Might as well take some time to talk about the peeps since they deserve some mention... "Unrestricted Free Agent" is my current guild. It's the second one that I have ever been in, and it's *mine*. From an Uber-Toon standpoint, we're not much to look at. we don't even have enough 70's to run Karazhan (part of the reason that I have yet to go there)... but you know what? I like the people here. A lot.
I used to be in a guild called "A Band of Brothers". Cool name, terrible management. It was run by some kid who was about 14 years old and his parents took away WoW at some point, leaving NOBODY in the guild with permissions to do anything for about 3 months. Membership slowly dwindled, people left and I eventually took the remainder of viable players that were left and we moved on. Because of that, I sometimes wish I had named the new guild "Catharsis", not only for symbolic reasons but also because it sounds cooler... but I kind of like having my waiver-wire tag under my nameplate too.
Our problem as a guild is, we've only got 8 or 9 regular players (counting me), and not everyone is skilled, levelled and/or geared to run 10 mans, or even a consistent 5 man team. Still, the people that I see on a consistent basis in this lil' guild are some fine people to play with. By Tenure, to the best of my knowledge, the major players:
Mkristo - My college room mate's main (70 Enhance Shammy). He's got a slug of alts, too, and 3 of them are on the cusp (or very close to) Outlands. Much like myself, if he'd sunk more time into one main instead of playing the field, he'd probably be pretty well into raiding. We think alike, though, and try to build armies for ourselves.
Elgordito - A good friend that I play hockey with. 70 Prot Warrior, he has some minor alts but is still on the WoW learning curve. He's improving a lot, though and as soon as he figures out how to hold aggro on multiple mobs better and manage his abilities more effectively, he'll be fine.
Nessiness - My wife's character. She does complain a lot about the hours I put into the game (which are, by my own admission a lot) and at one point figured "If you can't beat em, join em." 70 Elemental Shaman. Between her and Mkristo always being around, this is one of the big reasons I never rolled a Shaman - because I invariably have one to group with when I need it!
Sklank - Joined up when I formed UFA. He's younger, so he's not on as much as I think he'd like to be, but he's a solid player. Since he plays a Priest, I'm hoping that he'll bang out those last few levels to 70 soon and I can have a consistent healer to run with.
Mokodo - Joined us not too far in and plays a Prot Warrior. Super nice guy, kind of quiet but obviously interested in learning and improving and not too far from 70. His wife plays too, but I don't think anyone of her characters is above 30. He's got a bunch of lower-level guys running around, too. I think that they're all Warriors.
Oatiesweed - We hooked up with her Paladin on a BRD run, and she's stayed around. I sometimes feel guilty that I can't do more for her, because she's probably the one in the guild (outside of me) that's most interested in raiding, but we just don't have the horses to pull it off. I'm glad that she's here, though. She's funny in Guild Chat and a good contributor for everyone.
Frostpwn - A friend of Sklank's he's got a Frost Mage and also plays his character well. He and Sklank should ding 70 pretty close to each other, and when they do it will expand our options a lot.
If we ever get it together, we can put together a decent 5-man on a regular basis. Some days, though, it feels like a mighty big "if". As much as I like our happy little family, I'm currently exploring options for places we can go to merge into another guild and open some doors for everyone involved. the trick is finding someplace that's laid back enough to be enjoyable, serious enough to put together 10- and 25-man raids, yet conscious enough of real life that they understand not everyone has a schedule for raiding. I feel like I owe it to them all.. but that's the burden of being a Guild Master. Time will tell, I guess. :)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Friggincow
This character *does* actually exist... sort of. She's set to be my first female Tauren, and first Shaman (to date, the only class that I have never played). Right now, though, she doesn't even have 15 seconds of /played time because I'm saving her for a "Happy Fun Warcraft Levelling Project" someday. My wife rolled a corresponding Male Tauren Warrior, Frigginbull - also yet to be played. Someday we'll roll them out as a pair and enjoy a simpler time of lower levels. Just not yet. :)
I did, however choose to use her name for the blog because of my innate predispostion to Taurens in general. What can I say? I'm a Taurus by birth, it's just natural.
I did, however choose to use her name for the blog because of my innate predispostion to Taurens in general. What can I say? I'm a Taurus by birth, it's just natural.
Sanjaya
Troll Priest with a mohawk. Kind of fits the name. I never play him, I think he's level 12. Someday, maybe I'll get around to it, but he's the Forgotten Alt. After his namesake got booted off "Idol", I so wanted to go to Orgrimmar and just /cry over and over while people made fun of me, but I was too lazy to do it. Opportunity missed...
Derting
Tauren #3. With the need for a levellable Warrior in the fold (pending whether or not I actually decided to do so with Inyaki), I rolled one of those fabulous Tauren Warriors. The name, by the way, comes from one of my favorite Middle Linebackers at my alma mater (Washington State University), and (from my way of thinking) sounds pretty cool too. Incidentally, that Gnome Mage I made way back when had the same name. She's still around, totally unused and with unspent talent points in case anyone cares (I deleted the Paladin!)
Dert is a Fury Warrior, and was a kind of fun side project too - I levelled him without any financial aid from anyone else to see how much money I could generate if I played "smart" with regard to professions, vendoring and the Auction House. I've been able to afford some nice gear for him, bought mats to make 16 slot bags (and had them made) and even bought chanting mats and paid enchanters just to keep it all on the up-and-up. He's in mothballs for the moment, but I got his bank account around 40g or so at level 28. Could have been almost enough for a mount already if I never bought anything, but hey... I'm a gear whore, like I've said before.
Dert is a Fury Warrior, and was a kind of fun side project too - I levelled him without any financial aid from anyone else to see how much money I could generate if I played "smart" with regard to professions, vendoring and the Auction House. I've been able to afford some nice gear for him, bought mats to make 16 slot bags (and had them made) and even bought chanting mats and paid enchanters just to keep it all on the up-and-up. He's in mothballs for the moment, but I got his bank account around 40g or so at level 28. Could have been almost enough for a mount already if I never bought anything, but hey... I'm a gear whore, like I've said before.
Euskogudari
Another Basque name ("Basque Soldier"), Eusko is a Protection Paladin. After my first failed attempt with Pallies, I was a little reluctant to play him but he's becoming more of a favorite. Eusko got the "gatherer" tag put on him - Mining/Skinning - since i had all the professions covered already on my other toons. With the news on WotLK and Inscription, this should work out marvellously for me, just drop one of those low-investment skills and keep my Trade Skills Cartel going strong! Eusko is also my default banker. I did it initially because he had almost nothing in the bank, so I bought a few more slots for him and just started funnelling everything stackable into him. Now, everyone else has room in the bank and I have one convenient slot to go to for materials and cash. Easy as pie.
At the moment, I've got him geared in some pretty ridiculous stuff for his level, so he's really fun to tank with. Pally tanking is so different from the other classes that it's taken some getting used to, but I feel like I'm getting pretty good at it (I would be remiss *not* to mention http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com/ at this point as the advice there has been nothing short of a revelation). What's fun about Pally Tanking is the ability to grab and hold a whole lot of mobs at once, and he's sufficiently durable that any halfway skilled healer can keep him up under the assault. What sucks is the lack of a true Taunt. When you lose aggro on a mob as a Paladin, it's time to put that prayin' to use. I've discovered that using Blessing of Protection on the target will return the mob to you (most of the time), but that's got a cooldown of like, forever...
The other problem with tanking on a Paladin is, people are idiots. Without Avenger's Shield in the talent tree yet, I rely on running into the center of the mobs in question, dropping Consecrate to get their attention and then backing it up with Holy Shield and as much other Holy damage as I can put out. Noob Hunters (in particular) fail to recognize this as an effective method of tanking (apparently, it appears reckless and/or they dont trust me) and always seem to feel the need to prove what great players they are by pulling mobs and taking the first shot. Fine if I ask you to do it, but I'd personally rather engage my targets a good distance from my casters and hold them there.. and that goes right out the window with one of those types in your group.
People don't trust Pally tanks much either. Try going in LFG sometime as a Pally tank. Groups that are "LF1M Need Tank" seem oblivious when you volunteer. Better off to take that Arms Warrior, I guess, because... he's a Warrior. Have fun with your repair bills, guys, and GG. Some days, I think I should just go Holy or RetNoob and get it over with, but I'm stayin' committed. I need a plate wearer at 70, and I want to prove to someone that Paladins can be good - even great - tanks if you know how to play 'em. I'm still learning. :)
At the moment, I've got him geared in some pretty ridiculous stuff for his level, so he's really fun to tank with. Pally tanking is so different from the other classes that it's taken some getting used to, but I feel like I'm getting pretty good at it (I would be remiss *not* to mention http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com/ at this point as the advice there has been nothing short of a revelation). What's fun about Pally Tanking is the ability to grab and hold a whole lot of mobs at once, and he's sufficiently durable that any halfway skilled healer can keep him up under the assault. What sucks is the lack of a true Taunt. When you lose aggro on a mob as a Paladin, it's time to put that prayin' to use. I've discovered that using Blessing of Protection on the target will return the mob to you (most of the time), but that's got a cooldown of like, forever...
The other problem with tanking on a Paladin is, people are idiots. Without Avenger's Shield in the talent tree yet, I rely on running into the center of the mobs in question, dropping Consecrate to get their attention and then backing it up with Holy Shield and as much other Holy damage as I can put out. Noob Hunters (in particular) fail to recognize this as an effective method of tanking (apparently, it appears reckless and/or they dont trust me) and always seem to feel the need to prove what great players they are by pulling mobs and taking the first shot. Fine if I ask you to do it, but I'd personally rather engage my targets a good distance from my casters and hold them there.. and that goes right out the window with one of those types in your group.
People don't trust Pally tanks much either. Try going in LFG sometime as a Pally tank. Groups that are "LF1M Need Tank" seem oblivious when you volunteer. Better off to take that Arms Warrior, I guess, because... he's a Warrior. Have fun with your repair bills, guys, and GG. Some days, I think I should just go Holy or RetNoob and get it over with, but I'm stayin' committed. I need a plate wearer at 70, and I want to prove to someone that Paladins can be good - even great - tanks if you know how to play 'em. I'm still learning. :)
Hiltzaile
Hiltzaile is my rogue, and the first Blood Elf that I rolled. From the beginning, I kind of envisioned her like the assassin chick in "Die Hard With a Vengeance", dancing around with sharp objects while the bodies fall all around her. To that end, "Hiltzaile" is a Basque word (yet another send-up to my wife's heritage) that means "Assassin". It's just cooler than naming your toon "Killer".
Hiltz is an Engineer as well. Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered, since it seems like so much of this profession just involves making grenades and other things that go "Boom!", but the initial concept was to make her useful for wipe prevention. Vanish + Jumper Cables on Healer = Win! Of course, the darn things rarely work and have a 1/2 hour cooldown... but I get a cool mechanical dragon out of the gig.
Hiltz is another one of my characters that has always been pretty ridiculously geared for her level, and that has made her fun for solo play. At one point, she was dual-wielding epic daggers (Shadowblade and Gut Ripper) with +15 Agility chants on each one. Admittedly, I've run very few instances her. Part of this is that I feel like I don't contribute so much to the group dynamic as my lockpicking sucks, and I'm not any kind of stunlocking master. The real problem is kind of the same thing that I run into with Toro - everyone else has either a Rogue and/or Hunter, so it's class overload if I bring her. She's 61 now and I haven't even run Ramps yet.
I suppose that I have to place her in there with Noobz on my "to do" list and get her to 70 sometime soon since I think that she'll be a great grinding toon, but I'm so occupied with making Ribeye viable for raiding that I haven't gotten around to it. Upshot: Blue XP and yet more Blue XP.
Hiltz is an Engineer as well. Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered, since it seems like so much of this profession just involves making grenades and other things that go "Boom!", but the initial concept was to make her useful for wipe prevention. Vanish + Jumper Cables on Healer = Win! Of course, the darn things rarely work and have a 1/2 hour cooldown... but I get a cool mechanical dragon out of the gig.
Hiltz is another one of my characters that has always been pretty ridiculously geared for her level, and that has made her fun for solo play. At one point, she was dual-wielding epic daggers (Shadowblade and Gut Ripper) with +15 Agility chants on each one. Admittedly, I've run very few instances her. Part of this is that I feel like I don't contribute so much to the group dynamic as my lockpicking sucks, and I'm not any kind of stunlocking master. The real problem is kind of the same thing that I run into with Toro - everyone else has either a Rogue and/or Hunter, so it's class overload if I bring her. She's 61 now and I haven't even run Ramps yet.
I suppose that I have to place her in there with Noobz on my "to do" list and get her to 70 sometime soon since I think that she'll be a great grinding toon, but I'm so occupied with making Ribeye viable for raiding that I haven't gotten around to it. Upshot: Blue XP and yet more Blue XP.
Ribeye
Ahh, Ribeye. My second Tauren, and a Druid. Taking full advantage of Tauren racials, I opted to make him the Alchemist/Herbalist. Ribby had an admittedly mundane history for a long time and was really just kind of a novelty ("ooh, look! I'm a bear!") until somewhere around level 20. Right about then, I remember reading through the blurbs about BlizzCon and seeing some of the Druid stuff.. notably, that Blizzard had intended Druids to have a heavy healing slant. In retrospect, this is outright hilarious, given the fact that a Resto-spec Druid sacrifices so much of their talent and abilities to go Tree, but it sounded good at the time - especially since I had no "Healer" type characters... So, Ribby went and respecced from some odd Balance-Feral thing into full healing - and stayed there until about 3 weeks back.
For a long time, I had groused about levelling "Old Pillowclaws", since a Resto-spec *anything* is a menace to solo with. With Ribby, it meant that I had to really work hard to keep his gear up to date so that he had a solo set and a healing set.. and despite all that money and effort that I sank into gear, every fight was an endurance battle. Go bear, heal up, back to bear, repeat, innervate occasionally... ugh. Sure, you always have a spot in an instance but it's trying when you solo as much as I do. You can't grind anything, can't do appropriately-levelled quests (unless you've got a lot of time on your hands, or a group!). So, 3 weeks back I made the decision to forego my rabies shots. I'm Feral now.
Not that I intend to keep him that way; Without setting foot in Karazhan, and with only one Heroic-level drop (Shackles of Quagmirran, if you must know) to my credit, I've still managed to cobble together a healing set that eclipses +1300 in healing power. That's a sizeable investment (and a lot of bag space!) that I intend to get a return on. It's nice enough that I can gear up in that stuff and heal most non-heroic 5-mans in a pinch (after all, versatility is the big Druid draw), but I'm liking the Feralness of it all.
Being kind of a late bloomer to the Rabid Drood, I had a ways to go to build up a set, but I'm pretty happy with it now. Ribby had only scratched the beginnings of Nagrand when he dinged 70 (I always adhere to a Hellfire-Zangar-Terokkar-Nagrand-Blade's Edge-Netherstorm-Shadowmoon rotation, and rarely get into a new zone until the previous is wiped out), so there was a lot of questing left to do. The quest rewards from this (and the massive chunk of gold acquired along the way) have allowed me to put together a respectable tank set. My shoulders still suck, and I need an Arcatraz run for the Verdant Gloves quest line, but I'm just about maxxed now for a pre-raid tank. Just today, I was main tank for the first time on a World Boss, Omen from the Lunar New Year Event. Very cool.
Going forward, I envision Ribeye as the character that I play the most. Versatility plus, and I like to think that I'm decent enough at what I do to make it viable. Time will tell, but at the very least it's fun to collect all the gear! :)
For a long time, I had groused about levelling "Old Pillowclaws", since a Resto-spec *anything* is a menace to solo with. With Ribby, it meant that I had to really work hard to keep his gear up to date so that he had a solo set and a healing set.. and despite all that money and effort that I sank into gear, every fight was an endurance battle. Go bear, heal up, back to bear, repeat, innervate occasionally... ugh. Sure, you always have a spot in an instance but it's trying when you solo as much as I do. You can't grind anything, can't do appropriately-levelled quests (unless you've got a lot of time on your hands, or a group!). So, 3 weeks back I made the decision to forego my rabies shots. I'm Feral now.
Not that I intend to keep him that way; Without setting foot in Karazhan, and with only one Heroic-level drop (Shackles of Quagmirran, if you must know) to my credit, I've still managed to cobble together a healing set that eclipses +1300 in healing power. That's a sizeable investment (and a lot of bag space!) that I intend to get a return on. It's nice enough that I can gear up in that stuff and heal most non-heroic 5-mans in a pinch (after all, versatility is the big Druid draw), but I'm liking the Feralness of it all.
Being kind of a late bloomer to the Rabid Drood, I had a ways to go to build up a set, but I'm pretty happy with it now. Ribby had only scratched the beginnings of Nagrand when he dinged 70 (I always adhere to a Hellfire-Zangar-Terokkar-Nagrand-Blade's Edge-Netherstorm-Shadowmoon rotation, and rarely get into a new zone until the previous is wiped out), so there was a lot of questing left to do. The quest rewards from this (and the massive chunk of gold acquired along the way) have allowed me to put together a respectable tank set. My shoulders still suck, and I need an Arcatraz run for the Verdant Gloves quest line, but I'm just about maxxed now for a pre-raid tank. Just today, I was main tank for the first time on a World Boss, Omen from the Lunar New Year Event. Very cool.
Going forward, I envision Ribeye as the character that I play the most. Versatility plus, and I like to think that I'm decent enough at what I do to make it viable. Time will tell, but at the very least it's fun to collect all the gear! :)
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