My life is that of a casual player. I have things going on in life that I place above the game. So naturally, this leaves to me taking a few days off at a time from the game.
So I am flattered by the guild I belong to, because they actually act like they care if I am away for a any period of time. Not to say the old guilds I've been in didn't care, but this guild actually asks if I'm all right and that I was missed and most important that they needed me or could have used me.
As a tank you have to thrive on being needed. If not your opportunity to gear yourself with reliable people in tow is seriously diminished. If a guild isn't asking your to tank, there may be something wrong. Are you pursuing your correct gear path? Are you doing a poor job? Are you missing out? If you are in a guild and you feel some kind of doubt - ASK!
Never feel foolish to ask questions. I still ask Posolutley (another warrior tank in the guild) questions I know the answers to. It is his perspective and our discussion that allows information, understanding, and education to be presented from the viewpoints of at least two tanks in our guild. I mean sometimes I could just gab for hours about the item budget of hit and expertise. No doubt Pos (for short) is more than glad to humor me further on the topic.
Once you've made an effort to get to know people that play your class or role, things only get better. Pretty soon, you and that other tank will be just smashin and bashin' right through Naxx and never bat an eye. He knows what your doing, and you know what he's doing. You know how he's geared, he knows how your geared. When synergy and synchronicity between tanks occur, the end result is smooth pulls, fast kills, and faster loots.
Try to be that tank that people say "Gee I wish we could take _____ through here! He's/She's awesome!"
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pay it forward
Woke up Sunday morning, and low and behold I finally got a 10 man Naxx pug. Pugs. So unpredicatable, yet if not for them you couldn't get a lot done.
3 Wings cleared with the 3rd being my first venture into the Military wing. That wing is very intresting to say the least, but not very difficult after you've been there once. The control crystal took one reset to get down on my part, but with help from a party member calling it in vent and finally connecting it to the bars that DBM was puttin on my screen, it was cake. Yes, yummy cake at that.
Which makes me think about all the times I've been told to watch this video or that video for this fight or that. What you see, ( despite the tremendous job that tankspot.com or any other site that hosts videos tries to put in front of you) is a tiny, fuzzy, and well tinny box thats usually 4 by 6 inches. You watch these things and you know what, I have come to the conclusion that nothing replaces just doing the fight and learn the ropes firsthand.
But you will lose out to fast pulls, quick easy runs, and serious business by not wathcing these supposedly. Just one wipe and people get huffy and want to quit your group. You'd think they never died before and you just ruined some kind of record they were setting. Oh and they aren't in your pug for reapir bills - so keep that in mind. So if you never admit you never watched the 4 horseman fight on youtube, then your gonna look like an idiot when you don't do what your supposed to on your first time there. If you admit that you seen it, and still screwed up, you end up looking like, well, and idiot.
Thank goodness that Ol Baron Rivendare just needs to be tanked in one place and he comes to me right off the pull. I just couldn't belive that to show I am a competent player some would tell me that I needed to watch that video first.
World of Warcraft should be more like a Nike slogan: Just do it. But if your in a pug, make no mistakes and insult others that do, and maybe just maybe you will get done what your not getting done back in the /g department.
3 Wings cleared with the 3rd being my first venture into the Military wing. That wing is very intresting to say the least, but not very difficult after you've been there once. The control crystal took one reset to get down on my part, but with help from a party member calling it in vent and finally connecting it to the bars that DBM was puttin on my screen, it was cake. Yes, yummy cake at that.
Which makes me think about all the times I've been told to watch this video or that video for this fight or that. What you see, ( despite the tremendous job that tankspot.com or any other site that hosts videos tries to put in front of you) is a tiny, fuzzy, and well tinny box thats usually 4 by 6 inches. You watch these things and you know what, I have come to the conclusion that nothing replaces just doing the fight and learn the ropes firsthand.
But you will lose out to fast pulls, quick easy runs, and serious business by not wathcing these supposedly. Just one wipe and people get huffy and want to quit your group. You'd think they never died before and you just ruined some kind of record they were setting. Oh and they aren't in your pug for reapir bills - so keep that in mind. So if you never admit you never watched the 4 horseman fight on youtube, then your gonna look like an idiot when you don't do what your supposed to on your first time there. If you admit that you seen it, and still screwed up, you end up looking like, well, and idiot.
Thank goodness that Ol Baron Rivendare just needs to be tanked in one place and he comes to me right off the pull. I just couldn't belive that to show I am a competent player some would tell me that I needed to watch that video first.
World of Warcraft should be more like a Nike slogan: Just do it. But if your in a pug, make no mistakes and insult others that do, and maybe just maybe you will get done what your not getting done back in the /g department.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Getting it right.
I have long been at odds with the loot system blizzard has in place. Everyone knows that loot that drops from bosses in the game have a table of items they can drop. Everyone knows there is a percentage that has been given for any certain item on that boss's table to drop.
Which for me the Red Sword of Courage had an 18% chance to drop. Or roughly 1 in 6. So in theory 6 or 7 runs and the sword would be mine right? No. It took 15 runs get my hands on it. It's one of the few tanking weapons out there that's obtainable before Naxx, the entry level raid for Wrath.
As a warrior tank I felt that blizzard was screwing me over for denying me the weapon so many times, as it drops off the last boss in the encounter Utgarde Pinnacle. However, I think I was put into my position to learn a few things:
1. Paitence and Persistance. By having those I was able to harvest a lot of badges from the enoucnter which lead to me obtaining my Tier 7 chest. At the cost of 80 badges had I not went after the sword so much, I would have never had the badges. I would have probably went for something close to it that dropped somewhere else. The 80th badge and the sword both came in the same instance.
2. Learning the ropes. With the gauntlet event as the toughest part, it really allowed me to get a real grasp on AOE tanking. With that, I don't panic and spam buttons as bad as I used to. (Tclap, Shockwave, and Cleave all while tabbbing, vs Tclap, shockwave, tab,devastate, tab, heroic strike, tab whatever, tab, omg one is heading for the healer, omg im rooted,omg,tab, tclap, out of range, omg) Charging the peeled mobs pulls me from the rooted effect and the pack runs to me and behold they are packed up nice and tight for more tclap and shockwave goodness. Also huddling into the room at the end of the hallway is another plus.
3. The guildies. Farming a heroic means guildies always want in. I have to say, they are always welcomed to join. I'm new the guild Knights of Utopia, but I have no qualms whatsoever about the ability and awesomeness they bring to a group. Over the 15 run course I have seen what they are capable of doing, and let me tell you, thats probably the biggest reason why I kept going for the sword...I had a great group of people that pledged to always help and never hinder. With that behind a tank I think the sky is the limit as to what they can do.
When it rains it pours right? So after a 3 week peroid of no luck at all, I get the sword, the Chest, and for the 2 peice tier 7 bonus, my leggings drop in a Vault of Archovon run the following night.
Super.
So for the love a sword, a tank got more than just a weapon.
Which for me the Red Sword of Courage had an 18% chance to drop. Or roughly 1 in 6. So in theory 6 or 7 runs and the sword would be mine right? No. It took 15 runs get my hands on it. It's one of the few tanking weapons out there that's obtainable before Naxx, the entry level raid for Wrath.
As a warrior tank I felt that blizzard was screwing me over for denying me the weapon so many times, as it drops off the last boss in the encounter Utgarde Pinnacle. However, I think I was put into my position to learn a few things:
1. Paitence and Persistance. By having those I was able to harvest a lot of badges from the enoucnter which lead to me obtaining my Tier 7 chest. At the cost of 80 badges had I not went after the sword so much, I would have never had the badges. I would have probably went for something close to it that dropped somewhere else. The 80th badge and the sword both came in the same instance.
2. Learning the ropes. With the gauntlet event as the toughest part, it really allowed me to get a real grasp on AOE tanking. With that, I don't panic and spam buttons as bad as I used to. (Tclap, Shockwave, and Cleave all while tabbbing, vs Tclap, shockwave, tab,devastate, tab, heroic strike, tab whatever, tab, omg one is heading for the healer, omg im rooted,omg,tab, tclap, out of range, omg) Charging the peeled mobs pulls me from the rooted effect and the pack runs to me and behold they are packed up nice and tight for more tclap and shockwave goodness. Also huddling into the room at the end of the hallway is another plus.
3. The guildies. Farming a heroic means guildies always want in. I have to say, they are always welcomed to join. I'm new the guild Knights of Utopia, but I have no qualms whatsoever about the ability and awesomeness they bring to a group. Over the 15 run course I have seen what they are capable of doing, and let me tell you, thats probably the biggest reason why I kept going for the sword...I had a great group of people that pledged to always help and never hinder. With that behind a tank I think the sky is the limit as to what they can do.
When it rains it pours right? So after a 3 week peroid of no luck at all, I get the sword, the Chest, and for the 2 peice tier 7 bonus, my leggings drop in a Vault of Archovon run the following night.
Super.
So for the love a sword, a tank got more than just a weapon.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
In the beginning...
I created some characters in the World of Warcraft. And they were good. One was a warlock, and the other was a Warrior. And I said to the warlock: "Go and DPS." And it was good. An unto the warrior I said: "Go and tank." And it was better. From hence forth I have decided to extend my social reach about my gaming experience with others and write about the insane, absurd and maybe even cry a little...about being a player in the world of warcraft.
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