So this looks to be my pet lineup in Wrath.

I finally decided for models and specific pets for everyone!

Raymi - Bear - Specific Mob: Ol' Sooty - Talented like this.


Tassadar - Owl - Specific Mob: Windroc Matriarch - talented like this.


Mynia - Moth - Specific Mob: Shimmerwing Moth - talented like this.


Oona - Sporebat - Specific Mob: Sporebat - talented like this.



Aren't they cute? :D

This is gonna sound silly, but...

Can you guys help me find a moth that matches this non-combat pet?

Pretty please? I picked it up off the AH today on the cheap and I love how cute it is. :D It'd be awesome if I could have a matching moth PET in Wrath, too.

Oh my god. IT GIVES A TITLE!

GETTING SERVER FIRST IN A PROFESSION GIVES A TITLE!

"Grand Master Engineer - First player on the realm to achieve 450 skill in engineering."

I WILL HAVE THAT TITLE, SO HELP ME GOD.

Now, TSA is the best change of 8885.

But seriously, I'm very close to calling the new Aspect of the Viper the second-best change of 8885. Think about it.

1) Hunter is nearly out of mana.
2) Hunter slips into Viper.
3) Hunter's first auto shot restores enough mana for a Steady
4) Hunter resumes rotation, building up mana as he goes
5) Hunter's mana is full, he then slips back into Hawk

It frees up our potion cycles to be used on Haste pots instead of Fel Mana, making our DPS skyrocket, and it seriously alleviates the issue of our mounting ability costs.

It is just so good.

Massive skill changes that I missed!

Sorry, distracted by the new BEST TALENT EVER(tm), I missed some new SKILL changes!

First up, AotV: "The hunter takes on the aspect of the viper, instantly regenerating mana equal to 100% of the damage done by any ranged attack or ability, but reduces your total damage done by 50%. Only one Aspect can be active at a time." Rilgon's verdict - yes plz. This means that, if I'm down to my last few hundred mana, I can fire off my Rapid Fire/Trinket combo, go into Viper, and pick up a massive ton of mana really quick.

Kill Shot: "You attempt to finish the wounded target off, firing a long range attack dealing weapon damage plus [ 15% of RAP + 2500 ]. The sheer power of the attack causes a strong recoil, causing you to be knocked down after the attack. 7% of base mana, 5-45 yd range, Instant cast, 35 sec cooldown" - It still sucks and I'm still angry that it became absolutely terrible. Good for lolpvp, but I don't PVP.

Hrm, that seems to be it. Oh well.

I'm hoping there's some new tameable pets (CORE HOUNDS, DAMNIT, BLIZZ, CORE HOUNDS. I WILL GIVE UP THE BEST TALENT EVER(tm) FOR ANCIENT CORE HOUNDS, JUST DO IT), though - we've gotten new ones with every push previous, right?

10%? Pfft.

Remember how I did a write-up of our Glyphs?

Remember how I bolded the TSA Glyph and said I wanted it, but some people said it was terrible because it was 2% of 225 ATP?

Remember this?

"Glyph of Trueshot Aura - Increases the attack power bonus of Trueshot Aura by an additional 2%."

10% MORE ATP FOR THE RAID?

NAY, SAY I. FOR ME AND MY RAID, WE WILL HAVE 12%.

Stop hyperventilating, Rilgon! Report the news!

deep breaths

calming breaths

dr pepper intake


Okay, now that I've stopped LOSING MY MIND at the fact that Trueshot Aura grants AN EXTRA 10% ATP FOR EVERYONE IN THE RAID, I can now address the rest of the 8885 changes as they impact Marksmen. Please change the channel to other news stations if you want BM or SV news.

(I lie - I may try to write up the changes as best as I know)

Tier 1: No changes that I can see. That's fine, Tier 1 had smashing talents.

Tier 2: Improved Hunter's Mark changed. Now reads: "Increases the bonus attack power granted by your Hunter's Mark ability by 10/20/30%, and reduces the mana cost of your Hunter's Mark ability by 33/66/100%." Very interesting change. I like the fact that it's free with 3/3, and it makes it almost mandatory for one Hunter to have like it always was... Will I take it? We'll see...

Tier 3: Rapid Killing now affects Chimera Shot. Improved Arcane Shot is now a 3-point talent and reads "Increases the damage of Arcane Shot by 5/10/15%." HUGE CHANGE for Beast Mastery Hunters, as Arcane is meant to be their staple shot aside from Steady. BIG CHANGE, MASSIVE CHANGE.

Tier 4: No changes. (I'm still liking Improved Stings to go with Chimera. Go figure that out.)

Tier 5: Concussive Barrage now affects Multi-Shot (and still sucks).

Tier 6: Combat Experience is now 3/6% Intellect AND Agility. Will it be worth taking? Only time will tell...

Tier 7: POSSIBLY THE BEST CHANGE EVER MADE TO THE MARKSMANSHIP TREE - TRUESHOT AURA IS NOW RAID-WIDE 10% ATP BOOST - RILGON IS HAVING A HEART ATTACK AT THIS NEWS

Tier 8: No changes. (Rapid Recuperation still bites.)

Tier 9: Improved Steady now works on Chimera! Fantastic change! Wild Quiver now fires NATURE-DAMAGE-BASED ARROWS THAT DO NOT CONSUME AMMO. THIS MEANS THEY PIERCE ARMOR AND THEREFORE ARE VERY GOOD. RILGON LIKES THIS EVEN MORE NOW.

Tier 10: Did Marked for Death affect Chimera before? If not, it does now!

Tier 11: No changes, but Chimera is smashing already.


Other notable changes in other trees:

Beast Mastery, Tier 11: Beast Mastery now only gives 4 extra training points instead of 5.

Survival, Tier 10: Hunting Party is now ruined. Due to homogenization of mana-generating affects, it is now 20/40/60/80/100% chance to put Refreshment on up to 10 mana-using party or raid members, returning to them 0.5% of their total mana. Also, it ONLY affects Steady, Arcane, and Explosive. HORRIBLE CHANGE.

Survival, Tier 7: Expose Weakness is now ruined (and possibly the raid viability of Survival Hunters period) - the talent now only affects the Hunter in question with no other bonuses or changes. Worst change of 8885.

Survival, Tier 3: Trap Mastery now has its affects, and Mirshalak can sleep at ease: With 1 point, it does for Explosive and Immolation traps what 2 points of Clever Traps did. :) "Frost Trap - Increases the duration by 30%.; Freezing Trap - If your freezing trap is dispelled within 5 sec of it's duration, the dispeller will be rooted in Frozen Ice for 6 sec.; Immolation and Explosive Trap - Increases the damage done by 30%.; Snake Trap - Increases the number of snakes summoned by 30%."


That's every change to the trees that I can notice - if you see any others, please feel free to comment and let me know what I missed.

Overall, Marksmanship has gotten a major overhaul that we needed (and TSA is now godlike), but at what cost? What terrible, bitter cost? I'd almost rather it not have happened if it meant that Survival wasn't absolutely gutted of all raid synergy now...


Edit: Oh, right, we got new Glyphs, too, but they suck except for this beauty:

"Glyph of Feign Death -- Reduce the cooldown of your Feign Death spell by 5."

Now, if that's 5 seconds, I foresee this Glyph being on EVERY RAID HUNTER'S GLYPH LAYOUT. EVER.

10% more attack power.

TSA IS NOW 10% MORE ATTACK POWER FOR EVERYONE RAID-WIDE

oh

my

god

More changes once I find them out and stop dancing in the streets

295 is the "Magic Number".

Well, unless you happen to be a blueberry, then it's 262 (or 263, depending on rounding).

Yep, that's the new mythical 9% hit rating number, and with changes being made to Improved Faerie Fire, that looks like it might be icky - time to stop using Crit scopes and move over to new Hit scopes, huh?

Numbers obtained using simple math and the data found here from Neggles at The Angry Butterfly.

Get ready, folks! New beta build incoming!

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/24/9336456482-scheduled-maintenance-82908.html

As soon as I start finding information about this new build (and specifically how it impacts us Hunters), you'll get it here on Stabilized Effort Scope.

Not fair. Hardly balanced. Stabilized Effort Scope News.

Calling all vaguely artistic readers!

...yeah, I have like, what, three readers? Four, maybe?


Anyways. I'm pretty sure that you've noticed that Stabilized Effort Scope is blandly designed. It's very simple, very plain, and very dull. If any artistically-adept readers of mine are willing to help me actually spruce this place up, I'd be ridiculously grateful.

If not, meh, I'll get around to learning CSS someday and try to make something of it.

Or I might just shoot things.

Yeah, let's just shoot things, then blow things up.

Be more prepared!

Following Brajana's lead over at Mend Pet, I decided I'd do a little write-up of what I carry with me to every raid. Maybe you'll learn something, maybe not.

Plus, if I have it written down somewhere, it'll help me remember on nights when I can't think straight (too much drinking with MoratoriumMaevet, maybe...) but am still going to raid for some reason.

100x Naaru Ration - in case I miss the mage table. Also allows me to give my biscuits to late raiders and run off of my own food.
80x Smoked Talbuk Venison - Pet food.
60x Heavy Netherweave Bandage - Because OH MY GOD THE WATER IT BURNS
20x Warp Burger - I run at hitcap, so I don't need hit food. Therefore, Agility food.
20x Kibler's Bits or 20x Sporeling Snacks - Pet stat food. Depends on what we're doing for the day and if Tassadar or Fenix is dying a lot.
20x Elixir of Major Agility - Best Battle Elixir we can get.
20x Elixir of Draenic Wisdom - I prefer Major Mageblood, but EoMM is EXPENSIVE. EoDW is much less so.
3x Superior Mana Oil - Mana regen is life.
20x Healing Potion Injector - Also because OH MY GOD THE WATER IT BURNS
20x Mana Potion Injector - Yes, I know I should use Fel Mana, but I prefer my injectors for bag space reasons.
5x Field Repair Bot 110G - My duty is to the raid's success. We can't succeed if we have busted gear.
4800x Mysterious Arrow - For pew pew.
2x Adamantite Arrow Maker - For extended pew pew.
Optionally: 5-10x Scroll of Agility V - I like to have these available, but good lord, the prices are SO HIGH. I can't wait until Inscriptionists can make these. :(


And before you ask, no, I don't have bag space. Good DPS doesn't (and also dies second). :P

(Not listed: My two Dimensional Rippers, my Cables, my engineering tools, and so on.)

No way. NO. ****ING. WAY.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=9336665205&sid=2000

Attack Power Buff (Multiplier): Abomination's Might, Trueshot Aura, Unleashed Rage

READ THAT AGAIN. THOROUGHLY.

Attack Power Buff (Multiplier): Abomination's Might, Trueshot Aura, Unleashed Rage

Attack Power Buff (Multiplier): Trueshot Aura

Attack Power Buff (Multiplier): Trueshot Aura

THEY ARE MAKING TSA MULTIPLY ATTACK POWER, HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP

THEY'RE REALLY FIXING IT FOR REAL

Dumb question.

I know that we at Stabilized Effort Scope usually keep to WoW-related (specifically Hunter-related, and even more specifically, Marksmanship Hunter-related) stuff, but would you guys mind if I occasionally dip into real life nonsense on here?

I mean yeah, I only have what, 3 readers, if that? Figured I'd ask before going forward, heh.

Hoooold up, what was that?

Via the Beta forums:

"Chimera is now broken with regards to Serpent sting now no longer even takes Serpent sting damage into effect. It also still fails to refresh any stings. However it does seem to have been changed to deal Nature damage as base and thus is no longer effected by armor."

PLEASE LET THIS BE WORKING AS INTENDED. PLEASE LET THIS BE WORKING AS INTENDED. PLEASE LET THIS BE WORKING AS INTENDED.

(No, not the not-refreshing-stings part, the does-damage-as-nature-damage-and-owns-armor part)

I like the beta forums.

Saw this little gem over on the Beta forums. Something I'd thought about, but without beta access, couldn't test.

"And with the change to Auto Shot, this shot [Kill Shot] is even worse. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the unlinking has created another benefit. If you're kiting, all you have to do is a really short stutter step to fire an auto shot. I kite with straife, and when my auto timer is up, I literaly just lift my finger from Q or E and put it right back down on it as fast as I can. My hunter appears to take a stutter step and fires an Auto Shot. Gone are the days of standing still for .5 secs to squeeze in the auto shot while kiting or chasing."

That is some tastiness. I figured that the unlinking and de-cast-timing of Auto was going to make kiting a bit more easy, but I couldn't test it - it's good to hear that it is, in fact, more sane. :)

Kinda nervous about 3.0, actually.

Like, it's gonna be amazing, for sure. But I'm kinda worried - I'm not sure if I should spec directly for Chimera (and go like... 0/53/8) when the new talents break out, or if I should do something more even (7/XX/8) and pick up Chimera when I hit 80.

Plus, I need to go pick out pets to tame when the new patch hits - I know that Tassadar is gonna stay but Arcturus and Fenix are gone; I don't know what models I want to get for my new Moth, Sporebat, and Bear, though. I'm definitely thinking Ol' Sooty for the bear - that was the bear that I had on my old Dwarf Hunter eons ago in vanilla WoW - it would be a nice rememberance of him.

http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=cZzeVbMAz0goxuAoe is what I'm thinking of for my "go pure MM" spec - it's only a few points off of my linked "final" spec. However, I miss out on Improved Aspect of the Hawk... but I'm going to be leveling at that point, not raiding. Imp Hawk is kinda... sketchy when leveling (or even grinding) - I can see putting those seven points in BM off until the VERY end.

I dunno, I guess this is open for discussion. I do know that once we get access to Dalaran, I'm getting Grand Master Engineering and putting EVERYTHING on hold until I hit 450, but until then, it's grind grind grind!

So about those achievements...

Apparently there's one for Server First [profession] to 450.

Screw getting server first to 80, I know that I'm gonna be racing Maevet and every other Engy on Steamwheedle to THAT achievement.

Rilgon Arcsingh, Steamwheedle Cartel Server First Engineer to 450.

Has a good ring to it. :)

Months behind? Sure. But...

I'M FINALLY IN TIER 5 CONTENT!

Getting prepped for the first pulls. Nervous? You bet! :P

My stats are pretty damn nice when I'm raid buffed. Should do this more often. :)

Lurker down! I'm officially a T5 raider, mom!

We took a few good swings at Leo, too, and I managed to bag my Inner Demon with 8 seconds to spare - a crit Arcane Shot shaved off a huge chunk of his health, lol. Thinking on it, Leo reminds me of 30 seconds of Sartura with 45 seconds of Emperor Vek'nilash, but you can actually DPS Vek'nilash. Such a blast.

I wonder if MescarponeMaevet will hate me if I roll on Tsunami Talisman?

Death Reborn Revolution!

Now to get in touch with a Knights of Valor officer and claim my awaiting invitation. Hold on to your guns, kids, Maevet and Rilgon will be terrorizing the world. :)

Derp.

*bounces about with glee*

WE'RE GONNA RAID WITH MAEVET WE'RE GONNA RAID WITH MAEVET WE'RE GONNA RAID WITH MAEVET

Help me, SES readers. You're my only hope.

Go look at my Armory. I'll give you a second.

*restrings my crossbow*

Back? Yeah, I'm sure you saw how I'm 36 POINTS OVER THE HIT CAP.

Well, I'm turning it over to you, my wizened and brilliant readership, to help me regear, regem, or whatever I need to do to quit wasting 36 points of itemization like that.

Now, let's go. :)

*click* Damnit.

Apparently, I have "inbound mail that has not arrived yet" on Rilgon, which is preventing me from transferring to Steamwheedle Cartel! D:

Well, I guess that lets me have some more time to gather badges on Spirestone to work towards my Chocobow, but I was hoping to get some raid time in with MescalineMaevet. :(

Chocobow is a registered trademark of Pike of Aspect of the Hare.

One down, three to go!

Tunic of the Ranger Lord FINALLY FUCKING DROPPED! It can finally replace my stupid old chestpiece and get me another 20 DPS or so.

Plus, I'm now down to three blues: Ravenclaw Band, Bladefist's Breadth, and Mark of Conquest. The quest to be fully epicced out continues. :P

(My ideal replacements are Angelista's Revenge, Bloodlust Brooch, and Tsunami Talisman, if you care.)

Anyone see this?

http://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc/images/news/2008/august/8820_engineering.jpg

Now, I usually don't like Gnomish technology, being a Goblin engineer and everything. But look at that Gnomish Army Knife. Apparently it condenses every engineering tool, blacksmith hammer, mining pick, AND flint+tinder into one inventory slot, PLUS it acts as a Goblin Jumper Cable.

Now, my question is - will it share a cooldown with Goblin Jumper Cables XL? Because if not, I may just have to invest. :)

GLYPH IS HERE

From MMO-Champion, the Hunter Glyph list is here!

Following is the list - bolded glyphs are ones I want BAD.

Hunter

• Glyph of Aimed Shot - Decreases the cooldown of Aimed Shot by 1 sec.
• Glyph of Arcane Shot - Your Arcane Shot refunds 20% of its mana cost if the target has one of your Stings active on it.
• Glyph of Aspect of the Beast - Increases the attack power bonus of Aspect of the Beast for you and your pet by an additional 2%.
• Glyph of Aspect of the Monkey - While Aspect of the Moneky is active, each time you dodge you gain 30% increased movement speed for 6 sec. This speed does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.
• Glyph of Aspect of the Viper - You regenerate mana from Aspect of the Viper as if you had 15% less mana in your current mana pool.
• Glyph of Bestial Wrath - Decreases the cooldown of Bestial Wrath by 20 sec.
• Glyph of Deterrence - Decreases the cooldown of Deterrence by 20 sec.
• Glyph of Disenegage - Decreases the cooldown of Disengage by 5 sec.
• Glyph of Freezing Trap - When your Freezing Trap breaks, the victim is afflicted with a 40% snare, recovering 10% per sec. for 4 sec.
• Glyph of Frost Trap - Increases the radius of the effect from your Frost Trap by 1 to 0 yards.
• Glyph of Hunter's Mark - Increases the attack power bonus of your Hunter's Mark by 20%.
• Glyph of Immolation Trap - Decreases the duration of the effect from your Immolation Trap by -6000 sec., but damage while active is increased by 100%.
• Glyph of Improved Aspect of the Hawk - Increases the effect of Improved Aspect of the Hawk by an additional 6.
• Glyph of Multi-Shot - Decreases the cooldown of Multi-Shot by 1 sec.
• Glyph of Rapid Fire - Increases the haste from Rapid Fire by an additional 8%.
• Glyph of Serpent Sting - Increases the duration of your Serpent Sting by 3 sec.
• Glyph of Snake Trap - Your Snake Trap creates 2 additional snakes.
• Glyph of Steady Shot - Increases the damage dealt by Steady Shot by 10% when your target is afflicted with Serpent Sting.
• Glyph of Trueshot Aura - Increases the attack power bonus of Trueshot Aura by an additional 2%.
• Glyph of Volley - Decreases the mana cost of Volley by -20%.
• Glyph of Wyvern Sting - Decreases the cooldown of your Wyvern Sting by 0 sec., but decreases the damage it deals by 1 to 0%.

Some of those are tasty. I don't see a Viper Sting one, though - if it is the same as Serpent Sting's, it means you can run Chimera with Viper and regenerate like mana+++texas

R.I.P. Kill Shot (2008-2008)

"Kill Shot now "causes a strong recoil, causing you to be knocked down after the attack." Cooldown increased from 6 sec to 35 sec."

QQ

So now it gets lumped in with the completely useless lump of abilities that we have currently. It also means that I'm going to have to go back to a Chimera/Arcane rotation.

They did make Serpent Sting more potent now - it adds 20% of our RAP instead of 10% - which means that Chimera is getting a power bump to compensate, but I still don't like it. Kill Shot was FINE in its implementation.

Also, this is being written from Houston! :D

It'll do for a few weeks.

Meh. It's not Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix, but it'll have to do for a few weeks until I get 150 Badges for the Chocobow. I really don't want to make ANOTHER Stabilized Effort Scope for the Sunfury, so it'll go Santos -> Steelhawk -> Chocobow.

The best part is since it's 2.80 speed, I'm running at 2.44 with my quiver, and my rotation is SO much tighter now. I'm averaging somewhere in the neighborhood of 750-780 DPS against Kara bosses/Gruul now. I'm definitely holding my own in PuG Gruul's runs now - I got 2nd on my last outing today. :)

And that should be my last raid on Spirestone - heading on vacation for 5 days tomorrow, and when I come back, I'll claim my awaiting place in the Knights of Valor!

Chocobow is a registered trademark of Pike of Aspect of the Hare.

Blizzard: Growl sucks. We'll fix it.

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/3/9023666362-growl-is-weak.html

Hunters all over the universe: IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME

Dear Temporus.

DIE IN A FUCKING FIRE. ARGHABLE.

(131 Black Morass runs, 0 hourglass. /rage)

Dear Magtheridon PUGs on Spirestone.

That is all.

RAID PRO-GRE-SI-ON

RAID PROGRESSION AT STABILIZED EFFORT SCOPE.

PUSHING THE DPS METERS AT GRUUL'S WITH EFFORT AS A MARKSMAN.

ALSO ROLLING A 1 ON T4 LEGGINGS WHICH ARE KIND OF A DOWNGRADE ANYWAYS :D

Have cloak, will pew pew.

Mmm mmm good. And yeah, I would've slapped a Zod in that beast, but a Delicate Living Ruby will have to do. Zods are expensive :(

It's only fair! <3

If someone reads my blog, links to my blog, and has similar theses on their blog as Stabilized Effort Scope (aside from the whole "kill Kalgan, buff Marksmanship, do away with PVP" thesis), then that's freaking awesome and gets them added to my blogroll.

In that vein, I'm proud to add Mend Pet to my blogroll. And hey, after all, the only other class I'd consider playing is a Holy Priest myself, so we've got a few things in common, yeah? :)

Been there, said that.

Friend of mine made this, and I felt I should share (with his blessing).

Hey, I just saw this.

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/1/8765645685-wrath-of-the-lich-king-beta-patch-notes.html

"Strength of Earth Totem now also increases agility."

Strength of Earth, Windfury, Mana Spring, and [insert totem here].

Mmmm, mmmm.

They did it! They changed it!!!!

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8430105938&sid=2000&pageNo=4

Look at post 62.

"Instant damage reduced from 150% to 125% but now refreshes the sting, and triggers an effect"

Now, I bet you that it's still a 10-second cooldown (which means it'll still do bugger-all for our mana efficiency), but they did it! I can keep Serpent up ad infiniteum and use it to ramp up my Chimera damage and make it a very viable Arcane Shot replacement!

Now I get to redesign my whole talent spec, because Multi-Shot is out and Chimera is in!

Edit: I think this is the build for me. http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/hunter/talents2.html?tal=502000000000000000000000000353052002350100531050313515300000000000000000000000000

Raid-wide TSA, a USEFUL Silencing Shot, Chimera to ramp up my damage, and all the other nummy talents I like. If only Improved Steady and Marked for Death worked with Chimera! :( - EDIT: IT ACTUALLY DOES, OH MY GOD, HAPPY RILGON IS FUCKING HAPPY

Edit 2: Did it with the WoW talent calculator because WoWhead doesn't have an update for the new push yet. Dropped 3/3 Imp Hunter's Mark for 3/3 Improved Stings - go figure THAT out.

Edit 3: THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ANYTHING EVER*goes nuts*

New tabard = new hotness

I can most definitely dig it. :)

To do list

1) Get Exalted with SSO (2k rep, should do it in one round of dailies)
1.5) Get sweet-ass SSO tabard
2) Actually do more in-depth analysis with Cheeky's to get a real to-do list
3) Get 25 badges for Choker of Vile Intent until I actually hit Exalted with the Aldor
4) Get a Vengeance Wrap made
5) Slap a zod in that beast
5.5) Slap a Delicate Living Ruby in that beast because I can't afford a Zod
6) Save up 60 badges for Angelista's Revenge
7) Save up 150 badges for a Chocobow (tm)


Chocobow is a registered trademark of Pike of Aspect of the Hare.

Huh. I can dig it, I guess.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8765786325&pageNo=1&sid=2000#7

Quoth Koraa:

"We'll be making Master's Call and Deterrence both base."

*shrug* I mean, I don't PVP, but it's pretty rad. I can dig it.

*crosses fingers* And now we wait.

My application to Knights of Valor has been submitted. Now... now we wait.

And we also dig my credit card out from my wallet's clutches to transfer to Steamwheedle Cartel if I get accepted. :D

Edit: It already seems like someone's replied! Now, I can't seem to reply back for some reason, but progress nonetheless! *is all giddy and stoof*

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8202385308&pageNo=1&sid=2000#15

From Koraa on the Beta Hunter forums:

"Some other stuff from your post....

- We'll change Silencing Shot to be a proper interrupt (PvE).
- Trueshot Aura will now be raid wide."

OH MY FUCKING GOD THEY'RE FIXING US

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Also, since it was of a little less concern:

"Wild Quiver, Rapid Recuperation are both changing in an upcoming build."

Here's hoping Rapid Recuperation gets put on the same level as Invigoration and Hunting Party because right now, it sucks.

If they'd just make Chimera Shot refresh the sting and have a 6-second cooldown...

Bleh. I'm back anyways. :P

Until I hear back from Maevet's guild, I'm gonna play some on the server I'm already on.

So yeah, I'm "back".

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to try and find a HMrT run. :P

I normally do not laugh at the misery of others.

But this topic has me rofling.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8765737876&sid=1

I hope with every fiber of my essence that every crying PVP-tard quits and goes to Warhammer so WoW can become the PVE-oriented game it was at release again.

*goes back to skimming the Beta rumor sites*

Pet theorycrafting for WotLK.

So since we get five pet slots, I better plan, eh?

Pet 1: Raymi - Bear - Talented as such.
I've always wanted a good bear tank pet, and I think WotLK will let me have it. I've been screaming for Bears to have a taunt since 1.7, and now they have one. :)

Pet 2: Mynia - Moth - Talented as such.
Name is a tribute to a good friend of mine who I've lost contact with, so the moth will be a remembrance of her. :3 Possibly my main raiding pet.

Pet 3: Tassadar - Owl - Talented as such.
If Mynia isn't my main pet, Tassadar definitely will be. :D I love owls, and the talent tree for owls looks crazy good, especially with Owl's Cunning, Roar of Recovery, and Feeding Frenzy.

Pet 4: Oona - Spore Bat - Talented as such.
Oona will be slow, but she'll be for a special purpose - if her spore ability stacks with Sunder and the like, she'll be there to lower high-armor raid bosses even more! Plus, spore bats are pretty. :3

Pet 5: Who knows? This is sorta up in the air :P

Of course, all this goes out the window if Ancient Core Hounds are tameable, because then I'll be 51 BM and will have 21 talent points and etc. etc. etc.

Edit 1: Tassadar's build has been changed a tad. I dunno why I put a point in Carrion Feeder instead of going 2/2 Feeding Frenzy. Derp :)

Heh, they still can't get it right. :P

Pet threat!

Reading the beta forums, it's still whacked in the current beta build.

Oh the irony. :P

In other, non-related news, I've made an account with Knights of Valor at Melchezaa...Maevet's advice, and gods willing, should be back in the raid game soon.

Because holy hell, I am so bored lately.

Slightly adjusted my blogroll.

Removed The Hunting Lodge due to irreconcilable differences between myself and the editorial staff of the site.

Added BigRedKitty because I think I'm the only Hunter blog who did not have it listed on their blogroll.

Build 8770... Hrm...

From the new Beta build:

"Chimera Shot, Rank 1:

You deal 150% weapon damage, consuming the current Sting on your target and triggering an effect:
Serpent Sting - Instantly deals 40% of the damage done by your Serpent Sting.
Viper Sting - Instantly burns 30% of the amount of mana drained on your Viper Sting, restoring 100% back to you.
Scorpid Sting - Reduces damage done by the target's next three attacks by 60%. The damage reduction is diminished by 20% following each attack. Lasts 10 sec.
375 Mana, 5-35 yd range, Instant cast, 10 sec cooldown"

Hrm.

HRM.

Yeah, that might be a viable replacement for Arcane Shot, actually. The fact that it STILL consumes the sting makes it rather... weak, though.

Like, if I can refresh my sting (or, even better, everyone's stings), I could keep up Viper, my Survival comrade can keep up Serpent, and the BM Hunter can fire and forget a Scorpid. I'll keep them all active via my Chimera and keep my own mana pool boosted.

Actually, doing some more math...

MM 1.5:1 Rotation, Chimera version

Steady 3: 280 Mana
Kill: 420 Mana
Chimera: 375 Mana

Viper, Chimera, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Kill, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Chimera, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Kill, Auto...

3x Steady @ 280
1x Kill @ 420
1x Chimera @ 375

1635 mana per 10 seconds (vaguely)

Viper 5 burns 3092, so it returns 927 mana when I Chimera it

1635 - 927 = 708 mana per 10 seconds

Hrm...

Edit: Bloody fucking hell, Viper Sting is 8 seconds and Chimera is 10 seconds.

Ignore everything I just wrote because it doesn't work.

So how is Chimera Shot supposed to replace Arcane Shot when it's on a longer cooldown than Arcane Shot?

Damnit, Blizzard. :|

Press Ignition, Receive QQ

http://www.bigredkitty.net/2008/08/08/thank-you-z/#comment-28336

"Rilgon, last I heard, Core Hounds are not tameable.

We can only hope."

I'll be on my helicopter crying. :(

Something something Thori'dal Rogue something something

Yeah, I know that most other Hunter bloggers have probably touched on it; I might as well throw my two copper in the pot.

The first thing anyone will ask is "Rilgon, where do you stand?" (Okay, it might be "Rilgon, why do you care?" to which I'd reply "because I can".) That's... a complicated answer. Different parts of my brain are all over the place on this decision.

First off, there's the cold, calculating, mathematical side of me that wakes up every morning to a bowl of Cheeky's Spreadsheet and washes it down with a glass of theoretical calculus (yeah, I wish). He thinks the idea is insane because of the DPS gain that a Hunter with, say, BBotB or Archi's bow (god, I forget the name, sue me) would gain with Thori'dal. He's incensed because more DPS = more KJ kills = more Thori'dals = the Rogues can get one once the Hunters are kitted out.

Then there's the little voice in me that listens to the press release from the guild's officers defending the decision. He says "hold on, now, Mathematical Rilgon, this Rogue was in the guild since Kara. He's been there almost as long as you were in your old guild before you quit - longer, even, maybe! You remember those days, right?" Old-school Rilgon sighs wistfully, longing for the days that "ten-second rotation" meant something and the difference between good Hunters and bad Hunters was their skill and timing, not their spec.

Cynical Rilgon retorts, like he always does: "Yeah, well, look at who has a Thori'dal in the guild so far! Their 'main' Hunter and the officer that made the press release, and this Rogue. This is like the time that, once our old Hunter class officer got Drake Fang Talisman, the Rogue officer moved in and tried to make it Rogue-only until they all had theirs!" Empathic Rilgon smiles, reminding Cynical Rilgon that Mathematical Rilgon showed our guild officers that it was as much, if not more of a upgrade for us - and Princess Huhuran and Viscidus only served to vindicate us. :)

Old-School Rilgon rolls his eyes, still bitter at never getting a Dragonbreath Hand Cannon, and snorts something that sounds similar to "Ashjre'thul". Empathic Rilgon hugs him, reminding him that not every weapon was as rare as DBHC or Ashjre anymore, and we shouldn't be angry about a past that we cut ourselves from. He just frowns. Poor Old-School Rilgon. :(

Raid-Leader Rilgon politely informs everyone involved that the Hunters in question were not there with the guild for many of its trying times - they joined slightly before the guild's M'uru kill. He goes on to mention that, while it might enrage all of us, because we're all Hunters at our core, you have to think of the guild's greater good - and not just progression-wise now, because they're farming Kil'Jaedan - the last boss in Burning Crusade. They've won the game, as it were.


So where am I at after all this rambling, other than self-diagnosing my multiple personality disorder I never knew I had? My point is this - 99.98% of Hunters will scream out in rage and frustration at this. I did too when I initially heard it. When you look further and see how the main Hunter got his first, the Rogue got the second one in seven kills, and that the Hunters who were overlooked were only there for a short time... I dunno. It mollifies the situation some. It would have been nice if the Rogue had been more mature and had passed on Thori'dal to his Hunter friends, and that is where I place the fault - on the Rogue. I find it harder to fault anyone beyond him.

*shrug* My two copper.

I am bored. Hunter LF Guild.

70 MARKSMANSHIP Hunter Looking for guild.

*Experience with basically every pre-TBC raid fight sans Sapphiron/Kel
*Experience with every Heroic in TBC, including expansive practice trapping in them
*Experience with full Kharazan clears
*Experience with raid leadership and group composition

Willing to transfer to any server, PVE preferred. Preferred raiding times are Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights. Every other Saturday free as well.



...Okay, so you know how I exploded a while back and said I was quitting? Well, A) Wrath fever has bitten and B) I am bored as gris right now. Therefore, assuming I can find a sane guild who raids when I'm not at work and will accept me as MM, I might come back and play some more. I know what the bloody hell I'm doing, people, don't be shy. ;)