The King is Dead; Long Live the King!

We did it.  We finally did it  (I'm at the very top, closest to the pillar on Bolvar's right).  The kill brought about mixed feelings for me.  On one hand, I was exhilarated that I got to see Arthas fall and Frostmourne shattered.  On the other hand, I feel disappointed.  Disappointed that we did not get this kill sooner than we did.  Disappointed at the nights we lost because of others not having the courtesy to show up.  Disappointed in myself and my inability to mix execution with output.  For whatever reason, I can't execute a fight well and do my job of DPSing to the level I know I should be.  Maybe it's out of fear of making a mistake.  Maybe it's a confidence thing.  Who knows... 

Anyway, now that the Lich King is dead, one of my main goals have been accomplished.  I was planning on stepping down from 25 man raiding and just doing 10s for a Frostwyrm mount but with the recent attendance issues, I couldn't do that to my guild.  I know some of you will say 'Just do what you want to do, everyone else doesn't matter.', which would normally be the logical thing to do.  However, if you knew the kind of person I was, you'd see that doing something like that would be quite impossible.  If it means I have to go through raids not actively enjoying it so 24 other people will be able to do so, then so be it.  It just seems kind of skeevy to place my own selfish desires over the needs of the 24 other people who made this kill possible.

Also, yes, I know that the Hunter preview is up.  I will be commenting on that in due time.

Eleven Years and Counting-The RBY Days

On September 30th, 1998, two games were released that changed me forever.  I'm talking about Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue for the original Game Boy.  I was a mere child at the time, being only 13 (I always thought I was younger than that) but the idea of something to collect that wouldn't cost me a fortune, like Magic: The Gathering cards, was intriguing at the time so I did what any kid would do, ask the parents for Christmas.  Lo and behold, Christmas morning and there are two presents I opened: A new Game Boy Pocket and Pokemon Red. Started it up, picked Squirtle as my first pokemon ever, and so started my journey that continues to this very day.  Eleven years has spawned four generations and almost 500 different pokemon.  I'm going to go though each generation and briefly talk about my top five or so pokemon from each generation then list my overall favorites.

Generation I: Red/Blue/Yellow

The generation that started it all, it introduced 150 catcheable (Well, you had to trade to get the other two starters and for the other game's version exclusives) Pokemon, 151 if you count Mew (who could only be obtained from a Nintendo event or by cheating). 

1. Articuno
I love this pokemon.  This thing had a monsterous special stat and it would rip through anything that couldn't handle its ice-attacks.  Plus it's cry is soothing and the official artwork for it is gorgeous.  For those reasons, it still ranks in my top favorites list.

2. Dragonite
It takes a long time to get one of these, but the wait is worth it.  It was the only fully-evolved Dragon type available in the game.  Unfortunately, his movepool wasn't great since the only dragon attack in the game was Dragon Rage but you could still wreck things with it.  He also ranks in my current favorites.  A little tip: If you really want to annoy your opponent to death, use the following moveset: Agility/Wrap/Hyper Beam/Blizzard.  Use agility once to outspeed anything your opponent may have, Wrap it so it can't do anything, continue wrapping until you feel the target is in Hyper Beam, or if your target is a rock-type, Blizzard, range and KO it.  In this generation Hyper Beam does not have a recharge time if you KO a pokemon with it. 

3.  Alakazam
Barring Mewtwo, this thing was one of the scariest pokemon in this generation.  Highest special stat in the game (Again, barring Mewtwo), one of the fastest pokemon, STAB on Psychic and its 30% special drop rate, access to Thunder Wave...yea.  Not many pokemon would stand up to an onslaught from this pokemon for very long.  It's fallen a few personal places with me now, but it's a pokemon I still enjoy having around.

4.  Rhydon
If you want to make things hurt while being immune to those pesky electric types, this is your go to guy.  I loved this pokemon back in RBY.  Earthquake hit like a truck and you could also body slam pesky water types (you still don't want to stick around) for a chance of paralysis, which in RBY happens quite frequently.  I don't use him much any more (nor his evolution) but I think I just may breed one now for nostalgia's sake.

5. Blastoise
Wasn't that impressive as far as stats and moves are concerned, but it was my first pokemon ever and just for that reason, it holds a special place with me. 

Part 1 of 4.  Next, Generation II, Gold/Silver/Crystal

Identity Crisis

I've been missing a lot of raids lately.  Sometimes they're unavoidable but most of them have been due to sheer apathy.  For some reason, I've lost the big thrill I had back in Naxxramas and Ulduar.  Now on raid days, I begrudgingly whipser the officer handling invites and zone in at the last possible minute.  I don't get excited about new boss kills nor about getting an upgrade (which is moot because drops have been non-existent).  I'd like to get a frostwyrm but I'm being realistic, I never got a Naxx drake (Four achievements short of that one before it was removed), never got an Ulduar drake (didn't finish all of the hard modes), haven't killed Anub'arak in Trial of the Grand Crusader, so I'm not really holding my breath we'll be getting those frost wyrms.  In fact, other than raid days, I'm rarely on my hunter or any of my characters on Turalyon at all (except my 63 Death Knight).  Instead, I've been finding myself spending a lot of time of Drenden, with my warlock, Targahs (See what I did there?).  I've been having fun with my warlock, yay Destruction!  I do plan on tweaking those specs once he dings 80, which should be today when I get home from work.  The Destruction spec will stay (obviously I'll be moving points around a bit, but I'm keeping Shadowfury) but the Demo spec will be changed into a proper Demonology spec or even back to Affliction, which is what I was before I swapped to a SL/FG spec for Outland and Northrend leveling.

However, I've also been toying around with the idea of going to server where no one knows me and leveling a character there.  Obviously, a PvP server is out of the question so that narrows the choice down to another PvE server or an RP server.  I'm honestly leaning towards to an RP server, hopefully one where it's still alive and not just RPSINO, or RP server in name only, because I always thought it would be fun to actually BE my character, not just playing one.  However, it's boring if no one else is also doing it.  Alliance or Horde doesn't matter, as I enjoy both factions. (With only a slight leaning towards Horde, by virtue of Thrall being far superior to Varian in every way, shape, and form.  The Alliance has gnomes though.)  No more hunters for me for now, as I have two at level 80 and although you can never have too many hunters, (/high five.  You know who you are.) it'd be nice to play a different characer fresh on a new server.  So if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me hear them.

I think there is a 98% chance I'm going to go back to being casual once the Lich King dies, or I get my 25 man frostwyrm, whichever happens first.

Gearing Up for Raids, The Easy Way

So, you're a late-comer to Wrath and you would like to get into Icecrown Citadel.  Well, you're in luck because it is much easier to catch up in gear than it ever was.  Just like anything else, it takes time but it is not impossible.  Ol' Shagrat here will tell you where to look for your starter gear.  Just listen to him closely and he'll steer you right.  Just a note: this gear list will get you to the minimum hit cap of 263 for BM and SV, and MM hunters with 3/3 Focused Aim (164 hit).  I will also list the enchantments you should put on them and give gemmimg suggestions (Survival Hunters should just gem Delicate Cardinal Ruby in every socket, except for one slot to gem for the meta activation).  Marksman and Survival hunters want to gun for their 2 piece tier 9 bonus, while Beast Masters will want to go for their 4 piece bonus.  This list will also be based on Horde gear, Alliance characters will need to find their correct items.  (Thankfully, the tier set has the same name for both factions)  I also will not be including any items obtained with Emblems of Frost, since you can only get two per day from the first Random Heroic, or from killing bosses in Icecrown Citadel nor will I be listing any profession-specific enchantments.  If you have a profession enchantment, you should use it in the appropriate slot.

Helm
Windrunner's Headpiece of Conquest
Source: 50 Emblems of Triumph
Enchantment-Arcanum of Torment
Meta socket-Relentless Earthsiege Diamond
Yellow socket-Deadly Ametrine

Neck
There are a couple of BoE items obtained from 25 man raiding.  If you have a ton of gold you can probably pick them up off of the Auction House.  Keep your eye out for either: Wodin's Lucky Necklace or Nymph Heart Charm.  If you are able to obtain Wodin's Lucky Necklace, you should socket in Deadly Ametrine.

Otherwise...
Barbed Ymirheim Choker
Source: Forgemaster Garfrost, Pit of Saron-Heroic

Shoulder
Pauldrons of the Devourer / Windrunner's Spaulders of Conquest
Enchantment: Greater Inscription of the Axe
Yellow Socket: Deadly Ametrine / Blue Socket: Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Source: 45 Emblem of Triumph / Source: 30 Emblem of Triumph
You want the off-set shoulders over the tier shoulders.  If you have a bunch of extra badges and are starved for hit rating, then spring for the tier shoulders.

Back
Accursed Crawling Cape
Enchantment: Enchant Cloak-Major Agility
Source: Devourer of Souls-Forge of Souls N

Chest
Frostsworn Bone Chestpiece / Windrunner's tunic of Conquest
Enchantment: Enchant Chest-Powerful Stats
Yellow Socket: Deadly Ametrine / Red Socket: Delicate Cardinal Ruby; Yellow Socket: Deadly Ametrine
Source: Scourgelord Tyrannus-Pit of Saron H / 50 Emblem of Triumph

Wrist
Crusader's Dragonscale Bracers / Essence of Suffering
Enchantment: Enchant Bracers-Greater Assault
Blue Socket: Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Source: Leatherworking / Devourer of Souls-Forge of Souls H
You should really spring for the crafted bracers.  They will last you a very long time.  In fact, they should be your first major gold purchase.

Hands
Hoarfrost Gauntlets / Windrunner's Handguards of Triumph
Enchantment: Enchant Gloves-Major Agility
No Socket / Yellow Socket: Deadly Ametrine
Source: The Captain's Chest-Halls of Reflection H / 30 Emblems of Triumph
The Hoarfrost Gauntlets should be what you should aim for.  The t9 gloves are the worst of the set and you should only get them if you have very poor luck getting the gloves out of Halls of Reflection.  The t9 gloves can also drop in Vault of Archavon-10 off of Koralon.

Waist
Belt of Rotted Fingernails
Enchantment: Eternal Belt Buckle Socket with: Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Source: Ick-Pit of Saron H

Legs
Windrunner's Legguards of Conquest
Enchantment: Icescale Leg Armor
Blue Socket: Nightmare Tear (will activate your meta gem)
Red Socket: Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Source: Koralon the Flame Watcher-Vault of Archavon 10 / 50 Emblems of Triumph
These legs, in my opinion, should be your first badge purchase.  These are very, very good legs and there are not much else that can compete with them.  (Not including the 245 and 258 versions ofc)

Feet
Spiked Toestompers
Enchantment: Enchant Boots-Superior Agility OR Enchant Boots-Cat's Swiftness
Source: Falric-Halls of Reflection H
Nothing else pre-raid comes close to these boots.  These are very, very nice boots coming from a heroic 5 man.  There is one exception, however.  If you are sitting on a mountain of gold, 20k to be on the safe side, you could see about getting yourself a pair of Rock-Steady Treads crafted.  You won't ever need another pair of boots for the rest of the expansion, unless you get into Heroic 25 man raids.

Superior Agility vs. Cat's Swiftness.  You lose 10 agility from the enchantment but you get a run speed increase which is really starting to become more and more important in raiding.  10 more agility means nothing if you're a bit too slow from getting out of Icehowl's way or getting out of the void zone quick enough.

Ranged
Felglacier Bolter
Enchantment: Heartseeker Scope
Source: Ick-Pit of Saron H (Yes, you are going to run a lot of Pit of Saron)

Melee
There are several options, both in the 2h variety and dual wielding variety.  Generally, you want to shoot for 2h swords, polearms or staves, as one handed weapons are sought out by rogues and enhancement shaman and two-handed axes in this expansion have been itemized towards plate DPS classes.
Two handed weapons should be enchanted with Enchant 2h Weapon-Massacre.  Do not enchant your weapons with Berserker.  Melee weapon procs only proc off of melee attacks.  They do not proc from ranged attacks.  They do not proc from ranged attacks.  Ranged attacks do not proc melee weapon effects.  We clear on that now?  Good.

2H weapons (Listed from best to worst)
Quel'Delar, Ferocity of the Scorned
Source: Long quest line starting from Battered Hilt, which is a rare drop from both bosses and trash (except the little skeletons in Pit of Saron) in the Icecrown Citadel five man heroics.  If you manage to get a hold of one, do the chain.  You will never replace this sword until you get deep into Icecrown Citadel.

Orca-Hunter's Harpoon
Blue Socket: Delicate Cardinal Ruby
Source: Marwyn-Halls of Reflection H

Marrowstrike
Yellow Socket: Deadly Ametrine
Source: Confessor's Cache-Trial of the Crusader H

Tower of the Mouldering Corpse
Source: Devourer of Souls-Forge of Souls

Remember, you will also be competing with any feral druids for these weapons, so please don't flip out on one for rolling.  Also, as far as the enchantment is concerned, do not use Berserker, use Massacre.  However, since Icecrown Citadel is chock full of undead mobs, serious consideration must be given for the Scourgebane enchant, which inceases your attack power by 140 when fighting undead.  The Attack Power from that enchant isn't transferred to the pet but the damage you gain would outweigh that.

1H Weapons (No particular order)
Remember: please be considerate to rogues and shaman when it comes to one-handed melee weapons.  A little knowledge goes a long way.  Enhancement shaman only want slow weapons, and in this expansion it seems like slow melee weapons are 2.6 speed.  Rogues also want slow weapons, but only for their main hand attacks, and they like fast weapons in their off-hands which would be anything typically 1.6 or less.  Daggers tend to be a grey area.  When in doubt, ASK first before you roll on a one-handed melee weapon.  Anything with expertise you do not want to roll on at all because those are very much intended to go to melee DPS.

Nighttime (Enhancement Shaman / Rogue main hand)
Enchantment: Enchant Weapon-Superior Potency OR Enchant Weapon-Accuracy (Applies to any 1H weapon)
Source: Brohnjahm-Forge of Souls H

Seven-Fingered Claws (Main hand only i.e. you can only equip one)
Source: Trash drop from Icecrown Citadel 5 Heroic

Blood Weeper (Rogue weapon.  Check with any you may have in your group)
Source: Devourer of Souls-Forge of Souls H

Even just looking over the weapons, it's clear that the two-handed weapons are the way to go.  Dual-wielding is viable if you have terrible luck in getting drops.

Rings
Dextrous Brightstone Ring
Source: 35 Emblem of Triumph

Band of Stained Souls
Source: Scourgelord Tyrannus-Pit of Saron H

Trinkets
There are a few options for trinkets.  The funny thing about trinkets is even a trinket that is a low item level, like the Darkmoon card, can still be incredible in the current tier of content.  I'll list a few in no particular order.  However, do NOT get the triumph emblem badge trinket.  Just trust me on this.

Needle-Encrusted Scorpion
Source: Devourer of Souls-Forge of Souls H

Banner of Victory
Source: Confessor's Cache-Trial of the Champion N

Darkmoon Card: Greatness
Source: Inscription
This is another worthy investment and a tough decision to invest in this or the bracers first.  Personally, I still use mine ever since I got it way back when.  A very difficult trinket to replace, and you most likely won't until you start raiding 25 man raids.  Just make sure you get the agility version when you turn in the deck.

Mirror of Truth
Source: 40 Emblem of Heroism (convert Triumph emblems into conquest emblems into valor emblems into heroism emblems)

I hope this guide helps many a fresh 80.  Just remember: getting hit-capped is priority #1 and as I outlined earlier, it is 263 hit rating without any points in Focused Aim, and 164 with 3/3.  If you are a Draenei then you need to adjust your gear accordingly (/glares at all Draenei) and unless you can guarantee you will always be partied with a draenei, you should gear for your appropriate hit caps and carry an extra piece of gear or two so you swap hit out just in case you are partied with a draenei.

Have fun and may your aim always be true.

Wrath of the Lich King: One Year Later (part one)

So here we are, one year into Wrath of the Lich King and the final showdown with the Lich King is drawing rapidly closer as each day passes.  This is the first full year I've personally seen in an expansion, having started playing in December of 2007, 11 months from the launch of Wrath.  At lot has changed, some good and some bad.  (Who could forget the great hunter nerf of 3.0.8?)  I'm going to recap some of the major changes that have happened in the past year.

• Design Philosphy-The design philosophy has changed significantly over the course of this expansion.  "Bring the player, not the class" has been a phrase that's been echoed countless occasions, and has led to many, many arguments between 'casuals' and 'hardcores'.  All that phrase means is that once you have your basics covered (i.e. buffs and debuffs) you bring players based on other factors such as skill, comradarie, loyalty, etc. rather than encouraging stacking of any particular class.
• Raiding-Raiding has been made more accessable for everyone who puts the effort in.  This has caused a lot of...contention amongst those who feel that only the best of the best deserves to raid.  That philosophy may have existed back in BC and Vanilla, but it doesn't fly now and it does not make sense from a developer point of view.  Let's look back at Sunwell, the final raid introduced in Burning Crusade.  I have never seen anything inside of it but from what I hear it was insanely popular with the raiding set due to the difficulty and near flawless execution it required.  However, how much did it cost Blizzard in manpower and money to design that instance that only the 'elite of the elite' got to see?  In this troll's opinion, I would view Sunwell as a complete failure from a developer's standpoint.  Personally, I know if I designed something as grandiose as Sunwell, I would want more people to see the amount of hard work I put into it than just a handful of people.  Raiding more accessable: GOOD THING.
• Hard Modes-For those of you who like to challenge yourselves, Ulduar introduced hard modes, that were more difficult than the original encounter and summarily offered better rewards.  This was Blizzard's answer to the whining hardcore that raiding was too easy in Wrath of the Lich King.  Ulduar's hard modes were incredible.  Most of them changed the dynamics of the fight completely (hello Firefighter, Steelbreaker last, and Keeperless Yogg) others tested a raid's ability to output while still executing the fight (Hodir, Thorim).  I loved the hard modes I was able to complete, and I wish my guild as a whole was more inclined to go back into Ulduar to actually finish the ones we haven't gotten yet.  However, Crusader's Colliseum changed the way hard modes worked.  Instead of something being triggered during the encounter, it was a seperate setting (like changing difficulties for a five man) with its own lock out.  This was a catastrophic failure in my point of view, and I'm sure amongst most of you as well.  The hard modes for the Crusader's Colliseum are not that much different than their normal counterparts, except with a new ability or two thrown in for kinks.  Most of the fights are just bosses with more health and hit harder.  This system has artifically caused a lot of burnout amongst raiders most likely due to the fact that it was just running the same instance twice a week, with nothing new or interesting being thrown in.  Tie that with underwhelming content by itself and you have a powder keg waiting to explode for guilds.
• PvP-WTOLK has added in two new battlegrounds, Strand of the Ancients and Isle of Conquest.  Strand of the Ancients has both sides competing against each other to see who can capture the relic the fastest.  Isle of Conquest is a combination of Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley where each side fights for control of various nodes that aid each army in their attempts to slay the opposing general in his keep.  Both battlegrounds are fun and I recommend those who haven't tried them at least try them a few times to see how they work out for you.  Arena can go die in a fire.  Blizzard needs to seriously let these things die.  They have been nothing but headaches in terms of balancing and since they insist on having both sides (PvE and PvP) in the same game, more often than not a change to one side almost always steps on the toes of the other.
• Leveling-Leveling has been made much simplier for both new players and players with alts.  For the new player, the reduced XP requirements and mount changes has made leveling for the discerning newbie easier than it was when I was leveling back in December of 07.  For alts, heirloom items have greatly accelerated the speed you level at, due to the +20% exp bonus from the shoulders+chest, weapons you don't need to replace and the health and mana restoration trinkets make leveling an alt an almost no-brainer (unless you're leveling on a brand new server or opposing faction of course)  Has faster leveling increased the number of players who don't know how to play their class properly?  Perhaps, but there are plenty of resources for players to go to for their class and if someone doesn't learn, it wouldn't matter if it took them three weeks or three months to level, they will still be a bad player.
• Professions-At this point in time, professions are still a pain in the ass to level, particularly at the pre-300 stage, due to the lack of farming going on for things like Thorium, Rugged Leather, enchanting mats of any kind, herbs, etc.  This is slated to change soon where points will now be gained based on the composition of the items in relation to the materials needed to create them.  Also, professions now offer unique perks which are now mostly in balance with each other (Dragon's Eyes still beat out the others, not as much as they did before 3.2 but they still have a slight edge) but there are some that still trail behind the others (hello engineering.).

I don't want to sound long-winded so I'll wrap up here and continue with part two soon, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.