Matticus

Matticus is the founder of World of Matticus, a World of Warcraft blog.

13 Tips to be a Naxx Immortal (and Undying)

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tips-immortal

This is a guest post by Ulkesshern, a Holy Paladin from the EU!

Undying and Immortal two achievements that are on paper really easy to get, but in practice seem to be fiendishly difficult.

Below are some random tips to hopefully help you all get some of the coolest titles in the game.

  • Do Razuvious first – Until you kill a boss you aren’t saved and thus have no raid ID to be marked as “Contains Dead People” should the mind controllers mess up and get someone killed, simply wipe the fight, disband the group and reform it with someone else as the leader and try again!
  • Use scrolls – Lucky you scribes, you finally serve a purpose! Especially in 10 man you aren’t going to have every buff, for example I’m frequently mage-less, a quick scroll of Intellect later and I’m a happy man, Scrolls of Fortitude are also a life saved!
  • Buff up properly – It really is serious business, don’t skimp on consumables!
  • Die on trash, lots – Its fun and doesn’t endanger the achievement!
  • Use Divine Intervention during trash – If you are a Paladin the last thing you want to do is somehow DI someone during a boss fight, keep it permanently on cool down (Stupid as it sounds I have heard of this happening)
  • Take it steady – its not a DPS race.
  • Take three(normal) or seven(heroic) healers – its much better to have bored healers than stressed healers.
  • Don’t try and do all the other achievements on the same run!
  • Don’t be afraid to sit someone out for a while – the achievement is granted to all players who take part in the Kel Thuzad kill on a clean raid ID. If you have someone who really can’t dance for example then get them to sit the fight out!
  • Health Potions and Health Stones are your friends – DPSers, use them!
  • If a DK dies while under the effect of Shadow of Death then its okay! He’s not dead yet!
  • Having Undead in your raid doesn’t make the achievement impossible, despite the contradictory nature of their bios, Forsaken aren’t dead! (or are they and when ever you resurrect one you are killing it :/ )
  • Relax and have fun!

There’s also one extra tip that I have not been able to personally verify, there seems to be some strong evidence kicking around that only deaths from Baron Rivendare count…. I don’t know for sure, but my advice is if someone doesn’t die to him but does to one of other horsemen don’t give up and keep going, you might still get it!

Image courtesy of flaivoloka

T8 Set Bonuses Revealed

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Post updated 1:42 AM
MMO Champion’s got the goods on the next level of tier 8 bonuses. Let’s check it out and do some quick analysis shall we?

Priest

  • Priest T8 Healer 2P Bonus — Increases the critical heal chance of your Prayer of Healing by 10%.
  • Priest T8 Healer 4P Bonus — Casting Power Word: Shield also grants you 15 spell power for until cancelled. Increases spell power by 250 for 5 sec. (Source: Thottbot)

I’m not the most thrilled with the 2 piece. It’s not bad but it’s not that great, I don’t think. Although let’s not forget that Prayer of Healing is no longer restricted to the Priest’s current party. You definitely want to consider coupling this with the Prayer of Healing glyph. Having the extra crit chance means there’s a higher chance the glyph portion should tick for more.

Now the 4 piece is a real eyebrow raiser. I’m almost certain that’s a typo. More than likely, it’ll grant 150 spell power instead of 15. The second typo is towards the end. It sounds to me that either a) There’s going to be a duration on it. Probably 9 or 15 seconds. b) Until the Shield wears off of a target. This is a bonus that seems targeted towards Disc Priests. With talents like Soul Warding (Reduced cooldown of PW: Shield by 4 seconds and reduces the mana cost by 30%), I can see myself throwing shields around. It’d be mana inefficient, to be sure. But I’m chain casting it to maintain a spellpower boost. Of course, with the mana regeneration changes this might not be the most smartest idea. Anyway, I don’t think they’re quite finished with this set bonus yet guys.

Paladin

  • Paladin T8 Holy 2P Bonus — Your Holy Shock critical heals now also place a periodic healing effect on the target, healing for 15% of the Holy Shock’s heal amount over 9 sec.
  • Paladin T8 Holy 4P Bonus — Increases the damage absorbed by your Sacred Shield by 10%.

Any Paladins want to weigh in on these bonuses? How do these look to you guys?

Shaman

  • Shaman T8 Restoration 2P Bonus — Reduces the cooldown on Riptide by 1 sec.
  • Shaman T8 Restoration 4P Bonus — Reduces the cast time of Chain Heal by 0.2 sec.

That Shaman 4 piece makes me go wa wa wee wa. Assuming haste, could we possible see 2 second Chain Heals?

And for the Druids, don’t forget that Syd’s got a nice writeup for the Druid bonuses that were released earlier in the week.

A Healer’s Most Important Skill

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artillery 

It amazes me to no end how many healers still have trouble grasping this concept.

It’s not so much about covering as many people as possible. Nor is it about conserving your mana and knowing when to regenerate. Moving around and avoiding fires is a good skill but not quite the most important skill. Situational awareness is an incredible asset to have but it doesn’t quite rank as high up there.

The art of spamming

It is the act of standing in one place and doing nothing but going through global cooldown after global cooldown and dumping massive heals on one target.

Actually, spam means unsolicited or undesired electronic messages so that might not be the right word to use.

Then again saying focused rapid-fire heals is a bit of a mouthful.

The point is that any healer regardless of their class should master the art of spam healing. I’ve partied and raided with healers who are too worried about regeneration or movement or otherwise that they’ve lost track of simply dumping heals on a player.

For a Priest, it’s a combination of Penance, Flash Heal, and Greater Heal depending on your spec, of course. Yeah you can sprinkle Shields and Renews here and there. But when you’re in a raid and when you feel that you cannot heal damage of that magnitude, it’s time to grind your teeth, narrow your eyes, and lean forward. Every healer has their own personal heavy artillery healing spell. Don’t be afraid to get into that zone and start mashing your heal button.

You are the last line of defense. Spam healing might go against everything you believe in. But don’t be afraid to go out with your heals blazing.

Image courtesy of klsmith77

Theme Songs of Conquest

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Daniel Whitcomb wrote a breakfast topic this morning about theme songs. The minions in Conquest are extremely aware of my diverse taste in music. Sometimes I’ll play various fast upbeat songs to help pump myself up. Other times I’ll play slower pieces to help calm myself down.

What are the theme songs of Conquest?

Joe Esposito – You’re the Best Around

This is actually Stop’s theme song. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have multiple uses! One of the epic scenes in Karate Kid is when Daniel LaRusso works his way up the tournament bracket into the finals and Joe Esposito is blaring in the background,

Just remember that when it seems like the deck is stacked against you, you’re the best… arooooound!

Power Rangers Theme Song

Power Rangers was the Grand Theft Auto of violence blame back in the day. I remember rushing home from school when I was really young just so I could watch the show on TV. How many violent incidents did Power Rangers spark across schools in North America? I have no idea. There was so much controversy about TV violence and it’s influence. I looked it up on Wikipedia. 17 seasons, 15 series, and two theatrical films. Wow, really?

Chariots of Fire

One of the most cliche’d songs in existence. Whenever victory comes down to one person, I cue this song right up and starting playing it over vent. For example, several weeks ago when we were testing Ulduar, I had a guy constantly disconnecting. The rest of us were already inside the zone. But he was caught in Storm Peaks trying to work his way to the instance portal. Another example is Warsong Gulch. As our group was carrying the flag across the zone, we were slowly getting picked apart one by one. Conquest sharpshooter Amava had the flag. One of our mages dropped. The Ret Paladin gave Amava freedom before dying. I lit up Pain Suppression and a Psychic scream before my last breath. And it was all that Amava needed (and Vangelis) to make it to the finish line.

Rocky Theme – Gonna Fly Now

Oh my god it’s Rocky! And he’s being chased by the masses! Go, go, go! The clip shows Rocky literally running through the entire series. As he runs and trains he is cheered on by literally the entire city! This movie must be way older than I am. But the song is no less inspiring. The guy jumps over park benches and sprints across everything. Damn.

Journey – Don’t Stop Believing

I confess. I’ve never heard of this song until I saw it on that episode on Family Guy. Since then, it has been converted into a ringtone for my phone. I challenge someone to come up with a Warcraft rendition.

What surprised me most is the hair. Man, did people really have hairstyles like that back then?

Europe – The Final Countdown

Did you just kill the third Drake of Obsidian Sanctum? Enter Phase 3 of Malygos? Does Kel’Thuzad have less than 15% health left? Congratulations. It’s the final countdown. You’re on to the final stretch and moments away from victory!

Any Final Fantasy – Victory Theme

Yay! Boss down! Loot and you’re all set!

Isaac Hayes – Theme from Shaft

If I had my own entrance theme song, I believe the theme from Shaft would be it.

Can you dig it? You damn right.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Hymns Updated to 2.0

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Looks like updated Hymns were snuck in with the recent PTR build. The big news? Hymn of Hope is back and flashier than ever!

Divine Hymn redesigned: You recite a Holy hymn, summoning the power of the Divine to assist you in your time of need. Heals 3 nearby lowest-health friendly party or raid targets for 4960-5208 every 2 seconds for 8 seconds, and increases healing done to them by 15% for 8 seconds. Maximum of 12 heals. The Priest must channel to maintain the spell. Cooldown increased to 6 minutes, up from 5.

Hymn of Hope redesigned: You recite a Holy hymn, restoring hope to those in despair. Restores 3% mana to 3 nearby low mana friendly party or raid targets every 2 seconds for 8 seconds, and temporarily increases their total maximum mana by 20% for 8 seconds. After the effect expires, the mana is lost. Maximum of 12 mana restorations. The Priest must channel to maintain the spell. Cooldown increased to 6 minutes, up from 5.

Well? What do you think?