Finally got the chance to finish ToC last night. I had previously been in on a couple of runs that didn't work out way back when EoF was trying it for the first time. Last night, though, we cleared it and I, at long last, got the achievement for it.
My observations are as follows:
It kinda sucks.
I've heard people say it sucks, but now I know for myself that it, indeed, sucks.
Filler content FTL.
Showing posts with label raiding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raiding. Show all posts
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Progression
EoF was supposed to head into ICC Wednesday night. That didn't work.
Tried Thursday. That didn't work either.
Finally, we made it back in on Saturday. I was sick and out of commission earlier in the week, but there were also a couple more folks who couldn't make it to the weeknight raids. It was probably a good thing, really. A little break now and then can't hurt.
I was lucky enough to get the shield from the Gunship Battle. Finally, I got to ditch the one heroic item I was still lugging around. I've always had miserable luck with shield upgrades.
The real story of the night, though, was Festergut. First attempt was an almost instant wipe. During the second attempt I died and our other tank blew up due to 10 stacks of Gastric Bloat. The third time, however, proved to be the charm. Clean kill, no deaths, much rejoicing.
We took a look at Rotface before we called it and, if we execute as well as we did on Saturday, I'm hopeful we'll be able to drop him this week.
Tried Thursday. That didn't work either.
Finally, we made it back in on Saturday. I was sick and out of commission earlier in the week, but there were also a couple more folks who couldn't make it to the weeknight raids. It was probably a good thing, really. A little break now and then can't hurt.
I was lucky enough to get the shield from the Gunship Battle. Finally, I got to ditch the one heroic item I was still lugging around. I've always had miserable luck with shield upgrades.
The real story of the night, though, was Festergut. First attempt was an almost instant wipe. During the second attempt I died and our other tank blew up due to 10 stacks of Gastric Bloat. The third time, however, proved to be the charm. Clean kill, no deaths, much rejoicing.
We took a look at Rotface before we called it and, if we execute as well as we did on Saturday, I'm hopeful we'll be able to drop him this week.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Out of My Cold, Dead Hands
In TBC I proudly carried my Khorium Destroyer, crafted for me as a gift from my lovely wife, Cheesi. It was the tank gun back then...kind of a rite of passage into the ranks of the meat shields.
When WotLK came around, I crafted myself an Armor Plated Combat Shotgun the second I hit 80. Great tank weapon when you start your heroicing.
That's a long stretch of time to be carrying nothing but a gun. Veneretio recommended a while back to pick up some thrown weapons for a trash set, but I never really got anything in TBC or early WotLK that I wouldn't be embarrassed carrying in a raid. Thrown weapons back then were pretty much built for rogues, so they were great for trash threat. Plus, throwing has a much shorter cast time than shooting (that was a big deal pre-Heroic Throw, but even now it's helpful to have a secondary option in the event that the pulls are happening quick and HT is on cooldown).
Not too terribly long ago, I coughed up some emblems for the Blades of the Sable Cross, the first really accessible replacement for an Engineering tanking gun in a very, very long time.
There was nothing wrong with the Blades. In fact, they were quite nice. It just felt weird to not have a gun. It was hard enough to take off my goggles, but losing my gun, too? I felt naked...couldn't walk through Tinkertown without getting dirty looks.
Last night during our ICC cleanup (didn't get Festergut, but made some progress on him), Stinky fell and Tatia said she/he/it dropped a BoE: Rowan's Rifle of Silver Bullets.
Thanks, Blizz, for making sure I don't have to bring knives to any more gunfights.
When WotLK came around, I crafted myself an Armor Plated Combat Shotgun the second I hit 80. Great tank weapon when you start your heroicing.
That's a long stretch of time to be carrying nothing but a gun. Veneretio recommended a while back to pick up some thrown weapons for a trash set, but I never really got anything in TBC or early WotLK that I wouldn't be embarrassed carrying in a raid. Thrown weapons back then were pretty much built for rogues, so they were great for trash threat. Plus, throwing has a much shorter cast time than shooting (that was a big deal pre-Heroic Throw, but even now it's helpful to have a secondary option in the event that the pulls are happening quick and HT is on cooldown).
Not too terribly long ago, I coughed up some emblems for the Blades of the Sable Cross, the first really accessible replacement for an Engineering tanking gun in a very, very long time.
There was nothing wrong with the Blades. In fact, they were quite nice. It just felt weird to not have a gun. It was hard enough to take off my goggles, but losing my gun, too? I felt naked...couldn't walk through Tinkertown without getting dirty looks.
Last night during our ICC cleanup (didn't get Festergut, but made some progress on him), Stinky fell and Tatia said she/he/it dropped a BoE: Rowan's Rifle of Silver Bullets.
Thanks, Blizz, for making sure I don't have to bring knives to any more gunfights.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Recap
After last Wednesday's..."issues"...with ICC, we walked in on Saturday and one-shot all the content we had previously cleared. We then two-shot Saurfang.
The Turned Champion isn't really that bad of a fight when you get down to it. It just requires communication, especially when things don't go according to plan. If, for example, a Blood Beast starts gnawing on melee for some reason, don't panic...just say something to the ranged responsible for picking them up. There's not a ton of room for error, but you can get yourself out of a fix if you stay calm and just talk to each other.
We took a look at Festergut and are going to give him an honest effort tonight if we can manage the personnel. There was a lot of "do we have the dps for this?" talk, but I think we can do it. The mechanics on that fight aren't as complicated as some of the other ICC fights, so our dps crew should have enough room to work without that much distraction.
I also learned that I can't tank Heroic Halls of Reflection, specifically, the waves at the beginning. I gave it my best effort, but simply cannot pull it off. If the mobs all came from the same place, I could manage, but because they're coming in from all over the room it's a little too much for this poor, old, beat-up Warrior to handle. I also get a bit of lag sometimes when dealing with AoE, so when a rifleman drops a frost trap on top of whatever AoE the group is doing I end up with a couple seconds of a frozen screen only to return to find a dead healer.
I'm sure I could do it, but it would take some practice. The problem with practicing a unique set of pulls from a specific instance, though, is that four other people are paying for it, too...both with time and repair bills.
All in all, it was a good weekend in Azeroth. Got my Ashen Verdict ring and even managed to putz around with the holidays. I don't think I'm gonna get titles out of both of them, but I'll settle for some achievement points and vanity items. My banker is very happy with her new Lovely Red Dress, but keeps bugging me about the black one.
Hopefully we can take out Festergut tonight and cross another boss off of our progression list.
The Turned Champion isn't really that bad of a fight when you get down to it. It just requires communication, especially when things don't go according to plan. If, for example, a Blood Beast starts gnawing on melee for some reason, don't panic...just say something to the ranged responsible for picking them up. There's not a ton of room for error, but you can get yourself out of a fix if you stay calm and just talk to each other.
We took a look at Festergut and are going to give him an honest effort tonight if we can manage the personnel. There was a lot of "do we have the dps for this?" talk, but I think we can do it. The mechanics on that fight aren't as complicated as some of the other ICC fights, so our dps crew should have enough room to work without that much distraction.
I also learned that I can't tank Heroic Halls of Reflection, specifically, the waves at the beginning. I gave it my best effort, but simply cannot pull it off. If the mobs all came from the same place, I could manage, but because they're coming in from all over the room it's a little too much for this poor, old, beat-up Warrior to handle. I also get a bit of lag sometimes when dealing with AoE, so when a rifleman drops a frost trap on top of whatever AoE the group is doing I end up with a couple seconds of a frozen screen only to return to find a dead healer.
I'm sure I could do it, but it would take some practice. The problem with practicing a unique set of pulls from a specific instance, though, is that four other people are paying for it, too...both with time and repair bills.
All in all, it was a good weekend in Azeroth. Got my Ashen Verdict ring and even managed to putz around with the holidays. I don't think I'm gonna get titles out of both of them, but I'll settle for some achievement points and vanity items. My banker is very happy with her new Lovely Red Dress, but keeps bugging me about the black one.
Hopefully we can take out Festergut tonight and cross another boss off of our progression list.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Well That Sucked Less
Last night we took down Razuvious for our weekly raid. Nice and easy, and holy crap did we need it.
After Wednesday's charlie foxtrot, much analysis and discussion happened and we've decided that, while we could have executed better, the lag certainly didn't do us any favors. Marrowgar dropped the last two weeks, so it's not like we can't handle the fight. In fact, I'm confident tomorrow night he'll die like he's supposed to.
I'm not sure if I'll be raiding ICC this weekend, but either way I'm hoping EoF gets some new boss kills out of the deal. I know once we get past the hiccups we'll have the place cleared before Arthas knows we're in the building.
Have I mentioned that I love my guild? Such an incredibly smart, talented, and friendly group of people to run with.
Anyway, stay tuned for, hopefully, some good news.
After Wednesday's charlie foxtrot, much analysis and discussion happened and we've decided that, while we could have executed better, the lag certainly didn't do us any favors. Marrowgar dropped the last two weeks, so it's not like we can't handle the fight. In fact, I'm confident tomorrow night he'll die like he's supposed to.
I'm not sure if I'll be raiding ICC this weekend, but either way I'm hoping EoF gets some new boss kills out of the deal. I know once we get past the hiccups we'll have the place cleared before Arthas knows we're in the building.
Have I mentioned that I love my guild? Such an incredibly smart, talented, and friendly group of people to run with.
Anyway, stay tuned for, hopefully, some good news.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Well That Sucked
Went back into ICC last night for what was supposed to be a quick clear of a couple of bosses to set us up for some progression on Saturday.
It. Didn't. Work.
As far as issues beyond our control go, the overall server lag was horrible. I didn't really notice it on my end until BoneStooooooooorm. What with Marrowgar spinning around and coldflame all over the place I couldn't move effectively or pick up aggro quick enough when he stopped. It also hurt the tanks as we tried to stay locked together to split the Saber Lash both at the beginning of the fight and immediately after Bone Storm was over.
Beyond that, I personally didn't do very well. My positioning was crap as was my threat gen. For the life of me, I just couldn't get to my spot, get my body properly facing the boss, and get close enough to the other tank in time.
My solution? I think I need to run some random 5s and/or lower level raids. Not only will the emblems help me snag some upgrades, but I really need to knock off as much rust as possible to be effective again.
Saturday, I felt really strong. Last night, I didn't. It's gonna take some work to get back to the point where I can tank successfully on a consistent basis.
It. Didn't. Work.
As far as issues beyond our control go, the overall server lag was horrible. I didn't really notice it on my end until BoneStooooooooorm. What with Marrowgar spinning around and coldflame all over the place I couldn't move effectively or pick up aggro quick enough when he stopped. It also hurt the tanks as we tried to stay locked together to split the Saber Lash both at the beginning of the fight and immediately after Bone Storm was over.
Beyond that, I personally didn't do very well. My positioning was crap as was my threat gen. For the life of me, I just couldn't get to my spot, get my body properly facing the boss, and get close enough to the other tank in time.
My solution? I think I need to run some random 5s and/or lower level raids. Not only will the emblems help me snag some upgrades, but I really need to knock off as much rust as possible to be effective again.
Saturday, I felt really strong. Last night, I didn't. It's gonna take some work to get back to the point where I can tank successfully on a consistent basis.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tweetspiration
I mentioned on Twitter that taking a long hiatus as a WoW blogger leaves you with nothing to write about when you return. With that, Aoirselvar and Kadomi provided me with a couple of post ideas. Since I've got wicked writer's block, I will run with both.
From Aoirselvar: I guess you can start writing about your experience returning to the world of Azeroth.
Mostly, it feels like I never left. Now, I've logged in over the course of the hiatus, but it was usually on a Saturday morning when only a couple of guildies were online anyway. I'd do a couple of dailies, maybe work the auction house a little, and then log off.
I didn't feel awkward or rusty until we went to ICC on Saturday night. That's when the time off showed itself for me. I didn't feel like I was really in the pocket the first couple of pulls. I really wasn't at my best throughout the run, for that matter. I'm not saying I did poorly, but I certainly noticed that I was out of practice.
My guild is great. They've been so understanding and welcomed me back with open arms. The only remotely weird thing from a social standpoint is that everybody has better gear than I do. I laugh when I see a guildie on their 4th or 5th 80 and that alt has a gear score that dwarfs mine.
I've got some work to do.
From Kadomi: You raided ICC, how about your first impressions?
I really enjoyed getting to work a bit in ICC. I think Blizzard did a great job with the place, overall. Based on what I've seen, you can't exactly waltz your way through there. You have to actually think about the trash, and the bosses aren't pushovers. Also, the dodge debuff really makes things interesting.
My last real raiding experience was in Ulduar. I was involved in a couple of trips to ToC 10, but neither amounted to much of anything. Even in TBC, we never really got past the first tier or so of raiding. The chance to go in with a really, really good group and take on some of the higher-level content this time around was exciting.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I wasn't really geared for the place when I walked in, and on top of that I was horribly rusty. I'm looking forward to getting some upgrades and getting myself back in shape.
Thanks for the ideas, Aoirselvar and Kadomi! I'll get back into the swing of this blogging thing sooner or later.
From Aoirselvar: I guess you can start writing about your experience returning to the world of Azeroth.
Mostly, it feels like I never left. Now, I've logged in over the course of the hiatus, but it was usually on a Saturday morning when only a couple of guildies were online anyway. I'd do a couple of dailies, maybe work the auction house a little, and then log off.
I didn't feel awkward or rusty until we went to ICC on Saturday night. That's when the time off showed itself for me. I didn't feel like I was really in the pocket the first couple of pulls. I really wasn't at my best throughout the run, for that matter. I'm not saying I did poorly, but I certainly noticed that I was out of practice.
My guild is great. They've been so understanding and welcomed me back with open arms. The only remotely weird thing from a social standpoint is that everybody has better gear than I do. I laugh when I see a guildie on their 4th or 5th 80 and that alt has a gear score that dwarfs mine.
I've got some work to do.
From Kadomi: You raided ICC, how about your first impressions?
I really enjoyed getting to work a bit in ICC. I think Blizzard did a great job with the place, overall. Based on what I've seen, you can't exactly waltz your way through there. You have to actually think about the trash, and the bosses aren't pushovers. Also, the dodge debuff really makes things interesting.
My last real raiding experience was in Ulduar. I was involved in a couple of trips to ToC 10, but neither amounted to much of anything. Even in TBC, we never really got past the first tier or so of raiding. The chance to go in with a really, really good group and take on some of the higher-level content this time around was exciting.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I wasn't really geared for the place when I walked in, and on top of that I was horribly rusty. I'm looking forward to getting some upgrades and getting myself back in shape.
Thanks for the ideas, Aoirselvar and Kadomi! I'll get back into the swing of this blogging thing sooner or later.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Enter the Tank
Hey. Remember me?
I've been logging on the past couple of weekends trying to get back in the swing of WoW. I missed it, frankly. I missed my guildies, I missed raiding, and I missed cursing every time I get aged yolk (if I don't get that proto-drake before Cataclysm, I'm heading over to the frickin' wolvar, I swear).
Saturday I pulled one of my marathon sessions. I was trying to squeeze in dailies while running after the Baby Tank and keeping the Puppy Tank from peeing in the house.
Saturday night was EoF's second evening in ICC 10. Tatia asked me if I wanted to go, but I didn't want to walk in there with mediocre gear and kill any momentum they had from the prior week when they managed to down three bosses. As the day progressed, though, I realized I really, really wanted to go with them.
So, I picked up the mats for a quick and easy upgrade and signed up. We had a Lock finishing another raid, so we decided to start clearing trash while we waited on him. Started pulling only to realize our other tank, a Pally, was having some technical difficulties. We initially thought it was just a dc, but as it turns out his whole computer went nuts and he was down for the evening.
Down to eight raiders, now, with a tank (that would be me) who's out of practice, undergeared, and trying to hold on to 200 The Damned (hyperbole intended) while all of our better-geared dps go nuts on them.
It worked. Don't worry, I was surprised, too.
We cleared to the first boss, had one of our crew bring in an alt tank, and filled the open slot. Had some difficulty with Marrowgar, but two shot Deathwhisper and the Gunship. Marrowgar was even nice enough to give me a mace as a "welcome back to raiding" gift. It got late, and we called it a night.
When I was raiding more regularly I generally overgeared the content we were attempting. This was the first time in a while I undergeared the content and, subsequently, had less of a margin for error. All in all, I think I did ok.
Might even sign up again for next week.
I've been logging on the past couple of weekends trying to get back in the swing of WoW. I missed it, frankly. I missed my guildies, I missed raiding, and I missed cursing every time I get aged yolk (if I don't get that proto-drake before Cataclysm, I'm heading over to the frickin' wolvar, I swear).
Saturday I pulled one of my marathon sessions. I was trying to squeeze in dailies while running after the Baby Tank and keeping the Puppy Tank from peeing in the house.
Saturday night was EoF's second evening in ICC 10. Tatia asked me if I wanted to go, but I didn't want to walk in there with mediocre gear and kill any momentum they had from the prior week when they managed to down three bosses. As the day progressed, though, I realized I really, really wanted to go with them.
So, I picked up the mats for a quick and easy upgrade and signed up. We had a Lock finishing another raid, so we decided to start clearing trash while we waited on him. Started pulling only to realize our other tank, a Pally, was having some technical difficulties. We initially thought it was just a dc, but as it turns out his whole computer went nuts and he was down for the evening.
Down to eight raiders, now, with a tank (that would be me) who's out of practice, undergeared, and trying to hold on to 200 The Damned (hyperbole intended) while all of our better-geared dps go nuts on them.
It worked. Don't worry, I was surprised, too.
We cleared to the first boss, had one of our crew bring in an alt tank, and filled the open slot. Had some difficulty with Marrowgar, but two shot Deathwhisper and the Gunship. Marrowgar was even nice enough to give me a mace as a "welcome back to raiding" gift. It got late, and we called it a night.
When I was raiding more regularly I generally overgeared the content we were attempting. This was the first time in a while I undergeared the content and, subsequently, had less of a margin for error. All in all, I think I did ok.
Might even sign up again for next week.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
RL Crit
How much defense does it take to eliminate crits from real life? Anybody?
The last five days have been crazy. Absolutely, completely, insanely crazy.
I haven't been on WoW the past two nights, which is probably a good thing considering I was way off my game while we were raiding over the weekend. Sloppy pulls, forgetting to Vig, etc. Just wasn't really with it.
Still, we downed Kologarn and hit a brick wall with the Iron Council. Still couldn't get Ignis, although we think we know what we were doing wrong so he should drop this week. We one-shot the bosses we had downed the week before, which is a good sign.
Tried out ToC and got nowhere in a hurry. We weren't expecting much out of it, so it wasn't a huge letdown. We just wanted to get in and poke around a bit.
EoE was epic frustration. I'm two kills shy of my CotFW title (Maly and H-AN). I really wanted to knock Maly off that list, but we just couldn't get a decent shot at him. First try, wiped in Phase 1. Second try, wiped in Phase 2. Third try, wiped in Phase 3. Theoretically, one more shot would have probably done the trick, but we just didn't have it in us.
We overgear the heck out of EoE, but most of us hadn't seen it before and there's enough going on that lack of experience with the fight can and will be your downfall. We'll get him sooner or later.
I'm hoping to sneak in a couple of raids this week, but my RL drama is still unfolding, so we'll see how it plays out.
Gonna try to toss up a post here or there, but they'll probably be a bit more sporadic than normal.
The last five days have been crazy. Absolutely, completely, insanely crazy.
I haven't been on WoW the past two nights, which is probably a good thing considering I was way off my game while we were raiding over the weekend. Sloppy pulls, forgetting to Vig, etc. Just wasn't really with it.
Still, we downed Kologarn and hit a brick wall with the Iron Council. Still couldn't get Ignis, although we think we know what we were doing wrong so he should drop this week. We one-shot the bosses we had downed the week before, which is a good sign.
Tried out ToC and got nowhere in a hurry. We weren't expecting much out of it, so it wasn't a huge letdown. We just wanted to get in and poke around a bit.
EoE was epic frustration. I'm two kills shy of my CotFW title (Maly and H-AN). I really wanted to knock Maly off that list, but we just couldn't get a decent shot at him. First try, wiped in Phase 1. Second try, wiped in Phase 2. Third try, wiped in Phase 3. Theoretically, one more shot would have probably done the trick, but we just didn't have it in us.
We overgear the heck out of EoE, but most of us hadn't seen it before and there's enough going on that lack of experience with the fight can and will be your downfall. We'll get him sooner or later.
I'm hoping to sneak in a couple of raids this week, but my RL drama is still unfolding, so we'll see how it plays out.
Gonna try to toss up a post here or there, but they'll probably be a bit more sporadic than normal.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Nice and Easy
Naxx last night was exciting because it was the first time in for Cheesi and my bro-in-law Willy. I think we may have had one or two other first-timers as well. Started way late because the Baby Tank hasn't been feeling well, which made it impossible for us to actually get started before she went to bed.
We cleared two quarters and I think the only complete wipe we had was due to a stupid move on my part on trash. Other than that, it was cake.
Most importantly, we had loot drops that people could actually use. Tons of upgrades got handed out to some of our folks who don't get to raid as often.
There were a couple of heated moments. That stuff happens, though. Guilds are like families, and as such it can't be cupcakes and puppies all the time. Just means we're a healthy unit. If we didn't have a minor scuffle now and then, I'd be worried.
At the end of the day, it was a solid run and a fun time. Loot and achievements were passed around and we got to expose people to some content they haven't seen.
From my standpoint, I got a handful of emblems and, even though I had a couple of deaths, I still made money from the run. That's generally a good sign.
We cleared two quarters and I think the only complete wipe we had was due to a stupid move on my part on trash. Other than that, it was cake.
Most importantly, we had loot drops that people could actually use. Tons of upgrades got handed out to some of our folks who don't get to raid as often.
There were a couple of heated moments. That stuff happens, though. Guilds are like families, and as such it can't be cupcakes and puppies all the time. Just means we're a healthy unit. If we didn't have a minor scuffle now and then, I'd be worried.
At the end of the day, it was a solid run and a fun time. Loot and achievements were passed around and we got to expose people to some content they haven't seen.
From my standpoint, I got a handful of emblems and, even though I had a couple of deaths, I still made money from the run. That's generally a good sign.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ulduar At Last
I love the smell of progression raiding in the morning.
Yeah, I know most of you have cleared Ulduar and have a weekly naked run through it, but it was EoF's first time there. We had a former guildie walking us through the fights, but it was nearly a complete EoF team.
We went 3/4 in the Siege area. We would have dropped Ignis given a little more time, but we put a time limit on the raid because we knew we were going to lose a few folks.
I'm really impressed with the talent we have in our guild. Everybody learns fast...really fast. Flame and XT were two-shot and Razorscale was one-shot. It's good to be surrounded by players who know how to diagnose a problem with an attempt and fix it the second time around.
We're going to have several teams running this week. We set up early runs to help those who can't make the later raid times (and, as a result, haven't gotten to raid very much at all) get some experience and gear in Naxx and OS, and we've still got Ulduar up as a later run to accommodate those who are geared for it.
As long as people keep signing up and bringing their A-game, we can ride this wave of momentum through Ulduar and beyond. I'm hoping to be blogging about ToC in the near future.
Yeah, I know most of you have cleared Ulduar and have a weekly naked run through it, but it was EoF's first time there. We had a former guildie walking us through the fights, but it was nearly a complete EoF team.
We went 3/4 in the Siege area. We would have dropped Ignis given a little more time, but we put a time limit on the raid because we knew we were going to lose a few folks.
I'm really impressed with the talent we have in our guild. Everybody learns fast...really fast. Flame and XT were two-shot and Razorscale was one-shot. It's good to be surrounded by players who know how to diagnose a problem with an attempt and fix it the second time around.
We're going to have several teams running this week. We set up early runs to help those who can't make the later raid times (and, as a result, haven't gotten to raid very much at all) get some experience and gear in Naxx and OS, and we've still got Ulduar up as a later run to accommodate those who are geared for it.
As long as people keep signing up and bringing their A-game, we can ride this wave of momentum through Ulduar and beyond. I'm hoping to be blogging about ToC in the near future.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ulduar or Bust
Tomorrow night we have an Ulduar raid scheduled. This will be our guild's first time in, and the first time for many of us as individuals.
In TBC, we as a guild never made it past the first tier of raiding. I never saw anything outside of Kara, Gruul, and a pull or two into SSC. I'm glad we're in a position to be moving forward progression-wise and taking our raiding to the next level here in WotLK.
Hopefully we can get the sign-ups and manage to make the run happen. Most of us are geared for it (in some cases overgeared for it) thanks to emblem purchases, so, once we get the hang of the fights, we should be in a position to really make some rapid progress.
My goal, lofty as it may be, is to be able to walk into Icecrown-10 very soon after it opens. Even if we're still mopping up the last few bosses of Ulduar and ToC, I'd like to be able to make some progress in the defining raid of WotLK while others are also progressing through it.
From a blogging standpoint, I'd love to be able to help the community. Right now, I'm relying on recommendations from the community when it comes to tanking fights. If I'm involved in progression as it comes, though, I can be one of the bloggers making the recommendations based on my experience tanking the "current" content.
As long as we can get the personnel to come along, I think that we, as a guild, are in a position to make some solid progress over the coming weeks.
It's exciting. I just hope it plays out.
In TBC, we as a guild never made it past the first tier of raiding. I never saw anything outside of Kara, Gruul, and a pull or two into SSC. I'm glad we're in a position to be moving forward progression-wise and taking our raiding to the next level here in WotLK.
Hopefully we can get the sign-ups and manage to make the run happen. Most of us are geared for it (in some cases overgeared for it) thanks to emblem purchases, so, once we get the hang of the fights, we should be in a position to really make some rapid progress.
My goal, lofty as it may be, is to be able to walk into Icecrown-10 very soon after it opens. Even if we're still mopping up the last few bosses of Ulduar and ToC, I'd like to be able to make some progress in the defining raid of WotLK while others are also progressing through it.
From a blogging standpoint, I'd love to be able to help the community. Right now, I'm relying on recommendations from the community when it comes to tanking fights. If I'm involved in progression as it comes, though, I can be one of the bloggers making the recommendations based on my experience tanking the "current" content.
As long as we can get the personnel to come along, I think that we, as a guild, are in a position to make some solid progress over the coming weeks.
It's exciting. I just hope it plays out.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Attendance and Recruiting
Tatia posted about some attendance issues we're having in EoF. Rather than assault her blog with a wall of text comment, I decided that I'd simply post my thoughts here. I'm certain we're not the only guild having this problem.
We're not a terribly large guild, but those of us who are usually online are pretty serious about doing our best when we have a goal to accomplish. When we pull enough people to raid, we bring our A-game and get the job done. We have enough people with the skill and gear to clear the bulk of the 10-man content out there.
There are two things, in my opinion, that stand in our way. One is going to be a permanent problem given our guild's makeup. The other, I believe, will pass.
The first issue we have is that the vast majority of us are adults with jobs, children, and other adult responsibilities. We're always going to have to deal with conflicting schedules and there will never be a day of the week when every raid-ready person in the guild will be available.
That's a minor problem. Multiple raids a week will give people several opportunities to jump in and see some content. If we can't have a consistent schedule, we'll deal. We're adults, right? We just need the personnel to make it feasible.
The second issue, while temporary, is what I believe to be our brick wall for the time being. I can sum it up in one word: Cataclysm.
Ever since the announcement, people have been "preparing" for Cataclysm. I've heard guildies talk about how they want this character or that leveled to 80 before Cataclysm comes out, or how they want to grind a given profession. They're shelving their mains and not bothering to run the content that they don't "need anything from" (which is exceptionally frustrating to me considering our primary issue is attendance...no need to "give up a slot" if nobody's going to fill it).
It's a natural response. When Wrath was announced, everybody got excited and started thinking ahead to Northrend. Here's the thing, though: we won't be seeing Cataclysm anytime soon. There's still a good chunk of Wrath content we haven't seen yet (Icecrown, anyone?). There's plenty of time to accomplish your pre-xpac goals and still see the content that is currently available.
I think that the post-announcement buzz will die down and people will start putting more effort into the present. It's a temporary blip.
Another point Tatia raised is recruiting. I believe I know the person she was talking about, and, while I also consider him a friend, I respectfully disagree with him now the same way I respectfully disagreed with him when he raised the issue in CoF.
Recruiting is not bad. We need bodies online, and we should recruit to fill the gaps that we have. However, "recruiting heavily" is not exactly what EoF needs to be doing. What will inevitably happen is that we'll end up with charged-up members who want to raid every night of the week, but will get frustrated when we're not moving along as fast as they'd like. I've seen it happen, I've seen the hateful forum posts, I've seen the angry /gquits, and I've seen the backlash that leaves a nasty taste in everyone's mouth.
A guild in our position needs to recruit, but needs to do so patiently and practically. We can't invite people who will clash with the overall culture of our guild, but I'll go so far as to say right here in my public forum that if you're a skilled player who wants to be a part of a casual raiding guild feel free to stop by Bloodhoof and give me a holler. We need the help and we'll be glad to have you, but please be aware that we are by no means a hardcore raiding guild.
Bottom line: both sides of the recruiting process need full disclosure when it comes to expectations. Failure to provide the necessary level of communication up front reaps very, very bad results in the end.
In closing, I believe that EoF as a guild will succeed in WotLK endgame content and beyond. We won't be at the bleeding edge, but we will do well and have fun in the process. We'll have hurdles and setbacks, but we can go as far as we want to if we continue to give our best go at it.
Thanks for the spark, Tatia.
We're not a terribly large guild, but those of us who are usually online are pretty serious about doing our best when we have a goal to accomplish. When we pull enough people to raid, we bring our A-game and get the job done. We have enough people with the skill and gear to clear the bulk of the 10-man content out there.
There are two things, in my opinion, that stand in our way. One is going to be a permanent problem given our guild's makeup. The other, I believe, will pass.
The first issue we have is that the vast majority of us are adults with jobs, children, and other adult responsibilities. We're always going to have to deal with conflicting schedules and there will never be a day of the week when every raid-ready person in the guild will be available.
That's a minor problem. Multiple raids a week will give people several opportunities to jump in and see some content. If we can't have a consistent schedule, we'll deal. We're adults, right? We just need the personnel to make it feasible.
The second issue, while temporary, is what I believe to be our brick wall for the time being. I can sum it up in one word: Cataclysm.
Ever since the announcement, people have been "preparing" for Cataclysm. I've heard guildies talk about how they want this character or that leveled to 80 before Cataclysm comes out, or how they want to grind a given profession. They're shelving their mains and not bothering to run the content that they don't "need anything from" (which is exceptionally frustrating to me considering our primary issue is attendance...no need to "give up a slot" if nobody's going to fill it).
It's a natural response. When Wrath was announced, everybody got excited and started thinking ahead to Northrend. Here's the thing, though: we won't be seeing Cataclysm anytime soon. There's still a good chunk of Wrath content we haven't seen yet (Icecrown, anyone?). There's plenty of time to accomplish your pre-xpac goals and still see the content that is currently available.
I think that the post-announcement buzz will die down and people will start putting more effort into the present. It's a temporary blip.
Another point Tatia raised is recruiting. I believe I know the person she was talking about, and, while I also consider him a friend, I respectfully disagree with him now the same way I respectfully disagreed with him when he raised the issue in CoF.
Recruiting is not bad. We need bodies online, and we should recruit to fill the gaps that we have. However, "recruiting heavily" is not exactly what EoF needs to be doing. What will inevitably happen is that we'll end up with charged-up members who want to raid every night of the week, but will get frustrated when we're not moving along as fast as they'd like. I've seen it happen, I've seen the hateful forum posts, I've seen the angry /gquits, and I've seen the backlash that leaves a nasty taste in everyone's mouth.
A guild in our position needs to recruit, but needs to do so patiently and practically. We can't invite people who will clash with the overall culture of our guild, but I'll go so far as to say right here in my public forum that if you're a skilled player who wants to be a part of a casual raiding guild feel free to stop by Bloodhoof and give me a holler. We need the help and we'll be glad to have you, but please be aware that we are by no means a hardcore raiding guild.
Bottom line: both sides of the recruiting process need full disclosure when it comes to expectations. Failure to provide the necessary level of communication up front reaps very, very bad results in the end.
In closing, I believe that EoF as a guild will succeed in WotLK endgame content and beyond. We won't be at the bleeding edge, but we will do well and have fun in the process. We'll have hurdles and setbacks, but we can go as far as we want to if we continue to give our best go at it.
Thanks for the spark, Tatia.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Catching Up
Big, big weekend for EoF.
Friday night, Cheesi and I had to run the Baby Tank to the hospital. Due to her hydrocephalus (common with spina bifida) she has a shunt that drains the excess cerebrospinal fluid from her skull to her abdominal cavity where it's reabsorbed into the body. We've been blessed so far, but shunts do malfunction and get infected.
So, anytime BT spikes a fever and we're not sure what's causing it, we have to go to the ER. They ruled out shunt problems, strep, and a urinary tract infection (common because she's catheterized) and sent us home assuming it was likely a simple virus. She's doing much, much better now.
While Cheesi and I sat in the hospital, Echo of Fate ran into OS and took down Sarth with 1 drake up. They then knocked out both bosses in VoA.
Saturday night, we flew through the Arachnid and Construct Quarters of Naxx. Sunday, we went back in and cleared Military and dropped Noth. Really, the only fight we had a problem with, aside from one wipe on Grobbulus due to a little miscue, was the Four Horsemen. We banged our heads up a against that one for a while until we could get the best strategy for our group and coordinate it properly. If my memory isn't failing me, I believe we one shot everything except those two fights.
We extended the raid lockout on Naxx to knock out the other four bosses this upcoming week. I really want to get to Sapphiron and start handing out EoE keys to as many people as possible so we can get that one off the progression chart and then start farming it without having to worry if we've got a keyed person online.
We have a number of people who are geared for at least Ulduar 10, so I think, as long as we stay diligent and keep up our momentum, we may just start to catch up to the rest of the field as far as the 10-mans go.
Friday night, Cheesi and I had to run the Baby Tank to the hospital. Due to her hydrocephalus (common with spina bifida) she has a shunt that drains the excess cerebrospinal fluid from her skull to her abdominal cavity where it's reabsorbed into the body. We've been blessed so far, but shunts do malfunction and get infected.
So, anytime BT spikes a fever and we're not sure what's causing it, we have to go to the ER. They ruled out shunt problems, strep, and a urinary tract infection (common because she's catheterized) and sent us home assuming it was likely a simple virus. She's doing much, much better now.
While Cheesi and I sat in the hospital, Echo of Fate ran into OS and took down Sarth with 1 drake up. They then knocked out both bosses in VoA.
Saturday night, we flew through the Arachnid and Construct Quarters of Naxx. Sunday, we went back in and cleared Military and dropped Noth. Really, the only fight we had a problem with, aside from one wipe on Grobbulus due to a little miscue, was the Four Horsemen. We banged our heads up a against that one for a while until we could get the best strategy for our group and coordinate it properly. If my memory isn't failing me, I believe we one shot everything except those two fights.
We extended the raid lockout on Naxx to knock out the other four bosses this upcoming week. I really want to get to Sapphiron and start handing out EoE keys to as many people as possible so we can get that one off the progression chart and then start farming it without having to worry if we've got a keyed person online.
We have a number of people who are geared for at least Ulduar 10, so I think, as long as we stay diligent and keep up our momentum, we may just start to catch up to the rest of the field as far as the 10-mans go.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Glory and Retribution
It was a night of glory. A battle raged beneath Wyrmrest Temple as my comrades and I felled the mighty Sartharion as his lieutenants lay rotting on their perches above.
It was a night of glory. We battled throughout Utgarde and, from the Keep to the Pinnacle, distributed cruel justice to the Vrykul servants of the Lich King housed there.
It was a night of glory. After the ringing of swords and the shouts of battle faded from my ears, I, with my loving yet lethal wife by my side, slept a sleep made deeper by the drug of victory.
It was too deep, for the enemy struck unnoticed during our slumber.
For nearly two days, my shield was no longer a symbol to my brethren of my undying, vigilant protection.
For nearly two days, my wife's blades were prohibited from singing their silent song of swift mutilation.
For nearly two days, we were silenced by a vile beast spat from the far corners of the Twisting Nether. A foul demon from which the Legion itself would turn and tremble.
If ever I happen upon this hateful creature, it will know the unbridled, blind fury of the Warrior's berserkergang. I will extract brutal, bloody, yet righteous vengeance until, on a guttural whisper fueled by its final, rattled breath, it softly utters one word..."Misneach."
Of course, if the stupid squirrel electrocuted itself when it chewed on the cable at the top of the telephone pole, knocking out our internet and home phone until the Comcast guy could show up late Sunday afternoon, I suppose we can call it even.
It was a night of glory. We battled throughout Utgarde and, from the Keep to the Pinnacle, distributed cruel justice to the Vrykul servants of the Lich King housed there.
It was a night of glory. After the ringing of swords and the shouts of battle faded from my ears, I, with my loving yet lethal wife by my side, slept a sleep made deeper by the drug of victory.
It was too deep, for the enemy struck unnoticed during our slumber.
For nearly two days, my shield was no longer a symbol to my brethren of my undying, vigilant protection.
For nearly two days, my wife's blades were prohibited from singing their silent song of swift mutilation.
For nearly two days, we were silenced by a vile beast spat from the far corners of the Twisting Nether. A foul demon from which the Legion itself would turn and tremble.
If ever I happen upon this hateful creature, it will know the unbridled, blind fury of the Warrior's berserkergang. I will extract brutal, bloody, yet righteous vengeance until, on a guttural whisper fueled by its final, rattled breath, it softly utters one word..."Misneach."
Of course, if the stupid squirrel electrocuted itself when it chewed on the cable at the top of the telephone pole, knocking out our internet and home phone until the Comcast guy could show up late Sunday afternoon, I suppose we can call it even.
Friday, August 14, 2009
One Week Down
It's been one week since we got the last signature for our charter and ventured off into the brave new world of Echo of Fate. So far, I couldn't be happier.
We're still working out details here and there...outlining policies, working on the guild bank, working on the website...but we're off to a great start.
I've decided to delegate as much authority as possible, primarily so I don't end up getting completely burned out a month in and give up on the whole thing. Cheesi is serving as banker, Millea (who posts here as Koalabear) is our raid coordinator, Willy (bro-in-law and former GM) is our recruitment officer, and we've nominated another guildie, Dily, to be the guild "quartermaster" since he has a 450 everything.
Tonight is OS. This weekend is Naxx. I can't wait to start killing some bosses and impaling their smoking corpses with the Echo of Fate banner. We've got a great, talented team and now that we have a new purpose I know we'll really make an impact on our server.
Our biggest need at this point is healers. We have guildies who've rolled healer alts, but the problem with that is if they're healing, we lose really great DPS. It's a complicated balance to maintain.
A Holy Paladin or two would be absolutely fantastic...just throwin' that out there...
But, anyway, life so far is good as a GM.
Honeymoon's not over yet.
We're still working out details here and there...outlining policies, working on the guild bank, working on the website...but we're off to a great start.
I've decided to delegate as much authority as possible, primarily so I don't end up getting completely burned out a month in and give up on the whole thing. Cheesi is serving as banker, Millea (who posts here as Koalabear) is our raid coordinator, Willy (bro-in-law and former GM) is our recruitment officer, and we've nominated another guildie, Dily, to be the guild "quartermaster" since he has a 450 everything.
Tonight is OS. This weekend is Naxx. I can't wait to start killing some bosses and impaling their smoking corpses with the Echo of Fate banner. We've got a great, talented team and now that we have a new purpose I know we'll really make an impact on our server.
Our biggest need at this point is healers. We have guildies who've rolled healer alts, but the problem with that is if they're healing, we lose really great DPS. It's a complicated balance to maintain.
A Holy Paladin or two would be absolutely fantastic...just throwin' that out there...
But, anyway, life so far is good as a GM.
Honeymoon's not over yet.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Starting From Scratch
Things are going nicely, so far, with the new guild. Hopefully the honeymoon doesn't end for a very, very long time.
As far as progression goes, I wanted to start from scratch and work our way up. This week, we're hitting OS, maybe VoA, and Naxx. I'm looking forward to the satisfaction of seeing EoF down the bosses and marking them off of our website's progression widget.
We have some very well-geared guildies, many who need nothing from Naxx or OS, so hopefully that will help move our progression along quicker considering we're getting a very late start.
We may never get to the point where we have the personnel for 25-mans, but for right now I'm happy just to plow through the 10-man content and see how far we can go.
As far as progression goes, I wanted to start from scratch and work our way up. This week, we're hitting OS, maybe VoA, and Naxx. I'm looking forward to the satisfaction of seeing EoF down the bosses and marking them off of our website's progression widget.
We have some very well-geared guildies, many who need nothing from Naxx or OS, so hopefully that will help move our progression along quicker considering we're getting a very late start.
We may never get to the point where we have the personnel for 25-mans, but for right now I'm happy just to plow through the 10-man content and see how far we can go.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Advice for the Next Generation
Gather 'round, kids.
Have a seat on Uncle Mis's lap and let him give you some advice.
When you finally hit your 80th season and decide to start running those heroic dungeons or raids to get all that fancy gear you've seen folks in Stormwind walking around in, here's a couple of things you should know. Now, they may seem pretty obvious, but there are plenty of folks out there who didn't have an old battle-worn tank to tell them about it, or they just didn't pay attention.
I know you've learned plenty from others of your class, and I know they've been giving you good advice about how to do the most sustained damage you can. If you wanna get on your tank's good side, though, and stay alive long enough to finish the fight, listen closely:
Be Patient
You're gonna be in situations where a tank is gonna pick a fight with a bunch of big scary bad guys, and your first instinct after fighting through 80 seasons is going to be to jump in and start laying into them.
Just hold off a second.
Your tank has a couple of things he needs to do first. If it's me, I'm going to start by hitting one of them, likely a caster, with a Heroic Throw. That'll silence the caster and get them to run at me so I don't have to do anything fancy to invite them over for a tea party.
Once they get close enough, I'll Thunderclap to let 'em know I mean business, yell at them to make them feel bad about themselves, then pop off a quick Shockwave to make them forget who they are and why they were running at me in the first place.
After that, jump right in the fight. Hit 'em hard and often.
If you get a little fidgety and start doing your thing before I've gone through that little song and dance routine, there's a good chance that they'll decide you'd be a more enjoyable target and start beating the living nether out of you.
Stand Behind Them
Now I know you've spent a very long time standing toe to toe with those big, mean, scary people....or things....or whatever, but from here on in, that's gonna be my job. That means it's time for you to get to know their heels for a change.
The first reason it's a good idea to stand behind them is because these guys'll parry attacks from anybody standing in front of them. If they parry one of your attacks is just going to make their next attack come quicker. Since I've hopefully done a sufficient job insulting their mothers and they're looking to pummel me first and foremost, those quicker attacks are gonna land on Uncle Mis's pretty face. You don't want that, do you?
Secondly, some bad guys have a tendency to cleave or do something else that may affect any number of people standing in front of them. If you're behind them, you'll be safe from getting hurt by something like that.
Oh, and let's not forget about dragons. 99.9% of the time dragons are gonna breathe fire or something else that's pretty painful...that's kind of their thing. A dragon that doesn't breathe fire is pretty much just an over-sized lizard. Standing in front of dragons is very, very bad. Here's the kicker, though: dragons also have really big tails they like to swing around, so don't stand behind them, either.
When fighting a dragon, then, stand to the side. All of their vital organs are there for you to poke at and you're pretty much safe from getting fried or frozen or knocked into next week.
And there you have it. Next time you run off into a heroic or a raid keep these things in mind. It'll make your tank very happy and keep the healers from having to waste a bunch of their mana resurrecting you while muttering under their breath.
Run along now, kids. Aunt Cheesi made cookies.
Have a seat on Uncle Mis's lap and let him give you some advice.
When you finally hit your 80th season and decide to start running those heroic dungeons or raids to get all that fancy gear you've seen folks in Stormwind walking around in, here's a couple of things you should know. Now, they may seem pretty obvious, but there are plenty of folks out there who didn't have an old battle-worn tank to tell them about it, or they just didn't pay attention.
I know you've learned plenty from others of your class, and I know they've been giving you good advice about how to do the most sustained damage you can. If you wanna get on your tank's good side, though, and stay alive long enough to finish the fight, listen closely:
Be Patient
You're gonna be in situations where a tank is gonna pick a fight with a bunch of big scary bad guys, and your first instinct after fighting through 80 seasons is going to be to jump in and start laying into them.
Just hold off a second.
Your tank has a couple of things he needs to do first. If it's me, I'm going to start by hitting one of them, likely a caster, with a Heroic Throw. That'll silence the caster and get them to run at me so I don't have to do anything fancy to invite them over for a tea party.
Once they get close enough, I'll Thunderclap to let 'em know I mean business, yell at them to make them feel bad about themselves, then pop off a quick Shockwave to make them forget who they are and why they were running at me in the first place.
After that, jump right in the fight. Hit 'em hard and often.
If you get a little fidgety and start doing your thing before I've gone through that little song and dance routine, there's a good chance that they'll decide you'd be a more enjoyable target and start beating the living nether out of you.
Stand Behind Them
Now I know you've spent a very long time standing toe to toe with those big, mean, scary people....or things....or whatever, but from here on in, that's gonna be my job. That means it's time for you to get to know their heels for a change.
The first reason it's a good idea to stand behind them is because these guys'll parry attacks from anybody standing in front of them. If they parry one of your attacks is just going to make their next attack come quicker. Since I've hopefully done a sufficient job insulting their mothers and they're looking to pummel me first and foremost, those quicker attacks are gonna land on Uncle Mis's pretty face. You don't want that, do you?
Secondly, some bad guys have a tendency to cleave or do something else that may affect any number of people standing in front of them. If you're behind them, you'll be safe from getting hurt by something like that.
Oh, and let's not forget about dragons. 99.9% of the time dragons are gonna breathe fire or something else that's pretty painful...that's kind of their thing. A dragon that doesn't breathe fire is pretty much just an over-sized lizard. Standing in front of dragons is very, very bad. Here's the kicker, though: dragons also have really big tails they like to swing around, so don't stand behind them, either.
When fighting a dragon, then, stand to the side. All of their vital organs are there for you to poke at and you're pretty much safe from getting fried or frozen or knocked into next week.
And there you have it. Next time you run off into a heroic or a raid keep these things in mind. It'll make your tank very happy and keep the healers from having to waste a bunch of their mana resurrecting you while muttering under their breath.
Run along now, kids. Aunt Cheesi made cookies.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Misanthropy
Despite my religious, Southern Baptist belief system one of my greatest struggles is my tendency to assume the worst in people. I find that it's much easier to go into a given situation believing that someone is a jerk until I'm proven wrong. It just feels safer to me to make that assumption and be pleasantly surprised than think that everybody's a good person and be consistently defecated on.
As a result of this mindset, the very aspect of World of Warcraft that I enjoy, the social aspect and playing with my friends, is often the thing that makes me want to log off and do something else.
Last night, I was invited into a 25-man Vault PUG. In the event that I haven't made it clear enough in previous posts, let me restate that I hate PUGs.
I should have known better. I'm nowhere geared enough to tank a 25-man anything. As a result, the subsequent asshattery is partially my fault. However, I believe that a quick whisper from the raid leader telling me that they'd rather have another tank would have prevented this symphony of monkey crap from reaching a crescendo.
I zoned in to a half-wipe. This should have been a red flag. Someone grabbed a trash mob before hardly anyone was in the instance and we just managed to drop him before he killed us all. Rez, rebuff, start handing out assignments.
The wisest of us (not me, unfortunately) took this as an omen and started to leave. The main tank was one of those justifiable deserters. And so it begins:
Asshat: Please tell me Misneach isn't going to tank. I'll pull aggro off of him.
I shake it off. Let's get moving. We fill spots and a new main tank arrives. Cool, now I can fade into the background as an offtank and not get singled out as a mentally ill n00b by the 19 year-old virgin who thinks purple gear makes him a success at life.
One more trash pull:
Asshat: If the tanks can't keep aggro I can't dps. I had to feign and shadowmeld and I still pulled aggro.
OK, big guy. That's plenty. Can we just kill the boss please?
Main tank is assigned to the adds, I'm assigned to the boss. Very simple job on my part. Grab the big guy and hold on.
Asshat: Mis can't be the boss tank. He'll die.
Main Tank: Well, he can't AoE tank the adds.
Well guys, thanks for making assumptions about my ability and talking about me like I'm not here.
Boss attempt #1. Adds don't die fast enough. We wipe.
Asshat: Seriously, if the tank has blues we can't dps fast enough to kill the adds.
Funny, I wasn't tanking the adds. Generating enough threat to allow the DPS to burn the adds wasn't my responsibility. But hey, if 19 year-old virgin thinks it's my fault, he must be right.
Boss attempt #2. Healers don't know their assignments. I die quickly. The raid leader singles out the healers and tells them that they didn't pay attention to the assignments.
Asshat: Doesn't matter. If Mis is tanking the boss he's gonna die again next time.
That's it. I work a 9-5 job at a well-known corporation in a leadership position on my team. I spent the day doing a ton of my own work as well as helping others on my team, both my subordinates and superiors, get their jobs done because I'm a specialist and they need my input to complete projects from time to time. I go home at night to help my wife raise 4 kids, one with a disability, and a niece who's currently living with us. I also work a part-time job on the weekends.
I log onto the game to have fun. I like the vast majority of the people in our guild. They're fun to play with, chat with, etc. I don't have the patience, however, to deal with the jerkoff population that roams around Azeroth talking to people like they're second class citizens.
For those of you who think it's OK to treat people like that, grow up and show some respect. If anyone in the raid didn't think I was capable of running the instance, tell me, I can take it. Shoot me a whisper and say it. Don't blame every mistake that someone else in the raid made on me because I happen to be the guy who's still sporting a couple of blues. Treat me with respect and I'll walk away thinking that you're a pretty decent person, even if you're offering criticism.
If you're incapable of doing that, DIAF.
/rant over
As a result of this mindset, the very aspect of World of Warcraft that I enjoy, the social aspect and playing with my friends, is often the thing that makes me want to log off and do something else.
Last night, I was invited into a 25-man Vault PUG. In the event that I haven't made it clear enough in previous posts, let me restate that I hate PUGs.
I should have known better. I'm nowhere geared enough to tank a 25-man anything. As a result, the subsequent asshattery is partially my fault. However, I believe that a quick whisper from the raid leader telling me that they'd rather have another tank would have prevented this symphony of monkey crap from reaching a crescendo.
I zoned in to a half-wipe. This should have been a red flag. Someone grabbed a trash mob before hardly anyone was in the instance and we just managed to drop him before he killed us all. Rez, rebuff, start handing out assignments.
The wisest of us (not me, unfortunately) took this as an omen and started to leave. The main tank was one of those justifiable deserters. And so it begins:
Asshat: Please tell me Misneach isn't going to tank. I'll pull aggro off of him.
I shake it off. Let's get moving. We fill spots and a new main tank arrives. Cool, now I can fade into the background as an offtank and not get singled out as a mentally ill n00b by the 19 year-old virgin who thinks purple gear makes him a success at life.
One more trash pull:
Asshat: If the tanks can't keep aggro I can't dps. I had to feign and shadowmeld and I still pulled aggro.
OK, big guy. That's plenty. Can we just kill the boss please?
Main tank is assigned to the adds, I'm assigned to the boss. Very simple job on my part. Grab the big guy and hold on.
Asshat: Mis can't be the boss tank. He'll die.
Main Tank: Well, he can't AoE tank the adds.
Well guys, thanks for making assumptions about my ability and talking about me like I'm not here.
Boss attempt #1. Adds don't die fast enough. We wipe.
Asshat: Seriously, if the tank has blues we can't dps fast enough to kill the adds.
Funny, I wasn't tanking the adds. Generating enough threat to allow the DPS to burn the adds wasn't my responsibility. But hey, if 19 year-old virgin thinks it's my fault, he must be right.
Boss attempt #2. Healers don't know their assignments. I die quickly. The raid leader singles out the healers and tells them that they didn't pay attention to the assignments.
Asshat: Doesn't matter. If Mis is tanking the boss he's gonna die again next time.
That's it. I work a 9-5 job at a well-known corporation in a leadership position on my team. I spent the day doing a ton of my own work as well as helping others on my team, both my subordinates and superiors, get their jobs done because I'm a specialist and they need my input to complete projects from time to time. I go home at night to help my wife raise 4 kids, one with a disability, and a niece who's currently living with us. I also work a part-time job on the weekends.
I log onto the game to have fun. I like the vast majority of the people in our guild. They're fun to play with, chat with, etc. I don't have the patience, however, to deal with the jerkoff population that roams around Azeroth talking to people like they're second class citizens.
For those of you who think it's OK to treat people like that, grow up and show some respect. If anyone in the raid didn't think I was capable of running the instance, tell me, I can take it. Shoot me a whisper and say it. Don't blame every mistake that someone else in the raid made on me because I happen to be the guy who's still sporting a couple of blues. Treat me with respect and I'll walk away thinking that you're a pretty decent person, even if you're offering criticism.
If you're incapable of doing that, DIAF.
/rant over
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
already do!
