need as far as I can tell to keep scrolling damage on my screen.  Maybe if it was BWL and I needed to see if a mob was resistant/immune to a certain type of damage, but that's not the case with anything really.  Plus, I think I'd figure it out after a few seconds.  IceHUD is probably going to be following it pretty quickly as well, though I have gotten pretty used to having that up there.  I think if I add an aura for < 35% mana, boss < 25% HP, and no Soul Link - I can completely remove that.

I'd also like to get rid of Recount, or just set it to only show after combat - it's just one more thing taking up space, and it's not like I'm going to change my rotation mid through the fight.  Omen is already disabled, thanks to the change in tank threat.  Since I open CoE>BoD>Corr - it takes a few seconds before I'm even dealing damage - more than enough time for the tank to secure agro. 

So there you go - my delicious, overcrowded, needs some work UI.

The Transmorgify opinion I haven't seen yet

Note - this isn't how I feel, but the post/opinion I'm just waiting to see.

OMG BLIZZARD, this is such a huge slap in the face to well, pretty much everyone.  New players who have never gotten this gear will have to go try and get terrible groups full of ninjas to try and have a shot at filling out their sets.  Players who have been here (like me, since Alpha you know) have had to discard entire sets of gear that I would LOVE to have, just becuase there wasn't enough bank space.  Now I have to try that all over agian, and compete on a /roll with some new player who picked up the game in 4.2! WTF.  I DEMAND YOU FIX THIS.

Warlock - What I like, don't like, and don't understand

I think I talked about my frustration (and yet, approval) of the fact that each spec available to the Warlock is both different, and requires different emphasis on secondary stats.  Affliction loves haste, Demo wants mastery, and Destro favors crit.  Even without helping to finance the reforger's vacation home in the Isles, you can still be fairly competitive with any setup as long as you're hit capped.

Which spec do I prefer, and why?

Right now I've been playing a lot of Affliction, both in PvP and PvE.  I really like Demo, but I don't like that either a) I'm completely missing something, b) I have to be in melee range to get the full benefit of my Metamorph, or c) that the tanks keep dragging my target out of the Hand of Gul'dan.  Seriously, that is a shadow patch you CAN stand in - though I do admire your survival instincts.  Destro really feels complicated and clunky.  So much of your DPS depends on keeping up a buff that 'should' be proccing from your demon, but I've found I have to hard-cast more often than not.  I'm actually pretty sure that my obsession with getting my three hasted casts off is what's killing my DPS as Destro, but who konws.

For whatever reason though, Affliction just feels more like a Warlock spec than the other two.  In all honesty though they are so very similar that it's kind of funny.  You have three DoTs you want to keep up at all times (Corruption, your Bane, and either Unstable Affliction or Immolate), a Curse (usually Elements), one or two spells with CDs, and a filler.  In this regard, I'd rate the specs (in terms of difficulty) as Demo>Aff>Destro - but that's just me.

I am glad though that they aren't just different versions of each other, and that there are slightly different aspects to each spec.  I guess the one thing I don't understand though, is why does Haunt refresh Corruption instead of UA?  Goes back to that slightly different feel again.

A new home, a new role, and a missed guild first

Over the last three weeks I've made some indication that I was currently trialing with another guild as a Warlock - pretty much a 180 degree shift from healing on a Paladin.  I went from being at the top of the game to being just another guy fighting for a raid spot and guild invite.  It's been a pretty crazy three weeks, especially when you consider that I started as a fresh 85 wearing greens and am now rocking 4 or 5 pieces of BiS Firelands gear.  I'm sure that at the very least this is a reflection on how the game has changed over the last seven years, and I will still say that it's for the best.

I'm still settling into my new home though, and there's that growing period where you're learning the new jokes, and the other members are trying to figure out why you keep offering them watercolors.  I even did a complete quote segment from Bull Durham, and the only person who got it was Ed.  /sadface

Learning the Warlock has been crazy fun, though I will say that if there's one thing that really irritates me it's that each spec focuses on a different secondary stat.  WTF is that about?  Now to be fair, I'd probably be bitching the other way if every Warlock spec was the same except for the spells you cast (though they aren't far off now).    No, it's just the fact that Affliction needs haste to the point where I'm trying to find a Meth dealer in the dwarven district (I miss the Belves and their crazy drugs).  Demo abuses mastery to no end, and Destro wants crit like the fire mages they are.  While your basic gear is enough to get you through most spec changes, a reforge is really in order to eek out those last few points.

Of course I've put that reforger guy's kids though braces, perp school, college, and even set up a substantial dowry for them at this point.  Of course Night Elves don't reproduce that often, but have you seen their teeth?  Good lord, no wonder he's so happy to see me every other day.  Now I really wish I had that old screenshot of Psycho's teeth - enough to make a baby cry.  Seriously.  Worst.  Teeth.  Ever.  Even worse than Jaws in Moonraker (no Mr. Bond, I expect you to die [yeah, I know that wasn't Jaws] ), Psycho's teeth were terrible.

Of course, I don't NEED to reforge every fifteen seconds, but damn if it doesn't hurt when I don't have enough crit as Destro.  Hard casting Soulfire sucks.

Missing a guild first


Since I started raiding in Vanilla, I've missed only one guild first kill - and that was the original Ragnaros in Molten Core.  Every other guild first, when I've been a "raider" in a guild, I was there for.  My pedigree is long and distinguished (just like Iceman's johnson), and while my guild first kills were rarely server firsts (and never, ever world firsts, they were still GUILD firsts.

Monday was the first time that I'd missed a guild first kill, and ironically enough, it was Ragnaros again.  What a bastard.  Monday night happened to be my night on standby, and the guild got an awesome kill after an especially heartbreaking .4% wipe.  Those are the worst.  I think it's especially bad on a fight like this where you know you only have to hit 10% (like the Lich King fight).  Obviously the fight is tuned to the point that the 10% mark is really where it needs to end, but it's still a ball breaker.

The good thing is that I know I'll get in on the next kill, it's not like he's going anywhere.  And I'm sure I'll be in on a guild first heroic kill that someone else has to miss.  It's just the nature of the game and the guild.  I certainly don't regret that I have one night off every week, and that I have the flexibility to miss a night if needed.

Where I landed


So if you're looking for me, you can still catch me from time to time on Pistonhondo, and I'll still be putting in my 2 cents on the state of the Healadin (Holy Radience is fine - seriously - we do NOT want a channeled heal), as well as my thoughts on being a Warlock.  You can find Apokalyptiko hanging out on Moonrunner with Vidalya of Manalicious.  And seriously, she hates the onion jokes.  They're old.  

Thoughts for Rookies

I've never tried to make it a secret that in my opinion, WoW Insider, while a decent read, is pretty much useless for anyone playing beyond the base 85.  This isn't a knock against the writers or the site itself, there are just better sites for getting the nitty gritty info that you might need for raiding or serious theory-crafting.  I will admit that I've picked up a few tidbits for UI tweaking and the like, and for news they're pretty good - but I've also come to the following realization.

I am not their target audience.

Now, where WoW Insider does do a great job is with their WoW Rookie series.  Sure, it's tough to get everything you need in a couple of blog posts, but they try to give you at least a sample of what to expect and where to go for more.  After all, you shouldn't get the entire game spoon fed to you.  Believe it or not though, there are actually new players picking up the game.  While it's easy to dismiss the 45th hunter wearing spirit cloth off as a complete noobcake, it's very possible that they simply don't know any better.  Like I mentioned before, I currently have a guildmate that didn't know what a TABARD was for - how can I expect him to grasp the intricacies involving haste and mastery?  Should I REALLY be surprised when he's wearing Spirit cloth as a non-Spirit user?

Helping someone in the LFD


I'm fairly certain that the LFD has passed the random BG in terms of being a complete cesspool of humanity.  At least in a RBG you can get away with turning off BGchat and you'll still do fairly well if you keep your eyes open.  While I'm not advocating the Lone Ranger type play, it's easier to pull off than in a LFD group.   Of course given the average communication in a random is maybe a "hey" or "go faster", it's not surprising when the first real sentence to escape someone's mouth is nothing more than a string of profanity and insults.

I'm getting off track though, which just goes to show you the power of the LFD idiots.  What I wanted to talk about today was how taking five minutes might actually help someone enjoy their game, instead of logging off in a fit of frustration, or tears.  While I know it's tough to imagine, all of us were new to WoW at one point - even the elite players in Paragon and Stars.  While past experiences might give you an edge, everyone has a first time, and that first time will set the stage for future play.

The hunter in Spirit gear


We've all seen at least one, admit it.  While catching one at 85 in a heroic is grand cause for a /facepalm, what about one at level 20?  While I've recently been spending all my time grinding Ramkahen rep with my Lock (yes - I still need rep, and the boots are better till I get a pattern or Shannox coughs some up), every once in a while I need to do something different, so I work on my baby Druid.  Now the LFD is a pretty quick way to level to 60, even if I am queueing as DPS, and it saves me the stress of having to heal the retarded tank of the day.

Back to the hunter.

So this morning I get in a group with a nasty mouthed tank, a healing priest, warrior, and this hunter.  I'm the only one rocking full BoAs, and we all know that it's really easy to just decimate an instance when you're geared that way.  So I'm watching the group while learning how Eclipse works, and I see this hunter - in cloth - keeps pulling mobs.  Now, he's not pulling and then FDing on the group, he's either a bot or just used to being able to kill non-elite trash.  Immediately calls of Huntard, "Stop pulling noob", and much worse go out.  I felt bad for the guy, so I took a minute to actually talk to him.

It turned out that this WAS their first toon (or they were just acting), and they simply didn't know what they were about.  They were wearing a dress because it was enchanted, and they had no idea why they should be looking for any kind of special gear.  Instead of belittling them, I pointed out a few quick tips, directed them to WoW Rookie (sending someone like that to EJ is just cruel), and the rest of the run went smoothly.  Well, as smoothly as that type of run can go.

Even Ed has feelings


While I do have some difficulty  beliving this statement, it's true.  Behind the keyboard (usually) is another person, and that person probably has feelings that they'd like to keep intact.  Even that hunter doing 4k in your 85 heroic might not just be a turd, but someone who has never had anything explained to them.  As easy as WoW has become over the years, there's still nothing in game that tells you "Get some AGI and skip the INT gear hunter boy".  Despite the new information about available talents, stat bars, and ease of leveling - it's tough to really max out your characters without going for external information.

So instead of opening up with hostility, maybe take a moment to try and help someone on the other end.  While I don't advocate holding their hands all the way through, at the very least you can point them to a good resource, or offer a nugget or two of information.

Analyzing a death/wipe - and recovering from a bad night

So I was going to write a post for an actual WoW rookie that is in my guild.  I'm constantly surprised by the questions he asks, and they aren't just /facepalm questions either, but questions like "What are tabards?" and a complete lack of understanding as to what a raid is.  I mean, how do you respond when someone sees a 10 Tabards achievement pop up, and they don't know what a tabard is?  Or how to check ranks in a guild?  But this post is not for him, it is instead for me - and everyone who's ever had a night of raiding that didn't turn out like you'd planned.

Analyzing a death


Now part of this carries over from my time as a raid leader/MT/healer, but this is what I do.  When I start tanking floor I immediately pull up Recount to see my death log.  I want to know why I died, and if I could have prevented it.  This goes double right now, because I'm still a trial raider, and I hate dying to environmental that I can avoid.  Plus I know my DPS still isn't as high as it should be, so I'm really critical of my own play.

Now wipes happen, and bad raid nights happen.  We used to be pretty cyclical in TI, in that one week we'd go 12/12 in 18 minutes, and the next week we'd struggle to get 3/12 (ok, not that extreme, but you get the point).  This is compounded when you're rotating raiders, and having tanks/healers fill the different roles.  While that's good (in that you're not dependant on that one tank who always goes up on Beth), it can also lead to extra wipes because they're doing something different.

Of course since I'm not healing at the moment, and I'm not raid leading, my primary focus is me.  Tank fell over and went boom?  I look at what I was doing, and if that in any way impacted the death.  If the answer is no, I go back to analyzing what I was doing right (and wrong) up to that point.  Now if I'm the first one to hit the deck, it's another story - and then it's really time to pour over those logs.

Looking at my deaths


So last night I think I had two (maybe 3?) deaths where I was the first to hit the deck.  One, on Alysrazor (I'm sorry Kurn - she's forever Alice-razor in my mind), I died on our first pull.  First transition to P2, and poof - dead warlock.  Looking at the logs, I died to Searing Winds - in the exact mirror position of where I normally am (I usually get assigned to the right side, not the left).  The only thing I could see is that my skeleton was actually off the ground by about 10' - so I have to think that the game assumed I was up in the air, even though I only had one feather (as a note, I don't normally get one - maybe this was it?).  So I chalk that death up to something I can't control.  I wasn't too close to the middle, I wasn't high up on the side - I just died.

WoW - 1, Apok - 0

Now my next death was on Rhy.  I died to Volcano Eruptions - something I can't control.  Even looking at the WoL, while I took some stomp damage (that's on me), I was also getting smacked by some adds (DPSing too early).  Because the death was due to high volcano stacks though, I'm chalking this up to something outside my control.

WoW - 2, Apok - 0

Now this death was embarrasing.  I had my camera slaved over to the side, becuase I KNEW a lava line was coming.  While looking for it though, Rhy crossed over me, and the lava was under his foot.  I died, but what I should have done was move.  This was my fault, as I should have been moving when I saw him coming to block my vision.  I was so focused on killing the adds though, I didn't move, trusting that I'd see it when it spawned.

WoW - 2, Apok - 1

Looking deeper


Over the course of a night, that's not too bad (other deaths were just wipes - this is only deaths where I died first).  It wasn't flawless play, but it wasn't bad.  The problem is, our entire raid was having the same kind of night.  When that happens, it's a long freaking night.  I fully expect that tonight we'll knock things over and get time on Rag, but it's still frustrating.

At the end of a night, look at the death log in WoW to see what happened.  Check and see if players are using self CDs, Healthstones, pots, etc - anything to delay their deaths.  It's also a good way to see if someone stood in the giant big, or if they died to some other mechanic.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something for our WoW rookie.  I feel kind of bad for him - I know it's got to be confusing to watch gchat and not know what's going on.

To host ads or not

First - I will say that I will not be putting ads up on my blog.  I'll cover my reasons behind this in depth, but the long and the short of it is that I think in 99.9% of the cases, they're just dumb.  Obviously, I don't have any math to back up this revolutionary thought, but I'll give a go at why they make no sense.

I don't visit your site in the first place


I do the vast majority of my blog reading though a feeder.  The only time I visit a site directly is when I feel the need to comment on a particular topic, and that's not too often.  Usually by the time I get to a site my comment has been voiced 85 other times, and it just gets lost in the noise.  Unless I feel like I'm actively discussing something, I don't comment.  I accept that this is how I work, and so while I love comments, I don't freak out when I don't get any.  A comment of "totally agree" just doesn't do much.  A comment that continues discussion is pretty nice.

More to the point though, is that I don't even know what my site looks like half the time.  I do a lot of my posts via email, and I kind of forgot that my site was even as dark as it was.  I actually get surprised by the design of some sites, just because hey - I've read their posts for years, and never visited the site once.

What really detracts from a site though is ads.  They're in your face, flashing, trying to seduce you into clicking on them.  Does anyone still click on these?  I can't remember the last time I saw an add on a website and thought "oh man, that is EXACTLY what I've been looking for".  I don't even click an ad to get to Amazon.  If I want to find a site I'll either Google it myself, or put in the URL I know.

How much money are you really making?


Unless you're getting thousands of hits a day, and by thousands I mean 10s or 100s of thousands, your annual revenue from click through ads is going to be somewhere around $4 a month - maybe enough to get yourself a double-double and a doughnut at Timmy's.  Most of us probably lose more than that in our couch cushions - I know my wife pulls more than that in change out of my backpack every week.

So again, unless you're racking in the hits, your odds of making any kind of cash through something like Adsense are really, really, low.  Plus, unless you're negotiating for your own ads with companies you support, I don't think there is really any control over what ads show up.

Is it worth the cost?


In the end you have to ask if the revenue you're generating from random ads is worth the cost to your soul.  If you can slap on an Engin banner and get free hosting - maybe that's worth it.  Right now though, my blogspot account is free, my Vent/Mumble server costs something like 3 bucks a month, and I think the guildlaunch no ads site is what - $10 a year?  I'll throw that money out of my own pocket to know that I don't have junk on my site that I don't want.

Crazy mouse/camera problem

I have an issue going on right now that I'm hoping can be solved pretty easily.  Every once in a while, usually I think when I'm transitioning targets or moving my mouse around pretty crazy, my camera shoots straight up - so I'm looking at the sky.

WTF?

Fortunately it hasn't happened while I"m trying to dodge a wrench or something, but it is disorienting and confusing as hell.  It's easy enough to recover from, just - makes me curse a bit.

If anyone knows a camera setting I can make in the interface to prevent this, that'd be great.

Three heals or two?

Ahh - the question that has plagued raid leaders for years, or at least since 10m were introduced in BC.  Raid composition and roster juggling is one of the major headaches for any raid leader or GM.  Maintaining a bench is hard enough, but making sure your bench isn't just filler is even tougher.  Don't rotate often enough, and your bench players won't have the gear or experience to get you though those new nights.  Rotate too much, and nobody gets enough.  It's a fine line to walk.

Tanks, healers, and special cases


Regardless of what you might want, there are certain players who are always needed - at least one tank, two healers, and any special cases (legendary fragment recipients come to mind) that must be in a raid.  Now, a good raid leader will make sure that every tank/healer combo is a) valid and b) has time on boss.  It doesn't do you any good when your 3rd tank has to become the MT for a fight, and they've never seen it before.  The same goes for anyone in a 'clutch' role.  If only two people know how to do Magmaw's chains, and one is missing, you're probably going to wipe the first time someone new steps in.

In a standard setup though, you're probably going to need at least two tanks and two healers.  Adjustments after that are generally case by case.

How many healers is enough?


Most guides I read call for a two tank, three healer, combo for every fight.  This setup is pretty safe, since it gives you extra healing for those AoE moments, and gives the healers a chance to compensate for poor play on the part of the DPS and tanks.  Now by poor play, I mean the combination of several different things.  Tanks that don't use CDs, players that take avoidable damage (flame waves on Ragnaros are NOT delicious, nor are they fun to ride), and other healers who have poor spell/mana control.  The other thing a third healer gives you is flexibility of playstyle.

Flexibility of playstyle isn't compensation for poor play, but instead is a different mindest to work off of.  With a two healer setup, each healer has to be completely fluid in their play.  You can't go with static assignments on the majority of fights (Chimaeron is an exception to this), and you have to be able to cover a lot of players in a hurry.  This type of healing really requires your raid to avoid as much damage as possible, and to use self healing where applicable.  This type of healing is (in my opinion) a lot more fun (read - stressful) since you can often find yourself on an island without backup.

Why three healing is better than two


Three healing fights instead of two healing gives you one major advantage - healers can focus on specific assignments.  Raid healers can ignore the tank, Paladins can do what we do best - keep the tank(s) alive, and DPS can use fewer CDs on self healing (sloppy play will still get you dead).  This isn't my preferred style, but there's nothing wrong with doing it.  It also allows you to have a healer absent, and still work through two healing an encounter - solo healing is going to be pretty tough in most of these encounters.

Why two healing is better than three


Things die faster.  Bottom line.  Let's say your DPS is all sitting within 3k of each other - so you have a range from 17k to 20k on any given boss fight (yes I know numbers fluctuate all the time, blah blah blah).  Now, if a boss has say 67M HP, and your raid is doing 100K DPS - it's going to take you 11.1 minutes to defeat that boss.  If instead, you bring 120K DPS, you're now looking at 9.3 minutes.  That's pretty significant.  Bosses dying faster means you're though transitions quicker, healers need less mana, tanks have less "scary" time in a certain phase - everything is just faster.

The bottom line


The real bottom line though is that you have to do what's right for your group/guild, and for the specific boss.  For example we 2 healed H-Atramedes, but had to use 3 for H-Chimaeron.  Even though I totally believe we 'could' have done H-Chim with two, there were just too many insta-gib moments to make it worth it.  Even with three healers we'd still lose a tank to a missed block, a slow 10k top off, etc.  H-Atramedes and H-Maloriak on the other hand just required that the raid avoid all the incidental damage possible.

Your raid makeup also plays a big part in this.  Getting a lot of incidental healing from a healing stream totem and vampiric embrace?  Are your raiders using GCDs to heal themselves with things like recuperate, word of glory, or drain life?  Are your tanks avoidance or stamina tanks?  Are your healers even comfortable two healing?  Does your Warlock life tap right after you've topped off a raid and told the mage to go ahead and trigger Ragnaros's trap, sending someones blood pressure straight to the top?

All of these things, and more, play into what kind of healing strategy you bring to the table.  The only wrong way is the one that doesn't get bosses killed.  As long as the bosses are dying, use five healers and three tanks (in 10m) if you need to.  You may not get the fastest kill in the world, but if you're having fun doing it, who gives a shit.

How much is that Thunderfury in the window?

Or put another way - it's time for another Internet rage!

There are some topics, and I'm pretty sure this will be one of them, that whip the blogsphere into an absolute feeding frenzy.  The hell with Shark Week, this is where the real blood is.

The newest chum in the water


Sometime in the last few days Blizzard announced that Diablo 3 will have a cash AH, meaning that crazy sword that dropped can now be sold for cold hard cash instead of being pawned off on a vendor or sold on an AH for mere electronic gold.  Of course there will be an AH for that as well, and if you don't have enough gold to buy it, you can always get more from the cash AH.

That's right - there is going to be an exchange for real currency here.  I can sell you my Giant Codpiece of the Whale for your cold hard US Dollars (seriously, can we get the Activision/Blizzard guys in Washington to settle this debt thing?).  Now there are a few caveats to this service.

• THIS IS NOT FOR WOW - I felt it needed to be bolded and capitalized for emphasis.  I swear I've read more comment/posts about how it will affect WoW, and at least for today - it won't.  I'm not saying it won't show up, or that it's even a bad idea - just that right now this has zero impact on WoW.  
• Blizzard is going to hit you three times - Right now, when you sell something you have three fees between you and your money.  First, you have to pay a cash deposit to list the item.  Auction expires, you lose that money.  Second, you lose a cut of the auction to Blizzard when the item sells (I don't know if you get your deposit back or not).  Finally, if you want to cash out your Blizzard.net account (where the money sits), you pay a third fee for that.  
• There is no spoon - I don't really have a third point here, other than since I think D3 isn't an MMO, won't have balanced PvP (i.e. less balanced than WoW is), and there's no real race for world Hardcore First (maybe there will be?) - selling the items doesn't really impact anything.

Going forward

Personally, I think this is a genius move by Blizzard, and I'm surprised it took so long to become reality.  I'm not sure I'd like to see this in WoW, because while I'm perfectly ok with dropping 2500g to powerlevel tailoring on my Warlock, I'm not sure how I'd feel about spending say - $25 (probably way more than that) to accomplish the same thing.  I mean, what is a stack of Embersilk really worth?  50g?  Sure, why not.  Fifty cents?  I don't know.  Of course with microtransactions it's easy to get nickle and dimed into spending a small fortune.  Oh, look - just $1.00 for a whole stack of crystals!  I'll just get three of those, and $2.00 worth of herbs, and....shit, the mortgage is due.

I'm going to hold off my final opinion on this type of AH until D3 actually launches and I see it in action.  Right now I'd be hesitant to see it in WoW, but I'd bet money that if it works well in D3 we'll see it (or something like it) in Titan.  We have to accept that companies are going to make money any way they can, and also that players will use any method possible to gain power and items.  As long as someone is selling, the parent company might as well attempt to regulate it - and make money on it.