Gronnd! Gronnd! Gronnd! Gronnd! So, after little more than a week of relatively casual play, Gronnd, my warrior, has a WoW-Heroes gearscore of 2443 and has tanked all of the heroics except for Heroic Halls of Reflection.

To further prove my point how easy it is to gear up these days:

There are still a few more pieces he can pick up with badges, as well as a back piece and shield from regular HoR. And of course he needs to snag one of the better weapons to replace the globe on a stick. He’s got 552 562 defense rating and has been buffed up to 40K in a heroic. The point of all of this? It’s not frakking hard to gear up a tank, even a warrior tank.

Once I get those last pieces I’ll see if I can get him into a few raids to see if my tanking is worth a damn. I also need to work on an arms DPS set. Right not it is pretty awful and I’d like to see what kind of DPS he can do.

Now, which one next: Shaman, priest or rogue?

Categories: alts, heroics
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Dong!…uh, I mean Ding!

So I’ve got yet another level 80 toon. This now puts it at five, though the DK doesn’t count since he’s technically only level 25. Still, after reading a post on WoW.com about the pains of leveling new characters, I kind of laughed. I mean honestly, it’s not that hard.

I started a rogue over the weekend and he’s at 24 already too. I’m not a hardcore player, even would put myself in the casual category. I have a full-time+ job, a girlfriend that doesn’t play WoW, and yet I still find it easy to muscle a character through the lower levels. Sure you hit some walls once in a while, but I find it a lot of fun learning the new mechanics of different classes.

I’d been tanking regular dungeons on my warrior, and recently graduated to the beginning heroics. Warrior tanking is so much more badass than paladin tanking. It feels more visceral and raw, no silly holy magic. We’ll have to wait and see if I like it when I’m struggling to hold mobs with thunderclap and just begging for a consecrate. Their whole style is just to beat things until they’re mad enough at you to want to kill you more than anything else in the room. Rawr!

Speaking of learning class mechanics, and to spread some personal epeen. I hit 80 on Sunday, ran some heroics as a DPS to get badges, made a shield and picked some assorted blue tank gear and started to tank stuff. Self-buffed HP just cresting 28K, and landed on Old Kingdom with random LFG. The healer was skeptical, but said he’d go ahead with it despite my low gear score. “Why thank you kindly sir, I do declare…”

About half way through, and I haven’t lost aggro once, didn’t die and we are moving right along. Healer (a disc priest) whispers: “Dude, you’re really good tank. A lot better than I thought you would be.”

/cast Puff chest

We continue, I tank everything fine. By the end of the run, after some discussion with party about gearscore and how my tanking was proof that it was bullshit, or at least a poor measure to judge someone, he’s asking if I’d be interested in server transferring. “Why sir, you at least have to buy me a drink first.”

Personally, I will admit I didn’t think Gronnd could tank much. But I did know that being defense capped was more important than raw HP, so I made sure I was at least over the 535 heroic cap. Tanked HoL and OK just fine, so I think I can just continue tanking without having to resort to DPS to collect badges. As long as I have a good healer it goes fine, but lately healers in heroics don’t want to actually have to try so they bounce if you don’t have 40K HP.

Hesston will take a backseat again as I continue experimenting with the tank, similar to my druid. It literally only took me a little more than two weeks of casual play to have him raid ready as a healer. I bet I can do the same as a tank.

Next up: Rogue, Shaman and then maybe the priest.

Categories: PvE, alts
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Though I love my hunter, like most WoW players I have a decent stable of alts that I dabble with when I don’t have anything to do on my hunter (or DPS queues are ridiculously long). At first I was terrified to do anything but stand back and pew pew, but after growing comfortable playing my paladin I tried a druid, which I’ve talked about already. I love the druid, and healing on both classes is a blast as well as tanking on the paladin.

Through playing each of my alts, in raids, leveling and heroics, I’ve learned quite a lot about being a pure DPS and a hunter in general. Playing other classes helped me be a better player at my class because I saw how others of that class succeeded/failed. So, below is a quick rundown of my character roster and what each of them has contributed to me being a better hunter DPS.

Hesston – Orc Hunter (formerly of the Alliance)

The main man, the man (Orc?) with the plan, the hunter with mostest. OK, that was lame. While not the first toon I rolled, Hesston was the first one I went through all of WoW with. He began his career in the service of the Alliance as a dwarf, having only recently joined the Horde.

All of my biggest successes and failures have been with Hesston. Never in my wildest imagination when I was bumbling through Outland did I think I would be raiding at the level I am able to now. I was terrified of grouping, afraid that I would fail horribly and end up the latest version of Leeroy Jenkins. I remember somehow falling into a PuG of Gruul’s Lair, being decked out in only questing blues and store-bought greens. Yes, I was THAT hunter. My pet accidentally pulled the first bosses, forcing me to furiously type apologies while the group miraculously pulled through. On Gruul, I died about 45 seconds in; I had no clue what was happening. We tried Mags after, someone said something about cubes, and then I was dead again.

Clearly, I got better. But not without a fair amount of research, coaching from friendly players and the desire to never be THAT hunter ever again. It took more failures, but I think I’m there.

Minalias – Blood Elf Paladin

My paladin was in fact the first character I rolled. He too began his life as Alliance, and I leveled through Azuremyst Isle with the intention of smiting mighty foes one day. That lasted for about 20 levels and, after some frustration with the final quest in the zone, I tried something else.

Fast forward months later: WotLK is out, I’ve leveled to 80 and begun raiding on Hesston. I understand the game way better at this point and decided to go back check on my lowly paladin. I came to realize what was causing so much frustration was that my spec was all screwed (points distributed across all trees), gear was all wrong and I wasn’t using all of the abilities in my spellbook. I fixed all that, blew through the quest that had frustrated me so long ago, and began the journey to 80.

Fast forward again: I dinged 80, snagged some Northrend gear, and I begin learning to paladin heal and paladin tank. This is when I first learn how much bad hunters can screw up a dungeon. I encounter hunters that constantly pull aggro, don’t use their pets, leave taunt ON their pets when they do use them, and then complain that their pet dies.

“Dude, heal my pet. It makes up a lot of my DPS.” No, you’re pet is lowest on my healing priority. Sorry, learn to use Mend Pet pal.

Through my first forays into healing and keeping groups alive I learned that hunters (and elemental shamans) should, in theory take the least amount of damage. They stay out of range of the mobs in order to DPS yet wear mail armor. Mind you, I said in theory. By and large I learned that hunters seem to have the hardest time staying out of or moving away from fires, void zones, etc. I’m not sure if is the combination of trying to keep track of a pet, a shot rotation and possible procs or just straight DPS tunnel vision, but it’s very common. When I first noticed this I would scramble to keep them alive, thinking I was doing something wrong, and then the tank would die because he didn’t get heals.

Lesson learned: If the DPS (hunters) stand in places they shouldn’t, it is their fault for dying. Wow Rule #1 – Don’t stand in stuff unless told otherwise.

As far as what I learned from tanking on the paladin is that hunters looooove to pull aggro. Well, all ranged DPS seem to have a habit of this but hunters are especially good at it. People also seem to have a hard time targeting the tank’s target. I use a simple /focus, /tar focus /assist set of macros, bound to alt-F and alt-A respectively, to fix this while on ANY DPS class. I set the tank as my focus and bam, I can always switch to his target simply by pressing alt-A. It’s also helpful to have your raid frames show your focus target as well as your target’s target, so that you can get a quick overview of who is hitting who.

In regard to pulling aggro, again not limited to hunters but they do it a lot, is pulling aggro off the tank and then backpedaling as the mob runs toward them. Listen, if I’m tanking and you pull a mob off of me bring the bastard back. I’m not going to go and chase him, and you, down unless I am at fault. Besides, if you’re a hunter and you pull a mob and I don’t see you feign death or trap the mob, I am definitely letting you die.

Through playing my paladin I learned even more how I should manage my abilities as a hunter as well as respecting my tanks a lot more. Try tanking/healing some time, it’ll do you good.

Krakattoa – Tauren Druid

I had wanted to play a druid for a long time, ever since I learned that they can fill two different DPS roles, heal and tank. However, I hated Night Elves and couldn’t bear running around as one. One day I finally caved however, and leveled a Night Elf druid to about the 30s. Sick of the flipping and the floppy ears, and wanting to see the Horde side of the world, I Faction transferred him into a cow. Best decision ever.

Blasted up to level 80 as a kitty, tried kitty DPS in heroics (John-fucking-Madden!) and then decided to give druid healing a try once I’d collected enough gear for it. To put it mildly, I was blown away at how fun druid healing was. I said it before, but if someone had told me this a long time ago, I’d have had a druid far earlier. Seriously, healing on a druid is like DPS’ing on a hunter. Well, sorta; lemme explain.

As a hunter, I like to be mobile. Being able to run around, fire off my shots, move-pause-Auto Shot-move, move, move; that’s my kind of play. The druid heals similarly in that I can fire off my HoTs, shift to a new location, throw out more HoTs and deal with any other quick heals needed, and then move some more. I like fights with movement so being a class that can still do their job while being mobile makes me enjoy playing more. Though it was fun to put up big numbers, fights like Patchwerk always bored me to death. I’ll take a Grobulus, Gluth, Mimiron or Twin Val’kyrs any day over stand still and keep firing fight.

Oddly enough, my druid now has a higher gear score than Hesston. It’s amazing the things you can get into as a healer and how much easier it is to random LFG. Even more so if you are a good healer. Will probably turn this fella into a troll druid come Cataclysm, but maybe not.

Laramie – Blood Elf Death

Ah, the Death Knight. Everyone’s got a DK stashed away somewhere. Mine was made right near launch of WotLK, finished the starting area and then sat in Outland for a really long time. I used him to level Jewelcrafting and Inscription, but then realized I needed to get him at least to Northrend to get them past a certain level.

I began the long slog through Outland, discovered how amazingly easy it is to kill things on a DK, and then got him to 80 a few weeks later. The biggest thing I learned playing a DK is that people will hate on you even more than they will on your hunter. Everyone assumes you don’t know how to play (if you aren’t all decked out in full raid gear) or that you are 12 years old and using a sibling’s account. Seriously. Other than that, my DK usually just sits in Dalaran, does the JC daily and makes vellums for my enchanter.

Gronnd – L34 (as of now) Warrior

My latest project is my warrior, who is leveling amazingly fast. At the start of the holiday weekend, he was level 14. I just dinged 34 today in the Scarlet Monastery Library. Random LFG while questing is ridiculous. I eventually want to warrior tank, which I’ve heard is complicated but a lot of fun.

Already I am amazed at how many reactionary abilities the warrior has. Most hunter abilities are proactive, warriors on the other hand are reactive–and I like it a lot. Overpower, Revenge, Shield Bash, Execute; all rely on something happening in the encounter, which make me pay closer attention to what the mobs are doing. Now, since I am leveling this toon now it’s not really increasing my abilities as a hunter, but for those new on the block I’d suggest playing a warrior a bit to get a feel for how different of playstyle it is. It will make you appreciate how much more freedom we hunters have in controlling our DPS. Do eet!

Well there you have it, my entire stable of alts. One day I’ll add a shaman to the mix and perhaps a priest. I’d like to try healing on all of the healing classes just to get a full taste of how it all works and so I can understand how those classes work in raids a lot better. So hunter, if you want to understand your role better my advice is: Stop playing your hunter! Check out the other classes, understand how they work so you know how you can better compliment them in a heroic/raid situation.

Take care, good hunting.

Categories: alts, hunters
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So after not being part of a raiding guild, I finally, finally, finally got to do a full clear of 25-man TotC. I know, it’s content everyone else has been farming already and the new raid is out. But I still haven’t been all the way through, until now. A guild of that I know has skilled members was filling some spots in a guild run so I figured what the hell.

The group formed nice and smooth, everyone hopped in vent and away we went. Minus one wipe on Faction Champs, first four bosses went down without a hitch. The RL said that they didn’t plan on going after Anub’Arak unless the DPS was high enough on first four bosses. Interestingly enough, every piece of hunter loot that I could use dropped, it was amazing.

But oh, did I forget to mention? I was on my fracking druid healing!

That’s right, both trips to a full TotC clear have NOT been on my hunter. As you may recall, I main tanked a few weeks ago, something I did not think I was capable of right now. But yeah, this time I was druid healing. I totally dig my druid and had a blast, but I do want to see how my DPS compares to others in a raid. Hesston’s gun is getting rusty damn it.

On the positive side, we did go and decide to give Anub’Arak a shot. What kind of shot you ask? Well a mofo one-shot, that’s what. Not only that, everyone was alive. And not only that, check out the overall for the entire raid meter to your left. Now I don’t put too much stock in healing meters because they don’t take into account a lot of factors, but I’m still pretty proud of that shit. Hell, I only started druid healing not too long ago. And hey, I even got a new belt out of the deal, as well as met some cool people.

This was a good test to see if I can raid heal and if my gear is ready to move in that direction. I am thinking of trying to join a raiding guild to see ICC with, but as a healer and not on Hesston. This was and will always be a hunter blog, but for now I’ve just decided it is just too hard to get into a raiding guild as not only a pure DPS class, but one of the most hated on of the pure DPS classes.

Plus, hunter DPS’ing just isn’t that challenging anymore. I recently put together an Armor Penetration spec with Hesston. It’s ridiculous how easy it is considering that once you have all the pieces, you take a shot OUT of your rotation to do more DPS. What!?

Like I said, I still love huntering, but until Cataclysm comes out and I do the great goblin hunter adventure, this blog might focus less on being a hunter and more about the life of my alts and WoW in general (unless of course something changes and I can raid on Hesston, because I would do it in a second). We’ll have to wait and see.

Take care. Good hunting.

Categories: PvE, alts, raids, screenshots
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That makes a fourth level 80 toon. Kitty druids are fun to level, but I think I am going to focus on healing. Oddly enough however I’m only finding groups that need DPS, so I haven’t had a chance to heal yet.

Can’t wait for 3.3 new LFG, for Hesston too. I messed with it on the PTR and it rules.

Categories: alts
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So clearly, I’ve been hitting the leveling on my Hordie druid pal (61 as of right now). He was 35 when I faction transferred a little less than two weeks ago. Not bad I’d say, but the heirlooms and Hallow’s End candy buckets helped a ton. Seriously, if you’re leveling an alt hit them buckets. Tons of free experience kids, and candy!

Hesston has taken a backseat lately, with the exception of some PvP and dailies to get Crusader badges. The reasons are many and varied, but chief among them is that I just haven’t been having fun on the Alliance side of things or with the guild. Since I can’t raid anymore, I really don’t fit in with Summit anymore. I play to have fun and stressing about jumping into random raids but not getting any direct reward (which is my own doing, not theirs) simply was not fun. So, I’m taking a break–from Hesston, not the game.

Recently I’ve started to date someone in my real life who is not a WoW player. She in fact has only had negative experience with WoW (a roommate who was “addicted”), and asked a valid question when I told her I play: Why?

I’d been wondering this myself after the minor issues with the guild mentioned previously, and when asked directly I didn’t have a really good answer. To me, it’s like reading or watching movies. Sure, you can give the basic answer of enjoying stories or being transported to another world. But when it comes down to it, those who enjoy either reading or watching movies or both, usually just enjoy it. Often the exact reasons can’t be quantified.

I enjoy playing and interacting with the world simply for what it is.

Some people aren’t big into the lore of WoW, and while I’m not a lore junkie, I like the story. This is one reason I decided to check out things from the Horde side with Krakattoa. I’ve played Warcraft since the first, lo-res RTS game. So to me it’s like watching the evolution of a world I’ve been paying attention to for a very long time. Missing raid instances sucks not only because of the loot, but it also feels like I’m missing out a chapter of the larger story. Most likely I will never be able to go through and clear Icecrown Citadel when it hits in 3.3, and that’s a bummer. Again, it’s like missing a part of the story. I’m sure I’ll hear and read about it, but I’d like to be a part of it.

This leads me back to the pressing question that first came up when the loot issue reared its head: Why? What am I trying to get out of paying my $15 a month and what does it matter if I do or do not get a new purple piece of gear? The truth is that it doesn’t matter in the way I am approaching the game right now. For those doing hardcore progression raiding, a new piece of gear for a few raiders can easily swing the pendulum from wiping to winning. However, skill still trumps gear and I know that I’m good at this game. That’s a bit arrogant, but it’s true. So getting more gear right now, though great, doesn’t really matter. I’m sure when 3.3 drops and I go into the new 5-man bits I can do as well as I need to, and I’ll have fun.

I do this because it’s fun. I’m not playing to supplement some empty part of my real life or to substitute any interactions or relationships I am missing. I’m playing to have fun and I’ll do what I need to do in game to continue to get enjoyment out of this thing I like so much. If that means faction transferring characters or leaving a guild I don’t feel I fit in with anymore, so be it. Because the second any of this stops being fun and more like a chore, job or obligation, is exactly when you should cancel your account and find something else more personally fulfilling.

/EndRamble

Categories: alts, guild, ooc
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So this morning my level 35 druid went through a little change and became a big cow. I gave him some money, some auctionable items and his heirlooms and sent him on his way. This is mainly to experience the Horde side of things without starting a character from scratch. We’ll see how it goes, but I aim to get him toward 80 as soon as possible, if anything to go through the Wrath content on the other side of things.

But who knows, others may join him in the future.

Categories: alts
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This here is Minalias, my holy paladin I’ve been leveling and just recently dinged to 80. I have since gotten him some gear, ran some heroics and have tried to gain a new perspective on the game. To say the least, healing is a whole different game than the pew pew.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the healing but I must say, it’s a lot of pressure. If a DPS is slacking, you can still get by though it is just harder. If the healer is slacking or their gear is not up to snuff, it’s obvious and everyone looks in your direction as to why their spirits are trotting back to the instance. However, as everyone knows, it is not always the healers fault.

What every DPS can learn from healing
All DPS, be it ranged or melee, should try their hand at healing. This is easiest for a hybrid class (paladin/druid/shaman/priest), that can switch without leveling a new toon to 80. However, if you have the opportunity to heal, I highly recommend it.

1. The importance of not standing in shit.
I’m pretty good at not standing in fire, void zones, blizzards, etc. However seeing how important this is from a healing perspective emphasizes it a great deal. Being a holy paladin, with no AoE heals, this can become an issue quick if the raid is taking a lot of unnecessary damage. My point…MOVE! Don’t worry about the DPS meter or getting that one more shot off, get out of the shit! Your healer will like you a lot more for it.

2. The importance of staying in range.
Several times in my healing endeavors my ranged DPS, while I applaud their movement skills, are moving way the hell away from me. My priority is the tank, if you run clear across the room I’m not coming to you. Stay close to your healers. Not only can you be assured heals when needed, but you can jump in the way in case a mob starts heading for the healer to chew on their face.

3. The importance of not pulling aggro.
Again, this makes it more difficult for the healer to get everyone if you’re running from a mob away from the group. If you pull aggro (which is very easy to do as an SV hunter, I know), take the mob back to the tank, not away from him. Several times already I’ve had mages or hunters pull a mob at them and they start running around like a Benny Hill skit. Return to sender!

Granted, not all of these things are the fault of the DPS. A healer still has to assess the situation, adjust and try and keep everyone alive no matter what. In addition the tank has to do their job effectively too. However, anything the DPS can do to make the run easier on the healer/tank combo will make the run more enjoyable in the end and much faster.

I’ve also been trying to put a tanking set together on the side. So, as soon as 3.1 hits and it’s not such a pain in the ass, I’m going to try pally tanking (the easiest of the tanks so I hear).

Anyone else out there get a better understanding of their DPS role by trying out a different one?

And as an aside, though I love my paladin and am enjoying the healing game, I am and will always be a hunter.

Categories: alts, strategy
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