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.