There is, or at least was, a problem with collecting items for Love is in the Air. If you're hunting Lovely Charms, be sure that you're not also hunting down Grisly Trophies for the Darkmoon Fairie Test Your Strength quest.
See the official thread for more information.
Monday, February 6, 2012
PVP tank nerf in action
So, I've had almost a week to try out the changes since they removed vengenace from PvP.
The result is, hardly surprising, that our damage has become insubstantial. This, in itself, created less than a problem from one point of view than I was afraid of. Competent enemies still bash the healer when we're carrying a flag or defending a base, and under those circumstances our damage was already pitiful to begin with as we received very little damage for vengeance to scale from.
More problematic are the situations when we participate in a general large scale mayhem. Our low damage makes a difference, but what hurts more is that the selfhealing we have from WoG also falls into the basement. In other words, we're much less able to make a difference when defensively defending a last stand position. Think bosses in AV or IoC.
On a positive note, however, quite a few pet-look-alike abilities still give us vengeance. If this is an error to be removed or not I don't know, but as long as it remains I'll continue to taunt pets, be they hunter pets or other classes' temporary pets.
All in all we stillfunctoin as decent flag carriers and defenders of bases. The latter case sees us shine a little less than before since dimishied damage output sometimes enables a shielded enemy to shake off our AoE damage and cap the base anyway.
Taking on another payer one on one, however, is fairly pointless now. At least if they're geared in proper PvP gear. Our pitiful damage is still more than sufficient to wear down someone in PvE gear, and since our mitigating effects haven't been diminished in any major way (WoG shield lowered) we're very hard to kill for a single oppoenent.
The result is, hardly surprising, that our damage has become insubstantial. This, in itself, created less than a problem from one point of view than I was afraid of. Competent enemies still bash the healer when we're carrying a flag or defending a base, and under those circumstances our damage was already pitiful to begin with as we received very little damage for vengeance to scale from.
More problematic are the situations when we participate in a general large scale mayhem. Our low damage makes a difference, but what hurts more is that the selfhealing we have from WoG also falls into the basement. In other words, we're much less able to make a difference when defensively defending a last stand position. Think bosses in AV or IoC.
On a positive note, however, quite a few pet-look-alike abilities still give us vengeance. If this is an error to be removed or not I don't know, but as long as it remains I'll continue to taunt pets, be they hunter pets or other classes' temporary pets.
All in all we stillfunctoin as decent flag carriers and defenders of bases. The latter case sees us shine a little less than before since dimishied damage output sometimes enables a shielded enemy to shake off our AoE damage and cap the base anyway.
Taking on another payer one on one, however, is fairly pointless now. At least if they're geared in proper PvP gear. Our pitiful damage is still more than sufficient to wear down someone in PvE gear, and since our mitigating effects haven't been diminished in any major way (WoG shield lowered) we're very hard to kill for a single oppoenent.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lunar festival
This has pretty much nothing to do with tanking in any form, but it's a minor heads-up for those of you who haven't done this seasonal achi yet.
The world elders are just a boring grind, and should be handled according to tips on, for example, WoWHead.
The elders in the dungeons are also mostly attributed with correct information. However, all elders are perfectly reachable by a soloing tankadin.
Remember that at 85 our aggro range is really minor, so a lot of mobs, and indeed a few bosses, are easiest bypassed in a way that would have been impossible at lvl 80. The only theoretical problem, Skadis gauntlet, turned out to be a joke. Just shoot the dragon down while pushing AoE damage. The mobs are vitually unable to hurt you anyway.
Another side trick: If you're running random BG:s, queue up while inside the dungeon you're slaughtering your way through. Join the BG after having honored the elder. After the BG you'll get ported to the outside of the dungeon, thus removing the need to backtrack your way out of it.
The world elders are just a boring grind, and should be handled according to tips on, for example, WoWHead.
The elders in the dungeons are also mostly attributed with correct information. However, all elders are perfectly reachable by a soloing tankadin.
Remember that at 85 our aggro range is really minor, so a lot of mobs, and indeed a few bosses, are easiest bypassed in a way that would have been impossible at lvl 80. The only theoretical problem, Skadis gauntlet, turned out to be a joke. Just shoot the dragon down while pushing AoE damage. The mobs are vitually unable to hurt you anyway.
Another side trick: If you're running random BG:s, queue up while inside the dungeon you're slaughtering your way through. Join the BG after having honored the elder. After the BG you'll get ported to the outside of the dungeon, thus removing the need to backtrack your way out of it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Tank nerf PvP
It would seem we'll be relegated to running random as FC only. With the upcoming removal of Vengenace from player attacks we should expect to get stuck at around 4 - 5k dps dummy-style.
The main problem with the change is that we won't even be theoretically able to defend our healer as splash damage doesn't increase our own damage output.
Long gone will be the days when we poured out damage as a result of unskilled players attacking us in groups and allowing our healer to concentrate on healing like there was no tomorrow.
The primary change to battlegrounds should be FC lasting much shorter. If noone wants to come as a tank, then a squishy will have to do the job. In all likelyhood we'll see more healers running with flags as they're the only ones who have a decent chance to survive the onslaught.
As for those of us who tanked our way through BG:s. It's either respeccing dps, and getting that big two-hander, or hoping that at least pets still give us Vengenace. Some taunting should give us the answer post-patch.
The main problem with the change is that we won't even be theoretically able to defend our healer as splash damage doesn't increase our own damage output.
Long gone will be the days when we poured out damage as a result of unskilled players attacking us in groups and allowing our healer to concentrate on healing like there was no tomorrow.
The primary change to battlegrounds should be FC lasting much shorter. If noone wants to come as a tank, then a squishy will have to do the job. In all likelyhood we'll see more healers running with flags as they're the only ones who have a decent chance to survive the onslaught.
As for those of us who tanked our way through BG:s. It's either respeccing dps, and getting that big two-hander, or hoping that at least pets still give us Vengenace. Some taunting should give us the answer post-patch.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Update Failsafe Gearing Guide Maintankadin, 4.3
Still lacking PvP gear and crafted gear, but it should be usable for the average pugadin by now. Head over to the failsafe guide and have a look.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
LFR
Well, for once us pugging tanks are in the same seat as pugging dps. The queue for LFR is a nightmare. Half an hour is perfectly normal, and you can't count on seeing the first bosses.
At least the content looks faceroll enough to make the five man trolls seem like a hulking obstacle when they were released.
My guess is that we'll see queue times lower as the raiding tanks collect their 4PC bonus and leave LFR never to return. Finding healers, however, will remain troublesome.
The other, maybe minor, issue with LFR for the pugadin is that we really don't need that much of the gear there. While the 4PC bonus is a huge boost for a raiding guild, a pugadin simply won't run into situations al that often where the difference between raidwalling every second or every third minute matters at all.
One could argue that the bonus is good in the LFR, but to be honest, we're roflstomping all over it the same week it's released. Sure, we're pugging with proper raiders, but gear inflation will be absurd between 378 five man drops and a very generous pool of 397 VP gear. Add the occasional 384 LFR drops bound to find their way to pugging raiders and we should expect to see 25k+ dps from even the more, erhum, unskilled dps a month or so from now. Healers are likely to see a similar increase in output.
I fully expect tanks gearing for expertise and hit-rating to handle both the new five mans and LFR within a couple of months. Partially because an average ilevel 390:ish allows us to do so, but also because there's a lot of threat slapped onto out VP gear.
At least the content looks faceroll enough to make the five man trolls seem like a hulking obstacle when they were released.
My guess is that we'll see queue times lower as the raiding tanks collect their 4PC bonus and leave LFR never to return. Finding healers, however, will remain troublesome.
The other, maybe minor, issue with LFR for the pugadin is that we really don't need that much of the gear there. While the 4PC bonus is a huge boost for a raiding guild, a pugadin simply won't run into situations al that often where the difference between raidwalling every second or every third minute matters at all.
One could argue that the bonus is good in the LFR, but to be honest, we're roflstomping all over it the same week it's released. Sure, we're pugging with proper raiders, but gear inflation will be absurd between 378 five man drops and a very generous pool of 397 VP gear. Add the occasional 384 LFR drops bound to find their way to pugging raiders and we should expect to see 25k+ dps from even the more, erhum, unskilled dps a month or so from now. Healers are likely to see a similar increase in output.
I fully expect tanks gearing for expertise and hit-rating to handle both the new five mans and LFR within a couple of months. Partially because an average ilevel 390:ish allows us to do so, but also because there's a lot of threat slapped onto out VP gear.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Update Failsafe Gearing Guide Maintankadin
My failsafe gearing guide at Maintankadin will be obsolete when 4.3 goes live. While I plan to update said guide accordingly, you'll have to accept some lag. I prefer to confirm that the failsafe gear is actually there to get, in the form I say it is in and at the cost I state it has.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Loot update: 4.3 raid
Head over to MMO Champion for a read on the candy dropping from the upcoming Dragon Soul raid in patch 4.3.
Being pugadins we're likely to be most interested in the drop table for LFR. A short summary below:
Shield: It's as close to perfect as it can be. Ok, both gem-slots aren't yellow, and the socket bonus is dodge rating. Still, remember that we're likely to cap 102.4 even as pugging tanks, so excess mastery isn't as welcome as before.
Sword: Highest dps with RNG self healing instead of defensive stats. It's an interesting alternative.
Axe: Mastery and crit rating, the latter for reforging. I'm not entirely positive we'll be allowed to use the new spec-based need option for this one.
Bracers: What's there not to like about these ones?
Belt: Avoidance, avoidance, everywhere avoidance. I'm not entirely happy about these, but two yellow sockets are nice.
Belt: This is rather obviously a dps belt, and as such you shouldn't expect to be able to roll for it for a long time. When that time comes, however, I wonder if this belt isn't better than the tanking belt due to the mastery if we're sitting shy of the 102.4.
Shoulders: Another dual avoidance items, and again with a yellow socket. We can't forego mastery in too many slots if we want to hit the 102.4.
Shoulders: Dps shoulders for the mastery starved. Same story for this one as for the belt.
Feet: A pretty perfect pair of boots. Sure, dodge had been even better alongside the mastery, but some of our gear has to come with parry on it.
Ring: An absolutely superb ring. You want it.
Ring: The dps counterpart. If you can grab this one you can reforge away the hit-rating into dodge.
Trinket: Stamina with an RNG six second shield should you dip below 50%. That said, the shield soaks 43%, so it's rather sweet for fights where you're getting huge bursts of damage infrequently. I still dislike the RNG though.
Trinket: Stacking avoidance. 78 dodge rating on your attacks, and max ten stacks. If you're above 102.4 and have decided to go the MDR route, this is the item for you.
Trinket: Stamina with RNG mastery on your attacks. It's an unholy crapton of mastery, so on proc you'll hit 102.4 almost no matter how you decided to gear. We're talking in the order of 20% increased block chance here.
And the LFR drops tier 13 tokens as well.
Being pugadins we're likely to be most interested in the drop table for LFR. A short summary below:
Shield: It's as close to perfect as it can be. Ok, both gem-slots aren't yellow, and the socket bonus is dodge rating. Still, remember that we're likely to cap 102.4 even as pugging tanks, so excess mastery isn't as welcome as before.
Sword: Highest dps with RNG self healing instead of defensive stats. It's an interesting alternative.
Axe: Mastery and crit rating, the latter for reforging. I'm not entirely positive we'll be allowed to use the new spec-based need option for this one.
Bracers: What's there not to like about these ones?
Belt: Avoidance, avoidance, everywhere avoidance. I'm not entirely happy about these, but two yellow sockets are nice.
Belt: This is rather obviously a dps belt, and as such you shouldn't expect to be able to roll for it for a long time. When that time comes, however, I wonder if this belt isn't better than the tanking belt due to the mastery if we're sitting shy of the 102.4.
Shoulders: Another dual avoidance items, and again with a yellow socket. We can't forego mastery in too many slots if we want to hit the 102.4.
Shoulders: Dps shoulders for the mastery starved. Same story for this one as for the belt.
Feet: A pretty perfect pair of boots. Sure, dodge had been even better alongside the mastery, but some of our gear has to come with parry on it.
Ring: An absolutely superb ring. You want it.
Ring: The dps counterpart. If you can grab this one you can reforge away the hit-rating into dodge.
Trinket: Stamina with an RNG six second shield should you dip below 50%. That said, the shield soaks 43%, so it's rather sweet for fights where you're getting huge bursts of damage infrequently. I still dislike the RNG though.
Trinket: Stacking avoidance. 78 dodge rating on your attacks, and max ten stacks. If you're above 102.4 and have decided to go the MDR route, this is the item for you.
Trinket: Stamina with RNG mastery on your attacks. It's an unholy crapton of mastery, so on proc you'll hit 102.4 almost no matter how you decided to gear. We're talking in the order of 20% increased block chance here.
And the LFR drops tier 13 tokens as well.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Minor update on 4.3
The ending of season 10 has been pushed to November 29, which would make December 6 a likely date for 4.3 going live. December 7 for us in Europe.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
4.3 incoming
It would seem that 4.3 will be released soon.While the link pertains the end of PvP season 10 at November15 those seasons and PvE related major patches tend to follow eath other very closely. My estimate would be one week after season 10 is finished, so November 22 (or 23 for us in Europe).
Such an estimate would also correlate pretty well with the PTR receiving a Release Candidate.
Anyway, what will 4.3 mean for us pugging tankadins? Not all that much it would seem. Let's put the new content aside for a bit and just look at the tankadin. While Blizzard has decided to make a major overhaul come MoP, as the do every Xpac, they'll let us keep our rather insane mastery for 4.3. Say hello to 102.4 even as a pugadin. At the other hand, that also means if you take an unmitigated hit, then you'll be considered doing something wrong.
So we'll continue to be the holy tin-can with an oversized barn door as extra protection for, say another half a year or more. I'd guess they'll slap in some kind of micro content patch late 4.3, like the very last dragon-raid during WotLK. And, as usual, I expect whatever new mechanics are being implemented in MoP to go live in Cata around a month or so before MoP is released. So don't expect a major overhaul of our abilities until August - October 2012.
With Blizzard losing subscribers left and right I don't expect them fo keep us running the last major patch in Cata for a full year. That would be akin to corporate suicide, so I might be too pessimistic when guessing at August - October. But then, who in their right mind would even consider releasing a major patch for a computer game in July -- oops, ok, maybe, after all.
Such an estimate would also correlate pretty well with the PTR receiving a Release Candidate.
Anyway, what will 4.3 mean for us pugging tankadins? Not all that much it would seem. Let's put the new content aside for a bit and just look at the tankadin. While Blizzard has decided to make a major overhaul come MoP, as the do every Xpac, they'll let us keep our rather insane mastery for 4.3. Say hello to 102.4 even as a pugadin. At the other hand, that also means if you take an unmitigated hit, then you'll be considered doing something wrong.
So we'll continue to be the holy tin-can with an oversized barn door as extra protection for, say another half a year or more. I'd guess they'll slap in some kind of micro content patch late 4.3, like the very last dragon-raid during WotLK. And, as usual, I expect whatever new mechanics are being implemented in MoP to go live in Cata around a month or so before MoP is released. So don't expect a major overhaul of our abilities until August - October 2012.
With Blizzard losing subscribers left and right I don't expect them fo keep us running the last major patch in Cata for a full year. That would be akin to corporate suicide, so I might be too pessimistic when guessing at August - October. But then, who in their right mind would even consider releasing a major patch for a computer game in July -- oops, ok, maybe, after all.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Standstill
I guess I'm not alone waiting for 4.3 and more or less merely going through the motions of playing the game at this time.
Even us casuals should be pretty much fully geared from Valor Points by now. I'm converting mine into CP for a slow upgrade in PvP gear, but by now it's more levelling alts and running random BG:s than actually trying to tank anything in a serious fashion.
To further aggravate the feeling of merely waiting, the announced Pandaren expansion kind of devalued the upcoming 4.3 as well. It feels like something that has to be done before what we're really waiting for arrives, and I suspect a fair number of players will leave the game as a result. Instead of waiting a couple of months we're now waiting for the lion's share of a year, because that seems a reasonable time before the next Xpac arrives. And a year is a long time waiting.
So things are at a standstill. There's very little discussion going on at Maintankadin, a sure sign in itself that there's very little going on at all. Hopefully the patch will liven up things a bit, but I'm not entirely psitive that'll be the case. And I wait.
Even us casuals should be pretty much fully geared from Valor Points by now. I'm converting mine into CP for a slow upgrade in PvP gear, but by now it's more levelling alts and running random BG:s than actually trying to tank anything in a serious fashion.
To further aggravate the feeling of merely waiting, the announced Pandaren expansion kind of devalued the upcoming 4.3 as well. It feels like something that has to be done before what we're really waiting for arrives, and I suspect a fair number of players will leave the game as a result. Instead of waiting a couple of months we're now waiting for the lion's share of a year, because that seems a reasonable time before the next Xpac arrives. And a year is a long time waiting.
So things are at a standstill. There's very little discussion going on at Maintankadin, a sure sign in itself that there's very little going on at all. Hopefully the patch will liven up things a bit, but I'm not entirely psitive that'll be the case. And I wait.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Random battlegrounds: Arathi Basin
This is possibly the BG I like the most.
Five objectives, two teams.
I prefer getting a solid hold on the Lumber Mill because you can stand there and call incomings. Conversely the Gold Mine leaves you blind to what's happening.
Obviosuly you should capture your own 'starting' objective and keep a defensive force there or at least ready to intercept anyone going for it.
The Blacksmith in the middle is usually heavily contested. I'm not entirely certain why as it can be attacked from all sides and is the objective with the longest distance to another objective. In my mind it's best used to tie up enemy resources while your team holds on to Farm/Stables, LM and GM. A decent alternative is holding LM with an oversized force, and smaller defensive force at BS and an even smaller at Farm/Stables. At least if you have a decent number of people who can parachute down from LM.
As a tank I prefer defending LM for the duration of the battle, calling out incomings and notifying my team of the number of defenders at enemy held objectives. Well, barring GM which is invisible to be.
Being a random BG you can sneak in in full sight and snag Farm/Stables all too often, and swarming the enemy starting objective is quite often a solid response to them zerging one of our bases. You're not planning to hold it, just force them to return back home. In such a scenario a tank is quite useful suiciding at the enemy starting objective in a fruitless attempt to 'defend' it.
Five objectives, two teams.
I prefer getting a solid hold on the Lumber Mill because you can stand there and call incomings. Conversely the Gold Mine leaves you blind to what's happening.
Obviosuly you should capture your own 'starting' objective and keep a defensive force there or at least ready to intercept anyone going for it.
The Blacksmith in the middle is usually heavily contested. I'm not entirely certain why as it can be attacked from all sides and is the objective with the longest distance to another objective. In my mind it's best used to tie up enemy resources while your team holds on to Farm/Stables, LM and GM. A decent alternative is holding LM with an oversized force, and smaller defensive force at BS and an even smaller at Farm/Stables. At least if you have a decent number of people who can parachute down from LM.
As a tank I prefer defending LM for the duration of the battle, calling out incomings and notifying my team of the number of defenders at enemy held objectives. Well, barring GM which is invisible to be.
Being a random BG you can sneak in in full sight and snag Farm/Stables all too often, and swarming the enemy starting objective is quite often a solid response to them zerging one of our bases. You're not planning to hold it, just force them to return back home. In such a scenario a tank is quite useful suiciding at the enemy starting objective in a fruitless attempt to 'defend' it.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Random battlegrounds: Battle for Gilneas
This is a three flag competition.
Each faction starts close to one flag of their own, and there's one in the middle.
The battle is very much about holding two flags, or rather rotating forces so that you always hold one flag more than the opponents. My experience is that you want to zerg the middle one as quick as possible while avoiding a humiliating loss of your 'starting' flag.
As a tank I've come to the conclusion that the best job I can do is to head for the enemy starting flag immediately. Not to take it, but to suicide. The reason for this is to tie up resources. In a best case scenario I'll have three or four enemy players spend well over half a minute killing me when I do my lonely assault. That is almost always enough for us to get the middle, or Water Works, flag.
After this the fight usually splits into one out of two scenarios. The enemy tries to hit WW while being careful not to lose their starting flag. I spend those fights rushing their flag alone, which is usually enough to see us winning by keeping two flags for the entire battle, and obviously never getting close to taking the third.
One useful trick is to get 'caught' by the enemy respawned players as they rush to hit WW again. As I play horde I also get the benefit of getting trapped in plain sight of those defending the Lighthouse, so they tend to stay there while I get chewed up by the force who ought to have let me be and hit WW instead.
The second standard battle is when the enemy hits our starting flag instead of getting caught up in a slug-fest for WW. Defending our flag is very often the most important job I can do now. The point isn't to kill the enemy players but rather to disable them from capping our flag by being a general PITA and refusing to die. If things start to get really dirty, a lonely rush for the enemy starting flag surprisingly often pays off. Just make sure noone else in your team isn't already trying to ninja-cap it before you head away, though.
It's also highly important to remember that this is a Random BG. You'll have players leaving their toons at the flag and going AFK in the hope noone will notice (players never leaving the spawn points are always noticed). Thus it's perfectly viable to hit the enemy starting flag in plain sight and cap it. You're likely to find out if there's really a player behind the keyboard of the defending toon.
I've used this defensively as well. As I can't see a stealthed player I'm forced into a guessing game. However, stealthed players tend to CC me before trying our flag, in which case I'll have to lay down AoE and notify my team. The best way to handle a plain-sight ninja attempt isn't to attack the enemy immediately though. Wait for them to start capping. Make sure you can break CC, and give them a slap. Preferably a ranged attack. Sometimes they'll try the flag again, and get slapped, and try again. Normally, though, you'll get caught up in a duel none of you can win, but that's good enough. The flag stays secure.
All in all this is a BG where you'll doing your job best if you keep dying slowly against multiple opponents killing you rather than doing tehir job -- capping or defending flags.
Each faction starts close to one flag of their own, and there's one in the middle.
The battle is very much about holding two flags, or rather rotating forces so that you always hold one flag more than the opponents. My experience is that you want to zerg the middle one as quick as possible while avoiding a humiliating loss of your 'starting' flag.
As a tank I've come to the conclusion that the best job I can do is to head for the enemy starting flag immediately. Not to take it, but to suicide. The reason for this is to tie up resources. In a best case scenario I'll have three or four enemy players spend well over half a minute killing me when I do my lonely assault. That is almost always enough for us to get the middle, or Water Works, flag.
After this the fight usually splits into one out of two scenarios. The enemy tries to hit WW while being careful not to lose their starting flag. I spend those fights rushing their flag alone, which is usually enough to see us winning by keeping two flags for the entire battle, and obviously never getting close to taking the third.
One useful trick is to get 'caught' by the enemy respawned players as they rush to hit WW again. As I play horde I also get the benefit of getting trapped in plain sight of those defending the Lighthouse, so they tend to stay there while I get chewed up by the force who ought to have let me be and hit WW instead.
The second standard battle is when the enemy hits our starting flag instead of getting caught up in a slug-fest for WW. Defending our flag is very often the most important job I can do now. The point isn't to kill the enemy players but rather to disable them from capping our flag by being a general PITA and refusing to die. If things start to get really dirty, a lonely rush for the enemy starting flag surprisingly often pays off. Just make sure noone else in your team isn't already trying to ninja-cap it before you head away, though.
It's also highly important to remember that this is a Random BG. You'll have players leaving their toons at the flag and going AFK in the hope noone will notice (players never leaving the spawn points are always noticed). Thus it's perfectly viable to hit the enemy starting flag in plain sight and cap it. You're likely to find out if there's really a player behind the keyboard of the defending toon.
I've used this defensively as well. As I can't see a stealthed player I'm forced into a guessing game. However, stealthed players tend to CC me before trying our flag, in which case I'll have to lay down AoE and notify my team. The best way to handle a plain-sight ninja attempt isn't to attack the enemy immediately though. Wait for them to start capping. Make sure you can break CC, and give them a slap. Preferably a ranged attack. Sometimes they'll try the flag again, and get slapped, and try again. Normally, though, you'll get caught up in a duel none of you can win, but that's good enough. The flag stays secure.
All in all this is a BG where you'll doing your job best if you keep dying slowly against multiple opponents killing you rather than doing tehir job -- capping or defending flags.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
4.3 and valor slots
So, the quoted blue post on MMO Champion is quite interesting. We learn that any hc, including the first Cata ones, will yield 150 VP at the end, with a weekly VP cap of 1000 instead of today's 980. The new LFR splits the new raid into two, and yields 250 VP upon completion of either half.
We also learn that VP will buy you gear for a lot of slots "including cloaks, rings, ranged weapons, necklaces, trinkets, chest pieces, helms, gloves, bracers, boots, and belts, all of which are ilvl 397." From earlier posts we've gotten to know that tier pieces won't be there for VP any longer.
So it would seem we're depending on either the new five man heroics for an ilevel 378 version, or the LFR for an 384 version of slots helmet, shoulders, weapons, shields, one trinket, one ring and legs. Obviously FL will become supremely puggable, and thus a 391 ring and a 378 trinket becomes available from AH reputation, not to mention 378 drops from that raid. Given what people have had to say about Shannox, you could get lucky and get a shot at 391 loot from that specific encounter; a little bit like the lootship fight in ICC.
If you're lucky enough to pug a proper raid then loot tables for normal mode drop 397 gear. The big guys who knock Deathwing over can look forward to 403 loot. Hardmode versions yield 410 and 416 loot respectively.
I haven't seen any notes on a quest hub with 'free loot', but given that the PTR is up and running I would have assumed voices on that by now if it were the case. This makes me believe we won't see a crap-ton of daily quests rewarding us with 384 loot like the Molten Front 365 loot.
We also learn that VP will buy you gear for a lot of slots "including cloaks, rings, ranged weapons, necklaces, trinkets, chest pieces, helms, gloves, bracers, boots, and belts, all of which are ilvl 397." From earlier posts we've gotten to know that tier pieces won't be there for VP any longer.
So it would seem we're depending on either the new five man heroics for an ilevel 378 version, or the LFR for an 384 version of slots helmet, shoulders, weapons, shields, one trinket, one ring and legs. Obviously FL will become supremely puggable, and thus a 391 ring and a 378 trinket becomes available from AH reputation, not to mention 378 drops from that raid. Given what people have had to say about Shannox, you could get lucky and get a shot at 391 loot from that specific encounter; a little bit like the lootship fight in ICC.
If you're lucky enough to pug a proper raid then loot tables for normal mode drop 397 gear. The big guys who knock Deathwing over can look forward to 403 loot. Hardmode versions yield 410 and 416 loot respectively.
I haven't seen any notes on a quest hub with 'free loot', but given that the PTR is up and running I would have assumed voices on that by now if it were the case. This makes me believe we won't see a crap-ton of daily quests rewarding us with 384 loot like the Molten Front 365 loot.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Random battlegrounds: Eye of the Storm
This one is rather fun for a tank. Four towers, one flag.
The general strategy is to leave the flag alone and capture towers ASAP. A semi-decent team will have two smaller groups capture the two towers closest to your starting spawn, and either one massive or two smaller zergs fighting for the tower/s closest to the enemy starting spawn.
For a tank this presents a golden opportunity to do it all wrong, provided that you clearly state what you're up to before the battle starts. You're hitting the flag, and you don't want any help.
Most often this is a suicide mission. You get to the flag and blow every defensive CD in your arsenal in order to keep enemy players tied up by a flag they shouldn't have come to in the first place. If you can keep four or five players busy there for some thirty seconds, then your reward is likely to see three towers captured in the absence of defenders.
Sometimes the enemy team has a working leadership, and you'll end up by the flag alone. Not much to do about it. Collect and head back home to capture it. The lack of a single tank at the towers is outweighed by the extra points you get by capturing the flag.
If you're followed by a bunch of teammates to the flag, just ride through the area and attack an enemy tower. You're up for a bad start with a group of people hitting the flag instead of the towers, and the best way to do something about it is to go suiciding at one of the enemy towers in the hopes that your presence there will see the enemy team move more players to defence. It's unlikely, but I've seen it happen.
After the battle has started in earnest you should rotate between three types of duties. Defend an undermanned tower, attacking an undermaned enemy tower or hitting the flag if there is an enemy group at it.
If you're defending, do call out incoming enemies. Your job isn't simply to suicide. Your job is to stay alive until reinforcements can arrive.
If you're attacking a tower alone, then you are indeed suiciding. Make an effort to get inside, or behind a corner, or whatever you can do to move the defenders away from a position where they can see incoming forces. Chances are they'll call out for reinforcements to a defence which really doesn't need any.
If you're hitting the flag, then you're suiciding to keep enemy players busy at a location they shouldn't be in.
Sometimes you can even help your team by fighting on the roads. This will only be true if you can grab the attention of three or more enemy players.
The general strategy is to leave the flag alone and capture towers ASAP. A semi-decent team will have two smaller groups capture the two towers closest to your starting spawn, and either one massive or two smaller zergs fighting for the tower/s closest to the enemy starting spawn.
For a tank this presents a golden opportunity to do it all wrong, provided that you clearly state what you're up to before the battle starts. You're hitting the flag, and you don't want any help.
Most often this is a suicide mission. You get to the flag and blow every defensive CD in your arsenal in order to keep enemy players tied up by a flag they shouldn't have come to in the first place. If you can keep four or five players busy there for some thirty seconds, then your reward is likely to see three towers captured in the absence of defenders.
Sometimes the enemy team has a working leadership, and you'll end up by the flag alone. Not much to do about it. Collect and head back home to capture it. The lack of a single tank at the towers is outweighed by the extra points you get by capturing the flag.
If you're followed by a bunch of teammates to the flag, just ride through the area and attack an enemy tower. You're up for a bad start with a group of people hitting the flag instead of the towers, and the best way to do something about it is to go suiciding at one of the enemy towers in the hopes that your presence there will see the enemy team move more players to defence. It's unlikely, but I've seen it happen.
After the battle has started in earnest you should rotate between three types of duties. Defend an undermanned tower, attacking an undermaned enemy tower or hitting the flag if there is an enemy group at it.
If you're defending, do call out incoming enemies. Your job isn't simply to suicide. Your job is to stay alive until reinforcements can arrive.
If you're attacking a tower alone, then you are indeed suiciding. Make an effort to get inside, or behind a corner, or whatever you can do to move the defenders away from a position where they can see incoming forces. Chances are they'll call out for reinforcements to a defence which really doesn't need any.
If you're hitting the flag, then you're suiciding to keep enemy players busy at a location they shouldn't be in.
Sometimes you can even help your team by fighting on the roads. This will only be true if you can grab the attention of three or more enemy players.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Nerf to the ground
As you might have noticed we got ourselves another BH earlier this week. Now I'm situated on an all but dead realm, but you really ought to get out there and start pugging FL if you haven't done so before.
By shredding the bosses you ought to be able to take them on rather than being satisfied with a trash pugging run. Semi-abyssmal dps ought to be enough to take out 4/7 bosses.
With decently competent healers and tanks Belth and Shan should be quick work. Dps still needs to be able to steer Ryl, and obviosuly everyone has to be able to rotate shards on Bal.
Still, give it a shot.
By shredding the bosses you ought to be able to take them on rather than being satisfied with a trash pugging run. Semi-abyssmal dps ought to be enough to take out 4/7 bosses.
With decently competent healers and tanks Belth and Shan should be quick work. Dps still needs to be able to steer Ryl, and obviosuly everyone has to be able to rotate shards on Bal.
Still, give it a shot.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Random battlegrounds: Isle of Conquest
So, let's have a look at the other mass combat BG.
Just as when comparing WSG with TP, you'll notice how Alterac Valley is positively huge when compared to IoC. Just as with TP this means you can actually change your mind as for wether going defensive or offensive.
As with Alterac there's very little you can do as well as any other role until the enemy boss is engaged. Go for a siege engine and get those gates down, or follow a parachut drop team to get inside and do the same job withou having to get gates down.
To a minor degree you can defend objectives, but the fight lasts for so short a time that taking enemy held objectives are rarely worth it.
You should expect the team rush madly for either the workshop or the docks initially. Preferably they should do both, but in a random BG with 40 players on each side there's very little coordination going on.
You'll just have to go with one group. Preferably the smaller one as you could make a difference in how long it takes your team to finally lose the initial struggle for that objective, and time is worth gold.
When the time comes to tank the boss, swap to PvE gear, pray enemy players are removed and make sure the boss stays in his room. You don't want the wiping buff to kick in. Use your raidwall (if specced into it) for the first jump (one of two boss special attacks) and drop your area heal at the same time. It's helpful if someone in the assaulting team could drop a bloodlust or similar just after the pull. Hence it's a good idea to communicate this on chat before pulling.
Just as when comparing WSG with TP, you'll notice how Alterac Valley is positively huge when compared to IoC. Just as with TP this means you can actually change your mind as for wether going defensive or offensive.
As with Alterac there's very little you can do as well as any other role until the enemy boss is engaged. Go for a siege engine and get those gates down, or follow a parachut drop team to get inside and do the same job withou having to get gates down.
To a minor degree you can defend objectives, but the fight lasts for so short a time that taking enemy held objectives are rarely worth it.
You should expect the team rush madly for either the workshop or the docks initially. Preferably they should do both, but in a random BG with 40 players on each side there's very little coordination going on.
You'll just have to go with one group. Preferably the smaller one as you could make a difference in how long it takes your team to finally lose the initial struggle for that objective, and time is worth gold.
When the time comes to tank the boss, swap to PvE gear, pray enemy players are removed and make sure the boss stays in his room. You don't want the wiping buff to kick in. Use your raidwall (if specced into it) for the first jump (one of two boss special attacks) and drop your area heal at the same time. It's helpful if someone in the assaulting team could drop a bloodlust or similar just after the pull. Hence it's a good idea to communicate this on chat before pulling.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Random battlegrounds: Alterac Valley
This is one of the large scale battlegrounds, and to be honest my knowledge of the overall strategy for this one is rather shady.
With very little to do when it comes to handling enemy players I usually ride to the very opposite end and start picking off archers and burn down two bunkers.
While I wait for more people to join I continue killing off the NPC:s, and eventually I swap to my PvE tanking gear and hit the enemy boss when we're ready for the final assault.
I'm a bit unclear as to how important it is to clear out every NPC at the enemy starting base, but in order to make the ordeal as short as possible I'll drag the elite ones out of their buildings and tank them in plain sight of my team mates. This almost inevitably leads to them being burned down in seconds as people have a tendency to attack anything that is being fought close by.
The final fight is a pure tank and spank fight with no finesse involved at all. Don't forget to swap to PvE tanking gear as it makes the fight a lot easier for your healers. You can't do anything about remaining enemy players more than pray your team keeps them CC:d rather than getting involved in in an outright fight as this slows down the boss fight considerably.
With very little to do when it comes to handling enemy players I usually ride to the very opposite end and start picking off archers and burn down two bunkers.
While I wait for more people to join I continue killing off the NPC:s, and eventually I swap to my PvE tanking gear and hit the enemy boss when we're ready for the final assault.
I'm a bit unclear as to how important it is to clear out every NPC at the enemy starting base, but in order to make the ordeal as short as possible I'll drag the elite ones out of their buildings and tank them in plain sight of my team mates. This almost inevitably leads to them being burned down in seconds as people have a tendency to attack anything that is being fought close by.
The final fight is a pure tank and spank fight with no finesse involved at all. Don't forget to swap to PvE tanking gear as it makes the fight a lot easier for your healers. You can't do anything about remaining enemy players more than pray your team keeps them CC:d rather than getting involved in in an outright fight as this slows down the boss fight considerably.
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