Snowed In!

Winter in Wisconsin is…brutal to say the least. We got over 18 inches of snow last night and today was a snow day!  Which is great for the day after a patch.  Last night many people were getting locked in dungeons and otherwise just having not so much good times as to be expected after a big patch. 

I just did dailies to avoid most of the craziness. 

Today though I got to try out some of the new features!  There are really two things that really stand out as awesome in my mind.  One is the new quest/map combo thing.  It’s awesome.  Never being a fan of many add-ons, I never have used a quest helper or whatever the other ones might be called were.  So this new system is pretty nice because it kinda reminds me of quests that I might have picked up once but never got around to finishing.  Awesome.  Nothing but props to Blizzard there!

But the best system, hands down is the new LFG.  Now it might be because it’s just after patch and everyone is finishing up getting their badges or is after their free badges of frost or whatever, but the system has been so smooth.  The BEST feature of it is that it measures gear.  Now I have sworn up and down the board before that I hate gear scores, etc.  But this system makes sure that when I select random dungeon, or random heroic, that it’s not going to put me in something I’m not ready for.  A rogue in our guild just dinged 80 and it wouldn’t let us LFG for H ToC because of his gear, it said so plain as day!  It was kinda a neat feature.  We did it anyways.    But it ensures that even though you might want to do something it won’t always let you if you’ll be dead weight of sorts.

I sadly got rolled into Oculus on my second random roic.  He he, I’ve only been in there a few times as it’s generally everyone’s least favorite, but we did well and it all worked out.  I have to give props to Blizz on this system.

I also used it on a level 48 alt.  AWESOME!  For all those dungeons you love but never get to do?  Well, it didn’t take more than 10-15 minutes and the group was ready to go.  Off to Sunken Temple.  It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time!  The reward bag was full of a special blue quality item that was specific to whatever class and spec you are!  The mage, priest and druid all got appropriate spell casting gear while the tank got a piece with high stamina and I got some nice boots that had 15 strength and stamina on them for DPS.  Awesome. 

Aside from all that, the warlock demonology buffs are amazing.  I might still not be pulling as much DPS as the other guys, but my Soul Fires now crit for over 10k and I’m still in half or more than half blues!  It’s quite fun.  I’m looking forward to trying out more.

Haven’t done the new dungeon yet, but it’s not going anywhere, so I’ll get there.

3.3 Ready Check!

No, I won’t be ready for whatever raids they are rolling out.  But am I ready for the patch?  Yes.

I don’t really raid all that much, so my characters manage to get their gear from heroics, badges, and crafting and the occasional raid.  They’ve done okay for themselves all things considered.  And last night I made the final push for Schubert.  Since the emblem system will again change, I didn’t want him to be stuck with a bunch of badges he wasn’t going to have use for.  So I ground out a few more instances and got his T8.5 chest piece which gives that yummy bonus of 350 spell power for 15 seconds.  Last night, that procced as well as his abyssal rune, and his lightweave embroidery and BAM!  His spell power was over 3000!  At least for like 10 seconds.  He he.  It’s quite amazing to me because while other mages might see that much spell power on a more regular basis, for Schubert, who was my 3rd level 80 I’m quite impressed by him.  He might have become my best DPS for the time being.  Speaking of Schubert, I did H ToC the other day and I got “Hammer of Justice” from Eadric, and hit Ice Block to get out of the stun effect, much to my surprise his Hammer Appeared on my bar.  I chucked it back at him and bam!  I facerolled Eadric.  It might have been my favorite achievement that he’s earned.

I decided that Rossini the warlock is just going to hang out and wait for patch 3.3 before hitting the heroics.  He’ll be able to make some big improvements with the new badges and that will probably be the easiest way to gear him up.

As for the others, Floy had her one year birthday on December 4th.  I had a screenshot from the day she was created, pink pigtails and all.  I will likely spend a little time on her this weekend, I’m working on grinding out some materials to make the level 70 2-hander.  Just because I can. 

If the patch comes next Tuesday I’ll be pretty excited, there will be some nice buffs to the classes and specs that I enjoy, so I can’t complain about that!

December Already?

Ack!  Thanksgiving left me without much time to play.  That’s okay good times with family is always worth it.

I got back into WoW right away after craving it for days.  Realizing that I just need to put in some time on some of my toons, I did some dungeons with Schubert and my first roic with Rossini the lock.  He also managed to get his enchanting to level 450!  It’s awesome.  Hopefully now I can turn it into a little cash.

I had an e-mail conversation with Repgrind the other day.  We were talking about what if Cataclysm things really fell apart.  Like WAY apart.  That one dude Garrosh seems to be messing things up on the Horde side pretty well and so I started to think what if the Horde and the Alliance fell even further into separation.  What if there was a third or possibly even a 4th faction!??!  It would really mess things up.  It’s practically impossible to implement as a split like that would leave NE friends now not so friendly with their humans.  But if we entertain the idea for a little bit where would people end up?  What would the new alliances be?  After much conversation with her and figuring out what is most logical based on the lore, here’s what we came up with….

Faction 1
Night Elves
Tauren
Worgen

Faction 2
Humans
Draenei
Dwarves
Gnomes

Faction 3
Orcs
Trolls
Goblins

Faction 4
Undead
Blood Elves
Death Knights

WTF?  Death Knights as a faction?  Well it seems to make the most sense to us.  Toss them in with their undead friends and the Blood Elf sufferers.  I did mention that if I found out that Repgrinds DK Kalyon was responsible for Elgar’s mothers death back in the Plaguelands I’m pretty sure even if he was a member of the Alliance that Elgar would have a really hard looking past the past to someone who is now “reformed” as a friend.  No.  Not going to happen.  Thank god Elgar doesn’t role play!  Ha ha!

Obviously this faction mix up will not happen, but sometimes you have to wonder how it would all work out if things really started to fall apart.  I sometimes do wonder how the other Alliance race leaders take to the human King’s hot temper.  Some of those videos like the Ulduar release video made me hate the King.  Don’t tell him though.

Anyways, good times with bored e-mails at work.  Ha ha.  To leave on a fun note, today we happened across this link from Felicia Day.  I never laughed so hard.

One More Week! Please?

Ugh.  My only complaints with holidays in WoW that run concurrently with real holidays, is that they run concurrently with the real holidays.  Hear me out. 

Ha ha!  Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it’s just me.  Okay I love that there’s a Hallow’s end holiday, what I love about it is that it’s 2 weeks!  I have plenty of time to get the things done that I want.  What I’m not so into about the Pilgrim holiday is that it’s one week and it’s the week that includes Thanksgiving, not the one before or after.  I suppose that’s because I actually spend lots of time with my family and will be WoW-less pretty much from Tuesday night until next Sunday night. 

It’s my own thing yes, but ugh, this was one holiday that I really wanted to check out since it’s new!!  I’m pretty sure that I won’t have enough time to get everything done.  I suppose there’s always next year!  I just wish I had one more week.    Especially since our Pilgrim tables were bugged in IF and SW yesterday.  Boo!  I usually run into the same issue around Christmas, I just find myself with not enough time to play during that period to get the Holiday things done.

DPS Meme

So I got tagged from Repgrind and here’s my response.  Since there’s so much mage love coming from people on the blogs I read, I eventually settled on the Mage as my DPS choice.  Though it was hard to decide!!  Even now I’m sitting here thinking…maybe I should have gone with the warlock?

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?

Oh god!  Question one is so difficult!!  What’s this “main” you speak of?  I suppose I’ll have to go with Troutwort himself.  But oh man, I love Schubert!!  Why the choices?  Because even now Rossini the warlock is so much fun!!  Okay okay…since I was tagged from a mage, maybe I’ll go with a mage, since we have some different mage thoughts.  Brewmaster Schubert the mage, he is dual specced fire and frost.  He’s done most of his everything as frost.

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)

Mostly 5 mans.  Raids are always a good time, but I just can’t seem to fit many into my constantly changing schedule.  I don’t really care for the repeated death of PvP.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?

Okay, it’s going to be Mirror Images, not because it’s awesome, but because it makes so many gnomes!

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?

I don’t think I have EVER cast arcane missles.  Never.  Seriously, never.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?

As frost the thing I like the most is that I have enough survivability that I don’t take as much damage as some of the other DPS classes, also replenishment!!  Having a main as a healer, I understand the love of replenishment.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

The biggest weakness of frost spec is that the DPS is lower than other mage specs, hopefully with patch 3.3 we’ll get some love.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?

Schubert, sadly, has never been on a 25-man. 

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?

Anyone that gives me bonuses to haste and spell power, so I have a love for the elemental shaman.

What tanking class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?

I don’t think there’s a tank class I don’t like.  They all have strengths and weaknesses and since I’m pretty much single target I don’t worry about agro too much.  And when or if I shoot the wrong mob, I can kite them around, freeze them, sheep them, and otherwise deal with them on my own so that there is no worry. 

What is your worst habit as a dps?

Freezing mobs!  Whoops, I know that I shouldn’t do it as much as I do, it’s harder on the tanks, but I like to freeze the AOE groups then blizzard them down with super crits from the freeze!

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

I’m actually far too judgmental of the healers, being mostly a healer, I criticize them too much.  But for the other DPS, it’s when they run ahead or are generally not respectful of the tanks and heals.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?

Frost is behind the other mages, but they have so much control relative to the others as well, so it makes up for it.  More haste please!!

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a damage dealer?

I guess recount?  Nothing really though.  Mostly I evaluate my performance if I’m alive at the end of the fight and the boss is dead. 

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

Glass cannons.  Yes, it’s true, but we have many survivability tools, especially as frost.  The other misconception is that I’ll be a hazard because of low DPS, they usually fail to remember that frost gives replenishment.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?

Do what you’re told.  DPS the mob you’re supposed to, remove the curses, poisons, etc. if you don’t have another class that can.  Your DPS meter is great, but you still need to be a team player to get the job done.  Also:  Dear Ret Paladins, Priests can’t cleanse poisons, you need to do it or you die.  Love Elgar, the priest.

What dps class do you feel you understand least?

Hmmm…I probably least understand Rogues and Warriors.  I’ve never made it past level 18 with either one of them.  So I’m not sure how they work beyond stun-locking me until I’m dead.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?

None?  That’s not totally true…well kinda actually.  I only use Decursive to help with dispelling things and hmm…I can’t even think of the UI I run…X-Perl, that’s it!  But I only use it when raiding.  Otherwise I’m pretty much looking at a vanilla screen.  I don’t like clutter.

Strength over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?

Hit cap isn’t too hard to reach for frost, was much more a challenge on fire.  I try to stack spell power otherwise, and I have this strange infatuation with Intellect.  Otherwise, Schubert loves him some haste!  I think the strength lies in the spell power though.

Another 80

Well, I finally made it. Character number 4 has made it to level 80. Rossini the warlock dinged 80 on Sunday, and then promptly ran off to help my roommate get through some Outland dungeons on her level 62 hunter. We did Ramps, Blood Furnace, Slave Pens, and Underbog. I probably should have been using the voidberry to tank, but I used the Felguard and he made quick work of most of the mobs. We ended up getting her about 1 bar from level 64 before she logged off. It was good times.

I then hopped in queue for regular ToC and got a group almost instantly. They were farming for some DK weapon or something, so we must have run it nearly 5-6 times. I got the abyssal rune and that’s it. I swear every piece of leather and mail must have dropped in there, but not a single piece of cloth. Boo. Not even the neck piece for casters. I was disheartened. They did invite my warlock to their guild though, but being the GM for Crits, I had to decline. It might look bad if the GMs alt runs off somewhere else.

Speaking of Crits, we’re growing, lots actually. It’s time to invest in a larger vent server. We’ve picked up many players who are casual raiders and the Crits evening crew now consists of many 80s who are ready for anything, and yet not crazed about raiding. It’s awesome. Many people have been inquiring about us as well as the good word spreads. We’ll need to start running 25s I guess and a couple of 10s each week. I’m still hoping that people will step up as raid organizers since I don’t raid much at all myself.

I’m hoping to get the warlock in on a few more ToCs and hopefully some of the easier heroics, he probably could be carried through, but I like to try and be useful. A Naxx-10 would be awesome; I might have to set that up in the guild. I bet there are plenty of alts that would go. Actually a Naxx-25 would be good for farming badges as well.

So now that there are 4 level 80s, and three of them are “satisfied” I’ll work on getting mostly epics for the warlock for a bit and then off to level up the next toon. The shaman, Borka. So then it will be both mail wearing classes, and all three cloth wearers. I have a feeling though that as I level up the final toons to make it to 80, the shaman, druid, DK, and dare the paladin even make it? I will be satisfied with them just making it to 80 and wearing a few crafted epics. That will probably be good enough for them. If I have 7 level 80s by the time Cat rolls out I’d be impressed and possibly embarrassed with myself.

The Great Patch Debate

Tonight talk of the patch came up in guild chat.  Nothing too serious, but someone complaining about the new badge system and how people will again be able to run heroics and get gear that is on par or just one set behind those who are raiding.  They were upset over “free epics”.

Okay, so maybe it’s just me, but I don’t care what kind of epics are at the end of the rainbow, doing the same dungeons over and over and over on 3+ level 80s so they can all get gear…boo.  So I don’t do it.  Maybe others do, but it seems like lots of work to me.  I tried to propose to this person that the patch has more to offer than just new gear, and isn’t the experience of raiding the real reason to go and the loot is just a special side effect?

They they complained that yes, the patch has more than gear, it has nerfs too.  I think I was talking to Mr. Negativity.  I then joked that if you play a non-favored class and especially a non-favored spec, you’ll always get buffs in the patches *cough cough* frost mages and demonology warlocks.  Now I’m not saying play a class or spec that you don’t like so that you always get buffs.  That’s not why I picked frost mage, I just liked playing it better – though I’m really enjoying fire since the dual spec. 

Patches are always dicey like that, though I can’t think of a patch where I was upset about it.  Well except when they nerfed penance.  But mostly I’ve been excited about the patches because there’s new content, new loot, new talents, new everything!  Even a nerf isn’t always bad, I sometimes want to say hey DKs, it’s not that you’re so awesome at DK, it’s that they made them too powerful over the other classes, so stop crying that you’re being put on par with the others.  He he. 

I’m still looking forward to the next patch, and to expansions.  Though there’s a lot more to do yet!  Speaking of which, I’ll never get Rossini to 79 by typing here instead of playing!

Crazy Screenshots

So I was digging through my screenshot folder in order to post some interesting shots and maybe recap about the Heroic Outland dungeons I did this weekend for reputation, but then I started to see some hilarious ones and figured it would be fun just to post these.  My folder sorts the files by name, so the shots taken on similar dates end up together…the thing is, the date isn’t always 2009.  Here are some great ones.

We killed Ony with 3 man in 2007 - I was playing the warlock, it's Rossini before he became a dude.

The sea level is sinking, but the icebergs are not.

Elgar in 2007, just started in Outlands!

Again in November 2007, the first flying machine I ever saw.

Back to WoW

Okay, so I’ve been MIA for a couple weeks.  It’s mostly that things at work and in my personal life got a little bit…how to say crazy, that I just haven’t even played WoW much itself!  So this post is mostly just an update to catch up on things.

Troutwort did NOT manage to get the hallowed helm during his halloween activities.  In fact during that crazy time the only thing I would do is log in Trout several times a night to trick or treat, then log off.  He hasn’t seen much love after that though did do a guild run of Ony-10 and did pretty good.  His gear isn’t too bad for what I want him to do.  In fact I might have mentioned it before,  but Trout is satisfied.  He’ll be alright for anything that I possibly would want to do until Cataclysm comes out.  Oh and I still hate that I should have a wolf pet, I really like the wasp better for DPS.

Elgar is similarly stagnant.  Though yesterday I spent time going through some Outland heroics for achievements.  I got exalted with the Cenarion Expedition and just 800 rep shy of exalted with Honor Hold.  I was inspired to reach exalted with all these old factions after hitting 15 exalted reputations the other day!  Most people like Elgar, it’s kinda his thing, it only helps he’s a priest.

Schubert had respecced fire and as of now I haven’t seen a huge increase in his DPS over frost.  I think I’m not doing something right…I think my problem is I want to stack scorches instead of using fireball all the time…I better practice more on him.  But he’s generally satisfied too and is sitting contentedly at 80.

Rossini the warlock has made it to 76 and hopefully today will make it to 77.  He seems to me to be very over powered and has 1500 spell power already!  I keep the Kara Wicked Witch had on him as it’s just too fun to toss out.  I know he’ll have to get a better one.  But I kinda want him to always have the pointy hat.  I want to ask Blizz, why no pointy hats in Northrend?  They have them in Azeroth and Outland!  /sigh

The rest is mostly chump change.  Though Kalinnikov my level 48 paladin has been doing some BGs and it’s quite fun.  I’m still pretty terribad at PvP, but it’s funny being the annoying paladin instead of trying to kill the annoying paladin.  Warlocks seem to make quick work of me though, I might be doing something wrong.

Okay, enough posting, time to get back to leveling.  I’ve got warlocks and shaman that need to hit 80.

Hallow’s End

Once again it’s time for Hallow’s End!  Everyone’s favoritest holiday.  It could be the pets, it could be candy, it could be the achievement, but mostly, it’s the Headless Horseman and his mount!  Elgar got his mount last year and has been making certain people envious ever since.  However, he never did the Hallow’s end holiday achievement.  Troutwort was surprisingly close to getting the things done.  I think he’ll be able to make it!  The hardest thing to finish up will be the transformations, sure I could have spent 10g a wand already from all the people selling their wand transformations, but instead I organized a guild event on Friday evening so that we can all transform each other as needed. 

I started doing the candy basket quests as well and managed to get both Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor done already.  Outlands should be a breeze.  The funny thing is that I didn’t realize just how much gold I could make from all that running about.  Of course, it was only afterwards that I realized I could have been finishing up my exploring as well.  Meh, it only would have made the whole thing take longer.

Due to all the life..we’ll call them ‘adventures’ and the holiday I haven’t done much of anything else.  I haven’t been in the mood to play many evenings which is too bad as there’s so much to do, I want to get Kalinnikov a few more levels here and there, but more importantly, I want to keep working on Rossini so that I can keep working on his enchanting.

Okay, that’s all the news for now, hopefully more Hallow’s End stuff coming up, Troutwort is going for the achievement, it shouldn’t be too bad.