So here I am again. I was running Demonology until my first raid. With another Lock in my raid running Affliction I couldn't help but be impressed by the numbers he was generating. Nearly twice what I was doing. That could mean I just sucked but who knows.
After serious consideration I have changed yet again. If you listen to Twisted Nether you'll know that I was talking to Hydra about it and had respecced while she was in town here in Orlando.
I decided no holds barred I was going to just close my eyes and jump. I changed everything. My Destro is now gone (/mourn). It has been replaced with full-fledged, totally committed, Affliction. I have reforged, regemmed and torn apart my bars to move items into their correct rotational situational position (hehe). I have modified macro's and learned new skills.
After running it now for 2 weeks I am still not sure if I feel like it's me yet but I'm working on it. I am still figuring the more subtle things such as when to use Drain Soul to get the most damage. Those sorts of small things that mean more than just hitting buttons.
What I do know is this:
I enjoy the dot juggling, it's very similar to what I was doing with destro except the filler is different. Instead of Incinerate I'm channeling Malefic Grasp.
I miss having something to hurl at the enemy. With Affliction there is no Chaos Bolt or Shadow Bolt. It is totally dot dot dot dash(channel). I can throw the occasional Haunt which is a lot of fun but doesn't feel as ominous to me. It's not the I'm gonna blast your ass away, it's more the I'm gonna sneak up on you and cut it off when you're not looking kinda thing. Surprise! You're dead! That works for me.
When I can get the Soulburn & Soul Swap going whew boy! Now THAT is good times. If you manage it right you can take a mob down in a hot second. It works beautifully for two or three at once.
I plan to keep working on this and playing with the glyphs and talents as I go. I'll try to keep you posted since I've started talking about this more, and let you all know how it's going.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Indulging in Chocolate Bar - A Bar Broker Add-On
I was thinking the other day that a lot of people talk about add-ons. What they like, what they use, and what they recommend. Rarely if ever do I discuss my UI because I think I'm a bit cluttered.
That being said I do try to pare it down as much as possible and I would like to share with you one of my favorite anti-cluttering add-ons. One that I realized recently I nearly never think about, but use every single time I log in.
If you couldn't guess from the title it's called Chocolate Bar. It is a UI bar broker add-on. A broker is an add-on that you use to handle or manage other add-ons.
First, here is a picture for you. This bar sits along the very top of my screen and pushes everything down slightly so it fits neatly.
Chocolate bar can be configured into multiple bars anywhere on your screen. The most common are top and bottom, but you can create many small bars and locate them around your screen if you're so inclined. I changed to Chocolate bar from Titan Panel when Titan Panel became too difficult to manage. This particular broker allows you to drag and drop items around on the bar if you don't like where they're located. When I found this add-on I was only looking for something to put across the top of my screen and this fits the bill wonderfully.
I chose this particular type of add-on because of the over abundance of add-on buttons that began to surround my mini map. I needed to get them off and into a manageable state. So in the top right hand corner you will see all my add-ons that used to be around my mini-map. They are still available to open on one click.
Just to the left of those is my volume control and next to that is my actual time. Since my realm time is different from my actual time I leave the clock on the mini map for realm and the one on the bar is local time.
On the left hand side are the other random brokers. There is a gold broker which when moused over drops down and tells me how much gold is on each toon. It will also tell me how much I've made and can be configured to show daily weekly or monthly income. It can also be configured to include other types of currency such as JP. Next to that I have my current repair status.
In the center where you see the latency and frames per second information, when I mouse over that it becomes the mini bar drop down. That is where I select my dungeons, customer service, mounts and pets. Generally anything that you'd find in that box that used to be at the bottom of the screen by the bags. Right next to that is my location coordinates. The coordinates can be expanded to show the name of the location (city) and the zone you are in.
Once I started using this type of add-on I began to explore other features. Any add-on that says its a broker can be used with Chocolate Bar as well as many other add-ons can be managed with it.
I have seen many UI's that are very minimalistic. I don't like things where I can't see them so I have chosen this route. It keeps everything there and one click away but it keeps it manageable.
If you like to have things handy but need to de-clutter I would seriously recommend a bar broker add-on.
Chocolate Bar can be found at Curse. Click here to check it out.
That being said I do try to pare it down as much as possible and I would like to share with you one of my favorite anti-cluttering add-ons. One that I realized recently I nearly never think about, but use every single time I log in.
If you couldn't guess from the title it's called Chocolate Bar. It is a UI bar broker add-on. A broker is an add-on that you use to handle or manage other add-ons.
First, here is a picture for you. This bar sits along the very top of my screen and pushes everything down slightly so it fits neatly.
Chocolate bar can be configured into multiple bars anywhere on your screen. The most common are top and bottom, but you can create many small bars and locate them around your screen if you're so inclined. I changed to Chocolate bar from Titan Panel when Titan Panel became too difficult to manage. This particular broker allows you to drag and drop items around on the bar if you don't like where they're located. When I found this add-on I was only looking for something to put across the top of my screen and this fits the bill wonderfully.
I chose this particular type of add-on because of the over abundance of add-on buttons that began to surround my mini map. I needed to get them off and into a manageable state. So in the top right hand corner you will see all my add-ons that used to be around my mini-map. They are still available to open on one click.
Just to the left of those is my volume control and next to that is my actual time. Since my realm time is different from my actual time I leave the clock on the mini map for realm and the one on the bar is local time.
On the left hand side are the other random brokers. There is a gold broker which when moused over drops down and tells me how much gold is on each toon. It will also tell me how much I've made and can be configured to show daily weekly or monthly income. It can also be configured to include other types of currency such as JP. Next to that I have my current repair status.
In the center where you see the latency and frames per second information, when I mouse over that it becomes the mini bar drop down. That is where I select my dungeons, customer service, mounts and pets. Generally anything that you'd find in that box that used to be at the bottom of the screen by the bags. Right next to that is my location coordinates. The coordinates can be expanded to show the name of the location (city) and the zone you are in.
Once I started using this type of add-on I began to explore other features. Any add-on that says its a broker can be used with Chocolate Bar as well as many other add-ons can be managed with it.
I have seen many UI's that are very minimalistic. I don't like things where I can't see them so I have chosen this route. It keeps everything there and one click away but it keeps it manageable.
If you like to have things handy but need to de-clutter I would seriously recommend a bar broker add-on.
Chocolate Bar can be found at Curse. Click here to check it out.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Are You REALLY That Good? Impressions of High End Raiding
Hello there, it's been a while. I've been crazy at work and sick and busy with random events, not to mention trying to get in a bit of WoW time.
I was listening to Convert To Raid, I believe it was episode #67, and they were talking about what high end raid guilds do to remain on top. Guilds such as Paragon. I have to preface this by saying I have no first hand knowledge and am only going by what I heard on this podcast. From what the guys on Convert to Raid said these folks raid 10-16 hrs per day with breaks for sleep, food etc. It sounds like 3-5 days per week.
I must admit I was surprised at first to hear that someone could spend that much time raiding. Not would mind you, but could. If I had the time I think I would as well. I knew they received sponsorship and such but had no idea that these folks didn't actually have a job. That raiding is indeed their job.
So that's cool I get it. I think if you can make a living that way that is pretty freakin' awesome. However, I began to think that if these guys are putting in this much time what makes them any different from me. I can no longer say they are better players. They are just more persistent. In no way do I want to downplay what they do. Like I said, if I had that opportunity I would take it. It seems that they spend the same amount of time as the rest of us getting through the content, they just do it all at once. I have to ask then, does that make them better at the game then the rest of us?
I was listening to Convert To Raid, I believe it was episode #67, and they were talking about what high end raid guilds do to remain on top. Guilds such as Paragon. I have to preface this by saying I have no first hand knowledge and am only going by what I heard on this podcast. From what the guys on Convert to Raid said these folks raid 10-16 hrs per day with breaks for sleep, food etc. It sounds like 3-5 days per week.
I must admit I was surprised at first to hear that someone could spend that much time raiding. Not would mind you, but could. If I had the time I think I would as well. I knew they received sponsorship and such but had no idea that these folks didn't actually have a job. That raiding is indeed their job.
So that's cool I get it. I think if you can make a living that way that is pretty freakin' awesome. However, I began to think that if these guys are putting in this much time what makes them any different from me. I can no longer say they are better players. They are just more persistent. In no way do I want to downplay what they do. Like I said, if I had that opportunity I would take it. It seems that they spend the same amount of time as the rest of us getting through the content, they just do it all at once. I have to ask then, does that make them better at the game then the rest of us?
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Lock Options - Changing Spec for Mists
I have been a die-hard destro lock since I began playing WoW. I have always found the spec challenging and have enjoyed blowing things up.
For those of you who might retort I'm a fire mage in warlocks clothing, I say you must have never played them. I find warlocks quite different from mages so don't go there.
For those of you who might ask why play destro when there were many times over the past 7 years where they were just the pits in dps. Even compared to other warlock specs. In fact most of the time compared to other warlock specs. Yes, trust me I know.
As I said. Die-hard destro.
This expansion has forced me to branch out. I was incredibly disappointed with destro this time around. It feels as if it has been reduced to 3 buttons with a couple of CD's. I have to have a little complication. Perhaps that is why I am drawn to the lock in the first place. There is a lot to track. Or was. I was usually tracking several cool-downs at one time, I believe it was about 8 all together. Now those 8 have been drastically changed and reduced.
Since I wasn't enjoying it very much I thought this would be a perfect time to explore all the other specs for the first time in my WoW history. I rolled a 2nd warlock to level just before Mists dropped and between my main and my alt I am running all three specs regularly. I have to say I'm having a great time. I'm learning something new, learning more about my class, and becoming a more well rounded warlock in general.
So which spec have I gravitated to you might ask? Demonology! I really like the wild imps and REALLY like running around with an army of minions. It is just so much fun! I think that is also one of the reasons I'm very attracted to DK's as well. Love the unholy thing, the pets, the bad-ass spells and evil intent and the minions. I think I'm in love with warlocks now more than I have ever been. If you don't have one you should get one. I highly recommend. :)
For those of you who might retort I'm a fire mage in warlocks clothing, I say you must have never played them. I find warlocks quite different from mages so don't go there.
For those of you who might ask why play destro when there were many times over the past 7 years where they were just the pits in dps. Even compared to other warlock specs. In fact most of the time compared to other warlock specs. Yes, trust me I know.
As I said. Die-hard destro.
This expansion has forced me to branch out. I was incredibly disappointed with destro this time around. It feels as if it has been reduced to 3 buttons with a couple of CD's. I have to have a little complication. Perhaps that is why I am drawn to the lock in the first place. There is a lot to track. Or was. I was usually tracking several cool-downs at one time, I believe it was about 8 all together. Now those 8 have been drastically changed and reduced.
Since I wasn't enjoying it very much I thought this would be a perfect time to explore all the other specs for the first time in my WoW history. I rolled a 2nd warlock to level just before Mists dropped and between my main and my alt I am running all three specs regularly. I have to say I'm having a great time. I'm learning something new, learning more about my class, and becoming a more well rounded warlock in general.
So which spec have I gravitated to you might ask? Demonology! I really like the wild imps and REALLY like running around with an army of minions. It is just so much fun! I think that is also one of the reasons I'm very attracted to DK's as well. Love the unholy thing, the pets, the bad-ass spells and evil intent and the minions. I think I'm in love with warlocks now more than I have ever been. If you don't have one you should get one. I highly recommend. :)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
First Impressions of MoP
I have to say....I LOVE this game!
My favorite expansion before this one is Wrath of the Lich King. Mainly because it had a substance to it that I enjoyed. All around story, visually, and questing was fun and immersive.
Pandaria has that same thing. A vast continuous land mass with lots of stuff to do and see.
So here is my brief review.
The story is OK. I don't find it compelling, especially for Alliance. Searching for Varian's boy doesn't really give me a great reason to invade another country.
The world I find really interesting. Every zone has it's own feel to it (at least the ones I've seen so far), and are rich with good and bad factions. Generally the vista's and the buildings are really beautiful and I find the lighting really awesome, especially inside of buildings and dungeons.
The quests have been good. There are some new unique quest types that I have seen that involve moving you to another location and having you follow someone and do things with a vehicle bar. Not new mechanics per se but they appear to be presented in a different format. At least they feel original to me. I can't think of anything to compare them to in previous expansions. Other than that you have the usual quest types.
The use of phasing has been subtle and well placed.
I spent the first two levels questing with a friend the entire time and I do have a couple of con's I'd like to share. The duo questing worked really well for the most part but we did find that we got stuck in certain situations. We had one experience in Valley of the Four Winds where we were stuck in combat until we both logged out and rebooted our computers. We had a few experiences where we would go to turn in a quest or begin a quest and all of a sudden find ourselves split up or running after an NPC. I am not sure how Blizzard could make those better except to give you some sort of notice that you will be moving as soon as you start this quest, or give you the "speak to so-and-so when you're ready to go". Those seem to work well.
So far I am enjoying this expansion immensely. One week in and I am 5 bubbles from 90. Which for me is a new record. Normally I enjoy meandering through quests, but feel compelled this time around to jump in and hit the ground running. I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am. :)
My favorite expansion before this one is Wrath of the Lich King. Mainly because it had a substance to it that I enjoyed. All around story, visually, and questing was fun and immersive.
Pandaria has that same thing. A vast continuous land mass with lots of stuff to do and see.
So here is my brief review.
The story is OK. I don't find it compelling, especially for Alliance. Searching for Varian's boy doesn't really give me a great reason to invade another country.
The world I find really interesting. Every zone has it's own feel to it (at least the ones I've seen so far), and are rich with good and bad factions. Generally the vista's and the buildings are really beautiful and I find the lighting really awesome, especially inside of buildings and dungeons.
The quests have been good. There are some new unique quest types that I have seen that involve moving you to another location and having you follow someone and do things with a vehicle bar. Not new mechanics per se but they appear to be presented in a different format. At least they feel original to me. I can't think of anything to compare them to in previous expansions. Other than that you have the usual quest types.
The use of phasing has been subtle and well placed.
I spent the first two levels questing with a friend the entire time and I do have a couple of con's I'd like to share. The duo questing worked really well for the most part but we did find that we got stuck in certain situations. We had one experience in Valley of the Four Winds where we were stuck in combat until we both logged out and rebooted our computers. We had a few experiences where we would go to turn in a quest or begin a quest and all of a sudden find ourselves split up or running after an NPC. I am not sure how Blizzard could make those better except to give you some sort of notice that you will be moving as soon as you start this quest, or give you the "speak to so-and-so when you're ready to go". Those seem to work well.
So far I am enjoying this expansion immensely. One week in and I am 5 bubbles from 90. Which for me is a new record. Normally I enjoy meandering through quests, but feel compelled this time around to jump in and hit the ground running. I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am. :)
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