World of Warcraft

[Stego]

Disco priest is nice to have. Would have liked it on Brutallus. But I can't see a real purpose to it right now. All the content is too easy to really need any of the tools a Disco brings.

[Shryke]

The one nice thing about being a DK tank is it makes many priests (especially Disc ones) happy.

I remember one of my first heroics, the priest asks me if I minded if he shielded me at the start of the pull. I told him "I don't need to take dmage to tank, so shield me as much as you like, as long as I don't die.". He was VERY happy.

I now tell priests that when they are healing me. Most don't know it, and the good ones seem to appreciate knowing. Makes their life easier probably.

[emberling]

Posted this on guild forums but I might get a bit more exposure here. I'm not sure if there's anyone besides Stego or Kal who might be interested, but it couldn't hurt to ask here before I post it on EJ and get spammed with redundant help and/or flames.

I've been working on a massively comprehensive DK DPS spreadsheet on and off for a while and it's finally in a state where it's usable and produces actual numbers.

I'd like to throw it out here for the other mathcraft junkies to critique and find errors before I post it on EJ or whatnot.

There's also a few usability issues that need some addressing. For example, I'm not really sure how best to include item selection, or to allow specs/profiles to be saved/loaded like some spreadsheets do.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, I discovered upon finally finishing the semi-simulation code that recalculating a rotation takes several minutes. This means that any gear change that includes haste, or half the talent changes, or all sorts of other random stuff takes forever to calculate. I'm pretty lost as to how to fix this besides switching to a faster platform entirely (coding my own simulator from the ground up, most likely, since I'm not a fan of requiring users to have Excel, and I don't know C# or think Rawr is very flexible). Before I have to resort to something so drastic, I'd like someone else to give my algorithms a look for both optimization and accuracy (I have some suspicions that I at least didn't handle stacking debuffs properly, and that's one of the main things that takes forever anyway.)

[url="http://files.filefront.co.../;12869273;/fileinfo.html"]http://files.filefront.co.../;1286...;/fileinfo.html[/url]

[Lyanna Stark]

Our server is so fucked. Tried to do 25 man Naxx and it was just....ridiculous. We had such insance lag at all times I didn't even get a Quartz cast bar. Got Patchwerk, Grobb before the lag started, muscled our way through Gluth despite pure screen freezes and kept on wiping on Thaddius at around 3%. It was so bad people kept electro charging eachother cos they were so lagged and frozen the charge change didn't change until 7-8 seconds after it happened. It's just nasty trying to do him with that sort of lag. We gave up after around 5 tries, as it was totally pointless. Apart from the server lag we also had loads of people getting booted out from the server at all kinds of times, plus a queue to log on.

It just sucks when lag is preventing you from raiding. :(

[Stego]

We had that a couple of weeks ago. It was asinine.

[SergioCQH]

Hey, if I make a DK on QD, can I join your guild?

[BlueRose]

Phelan, Stego, and any other warrior tanks:
I'm a clicking tank for the most part and it's not cutting it anymore. I know I need to improve, I'm just not sure how to do it or where to read. I've been lookng for macros but a lot of the ones I can find are outdated.
Do you guys use macros? Or just key bindings?

I'm also really struggling to hit the Def cap. I'm in partial heroic blues/epics. I'll limk [url="http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Cenarius&n=Rhaenerys"]my armory[/url]. I realize my belt is embarrasing, I should hopefully be replacing it in 2 days or so.
You guys are the best tanks I know. :) Any advice for me?

[Stego]

Sergio, ranged DPS would be a lot more welcome than another DK atm. :D

[Stego]

Blue,

If you want to learn to use keybinds, start out soloing. I was a 100% clicker for a long time. I learned to use binds soloing. I still click most of my keys, I only have 8 bound.

Yes, I use some macro's, but they are all simple ones. Revenge+heroic strike for use with glyph of revenge and the like. No need to ever key up revenge without HS. I also bind cleave to thunderclap. If I have the rage, it queues it. Helps with AoE tanking. What else.....shield slam with shield block, so I am sure to get on slam out of a new shield block......shit like that.

For defense cap... seems like you're not trying hard enough.

-[b]Get the gun. ASAP.[/b]

-Get a defense trinket. Stop worrying about your health so much. It will come. There's one in ten man naxx that's solid and one in Halls of Lightning, I think.

-Use your BS gem slots. Use def gems.

-Work on Wyrmrest rep next. Get the cloak. Enchant it for defense

-Enchant your bracers for defense.

-Upgrade the belt ASAP and get a gem slot in there. Gem it for defense.

-Start farming the Red Sword


These things will probably get you to 450 or so defense. You can probably do them all in a day or two.

[PhelanArcetus]

[quote name='BlueRose' post='1637701' date='Jan 4 2009, 18.34']Phelan, Stego, and any other warrior tanks:
I'm a clicking tank for the most part and it's not cutting it anymore. I know I need to improve, I'm just not sure how to do it or where to read. I've been lookng for macros but a lot of the ones I can find are outdated.
Do you guys use macros? Or just key bindings?

I'm also really struggling to hit the Def cap. I'm in partial heroic blues/epics. I'll limk [url="http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Cenarius&n=Rhaenerys"]my armory[/url]. I realize my belt is embarrasing, I should hopefully be replacing it in 2 days or so.
You guys are the best tanks I know. :) Any advice for me?[/quote]

For the quick start on Def, I'd say grab Tempered Saronite Belt. If you lack the funds/materials for the Armor-Plated Combat Shotgun atm, there's a questline in Storm Peaks that's pretty quick and nets a pretty decent thrown weapon with Defense. You've got a fishing pole on at the point of post, but you can get Defense enchanted on chest and shield both as well, which helps. Otherwise, basically what Stego said. Smithing sockets with def gems, enchants, Wyrmrest revered for a chest upgrade, Crusade revered for a helm enchant (or stopgap with the Keepers of Time one from BC).

In terms of moving from clicking, I can't actually say; I never really started clicking and am in fact crippled when I try to click because I'm typing. I've got a couple of macros, but they're mostly target-controlling ones, like Intervene to the friendly target or the target of the hostile target. My paladin has a lot more, with mouseover->focus->self priority on Hand spells and cleanses. I do agree with trying to get in the habit while soloing and then starting to tank; it never goes well to try a new interface method when doing something non-trivial. I just use default keybindings, with modifier keys for additional action bars (and one that has no hotkeys at all where I keep stuff I definitely don't need in combat, like food, tradeskills, and so on). And of course, you want to cluster abilities you use most on keybindings you can easily reach. Since I use 1 through =, with control, shift, or alt, this means that I try to put everything that I really want easy access to between 1 and 6, the limit of what I can reach easily from fingers on WASD.

[Greywolf2375]

BlueRose - do you still have Dabiri's Enigma hanging around? If so you can switch your #1 trinket for that one, not the greatest but it is 30def until you get something better.

Stepped into Naxx yesterday. Had all sorts of delays since our OT had been pulled over by the police and apparently everyone had a bladder the size of a squirrel yesterday. MT'd Anub'Rekhan - wiped twice before people learned the AoE he does is complete no action, once they stayed away he was kited twice before going down. Faerlina I kep the ads and our warrior took her - somehow we kept getting too far apart and the widows embrace didn't get her. Got her on the 3rd try as well. Wiped twice on Maexx and had to call it as people were getting S.O. aggro and couldn't stay on. Pally healer got a chest & boot upgrade from Anub even though the boots were mail. Mage got the spellpower sword from Faerlina, I picked up the plate bracers for off spec.

Was fun, even the wiping was fine; only problem most of us had was that we had a priest in the group that, well, needs an attitude adjustment. Thankfully that toon is only there until our normal priest can get to 80.

I was very happy to see that in DPS I came out 6th - in most of the instances I have been running I have been 1 or 2 on the list. Course, there was a 500dps drop from me to the OT, but we will get there. Gonna give it another go this week and expect that we will clear the Spider wing and start on Plagues.

[Minaku]

Did a 4 hour clear of Naxx 25 on Tuesday, so we've been raidless the entire week. Been distracted by Little Big Planet, so I haven't been on much, and I've been studying as well. Woo.

[Arataniello]

We made steady progress in Naxx-10 over the weekend, clearing Arachnids on Saturday night and Plague on Sunday night.

Longest ever boss fight on Heigan, when the majority of the raid could not cope with the dance - in the end it was feral druid (me) DPS, pally tank, pally healer and hunter left standing, running, stopping, running, stopping for 26 minutes or so, while the rest of them spectated. Got the nice DPS leather cuffs for my efforts.

Abstruse techincal question - does anyone know if it is possible to use Shadowmeld during a boss fight to get around the one pot per fight rule? Our druid healer was OOM a couple of times on Noth, and wondered if she could have melded and then potted, then returned to fight.

[Minaku]

I've seen people shadowmeld out of wipes, so I don't see why she shouldn't be able to shadowmeld and pot. Only one way to find out - try it! Just don't try it on Thaddius, he'll bug. If you wipe, make sure everyone dies.

[RaceBannon42]

With Heigan you just need one person who knows what they are doing and 24 people who are not complete mouthbreathing window lickers. Put a raid mark on the smart person and the rest of the mouth breathers stay on top of that person. I'm in the latter category by the way. I'm getting 5-10 fps on boss fights and really dont have any trouble with this.

Also can i just say I HATE Whirlwinding trash mobs. I died like 3 times last night to the ones in Miltary wing. I back out when the one I'm targeting WW's but there are 2 in the trash packs and with them being bunched for AoE I'm dead before I know anything is hitting me.

[Tobin]

I got into Naxx 10 over the weekend and cleared the spider wing and most of the plague with our "B-Team".
The MT sent me a /tell saying we should maybe rethink our raid roster, we got farther than the A-Team did.

It was a good weekend, I got the Dragon Hide Bag and a nice belt upgrade.

Side note:
As much as I bitch about BS, I love that I can socket my own stuff, :love: .

[PhelanArcetus]

Oh yeah. I almost forgot I played this weekend (party, D&D game, Oh god how late did I stay up last night?, D&D game).

No levels, nothing interesting on the warrior except slow progress towards being done with Sons of Hodir (probably just in time to do them on another character), and the paladin picked up a few pieces by going to VH, Drak'tharon, Gundrak, and Ampitheater of Anguish.

Unfortunately, pretty much everything I'm doing on him for gear is trading away AP to shore up my falling crit. That should get better once I start having access to ilvl 200 gear though.

I think there's some talk of trying to get a plague wing in tonight to get started... but I think I'll be passing and going to bed a good 3 hours early. I hate doing it, but I need the sleep.

[Arataniello]

[quote name='PhelanArcetus' post='1638363' date='Jan 5 2009, 13.14']No levels, nothing interesting on the warrior except slow progress towards being done with Sons of Hodir (probably just in time to do them on another character)[/quote]

I'm saving all my Ulduar relics for subsequent toons needing rep with Sons of Hodir. Sure, I probably need a metric sh*tload of them, but when they become non-soulbound, rep grind should be a hell of a lot easier. The fewer times I have to do those dailies, the better.

[Lyanna Stark]

[quote name='RaceBannon42' post='1638355' date='Jan 5 2009, 18.02']Also can i just say I HATE Whirlwinding trash mobs. I died like 3 times last night to the ones in Miltary wing. I back out when the one I'm targeting WW's but there are 2 in the trash packs and with them being bunched for AoE I'm dead before I know anything is hitting me.[/quote]


Oh yes. Those are nasty on 25 man. Bring on Ulduar when you can't actually AoE down all trash packs says I!!

Plus ofc it is unfair for shamans and rogues on those packs, since the warriors WWing and the ret pallies normally have enough armour to live through the WWs (well, sometimes) if the healers are feeling nice and benevolent.

[Greywolf2375]

[quote name='Aratan' post='1638367' date='Jan 5 2009, 12.20']I'm saving all my Ulduar relics for subsequent toons needing rep with Sons of Hodir. Sure, I probably need a metric sh*tload of them, but when they become non-soulbound, rep grind should be a hell of a lot easier. The fewer times I have to do those dailies, the better.[/quote]
Wait. What? No where have I found that I could trade those things in for anything but drinks, and even those I didn't get rep for. Where are you trading them in - or am I misunderstanding?