Dear Bones,
Where have you gone to? You sir, have been hands down the single best pickup group member I've had the pleasure of raiding with. You had consumables, reagents, and winter flying. You didn't quibble when we kicked some idiot from the group, and you didn't stand in fire. You offered to heal if needed, and didn't fill chat with damage meters or useless chatter.
Simply put, you did your job, and didn't let anyone down.
Well done sir, well done.
P.S. - we miss you in our other PUGs...come back.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Off Topic Rant - Bathroom Etiquette
So this is way off topic, but involves the center of my office world - the bathroom.
It may be just me, but there are certain things one does or does not do while using a public restroom. Washing of hands, courtesy flushes, etc.
What one does not do is talk to the other occupants while they are using the urinal. I mean seriously, this isn't the water cooler. If you want to chat me up, come to my office. I don't bust into your bathroom at home just to have a good chat - and really, why do you feel the need to talk to me at all? This is right up there with not washing your hands and then leaving me to wander the office all day looking for the shoes that matched the no washing.
No wonder I don't like the people I work with. Filthy buggers.
No wonder I don't like the people I work with. Filthy buggers.
Our perfect night - almost
Last night was a total zerg fest - and it was amazingly awesome. We started about 15 minutes late waiting on our resident rogue, but then rolled into Ony. It seems Blizzard reads my Blog - because Lady Prestor was not amused and we actually wiped twice. Well - the first one was because both tanks ran into the whelp cave to go for the achievement - and we both DC'd. Oops. The second was just due to being dumb. Our DPS is so high that she's landing around the time the whelps are burned down. This makes getting her back into position a touch tricky.
ToZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Into ToC regular. Total zerg, very boring. I think there was one moment where a battle rez was used because the hunter was being silly - but that may have been on Heroic......I'm pretty sure we're not even trying any more in regular. It's a lot of fun though, since we almost pushed Anub into Phase 3 before he had a Phase 2......
One request to Blizzard - let me get back to the tournament grounds without having to go to Dalaran. That's just annoying. I've saved you all from a loose demon, I've killed Arthas's minion, and I've battled the most annoying PvP team that the Alliance can toss at me. Why oh why must I go back to Dalaran when I just want to reset the instance as heroic and start over?
Tribute to more than 45 attempts (skill? Insanity? Skilled Insanity?)
Either way - we got it done last night. Four wipes on FC was our only stumble, although we're still falling apart at the end of Phase 3 on Anub. I think there were three left standing at the end, and two of those died to the DoT. Still, a kill is a kill. I just wish I'd Fraps'd this one.
So from Trash to Cash - just over two hours for 33 badges, and a whole lot of loot out of ToC. Getting four idols is really nice, as I'm sure folks will want to get multiple sets of gear (greedy hybrids). I'm saving up my tokens for my 245 set pieces and some Furious Gladiator stuff.
If anyone has any tips on making a tanking video more interesting (let's be honest, how long can you watch Ony's face breathe fire on someone?) I'm all ears. I'm trying to get some collaborative work done with our Disc priest - maybe shoot the video from multiple angles.
I may be healing a 25 man ToC this weekend, if so, I'll have some numbers and feedback on how much I suck at healing now.
ToZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Into ToC regular. Total zerg, very boring. I think there was one moment where a battle rez was used because the hunter was being silly - but that may have been on Heroic......I'm pretty sure we're not even trying any more in regular. It's a lot of fun though, since we almost pushed Anub into Phase 3 before he had a Phase 2......
One request to Blizzard - let me get back to the tournament grounds without having to go to Dalaran. That's just annoying. I've saved you all from a loose demon, I've killed Arthas's minion, and I've battled the most annoying PvP team that the Alliance can toss at me. Why oh why must I go back to Dalaran when I just want to reset the instance as heroic and start over?
Tribute to more than 45 attempts (skill? Insanity? Skilled Insanity?)
Either way - we got it done last night. Four wipes on FC was our only stumble, although we're still falling apart at the end of Phase 3 on Anub. I think there were three left standing at the end, and two of those died to the DoT. Still, a kill is a kill. I just wish I'd Fraps'd this one.
So from Trash to Cash - just over two hours for 33 badges, and a whole lot of loot out of ToC. Getting four idols is really nice, as I'm sure folks will want to get multiple sets of gear (greedy hybrids). I'm saving up my tokens for my 245 set pieces and some Furious Gladiator stuff.
If anyone has any tips on making a tanking video more interesting (let's be honest, how long can you watch Ony's face breathe fire on someone?) I'm all ears. I'm trying to get some collaborative work done with our Disc priest - maybe shoot the video from multiple angles.
I may be healing a 25 man ToC this weekend, if so, I'll have some numbers and feedback on how much I suck at healing now.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A Tribute to Skill
Shot from the tank's perspective - it's fairly boring towards then end as you just see me standing there with the occasional add sticking his tail in my face.
Monday, September 28, 2009
LFG Idiots - a small rant
I'll be the first to admit that I'm something of an instance snob. I refuse to run Brewfest with anything other than guild mates (primarially because I don't need anything, or want anything, from there - there's not even badges for crying out loud), I hate ToC, and the Occulus can get bent. Of course this is on my Paladin - on my alts I'll take whatever I can get.
It's also true that for every bad PuG there seems to be a good PuG - or at least one good PuG member. This is the guy who helps summon, isn't an idiot, or at least does some decent baseline DPS. I personally love seeing a PUG with a ton of Heirloom items as well - because at least you know they put in some time with one other toon - so they should know the basics at least.
My real rant
I hate PuGs that base entrance or acceptance on arbitrary numbers. LF 3k DPS, 2k SP, 30k HP, etc. Of course my true favorites are those that want you to link Starcaller before you can get into a Naxx 10. 90% of the time all this leads to is a busted run. Sure - nobody wants to carry the 400 DPS fury warrior (really - how is that possible?) through a run or a raid - but you won't get that information until you see him play. Hell - I could state that my mage is a 3k mage, and she might be - if I blew all my CDs on a massive trash AoE.
What you dont know is if I can manage my mana properly. Will I be on fumes at the end of a 30 second fight? Do I know when I should use defensive CDs while tanking? Take your chances with the rest of us. Sometimes you get gold - othertimes you get a gold plated turd.
Just because we're successful
Doesn't mean I want to pick out curtains with you. Sure, you can friend me - but don't think I'm going to tank/heal any old heroic for you just because I'm on. Now, if more badge/token pieces were BoE - different story. I've got to earn those badges the hard way on my alts though, and the invites just don't fly in as fast on the old mage.
Finally - if you're in a melee DPS role, and we have to hunt around looking for a healer - then yes - I'm going to roll on that healing neck that may not be 100% itemized for my DPS. Your offspec can go pound sand.
It's also true that for every bad PuG there seems to be a good PuG - or at least one good PuG member. This is the guy who helps summon, isn't an idiot, or at least does some decent baseline DPS. I personally love seeing a PUG with a ton of Heirloom items as well - because at least you know they put in some time with one other toon - so they should know the basics at least.
My real rant
I hate PuGs that base entrance or acceptance on arbitrary numbers. LF 3k DPS, 2k SP, 30k HP, etc. Of course my true favorites are those that want you to link Starcaller before you can get into a Naxx 10. 90% of the time all this leads to is a busted run. Sure - nobody wants to carry the 400 DPS fury warrior (really - how is that possible?) through a run or a raid - but you won't get that information until you see him play. Hell - I could state that my mage is a 3k mage, and she might be - if I blew all my CDs on a massive trash AoE.
What you dont know is if I can manage my mana properly. Will I be on fumes at the end of a 30 second fight? Do I know when I should use defensive CDs while tanking? Take your chances with the rest of us. Sometimes you get gold - othertimes you get a gold plated turd.
Just because we're successful
Doesn't mean I want to pick out curtains with you. Sure, you can friend me - but don't think I'm going to tank/heal any old heroic for you just because I'm on. Now, if more badge/token pieces were BoE - different story. I've got to earn those badges the hard way on my alts though, and the invites just don't fly in as fast on the old mage.
Finally - if you're in a melee DPS role, and we have to hunt around looking for a healer - then yes - I'm going to roll on that healing neck that may not be 100% itemized for my DPS. Your offspec can go pound sand.
Some little things
First - I learned this week that I'm an absolute moron when it comes to my blog. I can recite Cisco commands from heart, rebuild a SQL database from memory, and have the IP of every major device in my office memorized - but I didn't realize I was writing all my blogs in the "Edit HTML" tab. No wonder I didn't have any options for lists or fonts.
Second - I at least figured out how to resize the YouTube videos I embedded, so I could go back to the style sheet I liked. They're small - but I figured folks could edit them in as they see fit. Now if I could just figure out how to make a link go back to wowhead on mouseover (so I can link items and talents without having to click on them to go there) I'd be sitting really pretty.
Finally - a small drawback to the mage Arcane spec. Our resident buffet provider went Arcane after the patch, and to make the most of his talents (whatever one it is that gives him SP for damage absorbed) the Disc priest and I have been shielding him all the time. On the plus side - he does a lot more damage. My SS and our disc priest's PW:S are pretty tough. Add that to his own mana shield, and his SP is through the roof. The drawback is that he lives a lot more now. We used to depend on him dying - it was a measure of a good pull if he died, but we didn't wipe.
We've lost that now.
As an aside - I'm now torn about what to do with my new badges. I've got all the tank gear I need/want - aside from my tier tokens - and I've saved up enough badges to buy those once I get the idols. I see no point in replacing my ilvl 245 gear with 232 T9 - even though the 4 piece is pretty sweet for some fights. I generally only heal for 2 or 3 fights (faction champs, Firefighter, Yogg+1) - so upgrading the healing gear isn't as crucial. I'm running 5/5 Deadly, with all the furious off set pieces except the cloak (another weekend and I'll be sporting that).
So the question is - do I get Furious gear with tokens, or wait until my 3s arena is high enough to get them? I wonder if I can get the savage off sets with a reasonable rating. Oh, and WTB PvP weapon for last season. There's something dumb about being all decked in PvP gear, but with PvE shield and mace strapped on.
Second - I at least figured out how to resize the YouTube videos I embedded, so I could go back to the style sheet I liked. They're small - but I figured folks could edit them in as they see fit. Now if I could just figure out how to make a link go back to wowhead on mouseover (so I can link items and talents without having to click on them to go there) I'd be sitting really pretty.
Finally - a small drawback to the mage Arcane spec. Our resident buffet provider went Arcane after the patch, and to make the most of his talents (whatever one it is that gives him SP for damage absorbed) the Disc priest and I have been shielding him all the time. On the plus side - he does a lot more damage. My SS and our disc priest's PW:S are pretty tough. Add that to his own mana shield, and his SP is through the roof. The drawback is that he lives a lot more now. We used to depend on him dying - it was a measure of a good pull if he died, but we didn't wipe.
We've lost that now.
As an aside - I'm now torn about what to do with my new badges. I've got all the tank gear I need/want - aside from my tier tokens - and I've saved up enough badges to buy those once I get the idols. I see no point in replacing my ilvl 245 gear with 232 T9 - even though the 4 piece is pretty sweet for some fights. I generally only heal for 2 or 3 fights (faction champs, Firefighter, Yogg+1) - so upgrading the healing gear isn't as crucial. I'm running 5/5 Deadly, with all the furious off set pieces except the cloak (another weekend and I'll be sporting that).
So the question is - do I get Furious gear with tokens, or wait until my 3s arena is high enough to get them? I wonder if I can get the savage off sets with a reasonable rating. Oh, and WTB PvP weapon for last season. There's something dumb about being all decked in PvP gear, but with PvE shield and mace strapped on.
Friday, September 25, 2009
10 man raid vs Ony 25
After getting our 25 attempts remaining "Tribute to Insanity" achievement last night, we were a little confused on what to do with the rest of our raid night. Algalon is still taunting us, but he doesn't seem as attractive any more. Instead we went down to the Wyrmbog, and decided to tackle 25m Ony - with just 10 folks.
Phase One
Damage was manageable, with a few spikes when I'd catch a wing buffet/cleave/breath all at once. Obviously manageable, as we went into Phase Two with both healers > 95% mana. For having 22 million HP, we were taking her down smoothly and evenly - no real problems.
Phase Two
Now it got interesting. The whelps weren't a big issue, but the guardians added a bit of a twist. They (unfortunately) took so long to burn that our ranged wasn't getting any real time on Ony. This is where we finally wiped. I will say though, that I think with a little more planning, we might have gotten closer. 57% with 10 people was our final number.
Bring on the PUGs!!
Hopping into trade I quickly rounded up a fair mix of retarded and good players. Obviously when we asked "How many did her pre BC" and we got a 100% "I did" folks were lying. Either that, or they were fire hugging, tail-whip eating, idiots in Vanilla. One DK - I swear to all that is holy - was tail whipped every single attempt - sometimes more than once.
He also kept dying to blastwaves from the guardians. Pro tip - if you see the tank running like hell from a mob - you should probably do the same. Kind of like that t-shirt "I'm with the bomb squad. If you see me running, try and keep up".
The PUG DPS wasn't great, a few were under the tank, but it was enough to push the old gal down into Phase 3. We had one Phase 3 wipe, but that was due to 1/3 of the raid getting cleaved while moving her into position.
Conclusion
The fight was a nice throwback, and we'll be farming her every week for those badges. Hopefully we can get a quick PUG again next week for the 25 man. Those extra 3 badges will add up quick.
Phase One
Damage was manageable, with a few spikes when I'd catch a wing buffet/cleave/breath all at once. Obviously manageable, as we went into Phase Two with both healers > 95% mana. For having 22 million HP, we were taking her down smoothly and evenly - no real problems.
Phase Two
Now it got interesting. The whelps weren't a big issue, but the guardians added a bit of a twist. They (unfortunately) took so long to burn that our ranged wasn't getting any real time on Ony. This is where we finally wiped. I will say though, that I think with a little more planning, we might have gotten closer. 57% with 10 people was our final number.
Bring on the PUGs!!
Hopping into trade I quickly rounded up a fair mix of retarded and good players. Obviously when we asked "How many did her pre BC" and we got a 100% "I did" folks were lying. Either that, or they were fire hugging, tail-whip eating, idiots in Vanilla. One DK - I swear to all that is holy - was tail whipped every single attempt - sometimes more than once.
He also kept dying to blastwaves from the guardians. Pro tip - if you see the tank running like hell from a mob - you should probably do the same. Kind of like that t-shirt "I'm with the bomb squad. If you see me running, try and keep up".
The PUG DPS wasn't great, a few were under the tank, but it was enough to push the old gal down into Phase 3. We had one Phase 3 wipe, but that was due to 1/3 of the raid getting cleaved while moving her into position.
Conclusion
The fight was a nice throwback, and we'll be farming her every week for those badges. Hopefully we can get a quick PUG again next week for the 25 man. Those extra 3 badges will add up quick.
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