http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/ A class site dedicated to Warlocks in the online game World of Warcraft. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:30:53 GMT vBulletin 1440 http://wowmb.net/forums/images/warlocksden/misc/rss.jpg http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/ http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/88-blog_5_taking_little_break.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:54:02 GMT Not gonna be a real blog entry, but I'm probably going to take a month break or so from the forums. I'm off on summer vacation and am doing other things in life now. I'll be back in a month or so though. ]]> Canadianpimp http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/88-blog_5_taking_little_break.html http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/76-blog_4_guild_search_part_2.html Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:37:28 GMT So if you've read my last post to my blog, you'd know that I'm in the process of looking for a guild. I've had some pretty good success in my search. I put up a few apps and was shocked at the success. I got accepted into five raiding guilds, and was even contacted by a level one alt to put up an app for a 5/5, 9/9 guild on a different server.

I want those readers to weigh in some of your own opinions. I pretty much have 5 options now on guilds to join. I've been up to 6/6 SSC and 3/4 TK when I raided a lot a year ago, but haven't really raided seriously until I intend to this summer and until the expansion at least. I won't be naming exact guild names for privacy purposes, but let me know which one you would join and why.

Guild One
-Progression: 3/6 SWP, raids up to 20 hours a week and uses a DKP loot system
-They are transferring to my server supposedly in a few weeks since many of the PvPers (apparently they have a lot of 2100+ players) want a taste of BG9.

Guild Two
-Progression: SSC and TK clear, 3/9 BT, 2/5 MH, raids 16 hours a week and uses a loot council system
-They are currently on my server.

Guild Three
-Progression: 5/5 MH and 8/9 BT, raids 12 hours a week and uses a DKP loot system
-They are currently on my server. I would have to go through their "farm" guild and do well in there (they are doing the end of T5 content and beginning of T6 content) before getting accepted to the real guild.

Guild Four
-Progression: SSC clear, 3/4 TK, 5/9 BT, 4/5 MH. Raids 10 hours a week and uses a DKP loot system.
-They are on my server.

Guild Five
-Progression: MH and BT clear, 1/6 SWP. Raids 12 hours a week and uses an EP/GP loot system.
-They are not on my server so I would transfer over.

I've narrowed it down to two choices. Of course you don't know my exact situation and feelings, but just looking at that arbitrarily, which one would you choose? ]]> Canadianpimp http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/76-blog_4_guild_search_part_2.html http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/71-blog_3_canadianpimp_lf_guild.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:43:24 GMT Incoming self-promotion

So I've come to a realization. I want to see Sunwell Plateau. I've been out of the serious raiding scene for almost a year now, mostly because with my living conditions and school and such, designating 12+ hours a week to raiding just wasn't realistic.

Summer is coming along though, and I am a lot more flexible with my time, and will be next year as I'm getting my own place with some friends and will have more free time at nights.

This is my current gear. If you check my armory now, I'll likely be in PvP gear and PvP specced. I'm also soon getting the new badge gloves where then I can regem to get my hit back down to 202 and get my crit/haste up.

What you get from me:
-A dedicated raider who has excellent attendance and is in for the long haul. I intend to find a new home for my lock; something I haven't had since my last serious raiding guild.
-Someone who knows their class inside and out. If you've read some of my posts/guides, I have a pretty good grasp on the intricacies of the warlock class. I can provide WWS parses also to prove that I'm just as competent in game.
-Someone who comes to raids prepared with consumables, knowledge of the encounter and a good attitude. I've read up/watched videos on every MH/BT/SWP fight. My actual experience is only 6/6 SSC, 3/4 TK (last guild broke up after a couple months of wiping on Kael'thas), and 1/5 MH.
-Someone who learns very quickly and very rarely will make mistakes and die.

What I expect out of a guild:
-I would like a stable guild, preferably one that's been around for at least over a year. If I find the right guild, you can bet your *** I am in for the long haul.
-A guild that is progressed, ideally over halfway through MH/BT and have killed both Vashj and Kael. My intent is not get gear, I really could care less. My goal is to see new content and hopefully get deep into SWP before the next expansion.
-A raid schedule from 10-20 hours a week. 20 does get to be a much, but we'll see.
-A fun and mature guild environment. Raiding isn't everything. Hopefully, the guild will be the type where people don't just sign on for raids, but those who like to joke around and PvP and run stuff on alts in the offtime.

Additional info:
-I play Alliance on a PvE server, so I can only transfer to a PvE server. I'm definitely willing to transfer. Being on a populated and progressed server also is a big plus. Dead servers aren't fun.
-If your guild may have interest, please throw up a guild website link I could look into in a blog comment. I'd rather not give my contact info on a public forum.

Thanks for reading,
-CP- ]]> Canadianpimp http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/71-blog_3_canadianpimp_lf_guild.html http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/55-blog_2_playing_my_warrior_makes_me_better_warlock.html Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:20 GMT So I got a lot of good feedback from my first blog. I said my second blog was going to be me talking about my experiences leveling my warrior. Well,... So I got a lot of good feedback from my first blog. I said my second blog was going to be me talking about my experiences leveling my warrior. Well, I started writing that post and I just couldn't finish. I didn't like it. It was boring (just like leveling!). Maybe another time...

I talked about the synergies that warriors had with other classes in my first blog. I'll reiterate. Warriors and tanking are unique because the tank is the only role in the raid/group where everything really is tied to you. Your actions affect the DPS by giving them a threat ceiling to stay below. Your actions also directly affect the healers in how much damage you reduce and how healable you are (this is where we get into more complicated topics like effective health vs. avoidance).

I got some requests from some asking about more "tank" tricks and synergies that I have with other classes. I'll go over some of those, and things that I notice in players to determine their skill. Some players just do things instinctively to make the objective quicker and smoother. Take a look at the mage pyroblast trick in my first post if you want a specific example.

Since this is a site for warlocks, let's start with our evil counterparts.

Any retard can pass out healthstones and put a soulstone on a healer. But what separates competent locks from ones that go on my friends' list for a future heroic/Kara PuG? One way that I can distinguish a good lock from others is their usage of DoTs. I tend to not run with too much CC and just tank most of the pull since I like lots of rage. A 1.5 second DoT is almost always going to be a better investment of time than a Shadowbolt on the main target. Good locks will DoT up off-tanked mobs and not pull aggro. Generally every Sunder Armor debuff on a mob means that they can put up one DoT without pulling aggro. Overall they're doing more damage and the pull ends up being done quicker. This is how Affliction locks shine in 5 mans and on trash. Another way I can tell how skilled a lock is is through their use of curses. I really appreciate locks that put of CoT on casters and those that can fear/CoR kite are a godsend. Seducing is another example of a kiled warlock. Something that I do as a tank to help out when I want a seduce is either to pull by shooting/throwing at the seduced mob first so when the seduce first breaks it goes back to me instead of gibbing the Succy.

Hunters. I've seen hunters control 3 or so mobs in a pull before with freezing trap, kiting one, and his pet OTing one. A good hunter is an absolute amazing asset to a heroic or 10 man. They just have so many tools including great burst damage. It's a shame though that many of them can't handle more than just trapping the blue square. If we're using freezing traps, I've noticed that a good hunter will lay his trap well before I'm going to pull so his next trap will be off CD. That's pretty obvious though. Good hunters also know instinctively to misdirect and help build threat on OFF-TANKED mobs rather than the first DPS target. This helps a ton in Kara against the harder double pulls like the mini-Curator guys or the Fleshbeasts before Prince. One other thing that I've seen good BM hunters do is save their Intimidation stun for a critical moment like a heal or if someone pulls aggro. And this just in...all hunters from now on must be Engineers for cables. :) But seriously, jumper cables being non-engineering exclusive would be the biggest buff to hunters in a long while in all seriousness.

A great rogue is pretty easy to distinguish because there are just so many shitty ones like hunters. A great rogue can easily solo and tank a caster mob with all the tools they have. Nothing ticks me off more than saying in party chat "ok sap...(20 seconds later) gogogo sap" so I just tend to not use it in most cases. Some rogues insist on sapping, and that's fine by me as long as they can do it before I pull. I like to pull really quickly so I've noticed some rogues really try to hurry and sap before I can pull. Another thing that I've noticed good rogues do is really good use of blind. Blind can save someone's life if I'm slacking. I've never seen a bad rogue use Blind in an instance ever. Good rogues use it often and wisely.

I talked about the mage trick I did in my first post. What are other things that great mages can do besides hitting their sheep button? Good mages can AoE really effectively without getting killed. Honestly, I'm not going to hold perfect aggro on the mana worms in Magister's Terrace or the pulls before Moroes in Karazhan...I'm a warrior. A good AoEing mage though has his Ice Block button close but uses it only when he knows that the mobs that get off him won't go straight for the healer. Good mages also Frost Nova mobs that break away and are timely on their Counterspells.

Priests are probably my favorite healers to group with. I've noticed good Priests use Prayer of Mending always before pulls because that helps me build threat on everything that hits me. I've noticed really pro priests will ProM and Renew me, then MC an offtanked mob and kill another mob with it. So instead of killing one mob, then the second then third. By the time we kill the first, the second and third are killing each other both at half health. Mind Control isn't just for shadow priests. Mana efficiency is also a good way to tell a good priest from a bad one. I hate having to stop and drink too often and a good priest and healer in general I find can heal just fine on low mana.

Shaman can do the same thing as priests by giving me threat with Earth Shield. There's really no excuse for it ever being off. A good shaman will also help interrupt spells with Rank 1 earth shock. That saves them more mana and time from actually healing me through it. Resto shamans can also put out some respectable DPS with CL and ES. I don't mind a shaman DPSing a little if I'm good on health.

In my opinion, resto druids are probably the hardest class to determine a skilled one from a bad one in PvE. It's just hard to be bad at it to be honest. I really don't know if I've ever come across a time where I thought I had some exceptional resto druid in the group. They are insanely mana efficient though, and I find that good ones (although this does depend on gear) will rarely if ever need to drink.

Holy pallies are another pretty simple healing class to play. Like druids, I find good ones pretty mana efficient, especially for big pulls. I run with a holy pally a lot and this is what we do often on the first DPSed target. I go in and Devastate the first mob to be killed, which if I do nothing else, will make sure I have threat for about 4 seconds. Next I'll taunt the mob, diverting it's attention for 3 more forced seconds. Next, the pally will HoJ the mob, followed by my Concussion Blow, which is 9 seconds of that mob being stunned when you include diminishing returns. I will taunt it once more, and that's about 20 seconds of that mobs attention for a minimal 24 rage. Not bad. Obviously that takes some time of playing with the pally to do something like that, but the concept can be applied to other classes (rogues can do a similar thing with their stuns). But like druids, I find that there's not too much to playing a Holy Pally. Managing blessings and mana is pretty easy.

There are too many average players. Going the extra mile doesn't mean just with getting the best gear possible. What also I think is really noticeable is who PvPs and who doesn't. A good PvP mage will be timely on his Counterspells or a rogue will be quick on cloaking that incoming Sonic Boom from Murmur or fear from a caster. Hopefully those of you with alts (or mains) other than a warlock can take something away from this on improving your small scale grouping skills and how you can improve your synergy with your tank. ]]> Canadianpimp http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/55-blog_2_playing_my_warrior_makes_me_better_warlock.html http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/54-blog_1_my_raging_secret.html Mon, 19 May 2008 02:50:23 GMT I've decided to start up a blog. I'm not really going to make the posts all too long, but hopefully I can post frequently like twice a week or something. Hope you guys enjoy it!

So I have a confession to make. I don't really play my warlock that often anymore. Why's that? A big part of it is that in college, I simply don't have the free time I used to have in high school with class, social life, work, etc. Another part of it is that I've started a new class in which I do like better than my lock in some aspects. Last summer I started up a warrior to play with my roommate. I recently just leveled him to 70 and started tanking. He is my second level 70 character, and I have about 10 or so days played as level 70 on my warrior. This is his armory profile.
The World of Warcraft Armory

Tanking has really given me a new and fresh perspective on the game, and gave me a challenge that the warlock class couldn't give to me in PvE. I rolled a warrior because warriors are and will always be the premier tanking class. Blizzard will never take away that away from warriors, and as much as I'm jealous of how well a pally can AoE tank, I'm satisfied with the state warriors are in as our single-target threat and damage reduction is top-notch.

It's also definitely more involving to tank, rather than to spam "2" on skull, X then circle. The thing about tanking that really stands out to me is that I've learned so much about other classes and their abilities and restrictions. I've learned about class synergies a lot more and that really applies anywhere in WoW, not just tanking.

I also am a much better judge of what makes up a good hunter, a good priest or a good warlock. For example, there's a mage in my guild who I run a lot of heroics with. For a two pull where we don't have to use CC, he'll start winding up a pyroblast to hit the primary mob (skull). I time my gun shot to hit the secondary mob (X) a little bit before his pyroblast goes off. The minute the pyroblast hits skull, I'll taunt it and inherit the mage's threat, and just use a few moves on it and I'll have threat on it without having to worry about it and I can focus on building threat on X and such. We don't even have to talk about it with each other anymore. He trusts me enough that I will save his *** and taunt the mob off.

The other thing about tanking is that you dictate how the run goes. A good tank can carry a bad PuG. In literally of the many dozens of heroics I've done, I can only remember 1 or 2 of them, where we couldn't complete it, one being where I tried my first heroic to tank as fury lol. I am absolutely addicted to chain pulling and speed runs. I don't really like using CC on anything smaller than 4 or 5 pulls. I mark mobs with hotkeys, and generally my runs go very quickly. A good tank can make up for bad DPS or a bad healer. It's harder for DPS or a healer to carry a bad tank.

I'll talk more about my warrior later, but just because I play my warrior more now doesn't mean I've neglected my lock. I absolutely love to PvP on my lock. A couple days ago I finally found a resto druid (he's in S1 though) and we've gone 19-1 since we've joined his team. He's not amazing by any means and doesn't have vent, but it's incredible what you can do with a competent druid in 2's. I raid somewhat on my lock, but not seriously. Raiding in WoW was kind of killed for me when my old guild was stuck on Kael'thas for a VERY long time last summer. We disbanded and everyone went their separate ways. I transferred over to the server my warrior was on, but really raiding with my old guild was probably the best experience I've had playing WoW.

Anyway, I'm going to end my first entry here. Feel free to leave comments and such.

-CP-

Blog #2 topic - Leveling my warrior ]]> Canadianpimp http://wowmb.net/forums/blogs/canadianpimp/54-blog_1_my_raging_secret.html