Tonight, our guild went to SSC and downed Leotheras the Blind & Fathom-Lord Karathress. This is only our third kill of Leo and our 2nd for Karath. In the process, I had some serious huntard moments. Since I'm totally down with self-defaming humor, I'd thought I would share.
First I wiped us on the last trash pull before Leo. It was BAAAAD!!! It was, WTF? Where are the soul stones and the bubbles bad! It was bad enough that I just ran back. I didn't even wait for a res. I just ran. The guild went to the next pull knowing full well that this was my personal walk of shame.
Now in my defense, the goofiness of the trash pull didn't start with me...it just ended there. I was sitting in the back of the raid drinking and healing my pet. My glorious leader missed the pull and our tank called me to "quick grab it now." I rushed forward having only seen the pull twice (and one of those was a wipe too.) As I got there, I had a vague recollection that maybe I should have left my pet behind, something about proximity aggro from the guys holding Leo's prison. Sure enough, splat!
I really think that Blizzard should incorporate the *splat* sound into the game for monumental deaths. Especially n00bs who get stepped on by Fel Reavers. That never gets old. But, I digress...
Now, I'm a basketball fan. When your premier 3-point shooter goes "cold" the best thing to do is to keep feeding him the ball until he gets his stroke back. That's how my class rep is with the hunters. Keep making us pull. When he's not around, I usually coordinate us, and I do the same thing. Well, this was not one of those days. I should have swapped to the point or the 3-spot and dished the ball.
And more importantly, I'm not the premier shooter. I mean, I'm not a bench-warmer...I've got game! I'm a threat! But if I'm off, pass the ball somewhere else! What are you stupid?!?
On the first Karath pull, I sent the shaman MD (intended for Karthis) right at our main tank. He and I both realized what had happened about 1 second too late. I couldn't even fire. I just stood there dumb-struck as the raid died around me.
Such is the life of a hunter. So much power. So much potential. We wipe raids for breakfast!
The good news is that I did get my head out of my ass and do the rest of the pulls right. I also did very well on damage finishing second on the Leo death & top 6 on the Fathom-Lord death. I just felt bad and so very n00b-tastic.
And this is perhaps the point. I'm good! That's not ego or hubris. I'm a solid raider. I still make mistakes. *SIGH* The key is to keep shooting. The key is to not be satisfied. On Friday, I'm right back in the thick of things, doing my job, keeping my aggro down and my dps up!
Lock & Load!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Good Shot Rotation Post
I wasn't going to post anything new for a few days, but my random blog searches has yielded a really nice shot rotation post I just had to share.
Less QQ More PewPew: Shot Rotation
The author, Drotara the Orc does a great job of illustrating shot-weaving and clipping as it relates to your autoshot & the global cooldown. After you're done reading it, come back to re-read my earlier post on shot rotation. I think this explanation about the timing mechanics flow right into my instructions for implementation.
Less QQ More PewPew: Shot Rotation
The author, Drotara the Orc does a great job of illustrating shot-weaving and clipping as it relates to your autoshot & the global cooldown. After you're done reading it, come back to re-read my earlier post on shot rotation. I think this explanation about the timing mechanics flow right into my instructions for implementation.
STOP ALL DPS!!!
As a raider who blogs, there's a temptation to write lengthy boss strategies. A number of my friends specifically devote themselves to this cause. You won't see that here. Why not?
Dude, we point and shoot...then we shoot some more! We aren't bears, trees, locks, AoE or any of that shit. There's no secret strategy for hunters in this fight or that. We find a target and we kill it dead! Any general boss guide will tell you the basics of what you need to know.
There are, however, tidbits that improve this fight or that. There are specific questions that can be answered like: "How do I use my pet in the Lurker fight?" and "What kind of MD rotation should be used on Void Reaver?" So, from time to time, I'm going to list those tips.
On several fights, there will be moments when the raid leader calls for a dps stop. Everyone, including healers, must stop all threat generation immediately. This is usually because of add spawn or a boss aggro dump. You stop or you die. Heck, you stop or the whole raid could die.
Here are some tips to help you prepare for those moments.
Dude, we point and shoot...then we shoot some more! We aren't bears, trees, locks, AoE or any of that shit. There's no secret strategy for hunters in this fight or that. We find a target and we kill it dead! Any general boss guide will tell you the basics of what you need to know.
There are, however, tidbits that improve this fight or that. There are specific questions that can be answered like: "How do I use my pet in the Lurker fight?" and "What kind of MD rotation should be used on Void Reaver?" So, from time to time, I'm going to list those tips.
Dealing With The "STOP ALL DPS" Call
On several fights, there will be moments when the raid leader calls for a dps stop. Everyone, including healers, must stop all threat generation immediately. This is usually because of add spawn or a boss aggro dump. You stop or you die. Heck, you stop or the whole raid could die.
Here are some tips to help you prepare for those moments.
- First off, don't use Serpent Sting in these fights. Personally, as a general rule, I don't use stings in boss fights. Don't worry if you disagree with me about their use in general. Just be careful about their use in fights with aggro dumps. You've got enough to worry about without timing their use.
- Use a macro button to recall your pet. You want your pet to live, hotkey it! Oh and obviously turn growl off! One of the hunters in my group takes this one step further and doesn't even teach his raid pet growl!
- Because sometimes FD is on cooldown, don't rely on it for the stop all dps call. You'd rather save it in case you come in too soon after the tank picks up the mob anyway. Instead, come up with something else to stop your rotation. Make sure it's something you can do fast and instinctively. I personally like to turn around fast and start hopping. I know, it looks silly, but it works. You can't shoot stuff that are behind you and most of your shots stop when moving. Once you've done your little turn on the catwalk, then you can click whatever buttons you need. Again, instinct is the key here. Redundancy is also important. That's why you saved FD in case you F'ed up the spin.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Choosing the Right Melee Weapons
This is the first of my selected "reader questions" that I'm going to try and tackle.
A reader noted that all the "raiding" hunters he sees have big two-handed axes. He wanted to know if there were good weapons for double-wielding and if so, why he rarely saw them.
It's a great observation. And the answer is an emphatic YES, there are some phenomenal weapon combos out there that can help hunters excel. So, why don't you see us wielding more sword-dagger combs? Before I get to that. Let's look at some weapons.
First, what factors make a good melee weapon for a hunter? Let's look at a few appropriate epic choices:
First we have "standard" hunter fair...
Legacy drops from the Opera event in Karazhan and is my current melee weapon. It's got a little of most everything a hunter wants: Agility, Stamina, Attack Power and even some much needed MP5. The only things that could make it better would be extra crit & hit.
Now, a one-hander to consider...
Netherbane is a reward for killing Al'ar the Pheonix God in the Eye. It has a ton of Agility, Stamina & Attack Power to be combined with the right second weapon.
And for those of you who want epic quality, but aren't raiders, let's consider a faction reward.
Guile of Khoraazi is avaliable for those who have reached exalted with the Consortium. Yes, it's very "basic" epic fair, but it can really make a solid second weapon.
Finally, an example of things to not choose.
Heartrazor drops from Solarian in the eye. It's stats are deceptive. You see agility, stamina & attack power. Don't be fooled! The attack power bonus only works in melee. If you're doing enough melee to make this worthwhile, roll up a rogue because you're playing the wrong class! Watch for this stuff. Don't waste DKP, badges or gold on functions that don't work for hunters. (This goes for enchants too!)
OK, so we now see what works: agility, crit, hit, stamina & Mp5. We've also seen what to avoid: strength, abilities that only work in melee...OH and caster weapons!
There's actually a huge list of one-handed weapons that give us most, if not all, of the things in the first category. So, why do so many raiding hunters run around with Legacy? For me, it comes down to two key factors: competition & availability.
When Legacy dropped in my run, it was handed to me. There were no points, rolling, or loot council. It was me or disenchant. And that's the key. The only real competition for that item are other Hunters or the occasional Enhancement Shaman. On most other appropriate choices, I can have a ton of competition.
When Netherbane dropped the other night, all three hunters salivated, but one of our enhancement shaman practically fell out of her chair and screamed into vent. It was a perfect weapon for her. How could we compete with that?
When a really nice dagger drops, how can I justify asking for it when it would mean so much more for a rogue or shaman?
And in order to replace Legacy with two one-handers, I'm going to have to compete with the shaman, the rogues, dps warriors, and other hunters. And, to make it worth doing, I'm going to have to win not once but twice.
No matter how you do loot in your guild, this is not a win-win situation. Especially since I just want the freaking stats! I don't care what kind of dps the weapon does.
Yes, I know that was a long-winded answer to something I could have said in a paragraph or less. This was more fun. So, let me throw two questions out there.
What item do I most want as a replacement for Legacy?
Looking only at our current content (We've not reached Black Temple or Mount Hyjal yet,) my #1 choice is currently Trollbane. It's got solid agility, stamina & attack power. It beats Legacy because the gem slots enable me to customize based on my other gear.
Are there any two-weapon combos that would make me consider going for them?
Admittedly, based on the competition & time, I've not put a lot of thought into it. That said, I have a "fun" answer. I'd have to go with the two fist weapons from Al'ar: the Talon of the Phoenix & the Claw of the Phoenix.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and informative. It was certainly fun to write. I know that all of my focus was on epic gear. Don't worry. There's a lot of good options to choose from while leveling. So before signing off on this post, here are a few tips to help with that.
- You never know when a new "perfect fit" weapon will turn up. Skill everything and try to keep them skilled up as much as possible. That way you can always equip that upgrade right away.
- Don't overlook Polearms. I used Grimlok's Charge for a very, very long time.
- Unless you're skilling that weapon, learn to avoid using it for more than a wing clip or a disengage attempt.
Now, go shoot something!
A reader noted that all the "raiding" hunters he sees have big two-handed axes. He wanted to know if there were good weapons for double-wielding and if so, why he rarely saw them.
It's a great observation. And the answer is an emphatic YES, there are some phenomenal weapon combos out there that can help hunters excel. So, why don't you see us wielding more sword-dagger combs? Before I get to that. Let's look at some weapons.
First, what factors make a good melee weapon for a hunter? Let's look at a few appropriate epic choices:
First we have "standard" hunter fair...
Legacy drops from the Opera event in Karazhan and is my current melee weapon. It's got a little of most everything a hunter wants: Agility, Stamina, Attack Power and even some much needed MP5. The only things that could make it better would be extra crit & hit.
Now, a one-hander to consider...
Netherbane is a reward for killing Al'ar the Pheonix God in the Eye. It has a ton of Agility, Stamina & Attack Power to be combined with the right second weapon.
And for those of you who want epic quality, but aren't raiders, let's consider a faction reward.
Guile of Khoraazi is avaliable for those who have reached exalted with the Consortium. Yes, it's very "basic" epic fair, but it can really make a solid second weapon.
Finally, an example of things to not choose.
Heartrazor drops from Solarian in the eye. It's stats are deceptive. You see agility, stamina & attack power. Don't be fooled! The attack power bonus only works in melee. If you're doing enough melee to make this worthwhile, roll up a rogue because you're playing the wrong class! Watch for this stuff. Don't waste DKP, badges or gold on functions that don't work for hunters. (This goes for enchants too!)
OK, so we now see what works: agility, crit, hit, stamina & Mp5. We've also seen what to avoid: strength, abilities that only work in melee...OH and caster weapons!
There's actually a huge list of one-handed weapons that give us most, if not all, of the things in the first category. So, why do so many raiding hunters run around with Legacy? For me, it comes down to two key factors: competition & availability.
When Legacy dropped in my run, it was handed to me. There were no points, rolling, or loot council. It was me or disenchant. And that's the key. The only real competition for that item are other Hunters or the occasional Enhancement Shaman. On most other appropriate choices, I can have a ton of competition.
When Netherbane dropped the other night, all three hunters salivated, but one of our enhancement shaman practically fell out of her chair and screamed into vent. It was a perfect weapon for her. How could we compete with that?
When a really nice dagger drops, how can I justify asking for it when it would mean so much more for a rogue or shaman?
And in order to replace Legacy with two one-handers, I'm going to have to compete with the shaman, the rogues, dps warriors, and other hunters. And, to make it worth doing, I'm going to have to win not once but twice.
No matter how you do loot in your guild, this is not a win-win situation. Especially since I just want the freaking stats! I don't care what kind of dps the weapon does.
Yes, I know that was a long-winded answer to something I could have said in a paragraph or less. This was more fun. So, let me throw two questions out there.
What item do I most want as a replacement for Legacy?
Looking only at our current content (We've not reached Black Temple or Mount Hyjal yet,) my #1 choice is currently Trollbane. It's got solid agility, stamina & attack power. It beats Legacy because the gem slots enable me to customize based on my other gear.
Are there any two-weapon combos that would make me consider going for them?
Admittedly, based on the competition & time, I've not put a lot of thought into it. That said, I have a "fun" answer. I'd have to go with the two fist weapons from Al'ar: the Talon of the Phoenix & the Claw of the Phoenix.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and informative. It was certainly fun to write. I know that all of my focus was on epic gear. Don't worry. There's a lot of good options to choose from while leveling. So before signing off on this post, here are a few tips to help with that.
- You never know when a new "perfect fit" weapon will turn up. Skill everything and try to keep them skilled up as much as possible. That way you can always equip that upgrade right away.
- Don't overlook Polearms. I used Grimlok's Charge for a very, very long time.
- Unless you're skilling that weapon, learn to avoid using it for more than a wing clip or a disengage attempt.
Now, go shoot something!
Thanks for Feedback!
Thanks to all the readers who've emailed me feedback recently. I'm working on some posts to address a few of your questions. I'm pleased and surprised that I've gotten actual attention. I'm sure this is thanks mainly to Karthis. (Thanks Bear!) Due to the emails, I'm finally curious enough about the actual traffic that I've gone ahead and added a site meter.
Thanks again and keep reading!
I promise some posts in direct response to your emails soon.
Thanks again and keep reading!
I promise some posts in direct response to your emails soon.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Gnome Insanity
The other week I was in Shat by the flight point minding my own business when suddenly....
Freaky Gnome Cluster
Another Freaky Gnome Cluster
WTF?!?
GNOMES EVERYWHERE!!!
Freaky Gnome Cluster
Another Freaky Gnome ClusterWTF?!?
What's in your stable?
After much debate and experimentation, my stable is complete.
...Well, until Blizzard gives me something else I want to mess with!
...Well, until Blizzard gives me something else I want to mess with!
Shred"General Purpose"
Here kitty kitty!
My first long-term pet commitment was to Bub, my first cat. I was a complete n00b. Then I started messing with other pets and Bub fell behind. Not having the help of the recent patch, I dropped him. I missed him so much I replaced him with Shred. I think of Shred as BubJr.
Slash"SCC"
Founding member of the G&R ravager tribute band
(seriously, QSSHunters got them all...)
Slash was an effort. My Class Rep got a ravager and lord I loved his dps. I wanted one bad. So, my crew cleared a hole into the Netherwing Mines. The ravagers are so farmed that Sofea sheep'ed him for me. Who knew you could tame a ravager in sheep's clothing?
Slash is spec'ed with resistances for SSC. This makes it easy for me to prep for raids.
Ororo"The Eye"
Goddess of Lighting & Storms
Ororo is my latest and coolest looking pet. She's a Cobalt Wind Serpent. Her namesake? Yes, the X-Men Storm. Hey, the both fly and shoot lighting!
Like Slash, Ororo has been setup for running in the Eye.
Friday, January 25, 2008
The Best Mixed Bag Ever
So, this week felt crappy. First, I was having interface issues. Then I got the awesome Rift Stalker Mantle, but had to make bunch of gem changes because of it. Because of the cost, I became completely bummed about the grind to epic flight.
To add to my frustrations, my damage meter is acting screwy. I keep seeing myself a good 200 dps lower than I should be and it makes me panic. But then the official raid stats are posted, and I'm right in the hunt. Someone thought maybe my pet & personal dps were being split. Unfortunately, the math doesn't add up. Frankly, I'm at a loss. And it made me nervous enough to screw with my talent spec before I realized it was a bug. (Again, more gold lost.)
Before I go into the next part, please note: I'm going to talk in general numbers here. Actual dps varies from boss to boss and from raid instance to raid instance. Don't use these numbers as your measuring stick.
This wouldn't be so bad, except that right before the holidays I saw the highest dps I've ever posted, 1100+ on Mags. I even did it twice! Then after the holidays I got a few upgrades and my dps leveled out in the 800's. I never saw 1k again. This wouldn't be so bad except that the other hunters took my 1100+ dps as a challenge and started beating me out. Then the dps meter went nuts on me.
Imagine this: I crack the 1k barrier. I get "upgrades" and backslide below 800. Then all the other hunters start doing hitting 900-1000. Suddenly, my meter tells me I'm doing 550-600. It's enough to make a hunter question his own worth!
Which brings us to today. Today was wonderful! Yeah, my damage meter is still fucked to hell, but I knew it and let it go. To quote my class rep Poortyr, "Just kill stuff!" And I did. When the dust settled on this day...
- My dps was right in line with the other hunters.
- My wife and friends lent me the gold for Epic flight!
- I got two pieces of gear from Leo, including the Rift Stalker Gauntlets to give me the heal your pet bonus & the True-Aim Stalker Bands.
- We downed Fathom-Lord Karathress for the first time.
I can't describe how completely stoked I am. Suddenly, my gear rocks from top to bottom. I only need 4 more heroic badges to get my last trinket. For the first time I can actually say that I'm going to have to truly research before finding legitimate upgrades. Once I've paid back my friends, I can actually enjoy myself without constantly feeling like I have to grind gold. It's just awesome.
To add to my frustrations, my damage meter is acting screwy. I keep seeing myself a good 200 dps lower than I should be and it makes me panic. But then the official raid stats are posted, and I'm right in the hunt. Someone thought maybe my pet & personal dps were being split. Unfortunately, the math doesn't add up. Frankly, I'm at a loss. And it made me nervous enough to screw with my talent spec before I realized it was a bug. (Again, more gold lost.)
Before I go into the next part, please note: I'm going to talk in general numbers here. Actual dps varies from boss to boss and from raid instance to raid instance. Don't use these numbers as your measuring stick.
This wouldn't be so bad, except that right before the holidays I saw the highest dps I've ever posted, 1100+ on Mags. I even did it twice! Then after the holidays I got a few upgrades and my dps leveled out in the 800's. I never saw 1k again. This wouldn't be so bad except that the other hunters took my 1100+ dps as a challenge and started beating me out. Then the dps meter went nuts on me.
Imagine this: I crack the 1k barrier. I get "upgrades" and backslide below 800. Then all the other hunters start doing hitting 900-1000. Suddenly, my meter tells me I'm doing 550-600. It's enough to make a hunter question his own worth!
Which brings us to today. Today was wonderful! Yeah, my damage meter is still fucked to hell, but I knew it and let it go. To quote my class rep Poortyr, "Just kill stuff!" And I did. When the dust settled on this day...
- My dps was right in line with the other hunters.
- My wife and friends lent me the gold for Epic flight!
- I got two pieces of gear from Leo, including the Rift Stalker Gauntlets to give me the heal your pet bonus & the True-Aim Stalker Bands.
- We downed Fathom-Lord Karathress for the first time.
I can't describe how completely stoked I am. Suddenly, my gear rocks from top to bottom. I only need 4 more heroic badges to get my last trinket. For the first time I can actually say that I'm going to have to truly research before finding legitimate upgrades. Once I've paid back my friends, I can actually enjoy myself without constantly feeling like I have to grind gold. It's just awesome.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
How to avoid that not so fresh feeling...
So, like other obsessed WoW players, I'm online a lot. And yet, I'm not. Compared to the other hunters in my guild, I'm really a slacker. I don't PvP, I don't PUG and I'm not farming for supplies at 2AM. I "unplug" and go outside. I like to *gasp* read.
And no, I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing...
In addition, I have a nasty habit of focusing on my friends first. If they need a piece of equipment, I stop my grind and go farm them mats or organize a heroic run for them. I've given friends gold for their alt-mounts or a re-spec because they mention that they are short. I actually had a friend tell me to stop doing this so much. He said, "It's time to start focusing on Beroth!" And with good reason, I'm still not flying an epic mount.
Again...good, bad?!? I'm the guy with the gun...
So, for the last 2 weeks, I've been farming and doing dailies non-stop. I've been hitting quests that I never got around to. I even PUG'ed for a few stupid Badges. And it's paid off! I finished off my Skyguard rep for one trinket, I'm 6 badges from the other trinket & I've cleared nearly 2k gold in the month of January. I'm over 3100!
Actually, I was over 3400 gold right before last night's shoulder drop. Then I had to re-gem a bunch of things... Sigh!
So, today rolled around and I felt overwhelmingly burned out by it all. I just want to fly fast. My whole crew flies fast. The other day we were clearing a bunch of group quests and they kept saying "Hurry up Beroth, we started the pull." They weren't being dicks, they just simply forgot how slow regular flight is.
Why am I telling you all this? Not for the rant, but for the warning. WoW is a game. Every time I fret and re-gem because another hunter cleared 50 dps more than me OR I over-farm because I'm soooo close to epic flight, I actually make things worse. I run the risk of not having fun. I run the risk of complete burn-out. What to do? How do I avoid burn-out? How do you?
You do what I'm about to do after finishing this post: Take a break! Watch a DvD. Read a book. If it's got to be WoW, play an alt. Do something that doesn't involve your raider and your obsessive quest for more content, faster flight or phat lootz. Yes, it might mean that some other hunter will out-pace you. If you're in a good guild, it won't matter.
OK, enough chit-chat. Time to read some more Marvel Online! I'll fly fast when I fly fast.
P.S. Marvel Online digital comics is awesome. It allows me to get a comicbook fix without spending more money. Is it perfect? No. But it's got enough to read that I'm ecstatics. I got my year-long subscription for Christmas, but I'd pay for it myself. It's worth it!
And no, I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing...
In addition, I have a nasty habit of focusing on my friends first. If they need a piece of equipment, I stop my grind and go farm them mats or organize a heroic run for them. I've given friends gold for their alt-mounts or a re-spec because they mention that they are short. I actually had a friend tell me to stop doing this so much. He said, "It's time to start focusing on Beroth!" And with good reason, I'm still not flying an epic mount.
Again...good, bad?!? I'm the guy with the gun...
So, for the last 2 weeks, I've been farming and doing dailies non-stop. I've been hitting quests that I never got around to. I even PUG'ed for a few stupid Badges. And it's paid off! I finished off my Skyguard rep for one trinket, I'm 6 badges from the other trinket & I've cleared nearly 2k gold in the month of January. I'm over 3100!
Actually, I was over 3400 gold right before last night's shoulder drop. Then I had to re-gem a bunch of things... Sigh!
So, today rolled around and I felt overwhelmingly burned out by it all. I just want to fly fast. My whole crew flies fast. The other day we were clearing a bunch of group quests and they kept saying "Hurry up Beroth, we started the pull." They weren't being dicks, they just simply forgot how slow regular flight is.
Why am I telling you all this? Not for the rant, but for the warning. WoW is a game. Every time I fret and re-gem because another hunter cleared 50 dps more than me OR I over-farm because I'm soooo close to epic flight, I actually make things worse. I run the risk of not having fun. I run the risk of complete burn-out. What to do? How do I avoid burn-out? How do you?
You do what I'm about to do after finishing this post: Take a break! Watch a DvD. Read a book. If it's got to be WoW, play an alt. Do something that doesn't involve your raider and your obsessive quest for more content, faster flight or phat lootz. Yes, it might mean that some other hunter will out-pace you. If you're in a good guild, it won't matter.
OK, enough chit-chat. Time to read some more Marvel Online! I'll fly fast when I fly fast.
P.S. Marvel Online digital comics is awesome. It allows me to get a comicbook fix without spending more money. Is it perfect? No. But it's got enough to read that I'm ecstatics. I got my year-long subscription for Christmas, but I'd pay for it myself. It's worth it!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Theory Craft Keeps Me Up At Night
So, I've got a problem. I've focused way too much on +Hit. It's been an obsession to the point of potentially lowering my dps. Why? No matter how many times I tell myself, my brain thinks that more hit = more crit. This would seem intuitive based on probability. Only, that's not how things actually work in WoW.
My brain says, "If I hit, then I have a chance to crit."
The game, however says, "You can miss, hit or crit as three distinct options."
I recently saw an illustration on the boards that goes something like this....
The topic was about animal handler lowering miss for pets, but the same still applies to my situation. The hit cap for hunters is currently listed as being right around 142. Tonight vs Solarian, I skipped my +hit food and ran w/ a hit rating of 124. I didn't miss. My crit rating for the fight was 26% (buffs) but stats show that I crit 20% of the time.
So, the question becomes, what's my happy middle? How much hit do I really need? The answer, admittedly, is I don't know. I really don't. I've put too much emphasis on hit and not enough on crit & attack power.
Then there's the part where I won the T5 shoulders from Void Reaver tonight and they had 13 hit. After struggling to stay over 120 hit rating for months, I'm at a base hit rating of 137. Yes, not missing is great. But, if my obsession w/ not missing is actually lowering my dps potential, then it's just that...a worthless obsession.
So, what to do now?
I'm getting 16 points of hit from multicolor gems. (They are generally cheaper than the single-color ones.) I could drop all 16 points and still have a 121 base hit. If I start finding myself missing, I can eat +hit food. But, chances are that I can still get more boost out of Agility food.
Sigh, I get one new item and I'm spending 100-200 gold in new gems. Ah well...what's epic flight? So what if I'm closer than I've ever been?
My brain says, "If I hit, then I have a chance to crit."
The game, however says, "You can miss, hit or crit as three distinct options."
I recently saw an illustration on the boards that goes something like this....
[----miss----][-----------------hit----------------][---------crit----------]
1-------------9------------------------------------75-------------------100
1-------------9------------------------------------75-------------------100
The topic was about animal handler lowering miss for pets, but the same still applies to my situation. The hit cap for hunters is currently listed as being right around 142. Tonight vs Solarian, I skipped my +hit food and ran w/ a hit rating of 124. I didn't miss. My crit rating for the fight was 26% (buffs) but stats show that I crit 20% of the time.
So, the question becomes, what's my happy middle? How much hit do I really need? The answer, admittedly, is I don't know. I really don't. I've put too much emphasis on hit and not enough on crit & attack power.
Then there's the part where I won the T5 shoulders from Void Reaver tonight and they had 13 hit. After struggling to stay over 120 hit rating for months, I'm at a base hit rating of 137. Yes, not missing is great. But, if my obsession w/ not missing is actually lowering my dps potential, then it's just that...a worthless obsession.
So, what to do now?
I'm getting 16 points of hit from multicolor gems. (They are generally cheaper than the single-color ones.) I could drop all 16 points and still have a 121 base hit. If I start finding myself missing, I can eat +hit food. But, chances are that I can still get more boost out of Agility food.
Sigh, I get one new item and I'm spending 100-200 gold in new gems. Ah well...what's epic flight? So what if I'm closer than I've ever been?
My Mods
A while back, I promised to go into a more in depth discussion about my mods. Here we go...
When I first started using mods, my old PC gave me a lot of difficulty. The lesson there was about processor power & RAM. The more you try to do to your UI, the more resources used. Now that I have a better system, I have to be careful to not go mod-nuts.
The lesson here is to think carefully about your mods. There are even mods to help you examine your system performance. Frankly, that sounds like too much trouble. If you have an older system or slow bandwidth, try going as mod-lite as possible. Find the "essentials" that work for you. If you like a "heavy" mod you like, there may be a light-weight alternative from Ace.
Mod Resources
For simplicity, I really like to use mods available through the WoWAceUpdater. The Ace Mod system is a framework for Mod-writers. Most mods that come out of Ace are light weight & customizable. There can be a learning curve for the settings, but it's worth it. I run the updater every time there's a patch. For reference, mods that I talk about here that are available via Ace will have an asterisk.
Perl Classic Unit Frames - This is my old standby. Perl allows for customization of the Unit Frames. There are a lot of other unit frame mods out there, but none of them do it with the simplicity or quality I've gotten from Perl. In fact, Perl is one of the few non-Ace mods I still run. The Ace alternative, Pitbull was giving me some graphics issues. I switched back to Perl.
Bartender3* - Like the name implies, it tends to your bars. It allows for massive amounts of customization. It's become a must use for me.
Quartz* - If I was stranded on some "other" computer and could only take one mod with me, it would be Quartz. Quartz is the ultimate shot/swing timer.
FuBar* - For those "old school" TitanPanel fans out there, FuBar is the way to go. FuBar gives you an easy framework from which to hang all your other Ace mods.
Map Mod & Tips Mods - Rounding out my interface are three mods working together to give me the right look and feel: Squeenix*, FixTracker* & TinyTip.* Squeenix* allows for a square and movable map. FixTracker allows me to bring the tracker icon w/ the map. TinyTip* moves and customizes the default UI Tips.
Raiding Mods
My raiding mod list falls under three categories: guild required, boss specific or personal.
BigWigs* - QSS requires that we run with Deadly Boss Mods. I use BigWigs*, which is 100% compatible with DBM and updates through Ace.
Omen* - Like all raiding guilds, QSS requires a threat meter. Omen is our current meter de jur. I'm a fan of Omen, not just because it's Ace. It also does a good job of dealing with multiple tanks. Since most other guilds run with Omen & all my friends run with Omen, I can usually rely on it for instances & Pugs.
Our guild currently requires Void Reaver Alarm & Solarian Alarm. If everyone in your guild has VRA, then Loot Reaver is easy mode. Frankly, it's a frustration for me. Void Reaver wasn't hard for me before we started using the Alarm. Then we switched and I started dying because of lazy people who didn't install it. The Alarm makes things so simple, that you forget to watch. Players without the alarm screw players who have it. SA is similar, but I believe that both DBM & BW have sufficient options installed that it really shouldn't be necessary.
oRA2* - Ora2 basically takes the place of the incredibly bloated CTRaid Assist. It's a simple mod that gives me tank targets. As a ranged DPS, I realized a while back that I don't need raid frames. I just need tank frames. For those who still need raid frames, (healers) Grid or XPerl does the job.
Yes, you read correctly, there are more mods. I will simply list the rest of my mods here for now. I'll get into details on a few of them at a later time.
Recommended FuBar Addons:
AmmoFu, DurabilityFu, MoneyFu, LocationFu, PerformanceFu, MailFu
Other Great Ace Addons:
Recount, Cartographer, AtlasLoot, AutoProfitX, LittleWigs, ClosetGnome, Nudge
Auctioneer - OK, can't have a discussion about mods without mentioning Auctioneer. It's simply the best Auction House addon out there. It scans all the auctions and helps you determine the "best price" to buy or sell. The longer you use it, the better the info. I don't run this on my main because it's such a performance hog. Even now that I probably could, I've gotten so used to using it on my bank toon.
A few words on performance
When I first started using mods, my old PC gave me a lot of difficulty. The lesson there was about processor power & RAM. The more you try to do to your UI, the more resources used. Now that I have a better system, I have to be careful to not go mod-nuts.
The lesson here is to think carefully about your mods. There are even mods to help you examine your system performance. Frankly, that sounds like too much trouble. If you have an older system or slow bandwidth, try going as mod-lite as possible. Find the "essentials" that work for you. If you like a "heavy" mod you like, there may be a light-weight alternative from Ace.
Mod Resources
WoWAceUpdater
Curse.com
If I can't get it from Ace, I turn to Curse. This is a great mod site. They carefully track mods, rank them and give a lot of details.Interface Mods
Perl Classic Unit Frames - This is my old standby. Perl allows for customization of the Unit Frames. There are a lot of other unit frame mods out there, but none of them do it with the simplicity or quality I've gotten from Perl. In fact, Perl is one of the few non-Ace mods I still run. The Ace alternative, Pitbull was giving me some graphics issues. I switched back to Perl.
Bartender3* - Like the name implies, it tends to your bars. It allows for massive amounts of customization. It's become a must use for me.
Quartz* - If I was stranded on some "other" computer and could only take one mod with me, it would be Quartz. Quartz is the ultimate shot/swing timer.
FuBar* - For those "old school" TitanPanel fans out there, FuBar is the way to go. FuBar gives you an easy framework from which to hang all your other Ace mods.
Map Mod & Tips Mods - Rounding out my interface are three mods working together to give me the right look and feel: Squeenix*, FixTracker* & TinyTip.* Squeenix* allows for a square and movable map. FixTracker allows me to bring the tracker icon w/ the map. TinyTip* moves and customizes the default UI Tips.
Raiding Mods
My raiding mod list falls under three categories: guild required, boss specific or personal.
Guild Required
BigWigs* - QSS requires that we run with Deadly Boss Mods. I use BigWigs*, which is 100% compatible with DBM and updates through Ace.
Omen* - Like all raiding guilds, QSS requires a threat meter. Omen is our current meter de jur. I'm a fan of Omen, not just because it's Ace. It also does a good job of dealing with multiple tanks. Since most other guilds run with Omen & all my friends run with Omen, I can usually rely on it for instances & Pugs.
Boss Specific
Also Guild Required
Also Guild Required
Our guild currently requires Void Reaver Alarm & Solarian Alarm. If everyone in your guild has VRA, then Loot Reaver is easy mode. Frankly, it's a frustration for me. Void Reaver wasn't hard for me before we started using the Alarm. Then we switched and I started dying because of lazy people who didn't install it. The Alarm makes things so simple, that you forget to watch. Players without the alarm screw players who have it. SA is similar, but I believe that both DBM & BW have sufficient options installed that it really shouldn't be necessary.
My Raid Mod
oRA2* - Ora2 basically takes the place of the incredibly bloated CTRaid Assist. It's a simple mod that gives me tank targets. As a ranged DPS, I realized a while back that I don't need raid frames. I just need tank frames. For those who still need raid frames, (healers) Grid or XPerl does the job.
Even more Mods
Yes, you read correctly, there are more mods. I will simply list the rest of my mods here for now. I'll get into details on a few of them at a later time.
Recommended FuBar Addons:
AmmoFu, DurabilityFu, MoneyFu, LocationFu, PerformanceFu, MailFu
Other Great Ace Addons:
Recount, Cartographer, AtlasLoot, AutoProfitX, LittleWigs, ClosetGnome, Nudge
Auctioneer - OK, can't have a discussion about mods without mentioning Auctioneer. It's simply the best Auction House addon out there. It scans all the auctions and helps you determine the "best price" to buy or sell. The longer you use it, the better the info. I don't run this on my main because it's such a performance hog. Even now that I probably could, I've gotten so used to using it on my bank toon.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Vengence is Mine...
I'm going to break my carnal rule on this post: Never openly mix WoW and Religion. I do so, because there's a lesson here that I learned from the bible that I want to pass on.
This week, someone our guild trusted, screwed us. A member took liberties with the guild bank settings & fleeced us. He then transferred servers and changed his name.
It was wrong. It was painful.
Several of our members are openly hurting and angry from it. His class rep worked hard to help him get a raider status, improve his skills and work on gear. The rep and a few other folks have worked at tracking him down and letting other guilds know of his transgressions. This is a nice thing to do, but their reasons are generally not altruistic. They are reasons of vengeance. It made me think of Romans 12. "Vengeance is mine."
There's a reason why this verse wants us out of the vengeance game.
Vengeance and righteous anger feels so good when it's achieved, but it rarely ever actually solves any problems. We talk about closure, but it doesn't really come from the vengeance part. The guilty party will never feel remorse because of successful revenge. Instead, revenge and anger usually become part of an emotionally damaging cycle. Blame goes back and forth. The guilty must have a change of heart and we aren't going to be the ones that cause it.
So, what the hell do we do with all this rage? I don't have any easy fixes for that. I do know, both from that same chapter and from personal experience that the best solution is to repay your enemy with kindness. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (12:21)
I know, I know, I never liked that whole turn the other cheek stuff either. I mean, we're playing a violent game! But it works. Certainly, it serves the general good to report this person to others, but not at the cost of one's own emotional well-being. So what do we do? With the exception of maybe closing some of our guild bank loopholes, I say we should do nothing but kick butt, take names and be the same fun guild we always were.
I am not advocating forgiveness. That is a hard road and not a fair request. No one can be forced to forgive. But the fact remains that this theft, like any violation, will linger. Learning to move on and learning to release anger sure works a lot better than carrying a grudge with someone you will hopefully never see again.
The individual in question will not go without justice. He will not change his spots. I fully believe he will screw up elsewhere. I hope for him and his potential guildmates that he does learn his lesson. But, that's not our problem. Our problem is picking up the pieces and not letting his stink taint us.
It's time to acknowledge, move on and down another boss...
Or as our main tank says, "Hunters, get em up!"
This week, someone our guild trusted, screwed us. A member took liberties with the guild bank settings & fleeced us. He then transferred servers and changed his name.
It was wrong. It was painful.
Several of our members are openly hurting and angry from it. His class rep worked hard to help him get a raider status, improve his skills and work on gear. The rep and a few other folks have worked at tracking him down and letting other guilds know of his transgressions. This is a nice thing to do, but their reasons are generally not altruistic. They are reasons of vengeance. It made me think of Romans 12. "Vengeance is mine."
There's a reason why this verse wants us out of the vengeance game.
Vengeance and righteous anger feels so good when it's achieved, but it rarely ever actually solves any problems. We talk about closure, but it doesn't really come from the vengeance part. The guilty party will never feel remorse because of successful revenge. Instead, revenge and anger usually become part of an emotionally damaging cycle. Blame goes back and forth. The guilty must have a change of heart and we aren't going to be the ones that cause it.
So, what the hell do we do with all this rage? I don't have any easy fixes for that. I do know, both from that same chapter and from personal experience that the best solution is to repay your enemy with kindness. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (12:21)
I know, I know, I never liked that whole turn the other cheek stuff either. I mean, we're playing a violent game! But it works. Certainly, it serves the general good to report this person to others, but not at the cost of one's own emotional well-being. So what do we do? With the exception of maybe closing some of our guild bank loopholes, I say we should do nothing but kick butt, take names and be the same fun guild we always were.
I am not advocating forgiveness. That is a hard road and not a fair request. No one can be forced to forgive. But the fact remains that this theft, like any violation, will linger. Learning to move on and learning to release anger sure works a lot better than carrying a grudge with someone you will hopefully never see again.
The individual in question will not go without justice. He will not change his spots. I fully believe he will screw up elsewhere. I hope for him and his potential guildmates that he does learn his lesson. But, that's not our problem. Our problem is picking up the pieces and not letting his stink taint us.
It's time to acknowledge, move on and down another boss...
Or as our main tank says, "Hunters, get em up!"
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Managing the Guild Within the Guild
How did you get into World of Warcraft? Did you do it by yourself? Did you do it to meet people?
If you're like me, you did it with a group of friends. Two or three of us started, but then the rest of us joined in. We live hours apart. WoW brings us back together. I've nearly quit the game dozens of times, but my friends keep me playing.
Even now after joining an end-game raiding guild, my friends figure prominently on my game-play decisions. Which raids will I sign up for? Which days will I reserve for them? When will I go do RL stuff and when will I log on simply to hang out and chat with them? The good news is that most of them are in the same guild with me. For the most part, the guild schedule is "our" schedule.
The drive to progress in end-game raiding can be all-consuming. When I'm not raiding, I'm often doing quests or farming materials with one goal in mind: Prepare for Raiding! I need to pay for potions, repair, new gear, and contribute to the guild bank. There are weeks when all my game-play is consumed by the raid or the raid-prep. Where do my friends fit in when this happens? Do I play to raid or do I play to do stuff with my friends?
If you're like me and the answer is a resounding BOTH, you've got your work cut out for you! Here's some of the stuff we do to maintain the balance. Some of it might seem *Duh* obvious. Sometimes it's the no-brainer stuff that's easiest to overlook, but makes all the difference
The Friends Channel
Everyone has these channels. It's the conversation within the conversation. In our case, it's a lifeline. Even when all of us happen to be in the same guild or party channel, we inevitably hold our group conversations here. Now that we've spread to more than one guild, we still maintain our channel. It's essential. It keeps us all in contact. When one of us needs something, we come to this channel first before going to the guild.
The Alt-Guild
Even while our mains bounce from raiding guild to raiding guild, our Alt Guild remains constant. All our bank toons & non-raiding characters are members of our Alt Guild. It provides us a haven from the "responsibilities" of being in a larger guild.
Alt Night
Along with the Alt Guild is Alt Night. For a long while it was "Horde Night," but we finally abandoned that to remain on the same server and in the same channels. Right now, alt night is just getting fired back up for the new year for a group of toons we have in the 30's. This year's "project" is called OPERATION ALT-SQUAD!
Numbers
Our biggest issue is numbers. Our guild w/in the guild is about 8 people. Guilds & groups in WoW work best in multiples of 5. If I had a dollar for every time we had 6 of us logged in and someone had to be excluded, I'd be rich. The best way to deal with this is to find ways of being inclusive. Here are some things we've tried with mixed results:
The second is schedules. Two of us are in different guilds with very different schedules. Frankly, it's not gone well, but it has solved our first issue. Right now, schedules have created a situation where about 5 of us are online together regularly. That's been fun for us, but unfortunate for our other friends.
Staying Focused
Because we have two different foci,* it's really easy for us to drop one for the other. I do our Alt Night scheduling. There are weeks when I really need to farm something up for Beroth OR the raiding guild needs Beroth for a run that I didn't sign up for. It's so easy to go do those raid-related things and forget Alt Night. The same thing happens for the rest of our group.
Moving Forward w/ Operation Alt Squad
Over the weeks ahead, I plan to share stuff about Alt-Night and our progression. Our first hurdle is adjusting to the new "old" game. With the last patch, Blizzard changed a lot of level requirements. We're re-learning the levels of instances, mobs & general progressions.
Our goal this time around is to enjoy stuff we might have missed the other times we leveled toons. We're hoping to eventually hit some "old" end-game instances that we never really got to enjoy for various reasons.
The first hurdle is that our group is not as level-tight as we'd like. Our Tank, a feral druid named Rhus (me) is level 36, but our Priest is only 31. This was fine when we hit the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard on Monday, but I'm not sure how far we should go without shrinking that gap.
*RANT! Foci is the plural of Focus. Stupid blogger doesn't know that. It wants me to use focuses. I acknowledge that somewhere along the line general stupidity won over and made it focuses acceptable. I don't have to like it, but I accept it. Still, for the spell check to not recognize foci...Arrrgghhh!!
Now, I can go back and point out the numerous grammatical corners I regularly cut in this and other blogs. I think it's part of the nature of blogging. Sometimes, I purposefully cheat to maintain a conversational tone. I admit to an insufficient level of editing. I often catch really ugly mistakes days or weeks later. That's all part of blogging.
All that said, it still bothers me that the English language is becoming such a wasteland of inarticulate, dumb-speak.
If you're like me, you did it with a group of friends. Two or three of us started, but then the rest of us joined in. We live hours apart. WoW brings us back together. I've nearly quit the game dozens of times, but my friends keep me playing.
Even now after joining an end-game raiding guild, my friends figure prominently on my game-play decisions. Which raids will I sign up for? Which days will I reserve for them? When will I go do RL stuff and when will I log on simply to hang out and chat with them? The good news is that most of them are in the same guild with me. For the most part, the guild schedule is "our" schedule.
The drive to progress in end-game raiding can be all-consuming. When I'm not raiding, I'm often doing quests or farming materials with one goal in mind: Prepare for Raiding! I need to pay for potions, repair, new gear, and contribute to the guild bank. There are weeks when all my game-play is consumed by the raid or the raid-prep. Where do my friends fit in when this happens? Do I play to raid or do I play to do stuff with my friends?
If you're like me and the answer is a resounding BOTH, you've got your work cut out for you! Here's some of the stuff we do to maintain the balance. Some of it might seem *Duh* obvious. Sometimes it's the no-brainer stuff that's easiest to overlook, but makes all the difference
The Guild Within the Guild
aka The Alt-Guild
aka The Alt-Guild
The Friends Channel
Everyone has these channels. It's the conversation within the conversation. In our case, it's a lifeline. Even when all of us happen to be in the same guild or party channel, we inevitably hold our group conversations here. Now that we've spread to more than one guild, we still maintain our channel. It's essential. It keeps us all in contact. When one of us needs something, we come to this channel first before going to the guild.
The Alt-Guild
Even while our mains bounce from raiding guild to raiding guild, our Alt Guild remains constant. All our bank toons & non-raiding characters are members of our Alt Guild. It provides us a haven from the "responsibilities" of being in a larger guild.
Alt Night
Along with the Alt Guild is Alt Night. For a long while it was "Horde Night," but we finally abandoned that to remain on the same server and in the same channels. Right now, alt night is just getting fired back up for the new year for a group of toons we have in the 30's. This year's "project" is called OPERATION ALT-SQUAD!
Alt-Guild Issues
Numbers
Our biggest issue is numbers. Our guild w/in the guild is about 8 people. Guilds & groups in WoW work best in multiples of 5. If I had a dollar for every time we had 6 of us logged in and someone had to be excluded, I'd be rich. The best way to deal with this is to find ways of being inclusive. Here are some things we've tried with mixed results:
- Instead of running an instance, split into groups of 3 and quest.
- Split into the groups and then ask members of our various raiding guilds to join us. Just don't ask me to LFG! I hate pugs (even when 1/2 of it is friends.)
- Never let the same person sit out two nights in a row.
The second is schedules. Two of us are in different guilds with very different schedules. Frankly, it's not gone well, but it has solved our first issue. Right now, schedules have created a situation where about 5 of us are online together regularly. That's been fun for us, but unfortunate for our other friends.
Staying Focused
Because we have two different foci,* it's really easy for us to drop one for the other. I do our Alt Night scheduling. There are weeks when I really need to farm something up for Beroth OR the raiding guild needs Beroth for a run that I didn't sign up for. It's so easy to go do those raid-related things and forget Alt Night. The same thing happens for the rest of our group.
Moving Forward w/ Operation Alt Squad
Over the weeks ahead, I plan to share stuff about Alt-Night and our progression. Our first hurdle is adjusting to the new "old" game. With the last patch, Blizzard changed a lot of level requirements. We're re-learning the levels of instances, mobs & general progressions.
Our goal this time around is to enjoy stuff we might have missed the other times we leveled toons. We're hoping to eventually hit some "old" end-game instances that we never really got to enjoy for various reasons.
The first hurdle is that our group is not as level-tight as we'd like. Our Tank, a feral druid named Rhus (me) is level 36, but our Priest is only 31. This was fine when we hit the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard on Monday, but I'm not sure how far we should go without shrinking that gap.
*RANT! Foci is the plural of Focus. Stupid blogger doesn't know that. It wants me to use focuses. I acknowledge that somewhere along the line general stupidity won over and made it focuses acceptable. I don't have to like it, but I accept it. Still, for the spell check to not recognize foci...Arrrgghhh!!
Now, I can go back and point out the numerous grammatical corners I regularly cut in this and other blogs. I think it's part of the nature of blogging. Sometimes, I purposefully cheat to maintain a conversational tone. I admit to an insufficient level of editing. I often catch really ugly mistakes days or weeks later. That's all part of blogging.
All that said, it still bothers me that the English language is becoming such a wasteland of inarticulate, dumb-speak.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Server Maintenance or Why I hate Tuesdays
This post has no redeeming value at all. Read at your own risk.
OK, a little setup first. In RL I'm at home most of the time. (Reasons for this are too long to get into and generally inconsequentially to this rant.) In spite of constant access to my computer, I do not wake up dying to play WoW. Sure, I love it. Sure, I play a lot of it. But, most days of the week I wake up focused on the other stuff...
We interrupt this post to bring you a commentary on last week's Instance episode (which I'm listening to right now on my iPod)
Randy Delux commented that Hunters are one of the harder classes to level 63-70 because everything is a "tank-n-spank." Listen people, if you're doing it right, Hunter is the easiest class to grind in the entire game. Yes, it's a "tank-n-spank," but if you've been playing your hunter correctly since level 10, it's always been a "tank-n-spank." It doesn't matter which talent spec you've chosen. Send pet in, kill it...rinse & repeat. Easy mode. Anyone who is having trouble leveling a hunter should just stop playing the game.
*Sigh*
We now return you to the originally started rant, already in progress...
Note: I had this urge to pick this up mid-post like it was running real-time when I did the mini-rant.
...except on Tuesdays. For whatever reason, my internal "WoW-Clock" drives me with great urgency to play WoW on Tuesdays during the day. This would be fine except for server maintenance. Now, Blizzard has been doing a great job of keeping Tuesday maintenance to a minimum, but as luck would have it everything is down today.
Do I plan ahead? Do I say, I'm going to WoW on Mondays and get my stuff done on Tuesdays? No! I get my stuff done on Mondays & salivate for WoW on Tuesdays. Anyway, that's why I hate Tuesdays. I really need to schedule my week better.
OK, stupid rant is over.
I'll post something useful or fun next time I promise.
I'll post something useful or fun next time I promise.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Steady Shot Rotation
A different friend is about to hit level 62. It's time to understand the impact of Steady Shot.
The difference between a hunter's at level 61 & level 62 can potentially be staggering. This is because of Steady Shot. If a hunter can effectively learn to cast Steady Shot "inside" his or her Auto Shot timer, he or she can quickly add 20-30% more dps vs a level 61 hunter. Steady Shot is so effective and so mana efficient, that the question becomes, "Why use any other shot?" The answer, "Only if you have to."
A hunter with a really solid connection on a fast computer & fast reflexes can "theoretically" cast Steady Shot & some other shot inside the Auto Shot timer. I've done it to be sure. But more often than not, the result has been clipping, wasted mana & lower (not greater) dps. This is especially difficult for Beastmasters with Serpent's Swiftness. Beastmasters in Raids (and under the influence of haste-like effects) have been known to have Auto Shot speeds of 1 second or less. Take me for example:
My current shot speed is 1.96 seconds. If Aspect of the Hawk proc's, I'm running at 1.7 sec. If I hit Rapid Fire alone, I'm at 1.4 sec. When both are going, I'm at 1 second. And don't get me started about Shaman Heroism. And yes, my goal is to time the cast of Steady Shot so that it and Auto Shot both go off. Sometimes, all I can do is hold on and enjoy the ride.
Now, to compound matters, I'm not just watching my shot timer to maximize my shot rotation. I'm busy. In addition, I'm also using ALL my pet abilities, trapping, managing mana, watching my threat so I can Feign Death & attempting to make snarky comments about the mages, warlocks, tanks...well everyone.
That last part is essential.
So, how the hell do I do all this? Addon & Macros. LOTS and lots of Addons & Macros.
First, a basic screen shot.
The difference between a hunter's at level 61 & level 62 can potentially be staggering. This is because of Steady Shot. If a hunter can effectively learn to cast Steady Shot "inside" his or her Auto Shot timer, he or she can quickly add 20-30% more dps vs a level 61 hunter. Steady Shot is so effective and so mana efficient, that the question becomes, "Why use any other shot?" The answer, "Only if you have to."
A hunter with a really solid connection on a fast computer & fast reflexes can "theoretically" cast Steady Shot & some other shot inside the Auto Shot timer. I've done it to be sure. But more often than not, the result has been clipping, wasted mana & lower (not greater) dps. This is especially difficult for Beastmasters with Serpent's Swiftness. Beastmasters in Raids (and under the influence of haste-like effects) have been known to have Auto Shot speeds of 1 second or less. Take me for example:
My current shot speed is 1.96 seconds. If Aspect of the Hawk proc's, I'm running at 1.7 sec. If I hit Rapid Fire alone, I'm at 1.4 sec. When both are going, I'm at 1 second. And don't get me started about Shaman Heroism. And yes, my goal is to time the cast of Steady Shot so that it and Auto Shot both go off. Sometimes, all I can do is hold on and enjoy the ride.
Now, to compound matters, I'm not just watching my shot timer to maximize my shot rotation. I'm busy. In addition, I'm also using ALL my pet abilities, trapping, managing mana, watching my threat so I can Feign Death & attempting to make snarky comments about the mages, warlocks, tanks...well everyone.
That last part is essential.
So, how the hell do I do all this? Addon & Macros. LOTS and lots of Addons & Macros.
First, a basic screen shot.
Non-Raid Screen ShotThis is my basic (non-raid) window. Notice, I like things "clean." I won't go into all my addons here. In a nutshell, I believe that every hunter use a good bar mod like Bartender3, a visually accurate cast timer like Quartz, an accurate threat meter like Omen & a keybound macro for your shot rotation.*
The goal is simple: Access the most important stuff as quickly as I can & keep my most important visual cues easy to see with minimum clutter, ie, no screen candy.
That said, the most essential components are the shot timer & the macro. I could solo and even run instances without everything else. So, let's focus there.
A Hunter Shot Timer on QuartzThe big "Steady Shot" line is the time left on my Steady Shot. The smaller gray line is my Auto Shot timer. Because this Steady Shot is ahead of the Auto Shot, I am in sync and not in danger of clipping my shot.
You can do this by clicking a Steady Shot Icon on your screen, but that will keep you from being able to click the 5 to 10 other buttons you may need. In fact, most Raid hunters I talk to don't even have a Steady or Auto Shot icon on their bar. Instead, I have my macro bound to my "4" key.
You can do this by clicking a Steady Shot Icon on your screen, but that will keep you from being able to click the 5 to 10 other buttons you may need. In fact, most Raid hunters I talk to don't even have a Steady or Auto Shot icon on their bar. Instead, I have my macro bound to my "4" key.
Can you find the missing Steady Shot?OK, enough goofing around, where's the macro?
My Shot Rotation Macro
/script UIErrorsFrame:Hide()
/cast [target=pettarget] Kill Command
/castsequence reset=1 Steady Shot, !Auto Shot
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear(); UIErrorsFrame:Show()
Note: My class rep in QSS likes to write his cast sequence as/castsequence reset=3 Steady Shot/cast [target=pettarget] Kill Command
/castsequence reset=1 Steady Shot, !Auto Shot
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear(); UIErrorsFrame:Show()
The basic components of the macro are 2 scripts to clear errors, Kill Command & the rotation. My class rep, Poortyr and I played with Kill Command for a while before we got it right. We were wasting time & clipping shots too much trying to manually click the icon or even use a separate hotkey.
OK now that you know the macro and understand timing, you have to learn to use the macro. This can be done in two ways, careful timing or spamming.
Screw careful timing, just spam the button. That's right, I said spam it. When I'm shooting, I click the number 4 constantly. I use my mouse to click 99% of my other commands. Sometimes, I "pause" to introduce other abilities, but mostly I just thread the needle between the Steady Shot & the Auto Shot. Furthermore, the pet's commands run on an independent timer, so I can command my pet while I'm busy.
Raiding, especially boss fights, are frantic. I can't use wireless keyboards because they lag on me. When I tell people I use a macro for my shot, they say stuff like "I wish I played such an easy class." But if they only knew what was really happening they might change their minds about that.
I hope that this post hasn't scared you about shot rotation. Seriously, there's a reason why the hunters in my guild compete for top dps on raids. Try the timer and the macro. You'll be amazed at the difference. Also, don't forget to check back later for more combat tips.
*While all of the Addon links come from Curse.com (great mod site), I actually prefer to use WoW Ace Updater for as many mods as possible. It makes things easy to update. More on this in some other post.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Features
The folks at Thottbot & WoWHead have a cool little script that let you add a mouse-over script to see info on linked gear. It's really simple. I'm going to go with WoWHead, because I've been using them more than Thottbot lately. Here are the instructions:
Powered By WoWHead
Anyway, let's give it a try. My current melee weapon is Legacy. It's a challenge to find something better. If I swap to one-handers, I've got a lot of work to do to find 2 weapons that will enable me to replace it. The "simple choice" is to find a 2-handed replacement. The hard part there is finding something that works for hunters. Most 2-handed weapons are really best for melee warriors. The trick is to seek out those few weapons that Hunters & Ret-Pallies would like. My first choice is Trollbane.
At some point down the line, I'll get into my very simple strategy to gear and theory-craft. These subjects can be a pain in the ass because there's no good sites for hunters to "do math" and I am not crunching the numbers myself. The good news is that I don't have to and neither should you. More on that later...
Note: This function will only work for folks who visit the site directly. It will not work for folks who use RSS feeds.
Powered By WoWHead
Anyway, let's give it a try. My current melee weapon is Legacy. It's a challenge to find something better. If I swap to one-handers, I've got a lot of work to do to find 2 weapons that will enable me to replace it. The "simple choice" is to find a 2-handed replacement. The hard part there is finding something that works for hunters. Most 2-handed weapons are really best for melee warriors. The trick is to seek out those few weapons that Hunters & Ret-Pallies would like. My first choice is Trollbane.
At some point down the line, I'll get into my very simple strategy to gear and theory-craft. These subjects can be a pain in the ass because there's no good sites for hunters to "do math" and I am not crunching the numbers myself. The good news is that I don't have to and neither should you. More on that later...
Note: This function will only work for folks who visit the site directly. It will not work for folks who use RSS feeds.
Friday, January 11, 2008
They Stealth-Fixed Feed Pet!
OK, sometime after patch 2.3 (and maybe 2.3 itself) those bastards at Blizzard quietly "broke" the feed pet effect. Pets would revert to hungry all the way from well-fed constantly. I used to be able to grind for days on a single stack of 20 vendor meat, but then after the patch it was literally a struggle to survive a raid with 2 stacks. Pet food at level 70 adds up. No way I could grind over 100 pieces of meat just for my pet in a week and the vendor meat goes for 50s a 5-stack. I know, what's 20-30 gold a week in the grand scheme of things?
Dude, that's the same bullshit kind of argument the cable company tosses at me when they try to raise my bill by offering me more useless services.
At first, the change was so hard to notice that a lot huntards missed it, but the serious players and long-time hunters all noticed. Some of us complained, but I never saw Blizzard acknowledge it. -- That's not to say they didn't, I just never found mention. -- Well, it wasn't in the patch-notes but Tuesday's mini-patch fixed the problem. Sigh, at least that's over!
Also, I think the 2.3 macro "shot-clipping" problem has been fixed too. Thank goodness for that. It too was a pain in the ass. When it happened, someone on the forums (not a hunter) actually suggested that it was the trade-off for the removal of the min-range.
And that's like the insurance company telling me I can't get my prescription that works because they would prefer my doctor use another drug, but then call it a "feature" of the plan.
Dude, that's the same bullshit kind of argument the cable company tosses at me when they try to raise my bill by offering me more useless services.
At first, the change was so hard to notice that a lot huntards missed it, but the serious players and long-time hunters all noticed. Some of us complained, but I never saw Blizzard acknowledge it. -- That's not to say they didn't, I just never found mention. -- Well, it wasn't in the patch-notes but Tuesday's mini-patch fixed the problem. Sigh, at least that's over!
Also, I think the 2.3 macro "shot-clipping" problem has been fixed too. Thank goodness for that. It too was a pain in the ass. When it happened, someone on the forums (not a hunter) actually suggested that it was the trade-off for the removal of the min-range.
And that's like the insurance company telling me I can't get my prescription that works because they would prefer my doctor use another drug, but then call it a "feature" of the plan.
Email to a Friend Pt2
This is the continuation of my discussion with my friend about his hunter alt.
Pets
We've already had a lengthy discussion about pets. The key to pets is to find something you like. It's essential to know when to pause and learn key new abilities. Finding the right pet for you is also important. Here are the best final tips I can give you.
1) For BM's, DPS pets are superior to tank pets. However, armor is still good, especially for leveling. You've got to let your pet build threat. The best way to achieve this w/out MD's is by waiting. Armor in this case are good. That's why I think you'll really like the Boar for leveling. It's got the armor of a tank while still having dps potential thanks to Gore. The charge ability will allow it to build threat without taking damage. But wait, you're already sold on leveling a boar.
2) Keep your pet well fed until it's fully loyal. Keep your main pet fully trained and focus on it. I don't believe a smart hunter "plays" around with pets. The only time you should be without your pet is to train new abilities for your pet. The only time you should abandon all that hard work is when your pet lags behind and it's time to start a new main pet.
On Hunter in General
There is a simple reality that PBC & BC hunters are simply different beasts. There's shot rotation & then there's shot rotation. Until you get to level 63 (Steady Shot,) you've got no real work to do. Tricks and tactics are also iffy because a lot of key hunter abilities come as you level. FD dramatically changes the game for you. The beast within & kill command (66) dramatically change the game for you. When you get to high level you MUST use a combination of keyboard macro buttons and clicks. There are two "camps" on how to achieve this process. But it's moot since you're not even out of the starting area.
Steady vs Burst
Much like the Crit vs Hit camp in mage, there are two schools of thought. PvP'ers will tell you that crit is where it's at. For PvE, I'm telling you that steady time on target always wins. This is why I hate Aimed Shot. The burst of damage it puts out is not worth the aggro it generates, the mana it uses or the time it takes to cast. It's helpful for building threat on MD pulls & I have to cast it now that it has the debuff, otherwise you'd almost never see it on my damage table. Note: I'm making this statement as a BC Raider & not as a player leveling hunter.
Your Rotation
So, your move for now should basically be...
1) Mark Target (when you get it)
2) Send Boar in on Charge (1 sec stun w/ burst of damage on first pet swing)
3) Serpent Sting
4) Time Auto/Arcane - Any timer that shows you the autoshot will help. You do not need a uber-timer until you have Steady Shot, but you might like it since some also time abilities like stings.
5) Concussive shot if you steal aggro & then decide to either kill it or stop dps'ing in hopes that Potroast can pick it back up.
But wait, why not concuss early? Well, your call. Consider this: Not having an ability that proc's off of concussive (Steady does extra damage on stunned targets,) you're basically generating a burst of threat to slow the target (who's staying on your pet anyway.) Then it goes on cooldown. Now, let's say your 2nd arcane shot grabs aggro and your concuss is still on cooldown. Now, you're in melee.
Talents
Beast Master is generally 41/20/0. There's a lot of play in that. Look at my build and look at any talent guides. There's a ton of places to put your own individual spin on the build.
Endurance Training vs Thick Hide: The school of thought here is 5 points split between them any way you want.
Taking Bestial Swiftness, Improved Mend Pet, Animal Handler & Spirit Bond: In the "final analysis" a hunter gets 1 "free" talent point. Most Raiders put this point in Animal Handler to reduce miss chance. Most PvPers put this point in Bestial Swiftness. Your instinct may be to race to the refined points of a raid's build, but don't ignore the potential value of any/all of these abilities for leveling your alt. Improved Mend Pet gets rid of debuffs. Spirit Bond lets you go longer without stopping to eat/drink.
Note: The best level 70 farming build is to have Bestial Swiftness, Improved Mend Pet & Spirit Bond. Turn on Aspect of the Viper and you will go until you drop. No drinking, no eating, just farming.
P.S. Professions? Skinning & Leatherworking. Mining & Engineering is a distant second, but you can't track nodes & use Hunt-dar at the same time. So, skinning & leatherworking.
Pets
We've already had a lengthy discussion about pets. The key to pets is to find something you like. It's essential to know when to pause and learn key new abilities. Finding the right pet for you is also important. Here are the best final tips I can give you.
1) For BM's, DPS pets are superior to tank pets. However, armor is still good, especially for leveling. You've got to let your pet build threat. The best way to achieve this w/out MD's is by waiting. Armor in this case are good. That's why I think you'll really like the Boar for leveling. It's got the armor of a tank while still having dps potential thanks to Gore. The charge ability will allow it to build threat without taking damage. But wait, you're already sold on leveling a boar.
2) Keep your pet well fed until it's fully loyal. Keep your main pet fully trained and focus on it. I don't believe a smart hunter "plays" around with pets. The only time you should be without your pet is to train new abilities for your pet. The only time you should abandon all that hard work is when your pet lags behind and it's time to start a new main pet.
On Hunter in General
There is a simple reality that PBC & BC hunters are simply different beasts. There's shot rotation & then there's shot rotation. Until you get to level 63 (Steady Shot,) you've got no real work to do. Tricks and tactics are also iffy because a lot of key hunter abilities come as you level. FD dramatically changes the game for you. The beast within & kill command (66) dramatically change the game for you. When you get to high level you MUST use a combination of keyboard macro buttons and clicks. There are two "camps" on how to achieve this process. But it's moot since you're not even out of the starting area.
Steady vs Burst
Much like the Crit vs Hit camp in mage, there are two schools of thought. PvP'ers will tell you that crit is where it's at. For PvE, I'm telling you that steady time on target always wins. This is why I hate Aimed Shot. The burst of damage it puts out is not worth the aggro it generates, the mana it uses or the time it takes to cast. It's helpful for building threat on MD pulls & I have to cast it now that it has the debuff, otherwise you'd almost never see it on my damage table. Note: I'm making this statement as a BC Raider & not as a player leveling hunter.
Your Rotation
So, your move for now should basically be...
1) Mark Target (when you get it)
2) Send Boar in on Charge (1 sec stun w/ burst of damage on first pet swing)
3) Serpent Sting
4) Time Auto/Arcane - Any timer that shows you the autoshot will help. You do not need a uber-timer until you have Steady Shot, but you might like it since some also time abilities like stings.
5) Concussive shot if you steal aggro & then decide to either kill it or stop dps'ing in hopes that Potroast can pick it back up.
But wait, why not concuss early? Well, your call. Consider this: Not having an ability that proc's off of concussive (Steady does extra damage on stunned targets,) you're basically generating a burst of threat to slow the target (who's staying on your pet anyway.) Then it goes on cooldown. Now, let's say your 2nd arcane shot grabs aggro and your concuss is still on cooldown. Now, you're in melee.
Talents
Beast Master is generally 41/20/0. There's a lot of play in that. Look at my build and look at any talent guides. There's a ton of places to put your own individual spin on the build.
Endurance Training vs Thick Hide: The school of thought here is 5 points split between them any way you want.
Taking Bestial Swiftness, Improved Mend Pet, Animal Handler & Spirit Bond: In the "final analysis" a hunter gets 1 "free" talent point. Most Raiders put this point in Animal Handler to reduce miss chance. Most PvPers put this point in Bestial Swiftness. Your instinct may be to race to the refined points of a raid's build, but don't ignore the potential value of any/all of these abilities for leveling your alt. Improved Mend Pet gets rid of debuffs. Spirit Bond lets you go longer without stopping to eat/drink.
Note: The best level 70 farming build is to have Bestial Swiftness, Improved Mend Pet & Spirit Bond. Turn on Aspect of the Viper and you will go until you drop. No drinking, no eating, just farming.
P.S. Professions? Skinning & Leatherworking. Mining & Engineering is a distant second, but you can't track nodes & use Hunt-dar at the same time. So, skinning & leatherworking.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
What Pet Do I Level?
A good friend and regular gaming buddy decided to work on a hunter alt and wanted to avoid the normal "huntard" mistakes. So, he asked me to give him a rundown on the best pet to level. Here's what I told him...
With the ready availability of Ravagers in your starting zone, it's probably the best & safest bet to start. Where do you go from there? If it were me...
1) Your first pet should be the Ravager Specimen on Azuremyst. It comes w/ Bite 2 & Gore 2. It can also learn Dash.
2) Around 16-17 go to Red Ridge (Great Goretusk) OR Loch Modan (Elder Mountain Boar.) They have Charge 2 & Gore 3! You can choose to switch full-time to the boar if you like charge, or stick w/ your ravager with the knowledge that you've learned the better gore. You've got 3 slots in your stable. You'll be keeping at least one empty until level 70.
3) Around 19-20 pick up Bite 3 from the Greater Tarantula in Red Ridge. (Or one of several other sources of bite 3.) You simply want the rank on your inventory. Don't bother keeping the spider. If you think your pets are lagging behind, just wait until level 24.
4) At level 24 go find Bellygrub in Redridge Mountains. He comes with Charge 3 & Gore 4. He can also learn Dash and/or Bite.* And wait, you got Bite 3 at level 20! Build up his loyalty and train him. He's a keeper! I recommend the name Potroast!
At this point, unless you find you just dislike Boars, you should work at leveling Bellygrub/Potroast with you the whole way. Stop from time to time to pick up higher levels of Charge, Bite, Gore & Dash. It's important to note that the highest tamable boars are right around level 50. Follow a guide like the one found on Petopia to know when to stop and get new abilities. Going back to tame sucks ass!
Now skip ahead...
5) As soon after level 63 as you can, go to Blades Edge Mountain and get the coolest pet in Outland. The Rip-Blade Ravager. It knows Dash 3 (best) & Gore 9 (best.) It also randomly changes colors (3 options) every time you summon it.
Now you have a solid PvP pet in Potroast (Charge stuns) & possibly the best PvE pet in the Ravager.
6) At level 68+, you'll need to find an Owl with max ranks in Dive. Once you've done this AND verified that you have max ranks in Charge, Dash, Dive, Gore, & Bite, go find the Eclipsion Dragonhawk in SMV. It will give you Firebreathing 2. Firebreathing is a directional AOE attack! (Kinda like Cone of Cold.) If I didn't already have a full stable, I'd have one. It's different, and it'll hold solid aggro on multiple mobs for farming.
At level 70: You should have something like the following:
Main DPS pet: Ravager or Cat.
Multipurpose PvP/PvE Pet : Boar or Scorpid
3rd Pet for fun: Dragonhawk
What do I have?
Raid DPS pet: Slash (Ravager)
General Purpose PvE: Shred (Cat)
PvP pet: Grabhr (Scorpid)
Next time we'll talk about how to spend pet training points...
* Note: Your Boar will not be able to know all 4 (bite, dash, charge & gore) at once since you need a slot for Growl. (I think Owls are the only pets that can actively train 5 abilities.) You should have max Growl, Charge, Gore & then play with Bite/Dash until you know what you like for the 4th. Different schools of thought related to pet energy consumption and maximizing dps come into play here.
With the ready availability of Ravagers in your starting zone, it's probably the best & safest bet to start. Where do you go from there? If it were me...
1) Your first pet should be the Ravager Specimen on Azuremyst. It comes w/ Bite 2 & Gore 2. It can also learn Dash.
2) Around 16-17 go to Red Ridge (Great Goretusk) OR Loch Modan (Elder Mountain Boar.) They have Charge 2 & Gore 3! You can choose to switch full-time to the boar if you like charge, or stick w/ your ravager with the knowledge that you've learned the better gore. You've got 3 slots in your stable. You'll be keeping at least one empty until level 70.
3) Around 19-20 pick up Bite 3 from the Greater Tarantula in Red Ridge. (Or one of several other sources of bite 3.) You simply want the rank on your inventory. Don't bother keeping the spider. If you think your pets are lagging behind, just wait until level 24.
4) At level 24 go find Bellygrub in Redridge Mountains. He comes with Charge 3 & Gore 4. He can also learn Dash and/or Bite.* And wait, you got Bite 3 at level 20! Build up his loyalty and train him. He's a keeper! I recommend the name Potroast!
At this point, unless you find you just dislike Boars, you should work at leveling Bellygrub/Potroast with you the whole way. Stop from time to time to pick up higher levels of Charge, Bite, Gore & Dash. It's important to note that the highest tamable boars are right around level 50. Follow a guide like the one found on Petopia to know when to stop and get new abilities. Going back to tame sucks ass!
Now skip ahead...
5) As soon after level 63 as you can, go to Blades Edge Mountain and get the coolest pet in Outland. The Rip-Blade Ravager. It knows Dash 3 (best) & Gore 9 (best.) It also randomly changes colors (3 options) every time you summon it.
Now you have a solid PvP pet in Potroast (Charge stuns) & possibly the best PvE pet in the Ravager.
6) At level 68+, you'll need to find an Owl with max ranks in Dive. Once you've done this AND verified that you have max ranks in Charge, Dash, Dive, Gore, & Bite, go find the Eclipsion Dragonhawk in SMV. It will give you Firebreathing 2. Firebreathing is a directional AOE attack! (Kinda like Cone of Cold.) If I didn't already have a full stable, I'd have one. It's different, and it'll hold solid aggro on multiple mobs for farming.
At level 70: You should have something like the following:
Main DPS pet: Ravager or Cat.
Multipurpose PvP/PvE Pet : Boar or Scorpid
3rd Pet for fun: Dragonhawk
What do I have?
Raid DPS pet: Slash (Ravager)
General Purpose PvE: Shred (Cat)
PvP pet: Grabhr (Scorpid)
Next time we'll talk about how to spend pet training points...
* Note: Your Boar will not be able to know all 4 (bite, dash, charge & gore) at once since you need a slot for Growl. (I think Owls are the only pets that can actively train 5 abilities.) You should have max Growl, Charge, Gore & then play with Bite/Dash until you know what you like for the 4th. Different schools of thought related to pet energy consumption and maximizing dps come into play here.
Little Boy Blue
This is our Raid Leader and Guild Main Tank showing off his horrible blue frost resist gear. He tanks a big blue water elemental named Lurker in this gear. Someone noticed that it made him look like Lurker's "third leg." The jokes and stupid names haven't stopped since.
Flood of Old Screen Shots
Mr & Mrs BeanOur Gnome Mage Alts
Calendriel & BerothPreparing for a Tempest Keep Raid
Moving in
I started to work on a WoW screenshots site several months ago, but nothing ever came of it. (See the shot that I kept from that attempt.) Anyway, I'm relaunching here and now. This time, however, it's going to encompass not just screenshots, but stuff about my life as a hunter and fun stuff about my alts.
As posted on Acknowledge, Move On!, this is not a replacement blog.
As posted on Acknowledge, Move On!, this is not a replacement blog.
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