Patchy Thinking

I know I still owe a tanking article, but I, like very other blogger out there, have to say a few things about the new patch…

The new LFG system? Love and hate it. If you’re a tank or healer, you’ll get queued lightning quick. DPS take longer—in some cases a lot longer. However, I do love the idea of actually getting Anake into stuff, and now that’s a much more likely possibility. I’ve also discovered that there is a whole new herd of noobs out there. I don’t know what it is about this patch, but some tanks and healers seem to have taken leave of their senses. I’ve seen pallies with 22k health trying to tank heroic Forge of Souls! I’ve seen healers in quest blues and greens, who had to have just gotten their letter from Rhonin, trying to heal the new instances on heroic. The nice thing about instancing across battlegroups is a wider range of people to work with. However, all their noobs are now our noobs, and vice versa. I want my old noobs back. I understood them, and could whisper them with help and hints on strategies, and could see them when they needed help getting back to an instance. I can’t make new friends in instances anymore. Instancing has become very impersonal, and that saddens me.

The new instances? Forge of Souls is more like what we’re used to. We’ve tank n’ spanked our way through heroic on that one, no worries. Crowd control is back, baby, and in a big way in Pit of Saron. Overall I like the new 5-mans, except for Halls of Reflection. Those waves are murder for pretty much anyone but a pally. Blizz is still hitting the pally love really hard, but hey, it’s a bunch of undead, so it’s right up their alley. But I AM glad to see mages sheeping and priests shackling again. I missed the artistry of crowd control from BC.

Any raiding? With ToC reg on farm in 10 and 25, and heroic modes too nasty for us, Band of Misfits hit Icecrown Citadel this weekend. We’re 4/4 on 10-man, and 1/4 on 25.  I got a cool tanking ring, but due to a bug with the airship, I don’t have it yet. A ticket was sent in, which should be answered soon^®. I like the new raid. Most of the fights are stationary, so I could really get going with my kitty DPS. It’s SO exciting to be in a raid that isn’t even fully unlocked yet, and to have cleared the whole thing!

What else is going on? Thanks to Pilgrim’s Bounty, Rov is now a 450 cook! He’s also rocking the cool kid’s pole from Kalu’aking off with the holiday’s rep buff. Seriously, that holiday could not have come along at a more opportune time for him. Next, I  plan grind up my Hodir rep, send Rov a ton of money, and start handing out the shoulder chants. To me, that’s how you stay interested in WoW: have little goals to accomplish, like leveling fishing or farming for a mount. If you have a goal, you’ll stay interested outside of the raids as well as in them.

Once I put a little more polish on it, the CC article will be up. Until then, get in there and have fun!

2. Know Your Gear

Welcome to the second installment of the new person's guide to tanking. Today we discuss the most coveted, drooled over and maddening topic in WoW--gear.

Gear is less important than skill, but gear certainly helps. If you’re ready to start tanking raids and heroics, you need the gear to fit your aspirations. There are pre-heroic and pre-raid gear lists for every class out there, gear to be had from instances, crafted items and faction rewards. Your first stop should be Google. Just type in “_____________ pre-raid tanking gear list,” filling in your class in the space, and off you go. Get these gear lists, print them out, and go shopping.

Unfortunately, due to Blizzard rolling out new raids on a brisk timer, it’s very hard to find people willing to raid time-consuming entry-level instances like Naxxramas or Obsidian Sanctum, simply because the gear in these instances has no advantage over current badge gear, and that gap will only widen with the next patch. Try to get into raids such as 10-man Ulduar and Vault of Archavon. Your time would be better spent farming what you can from the heroics and these raids, and then filling in gaps with badge gear.

Instance Drops

Instances drop many items that are considered best in slot until you start raiding. The downside is that the item may not drop for a very long time, and when it does, you may not be the one to get it. But, the good thing about farming for a drop is that you are getting valuable tanking experience, you are meeting new people who may become potential guildmates, and if you are wearing their tabard, you are getting rep with one of the championable factions.

Popular instances are Nexus, Azjol-Nerub, Utgarde Keep, Violet Hold, and Drak Tharon Keep. These are fairly quick runs that are not terribly tough with an experienced, semi-skilled group. Concentrate on gear out of these first.

Then, you might want to move to the next tier: Oculus, Old Kingdom, Utgarde Pinnacle, Gundrak, Caverns of Time: Stratholme, Halls of Stone, and Halls of Lightning. These instances are tougher, with many groups getting stalled on the first bosses. It’s harder to wrangle a group for these, and sometimes even harder to get to the end, but the gear in these instances will usually last a while.

Then, there is a class of heroic that is all by itself for now: Trial of the Champion. The gear in the heroic version of this instance is at Ulduar 10 level. This should be put on heavy rotation until you have the tanking gear from it, which are basically very nice shoulders, a quite good ring, and a fugly gnomish sword that I refuse to carry. There is always a group going for ToC, and many folks farm the regular version for the coveted tank and dps trinkets.

Badge Items

Yeah, I know they’re technically called Emblems of Conquest, but for those of us who grew up in BC, they’ll always be badges. Every boss in the heroics drops them, as well as the raid bosses in raids like Naxx, Obsidian Sanctum and Ulduar. The nice thing about the current badge gear is that it is Ulduar 25 level, and you can get two tier pieces. Badge gear is quite respectable, and you should be running heroics regularly to build up badges for that next upgrade, especially if the raid loot hasn’t been coming your way. Make a list of badge items, prioritize it carefully around the most immediate upgrades, and start running heroics. As a tank you’ll find little shortage of work. Covering yourself in badge gear also gives you the numbers necessary to start looking at 25-man Ulduar, where more useful upgrades will drop for you than in 10-mans or heroics. Emblems of Triumph, currently only available in Trial of the Crusader and the daily heroic, will become the base badge in the next patch, giving everyone access to four pieces of Tier 9 armor! But, don’t wait to farm badges. Emblems of Conquest can still be downgraded via the vendors to buy gems or items that may still be upgrades from your current gear.

Crafted Items

One really cool thing about Wrath is that crafted pieces from the professions are once again worth a damn. The nice thing about crafteds is that you don’t have to plow through an instance you hate for eternity, hoping that shield you want will drop. Just spend some time farming, plonk down some gold, and you can have a crafted item that, for your current purposes, is almost as good as the drop. Rabid best-in-slot people will say that the drop shield is better, but I’ll happily trade the aggravation for the convenience.

Factions

Faction quartermasters have something for everyone, and tanks can actually put together quite nice heroic and raid starting gear from the items and enchants available from these sources. Know which factions are a priority and what level of rep you need to have to get the goodie you have your eye on.

One of the great things about Wrath is the introduction of the championing system. Do the quests for a faction, buy their tabard as soon as possible, and wear that sucker into every heroic and level-80 instance until you reach the rep level you need. It’s a fantastic way to gain rep outside of dailies. Championable factions are the Wyrmrest Accord, the Kirin Tor, the Argent Crusade, and the Knights of the Ebon Blade.

For tanks, the first folks to champion and do quests for are the Wyrmrest Accord. They have three simply marvelous items for you right off the bat, plate or fuzzy tank. Druid rep gear is somewhat spread around with many factions, but Wyrmrest is still a good place to start for their two items that are quite nice for druids. Next should be the Argent Crusade, who has the best head chant in the game at the moment for any tank, along with some other nice gear choices.

Not all factions are championable; some have only good ‘ol dailies as a way to gain rep. One notable example is the Sons of Hodir, who have a lengthy quest chain to unlock, but have the best shoulder chants in the game at the moment. Load up your quest log and try not to have Quel’Danas flashbacks.

2.5 Gems and Chants

Okay, you have the gear; now, let’s talk about item enhancement.

Do not step into an instance without having your gear chanted and gemmed. Trust me: you will be inspected by one or more of your group members, some of whom have tanks of their own. Nothing inspires less confidence in you than seeing unchanted boots or gloves, or empty gem slots, and you might even get booted from the group for such a shameless display of noobery. Most of the gear lists you find on Google will also have recommendations for enchants and gems.

You don’t have to go for the most expensive chants and gems when starting out—you just need to make smart yet economical choices that show other players that you’re trying to be good at your job. Don’t have enough rep with the Argent Crusade or the Sons of Hodir yet? Don’t sweat it: just slap on a Heavy Borean Armor Kit and keep grinding. As a tank, it’s hard to go wrong with more stamina.

When gemming starting gear, I tend to go for gems that have a stat plus stamina, gems such as the Guardian’s Twilight Opal. Feel free to ignore socket bonuses if the bonus isn’t a stat you are interested in. I wouldn’t recommend putting epic-quality gems into any item you are trying to replace ASAP. I’ll put epic gems in Conquest gear, simply because I probably won’t get to replace those items for a bit. Hit the auction house and look for blue versions of the gems you need; they tend to be much cheaper nowadays than epic-quality gems and are almost as good. There’s no excuse for not having at least blue-quality gems in your gear, not since the last patch when they came down in price. Are you baffled by the gem selection out there? So was I,  until I discovered the WoW Gem Finder. Go, visit, and marvel at the simplicity--it will change your life.

What stat should you gem and enchant for? Aside from stamina, my philosophy is to gem and enchant for a deficient stat. If your parry is low, gem for parry. Naturally, if you are below the defense cap, gem and chant for that first.

What else is part of doing your best? When running instances, especially pugs, make sure that you are using a potion and a food buff of some kind. You always want to give the impression of someone who is trying to do his or her best. When in a raid, especially content you have the potential to wipe on over and over, use a flask. My favorite for both tanks is a golden oldie, the Flask of Chromatic Wonder.Other tanks prefer the Flask of Stoneblood, but it’s your decision. With the Chromatic, I get more bang for my buck.

It's also nice if your contribution to the group is more than just being a meatshield. Learn to cook and drop Fish Feasts at the start of the instance. Invest in a set of the druid and paladin buff drums, and use them when one of these folks is missing from the group makeup. If a pally is there, offer to use your drums so that he or she can give Blessing of Might, if applicable. Be the tank people want to run with, not just the tank that's available.

Next time, I’ll be discussing the nuts and bolts of pulling mobs and moving through an instance, along with what the other members of your group can do to make your job easier, a skill that is almost extinct but which needs to make a comeback: crowd control.

Must Have 4.5k DPS

I know that another tanking article is overdue, but I wanted to share this with you…

Yesterday, I was bumming around on Rov in Ironforge, and I saw something go by in trade that caught my eye:

[1. Trade] LFM for 25 voa, need warrior dps

They need a warrior and I don’t have to tank it? That is rare. Why not? I have a decent DPS set for that instance, mostly Conquest gear and heroic ToC drops. I love playing Fury warrior. Irresponsible Whirlwinding ftw!


(The name has been changed to protect the guilty. Oh, and to any real BillLumbergh on my server, so sorry, you were an innocent bystander.)

Rov: I’ll go :)

BillLumbergh: Can you do 4.5k DPS?

Rov: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA  /deepbreath AAAAAHAHAHAHA

BillLumbergh: Why u laugh

Rov: 4.5k DPS? For freaking vault? c’mon man…

BillLumbergh: new 80 can do 4k

While I was talking, I got a whisper for a CoT Strat pug.

BillLumbergh: Ok, but u better not do like 2k

He attempts the invite, but I’m already in the CoT group. Incidentally, I finally got the Bronze Drake! Eighth time’s a charm!

Rov: Sorry, DPS is my offspec, so I probably can’t do the leet damage you so desperately need.

BillLumbergh: i c

As a sidenote, I hate it when people don’t type out the simplest words. I think anyone who types “i c”, “pl0x” or “plz” should be whacked firmly on the knuckles by a large nun using a metal ruler.

Now, I’m not saying that warriors can’t do that kind of damage. Basically, I’m saying 2 things:

1. A brand new 80 warrior, decked out in his best quest blues and crafteds, cannot do that kind of damage.

2. That kind of DPS is not necessary for Vault, even Koralon. In fact, the requirements of DPS are getting out of hand.

I think number one speaks for itself, so let’s discuss number two. I’ve noticed that since Wrath began, players have become a little too discriminating in their search for puggers. Nowadays, people are asking for set DPS numbers and looking up Wow-Heroes scores and Armory profiles like never before. Instead of being an action of top-end raiding guilds looking for prospective members, gear snobbery and DPS tunnel vision are becoming standard operating procedure for groups of all sizes and levels. This is hurting new 80s and casual players. Should brand-new 80s and casuals be getting into ToC 25? Maybe, maybe not. My point is that this attitude has trickled down to even the heroics. I’ve seen people ask for 4k for badge farming, for crying out loud!

By only looking for numbers or being Armory snobs, raid leaders are locking out potentially good players, future guildies, and newer 80s who could actually use the gear in those raids, particularly in the case of Emalon and Archavon. That’s the paradox: the folks who can do that sort of DPS probably don’t need much from a puggable run. They’re looking for heroic ToC and hardmode Ulduar. The corporate mentality has crept into WoW, and every raid leader is turning into Bill Lumbergh—it’s wrong, it’s disheartening, and it’s not in the spirit of a game.

I also blame Blizz for this problem too, not just the raid leaders. Rolling out the instances so fast has made end-game pretty much the only game; nobody has the slightest interest in Obsidian Sanctum or Naxx anymore. The badges there are obtainable in any 5-man, and the gear is nothing compared to Ulduar and ToC. Ulduar’s insistence on gear score (I’m looking at you, Flame Leviathan) only compounds the problem, and I think may be where it really began to gain momentum.

And heaven help anyone who is a pure DPS, like a hunter or rogue, especially for 5-mans! I’ve taken to putting my gear score in my comment when I go LFG with Nak, along with letting folks know that I have drums and Fish Feasts, just to sweeten the deal for taking along a worthless hunter. Nobody does crowd control anymore, so my trapping and kiting skills aren’t needed, and I can’t buff or battle rez anyone, so I easily lose out to hybrid classes. Why do I play tanks? Partly because I like to play! Tanks get work. DPS, on the other hand, is a crowded and competitive market. If you’re not topping the meters, you’re scraping the bottom.

Was it different in BC? I think so. I personally don’t remember such an emphasis on numbers and criteria, especially when in the trade channel, just looking for what one could get. For high-end content, I’m sure there was more care put into choosing folks, but if you’re going after Illidan, the peanut gallery of trade chat is probably not the first place you will go. If you were in a 25-man raiding guild, you had standbys waiting to pounce on an open slot.

There are far too many people now who want to be carried through a raid, to have people so overgeared that they cannot fail and will obliterate everything in a few minutes. These people seem to have the attitude that WoW is work, that instances and raids are to be plowed through, purty purples distributed, and off to the next one. Has the pleasure aspect of this game completely been thrown out the window? Is it just about how fast we can get through the instance, and not about how much fun we have while doing it? The day that I approach WoW with the same stalwart gritting of teeth that I do the daily grind of my job is the day I hang up my long ears.

Bill, wiping can be fun. And instructive. Not blasting though an instance, perhaps letting it be a bit of a challenge, can be quite rewarding. Someone can have mediocre DPS and still be a very good person and a valuable member of the group. Earth-shattering, I know, but try to wrap your head around it. If you could get these concepts, that’d be great. M’kay?

/sip