Sabbatical of Unknown Length

I guess I've already started my sabbatical, however I should at least post something so you all aren't left wondering.

It's summer and I have a ton of things on my to do list before I resume classes again in the fall. I hate that my blogging is the thing that is being (and has been since December) sacrificed, but of all the things on my plate, this is the most 'optional' and does take up quite a bit of time.

I do still love writing and blogging, but each post (of stubstance) can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to research, write, edit, re-write, etc. Not to mention, the 2 hours a day I've spent reading other's blogs. That's a lot of time that, right now, I need to devote to house projects and other things. I will still keep up with reading blogs, although, quite possibly, at a reduced level. I know that each and everyone one of my fellow bloggers puts in a lot of time and effort to post for us that read them as well as staying active in the blogging community and I truely appreciate all that...especially knowing the time committment it takes.

I am still raiding and we have been making excellent progress in T6 content and I'm even tanking more than I was in T5 content. I still enjoy WoW and my guild (we've been expanding) and I do not have any plans to quit...which is why something has to be reduce (blogging).

I'm sure I'll be back at some point. I just don't have a time frame of when that will be. I appreciate you all taking the time to read my blog over the last year as well as those who have linked me in their blog rolls. I truely hate having to cut back in this area and will return when I can.

/hugs

This Week in Fishing

I need to get around to posting more than the weekly fishing update! I have lots of posts swimming around in my head. I just need to find the time to get them written.

The quests for the week were:

Date	Day	Quest
5/6	Tuesday	Felblood Fillet
5/7	Wednesday	Shrimpin Aint' Easy
5/8	Thursday	Shrimpin Aint' Easy
5/9	Friday	The One That Got Away
5/10	Saturday	Felblood Fillet
5/11	Sunday	Crocolisks in the City
5/12	Monday	Bait Bandits

The quests for the week seemed to be fairly even. I was happy that Crocolisks in the City came up again this week. Hopefully it will be making, at least, a weekly appearance. I still have no baby croc pet though. Since Sunday was baby croc quest day I was really hoping for one as a Mother's Day prezzie.

The percentages for the quests this week and for 4/13 - 5/12 are:

Quest	% This Week	% 4/13-5/12
Bait Bandits	14%	21%
Crocolisks in the City	14%	14%
Felblood Fillet	29%	29%
Shrimpin' Ain't Easy	29%	14%
The One That Got Away	14%	21%

Last week I predicted that this would be a Shrimpin' week. It came up twice, however I was expecting it to come up at least three times. The overall percentage, from 4-13 to date, seems to be rounding out a bit. Had I been keeping track since 2.4 went live, Shrimpin would be higher and Crocs would be lower.

No interesting loot to speak of this week, just the assorted rusted lock and spyglass.

Boo...

Well, that didn't work out how I wanted.  I pulled up the previous 'This Week in Fishing' post to edit it rather than creating an entirely new one and all I ended up doing was changing the original post. 

If anyone knows how to copy a published post (within Blogspot or Windows Live Writer) to change it into a new post without over writing the original post, please let me know!

This Week in Fishing

I'm only a day late this time! 

The quests for the week were:

Date	Day	Quest
4/29	Tuesday	Bait Bandits
4/30	Wednesday	Bait Bandits
5/1	Thursday	Bait Bandits
5/2	Friday	Felblood Fillet
5/3	Saturday	Bait Bandits
5/4	Sunday	Crocolisks in the City
5/5	Monday	The One That Got Away

 

It was obviously Bait Bandits week with that quest coming up four times.  I was happy that Crocolisks in the City came up this week.  After last week, I expected a month to go by before I saw it again.  I still have no baby croc pet though.  C'mon Chuck!

The percentages for the quests this week and for 4/13 - 5/5 are:

Quest	%  This Week	%  4/13-5/5
Bait Bandits	57%	24%
Crocolisks in the City	14%	14%
Felblood Fillet	14%	29%
Shrimpin' Ain't Easy	0%	10%
The One That Got Away	14%	24%

 

I'm going to jump out on a limb here and predict that I'll be doing a lot of shrimpin' next week.  /sigh.  That one is my least fav quest.

As far as lewts goes, other than a few Shadow Pearls, I have yet to get any of the fishing items.  Blizzard, you can make that up to me by letting me get Chuck!

Karathress Kill Vid

Bogwraith has made another kill video for RA.  This one shows us killing Fathom Lord Karathress.  He filmed it at a higher resolution so it looks better than the other kill videos.  Also, if you download them they look quite a bit better than streaming them.

SSC_4_RAvKarathress.wmv

 

You'll see me tanking the first add, then switching to kitty for the remainder of the fight.  As we move to the third add, you can see me b-rez Gud on the left of the screen there. 

This Week in Fishing

After posting last Monday about how Old Man Barlo has only offered the Crocolisk in the City quest twice since 2.4 went live, I decided that I'd start keeping a list of what quests he offers each day for analysis...that'll show Blizzard!!  Here are my results for the past week:

Date	Day	Quest
4/15	Tuesday	Felblood Fillet
4/16	Wednesday	Bait Bandits
4/17	Thursday	The One That Got Away
4/18	Friday	Shrimpin' Ain't Easy
4/19	Saturday	Felblood Fillet
4/20	Sunday	Felblood Fillet
4/21	Monday	Felblood Fillet

 

Felblood Fillet has come up 4 times (57%) and all the others once each (14%) with my desired quests, the baby croc one, not coming up at all (0%).  Sadly, most weeks are like this, with one of the above four quests dominating while the Crocolisk in the City quests doesn't come up at all.  I want Chuck, damnit!

Guild Kill Videos

We recently had an influx of members from the guild Tribunal who all seem to be fitting in nicely with the guild.  :)  Similar goals, personalities, etc...you know, all those things that help make two groups of people click together nicely and become one group of people fairly quickly.

Anyway, one of our new members, Bogwraith, who is a pretty awesome Arcane/Ice Mage, has been making videos of our boss kills.  So, I thought I'd share them with you all (with permission, of course!). 

Magtheridon's Liar

In this video, you get to see me tanking.  You also get to see Bog's pet turtle, Speedy, Aquenzi's pet frog, Morela's firefly, and Bithan's Dark Whelpling and I think I saw Peanut, Mini Wing, and a Worg pup!  This is important commentary...you know you wanted to know.  :)

RAvMagtheridon.wmv

 

Serpent Shrine Cavern

Hydross

In this video, we have Maul and Lung tanking Hydross and you see me every once in a while tanking the adds.  I'm on the front right add.  We assign them as front/back and left/right after ummm...well...a wee bit of an issue.  I know you're waiting for my list of who has what pets out, but as Bog's camera was way far out and the resolution isn't real good, it was hard to see (we don't discuss how old I am).  I did see Bog's trusty companion, Speedy and, I think, Mini Wing again, but that was all I could make out.

SSC_1_RAvHydross.wmv

 

The Lurker Below

Maulmorr is tanking...I think...he's so far away it's hard to tell.  I didn't see that either Bog or the hunter next to him had little pets out.  We'll have to have 'talks' with them.  If you want to try to find me, you'll have to squint and look to the left side of the video...I'm the wee cat.

SSC_2_RAvLurker.wmv

 

Leotheras the Blind

In this video, you get to see Bog die towards the end.  :(  You'll also see me as the cat hopping around trying to stay out of the whirlwind so I don't suffer a similar fate as him.  I was able to make out Aquenzi's frog and a few other pets but, again, the camera was too far out.

SSC_3_RAvLeo.wmv

 

Tempest Keep: The Eye

Void Reaver

In this video, you get to watch Bog run around and open his inventory bags a bazillion times.  Bog, go download Tbags and Auto bar please.  ;p  It also grieves me to say that I saw no pets.  How are we even downing these bosses without sufficient pet presence?

TK_2_RAvVoidreaver.wmv

 

High Astromancer Solarian

Maulmorr, Slashappy, and Lung are our tanks.  I'm running around all cat like with my Phoenix Hatchling.  Other pets I see are Speedy, Dark Whelpling, Clockwork Robot, Great Horned Owl, and, I think, a frog...better than the last video, but not nearly enough.

TK_3_RAvSolarian.wmv

 

Mount Hyjal

Rage Winterchill

Maulmorr is, once again, our tank for this video.  If you pay attention, about half-way through you'll see me run across the screen from right to left and rez someone.  The true stars of this video were Speedy, White Kitten, Mini Wing, Dark Whelpling, and about 4 or 5 Mojo's.

Hyjal_1_RAvRageWinterchill.wmv

 

In the future, I'll post videos as he makes them rather than bombarding you with so many at one time.  Hopefully, by then, he'll have AutoBar and/or Tbags and, more importantly, a better resolution so I might take 'pet roll' more accurately.  ;p

Those Baby Crocs are gonna get HUGE

If Old Man Barlo doesn't send me to fish them up more often!

In the three weeks since patch 2.4 has gone live, our server has only offered the Crocolisks in the City quest twice!

Now, I don't know anything about Crocolisks life cycles or how long it takes for a baby croc to mature, but I can't help but feel that Old Man Barlo is playing some sort of evil experiment here. I realize that Orgrimmar doesn't have a plethera of children running and playing about, but Stormwind does! And, although I tend to dislike the Alliance as that's what Hordies are supposed to do, I'm certainly not into the painful death that the jaws and teeth of a mature crocolisk can do to children!

So, lets cry out to save the children! Yes! That's it! This is all about saving the children and has nothing to do with me wanting a new pet! Give us the Crocolisks in the City quest more often!

/salute Baklor

Several months ago, our GM, Baklor, announced that his wife was pregnant with their second child. Along with this announcement, he informed us that, in 5 months, he would be stepping down as GM. Well, that 5 months ended a while ago. Although he is still playing when he can, he is no longer running the guild or actively raiding. This post is my Salute to him and to show appreciation for all that he has done for Rogue Angels and for me.

Meeting Baklor

My husband and I met Baklor in early 2000 in Asheron's Call. At one time, he was even my Vassal for a while, Asheron's Call (AC) is based on a Feudal system, and rather than referring to my Vassals as vassals or subjects, I called them my babies and took a 'motherly' role in taking care of them.

So, Baklor was one of my babies and he was always extremely independent, quiet, always ready to help others, and hardly ever asked for anything...in fact, I'd have to beg him to tell me if he needed gear or items. Really, the only thing Baklor ever asked for was help with corpse recoveries. In AC, when you died, you lost your highest valued items, which could include gear; 1 item per 10 levels...and you could level all the way up to 126! (It's higher now.) Typically, we'd carry around 'death items' which were items we didn't use that cost more than your important gear and weapons. However, if you died while trying to loot your corpse, you would start losing important pieces that would prevent you from successfully retrieving your stuff.

My husband was the Monarch (GM) of our AC guild and whenever our guildies needed help with corpse recoveries, we were the ones they called. Most often, about 95% of the time, when we were called for help with a corpse recovery, it was hardly needed at all. The person's corpse would be out of agro range or have one, maybe two, mobs within range and we had become to hate the 'corpse recovery' call. Except from Baklor...

Baklor had the amazing ability to die in the most challenging of places! Which is saying a lot because my husband and I were max level and had max gear and the game had become rather unchallenging for us. However, Baklor would manage to die in the most mob congested areas that it would boggle our minds of how he actually made it that far in before dying. We'd have to fight to get to his bodies, then fight to clear his bodies, then fight the respawns to keep it clear! And yes, I said bodies. Remember I said he was independent? Baklor would always try to recover his corpse...numerous times...and only call us in as a last resort. He never knew it, but my husband and I would be laughing at all the little Baklor bodies everywhere.

Baklor's Leading?!?!

When Rogue Angels decided to play WoW when it first came out, we actually played under a different guild tag, Uninspired, which I hated, and as Horde, which I hated as well (can you say UGLY?). I played WoW for about a year or so before quitting for several reasons; the two main ones were I hated playing on a PvP server and I hated my Druid. After about a year and a half break, I started playing again with a Night Elf Priest on a PvE server with my husband who had a Warlock and I was having fun again. However, as the expansion release drew nearer, my husband told me he wanted to play on his main (rogue) with the Rogue Angels guild again and he wanted me to come with him.

He assured me that it would be more fun than before; first off, when they switched servers they reformed under the tag Rogue Angels. Secondly, I could spec Feral and he and I could be all sneaky and avoid much of the PvP issues. And, thirdly, Baklor, one of my babies from AC, was the GM.

I have to admit, I had my reservations as I imagined him leading us into all kinds of trouble from which there would be no return just like he would run heedlessly into hordes of mobs in AC! However, I was soon proved wrong as, even though he was always eager to jump in over our heads, he was also an excellent leader in his organization, knowledge of classes, research into bosses and instances, and 'out of the box' thinking to make our raid composition work when most would say we were doomed.

The Tank Bond

When our guild began venturing into Karazhan, Baklor was our main tank and I was the off tank...well, actually, I was pretty much the only other tank in the guild. But, Baklor had confidence enough for the both of us and I tagged along beside/behind him learning the way of raid tanking. (I had never raided before!) Some would say that learning from Baklor should have doomed my tanking career, but he was an excellent and patient teacher.

So, it was Baklor and me holding back the forces of evil and protecting the rest of the raid! We functioned well together and had a trust in each other's knowledge and ability. We also had confidence in each other when things went awry and because of this assuredness in each other our raid overcame many potential wipes. People often joke around about how dumb tanks are and that they only have half a brain...well, if this is true, then it seemed that he and I shared the same brain. ;p Baklor will always be my favorite tanking partner and these beginning moments of exploring and first kills in Karazhan are, so far, my fondest memories of my second WoW experience.

Leadership Qualities

Leading anything is the hardest job. No matter how good of a leader you are there will always be people who think you suck. I know Baklor had to contend with a few people that thought he lacked in leadership qualities, however, they couldn't have been more wrong.

Baklor was an enthusiastic leader. He was always excited about new or harder content and pushing to get us to get there. If we needed recruiting or guild funds/items, etc., he was the first to jump out there and get it done. He did a fantastic job of leading by example as he never sat back to wait for others to do what needed to be done. Even though this type of leader can tend to try to 'do it all' himself, Baklor also possessed the skill of delegation which is a rare combination. He didn't hesitate to assign Class Officers, etc. and ensure that they were doing their duties.

Baklor was extremely patient. No matter what happened or how bad things got, he was alway calm, cool, and collected. Now, he would have times where he'd be very quiet on vent when things went badly and I'm sure he was probably cussing and banging on the keyboard. However, when he came back on vent, he exuded calmness and assuredness. He also had a very soothing, matter of fact voice and he could disagree with your or lay down the law in the nicest, yet firmest way I have ever heard! Not to mention he endured my endless tanking questions and would always have pets out because he knew I liked that. :D

Baklor was also a strong leader. Once he made a decision, he stuck by it...which can be extremely difficult when leading friends you know in real life and friends you've played games with for many years. He also had the rare ability to pull back and look at 'the bigger picture' in relation with the Guild's goals. Our guild's goals were to see end game content and he steadfastly moved and made decisions in that direction, even when it meant not capitulating to individuals desires. Some people may feel that this is harsh. However, it's just good management for growth. Once you get caught up in the cycle of trying to please each and every single person (everyone wants something different!), things quickly fall apart. Guilds (businesses, families, etc.) have to have a common goal and everyone has to work towards achieving it...Baklor never lost sight of this.

Zero Tolerance

My favorite leadership quality that Baklor had was his zero tolerance for drama! This impressed me so much I'm putting it under it's own heading!

All too often you hear about guild drama and the extremes with which it possesses...so much so that it can totally boggle the mind. We were lucky to have had a leader that did not put up with drama of any kind. Period.

He was extremely quick to deal with issues that had the potential for drama and to make unbiased decisions by choosing in favor of what was best for the guild as a whole rather than what was best for him or anyone else. Typically, reasonable people will see that a leader is making decisions based on the whole rather than on the individual and understand. However, those who are prone to drama do not...this is usually where they would reveal themselves and if they proceeded with the typical drama tactics to force 'their way', they were promptly /gkicked. There was no ifs/ands/or buts to it. No repeatedly trying to fix it/them. No repeatedly talking to them, etc....because we all know people who love drama will constantly create it and keep it going no matter what you do or say. It is their life blood.

One of the comments I've heard most from people that have joined our guild is how nice it is to be in a guild with no drama! What they don't realize is that it doesn't come naturally. You have to have leaders that can recognized drama and who aren't afraid to stop it or remove those people that are chronic 'dramatist' from the guild. (Yes, I am planning a future post on drama, how to recognize it, and how to eradicate it.)

Baklor was the best I have ever seen at this invaluable skill. Honestly, I learned a lot from him in regards to this and have employed zero tolerance for drama philosophy in dealing with my own family. I love Baklor for his example of how to put a stop to drama. The year or so proceeding my return to WoW was an extremely catastrophic one for my family. We had several heart-wrenching and traumatic events happen and I had extreme amounts of drama coming at me from all directions and from all my loved ones. So much stuff that if I told you all of it you'd think I was making 80% of it up. Baklor gave me the one place in the whole world that was free of that. For that, he will always be my favorite GM and a Hero to me when I needed one the most!

Looking Forward

Even though we're losing one of the best GMs ever, it's for a good reason. He is taking time off to spend it with his wife and kids and to help with the newest addition. I know we'll still see him online, however he won't be leading us all to doom....errrr...glory. ;) In his place, he elected Gankszor, my husband, to lead us and Souldrain as the Assistant GM. So, he's left us in good and capable hands.

Tax Season is OVER!

For me, at least. Sadly, there are others that are still stuck with the heavy workload.

Even though I finish my various client's books by March 15, which is when corporate income taxes are due, I still had my own tax stuff to compile, nit pick, and take to my CPA to process. I am happy to say that we're getting money back!

With that heavy load off my back, I look forward to posting more frequently and having more quality posts as well. But, as we all know, quality is relative. So, we'll see. ;p

I do have 4 weeks left in classes for this semester, however I am not going to take classes this summer. I decided that I need to get some organizational measures in place so that next year, gathering my tax stuff, etc. will be more streamlined and expedient.

Annoyance Factor = 10

In my efforts to assist the Shattered Sun Offensive, I've been doing my daily quota of dailies. One such quest, Gaining the Advantage, has been a source of annoyance for me...not so much the quest itself (frankly, the drop rate could be higher), but the act of herbing in Flight Form.

Now, I'll be honest here...I'm not an active herbalist. I farm when it's convenient...as in, I'm out killing something and...oh lookie! There is an herb at my paws! I guess I'll pick it. I rarely ever fly around 'farming herbs' as I just don't have the attention span for such activities.

However, with Gaining the Advantage and the drop rate of the residue being so low, by the time we're done with our SSO daily quests, I still need 2-4 residue. So, here I am, standing in Shat, with a quest half way to mostly done, and with 1 precious pack spot being taken up with residue. Now I feel compelled to do the dreaded 'farming run' which leads to the point of my frustration.

I understand the reasoning for removing our ability to pick herbs while flying and it's not that which irritates me. What irritates me is that our animation is ALWAYS flying. Since I always appear to be flying, 90% of the time when I try to 'pick' my herb, I get the 'You can not pick herbs while flying' message. Then, I spend another 30 seconds making several micro adjustments and picking attempts trying to get my position just right so I can pick the damn flower!!

Yes, I know I could just change forms. However, that is not the point. The point is, Blizzard gave us the ability to pick in that form if we are on ground, yet neglected to give us an animation change so we would know we were on ground! In fact, there have been numerous times where my birdie feet were under ground and the game still considered me 'flying'!!! It's extremely frustrating!

We went from not being able to pick herbs in Flight Form, to being able to pick them from 5 yards above the herb...and mobs, to having to be 'on ground' to pick yet with no way to know if you're 'on ground'. Honestly, I think this is the worst of the 3 options!

Ok.
/rant off

Spring Cleaning - Say Hello to April Fools!

Yes, yesterday's post was a trick. I did not delete any of my pets. How could I? They are my babies!!!

Sadly, after making that post I felt horrible! I felt as though I'd betrayed each and every one of my little buddies. Yes, I know they are just pixels. But, in game, they are my pets...who follow me...everywhere...and bring me good luck...and help down bosses...and, and, and, I've become attached to the wee critters! And just even pretending that I had deleted them made me feel cruel and heartless! Not to mention it was a lie. O.O I hate lying! And not just out-right, bold-face lies, but even those little twists of the truth that people so often do to ever so slightly skew the truth while convincing themselves they are being 'honest' when in all reality they are not and only trying to make themselves look better when they've done something wrong.

So, needless to say, what I thought would be a fun April Fools joke did nothing but make me feel bad. LOL I know that's silly. It was just a joke. But, none-the-less, it went against the very essence of my soul! I believe, next year, I'll leave the jokes to others. ;)

Spring Cleaning - Say Hello to Pack Space!

With all the new daily quests and the various quest items that continually fill up my packs, I decided to do a wee bit of spring cleaning. As a Feral Druid and the need to carry around a full set of Bear, Kitty, and Healing gear, pack space is a rarity. Add into the mix all the raid consumables, herbs when gathering, fishing gear, etcetera and you get zero pack space.

So, I decided to clean house! Since I can't sell my gear, herbs, and consumables, I finally came to the conclusion that my non-combat pets have got to go! After taking each of them on a little walk through Terrokar Forest I said my good-byes and deleted them all...and said Hello! to about 40 new pack spots! Now I'll be able to pick up every piece of grey gear and all the fangs and claws that people leave behind on mobs!! That full stack of fangs sells for about 30 copper! And, as Gene Simmons says, "Losing a copper is as bad as losing a million gold." Well, ok, maybe it was a penny instead of copper and dollars instead of gold, but you get the idea.

What D&D Character Am I?

After reading about Sean's D&D character, I decided to take the test myself. Frankly, I'm surprised I made it through the test as it's extremely long and I have a short attention span. ;) However, I did complete it and was please with my results!

I Am A: True Neutral Human Druid (5th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-13

Constitution-11

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-16

Charisma-12


Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Magisters' Terrace: First Experience; Regular and Heroic

Last night, after our raid didn't made due to people stuck downloading the patch and fixing add ons, a group of us decided to hit up Magisters' Terrace!!

Our group consisted of:

Prot Paladin - Tank
Feral Druid (me!) - Kitty DPS
Rogue - Shadowstep (aka lawlstep)
Warlock - Destruction/Demo
Holy Priest - Uber healz galore!

Magisters' Terrace - Regular

Upon entering MTr, we were greeted with the golds and reds of the Blood Elf decor. However, rather than being the super bright and sunny look of Silvermoon City, it was toned down a bit to give it that dungeon feel. I actually preferred the toned down colors. What? You didn't come here to read my opinions of their decor? Gah! Fine! Then I won't mention that if you're using any type of camera expanding view, a lot of that lovely decor (trees, banners, curtains) gets in your way and becomes extremely annoying! You can just go in there and find that out on your own!! ;p

As far as the instance went, we found it extremely easy...in fact, we were in and finished in under an hour. Even though there were quite a few 5 mob pulls, I don't even think I got a single finishing move off on trash. Most often, it was dead by the time I had 3-4 combo points. Granted, we all are pretty well geared, mid to late T5 range (except for my Kitty gear), so if you're still gearing up T4, you may find it a little more difficult with the prolific use of magic and multi-pulls.

The bosses on regular mode were a walk in the park too. The first boss, Selin Fireheart, was similar to Warlord Kalithresh in Steamvaults wherein he siphons mana from the surrounding crystals. In fact, this boss was so easy that we were able to down him without our holy priest as he got stuck, along with my kitten, outside the door. I did pop out and cast Tranquility, but that was the only healing I did during that fight. The second boss, Vexallus, spawned 'sparks' like the Curator in Karazhan. The third boss, Priestess Delrissa and her court of 4 others, was similar to Karathress in SSC, Hex-Lord Malacress in ZA, and/or Moroes in Karazhan. Actually, she and her entourage seemed pretty much just like another trash pull. The forth boss, Kael'thas Sunstrider, was easy as well and he does the same gravity lapse thing he does in TK.

Magisters' Terrace - Heroic

After turning in our quest and gaining access to Heroic mode, we charge back in for another run. After a few pulls, Silveria spoke up and said what the rest of us had been thinking, "Did I put this on heroic mode?" We all confirmed that he did and continued on.

At the first boss, our healer made it in the doors, however, my kitten did not. He must have been napping, which was OK as this boss didn't seem any more difficult on Heroic mode as he did on regular mode. Granted, we had heals this time, but the speed with which we dispatched him only took marginally longer than it had on non-heroic.

We then made our way to the second boss all the while mocking the 'Heroic Difficulty' of the instance as we cleared the trash. I did notice that, on occasion, was able to get in a finishing move on the trash, but quite often, it was dead at 4 combo points. The second boss was a little harder on Heroic and would spawn 2 sparks instead of one. I think we did have a death on this encounter, but he was still easily killed.

On our way to the third boss we continued to mock the instance and even laughed at ourselves when we had a couple of wipes on trash, 'obviously' (read sarcasm in there) we weren't paying attention or something or perhaps we were getting a little tired.

At the third boss, we clear the first trash pulls on both sides. Along with Priestess Delrissa, we had the Furry Warrior, Naga Warrior, the Mage, and the Engineer. We did a LoS pull on them into the hallway area as we'd done in non-heroic and promptly died. We discussed the problems, tweaked our strategy and pulled again and immediately died again. That's ok...discuss, tweak, pull, die. Hmmm....discuss, tweak, pull die. OK. So. That's what we get for mocking the instance! At this point, we begin to take the instance seriously and decide to clear the entire room so we can add fears into our CC arsenal. We have our strategy all mapped out, we have our game faces on, we pull, and we die. We discussed, tweaked, pulled, and died a couple more times and at this point we're all pretty well broken.

Wait! We have a Warlock and live with the new patch he can summon directly into the instance! We decide to summon each other so that we could hearth and repair. This little tactic even works for the Warlock. He summoned himself before he hearthed, was able to repair, accept, and spawn back into the exact same location! Absolutely the best class change ever!

So, we're all repaired up, we have our serious game faces on, and we're ready to own this woman and her peeps! We discuss strategy again, get a plan of action, and jump in, and then die...rinse and repeat! Honestly, I don't know how many times we died on this boss. I will tell you that we did have to do the summon/hearth/repair/accept trick again and then still wiped another 2 times after that before we were finally successful.

How we managed to succeed was to have our Prot Pally tank Priestess Delrissa. Our Rogue sapped the Mage and threw blinds on her whenever possible. I tanked the Naga Warrior. Our Warlock banished the Engineer and feared the Fury Warrior. Once the Naga Warrior was down, I then picked up the Fury Warrior and tanked him. While I was tanking the warriors in turn, our rogue helped to DPS them and interrupted the Priestess' heals. However, while on the Fury Warrior, the Priestess and the rogue got too far away. So, I finished the Fury Warrior and he killed the Priestess. After that, we directed our energies to the Mage and then the Engineer.

I skipped over all the unsuccessful strategies we tried because we tried so many there was no way I'd remember what and when we used them. Just suffice it to say that we tried variations using all our CC abilities available including Cyclone and our Priests fear...we just mixed and matched until we found what worked above. The only thing I didn't try and I wish now that I had was Entangling Roots. I'm not sure if that area was considered 'outside' or not, but it was grassy and there was a hole in the roof. If anyone tries this, let me know if it works!

After the trials of the third boss, we went to the forth one expecting to struggle there as well. However, even though we wiped on the first attempt, we did down him fairly easily on the second try.

Magisters' Terrace - Summary

My main impressions from this instance is the abundance of multi mob pulls which averaged around 5 mobs. Along with the multiple targets to juggle most of them were spell casters requiring a lot of LoS pulls. Honestly, I was glad I was not tanking. Our Paladin, Silveria, tanked and even with his amazing AoE tanking abilities, it still looked like a pain in the arse.

If I were tanking this instance, being a Feral Druid, I could see using a lot of Hurricane pulls to generate initial threat on them all. I also might even consider a Flask of Chromatic Wonder to help mitigate some of the spell damage. However, I'd need to experiment to see how well that would work (it's only 35 resistance) and depending on the strength of the healer, it may or may not be needed.

All in all, it was a fun instance. However, I'm sure that was biased by the fact that we ran it with such good people...not just skill wise, but just plain good folks. One of the reason's I love my guild so much is that everyone in the guild are good people. Take our experience on the third boss, for example....we wiped over 20 times on that one boss and through all that no one yelled, got mad, complained about repair costs, got bossy, dictated, demanded, no egos or e-peens, etc. None of that happened. We viewed it as a challenge to be overcome and worked together to succeed.

What are you most looking forward to in the patch?

As I've been taking care of stuff around the house today and getting excited about the new patch, I've found that the things I'm most excited about are...

Yep, you guessed it...the new pets! I can't wait to start my fishing dailies to get a baby crocolisk. I'm really hoping I get Chuck as I think he's the cutest with those sad, dark green eyes.

I'm also anxious to start farming the new 5 man to acquire my Phoenix Hatchling. To me, this pet will, by far, be the prettiest of them all and probably my fav...well, except for the Panda Bear, he will always be my fav!

So, what are you most excited about? The new instances? Zone? Class change? Badge gear? Tell me!

Rawr goes Pew Pew!

It's no longer strictly Feral now as it's branched into the Pew Pew build and classes!

Rawr has come out with a new version (12.1) which includes models for Moonkin, Warlocks, and Mages!! They are still working out some calulation tweeks, etc. but, it should still contain enough to play around with.

I am not prepared...

With just coming out of my busy season with work...I am so unprepared for Patch 2.4. However, Karthis over at Of Teeth and Claws is prepared and he's created a Cheat Sheet for us busy bears!

He covers not only the badge rewards on his cheat sheet, but also the drops from the new 5 and 25 man instances, and the Sunmote trade-ins as well!

How do you throw away a trash can?

After reading BBB's breakfast topic on watches, I thought I'd toss this one out into the mix.

How do you throw away a trash can? I'm not talking about one of those decorative ones you have in the bathroom that match the kleenix box, soap dispenser, etc., nor am I talking about the small one under your desk. What I'm talking about are the mondo ones that range anywhere from 30 to 90+ gallons that you keep in the garage to hold the bagged trash from the smaller trash cans in the house until trash day.

A few years ago, I bought a really nice 96 gallon trash can, with wheels and a hinged lid, to contain our bagged trash. A couple of summers ago...a really hot, Texas summer...one of the bags leaked. It was probably after one of those 'OMG, I have to clean out the refridgerator!' moments and it leaked all kinds of icky old veggie slim into our huge trashcan. Then, after the trash people dumped it into the stinky trash truck, they closed the lid (why is it they only time they leave the lid open is when it's raining?) and there is sat, in 100+ degree weather, with all kinds of stinky grossness baking into the plastic...and worse yet...growing critters.

So, I get home and walk to the curb to drag the trash can back to the garage. I had bought the huge trash can with wheels specifically so I could easily take the trash out after a period when the guys of the house kept 'forgetting' to take it out. As I approached the trash can I could smell that things were not good and in my female ignorance, I opened the lid!!! To say I freaked, ran in the house screaming, dipped my hands in boiling water, and burned my clothes would be an understatement!

After thoroughly washing my hands...three times...in scalding water, I called my husband and told him what was going on and that I was going to go buy a new trash can and didn't want that other, disgusting one, any where near our house...not even in the garage. To which he responded with a question...

"How do you throw away a trash can?"

Do you set it out at the curb with the trash? If it's empty, will they take it? It's not like you can bag it as they don't make 100+ gallon bags. How, exactly, do you get rid of it?

We eventually decided to leave the trash can at the curb, with the lid open, for a few days for the critters to either turn to flies or roast in the hot sun. Then, we had one of the boys hose it down outside and wash it. However, I still, to this day, will not touch that trash can.

We have another!

Taldon, another one of my guildes has started a blog as well. Please poke your head in there and say hello. :)

Also, since I now have 4 guildies blogging, I removed the Ferocious Bite point board and replaced it with Rogue Angels blog links. My deepest apologies to those to had points (they are recorded in case I have to recreate it) and loved seeing them displayed, but as my guildies had begun resorting to pet bribery in exchange for points, it became totally unfair for you all. Plus, as I'm extremely loyal to my guild, I decided that advertising their blogs was more important. :D

It Continues to Spread...

Lung, another of our Guild's Protection warriors has gotten the blogging bug! Go pop over to Prot Deeps and say hello!!

Rogue Angels Progression

Since it's been a while since I posted, I thought I'd start back with letting you know about our boss kill progression...in other words, bragging.  ;p

Our guild is still progressing along.  Between Dec. 16, 2007 and Feb 24, 2008, the following bosses have fallen to RA: Hydross, Lurker, Mag, Leo, Jan'alai, Void Reaver, Karathress, Doomwalker, Tidewalker, Hex Lord Malacrass, Zul-jin, Al'ar, and Solarian. Thirteen bosses in a little over two months is amazing...and we even had a week and a half break for the holidays too.

We have all but Al'ar and Solarian on farm status now.  We've downed them each a few times but not without a few wipes.  Those two are a little behind the curve as our Tempest Keep night tends to be scheduled on a night that is difficult for quite a few of our regular raiders to attend.  Unfortunately, quite often, the raid that night doesn't make or we end up bringing in borderline geared or unseasoned raiders which makes for an iffy night.

We've started work on Vashj and have gotten half way through Phase 2.  However, with at least 1 or 2 deaths in phase one, we still have quite a bit of work to go. 

Hopefully, once I get my new computer and Spring Break is over with and our raid attendance gets back to normal, we can get Al'ar and Solarian on farm and start seriously working on Vashj and Kael.

It's an Epidemic!

We have yet another guildie to join the Blogosphere! Please welcome Maulmorr at his blog called Angry Meatshield. He's one of our top warriors in the guild with an extensive knowledge base of fights, gear, technique, etc. I can't wait for him to start sharing all that with us!

Guildie Blog!

I just discovered that one of my guildies, Souldrain, started a blog. He doesn't have anything other than 'New Blog' posted yet, but please stop by, leave a comment, and encourage him to post! I'm sure all of you will love his prolific use of the comma. ;)

/cast [target=Mooire] Rebirth

Although I wasn't really dead, I have been experiencing much work agro.  However, since corporate taxes are due by March 15th and my last client was completed on Thursday, I'm happy to say, "I'm done!"  Well, except for my own, personal taxes.  But, other than putting together my mileage log, that should be quite easy.

I'm sorry that as work increase I had to drop the ball here.  I did miss blogging and had quite a few things come up that I could have blogged about; I just didn't have the time.  And now, I'm terribly behind on all the 2.4 stuff, totally missed the ball on the Lifebloom protest, haven't been active on Blog Azeroth, etc!

The only things I have managed to keep up with these last few weeks is work, raiding, and napping!  Well, raiding until last week when my computer decided to start blue screening every 10 minutes.  My husband ordered me a new one, though, so I should be up and raiding again in a few days.

Well, this was just a wee post to let you all know I'm still here.  I do, however, need to sit and drink...eat a mana biscuit or two...before I'm ready to be back here in full force again.

 

Mini buffs please!!!!

Rawr Goes Kitty!

We're all familiar with Rawr, the program that lets you compare tanking gear based on mitigation and survival points, and how useful it is in determining your optimal gear, gem, and enchant composition. Well, they've just gone Kitty! In version 11b of Rawr, you now have the option of comparing DPS gear and how it effects your stats in Cat form.

The stats and calculations used for the Cat model within Rawr are based on Toskk's Feral DPS Gear Methodology. I won't summarize the info here as I haven't yet absorbed all the information and, frankly, I wonder if I ever will! However, it's linked and if you wanna know the math, you can go read it there.

Version 11b has been updated with 2.4 PTR data as of 2/15. So, we have the ability to explore the new gear items and plan our badge stockpiles!

Go check it out! I'm gonna go log in, change gear and download my current set up for analysis!

10 Reasons to Love Kitty

As we've progressed into 25 man raiding, it seems that I'm stuck in the kitty role more often...oh, wait, we're loving kitty here, let me start over...

As we've progressed into 25 man raiding, it seems that my DPS abilities outweigh my tanking role in favor of the Prot Warrior because they can't DPS. Hmmm...I guess that's not exactly positive either.

** 25 Ferocious Bite Points for whoever can define the paradoxical nature of this picture.

As we've progressed into 25 man raiding, it seems that my DPS abilities outweigh my tanking role in favor of the Prot Warrior. Since Druids are a hybrid class, we're able to do several things well; such as tanking and threat generation as well as melee DPS, whereas Protection Warriors can only tank well. Therefore, on encounters where few tanks are needed, I'm relegated to DPS. So, instead of QQing about it, I'm trying to find reasons to love it.

1. Lower repair costs - Since I'm hiding behind the mob rather than getting beat on, I take less durability damage. However, my manicure expense will go up as all that shredding is hard on the nails. (Think my hubby will buy that?)
2. Less time spent writing - Since cat DPS is basically Mangle, Shred until you have 5 points, then Rip...rinse and repeat, I can write one 'form' post for boss encounters and then just find and replace the name of the boss. Recycling is good. We'll call them 'Green Posts'.
3. No watching 'the meters' - Since I'm a hybrid class and my priority goes to Bear gear, I'm not expected to be at the top of the DPS meters. I can now zone, eat my dinner, or type in various chat channels while raiding! No one questions a Druid's lack of DPS...if it was lacking, I'd be tanking like the Prot Warriors! And...if anyone does question it, I have a plethora of excuses; I was in my bear gear as I was tanking [insert mob here] before the boss, I had to pop out to cast Rebirth/Innervate/heals, etc.
4. ROFLCAT pictures - I can use the funny cat pictures in my blog posts. (see above)
5. Blog name is appropriate - My blog name would make more sense...cat ability for a bear blog? What was I thinking?
6. I get more heals than the other DPSers - Due to my Rebirth and Innervate, I'm a more valuable class in the raid than other DPS classes and therefore get more heals and/or healed first. This helps to make up any deficiencies resulting from #3.
7. Lag behind to 'herb' mobs - Since I'm not pulling, I can lag behind to herb mobs; such as the Underbog Collosus in SSC.
8. Fine feline fanny - I'll have a more actractive view as well as more of a view period...no more big bear butt filling up my screen, unless I'm reading the blog.
9. No worries about loose mobs - Unlike other DPS classes, loose mobs are not a concern. I can just switch to bear and continue on...then giggle when the warriors tries and is unable to take the mob back. l2dps, nub! ;p
10. No watching the threat meters - If I pull aggro, I can just switch to bear form, then giggle as stated under #9.

Disclaimer: This post is intended for humor only. It is not a guide by which to be followed nor is it followed by the author...well, except for the giggling part when a prot warrior tries to re-establish threat when I accidently (yes, accidently!) pull aggro.

View My Pet Collection!

I was poking Warcraft Pets and discovered that if you set up a log in, you can keep track of your pet collection!

You can view Mooire's pet collection here. I have pets on other characters, but chose to just keep up with only Mooire's as she's my main. I currently have 34 out of 76 pets that I can actually obtain. I have excluded the Murloc pets (not available on US servers), Lucky (Asian promo pet), Engineering BoP pets, the Alliance only quest pet, and the two collector's edition pets that Mooire doesn't have (had to pick 1 out of 3 options and the Panda won).

Out of the 42 remaining pets, I really only want 7 of them; Chuck, who will be in patch 2.4, Hyacinth Macaw, Peanut, Phoenix Hatchling (must have!!), Rocket Chicken, Smolderweb Hatchling, and Winter's Little Helper.

I really hope they put in the Pet Bag, because I need 2 of them!

Non-Writing Mood

I guess I've kinda been in a non-writing mood and I'm not sure why. I have a list of things I want to write about and I even sit with the intent to write about them, but I then think, "Meh, I don't wanna write." Oddly, I'm writing right now...just not about anything interesting, informative, or important. ;p So, what's up with that?

I don't know if it's the spin down of work and I need to be in a vegetative state for a while. Or, perhaps, I'm reading far too many WoW blogs and then find I don't have much time left for my own blog. Or, maybe, after the holidays and then busy work time of the year and throw in taking a class this semester and you get messy house and piled up laundry and then I feel guilty blogging when I should be cleaning. Or, it could be my allergy struggles with our Texas winds changing directions ever two days...it's hard to think and focus when your sinuses are screaming. Or, more likely, all of the above!

Even with all that, I do miss writing even though my desire has temporarily waned. I also feel guilty that I haven't been writing as much and that my entries since December have not been as good as those prior (IMO). I'm sure the tide will change, though, and soon you all will be thinking, "Gah, won't Mooire shush already?!?!"

Gonna go fold clothes and, at least, get one of those nagging things off my list!

Happy New Petzors!

After a couple of days of farming by Morela and Keirelle (I helped some too, but they were far more dedicated than I), all the girls in our guild have a new little friend...Peddlefeet. Even though he's a bit creepy looking...he grows on you and you just can't help but love him!

For all of you who are still trying to get this little fella, Keirelle discovered that the trainers have a higher chance of giving him than the guards...or, at least, that was the case with all the ones they got. Two came from the Skinning Trainer in Undercity and the others came from various trainers in Orgrimmar. So, if you still want this Goblin Cupid, talk to the more obscure NPCs with hearts rather than the dime a dozen guards.

For all their work and ceaseless dedication to continue farming until we all had our new pets, Morela and Keirelle will be getting 100 FB points each. :D This also fits nicely with my evil plan to get Souldrain to farm me a Disgusting Oozeling as he hates to lose and having two people (one of which is his lovely wife!) with more points than him should do it. ;p

BTW, Morela coined the phrase 'Happy New Petzor!' and I'm using it before she has time to get it copywrited!

Along with our new pet, we also ended up with a ton of the Silver Shafted Arrows which I have come to love as it allows us to give anyone we want a pet whether they want it or not! Best quote of the night...

Baklor says, "Why do I have a fairy floating around my ass?"

Well, actually, I think all the guys thought the best quote of the night was really...

Baklor says, "Panzerr will pull the thong off of Nae"

Thong is what we call the green triangle and Nae is me...my Asheron's Call name that still follows me...thankfully, cause I like it better than Mooire. Baklor was giving tanking instruction and, well, it just came out wrong. O.o

Has it really...

Been almost a week since I last posted? O.O Where did the time go? Was I abducted by aliens?

Well...what has happened this last week?

New Bosses

We downed Hex-Lord Malacrass as well as Zul'jin in ZA. However, I wasn't present for the Zul'jin downing...so, does it really count? ;p

Gear

I finally got the last of my badge loot for my kitty set. I no longer 'need' to farm badges for gear! Yippy!! I do, however, have to sit down and take a look at all my kitty gear and find the best mix-and-match combination for DPS with using two of the T4 pieces I have for the 2 set bonus. Once I decide, I'll post it here.

Ferocious Bite Points

I'm sure that those of you who watch the FBP board have noticed that Souldrain has taken a commanding lead. After his unsuccessful attempts to extort points by kidnapping my Spell Checker, he finally got smart and bought them with an Emerald Whelpling. I'll have to put up more quotes for you all to earn points with and over take him because I still want a Disgusting Oozeling and Souldrain doesn't like to lose. ;)

Blog Stuff

I have a lot of stuff I want to do to 're-vamp' my blog, but it will have to wait a while. I also have several posts I've been either working on or not working on or somewhere in between that I need to finish up. It's just been busy. And my spell checker still doesn't work. /sigh

Real Life

Work is starting to settle down now. However, I still have more to do to close out the end of the year and do tax prep for a few more clients.


That's about it, nothing too terribly exciting...and now I have to run off to work. Have a good day everyone!

How do you 'Reader'?

I think most of us use some sort of reader to alert us to updated blogs. I, personally, use Google Reader. I didn't research readers. One of the bloggers I read mentioned Google reader and being the lazy person I am, I just went out and got it without putting any effort into research.

Anyway, I use my reader as my 'morning paper'. After I wake up, I make myself some tea...most often Chai Tea, but I also mix it up with Green Tea, Earl Grey, Lucky Irish, Oolong, etc...then I sit down and read the various posts that have been made as I slowly wake up.

I'm not a morning person. So, having this quiet time to drink my tea and read posts helps me to wake up without all the grumpiness that we noctural beings can get when forced to live in a morning person's world.

Most often, though, I do save some posts to read later in the day after I've returned from work. These post are typically the ones that have math and theorycrafting in them. I'd like to read them in the morning...I really would...but, my brain just does not funtion that early, so I'll skip them and save them for later when I can actually understand what the author is writing.

So, do you have a routine of when you read?

I Kan Speel!!!

Fur sum reesun my speel chekerz no werks.

I don't know why, but for the last couple of days, when I click on my spell check icon it does nothing. This makes me very sad as I am horrible at spelling! Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know how to fix it? I've even re-booted and it still doesn't work. :'(

Successful Rebirthing for All

One of the most critical moments for a Druid of any spec is the moment we're asked to combat rez (Rebirth) someone...which can lead to one of the most frustrating and heart-wrenching moments for a Druid, when the newly rebirthed person dies soon after. It's enough to make a Druid cry big cow tears...even the Night Elf ones. Successful Rebirths are a synergistic process; both the rebirther and the rebirthee must work together to ensure the rez is quick and successful.

Typically, when a Rebirth is requested by the Raid Leader, it is because the person who died is integral to the success of the encounter; such as a healer, off-tank, or one of the top DPSers. It's important that the Rebirth happens quickly, efficiently, and successfully so that the deceased person and the Druid can both get back to their assigned tasks.

Location, location, location...

All too often I'm asked to rez someone and I end up running all over the room just looking for them. Sadly, I seemed to have missed the real life talent 'Improved Directionality' as I always run in the opposite direction from where they are located. This is bad as it means I'm not adding to DPS or available to tank or heal during the time I'm running around like a chicken with no head. This problem has only gotten worse as we've progressed into 25 man content as the 'boss rooms' are larger and have more line of site issues than the ones in 5 mans, Karazhan, or Zul' Aman.

The first step to a successful Rebirth, then, is letting the Druid know where you lie dead. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to rez someone during The Lurker Below encounter and when I ask them where they are, the response is "Way in the back."

Ok...way in the back where? There is about 360 degrees of 'way in the back' and if I run 'way in the back' in one direction and you're 'way in the back' in the other direction then it's even further for me to run 'way in the back' in the opposite direction to get to you 'way in the back.' /sigh and end rant.

This can easily be solved by pinging the map. It's so simple. You just hover your mouse over your location on the map and click! No, seriously.

Ping. The. Map.

So, when the raid leader says, "Rez So-and-so." So-and-so should respond with, "Pinging location" along with a simple ping. This will ensure that the Druid heads straight for you and does not waste time running around trying to find you. It also gives more time for the Druid to position themselves out of AoE areas so the newly rebirthed person has less of a chance to die. This brings us to the second ping...errr...thing on location. As the Druid is casting their rez, they should...

Ping the map.

This will give the person who is being rebirthed an opportunity to maneuver their camera to get a visual on where they will spawn once they accept and, more importantly, what is going on in that area.

Along with pinging, when possible, the Druid should find as safe a location as possible to rez them into. If the Druid is off-tanking and performing the rez between hateful stricks, this isn't an option. If the Druid is the main healer on the main tank, they are limited to how far they can go to find a safe spot as they still have to keep their HoTs on the tank. But, when possible, try to find an area away from the boss or mobs and out of range of AoE or damage effects.

Assessing Before Accepting

Accepting your Rebirth is the most critical part. Even though Rebirth rezzes a person with more health and mana than any of the other resurrection spells, it's still a nominal amount. On the highest ranked Rebirth, it's only 3200 health and 3200 mana. If you accept and spawn into a Cave-In in Gruul's Lair, you will die. If you accept right as Lurker's Spout is happening, you will die. If you accept right before a sacrifice is due on Illhoof, you run the risk of a fast death if you are chosen. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Too often, the rebirthee is anxious to get back in and DPS, heal, or whatever and they quickly click that accept button with no idea of where or what or when they will spawn. Before you accept your rez, assess the situation in the area where the Druid was standing when they cast their spell.

Sadly, I still hear, "Don't accept, you're in [insert damage effect here]." When the danger is on the person's corpse and the area I have rezzed them to is safe. Just in case you have forgotten...

When a person is rezzed, they pop up at the rezzer's location.

Which is why it's important for the Druid to ping their location while they are casting the rez...it's a 2 second cast...you have time for a quick ping.

So, before hitting that accept button:

1. Check out the area where the Druid is standing to see if any damage effects are in play.
2. Check out the area to see if any mobs who might cleave you, etc. are nearby.
3. Check out Boss Mob timers for any upcoming events that would kill you with low health.

If the area is clear and no events you should avoid are about to happen then accept, otherwise, wait until it is safe.

The Newly Rebirthed

As soon as you've accepted your Rebirth is when you are the most vulnerable. You spawn with 3200 health and mana, no buffs, and in a completely different location. However, if you have assessed the area prior to accepting, you've overcome one of the hurdles to survival.

Ideally, the Druid who rezzed you should, at least, toss a few HoTs your way as well as a baby MotW. However, the other healing classes should be aware of who is being rezzed and who is rezzing them. If the rezzer is a Resto Druid on 'raid healing' duty, then they should be able to restore the newly rebirthed member to full health. However, if the rezzor was a Feral Druid squeezing the task in between hateful strikes, then a quick heal from one of the healers is necessary. Also, buffing classes should be ready to toss some baby buffs on the newly rebirthed.

If, by chance, you don’t get enough heals, bandage. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure you are in the best possible shape before entering back into combat.

Tag-Team Rebirthing

If more than one Druid is in the raid and multiple people have died, including one of the Druids, then they will do what I call ‘tag-team’ rezzing. The remaining Druid will rez the deceased Druid and then the newly rebirthed Druid will rez another member.

This ‘tag-team’ rezzing works very well. However, the initial Druid as well as the other healers will need to help bring both the newly rebirthed people up to full health. Rebirth consumes 68% of the Druid’s base mana. Since the rebirth Druid spawns with only 3200 mana, it’s likely, especially if they are feral, that they will not have enough mana to HoT and baby buff themselves and the person they rez. In fact, I can say definitely that it can not be done!

We did a ‘tag-team’ rez in the Lurker encounter the other day and I slapped a Rejuv on myself and the person I rezzed as well as baby MotWs and did not have enough mana to go back into form. Oops. Thank Elune for Omen of Clarity!

Multiple Druids

If there is more than one Druid in the raid and a rez is requested, one of the Druids should speak up and say, "Mooire is rezzing So-and-so!" This helps to ensure that two Druids aren't running around looking for the person and trying to rez them. The goal of a combat rez it to get people back into combat. If multiple Druids are attempting the same rez, then that's at least 5 seconds that 3 or more people are out of combat. A simple announcement can alliviate that.

In Summary

1. Both the rebirther and the rebirthee should ping the map with their locations.
2. The Rebirthee should assess the situation of the raid and spawn location prior to accepting.
3. After accepting, it's a raid team effort to get the person back into raid viability. However, the rebirthee should bandage if they aren't healed.
4. Tag-team rezzes need extra healing help.
5. Druid should announce if they are taking the rez task when more than one Druid is in the raid.

If all these steps are followed, then you and the person you're rezzing should survive the process of Rebirth enabling you to rejoin the raid and contribute to it's success.

Doomwalker meets his Doom

After we left SSC Wednesday, we headed out to SMV to have another go at Doomwalker. This time, we were prepared and unrushed as the servers were not about to be shut down.

Baklor was back online and he served as our main tank. We also had pulled in several more people to add to those that were in the raid from SSC. So, we had 31 people, plus two Alliance Paladin's named Broon (Prot) and Korvecdal (Holy) from Dark Origin guild who saw us preparing and were nice enough to lend us a hand. (I'm pretty sure the second one was named Korvecdal. I only saw her at the start and it's sort of a difficult name to remember. So, if I got it wrong, my apologies!)

Honestly, I was surprised at how easy this boss was. We were undermanned and had very little trouble downing him. Oddly, the loot he dropped was the Talon of the Tempest X 2.

Anyway, it's nap time so I'm gonna keep this short. That it. Another job well done by the Rogue Angels! And, thanks again to Broon and Korvecdal!!! You two rock!!

Tidewalker meets Tide Breaker!

We've been solidly working through SSC and, after clearing Hydross, Lurker, Leo, and Karathress on Tuesday, we went in Wednesday to get acquainted with Tidewalker. Since we only had 6 healers, our plan was to acclimate ourselves to the fight and see how far we could go.

Thankfully, Karthis from Of Teeth and Claws had written a nice tanking strat which I read and posted on our guild forums. We followed this method of tanking and tank position (we did try one other but we all decided this one was better) for our attempts. I also followed his advise on trinket usage based on when and how many healers were sent to their watery graves.

However, having only 6 healers made it a challenge and we consistently died around the 35-45% range. As the night wore on and we continued to work on him, it finally came down to our last attempt before trash respawns and, due to our amazing healers, we make it past 35% and all the way to Tidewalker dead!!!

I'd like to thank Soontir, Ledde, Swiftlight, Pk, Aquenzi, and Hinek (who's really Maulmorr one of our MTs) for the fantastic job they did healing me and everyone else. They are the ones that earned this kill. :)

The only downside to the encounter was that Baklor, our GM (best GM evah!) and #1 MT, was not there. :( He had a family commitment and didn't get on in time.

After we took pictures and distributed loot (I don't remember what we got and I'm too lazy to go look it up) we decided to go take a look at Lady Vashj. As we stood their gazing at her Medusa like hair and her multiple arms reminiscent of Nataraja we decided to run up, and smack on her a bit. After a few people take off their armor, I charge in and start pawing at her. We successfully made it through phase 1 and into phase 2. We actually stay alive in phase 2 long enough to get an idea of how...well, chaotic it will be before we all succumbed to her minions.

After we ran back...we headed out to SMV for a bit of Doomwalker fun...story to come later!

Doom to the Doomwalker...almost...

Last night, as we all logged for our raid...only to discover that raiding was closed for the evening...so, we decided to give Doomwalker a try. After all, we already had 25 of us together, we only needed a few more people. So, we fly out to SMV while gathering up more guildies.

As we're hovering there watching Doomwalker walk back and forth and doing, what appears to be 'marking his territory' on two walls, we get the 'Server Shutdown in 15 minutes' message.

Well boogers...we only have 32 people so far and only 8 of them are healers and we don't know how long 'server shutdown' will take! Well, nothing says, "Be heedless and reckless" like a server shutdown in 15 minutes. So, we decide to charge in!

I was actually very surprised that things went so smoothly for so long. I look over and we've only lost 1 person so far and Doomwalker is at 53%. Nice! We keep going and Doomwalker's health is getting lower and lower, but we're also starting to lose a few people (some to those nasty Alliance rather than Doomwalker). Then, when he gets down to about 15%, I look over and about half the raid is dead. Oh my! At around 10%, our tanks start going down. After we were all down, Aquenzi, our Resto Druid, took over and tanked for quite some time, but eventually she met her doom as well. Then the rogues took over with a wee bit of evasion tanking...and finally, it was Shadowcub (Rogue) and Soontir (Holy Priest) left and Doomwalker was at 2%. They managed to get him down to 1% and then he hung there for what seemed like an eternity before Shadowcub died. Then it was Soontir. And then it wasn't.

But, wow! Getting Doomwalker down to 1% on our guilds very first try while undermanned and short on healers! Rogue Angels = Bradysauce!

We all run back and rez...we have 4 minutes until server shutdown so we decide to log and come back for another go when they come back up.

*quite some time later*

Servers are back up! We log in all excited! But, no Doomwalker! I guess he got distracted with something else...TV probably...and didn't log back in...

We waited around for him for a little bit, then impatience got the better of us and we ran off to do our regularly scheduled raiding activities. But, I do look forward to downing him. I was surprised at how easily things went with the numbers (or lack thereof) of our raid.

No Mojo No Moar

Apparently, Blizzard felt the need to hot fix the Mojo 'getaround' yesterday. Sad...so very sad...what about all those poor, starving, Mojoless children in third world countries? Don't they care?

At least a few of my guildies were able to snag one before it was fixed. I hope all of you who wanted one were able to do the same. :)

Quicker and Easier Mojo!

Firstpanda left a comment on my Bear Snot post telling me about an alternative, and easier, way to acquire Mojo! Go to the little town outside of Zul' Aman and look for a troll named Prigmon. Blow Prigmon a kiss and you'll get your Mojo!

I just went in game with my baby priest (level 55...can I still call her a baby?) and trotted out there on my bird and found Prigmon. Even though kissing trolls is beneath a Blood Elf's standards, I did it anyway to ensure this avenue of obtaining Mojo still worked before letting you all know...the things I do for you...

Also, if you read the comments on Prigmon's WoWhead page linked above, someone states that they were reported for doing this 'hax'. I did not get reported when I did, nor did the World of Warcraft come crashing down upon my little head. Basically, I'm saying it seems safe, but do it at your own risk. ;p