Kael'Thas and Friends

I finally finished the Sunwell quest to get Kael'thas' head.

There are some MEAN pulls in there! It is VERY easy to wipe without a good team setup. And this, my friends, is why quite often you will see requests for "LFM Magister CC preferably 2 mages" Keep two mobs Baa-ing away and it makes it a lot easier. Add in a rogue or Hunter if you can't find a mage and you should be good!

A Hunter in my guild REALLY wanted to get the Hauberk of the War Bringer chest that drops off Kael, and she's been trying for days. Most of the time I log on and she's in there again hoping to GET to Kael and down him so he will drop this for her. Over and over and over. That's dedication for ya!

It's amazing how many groups this instance can kill. We made it through the very first little bit with more than one death... because of a rogue. Seriously it is amazing what one bad member can do in these instances. The guy comes in with no flash powder and no bandages, and says he's a real good rogue, but this isn't his account, he's playing a friends. And boy oh boy he was NOT good.

Anyway. We kicked him out and got another Rogue and we went very smoothly all the way up to the Priestess when the Rogue DC'd and the mage had to leave. The Pally Healer decided she needed to leave as well, so my hunter was sad. Then she was mad and wouldn't let me leave, and proceeded to grab another pally healer, a warlock, and a rogue. We breezed through the 5 man PvP fight (kind of fun!).

We then downed Kael pretty easily, losing only the rogue. Sunrage Treads dropped, so my friend wasn't happy that she wouldn't get the chest - but she got them anyway because they were actually an upgrade from what she had! So epic boots for her!

I checked out her armory earlier today and noticed she got the drop. Good for her!

Determination. It can get you what you want! So keep at it.

Ogri'la Attunement for everyone!!

Last night we got a bunch of our new 70s (and some of the older ones) "Attuned" to Ogri'la.

I would have rather been getting us Keyed for Kara, even though that may be obsolete VERY soon. I still want it done.

Anyway, the Big Bear Butt Blogger has some excellent guides on Daily quests, but this one here on becoming Neutral with Ogri'la is very useful.

I have killed all of the slobbering sons of Gruul; Slaag, Maggoc, and Grulloc, but when I initially did their quests (1, 2, 3) I was lucky enough to tag along with a horde group killing the three so I didn't have to fight at all. Unfortunately I didn't know that I could also tag along for the last two parts, Grim(oire) Business, and Into the Soulgrinder.

Last night I tanked them all and Slaag was the hardest part. He has some cone shaped acid breat that comes out and knocks you back quite a bit - so the best thing to do is have all the non-tanks inside while you tank him in the doorway, with your back to the wall so you don't get knocked back much. We wiped the first time because we had no idea what was going on. Other than that, these guys are all pretty tough - but easy with a good group.

Gear To The Rescue!!

What do you do to get yourself out of a funk?

Go shopping of course!!

So Tigersoul has been in a bit of a rut - but started to come out of it a bit when the strongest members of the guild decided it was time to get attuned. A little late sure, but it has gotten us running instances which is a very good thing. My guildmates aren't the best players in the world - but we just GET each other, and we work very well together. Group quests and instances fall before our might! Arena teams quake... although mostly that's just laughter... but anyway.

I had 1311 Arena points and for some reason I didn't think it was enough to get anything I wanted. I may have been saving up for later as well, but in the end - I decided I needed to spend ALL but 7 of those points and pick up the Merciless Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders, which I've always thought looked very cool, and have some very nice stats on them. Currently they replace the shoulders in both my tanking and DPS slots. DPS/PVP set is now at just over 250 resilience. Not bad. We'll see how it works out in Arenas this week.

So I logged into WoW today, got to the character select screen and admired my new Shoulders when I noticed something. WAaa-hay-hay-hayyyy-t a minute...?!?! Are those FLOWERS that occasionally bloom on my shoulders?! Holy moly way to ruin a really cool look, lol.

I was talking to my friend Helstrike about it - she has the same shoulders, but the resto version - and we think that each spec needs a different animation. Flowers popping out is GREAT for a Resto Druid. But a Feral or Balance druid?? Come on! I'm tough! MANLY! RAWR!! Give me some CLAWS or SPIKES or SNAKES or something. And my Boomkin friends need little explosions or lightning popping out of those babies! Yeah, THAT's the ticket!

Anyway - helping my guildies (and myself) get closer to Kara, my new shoulders, and non-PUG instances have basically gotten Tiger out of his rut. I think it also helps that Katryona is in need of some Rested XP.

P.U.G.

No I'm not talking about that cute little furry animal but about the notorious MMORPG phenomenon known as a P.U.G. (Pick Up Group).

I don't like PUGs! Am I original in declaring this? No way.

Earlier I wondered why I don't accept more Heroic instance invites... And part of it (as mentioned in that post) was that I wasn't sure I was geared enough to do it. I think that was actually a secondary reason and the MAIN reason is that I don't like to group with people I don't know for a variety of reasons.

So here are some of the reasons I don't like PUGs (aka "Why I don't run more instances")
Most of them, in one way or another connect to the others:

• Real Life ALWAYS trumps WoW - Probably one of the biggest reasons I am not a Raider, even casually. I have a beautiful wife and 2 hilarious boys with another little girl on the way. While sometimes I would rather be tanking than changing a diaper... my Wife threat meter goes WAY off the charts - and I tell ya... NOBODY wants or needs that kind of aggro! I'm lucky my wife lets me play as much as she does!
  
• Time - The time it takes to run PUGs in either Normal or Heroic is more time than I want to invest playing with people I probably don't know and more often than not don't even WANT to know. I don't want to waste your time, I don't want you wasting my time. Pretty basic there. I think I play a bit more than "Casual" players - but I'm not Hardcore either.
  
• I'm a perfectionist - If I can't do it right I'd rather not do it. So, when other people who I don't know mess up and it causes me to think maybe I'm messing up as well - (or if they rush me) I hate it.
  
• Flow - A really good PUG that meshes well and runs the instance flawlessly is extremely rare. I've been in one or two of these my whole WoW career and... WOW! Those were some awesome groups! (Had one in ZF - and that's all I can remember now, although I know it happened) BUT, the majority of PUGs are full of pushy greedy whiners that want to hurry and think they are the only one that is important or knows anything in the group.
  
• Groups in General - I love the social aspects of WoW - I have some amazing friends and guildmates. But I like questing, exploring, and soloing more than I like partying. This was most obvious to me when I used to play FFXI and you basically couldn't go ANYWHERE past a certain level if you weren't in a group. That group or nothing requirement (and school) was probably why I quite FFXI. WoW has been very refreshing in that you don't HAVE to group up to get most things done.
  

Now don't get me wrong, sometimes PUGs can be awesome, and on some quests, PUGs are a great way to get things done (Nethermine Ravagers, or almost 80% of the other quests in SMV anyone?).

Also for some reason my dislike of them doesn't apply to Battlegrounds. You'd think it would because many of the problems most people have with PUGs happen MORE often in BGs than they do in Instance PUGs. Whiners, complainers, AFKers, people with no beneficial input other than "Man you guys all suck" etc.

Heroic Tanking - Part 2

I think I have found one of my possible dream jobs through WoW Insider. I wonder how many people would apply for something like that? Unfortunately - I don't have much gaming industry writing experience - and I doubt it would pay enough to live in Irvine, California!

-Heroic Tanking Part 2-

Shortly after writing my "Heroic Tanking" entry, I logged on and found a Depleted Badge for sale on the AH for 450g. I've been keeping my eye out for this baby for a long time now - and had earlier last week bid 500g for an already charged Badge of Tenacity, only to have the seller cancel the auction, then repost at 150g higher... So I bought out the new uncharged badge immediately and charged it up - making my tank gear very nicely at over 23k armor. I also got to Revered with the Netherwing yesterday and received the Commander's Badge, but I'm trying to decide whether the added Health is better for me than the Stormpike Insignia Rank 6... I like that +24 dodge and +Restore Health... (Oh and Mulv! You're going DOWN!!)

Last night I was bored, and tired of the dailies, so I decided to head to the Scrap Heaps near Area 52 to farm Zaxxis Insignias for Consortium rep. I'm determined to get that Haramad's Bargain for my DPS gear! Before I could even start to kill those Magical Mummies, I got a whisper from a former 2v2 partner.

"Hey bro, can you tank?" What kind of question is that - of COURSE I can tank! I'm a DROOOD!!! "We need your help in Heroic Slabs to kill Murmur" Now in my opinion Murmur isn't THAT hard of a boss to tank - it's pretty easy to keep him focused on me, and as long as the healer does his duty (which is much harder than the tanks duty - and I've thankfully had some good ones here!) nobody has to die. However I'd never done Heroic Murmur, but I figured this was a good chance to try out my new gear and get over my trepidation at tanking a Heroic.

I can do it. ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people LIKE me!")

Our party consisted of: Warlock, MS Warrior, Fire Mage, Shaman, and Feral Druid (tank/me). The Warlock in the group had been in my guild 30 levels ago so it was nice to see him again. But, after telling me "Dude, I'm fully epiced!!" he proceeded to ask me "Are you sure you can tank this?" Grrr...

Did I mention that ALL the trash had respawned? That meant I would be tanking through all the trash with no possible rewards/drops from the first three bosses... Lovely. Oh well I can use the Lower City rep and try out that Shapeshifter's Signet someday, right?! (Optimism FTW!!)

We (mostly) cleared the way up to Murmur's hall, we wiped on the first set of mobs due to a pull when one of those extra quickly-killed-by-Murmur mobs added and pulled the next set causing mass confusion...after that wipe, the party basically fell apart.

What caused our downfall, along with a few observations on Tanking and instances in general:

• In a group pull of 4 or 5 mobs - let ME, the Druid Tank pull so that all the mobs come after ME initially and NOT the squishy puller. Makes it a LOT easier to start and maintain Threat. On one of these pulls of the Demons here I was able to somehow keep the Demon on me even though the puller had TWICE my TPS... VERY lucky we didn't wipe on that one.
  
• Haste makes Waste - I don't think people realize how TRUE this is in all areas of life, and WoW. Rushing through ANY instance is more likely to lay waste to the party many many many times than it is getting you to your objective faster. Patience and strategy can make life SOOooooo much easier. Relax! Take a deep breath! Take it easy!
  
• Don't change the Mark for sheep from Circle to Moon without informing the polymorpher
• DON'T HIT THE SHEEP!! ((Sadly this is a reminder for myself... happened THREE TIMES last night - BUT - when I'm trying to get all 4 mobs off the early pull by a clothie who was trying to show how important it is to pay attention and hurry without TELLING anybody he was going to pull...(and ignoring the first point above..) I can forgive myself that mistake in the resulting confusion, especially if only the puller dies and we are able to get out of it.
• Don't take too many shortcuts. It can come back to bite you. HARD.
  
• Don't complain about a healer that's actually doing a good job in a kind of weird group... If you are dying a lot more than everybody else, that might just be one of the reasons why! ((along with pulling too early, pulling instead of the tank and getting too much threat right off the bat, pulling the wrong guy... etc.))
  

Nothing new there really... but wow!! Every one of these happens a lot! Every one of them happened a lot last night too. Was I perfect? No way! I have a lot to learn.

I think another reason I often decline invitations to run Heroic instances is I don't like to rush or be rushed. If I feel like I can't put 100% into an endeavor because I have something I need to do soon, causing me to be impatient, then it's not worth doing as it will most likely be done badly. (This is true in real-life for me as well) Am I a slow person? Heck no - I like to get things done fast, but more importantly, get them done RIGHT. Rushed people don't work at optimum quality or efficiency. And they die. A lot.

So in answer to the question I asked in my last entry; Can I tank Heroics? (Slabs was a GREAT place to check this theory eh?) I will answer that question with an emphatic YES.

But... before I do Slabs again - I want to get some more experience in what I'll call "Heroic Party Mechanics" in some of the lower Heroics... ;-)

Heroic Tanking

To date - I have been in 1 Heroic instance (Ramps) as DPS and occasional OT. 15 gold in repairs later and the PUG disbanded not very nicely.

Almost every day I receive at least one Whisper from a random person, "Do you want to tank Heroic *insert instance here*?" Most of the time I get these as I'm doing Dailies, helping a guildie with something, or MOST often; about to log off.

Occasionally though, one will catch me when I'm not doing anything important. And almost always, I decline.

WHY? I want to run Heroics, I currently have no Heroic Badges so I can't improve my gear that way or improve my Profession with Primal Nethers. (LW 371 currently) I'm also a Rep-Whore and LOVE getting closer to exalted in any Faction (I joked in /guild last night that I was going to get exalted with the Magram Centaur in Desolace...) - and I need the rep from the Heroics to advance in standing with Lower City, Cenarion Expedition, etc. (I want that Earthwarden!)

So why do I decline? PART of it is I'm a bit worried about working with a PUG and everything that goes with that. Mostly - I worry my gear isn't good enough. The thing is, as long as there is a decent healer, I should be fine in many of the heroics, I think.

Here is a quick list of my tanking gear - which you can't normally see on the Armory because I am almost ALWAYS in DPS/PVP gear when I log off.
Head - Stylin' Purple Hat (Probably replacing with s2 or s3 in the next few weeks)
Neck - Necklace of the Deep
Shoulders - Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders
Back - Cloak of the Valiant Defender
Chest - Heavy Clefthoof Vest (Might switch to my Gladiator's Dragonhide Tunic... slightly less armor but...)
Wrists - Vindicator's Dragonhide Bracers
Hands - Vengeful Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves
Waist - Manimal's Cinch
Legs - Heavy Clefthoof Leggings
Feet - Vindicator's Dragonhide Boots
Rings - Delicate Eternium Ring, Ogre Slayer's Band
Trinkets - Stormpike Insignia Rank 6, Ancient Draenei War Talisman (wow need to improve these!)
Weapon - Braxxis' Staff of Slumber (someday... Earthwarden)

After MOTW (so basically self buffed) I end up with just under 22k armor, 12.8k Health, just over 29% dodge and am uncritable due to Resilience. What do you think - is this Heroic Instance Tankable gear?? I could use some help here I think. :)

In the end I think it just comes down to Instance experience. I'm lacking - I need it. I think that's my biggest problem.

HA in other silly "stroking my huge ego" news...over at Gankbang I'm FOURTH in Alliance Dragonmaw Feral Druids in Health, and in the top ten for Stamina I think, and something like 31st in Attack power. What does this all mean? Absolutely nothing because all of this info changes all the time, and other than pulling from the Armory, I have no idea how they get all the info - but it's kind of fun to see anyway. :p