tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post6078526781046628628..comments2024-03-27T07:57:48.010-04:00Comments on The Grumpy Elf: Gearing, Raiding and More.TheGrumpyElfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-40114188656801230512013-05-17T08:50:46.840-04:002013-05-17T08:50:46.840-04:00I agree, the negativity breed more negativity. Bu...I agree, the negativity breed more negativity. But from my personal experience and observations, one negative person can defeat even three of four positive ones. Sadly positive vibes do not spread as freely or easily as negative ones.<br /><br />That would be another nice change, to allow you to queue as different things as different roles. I do see that one being a bit harder to add, but not so much so it would be something they could not do. I feel your pain with tanking the LFR. I oft times think I would rather get poked in the eye with a needle than solo tank the LFR.<br /><br />That queue on one toon while switching to another would be awesome. Beyond awesome. I would love it. That would be even harder for them I am sure but I am willing to wait for it.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-62476910169928686732013-05-16T16:37:28.069-04:002013-05-16T16:37:28.069-04:00I read this on another blog a while back, but have...I read this on another blog a while back, but have found it does help some of the time. As soon as you get in to an LFR set the tone for the raid by being positive and helpful. It also helps if you can be the group leader. People seem to see the positive and be more positive. If the first thing said in the LFR is negative it tends to feed negativity. <br /><br />I wish they would let you queue for different roles for different queues. I prefer tanking five mans to dps'ing, but I don't like tanking LFR. I'd love to be able to queue for 5 mans as tank while I wait on a long LFR queue. <br /><br />Another feature I wish for along the lines of today's post of "me" being the main is that I could queue as dps on one toon, and be able to do other things on another toon until the queue popped and then it would just let me switch toons to enter. There are toons I only want to do LFR on not anything else yet I end up sitting around waiting for a queue even though there are other toons I would like to be playing on during that time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-15481769145883251402013-05-16T13:13:34.502-04:002013-05-16T13:13:34.502-04:00You are so right. Being near the top of the pack ...You are so right. Being near the top of the pack you can try to adjust the attitudes of those that are toxic, but if you are middle of the pack or lower, it is best to keep your mouth shut or it will be another 30+ minutes in queue for you.<br /><br />I too have had few toxic groups, usually a few players here and there that ruin it for everyone but I can honestly not remember the last time I had a group where everyone, or most, was like that.<br /><br />I do the multi queue as well to start the week so I can cap my main ASAP. Really hate doing anything on an alt and getting less valor than I could have.<br /><br />I had heard a rumor that we would be able to queue for multiple raids at the same time. That would be nice and I am sure would, or could help with some of those longer queues.<br /><br />I might run them for some rep at some point, if the mood strikes me, but 5 mans don't seem all that interesting. If anything, when I start to tank or heal on my monk I will go into a 5 man instead as there is a huge net to catch me should I fail there. Even more so if I go with guild.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-18068319951986719002013-05-16T10:42:19.333-04:002013-05-16T10:42:19.333-04:00I could post pages in response but I'll try (a...I could post pages in response but I'll try (and fail) to keep it brief for a change.<br /><br />As original Anon mentioned, the reason why cheaper i489/i496 pieces are useful is if you're trying to gear for something NOW, rather than for long-term. If you have a month to gear up a fresh 90 toon for regular raiding, hold VPs for the i522 gear. If you need to gear up quickly just to get to a higher tier of LFR, the i489/i496 gear will help get you in there more quickly (either by wearing it or, um, renting).<br /><br />One of the reasons I like running LFR on my monk is that I can generally set the tone for the run early. Being top dps in most groups by a significant amount means that I can very easily shut down a moron along the lines of how you've mentioned that you have done. In my case I just assume they're 10 years old and respond accordingly, using small words and more than a hint of condescension. Works like a charm most of the time. Bit harder to do from someone mid-pack performance-wise but it can be done, too, with a bit of finesse. I haven't had an actually toxic group in ages, you'll get individuals occasionally but usually enough people will back someone calling them out that it won't go anywhere.<br /><br />I absolutely use LFR to tweak my own play... trying out new techniques, trying different talents, getting baseline dps numbers that I can try to beat in my normal group... I think anyone who's serious about their own performance, ever, would/should play LFR like it means something. Worst case, performing better yourself will make the run faster and should decrease your repair bill. Best case, you'll actually improve.<br /><br />My current focus in LFR is on defensive CDs... I've always used ToK regularly but I've recently talented to one of the active damage mitigation talents and I'm figuring out timing with ToK regarding whether I can use them both back-to-back and have them back up in time for the next blast or whether I have to alternate for mechanics. Timing seems to be consistent between normal and LFR so that can help.<br /><br />For non-raiders, I don't think LFR makes them better performers but only because they don't care about it and there isn't much incentive for them to succeed. Those doing 30K aren't going to suddenly start doing a more appropriate 70K by running LFR. Nor, I think, is LFR supposed to serve that purpose. Non-raiders and slackers won't get benefit but there isn't any way to force it. Anyone who WANTS to use LFR for personal improvement CAN.<br /><br />I'll occasionally end up in a run where one or two other people are close to me dps-wise... I'll generally whisper one or multiple, comment on the similar dps &/or gear and offer a friendly dps challenge for the bosses to keep things interesting... More often then not I'll get a "Heh, sure" in response and a mutual salute at the end. I enjoy those runs quite a bit, distracts me from most of the negativity (no matter how well your run goes, you'll still deal with the "ffs gold again" or "like I needed this for the 9th time" people after bosses die... I really need a chat add-on that filters those out).<br /><br />I find 5-mans useful for multi-queuing... whatever toon I'm capping on first in a week I'll generally multi-queue for one heroic a day while queuing for LFR, the heroic queues tend to be at least 15m shorter for me these days so it's basically a "free" 80 VP time-wise. While queuing for subsequent LFRs that day I'll do Island dailies to fill the time. I DON'T find 5-mans to be useful for gearing up a fresh 90 but they still have a use, it's relaxing, generally easy content to run for some VP.<br /><br />Looking forward to your monk stories, I'm anticipating some good ones. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-33182113721487581412013-05-16T07:24:35.782-04:002013-05-16T07:24:35.782-04:00Yeah, that is kind of one of those talents that ma...Yeah, that is kind of one of those talents that make you scratch your head.<br /><br />I still think it is easier to say a blanket number as people are used to seeing it. I would also hope that if I said something like I did 150K people that read here would know I was doing it the entire fights and didn't do 150 for the first 30 seconds and die. Perhaps I could use eDPS, which is even more telling than 19% would be.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-27379706591761925482013-05-16T07:21:46.047-04:002013-05-16T07:21:46.047-04:00That is very true. If you get nothing and you see...That is very true. If you get nothing and you see nothing you start to think nothing drops even if you know it does. It is a matter of appearances.<br /><br />I'll play devils advocate for a moment however and support blizzard on this one. Not showing gear does take a fair deal of the drama out of it. People saying, how come the baddie gets something and I don't. That guy does not need it why did he get it. etc.<br /><br />There really is no reason for that so removing the chances someone will say that is actually a good step. Not to mention, it removes the people who want to play gear god and roll on gear they do not need so they can decide who deserves it, if anyone. This was common place in the DS LFR.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-51661412166877460572013-05-16T07:18:59.727-04:002013-05-16T07:18:59.727-04:00The key is that you wanted to learn. I still thin...The key is that you wanted to learn. I still think it would not teach someone itself if they had not made the effort to learn on their own. At least not outwardly.<br /><br />Your story is the same as mine. One difference, I found a guild that needed someone and waited to fill in as a back up. I looked up all the fights online, I made sure I got all the best gear I was capable of getting on my own, even to the point of assembling groups to run the dungeons that had items I needed and as there was no dungeon finder it was a lot more work and effort involved of course. Then when someone did not show I got the spot and did decently. I filled in another day in an older raid they were running. Then the next week they started to help me gear, as it seemed I was worth the effort and shortly after I was part of their raid team and have been raiding ever since.<br /><br />You case and my case are the same, we both wanted to raid, we both made the efforts to raid, we were both rewarded with a raid spot for our efforts.<br /><br />It is much easier for someone with that desire to do it now thanks to the LFR. But that ability to catch up and learn was always there. It just required a fair deal more effort back then.<br /><br />In a strange way I am starting to think that was a good thing. People who did go through all that effort really wanted to raid so they were usually more into it and better at it. Being anyone can catch up now and use the LFR, anyone can think they are a raider and that is just not true.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-18231886399558249222013-05-16T00:19:13.986-04:002013-05-16T00:19:13.986-04:00The thing I miss from 5 mans is even seeing gear. ...The thing I miss from 5 mans is even seeing gear. In 5 mans a piece of gear drops from every boss and you see it, even if it's not for your spec/class. In LFR you can have some bad luck and not even see gear for weeks - it makes it feel like the drops are broken or something. The flip side is when you get the same gear over and over and it's wasted. I've had 6 legs drop for my main in LFR and not much else until this week and he's a rogue so there is not even offspec use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-77193044372426764952013-05-15T20:08:59.993-04:002013-05-15T20:08:59.993-04:00One thing I'd like to comment on is: Yes, LFR ...One thing I'd like to comment on is: Yes, LFR can teach someone to be a raider. However, that has to be the person's objective.<br /><br />I really learned to raid by doing the DS LFRs. Prior to that, I had only killed Shannox in Firelands and I had joined a pug at the end of ICC after all the buffs but I'd say that I was carried in both cases.<br /><br />For DS, I decided I wanted to try raiding and LFR was more comfortable for me than punishing people in a pug. I looked up the fights on icy-veins. I watched Fat Boss videos. I got the best gear I could from HoTs, quests, rep, valor, etc. And I went into LFR. I paid attention to the mechanics and learned from my mistakes. LFR wasn't as punishing as normal would have been and no one yelled at me when I wasn't "perfect". It was like learning to ride a bike with training wheels.<br /><br />I then graduated to a couple of 25m alt runs. Filled in on a 10m team that was starting heroics for a couple weeks. Then got a permanent spot on that team and we got all the way through Heroic DS. It took us a while so we only had it on farm for the last month or so before Mists.<br /><br />(I went and found the heroic kill picture from September 1st last year. :D Found the pictures where we all got the meta achiev a couple weeks later as well.)<br /><br />Anyway, it's possible to learn to raid in LFR, but LFR itself is not going to create raiders. The players have to want to learn to get the most value out of it.<br /><br />On the other topics, I don't have much to add to what you already talked about. Just thought I'd add some anecdotal evidence of a raider born in LFR.<br /><br />(Wish I could be raiding actively this expansion, but too much going on outside of Azeroth.)Jaegernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-47920640687140464832013-05-15T16:13:49.319-04:002013-05-15T16:13:49.319-04:00You could say I did 18% of the damage to the boss ...You could say I did 18% of the damage to the boss and he did 19% that’s actually even more telling IMO YMMV. <br />As far as standing in and taking damage. Blizzard gave me a stupid talent that rewards me for standing in the bad by giving me 30% burst damage by god I'm going to use it! Lol. LFR is perfect for abusing this. Sorry healers! On a plus side I have just as many hp's as the scrub tanks I see.<br />Tigginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-23447278035547469242013-05-15T16:09:25.049-04:002013-05-15T16:09:25.049-04:00If it is the last piece I need to get me over the ...If it is the last piece I need to get me over the hump to get into that 480 raid I would agree a 489 is better than a 522. Otherwise, it is not better.<br /><br />I would rather craft a cheap 458 PvP piece than waste valuable valor on a sub par piece. But that is only my opinion. I would only do it if I am in danger of capping and it would go to waste anyway.<br /><br />My hope is to get lucky with a few drops and then, if needed, to use some 458 crafted to push me.<br /><br />My other characters have been universally unlucky with drops in the LFRs, even the older ones with the increased drop rates and with coins. So I am crossing my fingers and hoping I can do from 460-480 in one week. I think I am due for a nice little burst of luck.<br /><br />Gold? <br /><br />I have blood spirits from baggies and other things I have disenchanted. I have the patterns and the materials sitting around doing nothing. Might as well put them to good use. It costs me nothing, unless you want to think of what I could have sold it at as a cost, but I do not. I think of it as I put to use some of the junk I got out of my fail bags.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-36527457918124967012013-05-15T16:01:25.915-04:002013-05-15T16:01:25.915-04:00I do use damage done when judging things. Never u...I do use damage done when judging things. Never use DPS. Just type "DPS" as a term, an expression. Damage done is what matters most. <br /><br />When posting here however, saying I did 40K on my monk would be more telling than saying I did 4.8M damage. Saying I did 4.8M doesn't convey anything to how I am doing whereas 40K does, even if it is not the best way to say it. So for posting that is why I usually go with DPS. Hope that explains it.<br /><br />I also love to look at damage taken. It really can tell you a lot about who are the good players and who are the bad ones. Sure, some things are not avoidable but others, it can be really telling on.<br /><br />As a player I take the greatest pride in trying to be the top in damage done and bottom in damage taken. If I can do that, I did a good job.<br /><br />You can usually tell who those people are, the ones using it to get better. Sadly it is rare to get more than one or two in a group.<br /><br />IIRC that person bragging they carried the group and the other top 4 were all within 2% of each other top to bottom for damage done. That included me. He most definitely did not carry anyone. He did a good job and he should have been happy with that.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-65539720817940677132013-05-15T15:44:19.794-04:002013-05-15T15:44:19.794-04:00Never thought of adding a way for people to contac...Never thought of adding a way for people to contact me. I should set up something however. <br /><br />I'll get something up there.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-60429667917383106362013-05-15T15:23:29.215-04:002013-05-15T15:23:29.215-04:00One small nitpick, I wouldn't judge people by ...One small nitpick, I wouldn't judge people by DPS, instead look at the tab for damage done. For instance both my boyfriend and I play DPS I might do 110k on a boss and he might also do 110k on the boss but because he's a lock he has more uptime, say during movement phases or phases that are unfavorable to me but I may have big burst phases that helps me show a better DPS at the end of the fight. Honestly DPS is not the greatest measurement. If you look at the damage done tab and they have done anywhere over 25% of the damage on the fight I think it’s safe to say they carried the raid. If they haven’t and the top 5 are all about the same damage done that’s where I would roll my eyes. As a raid leader what I use DPS measurements for is to see if we are hitting the requirements for an enrage timer roughly. I use damage done and uptime info way more when evaluating someone. <br />I wanted to touch on your topic about learning to raid in LFR. I know that a large % of my raiders use LFR to practice or to test new specs or new builds or what not before bringing it into the raid. I think it would be safe to say a lot of people use it for that. I think it would be say that a fair amount of players probably use it for the same so it should be safe to assume others do as well. <br />Tigginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-76073805496704532812013-05-15T15:11:23.057-04:002013-05-15T15:11:23.057-04:00Not to sound in any way creepy but do you have an ...Not to sound in any way creepy but do you have an email for the site or any other way to get in contact with you Grumpy? Sufferwellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-17780724810641289962013-05-15T13:12:52.089-04:002013-05-15T13:12:52.089-04:00489 gear is "better" than 522 when you a...489 gear is "better" than 522 when you are trying to get into the raids to be able to actually purchase some of the 522 in the first place. If you are in all quest gear (ie 437) then being able to buy 2 489's boosts your ilvl more than 1 522 for the same price. You can't get anything other than neck at that point anyways, so if neck is already one of your higher ilvl pieces than it's an even worse trade. You look at it as a waste of valor, but it's just a way to speed up catching up. If you already have access to the 502 lfr's then yes it is a waste unless you are going to go over 3000 valor and can't buy another 522. <br /><br />You may have been lucky enough to get 460, and then get enough drops in one run to hit 470, and then run those for 480, but it generally takes quite a few weeks at each of those levels at least. From the time you hit 90 till the time you hit 480 chances are you'll earn back a lot of that valor you spent anyways. If you can spend some valor to shorten the time it takes to hit 480 then it can be worth it. <br /><br />To turn the question back around: Why did you spend so much gold on the crafted 496 pieces if they'll just be replaced by 522's?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com