Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
In Which I Defend My Stance
Apparently BRK thinks that I was attempting to insult him, regardless of my assertions to the contrary in my comments to the posts he's made regarding his Waraxe. Well, while I've asserted it in follow-up comments and I've tried to explain where I'm coming from, I guess it hasn't made an impact. So, for anyone who's reading SES from my posts on BRK's blog, I guess this is for you.
The initial impetus of my questioning of BRK's choice to retain the Waraxe was his statement that it was his "last item from TBC". The way I perceived it, it was almost a complaint. And once I noted that his hit rating was sub-optimal for his talent spec, even for level 80 mobs... it clicked. Kordwar had missed them. Brajana missed them. Hell, I missed them until I was digging on WoWhead. The Savage Cobalt Slicer! The second coming of awesome in a can! Or so I thought.
I was told that the reason BRK was not capping his hit was that he was not missing. "How can this be?" I thought. "You're at 4.80-ish percent hit, and I know you're doing heroics - that's a 1.2% miss rate. There's just no way you're not missing in Heroics unless you're the luckiest person alive!"
And then we're told it's for the Stamina. Stamina, of all things! I can justify having a piece or two of high-stamina gear to switch in on a fight that mandates a set minimum level of HP (like Naj'entus or the like), but to intentionally take a DPS downgrade all the time for Stamina? I couldn't comprehend this. It boggled my mind, and I told BRK as such.
But what I worried about most was not BRK. He's doing fine, if the DPS numbers he's showing are to be believed. 2400 DPS in heroics. Very commendable! I'm only posting about 2000 myself, albeit without my Nesingwary 4000 and with a few pieces from Outland yet. No... what I was worried about was not BRK himself, but those that look up to him.
Someone else in his comments said it best - the more experienced Hunters use BRK as one part of their larger compendium of knowledge and mathematica. That said, less experienced or knowledgeable Hunters may not. It is them I wish to look out for. If anything, I despise misinformation above anything in this world. And when BRK was trying to claim that the Waraxe was superior to the Icier Barbed Spear, a pair of Slicers, or a pair of Fangs of Truth... I had to ensure that anyone who was actually reading knew the truth.
I may be confident in my knowledge and my capacity, but BRK has something that I do not - a large following. For better or for worse, his name is synonymous with Hunters. And most times, he does a wonderful job of teaching and instructing. Better, in fact, than I do, IMO. I will not, however, let my respect cloud my attention to detail and pursuit of the truth.
Furthermore, BRK has gone on record stating that missing once or twice on a boss fight is "acceptable". This hurt me more than anything else that has been said in this exchange. I learned to raid in Molten Core. My first raiding experiences were with a cobbled together guild alliance that got our server's first Onyxia kill. My performance on the DPS charts, even with my sub-optimal gear, was so beyond that of the other Hunters in the raid that I was extended a guild invite and raiding position with the main guild in the alliance. We went on to defeat Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, AQ20, AQ40, Zul'Gurub, and a vast majority of Naxxramas. In my time as a pre-BC raider, I learned that Hit was the lifeblood of my DPS. I'd conceptualized it on my own, but once I was in the world of raiding, I truly started to reach out and absorb all the mathematical and analytical things I could find. I learned of the mystical 9% hit cap. I learned of how my +5 Weapon Skill as a dwarf meant that, even if a gun was a slight bit weaker, using it was a significant DPS upgrade since my hit cap was not 9% but actually 6%. I saw the results of "one miss" first-hand as we would wipe to Magmadar, Flamegor, and Huhuran because of "one miss" of a Tranquilizing Shot in a tight rotation. I learned at that time that missing was not an option.
Is raiding in BC and WotLK that twitchy? No. But does that mean it will never be again? The ideology that a miss or two is "acceptable" seems like a fallacy, especially with wonderful weapons with gobs of hit like the Savage Cobalt Slicer are available. Having loads of hit even before you need it has let me run level 80 instances at 77 - sure, I'm taking on a level 81 boss, which means I need 11% to cap. But if I have 3% from Focused Aim, 1% racially, and 7% or so from my gear, I can get there. I can DPS just as hard as an 80 and ensure 100% hits. Am I under hit-cap right now for Naxx? Yeah, a bit. But I haven't gotten ANY of the gear from the heroics I want to run. I guarantee you that once I get my trinket and belt from Keri, I'll be there.
Why say that it's okay today to miss, if down the road it won't be okay? Bad habits are exceptionally hard to break, so if you let yourself get into the mindset of "oh, it's only a heroic, I can be lazy, I don't have to do my best", you're going to get into that mindset more than you want. "Oh, it's only Naxxramas, I can be lazy..." When does it end?
I treat everything like a raid - dailies, random farming, helping lowbies through instances, or facing down the hardest boss I can access. I give 110% all the time, because if I let myself start slipping, I'm gonna slip more and more. People have told me "oh but then you don't have fun". BS. I have fun all the time. Trying to constantly push my own limits is fun. Trying to find new, inventive ways of doing what I do is fun. Being lazy is not fun. I love the rhythm of a MM raid DPS rotation. It's methodical and I could do it in my sleep. When I'm bored, I find myself tapping 3, 4, and 5 in sequence like I would if I were DPSing. So why be lazy in a heroic or when farming just because it's "easy"?
*shrug* Difference of ideology, I guess. If BRK or any of his readers reads this, I want to make one thing above all else clear - I have immense respect for BRK, and he was one fragment of the inspiration of SES. His humor and wit has always reminded me that while numbers and math are cold and unfeeling, people are not, and my writing should always have brevity and soul. He is knowledgeable, pervasive, and above all, human. We all make mistakes - what makes us who we are is how we react when they're pointed out, and whether we learn from them. God knows I've made my share.
The initial impetus of my questioning of BRK's choice to retain the Waraxe was his statement that it was his "last item from TBC". The way I perceived it, it was almost a complaint. And once I noted that his hit rating was sub-optimal for his talent spec, even for level 80 mobs... it clicked. Kordwar had missed them. Brajana missed them. Hell, I missed them until I was digging on WoWhead. The Savage Cobalt Slicer! The second coming of awesome in a can! Or so I thought.
I was told that the reason BRK was not capping his hit was that he was not missing. "How can this be?" I thought. "You're at 4.80-ish percent hit, and I know you're doing heroics - that's a 1.2% miss rate. There's just no way you're not missing in Heroics unless you're the luckiest person alive!"
And then we're told it's for the Stamina. Stamina, of all things! I can justify having a piece or two of high-stamina gear to switch in on a fight that mandates a set minimum level of HP (like Naj'entus or the like), but to intentionally take a DPS downgrade all the time for Stamina? I couldn't comprehend this. It boggled my mind, and I told BRK as such.
But what I worried about most was not BRK. He's doing fine, if the DPS numbers he's showing are to be believed. 2400 DPS in heroics. Very commendable! I'm only posting about 2000 myself, albeit without my Nesingwary 4000 and with a few pieces from Outland yet. No... what I was worried about was not BRK himself, but those that look up to him.
Someone else in his comments said it best - the more experienced Hunters use BRK as one part of their larger compendium of knowledge and mathematica. That said, less experienced or knowledgeable Hunters may not. It is them I wish to look out for. If anything, I despise misinformation above anything in this world. And when BRK was trying to claim that the Waraxe was superior to the Icier Barbed Spear, a pair of Slicers, or a pair of Fangs of Truth... I had to ensure that anyone who was actually reading knew the truth.
I may be confident in my knowledge and my capacity, but BRK has something that I do not - a large following. For better or for worse, his name is synonymous with Hunters. And most times, he does a wonderful job of teaching and instructing. Better, in fact, than I do, IMO. I will not, however, let my respect cloud my attention to detail and pursuit of the truth.
Furthermore, BRK has gone on record stating that missing once or twice on a boss fight is "acceptable". This hurt me more than anything else that has been said in this exchange. I learned to raid in Molten Core. My first raiding experiences were with a cobbled together guild alliance that got our server's first Onyxia kill. My performance on the DPS charts, even with my sub-optimal gear, was so beyond that of the other Hunters in the raid that I was extended a guild invite and raiding position with the main guild in the alliance. We went on to defeat Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, AQ20, AQ40, Zul'Gurub, and a vast majority of Naxxramas. In my time as a pre-BC raider, I learned that Hit was the lifeblood of my DPS. I'd conceptualized it on my own, but once I was in the world of raiding, I truly started to reach out and absorb all the mathematical and analytical things I could find. I learned of the mystical 9% hit cap. I learned of how my +5 Weapon Skill as a dwarf meant that, even if a gun was a slight bit weaker, using it was a significant DPS upgrade since my hit cap was not 9% but actually 6%. I saw the results of "one miss" first-hand as we would wipe to Magmadar, Flamegor, and Huhuran because of "one miss" of a Tranquilizing Shot in a tight rotation. I learned at that time that missing was not an option.
Is raiding in BC and WotLK that twitchy? No. But does that mean it will never be again? The ideology that a miss or two is "acceptable" seems like a fallacy, especially with wonderful weapons with gobs of hit like the Savage Cobalt Slicer are available. Having loads of hit even before you need it has let me run level 80 instances at 77 - sure, I'm taking on a level 81 boss, which means I need 11% to cap. But if I have 3% from Focused Aim, 1% racially, and 7% or so from my gear, I can get there. I can DPS just as hard as an 80 and ensure 100% hits. Am I under hit-cap right now for Naxx? Yeah, a bit. But I haven't gotten ANY of the gear from the heroics I want to run. I guarantee you that once I get my trinket and belt from Keri, I'll be there.
Why say that it's okay today to miss, if down the road it won't be okay? Bad habits are exceptionally hard to break, so if you let yourself get into the mindset of "oh, it's only a heroic, I can be lazy, I don't have to do my best", you're going to get into that mindset more than you want. "Oh, it's only Naxxramas, I can be lazy..." When does it end?
I treat everything like a raid - dailies, random farming, helping lowbies through instances, or facing down the hardest boss I can access. I give 110% all the time, because if I let myself start slipping, I'm gonna slip more and more. People have told me "oh but then you don't have fun". BS. I have fun all the time. Trying to constantly push my own limits is fun. Trying to find new, inventive ways of doing what I do is fun. Being lazy is not fun. I love the rhythm of a MM raid DPS rotation. It's methodical and I could do it in my sleep. When I'm bored, I find myself tapping 3, 4, and 5 in sequence like I would if I were DPSing. So why be lazy in a heroic or when farming just because it's "easy"?
*shrug* Difference of ideology, I guess. If BRK or any of his readers reads this, I want to make one thing above all else clear - I have immense respect for BRK, and he was one fragment of the inspiration of SES. His humor and wit has always reminded me that while numbers and math are cold and unfeeling, people are not, and my writing should always have brevity and soul. He is knowledgeable, pervasive, and above all, human. We all make mistakes - what makes us who we are is how we react when they're pointed out, and whether we learn from them. God knows I've made my share.
Friday, November 28, 2008
HAH! SUCK IT PUPPY-PEOPLE!
So yeah. Know how, at Revered with the Oracles, you can buy a Mysterious Egg?
Well, it may not hatch into a Togepi, but it apparently DOES hatch into a Green Proto-Drake! Granted, this is from a report on MMO-Champion, so do take it with any grain of salt you feel MMO-C needs to be taken with, but hehe... I knew there was a reason I chose the Oracles aside from their trinket and the fact that the Frenzyheart are a bunch of dicks.
Now to actually finish off the questline...
Well, it may not hatch into a Togepi, but it apparently DOES hatch into a Green Proto-Drake! Granted, this is from a report on MMO-Champion, so do take it with any grain of salt you feel MMO-C needs to be taken with, but hehe... I knew there was a reason I chose the Oracles aside from their trinket and the fact that the Frenzyheart are a bunch of dicks.
Now to actually finish off the questline...
Thursday, November 27, 2008
So yeah. About Storm Peaks.
BEST. ZONE. EVER.
PERIOD, END OF STORY.
The Brothers Bronzebeard questline? Awesome.
The Bouldercrag's Refuge stuff? Culminating in fighting a giant dark-iron colossus with a tamed sandworm? Badass beyond reason.
But the thing that tops it all?
The Sons of Hodir pre-quest line.
Starting with They Took Our Men! in K3, it's a 20+-long questline that is badass beyond anything I've ever had the pleasure of questing, and it's so dripping with Norse inspiration that it makes the inner Norse mythology nerd inside me squee with joy.
Plus, once you get access to the Sons of Hodir, you get a bunch of badass quests for them, too!
God I love Storm Peaks.
PERIOD, END OF STORY.
The Brothers Bronzebeard questline? Awesome.
The Bouldercrag's Refuge stuff? Culminating in fighting a giant dark-iron colossus with a tamed sandworm? Badass beyond reason.
But the thing that tops it all?
The Sons of Hodir pre-quest line.
Starting with They Took Our Men! in K3, it's a 20+-long questline that is badass beyond anything I've ever had the pleasure of questing, and it's so dripping with Norse inspiration that it makes the inner Norse mythology nerd inside me squee with joy.
Plus, once you get access to the Sons of Hodir, you get a bunch of badass quests for them, too!
God I love Storm Peaks.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Figured I'd gush about my new pet.
You may have seen her already in my World of Warcute (tm) avatar that Pike did for me, but this is her in her flappy glory!
It's Ayamiss! Technically, it's really the Sapphire Hive Queen from Sholazar, but with the same model as Ayamiss the Hunter, I figured the name fit. :)
She's such a great DPS pet, too! Her Sting ability is great for helping me punch through boss armor in 5-mans, since there's not many Boomkin running around FFing things.
Plus she pisses off Rogues! :D
It's Ayamiss! Technically, it's really the Sapphire Hive Queen from Sholazar, but with the same model as Ayamiss the Hunter, I figured the name fit. :)
She's such a great DPS pet, too! Her Sting ability is great for helping me punch through boss armor in 5-mans, since there's not many Boomkin running around FFing things.
Plus she pisses off Rogues! :D
Flowing back into the old style.
Yeah, so we're what, two weeks into the expansion? Something like that?
Yeah, enough of the "new" style of posting. You don't care exactly how much XP to 79 (and 80) I have, and since I hit 450 Engy and Mining, I'm done struggling with that... so yeah.
Also! At the bottom of SES, you can see the hilariously adorable avatar made by Pike for my kiriban at Aspect of the Hare. It's awesome! I never thought I'd see Ayamiss the Hunter portrayed in a cute fashion, but I guess that's why Pike is so damn good! :P
And yeah, hit 78 today, got boots from Halls of Lightning and a cloak out of Oculus. Once I get it enchanted, Vengeance Wrap is going to be retired. :(
Gosh, what IS left of my pre-BC gear? My bracers from TK, my SSO neck, and my trinkets... Wow.
Yeah, enough of the "new" style of posting. You don't care exactly how much XP to 79 (and 80) I have, and since I hit 450 Engy and Mining, I'm done struggling with that... so yeah.
Also! At the bottom of SES, you can see the hilariously adorable avatar made by Pike for my kiriban at Aspect of the Hare. It's awesome! I never thought I'd see Ayamiss the Hunter portrayed in a cute fashion, but I guess that's why Pike is so damn good! :P
And yeah, hit 78 today, got boots from Halls of Lightning and a cloak out of Oculus. Once I get it enchanted, Vengeance Wrap is going to be retired. :(
Gosh, what IS left of my pre-BC gear? My bracers from TK, my SSO neck, and my trinkets... Wow.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
IT IS FINISHED! FLEE, MORTALS, BEFORE THE WRATH OF THE GEARMASTER!
LET IT BE KNOWN
THAT AT 4:00 AM
ON NOVEMBER 25TH
I WAS NOT FIRST, BUT I MADE IT
Your skill in Engineering has increased to 450.
Monday, November 24, 2008
I reject your theory of gravity, and substitute my own.
Listening to: ZUN - Imperishable Night - Eastern Wind
Level: 77
Engineering: 447
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,578,762 (19.5 bubbles)
I'M FREE!
Level: 77
Engineering: 447
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,578,762 (19.5 bubbles)
I'M FREE!
Kiriban! (Maybe...)
Listening to: AC/DC - It's a Long Way to the Top
Level: 76
Engineering: 446
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 692,949 (8.5 bubbles)
So if you read Aspect of the Hare, you saw that Pike was offering a kiriban for snapping a shot of 100,000 hits on her Sitemeter.
Well, I got it! 100,000 on the nose!
Now I just have to hope that I got an email out to her first, because I really want a Pike-made rendition of Rilgon. >_>;
In other words, I'm still fighting for 77 - 8.5 bubbles to go and I'm plowing through Hemet Nesingwary's quests out in Sholazar... There's plenty of fringe stuff I can go back and do, though.
And if anyone has ANY advice for getting Alliance Vanguard rep, please let me hear it!
Level: 76
Engineering: 446
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 692,949 (8.5 bubbles)
So if you read Aspect of the Hare, you saw that Pike was offering a kiriban for snapping a shot of 100,000 hits on her Sitemeter.
Well, I got it! 100,000 on the nose!
Now I just have to hope that I got an email out to her first, because I really want a Pike-made rendition of Rilgon. >_>;
In other words, I'm still fighting for 77 - 8.5 bubbles to go and I'm plowing through Hemet Nesingwary's quests out in Sholazar... There's plenty of fringe stuff I can go back and do, though.
And if anyone has ANY advice for getting Alliance Vanguard rep, please let me hear it!
It slices... It dices...
Listening to: Motoi Sakuraba - Star Ocean: The Second Story - Stab the Sword of Justice
Level: 76
Engineering: 445
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,468,293 (18 bubbles)
I feel like Billy Mays right now. "HI, RILGON ARCSINH HERE WITH GNOMISH ARMY KNIVES! BRING ME SOME DAMN SARONITE SO I CAN TRY AND LEVEL ENGINEERING!" Spamming /2 like my life depends on it. :P
I got some amazing pants today from Gun'drak. Stuck the new +55 AP/15 Crit leg armor on them, and now I'm sitting at 9094 mana unbuffed! This is madness!
18 bars until I can drag the beloved roflcopter out of the garage... It's so close I can TASTE it.
Level: 76
Engineering: 445
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,468,293 (18 bubbles)
I feel like Billy Mays right now. "HI, RILGON ARCSINH HERE WITH GNOMISH ARMY KNIVES! BRING ME SOME DAMN SARONITE SO I CAN TRY AND LEVEL ENGINEERING!" Spamming /2 like my life depends on it. :P
I got some amazing pants today from Gun'drak. Stuck the new +55 AP/15 Crit leg armor on them, and now I'm sitting at 9094 mana unbuffed! This is madness!
18 bars until I can drag the beloved roflcopter out of the garage... It's so close I can TASTE it.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Fixed it, guys?
I did some tweaking that I think has fixed the official SES URL. Please lemme know if it's fixed!
If http://www.stabilizedeffortscope.com doesn't work, please keep reading at http://stabilizedeffortscope.blogspot.com as it is still up. Thanks for reading! :D
If http://www.stabilizedeffortscope.com doesn't work, please keep reading at http://stabilizedeffortscope.blogspot.com as it is still up. Thanks for reading! :D
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Your skill in Engineering has increased to 440.
Listening to: Motoi Sakuraba - Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - The Divine Spirit of Language
Level: 74
Engineering: 440
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 299,055 (4 bubbles)
So close... So desperately close...
Now it's down to the desperation mode - farming Saronite ad nauseum to smash out a TON of Gnomish Army Knives. Hand them out as party favors and give them to guildmates.
Did some leveling in Zul'Drak. Great zone. Would've finished off 74 but I'm just so tired right now.
Also MY FUCKING CHEST DROPPED IN DRAK'THARON KEEP TODAY AND I WON IT, HOLY SHIT ON A CRACKER
Level: 74
Engineering: 440
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 299,055 (4 bubbles)
So close... So desperately close...
Now it's down to the desperation mode - farming Saronite ad nauseum to smash out a TON of Gnomish Army Knives. Hand them out as party favors and give them to guildmates.
Did some leveling in Zul'Drak. Great zone. Would've finished off 74 but I'm just so tired right now.
Also MY FUCKING CHEST DROPPED IN DRAK'THARON KEEP TODAY AND I WON IT, HOLY SHIT ON A CRACKER
Transition and Fluctuation
If you notice anything weird, it's because SES is switching over to its own domain - www.stabilizedeffortscope.com. Major thing I saw: my blogroll is gone. I'm re-building it. If I forget you, please let me know. Thanks!
Friday, November 21, 2008
We're On The Road to Naxxramas City...
So I'm doing some looking at MMO-Champion and WoWHead and trying to plan out what gear I'm going to take with me into Naxxramas. This is the result of that.
Head: Truesight Ice Blinders, enchanted with Arcanum of Torment and gemmed with Relentless Earthsiege Diamond and Deadly Monarch Topaz.
Neck: The Severed Noose of Westwind, gemmed with Brilliant Autumn's Glow.
Shoulders: Spaulders of the Abomination, enchanted with Greater Inscription of the Axe and gemmed with Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Chest: Aviary Guardsman's Hauberk, enchanted with Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats and gemmed with Tenuous Twilight Opal and Deadly Monarch Topaz.
Cloak: Cloak of the Gushing Wound, enchanted with Enchant Cloak - Major Agility.
Bracers: Interwoven Scale Bracers. enchanted with Enchant Bracers - Striking.
Gloves: Handgrips of the Savage Emmisary, enchanted with Enchant Gloves - Crusher.
Belt: Sovereign's Belt, enchanted with a Personal Electromagnetic Generator, an Eternal Belt Buckle, and gemmed with a Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Pants: Leggings of the Stone Halls, enchanted with Icescale Leg Armor.
Boots: Dragon Slayer's Sabatons, enchanted with Enchant Boots - Superior Agility and gemmed with two Delicate Scarlet Rubies.
Rings: Mobius Band and Signet of Bridenbrad gemmed with a Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Trinkets: Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood and Mirror of Truth.
Melee Weapons: Dual Savage Cobalt Slicers enchanted with Enchant Weapon - Greater Potency.
Ranged Weapon: Nesingwary 4000 scoped with Heartseeker Scope and gemmed with Brilliant Autumn's Glow.
Everything here is from Heroics or requires stuff from Heroics (mostly Frozen Orbs). I tried to not pick the MOST expensive enchants, because I'll be replacing this stuff with Naxx gear. I'm hit-capped with this, and I'm pretty sure I'm hit-capped without the Sphere of Red Dragon's blood, too, which means if I want, I could get a Meteorite Whetstone.
If you have any questions about why I chose an item, suggestions to improve this list, or anything else, please feel free to comment. :)
Head: Truesight Ice Blinders, enchanted with Arcanum of Torment and gemmed with Relentless Earthsiege Diamond and Deadly Monarch Topaz.
Neck: The Severed Noose of Westwind, gemmed with Brilliant Autumn's Glow.
Shoulders: Spaulders of the Abomination, enchanted with Greater Inscription of the Axe and gemmed with Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Chest: Aviary Guardsman's Hauberk, enchanted with Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats and gemmed with Tenuous Twilight Opal and Deadly Monarch Topaz.
Cloak: Cloak of the Gushing Wound, enchanted with Enchant Cloak - Major Agility.
Bracers: Interwoven Scale Bracers. enchanted with Enchant Bracers - Striking.
Gloves: Handgrips of the Savage Emmisary, enchanted with Enchant Gloves - Crusher.
Belt: Sovereign's Belt, enchanted with a Personal Electromagnetic Generator, an Eternal Belt Buckle, and gemmed with a Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Pants: Leggings of the Stone Halls, enchanted with Icescale Leg Armor.
Boots: Dragon Slayer's Sabatons, enchanted with Enchant Boots - Superior Agility and gemmed with two Delicate Scarlet Rubies.
Rings: Mobius Band and Signet of Bridenbrad gemmed with a Delicate Scarlet Ruby.
Trinkets: Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood and Mirror of Truth.
Melee Weapons: Dual Savage Cobalt Slicers enchanted with Enchant Weapon - Greater Potency.
Ranged Weapon: Nesingwary 4000 scoped with Heartseeker Scope and gemmed with Brilliant Autumn's Glow.
Everything here is from Heroics or requires stuff from Heroics (mostly Frozen Orbs). I tried to not pick the MOST expensive enchants, because I'll be replacing this stuff with Naxx gear. I'm hit-capped with this, and I'm pretty sure I'm hit-capped without the Sphere of Red Dragon's blood, too, which means if I want, I could get a Meteorite Whetstone.
If you have any questions about why I chose an item, suggestions to improve this list, or anything else, please feel free to comment. :)
On Ruby Wings...
Listening to: ZUN - Imperishable Night - Deaf to All But the Song
Level: 74
Engineering: 431
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,464,589 (18.5 bubbles)
I think my favorite daily so far, until I get to The Most Awesome Daily Ever, is Defending Wyrmrest Temple.
While my favoritest flight is the Bronze Dragonflight, the Red Dragonflight is a very close second, and flying a ruby drake around and going into mid-air skirmishes with the Blues is AWESOME. Plus, it has an achievement for a sub-2 minute completion. Haven't got it yet - my best performance to date is 2:07, but I'll get it soon. :)
Plus, I need all the Wyrmrest rep I can get if I wanna get my dragon. :D
Level: 74
Engineering: 431
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,464,589 (18.5 bubbles)
I think my favorite daily so far, until I get to The Most Awesome Daily Ever, is Defending Wyrmrest Temple.
While my favoritest flight is the Bronze Dragonflight, the Red Dragonflight is a very close second, and flying a ruby drake around and going into mid-air skirmishes with the Blues is AWESOME. Plus, it has an achievement for a sub-2 minute completion. Haven't got it yet - my best performance to date is 2:07, but I'll get it soon. :)
Plus, I need all the Wyrmrest rep I can get if I wanna get my dragon. :D
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Riding the Saronite Edge
You know what I'm seeing a metric TON of people finding SES while Google searching?
"engineering guide 375-450"
I know why they're finding me, but I feel that I'm disappointing them. To that end, I correct this with the cobbled-together notes I have of my voyage to 427.
375-395: This is a clusterfuck. Just... do it somehow. You've got Explosive Decoys, Overcharged Capacitors, Picks... Don't forget to go to Borean and scavenge the mechanicals.
395-405: Froststeel Tubes and Diamond-Cut Refractor Scopes. Scopes are orange to 400 and tubes are yellow to 400; they go yellow and green at the 400 mark. Optional: Make a Mark "S" Boomstick at 400 for a free point.
405-410: Saronite Bombs. Yep, we're in Saronite territory, and it only gets worse...
410-417: Ultrasafe Bullet Machines. They yellow out at 415, and they green out at 417, which means...
417-420: Saronite Arrow Machines. 15 bars of ****ing Saronite EACH. Oi. But if you think that's bad... Just wait. Oh just you wait.
420-425: Mechanized Snow Goggles. Yes, you're gonna need Borean Leather - I got a batch of 10 off SWC's AH for under 10g. Not expensive. This is just the lube for what's coming next.
425-435: Welcome to Hell, Engineer. You've got three options, and none of them are easy at all. First, you've got Noise Machines - they're orange all the way to 435. I use them over Sonic Boosters because if you're lucky with Bolt smithing (or you scavenge a lot in Borean), you can do it slightly cheaper than the Boosters. Second option is Scopes - Sun Scopes at 425 and Heartseeker Scopes at 430. This is WAY less Cobalt-intensive, but you are going to BLEED money trying to get the Sun Crystals, Autumn's Glows, and Twilight Opals. The last option is Mechanized Snow Goggles to 435. The problem here, though, is that they're yellow. Feeling lucky, punk?
435-445: Gnomish Army Knives. This is easy after the hell of 425-435.
445-450: This is up to you. You can either keep riding your knives, but they're green. You can, at this point, switch gears to yellow Heartseeker Scopes and try and do it "cheaper", or you can test your luck and hope for no whammies with the Knives.
But anyways, in other news: My Engineering is gonna go on hold for a bit - I'm gathering mats for what will probably be my melee weapons that I take into Naxxramas - my Savage Cobalt Slicers. These things are just so nutty damn good.
*sigh* Back to work...
"engineering guide 375-450"
I know why they're finding me, but I feel that I'm disappointing them. To that end, I correct this with the cobbled-together notes I have of my voyage to 427.
375-395: This is a clusterfuck. Just... do it somehow. You've got Explosive Decoys, Overcharged Capacitors, Picks... Don't forget to go to Borean and scavenge the mechanicals.
395-405: Froststeel Tubes and Diamond-Cut Refractor Scopes. Scopes are orange to 400 and tubes are yellow to 400; they go yellow and green at the 400 mark. Optional: Make a Mark "S" Boomstick at 400 for a free point.
405-410: Saronite Bombs. Yep, we're in Saronite territory, and it only gets worse...
410-417: Ultrasafe Bullet Machines. They yellow out at 415, and they green out at 417, which means...
417-420: Saronite Arrow Machines. 15 bars of ****ing Saronite EACH. Oi. But if you think that's bad... Just wait. Oh just you wait.
420-425: Mechanized Snow Goggles. Yes, you're gonna need Borean Leather - I got a batch of 10 off SWC's AH for under 10g. Not expensive. This is just the lube for what's coming next.
425-435: Welcome to Hell, Engineer. You've got three options, and none of them are easy at all. First, you've got Noise Machines - they're orange all the way to 435. I use them over Sonic Boosters because if you're lucky with Bolt smithing (or you scavenge a lot in Borean), you can do it slightly cheaper than the Boosters. Second option is Scopes - Sun Scopes at 425 and Heartseeker Scopes at 430. This is WAY less Cobalt-intensive, but you are going to BLEED money trying to get the Sun Crystals, Autumn's Glows, and Twilight Opals. The last option is Mechanized Snow Goggles to 435. The problem here, though, is that they're yellow. Feeling lucky, punk?
435-445: Gnomish Army Knives. This is easy after the hell of 425-435.
445-450: This is up to you. You can either keep riding your knives, but they're green. You can, at this point, switch gears to yellow Heartseeker Scopes and try and do it "cheaper", or you can test your luck and hope for no whammies with the Knives.
But anyways, in other news: My Engineering is gonna go on hold for a bit - I'm gathering mats for what will probably be my melee weapons that I take into Naxxramas - my Savage Cobalt Slicers. These things are just so nutty damn good.
*sigh* Back to work...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I still see no use for it.
Listening to: ZUN - Imperishable Night - Deaf to All But the Song
Level: 74
Engineering: 426
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,573,971 (19.8 bubbles)
Hit 74 last night once I got burned out of farming Cobalt (and it was quick, let me tell you). Got Aspect of the Dragonhawk I. Still say it's useless. Would've rather just had a stronger Hawk IX than the dodge, but meh, I think I'm the only Hunter who feels that way.
Got some new shoulders off the AH for a very respectable price, too. That makes four pieces of gear that have been replaced - one Breeching Comet, Garona's Signet Ring, my Chocobow, and now my Pauldrons of Primal Fury. Everything else, however, is still intact.
And my Boomstick itself is in jeopardy - I got this thing out of Violet Hold. It's less hit and just a tad less crit than my Boomstick, but the DPS is nice, and it's more RAP. *sigh* Math and theorycrafting... isn't that why I play? :P
Level: 74
Engineering: 426
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,573,971 (19.8 bubbles)
Hit 74 last night once I got burned out of farming Cobalt (and it was quick, let me tell you). Got Aspect of the Dragonhawk I. Still say it's useless. Would've rather just had a stronger Hawk IX than the dodge, but meh, I think I'm the only Hunter who feels that way.
Got some new shoulders off the AH for a very respectable price, too. That makes four pieces of gear that have been replaced - one Breeching Comet, Garona's Signet Ring, my Chocobow, and now my Pauldrons of Primal Fury. Everything else, however, is still intact.
And my Boomstick itself is in jeopardy - I got this thing out of Violet Hold. It's less hit and just a tad less crit than my Boomstick, but the DPS is nice, and it's more RAP. *sigh* Math and theorycrafting... isn't that why I play? :P
Monday, November 17, 2008
March of the Cobalt Brigade
Listening to: Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy Tactics - Random Waltz
Level: 73
Engineering: 425
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,253,994 (16 bubbles)
425 Engineering. This... this is the hard part. Everything before now was to train me for the raw, agonizing pain of crafting 10 Noise Machines to slowly drag myself from 425 to 435.
280 Cobalt Bars and 20 Crystallized Earth. The earth is no problem at all - I have 16 Eternal Earth in the bank. But the cobalt... oh gods the cobalt...
It's back to Zul'drak for me... I WILL get 450 Engineering!
Level: 73
Engineering: 425
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,253,994 (16 bubbles)
425 Engineering. This... this is the hard part. Everything before now was to train me for the raw, agonizing pain of crafting 10 Noise Machines to slowly drag myself from 425 to 435.
280 Cobalt Bars and 20 Crystallized Earth. The earth is no problem at all - I have 16 Eternal Earth in the bank. But the cobalt... oh gods the cobalt...
It's back to Zul'drak for me... I WILL get 450 Engineering!
Shiny blue and green things!
Listening to: Infected Mushroom - Gravity Waves
Level: 73
Engineering: 417
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,286,044 (16.5 bubbles)
450 mining, baby! I've been spending some time alone in Sholazar Basin and Zul'drak farming Cobalt and Saronite aplenty, and managed to get my Mining up to 450 and my Engineering up to 417. Once I get another batch of Saronite, I should be able to get to 420 fairly easily, and I might be able to drag myself to 425 if I can get a leatherworker to supply me some leather.
After that... ugh...
Level: 73
Engineering: 417
Mining: 450
XPTNL: 1,286,044 (16.5 bubbles)
450 mining, baby! I've been spending some time alone in Sholazar Basin and Zul'drak farming Cobalt and Saronite aplenty, and managed to get my Mining up to 450 and my Engineering up to 417. Once I get another batch of Saronite, I should be able to get to 420 fairly easily, and I might be able to drag myself to 425 if I can get a leatherworker to supply me some leather.
After that... ugh...
Bang! Bang! BOOM!
Listening to: Infected Mushroom - Roll Us a Giant
Level: 73
Engineering: 409
Mining: 427
XPTNL: 1,506,590 (19.25 bubbles)
Awwww yeah. Finally got a new ranged weapon. :D
Level: 73
Engineering: 409
Mining: 427
XPTNL: 1,506,590 (19.25 bubbles)
Awwww yeah. Finally got a new ranged weapon. :D
Stealing a cue from Maevet.
Well, and I'm linked off there too, so I figure it's only fair - I'm adding No Ammo Melee Time to the SES blogroll.
Besides, he's a dorf and a Goblin Engineer AND a Hunter. I could get along with him if he were on SWC. :P
Besides, he's a dorf and a Goblin Engineer AND a Hunter. I could get along with him if he were on SWC. :P
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Cause every dragon crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
*guitar riff*
Listening to: Studio A' - Ragnarok Online - Theme of Prontera
Level: 72
Engineering: 407
Mining: 412
XPTNL: 1,072,735 (14 bubbles)
Hit Friendly with the Wyrmrest Accord, and I do say, the tabard is HAWT. (no pun intended)
Listening to: Studio A' - Ragnarok Online - Theme of Prontera
Level: 72
Engineering: 407
Mining: 412
XPTNL: 1,072,735 (14 bubbles)
Hit Friendly with the Wyrmrest Accord, and I do say, the tabard is HAWT. (no pun intended)
EXTREME Saronite farming!
Listening to: Studio A' - Ragnarok Online - Through the Tower
Level: 72
Engineering: 405
Mining: 411
XPTNL: 1,428,076 (18.5 bubbles)
Icecrown. The final zone of Wrath.
Also known as my playground for farming Saronite!
...I was bored, and figured I'd play Press Your Luck Wrath Edition - instead of BIG MONEY NO WHAMMIES, it's BIG SARONITE NO SCOURGES
And hey, I made it out with 32 Saronite Ore. Not gonna complain. *hearth*
Level: 72
Engineering: 405
Mining: 411
XPTNL: 1,428,076 (18.5 bubbles)
Icecrown. The final zone of Wrath.
Also known as my playground for farming Saronite!
...I was bored, and figured I'd play Press Your Luck Wrath Edition - instead of BIG MONEY NO WHAMMIES, it's BIG SARONITE NO SCOURGES
And hey, I made it out with 32 Saronite Ore. Not gonna complain. *hearth*
Saturday, November 15, 2008
THE CLAMS ARE EVIL
Listening to: The Seatbelts - Piano Black
Level: 71
Engineering: 395
Mining: 388
XPTNL: 1,504,477 (19.5 bubbles)
THOSE CLAMS
IN THAT TRENCH
THAT ARE THE SIZE OF LIKE... A PEA
HOLY GOD I HATE THEM
also ding
Level: 71
Engineering: 395
Mining: 388
XPTNL: 1,504,477 (19.5 bubbles)
THOSE CLAMS
IN THAT TRENCH
THAT ARE THE SIZE OF LIKE... A PEA
HOLY GOD I HATE THEM
also ding
Dalaran is now your home.
Level: 70
Engineering: 385
Mining: 376
XPTNL: 834,941 (11 bubbles)
Woot. Got stuck in a well and a Paladin pulled a Lassie and got me out, then BG-ported me to Dalaran. Got bound there - my first major Wrath goal out of the way.
Tried to go to Azjol-Nerub last night; internet died right after the first boss. Was down for at least an hour; passed out in my chair. Fail :P
Engineering: 385
Mining: 376
XPTNL: 834,941 (11 bubbles)
Woot. Got stuck in a well and a Paladin pulled a Lassie and got me out, then BG-ported me to Dalaran. Got bound there - my first major Wrath goal out of the way.
Tried to go to Azjol-Nerub last night; internet died right after the first boss. Was down for at least an hour; passed out in my chair. Fail :P
Friday, November 14, 2008
3... 2... 1... Let's jam!
Level: 70
Engineering: 385
Mining: 376
XPTNL: 1,004,123 (roughly 13 bubbles)
ARGH WHERE IS ALL THE COBALT IN BOREAN
Also there are dead robots EVERYWHERE for me to scavenge and this is AWESOME.
Engineering: 385
Mining: 376
XPTNL: 1,004,123 (roughly 13 bubbles)
ARGH WHERE IS ALL THE COBALT IN BOREAN
Also there are dead robots EVERYWHERE for me to scavenge and this is AWESOME.
Well hi there little fella!
Where have YOU been all my life?! And your little brother, too!
Sod Shifting purple gems, Tenuous is where it's at!
So far, it looks to be:
Red: Delicate (POSSIBLY Bright)
Orange: Deadly (Agi/Crit?!) if hit capped, Glinting (Agi/Hit) if not.
Purple: Tenuous
Heh, guess we're not using Greens to activate our Metas anymore. :P Man, I can't wait to get some Deadly Huge Citrines and Tenuous Shadow Crystals in my gear. :D
Sod Shifting purple gems, Tenuous is where it's at!
So far, it looks to be:
Red: Delicate (POSSIBLY Bright)
Orange: Deadly (Agi/Crit?!) if hit capped, Glinting (Agi/Hit) if not.
Purple: Tenuous
Heh, guess we're not using Greens to activate our Metas anymore. :P Man, I can't wait to get some Deadly Huge Citrines and Tenuous Shadow Crystals in my gear. :D
Also, since I'm dense...
I just added 35 Yards Out to the good ol' SES Blogroll. I mean, c'mon, he's like the only other MM Hunter I know of that's a blogger (other than Neggles *avoids arrows*), plus he has me linked. I dunno what took me so long, to be honest.
I blame Pike. *sigh*
So I'm on Twitter now. Easy enough to find, since my name on there is just simply "Rilgon". Follow me if I have your blog listed on SES or you are not one of the BM sycophants that I've had run-ins with the past (because I know one of them follows Pike, so covering my bases here).
For convenient contacting-of-teh-Rilgonz, I've also added relevant contact information into the sidebar. Idiots will swiftly and mercilessly be blocked, so don't even think about it.
HURRY UP AND BE 7 AM ALREADY SO I CAN GET OFF OF WORK, JEEZ
For convenient contacting-of-teh-Rilgonz, I've also added relevant contact information into the sidebar. Idiots will swiftly and mercilessly be blocked, so don't even think about it.
HURRY UP AND BE 7 AM ALREADY SO I CAN GET OFF OF WORK, JEEZ
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Warning: Style shift imminent.
Well, kinda-sorta imminent, anyways. Once I get Wrath and have it installed, for the first few days, SES is gonna shift style for most of my posts - they'll be more... I dunno, live-blog-ish? Something like:
Music: Ragnarok Online Piano Arrange OST
Level: 70
XPTNL: 100% (1.1 million)
Engineering: 375
Mining: 375
WANT TO NOT BE AT WORK, WANT TO BE AT HOME WITH WRATH, RAWR
Faster to post updates and stuff that way, plus it helps you guys keep up with your favorite (?) MM blogger.
If this somehow offends you, please don't throw a spear at me - just comment!
Hrm... maybe I should do like Pike and get on Twitter...
Music: Ragnarok Online Piano Arrange OST
Level: 70
XPTNL: 100% (1.1 million)
Engineering: 375
Mining: 375
WANT TO NOT BE AT WORK, WANT TO BE AT HOME WITH WRATH, RAWR
Faster to post updates and stuff that way, plus it helps you guys keep up with your favorite (?) MM blogger.
If this somehow offends you, please don't throw a spear at me - just comment!
Hrm... maybe I should do like Pike and get on Twitter...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Prepared? We'd like to think so.
Everyone in my small blogosphere seems to be in a tizzy about Wrath, and honestly, I can't blame them. Sadly, I'm at work this second, and will have to work Thursday evening (just couldn't manage to wrangle getting it off, too), so my adventures into Northrend won't begin until Friday morning.
Honestly, I think this is a good thing. I can already tell there's gonna be so much server congestion, chaos, and insanity that trying to hit the ground running on day 1 will be nigh-impossible. It puts a massive kink in my plans of being the server first Grand Master Engineer, but I'll live.
But I've made preparations. Oh have I made preparations. In short:
Now, for all you fellow Marksmen out there, I wanna do a short overview of the things to do and not to do on your quest to 80 (IMO).
DO:
Honestly, I think this is a good thing. I can already tell there's gonna be so much server congestion, chaos, and insanity that trying to hit the ground running on day 1 will be nigh-impossible. It puts a massive kink in my plans of being the server first Grand Master Engineer, but I'll live.
But I've made preparations. Oh have I made preparations. In short:
- Made sure my UI was unified and locked in for 3.0.3/Wrath (and backed it up!)
- Cleaned out non-essential items from my bags (primarily, the meat I used to carry for my meat-eating pets - I abandoned the last one I had yesterday), and organized my bag some more
- 12 cans of Monster energy drink, since once I get Wrath, I'll have a full WEEK to play uninhibited. The less time I waste sleeping, the better. (Don't look at me like that!)
- Took a stock of what items I can purge immediately (ALL of my Motes/Primals/Outland gems) as soon as I log in
- Printed out a map of Cobalt Ore spawns in the two starting zones
- Put a full tank of gas in the Roflcopter
- Printed out a decent 375-450 Engineering guide
Now, for all you fellow Marksmen out there, I wanna do a short overview of the things to do and not to do on your quest to 80 (IMO).
DO:
- Use a Gorilladin, for the love of god
- Use a castsequence macro for instantaneous switching between (Dragon)Hawk and Viper so that if you're not actively killing a mob, you're in Viper. Downtime = bad!
- Sacreligious, but don't spam Chimera unless it's tough single-target fights (like elites) - for most things, Volley + Gorilladin = low-downtime grinding with minimal ammo expenditure. Remember, until you get to level 75 (or 72 + 415 Engineering), you're gonna have to bounce back to Shattrath to get ammo, and it sure as hell ain't cheap!
- In that mind, get your 28 slot ammobag and quiver the SECOND you hit 75! I don't care WHAT the Leatherworkers ask you to do, DO IT.
- Bind in Dalaran as SOON as you can. Dalaran's portal selection is the same as Shattrath's AS WELL AS a portal TO Shattrath!
- The second you ding 77, drop WHATEVER THE HELL YOU ARE DOING and get your ass to Dalaran to buy Cold-Weather Flying. No questions asked, just GO.
- Try to burst the living crap out of everything. I'm guilty of this too - single target fights when farming, I act like I'm fighting Illidan or something. This will end up stripping aggro from your Gorilladin, making you take longer to grind, blah blah blah.
- Avoid town unless you just absolutely have to. Less time spent riding on a 100% land mount back to a town = more time grinding = faster run to 80. Especially once you get out of your starting zone - remember, if you're going back to town for arrows, you have to go to Shattrath until you're 75 (or 72/415 Engy). Long way back to Northrend from Shattrath.
- Don't delay trying to find an Engineer with Saronite Razorheads or Mammoth Cutters. You can equip them at 72, and they're stronger than Timeless ammo, compared to the vendor crap which requires 75 and is only as good as Mysterious. Get 'em ASAP!
- Don't forget that you have a guild and friends trying to do the same hard-ass 74G5 group that you're doing. Hunters are phenominal soloers, this is true. But don't let that power stop you from helping your friends! If a guildie who's a Holy Priest needs a hand, your Gorilladin is a formidable tank, even as MM (mine tanked Ring of Blood and Durn yesterday), and can easily overcome hard quests with just one "real" healer (i.e. not you).
Monday, November 10, 2008
Epiphanies!
Piercing Shots < Barrage
Combat Experience > Improved Barrage
I blame the dummies and the spreadsheets. Spent a few hours with both, and I made a very subtle but critical change today: I dropped Piercing Shots for Barrage. Now, that said, I tried dropping CE for 2/3 IBarrage, and I saw a DOWNGRADE in my DPS for that shift.
Thusly, I've changed my side-linked talent specs accordingly.
Combat Experience > Improved Barrage
I blame the dummies and the spreadsheets. Spent a few hours with both, and I made a very subtle but critical change today: I dropped Piercing Shots for Barrage. Now, that said, I tried dropping CE for 2/3 IBarrage, and I saw a DOWNGRADE in my DPS for that shift.
Thusly, I've changed my side-linked talent specs accordingly.
Da Bears
Dey be on my shoulders!
Finally broke my dry streak of raid loot - a pug ZA formed on SWC this morning, and while the group itself was horrible, I managed to snag TWO goodies: Pauldrons of Primal Fury...
...and Mojo!
Finally broke my dry streak of raid loot - a pug ZA formed on SWC this morning, and while the group itself was horrible, I managed to snag TWO goodies: Pauldrons of Primal Fury...
...and Mojo!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Pet Insights
So I figured I'd go ahead and do a report of the pets I've currently got, and my overall opinions of them - everyone save for Tassadar was tamed after 3.0.2, so this is fully cemented in new-age experience.
Oona the Sporebat - Talent Spec
Sporebats, right now, are bugged. To be honest, it's really annoying. Their Spore Cloud ability doesn't auto-cast, which means I'm constantly having to do Ctrl-2/Ctrl-1/Ctrl-5 keystrokes to pull her out, send her back in, and force a Spore Cloud. Having Roar of Recovery is rather nice, though, and in a prolonged raid boss fight, Feeding Frenzy means that she can put out a lot of DPS at the end, where it's more important, IMO.
Kongsecrate the Gorilla - Talent Spec
This is the star of my stables. If I'm farming, I have Kongsecrate. If I'm helping lowbies, I have Kongsecrate. If I'm in an instance and I wanna help out the tank, I have Kongsecrate. He is so mighty. And to think I didn't initially want one...
Mynia the Moth - Talent Spec
I know I've been getting grief for having a moth and being such a major moth proponent, but she's CUTE! She's also my highest DPS pet, and when the DPS really matters, she comes to fight. Call of the Wild is my trump card of trump cards, and when piled into an all-Hunter group like I've been pushing for in Black Temple, if you get two or three Calls going off in sequence... watch out!
Tassadar the Owl - Talent Spec
Poor Tassadar. I had you back when Screech made you the AoE farming pet to have. You were back then what Kongsecrate is today. But now? I don't even really use you much anymore. I really wish your Snatch was more useful - I've tried you on basically everything in Black Temple to no avail...
Raymi the Bear - Talent Spec
Oh Raymi. I wanted you to be my bestest friend and level to 80 with me. But you haven't even made it to 70 yourself - I can't in my mind justify bringing you out to play when I could just as easily bring out Kongsecrate... *sigh*
So, that said, I'm heavily considering ditching Tassadar and Raymi. To replace them, I'm thinking about taming...
Ayamiss the Wasp - Talent Spec
I used a Wasp on the Beta to great effect - I brought her (though I had a male one on Beta, his name was Trance) out when I knew there'd be no Druid and when I wanted a change from Mynia. Great Ferocity pet, and Sting is really snazzy.
[unknown name] the Tallstrider - Talent Spec
Horrifyingly annoying. Wiper of raids. Screeches with a noise that brings death. It's Mazzranache! Dust Cloud is rather useful, and gives me three Ferocity pets to choose from - a self-healer/buffer, a minor armor debuffer, or a +miss debuffer. The problem is, I have no name, since Kaelthas is a "reserved name" for pets! :(
What do you guys think?
Oona the Sporebat - Talent Spec
Sporebats, right now, are bugged. To be honest, it's really annoying. Their Spore Cloud ability doesn't auto-cast, which means I'm constantly having to do Ctrl-2/Ctrl-1/Ctrl-5 keystrokes to pull her out, send her back in, and force a Spore Cloud. Having Roar of Recovery is rather nice, though, and in a prolonged raid boss fight, Feeding Frenzy means that she can put out a lot of DPS at the end, where it's more important, IMO.
Kongsecrate the Gorilla - Talent Spec
This is the star of my stables. If I'm farming, I have Kongsecrate. If I'm helping lowbies, I have Kongsecrate. If I'm in an instance and I wanna help out the tank, I have Kongsecrate. He is so mighty. And to think I didn't initially want one...
Mynia the Moth - Talent Spec
I know I've been getting grief for having a moth and being such a major moth proponent, but she's CUTE! She's also my highest DPS pet, and when the DPS really matters, she comes to fight. Call of the Wild is my trump card of trump cards, and when piled into an all-Hunter group like I've been pushing for in Black Temple, if you get two or three Calls going off in sequence... watch out!
Tassadar the Owl - Talent Spec
Poor Tassadar. I had you back when Screech made you the AoE farming pet to have. You were back then what Kongsecrate is today. But now? I don't even really use you much anymore. I really wish your Snatch was more useful - I've tried you on basically everything in Black Temple to no avail...
Raymi the Bear - Talent Spec
Oh Raymi. I wanted you to be my bestest friend and level to 80 with me. But you haven't even made it to 70 yourself - I can't in my mind justify bringing you out to play when I could just as easily bring out Kongsecrate... *sigh*
So, that said, I'm heavily considering ditching Tassadar and Raymi. To replace them, I'm thinking about taming...
Ayamiss the Wasp - Talent Spec
I used a Wasp on the Beta to great effect - I brought her (though I had a male one on Beta, his name was Trance) out when I knew there'd be no Druid and when I wanted a change from Mynia. Great Ferocity pet, and Sting is really snazzy.
[unknown name] the Tallstrider - Talent Spec
Horrifyingly annoying. Wiper of raids. Screeches with a noise that brings death. It's Mazzranache! Dust Cloud is rather useful, and gives me three Ferocity pets to choose from - a self-healer/buffer, a minor armor debuffer, or a +miss debuffer. The problem is, I have no name, since Kaelthas is a "reserved name" for pets! :(
What do you guys think?
Friday, November 7, 2008
The "New" Marksmanship
(or, Why the Hell is Aimed Shot Hitting So Hard?!)
Preface: All statements in this topic utilize the two talent specs noted in the sidebar. The abbreviation CS is used to reflect Chimera Shot, AiS is used to reflect Aimed Shot, AS is used to reflect Auto-Shot, and ArS is used to reflect Arcane Shot. All formulae, calculations, and mechanics are what I have learned over my years playing - if there is a mistake, please feel free to comment and I will correct my errors and credit you for the correction.
This blog post was inspired by a few posters over on MMO-Champion who wanted some more insight into how old-school Marksmen are working the talent tree, and a bit of insight into how I, personally, work it, given that I tend to be a rather vocal and adamant supporter of the spec. I also have a tendancy to kick cookie cutter expectations to the curb and go with what I feel is right, which leads to a lot of questions.
And the first among them so far is this: Why am I using Aimed over just spamming Steady ad nauseum? Why, instead of the 10.5 Second Rotation (tm), don't I just spam 5 Steadies and a Chimera? Well, aside from the concept that I don't want to be bored out of my fucking mind, there's the fact that, until you reach a certain stat point, your Aimed is gonna hit harder than your Steady, in addition to sticking the healing debuff.
Take, for example, me. I'm sitting at 2483 RAP self-buffed, and I have ye olde chocobow. Now, looking at the wording of Steady, we see that it says:
"A steady shot that causes unmodified weapon damage, plus ammo, plus [RAP * 0.2 + 108]. Causes an additional 175 against Dazed targets."
Unmodified meaning no bonus from RAP, obviously. This means that, with my bow, the formula for me looks like:
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + ([2483 * .2] + 108)
[182 - 339] + 130.2 + 604.6
[182 - 339] + 734.8
916.8 - 1073.8 Damage per Steady
Not bad, huh? Well, it's nice, yes, but... Aimed Shot says:
"An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 205 and reduces healing done to that target by 50%. Lasts 10 sec."
Now, as everyone knows, back before 1.7, any special attack like this used your weapon's base speed. A 3.40 speed weapon, therefore, would hit harder on an Aimed than a 2.40 speed weapon - slow was good, fast was TERRIBLE. To make faster weapons more approachable, they normalized special attacks - all our instant attacks that do "ranged damage + $AMOUNT" are normalized against a 2.80 speed. However, our Chocobow IS 2.80 speed! Perfect!
Therefore, our Aimed formula looks like:
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + [(2483 / 14) * 2.8] + 205
[182 - 339] + 130.2 + 496.6 + 205
1013.8 - 1170.8 Damage per Aimed.
Now, obviously, all these numbers are before factors like armor, RWS, Marked for Death, Improved Steady Shot, and the like.
The major complaint I get is "but that's mana inefficient! Steady is a higher DPMana, which means less time in Viper!" I agree, to a point, and Improved Steady is a major decider in my disagreement (as is my temporary use of the Glyph of Aimed Shot).
Given the Base Mana of a 70 Hunter is 3383, we have costs of 257 for Aimed and 121 for Steady (after talents). Roughly, 8.25 DPM for Steady and 4.25 DPM for Aimed. Big difference, yeah, but if you're getting JoW and you use your one potion strategically, this won't matter on most fights.
Now yes, I'm not gonna fire it during Viper. Hell, with the changes in 3.0.3, I don't even fire Chimera in Viper - it's a net loss now. My stings are manually renewed during Viper (which still gives me a proc). That said, however, I DO use Rapid Fire during Viper both to dip into my Rapid Recuperation AND to hit more rapidly to get more mana.
Now, on that vein, I get questioned about Arcane Shot, too. "Why not use Arcane, Ril?"
"An instant shot that causes [RAP * 0.15 + 273] Arcane damage."
(2483 * .15) + 273
645.45 Damage per Arcane
Weaker than my weakest Steady Shot! Sure, I don't have armor computed into my Steady calculations, and Arcane penetrates armor, but between 5 sunders/acid spits, Faerie Fire/Sting, and Piercing Shots, there's not all that much armor to speak of. :P
The interesting thing that I noticed earlier, however, is that as I gain RAP, the gap between Steady and Aimed doesn't change at all! Check this out.
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + ([10000 * .2] + 108)
2420.2 - 2577.2 Damage per Steady @ 10,000 RAP
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + [(10000 / 14) * 2.8] + 205
2517.2 - 2674.2 Damage per Aimed @ 10,000 RAP
And it's a simple reason. Check this out:
Steady's RAP factor = X * .20
1 * .2 = .2
Aimed's RAP factor = (X / 14) * 2.80
1 / 14 * 2.8 = .2
Plus, people ask about my rotation all the time. It works as such:
0.00 seconds: Serpent
1.5 seconds: Steady
3.0 seconds: Steady
4.5 seconds: Aimed (cools down at 14.5 seconds)
6.0 seconds: Steady
7.5 seconds: Steady
9.0 seconds: Chimera (cools down at 19.0 seconds)
10.5 seconds: Steady
12.0 seconds: Steady
13.5-14.5 seconds: Downtime - human error and latency makes this almost non-issue
14.5 seconds: Aimed
16.0 seconds: Steady
17.5 seconds: Steady
19.0 seconds: Chimera
And repeat until your target's dead or you're OOM. Yes, there's roughly a second or so of dead time in the rotation, and some people will choose to tack a fifth steady in there somewhere - I don't feel it's necessary. Between latency and just plain missing your GCDs, you'll insert that second of dead time into the rotation naturally. And if you somehow don't, stick a fifth Steady (possibly before Chimera?) in the mix.
Anyways, I hope this helps anyone who's trying desperately to play a MM Hunter in a raiding environment, and helps anyone who's trying to understand how I do what I do. :P
Preface: All statements in this topic utilize the two talent specs noted in the sidebar. The abbreviation CS is used to reflect Chimera Shot, AiS is used to reflect Aimed Shot, AS is used to reflect Auto-Shot, and ArS is used to reflect Arcane Shot. All formulae, calculations, and mechanics are what I have learned over my years playing - if there is a mistake, please feel free to comment and I will correct my errors and credit you for the correction.
This blog post was inspired by a few posters over on MMO-Champion who wanted some more insight into how old-school Marksmen are working the talent tree, and a bit of insight into how I, personally, work it, given that I tend to be a rather vocal and adamant supporter of the spec. I also have a tendancy to kick cookie cutter expectations to the curb and go with what I feel is right, which leads to a lot of questions.
And the first among them so far is this: Why am I using Aimed over just spamming Steady ad nauseum? Why, instead of the 10.5 Second Rotation (tm), don't I just spam 5 Steadies and a Chimera? Well, aside from the concept that I don't want to be bored out of my fucking mind, there's the fact that, until you reach a certain stat point, your Aimed is gonna hit harder than your Steady, in addition to sticking the healing debuff.
Take, for example, me. I'm sitting at 2483 RAP self-buffed, and I have ye olde chocobow. Now, looking at the wording of Steady, we see that it says:
"A steady shot that causes unmodified weapon damage, plus ammo, plus [RAP * 0.2 + 108]. Causes an additional 175 against Dazed targets."
Unmodified meaning no bonus from RAP, obviously. This means that, with my bow, the formula for me looks like:
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + ([2483 * .2] + 108)
[182 - 339] + 130.2 + 604.6
[182 - 339] + 734.8
916.8 - 1073.8 Damage per Steady
Not bad, huh? Well, it's nice, yes, but... Aimed Shot says:
"An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 205 and reduces healing done to that target by 50%. Lasts 10 sec."
Now, as everyone knows, back before 1.7, any special attack like this used your weapon's base speed. A 3.40 speed weapon, therefore, would hit harder on an Aimed than a 2.40 speed weapon - slow was good, fast was TERRIBLE. To make faster weapons more approachable, they normalized special attacks - all our instant attacks that do "ranged damage + $AMOUNT" are normalized against a 2.80 speed. However, our Chocobow IS 2.80 speed! Perfect!
Therefore, our Aimed formula looks like:
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + [(2483 / 14) * 2.8] + 205
[182 - 339] + 130.2 + 496.6 + 205
1013.8 - 1170.8 Damage per Aimed.
Now, obviously, all these numbers are before factors like armor, RWS, Marked for Death, Improved Steady Shot, and the like.
The major complaint I get is "but that's mana inefficient! Steady is a higher DPMana, which means less time in Viper!" I agree, to a point, and Improved Steady is a major decider in my disagreement (as is my temporary use of the Glyph of Aimed Shot).
Given the Base Mana of a 70 Hunter is 3383, we have costs of 257 for Aimed and 121 for Steady (after talents). Roughly, 8.25 DPM for Steady and 4.25 DPM for Aimed. Big difference, yeah, but if you're getting JoW and you use your one potion strategically, this won't matter on most fights.
Now yes, I'm not gonna fire it during Viper. Hell, with the changes in 3.0.3, I don't even fire Chimera in Viper - it's a net loss now. My stings are manually renewed during Viper (which still gives me a proc). That said, however, I DO use Rapid Fire during Viper both to dip into my Rapid Recuperation AND to hit more rapidly to get more mana.
Now, on that vein, I get questioned about Arcane Shot, too. "Why not use Arcane, Ril?"
"An instant shot that causes [RAP * 0.15 + 273] Arcane damage."
(2483 * .15) + 273
645.45 Damage per Arcane
Weaker than my weakest Steady Shot! Sure, I don't have armor computed into my Steady calculations, and Arcane penetrates armor, but between 5 sunders/acid spits, Faerie Fire/Sting, and Piercing Shots, there's not all that much armor to speak of. :P
The interesting thing that I noticed earlier, however, is that as I gain RAP, the gap between Steady and Aimed doesn't change at all! Check this out.
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + ([10000 * .2] + 108)
2420.2 - 2577.2 Damage per Steady @ 10,000 RAP
[182 - 339] + (46.5 * 2.8) + [(10000 / 14) * 2.8] + 205
2517.2 - 2674.2 Damage per Aimed @ 10,000 RAP
And it's a simple reason. Check this out:
Steady's RAP factor = X * .20
1 * .2 = .2
Aimed's RAP factor = (X / 14) * 2.80
1 / 14 * 2.8 = .2
Plus, people ask about my rotation all the time. It works as such:
0.00 seconds: Serpent
1.5 seconds: Steady
3.0 seconds: Steady
4.5 seconds: Aimed (cools down at 14.5 seconds)
6.0 seconds: Steady
7.5 seconds: Steady
9.0 seconds: Chimera (cools down at 19.0 seconds)
10.5 seconds: Steady
12.0 seconds: Steady
13.5-14.5 seconds: Downtime - human error and latency makes this almost non-issue
14.5 seconds: Aimed
16.0 seconds: Steady
17.5 seconds: Steady
19.0 seconds: Chimera
And repeat until your target's dead or you're OOM. Yes, there's roughly a second or so of dead time in the rotation, and some people will choose to tack a fifth steady in there somewhere - I don't feel it's necessary. Between latency and just plain missing your GCDs, you'll insert that second of dead time into the rotation naturally. And if you somehow don't, stick a fifth Steady (possibly before Chimera?) in the mix.
Anyways, I hope this helps anyone who's trying desperately to play a MM Hunter in a raiding environment, and helps anyone who's trying to understand how I do what I do. :P
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"wild quiver or improved steady shot"
I swear, if I had a dollar for every time someone found SES by searching for that exact string, I'd be able to go buy another bottle of Baileys for raiding.
That said, I'm going to go ahead and definitively say it for everyone who's googling frantically.
Get Improved Steady Shot. Wild Quiver is crap.
The way it works now, it's just too damn subject to RNG screw. On beta, I had nights where it wouldn't even approach 1% of my DPS, and nights where it'd surge to 3.5-4%. That said, I'm not a person that enjoys relying on a RNG for my DPS.
Improved Steady Shot is not as RNG-ish as Wild Quiver. Yes, it's a proc, but with the Rilgon School of Advanced Hunter Arts (tm) 10.5 Second Rotation (tm), your non-Steady specials (Aimed and Chimera) are nestled right between two Steadies, meaning that there are going to be very few, if any, wasted procs. I haven't seen ISS proc off of back-to-back steadies yet, and that's beta AND live, so I do not feel it will go to waste.
Besides, I had a Chimera crit tonight for 6k on Supremus thanks to Curse of Elements and Improved Steady. THAT was tasty.
(Now, if Blizzard wanted to make Wild Quiver worth a damn, they'd make it a Nature version of Necrosis in the Death Knight's Unholy tree - "Your auto shot attacks deal an additional 4/7/10% Nature damage".)
That said, I'm going to go ahead and definitively say it for everyone who's googling frantically.
Get Improved Steady Shot. Wild Quiver is crap.
The way it works now, it's just too damn subject to RNG screw. On beta, I had nights where it wouldn't even approach 1% of my DPS, and nights where it'd surge to 3.5-4%. That said, I'm not a person that enjoys relying on a RNG for my DPS.
Improved Steady Shot is not as RNG-ish as Wild Quiver. Yes, it's a proc, but with the Rilgon School of Advanced Hunter Arts (tm) 10.5 Second Rotation (tm), your non-Steady specials (Aimed and Chimera) are nestled right between two Steadies, meaning that there are going to be very few, if any, wasted procs. I haven't seen ISS proc off of back-to-back steadies yet, and that's beta AND live, so I do not feel it will go to waste.
Besides, I had a Chimera crit tonight for 6k on Supremus thanks to Curse of Elements and Improved Steady. THAT was tasty.
(Now, if Blizzard wanted to make Wild Quiver worth a damn, they'd make it a Nature version of Necrosis in the Death Knight's Unholy tree - "Your auto shot attacks deal an additional 4/7/10% Nature damage".)
Another 25 packages in the mail...
...and not a single one had what I wanted - the Pet Bombling schematic.
Looking at my logs of every time I've tried to get the damned thing, I'm up to about 225 tries and consequently 450 gold spent trying to get it.
Just dropped another 60 gold on 30 more membership renewals - we'll see what they yield Thursday morning.
Of course, when it comes to me and Engineering, it just wouldn't be me if it I didn't have piss-poor luck.
Or is 400+ kills each for the Repair Bot 110G, Felsteel Boomstick, Adamantite Shell Machine, and other schemata normal? :P Hell, I still don't have the schematic that this blog takes its name from...
Looking at my logs of every time I've tried to get the damned thing, I'm up to about 225 tries and consequently 450 gold spent trying to get it.
Just dropped another 60 gold on 30 more membership renewals - we'll see what they yield Thursday morning.
Of course, when it comes to me and Engineering, it just wouldn't be me if it I didn't have piss-poor luck.
Or is 400+ kills each for the Repair Bot 110G, Felsteel Boomstick, Adamantite Shell Machine, and other schemata normal? :P Hell, I still don't have the schematic that this blog takes its name from...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Finally got new pants. Ugh.
Got the last badges I needed off of Naj'entus to replace my piece of crap pants from Heroic Slave Pens (LOL) with the mail badge pants. Gemmed with rubies and with a nice patch of armor on the top, they're some rather slick pants.
Now, of course, it'd be nice if I could actually manage to score some loot in a raid - I think the last piece of loot I got out of a raid were my boots from Netherspite three months ago. *sigh*
Rolled a 50-something on the ring from Akama, and I'm still kicking myself over it; that thing would've let me drop my hit gem in my mainhand Comet and go with a pure Crit gem.
Hell, I can't even win gems in BT. :|
Edit: And you can't make this kind of stuff up...
[18:54:26] [G] [70:Rilgon]: Ramming speed, Mr. Charger!
[18:54:28] [G] [70:Rezril]: If you need help separating the saucer section, let me know
[18:54:35] [G] [70:Chargernez]: ENGAGE!!!
[18:54:47] [G] [70:Rilgon]: Perhaps today IS a good day to die!
[18:54:56] [G] [70:Chargernez]: several times over....
Now, of course, it'd be nice if I could actually manage to score some loot in a raid - I think the last piece of loot I got out of a raid were my boots from Netherspite three months ago. *sigh*
Rolled a 50-something on the ring from Akama, and I'm still kicking myself over it; that thing would've let me drop my hit gem in my mainhand Comet and go with a pure Crit gem.
Hell, I can't even win gems in BT. :|
Edit: And you can't make this kind of stuff up...
[18:54:26] [G] [70:Rilgon]: Ramming speed, Mr. Charger!
[18:54:28] [G] [70:Rezril]: If you need help separating the saucer section, let me know
[18:54:35] [G] [70:Chargernez]: ENGAGE!!!
[18:54:47] [G] [70:Rilgon]: Perhaps today IS a good day to die!
[18:54:56] [G] [70:Chargernez]: several times over....
Still flyin'...
So anyone who reads DDTS knows that Maevet's been hunting a Captured Firefly with the fury of a thousand Angry Suns (from Mario).
Well, I got bitten by the bug (har) too - hey, it's a great way to level pets, and a good way to learn if I like them or not (which the verdict is in on Sporebats - they suck).
Well, after a combined 19,100-ish kills from Maevet and a humorous 999 from me...
Success!
Also, I think this comic would've been better with Flying Machines.
Well, I got bitten by the bug (har) too - hey, it's a great way to level pets, and a good way to learn if I like them or not (which the verdict is in on Sporebats - they suck).
Well, after a combined 19,100-ish kills from Maevet and a humorous 999 from me...
Success!Also, I think this comic would've been better with Flying Machines.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
So I learned some things today.
- Ashjre'thul is a myth.
- Dragonbreath Hand Cannon is a myth.
- The suppression chamber is still a blast at 70.
- Nefarian with no Ony Cloaks = wtf
- I can still tranq the hell out of Flamegor
It's good to be king.
Oh man, this add-on is sweet.
Maevet tipped me off to it - it's called Auto-Track.
Basically, if it notices that you have Improved Tracking, every time you target a hostile target, you start tracking it.
It's AMAZING! No longer am I missing my 5% tracking bonus when I'm raiding!
Though if anyone knows a lightweight, unobtrusive DoT timer, I'd appreciate it.
Basically, if it notices that you have Improved Tracking, every time you target a hostile target, you start tracking it.
It's AMAZING! No longer am I missing my 5% tracking bonus when I'm raiding!
Though if anyone knows a lightweight, unobtrusive DoT timer, I'd appreciate it.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
So I have two paladins now.
Got my Argent War Horn today - me and a few guildies went farming scourge at the invasion hot-spots, as we found TWO necropoli all to ourselves.
And on top of getting my second, non-hairy paladins, I got my whole Slaying set!
The screwed up part of it is, the gloves might be an upgrade over my T4 ones, and the shoulders, if I had enough hit rating to drop my leather ones, WOULD be an upgrade.
Go figure that out.
But I'm keeping the whole kit around anyways, just for looks, it's pretty sharp. :)
And on top of getting my second, non-hairy paladins, I got my whole Slaying set!
The screwed up part of it is, the gloves might be an upgrade over my T4 ones, and the shoulders, if I had enough hit rating to drop my leather ones, WOULD be an upgrade.
Go figure that out.
But I'm keeping the whole kit around anyways, just for looks, it's pretty sharp. :)
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