A couple of months ago I decided to change this blog's template and changed it through the Blogger management tool. It took me another half hour to put Wowhead integration back in (although, in fairness, I was doing that and a few other things at the same time.)
One of the things I forgot to put back into the blog is my Google Analytics tracking code. This blog has apparently been going for a couple of months now without any kind of analytics running on it.
What makes it especially embarrassing is that I handle Web analytics for an ad agency.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Progression
This Saturday morning, GoV as a whole ran Naxxramas-25 and wiped repeatedly on trash before pulling out and running to Obsidian Sanctum-25. With Sartharion down and four pieces of loot distributed to deserving Guildies, the raid officers called it a day. The end result - 4 Emblems of Valor for more than 3 hours of raiding.
On Saturday afternoon, the Asians and some friends went into Naxxramas-10 and downed Anub'rekhan and Noth the Plaguebringer. As we were worried we wouldn't have enough DPS (it was quite low on Noth), we didn't attempt Faerlina or Patchwerk. Instead, we marched into Heigan's room and wiped a few times in learning the Safety Dance. We came back the next afternoon, downed Patchwerk, then wiped around 7 or 8 times again on Heigan. These efforts cost me close to 80 gold in repairs and earned me exactly 3 Emblems of Heroism, although we were able to distribute 8 pieces of loot.
This is progression raiding.
I often forget that the dynamics of progression raiding are very different from the dynamics of farm raiding. At the end of Burning Crusade we were 8-manning Karazhan in Kara and badge purples; today we're struggling to clear trash in Naxxramas while other guilds are already farming Kel'thuzad.
This weekend I had so many tells coming in about the slow pace of raiding that I quite neglected to point out that the previous week, we'd failed to down Sartharion. The problem DPS'ers we had the previous week were doing much better this week.
Progression raiding is, by definition, slow. A boss that you down one week is not going to be as easy to down the next - and this isn't anyone's fault, it's just the way it is. There is a steep learning curve to raiding that turns off a lot of people.
This past week I opted to bench a raider who told a heroic instance group that s/he was not interested in downing a boss that had wiped them thrice so far, effectively putting a halt to the run. I did this because that attitude is anathema to progression - it is in no way acceptable. Never mind that I like the raider a great deal personally; progression is a harsh mistress.
What are the measures of progression? Some folks think it's loot or number of bosses downed. I think they're wrong. Loot is good, loot helps because it's a great multiplier - 1500 spellpower or attack power is going to provide more bang for your buck than 1200. But gear is always just a multiplier; the base factor is skill.
Number of bosses is a good way to keep track, but it's not the end goal of progression. And I do like seeing new boss fights. I haven't had the pleasure of learning a 5-phase boss fight yet, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
For me, progression is about becoming a better player. It's about learning new and better ways to do things. It's about the group striving together towards a shared goal. And it's about seeing your friends and companions get better in the pursuit of that goal.
This week I saw a lot of that, and I'm grateful and humbled to have been witness to it. My buddy Silverwisp, who was new to World of Warcraft until a few months ago, cranked out 1500 DPS at Patchwerk on his second day of raiding. Our Australian friends Damo and Elauris doubled their DPS in the span of a week. And Theramor, who until this weekend hadn't set foot in Naxxramas, went from being undergeared in level 70 purples to main-tanking Patchwerk. I should also mention Brutusk, who kept Thera alive all on his own - Plikta and I were busy healing Azmuth, who was forced to step into the main tank role after I respecced to Holy this week.
Raiding with people like this - with people who strive to be better players, and who are good companions to boot - makes it all worthwhile.
So this weekend I looted 4 Emblems of Valor and 3 Emblems of Heroism. We must have wiped twenty times in ten hours of raiding, and I know for a fact that I spent nearly 200 gold in repairs and consumables.
I still think I came out ahead.
On Saturday afternoon, the Asians and some friends went into Naxxramas-10 and downed Anub'rekhan and Noth the Plaguebringer. As we were worried we wouldn't have enough DPS (it was quite low on Noth), we didn't attempt Faerlina or Patchwerk. Instead, we marched into Heigan's room and wiped a few times in learning the Safety Dance. We came back the next afternoon, downed Patchwerk, then wiped around 7 or 8 times again on Heigan. These efforts cost me close to 80 gold in repairs and earned me exactly 3 Emblems of Heroism, although we were able to distribute 8 pieces of loot.
This is progression raiding.
I often forget that the dynamics of progression raiding are very different from the dynamics of farm raiding. At the end of Burning Crusade we were 8-manning Karazhan in Kara and badge purples; today we're struggling to clear trash in Naxxramas while other guilds are already farming Kel'thuzad.
This weekend I had so many tells coming in about the slow pace of raiding that I quite neglected to point out that the previous week, we'd failed to down Sartharion. The problem DPS'ers we had the previous week were doing much better this week.
Progression raiding is, by definition, slow. A boss that you down one week is not going to be as easy to down the next - and this isn't anyone's fault, it's just the way it is. There is a steep learning curve to raiding that turns off a lot of people.
This past week I opted to bench a raider who told a heroic instance group that s/he was not interested in downing a boss that had wiped them thrice so far, effectively putting a halt to the run. I did this because that attitude is anathema to progression - it is in no way acceptable. Never mind that I like the raider a great deal personally; progression is a harsh mistress.
What are the measures of progression? Some folks think it's loot or number of bosses downed. I think they're wrong. Loot is good, loot helps because it's a great multiplier - 1500 spellpower or attack power is going to provide more bang for your buck than 1200. But gear is always just a multiplier; the base factor is skill.
Number of bosses is a good way to keep track, but it's not the end goal of progression. And I do like seeing new boss fights. I haven't had the pleasure of learning a 5-phase boss fight yet, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
For me, progression is about becoming a better player. It's about learning new and better ways to do things. It's about the group striving together towards a shared goal. And it's about seeing your friends and companions get better in the pursuit of that goal.
This week I saw a lot of that, and I'm grateful and humbled to have been witness to it. My buddy Silverwisp, who was new to World of Warcraft until a few months ago, cranked out 1500 DPS at Patchwerk on his second day of raiding. Our Australian friends Damo and Elauris doubled their DPS in the span of a week. And Theramor, who until this weekend hadn't set foot in Naxxramas, went from being undergeared in level 70 purples to main-tanking Patchwerk. I should also mention Brutusk, who kept Thera alive all on his own - Plikta and I were busy healing Azmuth, who was forced to step into the main tank role after I respecced to Holy this week.
Raiding with people like this - with people who strive to be better players, and who are good companions to boot - makes it all worthwhile.
So this weekend I looted 4 Emblems of Valor and 3 Emblems of Heroism. We must have wiped twenty times in ten hours of raiding, and I know for a fact that I spent nearly 200 gold in repairs and consumables.
I still think I came out ahead.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Seal and Judgement Effects for Raiding Paladins
Cross-posted to the GoV boards.
In Wrath of the Lich King, each paladin tree has a talent (or two) that affects the Judgement mechanic.
RETRIBUTION:
Judgements of the Wise: replenish mana upon cast of Judgement
Heart of the Crusader: increase critical chance against the Judged target by 3%
PROTECTION:
Judgements of the Just: reduce melee attack speed of target by 20%
HOLY:
Judgements of the Pure: increase caster haste by 15%
Of the three trees, two have effects dependent on the Judgement debuff remaining on the target. The third tree, Holy, does not modify the Judgement debuff, and instead buffs the caster.
In a case where multiple paladins are using the same Judgement on a single target, each consecutive Judgement will overwrite the previous Judgement on the target, including all additive effects. Here's an example:
Paladin A (protection paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X now attacks at 80% speed.
Paladin B (retribution paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X now attacks at 100% speed, but is 3% more likely to take critical damage.
Paladin C (holy paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X attacks at 100% speed with no additional chance to be critically hit.
This is why, in a raid environment, or even a party environment with multiple paladins, it is important that all paladins coordinate their judgements to maximize their effects.
PROTECTION
YOUR SEAL: Seal of Vengeance (Alliance) or Seal of Corruption (Horde)
Why: Seal of Vengeance/Corruption ultimately deals more damage than Seal of Righteousness, allowing you to keep more threat over multiple mobs for longer periods of time regardless of whether or not you are active or incapacitated. I also suspect that striking multiple mobs via Hammer of the Righteous has a chance to apply the debuff to all affected targets.
YOU JUDGE: Judgement of Light
Why: While it will be nerfed in a future patch, Judgment of Light currently provides additional threat from its healing effect.
The 3.1 patch will remove the threat effect from Judgment of Light. The preferred Judgement will probably be Judgement of Wisdom, as mana regeneration also causes threat and provides another source of mana.
HOLY
YOUR SEAL: Seal of Light with the Glyph of Seal of Light
Why: Glyph of Seal of Light increases your healing effectiveness by a flat 5% while your Seal of Light is active, providing a fully scalable bonus to your healing regardless of effective spellpower.
YOU JUDGE: Judgment of Justice by default. Judgement of Light if no protection paladin will be using it (2nd priority). Judgement of Wisdom if no retribution paladins or mana regeneration mechanics are available.
Why: Even though Blizzard has made it attractive for Holy Paladins to judge, it's still a difficult spell to work into a healer's repertoire. Judgement of Justice doesn't really affect its target, but it does trigger Seals of the Pure.
If no protection paladins are available to judge Judgement of Light, use that instead to reduce the strain on healers. Judge Light over Wisdom unless there is a real need to use Wisdom instead - that is, when the healers are running out of mana. (In my experience, this is usually signifies a problem with the DPS, so if you're judging Wisdom at all please consider ending your run after that fight.)
RETRIBUTION
YOUR SEAL: Seal of the Martyr (Alliance) or Seal of Blood (Horde)
Why: Seal of the Martyr does more damage than Seal of Command, procs more often and scales better with attack power. In a raiding environment, you should not take significant amounts of damage from the seal due to Judgement of Light and splash-heal effects (which will restore your mana as well).
YOU JUDGE: Judgement of Wisdom by default, Judgement of Light if no protection paladin is available
Why: Judgement of Wisdom provides mana over and above that provided by Judgements of the Wise and increases the retribution paladin's raid utility.
If no protection paladin is available, Judgement of Light is the next best judgement, and should probably be the default judgement after the 3.1 patch is implemented. Judgement of Light mitigates the damage caused by Seal of the Martyr and provides raid utility. However, it is also increases threat by large amounts, and should therefore be used with caution.
In Wrath of the Lich King, each paladin tree has a talent (or two) that affects the Judgement mechanic.
RETRIBUTION:
Judgements of the Wise: replenish mana upon cast of Judgement
Heart of the Crusader: increase critical chance against the Judged target by 3%
PROTECTION:
Judgements of the Just: reduce melee attack speed of target by 20%
HOLY:
Judgements of the Pure: increase caster haste by 15%
Of the three trees, two have effects dependent on the Judgement debuff remaining on the target. The third tree, Holy, does not modify the Judgement debuff, and instead buffs the caster.
In a case where multiple paladins are using the same Judgement on a single target, each consecutive Judgement will overwrite the previous Judgement on the target, including all additive effects. Here's an example:
Paladin A (protection paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X now attacks at 80% speed.
Paladin B (retribution paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X now attacks at 100% speed, but is 3% more likely to take critical damage.
Paladin C (holy paladin) casts Judgement of Light on Target X. Target X attacks at 100% speed with no additional chance to be critically hit.
This is why, in a raid environment, or even a party environment with multiple paladins, it is important that all paladins coordinate their judgements to maximize their effects.
PROTECTION
YOUR SEAL: Seal of Vengeance (Alliance) or Seal of Corruption (Horde)
Why: Seal of Vengeance/Corruption ultimately deals more damage than Seal of Righteousness, allowing you to keep more threat over multiple mobs for longer periods of time regardless of whether or not you are active or incapacitated. I also suspect that striking multiple mobs via Hammer of the Righteous has a chance to apply the debuff to all affected targets.
YOU JUDGE: Judgement of Light
Why: While it will be nerfed in a future patch, Judgment of Light currently provides additional threat from its healing effect.
The 3.1 patch will remove the threat effect from Judgment of Light. The preferred Judgement will probably be Judgement of Wisdom, as mana regeneration also causes threat and provides another source of mana.
HOLY
YOUR SEAL: Seal of Light with the Glyph of Seal of Light
Why: Glyph of Seal of Light increases your healing effectiveness by a flat 5% while your Seal of Light is active, providing a fully scalable bonus to your healing regardless of effective spellpower.
YOU JUDGE: Judgment of Justice by default. Judgement of Light if no protection paladin will be using it (2nd priority). Judgement of Wisdom if no retribution paladins or mana regeneration mechanics are available.
Why: Even though Blizzard has made it attractive for Holy Paladins to judge, it's still a difficult spell to work into a healer's repertoire. Judgement of Justice doesn't really affect its target, but it does trigger Seals of the Pure.
If no protection paladins are available to judge Judgement of Light, use that instead to reduce the strain on healers. Judge Light over Wisdom unless there is a real need to use Wisdom instead - that is, when the healers are running out of mana. (In my experience, this is usually signifies a problem with the DPS, so if you're judging Wisdom at all please consider ending your run after that fight.)
RETRIBUTION
YOUR SEAL: Seal of the Martyr (Alliance) or Seal of Blood (Horde)
Why: Seal of the Martyr does more damage than Seal of Command, procs more often and scales better with attack power. In a raiding environment, you should not take significant amounts of damage from the seal due to Judgement of Light and splash-heal effects (which will restore your mana as well).
YOU JUDGE: Judgement of Wisdom by default, Judgement of Light if no protection paladin is available
Why: Judgement of Wisdom provides mana over and above that provided by Judgements of the Wise and increases the retribution paladin's raid utility.
If no protection paladin is available, Judgement of Light is the next best judgement, and should probably be the default judgement after the 3.1 patch is implemented. Judgement of Light mitigates the damage caused by Seal of the Martyr and provides raid utility. However, it is also increases threat by large amounts, and should therefore be used with caution.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Raiding 25s, Last Weekend's Fail
Once more, I didn't get to play a lot of World of Warcraft over the course of the last weekend as my wife and I went out of town with some friends to celebrate her birthday. On Saturday morning, however, GoV was able to make a Sartharion attempt with 22 raiders. I was lucky to be available for the run.
We got all 3 drakes down, but Sartharion himself was beyond our capabilities. We lacked healers, DPS, and most of all coordination - people were getting hit by Lava Walls despite repeated call-outs on Ventrilo. We had too many tanks as well, something that we urgently need to address if we want to progress.
Still, even though Sartharion managed to get the better of us this week, I have no doubts that we'll down him by next week, provided of course that we can muster up enough raiders to make another attempt.
After our Sartharion run the Asians re-formed for a Naxxramas attempt, this time with our Australian friends. We had to borrow a DPS (Fazzy) and a healer (Dhjey) from the guild at large. It was nice to step into Naxxramas with Damo, Elauris and Pinkmoon, although I have to admit that this was a hideously bad run. We couldn't even down Grand Widow Faerlina (Anub'rekhan we downed after four or five attempts).
Looking at our performance, it's pretty clear to me that we need to spend a bit more time beefing up our Aussie friends. Heroic runs are on the agenda this week, and plenty of them - we want everyone as ready for raiding as possible. I have no desire to repeat our poor showing once the weekend rolls around again.
We got all 3 drakes down, but Sartharion himself was beyond our capabilities. We lacked healers, DPS, and most of all coordination - people were getting hit by Lava Walls despite repeated call-outs on Ventrilo. We had too many tanks as well, something that we urgently need to address if we want to progress.
Still, even though Sartharion managed to get the better of us this week, I have no doubts that we'll down him by next week, provided of course that we can muster up enough raiders to make another attempt.
After our Sartharion run the Asians re-formed for a Naxxramas attempt, this time with our Australian friends. We had to borrow a DPS (Fazzy) and a healer (Dhjey) from the guild at large. It was nice to step into Naxxramas with Damo, Elauris and Pinkmoon, although I have to admit that this was a hideously bad run. We couldn't even down Grand Widow Faerlina (Anub'rekhan we downed after four or five attempts).
Looking at our performance, it's pretty clear to me that we need to spend a bit more time beefing up our Aussie friends. Heroic runs are on the agenda this week, and plenty of them - we want everyone as ready for raiding as possible. I have no desire to repeat our poor showing once the weekend rolls around again.
Monday, January 5, 2009
The End of (Holi)days
So I'm feeling much better now, thank you very much, and if I seem twitchy to you it's probably because I didn't really get my progression fix over the weekend. Sure, we downed a few bosses in Naxx, but that was to basically piss on the notion that we were finished as a raiding group. We didn't get to go back to finish the job and loot a few more epics.
If anything, the past couple of weeks have been more about connections than anything else. I got to hang out with Malago, who flew back home from Singapore for the holidays. I spent a little time with Rizal's friend Obispo and his cousin Calimdan, who are both awesome guys, and we can't wait till they hit 80. I got wasted at Rizal's wedding. I shared beers with Rothgarth and Silverwisp for Christmas.
And of course we sorted out some issues in the guild. I think the less said about that, the better, at least for now.
(Oh, and I ran into a superstar blogger in Dalaran - not that big a surprise, as Dalaran isn't a particularly large city, but still.)
I may have less than a thousand gold on my toons, but that doesn't mean I'm not rich. However much I cursed, scowled, frowned and Scrooged*, I still came away from the Yuletide break happier and therefore wealthier.
Now if I can only get my progression fix...
* Bah, humbug.
If anything, the past couple of weeks have been more about connections than anything else. I got to hang out with Malago, who flew back home from Singapore for the holidays. I spent a little time with Rizal's friend Obispo and his cousin Calimdan, who are both awesome guys, and we can't wait till they hit 80. I got wasted at Rizal's wedding. I shared beers with Rothgarth and Silverwisp for Christmas.
And of course we sorted out some issues in the guild. I think the less said about that, the better, at least for now.
(Oh, and I ran into a superstar blogger in Dalaran - not that big a surprise, as Dalaran isn't a particularly large city, but still.)
I may have less than a thousand gold on my toons, but that doesn't mean I'm not rich. However much I cursed, scowled, frowned and Scrooged*, I still came away from the Yuletide break happier and therefore wealthier.
Now if I can only get my progression fix...
* Bah, humbug.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
2009 begins!
First off, if you are one of the people who left GoV over the holiday season, fuck you very much.
As you can see, we're still in Naxxramas raiding. This was me (Avierra) and Azmuth tanking, Amihan, Brutusk and Plikta healing, and Rothgarth, Rizal, Grantilis, Silvertip and Malago on DPS. And yes, that is Patchwerk down - we took him down along with the entire Arachnid wing and Noth the Plaguebringer. One afternoon, we basically took a team of Naxx virgins and wiped out every boss we downed before you left. We didn't one-shot many of them, but these five bosses took us just over three hours. And we did it with a minimum of fuss, no Guild drama, or unnecessary chatter on Ventrilo.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I've been quite irresponsible where this blog is concerned - I haven't been posting (or publishing my draft posts) as I was snowed under by work last December and by social demands over the holiday break. I haven't been able to articulate properly the joy that was two weeks of raiding into Naxxramas. Loot or no loot, it was great to be raiding again. (Well, I got some loot.)
Then on Christmas day, the Guild leader decided he was tired of GoV and /gquit, taking with him three of his closest friends. Two more followed shortly after - all level 80s with extensive raiding experience. They showed up in the ranks of Sovereign minutes later.
I wasn't around ASTIG when this happened to them (a large number defected to HP) so this is the first time I'm experiencing this kind of betrayal. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. As with many things about GoV, this Could Have Been Handled Much Better. Unfortunately, it wasn't, and the fallout is that many of my favorite people were left hurt and hanging without any kind of consolation.
So. That drama is still unfolding, and I doubt we've seen the last of it. The important thing is that we're still intact - the Invasion continues, and with more of us hitting 80 we're looking at more and more Invasion-led raids in the days to come.
Happy New Year, indeed.
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