So, about Death Knight...

[Norellicus]

Tried Oculus today and I swear, druids suck at healing. Everytime I get a druid healer I somehow manage to die when I have lots of shit going on, I don't think their heals keep up on me whereas priests and paladins have no trouble healing me.

Not to nitpick but as a point of class pride, its more likely it's just the fact that DK tanking handles damage differently than most tanks, so HoTs tend to have a harder time keeping up. Since druids don't have any terribly efficient direct heals it makes life a bit troublesome. Not really the class, more just the synergy between how your class tanks vs how they expect damage to be dealt. ;p

(Or it's entirely possible all the druids you've met suck at healing, I won't discount that completely >_>)

[Plow]

Not to nitpick but as a point of class pride, its more likely it's just the fact that DK tanking handles damage differently than most tanks, so HoTs tend to have a harder time keeping up. Since druids don't have any terribly efficient direct heals it makes life a bit troublesome. Not really the class, more just the synergy between how your class tanks vs how they expect damage to be dealt. ;p

(Or it's entirely possible all the druids you've met suck at healing, I won't discount that completely >_>)

I'm going to go with them sucking.

DK tanking actually works very well with druid healing, as long as they're geared enough for it not to be super spikey.

The on-again-off-again nature would seem like it doesn't match up due to the consistent nature of hot healing. However, in practice it sets up perfectly for druids to have all the time in the world to set up their stacks between damage periods, and work their cooldowns to cover all the big chunks easily.

[Norellicus]

Yeah maybe all the ones I've worked with haven't been geared properly or need to l2p, I dunno

[Plow]

it's definitely very different, but once they're used to it, it works out very well


ones that played a lot of arena with locks will find it easier to pick up I would think, the nature of fear immunities created a similar synergy

[Maguspk]

The World of Warcraft Armory

Had a Tempered Titansteel Helm crafted today for half AH price and bought the Feet for 700, brought my health up by like 2.5k now I sit at 23k and some change which is a little better. I'm also at 553 defense so I don't have to worry about losing defense a little, or even altogether, in some slots.

I am reading a lot and I believe what happened to me both times I mentioned earlier, where I died without warning, was due to my hit rating being too low and the bosses maybe parrying my attacks and getting the auto-attack haste from parrying. I don't feel I can be bothered worrying about yet another stat to ensure I don't get parried so it's 2nd in line to stamina for now. Stamina is definitely my top priority at the moment, going to run H AN for the Essence of Gossamer and Ancient Aligned Girdle and H VH for Bolstered Legplates. Not sure what I'm going to do once I have all 3 of those... maybe try to farm Heroics daily until I can get some good turn ins from Emblems of Heroism.

I'll have to look into getting the mats for the ring next time I get on.

[Plow]

hit doesn't counter dodge or parry, it only counters miss

expertise counters dodge and parry

[Maguspk]

hit doesn't counter dodge or parry, it only counters miss

expertise counters dodge and parry

Ah yeah that's what it was, expertise until like 26 because it's more efficient than hit and then they are both about equal in terms of benefits after that with expertise being slighty better due to avoiding parries.

I can easily get the mats for the Titanium Earthguard Chain and Ring and it'd be like maybe 1000 total plus a nice tip for the JC for both pieces, but on AH it's like 1500 for each piece. I'm not going to pay 3000 gold for what should cost 1400 gold so I'm trying to find a JC to do it but finding one with the patterns is not as easy as asking in trade channel I guess. Nobody in my guild has JC either so I guess I'll wait. It's a shame because getting both would help me easily fufill my meta socket requirements on my Temp. Titansteel Helm while replacing 2 blues I'm currently wearing, bringing me up to 4 epics and about 24k HP.

[Plow]

Ah yeah that's what it was, expertise until like 26 because it's more efficient than hit and then they are both about equal in terms of benefits after that with expertise being slighty better due to avoiding parries.

I can easily get the mats for the Titanium Earthguard Chain and Ring and it'd be like maybe 1000 total plus a nice tip for the JC for both pieces, but on AH it's like 1500 for each piece. I'm not going to pay 3000 gold for what should cost 1400 gold so I'm trying to find a JC to do it but finding one with the patterns is not as easy as asking in trade channel I guess. Nobody in my guild has JC either so I guess I'll wait. It's a shame because getting both would help me easily fufill my meta socket requirements on my Temp. Titansteel Helm while replacing 2 blues I'm currently wearing, bringing me up to 4 epics and about 24k HP.

Expertise caps at 26 (That's 26 expertise, not 26 expertise rating, huge difference just like defense). After that it has no more benefit.

Also, probably just get the ring, the neck is not that great, no better than the one you can get for 25 badges, arguably not even as good.

[Abob]

Expertise caps at 26 (That's 26 expertise, not 26 expertise rating, huge difference just like defense). After that it has no more benefit.

Also, probably just get the ring, the neck is not that great, no better than the one you can get for 25 badges, arguably not even as good.

iirc 26 expertise is only dodge cap you can still add more to reduce the parry chance, people say it caps at 26 because you would need retarded amounts to cap parry but after 26 it still does have effect.

[Maguspk]

I think 52 is the magic number you want for expertise but I don't think people aim to reach it maybe?

I got both the ring and the neck made (fuck it, I have lots of gold and needed to spend it, down to 1.7k now but I have all my buyable epics). Now I have 23.9k and I feel much better about my gear, my mitigation is still a little low I think (about 31% native maybe) but my defense is shitloads above the cap so I comfortably remove pieces for epics with more stam and less defense rating so my health should steadily go up. Also, I like the neck because it allows me to gem and get metasocket requirements as I get more gear I'll likely be able to get the 25 badge necklace but I'd much rather spend my badges on something I can't get a pretty equivalent buyable piece for like maybe the body piece or something.

Also, it's kind of annoying that heroics are once a day but I can see why (too easy to farm badges if you could just reset all day).

[Plow]

Yeah, my mistake sorry. No reason not to go over 26 expertise, and yes 52 would be the proper cap, but even 26 is a freaking lot of expertise, and it loses the "best threat / dpsing stat period" status after 26.

[Maguspk]

Why do shitty players insist on trying to run Heroics. I just got done trying to beat the last boss in AN 5 FUCKING times, and we kept wiping after the 3rd wave. We had this shitty Shaman who was trying to DPS and couldn't even keep his Poison Cleansing Totem down, druid healer kept dieing wearing full green/blues going OOM thanks to a combination of no good gear and shitty play by the Shaman. He couldn't even break 900 on the DPS meters, whle the Rogue and Lock were upwards of 1.2k (still shitty but not as shitty). And I was doing 1.1k DPS. Fuck I'm a tank I should not be competing with our DPS man. The rogue was even in full epics. I mean come the fuck on.

I tank fine but now I notice how terrible groups can be. So I wasted my chance at AN today and I didn't even get a shot at the belt for tanking that he drops. I understand the system but it fucking blows when you get a group and they turn out to suck in fights that require a shred of intelligence. The same thing happened in H VH yesterday, I got to the literally, 2nd to last portal before Cry comes and stupid fucking Ret Paladin decides to stand at the portal and grab the mobs before me and procede to run towards the door, away from me, saying "GET THIS SHIT OFF ME OMFGZ". Fucking idiots I swear.

/vent

[Plow]

Because shitty players deserve rewards too, even if they're not willing to exert any effort for them!


Actually, it's mostly because Naxx is so easy the only reason to run heroics is a few days when you first hit 80 and want those couple key things. I tend to trust people a lot more if I see them in s3/s4 gear that had rating requirements with no heroic shit at all that obviously just hit 80 than people that are all decked out in heroic gear and have 0 raid achievements.

[Ramor]

I'd truly like to revert back to BC when you needed Revered with factions to get the heroic key, not because I grinded every single rep out but because a lot of groups wouldn't even let you in unless you had most/all of the Heroic keys (at least the server i was on that was the trend), not to mention the heroics seemed more difficult back then.

Hopefully the rumor about 'epic' instancing is true and the playerbase that is able to utilize it is a bit more selective than heroics are right now.

[Plow]

Honestly the big problem with old school heroics was the fact that the trash was considerably harder than the bosses, and not in like... a skill based way. Just a "these mobs will beat the living shit out of people, and are fully capable of instagibbing a raid geared tank if they get a bit of rng luck" kind of thing.


If that's what "epic instances" would be, (which I'd just about guarantee they would) fuck that.

[Kurp]

Honestly the big problem with old school heroics was the fact that the trash was considerably harder than the bosses, and not in like... a skill based way. Just a "these mobs will beat the living shit out of people, and are fully capable of instagibbing a raid geared tank if they get a bit of rng luck" kind of thing.

If that's what "epic instances" would be, (which I'd just about guarantee they would) fuck that.

Oh god I agree. I remember doing some of the heroics with people in a solid set of enchanted blues and it just being really gay. Those trash pulls with ~6 in Shadow Labs were brutal. Even those 2 mob pulls of the god mode trash in Steam Vaults, I can't remember their names but I'd have to chain cast heals non-stop on the tank and just pray that he survived. Oh yeah, Shattered Halls with a warrior tank.

It wasn't really a skill check. It was all gear and how much CC your group had. It was really fucking fun as a class without a good CC. Have fun with FFXI LFG times Fury warriors and Shadow priests.

Although Shadow priests could MC and control two mobs. Wow, that was great fun! Mind controlling every trash pack and spamming one gay move over and over.

They should have made the bosses more beast and nerfed the trash.

[Jodwahh]

Man shattered halls timed runs used to be a complete fucking bitch back then. I remember one time we where 20 minutes in the timed run and making great time when this shitastic rogue decides to say "bb dinner lol" and fucking logs. I could have killed that little bastard. /rage

[Lordwafik]

Honestly the big problem with old school heroics was the fact that the trash was considerably harder than the bosses, and not in like... a skill based way. Just a "these mobs will beat the living shit out of people, and are fully capable of instagibbing a raid geared tank if they get a bit of rng luck" kind of thing.

That's how I feel right now about Skadi's Hallway in Utegard Pinnacle with pugs. Doing it in pickups is really hard, won it once and then everyone logged because they were tired (wtf, they shoulda trucked on to do the rest of the darned zone), I'm probably just gonna get my guild to clear it for me since pugs don't understand things like "grab rape mobs off healer ASAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP". Domino effect of death always @ that point

[Maguspk]

That's how I feel right now about Skadi's Hallway in Utegard Pinnacle with pugs. Doing it in pickups is really hard, won it once and then everyone logged because they were tired (wtf, they shoulda trucked on to do the rest of the darned zone), I'm probably just gonna get my guild to clear it for me since pugs don't understand things like "grab rape mobs off healer ASAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP". Domino effect of death always @ that point

That hallways is a bitch, I'm sure I could do it now but back in blues/greens it was fucking HARD.

[Plow]

That's how I feel right now about Skadi's Hallway in Utegard Pinnacle with pugs. Doing it in pickups is really hard, won it once and then everyone logged because they were tired (wtf, they shoulda trucked on to do the rest of the darned zone), I'm probably just gonna get my guild to clear it for me since pugs don't understand things like "grab rape mobs off healer ASAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP". Domino effect of death always @ that point

If you can get your pugs to listen, there's a couple of things you can do to make that hall way easier.

The first is just farming the spears beforehand and then reset, although that's not as big of a deal unless you're going for achievement, but it does still make things a little less hectic when people don't have to be looking for them.


The second is the big one: when you reset it, leave one person at the entrance to the hall, and put the other 4 down at the doorway where you fight Skadi himself. This way, the person back at the start just runs through to start the event, and your tank is right there at the little doorway all the mobs have to come through, making them extremely easy to pick up.