WoW

Zul’Gurub (Before Cataclysm)

stargrace September 10, 2010 1Comment

Cataclysm will be changing this right-now raid zone, from a 20 man instanced raid, to a subzone offering level 30-35 quests to players. Of course that meant that I wanted to obtain the raid achievement while I could, as well as the fishing one. I had never been to the zone before and even though it was well below my level (60’s or so) it was still difficult for one reason. Mobs that charm. There are two encounters in the zone where the boss charms, and when you’re duo’ing this as a warrior and priest with no means of breaking charm (not exactly the biggest pvper, no trinkets) and charm that happens quite frequently, it makes for an interesting encounter.

In the end what I had to do was switch to my shadow spec so that we could dps the final boss and beat him before berserking started. When charm would land on the tank (which it always did) I would shield myself, and then fear. If fear was down, I would disperse, which reduces the amount of damage I’d take. I would (at those times) be tanking both the boss as well as the 80 tank who was wailing on me. A quick few seconds of breath to re-apply my dots, as well as heal myself and the tank, then back to shielding, fearing, and dispersing.

This worked pretty well for the most part. As soon as the tank was charmed he’d stun me so I couldn’t do anything. Having DBM (deadly boss mod) was essential to this fight, I absolutely HAD to know when the tank was about to get charmed, so I could prepare myself with full heals and a shield.

There are two mounts that can drop in this raid. Of course, neither of them dropped. There’s also quite a few quests involving some faction, and I’m just shy of honored right now. It was a LOT of fun and I’m looking forward to trying my hand at a few other low level raid zones.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

A Pug for my PUGs.

stargrace September 9, 2010 2Comments

Ever since Toargo began taunting me with his pug pet, I knew I wanted one. It wasn’t that easy though, especially not for one as impatient as me. The pet is obtained by grouping and completing heroic dungeons with 100 random players. Number one, I tend to group with my guild mates and this reduces the number of pug players in every LFD run. Number two, actually FINISHING a pug can be an annoyance in itself. Every time I landed in The Oculus half the group would instantly leave. I have no idea why, this dungeon is one of the easiest to beat.

Yesterday also signified another milestone for me. I saved up 75 emblems and purchased my hat, the last piece I needed for my ‘base’ set of gear. I am now sporting the robe, legs, gloves, shoulders that grant me my 4 piece set bonus, plus the hat. 50 emblems for the robe and pants, 35 emblems for the shoulders and gloves, and 75 emblems for the hat. Plus I own the wand, another 25 emblems there. To say I did a lot of dungeon runs this last week would probably be an understatement. I attuned it with a meta gem upping my crit chance and crit bonus, picked up an heirloom enchant from one of my (many) faction NPC’s in Dalaran, found a blue gem to use since I required one more for my meta gem bonus to work, and was set.

I also ended up winning a really nice belt from the heroic Pit of Saron, so I attached an eternal buckle on it (thank you Toargo!) for another gem. Now that I’m no longer at the bottom of the pile as far as gear goes (I’m brushing up on 4.6k gs, which is lower then raiders but higher then those who have just reached level 80) I’m not dying quite as easily. I have over 21,000 hp which is nice for a cloth wearer, and I’m quite pleased with my progress.

Speaking of – that pug pet inched me closer to my dream of owning 50 pets or companions as they’re called in WoW. I was at 48, and at 50 you unlock the “shop smart, shop pet… smart” achievement, and add another to the collection (a little pet skunk). I quested very quickly for a chicken egg, and then splurged and spent the rest of the gold I had on a pet. Silly? Of course, but it’s also totally me.

Next, I’ll have to work my way to owning 75 pets, for the final achievement. WoW may not have houses for me to decorate, or shinies for me to collect, but as someone commented previously, there ARE things for me to do – I just have to search for them.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Simple Pleasures

stargrace September 7, 2010 2Comments

The warlock is starting to look pretty cool, and that’s always fun. I decided to change my talents around once more, and now have a destruction spec that seems to be working quite a bit. By ‘working’ I mean my AoE dps dropped slightly from my previous build – but my single target dps rose from 1.5 to 3-4k which was a vast improvement, especially since when I’m doing random heroics I’m never quite sure which dungeon I’ll get and there are some that have significantly less AoE needs then others.

It took me a while to learn the spec, and how to optimize it. It also allows me to use my imp minion, which doesn’t cost any shards, and I’m noticing that I don’t run out nearly as fast which is great.

Another milestone reached, I broke 4k GS for the first time ever. No, GS doesn’t mean everything and I’m not one of those players that shun people who have a lower GS, but it meant that I’ve been working really hard at getting upgrades, and succeeding. I believe I’m standing at 4166 exactly. A great deal of this was due to the fact that I managed to gain enough emblems to purchase my T9 robe, which also gives me my four set bonus. I’m sporting the robe, pants, gloves, and shoulders. I’m saving up emblems now for the 75 emblem hat since it comes with a meta slot and is far superior to the previous set.

When I get tired of grinding dungeons (I do anywhere from 5-10 a day it seems) I find random achievements to work on. My latest stint has me working on obtaining keys for various zones (most no longer require these keys, or if they do you can use a blacksmith made key and gain entry just the same). I enjoy working on these achievements, they’re fun and give me little unique features for my characters to enjoy.

I also did Gnomeregan for the first time on the warlock (yes, I’ve been there with other characters) and probably had more fun then was due blowing up gnomes. I also obtained my first title – the patient. This was awarded from grouping with 50 other random people in LFD, which is something that is difficult for me to gain since 90% of the time I’m running dungeons with 1-4 guild mates. I’m eager to reach 100, and gain a new pet (perky pug!) which is something else I’ve taken to collecting.

WoW is certainly not the most difficult game out there to play, but I find it fun in its simplicity. It’s very nice to be able to log in for an hour and feel as though I’ve actually accomplished something. I enjoy the look of the game quite a bit (though there are plenty who do not) and things are going relatively well. It’s nice to be enjoying the game on a very basic level, and I’m really looking forward to Cataclysm.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Halls of Reflection

stargrace September 5, 2010 3Comments

I was in the mood to play my priest yesterday. Determined not to let the game get the better of me, I set out with Manos to Heroic: The Culling of Stratholme and got the last few emblems I needed to purchase my (heal spec) gloves. That’s one piece down. Later on once my guild mates had set out to do their own thing, I decided I’d queue up for a random normal mode dungeon.

I was placed in Halls of Reflection, the single zone I’ve never done before. I vowed to myself that I wasn’t going to worry, and told the group that I’d never been here. The tank admitted that they’d never tanked it before (but had at least been) and a dps mentioned they were also new. I had no reason to worry. The group kindly explained what we would be up against, and how we had to hide for the first portion until waves started spawning. They instructed me to conserve my mana, and that it would be a long fight. They were right.

The first rounds went by flawlessly. No deaths, everything was great. It was a little hectic for me, I recently switched to a new spec on the priest (more about that later) and was still getting used to it. Then we made our way to the portion where you’ve got to escape from the Lich King. This involves running up to huge ice walls, dpsing encounters as fast as you possibly can, while an NPC brings down that ice wall, and making sure you get to the next section before the Lich King touches you or you’ll die.

Hectic didn’t even begin to describe this event. On the very last encounter two dps classes died because the tank couldn’t manage the aggro (they said as much in group) but by that time we had already beaten the zone. I was praised for my healing and practically did a jig in my chair.

Not only that, but I won a very nice mace, the Bone Golem Scapula. The group may not have been the most proficient, and half of us didn’t have a clue what we were doing, but they were understanding, and kind. Two things I would LOVE to see more of in this game.

Now earlier in the day, on my warlock, a shaman completely decked out in raid gear claimed that he was carrying everyone in the group because not only was he the healer, but he was parsing the highest in the group. He of course had to let us all know. I spoke up and said that I hardly considered that him carrying us. The zone was one of the easier heroics, and he was full of attitude. So the next encounter he decided not to heal at all. The tank died, and me second with aggro. Then he laughed and decided to provoke myself and the tank further. Both of us wished the group well, and left. There’s no reason to stick around and subject oneself to that sort of attitude. We were right at the final boss, but it simply was not worth it for me to continue on. Why on earth someone had to be so rude I’ve no idea, but that is exactly the sort of thing that makes me not want to group.

I think I’m developing a tougher skin when it comes to LFD. I can tune people out, and help when required. As I mentioned above I changed my priest spec, I went from holy to discipline and it seems to suit my play style MUCH better. I am much better at managing my mana, and that was always the main issue I had. I’m pleased with my decision to swap out, I still have a shadow spec for when I’m out questing as well.So far, so good.

Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!