First things first. If you are under level 40 you should not care so much about your gear. I am not saying that you should not care at all. I am saying that having some stats that are not exactly ideal for a hunter is not really a bad thing at all.
If you are leveling a hunter you know what a hunter needs. All end game hunter gear comes with 3 base stats on it. Agility, Stamina and Intellect. For a low level hunter those are still the stats you want. That does not mean if you get something with strength or spirit on it that you sell it without even considering using it. It might actually be a better piece for you.
You might get called a huntard for wearing gear with spirit on it but you need to remember one thing. You know what you need, you are only using what dropped that is best for you. There might be a better piece out there for you, but this piece is the best you have seen. So who cares what they say about you. Wear it with pride... until more suitable loot drops.
If you are currently wearing a Tribal Vest and you get a Ceremonial Leather Harness drop it is perfectly fine to equip it and lose the tribal vest. Sure, you will lose 1 stamina (which hunters want) and gain 3 spirit (which hunters do not need) but you have to look at it differently. You are moving up from 2 agility to 4 agility, which is the number one stat for hunters and you are going up from 65 to 74 armor, which doesn't suck at all. Add to that the fact that you will not be wearing it that long.
You might look like a fool running around with a spirit chest on to people that don't know better but you will know that compared to what you were wearing, it is a HUGE upgrade.
Do not worry so much about someone possibly calling you names because you have gear with spirit on or strength on. If it is the best for you at the moment, then it is the best, use it.
Some minor examples:
Two pieces with 70 armor and one has 2 agility and the other has 2 agility and 2 spirit. They have the same armor, they have to same agility, the only difference is that one has 2 spirit on it as well. Might as well use the one with the 2 spirit. You are not losing anything by using it and while we might not want spirit we won't exactly be hurt by it being there, so use it anyway.
You run across a piece of gear that has 4 agility and 4 stamina on it but it also has a bonus of 4 expertise. Normally you would not put it on, that is not hunter gear. A hunter will never need expertise. However, if the gear you currently have on has only 2 agility and 2 stamina and 5 less armor that is a sweet upgrade for you. Sure the expertise is going to waste but it is better then what you have on.
As you get higher you will find more items that fit your situation better but at the low levels you should worry about what has more armor and more agility and more stamina. If something has more agility and more stamina even if it has spirit, strength or expertise on it as well doesn't make a difference. Look at what it DOES have. It has more of what you need. Use it. Just pretend like the other stats are not even there.
One word of advice however.
If you are using the dungeon finder and a piece with "off stats" like expertise or spirit or strength drops on it, let someone else that it is more designed for roll first. If they do not roll need, then you can take it if you need it. If they do roll need, do not challenge them, roll greed. It is better for them because they can use all of it's stats, not just some like you would. Be respectful of the players you play with even if you might never see them again.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Baby Hunter
I only played for a few minutes last night. Had a raid to do, so not much time to work on my new hunter. I do not mind really. It gives me a chance to get some rested experience so when I do go out and kill something I get more for it. I am not going to rush leveling this new hunter. I want to try different things and have a little fun running around the old world being it will all be gone soon.
I have noticed one issue so far with leveling. I keep forgetting that I am a skinner. I am not used to that with my hunter. I guess I need to pay more attention with it. On my rogue, which is a skinner, I love skinning. Whenever I see other peoples kills I run around following their path skinning everything they left behind. Hey, free money, can you blame me? I'll get into that habit with my hunter I am sure.
I have been leaving my cat in stealth all the time. Different from what I originally did. I am doing things a lot different. I used to attack and my pet would go in or send the pet in first and attack. Now, I do it different. I attack, let the creature come to me, as it gets close I send my pet to attack. The growl makes the creature change its attention instantly and I never take a hit. I never have to worry about my pet playing the dancing game with the creature and running back and forth half way through the zone and I never have to worry about my pet running up to it and ending up with 3 mobs instead of just the one at a time I want to do.
It is a sign that I have really grown as a hunter I think. Stupid little things like that. Things that maybe I should have realized when I first started playing but I didn't. It seems like a slow process but it has been effective so far for me. I guess that most of those things would escape a new player just as they did me. I also notice that reading all the hunter sites that none of those beginning tactics are mentioned. Everyone mentions how to play a hunter, how to do rotations, how to spec, how to gear, and a million other how to's. I do not think I have seen any beginning hunter tips like the stuff I am doing now. Maybe if I get the time I will write them up as I notice myself doing them.
At level 11 there is only so much you can do, or some would say almost nothing, but I can tell you that so far I have noticed there is indeed a hell of a lot I can do. A lot more then I thought I could do when I first started. Who would have ever though of a level 11 hunter pulling from a pack of 10 level 12 and 13 murlocs would treat it as a heroic dungeon pull. Yet I pulled only one murloc at a time, I killed them all without being hit once and I had fun playing the strategy of it. A level 11 can do a lot more then even I had expected.
I have noticed one issue so far with leveling. I keep forgetting that I am a skinner. I am not used to that with my hunter. I guess I need to pay more attention with it. On my rogue, which is a skinner, I love skinning. Whenever I see other peoples kills I run around following their path skinning everything they left behind. Hey, free money, can you blame me? I'll get into that habit with my hunter I am sure.
I have been leaving my cat in stealth all the time. Different from what I originally did. I am doing things a lot different. I used to attack and my pet would go in or send the pet in first and attack. Now, I do it different. I attack, let the creature come to me, as it gets close I send my pet to attack. The growl makes the creature change its attention instantly and I never take a hit. I never have to worry about my pet playing the dancing game with the creature and running back and forth half way through the zone and I never have to worry about my pet running up to it and ending up with 3 mobs instead of just the one at a time I want to do.
It is a sign that I have really grown as a hunter I think. Stupid little things like that. Things that maybe I should have realized when I first started playing but I didn't. It seems like a slow process but it has been effective so far for me. I guess that most of those things would escape a new player just as they did me. I also notice that reading all the hunter sites that none of those beginning tactics are mentioned. Everyone mentions how to play a hunter, how to do rotations, how to spec, how to gear, and a million other how to's. I do not think I have seen any beginning hunter tips like the stuff I am doing now. Maybe if I get the time I will write them up as I notice myself doing them.
At level 11 there is only so much you can do, or some would say almost nothing, but I can tell you that so far I have noticed there is indeed a hell of a lot I can do. A lot more then I thought I could do when I first started. Who would have ever though of a level 11 hunter pulling from a pack of 10 level 12 and 13 murlocs would treat it as a heroic dungeon pull. Yet I pulled only one murloc at a time, I killed them all without being hit once and I had fun playing the strategy of it. A level 11 can do a lot more then even I had expected.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Starting out new.
I did not get a great deal done leveling my refer-a-friend stuff this weekend but got up to 34 with my team mate at 32. Next weekend getting to 40 should be a breeze. I did not have a great deal planned for this weekend so I took the time to make place holders for my next two characters on that server, a mage and a warlock. That gives me 10 characters on that server which also has me standing neatly at 1 of each class.
I think I need to get another account. Maybe I can refer a friend to myself. I guess that is possible. What would I do with a second rocket mount however? I could easily power level myself running myself through dungeons and then using the grantable levels from that char to get my others up. Oh hell, now I am getting away from my train of thought here. That defeats my purpose. While I want more characters so I have all professions I also want to level them and learn while leveling them. Having a level 80 you burned through the game to get yo level 80 does not give you the time needed to really learn that character. It can be done, but it is a different type of learning. I like to learn while doing, not learn after it is done.
I am a hunter, will always be a hunter. The reason I think like that mostly is because I know how to play a hunter. Not trying to toot my own horn but being realistic here. I leveled a hunter from 1 to 80. I made about every mistake you can make along the way and I survived. It made me better, it made me realize how to play my class better. I know a hunter inside and out because of that leveling experience. That is why I think it will always be my main. While I love the pet and the ranged style, I know it best, and that is what will make it my main end game character.
Because of the refer-a-friend I am starting on a new server with my friend. Being it is a role play server I am making role play characters of course. Three to start out with. Made my main there a paladin because that is the character I have role played forever it seems. Made a warrior, which is the brother of the paladin and made a deathknight that is the sister of the paladin. I set them all up to be ready to go and walked them to an inn so they can build some rested time while I am waiting to go over there so we can level them together.
After setting them up it occurred to me that I do not really like playing a pally or a warrior, they where just made because they fit the role play. The deathknight was not supposed to be a sister but the name of the character I was trying to make was taken, so I rolled with it and made it something different. The DK is really just there to help make me some cash. Made it mining and jewelcrafting. That is always a nice and simple way to make money. Starting on a new server I do not have massive amounts of gold just sitting around to help myself out with starting a new character.
So here I was, all set up with the role play characters when I realize that if I ever get to 80 on that server I would not be playing at end game level because I really do not like playing those classes. I love playing a hunter. The hunter I made as my first character was one of the role play characters names I had, so it would fit there as well. So a new hunter was born. I could play that one with the idea of end game in mind and I could role play with it. Best of both worlds.
I made a hunter and set it up and decided that I would not use that one for refer-a-friend. I would level it naturally, on it's own, as if I just started and never played this game before. I already have no gold there and being I would be doing this on my own, no triple experience. It was starting new. I was interested with the idea to start off but once I started playing, it went from interested to full blown love.
I love leveling again with nothing to help myself along the way. Sure, it is a lot harder, or longer at least, but it feels as if everything is brand new. I hate the lack of bag space, it is killer, but in a way it fits for the level. I have to go back often, so I just sell more often. I will need to get some bags however. Picking and choosing what to carry is a game in and of itself. Wow, I did not remember what that was like. Whenever I start a new character I deck it out with all the bags before hand and never have to worry about space. I am liking this.
I ran out of arrows once. It was not because I am forgetful either. I have been a hunter long enough to know to carry enough for the task I am doing and then times that by 6. So 6 times more then I need for anything. I ran out because I could not afford to buy any more. I had to run around and melee kill some nightstalkers hoping they dropped that one thing that is 33 bronze so I could get some cash to buy some arrows. I got lucky, got a few of them and went back to buy arrows and turn in some quests.
Woohoo, had a stack of 1000 now, that would last me a small bit plus I had some extra silver to get some professions. Level 6 now and got a quest to send me to darn. I figured I wanted to go there anyway to grab my professions and put some junk in my bank, like food and cloth I knew I would need later to level cooking and first aid.
On my way there I grabbed skinning and leatherworking from those people in the middle of nowhere on the path to darn. Only had a few copper left now. Get to darn and turn in my quest. Consider picking up cooking or first aid for a bit but decide I am better off keeping the little I have now. I know I can get fishing for free soon from Gubber Blump so I am not worried about that.
At that moment I see someone say they are paying 5G for guild sigs. I whisper them saying I am in darn and they say they are too. Deal. 5 gold for me just for joining someones guild and I did not even need to take a break in my stride to do it. Then I see another, and another. One offer was in darn so I took it. Here I am, 10 gold richer for all of 2 whispers worth of my time while I was running around there anyway.
10 gold is more then enough for all I would need to start a new character. A hell of a lot more then what I had my first time I started playing. I did not know any better then. Now I know what bank alts are and I know people will pay you to join and you do not have to stay. I took advantage of that.
I picked up my first aid and cooking now that I had to cash and headed back to do some more questing. Having played a hunter before and having a better understanding of how things work I did things differently now then I had at first. No pet means melee hunter time. However, I am a learned hunter now, not a noob one. I know how to kite and wow does it make leveling easier. When I first got concussive shot when I started I asked, what is this BS, it is useless. Now, as soon as I got it I said, woohoo, killing just got a whole lot easier.
I swear leveling a hunter the second time around and actually having to work on it is awesome. I did get myself an 8 slot bag for 20 silver. Just because I got 10 gold does not mean I am going to waste it. The little extra bag space does help. I can stay out longer while killing.
How times change? When I first leveled it was serpent sting and auto shot until it got to me and then I would turn into melee hunter. Now, I open with concussive, sting it, arcane shot it, oh, that is after marking it. Needless to say, even with no greens, no heirlooms, no enchants, nothing but junk from quests and mobs, more then half the time the creature was dead before it got to me. The few times it was not I dropped a raptor strike on it and did a back jump with a concussive again if it was needed.
The first time around I would get slaughtered by packs too. I guess after all my soloing I was able to perfectly pull only one mob at a time. Leveling with knowledge is so much easier. Even without the gold and items and help from, well, myself.
Going on the quest to get my pet was like learning to love the game all over again. I had become disheartened in the game recently and doing that quest line reminded me of why I loved playing. It reminded me why I got addicted to the game to begin with. It felt like a real accomplishment. It also gave me something to run beside me while I quest. A sense of being complete. I always feel weird on my other characters. No little buddy to follow me around where ever I go. No friend there to help me out no matter what happened. I was once again having fun with the game.
I got myself a nightstaker named Fang just like I did originally. I leveled to 80 with Fang and Fang only. Never got a grinding pet or anything else while leveling. My cat did good by me. I plan to do the same this time. But I might grab a turtle when I get to southshore later.
My night ended as a new hunter with me fishing on the docks for Mr. Blump's quest. I dropped a fire while I fished and cooked up the food so I could get some experience in both. Occasionally I would throw Fang some fish, after it had been cooked of course, and I felt complete again in the game.
That is what made me fall in love with WoW, that is what made me fall in love with being a hunter. It was awesome to feel that way about the game again. A total rebirth. I suggest others try starting over again with nothing on a new server with the class they like to play the most. It is very fun.
BTW: I kept fishing up trunks, which gave me lots of bolts of cloth and other such goodies to sell at auction. I won't be trying to get rich on this server, but I surely will not be hurting for money. Starting new is not as hard as I thought it would be. Having Fang with me makes it a lot easier. Back to questing with the first friend I ever made in WoW. My nightstalker.
I think I need to get another account. Maybe I can refer a friend to myself. I guess that is possible. What would I do with a second rocket mount however? I could easily power level myself running myself through dungeons and then using the grantable levels from that char to get my others up. Oh hell, now I am getting away from my train of thought here. That defeats my purpose. While I want more characters so I have all professions I also want to level them and learn while leveling them. Having a level 80 you burned through the game to get yo level 80 does not give you the time needed to really learn that character. It can be done, but it is a different type of learning. I like to learn while doing, not learn after it is done.
I am a hunter, will always be a hunter. The reason I think like that mostly is because I know how to play a hunter. Not trying to toot my own horn but being realistic here. I leveled a hunter from 1 to 80. I made about every mistake you can make along the way and I survived. It made me better, it made me realize how to play my class better. I know a hunter inside and out because of that leveling experience. That is why I think it will always be my main. While I love the pet and the ranged style, I know it best, and that is what will make it my main end game character.
Because of the refer-a-friend I am starting on a new server with my friend. Being it is a role play server I am making role play characters of course. Three to start out with. Made my main there a paladin because that is the character I have role played forever it seems. Made a warrior, which is the brother of the paladin and made a deathknight that is the sister of the paladin. I set them all up to be ready to go and walked them to an inn so they can build some rested time while I am waiting to go over there so we can level them together.
After setting them up it occurred to me that I do not really like playing a pally or a warrior, they where just made because they fit the role play. The deathknight was not supposed to be a sister but the name of the character I was trying to make was taken, so I rolled with it and made it something different. The DK is really just there to help make me some cash. Made it mining and jewelcrafting. That is always a nice and simple way to make money. Starting on a new server I do not have massive amounts of gold just sitting around to help myself out with starting a new character.
So here I was, all set up with the role play characters when I realize that if I ever get to 80 on that server I would not be playing at end game level because I really do not like playing those classes. I love playing a hunter. The hunter I made as my first character was one of the role play characters names I had, so it would fit there as well. So a new hunter was born. I could play that one with the idea of end game in mind and I could role play with it. Best of both worlds.
I made a hunter and set it up and decided that I would not use that one for refer-a-friend. I would level it naturally, on it's own, as if I just started and never played this game before. I already have no gold there and being I would be doing this on my own, no triple experience. It was starting new. I was interested with the idea to start off but once I started playing, it went from interested to full blown love.
I love leveling again with nothing to help myself along the way. Sure, it is a lot harder, or longer at least, but it feels as if everything is brand new. I hate the lack of bag space, it is killer, but in a way it fits for the level. I have to go back often, so I just sell more often. I will need to get some bags however. Picking and choosing what to carry is a game in and of itself. Wow, I did not remember what that was like. Whenever I start a new character I deck it out with all the bags before hand and never have to worry about space. I am liking this.
I ran out of arrows once. It was not because I am forgetful either. I have been a hunter long enough to know to carry enough for the task I am doing and then times that by 6. So 6 times more then I need for anything. I ran out because I could not afford to buy any more. I had to run around and melee kill some nightstalkers hoping they dropped that one thing that is 33 bronze so I could get some cash to buy some arrows. I got lucky, got a few of them and went back to buy arrows and turn in some quests.
Woohoo, had a stack of 1000 now, that would last me a small bit plus I had some extra silver to get some professions. Level 6 now and got a quest to send me to darn. I figured I wanted to go there anyway to grab my professions and put some junk in my bank, like food and cloth I knew I would need later to level cooking and first aid.
On my way there I grabbed skinning and leatherworking from those people in the middle of nowhere on the path to darn. Only had a few copper left now. Get to darn and turn in my quest. Consider picking up cooking or first aid for a bit but decide I am better off keeping the little I have now. I know I can get fishing for free soon from Gubber Blump so I am not worried about that.
At that moment I see someone say they are paying 5G for guild sigs. I whisper them saying I am in darn and they say they are too. Deal. 5 gold for me just for joining someones guild and I did not even need to take a break in my stride to do it. Then I see another, and another. One offer was in darn so I took it. Here I am, 10 gold richer for all of 2 whispers worth of my time while I was running around there anyway.
10 gold is more then enough for all I would need to start a new character. A hell of a lot more then what I had my first time I started playing. I did not know any better then. Now I know what bank alts are and I know people will pay you to join and you do not have to stay. I took advantage of that.
I picked up my first aid and cooking now that I had to cash and headed back to do some more questing. Having played a hunter before and having a better understanding of how things work I did things differently now then I had at first. No pet means melee hunter time. However, I am a learned hunter now, not a noob one. I know how to kite and wow does it make leveling easier. When I first got concussive shot when I started I asked, what is this BS, it is useless. Now, as soon as I got it I said, woohoo, killing just got a whole lot easier.
I swear leveling a hunter the second time around and actually having to work on it is awesome. I did get myself an 8 slot bag for 20 silver. Just because I got 10 gold does not mean I am going to waste it. The little extra bag space does help. I can stay out longer while killing.
How times change? When I first leveled it was serpent sting and auto shot until it got to me and then I would turn into melee hunter. Now, I open with concussive, sting it, arcane shot it, oh, that is after marking it. Needless to say, even with no greens, no heirlooms, no enchants, nothing but junk from quests and mobs, more then half the time the creature was dead before it got to me. The few times it was not I dropped a raptor strike on it and did a back jump with a concussive again if it was needed.
The first time around I would get slaughtered by packs too. I guess after all my soloing I was able to perfectly pull only one mob at a time. Leveling with knowledge is so much easier. Even without the gold and items and help from, well, myself.
Going on the quest to get my pet was like learning to love the game all over again. I had become disheartened in the game recently and doing that quest line reminded me of why I loved playing. It reminded me why I got addicted to the game to begin with. It felt like a real accomplishment. It also gave me something to run beside me while I quest. A sense of being complete. I always feel weird on my other characters. No little buddy to follow me around where ever I go. No friend there to help me out no matter what happened. I was once again having fun with the game.
I got myself a nightstaker named Fang just like I did originally. I leveled to 80 with Fang and Fang only. Never got a grinding pet or anything else while leveling. My cat did good by me. I plan to do the same this time. But I might grab a turtle when I get to southshore later.
My night ended as a new hunter with me fishing on the docks for Mr. Blump's quest. I dropped a fire while I fished and cooked up the food so I could get some experience in both. Occasionally I would throw Fang some fish, after it had been cooked of course, and I felt complete again in the game.
That is what made me fall in love with WoW, that is what made me fall in love with being a hunter. It was awesome to feel that way about the game again. A total rebirth. I suggest others try starting over again with nothing on a new server with the class they like to play the most. It is very fun.
BTW: I kept fishing up trunks, which gave me lots of bolts of cloth and other such goodies to sell at auction. I won't be trying to get rich on this server, but I surely will not be hurting for money. Starting new is not as hard as I thought it would be. Having Fang with me makes it a lot easier. Back to questing with the first friend I ever made in WoW. My nightstalker.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Are Two Specs Enough?
I often see people posting on one forum or another about tri-spec. They want it and they get shot down completely with the usual argument of two specs are more then enough. I would like to point out something to those people that say two specs are more then enough. Two specs are one spec to many. You only use one spec at a time, one spec is all you need. So saying two specs is enough is mildly retarded. One is all you need. The only difference between dual spec is one spec you are not using and tri spec is two specs you are not using.
I personally would love to see unlimited specs. That way I do not have to keep changing things. Make each additional spec cost another 1000. There you go.
I know what you are going to say, I am a hunter. I am DPS. I can only DPS. Why would I ever need more then one spec? With two specs I have more then I could need. All I have to say to those people that might come up with a response like that is that they have either A) never played a hunter or B) never played a hunter well.
Now, just a short list of specs I would probably keep if I were able to have unlimited specs. Mind you, this is not a complete list of possible hunter specs that have their uses. Just ones I could find use for at least once in a while and ones I would be willing to pay 1000 gold to keep available.
Beastmaster Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
PvP Spec
Soloing Spec
Extreme Soloing Spec
Marksman Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
ArP Spec
Ranged Stamina Spec
PvP Spec
PvP Spec v2
Survival Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
PvP Spec
As you see, that is 11 Specs right there and I did not even list ones that I would not consider using at any regular point. Even at that, I can only see me using 5 of these on a weekly basis. So at the very least I can imagine needing 5 specs at bare minimum.
So I can only imagine if me, as a hunter, can find 11 useful specs and at least another 15 I did not mention that would have usage, then other classes that are actually meant to have more then one use could have upwards of 50 different situation specs that they might want.
Sure, I could keep respecing but all that is, is annoying. Even more so if it is something I might only want to test out or use for a single fight once in a while. Respecing for one fight then going back? Madness I tell you.
Hopefully being Blizzard has been catering to casuals more and more they will cater to me as well and the many others that want more specs. If I were only allowed 5 I would already know what they are but I would most likely find a way to limit it to 4 so I have that one extra space to play with.
I personally would love to see unlimited specs. That way I do not have to keep changing things. Make each additional spec cost another 1000. There you go.
I know what you are going to say, I am a hunter. I am DPS. I can only DPS. Why would I ever need more then one spec? With two specs I have more then I could need. All I have to say to those people that might come up with a response like that is that they have either A) never played a hunter or B) never played a hunter well.
Now, just a short list of specs I would probably keep if I were able to have unlimited specs. Mind you, this is not a complete list of possible hunter specs that have their uses. Just ones I could find use for at least once in a while and ones I would be willing to pay 1000 gold to keep available.
Beastmaster Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
PvP Spec
Soloing Spec
Extreme Soloing Spec
Marksman Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
ArP Spec
Ranged Stamina Spec
PvP Spec
PvP Spec v2
Survival Specs
Cookie Cutter Spec
PvP Spec
As you see, that is 11 Specs right there and I did not even list ones that I would not consider using at any regular point. Even at that, I can only see me using 5 of these on a weekly basis. So at the very least I can imagine needing 5 specs at bare minimum.
So I can only imagine if me, as a hunter, can find 11 useful specs and at least another 15 I did not mention that would have usage, then other classes that are actually meant to have more then one use could have upwards of 50 different situation specs that they might want.
Sure, I could keep respecing but all that is, is annoying. Even more so if it is something I might only want to test out or use for a single fight once in a while. Respecing for one fight then going back? Madness I tell you.
Hopefully being Blizzard has been catering to casuals more and more they will cater to me as well and the many others that want more specs. If I were only allowed 5 I would already know what they are but I would most likely find a way to limit it to 4 so I have that one extra space to play with.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Refer-A-Friend
So this weekend I started out my refer a friend program with a friend of mine. I paid for the games and time, he supplied us with bag and he said he will help me out leveling my blacksmithing. I am hoping to get a blacksmith and an engineer done during the course of this. Those are the two professions I need to work on most as those are the two I really do not want to have to deal with slowly.
For this first set up I rolled a Shaman with Mining and Blacksmith and he rolled a Warlock with Herbalism and Skinning. We are both horders of sorts so with his help I should have no problem leveling the blacksmith. So far we are rolling along. The triple experience is insane. We did not play what would be considered a hell of a lot. Spent lots of time learning the new characters (he had some experience in his type) and leveling up skills. From a purely time spent questing stand point we have not played much. I am already level 23 and he is 21. I have heirloom gear on so that might be the little difference there.
Good thing about the triple experience is that if he ever falls 3 levels behind he will still get triple while I will not. This means that we will always been within 3 because if he ever falls behind he will catch up almost instantly. The summon to each other thing has been great so far as well. I am liking everything about this so far and it sure as hell seems like it was worth the investment. Sadly it is only for 90 days but I would actually be willing to pay $20 per month instead of $15 per month to keep the accounts linked. In my opinion it would be worth it.
Of course I am saying that from this standpoint where I still need a lot of characters and classes and professions. Once I get everything I doubt I would really care about leveling so quickly. Heirlooms would be more then enough should I choose to level another character.
What I hope for is this. Level my Shaman to 60 with his Warlock. Have him use the Warlock to grant my Priest 28 levels. So I can go from 30 to 58 and be outlands ready. Level once you hit 58 is a joke anyway, even without heirlooms, so that would be enough for that one. The other 2 levels he can put on my Rogue. That would get him from 48 to 50.
Next one we do when we hit 60 I would ask him to level my Paladin (if I do not make one) from 23 to 45 and my Rogue from 50-58. Reason being there is now my Priest and Rogue are outlands ready and my Paladin is past that level 40 barrier that now I can AoE grind to level and fly through the levels.
The Priest is my 2nd Enchanter / Tailor and my Rogue is a Leatherworker / Skinner. Being at 58 you can learn max profession that is another reason I want to stop there. High enough for outlands and max professions. I am sure I can make out those in no time. The Enchanting for sure. I have a maxed Enchanter already and have LOADS of stock. No joke, nearly 2 bank tabs worth of enchanting material. Leveling will not be an issue. And being I have a maxed Scribe as well, I will throw everything I make on vellums, which are cheap enough to make, and try to sell them. Better then just enchanting your own gear over and over again like I was stupid enough to do the first time around.
This leaves me with 4 open spots to work on. My Paladin is leatherworking and Skinning as well. I decided that I do not want that, so going to drop them both. So that opens 2 spaces. Then there is the other new character I will make. Mage, Warlock and Warrior are all I have left to make on that server. I do have a warrior at level 6 but that was just something I did out of boredom one day. I do not think I set him up with bags and such yet. If I have, then I will not start him over.
I guess what I make next will depend on a few things. If the warrior was set up then I will not make one of those. So that means either a mage or a warlock. If he chooses a mana user I will go mage, as that will help us both a lot. If not, a warlock. I guess if I had to choose I would want to make a mage or a warrior. Warrior leveling will help me learn some early tanking which I need to learn if I ever want to do some serious tanking later. Mage would be nice to have for PvP and ports, not to mention, awesome ranged DPS which is my favorite thing to do. Also, from what all my mage friends say, the stupid easy 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 BS rotation to top DPS meters is nice to do once in a while when you really do not feel like thinking much while playing. Being Warlock is changing in Cataclysm I might want to wait for that. I have enough to worry about with the hunter changes. I do not want to completely relearn 2 classes, even if the warlock changes are no where near game changing like the Hunters are going to be.
So Mage or Warrior it is. If I had started to deck out my warrior, then Mage is the way I will go. If I go Mage I will either do Herbalism and Alchemy or Herbalism and Inscription. If it a warrior it will be either Mining and Jewelcrafting or Mining and Blacksmith. I already have one of both those combos, but that would be best for a warrior. Also, at that point I will be thinking more about what works for the character better as I will have one of everything.
For the one (maybe 2 depending on how much time we have left over) character I put on the RP server with him I am going to be a Paladin. That goes without even a thought. If I am going to role play it will be a paladin, the same character I have role played for the past 13 years. Might as well keep with it. I would go mining and skinning there. Reason being is I will need to make some money as I do not have any characters on that server already to play sugar daddy for me I will need some skills that can make money for me. Mining is the best money maker, hands down, it is like stealing money with that profession and I can't do tracking for the two professions (herb & mine) at the same time so the other has to be skinning.
When I get to 80 and make some cash I would like to make the character a Jewelcrafter and a Scribe. That will come later I am sure as that would be my secondary server, not my main.
It is going to be nice when it is all said and done. Have all professions (except for engineering which I will likely throw on the reformed Pally) and have all but one class within end game range. Then it will be the effort of getting them all to 80. Which, with rotating rest and heirloom gear, should not take a very long time at all.
Wow, how times change. When I used to read on the forums about people having all classes at 80 I wondered how the hell could they do that. I have barely enough time to play my hunter and do everything I want to. Now that I am end game on my hunter, have most of the reasonably obtainable achievements and only sit around waiting to raid with it, I look at it differently. The other characters are all for fun, and professions of course. Soon I will have one of each at level 80 on the same server. That is sick. I think of it as a way to make me a better hunter however. The more I know how other classes work, the more I know how I can interact with them to the best of my ability.
Next task after that... saving up for epic flying for 6 more characters. Only my hunter and Druid have it. Not even my 80 DK has it. That and I am going to need another bank character for sure. My DK is one, might make the Rogue the other bank character. I do not see myself ever really playing the Rogue anyway.
I am in love with Refer-A-Friend. I suggest every good geek takes part in it one time or another. It is worth it.
For this first set up I rolled a Shaman with Mining and Blacksmith and he rolled a Warlock with Herbalism and Skinning. We are both horders of sorts so with his help I should have no problem leveling the blacksmith. So far we are rolling along. The triple experience is insane. We did not play what would be considered a hell of a lot. Spent lots of time learning the new characters (he had some experience in his type) and leveling up skills. From a purely time spent questing stand point we have not played much. I am already level 23 and he is 21. I have heirloom gear on so that might be the little difference there.
Good thing about the triple experience is that if he ever falls 3 levels behind he will still get triple while I will not. This means that we will always been within 3 because if he ever falls behind he will catch up almost instantly. The summon to each other thing has been great so far as well. I am liking everything about this so far and it sure as hell seems like it was worth the investment. Sadly it is only for 90 days but I would actually be willing to pay $20 per month instead of $15 per month to keep the accounts linked. In my opinion it would be worth it.
Of course I am saying that from this standpoint where I still need a lot of characters and classes and professions. Once I get everything I doubt I would really care about leveling so quickly. Heirlooms would be more then enough should I choose to level another character.
What I hope for is this. Level my Shaman to 60 with his Warlock. Have him use the Warlock to grant my Priest 28 levels. So I can go from 30 to 58 and be outlands ready. Level once you hit 58 is a joke anyway, even without heirlooms, so that would be enough for that one. The other 2 levels he can put on my Rogue. That would get him from 48 to 50.
Next one we do when we hit 60 I would ask him to level my Paladin (if I do not make one) from 23 to 45 and my Rogue from 50-58. Reason being there is now my Priest and Rogue are outlands ready and my Paladin is past that level 40 barrier that now I can AoE grind to level and fly through the levels.
The Priest is my 2nd Enchanter / Tailor and my Rogue is a Leatherworker / Skinner. Being at 58 you can learn max profession that is another reason I want to stop there. High enough for outlands and max professions. I am sure I can make out those in no time. The Enchanting for sure. I have a maxed Enchanter already and have LOADS of stock. No joke, nearly 2 bank tabs worth of enchanting material. Leveling will not be an issue. And being I have a maxed Scribe as well, I will throw everything I make on vellums, which are cheap enough to make, and try to sell them. Better then just enchanting your own gear over and over again like I was stupid enough to do the first time around.
This leaves me with 4 open spots to work on. My Paladin is leatherworking and Skinning as well. I decided that I do not want that, so going to drop them both. So that opens 2 spaces. Then there is the other new character I will make. Mage, Warlock and Warrior are all I have left to make on that server. I do have a warrior at level 6 but that was just something I did out of boredom one day. I do not think I set him up with bags and such yet. If I have, then I will not start him over.
I guess what I make next will depend on a few things. If the warrior was set up then I will not make one of those. So that means either a mage or a warlock. If he chooses a mana user I will go mage, as that will help us both a lot. If not, a warlock. I guess if I had to choose I would want to make a mage or a warrior. Warrior leveling will help me learn some early tanking which I need to learn if I ever want to do some serious tanking later. Mage would be nice to have for PvP and ports, not to mention, awesome ranged DPS which is my favorite thing to do. Also, from what all my mage friends say, the stupid easy 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 BS rotation to top DPS meters is nice to do once in a while when you really do not feel like thinking much while playing. Being Warlock is changing in Cataclysm I might want to wait for that. I have enough to worry about with the hunter changes. I do not want to completely relearn 2 classes, even if the warlock changes are no where near game changing like the Hunters are going to be.
So Mage or Warrior it is. If I had started to deck out my warrior, then Mage is the way I will go. If I go Mage I will either do Herbalism and Alchemy or Herbalism and Inscription. If it a warrior it will be either Mining and Jewelcrafting or Mining and Blacksmith. I already have one of both those combos, but that would be best for a warrior. Also, at that point I will be thinking more about what works for the character better as I will have one of everything.
For the one (maybe 2 depending on how much time we have left over) character I put on the RP server with him I am going to be a Paladin. That goes without even a thought. If I am going to role play it will be a paladin, the same character I have role played for the past 13 years. Might as well keep with it. I would go mining and skinning there. Reason being is I will need to make some money as I do not have any characters on that server already to play sugar daddy for me I will need some skills that can make money for me. Mining is the best money maker, hands down, it is like stealing money with that profession and I can't do tracking for the two professions (herb & mine) at the same time so the other has to be skinning.
When I get to 80 and make some cash I would like to make the character a Jewelcrafter and a Scribe. That will come later I am sure as that would be my secondary server, not my main.
It is going to be nice when it is all said and done. Have all professions (except for engineering which I will likely throw on the reformed Pally) and have all but one class within end game range. Then it will be the effort of getting them all to 80. Which, with rotating rest and heirloom gear, should not take a very long time at all.
Wow, how times change. When I used to read on the forums about people having all classes at 80 I wondered how the hell could they do that. I have barely enough time to play my hunter and do everything I want to. Now that I am end game on my hunter, have most of the reasonably obtainable achievements and only sit around waiting to raid with it, I look at it differently. The other characters are all for fun, and professions of course. Soon I will have one of each at level 80 on the same server. That is sick. I think of it as a way to make me a better hunter however. The more I know how other classes work, the more I know how I can interact with them to the best of my ability.
Next task after that... saving up for epic flying for 6 more characters. Only my hunter and Druid have it. Not even my 80 DK has it. That and I am going to need another bank character for sure. My DK is one, might make the Rogue the other bank character. I do not see myself ever really playing the Rogue anyway.
I am in love with Refer-A-Friend. I suggest every good geek takes part in it one time or another. It is worth it.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
What type of Raider are you?
I refer to myself as a serious casual raider. Many people will read into what that means as different things. I often see people quoting a line that is probably as old as RPGs go. Anyone that plays more then me is hardcore and anyone that plays less then me is casual.
That might make sense and be true in many cases but a complete elitist that says that would classify me as a casual and I am most assuredly not. A casual does not play every day. So that is not me. I think I fit that one quote perfectly, as I am sure other would say the same of themselves but there is a difference. I can back it up when I say that fits me perfect where as they are just trying to justify their status when they say it.
So lets look at the three main types I am referring to. Hardcore, Serious and Casual. There will be mixes of the three of course, like I call myself serious casual and someone can be hardcore casual even if you might not realize it.
There are also different type of hardcore/serious/casual. This is the list for the raiders.
Hardcore: It is a desire to be the absolute best. This means top enchants, top gems, and best professions for the bonuses as well as possibly working on training dummies for hours on end. Hardcore means you are willing to raid 24/7 if need be to make sure you get the job done. You will take off from work if you are getting close to that kill. You will tell your girlfriend or boyfriend that tonight is no good, you have to get this done. Hardcore will sacrifice other things in an effort to say they are the best.
Serious: You want to be good at what you do. You will use the best gems and enchants just like a hardcore player, but will step down one step to save some gold if you know that you might be getting an upgrade tomorrow. For a hardcore player one day without the best gems and enchants could kill them but for a serious play one day, or even three, is okay. A serious player might not have the best professions for getting the bonus stats because they want what they want and are not willing to switch for only 20 DPS more. If they are doing 10K and downing the boss, they are happy, they will not go crazy trying to make it 10,020.
Casual: Doesn't play every day and even when he does he doesn't do much with his time on. It takes him forever to level, forever to gear up and forever before then can see any end raid content. They might not even have maxed professions. They surely will not have the right gems, gear or spec for their character because it is not worth the extra money or time to get everything. They will always be glad that they are doing good enough but never really worry about doing better. They have no pressure playing being they have no real goals in the game other then wasting some time and having some fun.
I would say most people fit the serious category, at least most people I have met would. I fit the serious mold like a glove. It is a perfect fit. I do try my best but I will not drop herbalism just to get a tiny DPS boost. I always top gem and enchant everything, unless it is an alt, then I will never use top gems or enchants on any item under level 232. So that quote does it me well, anyone that plays more is hardcore and anyone that plays less in casual.
I am serious/casual because I only have one main that is top geared for end game raiding. My other characters are there for support professions and for fun. Even the 80s do not get much play time. When I am on them I am on them, no rush to get them better. So the serious/casual works for me.
I would love a taste of the hardcore end of the game but I am not going to respec for every fight or change my professions just for a tiny boost in my output. That would lock me out of most top end game guilds. If it were not for those things I might even call myself hardcore/casual.
Most of these classes that people fit into can switch at the drop of a hat. Many casual players could be hardcore, but they do not have the free time. Lots of hardcore players would lose that status the moment they found a job or girlfriend/boyfriend that took up more of their time. Any serious player can take time off or step up their game to move into one of the other two.
Remember, in the end, the main difference between Hardcore, Serious and Casual is time, how much of it you have free and willing to spend on a game will drop you neatly into one of those categories.
That might make sense and be true in many cases but a complete elitist that says that would classify me as a casual and I am most assuredly not. A casual does not play every day. So that is not me. I think I fit that one quote perfectly, as I am sure other would say the same of themselves but there is a difference. I can back it up when I say that fits me perfect where as they are just trying to justify their status when they say it.
So lets look at the three main types I am referring to. Hardcore, Serious and Casual. There will be mixes of the three of course, like I call myself serious casual and someone can be hardcore casual even if you might not realize it.
There are also different type of hardcore/serious/casual. This is the list for the raiders.
Hardcore: It is a desire to be the absolute best. This means top enchants, top gems, and best professions for the bonuses as well as possibly working on training dummies for hours on end. Hardcore means you are willing to raid 24/7 if need be to make sure you get the job done. You will take off from work if you are getting close to that kill. You will tell your girlfriend or boyfriend that tonight is no good, you have to get this done. Hardcore will sacrifice other things in an effort to say they are the best.
Serious: You want to be good at what you do. You will use the best gems and enchants just like a hardcore player, but will step down one step to save some gold if you know that you might be getting an upgrade tomorrow. For a hardcore player one day without the best gems and enchants could kill them but for a serious play one day, or even three, is okay. A serious player might not have the best professions for getting the bonus stats because they want what they want and are not willing to switch for only 20 DPS more. If they are doing 10K and downing the boss, they are happy, they will not go crazy trying to make it 10,020.
Casual: Doesn't play every day and even when he does he doesn't do much with his time on. It takes him forever to level, forever to gear up and forever before then can see any end raid content. They might not even have maxed professions. They surely will not have the right gems, gear or spec for their character because it is not worth the extra money or time to get everything. They will always be glad that they are doing good enough but never really worry about doing better. They have no pressure playing being they have no real goals in the game other then wasting some time and having some fun.
I would say most people fit the serious category, at least most people I have met would. I fit the serious mold like a glove. It is a perfect fit. I do try my best but I will not drop herbalism just to get a tiny DPS boost. I always top gem and enchant everything, unless it is an alt, then I will never use top gems or enchants on any item under level 232. So that quote does it me well, anyone that plays more is hardcore and anyone that plays less in casual.
I am serious/casual because I only have one main that is top geared for end game raiding. My other characters are there for support professions and for fun. Even the 80s do not get much play time. When I am on them I am on them, no rush to get them better. So the serious/casual works for me.
I would love a taste of the hardcore end of the game but I am not going to respec for every fight or change my professions just for a tiny boost in my output. That would lock me out of most top end game guilds. If it were not for those things I might even call myself hardcore/casual.
Most of these classes that people fit into can switch at the drop of a hat. Many casual players could be hardcore, but they do not have the free time. Lots of hardcore players would lose that status the moment they found a job or girlfriend/boyfriend that took up more of their time. Any serious player can take time off or step up their game to move into one of the other two.
Remember, in the end, the main difference between Hardcore, Serious and Casual is time, how much of it you have free and willing to spend on a game will drop you neatly into one of those categories.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Now 6/12 on ICC 25
We finally downed Rotface and Festergut in 25 man. It was about time. We have a few stragglers still hanging on that if they were replaced with better people we would have done it sooner. Thing is, I like working as a team and helping those people get better so we can do it together. There is something to say about earning things over being given things.
We earned those wins. Took 3 tries each to get them down but now there are 24 more people that can say they have done it and know how to do it. One had already done it before. It was a hard fought battle and those are the best ones. It is fun to steamroll over things sometimes but it is a lot more satisfying to actually have to work hard to get something done.
I pulled 10K DPS, while it was number one over all I know I can do a great deal better. Sometimes I think I am just not progressing as well as I could be. I still think I am suffering for a serious bout of wow burnout. I've been playing for a year now and have yet to take a day off. Sure, a couple of times I only logged in for about 30-45 minutes and left, but I was still there.
After we downed them I got a whisper from the person that was number two on the DPS list, another hunter of course, us hunters rule, saying that they thought it was time to move on. Yeap, another person leaving and more importantly another good person leaving.
Their reason, just like the others that left before him, he did not feel like carrying others through content. So he was going to leave for a group of people that have already done it, so it does not have to feel like he is doing all the work.
I still think that is the ultimate double standard. Leaving a group because you feel like you carried people to win that battle for another group that does that battle all the time. So you are leaving so you can get carried by someone else? How can you be so against someone being carried when you want to be carried yourself?
Oh well, that is the way it goes. I am sure with my DPS output and understanding and readiness for the battles that I could get a spot doing 12/12 heroic in ICC 25. However, I would feel like I was being carried and I don't want to be carried. I guess there are two types of people. Those that want to be carried and those that like to help others. I guess I am the one that likes to help others.
I can see his point however. There is no reason, in ICC25 with the 20% buff that anyone fully buffed should be pulling less then 7K DPS. Sadly, even with all that, we still have at least 3 under 5K DPS.
The way I look at it is this... if they keep coming with us, they keep showing on time, they keep putting their best foot forward, their DPS will get better. They are already doing the important part. Showing up on time and prepared. That is a quality that you need more then DPS. You can get better at DPS in time. If you are always late and never prepared, that just means you are undependable and lazy. No helping that.
I think I should make a post on the guild forums about people carrying others. More so as a motivational things then as a bitch slap to the person that left. But I think, what use is it t guilt trip people that do not want to help others because they prefer to go somewhere else where they can be carried.
We earned those wins. Took 3 tries each to get them down but now there are 24 more people that can say they have done it and know how to do it. One had already done it before. It was a hard fought battle and those are the best ones. It is fun to steamroll over things sometimes but it is a lot more satisfying to actually have to work hard to get something done.
I pulled 10K DPS, while it was number one over all I know I can do a great deal better. Sometimes I think I am just not progressing as well as I could be. I still think I am suffering for a serious bout of wow burnout. I've been playing for a year now and have yet to take a day off. Sure, a couple of times I only logged in for about 30-45 minutes and left, but I was still there.
After we downed them I got a whisper from the person that was number two on the DPS list, another hunter of course, us hunters rule, saying that they thought it was time to move on. Yeap, another person leaving and more importantly another good person leaving.
Their reason, just like the others that left before him, he did not feel like carrying others through content. So he was going to leave for a group of people that have already done it, so it does not have to feel like he is doing all the work.
I still think that is the ultimate double standard. Leaving a group because you feel like you carried people to win that battle for another group that does that battle all the time. So you are leaving so you can get carried by someone else? How can you be so against someone being carried when you want to be carried yourself?
Oh well, that is the way it goes. I am sure with my DPS output and understanding and readiness for the battles that I could get a spot doing 12/12 heroic in ICC 25. However, I would feel like I was being carried and I don't want to be carried. I guess there are two types of people. Those that want to be carried and those that like to help others. I guess I am the one that likes to help others.
I can see his point however. There is no reason, in ICC25 with the 20% buff that anyone fully buffed should be pulling less then 7K DPS. Sadly, even with all that, we still have at least 3 under 5K DPS.
The way I look at it is this... if they keep coming with us, they keep showing on time, they keep putting their best foot forward, their DPS will get better. They are already doing the important part. Showing up on time and prepared. That is a quality that you need more then DPS. You can get better at DPS in time. If you are always late and never prepared, that just means you are undependable and lazy. No helping that.
I think I should make a post on the guild forums about people carrying others. More so as a motivational things then as a bitch slap to the person that left. But I think, what use is it t guilt trip people that do not want to help others because they prefer to go somewhere else where they can be carried.
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