Summer Fun!

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Usually, I’d crank out a full-fledged post to tell you what to do, but I’m too busy having fun! So here’s the official press-release from Blizzard.

They’ve added a lot of fun stuff… so what are you waiting for?? Grab some matches, and GO PLAY!!

Update: There is neat stuff dropping off the new boss in Slave Pens – most notably, a very interesting new enchant: Deathfrost. That and the icy-theme of the gear drops seems to be a preview of things coming in WotLK.

Also, some people collect non-combat pets; I collect holliday outfits. I’m pretty pleased with myself this time around.

I decided not to go for the shoulders – I just don’t like how they look.

Luv,
Wyn

Rez Me First!

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….Or at least another Priest.

It could be a Soulstone, a Divine Intervention, a vanished Rogue with a pair of cables, or a clever Druid with a well-timed battle rez taken once the coast is clear. The idea is to save the raid the lengthy corpse-run, and to pick up and move on as quickly as possible.

Wipe Prevention – (n.) – \?w?p\ \pri-?ven(t)-sh?n\ – the concept of having at least one raiding member with the ability to Resurrect other members still alive after all other raiders are dead, and the boss or mobs have reset.

Because the entire purpose of wipe-prevention is time-efficiency, it has always frustrated me when the player charged with reviving the raid seems to have no concept of whom to rez first, second, or last. It gets worse when no one else in the raid seems to know what to do, either. After my guild’s last efforts in Sunwell, I decided to write a quick tutorial:

Always resurrect other rezzers first

This is the most crucial point, but even within this simple concept, it makes the most sense to pick some rezzers over others. Three classes have out of combat resurrection spells. Priests have Resurrection, which costs 60% of our base mana. Shamans have Ancestral Spirit which costs 72% of their base mana, and Paladins have Redemption which costs 64% of their base mana. It makes sense to pick up your Priests first, since they will be able to resurrect the most people without having to stop and drink. Remember that HEALER doesn’t necessarily mean REZZER. Druids can obviously not help here, but non-healing Priests, Shamans, and Paladins should. Don’t let them be lazy.

Personally, 60% of my base mana is 1,500. My Shammie brothers-in-arms’ rezzes cost as much as 3,000. I only have to drink to the point where I have 3,000 of my mana back and my regen will allow me to chain-cast rezzes without stopping until the whole raid is up. It makes more sense to pick me up than to pick up an ele shaman with only 250 mp5 and a 9k mana pool.

Resurrect raiders who need to do extra prep second

This means warlocks who need to summon healthstones and demons, Hunters who have to revive their pets, and buff-classes who will need to fill their mana in order to buff. (Mages, Druids)

Last are classes with little prep

Rogues who may need to apply poisons, non-buffing (usually feral) Druids, and Warriors.

Other speed-recovery pointers
  • Once their summoning duties are over, warlocks should drink to replenish their mana, rather than distracting the healers by life-tapping.
  • Group-Buffs should be done as soon as a given party is fully rezzed.
  • If one raider is doing the bulk of the rezzing, another member of their class should take over their buff-assignment (where possible), so they can drink and be ready to go with the rest of the raid.
  • All raiders who are NOT rez classes should eat their buff food and replenish their own mana as soon as they have been revived – this is not the time to take a bio-break or grab a snack.
  • One of the macros I posted in my UI series is my Rez macro. It casts rez, whispers the recipient, and plants a message in my guild’s healer channel to let them know my target. This avoids wasting time while two or three people try to rez the same target.

That can sound like a whole bunch of rules, but the underlying principle is very simple: Rez the people who can help get the rest of the raid up as quickly as possible first. Rez the people who need time to get ready second. Rez the people who need the least time last. You can save enough time this way to get in more attempts, avoid re-clearing trash, or keep a night of farm content from drawing out much longer than it should.

Luv,
Wyn

I Hate Unannounced MIA’s

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As I write this, I’m currently “borrowing” the internet connection of a neighbor. I wanted to update you all on what has been an extremely eventful (albeit fairly painful) week.

  • I injured my lower back earlier this week which had stopped temporary production of posts.
  • I received a text message earlier yesterday that knocked out my ADSL modem (cellphone, bad phone filter, etc.). A tech is being dispatched at some point later this afternoon or early during the weekend. Depending on how quick they can diagnose and troubleshoot the problem, I may not be able to make the WoW Insider show.
  • Wynthea’s boss doubled her work-load then went out of town, so she’s been out-of-commission.

Just wanted to keep you apprised. I haven’t quite disappeared off the radar yet.

On another completely different note, if you possess a router that has wireless capabilities, please do the following:

  1. Disable the wireless aspect if you don’t have any wireless devices
  2. Change your password to something that isn’t: password, admin, nimda, apple, your birthday, or your street address backwards.

All the best!
– Matticus

LF Free Agent Resto Druid

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Carnage has a position open for a free agent Resto Druid. We’re literally on the cusp of killing Illidan. Hyjal is on farm status as well as the first 8 bosses in Black Temple.

In the brief

Server: Ner’Zuhl (West Coast, PvP, PST Server)
Guild Name: Carnage
Website: http://www.carnage-guild.org/pn/
Raiding Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM, Sunday: 3:30 PM – 9:00 PM [Note that times are subject to change] That’s under 13 hours of mandatory raiding a week

Faction: Alliance
Progress: 5/5 Mount Hyjal, 8/9 Black Temple

What our Guild can offer:
* A relaxed and fun raiding environment
* Adult, mature players to interact with
* A great sense of community and belonging
* Ventrilo

Ideal Candidates:
* Are mature, over 16 years
* Possess a working microphone and are not afraid to use it
* Possess a stable internet connection and a raid capable computer that will not explode
* Skilled Player: Skilled in the class that you play
* Excellent Attitude: No negativity. A positive personality that synchronizes with the rest of the guild is an asset
* Should be geared in T5 level/Badge epics

Note: If you need gear from Karazhan, this is not the Guild for you.

UI Requirements:
Omen
CTRA/ORA2 (For raid querying only, you can use whatever raiding interface you like)
Deadly Boss Mods/Bigwigs

We are looking for:

Healer: Part time position available for a Resto Druid.

Once again, contacts: Send in game messages to Mallet, Maeve, Rackham on Ner’Zuhl. Alternatively, you can create an account on the website, and post on the Recruiting Forums.

Renew Your Interest in WoW

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Image courtesy of hbrinkman 

There’s been some general apathy going around the WoW community. A lot of players have gotten bored of the game or aren’t quite sure what to do next. It’s as if they’ve reached a roadblock in their WoW career and there’s no where to go, nothing to do, nothing to talk about.

Does this sound familiar?

I could come up with a few ways to beat back this wave of depression, but I was beat to it by PTD a few weeks back (and his post was even highlighted on WoW Insider)! There are some fun activities that you can do but the secret is that you’re better off playing with friends. WoW is a social game, remember. I’m lucky that I’ve got a great group of friends both within the guild and outside of the guild that I can hang out and blow up BGs with.

If you’re absolutely bored with WoW, then you may as well call it right now and not waste any more money playing something you don’t really want to play. Wait for the expansion when everyone resets. Kick back and relax for the summer.

On the other hand, maybe you’re bored of the players in your Guild. I know in hockey, sometimes the stars get bored of playing in their current team for so long that their performance suffers. Sometimes they need a change of scenery. A trade can work out for both parties involved and help jumpstart their career again. Perhaps it’s time for your relationship with your Guild to end and for you to move onto another organization if you’re feeling the depression. It’s not what you do, it’s who you play with. I’ve seen several bloggers uproot themselves from their original servers and transfer elsewhere.

As the months have passed, I’ve noticed several former prominent WoW bloggers disappear off my radar with absolutely no notice at all whatsoever. I don’t know whats happened to them or they’re even still around, but I wanted to take a moment and recognize their contributitions to our awesome community while they were still here. Since they haven’t posted in such a long time, it’s safe to assume that the blogs have been all but abandoned.

Girl Meets WoW – Awesome blog from a progression oriented mage. Last posted April 29th.

The Light and the Dark – One of the early Priest blogs that fell victim to that of real life. Last posted March 4th.

Trollin’ –  – Another Shadow Priest blog that I’ve followed for the longest time. It had a lot of mathematics in it which made my head spin. I’ve seen Trollin’ around the area though. I’m not quite sure what kind of shenanigans he’s up to at at the moment. But he’s out there lurking!