So you’ve heard the term- hit capped, right?  Well I think I’m pretty much casual capped on my shadowpriest.  I got the itch to check out my shadowpriest and see if there was ANYTHING I could do to get her to around 800-900 unbuffed shadow damage.  Off to http://www.shadowpriest.com for me.

Let’s take a look at each place of armor and what I could be expected to upgrade as a casual player.

– The [xx] number is the rank of the gear according to shadowpriest.com –

Head:
Current [19] - Mana-Etched Crown
possible upgrade [6]: Spellstrike Hood
Possible upgrade: [15] - Battlecast Hood
benefit: BcH +16 stam, +8 int, +9 dmg / HoO +12 int, +6 dmg

ed. note:  Jeez o pete I need the glyph of power
ed. note2:  A buddy of mine “politely showed me” (told me I was a moron) that the Spellstrike Hood is better.  He is right.

Neck:
Current [4] - Ritssyn’s Lost Pendant
Possible upgrade: n/a  (in ZA there are some haste pieces, but nothing currently has more dmg)
benefit:  n/a

Shoulders:
Current [11] - Mantle of 3 Terrors
Possible upgrade: [2] - Frozen Shadowmave Shoulders
benefit: -8 stam, -10 int, + 21 dmg

ed. note:  I have the mats to make this, I’m just waiting my 2.5 days for my cooldown
need: Greater inscription of the orb (am not close)

Cloak:
Current [6] - Shadow-cloak of Dalaraan
Possible upgrade: [] - n/a (there is a cloak that drops off of prince that gives +hit, but not damage)
benefit: n/a

Chest:
Current [2] - Frozen Shadoweave Robe
Possible upgrade: [] - n/a (number 1 is less damage)
benefit: n/a

Wrist:
Current [8] - Bands of Nefarious deeds
Possible upgrade: [3] - Runed spell cuffs
benefit: -7 stam, -4 int, -3 dmg, +25 haste  (might be a good hast alternative)

I have the badges…

Hands:
Current [10] - Gloves of the incarnate T4
Possible upgrade: [1] - Handwraps of flowing thought
benefit: The only benefit I can see is +17 hit.

Waist:
Current [1p] - Nethershard girdle
Possible upgrade: [1] - Belt of Blasting
benefit: +spell hit , +15dmg

Legs:
Current [19] - Incanters Trousers
Possible upgrade: [2] - Spellstrike pants
alt [8] Trail-Fire Trouser
benefit:  -13 stam, -22 int, +4 dmg, +22 hit/ TfT +18 stam, +10 int, +7dmg

If I could get the TFT’s (opera) I would be extremely happy.

Feet:
Current [1] - Frozen shadoweave boots
possible upgrade: n/a
benefit: n/a

Ring1
Current [bad] - Manastorm Band
possible upgrade: [8] Band of arcane alacraty (MT- Vellaxus)
benefit: + stam, + spell haste

Ring2
Current [11] - The horsemans signet ring
possible upgrade: n/a
benefit: n/a

Trinket 1
Current [11] - Glowing crystal insignia
possible upgrade: [6] Quagmirrians eye
benefit: +11 dmg, + haste

Trinket 2
Current [4] - Icon of the silver crescent
possible upgrade: n/a
benefit: n/a

Mainhand:
Current [bad]: bloodfire greatstaff
possible upgrade: Staff of infinite mysteries
Benefit: +19 stam, +9 int, + 64dmg (with +40 spelldmg enchant)

Wand:
Current [3]: Tirisfalen wand of acendency
possible upgrade: n/a

Ok there we go.  I can realistically upgrade 4-6 things that will result in about +100 spell damage.  W00t.

I am pondering:

Vis vires (latin for power, might or influence)
Grown Ups
Learn or Leave
Eradico malum (latin for destroy evil)
Everbero (latin for -to strike hard and violently)
Ryoku (Japanese for strength and power)

more later

I’m having the itch again.  I want to create a guild.  Here is my plan:

Create a very small (15-30 active members) and lean guild with extremely clear rules and goals.  It will be a fun, casual guild that works together to progress through the 10 man dungeons of WoW.  This includes WOTLK.  This will not be a “invite anyone guild”.  We are seeking mature, flexible, casual raiding WoW players that want to have a good time in a low pressure environment but are prepared to read and study and encounter or two to knock out some new encounters.

People must have and agree to the following to be CONSIDERED:
Vent installed
Working microphone
Guild mandated addons
Register and participate in the forums
SWAPS DKP system
Above 18 years old (exceptions can be made)
We /gkick and ask questions later
Max level
*Must be flexible and willing to listen about and learn new strategies and methods for playing your class.

Other rules:
Don’t be a D-bag.  D-bags will be /gkicked.
Drama is not tolerated.  Those involved are /gkicked.
Respect your guildmates.  When you don’t you are /gkicked.
2 month inactivity = /gkick.
Be prepared.  This means knowing the strategies involved, having ALL the required raid mats- (1rst offense = probation, 2nd 1 week raid suspension, 3rd /gkick)
You are allowed 1 non-max level alt.
**Argue/dispute the raid leader over vent/raid chat and you will be kicked from the raid immediately.
Must be flexible and willing to listen about and learn new strategies and methods for playing your class.
Raids will last 2 hours and 30 minutes.  Absolutely no exceptions.
We will officially raid 2 times per week.  1 time during the week and 1 time on the weekend.  Anything else is informal.
***In your “initiate stage” you must join an arena team (and play) with an officer or class leader.

Thinking about these rules:
You are required to support your guild with 20g per week to the guild bank.
The guild bank will pay half of your epic flying mount cost after 6 months of membership with no strings.

*Mainly what I am getting at here is the ability for someone to explain why they do what they do- and if someone (class leader, officer, etc.) has tips or more ideas that could help you get better, you need to be able to listen and admit they might be right.  You could have an arguement against it, and that is ok- but you need to consider and even experiment with suggestions from your class leaders and officers.
**This has no place during a raid.  If you think the raid leader is doing something wrong - whisper an officer (or your class leader) and calmly explain the error.  There are many different ways to beat bosses, so everyone needs to be flexible.
***This isn’t to increase your epeen, it’s to show the class leaders and officers how well you really know your own class.  Are you putting down the right traps, debuffs?  Do you consectrate in PvP?  We shall see…

The thing about these rules is- they aren’t unreasonable.  To a rational, considerate adult- these should be implied.  This guild is going to be created to beat bosses.  Not spend 8 hours waiting around for the 25th guy to show up, then go into a raid and do things half-way.  We will have a ton of fun, but if you don’t have the ability to recognize when it is time to focus and put on your “A-game” then this isn’t the guild for you.  If you are so freaking 1337 that you know every encounter and anyone that dares do things different than you is completely stupid - this is not the guild for you.  If you think that because you have T6 and all kinds of phat l00tz people should recognize your skills - this is not the guild for you.

Back in the day, I knew of a guild that ran MC for the first time - with more than 1 member dinging 60 the day of the raid.  With members still in level 50’s greens, they proceeded to 1 shot through Ragnaros.  Pretty impressive back then.  They did it because they all knew their class.  People were communicating with their class leaders, the raid leader did an amazing job of explaining the encounters and people had their “A-game”.  It helped that they were all adults and had a great time.  There is something to that equation and I think we could give this a shot.

p.s. The officers and class leaders are held to a higher standard.  They need to be able to read and understand WWS reports, be able to confront players about their play- and to /gkick when needed.  Extremely high levels of communication skills are needed.  It’s a bit more work- you are the glue that holds the guild together.

I built a very very simple World of Warcraft addon. It has a list of 50 random messages it /say’s when you ressurect someone.  Theorhetically - you can take this yourself and customize it to do just about anything.  There is a readme file that will help you get going - and the AddonTemplate.lua file itself is also commented very well.

I stole this from a priest addon compilation a long time ago.  They stopped developing the addon, and I forget who did it originally.  Sry.

Anyway - you are more than welcome to[download it here] and play with it.  Enjoy!

I was mowing last night and I had this thought that my Wife is a raid leader (what? What do YOU think about when you are mowing grass?). Lemme back up - she thinks I am a total dork, rolling her eyes whenever I tell her about my l337 epix. She’s never played WoW and I don’t think she will (I’ve tried everything). She is a guild leader though. Her guild is composed of pre-madonna’s, sensitive crybabies, solid team members, and clueless leeches. Oh yeah, they’re also all under 6 years of age. She stays at home and watches kids as we try to make ends meet. Yeah the parallel is sort of a reach, but hear me out.

She organizes raids:
She’s the one to point out the schedule and give reminders. She makes sure each activity is attended.
She prepares for everything:
She’s got the mats for food ready to go, table out, food conjured. She has bandages when you need them, she’s there for a battle rez in a pinch.
She holds discipline:
She hands timeouts justly, and quickly. She kicks them out of the activities when needed.
She knows what they need:
She’s fun when she needs it. Shes serious when she has to be, kind- but stern.
She takes the guild to see new content regularly:
She knows when cabin fever sets in and the guild needs to progress
She teaches:
If they don’t know their role, she helps them learn
She knows how to group up her raid:
She keeps a good kid in each group, keeps the whiny ones separate and placated, and isolates the pre-madonnas.

Kind of startling how many similarities there are.  More best guild in the world posts coming soon.  Remember your guild leader and all the crap they have to deal with before you trash them.  That is all.

Am I in a World-class guild?  No.  Have I ever been?  No.  Can I raid more than 2 nights a week?  No.  Do I have any experience or expertise in building a guild, let alone a world class guild?  No.  Should you keep reading?  Probably not.

This is a series on how to create a world-class raiding guild.  I am a project manager IRL.  This is what I do- plan, organize, test, execute.  I really, really enjoy doing that in an IT environment, gaming environment- whatever.  It’s also my blog, and I think I can do this, so just quit QQing and read.

STEP 1:
Re-roll horde.

I’m serious.  Horde quests, characters, racial traits, cities, and characters are just better.  If you have someone who has a character above level 40 for the horde and alliance - I’m pretty sure about 99.8% of them will tell you Horde is better.  Let’s take a gander at the horde racial traits:

Cow: War Stomp/Endurance/Cultivation/Nature Resistance
War Stomp: Activate to stun up to 5 opponents within 8 yards - lasts 2 sec - 2 min cooldown
Endurance:  Max Health increased by 5%
Cultivation: 15 skill bonus to Herbalism
Nature Resistance:  All Tauren get +10 Nature Resistance

Classes:  Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior, Death Knight
Thoughts:  The immediate thought would be to roll warrior here, and that’s ok- but there are other classes to look at as well.  Druid would be a decent choice, the extra health, the stomp, etc.  Hunter could be an option - again for the stomp to get some distance from a mob/player to kite.  Plus cows get to ride dinosaurs.


Undead:  Will of the Forsaken/Cannibalize/Underwater Breathing/Shadow Resistance
Will of the Forsaken:  Activate to become immune to Fear, Sleep, and Charm effects. Can also be used while already afflicted by Fear or Sleep - lasts 5 sec - 2 min cooldown
Cannibalize:  Activate to regenerate 7% of total health every 2 sec. by consuming Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds - lasts 10 sec - 2 min cooldown
Underwater Breathing:  Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal
Shadow Resistance:  All Undead get +10 Shadow Resistance

Classes:  Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior, Death Knight
Thoughts:  Undead is a cool class, but wow I think they kinda got screwed with racials.  Will of the Forsaken is nice- but I would argue everything else is kinda trivial.  Shadow resistance is OK.  Maybe priests and tanks?  If they were so cool- I would say maybe skip them.

Orc:  Blood Fury/Hardiness/Command/Axe Specialization
Blood Fury: Increases your damage and healing/AP (whatever) , but reduces healing effects on you by 50%. Lasts 15 sec.
Hardiness:  15% resistance to stun and knockout effects.
Command:  Pet melee damage increased by 5%.
Axe Specialization:  Expertise with Axes and Two-Handed Axes increased by 5.

Classes:  Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, Death Knight
Thoughts:  Hunter.  Warlock.  Warrior.  Maybe Shaman.  Hunter.  Hunter.  Orcs are probably the best race in the game?  This race SCREAMS hunter.  And Warlock.  Death knight too.

Troll:  Berserking/Regenerating/Beast Slaying/Throwing specialization/Bow Specialization
Berserking:  Increases your casting and attack speed by 10% to 30%. At full health the speed increase is 10% with a greater effect up to 30% if you are badly hurt when you activate Berserking. Lasts 10 sec.
Regenerating:  10% health regen bonus, 10% active in combat
Beast Slaying:  5% damage bonus to Beasts
Throwing specialization:  Your chance to critically hit with Throwing Weapons is increased by 1%
Bow Specialization:  Your chance to critically hit with Bows is increased by 1%.

Classes:   Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior, Death Knight
Thoughts:  Trolls are underrated.  Berserking would be nice for a tank, I would think a Rogue would die to quick to get the full benefit in a fight.  Regenerating would be really nice for a tank.  The Bow specialization would be nice for hunters.  So tank.  Maybe hunter.

Blood Elves:  Arcane Affinity/Arcane Torrent/Magic Resistance/Mana Tap
Arcane Affinity: Enchanting +10
Arcane Torrent: Silences all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain 5 + 1/Level Mana restored per Mana Tap charge currently affecting you - Instant - 2 min cooldown.
Magic Resistance: All resistances increased by 5.
Mana Tap:  Reduces target’s mana by 51 and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times. Amount of mana reduced is 50 + 1/Level - 30 yd range - Instant - 30 sec cooldown.

Classes:  Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Death Knight
Thoughts:  The arcane torrent/mana tap thing is nice, it’s a very quick stun - but the mana restore is another nice tool to get some mana back.  Any of the classes listed would be a decent choice if you didn’t like any of the other races.  Or you just wanted to be a BELF chick.

You have your options, start picking up roles.
Tank:  Cow, Troll, BELF*
Melee/DPS:  Orc, Troll, BELF, Undead(meh)
Healer:  Undead, BELF, Cow
*pally tanks

The point is- you want to be able to justify your race.  If someone wants to be a Blood Elf hunter - make them tell you why.  Because they want a “hawt toon” is not a good answer.  You are looking to match the best races up with the best roles.  Make sure these arguments you are getting are PvE centered.  Because I want to pwn stunned n00bs is again - not a good excuse for the BELF hunter.  We are creating a World Class PvE guild that will pwn BOSSES.  Always think “Will this help me in a boss fight?” and remember that some/most bosses are immune to stun effects.  Sure there will be a boss or two in the entire game where you could prove some moderate utility - but over the long haul using our example, an Orc hunter is probably the best race/class combo.

So - do you disagree with my thoughts on each race?  Which horde race is best for which class?  LET ME KNOW!

People.  I really, REALLY need your help.  I’m BEGGING YOU.  I really really really really want to play my horde characters.  Firetree is a server that is dead - even the freaking gaurds in Ogrimmar are like “Screw this, if no - one is here, we’re going to the tavern…”.

SAVE ME!

If you know of a cool guild, if you are in a cool guild, if your buddy heard about a cool horde guild in a podcast last tuesday, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me about the guild and realm.  Come to this blog, leave a comment and save the world.

Pretty simple.

I’m trying to figure out how to make this thing better.  There is about 2405 blogs that are hunter/priest focused so I’m going to spin this different….or try.

Here are some blog direction ideas.  Plz comment on them.
-Guild managment/happenings
-daily/weekly WTF (something that happens that makes you say - WTF?)
-Professions
-How to find the center of gravity of a rocket.

kkthxbai

oh yeah, I made a druid.  Her name is foshizzil.

Ever been there?  Proud of your little corner of the digital divide?  Just purely happy for your team, your guild - for their success?  Man, last night was that night for me.  Bobo’s House of Gank voted on what to do on Wednesday and people decided they wanted to go to SSC and kill trash for recipes, and random epics.  I got on late and was invited into the group.

We had 22 people in the raid, and killed the trash around Lady Vashj, Tidewalker, and Lurker.  The DPS was eye-opening.  I think we could actually raid SCC if you look at the dps alone.  The overall raid healing and fight mechanics are where we lacked, but it was a ton of fun.  We got a few drops - and I won a roll for the leatherworking pattern - Boots of Utter darkness, which is kinda a rogue item.  I like the hit and crit on them, and I think I’ll use them.

We tried Lurker, with about 2-3 of the 22 having ever seen him.  Strategy was laid out, deep breaths were taken.  I think something was off with my Deadly boss mods.  Or maybe I’m a n00b.  Both?  The spewing thing seemed like it wasn’t really when the timer said it was.  Then I was WTFpwned by it.  It lasted about 30 seconds total but with 22 people all but 2-3 inside SSC for the first time, some of them still in greens (including me) we got him to 91%.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  Then the raid ended and we all went our separate ways.  It was fun, laid back, and new.  It was Bobo’s.

BRK’s Top Ten Things a Level 69.999 Hunter Should Know About Level 70

10. Hitting 70 means getting a flying mount.  Check
9. Start an arena team and get your Vengeful Gladiator’s Waraxe.  Check
8. When you start doing heroics, consider respecing to get at least 17 points in the Survivalist Tree.   *
7. Get two pieces of the Beast Lord set, don’t settle for the Desolation gear.  WANT
6. Leatherworking rocks for hunters.  Check (225…grrr)
5. Get a cat/ravager/raptor pet for DPS.  Check
4. Cooking is the single most important and profitable generic-profession for hunters.  Check 375
3. Your ranged weapon is your life. If you’ve got less fire-power than a Valanos’ Longbow, get to the Auction House and buy one immediately.  Check (see armory)
2. You cannot put off learning the Jump Shot any longer. Check - got that one in the bag
1. Once you hit 70, the time has come for you to teach someone. Kinda done…**

* I don’t know how I feel about this.  So far my trapping in heroics (last night in Shattered Halls heroics) has been pretty successful.
** I helped a co-worker understand how to play a hunter and make some money…does that count?

I would love the Beastmaster helm and shoulders, I’m still rocking greens.  Other than that I’ve got a pretty good start.  Yesterday I got my axe and slapped a +35agi on it.  I’m sitting on 1400 unbuffed AP with about 5 greens still.  Progress has been made.