Adaptability

Once again I'm a tank. I'm honestly not complaining--I rather enjoy tanking these days. I'm not sure if it's because this current iteration of the game has made tanking so much less of a challenge than it used to be, or if it's because my guild has an excellent synergy (and competence). Whatever the case, I'm enjoying running into packs of mobs and pulling like an aggro monkey on meth. Provided my healers can heal me, of course. Stupid pebbles causing LoS issues...

If there is one thing that I do enjoy about playing a warrior, it's that like the other hybrid classes, I have the capability of assuming an entirely different role and trying an entirely different playstyle without having to reroll. This is especially nice as my warrior, as we all know, is my main. However, this got me to thinking--pure dps classes don't have this kind of adaptability (in the same sense), do they? Let me break it down:

Hybrids classes that I have-- warrior, paladin, dk, priest
Pure classes that I have-- warlock

If I want to swap between tanking/dps on my warrior, I have 2 sets of gear. Duh.
I don't tank on a dk (I don't know how), but the principle would be the same as above.
If I want to swap between heals/dps on my pally, I also have 2 different sets of gear. Also, duh. Same as my priest.

My warlock on the other hand, if I'm needed to swap between destro/affliction there is fortunately much overlap between stat priority and BiS gear. However, if I wanted to try demo, I'm pretty much shit out of luck. Although much of the gear is shared between the two specs, the stat priorities are entirely different to the point where I would almost have to carry around 2 sets of gear. This isn't a concept that is unheard of for the hybrid classes (druids, calm down), but it's becoming more of a necessity for pure dps classes. Needless to say, it REALLY sucks to be a clothie right now. >.<

A Heartfelt Thank You

So it's nearly 4AM where I'm at and insomnia is kicking my butt. Instead of spending my time trying to count sheep or bore myself to sleep I decided to do a bit of data analysis pertaining to our guild and World of Logs.

Long story short--until the last raid, I haven't had any gear upgrades in a little over a month. Yet I am doing substantially more dps than I had in the previous guild (long story, may divulge at another time). How could this possibly be? My rotation hasn't changed in the least, nor has any of my gear, stats, nor enchants. I should also mention that I also switched from 25s to 10s, so my dps should technically be a bit lower--yet it is not.

It finally dawned on me--our tanks can actually hold and maintain aggro from the start of the pull. I don't have to sit on my hands for 30+ seconds and still potentially pull off. I've been able to pre-pot again without issue and charge in almost immediately after the pull. In fact, since working with this new team, I haven't had to worry about pulling off of the tanks at all. For this, gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for being as skilled as you are at your role and allowing me to go nuts like an insane, malfunctioning Cuisinart. And thank you, even more for making this fun again.

Patch 4.1 Reflections and Call to Arms

It looks like Patch 4.1 is well on it's way for release, and possibly as soon as Tuesday. Personally, I look forward to many of the changes and tweaks to certain classes/specs as well as the "new" (rehashed) content. The introduction of the two new versions of Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman allows a greater accessibility for gearing up your toons for raiding, as well as the opportunity to actually reasonably posses maelstrom crystals. In all honesty, I'm most excited for getting solid gear for my warlock, since I rarely get a chance to run a raid with her.

I know the blogosphere has discussed the new Call to Arms feature in great length and there are many opinions on the matter, but I figured I'd also give my 2c. To be honest, this whole Call to Arms thing doesn't really affect my main in the least. I don't run random pugs, plain and simple. Players that are in solid raiding guilds tend to not need to run those dungeons at this point in the game. Furthermore, when I did run those dungeons I went in a guild group (and I typically tanked). This change has no appreciable effect on me.

Now a good question perhaps is whether or not I'd do a random for fun rather than the rewards? Yes and no. Yes--but only if it's a guild group. No--because the pugging environment makes what little reward I would receive not worth it. I stopped tanking randoms because of really bad groups and the hostile environment in which they create. I will only heal a random if and only if the tank is a guildie. As a dps, I absolutely will not wait up to an hour for a group that is downright miserable. I finally drew the line the other night on my lock. Yes, I really could use the valor points on that toon, but it's not worth it. Arrogant tanks that are very piss-poor at tanking as well as bad dps (and by bad I mean, "stands in fire" bad or "let's pull the whole room when the healer has no mana" bad) that make every pull excruciating made pugging simply not worth the time or the effort.

Now what concerns me is that there are competent players who absolutely will not pug., and those really interested in the CtA rewards might not be those best suited for the job. There is not a shortage of tanks/healers. There is, however, a shortage of tanks/healers that are willing to pug. Or more specifically--competent tanks/healers. Unfortunately, the Call to Arms feature will only reward a tank/healer (let's face it, dps is never going to be scare) if and only if they pugged completely by themselves and finish the instance by killing the final boss. Fortunately, the items are BoA and you could potentially get a rare mount out of it. Although it may be tempting for me to step into hostile territory and pug tank again, but I'm sorry Blizz, I'm going to have to pass. What you are offering as rewards aren't nearly enough for me to even want to consider pugging as a tank or healer. Getting a new shiny mount for my alts might be nice motivation, but tbh, I'd rather just grind/farm. It's less frustrating.

Lokes the Patient

If there is one thing that I usually cannot stand, it's the random "know-it-all" asshat that ruins a run by their incessant nagging. Yes, sometimes a player could use a little advice or encouragement to do things differently if their current setup isn't working. But all and all, unless the group is failing miserably--let it go. If you have the misfortune of being grouped with an arms warrior that is wearing nothing but PvP gear and insists on tanking, then by all means speak up or leave the group and take the debuff. Just don't be rude about it. "WTF, THE TANK IS AN UNDERGEARED NOOB!!!" is unacceptable. Instead suggest that perhaps the current dungeon might be fairly difficult with the tanks current gear. You'd be surprised as to how far politeness can get you in-game. Another issue I've encountered is holding aggro, or the lack thereof and the associated impatience. For all intents and purposes, in this discussion we're going to assume a tank can produce adequate threat. If a single mob comes loose from the tank for whatever reason, don't assume that the tank can't hold aggro especially if it only happens once or twice. Help the tank (and the healer) in these situations. If it happens multiple times, then perhaps DPS needs to pull back and stop taking aggro from the tank. I know it sucks, but it may be necessary, especially if the tank isn't highly geared. And since we're on the subject--do us all a favor and turn OFF Recount. The next mage or dk that I get stuck with that insists on reporting Recount after EVERY (or any) fight is getting stabbed with a rusty spoon!