The Voodoo Shuffle

The King is Dead; Long Live the King!

2010-04-09T15:47:00.000-04:00

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

2010-03-09T13:19:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-05T11:40:00.002-05:00

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)

2009-11-23T12:57:00.000-05:00

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.

I Totally Didn't Steal This

2009-11-10T13:47:00.000-05:00

With my muse currently on vacation/cheating on me/who knows, my inspiration for blog posts have been at a low. Thankfully, Rilgon's post gave me an idea to provide some insight into the inner workings of my mind.

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
Shagrat, Troll Marksmanship (Agi-focused) hunter

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
I am most defnitely a 25 man progression raider. You will RARELY see me in any PvP situation and you NEVER catch me in an arena, ever.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
If I had to choose one, it would be Chimera Shot. The initial payload damage is nice, especially in my currently level of gear. Plus, the additional effect can be changed based on which sting is used, giving you more damage, extra mana, or a disarm effect.

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
In terms of sustained DPS, mult-shot by far. The damage is subpar compared to aimed shot, which shares its cooldown. Even in AoE situations, we're still better off using single-target DPS on anything less than four targets. We're not mages after all.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
At this point in time, none really. Our damage output is middle of the pack compared to other DPS classes and specs, our utility has greatly diminished due to things like Tricks of the Trade, and we're too reliant on the presence of other classes to even perform at our peak proficiency.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

Our output compared to other DPS classes. The way we are now, we're TOO reliant on the presence of various buff and debuffs and if one or two of those are missing our output is greatly diminished. For example, Sunder Armor (or any equivalent debuff). According to Shandara's spreadsheet (which is only theoretical and assuming perfect conditions), my DPS is 9075.42. If I were to take away Sunder Armor I drop down to 8552.12 DPS. That is a lot of DPS lost for not having the armor reduction on the target whereas a mage or warlock would lose 0 DPS since spells aren't affected by armor.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
Stick me on the boss with a full contingent of buffs and debuffs, and you are looking at one happy hunter.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
A warrior, particularly an Arms Warrior. They can apply Sunder Armor, they have Trauma to amplify the damage from Piercing Shots, and they have Battle Shout to increase my base attack power. A close second would be a paladin, espcially a Retribution Paladin. They give the much needed mana return from Judgement of Wisdom, they have Blessing of Kings and Might, and they provide an extra 3% damage increase from Sanctified Retribution.

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
I would have to say a Frost Death Knight. They do not provide anything that buffs my damage, as Improved Icy Talons only applies to melee attacks. At least mages give me more intellect which increases my attack power.

What is your worst habit as a dps?
Until recently, meter watching. I was always obsessed with watching Recount to make sure I was doing as much DPS as I possibly could, which led me to tunnel visioning and dying to something easily avoidable. I've disabled Recount during combat and that's becoming much better. Still working out some kinks though.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

A toss-up between slacking and hypocrisy. If you're not giving it your all, then you are wasting your and 24 other people's time. Do everyone a favor and /raidquit if you're not going to give 110%. Also, if you're going to call someone out on mistakes, you better make damn sure you're not making the same mistakes and at a greater frequency. Getting hit by three dark orbs is nothing compared to getting hit by 16 of them throught the course of the night.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
Hell no. MM and SV are pretty close to each other, but BM lags way behind. The only reason you should EVER be BM for progression content is if your raid is lacking the 3% increased damage buff that the ret, and soon arcane mage, brings. That's just the between the three specs. Compared to other DPS specs, we are definitely not well balanced either. Various sources shows hunters being middle of the pack and even trailing behind hybrid classes like druids and warriors. Hybrid classes should NOT do more damage compared to a pure class, barring skill and gear differences. It doesn't matter if all you want to do is DPS, your class still has the OPTION of putting on another set of gear and change specs and be a tank or a healer. A pure class cannot.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a dps?
The same tools that most, if not all, serious progression raiders use: Recount and combat logs such was Wowmeteronline and World of Logs. I also use Shandara's spreadsheet to figure out gear and spec choices that would give me the most bang for my buck.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That the class is a facerolling class. Anyone can roll a hunter and mash buttons, but a great hunter knows how to use all of his or her abilities to their maximum effect as well as managing a pet with the AI of a poorly trained rock. Also, Marksmanship and Survival rely just as much on their pet as Beast Mastery does. Fifteen to twenty percent of your DPS is still a lot of damage not to mention the pet's own abilities which aid the hunter.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
That the hunter class is not like Legolas in Lord of the Rings. We are designed to kill from range and our abilities are built around that. Every time I see a newbie hunter in melee range with his or her pet, I just want to cry. Also, kiting is one of the most important tools you will ever learn. You should not be able to go up to a random hunter and ask them how to kite and the only response you get is: "What's kiting?" /facepalm

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
I use Parrot combat text, Deadly Boss Mods, and Recount. I also bound my aspects into one with various modifiers that allow me to change aspects to what the situation warrants.

Agility over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?
As a Marksman hunter, having a good balance of Agility, crit, Armor penetration, and Intellect are key. You don't want to eschew intellect too much in favor of getting that one stat (i.e. leather) because if you wear all leather, you will constantly find yourself in Viper OOM. Plus, you also lose out on the attack power that intellect provides due to Careful Aim. As always, being hit capped is important. And I never want to see a hunter stacking strength. If you're out there and I see you, I will personally reach through the computer and beat you senseless.

It's About Friggin' Time

2009-10-27T19:44:00.000-04:00

Finally, after months of book hunting, I get it. Abjuration had been eluding me for close to a month and I finally get it doing my trick or treat rounds. I will hug it and squeeze it and pet it and call it George.

One Yet Remains

2009-10-06T12:38:00.000-04:00

Last night, two of the Lich King's most feared lieutenants, the Twin Val'kyr Eydis Lightbane and Fjola Darkbane, fell to the might of Rakicide's swords, arrows, and spells. It was our first kill of them on Heroic 25 man difficulty and only the second horde guild on Turalyon to do it. It took us about an hour and a half of wipes and strategy discussion to do it but we finally got it. We eventually settled to having six ranged DPS soaking white orbs, two shadow priests soaking dark orbs, and the bosses tanked in the middle with melee. I died twice due to getting swarmed by dark orbs (you can't deterrence your way through them) and getting rebirthed by druids. We finished Twin Valks with about 33 attempts remaining to get Anub'arak down. We took a few tries at him until raid ended at midnight. Nothing good dropped from the Twins, not that I would have deserved loot anyways dying to stupid stuff. All in all though, we did a damn good job for a guild that only raids nine hours a week. Just goes to show, it doesn't matter how much time you put into something, it's the effort you make. #1057 worldwide. Go us.

My new avatar is courtesy of Pike over at Aspect of the Hare (the link is on the right side of the blog). Check her out if you haven't already. Also, my BM guide is at about 98% completion. Just need to add a fresh 80 gear list and figure out how to post it without making a blog post 20 feet long.

I LOVE VAULT OF ARCHAVON

2009-10-01T08:58:00.000-04:00

So, the Horde by some strange sorcery, managed to sucessfully defend Wintergrasp last night before raid. In our usual manner, we go in and bust it up for some quick badges and some t9 if we're lucky. We take down Koralon with only 22 people in raid and what does Koralon drop? Three pieces of hunter t9, two gloves and the pants. Guess who managed to get their two-piece set bonus? That's right, this guy right here. Seeing serpent sting crits tick in the 2200 range was really beautiful, I saw a couple tick for 4500 during Icehowl. Ony however did not yield the tasty helm or the Blastershot Lawnchair though :(

Cost of downing all three wings of VoA: 4 Elixirs, 2 Blackened Dragonfin, 2 Spiced Mammoth Treats, couple hundred arrows.
Getting your 2pc bonus without having to spend any badges: Priceless

Boredom is a Hell of a Drug

2009-09-23T10:58:00.001-04:00

So I'm bored at work in between customers, waiting for them to fill out applications, fill out checks, use the ATM (because PennDOT does not take credit/debit cards yet), and/or waste my time with useless banter which led me to make these for my four 80s:

Shagrat my main obviously. Currently specced Beast Mastery due to a lack of ret paladins in Rakicide. We did manage to recruit a former guild member prot-turned-ret-will-probably-be-forced-back-into-tanking-again so we'll see if that sticks.

My paladin. As you can see, he's still under the defense cap and health is a little low. Just need a tanking libram and another tank-oriented trinket. Then comes gemming and enchanting, he's a work in progress. I used to heal with him primarily.

My shaman. I stupidly logged him out in his enhancement gear. I'll fix him up when I get home so it shows his proper resto stats. My primary healing toon, I love shaman healing.

This was the hunter formerly known as Cairlinn the Night Elf. I changed her faction and moved her over to Turalyon since her transmute cooldown was rotting over on Thunderhorn. Now I have two sources of red gem transmutes a day (the shaman is the other source)

I've even sunk low enough to reactivate my second account (will upgrade it to WOTLK eventually) and started a draenei warrior on Turalyon. Her name is Violan and I'm leveling her with sword and board. It'll make things more interesting I think, plus being able to tank lowbie instances will be nice. For those that don't care, my hunter guides are coming soon™

I'm Not Dead, At Least, Not Yet Anyway

2009-08-31T09:18:00.002-04:00

I'm still around, I've just been busy with various things like work, family (two ER visits in a week and a half for my daughter, ugh), and of course WoW and the Crusader's Colliseum as well as Ulduar. I would like to get my video project off the ground but I realized I don't know the first thing about making them i.e. editing, programs, how to narrate, etc. I'll get started on them eventually, but it'll be some time before the first video makes its appearance on the Voodoo Shuffle.

In the meantime, I hope to have my own guides for a fresh 80 hunter (spec, gems and enchants first. Starter gear will come later) for all three specs, BM, MM, and SV. The BM guide is coming along nicely, and I think that will be complete sometime this week and I'll post it up for everyone to read.

On the WoW front, there's not really much to tell. Rakicide has done the Crusader's Colliseum every reset and we're looking forward to the heroic mode becoming available this reset as well as trying to continue on hard modes in Ulduar. Still no Ironbound drake, but eventually...maybe. Lotrafen still remains as elusive as ever (every week since April and we have not seen it drop at all) but I thumb my nose at that spear and patiently wait for Ikaruga...I'm sorry I mean the Twin Val'kyr or Anub'arak to grace us with their weapons.

Stay tuned for future updates and hopefully my next post will be the first of my three starter hunter guides for new 80s.

Hunter Movies Inc?-Temporarily on Hold

2009-08-03T10:18:00.005-04:00

I've been toying with the idea with making some hunter movies to help out my fellow hunters with learning about the class and avoid that 'huntard' stigma that's existed since the beginning of time. I'm kind of undecided with where I'll start, maybe I'll make a baby hunter and follow him or her as I level and have guides for various things or maybe I'll just go with my current main with something like soloing Chillmaw 101. Whatever I decide to do, I'll keep you posted. It would be a learning experience for me as I'm not exactly comfortable with something completely new like this.

I've had to make a very difficult decision in the last few hours. I live in and work for the state of PA and it is currently inthe middle of a budget impasse. During this impasse, I am not collecting a paycheck despite currently working and as a result I am no longer able to afford keeping my WoW account active nor the computer I'm currently paying weekly for so I had to cancel my account temporarily and will be returning my computer to be held until such a time I start collecting a paycheck again, hopefully sooner than later. Once that happens, I will be greenlighting this little project of mine and see how it works out.

F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together...

2009-07-09T13:25:00.003-04:00

At what point does raiding stop being 'fun' and start to become more akin to a job to you? Is it when you hit that proverbial brick wall that you just can't overcome due to it being a gear issue i.e. the tanks just can't quite survive that big hit, the healers can't quite heal through massive AoE damage, or the DPS falls just short of an enrage timer? Is it when you bash your head repeatedly on an encounter that you know you can beat but can't due to poor execution i.e. not getting frozen, not standing in the 'fire', or not killing bad stuff in time before it kills raid members? Or is it just when you reach your breaking point of doing the same thing day in and day out i.e. spending your time farming materials on an alt to make food, flasks, ammo, etc., doing dailies to earn enough gold to pay for repair bills or contribute to the guild to pay for repairs, or changing your character to meet the current min/max standards (if that's the way you roll)? Where do you find the time to do the things you'd rather do on the off-days whether it be finish that Loremaster achievement, farming for that special rare vanity pet, run some heroics with some friends, or test your mettle in a Battleground or Arena match?

I ask you these things because I feel that lately, raiding is starting to become a chore rather than something fun to do with 9 or 24 other people who think the same way you do. Frustrated with other raid members' inabilities to remain situationally aware and not do something stupid like get Flash Frozen on Hodir, get hit by Lightning charges on Thorim, breaking crowd control with AoE, not standing in the Sunbeams on Freya, breaking the iron roots, not getting blown up by cabbages, getting blown up by mines, hit by rockets (guilty of doing this one time), or blasted by laser barrage. I'm not frustrated by my guild and have no desires of leaving, but take a break from raiding on my hunter for a couple of weeks to be able to do the things I want to do but don't have the time. Part of it is most likely due to my poor time management skills since the days I don't raid during the week (Tuesdays and Thursdays. Normally I raid Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays with Rakicide) I spend raiding with some real life friends and my cousin on my shaman. Interestingly enough, even though they only do 10 man Naxx, I have a bigger blast with them on my shaman than my like-minded guild on my hunter. It could be due to the fact that they're casual (not in the negative sense of the word that gets thrown around a lot) and I'm casual at heart as well but they can do some wonderful things in a 10 man when everyone has their game face on. Like this past Tuesday, fully cleared Naxx 10 in three hours when normally it takes them a full 3 hour raid night and another hour or two to clear it. Hell, I felt that we could have had gotten Undying titles if it wasn't for heigan killing one person (he tends to lag a lot), an accidental pull and wipe on Raz and one person eating a void zone on KT. The other fights were one shots with no one dying.

To sabbatical or not to sabbatical, that is the question...

Yogg-Saron Down, Next Stop: Hard Modes

2009-06-23T09:23:00.002-04:00

After weeks of frustration and cursing on vent, Rakicide finally kills the Beast of a Thousand Maws. http://rakicide.wowstead.com/files/yogg_full.png (That's me on the far right, next to my wolf Greyback. I know, it's not one of those insta-80 worgs, shocking eh? But good god those things are ugly.) Considering we only raid three days a week for three hours a night, I'd say we did pretty good and we still beat out a couple of the 5 day a week 'hardcore' raiding guilds. It was kind of touch and go at the beginning because Comcast users (including myself) were having stability issues and the raid almost didn't happen but our RL and GM suggested we take an hour break and boy oh boy did that help. The latency issues were fixed and we were fired up. Overall, it took us four attempts to get him down (not including the DC-plauged 2 attempts at the start of the night) and we beat the enrage timer by 20 seconds, but a kill is a kill and you have to start somewhere. Next week, we'll get him down even faster.

He dropped the Hemorraging Circle 2.0 (if it wasn't for the expertise.../sigh), some spell dagger, lolvanq shoulders and protector shoulders. I knew I wasn't going to get them over the MT but I still took a shot at them anyways. Can't blame a guy for trying eh?

Prognosis: NEGATIVE

2009-06-19T08:55:00.002-04:00

While I did have a few attempts at Firefighter in 10 man Ulduar last night (so. much. fire. *shudder*) this is actually about the current patch notes. There are some overall changes (like the addition of a new battleground) there is are a few hunter changes and changes that affect hunters in some way.

Isle of Conquest-The new 40v40 battleground. The idea is cool and I like it, but we all know how this is going to end up: as AV 2.0 with people just zerging the generals and completely ignoring the objectives. Unlike some of my contemporaries who completely shun PvP in any form, I actually enjoy battleground PvP (and doing Wintergrasp with the guild), as long as people actually follow the objectives of it rather than just farm honor from kills. (Arena still sucks a massive one) I suppose I could always try to rustle up guildies or the hit up /trade to find a premade but it would take longer than just hopping into a queue and hope I get a good one. My solution to the honor farming: make honor kills in BGs award about a quarter of the honor they do now or reduce the honor gain from killing enemy players not near objectives (i.e. fighting on the roads) to nothing.

XP from Battlegrounds-Yay. Questing is monotonous. Don't anyone try to deny it. Questing is boring as hell, especially with quests like 'collect x amount of items with a stupid drop rate' or 'kill x amount of mobs that share a spawn with another, more common mob'. Sure, with all the changes to with quest XP in Azeroth and the heirloom shoulders it goes a lot faster, but it doesn't make it any less boring. I like the extra option of being able to have a change of scenery. When I first tried to break up the questing with bgs on my hunter way back when, I was immediately put off because of twinks. With the toggle option, the chances of finding a twink with this change are drastically reduced. (Sure, there will be some who will fight even with the XP gain just so they can grief those who are actually trying to accomplish objectives, but that won't be all that common now)

Emblem change-At first I didn't like the idea but think of it this way: will having access to a few pieces of higher level gear make that player who fails at Heigan magically able to dodge the slime floor? Or help that blind fool not stand in void zones on Kel'Thuzad? How about dodge lava waves on Sartharion? No? I didn't think so. Not a big deal and the e-peen stroking QQers with their 'but that casual getz free gears for doing ezmode heroix and noxxromoulus QQ!!!1!!!' need to get over themselves.

Pets-Now get 40% of our resilience and 100% of spell penetration. PvP related, not really worth caring about from a PvE standpoint. However, masters who are at the appropriate hit cap for their level will find their pets will also be hit and expertise-capped. (If you're under, then it will be scaled accordingly.) This is crucial for hunter pets (and I suppose you locks too) because the only way to get pets expertise now is by speccing BM and taking talents in Animal Handler and warlocks have no way to increase the demon's expertise at all IIRC. I wonder what they'll do with the talent though. For those who don't know, pets are designed to attack the target from behind when they are not the primary aggro target. Their attacks can't be blocked or parried but bosses in a raid can still dodge an attack from behind or the side (6.5% chance). In order to reduce the dodge chance to zero, a player (or pet) needs 26 expertise, or 214 expertise rating, in order to push that off the table. Players that need expertise have it on their gear, enchantments, and gems but classes with pets (who have zero use for expertise) have no way to increase their pet's expertise other than the aforementioned talent but now they won't have to worry about lost dps due to dodges and pet threat will be better soloing due to less dodges and parries.

Silencing shot-Also has a 3 second interrupt. Now becomes more useful against bosses who are immune to silence but are not immune against being interrupted. You still don't want to mess up an interrupt rotation but now we have the ability to pick it up in an 'oh shit' situation.

Blacked Dragonfin-Now only requires one Dragonfin Angelfish, down from two. *Hallelujah, hallelujah* Having to farm twice as many fish to make one stack of food was completely stupid.

Replenishment-Nerfed to provide 1% of total mana over five seconds instead of the current .25% of mana every second. Only a .05% difference in mana gained every second but it's still a nerf.

Aspect of the Cheetah-learned at level 16 now. Big deal. It's four levels before the aspect is rendered practically useless for outdoor travel. And at today's XP rate, going from 16-20 will be about 2 hours of solid play time.
Deterrence-Now has a new visual effect. This is just what the class needed to pull it from the gutters...wait. No it's not.
Traps-Only exist for 30 seconds now. Eh, it matches the cooldown on a non-talented trap. I don't see it as a nerf in the strictest sense of the word. My traps were usually triggered before 10 seconds have gone by, much less one minute. Also, traps are divided by school and have seperate cooldowns. Really? It took them four years to do something that should have been done since the beginning? Like the shaman's totem bar, it's better late than never I suppose.

Catlike Reflexes-Also reduces the cooldown on Kill Command by 10/20/30%. Eh, I like the synergy the current Kill Command has with a talented, glyphed Bestial Wrath. The dodge is still worthless for raiding and I wouldn't bother investing three talent points in a useless talent just for a lower cooldown on Kill Command as BM.
Survival-Entrapment no longer works with Immolation or Explosive trap. A nerf but honestly, since when does a fire trap root you in place? Makes perfect sense to me.
Lock n Load-Now has a 22 second cooldown. Will not proc when frost trap is triggered when the target is immune. Meh, I hate survival, but now I have another reason to not spec it. An unreliable proc chance now has a 22 second cooldown. Goodbye survival as the #1 DPS hunter spec.
Roar of Sacrfice-Can be used on friendly players again, but redesigned. Target becomes immune to critical hits, but the pet takes 20% of the damage taken by the target. Cooldown increased to 2 minutes. If I am interpreting this correctly, this ability has gone from being midly useful for soloing to COMPLETELY. FUCKING. USELESS. in any PvE situation. If I'm soloing and taking hits, I want 30% of that damage going to my pet who I can heal with a mend pet. Becoming immune to being crit but still taking full damage from the attacks while my pet takes 20% of that is retarded. GG arena. Seriously Blizz, L2Seperatefunctionforpveandpvp.

Ravasaur Trainer-Finally implemented. Bringing faction balance in available mounts, one day at a time.

There's some tooltip fixes as well but the hunter changes aren't all that impressive in my opinion. The overall changes, such as the Isle of Conquest, are good just the hunter stuff seem more like PvP fixes than anything. Oh well. 3.2 is still a ways off, and changes will be coming.

Alt-its. I has it.

2009-06-11T08:37:00.002-04:00

Alts. Some people hate them, some people love them. Some may have one or two to handle farming of ore, herbs, or leather for their main others still may have an account or two at the 50 character max and still wish they had more space. I personally have a total of 15 characters on two realms. My realm list looks like this:

Turalyon (10)-Turalyon is my home server and the location of all my Horde toons.
Thunderhorn (5)-Rolled a toon here at first to play with some friends who don't even play much anymore, my alts there see very little light. These toons are all Alliance.

Going even further in detail, here is exactly what I have:

Shagrat-Level 80 Troll hunter. My main obviously. I love my hunter and the hunter class itself. He has seen many battles in his time.
Shagbank-Level 7 Troll warrior. My bank alt, and is slated to be levelled here eventually to be my primary ore farmer and DE'er.
Feanor-Level 80 Blood Elf paladin. The second character I ever levelled. I orignally tried tanking with him back in BC but I didn't enjoy it so I switched to healing, which I enjoy more. Dual specs have given me the chance to try out Retribution, which I also happen to enjoy.
Mooverine-Level 23 Tauren druid. This is also high on my 'to level' list because druids are so versatile and they're nice to have, but I can't seem to play him for long without getting bored.
Shagwow-Level 77 Troll shaman. This is my current leveling project. Currently enhancement, he also has restoration as his secondary spec.
Dimeadozen-Level 6 Troll rogue. There seems to be a pattern here with the multiple trolls. Pretty low on the priority list.
Anguine-Level 8 Undead mage. I always wanted to level a mage, but hated how often I have to drink with one. She already has the heirloom shoulder. Once I get enough badges, the staff and double mana-regen trinkets will be next and she'll be the next one levelled after the shaman.
Sintas-Level 8 Troll hunter. Another hunter, #3 to be exact. Why? I have no idea. I share Pikestaff's love of the hunter class.
Aphtae-Level 58 Tauren death knight. Obligatory death knight, actually planning on trying out tanking on this character to see how I like it. Her name is the latin name of the virus that causes mad-cow disease.
Aewen-Level 1 Blood Elf warlock. The warlock class fascinates me and I do want to level one, but I always manage to get bored before I hit level 20.

I could list my Alliance characters as well, but they are rarely played and I have contemplated deleting three of the low level ones and just keeping the 80 hunter and 66 death knight. I enjoy the social interaction the game has to offer and I get bored extremely quickly when I log on and there's no one to talk to. I enjoy the horde but I'm not one of those 'Alliance sucks because they're nothing but little kids' type of people. I like the alliance as well, but no real reason to play one due to the lack of social-type stuff. It's difficult to jump into somewhere you don't know anyone.

The point of this? None really. I tend to go on about nonsensical things most of the time. I think it was just mostly to show off my extreme case of alt-its.

That's One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Marksman Mana Efficiency

2009-05-28T08:45:00.002-04:00

So there's two new changes on the horizon for hunters, one particularly big one for Marksman hunters.

Hunter's Mark will now provide a 500 RAP bonus instead of the 300 it provides now and the MM talent Marked For Death will reduce the mana cost of both Chimera and Aimed shot by 5/10/15/20/25% per rank.

The Hunter's mark change is nice and it is yet to be seen whether or not taking 3/3 in Imp. Hunter's Mark and glyphing for it will actually be worth it instead of being viewed as a sacrifice for the betterment of the raid. The talent improves the bonus by 10/20/30% and glyph also increases it by 20%. The bonus is additive, not cumulative so the two together increases the bonus by 50%, not 56% as some may believe. Currently, this improves Hunter's Mark to provide 450 total RAP. Not all that impressive. However, with the patch, that 500 RAP will become 750 RAP. That's a much nicer number. Personally, I believe that it will be worth glyphing and talenting for it. There will still be no need for more than one hunter in your raid to do it, but it won't be as much of a sacrifice as it is now.

Marked for Death. That collective shout you heard when this change was revealed were all the Marksmen hunters crying out in joy. This goes a long way in our never-ending battle with our rapidly depleted mana pool. Personally, my heart sinks every time I'm riding the top of the damange (like I was last night on Ignis, probably the closest fight to Patchwerk in Ulduar) to sinking down to fifth or sixth when I drop into Viper after I run out of mana. (This also happens during Bloodlust. Proof of how poorly haste affects hunters.) It's all due to the extremely high cost of our two power shots, chimera and aimed. Chimera costs me 605 mana and Aimed costs ~400 mana to fire. That's 1000 mana to fire two shots. That's rediculous. However, with the upcoming change, chimera's cost drops to ~454 mana and aimed drops to ~300 mana. That is certainly much easier on our mana pools. That's just another step in the fight on mana deficiency. Now if they could only fix it so we're not so reliant on Judgement of Wisdom to keep our mana up on long fights...

Catch Up Time

2009-05-26T11:19:00.002-04:00

Wow it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? That's what happens when writer's block meets head-first with real life. (I do a lot of internet stuff at work, which I'm not supposed to be doing. Shh) A lot has happened to Shagrat in the last month and a half or so and I guess a recap is in order.

On the pet front, not much has changed but I have tamed some new pets and renamed some old ones.

First off, the cat is gone as my primary raiding pet. Hallelujah. In its place is Greyback, my wolf. He was rescued from an abusive human in Theramore. (This would make a great RP post one of these days, if my brain can actually make the words.)

Second, my warp stalker finally has a name, Zeratul. This is a nod to my Starcraft enjoyment and it seemed appropriate. An alien species with the ability to teleport, and in the wild, go completely invisble just seemed to say to me protoss.

My wasp has remained unchanged, the same with my spider. My spirit beast is still there, only it has been renamed Bigredkitty in honor of the hunter who inspired me to strike out on my own (as well as other influences, namely Pike and Rilgon) and made me a better hunter in the process.

On the guild front: Deicides is no more. We have merged with another guild and became Rakicide, and we're currently the third most progressed Horde guild on Turalyon. I've never been more proud to be in this guild. We have some very talented raiders and we have made fantastic progression raiding only three nights a week for three hours a night. All four keepers down, we claimed our first Vezax kill on Sunday and last night we got Phase 1 Yogg down pat and are slowly learning how to manage the tentacles in Phase 2. Unfortunately, drops haven't been so kind for me. We've been in Ulduar since the release last month and all I have gotten so far have been the boots of Deconstructor, the bow from Auriaya (yay Bow Specialization) and the t8.5 legs. (WTB less Vanquisher)

Finally on the hunter front: I have come to identify myself as a marksman hunter. I've taken the time to try all three specs extensively and I've come to the conclusion that I love the marksman tree. Survival on the other hand is too clunky and proc-reliant to be anything more than the 'No one else has replenishment? Come on, are you serious? /sigh I hate 10 mans. Brb respeccing' spec.

A long-winded post, maybe. That's what happens when you let a month and a half go in between posts. On the list, making the blog nice-looking. If anyone has any skill at that, feel free to hit me up. I'm extremely bad at that kind of stuff.

Introducing: Shagrat

2009-03-31T10:46:00.007-04:00

Let's introduce my character, Shagrat. I can be found on the Turalyon-US realm and I have a link to my Armory Page for easy reference. I consider myself a hunter. I'm not a Beast Master, Marksman, or Survival hunter as we are all one class. I play all three specs of the class as I feel that limiting myself to one tree greatly narrows my scope towards the class in general. I started off as a Beast Master as most hunters do and stayed one all throughout my short Burning Crusade career and levelled to 80 as well. I even raided as Beast Mastery for a month or two with my previous guild, Warmongers, until my frustration of losing 40-50% of my DPS every time my pet bit it on Heigan. I decided to spec Marksman, which was around the time I changed guilds to Deicides. A couple of months of learning a completely new style of hunter and getting down the FSPR (four-shot priority rotation) I switched to survival. Survival is fun, but to me, it's not as enjoyable as Marksman or even Beast Mastery is. I'm starting to get the hang of it but once I do, I will be going to back to Marksman and Beast Mastery for my primary specs of choice.

What hunter would be complete without a full stable? I'm no exception and let me introduce my crew, going in no particular order.

SoulPuma, my spirit beast. This one is easily my favorite pet and it took a long time of circling the Basin until I gave up and just happened to come across it around midnight one night while flying to turn in a daily for the Oracles.

Buzzkill, my wasp. This is a permanent resident to my stables, as my guild hates how big it is, but I'm not going to get rid of her. She's the now untameable Sholazar Hive Queen.

Parker, my spider. Originally, I had tamed this one to be a PvP pet but I have come to a recent conclusion that I abhor PvP and I will only PvP now if there is a holiday achievement tied to it. I forsee Children's Week being the last time I will ever step foot into any type of PvP setting. Now, with the changes upcoming in the patch, I think I will raid with it for a bit. Having my own personal Mana Tide totem will be wonderful.

My as of yet unnamed warp stalker. I've always liked these pets. Again, with the pet changes upcoming in patch 3.1, I'm looking forward to finishing off some five man quests in Icecrown. As far as the name is concerned, I was shooting for something Protoss-y, but I've drawn a blank.

Finally, Placeholder my cat. The name should give away my feelings towards cats in general. I've been through a few pets for that last slot but I've had no luck in finding one that fits me.

I hope you enjoyed, or at least learned something, about my character from this brief bio. I can always be reached by email or ingame if you happen to have any questions. :)

Welcome

2009-03-30T09:25:00.006-04:00

Welcome to da Voodoo Shuffle, my own little corner of the internet. As you may have guessed, this will primarily be a World of Warcraft-based blog, with occasional deviations to cover my other goings on.

First, a little about myself. I'm 23 years old and I hail from the state of Pennsylvania. I am currently single, but I have been married for three years and do have a four year old daughter from that marriage. I'm employed by the Commonwealth of PA, working at the Dept. of Transportation where I deal with customers on a daily basis as I work with vehicle registration. My free time is split between: World of Warcraft, spending the limited time I have with my daughter, and my other interests, such as Pokemon (Yes, I'm 23 years old and I play pokemon. Bite me.) and video games in general.

Now that the boring personal introduction is out of the way, let's introduce my World of Warcraft character, Shagrat. I'm a troll hunter on the Turalyon-US realm and in the Decides guild. I've cleared all current content with my guild with the exception of that pesky three-drake Sartharion kill. This has been my first and main character since I started playing back in December of 2007, but I do suffer from a case of altitis as I have 9 characters, including a bank toon on my primary server and four characters (including another 80 hunter) on the Thunderhorn realm. My current project is a shaman to eventually go resto to help out some RL friends.

Well, that's enough of an introduction, got to leave something for this blog to be about,don't I? Please excuse the drab appearance of the site, it'll get prettier in time. I promise :) Stay tuned and I hope you enjoy da Voodoo Shuffle.