Tuesday, January 20, 2009
You shouldent be here.
If you landed here on this blogger blog, you landed wrong.
I hope you didnt hurt yourself.
Your supposed to be here.
If you stay, you will be bored.
Go here now.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Road to Hall is Paved With QQ
Its okay MissElf, ppl R stoopid, we know. There there. You should totally tell off whoever inspired this post, and /ignore them. Just sayin'. (Oh.... Ranting is sorta your, thing, isint it? Well disregard then.)
And Z, my good friend. The Ripper is about 1000000^234 times better now. How can that be the straw for you? I mean, you have been holding back so long on how you really feel about change (read: you fear and despise it,) we know. you could always give the Ripper to me... First thing I did when I saw the change was the first thing you did; run screaming out of the room, throwing various things at the people we saw. But I did it because I was angry I never got the Ripper in the first place! See, my reasons for being rage-a-licious are so much more positive!
And I ask again, what... the... hell... is with Blizzard and Trolls and Axes?
Okay, back to my complaining about gear planning. I was wrong. But not because it doesn't cause some people to put the blinders on, and run only things they 'need.' No, I was wrong because there are so many other good ways to use gear plans, and indeed, they are almost necessary. My issue with gear planning on my blog is really much more simple. I hate gear planning. If I hate something, and I blog about it, its gonna suck. So, I have decided not to blog about gear planning! You see, what I really like about WoW is the game... of WoW. But, there is a problem, almost all WoW bloggers blog about gear planning. In fact, a lot do it almost exclusively. Some have a gift for it, others just compile lists of links. Instead, I am going to do something different. To fill that space on my blog, I am going to write definitive and complete guides to instances. They will be primarily tank oriented, but will cover how things are traditionally handled. What will make these guides different is that they are done by me, so I wont miss things, or gloss over things that are actually important or interesting.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Not A Post
This is not a blog post. You see, I decided to be lazy today, and not post at all. I know, I am a meanie. But, I decided to share some pictures of my first experience tanking in Wrath!
I got asked to tank Heroic Utgard Keep. See?
(I don't even know what I am saying.)
I got asked to tank Heroic Utgard Keep. See?
Wait, thats me playing with a Paper Zeppelin. I logged in, and these two cool dudes (whom I shall call Tweedledee and Tweedledum (up to you to decide which is which.) Started to throw the Zeppelin at me, so we made a triangle of tossing fun, it went on for hours, with giggling and merriment. Its just so cool how Dalaran brings people together, and with all the toys in Wrath, we do stuff now, instead of standing there, staring at some yuppie on his Mammoth. (Btw, no one cares about the mammoth you spent way too much money on, don't AFK in front of the bank.)
But, as all things do, the fun ended. As usual, it ended in a bear attack!!!!
Anyway, on to the tanking. (And not Bear tanking, remember folks, bears are evil.) So, we went in, and despite my fears, found the going was relatively easy. Even the bosses went down with relative ease, until Ingvar the Plunderer I honestly believe that it was a coordination issue, we made three attempts, the first time, no one told the healer to stop casting just before the Staggering and Dreadful Roars.
This is the first time I have shown these, this is from the addon Eavesdrop, which I highly reccomend. Anyway, at the end of each combat, it prints a summery. It goes Dmg In | Heal In | Heal out | Dmg Out. So, we can see that I took 69.6K Damage, but got healed for 79.6K, that's not bad, it means the ratio is at least survivable. However, something went wrong, as I said, and within the 6 second spell lockout of the Staggering Roar, I was dead.
On the second attempt the Deathknight took a smash, (btw, if your a DPS, its a really simple rule, stand behind the enemy, unless its a dragon, then you stand to the side, c'mon, folks!) The healer got panicked, and took another interrupt while trying to save the DK, and we wiped.
This attempt was a little less peachy, 48.2K in, and only 23.9K healed, a clear healing problem, which as I explained, was due to a mis-targeting on his part.
And then the third and final attempt was bad because, well, it was the final attempt. I really despise people who say things like, "last try." It puts too much pressure on the folks who may be learning or may be undergeared, and most people don't respond well. Sadly, I don't have a picture of the last death, it was obscured by a tooltip, but I don't blame others for failures, mostly because I don't control what others do with that blame, instead, I figure out what I could have done better, there is always some way to improve. After researching, I found that at one point I took a 15k hit from one of Ingvar's smashes. And that was not a crit. Simply put, I need better gear. I need a bigger health pool, 540 Defense, and better avoidance. I took this picture to show you where I was at.
Less than 18k health, (the DK had 20k, without Frost Presence.) and 529 Defense, is just not going to cut it. Im shooting for 25k health, 540 Defense, 20K armor, and 40% combined avoidance (Dodge + Parry,) for Naxx, and I have to say this was a wake-up call.
Just before the run, I replaced the last of my BC gear (except trinkets) with Pieces of the Tempered Saronite set, and got my hands on the Daunting Handguards and Legplates, In other words, there are no other crafted items that will help me archive my goals. I am loathe to spend a lot of money on enchants or gems at this point, and I don't think its necessary when the majority of my items are below item level 160.
So, what do I do, other than making a gear list? Well, I am going to identify my three weakest peices, and decide on how to get an upgrade, drum roll please....
***
First up, my Tundra Pauldrons gotta go. Its a shame, because although the values are too low, this is what I look for in a really good item, diversity in stats. Str, Sta, Shield Block, Defense, and Dodge, not bad.
Obviously, there is the Tempered Saronite Shoulders, but 8 more Defense Rating (1 more point of Defense) is not worth the loss of 26 Block Rating and 25 Dodge rating, so it is out.
That left me with this. That's Pauldrons of the Colossus from the Drakkari Colossus / Elemental in Heroic Gundrak or the Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons from General Bjarngrim in Heroic Halls of Lighting.
***
How in the world do I replace my Libram of Repentance? Ultimately I have to, 42 Shield Block Rating was 5.3% Block at level 70.... At 80? 2.5% Yet, in spite of this, its still almost the best in slot. Eventually, I will have to pick up a Libram of Obstruction for 15 Emblems of Heroism, but I am not looking forward to it. Maybe I am under-valuing Shield Block Value?
***
I am also going to need to replace my two trinkets Moroes' Lucky Pocket Watch, and Dawnstone Crab, but I am nervous. For whatever reason, I can use both of these trinkets at the same time for a mini-Evasion, at 70, I got 22.5% Dodge with both up, at 80, I get 11%. Still nothing to sneeze at, but I know I can do better. First up is crafting me a Monarch Crab, which is just wonderful because of the options the gem sockets give me. If I am still not defense capped, 2 Thick Dragon's Eyes, when I get the cap, I can switch to 2 Solid Dragon's Eyes, I do look forward to that. But as for the other Trinket? There is the Valor Medal of the First War for 40 Emblems of Heroism, but basically, I haven't found a good replacement? Are Trinkets like other items? Are the meant to be replaced? I hear that the Commendation of Kael'thas is still one of the best tanking trinkets in the game. Maybe Essence of Gossamer from Hadronox in Heroic Azjol-Nerub?
***
So, after planning that out, where am I? I need to run Gundrak, Halls of Lighting, and/or Azjol-Herub on heroic. But I also just need heroics, and hell, it wouldn't be bad to go back to Magisters' Terrace? Maybe I hate gear plans so much because I suck at it?
BTW, this was not a blog post, if it appeared to be a blog post at any point, you are mistaken, and should have stopped reading. You had been Post-Warned?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Long Live the King
I guess I just dont agree. But this is for me personally, and before I go into my specs, I wonder, in what situations, should a paladin not pick up Kings? In order to frame that question, we have to understand the history. Kings has been with us since sometime before I started playing, at that point, Blessing of Kings was the protection 11 point talent. It was with the release of Wrath of the Lich King that it was moved to tier one, but as a 5 point talent. (Split, as is required by the technology, into one one pointer, and another four pointer.)
But the interesting bit about the history of Kings is its efficacy over time. No one argues that a flat 10% increase to all stats is one of the best buffs in the game, the argument is whether it is the best buff. If it is truly the best buff, then Palordin is right, all paladins should have it. I am no longer convinced it is best. For some specs and classes, it absolutely is (warlocks, looking at you here.) But that fact tells us a lot. When BC came out, stats other than attributes became far more common, because of the new rating system. In other words, a much higher percentage of your crit chance came from your Critical Strike Rating than it did from Agility. In addition, as was always the case with Spell Damage and Healing (now Spell Power,) Attack Power has become a key stat, instead of being constructed almost entirely from Strength and/or Agility. Kings only helps those classes and specs that stack attributes, for the other classes, Kings is more of a questionable prospect.
I am not suggesting that Kings is not hugely beneficial, or even, in many situations, the best blessing out there. All I am saying, is that Blessing of Kings should be much more thoroughly inspected than it is.
But, all that discussion, however academic and intriguing, is entirely moot for most players. Most players need to be aware of the needs of their guilds or raids, not taking a rule of thumb as the gospel. Only one Paladin should be required to take Kings if there is more than one per raid. And for me personally, I do not take Kings in my Protection build.
I take Pursuit of Justice. That's because I am a freak. (Which, therefore, should make you wonder if you should have even listened to me about Kings in the first place.) This is my protection build. I love it, because for me, the build has to have a certain amount of me in it. I cannot stand cookie cutter builds.
For me, Pursuit of Justice more than makes up for the loss of some of the other talents I have to give up, and I have never had a problem doing my job. (Incedentially, the threat game is over, folks, why are we so focused on Seals of the Pure?) In addition, Pursuit of Justice helps me tank better in many situations where I am required to reposition myself or the boss. And the disarm reduction is a nice bonus, even if its largely meaningless.
There are required talents, so be sure, but Kings doesn't make you a lesser Tank, DPS/Battery, or Healer. Its incidental. We have never been stacked in a raid for it (that was for Salvation.) The buff itself is often not used when raids have no paladins. It is not required. But if you want it, take it, it has immense value. I value the player who makes the decision (one way or the other,) over the player who lets anyone tell them what to do, me included.
(Think about it... Get it?)
Twit! Wait, what?
I have to say, I missed that. Its funny, only on the internet could you feel comfortable enough with a person to call them a friend, and not know who they really are.
I'm fairly incognito myself, but I tend to be that way cause, well, I'm boring. Funny what you learn.
(I want points, btw, for not making some snarky joke, about how he linked to the USO donate page, rather than the About USO page, or even just the USO front page. =p)
(Oh, crap, I did make a snarky joke.)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
DnD and the Scenario Blues
DnD has a problem. It is supposed to be a game defined by the infinite possibilities. But it has become way too bogged down in being a miniature skirmish game. Way too often, the game boils down to a combat scenario, and worse yet, the most basic kind! You kill them before they kill you.
I have decided to start a series of posts called the DnD Scenario Blues. (DnD:SB.) In each post, I will explore another scenario that could be used in place of a standard bash n’ smash. I encourage people to use these, (even though I know only 2 people in the whole world read this blog.) Some will involve combat, some will not, some will be skill challenges, some will not.
For my first offering. I give you, the breakthrough. There really is nothing revolutionary about this, but it’s the beginning for me, and so it is the beginning for this series. It started when I had my players face a different kind of challenge. They had to get through a horde of bad-guys to reach a point on the map. Really, it’s that simple. But it has revolutionized my game, and I knew it immediately.
The party was trying to find this oracle, who ran off without her wards for unknown purposes. They had to track her down through various means, but when they at last arrived, they saw hundreds of snake-like creatures attacking a huge warding sphere that was shielding the oracle. When I described the scene, it took a while for me to convince my players that I really meant what I said, "hundreds." I’ve thrown hordes at them, and with minions, and the all the new ways you can move in 4e, they have stopped quaking in their boots at the sight of all those glass beads. But 'hundreds' is a scale they had never imagined they would have to face. They were confused, trying to reason out how they could kill hundreds of monsters. And then one of them got it. "Look, guys, all we have to do is get to the sphere, she will let us in.*"
I saw the wave of revelation dawn over the players, and most of them started grinning and leaning forward, trying to get an idea of how to get through. They were engaged in a way I had only ever been able to achieve once or twice before. In short, it was awesome.
So, the breakthrough definitely fits in any DM's repertoire; but, what are the key points to making a good breakthrough scenario?
First and foremost, there has to be a lot of pressure. And I mean a lot, in most combat encounters; you end up with a 'fair' fight. Meaning it is, on it merits, 'beatable,' the breakthrough has to be a suicide mission if they stay and fight. Not because you are in any danger of players staying and fighting, but because you have to make each movement painful. The flip-side is that it cannot be impossible. Characters cannot pass through spaces that monsters occupy. Knowing this, it would be easy for the monsters to win, by positioning themselves into walls of monsters that would have to be defeated. This does, sometimes, present you a logic problem. If the monsters are smart enough, they would 'use the rules' and block players. There has to be some reason why they are less densely packed.
The second key point is summed up in one word. Minions, minions, minions. (Fine, one word, three times.) Monsters have to be able to be killed easily without entangling the characters for more than a round. Players will not risk attacks of opportunity at the beginning, and strategically, this makes sense; you’re not going to simply run the gauntlet, you would be cut down before you get there. But if the monsters are not minions, it turns into yet another slog fest.
The last key point is supply. Because monsters cannot bunch up too densely, and because they should be minions, you are going to find out that players are easily able to clear out large amounts of monsters, nullifying the difficulty if there is not a large (and I honestly recommend infinite,) supply of reinforcements. Working out how this work obviously depends on the encounter itself.
If you have used the breakthrough before, or have some really savvy players, you may want to throw some complications in there. The vast majority of monsters should be minions, but a few regular monsters, especially soldier-type monsters, make the encounter much more troublesome. Also, make use of the terrain, don’t be afraid to force the characters to deviate from a straight line. We have a house rule where we place pennies where monsters have died, one penny is difficult terrain, two is 'double-difficult' (taking 3 squares of movement to enter,) and three is impassible. This makes even the bodies of minions an impediment. Perhaps the most devious, add a time-limit, perhaps a door is closing or it takes time to open. Or, you could require the players to escort fragile NPCs through. (But remember, nothing should ever turn into something that is impossible, if the door closes, there should be a way to force it open again.)
In my game, the chose to move as a unit. So, I had them all roll initiative, and had them all move at the highest point (they had plenty of time to prepare before charging in, so it didn’t seem fair (or make sense,) to make them all go on the lowest initiative.) They were able to bust through about half the length of the field, but then they got hung up, because I had some non-minion monsters in there. But, they adapted well, eventually they broke off, and moved individually, but the fighter and paladin went first, to soak up the attacks of opportunity. Eventually, they broke through, and got their rewards.
The breakthrough is an excellent scenario for you to explore, but there are some concerns. First, expect to be rolling a lot of monster attacks, thankfully, the widespread use of minions mitigate that by having set damage. Also, a good breakthrough should probably take the place of a boss encounter, because the characters will be forced to expend a lot of healing surges and encounter and daily powers. The last concern is the reward. Experience should not be awarded for monsters slain, because the point of the scenario has nothing to do with killing, likewise, awarding experience for the number of monsters present would yield far too much. My suggestion is to award the same experience you would award for the most difficult encounter the group is capable of undertaking.
The short version; breakthrough encounters are when the characters are required to get from point A to point B, and there are massive amounts of monsters in the way. In order for those monsters to provide the challenge, follow the guidelines below.
(* I have taken several liberties in explaining this story here, the real game was a little more complicated.)
I have decided to start a series of posts called the DnD Scenario Blues. (DnD:SB.) In each post, I will explore another scenario that could be used in place of a standard bash n’ smash. I encourage people to use these, (even though I know only 2 people in the whole world read this blog.) Some will involve combat, some will not, some will be skill challenges, some will not.
***
For my first offering. I give you, the breakthrough. There really is nothing revolutionary about this, but it’s the beginning for me, and so it is the beginning for this series. It started when I had my players face a different kind of challenge. They had to get through a horde of bad-guys to reach a point on the map. Really, it’s that simple. But it has revolutionized my game, and I knew it immediately.
The party was trying to find this oracle, who ran off without her wards for unknown purposes. They had to track her down through various means, but when they at last arrived, they saw hundreds of snake-like creatures attacking a huge warding sphere that was shielding the oracle. When I described the scene, it took a while for me to convince my players that I really meant what I said, "hundreds." I’ve thrown hordes at them, and with minions, and the all the new ways you can move in 4e, they have stopped quaking in their boots at the sight of all those glass beads. But 'hundreds' is a scale they had never imagined they would have to face. They were confused, trying to reason out how they could kill hundreds of monsters. And then one of them got it. "Look, guys, all we have to do is get to the sphere, she will let us in.*"
I saw the wave of revelation dawn over the players, and most of them started grinning and leaning forward, trying to get an idea of how to get through. They were engaged in a way I had only ever been able to achieve once or twice before. In short, it was awesome.
So, the breakthrough definitely fits in any DM's repertoire; but, what are the key points to making a good breakthrough scenario?
First and foremost, there has to be a lot of pressure. And I mean a lot, in most combat encounters; you end up with a 'fair' fight. Meaning it is, on it merits, 'beatable,' the breakthrough has to be a suicide mission if they stay and fight. Not because you are in any danger of players staying and fighting, but because you have to make each movement painful. The flip-side is that it cannot be impossible. Characters cannot pass through spaces that monsters occupy. Knowing this, it would be easy for the monsters to win, by positioning themselves into walls of monsters that would have to be defeated. This does, sometimes, present you a logic problem. If the monsters are smart enough, they would 'use the rules' and block players. There has to be some reason why they are less densely packed.
The second key point is summed up in one word. Minions, minions, minions. (Fine, one word, three times.) Monsters have to be able to be killed easily without entangling the characters for more than a round. Players will not risk attacks of opportunity at the beginning, and strategically, this makes sense; you’re not going to simply run the gauntlet, you would be cut down before you get there. But if the monsters are not minions, it turns into yet another slog fest.
The last key point is supply. Because monsters cannot bunch up too densely, and because they should be minions, you are going to find out that players are easily able to clear out large amounts of monsters, nullifying the difficulty if there is not a large (and I honestly recommend infinite,) supply of reinforcements. Working out how this work obviously depends on the encounter itself.
If you have used the breakthrough before, or have some really savvy players, you may want to throw some complications in there. The vast majority of monsters should be minions, but a few regular monsters, especially soldier-type monsters, make the encounter much more troublesome. Also, make use of the terrain, don’t be afraid to force the characters to deviate from a straight line. We have a house rule where we place pennies where monsters have died, one penny is difficult terrain, two is 'double-difficult' (taking 3 squares of movement to enter,) and three is impassible. This makes even the bodies of minions an impediment. Perhaps the most devious, add a time-limit, perhaps a door is closing or it takes time to open. Or, you could require the players to escort fragile NPCs through. (But remember, nothing should ever turn into something that is impossible, if the door closes, there should be a way to force it open again.)
In my game, the chose to move as a unit. So, I had them all roll initiative, and had them all move at the highest point (they had plenty of time to prepare before charging in, so it didn’t seem fair (or make sense,) to make them all go on the lowest initiative.) They were able to bust through about half the length of the field, but then they got hung up, because I had some non-minion monsters in there. But, they adapted well, eventually they broke off, and moved individually, but the fighter and paladin went first, to soak up the attacks of opportunity. Eventually, they broke through, and got their rewards.
The breakthrough is an excellent scenario for you to explore, but there are some concerns. First, expect to be rolling a lot of monster attacks, thankfully, the widespread use of minions mitigate that by having set damage. Also, a good breakthrough should probably take the place of a boss encounter, because the characters will be forced to expend a lot of healing surges and encounter and daily powers. The last concern is the reward. Experience should not be awarded for monsters slain, because the point of the scenario has nothing to do with killing, likewise, awarding experience for the number of monsters present would yield far too much. My suggestion is to award the same experience you would award for the most difficult encounter the group is capable of undertaking.
***
The short version; breakthrough encounters are when the characters are required to get from point A to point B, and there are massive amounts of monsters in the way. In order for those monsters to provide the challenge, follow the guidelines below.
- Don’t skimp, the monsters should be able to tear the PCs apart if they stop.
- Use minions.
- Have many (infinite) reinforcements for the monsters.
- Make use of complications.
- A few regular monsters.
- Varied Terrain (bodies make difficult terrain.)
- Add a time limit, or maybe even a squishy to escort.
(* I have taken several liberties in explaining this story here, the real game was a little more complicated.)
The WoW Post
So, right off the bat, we have...
That's right, levels 79 and 80, in one post! I posted about getting 78 the other day, the next day, I ran one instance, and because of my rested bonus, I was halfway to 79. I quested the other half out, and then, with the help of some friends (L.X, I'd link ya, but I don't know if you have any home on the net...) we three manned Drak'Tharon Keep, and then did the Northrend Arena quests. And magically delicious, I was 80! (Oh, and I got an axe, so I didnt have to use the stupidist-looking-weapon-evar. (What is with Blizz and their hard-ons for trolls and axes, btw?))
However, after the glee wore off, I came to realize something. The easy, (albeit time consuming) part is over. I'm going to have to make, like, choices on how to proceed. As you know, I am no fan of gear lists. So, to me, any heroic at all is good, but even while running, I have to choose which tabard to wear, which means knowing, and prioritizing, faction rewards.
It also means reputation grinding for factions without tabards, such as the Kalu'ak, and Sons of Hodir, but we will get to those some other time
But, first things first, lets get down to deciding which dungeon faction I am going to work on. There are four to choose from, the Argent Crusade, their antithisis-in-arms (oxymor-who?) the Knights of the Ebon Blade, The Kirin Tor, and the Wyrmrest Accord. Now, right off the bat, I have not quested in Icecrown, and I'm not even friendly yet with the two Lich-Hatin'-Sects, plus, I figure that I would get at least honored by doing their quests once I get to it, so the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade are out, for now, I'll get back to them. That leaves:
The Kirin Tor
And the Wyrmrest Accord
I'm just liking the amount of rewards from the dragons best, so I am using their tabard, for sure... Expected more? Comparisons of the items against each other and others? Agony-inducing lists of items? This is what I am getting at about item planning. I am going to be wearing a tabard anyway, right? I don't need to bother comparing the pieces available against the Tempered Saronite* pieces, or even against pieces I would be getting from various heroics, because if I have better when I get around to buying, I just wont buy, and move on. A detailed item list would only make me less likely to want to run a heroic at this point, that is the only purpose it would serve. (Though, I admit, this may be an entirely personal thing.)
So, as I am doing my thinking, I see a LFG for heroic Violet Hold, and I jump on it. They need DPS, which is fine with me; I'm still specced Ret. Man, it was a blast (even though I didnt get anything.) And look at this....
Yeah, I don't know whats going on with her either, is she dying, or hacking up a scale-ball? Either way, without really trying, we get the "optional"** achievement, Defenseless. And since it was the first time for me (hell, it was the first Wrath heroic at all for me,) I got the completion achievement too.
When both achievements popped up, I thought, "Wrath really is too easy." But then I saw the damage meters. We had a hunter in there, and he had 42% of the dps without even popping trinkets. Meanwhile, myself and a kitty druid were working our tails off to even compete with the paladin tank! I know Z is gonna be mad, and I have to say, I dont know a thing about PvP, but in PvE, I really do think Hunters are OP. And before you ask, he was not substatially better geared than us.
So, there you have it, some announcements about levels, some philosophy on how to plan, some achivements, and a topping (bottom-ing?) of QQ, thats a WoW blog post if I ever did see one.
(* The Tempered Saronite gear is really good, but man, it is boring, Str, Sta, Defense, thats all. Ill be useing a buncha peices of it, to be sure, but I am going to avoid it as much as possible. Why arent these sets with set bonuses?!?)
(** Are any achivements really optional?)
(Palordin, I'm going to get you tommorrow, just you wait....)
That's right, levels 79 and 80, in one post! I posted about getting 78 the other day, the next day, I ran one instance, and because of my rested bonus, I was halfway to 79. I quested the other half out, and then, with the help of some friends (L.X, I'd link ya, but I don't know if you have any home on the net...) we three manned Drak'Tharon Keep, and then did the Northrend Arena quests. And magically delicious, I was 80! (Oh, and I got an axe, so I didnt have to use the stupidist-looking-weapon-evar. (What is with Blizz and their hard-ons for trolls and axes, btw?))
However, after the glee wore off, I came to realize something. The easy, (albeit time consuming) part is over. I'm going to have to make, like, choices on how to proceed. As you know, I am no fan of gear lists. So, to me, any heroic at all is good, but even while running, I have to choose which tabard to wear, which means knowing, and prioritizing, faction rewards.
It also means reputation grinding for factions without tabards, such as the Kalu'ak, and Sons of Hodir, but we will get to those some other time
But, first things first, lets get down to deciding which dungeon faction I am going to work on. There are four to choose from, the Argent Crusade, their antithisis-in-arms (oxymor-who?) the Knights of the Ebon Blade, The Kirin Tor, and the Wyrmrest Accord. Now, right off the bat, I have not quested in Icecrown, and I'm not even friendly yet with the two Lich-Hatin'-Sects, plus, I figure that I would get at least honored by doing their quests once I get to it, so the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade are out, for now, I'll get back to them. That leaves:
The Kirin Tor
And the Wyrmrest Accord
- Tabard
- Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions
- Fang of Truth
- Breastplate of the Solemn Council
- Sabatons of Draconic Vigor
- Design: Glimmering Monarch Topaz
- Reins of the Red Drake
I'm just liking the amount of rewards from the dragons best, so I am using their tabard, for sure... Expected more? Comparisons of the items against each other and others? Agony-inducing lists of items? This is what I am getting at about item planning. I am going to be wearing a tabard anyway, right? I don't need to bother comparing the pieces available against the Tempered Saronite* pieces, or even against pieces I would be getting from various heroics, because if I have better when I get around to buying, I just wont buy, and move on. A detailed item list would only make me less likely to want to run a heroic at this point, that is the only purpose it would serve. (Though, I admit, this may be an entirely personal thing.)
So, as I am doing my thinking, I see a LFG for heroic Violet Hold, and I jump on it. They need DPS, which is fine with me; I'm still specced Ret. Man, it was a blast (even though I didnt get anything.) And look at this....
Yeah, I don't know whats going on with her either, is she dying, or hacking up a scale-ball? Either way, without really trying, we get the "optional"** achievement, Defenseless. And since it was the first time for me (hell, it was the first Wrath heroic at all for me,) I got the completion achievement too.
When both achievements popped up, I thought, "Wrath really is too easy." But then I saw the damage meters. We had a hunter in there, and he had 42% of the dps without even popping trinkets. Meanwhile, myself and a kitty druid were working our tails off to even compete with the paladin tank! I know Z is gonna be mad, and I have to say, I dont know a thing about PvP, but in PvE, I really do think Hunters are OP. And before you ask, he was not substatially better geared than us.
So, there you have it, some announcements about levels, some philosophy on how to plan, some achivements, and a topping (bottom-ing?) of QQ, thats a WoW blog post if I ever did see one.
(* The Tempered Saronite gear is really good, but man, it is boring, Str, Sta, Defense, thats all. Ill be useing a buncha peices of it, to be sure, but I am going to avoid it as much as possible. Why arent these sets with set bonuses?!?)
(** Are any achivements really optional?)
(Palordin, I'm going to get you tommorrow, just you wait....)
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